Chapter 40 Borrowing a Knife
Upon hearing Su Qing's words, Qi, the palace official, was noticeably less dejected.
After the general left, something finally went smoothly.
With Su Qing's promise, he could finally get a good night's sleep.
The subordinates brought by Qi Neiguan were also well taken care of. With Mei Niang handling these matters, Su Qing didn't need to worry at all.
However, things weren't so easy for Su Qing.
As soon as the tax revenue from Guangyue Prefecture arrived, not only did the army immediately send people over.
All government departments, official schools, and other places watched with bated breath.
In Nanjing, some people are even asking about it.
The officials in the yamen, with their three shifts and six departments, are doing well; Su Qing will never shortchange them on their salaries, as this portion of the budget has already been set aside.
There are also two dikes within the prefecture, as well as the city wall of Ison County; these necessary expenditures cannot be spared.
All in all, the tax amounted to 760,000, leaving a balance of 590,000.
This amount of silver seems substantial.
But the army is a money-devouring beast, a fact that Su Qing and Wu Husi are well aware of.
Last year, most of the logistical supplies delivered nationwide passed through Nanjiang County.
Although the two women did not know the specific accounts, they had a general idea just by looking at the number of people coming and going.
Old Du, the head of the household affairs office, was extremely shocked by this. After listening to the detailed explanation from Wu Shanyue, the person in charge, he was completely convinced.
At this moment, Su Qing, the two clerks, and the two chief clerks of the Revenue Department were all discussing the budget in the study of the yamen.
Old Du was the only "outsider," but the more he got to know him, the more he realized that none of the people following Prefect Su were useless.
Especially Wu Husi, who originally thought that she was valued by Prefect Su because she was also a woman.
Unexpectedly, he was someone with such ability, and I was quite impressed with him.
The budget allocations are almost complete.
Old Du said, "There's still one place, and I'm afraid they won't give up."
Old Du, familiar with the prefectural government, was naturally outspoken. He pointed to the official school and said, "The money allocated to the prefectural school is too little; I expect there will be dissatisfaction."
The expenses at the prefectural school were also enormous.
Leaving aside the salaries of officials and teachers, there were also the stipends for students, which amounted to a considerable sum.
The education commissioner would definitely be unhappy if we gave them that little bit of money.
Given the current situation, everyone can understand why this part of the expenditure needs to be cut.
The problem is that Nanjing (Nanjing) places great importance on the imperial examination system.
Everyone knows that.
The official schools will definitely take this opportunity to cause trouble.
Su Qing smiled: "That's easy."
Su Qing said to Fei Xiucai, "In order to help the court select truly capable talents, we will organize the students registered in the prefectural school to take the exam again."
"If anyone fails to pass the exam, their student status will be revoked, and they will no longer receive a stipend."
It means kicking out students who don't meet the requirements of the prefectural school.
Then we don't need to send money!
ah?
Not only did they not allocate more money, they also kicked people out?!
Su Qing said, "Master Gu once said that the students of the prefectural school are all rich or noble, so they shouldn't need this little bit of money."
"Let them take the exams properly, and the emperor will be pleased if those with real talent are selected."
Old Du realized that he had asked that one question unnecessarily.
Now that's great, the academy still has time to manage the budget?
I'd definitely break my head first.
What was originally thought to be a difficult problem was easily solved by Prefect Su, which piqued Old Du's interest, and he turned his attention to the military budget.
The things mentioned earlier were just appetizers.
For the Guangyue Prefecture government office...
The military budget accounts for the majority of the expenditure.
Yesterday, Eunuch Qi came with his deputy, Eunuch Jia.
The two men each presented two ledgers.
The Qi palace officials were in charge of the army's daily provisions and pay.
This is a fixed expense for the military, amounting to approximately 39,000 taels per month.
Su Qing checked the accounts repeatedly and knew there were no problems.
“Too many,” Wu Husi couldn’t help but say. “No wonder so many people gathered in Nanjiang County last year.”
They were all delivering supplies.
They were only responsible for transporting the officials to and from the station and did not know the exact amount of supplies.
No wonder the guards escorting the supplies were all complaining bitterly, saying that these logistical supplies were squeezed out from the gaps between the teeth of various places.
Now that they are in charge of this matter, they understand even better that the military truly lives up to its reputation as a money-devouring beast.
This was just routine expenses, and Qi, the eunuch, requested a six-month allowance this time.
