When Wei An received the invitation, Shen Chen also received a summons to enter the palace.
Emperor Longqing summoned him to the palace this time because of the Fujian Maritime Customs. Because of the serious turmoil along the coast of Fujian, he had convened the cabinet to discuss the matter for several days in a row.
"Qian Shiyun and the others will come to talk about Fujian later, you just stay and listen." Emperor Longqing's eyes were tired, and there was a dark circle around his eyes. He covered his mouth and coughed twice, then stopped and said, "When you go there, you will have a better idea of what to do."
He became more.
He seemed to be less suspicious of people, his face looked more haggard and old, and even the light in his eyes seemed to be gradually fading.
Shen Chen whispered yes beside him.
Soon all the people from the cabinet arrived, along with the eunuch An, who was the seal-holder of the Imperial Household Department, and they began to discuss matters.
"Last year, the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Works allocated three million taels of silver just for the purpose of eliminating pirates and building ships, but there is still no sign of the warships!" Censor Chen spoke first: "Nowadays, Fujian is at war again and again, and recently they are saying that Japanese pirates are rampant and demanding a ban on the sea!"
Qian Shiyun stroked his beard and thought for a long time before answering this question. He said slowly, "If the sea ban is really implemented, the silk, tea, porcelain, etc. produced by the Maritime Customs to Persia, India, Japan and other places, totaling tens of millions of taels of silver, will they just give it up?! If so, what is the purpose of the court allocating so much silver to Fujian and Zhejiang every year? What's the point of supporting Liu Biping?!"
The cabinet has been reshuffled.
Liu Biping's good days are over.
No one said these words before, but now none of the people present here has ever taken Liu Biping's money. It's time to take action and replace them with our own people.
Shen Chen was thinking about something. No wonder Emperor Longqing brought him into the palace and asked him to go to Fujian.
It looked like Liu Biping would no longer be able to keep his seat in Fujian, so Emperor Longqing wanted him to be the knife that would get rid of Liu Biping.
As expected, Emperor Longqing's eyebrows moved, he glanced at Qian Shiyun, then set his eyes on Xu Anying, the Minister of War, and said casually: "The money was allocated, and it was also written by your Ministry of War, and signed by your Ministry of War personally. Now that something has happened, what does your Ministry of War say?"
Xu Anying thought for a moment and said, "Liu Biping had submitted a memorial earlier, crying poor and complaining. Originally, our Ministry of War had received one million taels of silver from the Ministry of Revenue to strengthen defense. Over the years, no less than one million taels of military expenditure has been distributed every year, but the hole in Fujian has never been filled. Compared with Zhejiang, it is even worse. Last year, we did not approve the three million taels of silver for shipbuilding. It was Prime Minister Xia who made it happen..."
This is an excuse, but it is also the truth.
It is easy to become an official if you have someone in the court. With Xia Song in the court, if he wants to approve money, what can the Ministry of War do
Emperor Longqing's eyes became sharp. "So much money has been thrown down, but it has been lost! Now you come to me to complain about your poverty and ask me to ban the sea! Who will make up for the deficit after the sea is banned? Even if the sea is banned, will those Japanese pirates stop coming? Will the people along the coast live and work in peace? You are a traitor!"
Once the word "traitor" was uttered, Liu Biping's character was basically determined.
The Taiji Hall was completely silent, and no one dared to speak.
Emperor Longqing then asked: "Now Liu Biping wants to ban the sea, what do you think?"
The sea cannot be banned.
But Liu Biping was indeed a big trouble.
He controls Fujian like an iron barrel, and the Fujian general is his relative by marriage. Those pirates have been fought off for many years. People didn't know about it before, but now they have figured out the reason and know that it is all his doing.
But even though I know it, what should I really do to him
He is a man who is indecisive to begin with. Once he hears the news, he will probably immediately defect to King Jin.
Until then...
It was Xu Anying who spoke slowly: "I think Liu Biping is stubborn and greedy, and he should be executed!"
No one disagreed with this statement; Liu Biping indeed deserved to die.
But the question is, how to punish him
Now he has soldiers and money in his hands. If he surrenders to King Jin, he will become a serious threat.
Emperor Longqing fixed his eyes on Shen Chen, and after a moment he said, "The proposal to build a Maritime Customs Office in Fujian to manage overseas trade and tribute has been proposed for two years. It is time to implement it, and it is time for Achen to leave. Whether or not the maritime ban should be lifted, and how it should be lifted, the court cannot make a decision immediately!"
Everyone immediately understood what Emperor Longqing meant.
This means Shen Chen will go to Fujian to find out the truth.
Now Liu Biping is still a minister of the court, so he dare not act openly. If Shen Chen goes there, Shen Chen can handle the affairs of the Maritime Customs and keep Fujian in his hands, then Fujian will still be safe.
And if you can't...
If not, Liu Biping would kill Shen Chen, then Liu Biping would completely offend King Linjiang and the court.
No matter what, he has become a traitor and the King of Linjiang will be the first to destroy him.
The court also had legitimate reasons to depose him.
Qian Shiyun and Xu Anying looked at each other and nodded.
Censor Chen hesitated for a moment before speaking: "I'm afraid this trip will be... more dangerous than good."
This time, Shen Chen himself clapped his hands and sighed, "Someone should go! If this drags on, the court will suffer heavy losses! Moreover, these villains are controlling Fujian and harming the people. This is intolerable!"
Young people are impulsive and full of passion.
The expression on Emperor Longqing's face eased a little, and he looked at Shen Chen and shouted, "Good! Good! As expected of the son of Pingxi Hou, he has the demeanor of Pingxi Hou in his past! As you said, the cabinet will draw up a charter, set up an imperial envoy's guard of honor according to the regulations, and let Chen go to Fujian."
Qian Shiyun and others all agreed.
The tone of this matter was set. Emperor Longqing asked everyone in the cabinet to leave, and then he looked at Shen Chen deeply and said, "Then it depends on you."
He actually likes Shen Chen very much.
After all, everything Shen Chen did was in line with his wishes. He wanted Shen Chen to fall out with King Linjiang, so Shen Chen fell out with King Linjiang. He wanted to go to Fujian with Shen Chen's identity, which would be beneficial regardless of success or failure, so Shen Chen agreed without hesitation.
This is really a person who cannot be ignored.
only... ...
After all, this love has its limits.
Compared with his own kingdom, this is really nothing and can be sacrificed at any time.
Shen Chen waved his hand indifferently: "I have wanted to see the coast of Fujian for a long time. Liu Biping..."