After the Double Ninth Festival, chrysanthemum porridge is no longer fashionable. Soak a handful of adzuki beans in water until soft, then put it into a pot with the best japonica rice and simmer over low heat until it becomes sandy. When it is out of the pot, add a spoonful of osmanthus sugar to make it thicker. The sweet aroma spreads hotly.

It's a pity that none of the elders in the Qianqing Palace dared to touch such red bean porridge.

The copied account books were placed in front of them. They lowered their heads and no one dared to speak.

"When Emperor Chengzu was born, the cost of tribute was from 3,300 taels to 3,700 taels; under Suzong it was from 5,900 taels to 7,000 taels; under Shenzong it was easily ten thousand taels; and under Mingzong it was already two Ten thousand taels, compared with 40,000 taels under the late emperor, last year's tribute, the court spent 67,000 taels of silver. In the more than 200 years since the founding of the Yong Dynasty, the canal from Jiangnan to Yanjing spent a lot of money to dredge the canal every year, allowing for the exchange of goods. Every year seems like a year, but I really can’t figure out the expense of this tribute.”

What you could do with three thousand taels in the past now costs twenty times more. How ridiculous is this?

But such absurdities can be found everywhere in Dayong today.

Li Congyuan gently flipped through the account books and looked at the "eight red sandalwood carts" and "sixteen yellow rosewood carts" listed on the annual expenses, and couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

Most of the roads along the "Gong" route depend on canals, so why build new cars every year? It's just to balance the accounts.

The number of fish shipped to Yanjing from the south of the Yangtze River every year is only twice the amount, and the amount of ice used in the account books is more than ten times more.

The sweet aroma of red bean porridge rises faintly on the table.

Li Congyuan knelt down first, followed by Yang Zhai and Liu Kangyong who also knelt on the ground.

"I am ashamed of Your Majesty."

Shen Shiqing twirled her fingers and looked at the palace door.

"Since I ascend the throne, I do not intend to keep any of those who have handled tribute. If those who handled tribute during the reign of the late Emperor have retired to their hometowns or died, I promise that their descendants will use their family wealth to settle the accounts."

Li Congyuan and others were stunned.

According to the long-standing practice of the Great Yong Dynasty, when officials retire and let go of the past, according to His Majesty's wishes, even the dead must be dug out to make up for the shortfall!

Liu Kangyong, the Minister of Rites, said: "Your Majesty, in accordance with the ancestral system..."

Shen Shiqing glanced at him and said in a brisk tone: "According to the "Dayong Law", sixty taels of silver were embezzled, skinned and grassed. I have not followed the ancestral system, and I am really ashamed of my ancestors. The Minister of Rites said it is right."

In fact, he wanted to say that His Majesty should be merciful and considerate to his ministers. Liu Kangyong opened his mouth and suddenly didn't know what to say.

"But I also know that today is not the same as when the country was first founded. Sixty taels of silver for peeling off skins and pulling grass is a bit too harsh. Let's do it this way. For less than three hundred taels of silver, if you are dismissed from office, three hundred taels will be removed. If you have more than 2 taels, you will be sent into exile; if you have more than 500 taels, you will be executed."

With a "plop", Liu Kangyong knelt on the ground and did not dare to move.

If this word gets out, it won't matter to Your Majesty. He, the Minister of Rites, will first become the target of civil and military criticism in the entire court!

During the Double Ninth Festival, he thought that Your Majesty was much more stable than before, and did not do things according to his temper as before. Only today did he understand that His Majesty was no longer stable, and that His Majesty was more unpredictable than before!

"Your Majesty, rectification of officialdom must not be accomplished overnight..." Liu Kangyong stopped talking midway through his words because Your Majesty was looking at him...

With a very cold look.

"Rectifying officialdom cannot be done overnight? Shouldn't I tell those people to be greedy slowly, be greedy slowly, and don't be greedy in a hurry?"

