The finance of the Tang Dynasty was divided into two parts, one part was managed by the household department, which was responsible for the financial revenue and expenditure of the imperial court. Part of it is managed by the Inner Government and is responsible for the financial revenue and expenditure of the Imperial Palace.

The name of the governor of the inner government is Du Zhi Yuan Wailang, who is in charge of Li Shimin's money bag. Huang Jiu, the current branch member, is Li Shimin's former Qin Wangfu account office, and has always been Li Shimin's absolute confidant.

The income of the inner government is divided into three parts, one part is the expenses of the imperial family stipulated by the imperial court in the form of law, including the salaries of all staff of the emperor, empress, concubines, princes and eunuchs, and the expenses of palace maintenance, heating, carriages and horses, etc., which are statutory and borne by the imperial court. This part is a prescribed amount, and the emperor cannot take money from the treasury at will.

The second part is the income of the royal family's property, such as land and real estate.

The third part is gray income, such as the filial piety of various departments of the imperial court, local governments, officials, and merchants, and the filial piety of children. The royal family can also get a piece of the pie for the capture of the war.

The emperor's expenses are huge, Li Shimin wants to enjoy himself, and he wants to reward concubines and all kinds of personnel, and it is far from enough to rely on the income of the first two items on the surface. Therefore, one of the major functions of the Degree Branch Wailang is to collect wealth for the royal family, that is, to expand the third source.

During the Zhenguan years, especially in the early years of Zhenguan, Li Shimin was strict with himself and basically did not accept bribes from ministers. The children all expect to be rewarded by Li Shimin, and filial piety cannot be counted on. The seizures of the war have been largely cut off since the pacification of the Eastern Turks. Therefore, Li Shimin's life is tight. Huang Jiu was also very embarrassed.

Since Li You suddenly forked, Li Shimin's life has changed greatly.

In the third part of the income, there are several items that are also openly allowed, one is the filial piety of children, other children are all from Li Shimin's pocket, but Li You has brought Li Shimin a steady stream of huge income.

In terms of war captures, Li You has not been idle over the years, fighting several battles in Tuyuhun, the Western Regions, the Western Turks, Baekje, and the Japanese slave countries, and they have all gained huge gains every time, and Li Shimin's pockets have also bulged.

It can be said that Li Shimin is now living the life of a real rich man, and he doesn't have to worry about being pointed at behind his back.

A huge amount of wealth continued to enter the inner mansion, and Huang Jiu, a member of the outer branch, also lived a very comfortable life.

But that's where the good days come to an end?

For a while, Huang Jiu had not received any money from the Magpie Trading Company, he was very puzzled, and he was embarrassed to come to the door to urge, after all, this was the voluntary filial piety of His Royal Highness King Qi. However, after a long time, he could not sit still.

While he was struggling to ask whether to ask or not, he was called to the office of the Minister of Commerce, Wu Jue.

"Minister Huang Jiu, I've seen the minister." Huang Jiu saluted and said.

"Lord Huang is exempt, please take a seat." Wu Jue said.

"Your Excellency, is your name a minister?" Huang Jiu asked tentatively.

"Lord Huang, this is the money of His Royal Highness the King of Qi to honor His Majesty, please check it." Wu Jue said, and handed him a ledger.

Huang Jiu was very happy, and hurriedly took it over to check, when he finished reading the numbers on it, he was suddenly a little dumbfounded, he hurriedly turned to the previous page, and found that it was settled last month. He flipped to the next page, only to find that it was blank.

This month's share is less than one-tenth of what it used to be.

"Your Royal Highness the Princess, you are, this, why is it so little?" Huang Jiu asked in surprise.

Wu Jue said: "It's not that I don't give it to Your Majesty, and I can tell you that the prince can send a lot of money from Shengzhou next month, but not now, and there will be no more." ”

Huang Jiu was anxious when he heard this, and he asked, "Your Highness, why is this?" ”

Wu Jue said: "Lord Huang, let me tell you......" Wu Jue told Huang Jiu what had happened recently.

