Marquis Zhongyong once again led the army to go on an expedition. Before the army arrived in Youzhou, news of the civil unrest in Bingzhou was sent to the court.
Emperor Yongming was furious and summoned Duke Ding Feng Chuan into the palace. Duke Ding had 50,000 elite soldiers from the Iron Guard Battalion.
Duke Dingguo immediately handed over his hand and accepted the order: "I accept the order. Your Majesty, please rest assured. I will surely put down the civil unrest in the shortest possible time."
After a pause, he said in a deep voice: "There are 50,000 soldiers in the Iron Guard camp. The veteran can lead 20,000 soldiers, and another 30,000 soldiers will be left to defend the capital."
This statement was exactly what Emperor Yongming wanted. Emperor Yongming immediately raised his eyebrows and said, "Just as Duke Ding said, I will issue an order to order the Ministry of Household Affairs, the Ministry of War, and the Ministry of Industry to prepare war horses, food, grass, and luggage."
The Ministry of War and the Ministry of Industry are fine, but the Minister of Household Affairs is in dire straits.
When the army is dispatched, food and grass go first. The national treasury cannot support such continuous wars. In order to raise the military salary needed by Zhongyong Hou, the treasury has been emptied. Now the treasury is empty. Even if he gave birth to three heads and six arms, he could not turn it into silver.
The Secretary of the Ministry of Revenue entered the palace with a sad face, knelt down and apologized: "... I am incompetent, and I am not in charge of the Ministry of Households. Now there is really no money in the treasury. I resigned from office, and asked the emperor to choose another capable minister.
"
Emperor Yongming looked at each other angrily: "The Autumn Fu has just been put into the treasury, why is there no money left?"
The Minister of Household Affairs did not raise his head: "Reporting to the Emperor, this year Jizhou, Youzhou and Bingzhou were hit by drought, and Liangzhou was plagued by locusts. These four states did not pay taxes to the state treasury. The taxes paid by the other states and counties were also less than in previous years. The two princes of Zhongyong and Yonghou did not raise their heads.
Thirty percent was spent on dispatching a large army each time. The other 20 percent had to be reserved for officials to pay their salaries."
Where did the other 50% go?
The Minister of Household Affairs did not mention it, but of course Emperor Yongming knew that it was used to repair the imperial mausoleum and other courtyards. In addition, there were several palaces in the palace that also needed to be repaired. Money was needed everywhere!
It’s not that the Ministry of Hubu couldn’t move any money out. This was a tactful advice from the Minister of Hubu, hoping that Emperor Yongming would suspend the construction of the imperial mausoleum.
The Minister of Household Affairs waited for a while before the emperor spoke: "The civil unrest in Bingzhou must be quelled. You first take out all the 20% of the silver left in the treasury. I will personally tell the officials at the court meeting tomorrow that there will be no more peace this year."
The salary has been paid. When the spring tax arrives, we will make up for it together."
Shangshu of the Ministry of Finance: "..."
This foolish king!
Even now, they still refuse to stop building the imperial mausoleum and other courtyards. They actually want to use officials' salary and money.
The Minister of Hube was trembling and his face was red. He was just angry. If he didn't have any sense left, he would have stood up and cursed angrily.
Emperor Yongming waved his hand and signaled the Minister of Hubu to step back.
In the morning of the next day, Emperor Yongming indeed told all officials at the court meeting about the suspension of salaries.
The officials immediately exploded.
It has been more than two hundred years since the founding of the Jin Dynasty, and there have been more than a dozen emperors under the Yongming Emperor. This kind of thing has never happened before. Although most of them have rich families and do not rely on this salary to make ends meet. But once this incident sets a precedent, officials will be easily deducted from them in the future.
Salary.
Does the imperial court still need to be dignified, and the emperor still needs to be shameless?
Zhou Shangshu of the Ministry of Rites was the first to speak out against it. Immediately, all the ministers responded one after another.
Chen Dong, the Secretary of the Ministry of War, gave his honest advice: "I have something to say, and I won't be happy if I don't say it. Now the imperial court has to send troops to fight, recruit new soldiers, and buy war horses, and money is needed everywhere. Why doesn't the emperor stop building the imperial mausoleum? In this way, military pay will be available.
