Chapter 319: If this trend is allowed to spread, the administration of our May Tian Ce Dynasty will

In the court, Liu Minghan stood straight in the center of the main hall, facing the siege of officials from various ministries without yielding.

His sharp eyes swept over the crowd, a faint sneer hanging on the corners of his mouth.

Seeing their respective ministers being scolded to pieces, the second-in-commands of the Ministry of War, Ministry of Rites, and Ministry of Works stepped out of the ranks one after another.

Zhao Xianzhong, Vice Minister of Rites, was the first to attack: "Your Majesty, I feel that the Ministry of Revenue always says there is no money. Could it be that the people in the Ministry of Revenue have pocketed it themselves? I suggest Your Majesty investigate!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the main hall was in an uproar.

The officials of the Ministry of Revenue turned pale, and Zhang Dehai, a clerk of the Ministry of Revenue, immediately jumped out: "Lord Liu, how dare you say this? Your Ministry of Rites only knows how to spend money on pomp and circumstance all day; do you have half a bit of economic benefit? If you have the ability, go earn money yourselves!"

He turned his head and pointed at the officials of the Ministry of Works: "You of the Ministry of Works, don't laugh either. All your projects combined over the past three years don't compare to the benefits brought by His Majesty's rail train project!"

The people from the Ministry of War were secretly rejoicing that they hadn't been named, but Zhang Dehai suddenly turned his guns: "The Ministry of War should just shut up! You only know how to spend money on war. Other armies know how to loot some spoils of war, but you—you are purely a money-losing business!"

This sentence was like pouring a bucket of cold water into a frying pan; the entire court exploded.

The military generals all glared with rage. Ma Wenzhong, Vice Minister of War, stepped out, his armor clattering: "Lord Zhang's words are wrong! Our army could have looted spoils of war, but we followed His Majesty's decree to leave the wealth to the local people for development and construction, so that they would be grateful for the May Tian Ce Dynasty's grace and might!"

Zhang Dehai sneered and immediately seized the handle: "Oh? Does Vice Minister Ma's words mean you are blaming His Majesty for poor decision-making?"

He deliberately raised his voice so that everyone in the main hall could hear clearly.

Ma Wenzhong's face turned pale instantly, and beads of sweat the size of beans seeped from his forehead.

He thought to himself, this old thing Zhang Dehai is good at pinning labels. But after saying that, Ma Wenzhong also knew his words were a bit excessive. The Ministry of Revenue was praising His Majesty's decision, and no fault could be found; for him to shift the responsibility to His Majesty was indeed a major taboo.

He hurriedly knelt on the ground, his forehead touching the floor, his voice trembling: "Your Majesty, please examine! This subject has absolutely no such intention!"

Li Chen sat high on the dragon throne, squinting his eyes to scan below, then lightly waved his hand: "Step back."

A mere three words, yet they made Ma Wenzhong feel as if he had been granted amnesty. He staggered back to the ranks, his official uniform soaked through with cold sweat.

The bickering of the court officials continued; after all, the May Tian Ce Dynasty had made a fortune this time, and everyone wanted to get some benefits. But the people of the Ministry of Revenue, like Liu Minghan, were easy to enter but hard to get out of. Anyway, Liu Minghan didn't intend to give any, keeping it for a rainy day.

The Minister of Works took the opportunity to propose: "Your Majesty, if the water conservancy project of the Ministry of Works can be completed, it can irrigate the fertile fields of three states and increase annual tax revenue by one million taels."

Before he finished speaking, Liu Minghan directly interrupted: "Bullshit! You said the same thing three years ago, and what was the result? The silver was spent, and the project was left unfinished! Now you want to cheat money again?"

The Minister of Works said anxiously: "That was because there was no money to continue; how can you say we left it unfinished?"

Liu Minghan curled his lips: "What do you mean there was no money to continue? We allocated all the funds to you. I would like to ask you, where did the money go!"

This sentence made the Minister of Works sweat, because he saw His Majesty Li Chen's gaze also staring at him, seemingly wanting a result.

Three years ago, Li Chen was not yet the emperor and didn't know much about such things.

The Minister of Works explained: "That was also something that couldn't be helped. There was a drought that year, and many projects were delayed."

