Fengmou Jiangshan

Chapter 64 On Good and Evil

Thinking of how terrible the foreshadowing was, Liu Jia still felt a little nervous, for fear that Gu Qinghua would throw himself a huge problem as soon as he opened his mouth!

Gu Qinghua smiled and motioned for him to sit down again, and motioned for Xianglin to serve tea. After both parties slowed down and adjusted the atmosphere just now, he nodded and said with a smile: "Yes, I'm looking for you. Naturally, there is something important to discuss."

"I am a humble minister, but follow His Majesty's orders!" Liu Jia hurriedly stated.

Gu Qinghua pondered for a while, and said, "I don't think I need to come here for the donations from wealthy businessmen who have been making such a fuss these days?"

Liu Jia's eyebrows twitched suddenly, and he said: "Yes, everyone in the world knows about this, and it is also closely related to the disaster relief in charge of the Ministry of Household Affairs. Naturally, I know it too."

Gu Qinghua frowned imperceptibly: it will be difficult to change for a while, and his speech is still so smooth and tactful.

Gu Qinghua didn't get too entangled in his expression, and said directly: "To tell the truth, this matter was ordered by me!" Glancing at Liu Jia's expected surprised expression, Gu Qinghua paused, and continued Said: "You don't need to know what the process is! Now, it's time for me to fulfill my promise. For the nearly [-] merchants who donated money, I want to grant them a single family background, improve their social status, and allow their descendants to enter official positions." , what does Ai Qing think?"

"Your Majesty! This—" Liu Jia was taken aback, and he couldn't react for a while, his mind went blank!He said, why those merchants sent so much silver to the inner government office so frantically, as if they were sending leaves instead of silver!I see!
Liu Jia quietly glanced at Gu Qinghua, and couldn't help admiring her boldness.The status of merchants is low, and they have always been despised by scholars, but it is ridiculous that His Majesty wants to promote them in such a disregard of manners!To put it bluntly, there are 1 people in Liu Jia who disagree with this matter, but now, how can they say such objections?

"Your Majesty—what do you want me to do?" Liu Jia could only ask.

"Don't be reluctant!" Gu Qinghua couldn't help laughing at his bitter face, and said: "It makes sense for me to do this, and you will understand in the future! I will propose to reward the donation merchants in the morning tomorrow. time, you should know what to do."

Liu Jia was silent for a moment, nodded, and said: "Don't worry, Your Majesty, I will definitely stand by His Majesty's side and support His Majesty."

Gu Qinghua nodded and said: "You are the Minister of the Household Department, and the actions of the merchants have a lot to do with you, so your opinion is very important. As long as you agree, I believe that more than half of the ministers in the DPRK and China will not be able to object. It's only natural for you to speak about this matter, and no one else will doubt it!"

"Your Majesty is wise!" Liu Jia responded.

After finishing speaking, the two monarchs and ministers discussed for a while, and Liu Jia took his leave, and went back to think about what to do with tomorrow's splendid article.

The next day when he went to court, Gu Qinghua shook the folder in his hand, looked down, breathed a sigh of relief and said with a relaxed smile: "The disaster relief work has finally come to an end! These days, Zhuqing and I can They're all exhausted!"

The courtiers echoed one after another, saying that His Majesty has worked hard, that His Majesty is so wise and flattering, and that the people in the disaster-stricken areas are blessed and so on.

Gu Qinghua only smiled, his expression was very satisfied, as if he enjoyed being flattered.Seeing that what everyone said was almost over, she just raised her hand to stop it, and said with a smile: "This disaster is very serious and fierce, and it is only thanks to the joint efforts of the monarch, ministers and people that we can get through this disaster safely. It can be seen that we It is really the style of the prosperous age that the Daxi Kingdom is united as one, what do you think?"

Who dares to say no?They all said yes.

Gu Qinghua nodded slowly, and then continued: "Those who have made meritorious deeds should be rewarded, and those who have committed faults should be punished. Punish the evil and promote the good. This is the long-term way to attract the people to do good. Local officials of prefectures and counties in the disaster-stricken areas who worked hard, sergeants of the Habayashi Army, relevant personnel of the internal government, as well as ministers and wealthy private businessmen who donated money, should all be rewarded, what do you think?"

Everyone was very happy to hear it, but before she finished speaking, there was already a buzz of low opinions below, all civil servants and generals nodded in agreement.Unexpectedly, the last sentence was not heard, and the huge hall was completely silent, and the sound of falling needles could be heard in silence.Everyone was stunned, staring at her in surprise with an expression of disbelief.

Prince Yizheng's face was silent, and he glanced at Liu Jia, Minister of the Household Department, calmly. Seeing that he was also dumbfounded, he felt a little relieved, and quickly exchanged glances with his party, and waited for Gu Qinghua's next words.

The King Yizheng winked, and when the Minister of Rites came out, he cupped his hands and protested upwards: "Your Majesty, this is not appropriate!"

