"Captain, this is the last storehouse."

A gray-haired old chamberlain walked in front of Wang Zhongzheng, half-hunched and half-sideways, leading the way diligently.

He was wearing a purple robe that was one size smaller, with half of his wrist exposed, and a pair of old glasses on his face, with a notch missing from the edge of the left lens. Boots are also a few years old.

This appearance looks like a long-lost bankrupt settlement. It is not uncommon for the chamberlain to be so sloppy in the palace, and it can even be said that most of them are in the palace.

To be able to have that luck, follow the side of several masters in the palace, climb to the top of the Inner Servant Province, and transfer from the Inner Attendant to the Military Attaché, in the same period, it is actually only a palm.

can be like Wang Zhongzheng, and in private he has reached the point of being called a captain, and he is the only one since the founding of the country.

But this representative figure among the eunuchs of the Great Song Dynasty had a calm face and a cold body at this time, which made him feel as if he had re-entered the cold winter.

The late spring sun is suitable for drying books, but also for drying the items in the warehouse.

There are the most warehouses in the imperial city, and the abundance of the inner treasury of the Great Song Dynasty is invincible to the whole country of Northern Liao.

Sixteen old libraries, sixteen new libraries of Yuanfeng, and nine new libraries after Yuanyou, money is piled up in the library, and the Chinese Jingzhizhi, the ropes that wear money are blocked in the library, which is just a small witch in the governance of Fengyou declared today. A large amount of silk rotted in the storeroom.

And the Great Council is about to be established, and many treasures in the Imperial City must be counted and submitted to the Great Council and the Council for control.

Thus, as in all the inspections of the treasury throughout the ages, there is a huge discrepancy between the accounts and the reality.

Wang Zhongzheng was not very familiar with the chamberlain who led the way in front, because the two people he was familiar with had been taken into custody yesterday and were being detained in the yamen of the Imperial City Division at this time.

If it's just a self-theft, it's just a knife in the head, but if you intend to set fire to the evidence, you have to cut it with a thousand knives to atone for your guilt.

No one wants to see more than 80 million worth of goods burned to the ground, but in order to cover up the deficit caused by a little selfishness, there are people in the palace who are ready to do so.

In the past, a similar thing also appeared, a maid in the palace, just after stealing a few gold objects in order to cover up the matter, burned down the palace, and by the way, the hundreds of thousands of books in the secret pavilion of the three adjacent halls were turned into ashes - this is when Taizong Zhenzong, in order to compile the "Shufu Yuangui", "Taiping Guangji", "Taiping Yulan", "Wenyuan Yinghua" and other classics, only painstakingly collected books from all over the world, including rare books and unique books.

If this time it succeeds, in a short time, the imperial court will not be able to start even a border war without destroying the economic environment of the country - that is, without raising taxes.

After going through too much and hearing too many similar stories, Wang Zhongzheng and the political affairs hall were ready, and as soon as they decided to reconcile the accounts, they immediately mobilized the Shenji Battalion to take over all the warehouses. But even so, it was only one step ahead, only half an hour away, and only the raging flames could be seen.

Last night, after receiving a report from his subordinates and confirming what the two thieves and their henchmen were going to do, Wang Zhongzheng was still shocked into a cold sweat, leaning back in his chair and unable to move for a long time.

A day passed quickly, and Wang Zhongzheng inspected more than 40 warehouses.

Although there was no inventory for more than half a month, it was impossible to figure out how much the deficit was, but after looking at it, Wang Zhongzheng was at least sure that the inventory should reach 90% of the figures in the accounts -- this proportion was much more reassuring than the warehouses in the prefecture and county and the road.

At the end of the inspection, Wang Zhong was sitting down in front of the last warehouse to rest, some people were serving tea and water, and some people were pinching their backs and beating their legs.

"Calculate it early, the Queen Mother and the princesses are waiting."

Wang Zhongzheng closed his eyes when he spoke, but the broken man who had just turned over knew that he was saying this to himself.

The new pipe storehouse, which was originally hunched over his back like a shrimp, almost folded his waist in half, "Don't worry, the little one won't sleep these days, and he will do his best to do the Taiwei's orders." ”

"And you. All of them give me a little bit of a retraction. Don't think that someone can take the blame, you can rest assured and boldly reach out. Even if I don't watch, the ministers and politicians will watch. Before reaching out, settle the family first, so as not to lose the place in the future. ”

Wang Zhongzheng said it murderously, and shocked everyone to swear to the sky, and they all swore with their lives that they would never steal from prison and repeat the mistakes of their predecessors.

