novelaction Chapter 132 National Treasury Tax
Chapter 132 National Treasury Tax
Chapter 132 National Treasury Tax
Fourth Prince Yinzhen was also a veteran cashier at the Ministry of Revenue, and Yinreng would certainly not have forgotten him. If Thirteenth Prince wasn't still young and studying in the Shangshufang, Yinreng would have definitely included him as well. But don't panic, this time with Xiaojiu, and with him behind him, I believe this mission will definitely be completed better.
The Fourth Prince arrived quite quickly, and the two brothers waited for about a cup of tea before he entered the study. Yinzhen was not surprised to see Xiaojiu, as he had heard earlier that the Crown Princess was cooperating with Xiaojiu in business, so it was only a matter of time before Xiaojiu joined them.
Seeing Yinreng and Yin'er playing chess, he didn't rush to interrupt them. Instead, he sat down and watched quietly. He Zhu quickly brought hot tea and placed it next to Yinzhen. He picked it up and took a sip. The taste was light with a slight sweet aftertaste, just like his favorite Lushan Cloud Mist.
He took another sip. Hmm, it tasted really good. The servant who made the tea here was also very skilled. Thinking of this, Yinzhen's eyes softened. Seeing Yinreng who was thinking about the chess game, his eyes were full of smiles.
So why did he support his second brother without hesitation? Firstly, his second brother was the legitimate heir, and the emperor's requirement for him was to be a virtuous minister. Secondly, it was because of his omnipresent concern. Not many people knew that he loved to drink Lushan Yunwu, but every time he came to Yuqing Palace, his second brother would always have someone make it for him.
Not only that, but also during meals, everyone knew that he was a light eater, so when he was invited to a banquet, most of the dishes were vegetarian, with occasional meat dishes, usually soups.
But it was different when I came to Yuqing Palace. Although the dishes were very simple, there was plenty of meat and fish, and they were the kind that were refreshing and appetizing. The one I remember most was the sweet and sour pork with pineapple.
I remember that the first time I tried it was in Yuqing Palace. After that, I no longer ate vegetarian meals every day. Whenever I wanted to eat those special dishes, I would go to the main courtyard and Fu Jin would be able to satisfy my requirements, because the Crown Princess had given all the recipes to Fu Jin.
When Yinzhen had finished about half of the hot tea, Yin'er said, "I'm not going to play anymore. My brother lost this round."
Yinreng smiled as he collected the chess pieces, "Xiaojiu's personality is still as impatient as ever. Playing Go requires concentration and concentration, but you started out by moving pieces here and there without any order. I've never seen you behave like this in business."
Yin'er didn't touch the chess pieces again. Instead, he imitated Yinzhen and took a sip from his teacup. He nodded with satisfaction before answering, "That's different. My brother has never liked playing chess since he was a child. I'm not the patient type. Business is different. That's my hobby. Watching my goods sell bit by bit, and the gold slowly filling my pockets, that feeling is indescribable."
Seeing Yin'er become immersed in the happiness of making money while talking, Yinreng and Yinzhen looked at each other, both of them were helpless and couldn't understand. Logically speaking, they had never been short of money since they were young. Even if they were to divide it up now, the emperor had directly given them 200,000 taels of silver. What's more, they had salaries when they were in the Imperial Household Department and the Ministry of Revenue, and they had properties under their names. How could they be greedy for such gold?
But Xiaojiu was different. He had always loved these yellow and white things. It was said that when he was doing the "Zhuazhou" ceremony, he grabbed a golden abacus in front of the emperor's father. Concubine Yi tried to persuade him, but in the end, it ended in failure. When he was a little older, only six or seven years old, he had already started to plan to start a small business. If it weren't for Concubine Yi's obstruction, his butt would probably have been beaten to a pulp by the emperor when he was still a child.
With everyone present, the main task was laid out. Yinreng directly made his request: "Starting tomorrow, Xiaojiu, you will need to investigate the Ministry of Revenue, especially the accounts of those loans. Your task is to find out whether the reasons reported by these borrowers are true. I will also arrange for people to work with you, but the main part still needs you to do it.
