Do You Know?: I, the Little Cabinet Elder, Regent of the World.

Chapter 141: A Fifth-Rank Official Enters the Game, Using a Lower Rank to Overthrow a Higher Rank! Is there any precedent for this?

quiet!
The palace was so silent you could hear a pin drop.

All the civil and military officials turned their attention to the past.

The first thing to look at was Jiang Zhao, who was sweating profusely from the argument.

That's really fierce!
From beginning to end, they almost completely dominated Cai Xiang.

The Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet exchanged glances and shook their heads in unison.

In fact, in terms of sheer strength, they are not incapable of putting up a fight.

The main problem is having a terrible teammate!

Wang Tao's words put the group in a passive position.

Given Jiang Zhao's political style, once he gains the upper hand, it wouldn't be difficult for him to take down a whole group of people by himself, and the others simply wouldn't be able to fight back.

He possesses both literary and military talents, outstanding political achievements, and excellent political skills.

This configuration.

Many South Korean officials exchanged silent glances and nodded in agreement.

This really has the potential to become a perennial favorite!

The title of "Young Grand Secretary" is truly well-deserved.

Many officials looked toward Cai Xiang, Du Xi, and Wang Tao.

Wang Tao, in particular, has attracted much attention.

Funds need to be allocated for disaster relief in Huaidong.

The young Grand Secretary provided the answer as to exactly where the money would be received from.

They're robbing Fujian Road!

The struggle for power at the "Road" level saw more than fifty people from Huainan East Road jointly submit a memorial, their influence rivaling even that of those who could support a cabinet seat.

In this struggle, nearly ten high-ranking officials of the third rank were involved, and some of them didn't even have a chance to speak.

Wang Tao, a mere fifth-rank official, dared to interrupt!

A fifth-rank official enters the game, using the lower rank to defeat the higher one!
Is there any precedent for this?

Have!
Where is the precedent?

Right across from Wang Tao, the young Grand Secretary!
As it turns out, not everyone has the level of a junior Grand Secretary and is qualified to intervene in the struggles of officials of the third rank or above.

Wang Tao entered the game, but his words were full of flaws, and he was defeated in a few words!
Wang Tao lowered his head, his face covered in a cold sweat, and felt deep regret that was hard to express.

It seems he's gotten himself into trouble?
I should have known better than to stand out!

The remaining two, Cai Xiang and Du Xi, had somber expressions, momentarily stunned by Jiang Zhao and unsure how to respond.

Officials, both civil and military, were abuzz with discussion.

More than ten breaths passed.

"For the sake of the people of Huaidong, the Ministry of Works can allocate 500,000 strings of cash." Du Xi, the Left Vice Minister of Works, gritted his teeth and took a step back.

Of the Ministry of Works' estimated expenditure of ten million strings of cash, seven to eight million strings were for the Di and Jia sacrifices. Of the remaining two million strings, two to three hundred thousand strings were needed to construct water conservancy projects on the thirteen routes other than Fujian Road, just to make a show of it.

Only about 1.7 to 1.8 million strings of cash can be allocated to Fujian Road.

Now, if Fujian Road were to give up 500,000 strings of cash to support Huainan East Road, it would be a full third less.

If it's reduced by a third, then the subordinates should be stricter.

It's so-so, but it's enough to maintain the policies that should be implemented on Fujian Road.

They can barely maintain their dignity.

"The Ministry of Works has 600,000 strings of cash, and the Ministry of Revenue can free up 1 million strings of cash, totaling 1.5 million strings of cash."

Cai Xiang's face turned grim, and he said in a deep voice, "During the disaster relief, have your men find some wild vegetables to cook together, make it a little thinner, and save 30% of the grain. 1.5 million strings of cash can support the disaster relief for 100 days."

A quarter less, which is equivalent to a disaster-stricken household going from four liters of rice every four days to three liters every four days.

When preparing porridge for disaster relief, the requirement is that it "suffices to fill the stomach and prevents dehydration from prolonged hunger," or at least it should be "so slender that it can be scooped into a thin thread."

If you thin it out a bit and add some wild vegetables, it'll be barely enough to coat the food with batter.

Two meals a day won't starve you!

Jiang Zhao glanced at the Ministry of Works but remained silent.

One and a half million strings of cash is enough.

No matter how much you fight, you won't get anything out of it.

Ultimately, apart from the Ministry of Works, the budget of the three ministries and five departments was only four million strings of cash, which was indeed not much money left over.

On the contrary, the Ministry of Works could still be squeezed dry.

“Dredging the river will also cost a million strings of cash.” Zhou Mengyang, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works, understood the meaning and interjected, “Since we are all building water conservancy projects, why don’t we allocate one million strings of cash from the Ministry of Works to build water conservancy projects in Huainan East Road separately?”

As he spoke, he looked at Du Xi, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works.

They were both vice ministers of the Ministry of Works, and he knew the ins and outs of the business better than anyone else.

The money was changed to the Ministry of Works.

Since it was the Ministry of Works' money, building Fujian Road was considered water conservancy, and building Huainan East Road was also considered water conservancy.

Disaster relief was the responsibility of the Ministry of Revenue. For the Ministry of Works to allocate 500,000 strings of cash for disaster relief was a loss, and some officials in the Ministry of Works who were eager for political achievements might have been secretly dissatisfied.

