The Qingliu Party claims to be a clean stream and serves the country and the people.
Fighting war is not for the country, and imposing taxes is not for the people.
But Lu Taiyuan spoke righteously.
This is because this war can give His Royal Highness Prince Qing the opportunity to compete for the throne, which is closely related to his own interests.
Song Shiwen pondered this and said expressionlessly, "Then the cabinet will issue a decree to each state, and this year's performance evaluation will be based on this!"
He gave the order directly.
Since both the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister agree, there is no doubt that they are doing the work for the Emperor.
The hall was silent.
They all knew that if this decree was issued, the people would be in chaos.
This is forcing people to take action. Those officials will do anything to keep their positions.
Lu Taiyuan didn't say anything, obviously agreeing.
Song Shiwen continued, "The war will begin next year or this year. It would be too late to collect the public grain from the local areas, store it in the national treasury, and then transport it to the front lines in the border cities. Therefore, we should skip the step of transporting it to the capital and send it directly from the local areas to the front lines..."
This is another shocking statement.
Li Chao, the Minister of Revenue, asked, "How can we transport the taxes collected by the localities to the front lines?"
"merchant!"
Song Shiwen uttered two words.
He said in a deep voice: "Merchants are doing business, and there are ready-made fleets, so let them transport it as quickly as possible."
"this……"
Li Chao hurriedly asked, "Isn't this a complete mess? The distances from the local areas to the front lines vary, and the delivery is disorganized. We don't know what will happen along the way. What if the military supplies are stolen or lost?"
He was being tactful.
In fact, they are worried about being embezzled.
Merchants who can undertake transportation must have a background and cannot be involved without the power and influence.
During the transportation process, they made up some excuses and put the military supplies into their own pockets.
Didn’t this just happen in Ji County a few days ago?
“Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures.”
Song Shiwen flicked his sleeves and said calmly, "It will take at least the middle of next year for the autumn grain to be collected and delivered to the capital, but the imperial court will be going to war in the first half of next year!"
"The troops must be prepared to send their provisions before they move. This is the will of His Majesty. As the saying goes, once the arrow is shot, there is no turning back. This battle is decided!"
The emperor has spoken, and we must do it no matter what!
Li Chao only felt that his eyes went dark and he could no longer see any light!
The Great Zhou is in danger!
He is the Minister of Revenue, but he is not a member of the Literary Party, nor is he a member of the Clean Government. As a result, he cannot support himself!
Just as he was about to say something, he heard Lu Taiyuan say, "What Lord Li said is not without reason. Local taxation and local transportation are all decided by themselves, so there is no system."
"I think we should send someone from the Ministry of Revenue to supervise it, and then there will be no problem."
Li Chao originally thought that Lu Taiyuan was speaking for him, but he didn't expect that he was actually trying to trick him!
If people from the Ministry of Revenue are sent out to supervise, doesn’t this put all the responsibility on the Ministry of Revenue?
If tax revenue doesn't come in, if food doesn't arrive, if the war fails...
It will all be the Ministry of Revenue’s fault then!
"I think so." Song Shiwen agreed, "Your Excellency the Deputy Minister is absolutely right."
"That's not right."
Li Chao hurriedly said, "Such a major event cannot be supervised by our Ministry of Revenue. The Ministry of War should also send people."
"War preparations are intense, and my Ministry of War is busy. The Fourth Prince, His Royal Highness Xiang Wang, is stationed at the border of Eastern Chu. Due to the attack on Northern Wei, his troops will be transferred to Youzhou. His Royal Highness Xiang Wang will also return to the capital at the end of the year. My Ministry of War is busy and cannot send any personnel."
Wang Songzhi, the fifty-year-old Minister of War, dressed in a neat official robe, said expressionlessly.
He was not born into a civil service family, but had a noble status and the status of a marquis, similar to Changfeng Marquis Shen Chong.
