EBE Chapter 133: Participating in the Ministry of Revenue
Chapter 133: Participating in the Ministry of Revenue
Chapter 133: Minister of Revenue
A few days later, the three brothers gathered again. Yin'er brought a thick book of bills, Yinzhen brought a roster, and Yinreng held a written memorial.
Yinzhen: "Second brother, you must think it through. Once you hand this in, there will be no chance to regret it. Do you really not need your younger brother to do it for you?"
Yinreng: "You can't do it. You don't have enough weight. You can't handle the subsequent pressure. Besides, no matter what, you are not the one who should take on this matter among the three of us."
Having just rejected Xiaojiu, Yinzhen also suggested: "Second brother, how about I come to the morning court tomorrow? The worst that can happen is that I will lose my title of Beile. If it's lost, it's lost. I can raise it again in the future."
The three brothers all understood the omitted words, but the prince disagreed. The fourth brother and the ninth brother were not sure. They didn't know whether they could ascend to the throne in this life or not. The promises made now were all empty words. The fourth brother still had a whole family to support. How could he cut off his retreat now?
Yinreng: "Fourth Brother, don't be so stubborn. You earned your title of Beile through your own efforts. Besides, you are the only legitimate son besides me. If you lose your title, you can imagine how difficult your future life will be. You should always think about your family.
Besides, I am the Crown Prince, and this is my responsibility no matter what. You have done me a great service by helping me so much. I have been opposed to them since I was appointed Crown Prince, and we have long been enemies. What does a little more or less hostility mean?
The two brothers stopped persuading him and handed the things they had packed in advance to Yinreng.
Yinzhen said, "Brother, these are all the accounts for the past ten years. I calculated that the ministers owe the court a total of 48.5 million taels of silver. Here is the detailed list, with the total amount at the end."
He knew that he owed a lot, but he didn't expect it to be so much. Even though he was mentally prepared, Yinreng was still shocked. This was equivalent to seven or eight years of tax revenue. He didn't expect that all of it would be lent out to these country parasites to live a life of luxury. It makes him feel sad just thinking about it.
Yinzhen had known this data for a long time, but when he heard it again, he pursed his lips even tighter, especially since he was the one who investigated the information of these borrowers. Thinking of those ministers borrowing money to support their families' extravagance, and some even using the money to squander in brothels, he wanted to pick up his sword and kill those people.
After waiting for a while to calm down, Yinzhen handed over his information. "This small group are honest officials who are really in financial difficulty and have no other choice but to borrow money. The amount is not large, generally only about 100,000 yuan. My brother has compiled their names separately, and their approximate expenses are also included at the end.
As for this one, it's for those who borrowed money for no apparent reason. The amount was so large that it's hard to track down exactly where it was spent. But some time ago, when the Jingzhao prefect was investigating brothels, some of the names on the list overlapped. My younger brother went to the Jingzhao prefect and recorded the money they spent at brothels and music venues. These are all people caught by the Jingzhao prefect on the spot, solid evidence."
Yin'er was really enlightened. He was considered rich. After careful calculation, he had assets worth hundreds of thousands. But even so, he did not dare to spend millions of dollars every day in brothels like these playboys.
He even saw a record that Longkodo had redeemed a top performer in Wanhua Tower and spent a full 50,000 taels of silver.
Yinzhen nudged him and, noticing he had his eye on him, pointed to the line with the name Longkodo written on it. Yinzhen's eyes grew colder when he saw the words, and his expression grew even more serious. However, he still answered Yinzhen's question, "I personally checked it out. When that incident happened, many people in the capital knew about it. The top performer in Wanhua Tower is still in Tong's residence today."
When Yinreng heard what Yinzhen said, he knew that the woman he was talking about was Li Si'er, who would later stir up trouble in the Tong Mansion, causing Longkodo to favor his concubine over his wife, and even turning his legitimate wife, Hesheli, into a human pig.
Speaking of Li Si'er, she is also a character. From being a mere courtesan, she eventually became the concubine of a first-class duke. Not only that, her son also inherited everything from Longkodo.
