Inside the palace walls, Zhou Shuren felt different the first time he entered the palace. The second time he was excited and nervous, the second time he was much more relaxed, and the next few times he was calm. But now he felt the burden on his shoulders. He was in charge of the finances of the Ministry of Revenue, and that was a heavy responsibility!
Zhou Shuren looked at Lord Xiao who was walking in front of him. Lord Xiao was over sixty years old, and compared with the ministers of other departments, Lord Xiao looked older, and the wrinkles at the corners of his eyebrows were the deepest.
They soon arrived at the Zheng Palace. Lord Xiao brought Zhou Shuren into the palace. Lord Xiao said, "Your Majesty."
Zhou Shuren followed closely behind, "Greetings, Your Majesty."
The emperor was in a good mood. "My two beloved ministers, please stand up."
Lord Xiao stood up and took the account book, "Your Majesty, these are the account books for the treasury this month."
The emperor looked at the account book on the corner of the table. He didn't want to look at it. In fact, even without looking at the account book, he knew a lot about the national treasury. Well, although there was not much silver in the national treasury, "Put it here!"
Lord Xiao breathed a sigh of relief. The treasury really didn't have much money left. He took out all the money he had saved. When he thought about the memorial to apply for money, he got a headache. "Your Majesty, the Ministry of Revenue really has no money left."
The prince remained silent. There was less than 220,000 silver coins left in the national treasury. It was indeed that there was no silver left. This silver coin was kept for emergencies.
The emperor pointed at the table and looked at Zhou Shuren, who was like a background board. "My dear Zhou, do you have anything to say?"
Zhou Shuren knew the result, but he was still calm. "I just took office and don't know much about the Ministry of Revenue. I dare not make any assertions. Please give me a few days to get familiar with the Ministry of Revenue."
The emperor was not disappointed. This was Zhou Shuren. "My dear minister, you should familiarize yourself with the Ministry of Revenue as soon as possible."
"I accept your order."
The Emperor then said to Lord Xiao, "It has been raining heavily in Jiangnan, and the money requests have been piled up a lot. You should find a way to come up with another 100,000 taels."
Lord Xiao felt a little dizzy, "Ten thousand taels?"
"One hundred thousand taels."
Lord Xiao's eyes went dark. "Your Majesty, I am not crying poor. The Ministry of Revenue has not been home for a long time. They need money everywhere. I really don't have any money!"
The emperor patted Lord Xiao on the shoulder and said, "I believe you can find a solution."
Zhou Shuren looked at Lord Xiao's face full of despair and fell silent. This was his future!
Lord Xiao's heart was bleeding. One hundred thousand taels, the reserve silver in the national treasury cannot be touched. The army has returned to the court, and the relief silver is the top priority. The river flood also concerns the people. He couldn't help but grab a handful of hair, "Your Majesty, your majesty obeys your order."
The emperor silently turned his eyes away. It had not been easy for Xiao Qing over the years, but it was still not the time to leave!
After leaving the palace, Zhou Shuren looked at Lord Xiao, who was counting on his fingers, "It's almost time to pay salaries again."
Zhou Shuren heaved a long sigh in his heart. The Ministry of Revenue was really miserable. So if he wanted to live a good life in the future, he still had to have a full wallet!
At the Ministry of Revenue, Lord Xiao got off the carriage and calmed down. He introduced Zhou Shuren one by one. Lord Qiu, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, was fifty years old this year, a few years older than Zhou Shuren.
Afterwards, he met a number of doctors and then Lord Xiao went about his business.
Mr. Qiu introduced Zhou Shuren and said, "There are many departments in the Ministry of Revenue. I can't recognize them all at once. It will be the same when I report. You and I will work in this room."
The Ministry of Revenue had no money, but its decoration was not bad and the room was bright.
Zhou Shuren said: "I just arrived at the Ministry of Revenue and don't know much about it. I want to see some information."
