Without Chang Hehui's disturbance, Li Yaonan lived a quiet and comfortable life in the Hanlin Academy, and had friendly relations with his colleagues. It is worth mentioning that Yang Minghua took Wang Qing as a concubine at the beginning of last month, and the Wang family ceased to exist due to the prince's revenge. The Shandong prefect was beheaded in public, and the other family members of the Wang family were either exiled or banished. Compared with those people, Wang Qing's ending was much better.
On September 15th, Li Mingzhang got married. After Li Yaonan and Zhou Qian sent gifts, they just walked around and did not attend the banquet.
Although Li Mingzhang felt regretful, he understood their difficulties. The princess was getting married and all the guests were princes and nobles. Li Yaonan had just caused a big mess, so it was not appropriate for him to stay there for a long time.
Autumn goes and winter comes, and in the blink of an eye it is spring again.
The experience in officialdom made Li Yaonan appear more calm. The manuscript of "Ancient Romance" had been completed. Li Yaonan had borrowed many books from the Hanlin Academy. He was currently adapting "Investiture of the Gods" from the history of Xia and Zhou dynasties to make his presence felt in front of the emperor.
Perhaps he was safe before because of the crown prince's protection, but now he has established himself through his own efforts and has become a rising star in the capital.
It's not that no one had tried to teach him a lesson, but they were all rejected one by one. Li Yaonan's ability to turn the tables not only caused headaches for the emperor, but also for the officials who made mistakes. It was obviously a trivial matter, but after being mentioned by the third place winner, it became a big deal, and it was difficult for them not to admit their mistakes.
Li Yaonan took this opportunity to become famous again, as if every time someone wanted to deal with him, he would always be the one to suffer. He also let him show up in front of the emperor, getting a great advantage for nothing, and making the emperor remember this person thoroughly.
From then on, the nobles and ministers in the capital no longer dared to underestimate this new third place winner. Those who wanted to deal with him would think again and again. They would never take action until they were absolutely sure. They could not help but think of the corruption case in Shandong and wondered whether this incident was a coincidence. If not, then the ability of this third place winner would have to be re-evaluated.
Such speculation is simply chilling.
The emperor has nothing to do now, so he likes to summon Li Yaonan to the imperial study for an audience. Although he is troubled by Li Yaonan's mouth, as long as it has nothing to do with him, the emperor still likes Li Yaonan's mouth most of the time, like now.
The emperor sat on the dragon throne with an expressionless face and great dignity.
Li Yaonan stood quietly in the corner, acting as a background.
Several ministers in the Imperial Study were arguing fiercely, each arguing with his own opinion and refusing to give in.
The Minister of Revenue said righteously, "Your Majesty, General Lian asked for three million taels, and the Ministry of Revenue cannot spare that much money right now. Last year, the Imperial Ancestral Temple was renovated, the Qinghe Palace was started, and there was a severe drought in Shaanxi and Hebei. The military forces were allocated silver at the end of the year. How can there be any extra money now?"
Lord Lian sneered, "Where will the five million taels come from if there is no money to spare? Lord Liao, please stop talking nonsense. Please help me, Your Majesty." Lord Lian said with tears in his eyes, "Last year, the Ministry of Revenue did not have enough money and only allocated two million taels to my Southeast Army. The soldiers were fighting at the border and far away from their hometowns, but I couldn't even pay them. I am ashamed!"
The corners of Li Yaonan's lips twitched. Lord Lian was usually serious and cold. As a general, he had been baptized by blood on the battlefield. He looked murderous all over. Now that he was crying like this, it felt extremely weird.
General Lian, also known as the mighty general, has close ties with the Li family and is Lin Zhiyuan's teacher. Although Li Yaonan does not know why the emperor summoned him here, he is certain to be a knife.
The Minister of Revenue immediately retorted: "The Northwest Army informed the Ministry of Revenue at the beginning of the year, so I was able to collect the silver by the end of the year. Besides, the Northwest is relatively cold, and it is not wrong to make more silver to protect against the cold in winter."
"You are talking nonsense. The Northwest Army has 500,000 soldiers, and my Southeast Army has 800,000 soldiers. Two years ago, you said the Ministry of Revenue had no money, and last year you said the Ministry of Revenue had no money. Aren't my Southeast Army subjects of the Emperor? Please let the Emperor make the decision."
