Chapter 420: Empty Treasury
The imperial palace.
After the morning court session, the emperor severely reprimanded the Minister of Revenue in the Qianqing Palace and ordered him to raise enough food and wages for the soldiers in the northern border within half a month, otherwise he would be dismissed and investigated.
When the Minister of Revenue came out, his legs were shaking.
The Minister of War originally wanted to come and demand the military pay, but seeing the Minister of Revenue's behavior, he wisely turned back.
Inside the hall, the Emperor's face was filled with rage. He addressed the kneeling Jinling Guard leader Lei Yan and ordered, "The delay in the remittance of taxes from Jiangnan is closely linked to Old Eighth. You must bring your men over to investigate this matter for me immediately."
Lei Yan: "I obey your orders."
The emperor narrowed his eyes, a murderous look flashing in his eyes: "Remember, this time you must find out Lao Ba's followers for me."
After Lei Yan left, the emperor looked at Eunuch An, who had been hiding in the corner, and said, "Go and call Wei Qi in."
Eunuch An quickly replied, "Yes." Then he bent down and walked out of the hall. After a while, he led Wei Qi in.
The Emperor looked at Wei Qi and said in a deep voice, "The situation in the northern border is becoming increasingly unstable. We must gather enough food and money. Go to Liulichang in person and have Fei Yu send the money he earned from selling the glass over the past two months to the Ministry of War for emergency relief."
Wei Qi: "I'll do it right away."
The emperor nodded, waited for Wei Qi to leave, then reached out and rubbed his temples.
Fortunately, the Liulichang was built, and the sales of the glass were good, making some money. Otherwise, the national treasury would not be able to provide food and wages for the soldiers in the northern border this time.
Eunuch An saw the emperor's fatigue, thought for a moment, then cautiously stepped forward and asked, "Your Majesty, you haven't eaten anything since the morning court session. The imperial kitchen has made yam porridge. The yam was just delivered by the young prince. I'll bring you a bowl to try."
The Northern Frontier was unstable, Prince Duan was ready to make a move, and the Jiang family was constantly hindering him. All of this made the emperor extremely annoyed and he had no appetite at all. However, when he heard that it was specially sent by Xiao Yeyang, he thought for a moment and said, "Bring me a bowl."
Eunuch An's face lit up with joy. He immediately trotted back and went to serve the yam porridge himself. Soon, he came back with the yam porridge: "Your Majesty, please try it. It smells so delicious to me."
The emperor saw that the yam porridge looked good, so he took a bite. After tasting it, a smile appeared on his face: "It tastes really good. Yang'er is thoughtful."
Eunuch An immediately smiled and said, "Isn't it true? Speaking of this young prince, his filial piety is truly commendable. Since he went to Zhongzhou, whenever he comes across some good food, he will send some to the capital. Please try it."
Hearing this, the emperor smiled even more. "These yams are good. Remember to send some to Prince Ping's mansion. By the way, did Yang'er also send a cart of red fruits?"
Eunuch An nodded: "Yes, if the young prince hadn't said that the red fruit can be eaten, I wouldn't have believed it." Red fruit is also used in the palace, but they are all used as bonsai.
"The people in the imperial kitchen prepared several dishes according to the recipes given by the young prince. I have tried them and they taste really good. Your Majesty, how about serving a few dishes made with red fruits at lunch later?"
The emperor was in high spirits. "Okay, let's have red fruit for lunch today. No, let's have something made with tomatoes."
Eunuch An breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the emperor had already eaten more than half a bowl of yam porridge.
Because of state affairs, the emperor has not had a good appetite recently. He eats very little at each meal and has lost a lot of weight, which makes him very anxious.
Fortunately, the little prince sent some fresh food over the day before yesterday.
The emperor ate the whole bowl of yam porridge, put it down, wiped his hands, and said to Eunuch An, "Go and bring me Yang'er's letter. I was so busy chatting with that old bastard Xie Xingteng the day before yesterday that I didn't read his letter carefully."
Eunuch An immediately found Xiao Yeyang's letter.
The emperor opened it and read it carefully. After a while, his eyebrows jumped up: "The yams and tomatoes were actually planted by that girl."
As he spoke, he paused and recalled the meal he had eaten at Taohua An.
You know what, it tastes really good.
Although they were just ordinary home-cooked meals, he still had some aftertaste for them.
"The Yan family comes from a farming and scholar background, so they haven't forgotten their roots. They feel more familiar with farm work than the old masters in the imperial farm."
The emperor continued to watch.
Xiao Yeyang recorded in detail the per-acre yield of yam and the decree issued by Yan Zhigao in Ningmen Prefecture.
After reading the letter, the emperor felt much better. He smiled and said to Eunuch An, "I didn't make a mistake in choosing Yan Zhigao. He is a very capable person in governing a place. Placing him at Ningmen Pass was the right decision."
After a moment of silence, he sighed, "If all the officials in the court were like him, I wouldn't have to worry so much."
Thinking of the war in the north and the empty treasury, the emperor's face darkened again.
Liulichang had just been built and although it made some money, it was not enough to support the soldiers' food and wages.
gold mine
We still have to rely on gold mines to make up for the emptiness in the national treasury.
Wu Jingyi has been ordered to search for it, but he doesn't know if he can find it.
Yan Mansion.
After returning from Taohua Village, Daohua has not left the house because she has to entertain Yan Yunxi and Yan Yunyan. However, she does not feel bored. She just looks forward to Xiao Yeyang and her two brothers coming home every day to tell her about the progress of their search for the gold mine.
In the blink of an eye, it was October and the weather was getting colder day by day.
"I wonder if Third Brother, Fourth Brother and the others will come back today?"
After Daohua delivered the winter clothes that the sewing room had made for Yan Yunxi and the other girl, she looked at the Chuihua Gate several times on her way back.
Wang Man'er smiled and said, "During this period, the Third Master and the Fourth Master come back every two or three days. Do you still miss them so much, young lady?"
Daohua rolled her eyes at her. Who was thinking about them? She was just thinking about the gold mine, okay?
Then, he stretched out his hand to feel the chill in the air and sighed, "It might snow soon. If we can't find it now, it will be even more tiring to search for it later."
Suddenly, Yan Wenxiu's voice came from behind.
"Big sister!"
Daohua turned around and asked with a smile, "Brother, you're back?"
Yan Wenxiu nodded. After learning from Master Xiao for more than half a month, he looked more calm and confident than before.
"Did you ask Uncle Zhixin to bring you a puppy?"
Daohua's eyes lit up: "Uncle Zhixin is here?"
Yan Wenxiu nodded. "He was talking to my father, second uncle, and third uncle in the front yard. He brought seven newborn puppies over here and said they were what you wanted, so I came over to ask."
Daohua was a little stunned: "Seven? Why did you bring so many? Where are they? Let me go and take a look."
Yan Wenxiu smiled and said, "No one in my family knows how to raise a dog, so I put it in the stable and asked the stable boy to look after it."
After hearing this, Daohua said something to Yan Wenxiu, and then took Wang Maner to the stable.
(End of this chapter)
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