In the imperial study at this moment.
Murong Qingli, who was sitting at the desk, was holding a cup and drinking tea slowly.
The Minister of Revenue, who was kneeling not far below, was sweating profusely and his head was completely on the ground, not daring to lift it up.
The imperial study was very quiet, so quiet except for the sound of His Majesty drinking tea.
All that was left was the sound of his heartbeat.
The list of people who had been executed by His Majesty in recent days had just flashed through the mind of the Minister of Revenue Yu Chongmang, when he suddenly heard a voice in his ear.
"Minister Yu, if I remember correctly, since I ascended the throne, every time I came to you, your answer to me was that the treasury was empty and there was no money."
"Then I am curious about where all the money in the treasury went."
"Um?"
With the ending sound of "hmm" slightly prolonged, Murong Qingli put the teacup back on the table.
The crisp sound when the teacup hit the table immediately frightened Yu Shangshu and he shuddered again.
"Your Majesty, it's not that I want to do this, but there is really not much money in the treasury."
"I have sent people to transfer the military pay to the border every year on time, and there has never been any deduction or delay."
"Because I also know that the soldiers at the border have a hard time. They are all heroes guarding the border, and we cannot let them down."
"But this year, not only was there a disaster in Guozhou, but also in Huicheng and Pengcheng, there was a poor harvest."
"In addition to the money and food for disaster relief, the expenses for repairing the river dam, and the one you just issued a few days ago..."
"That is the subsidy for disabled soldiers and their families."
"If these are scattered all over, the national treasury will be emptied!"
"If I remember correctly, the aftermath of the Guozhou disaster was handled by Guozhou itself."
"Apart from the initial grain payment and food, the Ministry of Revenue didn't pay much money afterwards, right?"
Murong Qingli continued speaking in a cold voice.
"Besides, I heard about the modification of the river dam two years ago."
"And what stage and degree have you reached now?"
“If the river dam was really built, why are there still so many places affected by the disaster?”
"Minister Yu, if you dare to fool me like this again, don't blame me for having you dragged out!"
"Your Majesty, please forgive me. I am just following the rules."
"As for what you said, after I leave, I will ask the relevant people to write down the current things and send them to you."
"After all, I am not responsible for these things. I really don't know their progress."
Minister Yu's head was resting on the ground, and the sweat from his head had already made the ground slightly wet.
There was a hint of trembling in his tone.
It is true that their Ministry of Revenue is in charge of the national treasury, but they are just following the rules.
If someone comes to ask for money, he will naturally give it as long as the procedures are in place.
As for what those who asked for money did with the money and to what extent they did it, how would he know!
"Stop beating around the bush with me. I'm asking you one last time. Can you give me the money to repair the border wall?"
"Your humble servant...Your humble servant can, but if that's the case, I'm afraid we'll have to levy more taxes."
"Otherwise, the national treasury..." Minister Yu's lips trembled slightly.
"Don't even think about it! Minister Yu, I will only give you three days."
"Within three days, I want to see the funds allocated, or you come up with a plan for me."
"The border is difficult to defend. If the city walls are covered with rice soup, how can we defend against the enemy?"
"If Minister Yu can't even figure this out, I'm really disappointed."
“Back off!”
"This... is, I obey your command."
Just as Yu Shangshu was about to say something else, he suddenly felt a chill again.
The powerful imperial pressure made him dare not speak any more.
He could only leave the imperial study with a bitter face.
Oh, what should I do?
What can he do?
Isn’t his life as the Minister of Revenue too hard?
Your Majesty executed nine court officials a few days ago and dismissed dozens of officials.
He dared to say that if he failed to handle this matter well, he would definitely be punished by His Majesty.
The lighter punishment is dismissal from office, the more serious is...
Woo woo, his head told him that it was reluctant to separate from his body for the time being.
It’s difficult, too difficult!
After Shangshu Yu sighed deeply a few times, he started to think of a solution.
There really is not much money left in the treasury.
Repairing the city wall is not a small expense.
But what should he do if he can't come up with the money?
Should we collect and summarize all the previous expenditures and submit them to Your Majesty together with the main officials who made the expenditures?
In this way, we can attract some of His Majesty's attention.
After all, among those who deal with money, who is really clean?
But doing this still doesn't solve the problem.
I don't know what's wrong with His Majesty recently, but he seems to be paying special attention to the soldiers at the border.
Not only did they implement various new policies, but they also dealt with many court officials.
Now they are even taking care of small matters like reinforcing the city walls.
Could it be true as everyone is discussing privately?
Your Majesty is bewitched by Concubine Zhen and is intent on supporting the Si family?
Or maybe, Your Majesty is deliberately promoting the Si family and the military generals at the same time, so that it won't be too obvious.
Then wait for a suitable opportunity to completely eradicate the Si family?
“Boom boom boom!”
Minister Yu was thinking as he walked, and was getting very excited when he was suddenly startled by a loud noise.
"What...what happened? The earth dragon turned over?"
The "dong dong dong" sound continued in a regular pattern.
Along with the noise, there were actually cheers from many people.
"My lady, look, look, this thing is really solid!"
"After so many hits, my hands are numb from the shock. This thing is finally cracked!"
"My lady, this... this should be considered a success, right?"
"Well, it was very successful. You guys are really good." Si Muqiao nodded and praised with a smile.
The people at the scene became even more excited when they heard the praise.
The next moment, Si Muqiao's voice was heard continuing.
"Try the concrete next to it?"
"Yes, your majesty, let me smash it this time!" An excited voice sounded.
"Let me do it. I'm taller!" another one spoke up next.
"Get lost! No matter how strong you are, can you be as strong as me? I have to be the one to smash it!"
“…”
I saw those people scrambling to swing the sledgehammers to smash the concrete square pier cast out of concrete.
Tang Yuan, who was standing behind Si Muqiao, couldn't help but mutter softly.
"What's there to fight over? You might as well just let this slave take charge!"
"Tangyuan, do you want to get started?"
"Well, Master, your servant...your servant."
Of course Tangyuan wanted to, but at this moment, she felt a little embarrassed when Si Muqiao suddenly asked her this.
"Just say it if you want to. There's nothing to be shy about in front of me!"
"I think so!" Tangyuan immediately raised his head and chest, speaking in a crisp voice.
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