Seeing Liu Kangyong's face turn red, Li Congyuan said slowly: "When your Majesty is rectifying the administration of officials, you must also be on guard against the danger of betrayal. If you indulge in cruel officials like Wu Zhou did, it will make people uneasy and the ministers will not dare to take action, which will not be a blessing to the people." "

This was a safe statement, and Shen Shiqing tapped her finger on the table.

At this time, the door curtain opened, and the three cats crept in and stood at the door.

Shen Shiqing saw it and asked him, "What's the matter?"

Sanmao lowered his eyebrows and said submissively: "As for the Emperor, someone has come from Cining Palace. It was the Empress Dowager who sent someone to deliver something to the Emperor."

Normally, it would not be a terrible thing for Cining Palace to send something to the emperor, but the three cats were trembling when they spoke, which made Shen Shiqing have some suspicions.

"Let people come in."

"yes."

The next moment, a eunuch wearing a black eunuch uniform came in holding a tray. As soon as he came in, he knelt down and saluted the emperor.

"My servant, the eunuch of Cining Palace, has sent to Your Majesty one hundred thousand taels of silver and two pure gold Buddha statues according to the order of the Queen Mother. The Queen Mother has something else to say to Your Majesty."

After saying that, the eunuch raised his head and looked at the elders who were also kneeling on the ground.

His appearance made Shen Shiqing more and more curious. She waved her hand and said, "Several ministers got up first. I guess that the things sent by the Queen Mother are also related to the official administration. You might as well listen to it with me."

Li Congyuan and others stood up, but they really wanted to leave.

The Queen Mother had a very close relationship with the late Emperor, and she loved the late Crown Prince deeply. After His Majesty ascended the throne, the Queen Mother repeatedly mentioned in front of her concubine that Your Majesty was unfit to be king. One day the year before last, Your Majesty went to pay his respects to the Queen Mother before going to court. The Queen Mother actually said that she had seen His Majesty. He said that it was uncomfortable to wear a dragon robe, and even asked His Majesty not to wear a dragon robe to pay greetings in the future.

His Majesty was arrogant and willful, and could be moody or angry, but he was quite respectful to the Queen Mother. From then on, although he rarely saw the Queen Mother, he never lacked various rewards.

But for them, the courtiers, the Queen Mother humiliated His Majesty in front of them. If they interfered, they would offend both His Majesty and the Queen Mother at the same time. If they watched from the side, they would have lost their duty as courtiers.

As a result, the three pavilion elders lowered their heads in unison, as if there were three more hollow wooden pillars in the main hall of the huge Qianqing Palace.

Yiji said to the eunuch who was holding something: "Whatever the Queen Mother's will is, just say it."

"My slave conveyed the words of the Queen Mother. I heard that Your Majesty wanted to rectify the accounts of Taipu Temple. A few years ago, when Hou Chenghou was in Taipu Temple, he was fooled by the people below because of his lack of practical knowledge and caused some losses. The late emperor was kind and wanted to return the favor to Hou Cheng. In order to support the mother of the Ai family, he was relieved of his official post as Marquis Shoucheng and was given a free job. Although Marquis Shoucheng was your Majesty's uncle, he was timid and dull. He failed the late Emperor's grace because of his ignorance and was already seriously ill. Yesterday, I heard that His Majesty wanted to check the accounts. I was so frightened that I came to the Ai family and cried for a whole day. He and the Ai family have the same mother-in-law. The Ai family cannot ignore their brother, so the Ai family paid for him. Account. The Cao family is deeply favored by the emperor, but their talents are insufficient and they dare not join the imperial court. However, they will not be driven out and exterminated, so let this moment pass. I only hope that your majesty will collect the money and stop embarrassing the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty. We The success of the old Zhao family in the world depends on the hard work and sleep of these courtiers. When the late emperor was here, he often said that a king should be generous, a benevolent king, and a wise king. What is the reason for making the whole court panic for a little money? Not good. I have finished passing on what the Queen Mother ordered.”…

It was quiet and quiet in Qianqing Palace.

Liu Kangyong could almost hear his sweat flowing down his cheeks and into his collar.

The day before yesterday, His Majesty said that he would rectify the administration of officials and inspect the Shaogong and Taipu Temples. Today, the Queen Mother has openly humiliated His Majesty.