The grain and various supplies were valued at 234,000 taels of silver.
He'd accept any gifts, supplies or silver; the eunuch Qi was not picky.
But who remembers that their government budget only had 590,000 left?
If this fee is added, the money will instantly be halved.
This is just the budget for grain and provisions submitted by the Qi palace official.
There is also another account book belonging to Jia Neiguan.
His job was to procure military uniforms.
With winter fast approaching, he planned to purchase 20,000 sets of winter clothing, which would require 120,000 taels of silver.
These account books made everyone in the yamen feel dizzy and disoriented.
No wonder no one wants to be the prefect.
It's really not an easy job.
If this part of the budget is added, how much money will their government office have left?!
"After deducting the basic food and salary, and then the budget for winter clothing, there is only 236,000 left."
Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent.
Let's not even talk about the fact that the public funds from Nanjing haven't been paid yet.
What will happen next year?
The military's current rations and pay will only be deducted until February of next year.
New bills will be generated in March.
How will you give it to me then?
If any unexpected situation arises again.
Is life in the government office no longer possible?
At this moment, they heard Prefect Su say in a low voice, "This is still when there is no war. If there is a war, we will conscript laborers to build fortifications and purchase weapons and armor."
"How much silver do you want this time?"
Stop calculating, stop calculating.
Let's continue calculating.
We can't even make ends meet anymore.
Their government office worked hard all year, yet still owed the army hundreds of thousands of taels of silver!
There's a reason why no one wants to be the prefect here!
When the cannons roar, gold and silver flow like water.
This is extremely fitting for this situation.
Everyone in the government office sighed in unison.
But they also knew that going into the military was tantamount to suicide.
"How about we see what budget the government can cut?" said Old Du, the head of the household affairs office.
But after looking again and again, they realized that their spending had been pushed to the limit.
No wonder Prefect Su didn't give the prefectural school any money; he probably already knew that the government's tax revenue was insufficient.
Wu, the head of the household, picked up the two account books of Qi and Jia, and then put down Qi's account book for grain and salary.
After carefully reading through the other winter clothing ledger, a look of doubt appeared on his face.
Su Qing nodded: "This account cannot be approved."
Why?
Wu Husi explained, "Around the end of last year, a lot of winter clothes were transported from various places to the front lines."
"Although the exact number is unknown, the quantity is definitely sufficient."
Registrar Luo also remembered this.
Last year, supplies were being transported to the military from various regions.
The person in charge of receiving the supplies can even pick and choose.
Items that are urgently needed will be shipped back as soon as possible.
For supplies that are not in short supply, the Nanjiang County government was asked to find a warehouse and help store them for a period of time.
Winter clothing is a case in point. Last October and November, whenever winter clothing was delivered, the army would immediately take it away.
But by December, the rush had subsided.
Some of the winter clothes were not taken away until the following spring.
What does this tell us?
"This shows that the military is not short of winter clothing."
"Even if it's not enough, the gap wouldn't be this large."
With a total of 60,000 troops stationed, why buy 20,000 items directly?
Winter clothing is different from other items; it is not a consumable resource.
For ordinary families, winter clothes can last not only one or two years, but also seven or eight years.
Why is it necessary to rotate military personnel every year?
This eunuch Jia is definitely not honest.
The faces of the crowd turned grim.
The capital of Shunchang is in such a state, and so is the tax revenue of Guangle Prefecture.
Some people even used military procurement to line their own pockets.
Fei Xiucai subconsciously said, "Before, with the general keeping them in check, they didn't dare to do anything."
"Once the general left, these logistics officials all had their own ideas."
The clerk nodded in agreement.
The two men nodded silently.
So what should we do about this?
Should we directly turn against Jia Neiguan?
That's not a good idea. If he does this kind of thing, he must have powerful connections.
Su Qing then looked at another ledger and said, "Approve the other budgets first, and hand over the official school budget to Scholar Fei."
"Director Wu and Deputy Director Du, go and allocate grain and provisions."
As for the winter clothing accounts of eunuch Jia, let's leave them for now.
Upon hearing this, everyone knew that the prefect was aware of the situation and immediately accepted the order.
This year's budget has been released.
The first to cause trouble were definitely the official schools.
The academic official appeared with a dark face, and his eyes were filled with hatred as he looked at Su Qing.
Unfortunately, Su Qing didn't say much to him, so Fei Xiucai went to greet her.
