Sheng Hong sat on the dragon chair, and A Luo stood quietly in the corner on one side of the dragon chair.
Standing in this position, you can have a panoramic view of the changes in the expressions of the ministers.
This is also the best location that Ah Luo found after researching and thinking hard.
Those who were summoned to discuss matters today were all civil servants. Among them were all six ministers. Chen Shangshu of the Ministry of Personnel, every time he saw her figure when he entered the Yiqing Hall, he would inevitably twitch the corners of his eyes and mouth.
The other ministers and elders did not twitch their eyes or mouths, but turned a blind eye to her, and did not even greet her formally.
The emperor, who had no choice but to act willfully, expressed his dissatisfaction with the emperor through such actions. In the competition between the emperor and his ministers, it was obvious that the emperor had the upper hand. However, A Luo also suffered from neglect and neglect.
A Luo curled her lips inwardly, but her face remained calm as usual.
She didn't need any advice from her father, the emperor, or her mother, but she already knew how to face this group of courtiers who were like old foxes.
She didn't care what their expressions or thoughts were. In short, she stood firmly beside her father and listened to their discussions and discussions about court affairs.
Of course, not everyone is like this. Some of them also showed goodwill to Princess Aluo. For example, Xie Jun, the Minister of Rites...
The emperor had no intention of succeeding his nephew. Instead, he ordered Princess Duanrou to attend the Yiqing Palace to listen to politics and study, and personally taught Princess Duanrou. His intention is self-evident.
After the initial shock, Xie Jun quickly and decisively adjusted his mentality and changed his attitude quickly.
A'luo is his granddaughter. If A'luo is established as the crown prince and later ascends the throne to become the empress of Da Qi, the benefits to the Xie family will be self-evident.
In the face of power, splendor and wealth, let’s put aside the moral integrity of ministers in the imperial court for the time being!
When others entered the Yiqing Hall, they felt a little depressed when they saw A Luo standing aside. However, Xie Jun became more and more pleased with what he saw, and nodded and smiled at A Luo.
A Luo also smiled at her grandfather, then quickly calmed down and stood solemnly.
…
Ah Luo has a smart mind and an excellent memory and understanding. From the beginning, she was ignorant about court affairs. After half a year, she has been able to pick up a lot of secrets.
A Luo listened carefully as usual.
Daqi's territory is vast, and the affairs of the six ministries in the capital are complicated. Memorials from various states and counties are often presented to the court. Today, the ministers are discussing and discussing the management of the river area.
There has been a lot of rain this year, and the river has overflowed. Several states and counties along the river are in danger of flooding. In order to prevent floods, the court has to allocate money, clean up the river silt, dredge the river, and build embankments.
These matters are under the control of the Ministry of Industry. The Minister of the Ministry of Industry is familiar with these things, and he speaks out a series of statements. A rough budget is also available. There are three states and counties that need to allocate funds, and the budget is one million taels.
When it comes to allocating money, Xiao Shangshu of the Ministry of Accounts will cry out with a sad face as usual: "... Your Majesty, the taxes last year were quite a lot, but there are also many places to spend money. Now there is really not much money left in the Ministry of Accounts.
One million taels is really not available, but it is possible to squeeze out 300,000 taels."
The Minister of the Ministry of Industry was very angry when he heard this, and immediately glared at each other: "Three prefectures and counties have to dredge and build rivers and dams that are more than a hundred miles long. Everyone in the Ministry of Industry worked for several days and nights before they calculated the budget. But there is no
One million, at least nine hundred thousand taels."
"Xiao Shangshu cut off most of it with just one mouthful. I think it's better not to build any river embankments. Just wait until the rain floods both sides of the river and cause famine, then allocate money and food for disaster relief. Then if civil unrest breaks out, send troops to calm it down."
It’s chaos. Wouldn’t it be better to prepare food, grass, supplies and money for pensions?”
When the minister of the Ministry of Industry got angry, his words were filled with guns and sticks, which were really harsh and unpleasant to listen to.
Xiao Shangshu also had a long face: "The river course needs to be rebuilt almost every year, and the dams have not shown much effect. The dams are often washed away. The Ministry of Industry does not think about how to improve it, but it is very diligent when reaching out for money."
As soon as the anger arose, the two ministers immediately started to quarrel.
Don't think this is a strange thing. In fact, Xiao Shangshu of the Ministry of Hubu often quarreled with others. For example, when the Ministry of War wanted money, the Minister of War had to quarrel with Xiao Shangshu. The Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Punishment, and the Ministry of Officials were no exception.
As expected of the person in charge of money, grain, taxes and taxes, asking for money is like cutting off Shangshu Xiao's flesh.
Several court elders tried to persuade the emperor to make peace, and the amount of money appropriated was repeatedly reduced. Finally, the emperor opened his mouth and set the amount of money allocated by the court at 600,000 taels.
The two ministers, both in their sixties, each stopped talking angrily.
…
After the ministers finished their discussion and retired, Sheng Hongcai looked at A Luo, who looked thoughtful, and asked with a smile: "A Luo, have you learned anything from listening to me for a long time?"
A Luo thought for a while and said: "The Ministry of Revenue is in charge of the money, grain and taxes. All the places where money needs to be spent must go through the Ministry of Revenue. In other words, the Secretary of the Ministry of Revenue is in charge of the warehouse for the emperor. You must be careful and tight, and pay what you need.
You have to give money when you need it, but you can't just ask for it."
"From this point of view, Xiao Shangshu is quite competent."
A smile of approval appeared in Sheng Hong's eyes: "That's right. Xiao Shangshu has been the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue for more than ten years. Although he is stingy and loves to cry for poverty, it is most suitable for him to be the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue."
After a pause, he asked again: "What do you think of the Minister of Industry?"
Ah Luo had obviously been thinking about it for a long time, and she opened her mouth and said, "The budget of the Ministry of Industry was one million taels. But in the end, the Ministry of Revenue was only willing to give 600,000 taels, and the Minister of Industry also remained silent. It can be seen that the previous budget was quite disappointing.
Water. This is a deliberate move to increase the budget. If Xiao Shangshu had not opened his mouth, the budget would have been much more generous, and the Ministry of Industry could have withheld part of it privately. Even if Xiao Shangshu cut it by less than half, it would barely be enough to build river embankments."
Sheng Hong slightly nodded: "Not only the Ministry of Industry will do this, but other ministries will do this when making budgets."
"In fact, this is not only a competition between the six tribes, but also a competition between the monarch and his ministers."
Sheng Hong's eyes flashed and he said something astonishing: "Aluo, the emperor is sitting on the Dragon Throne, and he doesn't even step out of the palace. But he has to know the affairs of the world, otherwise, if he doesn't understand anything, he will be deceived by his ministers."
"Take today as an example. I have to know what is going on to dredge the river and build embankments. I have to know the general situation of the three states and counties along the river, and I have to know how much money it takes to build more than a hundred miles of embankments. Otherwise, the Minister of Industry will
When I open my mouth to speak, as the emperor, I can only listen to what my ministers say."
"This six hundred thousand taels of silver was decided upon after careful consideration. The Minister of Industry did not dare to say anything anymore because I had an accurate budget. This amount of money is already enough."
"If I don't know anything, sitting on the Dragon Throne, I'm just a wood carving and clay sculpture, at the mercy of my ministers."
At the end of the sentence, Sheng Hong's eyes flashed, he looked at A Luo steadily, and said slowly: "A Luo, you still have a lot to learn."
