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Chapter 672 Nail (Part )

Five days later.

In the Showa Hall, Tang Youyin reported solemnly: "...The Ministry of Revenue has had a long-standing problem, and it is hard to change old habits. No one dares to touch the gold and silver, and there are indeed many tricks involved when dealing with farms and shops."

"The Gaoliang Palace has a total of seven farms and nineteen shops, most of which have been sold. Most of those who come to buy the farms are relatives of officials from the Ministry of Revenue, and the prices are much lower than the market price."

"Take the farm we disposed of today, for example. It had three thousand acres of good farmland and more than thirty farm slaves. The market value was at least thirty thousand taels. In the end, it was sold for only eighteen thousand taels."

The market price of farms outside the capital is ten taels of silver per mu. Even so, there is no demand. After all, such a good location and such a large piece of fertile land is really rare and is also the best asset. Who would be willing to sell it before the day of abandoning the family and property?

Even if the Ministry of Revenue was in a hurry to sell it for cash, a farm like this would only be worth selling at a 90% discount, which means it would only be worth around 27,000 taels.

As a result, 18,000 taels were sold. Where did the remaining 9,000 taels go? Whose pocket did it end up in?

Jiang Shaohua's eyes flashed with coldness: "Who is responsible for selling the farm?"

Tang Youyin had only been in the Ministry of Revenue for a few days, but he knew all the officials in the Ministry of Revenue by heart, which showed that he was very thoughtful: "It's Doctor Wan of the Ministry of Revenue."

The highest-ranking official in the Ministry of Revenue was Shangshu Ji, followed by the left and right assistant ministers, and then four fourth-rank doctors of the Ministry of Revenue.

Wan Langzhong, who was fifty years old this year, had always been an official of the prime minister's party, and had always been greedy and bold. Minister Ji had repeatedly stressed that he must not play tricks, but Wan Langzhong still didn't take it seriously and greedily stretched out his hand.

Jiang Shaohua sneered: "Does Minister Ji know about this?"

Tang Youyin replied, "What I know, how could the Minister not know? This evening, the Minister secretly summoned Doctor Wan. I don't know what he said. When I entered the palace to meet him, Doctor Wan hadn't come out yet."

Jiang Shaohua said calmly: "Then wait and see how Minister Ji will deal with this matter."

If Minister Ji's handling of the matter is not satisfactory, it doesn't matter, she can just take other measures.

Tang Youyin bowed in response.

Jiang Shaohua put the matter aside and asked with a gentle smile: "You have been in the capital for a few days. Are you used to living here?"

Tang Youyin was flattered and quickly responded with a smile: "Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. I am thick-skinned and I am used to it wherever I go."

Jiang Shaohua nodded slightly: "Just get used to it. From now on, you will live in the capital for a long time. For the time being, live in the palace with Chen Changshi. When a good house is vacant in the future, I will pick a good one for you."

In just a few words, there is infinite meaning.

The good houses in good locations in the capital were basically occupied by high-ranking officials. Under what circumstances would a "good house" be vacated? Of course, when corrupt officials were punished, demoted or had their property confiscated, then there would be a place to vacate.

Tang Youyin understood what he meant, and smiled as he bowed his hands in thanks: "I would like to thank the emperor first."

Jiang Shaohua smiled again and said, "Send someone to send a letter back and bring all the family members to the capital."

Tang Youyin replied, "I have already asked someone to send a letter back to Nanyang. The journey is long and it will take some time to travel by carriage."

As for the rest of the Tang family, they are now busy in various states and counties in the north, even Master Tang Wu. The only ones who can come to the capital to meet Tang Youyin are Tang Youyin's wife and two sons. Jiang Shaohua has always been easy-going with his confidants, and asked about the current situation of the Tang family. Tang Youyin answered fluently, calmer than those important officials in the court.

This is the calmness and confidence that only the old man in Qiandi who has served the emperor well can have.

The imperial guard Qin Hu came in quickly and reported: "Your Majesty, there is a message from the Grand Empress Dowager at Jingyang Palace, asking Your Majesty to come and have dinner with us when you are free."

Tang Youyin tactfully bowed and left.

Jiang Shaohua got up and went to Jingyang Palace.

Now she had to attend court early every day to handle government affairs, so she had no time to go to Jingyang Palace in the morning. Whenever she had free time at noon or in the evening, she would go to Jingyang Palace to accompany Empress Dowager Zheng. She would also go to Empress Dowager Li's Ning'an Palace every two or three days.

Since she inherited the throne from her cousin Jiang Song, she had to take care of her mother, grandmother and younger brother on behalf of her cousin. This was her duty.

In the past few days, Empress Dowager Zheng was quite angry because all the confiscated property of the Gaoliang Palace was put into the national treasury. On the one hand, she blamed Jiang Shaohua for making the decision without consulting her, and on the other hand, she felt sorry that such a large amount of money could not be shared.

When it comes to greed and love of money, no official in the capital is as greedy as Empress Dowager Zheng. In Empress Dowager Zheng's private vault, gold, silver, and jewelry are piled up like mountains, and there are all kinds of rare treasures in the world.

After all, Empress Dowager Zheng had been in charge of the harem for decades, starting from the position of Crown Princess. Apart from anything else, she could collect a large amount of wealth and treasures every year during the birthday festival.

In the past few years, Jiang Shaohua was the one who showed the most filial piety.

Empress Dowager Zheng was unhappy and had been at odds with Jiang Shaohua for several days. Today she finally calmed down a little and sent someone to call Jiang Shaohua to have dinner with her.

Jiang Shaohua walked into Jingyang Palace with a smile, as if nothing had happened, and called her grandmother affectionately.

Empress Dowager Zheng couldn't help but snorted: "I don't have a granddaughter like you who will ruin the family."

In the eyes of Empress Dowager Zheng, the national treasury belonged to the Daliang court, and the warehouse of the Imperial Household Department belonged to the royal family, which was equivalent to half of her private treasury.

Which of the ministers didn't take the benefits into their own pockets? The treasury was empty year after year. Was it really because of insufficient taxes? Or was it because everyone was too greedy!

Everyone is greedy, and it has become the norm. Empress Dowager Zheng did not think there was anything wrong with this, and only blamed Jiang Shaohua for not fighting for the benefits that the royal family deserved.

"The King of Gaoliang is a vassal prince of the royal family and has lived in the capital for many years. When your great-uncle was alive, he loved the King of Gaoliang the most and rewarded him with farms, shops, gold, silver, jade and everything else." Empress Dowager Zheng recalled this with uncontrollable anger in her tone: "After all, these are all the property of our Jiang family. In my opinion, now that the property has been confiscated, it should all be returned to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. It would be fine if 20% or 30% was given to the national treasury."

"You are very generous and you just give it away as soon as you extend your hand."

"I don't have time to take care of this. Next, there are the assets of the Prince of Dongping's Mansion, the Prince of Huaiyang's Mansion, and the Prince of Wu'an's Mansion. This must be handled according to the usual practice. Half of it must be added to the Treasury of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. I will never give in!"

As Empress Dowager Zheng spoke later, her voice became stern, fully demonstrating her firm determination to share the profits.

Jiang Shaohua said, "The emperor's words are binding. I have already promised at the court meeting that all the confiscated property and assets will be put into the national treasury. I cannot go back on my word."

Empress Dowager Zheng glared and was about to get angry again.