Chapter 93 One tael of silver

Author: Science and Technology Innovation Board

Chapter 93 One tael of silver

Emperor Jiazhen took one look and immediately tensed his hands, causing wrinkles on the official blue paper memorial.

The ebony jade head and tail resting on the arm slid down to the wrist without even noticing it.

Emperor Jiazhen straightened his body and seemed to be sitting on the futon meditating, but Feng Bao's eyelids twitched.

Even Feng Bao felt frightened and had only one thought in his mind: to leave Sanzuomen, a place of right and wrong, quickly.

I don't want to stay any longer. I will wait until the emperor returns to Luomanli again and wait for him by his side.

As the great companion of Emperor Jiazhen, Feng Bao had already known the emperor thoroughly. It was only from Emperor Jiazhen's slight change in mood that he judged that he would walk out of Luoman.

Just as he expected, Emperor Jiazhen held the official green paper memorial in one hand, shook the ebony jade head and dust tail with the other hand, opened the curtain, and walked into the three-door hall.

The three-door hall was built according to the specifications of the Forbidden City, with rich decorations and carvings of flowers and plants.

There are densely packed Dougong under the eaves of the corridor, and Liang Fang is painting the highest-level Hexi color painting.

The upper half of the mahogany doors and windows are inlaid with diamond patterns, the lower half is embossed with cloud and dragon patterns, and gilt copper leaves engraved with dragon patterns are placed at the tenon joints.

Between Emperor Jiazhen and his courtiers, there was a copper incense burner, burning agarwood, the finest agarwood from Southeast Asia.

It is lit day and night, all year round.

Emperor Jiazhen walked out of the curtain and came into the main hall. The first sentence he asked sent shivers down Wan'an's spine on the spot.

"The annual city tax paid by Caochangyuan to the court is two hundred thousand taels."

It's just that this sentence doesn't have any harsh words, it's a sentence with a questioning meaning.

Cold sweat broke out on Wan'an's forehead, and he knelt on the ground tremblingly, his forehead hitting the surface of the Linqing tribute bricks, and he did not dare to raise his head to look at Emperor Jiazhen.

After a long time, Wan An managed to squeeze out a sentence through his teeth: "Qi...Qi, Your Majesty, it is indeed...it is indeed two hundred thousand taels of silver."

Emperor Jiazhen heard Wan'an's answer and held the palm of the official blue paper memorial harder, causing the paper to make a slight sound.

This sound was so inaudible that it was not heard by the Feifu officials, but it caused the ghost of Feng Bao standing nearby to escape.

I have been with the emperor for many years, and I have never seen him in such an abnormal mood as today.

Based on his understanding of the emperor, Feng Bao approached the emperor who came from Xianyun Yehe and felt resentful in his heart.

Emperor Jiazhen said nothing, turned to look at Yan Maoqing, who had an ugly face, and looked at him quietly without saying anything.

Yan Maoqing knew that he could no longer pretend to be deaf and dumb, so he could only open his mouth to speak: "Your Majesty, I am the censor of the Changlu Yanyun Yamen, and most of my energy is devoted to the Yanyin Yamen in the capital. I don’t know much about the situation. The important task of supervising Caochangyuan’s city tax has always been placed on Wan’an, and minor ministers rarely interfere.”

Wan An's head hit the Linqing tribute bricks hard, harder than Ma Yun, and there was a tremor in his voice: "Your Majesty, the minister is only responsible for supervising the city tax of Caochangyuan. The specific amount of money collected has always been It is in charge of the Wucheng Military and Horse Department and the Shuntian Prefecture Yamen. Your Majesty wants to ask how much the city tax of Caochangyuan is. You should call in the officials of these two Yamen and ask for your Majesty's explanation."

When things got to this point, although Yan Maoqing didn't know what was written in the blue paper memorial, he had already noticed something was wrong with his keen sense of smell.

He is an old bureaucrat who has been in the officialdom for many years. As long as there is any trouble, he will sell Wan'an without hesitation.

Wan'an had no choice but to drag the Wucheng Military and Horse Department and Shuntianfu Yamen into the water, hoping to find a few more people to prevent the disaster and reduce the blame.

Although he still doesn't know what he did wrong to offend Emperor Jiazhen, it is always good to admit his mistake first.

When Emperor Jiazhen took the initiative to reveal his shortcomings, there was no room for recovery and he could only wait to be dismissed from office.

These are all lightweight, just to worry about moving your head.

Emperor Jiazhen turned around and glanced at Feng Bao. He understood the situation and immediately bowed his waist and quickly exited the three-door hall.

The moment Feng Bao left the hall, he breathed a long sigh of relief, stretched out the sleeves of his official uniform to wipe the cold sweat on his forehead, and quickly led people to find officials from the Wucheng Military and Horse Department and Shuntianfu Yamen.

He, the governor of Dongchang, did not need to handle this small matter in person. Due to the gradually depressing atmosphere in the three-door hall, he did not want to go in again.

Feng Bao personally took people to the two yamen and called the officials in charge of Caochangyuan's city tax. No matter how much money the officials handed over, they would not accept it. He still had a straight face, and he seemed to be an upright official.

Honest officials.

The two officials in charge of Caochangyuan's city tax, especially Lu Guangzu, were still laughing at Li Mian's overestimation of his capabilities, just like the words sent back from Wan'an, which finally angered the people who could not be touched.

Before he could finish laughing, he felt uneasy in his heart, especially because Feng Bao refused to accept the bank's cash, which made him even more panic-stricken.

Officials of the Shuntian Prefecture Yamen learned that His Majesty wanted to inquire about the collection of city taxes in Caochangyuan. Shen Guangzuo did not push it to his subordinate officials and rushed to Sanzuomen himself.

While Feng Bao admired Shen Guangzuo's character, he also thought that he was too dull. At this time, he should push his subordinates out as scapegoats, which is the true way to be an official.

Lu Guangzu walked into the main hall with three doors, and saw Wan An kneeling on the ground from a distance, and the panic in his heart became more and more intense.

Without any hesitation, he knelt directly on the Linqing tribute bricks, kneeling in a row with Wan An.

No one spoke in the three-door hall, and there was always a depressing atmosphere.

Even Yan Maoqing couldn't hold it any longer and wanted to kneel beside Wan An and Lu Guangzu and take the initiative to take responsibility for the crime.

But he couldn't kneel down no matter what. Others didn't know what Emperor Jiazhen meant when he asked this question, but he vaguely guessed it.

Emperor Jiazhen suddenly made a move and looked up at Ma Yun who was kneeling on the ground: "From today on, I will also be the tax supervisor and eunuch of Caochangyuan."

The tax inspector at Caochangyuan?

All the officials in scarlet uniforms looked confused. How could a mere grassland courtyard be qualified to set up a tax supervisory office?

Before today, I had never heard that there would be tax inspectors and eunuchs in Caochangyuan.

Emperor Jiazhen shook his ebony head and dust tail, signaling to the officials in the hall that they could step back because he wanted to continue practicing Taoism.

As the Feifu officials left one after another, Wan An, Lu Guangzu and others also left as if they had been granted amnesty.

Emperor Jiazhen was the only one left in the hall.

And Feng Bao, who was standing by and waiting carefully.

Emperor Jiazhen looked at the officials leaving and muttered something.

"One tael of silver and sixteen cents."
Chapter completed!