In the imperial court, Prime Minister Qin Ruhui let out a cold laugh.
When confronted by Empress Dowager Su Wan'er's questioning, he directly retorted.
At this time, Qin Ruhui, who held immense power in the court, was no longer the obsequious and cautious courtier he had been when facing the tyrannical Emperor Zhao Gan.
When faced with the puppet mother and son who held no real power in the Golden Palace but still dreamed of challenging him, Qin Ruhui, he unreservedly revealed everything he had previously deliberately concealed.
Qin Ruhui first accused the Second Emperor Zhao Gan of being ambitious and fond of grandiose projects, and of levying exorbitant taxes and levies.
Whether it was the construction of the Grand Canal, the order for the Daxin Navy to patrol the countries of the South China Sea, or the reconstruction of imperial tombs, which of these was not a waste of manpower and resources?
Then, the natural and man-made disasters that had plagued the Daxin Dynasty in recent years, including droughts and floods, were also attributed to Zhao Gan, the patriarch of Daxinbao.
It is said that Zhao Gan's tyranny angered the gods, resulting in the people having no harvest and making it difficult to distribute taxes across the country.
Following that, it was said that Emperor Zhao Gan personally led an expedition, completely emptying the treasury of the Great Xin Dynasty, which led to the current situation where the Ministry of Revenue could not even come up with the 12 million taels of silver for military pay.
Finally, Qin Ruhui said, "Your Majesty, Empress Dowager: If it weren't for the late Emperor's ambition and tyranny during his reign, the Great Xin Dynasty wouldn't have ended up in such a state."
"Ultimately, the empire of this new dynasty belongs to the Zhao family!"
"Therefore, the Emperor and Empress Dowager will have to find a way to raise these twelve million in military pay!"
call--
In one breath, Qin Ruhui vented all the anger he had suffered at the hands of Zhao Gan of the Fortress in previous years on the widowed and orphaned Emperor Lingwu and Empress Dowager Su Wan'er.
I have to say, the feeling of standing tall and proud in front of the entire court was fucking awesome!
After speaking, Qin Ruhui looked around the Golden Palace with a refreshed expression, waiting for Empress Dowager Su Wan'er's counterattack.
Wow--
Waaaaah!
Before Empress Dowager Su Wan'er could launch her counterattack, the young Emperor Zhao Lingwu's counterattack arrived first.
However, his retaliation, which made him cry loudly in fear of Qin Ruhui, seemed somewhat ridiculous in the eyes of the court officials.
"emperor--"
At this moment, Empress Dowager Su Wan'er, who had been listening to the government from behind a curtain, disregarded the court etiquette, lifted the curtain and came to the dragon throne, and hugged the wailing Zhao Lingwu to comfort him.
In this situation, the officials in the Golden Palace turned a blind eye and a deaf ear.
After a long while, Su Wan'er finally managed to soothe the crying young Emperor Zhao Lingwu.
Looking at the gloating courtiers in the main hall, Su Wan'er's icy face grew even colder, yet it also revealed endless sorrow and helplessness.
In the end, she could only say sullenly, "Prime Minister Qin, it's just twelve million taels of silver, isn't it?"
"I will do everything in my power, even if it means selling everything I own, to ensure that the soldiers on the front lines receive their pay and compensation. I will never let them feel disheartened!"
"Issue an imperial decree to inform Wu Sanjia that within ten days, the court will distribute the military pay and pension funds to the Tiger Warriors, so that Wu Sanjia will have no worries and can focus all his efforts on the Northern Expedition!"
"On the day the army returns victorious from the northern expedition, I will personally host a celebration banquet for Wu Sanjia and the Tiger Legion soldiers in the Imperial Palace in the capital!"
"Court adjourned!"
After saying that, Su Wan'er picked up the young Emperor Zhao Lingwu and left the Golden Palace without looking back.
After the Emperor and Empress Dowager left, Prime Minister Qin Ruhui's cronies immediately swarmed around them.
Minister of Revenue Luo Yuanji immediately gave Qin Ruhui a thumbs up and said, "Prime Minister Qin is wise. With just a few words, he silenced Empress Dowager Su and made her willingly pay the 1,200 taels of silver for her salary."
"This is enough to give Empress Dowager Su, the Imperial Brother-in-law Su Muchen, and the powerful families of Jiangnan who support them a run for their money!"
Hahaha!
As he spoke, his henchmen all burst into knowing laughter.
snort!
Qin Ruhui snorted coldly, his cunning and treacherous face revealing a sinister and sly expression, and said, "This twelve million taels is just the beginning."
"This Su Wan'er, with her son, hasn't even warmed her seat as Empress Dowager and Emperor yet, and she already dares to try to rival me by relying on the power of a few idle princes and aristocratic families in the Jiangnan region."
"That's simply overestimating themselves!"
After a pause, Qin Ruhui continued, "She really thinks that all the shady things she did behind the scenes were done without anyone knowing, and that the Red-Clad Guards I trained were all useless idiots!"
"Don't they even consider who put them on the throne and the position of Empress Dowager in the first place!"
snort--
Qin Ruhui's cronies wholeheartedly agreed with this.
Back then, after the death of the late Emperor Zhao Gan, the emperor thought that Empress Su, who was an orphan and a widow, would be easy to control, so he pushed her and her son to the positions of Empress Dowager and Emperor.
Who would have thought that Su Wan'er, who had tasted the power of being admired by thousands, would actually consider herself the Empress Dowager and secretly recruit soldiers in the Jiangnan region, preparing to go to the capital to defend the emperor at any time.
This is a case of using someone and then discarding them, eliminating the entire faction of the prime minister who put her on the throne as empress dowager!
When a conflict involving core interests arises, Prime Minister Qin Ruhui, who holds immense power, naturally rises up in resistance.
This political struggle is a matter of life or death.
Bleeding out the forces behind Su Wan'er was Qin Ruhui's first step.
"By the way, Prime Minister Qin!"
At this moment, Luo Yuanji, the Minister of Revenue, asked, "If the twelve million taels of silver raised by Empress Dowager Su reaches the Ministry of Revenue's treasury, will it still be distributed to Wu Sanjia and the Tiger Legion as six million taels of silver for military pay and pensions?"
Um?
Qin Ruhui raised an eyebrow and said, "Lord Luo, what are you talking about?"
"Six million taels of silver? Are the lives of Wu Sanjia and those Tiger Legion soldiers really worth that much?"
Then, he changed the subject, held up three fingers to Luo Yuanji, and said, "Just allocate three million taels of silver to Wu Sanjia!"
"You can't feed a hungry wolf like Wu Sanjia too much at once. If you feed him too much, he'll be harder to control later, understand?"
"Your humble servant will humbly follow Prime Minister Qin's instructions!"
......
Several days later.
Twenty li outside Zhuozhou City, in the Tiger Warrior Army camp.
Inside the central command tent, the mighty General Wu Sanjia was racking his brains for a strategy to defeat the enemy.
For days, the Longcheng army stationed in Zhuozhou has been holding the city and refusing to come out, no matter how much Wu Sanjia challenges them.
To avoid heavy casualties, Wu Sanjia dared not launch a rash attack on the city.
The two sides confronted each other outside Zhuozhou City.
"Report—"
"Reporting to the General, the military pay and pensions allocated by the imperial court have arrived!"
"But, there are only one million taels of silver!"
"What?"
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