"Mali is thousands of miles away from my big country, and most of it is waterway. If we send troops rashly, if they are all lost there, how will the imperial court suppress the various places? I don't think we can send troops."
This was the voice of Qian Qianyi, the Minister of Rites. Among the ministers, he was the oldest and the most senior, and his words were rather old-fashioned.
Cao Hua's voice sounded immediately:
"Although Mali is a place of transformation, it is not completely useless in our country of Han. The several skilled craftsmen recruited by the Ordnance Office are no less skilled in craftsmanship than Taoist Master Zhenyuan."
"If such talents are used for profit, they will definitely bring a lot of trouble to our Han country."
Cao Hua spoke calmly, with a gentle tone, but the reasons were all hidden.
Dong Cheng also spoke slowly:
"Not to mention anything else, just the quick civil war, how many birds and ballistae were ordered from our Han State Ordnance Mansion, and how much money we earned for our Han State, Zhou Shangshu should also have an account in his mind."
When Su Lu entered the royal study, Zhou Yuanzheng crossed his hands with a smile and said:
"Well, I don't have any objections to this matter. Your Majesty wants to send troops, so that's the benefit of sending troops. If Your Majesty doesn't agree, there will naturally be reasons for not sending troops. Money and other things are all trivial matters."
Behind the imperial case, Li Qing nodded imperceptibly. This Zhou Yuan was a capable official, and he became more and more comfortable to use him after beating him. He couldn't blame the prince for being willing to use him in the first place.
When all the ministers saw Su Lu coming in, the several ministers who were sitting immediately stood up and saluted Su Lu respectfully.
Su Lu waved his hand and motioned for all the ministers to sit down. He pulled up a stool and sat down, and asked:
"We have lost contact with the troops stationed in Mali for a month. Have the navy troops been dispatched?"
Cao Hua agreed and said:
"When the urgent document arrived at the Navy Dazhai, General Su Ping sent two warships to Mali. His Majesty also issued an edict an hour ago, ordering Su Ping to send two large warships to lead the fleet.
Rush to Mali."
Su Lu nodded:
"It was a mistake on my part to do something quick. Does the Staff Office have a strategy to deal with this?"
Su Yun immediately said:
"Two sets of temporary strategies have been drawn up. With the edict sent, my staff office is formulating the next strategy. Once the imperial court decides on the strategy, it can be implemented immediately."
Su Lu then looked at Qian Qianyi, who was sitting at the top:
"Master Qian, what do you think of this matter?"
Qian Qianyi immediately stood up and bowed his hands to Su Lu with a respectful attitude:
"My lord, I believe that there is an advantage in not sending troops. The imperial dynasty is guarding various places, and a lot of food and fodder have been lost. Several border towns have begun to suffer from food and fodder shortages. If we send troops to Mali again."
The hidden meaning of Qian Qianyi's words is obvious. The country has been at war for the past two years. If this continues, regardless of whether we can achieve success, even the border town will be unstable.
Su Lu nodded:
"Master Qian's considerations are reasonable. Before I get down to business today, let me tell you something. During the day, I went to Changpingcang. Someone reported that Changpingcang was seriously corrupt and that all the food and grass were co-authored by officials.
Cang Bing has been cleansed of corruption."
Zhou Yuan, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, was shocked and secretly thought that although the major grain depots belonged to the Ministry of War in name, in fact, the Ministry of Hunan took the lead in the deployment of officials and the management of the grain depots.
Now that something happened in Chang Pingcang, he couldn't escape his involvement.
I was careless. When Your Majesty made the decree clear, I should have taken it seriously, but I didn't expect that all the treasury has been corrupted to this extent.
Su Lu continued:
"I saw two big boxwood bows outside Changping Cang. The soldiers in the warehouse who were in trouble almost shot me dead with these two bows."
Li Qing's face looked grim. He walked out from behind the imperial court in a few steps and looked at Su Lu nervously:
"Where's the injury?"
"These Zicang soldiers and corrupt officials dare to hurt you. You deserve to die."
Su Lu patted Li Qing's hand to indicate that she was fine.
"I'm not injured, but a guard fell under the long bow. It's still unclear whether he is alive or dead. The boxwood bow is a standard weapon. Why would someone hide it secretly? The Ministry of War will go back and check carefully for me. How many of them are there?
People took these standard weapons as favors."
Dong Cheng stood up quickly and accepted the task. Standard weapons were left outside. This was no small matter. Dong Cheng would definitely pull out the past file questionnaires and examine them carefully when he returned. By then, the Ministry of War and the Ordnance Office would
Another bloody storm.
Zhou Yuan said with a sad look on his face:
"Your Majesty, I am guilty."
"The major grain depots are under the cross control of the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Household Affairs. Although I am very considerate in the deployment of officials, I have not done my best in controlling officials. Such a big mistake occurred in the big depots. Huo Guang and Geng of Changpingcang
Shing Ming is also an official sent by our Ministry of Household Affairs, and I cannot escape the blame for my death."
Su Lu waved his hand for Zhou Yuan to sit down and scolded:
"You, Zhou Yuan, have been the minister for a few days, and you don't know how much you weigh in the southeast, northwest, and northwest."
"Of course you have to pay a fine for this matter. The great treasury has turned into a place for corruption and extortion of bribes. In order to hide the evidence, there are even those who conspired to rebel."
"There is also this shrewd Geng who incited the Cang soldiers and officials to rebel, and arranged a lot of secrets from other countries among the Cang soldiers. You should cooperate with Dingxiang Wei to investigate this matter."
Zhou Yuan's face turned even paler, now it was over, even treason was implicated.
Fortunately, I am the prince's man.
Geng Jingming was an official recommended by the Ministry of Household Affairs. If he really caused a fire, he would definitely not be able to escape the charge of negligence. Although the prince scolded him, he also wiped out his fault for himself.
"I understand that after I return, I will cooperate with Governor Weiping of Dingxiang and Governor Ye of the rebel army to carefully screen out the scum in each major treasury, and will not be lenient to those who dare to commit corruption."
Li Qing had been looking at the blood spots on Su Lu's body. Although Su Lu was not injured this time, the guard was shot down, and a lot of blood spots were still spattered on Su Lu's body.
Su Lu's health is not good. If he worries about government affairs, his health will be even more difficult to recover. Today, when he inspects Chang Pingcang and encounters the rebellion, he must be mentally and physically exhausted.
"That's it for today. We'll discuss this matter tomorrow."
Li Qing told all the courtiers.
After hearing this, all the ministers retired one after another. With Su Lu around, all the ministers felt quite uncomfortable, as if they were having thorns in their backs. They did not dare to speak out their original impassioned rebuttals, nor did they dare to mention any words that would tear up the partisanship in front of His Majesty.
Just now, there was a perfect opportunity to criticize Zhou Yuan. If it were lighter, it would make Zhou Yuan shut up and think about his faults. If it was heavier, it would even make Zhou Yuan's head no longer safe. With just a few frivolous words from the prince, the matter was completely done.
Summarize.
Too domineering.
Several ministers were thinking angrily in their hearts, but they did not dare to show it on their faces.
After the ministers retreated, Li Qing supported Su Lu into the palace and casually talked about his worries about his daughter who was still in a hurry. The two of them walked slowly in the moonlit palace.
