A son who doesn't resemble his father? Love you, old man, see you at Xuanwu Gate!

Chapter 57 Follow the Heart
On the snow-covered plains, the city of Chang'an welcomed the bright sunshine after the heavy winter snow, and the people of Guanzhong and Guandong finally had a rare moment of joy.

A heavy snowfall blanketed the parched wheat fields, a sign of a bountiful harvest, and people seemed to see a great year just around the corner.

Two high-ranking officials of the dynasty, Yan Yi, the Minister of Grain Supply, and Zhao Yu, the Minister of the Imperial Treasury, came to the Prime Minister's residence upon being summoned.

The Han dynasty inherited the Qin system, and there were two officials in charge of the national finances and economy: the Minister of Agriculture and the Minister of the Treasury, who were the foundation of the state.

The Minister of Agriculture was in charge of the grain and money of the whole country to supply the country's daily needs. The Minister of the Treasury was in charge of the taxes on ponds and lakes and the funds of customs and markets to supply the emperor.

Broadly speaking, the Minister of Agriculture was in charge of the national treasury, while the Minister of the Imperial Treasury was in charge of the imperial treasury.

However, in the early days of the Han Dynasty, many official positions were in disarray. For example, Your Majesty's policy of monopolizing salt and iron was problematic. Salt and iron were resources from mountains, seas, ponds, and lakes, and should have been under the jurisdiction of the Imperial Household Department. However, for the sake of convenience, Sang Hongyang's Chief of Grain Supply and Dongguo Xianyang and Kong Jin's Assistant Minister of Agriculture were placed under the Office of the Director of Grain Supply.

This resulted in Sang Hongyang, Dongguo Xianyang, and Kong Jin receiving salaries from the imperial court while profiting from salt and iron, yet all of their earnings were transferred to the Imperial Treasury. Furthermore, Yan Yi, as the Grand Minister of Agriculture, did not have the authority to command or order the three men.

There were many similar incidents, which led to a less than harmonious relationship between the Grand Minister of Agriculture and the Minister of the Imperial Treasury during the Qin and Han dynasties, which lasted for more than a hundred years. In fact, they were often enemies.

Yan Yi was the tenth-generation descendant of the sage Yan Hui. He was known in the court for his integrity and honesty. Zhao Yu was also known for his integrity, but he was not honest. He was shrewd but arrogant. He had no close friends and did not associate with guests. He was a cruel official trusted by His Majesty.

Even though they entered the Prime Minister's residence together, they did not exchange a single word, and when they paid their respects to Gongsun Hong, they did so one after the other.

"I have met the Prime Minister."

"I have met the former Prime Minister."

When Zhao Yu entered officialdom, he first served Grand Commandant Zhou Yafu, and then served in the Prime Minister's office for many years. Although the Prime Minister at that time was not Gongsun Hong, he showed even closer ties with him.

"Coming?"

Gongsun Hong looked up from his official duties and gestured, "Please sit down. I hope you don't mind coming to the Prime Minister's residence."

"It would be an honor!" The two replied in unison, just like in official circles.

"Gentlemen, the Emperor has issued the first decree of the reign, requesting that the funds from the national treasury and the Imperial Treasury be transferred to the Northern Army," Gongsun Hong said bluntly.

"This decree is of great importance. Should we submit it to His Majesty for a decision first?" Zhao Yu asked, sweat beading on his forehead.

Grand Minister of Agriculture Yan Yi remained silent, clearly disagreeing with the decree.

"My intention is not to present this decree to His Majesty for the time being."

Yan Yi and Zhao Yu turned their heads upon hearing the sound.

"I'll explain two points."

Gongsun Hong put down his wolf-hair brush, slowly stood up and said, "The current state of affairs should not cause His Majesty any more trouble. Knowing about them will not help. That is the first point."

This is saying the opposite of what you mean.

The state affairs are in turmoil, and Your Majesty bears an unshirkable responsibility for the more than ten years of reckless and arbitrary actions. The Han Dynasty has not yet reached its lowest point, but it has certainly reached it. Even if we cannot speak our minds, the officials of both the central and foreign dynasties share the same idea: no matter how the young emperor governs the country, even if he does nothing, to some extent, the Han Dynasty will still rise.