If he can't handle this, then he'll have wasted his job as Lord Su's clerk!
He'd look down on himself if he did that!
Seeing that he had escaped, Su Qing took Zhu Shuli to find Qi Neiguan.
To talk about the solution to the winter clothing problem.
It's still with their eunuchs.
Even when Su Qing saw the account books, she felt something was off.
The eunuchs who came this time were headed by Eunuch Qi and deputy headed by Eunuch Jia.
However, the former was responsible for the most basic provisions and pay.
Although this part of the profits is substantial, it cannot be used recklessly when relying on soldiers to fight; this is fundamental to the military.
Instead, it was his deputy, Jia, who was in charge of winter and summer uniforms.
Fabric clothing can vary greatly in price and quality.
It's not the most basic kind like food and pay, nor is it the life-threatening kind like armor and weapons; they can grab as much as they can.
Regardless of who these two eunuchs are backing.
But incompatibility is certain.
With such an unequal distribution of spoils, it would be strange for the family to be harmonious.
When Su Qing found Qi, he had indeed been waiting for a long time and told Yunxi to leave first.
His serious demeanor suggests he knew Su Qing would come looking for him.
After watching the two children leave, Qi, the eunuch, bowed to Su Qing, who naturally returned the bow: "You're too kind, Eunuch Qi."
After some polite refusals, the two sat down.
Then Qi, the eunuch, said, "Have you finished looking at the two account books?"
After saying that, he said, "If you couldn't see through the trickery, you wouldn't be yourself."
It's really easy to talk to smart people.
However, when Zhu Shuli looked at their master, the master still didn't respond and just drank tea.
The eunuch looked at Su Qing, clearly waiting for her to speak.
Seeing that he was really unwilling to talk about it, Su Qing put down her teacup and brought up a past event: "May 17th is the anniversary of the death of my palace eunuch."
“That day I took my little sister Yunxi to pay my respects at the tomb of Yu Neiguan, and also asked a monk to perform a ritual. I don’t know if his soul is at peace.”
Why bring this up out of the blue?
Although the clerk was not present at the time, he was aware of the danger involved.
Especially the eunuch Qi, who was standing right in front of them, was very bothered by this.
Sure enough, the eunuch's face turned even worse, but he didn't get angry at Su Qing. Instead, he gripped his teacup tightly and said, "It will be soon. She will be able to rest in peace soon."
"It seems Lord Qi has been found. Who did it?" Su Qing continued.
Qi, the palace official, gave Su Qing a deep look.
This little girl is so smart.
She can see not only the first layer of the matter before her eyes, but also understand the second layer.
Qi, the eunuch, bluntly said, "Let's not beat around the bush."
"I brought him here this time because I wanted to use you to get rid of him and avenge the children's godfather."
The clerk's mind raced.
Finally, through their cryptic exchange, they realized who they were talking about.
Eunuch Jia?!
Is Jia, the eunuch, the one who killed Yu, the eunuch?!
Indeed, Eunuch Yu was originally Lord Qi's current position, which is Eunuch Jia's superior.
If that person dies, then Minister Jia will be able to take over.
Unexpectedly, Lord Qi intervened, dashing his hopes.
It seems that Lord Qi had been lying low for over a year.
Then, taking advantage of the general's absence and Jia's attempt to embezzle military funds, they apprehended him in one fell swoop.
I want to avenge the death of my friend from back then!
They brought the man to the city of Guangyue Prefecture because they knew the prefect was clever and would definitely see through Jia Neiguan's corrupt schemes.
Thus, by using Lord Su's help, we can defeat our enemy here.
This matter is interconnected.
If Prefect Su only notices the problems with the account books, he could unwittingly become a tool for someone to seek revenge.
But the adult not only saw through the first layer, but also understood the clues of the second layer.
Su Qing's face did not show anger at being used as a tool to kill; instead, she calmly asked, "What can I gain?"
It's not impossible for it to become a knife.
The question is, what will she get?
Before the eunuch could state his terms, Su Qing said directly, "I want two things."
"First, we will not pay taxes to Jinling this year."
"Second, I want the right to manufacture weapons for the Guangyuefu."
"As long as you can do it."
"The corrupt official Jia will be brought to justice."
The first thing is easy to talk about.
The second thing?!
Weapon forging rights?!
Su Qing sighed deliberately: "War requires armor and weapons."
"Things bought outside are too expensive, I want to make them myself."
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