In the Ministry of Revenue, Zhou Shuren looked tiredly at the money applied for by the Ministry of Works. He used to want to invest money in the Ministry of Works the most, but now his heart was bleeding. "If I remember correctly, this is the third time this month?"
Zhang Jinghong was also shocked when he saw the amount. The Ministry of Industry was wasting money. "Yes, this is the third time."
Zhou Shuren's heart was a little bit overwhelmed. Ever since the emperor approved it, the Ministry of Works has been working hard. As a result, it has been burning money every month, and the national treasury has been reduced little by little. "What does the Minister say?"
Zhang Jinghong lowered his head and said, "If the Shangshu said anything, it would not be delivered to you."
Zhou Shuren was silent. The Shangshu didn't want to write a memorial, so he asked him to write, "It's not a big deal for the Ministry of Works to just burn silver."
He is really having a headache now. He used to be able to chat and drink tea with Lord Fang, but now he really avoids Lord Fang.
Zhang Jinghong felt heartbroken every month when he calculated the money that went out. If he didn't work in the Ministry of Revenue, he would never have experienced this kind of pain.
Zhou Shuren followed the application and said, "Okay, let me write the memorial."
Zhang Jinghong continued, "Sir, the money collected for temporary residence permits from foreigners will arrive in Beijing in two days."
Zhou Shuren hummed, but the pain in his heart was not relieved at all. Because of this policy, some foreigners protested and left, so the money collected really couldn't solve any problems.
Zhou Shuren stroked his beard. He felt that the various commodities could be classified and taxed more carefully. However, the current Maritime Affairs Bureau was not capable of this. It still needed to be further subdivided, and the Ministry of Revenue could also open two special taxation departments.
But the passion in his heart soon died down. For now, it would be better for him to be honest. He had already given a lot, so he had to suppress it. Chang Lian was still growing too slowly. If he grew quickly, his previous credit would be shared with Chang Lian, and he would not sell it to the emperor at a low price.
Zhou Shuren pulled his beard, feeling a little anxious. Chang Lian would not leave the capital until next year. He hissed and pulled out several strands of his beard!
Inside the palace, the emperor paused for a long time before speaking, "I have always asked your grandmother why I could not see him. Later, I thought I could see him when I was sick, but in the end, I only got your grandmother's heartache. I still did not see him. When I grew up, I learned to play dumb."
Especially after his mother passed away and the people around him disappeared one by one, he pretended to be stupid, thinking that only by living could he have a future.
The prince knew who his father was talking about. His father was unwilling to call him his father. When his father rebelled, the emperor of the time was furious and wanted to threaten his father with the Zhang family in the capital. His father ignored him and the emperor of the time destroyed the Zhang family.
He knew all about it from his mother. His mother said that his father had taken advantage of the previous emperor to take revenge, and after founding the dynasty, he specially built a mausoleum for his grandmother, a mausoleum for her alone.
The emperor looked at the prince and said, "At that time, there were wars everywhere. You were a naughty child and you often got sick. I also stayed with you all night. I thought you would be happy to see me when you woke up, and sure enough, you jumped into my arms when you woke up."
The prince's memory was fuzzy. His father should have been talking about when he was two or three years old. The prince's eyes softened when he thought of his son's illness and the way he saw him.
The emperor sighed again, "So many years have passed in a flash. I have been the emperor for almost 20 years. When I get old, I miss the people in my memory. Your royal grandmother was a very wise woman. She left me many tricks back then, which is why I am where I am today."
Seeing that his father was willing to speak, the prince was curious, "Father, what kind of person is the Royal Grandmother?"
The emperor's smile deepened. "Back then, your royal grandmother married into the Zhang family. My uncle died in the Rong family. Your royal grandmother had just gotten pregnant with me. At that time, your royal grandmother knew something was wrong and secretly prepared a way out. She sent people out of the palace on various charges."
The smile on the emperor's face disappeared, and he continued, "The direct descendants of the Rong family encountered accidents one after another, and the last one was a fire that burned down the Rong family. The empty place in the capital now is the former Rong family. Your grandmother knew that she couldn't leave."
The emperor closed his mouth. He didn't want to continue talking. He didn't know how his mother died. He knew that when he came back from a trip, his mother was dead and she died with her eyes open. He still remembered receiving the blood letter, which his mother had written a long time ago and left for him. When he received it, the blood on the letter had changed color, but he could still feel his mother's hatred.
When the prince saw his father's eyes, he really remained silent this time. As for the Rong family, he didn't know much about it. The ten years of war had covered up a lot of things. With the replacement of aristocratic families, the Rong family had become a thing of the past, even though the Rong family had left a strong mark in history.
At night, Chang Lian was depressed, "Dad, what's wrong with my son?"
Zhou Shuren snorted, "You grow too slowly."
He was so slow that he couldn't move his hands and feet, and now he felt as uncomfortable as if he was tied up.
Chang Zhi wished he could just lower his head and bury his head in his bowl. His third brother was already amazing enough. He was one of the top people in Beijing. If his third brother was disliked by his father, wouldn't he be disliked even more? The more he thought about it, the more he lowered his head.
Zhou Shuren glanced at Chang Zhi and said, "Fortunately the bowl is not big. If it were bigger, wouldn't you have put your whole head in it?"
Changzhi quickly looked up, then sat up straight to eat.
Boss Zhou shrank his neck. He felt happy that his father just glanced at him but didn't say anything about him.
Fortunately, Boss Zhou didn’t know that the old man had no expectations of him!
Zhou Shuren stared at Chang Zhi until he was too afraid to move, then he said, "You will take part in the provincial examination next year. If everything goes well, you will take part in the metropolitan examination in the capital at the beginning of the next year."
Changzhi was still very confident, "Dad, my son is ready."
Zhou Shuren, "I remember you said you would get a top scorer for our family, am I right?"
Changzhi didn't say anything, Changzhong interrupted, "Dad, that's what I said, I said I would take the top spot in the imperial examination."
Zhou Shuren tapped his youngest son's forehead and said, "You always interrupt me everywhere."
Changzhi looked at his father who was so kind to his younger brother, and saw how his expression changed so quickly. He looked at his younger brother with envy, "Dad, it was your son who said that."
Zhou Shuren hummed, "I'll wait for you to come back after you pass the exam."
Chang Lian gave Chang Zhi a sympathetic look. The strength of the class he participated in was not very strong. This time, let him count, there was the eldest grandson of the Ran family, Ran Xun, his father's apprentice Meng Jie, and Wu Ning's husband He Shu. These were just the ones he knew. There were also the children of the Beijing noble families who he was not familiar with.
In addition to Jiangnan, this session is so terrible that he feels he shouldn't hold out too much hope.
When resting at night, Zhulan asked, "What happened to you today?"
"I'm just depressed. The Ministry of Revenue is short of money. I have a solution in mind but I can't say it. I can only worry about the national treasury. I spend every penny very hard. So I thought, if my two sons can help, I can share the credit with them. They can move forward faster in the future and help me solve some money problems."