It's not that state affairs are causing trouble for His Majesty, it's that His Majesty is constantly causing trouble for state affairs. But this reason alone cannot convince Yan Yi and Zhao Yu. After all, their lives and fortunes are tied to the government's funds. If His Majesty finds out that they have secretly handed over the government's funds to the Crown Prince, he will surely kill them, and it may even implicate their families.

"Secondly, the struggle between the imperial family is no secret. Your Majesty, the Emperor, and I are all the same; we cannot afford to offend anyone. To be frank, Your Majesty is now almost powerless. Even if Your Majesty hears of the relocation of the imperial palace and returns from Ganquan Palace, the outcome between father and son is uncertain. However, our Great Han Dynasty will be on the verge of collapse."

The weight of the nation's fate.

The pressure made Yan Yi and Zhao Yu feel breathless, yet they still couldn't make up their minds.

Gongsun Hong did not want to tarnish the emperor's reputation, but at this point, he could only continue, "It is well known that the emperor is kind to his subjects. When the emperor ascends the throne in the future, even if he has not made any contributions, he will still be rewarded."

If Your Majesty were to resume your rule, given Your Majesty's unfathomable and unyielding heart, those who have opposed Your Majesty would likely be executed immediately, and those who wavered between Your Majesty and the Emperor would also find it difficult to escape death. As for those who support Your Majesty…”

The unfinished words are the most thought-provoking. Yan Yi and Zhao Yu are both veteran officials. Thinking of the indiscriminate killings by His Majesty after the successive deaths of Empress Dowager Dou and Empress Dowager Wang, their hearts are heavy.

I support Your Majesty! I bet there's an endless supply of White Deer Coins to buy!
When you run out of money, that's when death comes.

Supporting Your Majesty... Can more names be added to the Qilin Pavilion?

"Ultimately, a small report is the culprit. The three of us—you and I—are the root cause of this trouble. Tell me, am I right or wrong?"

"The stakes involved..."

"The interests involved are deduced by the old prime minister. Since the old prime minister has been so frank, I also have something to say from the bottom of my heart: Your Majesty has been a valiant and capable emperor for the past ten years or so, hasn't he?" Zhao Yu said reluctantly.

As a cruel official, his fate was sealed: once the cunning rabbit dies, the hunting dog is cooked. The old master's tyrannical nature was not entirely a good thing, and the young master's character was still undetermined, making it even more difficult to determine whether he would be good or bad.

Compared to his young master, he felt that his old master was more reliable. As a dog, one should have the awareness of being a dog; having a bone to gnaw on is enough.

Gongsun Hong did not respond, but Yan Yi spoke up: "However, His Majesty is too fond of grand achievements. Prime Minister, I will go with you."

I do not know the exact amount of gold in the Imperial Treasury, but I imagine that after Emperors Xiaowen and Xiaojing, the days of a treasury overflowing with gold are long gone. The day the treasury is empty will be the day of the Minister of the Imperial Treasury's death. I think that day is not far off!

When His Majesty moves to Ganquan Palace, the vast detached palace will inevitably need major renovations. Even spending millions of taels of gold might not be enough. In addition, there are the officials, concubines, palace maids, eunuchs, entertainers, and so on who will accompany His Majesty. When the funds of the Imperial Household Department can no longer sustain the expenses, whoever is the Minister of the Imperial Household Department will have to die.

His Majesty cannot admit that it was his own ambition and love of achievement that caused the countless accumulations of the reigns of Emperors Wen and Jing to be completely wasted. Therefore, creating a great fire to burn down the empty treasury, and then announcing to the outside world that the Minister of the Imperial Treasury had embezzled the legacy of the prosperous era, and then burning down all traces of it, would be a very good solution.

The treasures of Emperors Xiaowen and Xiaojing will become legends for all time.

As for the Shaofuqing and his family who embezzled and disappeared without a trace, it would be difficult for them to die a good death. At the very least, their entire clan would be exterminated.

It's not impossible to exterminate nine generations of a family.

Zhao Yu trembled. "The future of the Han Dynasty depends on Your Majesty, the old Prime Minister. As for the matter of the Treasury, I will leave it to you!"

"Very well, the matter of the treasury is settled then!"

(End of this chapter)