"Oh dear, Registrar Sun, what has happened? I've observed that you've been diligent and hardworking all day long, sometimes working until late at night. How could you be being harshly criticized and punished?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the surrounding officials burst into laughter again!
Sun Jiachen pretended to be full of resentment and did not respond, but inwardly he was disdainful and contemptuous!
Laugh! Everyone, laugh!
Let's see if you corrupt officials will still be laughing then!
He Fang was about to continue his sarcastic remarks when An Fu's thin voice came from the doorway.
"By order of the Emperor! He Fang, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, must immediately enter the palace! No delays are permitted!"
He Fang's smile vanished instantly.
Seeing Sun Jiachen return from the palace, beaten so badly he couldn't even stand up, he was immediately terrified.
Now that I've beaten this guy up, is it my turn to get a beating?
He stepped forward and skillfully took a silver note from his pocket and handed it to him.
"Eunuch An! I wonder what brings His Majesty to summon me in such a hurry?"
The amount on the banknote was quite substantial.
There's plenty of freebies to be had!
Anfu took the money but did nothing, instead acting mysteriously to scare the guy.
"The imperial decree is unpredictable; it is both a major and a minor matter. Minister He, please follow along!"
He Fang was immediately stumped by this remark, feeling as if his silver notes had been wasted. Trying to decipher the meaning behind An Fu's casual words, he nervously went to the study.
Looking at the court staff still in the hands of the eunuch at the door, and the blood donation figure of the prime minister placed on the ground.
He Fang was terrified; his legs went weak, and he knelt down on the ground.
He then said tremblingly, "I am guilty! I deserve to die!"
Qin Yu was taken aback at first, but then he saw An Fu next to him trying to suppress a laugh and immediately understood.
That eunuch was probably trying to scare him on purpose!
So I decided to just go along with it.
"Minister He, your officials despise the imperial court and have no regard for the law. As the leading official, are you no different?"
"Your Majesty, I would never dare! That was all the work of that treacherous minister Sun Jiachen, and has nothing to do with me. I beg Your Majesty to investigate thoroughly!"
He Fang broke out in a cold sweat as he was questioned, fearing that he would be the second person to be flogged. He knelt down and kowtowed repeatedly.
He clenched his teeth, his heart filled with hatred for Sun Jiachen.
That bastard deserves to be punished, but damn it! He even dragged me into this mess. He's deserving of death!
"snort!"
Qin Yu snorted coldly, seeing that he was almost scared out of his wits, and stopped teasing him, thus revealing his true purpose.
"I know you wouldn't dare! But he's an official under you. You also bear the blame for inadequate supervision and mismanagement. Do you know your crime?"
"Your Majesty, I know I am guilty and will accept your punishment!"
Qin Yu clapped his hands and said, "Alright! Then let's punish him with a year's salary as a warning to others!"
The salary system adopted by Daxia was not low-salary, but rather a genuine system of high salaries to encourage integrity.
Even officials of the second or third rank like He Fang received an annual salary of five or six hundred taels of silver.
For the emperor and the court, this amount of silver was somewhat insignificant.
But even a small amount is still meat.
Have you not heard the saying, "Many a little makes a mickle"? And "Converging waters makes a river"?
Qin Yu made a decision. This was a good idea. He would take every opportunity to fine officials and extort money from the officials in the Prime Minister's faction. No one could say anything about it.
There are still many places to spend money, especially that iron cavalry, which is simply burning through cash. The money saved can be invested in it.
Although most of the officials under Prime Minister He Fang did not rely on their salaries for income, and the silver they embezzled on several occasions was much more than their salaries, this did not mean that He Fang did not care.
He had just handed Anfu a silver note to buy information, but he failed to get the information and was fined a portion of his salary. However, he was glad that he was spared a beating.
"Yes, Your Majesty! Your humble servant will certainly supervise your officials well from now on."
Having swindled him out of the money, Qin Yu was finally satisfied and asked about the real purpose of his summons.
"I heard they're minting new coins soon, and they'll be issued soon?"
He Fang wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, stood up, bowed, and replied, "Yes!"
Qin Yu nodded immediately, his face full of pride, "Good! I was already dissatisfied with the previous coins. They were dull and ugly in my hand."
"This year marks the tenth anniversary of my ascension to the throne. Your Ministry of Revenue must ensure that these new coins are minted to a bright golden hue, so as to reflect the grandeur of this prosperous era and the image of my wise ruler!"
A golden age? A wise ruler?
He Fang was extremely disdainful. Which of these two words had anything to do with you, a tyrant?
However, the more ambitious he was, the easier it was for me to do things. I was secretly pleased with myself as I reached into my pocket.
The minting of new coins is a major event these days, and coincidentally, He Fang brought the sample of the new coin with him, which had a copper-to-lead ratio of 6:4.
"Your Majesty, you can rest assured that these are newly minted coins by the Ministry of Revenue. Please take a look."
It must be said that the new coins minted using this ratio were indeed very smooth and lustrous, and their colors were bright and clear. No wonder later rulers couldn't help but make mistakes.
Qin Yu pretended to be very fond of it, his eyes gleaming with greed, and then asked a question he already knew the answer to.
"Exquisite! How exactly did the Ministry of Revenue manage to produce such fine coins?"
Seeing that he had successfully fooled the tyrannical emperor, He Fang beamed with joy and put on a profound expression, launching into a long explanation of the copper coin ratio, showing off his expertise.
Qin Yu sneered inwardly. This guy was really putting on an act. He laughed excitedly and immediately interrupted him.
"Excellent! Minister He, you deserve the greatest credit for this minting of new coins!"
"Look how beautiful these coins are! How about this? The position of Minister of Revenue is currently vacant, isn't it? From now on, you will be given this position!"
Poor He Fang had no idea that this was a huge, unrealistic promise.
He immediately knelt down and kowtowed to express his gratitude.
"Your Majesty, I thank you!"
His voice trembled slightly with excitement.
Originally, he was worried that even if he managed to curry favor with Prime Minister Sima, this incompetent emperor would still come up with all sorts of strange things to make money, such as selling official positions, and it would be difficult to hold onto this position.
But who could have imagined that this tyrannical ruler would actually make a promise today?
No matter what, the emperor's words are law and his word is as weighty as gold.
he.
Surely they won't renege on their debt?
Qin Yu, who was holding the coins, suddenly frowned and asked in confusion.
"By the way, Minister He, you said that the reason why the new coins feel and look better than the old coins is because the proportion of copper in them has increased. Does that mean that the higher the copper content, the more dazzling the coin will be?"
This question stumped He Fang.
Those plans were all given by my subordinates; I'm not an expert in this field.
After hesitating for a moment, he nodded.
"I think that's how it is."
Qin Yu nodded immediately and waved his hand.
"Very well! In that case, I think the ratio of 6 copper to 4 lead is still too low. Let's use a ratio of 8 copper to 2 lead! Wouldn't the new coins look even better?"
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