The ancestor of the apocalypse is so cool after being reborn!

Chapter 246 The Contest Between Monarchs and Subjects

"Since you bunch of useless officials are incompetent, I can only find a way to investigate tax evasion. This is a very good decree. It can not only replenish the national treasury, but also clean up the merchants and deter them, letting them know that they must operate with integrity."

When the ministers saw this, their hearts sank to the bottom of their hearts.

The Minister of Household Affairs was finally unwilling to give up, and gritted his teeth and said: "Your Majesty, after all, investigating tax evasion can only solve the temporary dilemma. In the long run, we should reduce expenditures and increase revenue."

"Reducing expenditure and increasing revenue?" Li Jingfu looked down at the man kneeling on the floor tiles, "Exactly how to reduce expenditure and increase revenue, tell me carefully!"

The other ministers kneeling on the ground were also curious, what kind of idea did Mr. Zhang have in mind to increase revenue and reduce expenditure?
Mr. Zhang was under great pressure under the death gaze. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and said bravely: "I remember that Lingnan imported a lot of off-season vegetables to the Central Plains last winter. If we can grow out-of-season vegetables in winter, if the emperor will bring these This technology has been popularized in the Central Plains, and I believe that the people will plant it with great enthusiasm, so the emperor will not worry about not being able to collect taxes!"

Someone in the court spoke, and some of the other ministers immediately stood up and shouted: "Your Majesty, this technology benefits the country and the people. Why don't you send a special promotion envoy to take charge of this matter?"

"If this technology can be promoted all over the world, so that people can have vegetables to eat in winter, it will definitely relieve the suffering of people's livelihood. Why are you hesitating, Your Majesty?"

Li Jingfu thought that these ministers had some good ideas, but it turned out that they were interested in the queen's skills.

As for benefiting the country and the people, Li Jingfu had reservations. In the end, only a few powerful people would benefit.

He rolled his eyes in his mind, "Don't worry about this. These out-of-season vegetables are all made by the queen, I."

When Master Zhang, the Minister of Household Affairs, heard this, his eyes flashed with a trace of cruelty, and he said sincerely: "I, Queen Dayu, are a role model for women in the world. I should be a mother-in-law to the world, promote this technology to the world, and benefit the people all over the world."

Listening to the ministers below talking about their righteousness and the world, Li Jingfu was a little suspicious of whose world it was.
Why do you feel that the ministers below are more concerned about the country and the people than he is?
Li Jingfu didn't know what was happening with out-of-season vegetables, but Anu, who was standing next to him, knew it all too well.

He took a few steps forward and muttered in Li Jingfu's ear for a while. Seeing this situation, the officials were not sure what Anu said.
After listening to Anu's words, Li Jingfu held his forehead and sat on the dragon chair with his head lowered. The officials could not see the expression on his face.

He just heard him sigh deeply: "You are a group of civil servants who have read poetry and books. I don't know whether it is the misfortune of the country or the misfortune of the world. You think about intrigues and crooked ways all day long. You don't care about the national economy and the people's livelihood. Do you think you are thinking about my little family affairs? Confucianism teaches you how to serve the country and the people?"

Li Jingfu's question made the ministers below him confused. Aren't they worrying about the national economy and people's livelihood?
"Your Majesty, what we are talking about now is the technology of off-season vegetables. Isn't it for the sake of the country and the people?"

Zuo Pushe could no longer hide behind him. If he didn't come out, the emperor might even devalue the ancestors of Confucianism as worthless.

"What a waste of time!" Li Jingfu couldn't help but swear. These losers almost took him into the ditch. "The four seasons in Lingnan Fucheng don't change significantly. They can grow off-season vegetables in winter. It doesn't require much technology, but it does. The look you have today makes you look so ugly!"

After all, they just fancy the queen's technology and want to seize it for their own use.

But they were ministers, and Xia Jing was the queen. They couldn't attack the queen directly, so they came to encourage him, the emperor, to intervene. What a good plan!

If this succeeds, everyone will be happy!

If he fails, his image of being wise and powerful will collapse in the Queen's mind, and in the end he, the emperor, will be the only one who loses more than he gains.

The ministers can still stand below and watch the show!
Discord between emperor and empress, father and son is exactly what the ministers want to see. Monopolizing imperial power is not scary, but it is afraid that the imperial power will become a rope and be used in one direction.

If this is the case, how can the court control the emperor, and how can the emperor be used as a mascot and seal tool?

The ministers turned red in the face after being scolded.

The words were so obvious that there were still courtiers below who didn't understand, "What do you mean?"

After hearing this, the other courtiers standing next to him wanted to step forward and cover his mouth. They had never seen anyone with such a slow response.

As soon as this question came out of his mouth, the emperor did not take the opportunity to vent his anger.

