Hundreds of officials in the court were arguing.
"Now is the time for us to attack head-on. Otherwise, when they expand and recruit more troops, they will be even more difficult to defeat."
"I hold the opposite opinion. Now that Marquis Xuanping and Beilin are on separate sides, they are restraining each other. In my opinion, it has given us a chance to breathe."
"Breathing?" A minister sneered, "We are breathing while others are not breathing? When everyone has rested, what Da Zhou will face are two well-fed and drunk jackals!"
"What you said is simple. When you open your mouth, you start a war. Do you want to fight without food or money?"
The main war faction and the main peace faction were arguing so fiercely that Li Zhaonian's brain ached.
Li Zhaonian rubbed his eyebrows and said, "Okay."
"Military rations and money are the affairs of the Ministry of Husbandry. Why do you worry about the Ministry of War? Could it be that you deliberately want them to take a breather?"
"You are spitting blood! Doesn't our Ministry of War need to worry about the soldiers' rations?"
"I say it's okay!" Li Zhaonian slapped the armrest of the dragon chair suddenly.
The hall suddenly became quiet, and all the ministers bowed their heads in silence.
Li Zhaonian took a breath and said, "Jiang Aiqing, tell me."
Jiang Lianzhi came out and said, "Your Majesty, I have cleared the transfer department's treasury and there is not much money left."
"How many are left? There must be a number."
Jiang Lianzhi glanced sideways, and the person who spoke was Liu Cheng, the Second Assistant to the Cabinet.
Jiang Yuanqing held the position of chief minister of the cabinet. After the late emperor died of illness, Jiang Yuanqing also fell ill. However, no one could shake his position as chief minister. The Jiang family's status among literati was unrivaled.
Liu Cheng and Jiang Yuanqing didn't want to deal with each other. In addition, there was Jiang Ji in the Jiang family, and Liu Cheng only had an incompetent son, Liu Yu, which made his heart even more unbalanced. He repeatedly targeted Jiang Lianzhi in the court.
Jiang Lianzhi took it for granted and said calmly: "The Ministry of Households is in charge of money, but not the one who generates it. In the early spring, bandits were searched and suppressed, and there was also a longevity banquet, which consumed a total of 870,000 taels of silver. We had soldiers and horses from five cities to rescue us. The Nanda camp mobilized troops, and the funeral of the late emperor brought another one hundred and thirty thousand taels here. The money left in the treasury will not be able to sustain the spring plowing until next year."
Liu Cheng snorted coldly, "The Xuanping Marquis's house was confiscated, I don't believe they only have that little money."
"Mr. Ge has such a strong tone." Jiang Lianzhi smiled slightly, "Nearly three hundred thousand taels of silver is just a little bit in Mr. Ge's eyes."
Liu Cheng was furious, "You know I didn't mean it this way. How much money did Xuan Pinghou and Ge Liangji embezzle? How could they only get so much money?"
"The house raids are carried out jointly by Dali Temple and the Metropolitan Procuratorate. The Ministry of Household Affairs is only responsible for keeping accounts and treasury. It is better for the elders to ask the subordinates than to ask others."
"You——" Liu Cheng was speechless for a moment. He had no intention of offending Dali Temple and the Metropolitan Procuratorate.
"What about the Beilin Palace? The Beilin Crown Prince and Duyu Marquis Shen Yu defected, so they should have raided the Palace."
"Shen Yu has done a good job in protecting me. I'm afraid the reason for defecting cannot be established."
A hint of anger finally appeared on Jiang Lianzhi's face, "If Mr. Ge wants to check the account, you can do it at any time as long as His Majesty nods. Now it's better to go back to the previous issue of whether to send troops or not."
Wen Hongyuan, Minister of the Ministry of War, came out and said, "Your Majesty, in my opinion, it is better to sit on the mountain and watch the tiger fight. Beilin and Xuanpinghou fight to the death. This is the time for us to recuperate. Now there is a bigger problem."
Li Zhaonian said: "I love you, but it doesn't matter."
Wen Hongyuan said: "The biggest problem now is that the Xijue people may launch another raid before winter. Now that internal and external troubles are gathering, this winter may not be easy. Now that the treasury is empty, the Xuanping Marquis Mansion has been raided. It won’t be of much use. My colleagues all have their own opinions on whether Beilin Crown Prince and Shen Yu should defect, but confiscating Beilin Prince’s Mansion and Shen Mansion might solve the urgent need.”
