There are several rows of bookshelves in the room, piled with thick documents and books. There is almost only room for a table. It is crowded and narrow, but it is not suffocating.
Probably because although there were many books, they were arranged neatly and cleanly, because there were blooming spring flowers on the windowsill.
Or maybe it's because the pens, inks, paper and inkstones on the only desk are all famous brands, and Ning Yunzhao, who is sitting in front of the desk, has a long and slender hand holding a pen and copying documents, and his movements are smooth and smooth, which is pleasing to the eye.
But at this time, my colleagues were still looking sad.
"This matter is really big," he said. "Salary arrears are something that has never happened before."
Ning Yunzhao stretched out his hand and waved it.
"You can't say that." He said, "For five years in the previous dynasty, Emperor Ai was short of money and had many affairs, so he ordered the officials and officials in the capital to stop paying their salaries for three months."
His colleagues were startled, hurriedly waved their hands at him, booed him, and looked outside again.
"My dear Ning Xiaoguan, please don't talk nonsense. You can't compare things randomly." He whispered urgently.
Compare the current emperor with the emperor who destroyed the country in the previous dynasty. If this spreads out, the censor will eat him up.
"Comparing to what? I'm not competing." Ning Yunzhao said with a smile, "I mean you can't say this, your Majesty has not defaulted on his salary."
The colleague was stunned for a moment.
"I just told you in the meeting..." He pointed out.
"That doesn't mean arrears." Ning Yunzhao said after plastic surgery, "It's obviously a voluntary contribution of one month's salary. This contribution is different from withholding."
What's the difference? My colleague was startled and then laughed, but he just changed his words into a nicer way.
Who volunteers?
"I volunteer." Ning Yunzhao said seriously, "It is precisely because Cheng Guogong and other generals bravely defended the north that the Jin people had to sue for peace. It is right for the court to reward Cheng Guogong and others.
, and the imperial treasury can’t provide that much money at the moment, so we eat the emperor’s salary and share the emperor’s worries, so donating a month’s salary is not a big deal, how much is a month’s salary?”
A monthly salary is indeed not much. The colleague thought for a moment, then cheered and stared at Ning Yunzhao.
"You are really different from your uncle. You have no opinions at all on the important matters of the imperial court?" He glared and said, "But you agree to everything His Majesty says?"
"Because it's really good." Ning Yunzhao said, "I think this is a good thing. It allows the soldiers to get the glory they deserve, and it also allows us to express our respect for the soldiers. I think a month is too little.
, I am willing to donate two months.”
The colleague sighed.
"Ning Chang, don't act so serious and pretend to be crazy." He glared and said, "Is this a matter of more money and less money?"
"That should be it." Ning Yunzhao said.
"You are not a fool." The colleague said angrily, "Who cares about this month's money? This cannot be done like this! Why should we pay to celebrate his becoming a Duke?"
"Let's share the merit and enjoy the happiness together." Ning Yunzhao said.
"Yes, he has merit. He has merit, but we have no merit?" Colleague Su Rong said, pointing to the north, "He has merit in guarding the border in the north, but our hard work here is in vain?"
"How could it be possible? Everyone has contributed. He defends the border and keeps our affairs stable. Only by keeping our affairs stable can we allow them to defend the border safely." Ning Yunzhao said, "So we share."
"What is sharing? If we share, we shouldn't deduct our salary to reward them." Colleagues took pictures of a few cases and said, "If we share, we should also be rewarded!"
Ning Yunzhao stretched out his hand to hold the tall document that was shaking as it was being photographed, with a calm expression.
"Use our money to reward them. We also have a share of the credit for the Northland, and we also have a share of the military glory. Isn't this also a reward for us?" he said.
His colleagues stared at him for a moment, seemingly speechless.
"I hope everyone can think like you." He hummed, stood up and rolled his sleeves.
Watching his colleagues walk out, Ning Yunzhao smiled and did not hold back any longer. The room became quiet again, but the noise outside was even louder. It seemed that people all over the official street had come out.
Ning Yunzhao picked up the pen in his hand.
"Although not everyone thinks like me, a few are welcome," he said. "Otherwise, Duke Cheng will be in real trouble this time."
……………………………………………
"How poisonous his heart is!"
In Ning Yan's study, Ning Shiyi slapped the table and said bitterly.
"He actually resorted to such means."
Ning Yan and Ning Yunzhao sat opposite each other and looked at the chessboard, seemingly not hearing what he said.
Ning Shiyi did not stop talking.
