The person who said this was Li Wei, the minister of Taichang Temple and the great scholar of Zhongji Palace. He was one of Xia Qing's more trusted party members, so he was called by Xia Qing to discuss the matter.
There were two other people who came with him, one was You Shaofeng, the General Secretary Zuo Tongzheng, and the other was Noriyan, a doctor in the Ministry of Revenue. Among them, Li Wei and You Shaofeng were the most favored by Xia Qing.
Ji Yan was also one of Xia Qing's party members, but he didn't expect that he could be involved in such an important matter this time, and he couldn't help but feel excited.
If he can be valued by Xia Shoufu, it seems that he is not far away from rising to prominence.
Xia Qing paid so much attention to the issue of border wages that he called Ji Yan because he was a doctor from the Ministry of Revenue. This matter also required money from the Ministry of Revenue, so he called him over to discuss it.
"Sir! The time the Emperor has given you is too short. It is urgent to resolve the issue of border wages. We must quickly think of countermeasures to get through this difficulty first before looking for other solutions."
You Shaofeng also put forward his own ideas, and then said a few words after Li Wei.
He glanced sideways at Li Wei, feeling a little unhappy in his heart. He and Li Wei were both among the most trusted officials of the First Assistant, and if there were any uncertainties, they would be consulted together.
He maintained that he was closer to the chief minister than other officials in the chief minister's faction, and he always had a sense of superiority in his heart.
But since this Li Wei was taken under the wing of the chief minister two years ago, he has often been at odds with him.
However, Xiangshoufu valued this person very much and would involve him in discussions on major issues.
This man has a very deep scheming mind, he is a smiling tiger, and he is used to hiding his secret in his smile, and he will always put eye drops on him in front of the chief minister.
He suffered two losses at the hands of this person, and now he dare not underestimate this person.
After hearing You Shaofeng's words, Xia Qing couldn't help but look more gloomy. Doesn't he know that the most important thing now is to solve the border issue?
Let them come here just to let them discuss and come up with a solution. Who can bear to listen to their nonsense?
"Of course I know what is the most urgent task now. Do I still need you to tell me? I called you here because I want you to make suggestions. It has been more than half a day, but there is still no solution."
Xia Qing was angry and anxious, and suddenly stood up from the chair and started pacing back and forth in the room.
"We have to go to court early as soon as it gets light. No matter what, we must come up with a countermeasure tonight."
When everyone saw that the chief assistant's face was so gloomy that it could drip water, and he even scolded them, they didn't dare to say anything.
When Xia Qing saw that they were like quails, he became even more angry. He flicked his sleeves and snorted, "They are all useless trash."
"Ji Yan, as a doctor in the Ministry of Finance, this was originally the responsibility of your Ministry of Finance. Now I am doing it for you. You have to find a way to get the Ministry of Finance to use the money to pay back the side payments."
Xia Qing saw that no one was saying anything, so he simply started calling the names. Usually, people who wanted benefits would come to him one after another.
Now that he is in trouble, these people are all shrinking back. How can this keep him from getting angry?
When Ji Yan heard this, his whole body trembled. He was the least respected among the Xia Qing faction. He didn't get as many benefits as those people, but he was always the one to take the lead whenever something happened.
He originally thought that the capital city would reuse him, so he came to Xia Mansion with great joy.
But now he finally realized it. Wasn't it because he was an official from the Ministry of Household Affairs?
He hurriedly stood up from his chair, with a bitter look on his face, and replied respectfully: "My lord, this official is just a doctor in the household department, but he has no control over the bank account of the household department! Master Shangshu disagrees, and this official is also powerless!"
The doctor of the Ministry of Finance is only the fifth rank, and he does not have the ability to ask the minister to allocate money to the frontier.
You Shaofeng and Li Wei were also worried. They no longer cared about sympathizing with Ji Yan, and their thoughts quickly turned around, thinking that they would be able to come up with good countermeasures when they were called upon later.
At this time, He Zhongkuan, an aide on the side, spoke up, "Your Excellency! The general has thought it over carefully, and the emperor has left this matter to your Excellency. It is impossible to say that he really has some other thoughts in mind."
Hearing this, Xia Qing quickly said eagerly: "Mr. He, tell me what you want in detail."
When Ji Yan heard this, he couldn't help but look at He Zhongkuan gratefully, and at the same time he felt relieved.
If you continue talking, your Excellency will definitely get angry. He Zhongkuan saved him from the fire.
"Sir, think about it! Your Majesty didn't ask the Ministry of Household Affairs to issue money. He only asked you to find a way. And you can't increase taxes or touch those merchants. Doesn't that mean you have to pay out of your own pocket?"
Xia Qing suddenly felt cold after hearing this. Could it be that the emperor was interested in his wealth?
But then I thought about it and felt it was impossible. Although he received a lot of benefits from those officials on weekdays, how could his little money compare with the money from the side payments?
That's a huge difference! Even if his family has a lot of money, it only has a few hundred thousand taels at most. How can it be compared with the millions of taels he owes in side payments?
Zhang Xiansheng, the staff member on the side, was a little dissatisfied. No matter how greedy an official is, how much money can he be greedy for? This is an important place in the capital, not those places.
The place is as high as the sky and the emperor is far away. If you are greedy, the emperor may not know it.
But in the capital, those censors are staring at you all day long. If you dare to accept bribes and disrupt the moral code, they will dare to take part in your affairs.
Besides, it’s not like no one has been involved with the Lord Chief Assistant. It’s just that the Emperor is concerned about his old relationship or is afraid of the Lord, so he didn’t investigate the matter thoroughly.
In this way, the adults restrained themselves a little and did not dare to be too blatant.
The money in a family's family is definitely not enough to fill the gap in wages. What this person said is too alarmist.
The Lord respects He Zhongkuan very much, and He Zhongkuan has indeed solved many problems for the Lord.
This man is very thoughtful and good at conducting himself, so adults always treat him with utmost courtesy.
Even I am very afraid of this person, but I can't help but feel dissatisfied. They are both staff members, but their status and treatment are different, so I can't help but make people feel resentful.
"Sir, I think this is unlikely. The money you have in your house is far from enough."
Although Xia Qing also thought it was unlikely, staff member He Zhongkuan was by no means an innocent person. He interrupted Zhang Xiansheng's words and motioned for He Zhongkuan to continue.
But suddenly he had a flash of inspiration, maybe the emperor really had an ulterior motive. But the purpose was not with him, but with his clan.
And the clan has given him a lot of benefits in the past few years. Maybe the emperor has long been eyeing the ill-gotten wealth gained by his clan members.
An official had interviewed him at a court meeting before, saying that he allowed his clansmen to amass money in the local area. At that time, the emperor treated him vaguely. Later, when there were memorials to refer to him, the emperor also ignored him.
He thought that the emperor was thinking about his old relationship, and since he was already deeply attached to the Holy Spirit, he was secretly proud of him.
It turned out that the emperor was waiting for him here! He felt horrified because the emperor's thoughts were so well hidden!