The Ming Dynasty: The most ruthless imperial grandson, Old Zhu begged me not to kill him.

Chapter 60 You want to eat meat, huh!
"All officials, enter the hall!"

As a sharp announcement rang out, Li Shanchang stepped into the Fengtian Hall first.

Civil and military officials filed in.

Looking at the figure of the head of all officials in the court, Yang Siyi felt a pang of pain in his heart!
There was a time when I devoted myself to climbing the ranks, carefully managing supplies and rations, daring not to make the slightest mistake, and never showing a smile to anyone.

Even when those fierce generals threatened to kill him as soon as they stepped out the door, Yang Siyi was not afraid in the slightest!

now,

The empire was established, and the Ming Dynasty was thriving, yet he himself was being manipulated by others.

"A newborn calf is not afraid of a tiger."

"When you grow up, you'll be afraid of wolves."

Yang Siyi gave a wry smile, then looked into the Fengtian Hall.

A glimmer of hope rose in my heart for no apparent reason:

perhaps
Your Highness, is that alright?
Yang Siyi let out a long breath and looked at Li Shanchang's figure with disdain in his eyes!
They are scheming and despicable, attempting to seize the lifeblood of our Great Ming Dynasty.

"Your Highness, I have important matters to report!"

Li Shanchang stepped forward first, but his gaze inadvertently glanced at Yang Siyi.

The meaning behind that look was quite clear.

"speak."

Zhu Xiong Ying spoke calmly, her face expressionless.

"His Highness once said that the number of post stations for delivering messages and goods should be increased, and this matter has already been carried out in an orderly manner!"

"Minister of Revenue Yang Siyi has submitted the revenue figures for the post stations from a few days ago. The pilot post stations alone can bring in one hundred taels of silver a day. After deducting expenses and road paving, I believe that at least ten taels of silver can be deposited into the national treasury, enriching our Great Ming!"

"Now that the pilot program has been launched, and the post stations are used for delivering messages and goods to merchants, we should accelerate the pace and speed up the process!"

"I believe it would be more appropriate to extend this to the three provinces of Jiangsu, Fujian, and Zhejiang!"

Li Shanchang began his memorial in a loud voice, appearing every inch the loyal and patriotic minister.

however,
Upon hearing these words, Yang Siyi's expression changed instantly!

You old scoundrel!
Yang Siyi cursed inwardly, his eyes seeming to blaze with fire!
What Li Shanchang just said was extremely cunning!
Regardless of the fact that he, as the Chancellor of the Secretariat, was the first to report, which was suspected of taking credit for his work, the mere fact that he wanted to expedite the process revealed his malicious intentions!
If we need to speed things up now, we'll have to send more people!

How could the Ministry of Revenue find so many suitable local officials to manage the post stations in such a short time?
In the end, it still ends up in Li Shanchang's hands, and then is distributed to the sons of aristocratic families.
This is clearly a case of deliberately swallowing the issue of increasing post stations!

And
Even including the cost of road paving, how could the daily expenses of the post station possibly reach 90%? At most, it would be 50%!
Of the fifty taels of profit, Li Shanchang and the aristocratic families would take forty taels, and give ten taels to the national treasury!
They take 80%! The Ming Dynasty takes 20%!
Even so, we still have to thank them!
What's even more hateful is
Li Shanchang proposed adding three provinces: Fujian, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang!
These three provinces were all the territories of powerful merchant families, namely the Lin, Qian, and Shen families!
Leaving aside future expansion, the current pilot program in these three provinces is tantamount to putting meat in front of wolves.
Yang Siyi's teeth were practically grinding to powder!

"Your Highness, I have an objection!"

A shout rang out, and Yang Siyi stepped forward, looking at Li Shanchang: "This time, the addition of post stations needs to be handled carefully."

"Profitability is still unclear, the voices of the people have not yet been raised, and road construction has not yet begun!"

"To rashly establish three more provinces is a serious problem!"