Some of them didn't even dare to raise their heads to look at His Majesty's face.

Shen Shiqing, who was sitting on the dragon throne, was not angry. After all, she was not Emperor Zhaode himself, and she had not even seen with her own eyes what the Queen Mother looked like. In his opinion, the Queen Mother was, to put it bluntly, the emperor's mother, and her power also came from When it comes to her son, the way she uses her power involves beating family affection and morality, which is exactly what Shen Shiqing saw most often in Ning'an's house in the past few years.

The person she was thinking of at this time was Zhao Surui.

It turns out that the wise and omnipotent Emperor also had to go through such methods.

She even wanted to laugh a little.

She had heard the names of Shouchenghou and Baopinghou before in Shenzhen. The two Cao brothers were originally idlers. Their father was just a doctor in the Ministry of Industry, but he gave birth to a good daughter. She was chosen to be imprisoned at the age of fourteen, and at the age of sixteen she was appointed as the wife of the late emperor who was still the king of the county at the time. The late emperor loved her very much. All the brothers were granted the title of marquis.

The eldest brother of the Queen Mother, Shouchenghou, was a bastard whom the entire capital did not dare to offend. He probably knew that his family's title could not be inherited. In recent years, he had seized land and farms everywhere, and had a group of thugs under his command. Go and grab it by force, and accuse them of instigating tenants to occupy the land.

He was quite smart and rarely quarreled with civil servants. He only focused on writing about wealthy households without official status and declining nobles. Over the years, he acquired an unknown amount of land in the suburbs of Beijing.

Such a person not only amassed money excessively, but also took bribes and perverted the law. He clearly failed the emperor's favor, but the Queen Mother still had to cover it up for him.

The Queen Mother came out of her private room, nominally to settle the accounts for Hou Chenghou, but actually she was in the left and right court halls. The emperor just ordered an inspection of Taipu Temple the day before yesterday, and she jumped out today to ask the emperor to be lenient to the courtiers. These things When these words reached the ears of the Taipus Temple officials, even the slightest desire to surrender was gone.

But, that's okay.

A smile appeared on Shen Shiqing's face.

Since the Queen Mother pushed Shouchenghou out, she could use Shouchenghou as a target.

"Who investigated the case in Shouchenghou's house back then? Go get the files and let me see if the money sent by the Queen Mother is enough to settle the account. Then summon Shouchenghou to enter the palace immediately."

After hearing the emperor's instructions, Yi Ji raised his eyes and glanced at the emperor, then lowered his head:

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Shen Shiqing lowered her head and happened to see Zhao Surui's private seal. She picked it up with her ring finger, held it in her hand and rubbed it gently:

"The Queen Mother is really rich." She said softly, "With a salary of twenty taels of gold and two thousand taels of silver a year, how many years does it take to save this one hundred thousand taels of silver?"

None of the three pavilion elders dared to answer this question.

A chicken stood there, wishing that it was just a wooden chicken.

Shen Shiqing stood up:

"I remember that the late emperor once allocated two palaces to provide makeup and powder for the Queen Mother. Now that the Queen Mother is old and has a luxurious private house, she may not be able to use so much makeup."

Li Congyuan immediately understood what His Majesty meant.

After all, the expenses used by the Queen Mother were all allocated from the Emperor's private treasury. In the past, the Queen Mother used money from the Emperor's private treasury to support her natal family, and Her Majesty turned a blind eye. Your Majesty dares to interfere in the affairs of the Pusi, and your Majesty is not going to tolerate it any longer.

The little eunuch who delivered the message was still kneeling on the ground holding the banknotes without knowing why, just waiting for His Majesty's reply.

Shen Shiqing glanced at the banknote in his hand and walked down from the throne.

She wanted to recover Shoucheng Hou's shortfall from him in an exact manner. As for the one hundred thousand taels of silver, since it was delivered to her, she would not be polite.

The aroma of the red bean porridge had not dissipated. Li Congyuan looked at His Majesty with a smile on his face and felt that the red bean porridge on the table looked like blood.
Chapter completed!