"First, they collected money from traders in the city at random, and then evicted them if they didn't pay. This caused complaints among the merchants in the city and almost went on strike," he said.
"It's not that bad." Ning Yunzhao said, while he was making up his mind, "I asked, not all merchants have been apportioned, just some small vendors in tea sheds with carts and baskets selling along the street. The market has not been affected, and the market has not been affected.
The merchants are all safe and sound."
Ning Shiyi was a little embarrassed when his exaggerated statement was exposed.
"Brother Ten, this is not a matter involving vendors, this is not right," he said.
Ning Yan pinched the chess piece's hand and paused.
"Is this also to raise rewards for Duke Cheng Guo?" He looked at Ning Yunzhao and asked.
Ning Yunzhao shook his head.
"No," he said, "I didn't say anything to the vendors."
Ning Yan smiled coldly and fell into disbelief.
"So I only told the officials," he said. "I made it clear that the treasury has no money and everyone has to contribute."
Ning Yunzhao raised and lowered his hands.
"It's not much, just one month's salary," he said.
"Brother Ten." Ning Shiyi couldn't help but said anxiously and moved forward, "This is not a matter of more money and less money..."
Ning Yunzhao turned to look at him.
"But now I can only insist that it is a matter of more money and less money." He interrupted him and said in a calm voice, "Admit that it is a trivial matter, otherwise you will play into his heart."
Ning Shiyi looked at him in shock, while Ning Yan looked down at the chessboard with a heavy expression.
"Your Majesty, do you agree like this?" he said.
Ning Yunzhao continued to make moves.
"Why doesn't your majesty agree?" he said. "His majesty is determined to reward Duke Cheng. It is not easy to express his gratitude to Duke Cheng. He will not reject his request or the requests of all the officials and soldiers. I heard that the officials said that they could not get the money.
Come, Your Majesty will shed tears in court and want to spend money on the harem."
After the emperor had already donated money, the Ministry of Civil Affairs asked officials to donate money as well.
This was not forced by the emperor, it was the idea of the officials. The emperor was not wrong at all, and if he was wrong, it was also the fault of the officials.
So what does the emperor have to disagree with?
Ning Shiyi was silent, the chess piece in Ning Yan's hand had not fallen for a long time, and the study suddenly became quiet.
At this moment, bursts of laughter erupted in Huang Cheng's study room.
There were many people sitting around in the study, having tea and wine, chatting and laughing, and it was very lively.
"Your Majesty is right, your Majesty is a benevolent king." A man was holding a teacup and said to several people, "If it's your fault, it's all your officials' fault. What the hell did you come up with! Donate collection, you can't think of it."
.”
"Yes, we work as errands for free, are we just doing it for the few taels of salary every month?" Another man also said loudly.
As soon as he finished speaking, the bustling study suddenly came to a standstill.
Everyone looked at this man.
The man just came back to his senses.
"No, no, I mean, we work as errands for free, not just for the few taels of salary every month." He said hurriedly, and pointed at the man opposite him angrily, "What your officials are doing is really bad.
It's going to kill us."
Hey, that's right.
The study became lively again.
"It's not about the amount of money." Someone said, "If you do this once, there will definitely be a next time. The bad thing started, but it won't stop."
Everyone agreed and pointed at several men, looking extremely angry.
The men who were looked at with cold eyebrows were smiling.
"There's nothing we can do." One of the men said, spreading his hands helplessly, "It's hard for a clever woman to make a living without rice. She can't come up with money and can't appease the soldiers. What can we do if we cause trouble? We can only blame everyone.
You can’t blame us.”
As if waiting for his words, everyone present immediately raised their glasses.
"Who's to blame?" they said in unison.
The man also raised the tea cup in his hand.
"Of course, Duke Cheng." He said loudly.
The study room suddenly became noisy.
"Why?" they shouted again in unison.
The man also toasted again.
"Because he is aggressive, and because all his officials are imitating him," he said loudly.
The study room was even more lively.
"Who is to blame?"
"Gong Cheng."
"Who is being aggressive?"
"Gong Cheng."
"Who demands credit and rewards?"
"Gong Cheng."
The sounds of shouting, laughing, and drinking were chaotic yet uniform, making the atmosphere in the study eerily lively.
In this bustle, Huang Cheng, who was sitting at the top, was slightly stooped. He raised his wine glass and slowly fell to the ground.
"Mr. Cheng." A faint smile appeared on his lips, "Please."
…
…
(It’s just one chapter today, it hurts, and there will be only one chapter every day for the next few days, it’s heartbreaking...) (To be continued)