Chapter 164: Wanting money and wanting life

Qiu Defu knelt on the ground to plead guilty, his knees unable to feel pain because he was already used to it.

The Daoist priests were frightened and hesitated for a moment before retreating one after another, not daring to linger. They were afraid of becoming cannon fodder.

The palace maids and small eunuchs knelt in a row, not daring to raise their heads.

"Your Majesty, calm your anger! The court officials said, said..."

"What did they say? Just tell me."

"The court officials said that Your Majesty, just by building palaces, has spent three million taels this year alone, and added to the construction of gardens, it is an astronomical figure. They also don't know where all that money was spent."

"What do they mean? Are they suspecting that I reported false accounts and spoke empty words?" Emperor Taixing narrowed his eyes; that was a sign that he was going to kill.

Qiu Defu's heart beat violently; he was gambling, gambling on an opportunity.

He had long disliked Jiang Tu and couldn't let go of the opportunity to put eye drops on Jiang Tu. However, this was a double-edged sword; if not handled carefully, it was highly likely to hurt himself.

He carefully gauged the size, "Your Majesty misunderstood; Your Majesty is the Holy Lord in the world, and even if you suspect anyone, you cannot suspect Your Majesty. It is really that the war in Jinzhou this year has cost a huge amount, and the Ministry of Revenue has already fallen into a deficit of thousands of taels. However, the soldiers' reward money cannot be withheld. Your Majesty also knows that those border soldiers are all thorns. Jinzhou cannot withstand a second disaster!"

After speaking, Qiu Defu lowered his head, waiting for the favor of fate, or the abandonment of fate.

Emperor Taixing stood up abruptly, wearing only a pair of cotton socks, without shoes, and walked back and forth in the main hall. Fortunately, the floor heating was burned in the hall, and it was as warm as spring.

Emperor Taixing put his hands behind his back, his eyebrows tightly knitted together, his slightly graying hair seemingly standing up one by one, looking exceptionally ferocious, and people dared not look directly at him.

"The court officials are hinting that someone embezzled my silver money; why not just say Jiang Tu's name directly? They shout and kill Jiang Tu all day long, wishing to get rid of him as quickly as possible. Today, the news of the great victory reached the palace, a joyous day, yet they still refuse to let Jiang Tu go. Hehe... they are targeting Jiang Tu on the surface, but in reality, they clearly have opinions about me.

I have worked hard for decades; is it not allowed for me to spend some money in my old age to satisfy my own preferences? I have worked hard for so many years; what's wrong with spending some money? They just can't stand me spending money, and they can't stand me having a few days of comfort. They wish I would work like an ox or a horse every day and be exhausted to death as soon as possible, so they could be satisfied. However, I refuse to satisfy their hearts or follow their wishes."

Emperor Taixing finished scolding, becoming increasingly angry.

"Go and call Jiang Tu; I have things to order. In addition, have the two Prime Ministers wait; I will see them in a while."

"Understood!"

Qiu Defu thought carefully, then sighed secretly, letting Jiang Tu escape another disaster. Jiang Tu, this thief, has a long life!

No matter how many complaints were made, even if all the evidence was placed before the old Emperor, the old Emperor still couldn't bear to deal with Jiang Tu. If it weren't for the fact that Jiang Tu was indeed surnamed Jiang and was honest, he would have suspected whether Jiang Tu was an illegitimate child left by the old Emperor among the people.

He was spoiled without limit.

There was no way; he could only continue to endure this little thief, Jiang Tu. But he did not give up the idea of killing Jiang Tu. By His Majesty's side, there must not be a second confidant.

If Jiang Tu is not removed, he will not sleep peacefully, always worried that his position will not be guaranteed and that one day he will be killed by Jiang Tu.

Either Jiang Tu dies, or he dies. Naturally, he cannot be soft-hearted.

Jiang Tu learned of the great victory in Jinzhou and was panic-stricken, worrying about his future. He wasn't afraid of anything else, just afraid that someone would take advantage of the great victory to lodge slanderous reports; even if he didn't lose his life, it would be enough to disgust him.

Just as he was worrying, he learned that the old Emperor had summoned him. He quickly tidied himself up and hurried to the Taiji Palace to see the Emperor.

Just as he arrived, he heard the old Emperor's roar from inside the main hall.

He was very puzzled and asked a small eunuch he was familiar with, "Today is a good day for a great victory; why is His Majesty angry? Who is inside, having such courage to make His Majesty unhappy on the day of a great victory."

The small eunuch took the money, looked around, and whispered, "Let Master Jiang know, the two Prime Ministers and several department heads are inside, discussing money matters."

Jiang Tu suddenly realized.

A great victory in the war is a great thing. However, next, they will face the difficult problem of rewarding the soldiers. Discussing merits and awarding rewards cannot stop at the mouth; they have to give real gold and silver. The soldiers below, at least five taels, at most ten or twenty taels—to say the least, it will take one or two million taels of silver, and that is without corruption. If this person reaches out and that person reaches out, one or two million taels won't be enough; it's a bottomless pit.

No one knows how tight the imperial court's finances are better than Jiang Tu. After all, he is also one of the people reaching out.

He knows better than anyone how much the old Emperor cares about money and how much he cares about the inner treasury.

The two Prime Ministers and the department officials must have made up their minds to take money from the inner treasury, which touched the old Emperor's reverse scale and was equivalent to stepping on the old Emperor's sore spot. That the old Emperor didn't kill anyone on the spot was already very cultivated.

Thinking of this, Jiang Tu was relieved.

He knew that no matter how many people attacked him and wanted to kill him, His Majesty still needed him, needed him to make money to solve the current problem.

He could continue to sleep peacefully again.

His hanging heart finally let go, and he simply rested in the side hall to drink tea and wait. After the quarrel in the main hall was over, he would come out to extinguish the fire for the old Emperor and find a way to solve the money problem for the old Emperor.

Money, the imperial court is poor, but the world has money!

Some time ago, he met an official from the Jixia Academy. The other party didn't respect him at all and even ridiculed him to his face, calling him Imperial Concubine Jiang to his face.

Hehe!

Calling him Imperial Concubine, right.

Today, he will let the Jixia Academy see the ability of Imperial Concubine Jiang.

He, Jiang Tu, is a person who reports every grievance, is petty, and doesn't let grudges pass into the next year. The grudges of the year are reported in the year.

Even how to lodge a small report, how to get the old Emperor's decree, and how to drag the Jixia Academy into the water—in a short time, he already had a rough plan in his mind. He only needed to perfect the details, and after seeing the old Emperor, he would act according to the old Emperor's mood; this matter would certainly succeed.

The infighting in the imperial court could not affect Chen Guanlou.

He came to the cell door of the Second Young Master, "Reporting to the Second Young Master, today came a great piece of good news. Marquis Pingjiang has defeated the Jinzhou rebels. The rebels were defeated and fled, and the imperial army is pursuing them. I imagine the day for the Second Young Master to leave the Heavenly Prison is not far off."

"Won? Hahaha... This young master knew that when the imperial army is dispatched, the Jinzhou rebels are just a group of clay chickens and pottery dogs, and are definitely not the imperial army's opponents. Many thanks to Chen Tou for informing this young master of this good news in time. After this young master goes out, I will have the opportunity to invite you for a drink."

Chen Guanlou lowered his head and smiled.

Inviting him for a drink was purely a joke.

The high-and-mighty Prince's Mansion young master would never really invite a small prison guard for a drink.

He smiled and said, "Many thanks to the Second Young Master. Does the Second Young Master have any other instructions?" ===== CHAPTER 165 =====