OBS Chapter 738 You actually trust me more than I do?
Chapter 738 You actually trust me more than I do?
Compared to Li Shanchang, Emperor Zhu actually preferred to single out Liu Bowen and give him a good scolding.
Damn it, the Censorate is supposed to investigate, impeach officials, and enforce discipline, but now the Censorate is doing something else entirely. Instead of keeping an eye on the officials and impeaching them all day long, they rely on impeaching our good son-in-law to boost their performance at the end of the month. Is this reasonable?
But the thought of Liu Bowen's shiny bald head made Emperor Zhu abandon his intention to curse.
Forget it, Lao Liu has had it tough too. He's been constantly ripped off by his fellow Zhejiang natives, and now he's being used by Biao'er. Plus, the Censorate reform itself is a complicated mess. We should be more understanding of him.
Emperor Zhu snorted with a dark face, then turned his gaze to the Duke of Ying, who was leaning against a dragon-shaped pillar and pretending to doze off.
That bastard!
He's been dozing off during the grand court assembly; this isn't the first time he's done this!
The more the Emperor thought about it, the angrier he became. He couldn't help but shout, "The Duke of Ying has behaved improperly in court. He shall be fined half a year's salary as a warning to others!"
Yang Shaofeng, who had just been dozing off, was suddenly jolted awake.
Half a year's salary gone?
The Duke of Yingguo's salary for half a year was 1,300 shi, and his stipend was 1,500 shi. The Imperial Son-in-Law's salary for half a year was 440 shi. The Prefect of Dengzhou's salary for half a year was 140 shi. The Vice Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies' salary was 84 shi. The Magistrate of Ningyang's salary was 72 shi.
All together, that's over 3,500 shi (a unit of dry measure), which translates to over 1,750 guan (another unit of dry measure) in paper money.
If we calculate it at a ratio of one tael of silver to one thousand dollars, then this official has lost 1.75 million dollars in one night's sleep.
The thought of the number 1.75 million immediately darkened Yang Shaofeng's face.
Although I am not short of a million or so, how can being not short of money be the same as being fined?
Seeing Yang Shaofeng's face turn ashen, as if he had swallowed three flies, Emperor Zhu felt instantly relieved.
If you have the guts, continue sleeping during the next grand court assembly. If we catch you again, we'll fine you half a year's salary.
If we come here three or four times, we can not only save the national treasury money, but we can also generate revenue from you!
With that in mind, Emperor Zhu simply turned his attention to Liu Bowen, the Minister of Personnel.
"The Earl of Chengyi is in charge of the Censorate, yet the Censorate has failed to fully supervise the presence of even a half-official. He shall be fined three months' salary!"
"Currently, corruption among officials is rampant throughout the land, and the Ministry of Personnel cannot escape blame. Minister Li Xin is hereby fined three months' salary!"
"..."
As Emperor Zhu finished speaking, both Liu Bowen and Li Xin, who had just been transferred to the position of Minister of Personnel, were completely stunned.
Wouldn't this be considered a case of "when the gate of the pond catches fire, the fish in the moat suffer"?
After all, the person in charge wasn't so angry anymore. If it weren't for seeing Yang the Madman sleeping in court, we wouldn't have been punished with salary deductions.
Li Xin glanced at Yang Shaofeng, then subtly winked at Liu Bowen.
"What to do?"
Liu Bowen rolled his eyes.
"Cold salad!"
If you, Li Xin, are willing to provoke Yang the Madman, then go ahead and provoke him, but please don't drag me into it.
Li Xin rolled his eyes as well.
Old Liu, you're really useless! The famous Liu Bowen didn't even dare to retaliate against Yang the Madman?
I bother!
You wait, I'll transfer people from Ningyang County and Dengzhou Prefecture to show him the power of the Minister of Personnel!
……
Emperor Zhu's angry rebuke of his ministers at the grand court assembly at the beginning of the year seemed to bring a bad omen to the newly arrived sixth year of Hongwu's reign.