However, simply constructing water conservancy projects still meant that the Ministry of Works was still spending money. For officials in the Ministry of Works who needed political achievements, it was simply a matter of changing where they were doing their work.

Moreover, disaster relief and reconstruction efforts make it easier to achieve political success.

Du Xi, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works, frowned.

The total amount allocated to water conservancy projects is only two million, and at least half a million has already been allocated to disaster relief. If another million is allocated to Huainan East Road, then Fujian Road will really have a hard time even getting a bowl of soup.

"The Ministry of Works is in charge of water conservancy projects and transportation construction throughout the country, and all fourteen circuits in the two capitals must take it into consideration."

Du Xi slowly said, "The flood in Huainan East Road is indeed a natural disaster. However, now that the food problem has been solved, the people can farm with peace of mind. As for water conservancy, we can recruit skilled craftsmen, gather the people, and dredge the waterways."

Compared to constructing water conservancy projects, simply dredging waterways undoubtedly requires very little expense.

It might not even be a fraction of the cost of water conservancy projects.

The downside is that the previous heavy rain washed away most of the protective measures, so simply dredging the river won't be enough to protect the riverbed.

If heavy rain comes, it might cause even more trouble.

"Damn it! Vice Minister Jiang has already said that opening the granaries, reducing taxes, and building water conservancy projects are the three things that can bring peace to the people. Can't the dignified Vice Minister of Works understand human language?" Left Vice Censor-in-Chief Lü Zhen cursed.

He truly rose through the ranks by combining farming and scholarship, and suffered a great deal of hardship from a young age.

If there's an opportunity to secure a way out for his subordinates, he'll definitely do his best to seize it.

Moreover, opportunities to undertake large-scale water conservancy projects are rare.

A fiscal expenditure of one million strings of cash is already a fraction of the Great Zhou's tax revenue.

It is unlikely that approval will be obtained for the purpose of simply using it for water conservancy projects in a certain area.

Now that there's a flood, we should take this opportunity to make some repairs.

The last major water conservancy project in Huainan East Road was probably undertaken during the founding of the nation.

It’s his mother’s fault!

Du Xi was stunned.

"This is an insult to civility!"

What kind of manners are these?

"This is an insult to the imperial court!" Du Xi rebuked angrily.

On the steps of the imperial palace, Emperor Zhao Zhen slowly opened his eyes.

Having argued to this point, the general outcome has already been reached.

Even if a monarch is willing to provide disaster relief, he still has to consider the Ministry of Revenue's financial situation.

After all, millions of strings of cash are no small sum.

Furthermore, he couldn't possibly personally negotiate with the Ministry of Revenue.

When the ruler and his ministers contend for profit, it is extremely detrimental to the establishment of the ruler's authority.

Now that the dispute has escalated and the Ministry of Revenue has compromised and offered support, he can now make a definitive judgment.

As for the Ministry of Works?

As Zhou Mengyang, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works, said, since it does not involve cross-departmental fund allocation, it is an internal matter of the Ministry of Works.

Apart from the 500,000 strings of cash allocated to Huainan East Circuit for disaster relief, the remaining 1.5 million strings of cash have been earmarked for use in the Ministry of Works.

As a monarch, he could also make a decision on this matter.

The official opened his eyes, and the officials who had been about to argue fell silent.

"Since the matter involved millions of people, the Ministry of Revenue changed the budget and allocated 1.5 million strings of cash to buy grain for disaster relief."

"The people of Huainan East Road are exempt from taxes for one year."

"In addition, the Ministry of Works allocated a separate million strings of cash for water conservancy projects."

These two sentences made Cai Xiang, Du Xi, and Wang Tao look extremely embarrassed.

The Ministry of Revenue's allocation of grain was not the main point; the main point was that the Ministry of Works allocated a million taels of silver to build the Huainan East Road.

How can they face the elders of Fujian Road?
On the dragon throne, Zhao Zhen glanced indifferently at the group.

From a demand perspective, disaster relief in Huainan East Road is imperative, as it concerns next year's tax revenue; he had already shown some inclination towards it.

Ultimately, no one on Fujian Road suffered any damage.
Now, after a quarrel and some compromise, he can easily go with the flow.

From the perspective of his subjects, Jiang Zhao's creation of the secret method for establishing an heir apparent and his expansion of territory naturally garnered Jiang Zhao's favor.

As for the feelings of Cai Xiang, Du Xi, and Wang Tao?

How can an emperor govern the country if he has to consider the feelings of a few unimportant ministers?
In the main hall, Jiang Zhao stepped forward and bowed deeply:
"On behalf of the twelve million people of Huaidong, your humble servant expresses his gratitude for Your Majesty's great favor!"

More than fifty officials from Huainan East Circuit bowed in unison:

On behalf of the twelve million people of Huaidong, we, your humble servants, express our deepest gratitude for Your Majesty's great kindness!

On behalf of the twelve million people of Huaidong, we, your humble servants, express our deepest gratitude for Your Majesty's great kindness!

On behalf of the twelve million people of Huaidong, we, your humble servants, express our deepest gratitude for Your Majesty's great kindness!

"Be flat!"

……

(End of this chapter)