Chapter 285: Women Should Not Be Provoked

"Marquis, this position belongs to no one but you. We offer our congratulations to you in advance, Marquis!"

"This matter has not yet been settled; there is no need to rush with the congratulations!"

Waving his hands repeatedly, Changguan Hou could not help but feel a surge of joy in his heart, yet his face wore a look of compassion for the world.

"It is not that I, Mou Qing, am greedy for power, but for these past years, the Imperial Court has been unable to make ends meet every year. We cannot even pay the officials' salaries in full, which has caused many to harbor grievances."

"The Imperial Court relies on officials to manage the common people, but if the officials cannot even receive their full salaries, how can they serve with their full heart and strength, and how can they be loyal to their duties? The Imperial Court cannot go on like this!"

Thinking of the former Heibu Shangshu, he was also an honest man, shrewd, capable, and conscientious in his duties.

But the Imperial Court's annual tax revenue is only so much, and that old fellow Chen Xing kept finding ways to reduce taxes for those peasants. In the end, it was truly a case of a clever housewife being unable to cook without rice.

Moreover, Chen Xing never cared about expenses when doing things. If there was a famine, he would allocate funds for disaster relief; the disaster victims were crying out for food, so not a single cent could be saved.

If the border was in an emergency, he would immediately allocate money and mobilize troops; the money had to be sufficient, and the troops had to be elite. To resist foreign humiliation, he would not delay for even a moment.

All kinds of expenses were allocated down to the last cent, or even with a surplus; there was never any embezzlement.

Precisely because of this, the Imperial Court neither increased revenue nor reduced expenditure. That is why the Ministry of Revenue had no money, and why the Imperial Court had no money.

If it were him, all allocations would definitely be discounted again and again. Does disaster relief really need that much money? Do disaster victims need to be given high-quality rice and grain? Something passable is enough; isn't it enough that they can stay alive?

When the Imperial Court mobilizes troops and allocates grain and funds, giving them eighty percent is already giving them face; what else do they want? If they dare to cause trouble, see if I don't leave them with nothing.

As for the Imperial Court having no money and the Ministry of Revenue having no money, then find a way to levy taxes; one can always squeeze it out of those peasants. In such a vast Imperial Court, how could there be no money?

These years, that old fellow Chen Xing has been resting and recuperating, and the common people in various places have some spare money in their hands. What are they keeping the money for? Hiding it at home is just waiting for it to get moldy.

It would be better to pay taxes to help the Imperial Court. Only when the Imperial Court has money can you all live well, right?

Increase revenue and reduce expenditure—if you cannot increase revenue, then you can reduce expenditure. If you neither increase revenue nor reduce expenditure, won't there be a deficit every year?

Thinking about it this way, that former Heibu Shangshu, Master Wu, was truly put in a difficult spot by Chen Xing; it was hard for him to hold on for all these years.

"The Marquis speaks the truth; the Imperial Court cannot continue like this!" As soon as Mou Qing's words fell, someone immediately stood up to echo him.

Mou Qing wanted to win these people over for the position of Heibu Shangshu, but how could these people not want to cling to a powerful backer?

Who doesn't know that hanging out with Changguan Marquis means having food, drink, and things to take? In a few years, one could have a family fortune and never worry about food or drink.

Getting on board now is better than crowding around after someone has already become successful.

"Marquis, we will submit a petition tomorrow to support you. This position of Heibu Shangshu can only be shouldered by you, Marquis!"

"Many thanks to you all. My affairs will still require much of your effort! I will drink this first as a sign of respect!"

After finishing, Mou Qing drank the wine in his hand in one gulp, then looked around and nodded with satisfaction.

"I admire the character of Master Chen Xing immensely, but his way of doing things is a bit too naive. Does he really think that being incorruptible and loyal is enough to get things done?"

"Silver cannot be collected, the Ministry of Revenue is empty, money is needed everywhere, and even officials' salaries are almost unpaid. Is this the Imperial Court he manages?"

"I don't want to be corrupt either, but if I am not corrupt, how can I make my subordinates feel at ease? How can they have motivation? What does the Imperial Court rely on? It relies on these officials below!"

"If you make people work like oxen and horses, you have to let them be well-fed. If even the officials themselves are not well-fed, who can you expect to work? Who can you expect to risk their lives? Those peasants who know nothing?"

"The Marquis is absolutely right!"

"Fart, that is complete nonsense!" Shen Yu, who was outside the room, finally could not help it after hearing the shameless words inside.

Putting corruption and bribery in such a high-sounding way also refreshed his understanding. It was as if the Imperial Court would collapse if one were not corrupt.

Water that is too clear has no fish; Shen Yu understood this principle, and he did not expect every official in the world to be incorruptible.