Of course, this so-called "not so good" was mainly directed at the officials in the imperial court and the local gentry in Jiangnan.
In particular, the Embroidered Uniform Guard became increasingly rampant, and the number of officials directly arrested by the Embroidered Uniform Guard was rising sharply. The number of local gentry and gentry who were implicated reached as many as 500 in just one month.
"I hope we can have two years of peace and quiet."
As Emperor Zhu made his imperial mark, he said, "We don't ask for more time. As long as we don't cause any more messy trouble in the next two years, we'll be content."
Standing beside Emperor Zhu, the executive vice emperor Zhu Biao remained silent.
Li Shanchang, Liu Bowen, and Yang Shaofeng, who were sitting on the stools, remained silent, but were internally ranting and raving.
What kind of emperor would bother to make a red mark during the Lunar New Year?
He, Emperor Zhu, could.
It seems that Emperor Zhu didn't care about the ancient rule of "execution after autumn," and could kill people whenever he wanted, without any regard for the time.
But then again, those officials and local gentry were really not behaving properly, and a number of them should indeed be executed to deter such scoundrels.
Emperor Zhu continued, "By the way, Jinzhou and Fuzhou in Liaodong suffered a severe drought last year, so the summer and autumn taxes were waived last year."
"Didn't Chief Sonam Tsangbu of Ü-Tsang come to offer Buddhist statues, books, and relics as tribute? He built a temple to house them and bestowed upon the envoy a silk robe."
"Since Annam's Trần Thị Mức has submitted a memorial to apologize and offered tribute, then send an envoy to Annam and appoint him to assume office with the seal of the former king. The Annamite envoy will be given gauze and chamois cloth."
"Hu Kouhabaha and his entourage were sent to Dengzhou Medical College for further study."
"By the way, tell the Ministry of Rites to issue a decree prohibiting the Imperial Music Bureau and all musicians in the country from using ancient sage emperors, wise kings, loyal ministers and righteous men for entertainment, and those who violate this order will be punished."
"..."
Watching Emperor Zhu casually handle various government affairs while engrossed in marking red paper, Yang Shaofeng felt both admiration and a desire to criticize him.
The emperor himself worked like an ox or a horse. Even oxen and horses have rest time, but Emperor Zhu worked tirelessly 365 days a year, even more hardworking than oxen and horses.
Oh, that's not right either.
When Lao Deng was in the capital, he was indeed more hardworking than an ox or a horse, but once he arrived in Ningyang County or Dengzhou Prefecture, he would become lazy and idle, and all the messy government affairs would fall on Zhu Biao's shoulders.
Tsk tsk.
Just as Yang Shaofeng was mentally ranting, Emperor Zhu suddenly stopped marking the red lines with his brush and turned to look at Li Shanchang and Liu Bowen, asking, "How is the water pump project progressing?"
Ok?
Does Old Deng's thinking jump around that fast?
Yang Shaofeng continued to complain, while Li Shanchang simply cupped his hands and said, "Reporting to Your Majesty, regarding the water pump, after discussions between His Highness the Crown Prince, your ministers, the Marquis of Chengyi, the Ministry of Revenue, and the Ministry of Works, it has been decided that large water pumps for irrigation will not be installed for the time being, and only small water pumps for use in ordinary households will be promoted."
Emperor Zhu grunted and asked, "Are you planning to wait until the steam engine is invented before making a decision?"
Li Shanchang nodded in agreement and replied, "Although drought will also cause poor harvests, the Dengzhou border market is not short of grain at present. As long as the drinking water of the people can be guaranteed, the rest is just a matter of allocating relief grain."
"We believe that rather than building animal-powered vehicles now and then modifying them after the steam engine is invented, it would be better to wait a while longer."
"As for the possibility that it might not be able to be manufactured..."
Li Shanchang glanced at Yang Shaofeng, then stroked his beard and said, "We believe in the abilities of the Imperial Son-in-Law."
Yang Shaofeng blinked blankly.
Even I don't believe in my own abilities, yet you believe in me more than I do?