Sure enough, Li Jingfu, regardless of his image as the Nine-Fifth Supreme Being, said "Bah!" below, "What do you mean? Do you know what the Three Cardinal Guidelines and the Five Constant Rules are? Or are you saying that all your Confucianism over the years has gone to the dog's belly?"

"You used to say that military generals are warriors, rude and barbaric, but warriors are not as cunning, despicable and shameless as you!"

The noble generals in the court had long been dissatisfied with the clichés of the civil servants. Now when they heard the civil servants being scolded by the emperor, they were so happy that they screamed!
They are different from these civil servants. They like to go straight in everything. They don't deal with people in as many twists and turns as they do. Sometimes they don't use curse words when swearing, and they don't kill people without blood.

The civil officials present frowned slightly. They had seen shrews scolding the streets before, but the Nine-Fifth Emperor cursed loudly in the court. This was the first time they had seen and served such an emperor, which made them maladaptive and gave them abnormal headaches.

"I see that you have been aloof for too long. It has been so long that you have forgotten the hard days you have lived. You have been out of touch with the world for so long that you don't even know common sense about geography. You are simply a loser!"

The noble military general looked at the civil servant who had been trained by the emperor to bow his head, and was amazed in his heart. He was worthy of having a face that had been tempered for many years, comparable to a city wall!

The civil servants were so shameless that they were willing to let a group of warriors laugh at the jokes. They made impassioned speeches, quoted scriptures, and made powerful statements. The emperor should pay attention to the cultivation of oral ethics. Don't say bad words in the court. It will affect the future of the Yu Dynasty. The emperor's influence was profound.

You can't imagine what it will be like in the future when the emperor sitting on the dragon throne in the court will curse loudly if something doesn't go his way.
Li Jingfu's anger boiled out after hearing these rotten speeches. He shouted at the group of civil servants below: "Shut up!"

"If I continue to listen to what you guys say, it seems that the life and death of Dayu, Jiangshan and Sheji is at stake. How can I be so shameless and speak so high-sounding, fresh and refined!"

"The queen is right when she says that a person needs face and a tree needs bark. Once a person is shameless, he is invincible in the world!"

"If you have something to play, you will retreat if there is nothing!"

"If you have nothing to do, get out of here!"

I was usually bored, so sitting on the dragon chair and listening to their quarrels could be a pastime.But today they want him to be the protagonist, and Li Jingfu feels unhappy!

When the courtiers all left the hall, Li Jingfu's anger was still there and he told the commander of the imperial army: "You should focus on investigating the business affairs of these civil servants' families. I want to see how corrupt Yu's civil servants are."

"Yes!"

Before the commander of the imperial army left the palace, Xiang Rongrang left the palace ahead of everyone else. He mobilized five thousand soldiers and horses from the Wucheng Military and Horse Department to conduct a large-scale inspection of the high-end shops in Jiankang City.

Just like in Lingnan, the first thing you control when entering a store are the stewards and account books, and then check them last.

When the civil and military officials came out of the palace, they ordered the servants at home to go back and deliver messages to their families, asking them to quickly think of ways to deal with the emperor's investigation.What they never expected was that Xiang Rongrang, the emperor's lackey, would be so fast.

By the time they took action, their shop had been controlled by Xiang Rongrang's troops from five cities.

In fact, it is very easy to catch court officials. Not to mention their tax evasion issues, just using their mansions as an excuse can lead to a long list of charges.

Dayu's extravagance became common, and Jiankang was even more so than Lingnan. At the beginning, the Lou family in Lingnan was confiscated because of illegal construction. The officials and wealthy businessmen in Jiankang, from top to bottom, whoever had some wealth, followed the trend and followed the trend. He likes to build many illegal buildings that exceed regulations.

Xiang Rongrang had accumulated more experience in Lingnan. He would not bother to check any accounts. He selected a few representatives and rushed directly into their mansions to list all the illegal buildings and report them to the emperor.

"Your Majesty, as you expected, the shops in Jiankang City all have tax evasion problems, and I found that most of the buildings in the official residences and wealthy businessmen's homes are more or less over the limit."

"Exceeding the regulations?" Xiang Rongrang didn't mention it, and Li Jingfu couldn't remember the matter of exceeding the regulations for a while. This was the reason why he ransacked the Lou family in Lingnan.

Xiang Rongrang nodded: "Yes, apart from the court officials, the richest people in Yangzhou are the major salt merchants. Before our sea salt hit the market, they sold official salt with private salt, and they all made a lot of money. Too much to spend.

If they follow Dayu's hierarchy, their money can only be left to gather dust in the warehouse, and they cannot enjoy life as much as they want. In order to enjoy a luxurious life, they are extremely extravagant, whether it is housing or daily necessities. It can be said. "

Xiang Rongrang paused here and saluted Li Jingfu: "It can be said that your quality of life, Your Majesty, is not one-tenth as good as theirs!"

"Oh!"

Li Jingfu slapped his palm on the desk, and his last words completely stimulated him. The most powerful person in the world is actually not as good as the humble merchants. It can be seen that the wealth of the world is concentrated in the hands of profiteers like them.

