By the time the arrangements for the girls were completed, it was almost mid-June. At this point, the Ministry of Revenue had also prepared enough provisions and military pay, and it was time to set off.
It was at this time that the Dowager Consort submitted a memorial stating that she wished to return to the city, as she had no children and wanted her son to send a grandson back to keep her company.
This request was perfectly reasonable, and the Emperor had no reason to refuse. Furthermore, since the Prince of Yan had sent back a son, there would be one more hostage. Therefore, he dispatched men with provisions to the southern border to bring the man back.
On the day the Empress Dowager returned to the city, the procession was filled with music and celebration, and the whole city knew of the Emperor's kindness towards her.
The Prince of Yan's residence in the capital city always had servants to take care of the courtyard. After the Dowager Consort returned to the residence, the steward ordered people to clean it thoroughly so that she could move in.
On that day, many people in the capital watched, and many others presented gifts to congratulate the Dowager Princess on her return to her residence.
The Dowager Consort, abandoning her usual frugal demeanor, wrote invitations to the women of the capital to visit her residence. Song Yaozhu was among them.
Song Yaozhu knew that the Emperor was watching her, and it was indeed not good to get too close to the Consort Dowager. However, the more she tried to avoid suspicion, the more it would arouse suspicion. So she decided to wait and see how things would develop.
The grain supplies from the Ministry of Revenue had been loaded onto carts and were about to depart when the censor suddenly surrounded the grain transport officials with the imperial guards and began checking the accounts on the spot. After the check, everyone involved in transporting the grain was dumbfounded.
Before even leaving the capital, the grain and military pay had already decreased by 10%!
"Well, you dare to steal from your own posts!" The censor was furious and brought the men before the emperor.
Caught red-handed, the grain transport official was sentenced to death with almost no hesitation. Afterwards, the emperor ordered the Ministry of Justice to investigate the entire process, determined to find out where that particular portion had been lost.
Unfortunately, that one-tenth of the grain and military pay seemed to have evaporated; all the procedures were correct, but the result didn't match up!
This incident became known throughout the entire court, and the Censorate impeached every official in the Ministry of Revenue. That was the most lucrative position; it was one thing for them to be corrupt in their daily lives, but to so blatantly steal soldiers' pay! Did they have no shame whatsoever?!
Minister of Revenue Tong Qian felt this must be a trap set by his political enemies! But he couldn't get rid of this hot potato! Every year, supplies and military pay would be less by the time they reached the southern frontier—a tacitly acknowledged "loss." But this was the first time it had run into trouble in the capital!
He remembered the censor who led the Imperial Guards to block the grain transport official!
Another day of being spat on by the censors in court. After court, Tong Qian returned to the Ministry of Revenue with a gloomy expression.
"Ever since Fang Tong's incident, everything in the Ministry of Revenue has gone wrong!" The newly promoted Vice Minister of Revenue, Liu Jiaci, is so pedantic that every procedure must be legal and compliant. His superior has spoken to him about this several times, but Liu Jiaci just can't understand!
I really don't know if they're faking it or if they genuinely don't understand!
"Sir, what should we do about this?" Because the Ministry of Justice intervened, they still couldn't find the culprit, and their subordinates were all punished.
Alas, these are truly turbulent times!
"It's already June, people in southern Xinjiang must be extremely anxious."
Tong Qian gritted his teeth, "Make up that extra ten percent, and let the grain transport team set off tomorrow!"
Everyone in the Ministry of Revenue worked overtime, and by dawn the next day, all the grain carts were loaded. The Emperor even sent Li Wei to inspect the work in person.
The result was still a loss of 10%!
Everyone in the Ministry of Revenue was incredulous.
"Impossible! We're all here, we didn't see anyone commit the crime! Are we supposed to commit a crime against the wind?"
This matter was extremely mysterious, and Li Wei presented the results to the emperor with trepidation. Yuwen Wuji was furious; this was a blatant slap in the face!
However, he also believed that the problem lay within the Ministry of Revenue.
"Because he felt guilty, the Ministry of Revenue was a treacherous worm he had personally nurtured, and he knew very well what it was like inside."
Song Yaozhu stirred the incense burner in front of her and looked up at Xie Liwei, who was carving grapes with a carving knife. The doctor said that this would help him regain control of his five fingers.
But she only felt that it would damage her eyes.
"And you, how did you manage to make that ten percent of the grain and military pay disappear?"
Seeing that he smiled without saying a word, Song Yaozhu frowned slightly, thinking that the only recent change in the Ministry of Revenue was Fang Tong.
"Is Liu Jiaci one of your people?"
Xie Liwei then put down the grapes and looked at Song Yaozhu, saying in an extremely serious tone, "What nonsense are you talking about? I am not interested in men, how could he possibly be mine?"
Song Yaozhu: "......"
Unable to bear it any longer, Xie Liwei kicked him. After feeling the pain, Xie Liwei stopped joking and said, "It was just a trick, nothing serious."
Song Yaozhu pressed him to reveal the inside story, and Xie Liwei then said seriously, "Do you know about the infamous practice of 'flushing the grain with sticks' when officials of the previous dynasty collected autumn harvest taxes?"
Song Yaozhu nodded. The biggest reason for the previous dynasty's downfall was rampant corruption from top to bottom. Officials would even openly kick over the grain measure when collecting taxes, claiming the spilled grain was a loss and not counted as tax. Such behavior drove the people to despair, which led to their rebellion.
"If you take a trip to the county government offices, you'll find that their scales are inadequate. I simply changed the scales used by the Ministry of Revenue."
Song Yaozhu reached out and tapped him in mid-air, secretly marveling at his skill.
Although the officials of the Great Chen Dynasty were not as greedy as those of the previous dynasty, they were not exactly honest and upright either.
"I only wish that all the scales in the world could be of sufficient measure."
The court was in uproar, no one expected the problem to stem from a small matter like a scale. Everyone in the Ministry of Revenue was detained by the Imperial Guards, their faces ashen, and they began to hurl insults and accuse each other of corruption, suspecting that someone had embezzled and implicated them.
At the same time, an imperial censor suggested that since there was no one in the court, they should recruit capable people from the common people to escort military supplies!
These words were met with immediate condemnation from all officials.
"This plan won't work! It's an open admission that the government of our Great Chen Dynasty is incompetent! It damages the image of the imperial court! Once the authority of the officials is damaged, how can we ever recover it in the future!"
"With two consecutive shortages of food supplies, the people are now full of complaints. Where is the official authority left?"
"No, no! How can the affairs of my court be interfered with by those martial arts practitioners!"
"What do you mean by 'being tainted by江湖人 (jianghu people)'? Aren't those people ordinary citizens of Da Chen? They're just hired by the government!"
"Scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants—you just look down on those itinerant wanderers from the bottom of your hearts! You think that doing the same work as you lowers your own status!"
Such arguments gave Yuwen Wuji a terrible headache, and he eventually asked the cabinet elders for their opinions.
The ministers exchanged glances. Two objected, feeling it would damage the court's image. The three reconsidered, concluding that the soldiers in the southern border couldn't wait. If the supplies didn't depart soon, the morale of the soldiers would plummet!
Moreover, this plan has many advantages. With dozens of escort agencies advancing along different routes, even if they encounter bandits, they are unlikely to experience the massive looting of grain seen in previous years. Furthermore, the escort agencies are currently in competition with each other, so they will definitely be eager to travel, allowing them to deliver the grain to the southern border faster and better.
With the pros and cons laid bare before the Emperor, everyone held their breath, awaiting his decision.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com