should.
With humans accompanying her during the meal, Murong Yue actually felt that her appetite was even better.
Turning to look at Ah Hao, she pointed to a plate of dried shrimp and winter melon stew, "This, another one..."
one two three.
She silently counted on her fingers, "Three more servings, please."
"Your Majesty, this..." A-Hao didn't speak, and Murong Anle was startled. "I have already finished eating."
It means, Your Majesty, I'm almost full.
Please don't add any more dishes.
Ah Hao smiled and bowed to Murong Anle, "My lord, please enjoy your meal. His Majesty added these dishes for himself."
The dishes served in the imperial kitchen were all served in small portions.
Although it was a bit exaggerated for His Majesty, a woman, to eat so much at once, she thought it was a good thing.
Your Majesty should eat well and sleep well.
This is the only way to better handle political affairs.
Murong Anle touched her nose and secretly glanced at Murong Yue, afraid that Murong Yue would misunderstand.
Your Majesty surely doesn't think I'm complaining that you eat too much...
Murong Yue showed no displeasure. After thinking for a moment, he quickly took his leave.
The next day was the grand court assembly.
Murong Yue rarely thought of anything, and while building a snowman with Ahao in the courtyard of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, she asked, "At the Grand Court Assembly, who can we beat up?"
After pondering Murong Yue's meaning, Ahao replied, "You are His Majesty, so naturally you can beat up whomever you want, and it would be best to beat up everyone."
His Majesty will not actually beat people; His Majesty means to listen to their complaints.
Your Majesty is quite interesting.
"good."
Murong Yue rubbed her hands together, eager to get started, and fitted the snowman with two pieces of silver charcoal for eyes.
I didn't want to go back to rest after playing so much.
Ah Hao tried to persuade him twice but couldn't. Then, with a quick glance around, she went back into the house and came out with a wooden box. "Your Majesty, here's something fun for you to see."
Murong Yue was coaxed back into the house.
Opening the box, inside was a small gray creature, somewhat resembling a mouse, but much cuter.
The little creature squinted its eyes, feeling a bit cold, and shrank back.
"Huh? What's this?"
Murong Yue tilted her head and looked at it, then reached out and poked the hedgehog; it was a little prickly.
It looks like it's inedible.
But it's so small, and there's not much meat, so it's not worth eating.
Ah Hao carefully pulled out the little hedgehog. "Your Majesty, do you still remember the little hedgehog you fed when you were little?"
"Hedgehogs all look pretty much the same, and this one is very cute."
They do look kind of cute. "Where...where did you catch them?"
"It was Lord Qi who found it, but he didn't have the heart to take care of it, so he entrusted it to this servant to look after."
"Oh, they are yours, children."
Murong Yue had her own understanding of this situation.
In her world, humans love to pick up small things and take them home, cats, dogs, chicks, and ducklings, raising them as their own children.
Survival is difficult, and such companionship can make people feel that life is meaningful.
Ah Hao was stunned by His Majesty's thought process, blushing and muttering to herself, not knowing what to say.
How could this be her and Lord Qi's child?
No, she and Lord Qi could never have a child!
"His Majesty..."
Ah Hao decided that she would never talk to Qi Yuan again.
The next day was the grand court assembly. Li Xuanji wanted Murong Yue to attend court on time, but unfortunately, Murong Yue didn't set off until Chenshi (7-9 AM).
Apart from the six ministries and the prime minister, it was the first time for other officials to attend court at Chenshi (7-9 AM). It was so late, they were really not used to it.
“I think it’s not bad. We only have two grand court assemblies a month, so getting up early is fine, but the ministers and prime ministers have to attend court assemblies every day.”
"Adults work so hard getting up early every day, their bodies can't take it."
"His Majesty is a benevolent ruler."
A fourth-rank official from the Ministry of Personnel sighed.
Minister of Works Li Daoyun turned to look at Minister of Personnel Zhang Yuqing, "As expected of someone from your Ministry of Personnel, you've really praised everyone with those words."
"Lord Zhang, please teach me! How did you cultivate such an outstanding subordinate?"
Others might think Li Daoyun was a hermaphrodite, but only Zhang Yuqing knew that this fool was sincere.
But how could he possibly pay attention to Li Daoyun's words? He snorted and changed the subject, "What? Why is Lord Li learning this?"
"The position of Prefect of Suizhou is currently vacant. Would you like to consider it, Lord Li?"
Li Daoyun was tongue-tied, so he quickly turned his head to look at the ground and stopped talking.
However, Li Daoyun couldn't stay still, so he raised his hand and nudged Jiang Feng, the Minister of Revenue, who was standing next to him.
"Lord Jiang, when will our annuities be paid?"
The annuity was established by the retired emperor Murong Gan as a reward for officials of all ranks and performance, and was distributed at the end of the year.
It's mostly silver.
For high-ranking officials, this amount of money is insignificant; it is an endorsement from His Majesty.
For minor officials, this amount of silver might be more than a month's allowance, enough to have a prosperous New Year.
More importantly, these reward details would be published in the official gazette, so no one could embezzle or cheat from them.
This unprecedented move impressed everyone at the time.
After all, Murong Gan, who proposed this idea, was only ten years old at the time.
At that time, there was no concept of small court assemblies and large court assemblies. When there was something to discuss, the relevant officials would be summoned to the Hall of Diligent Governance for a meeting.
The late emperor was in poor health but eager to establish an heir, so he kept all the princes by his side to participate in political discussions.
At that time, Murong Gan was ten years old and had been attending school for four years. He ranked fourteenth among the princes.
They were also allowed to sit in on political affairs.
The late emperor asked him, "Do you know how much silver this decree requires?"
Li Daoyun will always remember that day. At that time, he was just a minor official of the sixth rank. Ten-year-old Murong Gan stood with his hands behind his back, speaking eloquently in the Hall of Diligent Governance.
"Your Majesty, I understand."
"Our Qing Kingdom has a population of over 40 million, and there are 33,040 officials of the ninth rank or above. If each person receives an average annual pension of ten taels of silver, the total amount would be approximately 340,000 taels of silver."
The ten-year-old Murong Gan was able to accurately describe the situation in the Qing Kingdom, which greatly shocked the late emperor.
Then, getting excited, he asked in front of everyone, "Where will the 340,000 taels of silver come from? You know, every penny of silver from the Ministry of Revenue has a purpose."
this...
The ministers present were all deep in thought. Let alone 300,000 taels, even 30,000 taels would be difficult to obtain.
There was no other way; Daqing was a weak nation.
The other princes watched with amusement, thinking, "That fourteenth prince, humph!"
Want to show off in front of the Emperor? Now look what you've done, you've become a laughing stock.
Murong Gan stepped forward and bowed. “Father, our Qing Kingdom is located in the Central Plains. It has mountains, plains and sea, and a suitable climate. Although it has been surrounded by powerful foreign forces in recent years, it has also been able to recuperate.”
"But the imperial court still has no money."
"That's because the money all went into the pockets of the landowners and gentry."
"They own vast amounts of land, yet pay very little tax. If this land were state-owned or privately owned, and taxes were paid normally, the national treasury would have at least tens of millions of taels of silver annually."
"But there isn't any now."
"Therefore, my method of obtaining silver is to limit the amount of land that the gentry can own."
"The excess portion is subject to normal taxation."
Ten million taels?
Are there that many?
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