Wang Zhongzheng just nodded, not believing it at all.

When the house is raided, it is the time when the fortune is made -- because the words of the criminal are not evidenced, and the official in charge of the house copying will copy as much as he says, and as for the criminal who says how much he has in his own family, it is just nonsense.

This time, the situation is also average. Now that there is the best scapegoat, how many people can stand it? Anyway, in the end, there are still those two former treasury managers, and all the deficits are borne by them and their henchmen, which is just right to make a big profit.

It's a pity that this is definitely a knife blow. Now is the time when the world is changing, and those conventions and stories are now too many to count.

Outside is worried that there is no way to meddle in the palace, if the councilors plan to take this matter seriously, it is a crime to have more than a penny on them. If you don't clean the palace from top to bottom, those civil officials won't give up.

Wang Zhongzheng didn't dare to bet on Han Gang's character, let alone trust other rulers and politicians.

Standing up, Wang Zhongzheng glanced at them, and didn't even bother to say a word more. After a while, half of them will have to accompany their ex, who has already been imprisoned.

Wang Zhongzheng has no intention of paying attention to their fate, whether they live or die depends on themselves.

Half an hour later, Wang Zhongzheng was already standing in front of the Empress Dowager.

"The Queen Mother's complexion is much better today......

The Queen Mother has no makeup, not even any jewelry, and is wearing a simple robe, but her good complexion makes people feel the vitality in her body more than any clothes and makeup.

For a while before, the thick layer of powder that always covered her face when she met people only made people feel as cold as a corpse.

The Queen Mother also liked to hear Wang Zhongzheng say this, and smiled happily, "These words are said every day." What you say is smooth, and I hear it well. It's not clear whether it's true or not. ”

Wang Zhongzheng opened his mouth to discern, and the Queen Mother spoke to herself, "After not thinking about the court, I have saved a lot of heart, and I feel that it is true." I don't have to worry about the inner library anymore. When the checks are clear, hand over the account book to the ministers. How to deal with the people who guard and steal is also for the ministers to consider. ”

Wang Zhongzheng didn't know what to say for a while.

The Queen Mother is like pouring dung, and she can't wait to throw away all the power in her hands.

Wang Zhongzheng once heard that there were many important ministers who were in the court, even if they were old, they were not allowed to be young, they dealt with court affairs during the day, and walked in the Qinglou at night, drunk and lying on the flowers, but the next day they were still in good spirits, and after he gave office, he collapsed in less than two years.

The Queen Mother is indeed much healthier now than a few days ago, and she has more smiles on her face. Different people have different situations, and Wang Zhongzheng can only think so.

Putting down state affairs is like unloading a thousand burdens, and you don't have to bear the burden of a country on your shoulders. There is no queen mother, queen mother and emperor above her head to suppress her, and the prime ministers are all respectful to her.

"Have you been to the Shengrui Palace?" The Queen Mother asked.

Just like the emperor was imprisoned for reflection, Concubine Zhu was also grounded in her palace.

"The concubine is also fine, these days, she has been copying Buddhist scriptures."

Buddhist scriptures are being copied, but at most a few words a day, and often do not start writing, and the time to complete them is far from the end.

In Wang Zhongzheng's opinion, the master of Shengrui Palace is not far from going crazy now. The woman who once made the first emperor obsessed is now gone.

When Wang Zhongzheng went to visit a few days ago, he felt that Concubine Zhu's behavior was very different from before, and he turned a blind eye to his visit, so he sat there and looked outside.

"If only she could figure it out." Empress Dowager Xiang also had no intention of caring about the self-righteous old enemy, "It's only been a few days since the official wedding, where are you going?" Don't be busy with the Great Council and forget about the official family in the end. ”

"The Queen Mother can rest assured, the ministers will definitely not forget. If you still don't feel at ease, ask again when the ministers come to the palace tomorrow to say hello. ”

"Well, that's fine."

The Queen Mother nodded, and Wang Zhongzheng breathed a sigh of relief.

Indeed, the wedding of the Son of Heaven is no longer as touching as it was a few months ago.

Without the power in his hands, the emperor is just a god card, which looks good, and it is painted with gold and silver or paint, just look at what the person holding the god card thinks.

Wang Zhongzheng knew what the prime ministers were going to do, but he didn't plan to take matters into account.

However, as long as the Queen Mother says a word, the ministers will definitely come according to the Queen Mother's wishes.