.You can also recruit many strong men as new soldiers. With both money and people, you can kill two birds with one stone."
As soon as he finished speaking, Emperor Yongming suddenly changed his expression. He actually stood up from the throne, pointed at Chen Dong and cursed: "You bastard! My grandfather and my father built the imperial mausoleum from the day he ascended the throne. Never before.
The ministers are making irresponsible remarks. How dare you have such thoughts when it comes to me! It is simply treason!"
"Come here, drag Chen Dong out and reward him with twenty imperial staffs."
All the ministers were shocked.
Duke Dingguo, who had always been heavy-handed, also frowned and immediately stepped forward: "Your Majesty, please calm down. Chen Shangshu is also worried, and it is inappropriate to speak in a hurry, but he is loyal to the country. Moreover, Chen Shangshu is a
A minister of the Ministry of Finance, a high-ranking official in the court, and a pillar of the country. How can you be so casually humiliated!"
As the number one figure in the army, Dingguo Gong's words certainly carry great weight.
The Minister of the Ministry of Personnel also immediately raised his hand and said: "I also implore the emperor to leave some dignity to Chen Shangshu."
If these thirty plans are really defeated, Chen Dong's position as Minister of War will be over. When the imperial court is in the middle of a war and looking for people, the position of Minister of the Ministry of War is so important. How can it be changed at will?
The upright Yushi Meng also stood up and spoke loudly: "Your Majesty, I think that what Chen Shangshu said is very reasonable. Your Majesty has a prosperous spring and Autumn period and a long life. It doesn't matter if you delay the construction of the imperial mausoleum for a few years. At present,
The most important thing is to quell civil unrest and stabilize the hearts and minds of the ruling and opposition parties."
"If there is insufficient food and pay, the army's combat power will weaken and it will suffer a defeat. When the Jin Dynasty is overthrown, what's the use of the emperor's imperial mausoleum?"
Emperor Yongming: "..."
This is equivalent to pointing at his nose and calling him a fool.
Emperor Yongming, who had already lost most of his anger, was really angry this time. He shouted angrily: "Come here, take Meng Xizhi out with fifty imperial staffs."
Meng Yushi showed no fear, straightened his back and said: "Even if I, Meng Xizhi, are beaten to death today, I will still remonstrate directly. There is civil unrest in Jizhou, and there is also chaos in Bingzhou. There are thirteen states in the Jin Dynasty, one hundred and ten
There are three counties and more than a thousand counties. I don’t know how many people have been displaced and starved to death in the wilderness. The emperor only cares about enjoying himself in the palace, so he should open his eyes and take a good look at the world of Jin Dynasty."
"If this continues, the Jin Dynasty will really fall."
Emperor Yongming was furious, the fat on his face was trembling, and a pair of narrow eyes shot out an angry cold light: "Murong Shen, use the imperial staff immediately."
Murong Shen responded and came in expressionlessly. Several tall and strong imperial guards behind him immediately rushed forward and twisted Meng Yushi's arm.
Censor Meng was not afraid at all: "You are not allowed to touch me, I will go out by myself. I, Meng Xi, know that I will remonstrate with my life today. As long as the emperor is willing to repent, my death is worth it."
…
"Something bad is going to happen!"
A chamberlain rushed into the upper study room with an anxious look on his face, and eagerly reported to the prince: "Your Highness, Yushi Meng made a big fuss in the court today, angering the emperor. The emperor ordered him to be escorted out of the Jinluan Palace with a royal staff..."
The prince's expression suddenly changed, and he immediately got up and went out.
Xu Jing went with him without thinking.
The remaining princes and princes looked at each other and quickly got up and chased after them.
Prince Xihe deliberately walked a few steps slowly and whispered to Prince Yingchuan: "This is going to be a big mess."
Prince Yingchuan raised a sneer on his lips and glanced at the hurried back of the prince in front of him.
The prince was sick and looked like a short-lived ghost. Emperor Yongming was fatuous and had the appearance of a fallen king. He was eager to kill the vassal king before he could sit firmly on the throne.
Chaos! Only complete chaos!
In this world, you won’t be able to tell who belongs to it from now on!