It’s just that Wang Songzhi’s family is still there, while the Shen family has declined.
Upon hearing that King Xiang would return to the capital at the end of the year, Song Shiwen's face darkened.
The fourth prince, Xiang Wang Mu Yundi, and the second prince, Qing Wang, are brothers from the same mother.
The Emperor of the Great Zhou has nine sons, but now only the second prince dares to compete with the crown prince for the throne. One of the main reasons for this is that he has the support of his brothers.
King Xiang Mu Yundi has been strong and powerful since he was young. He was sent to the army at an early age and has become a fierce general guarding a place!
He has 50,000 soldiers under his command, which is the main force of the Great Zhou Dynasty. He is powerful in both men and horses!
Because they are brothers, he supports Prince Qing with all his might.
This is also the prince's shortcoming.
So he had to win over Liang Qingwu, and Liang Qingwu was very good friends with his son Song Chi.
So, Song Chi is the key!
Unexpectedly, this abandoned child became a hot commodity.
Song Shiwen sighed inwardly, then said calmly: "The Ministry of Revenue is in charge of money and grain. If you don't take care of it, do you want others to take care of it?"
Seeing that everyone else was watching coldly and silently, Li Chao finally realized that they had reached an agreement in private.
Ultimately, the Ministry of Revenue will have to take the blame.
.......
After the cabinet meeting ended, Song Shiwen went to the Ministry of Rites and found Shen Qi, the right assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites, and explained the matter of going to Jiangzhou.
He was once the Minister of Rites. All the people in the Ministry of Rites were promoted by Song Shiwen, and the entire Ministry obeyed Song Shiwen's orders.
Shen Qi said respectfully, "Don't worry, Prime Minister. I have heard that Song Chi is known for his frivolity. He even dared to compete with Master Ming for fame. Ma Jingming is also a waste. How could he allow such a person to pass the college entrance examination and become the first in the case?"
"I'm going to Jiangzhou to preside over the provincial examination. There's no way Song Chi will pass."
Shen Qi patted his chest and promised.
The Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites was already capable of presiding over the joint examination, but he was sent out to preside over the provincial examination. It was indeed a bit of a waste of talent. Shen Qi naturally knew the intention of the Prime Minister.
"No."
Song Shiwen said, "You have misunderstood. I did not ask you to go to Jiangzhou to make things difficult for Song Chi, but to help him pass the provincial examination."
“The people he brought with him also helped as much as possible.”
Shen Qi was stunned and thought he had heard it wrong.
He asked, "Song Chi is close to the Qingliu Party. He also caused His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to miss the opportunity to become the Youzhou Pacification Commissioner..."
"So what?"
Song Shiwen said calmly, "Song Chi is only sixteen years old but already has such talent and ability. He's now close to the Qingliu Party. Can't we win him over?"
"I value talent, and Song Chi's name is similar to my son Song Ming's, so I think we have a connection, so I want to bring him to my side."
Song Shiwen has already begun to prepare for bringing Song Chi back home.
It feels a bit awkward to call him an adopted son, but I don’t know how to say it if I call him my biological son.
We’ll see when the time comes. The most important thing right now is to win over Song Chi.
This son is very rebellious. We must first make him understand how good it is to have a father who is the Prime Minister.
"this......"
Shen Qi took a deep breath and said with a smile: "It turns out that the Prime Minister cherishes talent. It is really a blessing for Song Chi to be favored by the Prime Minister. I have understood the Prime Minister's intention to let Song Chi pass the provincial examination."
"Yeah." Song Shiwen nodded with satisfaction.
At the same time, Lu Taiyuan also summoned a middle-aged man to the classroom.
He is Hanlin Wang Fengnian.
"In two days you will leave for Jiangzhou to serve as a deputy examiner for this year's provincial examination. You have only one mission: never let Song Chi get into trouble. You must ensure he passes the provincial examination."
"yes."
Wang Fengnian responded in a deep voice.
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