EBE Chapter 44 The Minister of Rites' Bizarre Moves
Chapter 44 The Minister of Rites' Bizarre Moves
The problems in the Eastern Qin court were quickly and effectively resolved.
Many officials lost their positions as a result.
Their positions were quickly filled by others.
This can be considered as injecting fresh blood into Dong Qin.
This significantly improved the efficiency of the entire court in Dongqin.
The Emperor of Eastern Qin was very satisfied with this.
And so, the end of the year arrived.
This is the last morning court session of the year.
At the morning court session.
The Emperor of Eastern Qin demanded an explanation directly from the Wise King.
"Your Highness, this is the last morning court session before the end of the year. Give me and all the officials an explanation regarding the tax revenue issues of the western prefectures!"
The Emperor of Eastern Qin looked down at the Wise King.
That's tens of millions of taels of silver.
“Father, I have already dealt with it. This time, it was some officials who were audacious enough to sell smuggled salt, which greatly reduced the government’s profits from selling salt, resulting in a sharp drop of more than 20% in tax revenue this year.”
"Your Majesty, I have arrested all those who were selling smuggled salt and they are being escorted back to the capital."
"At the same time, as much as 120 million taels of silver from the sale of smuggled salt were seized and were also being transported back to Beijing."
The wise king stepped forward to report to the Emperor of Eastern Qin.
This time he suffered a huge loss, having to spend a considerable amount of money to make up for it.
The people below also vomited quite a bit.
They also introduced several scapegoats.
Of course, he wouldn't admit to embezzlement, otherwise, with such a large amount of embezzlement, the number of people implicated would be far more than just a few.
As for smuggling salt, that was also something we prepared in advance.
After the New Year, the Emperor of Eastern Qin will send people to investigate several prefectures in the west, since nothing major has happened and the situation cannot withstand investigation.
The smuggling of salt will definitely be investigated.
Now he's throwing out a few scapegoats, so even if the special envoy goes there, they won't be able to trace it back to them.
"Oh? Is that so? It seems that the Prince Xian is quite capable, having recovered 120 million taels of silver. Not bad, worthy of being my prince."
The Emperor of Eastern Qin's seemingly calm words carried a strange and sarcastic tone.
The wise king understood that this was the Eastern Qin Emperor giving him a warning.
"Alright, now that this matter is resolved, let's leave it at that."
"Do any of my beloved ministers have anything else to report?"
The Emperor of Eastern Qin did not want to pursue the matter any further.
It's already quite remarkable that the wise king was able to vomit so much money this time.
Sometimes, you can't push people too hard.
"Your Majesty, in two days, the Prince of Jiangnan, the Prince of Liuyun, and the Grand Princess will return to the capital."
The Minister of Rites stepped forward to report.
Every year-end, the King of Jiangnan and the King of Liuyun would return to the capital.
However, after the Grand Princess got married, she stayed in her fiefdom and would not return unless summoned.
It has been many years since he returned.
"The Grand Princess is coming back. Has the Grand Princess's residence been repaired?"
The Emperor of Eastern Qin was very happy to hear that the Grand Princess had returned.
This is his own sister, born of the same mother. They haven't seen each other for many years, although they usually keep in touch by letter.
He had received a message from the Grand Princess that she was returning this year, so he ordered the Grand Princess's residence to be renovated.
"It's all been renovated, and everything in the mansion has been replaced with new clothes."
The Minister of Rites immediately replied.
He knew the relationship between the Emperor of Eastern Qin and the Grand Princess, so he dared not be negligent in the slightest.
In particular, the location of the Grand Princess's residence was chosen next to the Shenwu Prince's residence.
This is definitely the safest place outside the palace.
With Grandmaster Shenwu King around and the Imperial Guards patrolling, they don't need to send anyone specifically to protect the Grand Princess's safety.
"That's good. The safety of the Grand Princess must be guaranteed, understand?"
The Emperor of Eastern Qin gave instructions.
"Your Majesty, rest assured, the new Grand Princess's residence is next to the Divine Martial Prince's residence, so there is absolutely no problem with its safety."
The Minister of Rites said confidently.
He could swear on his life that it was absolutely safe.
The Minister of Rites' words stunned all the court officials.
To understand how insane the Divine Martial King was, the surrounding mansions were moved out after he moved in, for fear that he would suddenly go mad.
The Minister of Rites actually chose to locate the Grand Princess's residence next to the Prince Shenwu's residence.
Even the Emperor of Eastern Qin did not expect the Minister of Rites to make such a bizarre move.
He was given the choice of a new residence, and surprisingly, he chose one next to Xiao Jiu's.
"Xiao Jiu! Your aunt will be your neighbor from now on, so please be careful around her."
The Emperor of Eastern Qin spoke to Qin Wu, who was sitting below him.
The choice has already been made; it's too late to change the location now.
In fact, as long as Qin Wu doesn't go mad, the area around his mansion is indeed the safest.
This place is very close to the palace, and Qin Wu is also in charge.
There are absolutely no safety issues.
The biggest security concern is probably Qin Wu and his men.
A madman in a prince's mansion.
"Yes, I know."
Qin Wu simply replied with a curt statement.
As long as the people from the Grand Princess's residence don't provoke him, ensuring her safety is a minor matter.
Emperor Dong Qin breathed a sigh of relief when Qin Wu agreed.
With Qin Wu's protection, the Grand Princess's safety was no longer a problem.
However, he was thinking that when his sister returned, he must tell her to keep her men in check.
Never provoke Qin Wu's people, lest they go mad.
These lunatics don't care who you are.
Since Qin Wu returned, many of the princes' sons have been beaten so badly they can't get out of bed.
For this reason, he received many people who wanted to criticize Qin Wu.
However, he simply didn't address it.
It wasn't that he didn't want to deal with it, but Qin Wu's protectiveness left him with no options.
The only option is for the princes to keep their own offspring in check.
Don't wander around in front of the people from the Divine Martial King's Mansion for no reason, or you'll get a beating, which is the least of your worries.
If they provoke Qin Wu to take action personally, they will be the ones who suffer.
After all, King Qi had been bedridden for several months.
That is a living example.
The people of the Divine Martial King's Mansion nowadays are like a group of plague gods.
Everyone would stay far away from anyone from the Divine Martial King's Mansion.
"Alright, that concludes today's morning court session!"
"The court session is over."
Seeing that no one else was going to submit a memorial, the Emperor of Eastern Qin dismissed the court.
A busy year.
He needs to get some rest too.
"Farewell to Your Majesty."
The ministers also withdrew one after another.