Meishan Su family, Su Yun is the most virtuous

Chapter 324 Military Order!
Su Yun laughed when he heard this and said, "Oh? It's a matter of money, then, Minister Zeng, can you tell me how much annual revenue the Du Shui Jian and Jiang Zuo Jian can generate in your Ministry of Revenue?"

Zeng Bu snorted and said, "Where can I find data for you now?"

Su Yun encouraged: "Let's talk about the general situation and come up with some data."

Zeng Bu looked at Su Yun and asked, "What do you mean?"

Su Yun smiled and said, "Tell me what you think. I want to see how important the Du Shui Jian and Jiang Zuo Jian are to the court, and how much they can contribute to the annual revenue. Is it really as you, Minister Zeng, said, that they are important to the stability of the court?"

Zeng Bu snorted and said, "I'm afraid I'll scare you if I tell you this, but I'm not afraid to tell you that the Du Shui Jian, Tun Tan, and Jiang Zuo Jian generate at least a million strings of cash for the court every year, which accounts for a significant portion of the court's revenue."

Su Yun burst into laughter upon hearing this, and even seemed to be unable to stop, causing the ministers to look at him sideways. The Imperial Censor in the palace hurriedly said, "Minister Su, please pay attention to the etiquette in front of the emperor and don't be disrespectful!"

Su Yun finally stopped laughing, then looked at Zeng Bu and said, "Minister Zeng, you have a military farm, a water conservancy bureau, and a construction bureau, and you can only generate a revenue of over a million strings of cash a year. Tsk tsk, you can't do this!"

Zeng Bu heard this and said in a deep voice: "Why is it not working? Please tell me in detail!"

Su Yun smiled and said, "The General Construction Bureau can take over all the projects in the world, including the imperial palace and all the projects of local governments. The profits from this will be no less than those from the salt and iron industries.

The benefits of military farming are even more abundant. As long as the land is reclaimed, there will be a stable income every year. One acre of land reclaimed will bring one acre of profit, and reclaiming a thousand acres will bring a profit of a thousand acres.

If we cultivate hundreds of thousands of hectares of fertile land in a year, we could earn tens of millions of guan, not to mention millions of guan. And now you tell me that you can only contribute a million guan to the court?"

Zeng Bu sneered at this time and said, "What nonsense! If the affairs of the world were as simple as you say, wouldn't our Song Dynasty have taken back the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun and the old land of Western Xia long ago?
Although military farming seems to be profitable, it is actually extremely difficult. First of all, it requires a large amount of investment. The reclaimed land will have to go through two or three years to turn from virgin land to mature land before it can start to produce.

As for the river canals, bridges, dikes, etc. that the Du Shui Jian is responsible for, they are all money-eating beasts. After the profits from the Jiangzuo Jian and the military farms are consumed by the river management, the court does not need to spend extra money on management, and can still earn more than one million strings of cash per year. This is already a great contribution to our Ministry of Revenue!"

Zeng Bu looked at Su Yun with disdain and said, "... Minister Su, I admit that you have some skills in fighting, but fighting is different from governing a country. It is not like being able to write a few poems and have some knowledge of the classics, and then you can talk about governing a country. You still need to learn this, understand?"

Facing Zeng Bu's humiliation, Su Yun couldn't help but laugh and nodded, "Minister Zeng, do you think that after your Ministry of Revenue took over several of our Ministry of Works' offices, it can still contribute more than a million strings of cash to the court every year? Do you think that the Ministry of Revenue has made great contributions and that you, Minister Zeng, are exceptionally talented?"

Zeng Bu smiled when he heard this. Does Zeng Zixuan still need to prove himself?
When he was thirteen years old, his father died and he studied with his elder brother Zeng Gong. They both passed the imperial examination and became Jinshi at the same time. After passing the imperial examination, Zeng Bu was successively appointed as the military officer of Xuanzhou Sihu and the magistrate of Huairen County.

In the second year of Xining, he was moved to the capital Kaifeng to serve as an official. On the recommendation of Han Wei and Wang Anshi, he began to write letters to the emperor on politics, saying that there are two fundamental principles of governing: to enforce good customs and to select talented people; there are eight key points: to encourage agriculture and sericulture, to manage finances and taxes, to develop schools, to examine elections, to hold officials accountable, to promote royal family members, to improve military preparations, and to control distant people. These political propositions basically hit the nail on the head and were appreciated by the world.

Afterwards, he was summoned by the late emperor to explain his governance philosophy, and the late emperor greatly appreciated it. As a result, he received five appointment documents from the emperor within three days!
When he was the judge of the Sino-Agricultural Temple and the inspector of the fifth office of the Secretariat, his outstanding political achievements earned him the respect of Wang Anshi. Later, he and Lu Huiqing jointly presided over the creation of new laws such as the Qingmiao system, the Zhuyi system, the Baojia system, and the agricultural water conservancy system!

After that, the new law became popular and he was therefore given important positions. He served as the daily recorder, the editor of imperial edicts, the Hanlin academician and the director of the three ministries. In every position he held, he achieved remarkable political achievements!

So, Zeng Zixuan still needs to prove himself to a young boy?

When Su Yun saw Zeng Bu stroking his beard with satisfaction, he knew what he was thinking. He couldn't help but shake his head and laughed, "It turns out that Minister Zeng is just a frog in the well. He thinks he is superior to others just because he has achieved a small achievement. It's ridiculous, ridiculous!"

