This time, he didn't beat around the bush. Feeling the situation was about right, he spoke directly, "Your Majesty, I'm worried about the court's finances. The court is currently struggling to make ends meet. Dezhou has already spent so much, and I'm afraid the costs elsewhere will be even greater. As a result, the court's finances will likely become even tighter."
Zhu Youxiao turned to look at Xu Guangqi and said with a smile, "So that's what you're worried about. But don't worry, I've already thought about the money and grain. This time when I leave, I didn't intend to use the capital's money again."
After hearing what Zhu Youxiao said, Xu Guangqi frowned.
Of course he understood what Zhu Youxiao meant. For the ministers in the court, this was not a big deal at all.
Whenever the imperial court was short of money, it would usually resort to several methods. Among them, the most effective one was killing people.
I would kill some corrupt officials, some illegal businessmen, and anyone with a wealthy family. This was already a routine operation.
This is exactly what the Tianqi Emperor did in history, and the person who did it for him was Wei Zhongxian. Just like the Zhengde Emperor's support for Liu Jin, Tianqi's purpose in supporting Wei Zhongxian was to get money. When the emperor couldn't get money from the court, he would send eunuchs to the lower levels to get it.
Emperor Jiajing supported Yan Song, largely to allow Yan Song to make money.
Xu Guangqi wasn't thinking about that. He was used to this kind of thing and wouldn't make a fuss about it. He was worried about how big this would get.
You know, this isn't just a eunuch being sent out, this is His Majesty coming in person. Given His Majesty's character, this is definitely not a small matter, and a small amount of silver is definitely not enough to satisfy His Majesty.
For His Majesty, this trip is bound to bring in a lot of money. However, if he makes too much, I'm afraid those below him will be dissatisfied.
Xu Guangqi was very worried, but looking at Zhu Youxiao's expression, he really didn't know how to persuade him. However, he still had some thoughts in his mind and decided to persuade him when necessary.
Seeing that Xu Guangqi didn't say anything, Zhu Youxiao just smiled and said nothing more.
In fact, Xu Guangqi guessed correctly. Zhu Youxiao left the capital this time not just to get money for disaster relief. He wanted to get more and make a lot of money.
After making enough money, Zhu Youxiao had money to train a new army, strengthen city defenses, provide disaster relief, and do many other things.
In Zhu Youxiao's mind, this time he went south to make enough of his original capital.
To put it bluntly, the court has been sorted out, and all that remains is minor adjustments. It's time to do things according to your own ideas.
Once the court is cleaned up and things start to get done, money is naturally needed. Where does this money come from?
Zhu Youxiao had no intention of saving it bit by bit. Even if he wanted to save it bit by bit, time did not allow it, and neither the Later Jin nor the weather would give him this opportunity.
My life will become more and more difficult in the future, natural disasters will occur frequently, and I will need more money.
This time, I was determined to make back what I had invested. If I couldn't, I wouldn't go back.
Now that I have made such a decision, it is naturally impossible to stop easily.
The journey was smooth.
On this day, the imperial ship finally arrived at Jining Prefecture.
The ship stopped at the port of Jining Prefecture, but Zhu Youxiao did not get off the ship. Instead, he just stayed there quietly, which was a bit confusing.
The road to where Zhu Youxiao had anchored his boat had long been blocked, and Qi Jin's army was stationed there, preventing anyone from approaching.
Zhu Youxiao met Xu Xianchun in the room.
Looking at Xu Xianchun kneeling on the ground, Zhu Youxiao said directly: "Okay, get up. I have something to ask you."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Xu Xianchun quickly stood up.
After Xu Xianchun stood up, Zhu Youxiao asked directly: "How is the investigation going in Jining? How are they doing with the disaster relief? Tell me about it."
"Your Majesty, it's terrible," Xu Xianchun said directly. "After my investigation, I found that all the relief grain allocated by the court has been replaced with stale rice and chaff, and they use these to feed the people."
"If it's one pound of grain in exchange for two pounds of old rice, that's fine. Local officials doing this can be considered exchanging more food, saving more people's lives. For disaster victims, having old rice is better than having nothing to eat."
"But the truth is not like that. They only got seven ounces of old rice in exchange for one pound of relief grain from the court. The rest was embezzled. The silver allocated by the court was originally intended for them to buy food, but through layers of exploitation, less than one-tenth of it was actually used to buy food."
Xu Xianchun trembled with excitement as he spoke. "Your Majesty, let me lead the troops to arrest them all! These people are digging up the roots of the Ming Dynasty! They are all termites of the Ming Dynasty, all scum of the Ming Dynasty. Catch them all and chop off their heads!"
Looking at the excited Xu Xianchun, Zhu Youxiao felt a little emotional.
He now understood the saying, "When the superiors have needs, the subordinates must act accordingly."
Xu Xianchun's performance illustrates this point.
Many times, the actions of the ministers are directly related to the needs of the emperor.
If the emperor wants them to be impartial ministers, they will behave impartially; if the emperor needs them to be vicious and cruel ministers, they will behave viciously and cruelly.
Officials have several faces, and they show different faces to different people. Obviously, Xu Xianchun knew what the emperor wanted, so he showed it to himself.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
