Just a few days ago, even Imperial Tutor Jia was so oppressed by this tyrannical emperor that he dug his own ancestral grave.
The officials were even more contemptuous.
And didn't he recently receive another million taels of silver from donating his official position?
These two sums of silver, taken together, amount to a considerable sum.
But this incompetent ruler is as stingy as a miser, refusing to part with a single penny, which is truly disappointing.
Although the court officials were full of complaints, seeing that Prime Minister Sima had not made a move, none of them were willing to be the first to step forward.
They all kept their eyes down, seemingly detached and indifferent to worldly affairs.
Upon seeing this, Liu Guocheng gritted his teeth and quickly reminded the emperor, "Your Majesty, you must prioritize the affairs of the state. Otherwise, if the rebels were to breach the capital, the city would be fraught with danger, and by then it would be too late to save it."
Qin Yu seemed to be startled again, and stood frozen in place.
“What you say is absolutely right, my dear minister. We have no choice but to provide disaster relief.”
"Your Majesty, the national treasury is empty."
The Minister of Revenue wisely offered a reminder, then stood back up, straightened his back, and said no more.
Anyway, he didn't care whether there was relief or not; he just did as Prime Minister Sima said, even though there was no money!
"What should we do?"
Qin Yu paced back and forth anxiously. After a while, he seemed to have come up with an idea, and his eyes lit up instantly.
"I'm pregnant!"
He exclaimed excitedly, "So the national treasury is out of money? I've come up with a solution!"
"We can issue national bonds, with the imperial court lending money to officials and wealthy merchants, at an interest rate equal to that of money shops!"
"This matter will be left to the Prime Minister! If we can raise the money, then we can provide disaster relief."
Qin Yu said eagerly, as if she had already seen hope, and her whole face turned rosy.
Sima Lie was so angry he almost cursed!
Let him handle it?
What could he do?!
The national treasury is almost empty. If we really borrow money, how will we repay it?
If he couldn't repay this damn national debt that he had arranged for the government to borrow, wouldn't he become the sucker?
He's going to take the blame for this!
Sima Lie grew angrier the more he thought about it, and he almost wanted to smash Qin Yu's head with his fist.
This tyrant, can't he just behave himself for once!
He suppressed his anger and said with a cold smile.
"Your Majesty, issuing national bonds is not so easy. This old minister is unable to issue them, and I'm afraid no one will even be willing to pay for them."
"What the Prime Minister said does make some sense."
Qin Yu pretended to be deep in thought, then suddenly raised his head and said with a smile, "Issuing national bonds alone is not easy, so let's use salt tax as collateral! That should raise a lot of silver, right?"
"Salt tax?"
Upon hearing those two words, Sima Lie's heart immediately raced.
Since the founding of the dynasty, Emperor Gaozu established the Salt Administration Office to commend the Jia family for their contributions, entrusting the power of collecting salt taxes nationwide to the ancestors of the Jia family. From then on, the position of Vice Minister of the Salt Administration Office was passed down through generations of the Jia family.
Jia Renyi was a learned scholar, quick-witted and capable, and was highly valued by the emperor.
Sima Lie knew how lucrative the salt tax was!
After falling out with Jia Renyi, he still longed for it, but he was mindful of the Jia family's status as a family of meritorious elders.
Moreover, Jia Renyi was once his capable subordinate, and he had done a lot of work for him. If he went too far, he was afraid that his other subordinates would feel disheartened.
But now that the tyrannical emperor has used the salt tax as collateral to put him in charge of the national debt, it has really done him a great favor!
Wouldn't this be a legitimate way to snatch the salt tax, this lucrative prize, from that old dog Jia Renyi?
After figuring out the key point, Sima Lie immediately stepped forward.
"Your Majesty is wise. In order to provide disaster relief, I am willing to donate a year's salary to buy national bonds!"
He slammed his fist on the table and made his decision!
There's no reason to refuse!
Qin Yu was overjoyed and praised him.
"The Prime Minister is indeed kind and benevolent. With his support, I believe this matter can be easily resolved. Anyone willing to purchase national bonds, please register and subscribe at the Ministry of Revenue after court!"
"By the way, Anfu is in charge of collecting the money and keeping records! All the national debt ledgers will be handed over to the Prime Minister for unified management."
"If the Ministry of Revenue's reserves are insufficient by the due date, the Prime Minister can make a decisive decision to use the salt tax to repay the debt!"
After giving Anfu a wink, Qin Yu yawned, quickly announced the end of the court session, and slipped away.
Sima Lie was secretly delighted! With the emperor's words, he could now openly and legitimately go to the Jia family and squeeze the last bit of profit out of them!
After the court session ended, the officials gathered in twos and threes, discussing the matter animatedly.
Sima Lie took the lead in discussing the national debt, and suddenly all the officials also developed a strong interest in this so-called national debt.
"Even the Prime Minister has bought these government bonds. Should we buy some too?"
"Nonsense, of course we need to! Didn't you hear the Emperor say that we'll use the salt tax as collateral? That way, even if the court can't repay the money, the salt tax will cover it! Don't you really know how much profit there is in this?"
"Yes, this is like a mountain of gold! Even if you all can sit still, I can't. I'm going to line up and claim my share, or it'll be gone!"
Immediately, an imperial censor hurried off to the Ministry of Revenue.
"Lord Sun, don't run so fast! Wait for me!"
Seeing this, another official also hurriedly left.
In the blink of an eye, many ministers at the scene lined up for the national debt.
Qin Yu had anticipated this and had made ample preparations long ago.
The government bonds that had been prepared long ago are now beginning to play their role.
The officials scrambled to grab the money, and Qin Yu accepted it all, taking whatever amount of silver was offered.
Anfu handled everything; he was so busy all morning that he barely had time to breathe.
It wasn't until the afternoon that Anfu found Qin Yu in the secret room and took out a stack of silver notes.
Anfu said with a slightly excited expression.
"Your Majesty, your idea is truly brilliant. In just one morning, we have received over three million taels of silver."
"Oh? So many?"
Qin Yu was astonished!
However, he quickly regained his composure and figured out the key point.
The fact that the national treasury is empty does not mean that these ministers are empty-handed.
Their bellies were still overflowing with fat.
Inside the secret room, Xuejian witnessed this scene and exclaimed in surprise.
"How much silver? Three million!"
Three million? How did they manage that?
Just a bunch of useless scraps of paper?
This was completely beyond Xuejian's imagination. She looked at Qin Yu with a puzzled expression and asked with some worry, "Your Majesty, we've borrowed so much silver, how are we going to repay the debt?"
The court of Great Xia is now completely controlled by Sima Lie.
Those ministers had long since lost all sense of propriety; those who accepted bribes and demanded favors were considered to have a conscience.
The national treasury was already empty, and they couldn't even take out the last grain of rice from the rice bin. How could they possibly repay the debt?
Qin Yu understood Xuejian's worries perfectly well. He chuckled mischievously and immediately shook his head: "I borrowed the money through my own abilities, why should I pay it back to them?"
This kind of rogue logic is simply laughable!
Xuejian was completely dumbfounded!
Her pretty face was filled with astonishment!
Qin Yu smiled and continued, "They are eyeing the interest on my salt tax and want to take advantage of this time to make a fortune during the national crisis."
"But I've also set my sights on them, and what I'm after is their principal!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com