Mr. Qiu pointed at the bookshelf and said, "All of this is the Ministry of Revenue's information, which is arranged according to the categories of each department. If you want to read something, just look for it according to the category. I still have accounts to settle, so I'll be busy now."
Zhou Shuren thanked him and said, "You go ahead and do your work."
Lord Qiu was not polite. He was really busy, and it was not easy for him to spare such a long time to accompany Zhou Shuren.
Zhou Shuren was looking for information with a purpose. The Ministry of Revenue's Anti-corruption and Penalty Department was a department of the Ministry of Revenue that continued from the previous dynasty. It was in charge of storing financial resources confiscated by the government. Even though the department had ambassadors and deputy ambassadors, both of whom were only ninth-rank officials, they were in charge of a lot of financial resources.
Before Zhou Shuren took office, he said that he would not use his brain, but he knew in his heart that he would have to face it sooner or later when he arrived at the Ministry of Revenue. So after getting to know the various departments of the Ministry of Revenue, he set his sights on this department.
Zhou Shuren took out last year's records. The specific financial statements were kept in the Penalty Department, where only statistical quantities were kept. The money collected from the confiscated property had already been put into the national treasury and spent. Now only the items were left.
There are quite a lot of account books in the Penalty Department, arranged by year. Zhou Shuren looked at them year by year, and then recorded the total for each year. After looking through them all, Zhou Shuren clicked on the data he had recorded.
Zhou Shuren looked up at the Left Assistant Minister, who was still checking things with his head down. He did not disturb him and stood up and walked out. He wanted to take a look around the Ministry of Revenue. He just took a rough look and today was his first day in office, so he was not in a hurry.
When Lord Xiao heard the report, he didn't even raise his head to indicate that he understood. "You don't have to follow me secretly."
"yes."
After Lord Xiao and the others left, he raised his head. He hoped that Zhou Shuren could really come up with the silver. Looking at the memorials on the table, his heart ached again. These all cost silver!
Zhou Shuren wrote down the locations of various departments in the Ministry of Revenue, and got to know and remember some officials before returning.
Lord Qiu looked up and smiled, then lowered his head. It was fake that he had no objection to Zhou Shuren, but it was also true that he hoped Zhou Shuren would share the pressure. Zhou Shuren was valued by the emperor, and Lord Xiao was promoted. Then who would be the Minister of Revenue
But since Zhou Shuren came to the Ministry of Revenue, his danger has been reduced. Silver and money are used everywhere now. If a major flood really happens in the south and the Ministry of Revenue cannot come up with the silver and money and is punished, Lord Xiao will be fine, but it will be hard for him to say.
Lord Qiu was in mixed feelings and could hardly concentrate on the account book in front of him. He really envied Lord Zhong!
At Zhou's residence, Zhulan met Yao Yao. The maids in the room left. Zhulan was a little surprised and said, "We have been in Beijing for many days. I thought you would avoid us. I didn't expect that you would come to my house in person."
Yao Yao said: "My husband and I are helpless. On the day my husband met you, he drank two extra glasses that night. I have always wanted to come and see you, but the timing was not right."
She decided to come here after discussing it with her husband for a long time.
Zhu Lan smiled and said, "I am very happy that you can come. Now that you are married, what are you going to do with the property you asked the Zhou family to buy?"
Yao Yao stood up and greeted, "I'll have to trouble Mr. Zhou again."
She doesn't think that everything will be fine after getting married. This is a way out, and she must keep this way out.
Zhulan smiled and said, "Okay."
Yao Yao didn't want to stay any longer, so she chatted for a few more minutes and then left.
Zhulan watched Yao Yao leave, and waited for Mrs. Song to send the people back and said, "Looking at her complexion and the tone of her voice when she mentioned Shi Qing, these two get along well."
Mrs. Song replied, "Miss Yao Er is a very intelligent person, and Master Shi Qing is also a man of great potential."
It would be strange if these two people didn't get along!