The preparation time for the emperor's wedding is not short, and with the national strength of the Great Song Dynasty, it is not difficult to learn from Emperor Yang of Sui and tie fake flowers to the flowers and trees in the city. As long as the Queen Mother said a word and made use of all the rotten silks in the inner library, she could make the Beijing Master bloom overnight, from the late spring and early summer to the time when the flowers first bloomed a month ago.

Just thinking about it, I suddenly heard the Queen Mother ask: "This time the warehouse is cleared, how many silk silks are decayed?" ”

It's also more casual. Wang Zhongzheng said in his heart. The topic jumped around, and I said I didn't care about it before, and now I started asking again.

"It's not even a little bit bigger, but at least a million horses."

"So much! …… The people's fat and people's ointment have all been wasted. The Queen Mother said regretfully, "This time it must be cleared, and the treasury must be taken care of from time to time in the future, and it must not be wasted like this." ”

Wang Zhongzheng agreed, and then heard the Queen Mother ask, "What are you going to do with these rotten silks?" ”

"As usual, send it to the army."

"Just like those old rice?"

Wang Zhongzheng hurriedly said: "Back to the Queen Mother, the cloth will be distributed, but Chen Mi is usually going to be used to make wine." ”

The Queen Mother snorted, "Don't think I don't know how you do it. ”

Wang Zhongzheng didn't dare to say it.

Ephardo was supposed to use the old rice to make wine, but many state officials felt that it was better to give it to the soldiers than to make wine. You can exchange it for new goods, enrich the eunuch bag, or make the numbers on the account book look better, which only depends on the selfishness of the individual.

But regardless of public and selfish intentions, the rotten old rice and rotten silk silk have become the fodder for the red guys, and the small rations for the red guys.

Black rice, porous silk, this is the treatment enjoyed by many soldiers and lower-ranking forbidden troops -- as for the higher-ranking forbidden army, their strength is directly proportional to their combat effectiveness, and no matter how much the court deducts it, it will not be deducted from their heads.

"Don't send some rags to the army, the official family is going to get married, accumulate some virtue for the official family, and give birth to the prince early."

"Yes. When the ministers go out later, they will convey the edict to the ministers. ”

"Don't use it for the official family's wedding!" The Queen Mother didn't know what she thought, and suddenly said, "Wang Zhongzheng, you have to keep an eye on this matter." ”

Wang Zhongzheng hurriedly said, "Please rest assured that the Queen Mother will never be like this." ”

The imperial court allocated nearly one million yuan of goods for the wedding of the Son of Heaven, although this money was enough to support 20,000 forbidden troops for a year, it was still not enough. In the end, it is still necessary to pay from the inner treasury. But no matter how wasteful it is, the imperial court will never make the wedding of the Son of Heaven shabby and miserable.

The Queen Mother didn't believe it, "Don't think I don't know what it's like down there, who came out, and immediately a group of people who tended to be inflammatory, once they fell, they suddenly fell and scattered." The ministers may not be deducted, but the people below, all of them are snobs, seeing the current official family, which one will put more effort into it? is still the emperor, no matter how he doesn't become a weapon, it is also the face of the Great Song Dynasty. When a small family marries, they have to exhaust their family wealth, and the emperor accepts it, and it is too shabby to be unlikely. There is also Wang Pingzhang's face to take care of. ”

Wang Zhongzheng smiled bitterly and nodded yes, "Tomorrow, the ministers will enter the Hajj, and the Queen Mother can tell you again, and the ministers will not dare to be negligent." ”

"But these days, all the ministers have entered the pilgrimage, and no one among the women has come in to accompany them, but these days are a little boring."

"Who does the Queen Mother want to accompany her to talk, as long as she says a word, who can not come?" Wang Zhongzheng asked tentatively, "If the queen mother wants to, the minister will ask the lady of Xin'an County to come to the palace." ”

Mrs. Xin'an County is the sister of the Empress Dowager Xiang, and if she wants to talk to the patient, it is naturally best to be close to her, but the Empress Dowager Xiang said: "Let Mrs. Qi enter the palace." ”

Mrs. Qi Guo.

That's Han Gang's wife, Wang Anshi's daughter.

"Mrs. Qi Guo is good-tempered, can be a person, can handle things, and the family is also harmonious, from her point of view, Wang Xianggong's tutor is first-class. When I saw her, I thought of the queen. When the queen enters the palace, she can also have someone to talk to. ”