These parasites are sucking blood from the national treasury, using tax money to eat, drink, and have fun, disregarding the lives of the people and the stability of the Qing Dynasty. They really need to be investigated and punished. I will also pay close attention to Xinjiang and southern Yunnan. Once the list is released, I will report it directly to the court."
Yinzhen hadn't expected that his second brother, the Crown Prince, was truly serious this time. "Second brother, you're not suited to get involved in this. These people who borrowed money have deep roots. If you point them out directly in court, they'll all target you. Then the Yuqing Palace will be in danger."
The ninth prince Yin'er initially thought that the prince would let them take the lead, but he didn't expect that the prince only asked them to help with the investigation, and in the end he was the one standing in the front. He felt mixed emotions for a moment, but what the fourth brother Yinzhen said was right. Now the eldest brother's party is already eyeing the prince. If the prince takes the initiative to jump out this time, wouldn't he be a ready-made target?
Yinzhen: "Yes, second brother, now is not the right time for you to jump out. The group of people behind my eldest brother are like leeches. If you make any movement, they will definitely rush over like crazy."
Thinking about his past friendship with the Crown Princess and what the Crown Prince had just said, Yinzhen gritted his teeth and said, "Why don't I just let my younger brother propose it when the time comes? After all, my younger brother is in the Ministry of Revenue now. If I let my younger brother propose it, I don't think those people will be able to do anything even if they are angry."
Yinreng looked at his two brothers who were trying to stop him with emotion, but his tone was firm: "Don't worry, I'm not that weak. This matter is too big, none of you can handle it, so I'll do it. Fourth brother, don't say anything more. You already rely on the Tonggiya clan. If you take the lead this time, it will be equivalent to pushing the Tonggiya clan away, and then you will be alone in the future. You still have Honghui and your fourth brother's wife in your house, so you have to think about them too.
The same goes for you, Xiaojiu. While Concubine Yi is favored, that's only within the Forbidden City. Once you leave the palace, she won't be able to protect you. The Guo Luoluo family can now support more than just you two brothers. The Empress Dowager can protect the Fifth Brother. What will you do then? Your legitimate wife was just granted marriage, and you don't want the Zhangjia clan to suffer an injustice before she even marries into the family.
It would be best if I were to take the lead on this matter. After all, I am still the Crown Prince, the legitimate heir. The National Treasury and the Ministry of Revenue are also areas that I should be concerned about. At worst, the Emperor will just give me a lecture and put me in solitary confinement. I can't afford to lose my position as Crown Prince because of these parasites, can I? "
Later on, the prince even started joking. But Yinzhen and Yin'er beside him had no desire to laugh at all. In the end, the prince was worried that they could not withstand the retaliation of those officials and did not want them to take the lead.
But the prince has no one to rely on. If you think about it carefully, you will know that the Hesheli family is not close to the prince. The only one the prince can use now is the princess's family. But the princess's brothers are just guards in the palace, and the youngest one is still training in the camp outside the capital.
At best, it was only the prince's father-in-law, Lord Fei Yanggu. As for the emperor, they brothers always thought that the emperor loved the prince the most and all the good things belonged to the prince, including the world. But after hearing what the prince said today, they found that the emperor seemed to be more and more wary of the prince in recent years.
Thinking back carefully, it seemed like this trend had started the year Hongye and Jingyi were born. Even his mother, who hadn't been involved in the affairs of the previous dynasty, knew all the ministers behind Big Brother. Some time ago, she even said that Big Brother was so powerful that she would hide away if he met her.
Looking behind the Crown Prince, apart from the old ministers who originally supported the orthodoxy, there was no one else. Even the Emperor had no objection to the ministers gathered around his eldest brother, and on the contrary, he seemed to support them.
I didn't think about these things before, and I didn't notice these differences when I wasn't interested in power. Now I think the emperor has become more and more wary of the prince over the years. But wasn't he the one who trained the second prince? Why is he trying to restrict him now?