After leaving the court, Li Zhaonian took a chariot back to Xuanhui Hall.
Countless emperors have lived in this place, and it looks so heavy.
"Go and tell King Yan to enter the palace."
Li Jifeng was summoned and when he entered the hall, he saw Li Zhaonian sitting slumped in a chair.
"Your Majesty has summoned my brother to come here. Do you have something important to do?"
Li Zhaonian looked at him steadily for a long time and suddenly said: "You are really the smartest person in this palace."
Li Jifeng didn't know why, "Why did you say this?"
"Today in the palace, someone asked me to search the Beilin Palace, and more than half of the ministers agreed."
Li Jifeng walked over and sat next to Li Zhaonian, "Your Majesty, will you have a good argument with them? What will be the final result?"
Li Zhaonian did not answer directly, "I was forced to sit in this position, and finally realized the difficulty of my father. The emperor does not do whatever he wants. On the contrary, he is more constrained. There are mountains of discounts all day long, and those who want money take them. Quite a few, running a country is like running a family, and this family is really not easy to run."
Li Jifeng already understood the hidden answer. It was inevitable to confiscate the house and no one could stop it. Not only was Li Zhaonian's foundation unstable and he was being coerced by his ministers, but also the situation forced him to confiscate.
"What do you think they will think of me if I really copy Beilin Prince's Mansion?" Li Zhaonian asked.
Li Jifeng smiled and said, "I'm probably calling you a white-eyed wolf behind your back."
Li Zhaonian also smiled, "Yes, she tried her best to protect me, but I wanted to take over their house."
"I'm afraid it's more than that."
Li Zhaonian turned his head and asked, "What do you mean?"
Li Jifeng said: "My brother, I still need you to issue a decree."
……
There are silk and bamboo in the hall, and a person is leaning on the couch, holding a fan in his hand and beating the rhythm with the music.
The fan was very small and looked a bit awkward when held by a pair of big hands.
A sound of footsteps got closer and closer, and then stopped at the door.
Xie Guangzong glanced at him and said slowly: "Hey, I'm back."
Xie Tingzhou approached slowly, "I heard that you are almost dead if you can't get up because of your illness."
Beilin King Xie Guangzong changed his posture and said, "That's right. It's strange to say it. He couldn't get up at first, but he got better on his own. It's really his destiny."
Xie Guangzong picked up a peanut and threw it up. Before it fell into his mouth, his sleeve passed by and the peanut fell to the ground.
"Hey." Xie Guangzong turned over and sat up, "You will be upset with your father as soon as you come back. You have to worry about listening to music and eating peanuts."
Xie Tingzhou sat down at the side. His hand on the armrest moved slightly, and the musician who was playing the piano suddenly stopped.
"Is he the King of Beilin or am I the King of Beilin?" Xie Guangzong shouted: "Keep playing."
The musician was in a dilemma, looking at King Beilin and then at the Crown Prince.
"Everyone, get down." Xie Tingzhou ordered.
Xie Guangzong snorted, looked him up and down, and said, "I thought you were in a panic after being chased by those dogs, but you still looked energetic."
"I also thought you were dying."
"Hehe." Xie Guangzong laughed, "Good boy, I still have some filial piety towards your father. It's just the right time to come back. Just treat me as dead and take over the burden from my hand. I'll go out to enjoy the mountains and rivers."
Xie Tingzhou glanced at him, "Who gave you the idea?"
"Just cherish it." Xie Guangzong raised his hand and patted Xie Tingzhou's shoulder. "Without my smart daughter-in-law, where would you have any reasonable reason to leave Shengjing? Now that I'm on the run again, Beilin can't live without me." Lord, who dares to let King Beilin come to Beijing as a hostage?"
Xie Tingzhou was stunned for a moment, "Ah Yu? When did you get in touch?"
Xie Guangzong said: "You don't need to worry about it. Get your daughter-in-law over and get married. Then I will choose a good day to die. You can simply pay my respects and I can go out to enjoy the mountains and rivers."
Xie Guangzong had already begun to think about it, "With such a rich daughter-in-law, I will never starve to death wherever I travel. Don't be too happy these days."
