In the Wenhua Hall, because the skylight is equipped with glass, the light is quite good, and there is no need to light candles or the like.
There were only three people in the hall: Emperor Chongzhen, the chief minister of the cabinet Wen Tiren, and the new Xingguo Duke Zhong Jinwei. Among them, Wen Tiren and Zhong Jinwei were given seats, sitting on the left and right sides in front of Emperor Chongzhen respectively.
After the three people were in place, Emperor Chongzhen glanced at Wen Tiren and saw that Wen Tiren was also looking at him. He nodded slightly in understanding, and then said to Zhong Jinwei: "Master Zhong, there is no need to hide things from you. Wen Qing and I are both here.
A reward for the soldiers who conquered the Liao Dynasty."
The reward of about 10,000 soldiers really stumped the imperial court. If the soldiers were rewarded less for such a feat of destroying the country, it would definitely chill the hearts of the soldiers and thus affect the morale of the army.
If there were too many, the court would not be able to spend that much money. Emperor Chongzhen wanted to directly print Jiusi Bao banknotes to deal with it, but this would affect the court's credibility and he did not dare to do it!
When Emperor Chongzhen saw that Zhong Jinwei heard this, he frowned and quickly explained: "Master Zhong, it's not that the court is reluctant to reward, but that the money in the treasury has been used for specific purposes and there is not that much extra money. Speaking of which, this is still necessary.
It’s your fault, Master Zhong.”
"Ah, me?" Upon hearing this, Zhong Jinwei couldn't help but point his finger at himself and asked in surprise.
Emperor Chongzhen smiled and said: "No one expected that Master Zhong would kill Jianlu in one battle, and no money was reserved for the aftermath. Do you think you are to blame?"
When Zhong Jinwei heard that Emperor Chongzhen was joking with him, he couldn't help but laugh.
At this time, Wen Tiren explained to Zhong Jinwei: "Zhongxing... Xingguogong, in Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas, a tsunami suddenly hit a while ago, seawater poured in, and countless fertile fields were submerged. In addition, last year's hurricane had a great impact, and the remaining money in the treasury was
A large part of it has been allocated to disaster relief. There is still some money in the treasury, but it is reserved for building large supply points."
"Nothing left?" Zhong Jinwei asked in surprise after hearing this.
When Emperor Chongzhen heard Zhong Jinwei's rhetorical question, he first explained: "Yes, there is still a part, but it is not enough to reward the country's destruction."
"At the beginning of next month, the state-owned enterprises will hand over a sum of money to the state treasury, which will provide some relief. But it is only the beginning of the month, and if the court delays the reward for a long time, I am afraid the soldiers will complain." Wen Tiren also added.
When Zhong Jinwei heard this, he sighed and said, "This money is really not enough!"
Emperor Chongzhen and Wen Tiren resonated in their hearts after hearing this. If the treasury had so much money a few years ago, they would laugh out loud in their dreams.
But now compared to before, the money in the national treasury has increased many times, but unexpectedly it is still not enough.
Not to mention droughts in Gansu, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan and other places, there are also floods in the south, which torture the Ming Dynasty almost every year. Fortunately, with money, the disaster relief efforts in these places are relatively large. Otherwise, according to the previous
Judging from the state of the treasury, the people in these places are either starving to death or becoming bandits.
There is also a large amount of military expenditures in Liaodong, Southwest and other places during the Ming Dynasty. But now it is better, at least the burden on Liaodong will gradually decrease in the future. Although the southwest seems to be fine now, it is actually an unstable factor.
, sooner or later you have to pay a price to deal with him.
Emperor Chongzhen was thinking about it and suddenly shook his head. He couldn't think about it anymore. If he continued to think about it, he would feel heavy again.
"Do you have any other questions?" Zhong Jinwei asked Wen Tiren after he finished expressing his emotion.
Emperor Chongzhen had always paid attention to Zhong Jinwei. When he saw that Zhong Jinwei was just sighing and not showing any worry, he immediately felt happy. Based on his understanding of Zhong Jinwei, he knew that Zhong Jinwei must have an idea in his mind.
Not only Emperor Chongzhen discovered it, but Wen Tiren also discovered it. As soon as he heard Zhong Jinwei's words, he thought for a moment and then said: "Yesterday, His Majesty just showed the official the memorial of Dongchang investigating the prices of oil, salt, sauce and vinegar in various places. In addition to salt,
In addition to the price, everything has risen to varying degrees. Among them, the price of rice is the most severe."
When Zhong Jinwei heard this, he frowned. If the price of rice in various places is rising, it means that the stock of rice is limited and the supply and demand are tight. This is the reason for this. This food is the most important in any dynasty. If there is no food, the foundation of the dynasty will be
It will be shaken, even if you have money, it will be useless.
Looking at Zhong Jinwei's appearance, Emperor Chongzhen and Wen Tiren were relieved again. It seemed that Zhong Jinwei was not omnipotent and was stumped by the food problem.
After a while, Zhong Jinwei, who had just lowered his head in thought, raised his head again, looked at Emperor Chongzhen and said, "Your Majesty, are there any other problems currently?"
Indeed, Emperor Chongzhen immediately introduced: "Liaodong has been restored, and I have received many memorials recommending people to serve as officials at all levels in Liaodong."
The officials at all levels mentioned by Emperor Chongzhen are naturally those with higher levels. Because of the lower levels, the direct staff can make arrangements based on the assessment rankings of the alternate officials. Of course, the list will eventually be sent to Emperor Chongzhen for review.
form.
Zhong Jinwei waited for a while, but saw no complaints from Emperor Chongzhen or Wen Tiren. Based on the current situation, after thinking about it for a while, he was confident and could use it as he saw it.
Just as he was about to say something, the sound of a bell suddenly sounded outside the palace. Zhong Jinwei didn't know what it meant and couldn't help but look outside the palace.
At this time, Emperor Chongzhen spoke loudly: "It turns out that the sky has darkened, and time flies so fast. It's time for dinner. My dears, how about we chat while we eat?"
It turned out that after the last physical examination, Emperor Chongzhen was worried about the health of his ministers, so he asked the servants to ring the bell when it was time to eat. In this way, he would not disturb the proceedings in the palace, but also remind him in time that it was time to eat.
Zhong Jinwei had traveled for such a long time, and it was a lot of trouble to get back to the capital. He just took advantage of the break for lunch and had some pastries. At this time, his stomach was already hungry. Originally, he wanted to endure it and finish talking early.
Go home quickly and see your wife and son.
But now the matter has not been finished, and it is a very important matter. Obviously, it is impossible to go home immediately. Therefore, Zhong Jinwei is not polite to Emperor Chongzhen, and continues to uphold his previous style and enjoy the meal.
When the meal was halfway through, there was already food in his stomach. Emperor Chongzhen couldn't bear it anymore and asked Zhong Jinwei, who was still eating and drinking: "Master Zhong, do you have any solution to what you just said?"
?”
The boss asked, but Zhong Jinwei had to stop even if he still wanted to eat. He put down his chopsticks and swallowed the lion's head in his mouth. This was specially made for him by Emperor Chongzhen, because he knew that Zhong Jinwei loved to eat the braised lion's head.
"Your Majesty, you do have some ideas. If they can be implemented, these problems should be solved." Zhong Jinwei answered Emperor Chongzhen with a smile.
When Wen Tiren heard this, he stopped eating and wiped his mouth to listen to Zhong Jinwei's words.
"Master Zhong, tell me quickly!" Emperor Chongzhen couldn't wait to know what Zhong Jinwei had in mind.