At this point, Yang Siyi paused slightly, as if he had made a decision, and continued, "Moreover, apart from Suzhou, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Fujian have not suffered much from the ravages of war. The roads are intact, the people are safe and sound, and there are many post stations."

"Even if we were to establish more post stations and develop the trade of letters and goods, we should not choose these three provinces!"

Upon hearing this, Li Shanchang narrowed his eyes slightly but remained silent.

Yang Siyi's words were practically a blatant declaration that he was going to confront Li Shanchang!

If Li Shanchang wants to get the southern gentry to stay in the 'post station', he must seize the initiative first!
These three provinces are the most suitable.

Now, Yang Siyi is openly opposing him! Isn't that directly making an enemy of Li Shanchang?
"Minister of Revenue, you are mistaken!" "It is precisely because the three provinces have not been affected by the war that we need to increase the number of post stations and open new businesses!"

"Now that our Great Ming Dynasty is becoming increasingly prosperous, does Minister Yang think that the North will forever remain as poor as it was a few years ago?"

"Minister Yang is thoughtful and worried, and Prime Minister Li is far away. The two of you are truly a blessing to our Great Ming Dynasty!"

Tu Jie chuckled and asked.

It may seem like they're trying to smooth things over, but in reality, they're hiding a knife behind their smile!

He directly made a sarcastic remark that Yang Siyi was not optimistic about the future of the Ming Dynasty.

Given how treacherous things are, it's no wonder this kid recognized Hu Weiyong as his godfather.

Zhu Xiong Ying, standing on the high platform, smiled slightly upon seeing this.

This Tu Jie really looks just like a little kid!

"Humph!"

At this moment, a cold snort sounded.

Lan Yu stood still, glancing sideways, and said, "What do you mean by 'after the fact'? Tu Jie, the Imperial Censor of the Censorate, already holds a position high enough to evade the Prime Minister and the Minister of Revenue?"

"A single statement is like a fart; what difference does it make whether it was said or not?"

Upon hearing this, Tu Jie's face immediately turned red!

Lan Yu's words were clearly a sarcastic remark about Tu Jie's "low official rank," implying that he was not qualified to smooth things over here!
His low official rank was what pained Tu Jie the most and what he cared about the most. Lan Yu's words were like slapping Tu Jie in the face twice.

"Ugh! It really stinks! It's unbearably smelly! I can't stand it!"

Just then, a deep voice rang out, and what it said made everyone burst into laughter!
Marquis Fu Youde of Yingchuan never misses such a good occasion!

even
This burly, rough man, whose usual body odor was so strong that even his own daughter disliked it, pretended to fan his nose!
Good heavens, now that's great! Lan Yu slapped Tu Jie across the face, and Fu Youde immediately spat twice!
"I am a Palace Attendant Censor of the Censorate. The Censorate has the power to report rumors, and naturally has the right to speak out in court!"

"Duke of Liang, Marquis of Yingchuan, you two..."

Tu Jie's face flushed red, and his voice became somewhat shrill.

How could Tu Jie, who is known for his sharp tongue, give up so easily?

He was determined to get his revenge!
He would climb step by step, one step at a time! He wanted to climb over the heads of these founding dukes! To reach the highest position!

"Hmm! What happened between us?"

"We are military officers. If you have the opportunity to speak, we two will have the right to take action!"

"You speak, I, Lan Yu, am listening, and so is Old Fu."

Lan Yu spoke calmly.

The threatening meaning in the words was self-evident!

Are you kidding me! Yang Siyi works for His Highness Xiong Ying, so he's family. Who are you, Tu Jie, to jump on the bandwagon?
"This humble official has nothing to say."

Tu Jie paused, quickly bowed, and slunk back to his seat.

Because he had already seen Fu Youde grinning maliciously!

"Alright, enough with the noise! ​​What official position does the Marquis of Yingchuan want from our Censorate? That's too long!"

"Let's spar with that weasel-faced fellow after the court session!"

"Let's talk about Zengyi!"

(End of this chapter)