"What's wrong? What's wrong with rewarding meritorious deeds?" Gu Qinghua said lightly.

Yu Shi was taken aback, and hurriedly said: "The humble minister is saying that those businessmen--they are people who are seeking fame and profit only, and this donation is clearly selfish! Now we have evidence, how can the ministers of distant counties not It is very clear and dare not speak nonsense, but in this capital city and surrounding counties and cities, those businessmen who donated money then made a big splash this time and made a lot of noise. The profit is probably far more than the donation. It can be seen that these unscrupulous people have bad intentions , The purpose is not pure! There is a way, if you do good with your heart, you will not be rewarded even if you are good; if you do evil without intention, you will not be punished even if you are evil! If Your Majesty orders to reward them, wouldn't this violate His Majesty's original intention of punishing evil and promoting good?"

"It makes sense!" Gu Qinghua smiled coldly, leaned forward slightly, stared at Yu Shi unblinkingly with a pair of apricot eyes, snorted, and said: "But I thought that kindness is kindness, Evil is evil. If you do good, you should be rewarded, and if you do evil, you should be punished! Huh, businessmen value profits! How can a businessman support his family if he doesn’t value profits? A good businessman is my good people! Aiqing may have forgotten that if there are no merchants to communicate with each other, where would the silk and satin that Aiqing wears, the pens, inks, papers and inkstones used, and the rouge and gouache used by concubines at home come from? Come? If there are no businessmen, hmph, the national tax has been greatly reduced, where will Aiqing's salary come from! Liu Jia, tell me, how much tax do businessmen in the world pay every year?"

Liu Jia was a little embarrassed, and subconsciously glanced at the King of Political Affairs, which happened to meet the expressionless eyes of the King of Political Affairs. Well, I can’t remember how much it took up for a while! I’ll let His Majesty figure it out when I get back—”

"I said Liu Jia, you should have an idea of ​​how much it accounts for, right? Don't say you don't know!" Gu Qinghua suddenly became strict, glaring at him and said: "You don't even know this, how can you be the secretary of the household department?" of?"

"More than [-]%!" Liu Jia hurriedly replied: "Probably, about [-]% to [-]%——"

"You heard me!" Gu Qinghua stared at Yu Shi, and said again: "A businessman and a country are indispensable! You all eat the king's salary, but when I need you, what can you do? Such a big household, Even the money for disaster relief can't be brought out, and the civil and military courts are full of evasions, evasions, silences, and no one can come up with a way to share your worries. If it weren't for these businessmen, you would have to stare blankly Do you want to watch the people being displaced and die of hunger and thirst, or wait for the local uprising and riot to see the right time to go and respond?"

"I don't dare!" Yu Shi couldn't bear such a heavy word, his face turned pale with fright, his feet softened, he knelt down on the hall with a "plop", bowed his head and remained silent.

Seeing this, the King of Political Affairs knelt down slowly, and all the ministers also knelt down when they saw this. The King of Political Affairs raised his head and cupped his fists, and said sadly: "This is all the old minister's fault! As the King of Political Affairs, the old minister cannot replace the king Divide your worries and put your Majesty in a dilemma. Your Majesty is guilty! Your Majesty, please punish me. No matter how your Majesty punishes your ministers, you will have no complaints, but I beg your Majesty to take back your order, and don’t hurt the dignity of the court! Since ancient times, how can the court order to reward that Waiting for common people? If it spreads out, it will make friends and neighbors laugh at it! I implore your Majesty to listen to my words!"

Gu Qinghua smiled slightly, squinted his eyes at him, and said: "What if I don't agree? However, you are the elder of the deliberative king, and I don't want to argue with you. Why don't I tell the world about this matter, so that everyone in the world How about judging the right and wrong, or let the people in the disaster area judge the right and wrong?"

Liu Jia and several other people who were not very close to Yizheng Wang couldn't help gritting their teeth and holding back their laughter, Yizheng Wang was even trembling with anger, and secretly scolded the vixen in his heart!Doesn't that mean it's still a compliment?What's more, those uneducated people in the disaster area don't know a single word. What do they know?Hmph, I am grateful for the food I have received, and I am virtuous!
Kneeling on the opposite side of Jiji, Liao Zhong, Minister of the Ministry of Punishment, winked, and Yu Shi, as if waking up from a dream, took two steps forward and said: "Your Majesty, this, this, this is even more impolite! Is there any small matter for the court?" The reason why the people talk about it at will!"

Gu Qinghua gave a good "bah" in her heart, but this is the case in this era, and she didn't bother to say anything about the shocking concept of the new era, but just said "ha", "Then, what does Ai Qing think about this matter? Woolen cloth?"

Liu Chengzhong, Minister of the Ministry of Officials, thought for a while and said: "Your Majesty, I have a compromise, I don't know whether to say it or not!"

(End of this chapter)