The infinite heavens start from the red building

Chapter 342 11.21 The Empress Discusses the Emperor's Debt Collection

Chapter 11

11.21 Queen's Discussion, Emperor's Debt Collection

Time flies by, and it has entered August of the 17th year of Yongzheng. It is only a few days away from the traditional Mid-Autumn Festival. These days, the consumption enthusiasm of the people in the capital has increased significantly, and the whole city is full of pre-holiday atmosphere.

But corresponding to the mood of the people, the atmosphere in the imperial court is not very good, because there is no good news from the Yangtze River front, but all battle reports, if it is not "defeated and lost city", it is considered good news.

Of course, this has nothing to do with Wei Xu and everyone in the Wei family, especially in some more loving atmospheres, such as the apse of Fengzao Palace and the queen's bedroom. The layout is even a bit cool.

"You bastard!" The empress, who was almost torn apart, moved to the head of the bed with great effort, and leaned against the pillow to do the job, but the movement was a little big, and there was obvious discomfort from a position that had been "used" repeatedly, "Master Wei , what is the purpose of coming here today?"

"Of course, I would like to thank you for your kind words, Your Majesty, for letting us plan in advance." Wei Xu leaned to the side, hugged the Queen in his arms and said with a smile, "Now that Ma Shang has taken over the position of the right servant of the Ministry of War, his son It is only a matter of time before Ma Xin succeeds as the commander of the Tianjin Guard."

"Is this how you thank?" Zhiqiu, who was also "disasterd" by the side, naturally had nothing good to say, "The servant girl will definitely persuade the empress well, and will never give you any help, so as not to be trampled by others!"

"While the master is chatting, why did you interrupt your mouth!" Wei Xu pulled the brocade quilt and covered Zhiqiu under the quilt, and then said with a smile, "Besides, we are not sorry for the royal reward. All the grains were sold to the imperial court at a low price.

With such a large amount of grain entering Beijing, even the price of grain in the capital has been suppressed. Since the riots in the Yangtze River, this should be the most relaxing time for our Majesty, right? "

"If Your Majesty knows what you are like now, not to mention a reward, it would be an extrajudicial favor not to punish your ten clans!" The queen said angrily, "And this matter is over, you are not here to reminisce, right? "

"Your Majesty is wise!" Wei Xu continued to tease, "Now that there is enough food and wages, the [-] new troops in the capital are finally on the right track. The most important thing is that the people who currently control these new troops are mainly drawn from the Royal Forest Army. backbone."

"Why didn't Lord Hou say that only half of them are controlled in this way, and the other half is still in the hands of the Beijing camp?" Zhiqiu pushed aside Jinbei in dissatisfaction, "I just don't know, will such a 'retraining' new army As useless as the 'elites' of the Yangtze River front—woo!"

"Naughty!" Wei Xu conveniently pushed her into an indescribable position to enjoy the tenderness, and then continued, "In any case, with the support of these soldiers and horses, His Majesty the Emperor finally has a lot of confidence to speak.

These days, his attitude towards civil and military officials has basically returned to the state before the war, so I have reason to doubt whether these soldiers and horses will be sent to the front of the Yangtze River again, or that His Majesty the Emperor, who already knows the importance of military power, What's next? "

"What's your guess?" The Queen asked, frowning.

"It's hard to say." Wei Xu shook his head, "We really can't think of any other plans or actions by His Majesty that can improve the situation on the Yangtze River front. If there is no change there, everything else is just a dream.

If you want to solve the problem over there, you must first concentrate the resources of the imperial court. With the support of such a powerful army, my guess is that His Majesty will spend his energy on this, for example, regaining control over the distribution of money and food. "

"These rotten Confucians are still dreaming of regaining their status in the late Ming Dynasty." The queen sarcastically said, "I'm afraid they don't know that Lord Hou wants to pacify the world now, but he doesn't plan to use them anymore."

"Hou Ye is really worthy of the reputation of Wu Xun. The name of being able to know soldiers, be good at training soldiers, and know how to use soldiers is not a little watery. Even his family members are so powerful." Qiu couldn't help but continue to raise his head to sarcastically.

"Be honest!" Wei Xu continued to push her down, "Why, the empress seems to know something we don't?"

"The matter of your concubine—it should be two concubines has aroused suspicion, because the style of the so-called 'White Lotus Army' is too similar to that of your 'Jiangnan Army', although there are differences in details, But the general direction is almost the same.

Looking at the world now, when it comes to leading troops, no one should be able to surpass you, but don't treat other people as fools, for such a long time, many things are not as secret as you think. "The queen said lightly.

