Thief Emperor

Chapter 170: Sharing your worries!

Of course Su Jing was short of money, especially meat.

Although the court appointed him as the commander-in-chief of the army, allowing him to control all the states and counties wherever he went and hold full military and political power, there was one thing the court did not give him.

That is money and food.

The money and food for the entire army was in charge of Jiang Yan, a military general sent from the capital.

This is a common occurrence. After all, he was given the power to command the military and the power to control the local areas. If Su Jing were allowed to be responsible for his own money and food, his troops would be without reins.

Without reins, the horse will run wild and no ruler will allow this to happen.

Although Jiangyan obeyed Su Jing's orders and did not have a shortage of food, it was not rich. In addition, the soldiers in the army had been complaining about the long siege of Yuezhou.

General Su closed his eyes, thought for a moment, and then said, "I'll take the animals, but as for the money..."

Li Yun pulled out a document from his sleeve and said, "General, please take a look. This is a document signed by the wealthy families in Qiantang. It clearly states that the money is donated to the court to quell the rebellion. The money is clean and there is no problem."

"Even if these big families turn against us afterwards, they won't be able to do anything to the general because of his contributions."

"The brothers under the general have fought hard during this period. It is time to reward them. Otherwise, if we continue to attack Yuezhou in the future, the army will lose its enthusiasm."

Su Jing stroked his beard and said, "You..."

He looked at Li Yun and asked, "Why are you so eager to do these things that you shouldn't do?"

Li Yun smiled and said, "The general has me stationed in Qiantang. He may have wanted me to do these things, right?"

Su Jing lowered his head and drank tea in silence.

Li Yun sat down and said, "General, the rebellion in Yuezhou will probably be quelled in a few months. After a few months, I will not follow you to the Central Plains. However, I have made some contributions during this period, so I would like to seek an official position in Jiangnan Road."

Su Jing narrowed his eyes: "Didn't you say before that you had no interest in officialdom?"

“It’s true that I have no interest in a career in politics, but it’s also true that I want to be an official.”

Li Yun smiled and said, "The general should also know that I was originally a man of the underworld, and I was a captain in Qingyang. Xue, the county magistrate of Qingyang County, has a daughter..."

Su Jing raised his eyebrows.

"You boy, are you attracted to someone's daughter?"

"Both love and affection are mutual."

Li Yun said quickly, "But I am of a low birth, so I can't ask for help from County Master Xue. I was lucky enough to be promoted by the general this time, so I thought I could get a job. When I return to Qingyang, I can ask for help from County Master Xue."

Su Jing raised his eyebrows and asked, "What kind of official do you want to be?"

Li Yun coughed and whispered, "Xuanzhou Sima."

"No."

Su Jing shook his head and said, "It is impossible for me to ask you for this position for no reason. However, there are some opportunities for the position of Sima, but not in Xuanzhou."

Li Yun frowned and asked, "What is that?"

"Yuezhou."

Su Jing said calmly, "I will be leaving before the end of the year. There is less than half a year left. At most, I can disperse the main force of the rebels, but it is impossible to wipe them out completely. There may be some remnants of the rebels hiding in Yuezhou. It is reasonable to use this as an excuse to ask for the position of Sima of Yuezhou for you."

"However, this matter can only be done by the end of the year. For now, I have to report to the court for your merit in blocking the main force of the rebels and killing a thousand enemies."

"Before we withdraw at the end of the year, I will recommend you to the imperial court to be the Sima of Yuezhou."

Li Yun quickly stood up and bowed respectfully: "Thank you, General!"

General Su looked at him, and after a moment of silence, he said, "With your status, even if you become a Sima, you will never be promoted in the future. A man should make achievements on the battlefield. Don't you really want to go to the Central Plains with me?"

Li Yun smiled and said, "If the general orders me to go, I will go..."

"That's all."

Su Jing shook his head and said, "A real man does not force others to do things. Since you don't want to go, I won't make it difficult for you."

If it was the Su Jing of the past, there would be no nonsense at this time and he would directly force Li Yun to continue to serve in the army. However, after the last incident, Su Jing more or less understood the court's intentions through indirect hints.

The imperial court did not seem to want him to take too many people with him from Jiangnan Road.

If there had not been another chaos in the Central Plains, the soldiers under Su Jing would have disbanded on the spot after the Yuezhou Rebellion.

From this perspective, it seems that letting Li Yun, the "hero in suppressing the rebellion", stay in the local area is exactly what the court wants.

General Su looked at Li Yun and continued, "Then it's settled. You can hand the things over to Su Sheng."

"You can go back to Qiantang now, or you can stay in Yuezhou Camp for a while, whichever is more convenient for you."