The emperor was calm and composed. Such scenes often happened in the imperial study. The husband had his own reasons and the wife had her own reasons, but in the end, the result was that there was no money.
"Your Majesty, Shaanxi and Hebei suffered from disasters last year. Lord Liao had originally agreed to allocate one million taels of silver to local officials for agricultural work during the spring plowing this year." Another official stepped forward to report.
Li Yaonan recognized him. He was the former Chief Justice of the Dali Temple, the one that Lin Zhiyuan had broken off the engagement with.
"Your Majesty, the Seventh and Eighth Princes will move out of the palace this year. The house has not yet been repaired. I estimate that at least 600,000 taels will be needed for the wedding of the two princes. In addition, the Empress Dowager's birthday is approaching, which also requires silver." The Minister of Rites stood up and spoke, giving reasons that made it impossible to refuse.
The Minister of Works was unwilling to lag behind and hurriedly said, "The Qinghe Palace is still short of money, and the repair of the river embankment along the Yellow River must be completed before the summer comes. These things cannot be delayed at all."
The Minister of War sneered: "Can the army delay it? Last year, the food and wages of the Southeast Army were diverted from the Ministry of War. Do you want to delay it this year?"
The Minister of Revenue also became angry and snorted, "The Ministry of Revenue now has a total of 12 million taels of silver. What do you think we should do?"
The Minister of War was choked. Twelve million taels sounded good, but five million taels of it could not be used. The remaining seven million taels would require at least three million taels to repair the Yellow River, one million taels was still needed for the Qinghe Palace, and two million taels would be needed for spring plowing in all places except Shaanxi and Hebei. One million taels would also be needed for the Empress Dowager's birthday and the prince's separate residence. How could there be any money left for the army
The emperor frowned, feeling a headache from their quarrels. The Yellow River must be repaired, spring ploughing must be done, the empress dowager's birthday celebration must not be neglected, and the soldiers' hearts must not be chilled. It would be wrong to side with either side. The emperor frowned and glanced at Li Yaonan: "The third place winner seems to have something to say."
Li Yaonan's eyes widened. He was obviously pretending to be dumb, but since the emperor had spoken, how could he dare to pretend to be dumb? His relationship with General Lian was well known. Several adults had already prepared their speeches and would not give in even a little on the issue of silver. Just when everyone thought that he would speak for General Lian.
Li Yaonan was filled with righteous indignation, pointing his finger at the Minister of Revenue: "Sir Liao, how can you be worthy of the emperor's trust? Such a large Ministry of Revenue only has a mere 12 million taels of silver."
Lord Liao was stunned. Logically speaking, this matter had nothing to do with him. He thought he was conscientious and never made any mistakes. Although he was slightly biased occasionally, his reasons were absolutely sufficient and no one could find any fault with him. A small scholar who was a third place winner in the imperial examination should not think that he dared to challenge him just because the emperor valued him. Lord Liao's face was slightly cold: "Third place winner, be careful with your words. It is not your turn to interfere in the affairs of the Ministry of Revenue."
The emperor was a little surprised. He originally just wanted Li Yaonan to mediate, and then he would give them both fifty lashes, and the money would be transferred between the two sides. He would then just take some money from the inner treasury and the matter would be over. He didn't expect this guy to directly pick on the Minister of Revenue. Should he say that he was bold and presumptuous, or should he say that he was spoiled and became more and more outrageous with his support. However, Li Yaonan's words really touched his heart. Such a large Ministry of Revenue had an empty treasury every year. Although he knew that Lord Liao had done nothing wrong, he couldn't help feeling a little dissatisfied.
Seeing that the emperor did not say anything, Li Yaonan continued, "Lord Liao, what you said is wrong. As a minister, I should share the emperor's worries. The Ministry of Revenue cannot provide the money. Do you think you are right?"
Lord Liao burst into tears and knelt on the ground in a hurry: "Your Majesty, I have worked diligently in the Ministry of Revenue. All the account books can be checked. I have never dared to use a penny carelessly. Please be careful."
The emperor felt a little headache and suddenly felt that calling Li Yaonan to smooth things over was not a wise decision.
