Chapter 140: The old man came to borrow money

A spring rain brought the wine and the relationship with Shiyun much closer, Qin Lei was naturally proud in his heart, and he was overjoyed all day long, which made the depressed Li Sihai jealous.

But the ancients said: There is no good thing for people, and there is no good food for dogs. Within a few days, Qin Lei understood what the ancients were and did not deceive me. His ideal father-in-law came to visit.

Maybe it's because of the idea of beating other people's daughters, as soon as he heard that Li Guangyuan was coming, Qin Lei inexplicably felt a sense of weakness, if it wasn't for the little fat man on the side, maybe he would have gone for the better plan.

Send the little fat man with a hippie smile to the back hall, and then respectfully welcome Li Siqing into the house, this time Li Guangyuan wants to kowtow, but Qin Lei does not follow. Li Guangyuan felt that Qin Lei's expression was awkward, and he was a little confused, so he had to go with him.

After serving tea, Qin Lei also got rid of the inexplicable anxiety when he saw his father-in-law for the first time, and knew that Li Guangyuan was not here to ask about the guilt, so he regained the calm and calm that he had finally cultivated. The two of them first talked nonsense such as 'how is the weather' and 'is your body safe' before getting to the point.

Li Guangyuan came to ask for money. He was a little embarrassed and said: "It's been almost two months since the establishment of the inspection temple, and the household department has only allocated two thousand taels of start-up fees. Although the yamen was ready-made, it cost more than half to add some tables, chairs, benches, pens, ink, paper, inkstones, etc., and to buy some sedan chairs and honor guards for the officials. Then he sighed with some emotion: "I don't know that firewood and rice are expensive, although the officials receive the money in the household department, but the silver still flows out every day, and now it is unsustainable." ”

Qin Lei smiled gently: "Then go to the household department to ask for some money and come back." ”

Li Guangyuan smiled bitterly: "I've been there three times, just listening to Tian Minnong's complaints, how can I ever ask for a penny." After taking a sip of tea, he said: "Lord Tian said that if you can't get it for six or seven months, the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty will have to delay their salaries, and they will not be able to send them down until the summer tax is put into the warehouse." ”

Qin Lei looked surprised and said, "So serious? He carefully gathered intelligence, and in fact knew better than Li Guangyuan how difficult the finances had been—Tian Minnong had already borrowed heavily from the various gate lords in the name of the household department. This is unheard of in the 200-year history of the Great Qin Dynasty.

Qin Lei knew that in fact, as an idle ornament yamen, it was enough for the household department to allocate two thousand taels. But Li Guangyuan has been a minister for generations, and officials have always been noble, so he has never worried about Ah Duwu. At this time, it became the head of a department for the first time, and it was inevitable that he would be harmed by his subordinates, and he was wronged in vain.

If someone else comes to the house to fight the autumn wind, Qin Lei will rush out as soon as possible, even the little fat man will honestly pay five taels of silver a day and have the right to pay for food and lodging. But who let Li Guangyuan have a good daughter, and Qin Lei happened to beat people's ideas. After thinking for a long time, he gritted his teeth and said: "Master Li came to the door in person, and he must not be perfunctory." In this way, pay 2,000 taels from the account of the Ministry of Civil Affairs to the temple. ”

Li Guangyuan said gratefully: "Thank you for the relief of the prince, and wait for the household to come down with the silver." The lower official immediately returned it. ”

Qin Lei waved his hand and said magnanimously: "No need, there is not much input in the temple, so let's keep it generous." Then he said with a smile: "As long as you hold your pockets tightly, don't easily let those filthy officials cheat the money, two or three months will be fine." ”

Li Guangyuan nodded and said ashamedly: "Yes, the official is not strict in keeping the family, so he ended up in such a situation." But you have to pay attention to it in the future. ”

The two of them said a few more polite words, and Li Guangyuan pondered: "Lord Wang, there is something I want to inform you. ”

Qin Lei nodded and said, "Sir, please speak." ”

Li Guangyuan said: "In the past few days, I have looked at the transcript sent by the Yugoslav Military Intelligence Department and found that they are investigating a matter. "Although the inspection of the temple is a yamen, the subordinate departments still have to make a summary of the daily work and report it to the temple for future use.

Qin Lei said: "But it has something to do with loneliness? ”

Li Guangyuan said in a deep voice: "The Southern Military Intelligence Department has uncovered several espionage cases one after another, and the criminals are all monks from the Eastern Qi Zen Buddhism. ”

Qin Lei said quietly: "Eastern Qi Zen Sect? ”

Li Guangyuan said solemnly: "Indeed, this Zen sect was able to preach in the south because of His Highness. Thus His Highness is nominally their guarantor. ”

Qin Lei slowly rubbed his fingers on the armrest of the seat a few times, and asked softly, "Has this matter been reported?" ”

Li Guangyuan nodded and said: "The Taiwei must have known about it for a long time, maybe he will make trouble at the court meeting in the next few days." It's better for the prince to plan early. But he was a little bookish, and he didn't say this first but borrowed money first, just for fear of giving people the feeling of being a city favor.