Li Chen looked at the officials arguing into a ball below, still not stopping them as usual.

These arguments seemed chaotic, but in fact, they allowed him to clearly understand the dynamics of each ministry.

The Ministry of Works did have some projects that were abandoned halfway, but if the water conservancy project could be completed, it would indeed benefit the country and the people; although the Ministry of War consumed huge amounts, the stability of the border could not be ignored; although the Ministry of Rites spent money like water, diplomatic etiquette was indeed necessary, after all, the Ministry of Rites was responsible for this.

After the arguing was almost done, Li Chen's gaze shifted to the Prime Minister Zhao Wenyuan, who had been silent all along.

This old official, over fifty years old, was looking down at his tablet, not participating in this argument, just like the Guardian General Guo Poyun beside him.

"Minister Zhao." Li Chen spoke suddenly, his voice not loud but making the entire main hall instantly quiet.

Zhao Wenyuan secretly complained in his heart, knowing the Emperor wanted him to be the peacemaker again.

He walked out of the ranks slowly and bowed respectfully: "This old subject is here."

"How does the Minister think this matter should be handled?" Li Chen asked with a smile that wasn't quite a smile.

Zhao Wenyuan took a deep breath, his gaze sweeping over the expectant eyes of the officials of various ministries, and said slowly: "This old subject believes that the funds required by each ministry have their reasons. It would be better for each ministry to list the details of the required funds, note the purpose and expectations, have the Secretariat review them together with the Ministry of Revenue, and finally present them to Your Majesty for inspection. If it truly benefits the country and the people, then allocate them."

He grasped the 'key point' with this sentence, because Zhao Wenyuan knew that what Li Chen was willing to spend money on were projects that benefited the country and the people, and the Ministry of Revenue was even more so; if they couldn't see returns and economic benefits, they truly wouldn't give.

This compromise plan made Liu Minghan's brows relax, which could be considered as upholding the duties of the Ministry of Revenue. Although other ministries were dissatisfied, knowing that the appropriations they could get would be very small, they had nothing to say.

Since the Prime Minister had said so, who would dare to provoke him for no reason? Wouldn't that be looking for trouble?

Li Chen nodded with satisfaction: "Let it be as Minister Zhao said. What I want is real achievements, not empty words."

Just then, the Minister of Justice Pang Jin, who had been watching coldly from the sidelines, suddenly stepped out: "Your Majesty, I have a memorial to present!"

As soon as he stood out, the entire court fell silent.

Although Pang Jin had not taken office for long, that aura of stern killing had already made the civil and military officials of the whole court fear him by three points.

His figure was as straight as a pine, his face as cold as iron, and the Ministry of Justice token hanging at his waist made a dull sound with his steps.

The Vice Minister of Rites standing next to him subconsciously moved half a step away.

Since taking office, this Lord Pang had already investigated and dealt with three marquises and five counts, not even sparing the old officials from the time of the previous emperor.

Li Chen lazily raised his eyelids: "Speak."

Pang Jin took out a thick memorial from his sleeve, his voice resonant and powerful: "Your Majesty, many officials of the Ministry of Personnel have taken advantage of this opportunity to inspect all officials to accept bribes from local officials, wantonly accumulating wealth and disrupting the court's discipline!"

He paused, his gaze sweeping like a knife toward the Minister of Personnel Luo Hui, "I impeach the Minister of Personnel Luo Hui for lax handling of affairs and indulging subordinates in corruption!"

Saying this, he presented the memorial with both hands: "I have already investigated clearly that Qiu Xinghuai, a Langzhong of the Ministry of Personnel's Examination Bureau, purchased three residences in the capital, and his salary is simply insufficient to support this; Shi Ruifeng, a director of the Selection Bureau, accepted five thousand taels of silver in bribes from officials in Liangzhou; most hateful is Ge Haoran, a clerk of the Title Bureau, who actually dared to sell official positions!"

The eunuch took the memorial and presented it to Li Chen.

Pang Jin continued: "I have recorded the details of these people's assets, the time and place of their bribery, one by one. Your Majesty, please examine. If this trend is allowed to spread, the administration of our May Tian Ce Dynasty will be completely ruined!"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 320 =====