But now, Yinreng has to thank Li Si'er, because of her, the fourth brother has already disliked Longkodo. If Yinzhen continues to investigate, he will probably never have any intersection with Longkodo in this life. After all, although Yinzhen also has a favorite concubine, he has always respected his wife.
Yinreng spread out all the information they brought on the desk. His task today was to memorize everything on it. He never fought a battle without confidence.
If Yinzhen and Yin'er didn't understand something, they would explain it in time. In this way, the three brothers stayed in the study for another two hours before the work was completed.
After understanding everything, Yinreng also had a clear idea in his mind and was more confident about what to do tomorrow. At this moment, Yinzhen hesitated and approached Yinreng, and Yinzhen looked at him with curiosity.
Yinzhen: "Second brother, can we take Tenth Brother with us for this thing we are about to do?"
Yinreng hadn't expected this to be what Yin'er wanted to talk about. He simply said, "Why did you mention Tenth Brother? This job isn't something you'll have to work hard on. If you don't do it well, you could easily get into trouble and face retaliation. Why bother involving Tenth Brother? Besides, Tenth Brother loves wielding spears and clubs the most. He studies this every day in the Ministry of Works. Isn't that right up his alley?"
Yinzhen was at a loss for words. "He came here to ask for it. You know the Ministry of Works well. They're lucky to be able to research something new every few years. He's been bored these days. And my tenth brother said he's getting married soon. But his brothers all have titles, and he's still a bald prince. If Borjigit marries him, it'll be embarrassing."
Yinreng and Yinzhen also showed helplessness on their faces. What on earth was this little Shi thinking? After all, he was the son of the imperial concubine. When he was about to get married, the emperor would definitely give him a title, at least a Beizi. How could he still be a bald prince?
However, Yinreng also knew that even if he asked Yin'er to tell the real reason, he would probably just give a perfunctory answer, so he didn't ask any more questions. Instead, he confirmed once again that the other party was willing to join, and then agreed readily.
After Yin'er and Yinzhen left Yuqing Palace, the prince excitedly ran to the main courtyard and hugged Buerhe. Seeing the prince's outward expression, the servants in the room were stunned. Nanny Li quickly reacted and quickly led the servants to retreat, closing the door behind them.
After hearing the sound of the door closing, Buerhe burst out laughing, then patted Yinreng who was still holding him and said with a smile: "Alright, alright, there's no one here, stand up quickly, they won't tell anyone."
After a while, Yinreng raised his head with a blushing face, looked around and found that there was really no one else. He slowly stood aside and picked up the water glass on the table to cover up his discomfort.
Bu Erhe looked at Yin Reng with amusement as he tried to cover up his mistake: "Okay, it's just the two of us here. What big happy event did Master have today? Why are you so emotional?" To say he was emotional was an understatement. Bu Erhe had never seen him like that since she got married.
Yinreng thought about what had just happened and beamed once more: "I can directly submit my memorial to the court tomorrow morning. Once the Emperor agrees, those people will be waiting for my butcher knife. Also, Xiaojiu has taken the initiative to help me now. You don't have to worry about money anymore. As long as Xiaojiu, the God of Wealth, is here, we don't have to be stingy in Yuqing Palace anymore."
This was almost a source of worry for Yinreng. Since Buerhe took charge of Yuqing Palace, all the excess items and shares had been returned. According to the prince's share, he had only been able to maintain the operation of Yuqing Palace over the years.
Of course, this has its pros and cons. Looking at it in the long run, no one can criticize the extravagance and waste in the Yuqing Palace. After all, everything has precedents, and everything is within the scope of the prince's use, without exceeding the rules or being out of line, and every stroke of the pen is clearly visible.
But in the short term, even the allowance from Yuqing Palace is barely enough for their family to live on. If they want to socialize or do other things, they need to find ways to earn money themselves.
If it weren't for the Crown Princess's wealth-making skills, maintaining these annual social interactions would have been enough of a headache for the Crown Prince. He knew he had no talent for business, and if it weren't for Burhe's management, the shops under his name would still be losing money.
