Chapter 447: Chapter 419, The Empty National Treasury_1
Imperial Palace.
After the morning court session, the emperor severely reprimanded the Minister of Revenue in the Qianqing Palace, ordering him to come up with the military provisions for the soldiers at the Northern Frontier within half a month, or else he would be removed from his post and investigated.
When the Minister of Revenue came out, his legs were trembling.
The Minister of War had intended to come and urge for the funds, but seeing the Minister of Revenue in such a state, he sensibly turned around and went back.
In the grand hall, the emperor, with an angry expression on his face, commanded the leader of the Jinling Guard, Lei Yan, who was kneeling on the ground, “The tax silver from Jiangnan has been delayed in its remittance, and it’s undoubtedly related to the eighth brother. Go there with your men immediately and investigate this matter thoroughly for me.”
Lei Yan replied, “Your humble servant obeys the order.”
The emperor narrowed his eyes, a flicker of murderous intent visible within them, “Remember, this time you must root out all of the eighth brother’s associates.”
After Lei Yan had left, the emperor turned to look at Eunuch An, who had been invisibly lurking in a corner, “Go call Wei Qi to me.”
Eunuch An replied hastily, “Yes.” He said, bowing out of the grand hall. It wasn’t long before he returned with Wei Qi.
The emperor, looking at Wei Qi, spoke in a grave voice, “The situation at the Northern Frontier is increasingly unstable; the provisions must be gathered. Go to the Glass Factory personally and tell Fei Yu to send the silver obtained from the sales of the past two months’ glass to the Ministry of War first to alleviate the urgent need.”
Wei Qi responded, “Your subordinate will take care of it immediately.”
The emperor nodded. After Wei Qi had left, he stretched out his hand and massaged his temples.
Thankfully, the Glass Factory was established. The sales of glass have been good and earned some silver. Otherwise, the national treasury would not have managed to come up with the soldiers’ provisions for the Northern Frontier this time.
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Seeing that the emperor could not hide his fatigue between his brows, Eunuch An thought for a moment and carefully approached to ask, “Your Majesty, you haven’t eaten anything since the morning session. The Imperial Kitchen has made yam porridge, and the yam has just been sent by the Little Prince. Shall I bring a bowl for you to try?”
With the instability of the Northern Frontier, Prince Ning was showing signs of unrest, and the Jiang Family was continuously creating obstacles on the side, all of which greatly annoyed the emperor and gave him no appetite at all. However, hearing that Xiao Yeyang had specifically sent it, the emperor thought for a moment and said, “Bring a bowl here.”
Eunuch An’s face lit up with joy, and he quickly ran off, personally going to serve the porridge. Soon after, he brought it over, “Your Majesty, please have a taste. It smells quite delightful to this servant.”
Seeing that the yam porridge indeed looked appealing, the emperor took a sip and, after tasting it, a hint of a smile appeared on his face, “The flavor is indeed good; Yangyang is thoughtful.”
Eunuch An immediately responded with a smile, “Isn’t that right? If we’re talking about the Little Prince, he indeed shows admirable filial piety. Ever since he went to Zhongzhou, whenever he comes across good food, he always sends some to the capital for you to have a taste.”
Hearing this, the emperor’s face showed more of a smile, “The yam is good; remember to send some to Prince Ping’s residence. Right, didn’t Yangyang also send a cart of red fruits?”
Eunuch An nodded, “Yes, indeed. If the Little Prince hadn’t said that the red fruits were edible, I wouldn’t have dared to believe it.” In the palace, red fruits were also used, but they were usually taken as ornamental plants.
“People in the Imperial Kitchen used the recipe given by the Little Prince to make several dishes, and I’ve tasted them myself; they are indeed delicious. Your Majesty, would you like to have them serve a few dishes made with red fruits for lunch later on?”
The emperor was intrigued, “Sounds good, today at noon I will have dishes made with red fruits… no, with tomatoes.”
Eunuch An, seeing that the emperor had eaten most of the yam porridge, sighed with great relief in his heart.