The more Huang Jiu listened, the more angry he became, and he said, "Your Highness, don't worry, I'll go and report to Your Majesty." ”

Wu Jue smiled: "I'm not in a hurry, the prince has a lot of money, it doesn't matter." She is full of confidence, and the current income of the Qi Wangfu is not only the Magpie Trading Company, but also the shares of many ministers such as Industrial City, Li Daozong, Hou Junji, Cheng Yanjin, etc., in the Research Institute, Tuyuhun, Xue Yantuo, Tuli, Tiele, Baekje, the Japanese Slave Kingdom, the Western Regions, etc., there are financial resources everywhere.

Huang Jiu stood up to leave, but Wu Jue stopped him and said, "Please send a message to the prince, the goods sent to the palace by the Qi Palace, there will be no more in the future." ”

The palace of the king of Qi not only gave a large amount of money to the inner government, but also sent a large number of materials such as clothes, shoes and hats, soap, and wine to the palace, which were handed over to the eldest grandson queen and were usually received and managed by Wang De.

Huang Jiu was even more anxious, he was sweating profusely, and said goodbye and left.

Wu Jue is a ruthless character, she wants to beat up the people who are looking for trouble with the Qi Wangfu once, and let them know that the Qi Wangfu is not easy to mess with. She called her cronies and set them up.

Liangyi Palace, study.

Huang Jiu cried with a sad face and reported what happened to Li Shimin.

The more Li Shimin listened, the more angry he became, his handsome face was furrowed, and his face was gloomy and about to wring out water. He said angrily: "Wang De, send someone to call the prince." ”

East Palace.

It is difficult to be an official in Beijing, this sentence refers to the fact that it is not easy to be an official in the capital. The capital is a place where the powerful are concentrated, and any matter may involve one or several powerful people, and it is very troublesome to deal with it.

Jing Zhao Yin Chu Heng has been serving as Jing Zhao Yin for five years, he is a very smart and sleek person, and being able to do it steadily in this position for five years shows that his wisdom is not comparable to ordinary people. He has his own knack, one is to be sleek, and the other is to hug his thighs. At the point of sleekness, he did a very good job, and he was exquisite. And this is not enough, you must also rely on a big tree to shelter yourself from the rain.

Chu Heng is the crown prince Li Chengqian's person, for so many years, he has been loyally doing things for Li Chengqian, and Li Chengqian has always covered him, and his life is not bad. However, he didn't want to be this Jing Zhaoyin for a long time, and wanted to find a position in the household department or the official department. Helplessly, Li Chengqian needed him in this position, so he never promoted him.

Not long ago, Zhang Xuansu found him and told him that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had greeted the eldest grandson Wuji and Hou Junji, and was ready to transfer him to the Ministry of Officials as a supervisor. However, there is still one thing for him to do for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

Chu Heng was very happy, thinking that he had finally come out of it. But when he heard that it was going to target the Chang'an Chamber of Commerce, especially the Magpie Trading Company, he was taken aback. The Chang'an Chamber of Commerce and the Magpie Trading Company are the territory of His Royal Highness King Qi, is His Royal Highness King Qi so easy to mess with?

That night, he didn't sleep all night, and after thinking about it repeatedly, he thought that this matter was arranged by His Royal Highness the Prince, and His Royal Highness the King of Qi had an opinion, so he asked them to pinch it, and he couldn't blame himself. If His Royal Highness the Crown Prince does not obey his orders, not only will his future be lost, but he may also be retaliated against in the future. Moreover, His Royal Highness King Qi is not in Chang'an, so it is easier to deal with in comparison. So he made up his mind and attacked the Chang'an Chamber of Commerce and the Magpie Trading Company.

At this moment, Chu Heng was in the East Palace, reporting to Zhang Xuansu what had happened.