The third prince, Zhang Jingxi, sneered in his heart. This fake old man became more and more sophisticated. He stood up with a cold face and said, "If the protagonist doesn't come home, I will withdraw. Second brother and younger brother will go first."
The fourth prince Zhang Jingshi curled his lips, "Lao Wu and Shen Yang are interesting."
The current Lao Wu is interesting!
Zhang Jinghong took the tea handed over by Shen Yang and sneezed twice.
Shen Yang asked worriedly, "What's wrong with the fifth prince?"
Zhang Jinghong said quietly: "I am fine, but too many people are talking about me."
In the Fifth Prince's Mansion, Zhang Jingyang squinted his eyes. It was more than interesting. The fifth prince was fake, and he didn't know if Shen Yang was real. He was too stupid. Now that the fifth prince had gone to find Shen Yang, they dared to squat in the Fifth Prince's Mansion to block him. People, but they dare not go to Shen Yang's home. They are not sure about their father's attitude towards Shen Yang.
The next day in the Hanlin Academy, Chang Lian had just entered the room. It was particularly lively today. Lu Shujishi curled his lips and said, "Look at how proud he is."
Chang Lian was a little confused. He just arrived and didn’t know what happened. “What’s wrong?”
Mr. Lu lowered his voice, "Yesterday the fifth prince stayed at Shen Yang's house. He let it slip this morning, showing off how much he and the fifth prince are alike."
Chang Lian was surprised. The prince was different from Shen Yang. The fifth prince of the same mother had a good relationship with Shen Yang. He frowned. He really couldn't figure it out. In his eyes, Shen Yang was not only good in knowledge but also had real emotional intelligence. He wasn't particularly tall. The most important thing in the Hanlin Academy was people with good knowledge. He really didn't see what other advantages Shen Yang had.
Seeing Zhou Changlian deep in thought, Mr. Lu lowered his voice and asked, "Do you know anything?"
Chang Lian came back to his senses and said, "What can I know? Well, leave him alone and go back to work."
Mr. Lu was unwilling to give in. Among the common people in this house, he couldn't compare to Zhou Changlian, who had a father with a good career. He also couldn't compare to some people with strong backgrounds. Shen Yang had a similar background to him, so how could he not be as good as Shen Yang
In the palace, Zhou Shuren went down to the morning court to stay with Master Shangshu. Today's morning court was about the resettlement after the flood in the south. Also staying were the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel and the bachelor of the cabinet.
The emperor said: "The rain in the south has stopped and the water level has also dropped. Now many people have been displaced. Do you have any good plans for later resettlement?"
Zhou Shuren sighed, the floods have receded, and farmers' mud houses have been destroyed and basically no one can live in them. The houses need to be rebuilt, the land needs to be organized, and the bodies of people and animals need to be disposed of to avoid the outbreak of plague.
There are too many things to do in the later period. Yes, we also need to solve the problem of food for the people. Now the people have no food. The last thing is the repair of the dam.
Xiao Qing frowned. He didn't listen to a single suggestion and frowned. This requires a lot of money.
Zhou Shuren was silent when he heard that the granary was opened to stock food. Not much food was saved in the granary due to the flood. These days, the relief workers have transferred some food. The granary in the north, for example, the granary in Jinzhou, will be used for support after the new year. The fighting army diverted two-thirds of Jinzhou's food supplies.
This is not only the case in Jinzhou, but also in the northern states. There is not much food in the granary in the capital. Now that the granary is open to store grain, there is no food.
The emperor frowned and looked at the Minister of Revenue, "Master Xiao, do you have anything to say?"
Xiao Qing pursed his lips and said, "Your Majesty, this time I am not crying about poverty. I really have no food."
Academician Ding frowned, "There are still some days until the autumn harvest. Mr. Xiao, it's impossible for the granary to be completely empty of food."
Xiao Qing rolled his eyes inwardly, "Master Ding, if you are not a master, you don't know that there is really no extra food in the granary in the capital."
The emperor also knew this and signaled Master Ding to stop, "Xiao Aiqing, please calculate the approximate amount of money Jiangnan needs and send it to me tomorrow."
After a few more words, the emperor signaled the ministers to leave.
Zhou Shuren thought silently, it was another day as a backdrop. He found that with his promotion, he had fewer opportunities to speak. However, it was good. If you don't speak, you won't offend others.
Unfortunately, he was not happy for a while, and the emperor said: "Zhou Shuren, you stay here first."
Mr. Xiao of Zhou Shuren's family looked at him, and he was confused. He didn't know why he called him.
Xiao Qing was also stunned. This was the first time he saw confusion in Zhou Shuren's eyes, and there was a smile in his eyes, "I'll go back to the household department first."
"yes."
Several bachelors also looked over, frowned, and then went out one after another.
Xiao Qing squinted his eyes and walked slowly with his hands behind his back. The six ministries and the cabinet were restraining each other. Among the several bachelors, he hated the bachelor Ding the most.
The Minister of Civil Affairs also walked slowly. After he had distanced himself from the people in front of him, he said in a low voice: "The Emperor really values Zhou Shuren. I think you won't be able to hold the position of Minister for another two years."
Xiao Qing said, "At least the household department has someone to succeed it. It's not like the official department, which is a mess. I'm not telling you, but you still have the instigation. Why don't you take more care of your official department."
The official department is a mess, and the most intense intrigue among the six departments is the household department.
The Minister of Civil Affairs choked, grunted and walked quickly.
In the political palace, the emperor motioned for Zhou Shuren to sit down, "I saw that you had some ideas just now. Now it's just me. Please tell me what you have in mind."
Zhou Shuren did have an idea, but he remained silent because he was the Minister of Household Affairs, and there was Mr. Xiao above him. He was not suitable to speak. He just thought about the people having no food to eat, and he felt panicked, "I'm too talkative, and what I said is wrong, please still Your Majesty, forgive me.”
The emperor raised his eyebrows, he really had an idea, "You said, there are only you and me, the monarch and my ministers here, and today's words will not be spread."
This was to protect Zhou Shuren, and he also knew that it was better for Zhou Shuren to keep a low profile for now.
Zhou Shuren said carefully: "The Ministry of Household Affairs currently has a total of 2,780,000 taels of silver in deposits."
There have been a lot of expenditures recently, including silver rewards for the soldiers, various expenditures by various ministries, etc. Otherwise, more than three million taels of silver would have been spent.
The emperor knew clearly, "So?"
"I feel that our dynasty does not have food, but neighboring countries do. I have been the magistrate of Jinzhou, and the port is in Jinzhou. I have many merchant ships coming and going. I also know the goods traded in neighboring countries. Some neighboring countries have sufficient food. So I wonder if I can go abroad to buy food."
He was the prefect of Jinzhou, but he knew everything. Foreign merchant ships brought grain to sell, and if he went to buy it himself, the price would definitely be lower, and he could also train the navy, killing two birds with one stone.
The emperor looked at Zhou Shuren. This man knew the whole Jinzhou well. He had met many prefects. There was really no one like Zhou Shuren. The emperor stroked his beard. Zhou Shuren was a great talent.
Zhou Shuren lowered his head and thought silently, don't look at him anymore. If he wasn't for the people, he really didn't want to say more. He just hoped that he could let him go smoothly when he became an official in the future!