The annual income of Chen Guo's treasury, excluding physical goods, was equivalent to only ten million taels of silver.
In a small Ezhou in the south of the Yangtze River, the emperor was deceived and officials and businessmen colluded to murder the imperial officials... During a test, the tax money and stolen goods were recovered, equivalent to more than 5 million taels, accounting for half of the national treasury!
He had known for a long time that there was a problem in Jiangnan, but he did not know that there was such a big deal. Jiangnan officials were so arrogant. It was not because they were supported by these people in the court. The source of the chaos in Jiangnan was not in Jiangnan, but in the Golden Palace.
These people eat the salary of the imperial court, but separate the imperial court from Jiangnan. They only care about their own interests and become the worms of the imperial court. Without the three million taels of silver, he can still turn a blind eye to the actions of these people.
Eyes, there is only disgust at this moment.
Chen Huang looked down calmly and said: "I asked him to go to Jiangnan, and I also gave him the sword Shangfang. Seeing the sword is like seeing the king. Why, if he can't deal with the Ezhou officials, can I not deal with him?"
Li Ke said sternly: "Even if he has Shang Fang's sword, it is not the reason for him to act recklessly in the south of the Yangtze River. Tang Ning relied on His Majesty's trust to cause trouble to the place and make the people of Ezhou miserable. Isn't it an added crime?"
The supervisory censor said: "Your Majesty, the Ministry of Civil Affairs is taking exams, and the Censorship Station sent people to accompany them. This was originally to supervise the officials of the Ministry of Civil Affairs. However, as soon as Tangning arrived in Jiangnan, he acted arbitrarily and deported the censor Zhongcheng. Isn't this right?
Does it mean there is something wrong with him?"
"Your Majesty, Tangning must be recalled!"
"I second the proposal!"
"I second the proposal!"
…
After Li Ke spoke to the censor and supervisor, the officials from the Jiangnan faction who stood up began to speak in unison, until a figure stood up and everyone closed their mouths at the same time.
Prime Minister Feng came out, bowed and said: "Shang Fang's sword is extraordinary. This is a big deal. Since the founding of the Chen Dynasty, there has never been a precedent for giving it to a minister. No matter how much your Majesty favors and trusts his ministers, he cannot set a precedent...
…If someone uses the power of the sword to cause harm to the place, wouldn’t it also undermine His Majesty’s majesty?”
Emperor Chen looked at him and asked, "Where did Prime Minister Feng hear that Tang Ning used the Shang Fang sword I gave him to harm the place?"
"Your Majesty gave him the Shang Fang Sword, which is the ultimate expression of a king's favor and trust in his ministers." Feng Xiang did not answer the question, but instead said: "But as a king, no matter what, you cannot favor only one person. Qin II only favored Zhao Gao, and Great Qin
It led to the destruction of the country. Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty favored Concubine Yang, and the Tang Dynasty turned from prosperity to decline... There are countless examples in ancient times that caused great disasters because of kings' exclusive favors. Do you want your Majesty to follow in the footsteps of those monarchs?"
Prime Minister Feng's words were already a very stern admonishment for the king. Although he did not say it explicitly, everyone could understand the meaning behind his words.
If Your Majesty recalls Tang Ning, he will be a wise king who knows his mistakes and can correct them. If he is stubborn, he will be no different from the foolish kings in history.
Above the court, only Prime Minister Feng can say this and dares to say this.
All the officials lowered their heads and slowed down their breathing. In the past, when encountering this situation, His Majesty had to have a big quarrel with Prime Minister Feng in the court. When gods fight, they little devils will avoid it if they can, and hide if they can.
.
But this time, they waited for a long time, but did not wait for His Majesty to get angry. Some people had quietly looked up.
The expression on Chen Huang's face was very calm and he asked: "Does Prime Minister Feng mean that I am a foolish king?"
"I don't dare." Feng Xiang bowed and said, "It's just that I'm old and frail, and I've always been unable to deal with court affairs recently. Since your Majesty has already found a capable minister, I would like to ask your Majesty to allow me to return home after serving.
…”
Everyone could hear that Prime Minister Feng was speaking sarcastically, and that he was forcing His Majesty to choose between him and Tang Ning.
This is also Prime Minister Feng's trick that has been tried and tested many times. Even when other ministers are old, His Majesty has to keep them again, let alone the right minister of the government?
Whenever Prime Minister Feng used this move, even if His Majesty did not yield, he would always give in.
They secretly looked at Chen Huang and found that he was standing there stunned, with an expression on his face - was this an expression of surprise on His Majesty's face?
After yesterday, Chen Huang's dissatisfaction and disgust with Jiangnan officials reached its peak.
As for the officials in Jiangnan, most of them were headed by Prime Minister Feng. It was precisely because of Prime Minister Feng's existence that some of his decrees for Jiangnan could not be implemented at all.
But no matter how dissatisfied he was with Prime Minister Feng, he could not remove him. This was a power he had but could not exercise casually.
Under such circumstances, what Feng Xiang said just now was exactly what he wanted and spoke to his heart.