Lately, due to state affairs, the emperor’s appetite had not been good, and he ate very little every meal, having lost a lot of weight, which worried Eunuch An immensely.
Fortunately, the day before yesterday, the Little Prince had sent over fresh delicacies.
The emperor finished the yam porridge in the bowl, put down the bowl, wiped his hands, and said to Eunuch An, “Go get me the letter Yangyang wrote. The day before yesterday, I was too preoccupied with wasting words with that old fellow Xie Xingteng and didn’t look at his letter carefully.”
Eunuch An quickly brought the letter from Xiao Yeyang.
The emperor opened it and began to read carefully. Not long after, his eyebrows jumped up, “The yam and tomatoes were actually both grown by that girl.”
Saying this, he paused for a moment and recalled the meal he had in Taohua Temple.
It must be said; the taste was indeed good.
Although they were just some ordinary home-cooked meals, he still found himself savoring the memory even now.
“This Yan Family, with their scholarly background in farming and education, hasn’t forgotten their roots. They seem even more familiar with the work in the fields than the old hands at the Imperial Manor,” he said.
The Emperor continued to read.
Xiao Yeyang meticulously recorded the yield per mu of yams and the policies that Yan Zhigao had implemented in Ningmen Prefecture.
After reading the letter, the Emperor felt much better. He turned to Eunuch An with a smile and said, “We were not wrong about him, this Yan Zhigao. He truly has a knack for local governance. Placing him at Ningmen Pass was indeed the right decision.”
After a moment of silence, he sighed, “If only all the officials in the court were like him, I wouldn’t have to worry so much.”
Thinking of the war in the north and the emptiness of the national treasury, the Emperor’s countenance darkened again.
The Glass Factory had recently been completed and, although it had earned some silver, it was nowhere near enough to support the soldiers’ provisions and salaries.
The gold mines…
They were still relying on the prospect of the gold mines to fill the void in the treasury.
Wu Jingyi had already taken up the command to search for them, but who knew if they would be successful?
….
Yan Residence.
Since returning from Taohua Village, Yan Wenxiu hadn’t set foot outside, as she had been entertaining Yan Yunxi and Yan Yunyan, so she wasn’t bored. Yet, she looked forward every day to Xiao Yeyang and her two brothers coming back to the residence to report on the progress of the gold mine search.
Before long, it was October, and the weather was growing colder by the day.
“I wonder if my third and fourth brothers will come back today?”
After delivering the winter clothes that she had made for Yan Yunxi and the others to their sewing room, Yan Wenxiu looked towards Chuihua Gate several times on her way back.
Wang Manman chuckled and said, “For the past while, the third and fourth young masters have been returning every two or three days. Miss, you still miss them so much, huh?”
Yan Wenxiu gave her a glance. Who missed them? She was just worried about the gold mines, right?
Then, stretching out her hand to feel the chill in the air, she sighed, “If we can’t find it soon, it might start snowing, and it’ll be even harder to search for it afterward.”
Suddenly, the sound of Yan Yunxi’s voice came from behind her.
“Big sister!”
Yan Wenxiu turned around and asked with a smile, “Big brother, you’re back?”
Yan Yunxi nodded his head, having studied under Teacher Xiao for over half a month. He now seemed even more composed and confident than before.
“Did you ask Uncle Zhixin to bring you a little puppy?”
Yan Wenxiu’s eyes lit up, “Uncle Zhixin is here?”
Yan Yunxi nodded again. “He’s in the front courtyard talking with father, second uncle, and third uncle. He brought over seven newborn puppies, saying you wanted them. So, I came to ask you about it.”
Yan Wenxiu was a bit stunned, “Seven? Why so many? Where are they? I want to see them.”
Yan Yunxi chuckled, “Nobody at home knows how to care for dogs, so we put them by the stables to be looked after by the stable boys.”
Hearing this, Yan Wenxiu excused herself to Yan Yunxi and then went with Wang Manman to the stables.