With his eyes fixed on the official documents from the Ministry of Industry, Li Chen raised his hand to hold the tea cup.
The temperature was just right, and the tea I used was my favorite Dahongpao.
Li Chen and Wan Jiaojiao have become more and more compatible with each other.
"Go and call Guan Zhiwei."
After reading the official document, Li Chen did not approve it, but asked Wan Jiaojiao to pass it on.
Wan Jiaojiao immediately got up and gave instructions. Naturally, there was no need for her to go to the Ministry of Works. There were people outside who were responsible for running errands and delivering messages.
A quarter of an hour later, Guan Zhiwei arrived in a hurry.
"Who drafted this official plan?"
Before Guan Zhiwei finished his salute, Li Chen asked him a question.
"It was drafted by several chief officials of the Ministry of Industry, and jointly determined by Wei Chen and two other adults." Guan Zhiwei answered cautiously.
"Take it back and rewrite it."
What came over right after Li Chen's words was the official document that was thrown over.
The official document hit Guan Zhiwei's official hat, and he did not dare to resist. He hurriedly straightened his hat, picked up the official document, and asked carefully: "Your Highness, is there anything inappropriate? Wei Chen will correct it immediately when he gets back."
"What's inappropriate? Nothing is appropriate."
Li Chen took another sip of tea and said angrily: "In order to welcome my wedding, you repaired the East Palace, which easily cost 2.6 million taels of silver. How dare you write about this?"
"Is this East Palace dilapidated or uninhabitable? Does it cost so much money to repair it?"
Guan Zhiwei said quickly: "Your Highness, the East Palace was last renovated in the sixth year of the late Emperor Zhenglong's reign when His Majesty was the Crown Prince. At that time, a total of 2.8 million taels of silver was used. Now more than twenty years have passed.
It’s time for repairs and repairs. We have calculated the money and it is not too much..."
"Guan Zhiwei, do you no longer want the hat on your head, or the head on your neck?"
Li Chen scolded him with a straight face: "During the Zhenglong period of the late emperor, the country was rich and powerful, and the treasury was full. Spending a little money was nothing, and the East Palace was already in dilapidated condition at that time. It was the late emperor who couldn't stand it any longer and advocated repairing it. Even so,
My father is still reducing the budget again and again."
"But what's the situation now? The people are in dire straits, and the country needs money everywhere. The Yangzhou prefect sent a memorial the day before yesterday, begging the court to allocate 500,000 taels of silver to purchase equipment and seeds for spring plowing. This is a major event to restore people's livelihood, but even if
In this way, the household department scraped together here and there, and finally managed to collect 400,000 taels and send it over."
"The common people are still standing in the deserted fields with no seeds for spring plowing, but I spent more than two million taels to build the East Palace. I don't dare to live in this East Palace. You people from the Ministry of Industry are so arrogant, so let you come
live."
Guan Zhiwei immediately realized that the prince was really angry. He quickly admitted his mistake and said: "Wei Chen knows that he was wrong. His Highness had good intentions, but Wei Chen could not notice it. It is Wei Chen's fault. Please forgive me."
"The East Palace does not need to be repaired, but I am about to get married. The main palace where the Crown Princess lives has not been inhabited for a long time. Some of the decorations are indeed outdated. You can go back and prepare another official document. The budget cannot exceed one hundred thousand taels."
One hundred thousand taels is an astronomical figure to the common people, but for a building like the East Palace, it is simply a drop in the bucket. Even an ordinary wealthy and wealthy family needs more than this amount to build a yard.
Although he felt embarrassed, Guan Zhiwei did not complain at all. He knelt on the ground sincerely and said: "Your Highness is so considerate of the people's sufferings. It is really a blessing to the imperial court and a blessing to all people. I admire you!"