But even if you are corrupt, do not touch the money meant to save lives. Countless common people are starving to death, with white bones exposed in the wilderness; in such a situation, you are still corrupt—are you even human!

"Who? Who is it?" The voice coming from outside shocked everyone in the room, and everyone was on high alert.

In this high-martial World, the people in the Imperial Court were not without strength; every major family had its own heritage.

Except for those scholars born from humble families, who didn't have one or two Martial Learning techniques hidden away?

They were truly capable of both literature and martial arts. Sometimes when they couldn't win an argument in the Imperial Court, it would turn into a real brawl. Sometimes when they fought fiercely, they could even tear down the main hall.

So when Shen Yu's voice came over, everyone in the room immediately flipped up, their Inner Breath surging, ready to respond at any time.

It was impossible for anyone in Changguan Marquis's household to say the words "complete nonsense" to Changguan Marquis; it might be that his rival had arrived.

But he had never heard that Changguan Marquis was truly hostile to anyone, nor had he heard of him having any rivals.

When they saw the figure pushing the door and entering, everyone widened their eyes, and a few even rubbed their eyes in disbelief.

Shen Yu had stayed in the Capital for a period of time, so they naturally recognized Shen Yu.

"Shen, Shen Yu!"

Upon seeing Shen Yu, everyone's face turned pale, and some even began to tremble uncontrollably.

Counting them one by one, who could say they were clean? If they were clean, they wouldn't have come here wanting to cling to Changguan Marquis's leg!

But they knew all too well what kind of person Shen Yu was; he truly spared no effort in killing corrupt officials. If he were allowed to kill freely, he could cut down half the people in the Imperial Court.

"Shen Yu!" Seeing that it was Shen Yu who walked in, Mou Qing's face also turned livid. He had never offended Shen Yu; how could he come to his house!

"Master Shen, this is the residence of Changguan Marquis. Isn't it a bit disrespectful to me, Changguan Marquis, to enter without notice?"

"Changguan Marquis Mou Qing!" Looking up at the other party, Shen Yu then said indifferently, "The old affair of the Yan Family from over thirty years ago, I wonder if you still remember it?"

"What Yan Family? I don't know what Master Shen is talking about?" His expression changed; Mou Qing did not know why the other party had come, but in the end, he still licked his face and greeted him with a smile.

The situation is stronger than the person; this man Shen Yu cannot be provoked!

"Master Shen, you are a guest from afar; why not come and have a drink!"

"I dare not drink the wine in your house. What I want to talk to you about is the Yan Family of Yan Ruyi, the Yan Family that was destroyed by you back then!"

"The Yan Family of Yan Ruyi?" As soon as Yan Ruyi was mentioned, Mou Qing immediately knew which matter it was. Raising his eyebrows, so many years had passed that he had almost forgotten about this matter.

Shen Yu bringing up the matter from over thirty years ago was likely because Yan Ruyi had told him; since he could not take revenge himself, he wanted to borrow Shen Yu's knife to kill.

Back then, in order to survive, Yan Ruyi came to cling to his leg. Not only was he not sad that his whole family was killed, but in order to live, he even begged his enemy.

Originally, he was also cautious, but later Yan Ruyi's performance was too good, and with someone mediating in between, he let him off for the time being.

He was also on guard for a long time, and many dirty jobs were handed to him to handle, and Yan Ruyi handled them beautifully, so gradually he felt completely at ease with Yan Ruyi.

From then on, he had an extra loyal dog-leg, and for this, he had been smug for a long time.

Never in a million years did he expect that after more than thirty years, this dog would actually turn around to bite him!

"Lord Shen, Yan Ruyi is a corrupt official; over these years, he has been insatiably greedy and has amassed countless wealth."

"I know he is a corrupt official, and a major one at that, which is why he is already dead!"

As he spoke, Shen Yu had already arrived in front of Mou Qing, looking at him coldly just like that.

"But the mastermind who led to his downfall is still here. Mou Qing, back then, you embezzled half of the disaster relief funds before they even left the Ministry of Revenue. You dared to take grain meant to save lives; aren't you afraid it would burn your hands?"

"Lord Shen, do you have any evidence!"

After a brief moment of panic, Mou Qing composed himself, suppressed the fear in his heart, and then stared straight at Shen Yu without changing his expression.

"If you don't have evidence, you cannot speak nonsense, and you cannot do anything to me. You are slandering the innocence of my Hou Mansion!"

"Innocence? You of all people have the nerve to mention the word innocence."

"Mou Qing, you have perhaps overlooked one problem: I, Shen Yu, do not need evidence to kill someone; my word is the evidence!"