At this time, the Minister of Revenue Li Chang said in a deep voice: "Ju Zheng, don't be rude to your seniors. Although you are higher in official rank than Minister Zeng, Minister Zeng's experience is much deeper than that of a junior like you. Don't be so rude!"

Hearing Li Chang's words, Su Yun hurriedly bowed to Zeng Bu and apologized, saying, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I was rude!
Even if you, the older generation, cannot keep up with the times and have a narrow vision, as a younger generation, you should not laugh at me.

After all, your great achievements in the past cannot be erased. Even if you just rest on your laurels now, you can still enjoy a living for another 10 to 20 years.

"I really shouldn't be so rude, kid! I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

As soon as these words came out, there was a burst of laughter from the back. Zeng Bu's face suddenly darkened and he said, "You young boy! What nonsense! I am not old enough to take advantage of my age. You say that I am resting on my laurels. Then I want to see how capable the young people today are.
Su Yun, since you look down on the contributions I have made, then tell me, if you were in charge of the three yamen of Du Shui Jian, Jiang Zuo Jian, and Tun Tian Si, how much annual income could you contribute to the court besides water control?"

Su Yun smiled lightly and said, "You can give the court an annual income of more than one million strings of cash. If I can't give you multiples, you will definitely be dissatisfied, so..."

Zeng Bu suddenly said, "If you can stop asking the court for money to control the floods every year, and contribute the same amount of annual revenue to the court, and sign a military order, I will persuade the Ministry of Revenue to hand over the three ministries to you!"

Su Yun raised his eyebrows and was about to speak, but he heard Su Shi say, "Zixuan, don't frame my nephew here. The court spends more than hundreds of thousands of dollars every year to treat the yellow river. You want Su Yun to not ask the court for money, but give the court more than one million strings of cash every year?
This so-called annual income of over one million is probably something you made up. In recent years, has the Chief of Construction taken over any decent construction project? And where did the Military Farm Administration find so much wasteland to reclaim?
Haha, with an annual income of over 1 million guan, I'm afraid it's a deficit of over 1 million guan, right?"

As soon as these words were spoken, all the ministers looked at Zeng Bu, and even Empress Dowager Gao was a little confused.

Zeng Bu spread his hands, laughed and said: "I have met an expert. Yes, that is the fact. These three government offices are indeed not doing well. Every year, a lot of money has to be allocated from the Ministry of Revenue to subsidize the craftsmen, otherwise they will not be able to operate at all.

Why do you think the late emperor gave these departments to our Ministry of Revenue? That wasn’t an infringement of our rights, but a way of throwing a package at us!
Well, since you want it today, just take it. We in the Ministry of Revenue will be happy and relieved.

However, since Minister Su has said so much today, I will not let go without a military order. I would rather keep it in my hands and continue to carry this burden than hand over the three ministries to the Ministry of Works!"

Su Shi said angrily: "Zeng Zixuan, this is official business, not the place for you to act willfully. The Queen Mother is here, the Emperor is here, and all the ministers are here, so this is not the place for you to play around!"

Zeng Bu sneered and said, "Su Zizhan, others may say that I am willful, but how can you, Su Zizhan, be so qualified?

Moreover, I am actually being willful, but I am afraid of handing these three ministries over to some irresponsible child. If something big happens, won’t the court be the one that gets hurt?
When the time comes, won’t it be our Ministry of Revenue that will be responsible for cleaning up the mess?
Therefore, he needs to sign a military order in person before I can believe that he has this intention! "

Su Shi and Zeng Bu were classmates in the second year of Jiayou, and Su Shi knew Zeng Bu's temperament well. Seeing his expression, he knew that Zeng Bu was determined to go against Su Yun, so he could only persuade Su Yun.

Su Shi looked at Su Yun and said, "Ju Zheng, don't act rashly."

Su Yun and Su Shi made a reassuring expression, then turned around and smiled at Zeng Bu, "Today, in front of the Queen Mother, the Emperor, and the officials of the court, I will once again sign a military order. If I cannot contribute more than one million strings of cash to the court every year, then please remove my official position and my fame, and I will be a commoner from now on!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the whole court was in an uproar.

At this time, the Minister of Revenue Li Chang said: "Su Yun, think about it first, this is not a place to joke, and managing these three ministries is indeed not as easy as you think.

The Du Shui Jian has a heavy responsibility. If something goes wrong, countless people will suffer. This cannot be taken lightly at all."

Su Yun nodded and said, "Minister Li, there are naturally professionals in charge of water management, but I can guarantee that if the Capital Water Supervision is handed over to my Ministry of Works, I can maintain the same investment standards as in previous years and will not deduct a penny.

Moreover, the money will definitely come from the Ministry of Industry, not the Ministry of Finance to fill the hole.

Similarly, the salaries of all staff members in the General Administration of Works will be paid by my Ministry of Works during the period when I serve as the Minister of Works, and the court will not have to worry about it.

As for the Military Farm Administration, the number of military farms will be maintained at the same level as in previous years.

In addition, the Ministry of Works would pay more than one million strings of cash in taxes to the Ministry of Revenue every year.

If I cannot do any of the things I mentioned above, please dismiss me from my post without complaint!"

As soon as these words came out, Zeng Bu burst into laughter and said, "You are indeed a brat. Do you know that after these incidents, your Ministry of Works will not have an annual income of two to three million strings of cash, and how can you fill this hole?
I, Zeng Zixuan, will not cheat you. You can think about it again, and then ask the Queen Mother, the officials, and the officials of the court to discuss it, so as not to accuse me of bullying a child, haha."

(End of this chapter)