He Jisheng knew very well what kind of relationship Gu Chengyu had with him. If there was something important, Gu Chengyu would not be able to discuss it with him.
Therefore, maybe Yin Kun and Wu An already knew n, but he didn't know the inside story yet.
"My dear friends, do you have anything else to say?"
After about an hour, the emperor had almost finished handling court affairs, and the officials below him all bowed their heads in silence. Then the emperor asked.
The eldest prince was a little absent-minded. He seemed to have seen Gu Chengyu outside the palace just now. But Gu Chengyu was from a sixth-grade official position, so how could he be here?
Like him, the princes and officials present all had this question.
The sky was bright outside the hall, and Gu Chengyu felt that his legs were numb. He moved his feet impatiently and looked at the red wall in front of him, feeling surprisingly calm.
It seems that the officials who have to go to the morning court every day have a hard time. They dare not drink water or eat liquid food before the morning court every day, for fear that they can't help but feel anxious and cause a loss of etiquette in front of the palace.
When the emperor saw that the courtiers were all silent, De'an hesitated for a moment, wondering whether he should announce his resignation.
"Hmph! If you don't tell me, I have something to say. Where is Shen Shikang, the Minister of Household Affairs?" The emperor suddenly shouted, and Shen Shikang's heart suddenly jumped out of the queue.
"Your Majesty is here!" Shen Shikang held up the imperial wat with both hands and bowed to the emperor.
The emperor's eyes were bright, he looked at Shen Shikang below, and asked in a deep voice: "Seven days ago, the Minister of the Ministry of War reported that the imperial court has not paid border wages and has been in arrears for more than four months. Have you thought of a solution to this matter? Fa Lai?"
When Shen Shikang heard this, he felt like a Spartan. This approach was wrong! Didn't the emperor already let it slip before that the chief assistant could solve less than half of the problem? Why did he bring it up now? No matter what, he had to do it Let’s wait until Yin Kun comes back from Yingnan Mansion, right?
Xia Qing raised his eyelids when he heard this, then lowered his head and looked at the floor tiles in front of him.
The other courtiers also wanted to retract their heads into their necks, and they were all so out of breath that they didn't dare to breathe. This is a cliché. The emperor would reprimand them for the treasury matters after a while.
Shen Shikang, who was the Minister of Household Affairs, was naturally the first to bear the brunt. When the emperor criticized him, he showed no mercy. Seeing that Shen Shikang was reprimanded, they felt happy, but Shen Shikang himself was incompetent, yet he still wanted them to do the same. If you continue to eat and drink, the feeling will not be so good.
However, the treasury has been empty for a long time. Shen Shikang has been in this position for more than 20 years. The emperor reprimanded him but did not remove him from his post. This shows that Shen Shikang still has the emperor's trust.
Besides, Shen Shikang can’t be entirely blamed for this! After all, how can he reverse the current situation on his own?
"This? Your Majesty! You also know the treasury." Shen Shikang was helpless and had to reiterate the previous difficulties.
The emperor waved his hand and interrupted Shen Shikang's words, not wanting to listen to his excuses anymore, "Huh! These are all clichés. When did your household department have any good ideas? The imperial court is supported by annual taxes. My money Has the bag ever been full?"
The second prince was very surprised and glanced at Ming N's figure on the dragon throne. He had never mentioned the matter of the treasury in front of his father before. That time, his father had not been so serious. Now the case of Xia Zhou has come out. , it can be said that it alleviated the court's top priority.
Why was his father so eager again? He couldn't understand it.
The eldest prince had guessed a bit of his father's intentions. Gu Chengyu's appearance outside the palace must be related to this matter.
"It's the humble minister who is incompetent, please forgive me!" Shen Shikang didn't know what the emperor's intention was, but kneeling down and begging for mercy was a very effective move.
Shen Shikang is the uncle of the second prince, and the second prince must intercede for Shen Shikang, whether it is because of friendship or sincerely.
"Father! Even though Mr. Shen is incompetent, he is still too clever to make a meal without rice! Now it is urgent to think of ways to replenish the national treasury, and we need to receive advice from many people."
These words made the emperor's forehead jump. This guy was really too upright. He had a mouthful of phlegm stuck in his throat and couldn't spit it out or swallow it.
The third prince suppressed a smile. The second prince was so honest. He glanced at the emperor's face and found that it was indeed darker than before.
Although the eldest prince was joking in his heart that his second son had made his father unhappy again, he had no choice but to lower his head and remain silent to prevent his father from burning him.
"So, I am incompetent?" The emperor looked at the second prince with cold eyes and sneered.
The second prince saw that the prince's face was not kind, and then he hesitated and said: "How can you blame the father? If the taxation of the previous dynasty was based on the previous dynasty, the court would have taxed more than this, and the father would not have to worry so much. But the father is kind. , you are reluctant to bear hardships for the people, and you cannot bear to increase taxes when there are difficulties. Naturally, the people will truly support you."
When the emperor heard this, his face immediately looked much better.
The eldest prince turned his head and glanced at the second prince. Unexpectedly, he looked away and the second prince opened his mouth.
"However, this matter still needs to be resolved. I have an idea today. Why don't you all come to give me advice?"
The courtiers all looked at each other, wondering whether the emperor really had a solution or was just trying to defeat them!
The emperor picked up the paper on the imperial desk and raised it to everyone, "Boss, read it to everyone!"
The emperor pointed to the eldest prince and asked him to read the contents of the excerpt.
Gu Chengyu had been standing outside the hall for an hour and a half, but there was no movement inside the hall. After all, it was almost time! He couldn't help but guess in his heart, could it be that the ministers accepted it so easily? It was too fast. ?
About a quarter of an hour later, suddenly a somewhat vague voice came, "Gu Chengyu, editor of Xuanhanlin Academy, has an audience!"
When Gu Chengyu heard the sound, his heart suddenly tightened. Was that his name?
If he heard correctly, this should have come from the inner hall. Then the sounds came one after another and reached his ears clearly.
"Gu Chengyu, the editor of Xuanhanlin Academy, has an audience!"
The officials outside the hall all turned around and glanced at Gu Chengyu, who was at the end of the queue. It was indeed a special summons from the emperor.
Gu Chengyu took a step to the left, then bowed and walked towards the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
"Your Majesty, may I ask who Gu Xiuzhan proposed this tea tax? I think this tax is not feasible." Zhang Shuo, the right minister of the Ministry of Punishment, first raised an objection.
Several officials saw that they were winning, and they also came out one after another, "I second the proposal!"
"Why is it not feasible? You can tell me." The emperor knew that the implementation of a new tax law would be hindered, and these court officials were the biggest obstacles.
Zhang Shuo was Xia Qing's eldest disciple. He raised the objection first, of course because Xia Qing didn't like Gu Chengyu. As a disciple, of course he had to stand up and express his opinion first.
Xia Qing was very calm. He knew that this man was very capable, and he didn't seem so shocked that he could raise the tea tax.