Qin Lei gratefully sent Li Guangyuan away, did not return home, but got into the carriage and went straight to Xiaoqinghe. On the dock, he got on the painting boat moored there, and asked the guards who greeted him, "Where is Mr. Guantao?" "Since Li Sihai lived in the Scholar Pavilion, Guan Tao moved out of the East Palace and lived on this painting boat. Qin Lei had long wanted to move all his departments out of the East Palace, not completely to prevent Li Sihai.

The guard pointed upstairs and said respectfully, "Mr. Guantao has been busy all night and has just fallen asleep." ”

When Qin Lei heard this, he was not in a hurry, and ordered the guards not to wake him up, but to go and sit down on the side of the boat by the river, and let Qin Surabaya find fishing gear and fish quietly.

Staring at the sparkling water, Qin Lei was a little stunned, and he didn't know that the fish had finished eating the food on the hook. He was a little undecided, it was obvious that the bureau of the Taiwei Mansion was over, and all that was left was to pull himself into the abyss step by step. Of course, Fei Fei is definitely not just for his insignificant little prince. But Qin Lei's words when he parted that day, Qin Lei still remembered it vividly - "If someone transfers you out of the capital, don't agree to it anyway." "This general is a little worse politically, if Li Hun forces Emperor Zhaowu to make an order, can he not go out?

At this time, footsteps were heard upstairs. After a while, the sleepy-eyed Pavilion Tao appeared in front of Qin Lei. He got up halfway through sleep, and when he heard that Qin Lei was coming, how could he dare to lie down again, so he washed his face and hurried downstairs.

The two were not polite, Qin Lei asked Guantao to sit beside him and talk about the matter. Pavilion Tao Twist said in a deep voice: "Your Highness doesn't have to worry too much, my subordinates think that your life will not be in danger when you go." ”

Qin Lei's hanging heart suddenly let go of half of it, and after enjoying this kind of high-altitude life for a long time, he became less and less desperate, in other words, he was more and more afraid of death. Although it has never been said, the great name of bloody murder has always shrouded Qin Lei like a cloud.

A sharp blade, known as the world's number one killing weapon, hangs above the head all the time, and may fall down at any time.

Guan Tao explained to him: "Since last year, the disputes in the imperial court have been concentrated in the south, intentionally or unintentionally, and all kinds of contradictions have gathered together, just waiting for someone to poke it open and let things develop in the direction of the above plans." ”

Qin Lei was a little depressed and said, "So you chose me?" What do I have to look at differently? ”

Guan Tao said with a smile: "My subordinates guess that the prince is the same as His Majesty, Xiangye, and Taiwei." Only your fearless temper and indomitable temperament are the most suitable to be this pioneer. ”

Qin Lei rolled his eyes and said, "That's a nice thing to say, isn't it just that Lao Tzu acts unscrupulously?" ”

Guan Tao chuckled and said, "As long as the prince grasps the thoughts of several big people, he can still be unscrupulous." Saying that, he asked, "Do you know why my Great Qin's finances are in trouble?" ”

Qin Lei knew that he was asking and answering himself, but he didn't answer, and listened quietly.

Guan Tao explained to him: "Looking at my Daqin's money and grain, seventy percent of it is for the army, if there is no huge military expenditure, the treasury will never be in deficit." "Prince Qin Leituo transferred out the income and expenditure records of the past ten years from the household department, and the pavilion Tao is studying this in the past few days.

Qin Lei was a little surprised: "Didn't you say that it was because the officials were greedy for ink?" ”

Guan Tao smiled: "It's also right and wrong, civil officials are greedy for ink and ink are off-the-books, the books are clean, and all kinds of taxes add up, nearly 20 million taels of silver per year." Can Your Highness understand the truth? ”

Qin Lei suddenly said: "My Great Qin is known as two million heroes, but according to my eldest brother, in fact, the total number of imperial and forbidden border guards is more than one million. Nearly half of the vacancies were eaten up by officials at all levels. "Qin Lei knows that the situation of the forbidden army and the imperial forest is better, and they are basically full. However, the situation is extremely serious for the guards and the border troops in various places. Not to mention far away, let's just say that the prince guard under the nose of the Son of Heaven, the establishment of 10,000 people, but even if you count the gang husband and military prostitutes, it is not enough for 5,000 people.

The emperor and the imperial lieutenant naturally knew about this situation, but it was the stage of the contest to win the support of the military, and no one dared to pursue it, and they had to find ways to cover it up.

Guan Tao nodded, "That's true." Then he looked at the cargo ships coming and going in the distance, and said softly: "And my Great Qin has a strange characteristic, the stronger the army, the less tax and silver to be handed over to the treasury than when it is weak." ”

Qin Lei didn't feel how incomprehensible it was, and said softly: "When the Great Qin army is strong, the customs between the two countries will be strict, and the commercial tax revenue will be small, so the natural treasury will not be so full." ”

Guan Tao praised: "Lord Shengming, so there will definitely be no increase in taxes in the past few years, and if open source is not good, it will be intercepted." ”

Qin Lei said in a deep voice: "The army has been disarmed and dismantled, and civilian officials have eliminated redundant personnel. ”