Yinzhen was slightly older than him, had spent more time in the court, and had read a lot of history books. He knew the reason behind this, which was simply his excessive lust for power. The emperor was getting older, but his second brother was becoming more and more outstanding. He couldn't allow anyone else to sleep in his bed, and there couldn't be two tigers in one mountain. The emperor was anxious.
He couldn't figure out the reason, but Yinzhen didn't think he was a timid person. Besides, this matter was for the country and the people, so he didn't wait for Yinzhen to speak first: "Second brother, if you want to bring it up first in the court, I won't argue with you about it. But when the time comes to settle the accounts, I can still help with the accounting. After all, I am a professional. As long as it passes through my hands, the accounts will be kept safe and not a single cent will be lost."
Yinzhen looked at Yin'er's righteous appearance quietly without saying a word to stop him. He had entered this game voluntarily and no one else could interfere. Besides, this matter was a good thing after all, but it was very risky.
However, thinking of the care that his second brother and his wife had shown him over the years, Yinzhen did not neglect them and immediately stated, "Brother, I won't say anything else. If I can be of use to you, I will definitely help you. As for the investigation, I'll leave it to you. I guarantee that all the information will be collected in five days."
After hearing this, Yinzhen also assured: "Don't worry, second brother, I will check the accounts when I get back. There is nothing wrong with this."
Yinreng, with a look of deep emotion, stepped forward and hugged his two younger brothers' shoulders. "My dear brothers, thank you so much. With you here, I can rest assured. And you can rest assured too. I assure you that this matter has no selfish motives involved. Even if the money is collected, it will be directly used for the people."
But in my heart I was thinking, this is a sure thing, don't blame my second brother for being dishonest and dragging you guys into this, the only two people who can do this seriously in the court and bring it to a perfect conclusion are them.
Yinzhen and Yin'er knew that this was the prince's guarantee and also his approval. That is to say, from today on, after they leave Yuqing Palace, they will be members of the prince's party. They don't know what outsiders think of them, but in the eyes of the prince, they will be his own people.
The three brothers ordered tea and talked about where to start and the current situation. They had dinner in Yuqing Palace before returning home.
In the Qianqing Palace, Kangxi was also sipping tea, but his mood was not very good at the moment: "Liang Jiugong, do you think I did something wrong? I heard that Hongye has been unhappy for several days."
It is said that the youngest son and the eldest grandson are the lifeblood of an old man. Although Kangxi is now very wary of Yinreng, he really loves Hongye, not only because this grandson is the eldest grandson, but also because he looks very much like Chenghu.
Hongye had his quick-witted and studious appearance, as well as Fang'er's quiet, kind, and helpful character. Seeing him was as if she saw Chenghu, the legitimate eldest son, whom she and Fang'er had taught together back then.
Liang Jiugong has been accompanying the emperor all the way, and he can guess what the emperor is thinking. For example, now the emperor is worried that he has given someone to the prince, and whether Prince Hongye is angry with him, the emperor.
Liang Jiugong smiled apologetically and said, "Your Majesty, you worry too much. Our eldest prince is such a considerate little man. Besides, those two princesses were locked up right after entering Yuqing Palace, but they didn't touch the crown prince's clothes at all, and there wasn't even a splash. I don't think it had much impact on the eldest prince. Our eldest prince hasn't come to pay his respects in the past two days. He must have too much schoolwork. I heard that the lights in his study are not turned off until after the hour of Xu every night."
Kangxi also knew that he had gone too far this time, but the imperial edict had already been issued and the matter could not be changed. Besides, he also wanted to take this opportunity to teach Yinreng a lesson. Even if Hongye objected, the two princesses would still be sent to prison.
But what Liang Jiugong said was right. Hongye has been resting too late recently. He is only a four-year-old child and is still growing. There is no need to rest so late every day.
Kangxi: "Give orders that Prince Hongye's schoolwork can be reduced from now on. He is still growing and needs more rest."
Liang Jiugong: "Well, I will go and pass on the order in a moment."