He suppressed the joy in his heart, thought for a moment, nodded and said: "Prime Minister Feng has worked hard for the country all his life, so he deserves a good rest. I agree with your request."
Prime Minister Feng raised his head suddenly, not caring about the etiquette of monarchs and ministers, and looked at Emperor Chen in disbelief.
It shouldn't be like this, things definitely shouldn't be like this. Resigning is just a bargaining chip for him, a bargaining chip for him to force His Majesty to make concessions. How could His Majesty agree to it? How could he agree to it!
He opened his mouth, but there seemed to be a ball of cotton stuck in his throat, and he couldn't speak.
It was not only Prime Minister Feng who was shocked, but also all the courtiers in the palace.
After Emperor Chen finished speaking, a shocking uproar broke out in the court hall.
"His Majesty!"
"Your Majesty, you must not do this!"
"I beg your Majesty to take back your order!"
"Does Your Majesty really want to cause chaos in the imperial court and destroy the country for the sake of a sycophant?"
…
This time, not only the officials of the Jiangnan faction were kneeling, but almost half of the courtiers in the palace were kneeling.
Resigning the Prime Minister is a big deal. Although Prime Minister Feng asked for his resignation, everyone knows that this was not Prime Minister Feng’s original intention!
The two prime ministers are like the two pillars of the court. If one of them falls, how can the court be stable?
The officials can ignore the affairs in Jiangnan and watch the excitement, but if His Majesty wants to remove him from office, they must not stand aside and watch!
"Nie Chen?" Chen Huang looked at them, smiled, and asked: "Do you know what those local officials in Ezhou have done?"
After he spoke, the hall immediately fell silent.
Emperor Chen looked at them and asked, "They colluded with officials and businessmen to embezzle the imperial tax money. Do you know how much tax money Tang Ning recovered from Ezhou this time?"
"Five million taels, a total of five million taels!"
Chen Huang raised his voice, looked at the person standing in front of the court, and said, "Qian Shuo!"
Qian Shuo, the Minister of Household Affairs, stepped forward and said, "I am here."
Emperor Chen looked at him and asked, "Tell them, how much tax money was collected by the state treasury last year?"
Qian Shuo thought for a while and said: "Go back to Your Majesty and set the amount for one year, and put the money into the treasury, which is equivalent to about ten million taels of silver."
"Did you hear that?" Chen Huang looked at the officials and said sternly: "Ten million taels. The national treasury's annual tax money is only ten million taels. A small Ezhou has half of the national treasury..., you guys
Everyone knows that after asking for money from me, I will be the poorest after a long time!"
Emperor Chen's voice was almost a roar, and all the officials were silent.
"Do you think this is the end?" Chen Huang walked up to the top, took out a thick envelope, threw it in Li Kegui Shizhong's face, and cursed: "This is the book of the people written by the people of Ezhou.
Count down the dozens of crimes committed by Ezhou officials and tell me who is causing trouble in this place?"
Li Kegui's face turned pale, his body trembled, he knelt on the ground, and did not dare to speak.
Chen Huang smashed another envelope on the face of the supervisory censor, and said solemnly: "Two years ago, Zheng censor went to Ezhou to investigate the mining tax, but died due to acclimatization. You should still remember it, right?
?”
Before he could answer, Chen Huang snorted coldly and said: "Of course you remember, you should remember, because it was you who took his place!"
He looked at the ministers and raised his voice a few pitches again, "He is the sycophant you call him. He recovered five million taels of tax silver for the imperial court. He redressed the grievances of the people of Ezhou and made the decision. He found out who died two years ago.
The supervisory censor of Ezhou did not die of illness, but was murdered by Ezhou officials!"
His Majesty was obviously angry. The officials kneeling on the ground lowered their heads and did not dare to say a word.
Chen Huang walked up again. While all the officials were bowing their heads and no one was paying attention, he secretly opened Tang Ning's envelope and looked at it. He closed it again, walked back down, and said sternly: "I once thought that
The enemies of Chen State are in the grasslands, in the Western Regions... Now it is becoming more and more clear to me that the enemies of Chen State are not in the north or in the west, but in the imperial court and above the Golden Palace!"
"Criticizing loyalties as traitors, sheltering criminals, forming cliques for personal gain, and forcing the emperor to do so in the Golden Palace... none of them were done by you. You just told me about Zhao Gao. Tell me, what is the difference between you and that Zhao Gao!"
"When you were fighting in the capital's den, the sycophant you called him was collecting taxes and money for me and redressing the grievances of the people. When you stood here and accused him, didn't you feel a little ashamed in your heart?"
"I am very sad, I am very disappointed in you!" Chen Huang glanced at everyone again, sighed, and said: "Kneel down for me, kneel for half an hour, kneel here, touch your conscience, and give me
Think about it..."
After that, he walked straight out of the hall. Seeing this, Wei Jian hurriedly walked down and followed him closely.
Emperor Chen's face was as dark as water. He left the main hall and walked through two long corridors. When he reached a deserted place, he stopped. The anger on his face was no longer there. He looked up to the sky and roared: "Happy!"
