"So much? How can it be? Ye Tianhuai exclaimed.

If it is as Lin Yuxiu said, Yang Bocheng copied out 8 million taels from his family, and the congratulatory gift he gave to the emperor was twice this amount.

"I have looked at the accounts of the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Households, and after all the festivals of the year, the gift silver in the palace is only two or three million. If, according to what you say, a Yang Bocheng has to send five or six million taels of silver a year, how is this possible? Ye Qianhuai shook his head.

"Not all of this money went into the palace. In fact, every time Yang Bocheng entered Jingnagong, he had to go to the mansion of Yan Wenshan, the first assistant at that time. Yan Wenshan would leave some for various reasons, such as the emperor not liking this. And the rest, he will be handed over to the Ministry of Rites for inspection, and the Ministry of Rites will detain a few pieces from it, and finally the rest will be sent to the palace. If his gift was for the queen, then in addition to that, it would have to be picked up by the inner court. Lin Yuxiu concluded, "That is to say, if His Majesty sees him sending a gift to congratulate, it is likely that he brought more than a dozen pieces when he entered Beijing." ”

Ye Qianhuai frowned and lost his head.

Not only that, but according to Yang Bocheng's own confession, officials from all over the world have become more and more popular in the gifts they present. If the things sent are not as good as those of other state capitals, it is easy for the emperor and the adults in the capital to think that his state capital is not well managed this year. ”

Ye Tianhuai laughed incredulously: "How is it possible? Don't you look at taxes and harvests? ”

"Because bad taxes and harvests may be due to geography or history. But if you can't even get a decent gift, it means that the local area is really depressed. ”

After Lin Yuxiu finished talking about the old things, he returned to the present: "Wechen still remembers that when Your Majesty and Wechen discussed the new policy, they talked about the officials' greed for ink and test results, Your Majesty should know that the Ministry of Rites is enriching itself in major celebrations, and should also know why the Ministry of Rites is trying its best to promote such a grand birthday banquet." ”

Ye Tianhuai was a little impatient: "I know." Not only do I know this, but I also know that the Ministry of Rites receives benefits from the dancers and luthiers who enter the palace to perform, and the inner court also takes a cut from the meals and ceremonial guards. I just didn't expect them to be so greedy and crazy that they could eat so much from it! ”

Lin Yuxiu paused for a moment, his expression was cold, and he asked, "So Your Majesty agreed to hold the Wanshou Festival according to the old system, is it because Your Majesty thinks that they are greedy for less?" ”

Sensing the aggression in Lin Yuxiu's tone, Ye Tianhuai asked, "What do you want to say?" ”

"If they are greedy, will Your Majesty acquiesce to their actions?" Lin Yuxiu asked.

His voice was as cold as his eyes.

"Of course ......not," Ye Tianhuai replied subconsciously, but her voice was as light as a mosquito and fly, and she had no confidence.

Then, she sighed a little helplessly and said, "Lin Qing, you don't know, it is very laborious to hold these banquets, and the Ministry of Etiquette has to take care of the food, clothing, housing and transportation of every guest, and often sleepless for half a month. The Inner Court is even more so. If there is no sweetness, how can they do their due diligence? It's just that the New Deal failed to implement the previous policy of rights. ”

"Your Majesty feels that they are hard work, and can reward them." Lin Yuxiu didn't give up, "Your Majesty is making excuses for your actions." ”

Ye Tianhuai said irritably: "I rewarded them, and the other officials and soldiers will jump out and say that they are also very hard, saying that it is unfair for me to only reward the punishment department." What's more, if I reward them, will they be able to clean up and not take them? Ye Tianhuai snorted coldly, "Not only the Ministry of Rites, I'm afraid none of the six departments are clean." Not only the six departments, but even the small officials in the far border are not clean! ”

Ye Qianhuai was already a little excited in the end.

"You know what? A few days ago, I saw two children on the streets of Shengjing who had fled from Yunzhou, their father and brother had been arrested, and their family's land had been requisitioned as tuntian. The order issued by the imperial court is obviously one out of three, but they draw one out of two. The imperial court also issued an order prohibiting the forced expropriation of private land, but when it was implemented in the local area, it completely changed. This kind of thing doesn't just happen in one or two townships, but everywhere! During his journey to the north, Mr. Lu saw many displaced people who had been forcibly expropriated. Some of them were robbed of land by the army, some by the government, and even more outrageous by the gentry. For them, this battle is like an opportunity to make a fortune! ”

After Ye Tianhuai finished speaking, he knocked on the bookcase heavily.

"As I sit here today, I wonder, even if I do a good job of Halloween, where will the money be used? I'm afraid that even if this money can't get into the pocket of the Ministry of Rites, it won't be used on the battlefield in the end, but into the pocket of someone I don't know! ”

Lin Yuxiu listened silently until Ye Qianhuai stopped at this moment.

"Your Majesty remembers what he said outside the Chengtian Gate?" Lin Yuxiu looked at Ye Tianhuai, and his cold gaze gradually became hot, "Your Majesty said, if it's a human problem, you can get rid of such a person." If it's a problem with the system, you abolish it. If it is a matter of the court, you have to revise it. Has Your Majesty forgotten his ambitions at that time? ”

This is indeed what Ye Tianhuai said at the time, but now that more than half a year has passed, it makes her feel like a world away.

"Of course I do. It's just ......" Ye Qianhuai sighed deeply, "I thought that this path would be difficult, but I didn't expect it to be so difficult, so difficult that I wondered if I had done something wrong." ”

She lowered her eyes, and her voice was dull and tired.

Lin Yuxiu seemed to see an invisible mountain pressing on her body, making the young emperor look old.

"Your Majesty, everything in the world is difficult." Lin Yuxiu tried to encourage her.

Ye Tianhuai didn't seem to hear his words, her expression was a little dazed, and she said to herself: "'If it's a human problem, I will get rid of such a person.'" But if the problem is a lot of people, or even almost all of them, can I really get rid of so many people? Even if I replace them all and replace them with a new batch of people, will the new ones be able to do without problems? ”

Ye Tianhuai shook his head a little helplessly, and said, "I never thought that my court would be like this. My servants, each of their hearts felt as if they had been washed through the stinking swamp. Lin Qing, why do you say this? Is it the dirtiness of rights, or the filthyness of people's hearts? ”

"Your Majesty, although the heart is good, it cannot stand the test. So don't give it a chance to stand the test. Lin Yuxiu knelt down, made a big salute, and said, "Weichen asks Your Majesty to cancel the tribute part of the banquet in the palace of foreign ministers on the Wanshou Festival, and only make a congratulatory gift." ”

After speaking, he looked up at Ye Tianhuai and said, "Your Majesty, although you may lose your birthday gift of one million taels of silver, for the people and ministers of the world, it may be ten times or a hundred times the burden of this. Perhaps because of your thoughts, tens of thousands of hungry people will survive without being exploited once. ”