In the Manlu Palace, Zhao Shangshu, who was dressed in crimson official uniform, saluted the Emperor, received a seat from the Emperor, and sat opposite His Majesty the Emperor.
The young emperor looked at the Minister of the Ministry of Finance, who was no longer young, and said with some emotion: "Qing Zhao has had more and more gray hair in recent years."
Zhao Changping was one of the youngest Six Ministers in the imperial court. At that time, Liu Jizhang, the Minister of Household Affairs, was old, and he, a minister in his forties, was in charge of the entire household department. The other right minister was suppressed by him.
He was out of breath and almost became a subordinate, so high-spirited.
But now, Zhao Changping is already in his fifties.
Although at this age, the political life of a second-rank official is still very long, Zhao Changping's worrying character and presiding over the household department in these years have indeed made him gain a lot of gray hair.
Hearing the emperor's caring words, Zhao Changping lowered his head slightly and said with a smile: "I am getting older, and your Majesty is gradually growing up. Seeing that your majesty is becoming more and more heroic and calm, I am very happy in my heart."
Although this sentence is a bit sensational, it is sincere. The emperor has been on the throne for eight years now. When he first ascended the throne, he was only ten years old and still a child. Zhao Changping's generation of ministers can be said to have watched him.
It grows little by little.
His Majesty the Emperor was just sentimental for a while, and then quickly remembered the business. He waved to Gao Ming, and motioned Gao Ming to send the documents Du Huai had sent back to Zhao Shangshu. Gao Ming understood and held the memorial in front of Zhao Changping.
The emperor said slowly: "This is a report just sent back from Taizhou Mansion by the palace servants. It records some of Shen Yi's requests from the court. Zhao Qing is both the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue and Shen Yi's teacher. Therefore, I
Please invite Zhao Qing to come over and discuss this matter."
Zhao Changping stood up and took the memorial with both hands. After unfolding it, he read almost ten lines at a glance and quickly read the entire memorial. The more he read, the deeper his frown deepened.
By the time he finished reading a memorial, he was already frowning. The minister of household affairs looked up at the emperor and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, Shen Yi said that he wanted to build shipyards and firearms along the coast. Where will this expense come from?
The Ministry of Accounts has not seen this account..."
After a pause, he continued: "If it is to build a big ship, it seems that His Majesty's internal funds cannot afford it..."
After hearing his words, the little emperor's expression immediately became a little embarrassed.
Because of this, there is a procedural problem.
According to the rules of the imperial court, if the stolen property is confiscated by the imperial court, it should be transferred to the state treasury, that is, it should be transferred to the Ministry of Household Affairs. Even if it is not transferred to the Ministry of household affairs and is included in the private treasury of the inner court, it should still be reported to the Ministry of household affairs.
Now, the emperor asked Li and Chen to go south to patrol the sea and spend the seized property on the spot, skipping the Ministry of Household Affairs.
This is very inconsistent with court procedures.
His Majesty the Emperor coughed and touched his nose awkwardly.
"This...didn't Shen Yi tell Zhao Qing before leaving Beijing?"
Zhao Changping shook his head and said: "Your Majesty, although I have a good personal relationship with Shen Qi, and he calls me uncle in private, the personal relationship does not involve official matters. On weekdays, I only talk to him about some academic matters and have nothing to do with official matters."
"Before he left Beijing, he did go to the minister's house to say goodbye, but he only said that he was ordered to go south on errands, and did not say what errands he was doing."
What Zhao Shangshu said was a bit of a lie, because he, Shen Yi, and even the officials from Ganquan Academy were political allies in a certain sense.
There are many things that he cannot possibly not know.
But now, when I say these words, it does feel a bit selfless, and I am standing on the moral high ground.
The little emperor frowned slightly. After thinking carefully for a while, he decided to tell the truth, so His Majesty the Emperor sighed and said: "Zhao Qing is in charge of the Ministry of Household Affairs and may not be very clear about many maritime affairs. In the past twenty years, The Japanese pirates along the coast are becoming more and more rampant, killing and injuring countless of my people. I am determined to clean up the Japanese pirates along the coast and return a peaceful world to the people of the coastal states."
"The bandits along the coast move quickly, so I have to fight quickly. Many things can only be done urgently. Zhao Qing also knows that my cousin discovered the Wang family in Taizhou Prefecture, who was involved in the Japanese, so I allowed them to use them on the spot. Use stolen property to build an anti-Japanese army."
The Wang family's Japanese affair caused a stir in the court. Before the evidence of the crime was confirmed, many civil servants wrote to the Wang family to defend themselves. Zhao Changping naturally knew about this matter.
It's just that he is selectively ignorant at the moment.
At this moment, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue lowered his head slightly and said: "I see, then I will have no problem."
Seeing that he did not pursue this matter fiercely, His Majesty the Emperor was relieved.
After all, he is young and cannot have enough control over the court. If Hubu really takes this matter as an excuse and accuses him of acting nonsense, then he, the emperor, will really have to face a lot of pressure.
After all, he has a mother on his head, and the words of the Queen Mother are more important than the emperor.
After the emperor breathed a sigh of relief, he suddenly came back to his senses and asked Zhao Changping why he came over.
He couldn't help but sigh secretly in his heart.
None of these important ministers in the court were easy to get along with. For example, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, with just a few words, he, the emperor, fell into his rhythm.
After the emperor calmed down for a while, he collected his thoughts and then said slowly: "Zhao Qing, I came to you today to ask you what you think of Shen Yi's request?"
Zhao Changping stood up directly, raised his hands to the emperor, and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, there is no need to even think about such a thing!"
"Shipbuilding is a matter of the Ministry of Industry, and firearms is a matter of the Arsenal Department of the Ministry of War. No matter what, it has nothing to do with the News Department!"
"Besides, His Majesty sent Crown Prince Jin as an imperial envoy to patrol the sea south, and Shen Qi just accompanied him along the way. If he wanted something, it would have been Crown Prince Jin who sent a letter to His Majesty asking for something. What does Shen Qi have to do with him?"
Zhao Shangshu looked grim and said in a deep voice: "These two demands are unreasonable and illegal. They are really nonsense. I ask your Majesty to ignore them..."
"Shen Ziheng was selected as a Jinshi last year, and this year he went south on a business trip. Before that, he only read a few more books and knew nothing about practical matters. I would like to ask your Majesty to issue an order to him. If possible..."
"Please transfer him back to Jiankang. He will first train in the Di Reporting Department for a few years before sending him out to work!"
"I don't know anything about reality..."
The emperor repeated this sentence, then looked at Zhao Changping and said silently: "But not long ago, Shen Yi created a new weapon in Taizhou Prefecture, and then led less than 200 new anti-Japanese soldiers to severely injure the Japanese bandits. Killed nearly a hundred enemies."
He looked at Zhao Changping and asked: "Is this also called ignorance of practical matters?"
Zhao Shangshu said firmly: "Your Majesty, if there is no evidence, one thing cannot explain anything. It may be just a fluke."
He bowed to the emperor and said: "In any case, firearms and ordnance cannot be handed over to the local government. If ship artillery is needed to fight against Japanese aggression along the coast, it can be handed over to the Ministry of Industry and War for supervision and then delivered to the local government. As Shen Qi said, it must not be left to the local government. The Ministry of War sends people to the place!"
The emperor touched his chin, which already had some soft beard, and thought thoughtfully: "Why is Zhao Qing so resistant to his descendants?"
"This is official business."
Zhao Changping looked serious: "It has nothing to do with private matters."
"Even if it is a private discussion, I will write a letter to Shen Qi in private and denounce him!"