Just a few of these salt merchants are enough to drink a pot, but Li Jingfu wanted to find out more about their crimes, "Have you checked their accounts? Is there any problem?"

Xiang Rongrang shook his head: "Salt merchants are no better than powerful ministers. They are more cautious in doing things. On the surface, there is nothing fishy about the accounts in the shop. I guess they have made yin and yang ledgers. If we want to find out their tax evasion, we need to pay more to the ministers." some time."

Li Jingfu was about to agree when he suddenly remembered that Xia Jing once said that he was too indecisive in doing things.

He then changed his mind and said: "Since they dare to exceed the regulations, you select a few representative salt merchants and directly lead soldiers and horses to ransack their homes. However, during the process of ransacking their homes, don't forget to investigate their tax evasion activities." evidence."

Xiang Rongrang took the order and left.

There are many salt merchants in Yangzhou, and there are also many salt merchants in Jiankang City.

Among them is a big salt merchant from Yangzhou named Lu Yugui. He has never done charity in his life, lives a luxurious life, travels in a pompous manner, and likes to be flattered. He especially likes visiting brothels. He competes with other wealthy merchants for the top spot in the brothels. He feels that he has won twice as much. Have a face.

Sometimes, when she was coaxed by the brothel's top card, she would be so happy that she would throw silver beans downstairs to play.

Therefore, in Jiankang's brothel street, if you see a lot of idlers and beggars guarding a window, you will know that Lu Yugui must be having fun in the room upstairs.

Xiang Rongrang led his troops to surround the Lu family's house. Not surprisingly, Lu Yugui was not at home.

Without even thinking about it, I knew that I must be going out to visit a brothel again.

As soon as the commander of the imperial army and the imperial guards entered this street, which is filled with the fragrance of powder all year round, they saw a group of beggars and idlers looking up from time to time at the closed windows on the second floor.

Before the commander of the imperial army could walk over, the window on the second floor was pushed open from the inside, and then a lot of shining silver beans were scattered.

Some of the guardsmen following the commander of the imperial army couldn't help but catch a few silver beans, put them in their mouths and bit them, "Hey! These are real gold and silver!"

Another imperial guard bent down and picked up a few grains and handed them to the commander of the imperial army: "Tou, look, one silver bean weighs about two taels of silver. If he throws it away like this, it will cost at least a thousand taels of silver."

The commander of the Imperial Guard pinched the silver beans in his hand and looked at the beggars and idlers frantically grabbing them. A hint of ridicule appeared at the corner of his mouth: "What was said in the textbook when I was a child is true. The wine and meat of the rich families are smelly, and there are frozen bones on the road. The excrement, gold and jade are precious. It’s still not extravagant.”

With such a show off, it's no wonder the emperor would keep an eye on them.

The emperor of a country could not even afford a hundred thousand soldiers and horses, but a low-status businessman actually spent a lot of money, and it was just for the top of a brothel!
The Imperial Guards who followed behind nodded in agreement: "Tou is right, the salary we have earned for guarding the imperial city for a year is not as good as what he has dished out today. It's really irritating to say that this person is comparing himself to others."

The corners of the mouths of the other guards twitched uncontrollably. They said this, and they were paid less, but they had a lot of money and money, and they were evenly matched. The income from being guards was pretty good.

The commander of the Forbidden Army stood on a street corner and waved his hand gently, "Go and invite this rich man to come down."

The subordinates behind him obeyed the order and rushed into the brothel opposite like wolves and tigers.

Suddenly, screams continued in the brothel. It seemed that the arrival of the officers and soldiers disturbed many people.

The commander of the Forbidden Army picked out his ears and said with disgust: "These boys are getting more and more impressive. If they don't know how to restrain themselves, they will always suffer losses!"

One of the two guards who were following behind him said: "Our guards are supported by a commander, so they can do things with ease. If everyone does things timidly, who will be afraid of us outside."

Only by pretending to be powerful can we get twice the result with half the effort. Otherwise, if there are many obstacles, how can we handle the things assigned by the emperor well?

The commander of the guards glanced at the boy and smiled in a good mood, but he did not forget to warn:
"You are right no matter what you kid says. Don't do anything illegal or disciplined in the future. The current emperor is not the late emperor. He is not that easy to fool. If one day I can't handle it, you will be the one who loses his life in the end!"

"Let me go! Officer, let me go! You can't just arrest people. What did I do?"

"Be honest, don't rely on your age to think that we won't dare to hit you. If you offend me, a kick will be enough for you!" the Imperial Guard threatened.

When he was escorted to the commander of the guards, he said, "Boss, we've already brought him."

The commander of the imperial guards glanced at him sideways: "Lu Yugui? That's a good name. If the name is right, then we have not arrested the wrong person!"

He said and signaled to his subordinates: "Take it away!"

(End of this chapter)