spend time

After the morning court session, the excited Minister Ji hurried all the way to the Ministry of Revenue and asked all the officials in the Ministry to prepare to take over the property confiscated from the Prince of Gaoliang's palace.

All the officials in the Ministry of Revenue were excited: "Is what the Minister said true? Will all the property confiscated from the Gaoliang Palace really be put into the national treasury?"

"How can this be false? The emperor's words are absolutely true." The Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue laughed.

The Right Assistant Minister smiled and took over the conversation: "The Emperor is concerned about the garrison troops who have been underpaid for years. This year, the military pay must be fully paid, and they must also be given new clothes and adequate food."

"This is the first payment. There will also be the confiscated property from the Prince of Dongping's Mansion, and 80% of the property from the Prince of Huaiyang's Mansion and the Prince of Wu'an's Mansion. Our Ministry of Revenue will finally be able to have more money this year."

The officials were all delighted and said in unison: "The emperor is truly a benevolent and wise ruler!"

"Having such an emperor is a blessing for the garrison, and even more so for our subjects!"

"We'll be busy next."

Not all the confiscated property could be used immediately. Gold and silver could be used to buy food, make military uniforms and pay salaries, but antiques, calligraphy and paintings, jade articles, farms, shops and the like had to be liquidated and converted into silver.

In the process of disposal, some "losses" are not surprising. For example, a shop was originally worth two thousand taels of silver. If it is sold in a hurry, it is not uncommon to sell it at half the price. Of course, the buyer of the shop must be well-informed, and it is possible that he is a relative or friend of a certain official in the Ministry of Revenue.

This is also the usual practice of the Ministry of Revenue. The national treasury is indeed empty, but the officials of the Ministry of Revenue are not poor at all. Corruption has long been the norm in the Daliang officialdom. The Ministry of Revenue is in charge of the national money and grain, so of course it must be the place with the most money.

When the officials of the Ministry of Revenue heard that all the property of Prince Gaoliang was deposited into the national treasury, they were all delighted. Not only because the national treasury was about to be full, but also because they were about to have a "feast" where they could fill their bowls and eat their fill.

Minister Ji coughed heavily, signaling everyone to calm down: "Everyone, please be quiet. I have something to tell you."

"The emperor has just ascended the throne, and he is still relatively calm and accommodating for the time being. However, everyone should remember how the emperor inspected the six ministries last year when he was still a princess!"

"Everyone should be more efficient in what they do. Don't be too greedy and make the emperor unhappy. Then the emperor will use you as a raft to make an example of you."

The officials were startled when they heard the words, and they all stopped smiling and accepted the order seriously.

At this moment, Chen Sheren, a close minister of the emperor, arrived.

Chen Sheren is now the only female official in the court and the closest minister to the emperor. Jian has a promising future in the emperor's heart. Ji Shangshu is an old-school official and does not approve of women serving as officials. However, the Daliang Dynasty has a female emperor, so it is indeed more convenient to send female officials. Who knows, it will become the norm in the court in the future.

Minister Ji led a group of officials to greet them with a bow.

Chen Sheren came forward with a book in his hand, smiling: "The list of the confiscated property of the Prince of Gaoliang was originally in the palace. The emperor ordered me to copy a copy and send it to the Ministry of Revenue. Please ask Minister Ji to take it. Next, you can count and receive it according to this list."

Minister Ji took it with both hands and said, "Thank you, Mr. Chen."

Next, he would naturally try to persuade her to stay politely: "Mr. Chen, please come in and have a cup of tea before returning to the palace to report."

If you are sensible, you should say goodbye and leave now.

The Ministry of Revenue is now busy with inventorying, reconciling, and warehousing, and also has to check the military registers to calculate the military pay, clothing, and food needed by each garrison, etc. There are so many things to do, enough to keep more than 40 people in the Ministry of Revenue busy. At this time, how can there be time to entertain Chen Sheren?
Unexpectedly, Chen Sheren was not at all tactful and readily agreed: "I have accompanied the emperor to the Ministry of Revenue for a few days before, and I am quite interested in its operation. Today I happen to have nothing to do, so I will just take a look."

Minister Ji: “…”

Officials from the Ministry of Revenue: "..."

Chen Sheren seemed not to notice the slightly stiff expressions of the officials, and smiled and said to Minister Ji: "Minister Ji, don't worry about me, the Ministry of Revenue can do what it needs to do." That's right. With such a large amount of assets being added to the national treasury, it is reasonable for the emperor to send a confidant to keep an eye on it. Can he still deceive his superiors and subordinates and do whatever he wants as before?

Minister Ji quickly adjusted his attitude, politely invited Chen Sheren to the signing room, and asked someone to bring him a pot of good tea. He then quickly arranged the various tasks.

This is what all officials are used to doing. Today, it is obviously faster and more efficient.

This Chen Sheren is the emperor's eyes. How dare they neglect or be lazy?

Gold and silver are the most convenient and quickest to dispose of. They can be directly moved into the warehouse and entered into the public account, and then used later. Other assets that need to be disposed of and liquidated are much more troublesome.

Chen Sheren was also in a good mood, and after sitting in Minister Ji's signing room for half an hour, he came out to walk around, looking around and asking questions, which made all the officials tense.

It was not until the evening that Chen Sheren returned to the palace leisurely.

"I hope he won't come back tomorrow!" muttered an official from the Ministry of Revenue.

"Is there any need to think about this? It will definitely happen!" Another official sighed, "Considering the princess's past behavior, this nail will be nailed in the Ministry of Revenue for at least ten days and a half months."

"That may not be the case. Maybe he will only be here for two or three days. The Emperor cannot be without someone to send him around."

That makes sense!

Furthermore, Chen Sheren didn’t understand the ins and outs of how the Ministry of Revenue operated. Even if she was allowed to look, what problems could she find?

Thinking of this, the officials of the Ministry of Revenue felt relieved.

Even Minister Ji thought so.

The next morning, when Chen Sheren led a plain-looking man in his thirties in, Minister Ji was startled: "Chen Sheren, who is this..."

Chen Sheren replied with a smile: "This is Tang Sili, whose full name is Tang Youyin. The Tang family grain store is very famous in the north, and I think Minister Ji has heard of it! He is the young master of the Tang family grain store!"

Tang’s Grain Store is so famous!

In the past few years, the Tang family grain shop has expanded rapidly. Every time they go to a place, they bring new high-yield grain seeds to that place. They sell grain seeds, teach people how to farm, and secretly take in refugees who can't survive and move them to Nanyang County...

The master behind the Tang family is the former Princess Nanyang, now Empress Zhaoping.

Tang Youyin took a step forward and bowed, "I am Tang Youyin, a minor official. I am honored to meet the Minister."

Minister Ji came back to his senses and said politely, "Tang Sili, please stand up."

Without waiting for Minister Ji to ask, Chen Sheren smiled and said, "Tang Sili used to work in the household department of Xi'e County Government. Later, he entered the household department of Nanyang Palace and took Feng Changshi as his master. He worked with Feng Changshi for several years."

"Chapter Feng wants to stay in the palace to manage the household, so he sent Secretary Tang to the capital. From now on, Secretary Tang will stay in the Ministry of Revenue and be under the command of Minister Ji."

Minister Ji: "..." (End of this chapter)