Xia Qing was indeed extremely thick-skinned. He didn't blush even after being exposed by the emperor. He just continued: "Of course this is accumulated. The profit of just one Gu's soap is certainly small. If you add other soaps, it will still be enough."
Up."
Xia Qing saw that there was no strange color on the emperor's face, so he felt more confident and spoke out boldly.
According to his idea, he would find a few merchants, find out where they were wrong, exploit them ruthlessly, and then solve the problem of side wages first.
It's a pity that no matter how he hinted before, the emperor would not accept his problem. Now that the emperor is getting older, his actions have become more benevolent, his methods are too gentle, and he has become a little indecisive.
The emperor glanced at Xia Qing, thinking that this was an old matter again.
There are countless merchants in the world, and there are also many who accumulate gold and jade in their homes. But if he really does this, all those merchants will be in danger, and it will cause immeasurable consequences.
What's more, the problem of border rates has been solved this time, but the Ministry of Household Affairs has no income and the national treasury is still not full.
Next time you need money, why don't you ask those merchants to pay for it? Then the Dayan Dynasty will be in chaos.
The emperor believes that this method must not be done unless it is a last resort. Once it sets a precedent, those courtiers will become unscrupulous in the future.
"This matter will be discussed later! I will leave this matter to you, and you will have to give me an answer tomorrow. Remember, you are not allowed to increase taxes privately, and merchants are not allowed to do it for the time being. If you violate it, don't blame me for not doing so.
Show mercy!"
The emperor's tone became much harsher when he spoke later. Officials in those places felt that the temples were far away. If they secretly increased taxes and deceived the superiors and subordinates, how would he know?
Xia Qing was shocked. The emperor said that taxes could not be increased, but he also asked him to solve the border payment problem. Could it be that he would still make money?
The emperor is forcing him! He has no choice but to start with the Ministry of Finance. It is not that the money in the Ministry of Finance cannot be touched, but before doing so, he must think of ways to increase the income.
Otherwise, even if he said that the Ministry of Household Affairs gave money, the emperor would probably not agree.
Xia Qing was at his wits' end at this time. If this matter was not handled properly, the emperor would surely use the excuse to punish him severely.
"I obey the decree! Weichen will do his best to relieve the Emperor's worries. However, the salary here is more than four months in arrears. Even if Weichen wants to pay it all back, he has more than enough ambition but not enough energy!"
Xia Qing frowned, looking embarrassed. It was absolutely impossible to pay them all back. Shen Shikang would definitely refuse to take them out even if they were beaten to death.
If all are returned, then the treasury will really be empty, and probably not even a bit will be left.
It was only a few months into the new year, and the tax money collected by the court was only a few million taels, which was probably just enough to fill the hole in the government's salary.
The emperor couldn't help but roll his eyes when he heard this. He already knew that Xia Qing was a cunning person. The general didn't ask, so he was happy not to say anything.
Look, it turned out to be waiting here!
"I'm not asking you to make up for it all, but you have to make it up for at least two months, and then send some food and grass to the border areas. How much money is needed, you can ask the Ministry of Household Affairs yourself."
The emperor still left some leeway. Xia Qing was very cunning. If he didn't force him, Xia Qing could be his boss.
Xia Qing knew that the emperor had already made up his mind, and it would be useless for him to say more, so he had no choice but to agree.
But you still can't say it to death. Otherwise, if the old man Shen Shikang doesn't agree, can he still kill him?
That old guy was not so easy to assassinate. He didn't have to eat fish, but he got into a fishy mess.
"Your Majesty, this matter is really difficult, and I can't guarantee it. I can only do my best and ask Your Majesty for your mercy."
The emperor was even more unhappy when he saw that he still wanted to bargain. He was also impatient to listen to his complaints and just waved his hand.
"Kneel down! I'm tired too."
"I obey the decree!"
The emperor rubbed his brows and saw Xia Qing standing up shakily on her legs. Her legs seemed to be numb and her movements were extremely slow. He carefully stepped back a few steps and turned around to go outside the imperial study.
Xia Qing left the imperial study room, constantly looking for a solution in her heart.
The emperor did not mention that the Ministry of Finance took out the money, but just stared at him, even though he meant to make him bow his head and embarrass him.
But this matter cannot be solved by him alone. Solving the issue of border wages was originally the responsibility of the Ministry of Revenue, but now it falls on him.
Suddenly, he paused and realized something in his heart. His love for money was well known, and people in the court had participated in him many times for this purpose.
It is said that he allowed his tribe to cause harm to the local area and amassed a lot of money in the local area. Could it be that the emperor had his mind set on the Xia family? Otherwise, why would he keep an eye on him?
Originally, he wanted to find an opportunity to ask the Ministry of Revenue to release this batch of money in order to please the emperor.
Now he realized that the emperor had been delaying the matter and must have other plans.
Thinking of this, Xia Qing couldn't help but break into a cold sweat. Could it be that the emperor was planning to take action against him?
Hu Bu definitely didn't plan to take action this time. No wonder he kept crying about poverty at the court meeting. Although the emperor was furious when he saw this, he didn't force Hu Bu to give up the money.
Xia Qing only felt that his hands and feet were cold. He had already analyzed it on weekdays. The emperor needed a balance of power between the court and the central government. If he wanted to weaken his power, he must support officials or aristocratic families to fight against him.
But the emperor also needs him to control him more. In addition, he has been in love with the emperor for many years, so he has been tolerated to this day. Although the Holy Family will not be as good as before in the future, he will not abandon him.
But now the emperor actually wants to take money from him. Could it be that he has thought of some good way to balance the power in the court so that he is no longer needed?
If it didn't work, he had to go back and think about the countermeasures. Xia Qing hurriedly walked out of the palace gate, preparing to go back and gather his cronies to brainstorm the emperor's intentions.
It has to be said that Xia Qing and the emperor have similar personalities. They are extremely suspicious. A look or a word can make them think about everything.
When Min Feng saw his teacher leaving the study room, he looked worried. He didn't dare to call out to the teacher, so he could only watch helplessly, but he didn't expect the teacher to leave without looking back.
Min Feng was confused and left? What should he do? The emperor had just sent someone to let him rest at home for a few days. He was very flustered. He didn't know what the teacher and the emperor had talked about, and he couldn't help but worry about his future future.
However, after this incident, he also gained some memory. Things in the officialdom are changing rapidly, and he must be cautious in doing things in the future, and cannot be as reckless as this time.
In fact, he was not irresponsible for this matter. He did not read the books carefully when the teacher asked him to read them thoroughly. In the end, he was exposed in front of the emperor and failed.
The teacher had paved the way, but he failed to live up to the teacher's expectations. He was even more uneasy now, fearing that the teacher would be disappointed with him because of this and stop paying attention to him.
He couldn't help but think of Gu Chengyu again. It seemed that he would have to work hard to deal with Gu Chengyu in the future.
After all, Zhang Hai is not young anymore. After kneeling for so long, his body can no longer help but tremble. This time, the gain is really not worth the loss, and now it is too late to regret it!