"Your Highness, regarding Prince Kang..." Tian Yuan asked.
They originally thought there would be a fierce fight between the dragons and the tigers, but they never expected that King Ding would come and settle the matter. Now it is not convenient for them to go to see King Kang, as they would miss a great opportunity.
As long as we can pry open King Kang's mouth, we will know who is responsible for forming a private army for His Majesty, and we can also follow the source of iron ore for forging weapons to uproot His Majesty's many hidden forces.
"Your Majesty is acting cautiously. Prince Kang may not know the source of the iron, nor may he know who is responsible for forming a private army." Xiao Huayong shook his head gently, "Otherwise he would not have kept Prince Kang in the Zongzheng Temple and allowed people to visit him."
Only those who do not understand Your Majesty would try to fish in troubled waters.
However, King Kang must know something, or at least there is a suspect, and they have to confirm whether it is true or not.
Therefore, even if King Kang was not met, the loss would not be great.
Xiao Huayong raised his hand and rubbed his thumb gently on the edge of his index finger: "We have to find a way to replace the Minister of Revenue."
Your Majesty was able to empty the national treasury to secretly plan such a large amount of silver. There is no reason why the Minister of Revenue would not notice it. This only shows that the Ministry of Revenue is completely under the control of Your Majesty. From the Minister to the two Vice Ministers, they should all be Your Majesty's confidants.
Tian Yuan knew that the good days of Minister of Revenue Dong Biquan were coming to an end.
"The autumn grain is about to arrive. You should ask everyone to keep a close eye on it and make sure to catch Dong Biquan!" Xiao Huayong's brows were frowned. He just restrained his emotions. His face was expressionless without a trace of displeasure, which made people inexplicably afraid.
"Yes." Tian Yuan immediately stepped back to make arrangements.
When September came and autumn was in full swing, Prince Kang was executed, and the rest of the people in Prince Kang's mansion and Emperor Youning were demoted to commoners. They were neither sent to the Yunting Palace nor exiled. Prince Ding was also demoted to a commoner and was punished to guard the imperial mausoleum and repent for his mistakes.
Emperor Youning did not charge Xiao Changtai with the crime of privately making weapons. He only said that he was rebellious and disobedient. But everyone knew what he meant. This was Emperor Youning, as a father, giving his son some dignity. It was self-evident who Prince Kang was privately making weapons for.
Since His Majesty knows everything, and wants to raise it high and put it down gently, they, as his subjects, naturally cannot hold on to it.
The matter was seemingly resolved as Emperor Youning removed several important local officials.
"Why are you sad?" Shen Xihe looked at Bu Shulin who had been sitting opposite him for a long time. It was the first time she came to him and she was silent.
Bu Shulin picked up the teacup and took a sip of tea, then spoke rather coldly, "My father wrote to me saying that the military budget this year has been tampered with, and the pensions and clothing rations are missing, and the food and cloth are all inferior."
Our dynasty is particularly tolerant of the military. Elderly retired soldiers are exempt from taxes, and the disabled on the battlefield receive annual pensions.
Military supplies do not come in the form of money, but rather clothing, food, and equipment, which are approved by the Ministry of Revenue of the Six Ministries to the Supervisory Commissioners, who then deliver them to the various armies in a timely manner by the Supervisory Commissioners of the cities and towns. Since Your Majesty ascended the throne, the northwest has deducted the military supplies from the taxes paid each year before transporting them to the capital.
No one dared to tamper with the military supplies in the northwest, and Shen Yueshan did not embezzle any of it. Southern Sichuan was the place with the largest army outside the northwest, and a large sum of money could be transferred with just a flick of his finger.
Shen Xihe: "Did something go wrong during the inventory?"