That's why he was so excited when he knew that Xiaojiu had sided with him. After all, he was recognized as the God of Wealth Jiu who was best at making money. Whether in his previous life or this life, there was no doubt that Xiaojiu's ability to make money was real.
And it's not just Xiaojiu. Today, there's a buy one get one free offer. Xiaoshi is also thinking about following behind him. No matter whether the Niuhuru clan will support Xiaoba in the future, once Xiaoshi makes his attitude clear, the Niuhuru clan's targeting of his side will be greatly reduced.
Bull looked at the prince with amusement as he proudly told him how he used a little trick to make the fourth brother admire him more, and how he conquered the ninth brother and even got the tenth brother to join his side.
Yinreng spoke for half an hour until his mouth was dry. He ended the topic only after Buerhe brought him a cup of hot tea. It can be seen that the prince was angry that he had no supporters behind him, or that only his fourth brother was angry.
Buerhe did not interrupt him until he had finished talking, then she came forward and patted him on the shoulder, letting him know that she was always there and would always support him.
Buerhe also understood the Crown Prince. He had been a child of destiny, blessed with everything he wanted, and personally raised by his father. While other princes had mothers to care for them, Yinreng had only his father since birth. However, as Yinreng grew older and more capable, the Emperor changed his attitude. The father who had wholeheartedly supported and favored Yinreng was gone, leaving behind the father who was both a king and a father.
What is the "Emperor Father"? The word "Emperor" comes first and "Father" comes second. To Yinreng, the current Kangxi is more of an emperor and a monarch rather than a father.
The lights in the main courtyard were turned off quite late that night, but Yinreng slept very soundly and had a good dream.
On the second day, Liang Jiugong had just shouted, "If you have something to report, please stand up," when Yinreng stepped forward, holding a long-prepared memorial and kneeling in the center of the Qianqing Palace: "Your son has something to report, and I beg your permission, Father."
Kangxi was somewhat puzzled. The Crown Prince hadn't revealed anything yesterday, so he had no idea what the memorial was about. The ministers in the court were equally confused. Their Crown Prince usually preferred to bide his time. Since helping the Emperor with state affairs, he had rarely spoken.
When listening to the prince's opinions on a daily basis, it is usually either the eldest prince's party taking the initiative to target them and the prince fighting back, or it is the emperor's request. Otherwise, the prince basically stands there and watches the government with a smile.
The reason why the eldest prince's party has become increasingly powerful in recent years is also due to the crown prince's indulgence. A crown prince who does not have much presence in the court can easily make his opponents mistakenly think that the crown prince is afraid, and then their hearts will swell and become increasingly uncontrollable.
In fact, Mingzhu has also discovered this problem in the past two years. The most obvious thing is that the emperor's eyes look at him more and more wrong. It is disgust that wants to get rid of him as soon as possible, as if he is a treacherous minister in the court.
But things had come to this point, and every action was beyond his control. He was now in a difficult situation and had to persevere for the sake of the Yehenara clan. Perhaps it was true that a bystander could see more clearly. After stepping out of that box, he suddenly realized that the prince minimized his presence in the court, not because he was afraid or unwilling to compete, but because he wanted to attract the emperor's attention and protect himself.
The emperor is getting old, and he cannot tolerate others coveting his position. It can be said that whoever performs best and has the most supporters will be the first to suffer.
While Mingzhu was still considering and analyzing the significance of the prince's actions today, Kangxi had already nodded in agreement.
Yinreng smiled faintly, but looked Kangxi squarely in the eye. "I recently secretly visited the Ministry of Revenue's treasury and discovered that there are only 500,000 taels of silver left. This figure is clearly inaccurate. Last year's taxes were collected less than half a year ago, and even the construction work at the imperial court didn't require that much. Furthermore, every use of silver requires your approval, Father Your Majesty. I've been observing government for so long, and from the end of last year until now, there haven't been any new projects requiring such a large amount of money. So where did all the money go? Therefore, I wish to report the Minister of Revenue for enriching himself and embezzling the national treasury. I implore Your Majesty to investigate thoroughly."