"It doesn't matter." Things have come to this point, according to the current strength of the Wei family, it really doesn't matter whether they are exposed, "Don't say they just guessed, even if they really have evidence, who would dare to ask more?
As long as the Dongfang side continues to be strong, I will still be the No. [-] Wuhou of the Dashun Dynasty. I have a hundred thousand elite Jiangnan Army in hand. Even if the royal family knows about it, they will only dare to use some underground methods, let alone the current situation. No one should dare to report it, right? "Not to mention the civil and military parties, even the royal secret guards, no one dared to report it." The queen looked at Wei Xu with a complicated expression, "These servants have always reported good news but not bad news, and concealed the truth from others."

Even at this point, if you report your situation and the reason is just 'guessing', I am afraid that no one will survive, and no fool will do such a thankless thing.

Today, most of the territory south of the Yangtze River is surnamed Wei, right?It seems that the days when I can call myself 'Ben Gong' may not be too long. "

"Don't worry, I will give you a palace at that time, so that you can continue to call yourself 'this palace'." Wei Xu teasingly held the queen's chin with his hand, but was pushed away by the other party, "I just didn't expect that you are here There are also people in the dark guards."

"Hmph!" The queen was a little helpless, "The Sacred Church can have today's situation, but also thanks to Lord Wei's 'help', so what? If it is intelligence or infiltration, the Sacred Sect has been passed down for hundreds of years, and it is not easy to look at the world. Someone will be able to catch up!"

"Okay, let's not talk about these disappointing things." Of course Wei Xu knew about the infiltration of the White Lotus Sect, and this was also the most important reason why he accepted Liu Feixu, "Why don't you let Ben Hou continue to serve your empress!"

"You—" the queen refused in a hurry, "Marquis Wei, if you need women, there are plenty in this harem, and if you give a few court ladies or even female officials, I can still speak.

Even if you don't want to, Yun'er is talking to sister Yuanchun now, aren't you already familiar with it?How about going now?This Palace will definitely not”

"They don't have any taste!" It's really not that Wei Xu is anxious, but that sometimes, some in-depth exchanges can achieve results that can't be obtained in normal negotiations, "Why don't we continue!"

At the same time when the empress's voice was a little hoarse due to some kind of shouting, all the core civil officials in the apse of the Daming Palace and the imperial study room were present, but there was not a single general.

"Why, everyone still can't provide enough money and food?" Emperor Yongzheng's voice was extremely cold, "Now 20 soldiers on the front line of the Yangtze River are desperately fighting, but you tell me that you can't provide enough money and food?

Well, they are all good courtiers of my Dashun Dynasty!Since it's so useless, why do I keep it?Anyway, without you, I would not be able to get money and food, so I might as well raise a few fewer people and save some for the frontline soldiers to eat more! "

"Your Majesty—" Jiang Xing, Minister of the Household Department, was sweating on his forehead, "I have tried my best, but in the current situation, unless there is an additional agricultural tax, it is impossible to provide extra food and wages. Now the autumn food is approaching."

"Shut up!" Yongzheng interrupted him coldly, "Nowadays the people are already living in hardship because of the Jiangnan War, and even in the capital city where the Son of Heaven is the most benevolent place, food prices have doubled compared to before the war!
If you continue to increase the food and payment, do you want the civil chaos in the south of the Yangtze River to become a war in the whole world?At that time, I will definitely need to throw out a statement to calm the world's public opinion. What does Master Jiang think? "

"Your Majesty, in fact, Master Jiang has found a considerable amount of silver, but he cannot use it for the time being." Shen Yan, Minister of the Ministry of Rites, glanced coldly at Jiang Xing, who was kneeling to plead guilty, and reported on his knees, "It's just these silver."

"Oh?" Yongzheng was also stunned for a moment, "Forgive your innocence, get up and talk!"

"Master Jiang!" Shen Yan didn't speak directly, but turned to look at Jiang Xing, Minister of the Household Department.

"Your Majesty—" Jiang Xing didn't dare to get up, looked at Shen Yan first, then gritted his teeth and said, "Now there are still a lot of debts in the household department, and the amount of money is huge, but the debtors have a special status, so it's not good pursue"

"Your Majesty, since the founding of the Dashun Dynasty, most of the honorable ministers have borrowed money from the household department. Until the last time the accounts were cleared, the total amount has exceeded 1000 million taels. If it is normal, it is fine.

Now the country is in a difficult situation, people are asking for food and payment everywhere, but the payment cannot be changed out of thin air, if there is such a thing as money." Shen Yan, the head of civil servants, did not dare to speak out at this time .

"Master Jiang, you are the Minister of the Household Department. This time, you will take the lead and let the rumors out. Now that the country is in a difficult situation, you can't continue to owe money!" Emperor Yongzheng gave the order decisively without the slightest hesitation!

(End of this chapter)