Li Yun bowed his head in thanks and said with a smile, "Thank you, General!"

Su Jing rarely smiled and said, "If you and Miss Xue are going to have a good relationship, you must remember my kindness."

"sure."

Li Yun bowed and saluted: "I will never forget it!"

………………

August of the fourth year of Xian De. The severe drought for several consecutive months had already doomed the harvest to fail again this year.

However, the court had to collect taxes, otherwise the finances, which were already struggling to survive, would become even more difficult to maintain. When the court issued a tax collection document, officials in the Central Plains region quickly wrote a joint letter to the court reporting the drought and requesting the court to exempt more than 20 states in the Central Plains from taxes and grain this year.

The document was quickly delivered to the court and the Council of State Affairs, and then delivered to the Emperor by several prime ministers in the Council of State Affairs.

Prime Minister Cui Yuan and Wang Du handed the document to the emperor's desk. Prime Minister Cui Yuan bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty, the Central Plains has suffered from severe drought for two consecutive years. Most places may have no harvest this year. Local officials cannot collect taxes and grain. Therefore, we write to the court to request that the court exempt 20 states from taxes and grain this year."

His Majesty the Emperor only glanced at the document in front of him, not even thinking of opening it. He raised his eyebrows, looked at the two prime ministers, and said in a neutral voice: "What do you think of this, the Crown Prince, and what do you think of the Council of State Affairs?"

The two prime ministers looked at each other, and the more straightforward prime minister Wang Du stepped forward and bowed, "Your Majesty, the Council of State does not know what His Royal Highness the Crown Prince thinks, but the drought in the Central Plains is indeed severe, and Puzhou has rebelled again. If we do not exempt this year's taxes and levies, the chaos in the Central Plains will probably continue to expand."

"What the Political Affairs Hall means is..."

Having said that, Wang Du looked at Cui Yuan, who nodded slightly to show his support.

So, Wang Xiangcai continued, "We should exempt this year's taxes and levies."

"If you want to be exempted, then be exempted."

His Majesty the Emperor stood up and stretched his muscles, then said, "As long as the court can make ends meet, I will not interfere. But if the court cannot make ends meet, you should not come to me to complain."

As he spoke, His Majesty glanced at the two people and asked, "Have you asked the Ministry of Revenue?"

Cui Yuan bowed his head and said, "Minister Yang of the Ministry of Revenue said that if we cut down on expenses this year, we can get by if we grit our teeth."

“Reduce expenses.”

The emperor slowly asked, "Where should we reduce the expenditure?"

“All applications have been reduced.”

Cui Yuan lowered his head and said, "About 15%."

The emperor asked, "Will the palace expenses be reduced?"

Cui Yuan remained silent.

The Emperor's expression, which had been calm, suddenly turned angry. He slapped the table and shouted, "Prince, why can't you pray for rain?"

The two prime ministers were startled and knelt on the ground in panic, trembling with fear and not daring to speak.

The emperor took a breath, calmed down, and asked, "How is the battle in Yuezhou?"

"The battle is going well, and we are reporting victory many times."

Cui Yuan quickly said, "Su Jing said that it will be settled before the New Year."

His Majesty the Emperor narrowed his eyes.

"That's fine, that's fine."

"The matter of money and grain in the Central Plains."

He put his hands behind his back and groaned, "Go discuss this matter with the Crown Prince, don't ask me again!"

"If you want to exempt me, then exempt me!"

After that, he walked away.

The two prime ministers stood up and looked at each other, both of them looking helpless. After they walked out of Chongde Hall, Wang Du looked at Cui Yuan and said, "Prime Minister Cui, your Majesty's words are vague and unclear. What do you think your Majesty means?"

"It's not easy. Can't you see? His Majesty is already unhappy."

Minister Cui put his hands behind his back and whispered, "Exempting taxes and levies is a favor from the emperor."

"Since Your Majesty has asked us to make the decision, then it is certainly not for us to be good people or do good deeds."

At this point, Cui Xianggong shook his head and sighed: "Let's go see the prince and see what he has to say."

…………

"Everyone, if you want to waive the money and levies, then do so."

The prince stood in the government hall, looked at the prime ministers, and said slowly: "But the expenses of the palace cannot be reduced. Your Majesty is the father of all the people in the nine provinces. No one can be wronged!"

He reached out and knocked on the table, saying, "Let the Ministry of Revenue come up with a plan and get some money from other places to supply the palace."

None of the prime ministers spoke.

Wang Du couldn't help but say, "Minister Yang of the Ministry of Revenue has already wanted to resign."

"If he resigns, then let's replace him with someone else."

The prince took a deep breath.

"My dear gentlemen, let us share your worries!"

"Are you still afraid of being criticized?"

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(End of this chapter)