"Winning a battle is a good thing, a great joy. We should be very happy, but the court is arguing over money again. Xiao Chen, do you know the reason?" "I just listened to a few words, but they are not true." Chen Guanlou knew it well, but he couldn't show off in front of his superiors. He had to pretend to be stupid and just show off at the critical moment. Fan Yucheng was worried. He had a bitter face and said earnestly: "The Ministry of Revenue has a little silver left. It has been promised before that the salaries of officials in Beijing will be reissued so that everyone can have money for the New Year. However, Jinzhou won a victory, and the soldiers are waiting for the reward from the court. The soldiers have worked hard for a year and want to have a good New Year. Jinzhou has been ravaged by the rebels for several years and has been penniless. The local government really can't come up with silver, so they can only rely on the court. Everyone knows that the frontier army is polite to say that they are soldiers. If the reward is not enough I'm afraid Jinzhou will have to suffer again. The officials from Jinzhou were extremely anxious and tried their best to persuade the higher authorities to allocate the reward silver as soon as possible. However, the Ministry of Revenue had no money and His Majesty was unwilling to pay, so the money originally planned to reimburse the salaries of officials in Beijing was targeted. Xiao Chen, we have worked hard for the court for a year, a whole year, and have not seen a penny of salary or a grain of rice from the court. It's finally the end of the year, and the court has shown kindness once, but it's going to be intercepted again. What do you think we should do? "Ah? Chen Guanlou was stunned. Who is he? Fan Yucheng actually asked him for advice on such a big thing? Are you kidding! However, Fan Yucheng didn't look like he was joking.
"What does your Excellency mean?" He carefully tested. Fan Yucheng was definitely not really asking for his opinion. There must be a deeper meaning. Maybe there is already an action plan, and it only lacks an executor. No way! These two wanted him to be cannon fodder? Chen Guanlou was alert and didn't dare to be careless. He was afraid that if he was not careful, he would fall into the trap and be buried in the pit. Master Li stood up and coughed lightly. It was not his turn to play next. "Xiao Chen, you know everything. The adults' opinion is that we can't always be controlled by others, and we can't let the arrears of wages and grain become a routine. Once it becomes a routine, it will sooner or later become a default rule. Once it becomes a rule, it will be extremely difficult to overturn it. We understand that the upper level has no money. However, we can't not give even a grain of rice. Without rice, the kitchen can't open the fire, and the prisoners in the prison will have no food to eat. It's normal for one or two to starve to death." Chen Guanlou was speechless. He understood the two people's plan. "Do you want to force the upper level to allocate rice? Is this appropriate?" According to Chen Guanlou's simple understanding of officialdom, it is a taboo for the lower level to rebel against the upper level, and it will be hit and liquidated in all directions. "What do you mean by forcing? How dare I force the higher-ups? Am I forcing them? Isn't this a fact? Isn't this an objective difficulty?" Fan Yucheng was furious, very dissatisfied with Chen Guanlou's stupidity at the moment, whether he could speak or not. Chen Guanlou also realized that he had used inappropriate words, and hurriedly said: "Your Excellency is right. It is an objective fact that Tianlao has no money and no food. The granary is empty, and without food replenishment, everyone will starve. Tianlao is not an important government office, but it is an indispensable government office of the court. Without Tianlao, who will maintain the court's laws and face? In any case, the operation of Tianlao must be maintained. To operate, it is not possible without money, and it is even more impossible without food." Fan Yucheng showed a satisfied smile, and even Master Li nodded frequently, secretly praising his ability to speak. Tianlao is the bottom line for maintaining the court's laws and face. A dignified dynasty cannot be without a bottom line. "Xiao Chen said it very well. This is related to the reputation of the court, and it must be maintained. However, it cannot be maintained by words alone, it must be supported by real money. Xiao Chen, you are smart and have a deep family background. Now Pingjiang Hou has won another victory and is in his prime. Tell me, can this be done and how to do it?"
Chen Guanlou: ... He was full of national curses and hated the two people in front of him. It was clear that he was being roasted on the fire. The benefits they gave him were not enough to make him do this. But he couldn't just refuse directly. He took a deep breath and suppressed his irritability, "It seems that the A-shaped prison cannot be moved." Fan Yucheng frowned, "If we don't move the A-shaped prison, how can we make the higher-ups realize the seriousness of the problem and realize that the prison has reached the end of its rope." Chen Guanlou opened his mouth, "If we must move the A-shaped prison, I think we need to see the direction of the court first. If we choose the wrong person, everyone will bear the risk."
Master Li added: "The identity cannot be too important, but it cannot be too light. If it is too important, we can't afford the risk. If it is too light, it lacks persuasiveness. Xiao Chen, you know the prisoners in the A-shaped prison best, tell me, who should we choose?" Such a big pit for him to jump into, Chen Guanlou grinned in his heart. "In order to get the higher-ups to replenish the rice and grain, it doesn't necessarily require the death of a person. Can we try a gentler approach?" "What method do you think is more gentle? If you mean to complain to the higher-ups, it's useless. This year, I've asked for money and grain for the Tianlao no less than ten times, but I was always perfunctorily dealt with. The officials in charge are indifferent to the matter and always tell us to overcome it ourselves. If we continue to overcome it, the money and grain that should have gone to the Tianlao will be intercepted by others." Chen Guanlou frowned and thought deeply, "It's the end of the year, and the families of the prisoners have to send food and clothes to the prison as usual, and pass on some information. Perhaps we can use this opportunity to let the outside world know about the difficulties of the Tianlao." "Oh? What do you want to do?" Chen Guanlou gritted his teeth, "Let's starve the prisoners first, and change two meals a day to one meal a day. Change the meat soup to vegetarian soup. What I mean is, quietly spread the news that the Tianlao is short of money and food. The people in Tianlao have little influence, and their words are useless. However, there are always a few capable prisoners, and they can spread a word much better than the Tianlao. In any case, during the New Year, the prisoners in the prison can't be hungry and drink sewage." Fan Yucheng nodded secretly, "This method is feasible, but it takes a little longer. I think that someone still needs to die. It doesn't matter if there are people dying in the A-shaped prison, but a few people must die in the B-shaped and C-shaped prisons. And they must die." "Your Excellency is right. If a few people don't starve to death, the higher-ups won't pay attention to this matter." Master Li agreed. Chen Guanlou secretly breathed a sigh of relief, at least half of the pit was filled. The remaining half have to share the difficulties, and he cannot charge ahead alone.