Li Yaonan knelt on the ground with confidence and said respectfully: "Your Majesty, the responsibility of the Ministry of Revenue is to increase the treasury. According to what Lord Liao said, everything should be done according to the rules. What is the difference between that and a housekeeper? It was Lord Liao's fault that he could not increase the treasury. Now he is in front of the emperor because of insufficient military pay. Let me ask, if the Minister of Revenue only does the job of a housekeeper, what use does the emperor have for him?"
"You are so bold." Lord Liao's face turned red with anger.
Li Yaonan was neither surprised nor afraid. The Minister of Revenue had a good relationship with the Northwest Army. Since he was not on good terms with Lord Lian, there was no need for him to be polite. The emperor wanted to use him as a knife, and he had no way to refuse. However, how to use him was up to him.
A knife is a weapon. It is fun to use and even faster to throw away. He will never let himself become a rusty knife, nor a useless chess piece.
The emperor's eyes darkened. Even though he knew Lord Liao was not wrong, Li Yaonan's words still hit him hard.
Lord Liao knew something was wrong as soon as he saw it: "Your Majesty, please forgive me. In recent years, natural disasters have occurred in various places, and tax revenue has dropped by more than 20% compared to previous years. I, your humble servant..."
"Lord Liao." Li Yaonan interrupted him. "No matter how you explain, it is a fact that the treasury has no silver. This is your dereliction of duty. Second, the distribution of military pay is biased. The gap between the Northwest Army and the Southeast Army is too big. Third, the treasury silver is not enough. Instead of thinking about how to increase the income of the treasury, you made a scene in front of the emperor. This is your incompetence. Dare you not admit it?"
"Your Majesty, please forgive me!" Lord Liao felt bitter in his heart. He finally realized that Li Yaonan's sharp tongue was indeed well-deserved.
The emperor stared at Li Yaonan with sharp eyes, trying to read something from his expression.
Li Yaonan had a calm expression and let the emperor look at him. He knew that serving the emperor was like serving a tiger, so he had no secrets in front of the emperor and laid everything out. He was not afraid of any investigation by the emperor.
"What do you think, Mr. Tanhua?" the emperor said casually.
Li Yaonan knew in his heart that the emperor did not want to hear his opinion, but wanted to test who he would favor.
Li Yaonan hesitated for a moment and declined politely, "My humble servant's words are of low importance, so I'm afraid it's not appropriate for me to interrupt."
The emperor chuckled and said, "No problem. I allow you to speak your mind."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Li Yaonan kowtowed to express his gratitude and continued, "I think this is a matter for the Ministry of Revenue and should be resolved by the Minister of Revenue. No silver should be lost in any place." Otherwise, it means that the Minister of Revenue is incompetent.
Of course, Li Yaonan did not say the latter part of this sentence. In fact, he felt a little regretful in his heart. He had heard from the emperor's question that the emperor did not want to punish the Minister of Revenue. Although he had won the argument today and won the emperor's favor, he actually offended the senior officials in the court. He didn't know whether it was a gain or a loss. However, he had no choice. It was indeed possible to smooth things over, but what about afterwards? The emperor was the ruler of a country and was very busy with affairs of state. After he was useless, he would probably be forgotten, and his relationship with the Lian family would become estranged, which was not what he wanted to see.
The emperor laughed, his majestic voice full of joy: "What do you think, Lord Liao?"
Lord Liao was filled with sorrow. What else could he do now that things had come to this? He could only kowtow and say, "I will do my best."
The emperor was satisfied, and Li Yaonan added: "It's not about doing our best, but we must. Lord Liao has been an official for many years, so I believe he can collect the money."
Lord Liao gritted his teeth, hating Li Yaonan so much, and said respectfully: "I will definitely collect the money and help the emperor to relieve his worries."
"Okay!" The emperor was delighted, and everything seemed pleasing to his eyes: "Liao Qing, get up. I trust you."
Lord Liao had a bitter face and felt very unhappy. Where could he get millions of taels of silver
Li Yaonan once again earned honor in front of the emperor, and even the general was worried. This kid was too bold and should be taught a lesson.
Li Yaonan had no way of speaking his grievances. The emperor had placed him in that position, so how could he dare to disobey
The author has something to say: Sorry, the update is late today, and the second update cannot be delivered on time. I will make up for it tomorrow. Don't worry, it won't be delayed. o(n_n)o
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