Chapter 627: Ministry of Revenue: I

"Minister Xiao, Minister Xiao!"

He, in that moment, truly frightened many people.

Even Li Shimin was startled; he never expected that Xiao Yu would be so enraged by Han Zhongliang that he spat blood.

Within this Tai Ji Hall, if anything involving Xiao Yu were to erupt, it would look terrible for everyone.

"Send the Medical Order, quickly send the Medical Order!"

Li Shimin hurriedly shouted, and the Court instantly descended into chaos; many who were close to Xiao Yu rushed up to check on his condition, while even more people reveled in the misfortune.

Especially those who wanted to eradicate Buddhism, their mood was exceedingly buoyant at that moment.

At the beginning of the Zhenguan era, it was this old stubborn official who rose to oppose; had it not been for him, perhaps Buddhism would have already been eradicated back then—why wait until now?

Now look, yesterday he was beaten savagely by Chen Yan, and today Han Zhongliang scolded him to the point of spitting blood.

From now on, we'll see whether you still dare to attend court, dare to protect the temples.

Ma Zhou was quite surprised and lowered his voice: "Old Han, you really can it—your attack power is so strong that even the officials didn't make that Xiao guy spit blood, but you did."

"When the officials learn of this, they will surely be very pleased,"

Han Zhongliang: "......"

The chief knows whether they'd be pleased; he doesn't know either way.

But now he is indeed a bit flustered.

Because Xiao Yu is already not young, if this anger were to cause him… to meet an untimely end, what would we do?

If that were the case, then Han Zhongliang might forever bear the title of an official who died of anger in the court.

But now that things have come to this, Han Zhongliang does not regret; after all, the deed is done and the scolding is over.

Let it be whatever it is.

Amid the Court's chaos, Du Gou seemed to sense his worry and whispered, "Ministerial Attendant Han, don't worry; we have the Grand Secretary behind us. Even if the heavens collapse, those tough characters will hold it up, so we need not panic."

Hearing this, Han Zhongliang's eyes brightened, he gave a heavy nod, and felt even less uneasy.

The meaning was clear: don't panic; if anything goes wrong, Chen Yan will take the responsibility, otherwise Du Ruhui and the others will.

We just need to follow the orders and act.

Soon after, Xiao Yu was carried down by the imperial physicians; Li Shimin looked at Han Zhongliang wordlessly, waved his hand and said, "The eradication of Buddhism… will be discussed on an auspicious day later. What now stands before our Tang Dynasty is not the temples."

"But the flood disaster in Luoyang!"

Speaking of it, Li Shimin's eyes were cold as he produced a memorial and tossed it down: "Over a month ago, Luoyang already suffered a flood; local grain prices rose sharply, and I have received no information at all from start to finish!"

"It was not until last night that a memorial reporting Luoyang's flood was submitted!"

"I do not understand; Luoyang is neither far nor near from Chang'an, and transmitting messages should take at most half a month."

"Why, after more than a month since the Luoyang flood, do I only now receive the news?"

"...... this." Many officials, upon hearing this, showed slight surprise.

The flood in Luoyang was something they did not know.

Sun Fuja picked up the memorial Li Shimin had thrown down, glanced at it, and frowned: "Could it be that the Luoyang flood was initially mild, ignored by the local government, and only after it became severe did they realize the gravity and report it?"

Many officials, hearing this, couldn't help but nod in agreement.

Indeed such a possibility exists; after all, history shows this occurs often, and no one can predict tomorrow with precision.

Moreover, because of Luoyang's special geography, after the great snow melts, if the water rise is not high, the government might easily overlook it.

Since Luoyang experiences this every winter.

"What about the heavy rain then? How to explain that?" Li Shimin said coldly: "After winter passes and the snow melts, it's normal for river levels around Luoyang to rise, but what's abnormal is that Luoyang had already experienced heavy rain long ago."

"After winter, with continuous heavy rain, the flood of the fourth year of Zhenguan is still vivid; are Luoyang's officials just eating dry rice?"

"In such a situation, they didn't even submit a single memorial."

"Only after countless civilians were displaced and the problem worsened did they finally submit a memorial!"

"What use do I have for them?"

Sun Fuja was at a loss for words.

The snow melted, the rain kept coming, yet Luoyang's officials still failed to report—it is indefensible.

Li Shimin, hands behind his back, descended: "What is even more infuriating is that before this memorial arrived, the disaster victims from Luoyang arrived!"

"The day before yesterday, refugees from Luoyang had already reached Weinan County, and today they have arrived in Chang'an."

"I only received the memorial this evening, hehe… where do you think the problem truly lies?"

"Your Majesty," Du Ruhui stepped forward and said: "Since the matter has occurred, the immediate priority is not to assign blame but to first resolve Luoyang's flood."

"Because of Luoyang's special location, if the heavy rain continues unabated, the current flood could turn into a flood disaster, and then another 800‑li urgent dispatch may be needed."

"I earnestly request Your Majesty to first prepare disaster relief grain, and promptly dispatch people with supplies to the affected area; that is the most urgent matter."

Mentioning this, everyone's gaze turned to the Ministry of Revenue.

To speak of disaster relief grain, of course it must rely on the Ministry of Revenue.

"What are we supposed to do?" Ma Zhou clasped his hands and said: "Our Grand Secretary has been captured and placed in Dali Temple Prison; His Majesty has not removed the Grand Secretary's post, so he remains the Minister of Revenue's Grand Secretary."

"When it comes to large‑scale relief logistics, every step is indispensable; now that we lack the Grand Secretary's approval, how dare we mobilize supplies?"

Speaking of Chen Yan, Li Shimin recalled yesterday's ordeal with Sizi and Li Yuan, his face darkening: "Special circumstances require special measures."

"We cannot let Chen Yan's situation delay relief; I grant you a personal order to immediately mobilize whatever the Ministry of Revenue can, and prepare disaster relief grain."

Ma Zhou felt a bit disappointed; he had hoped to use this chance to quickly rescue Chen Yan, and then everyone could continue eradicating Buddhism.

"Your Majesty is wise," Sun Fuja echoed: "The position of Minister of Revenue is of great importance and cannot be treated lightly. Since the original Minister Chen has been imprisoned in Dali Temple Prison, he is unable to handle official affairs."

"Perhaps a prime minister could temporarily assume the role; that way everything would be acceptable, as historically the Minister of Revenue post was often held concurrently by a prime minister."

"First get through the current difficulty… the rest can be discussed later."

Upon hearing this, the Ministry of Revenue staff gave up.

Damn it!

I was still thinking about pulling our heads out, and now you want to yank my head off?

I'm just pretending?

"..."