The emperor unfolded the note in his hand and saw what was written on it, "Qian Huichun committed suicide on July 28, 1969. Near the lower reaches of Hangtianfu on the Tianya River, there are signs of water leakage in the embankment.
I hope the imperial court will allocate money for repairs as soon as possible and distribute disaster relief money."
The emperor's heart sank, and when he looked down, it turned out to be Hu Maoshen.
Judging from the date signed on the note, this matter was reported several days ago, but the news about Gu Chengyu arrived one day earlier than Hu Maoshen.
It seems that Gu Chengyu has other ways to deliver messages, which are faster than ordinary flying pigeons.
However, the emperor had no intention of paying attention to these at the moment. All his attention was on the leakage of river embankments in Hangtian Mansion and Yingnan Mansion.
As a result, the matter of mobilizing food from other prefectures will have to be reconsidered.
If floods occur in other state capitals, and their food is seconded to the victims of Changtianfu, what will happen to the victims of other state capitals?
These are all unpredictable things, and you have to prepare for the worst in everything. After all, the national treasury is empty, and no more disaster relief funds will be available by then.
The emperor pondered for a moment, held the note tightly in his hand, and then said, "The magistrate of Changtian Prefecture has committed suicide and apologized. The river embankment in Hangtian Prefecture is leaking. I must allocate money to repair the river embankment and rescue the victims. Shen Aiqing, the Ministry of Household Affairs allocated eighty yuan
Ten thousand taels, of which 50,000 taels will be used to resettle the victims. The remaining 30,000 taels will be used to repair leaks in the river embankments."
The emperor rubbed his brows, money, money is needed everywhere. The emperor suddenly thought of raising taxes, but after a moment, he shook his head and put down this idea for the time being.
Even if taxes are to be raised, it will not be for the common people, but for the wealthy businessmen.
This dynasty is not strict with business taxes. Compared with ordinary people, merchants are like gods.
Scholars, farmers, industry and merchants, merchants ranked last, their status was low, they should have done their best for the court.
Besides, the common people live on this little cultivated land, but the merchants have hundreds of thousands of silver passing through their hands every day. Their money is like running water, and they give gifts and drinks to the popular ones every day, which is more than he, the emperor, has.
Be rich.
It's just that now is obviously not a good time to propose reform of commercial tax. The obstacles to the reform of commercial tax will not be small. Once it is implemented, the court will definitely be in turmoil again.
Even if the reform of commercial taxation can be effective, the results will come too slowly, and the distant water cannot save the immediate fire!
The emperor couldn't help but sigh again, and then turned his attention to Xia Qing. Last time, one million taels of silver were extracted from Xia Qing. It seems that the Xia family is quite rich!
The emperor's eyes were slightly narrowed, looking at Xia Qing like a jackal, revealing a hint of greed and cunning.
Xia Qing couldn't help but feel a chill running down his spine when he saw the emperor's expression.
He was very familiar with this kind of look. Could it be that the emperor wanted to take advantage of him again? The last time one of the clan lost a million taels, it almost broke his bones.
If this happens again, it would be strange if the old guys in the clan don't make a big fuss.
After a moment, Xia Qing quickly looked up and found that the emperor was staring at him thoughtfully. Xia Qing was horrified and her expression changed slightly.
Over the years, the clan has indeed made a lot of money thanks to his support.
And his ancestral home happened to be Yingnan Mansion. If the emperor really wanted to take advantage of him, and Gu Chengyu happened to be in Jiangnan, he would be beyond his reach!
Yin Kun's brows were almost tied into knots. He only had 80,000 taels of silver. How could this be enough?
Not to mention that 30,000 taels of it are used to repair the river embankment. Can only 50,000 taels be left to resettle these victims?
Yin Kun knew that although the money was small, the treasury would really never be able to take it out again.
Even if he objected, it would be useless, because the emperor could not change the money.
"Your Majesty, if 80,000 taels are distributed to the south of the Yangtze River, then there will be only more than 20,000 taels in the national treasury. How can this be done? Putting aside the expenses of the court, if money is urgently needed somewhere, the treasury will not be able to come up with the money."
Shen Shikang was very anxious. The treasury was now empty. If there was an emergency and urgent need for silver, where would he get the money from?
The emperor didn't even look at Shen Shikang, but turned his attention to Xia Qing.
"Xia Aiqing, I previously appointed your disciple Min Feng as the censor of Jiangnan, and went to Jiangnan to inspect the river embankments. He has been in Jiangnan for a long time, why has no news come? Is there no problem with the river embankments in Jiangnan? How should we explain the bursting of Changtian Mansion’s embankment?”
The emperor was very dissatisfied with Min Feng. It had been several days since he arrived in Jiangnan. Why didn't he send any news? Could it be that Min Feng went to Jiangnan to enjoy the mountains and rivers?
Xia Qing was suddenly startled, here he comes! Is the emperor going to use his young disciple as an excuse to attack him?
"Your Majesty! When Min Feng arrived in the south of the Yangtze River, he would have to pass through Yingnan Mansion first, and then Hangtian Mansion. His journey would be delayed for several days, so Your Majesty didn't expect him to wait any longer! Min Feng is not one of those people who doesn't know the priorities of things. Please ask Your Majesty again. Give me a few days of grace."
At this moment, Xia Qing was also cursing secretly in his heart. This young disciple really disappointed him.
When you go to Jiangnan, the first and most important places to inspect are Changtianfu and Hangtianfu, because these two state capitals are closest to the lower reaches of the Tianya River.
Before Min Feng set off, he even warned Min Feng that he must obey Hu Maoshen's arrangements, and asked Min Feng to bring his staff He Zhongkuan with him.
He Zhongkuan is a very strategic person and is very prudent in his work. With He Zhongkuan reminding him, Xia Qing can rest assured.
It's just that Min Feng has been gone for several days, and he even sent me a letter, but there has been no reply until now, which is really worrying.
"How many days of grace? I received a secret letter from Hang Tianfu, who recorded Min Feng's itinerary in great detail."
The emperor glanced at Xia Qing coldly. Xia Qing had always wanted to win the opportunity for Min Feng to make meritorious deeds, but in his opinion, this man could not stand up to the wall.
I am afraid of comparing everything. Compared with Min Feng and Gu Chengyu, they are nothing like clouds and mud.
Xia Qing's face turned pale. He was still too impatient. Min Feng had not entered the officialdom for three years, so he was anxious to let Min Feng go down to practice. It was really inappropriate.
Young people are impetuous and easily tempted.
In addition, Min Feng was born into a poor family and had limited experience. Xia Qing really regretted it at this time. If he had known this, he would have rejected this job anyway.
It’s not good to pull seedlings to encourage growth!
Xia Qing was filled with emotions, but he couldn't help but think of Gu Chengyu. But for a moment, he shook his head and sighed.
There are not many such evildoers in the world. How could Liang Zhirui be so virtuous as to accept this person as his disciple?
The most right thing Liang Zhirui did in his life was to choose Gu Chengyu as his disciple.
Comparing the two apprentices together, Xia Qing could not help but envy Liang Zhirui's good fortune.
However, since he chose Min Feng, Xia Qing has no regrets.
Anyone who doesn't do a few somersaults when he first enters the officialdom will have a long memory after suffering losses.