Chapter 517

When Lin Shangshu followed the servant to Wenyuan Pavilion, he found that the assistant ministers appointed by Emperor Jingxuan, Yin Ge Lao, min Ge Lao and an Ge Lao, were all there. Besides the three of them, Prince Jin, Prince an and Prince Rong Shizi were sitting in the room.

Two princes and a son of the world, who are respected for their status, naturally sit at the top of the table, while the three cabinet elders are at the bottom of the table.

But the atmosphere in the room was a little strange, because everyone was just drinking tea and no one spoke.

Thinking of his lowest status, Lin Shangshu arched his hand with a smile and asked, "why did you invite me here?"

Old Angu was always pleasant. When he saw Lin Shangshu, he said, "everyone is from the Ming Dynasty, so we don't talk in secret. Now the court is going to use money. How much money can your department put out?"

When Lin Shangshu listened, his face muscles were almost invisible, so he could only say euphemistically: "what's the situation in the past two years

People also know that if the emperor wants to implement a benevolent government, the taxes in the South and the northwest will not come up. Otherwise, the old Yin Ge will not implement any "salary reduction system". Now not only the salaries of the officials will be reduced by half, but also the salaries of the soldiers on the nine sides will still be in debt... "

Several cabinet elders naturally knew that what Lin Shangshu said was true, so they did not speak.

But Xiao Tongqing, the prince of an, sat there with his head tilted, looked at Xiao Tongfeng, the prince of Jin, and said with a smile, "brother five, the disaster in Northwest China happened last year. Can't you collect the tax this year?"

Xiao Tongfeng picked his brother Xiao Tongqing's eyes.

Last year, there was a severe drought in Northwest China, but not many places were affected.

His territory is still full of pots and pans, otherwise he would not be so relieved to continue to live in the capital.

But crying children have milk to eat.

He also instructs his subordinates to lie about the damaged area and loss, thinking about how much more they can get from the imperial court.

I didn't expect Xiao RUIZHAO to ask someone to help him cut his tax by half.

The prince of Jin, who got a bargain, naturally wanted to be good, so he asked his subordinates to take the tax relief into his own warehouse.

Liaodong and southwest, which have never suffered from natural and man-made disasters, are not so lucky. They have not reduced taxes, but their salaries have been reduced by half. Everyone dares to be angry.

Therefore, Prince an, who had long felt unfair, blocked Prince Jin with words.

The prince of Jin is not a fuel-efficient lamp. He sighed and said: "although it was last year's disaster, it's just spring this year, but there are no crops in the field! I want them to pay all the taxes, and they have to pay them, don't they? And last year, there was no grain in the field. I'm afraid some farmers don't even have grain to grow. "

All of you are old people in the world. Who can't understand what king Jin said?

Unexpectedly, the prince of Jin changed the topic: "but I just heard from Lin Shangshu that the National Treasury is so empty that even the nine sides of the country are in debt for food and pay

Well, I can ask people to move 2 million liang from my private bank. The imperial court should be in emergency for the time being. "

Two million taels, if put in the ordinary, is naturally a lot of money.

However, it is a drop in the bucket to deal with the court which is now spending money like running water. But the king of Jin put his posture there first, which made it hard for others to say anything else. He could only curse "old fox" in his heart, but he also praised him for his integrity.

Because the king of Jin put the words first, the other two didn't show any sincerity.

Xiao Tongqing, Prince an, had no choice but to say, "I'll take out two million Liang."

Unexpectedly, as soon as his voice fell, the prince of Jin looked at him playfully and said with a smile: "I say you old nine, you have been in good weather all these years. You are the same as me. What's so funny? If I were you, I'd give you at least five million taels? "

As soon as Xiao Tongqing heard it, he knew that the king of Jin was running with words

He, however, thought that he was the first one to take the lead just now, so it was not easy for him to get tangled in this matter.

"Five million taels is not enough, but two and a half million taels is still enough!" Xiao Tongqing also took the middle road.

"Two hundred and five?" But the king of Jin said with a smile, "it's better to add some more, three million Liang!"

Xiao Tongqing still wanted to bargain, but when he thought of his five brother character, he changed his words and said, "three million taels is three million taels! Buy it now, deal! "

On one side, Xiao Ruizhe was relieved to listen.

He was really worried that he, the rich uncle of the ninth emperor, would accept it. By that time, they would be in more trouble in Southwest China than in Liaodong.

Now when he heard that Prince an of Liaodong was only willing to pay 3 million taels, he quickly followed him and said, "well, the expenditure of Prince Rongqin's mansion in recent years is quite large, and it's not as much as Uncle Jiu, which is more than Uncle Wu, but less than uncle Jiu, which is 2.6 million taels."

Although the two million and six hundred thousand taels made his flesh ache.

When Xiao Tongqing heard this, he felt that the prince of honor was also a slippery man.

It's just that I've just patted my chest. It's not so easy to think about it again.

While Mr. Yin Ge was sitting aside, listening to the three princes who were in charge of the country, you and I suddenly understood the intention of emperor Jingxuan.

These three Lords have been fighting for their own interests for many years, so it is impossible for them to really stand in the same line with each other.

The advantage of doing so is to let the three princes contain each other. If anyone dares to jump out first, the remaining two will surely meet and attack in order to safeguard their own interests.

It's like putting a frog, a centipede and a snake together. A frog eats a centipede. A centipede can bite a snake, and a snake can swallow a frog. The one who starts first will not get good results.

In this way, it can not be better for these assistant ministers.

The new emperor is young, and the Empress Dowager is not allowed to do politics. That is to say, in the next days, the whole court has the final say of them.

At the thought of this, his heart was a little excited.

Suddenly there was a sense of ambition.

But Lin Shangshu of the Ministry of household said with a frown: "although the three kings are willing to give up some money, 7.6 million Liang... I'm afraid it can't solve any real problem... The place to spend money is..."

But before he finished his words, Yin Ge interrupted him: "it's better to have something than nothing. It's better to increase revenue and reduce expenditure. Don't always think about open source. It's also very important to reduce expenditure."“ Since the Treasury's financial resources are not enough, some things can be simplified, such as the emperor's accession ceremony, the Empress Dowager's Conferment Ceremony... "Mr. Yin Ge counted them carefully." let's make it clear to the emperor and Empress Dowager about the difficulties of the imperial court, and I think they will agree with us. "