After Zhao Qian came down from the court meeting, he did not go to Wenyuan Pavilion, but went directly to the Yamen of the Ministry of Revenue.
It was not yet six o'clock, and as soon as I entered the gate, I heard the crackling sound of the abacus in the Hubu Yamen. He found a group of people who were good at calculating the abacus and went into the household department to check the accounts. From the fifteenth year of Xikang to February this year, all the accounts had to be reviewed. The account books of the past few years have been piled up in half the room, and the eight accounting rooms have been doing calculations for three days. It’s not over yet.
His arrival caused all the officials in the yamen to kneel down and pay their respects.
Zhao Qian walked straight to the place where several long tables were put together. He picked up an account book and took a look at it. He put it down and picked up another one. He threw it away after reading two pages. I found a counting house and asked, "Where are the things that have been cleared out?"
Shangshu Tong hurriedly presented a book of cleared accounts to Zhao Qian. Zhao Qian carefully turned through a few pages. His face became more and more gloomy, and the people kneeling below were even more frightened.
Zhao Qian knew that the treasury was empty before this, so he wanted to find someone to find out where the holes were. You won’t know if you don’t check, but you’ll be shocked if you check.
Zhao Qian gripped the paper hard, veins bulging on his forehead, and finally slammed the table: "What a bastard!"
Tong Shangshu kowtowed repeatedly and said: "Your Majesty, please calm down. Your Majesty, please calm down your anger."
"There is such a big hole, I just want to ask you, Tong Shangshu, how can you find a way to fill it?"
Shangshu Tong said in panic: "The only way is to increase the tax for two more quarters and increase the tax rate by two cents."
"Two more seasons, two more points? Are you trying to force the farmers to rebel?" Zhao Qian's face instantly turned livid.
Shangshu Tong was so frightened that he no longer dared to talk casually.
"I'll give you three days. Come up with a feasible countermeasure within three days on how to plug these holes." Zhao Qian was indeed very angry.
In three days, or even three months, I might not be able to think of any reliable solution, Tong Shangshu thought worriedly. He guarded these accounting rooms and checked the accounts for nearly an hour, wondering why the treasury was so empty. When Emperor Xiaozong first came to power, the country was peaceful and the people were prosperous. The treasury is full. Later, when he came into the hands of the late emperor, the people also lived a good life for a few years. However, the late emperor was fond of martial arts. In the seventeen years of his reign, he fought more than ten battles, large and small. In the early years, he was victorious. The last two defeats gradually made Daqi's burden gradually become more difficult. Coupled with the famines in recent years, the people's lives have become increasingly difficult. The country is getting poorer and poorer, and social shortcomings are exposed everywhere.
Daqi has reached a point where it must change.
Zhao Qian walked out of the Hubu Yamen with a weak step. His good brother left an empty shelf for his nephew.
After coming out of the Ministry of Household Affairs, he went to Wenyuan Pavilion. Chief Assistant Du Yuzheng held a meeting with several ministers to discuss Enke's matter, but Zhao Qian came in with a straight face.
Du Yu and others hurriedly left their seats and greeted Zhao Qian one after another.
At this time, there was no need to hide his emotions. Zhao Qian's frown could kill a fly. He was very unhappy at the moment.
Du Yu and Liao Qi exchanged a look, and Du Yu asked uneasily: "Your Majesty, what happened?"
After getting angry, Zhao Qian gradually calmed down. He still had to think about what to do next? You can't leave a mess to Fu Guang. This is a country that was conquered by our ancestors, and we can't let it fall into the hands of their uncles and nephews.
"I went to the Ministry of Revenue. Now the national strength is very weak, and Daqi can't stand the trouble." Zhao Qian said simply.
Everyone here knows that the treasury is empty, but even Du Yu, as the chief assistant, has no way. He said helplessly: "The emptiness of the treasury is not a matter of a day or two. Your Majesty, don't worry too much."
Zhao Qian smiled bitterly. He was now the regent and was in charge of the country in place of his nephew. No matter how heavy the burden on his shoulders was, he could not let it go.
"Da Qi must not die in our hands. When the time comes, power must be handed over to the emperor smoothly and smoothly."
Du Yu heard that this regent was ambitious and seemed to want to do something real, but now people were not united.
"Does the prince intend to carry out reform? I wonder where the prince plans to start?" Du Yuxiang asked.
“Let’s start with taxes first, and then we’ll talk about raising the taxes that should be collected.”
The current polarization in Daqi is too serious, and the wealth is seriously unbalanced. If we don't intervene, the people's lives will be even more difficult.
Zhao Qian gave Tong Shangshu three days to think of countermeasures. As a result, on the second day, Tong Shangshu took the lead in the household department, and then the two ministers, Yuanwai Lang, and Lang Zhong submitted their resignations.
When the resignation letter came into Du Yu's hands, Du Yu was very angry: "Who will do the work now? Everyone is gone."
Liao Qi wiped his sweat and hurriedly consoled him: "Sir, please calm down."
Du Yu was really angry: "What is the regent going to do? If he wants to take action, why doesn't he discuss it with us? What do we think of our cabinet as decoration? Then what else does the cabinet have to do? I think it's better to dissolve it as soon as possible. "
It can be seen that Du Yu is really angry and can say anything.
Zhao Qian soon found out about the resignation of Tong Shangshu and others. He was sure that those useless weaklings could not be counted on. Now that he planned to take charge of the household department personally, he did not believe that he could not clean up this mess. .
The affairs of the household department are very complicated. Zhao Qian has been in the household department for several days in a row, leaving the rest of the affairs to the cabinet. Now he dreams about looking at the account books when he sleeps. For a few days, his mind is filled with all kinds of numbers.
Tong Shangshu and others wanted to resign, but Zhao Qian simply agreed and eliminated all the useless things. After excluding this group of people, the household department will be left empty-handed. Zhao Qian hopes that after Enke passes this year, a group of real talents will be promoted instead of these old guys.
Zhao Qian agreed to the resignations of these people, but unexpectedly angered several ministers in the cabinet.
As the chief assistant, Du Yu was the first to make a decision to Zhao Qian: "My lord, I'm afraid it's inappropriate for you to do this. If you drive away those people, who will do the work?"
"First, temporarily select a few people from other yamen to cope with this period. After Enke is over, we will select a group of people with real talents and hard work."
Du Yu said again: "Your Majesty, I'm afraid it's not appropriate for you to do this."
"What's wrong? Those who are capable will be promoted, and those who are not will be demoted. This is my criterion for employing people."
Du Yu was very dissatisfied with Zhao Qian's actions. Even though he was the regent, he had no intention of asking the cabinet and made a decision at will. Being so arbitrary will only weaken the power of the cabinet. It happened that he was the regent, and the emperor was still young, so no one could restrain him.
However, Du Yu thought of one person at this moment. At this time, if he could only invite that person out, he might be of some use.
(End of chapter)