The most romantic little emperor

After saying this, he glanced at Su Zhengfang out of the corner of his eye, and all of this was caught by Su Zhengfang.

Su Zhengfang felt that he was provoking him, and felt that he was talking about him. He was furious. "Damn old thing, I didn't kill you last time, but I will never let you get away easily next time."

Suddenly, he was startled and broke out in a cold sweat. Did Xie An know something? Or did he find out that he was colluding with officials and businessmen in Hedong?

This shouldn't be the case! I didn't even tell my own son about what I did, so it's even more impossible for him to know. Now that Xie An has exposed this matter, the court already knows about it. It's only a matter of time before something happens in Hedong. I have to give it up as soon as possible. Su Zhengfang has made up his mind and made a decision.

All the civil and military officials in the hall were shocked to hear that the price of grain had risen to such an extent.

These people are usually high and mighty, and all their minds are focused on eating, drinking and having fun. How could they care about things like food prices? If no one tells them, they probably won't know.

Qin Hao had already known about this yesterday, so he was not surprised. Instead, he asked Lu Yuanshan, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, who was not far away, to tell him whether Xie An's memorial was true.

When Lu Yuanshan heard that Xie An impeached the Ministry of Revenue, he felt that he could not hide anymore and would definitely be pushed to the front. At this moment, he did not dare to breathe and wished he could become invisible and become a transparent man.

As a result, the prince really asked him directly. Facing the prince's question, Lu Yuanshan knelt down on the ground, feeling uneasy and panic-stricken. He stammered, "Your Highness, this is indeed the case. Mr. Xie's report is very true. I just learned about it yesterday. I have arranged for people to conduct an open and secret investigation. I believe there will be results soon."

At this time, Su Zhengfang stood up from his seat and said, "Your Highness, I did not expect that such a serious incident would happen in the capital during my illness, and the Ministry of Revenue was also involved. I am deeply saddened. It is because of my poor management. Please give me some time. I will definitely investigate the matter thoroughly. I will not show mercy to any official who neglects his duties, abuses his power, or engages in malpractice for personal gain or corruption. I will punish them severely and give an explanation to all officials in the court and to the people of the world."

After Su Zhengfang finished speaking, he turned his head and looked at Lu Yuanshan who was kneeling on the ground. Since you are unkind, don't blame me for being unjust.

I haven't even had two days of rest at home and you're already jumping around in the Ministry of Revenue, eliminating dissidents and arranging your own confidants to take positions. This time I'll kill you.

Qin Hao ignored Su Zhengfang's request.

He thought for a moment and said directly: "My fellow ministers, the most important thing now is to stabilize prices. The price of grain in the capital is rising every day, and it has tripled or quadrupled compared to the initial price. Some people are taking the opportunity to hoard grain and make huge profits. It's really abominable."

"Minister Su, you are a senior official in the court and in charge of the Ministry of Revenue. Tell me, how can we lower the grain prices in the capital?"

This put Su Zhengfang in a dilemma. The national treasury was empty and there was not much money and grain left. How could he stabilize the prices? Should he take action against the grain merchants? Wouldn't that be asking for his life?

Behind all the grain merchants in the capital, there are wealthy families. How could he offend them? Moreover, Su Zhengfang had been colluding with them for a long time and had reaped all the dividends. The benefits of dividends were huge. Every time the grain price went up by a penny, he could get a huge share. It was impossible for him to go against money.

Su Zhengfang weighed the pros and cons in his mind, and said helplessly: "Your Highness, why did the grain price rise so quickly and so high? This must have a lot to do with the severe drought in Hedong and the failure of the harvest. As long as Lord Guo Jia quickly completes the disaster relief mission, I believe that the grain price will soon fall back to its original price."

"Also, the autumn harvest is about to begin. I heard that Suzhou and Huaihai were not affected by the disaster this year, so the harvest must be very good. In addition to collecting grain taxes, the court can also purchase more grain and ship it to the disaster-stricken areas. Grain prices will surely fall quickly."

"As for the claim that many grain merchants in the capital have raised prices, I will ask the officials of the Ministry of Revenue to verify this immediately. Once the verification is clear, the Ministry of Revenue will punish them if necessary and shut down or rectify their business if necessary. We must not allow grain prices to soar indefinitely."

Hearing Su Zhengfang's words, Qin Hao nodded repeatedly to show his approval, and praised generously: "My fellow ministers, look at what a pillar is. This is the pillar of the country. Minister Su is your role model."

"Sir Su, I will let you handle this matter. When you are done, I will ask my father to celebrate your success."

"As for those corrupt officials in the Ministry of Revenue who neglect their duties and commit corruption, you will be the one to deal with them. I hate these bad apples and will fire them completely and will never employ them."

"I'm counting on you, my king."

Su Zhengfang laughed and said, "Your Highness, this is too serious. Don't worry, I will do my best until my death and I will definitely handle this matter properly."

After listening to the conversation between the Crown Prince and Su Zhengfang, Lu Yuanshan, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat and collapsed to the ground. It was all over. Su Zhengfang was going to attack his own people, and he probably couldn't escape his clutches either.

At this time, Zhu Gui, the Duke of Zhu, stepped forward and said with a smile, "Sir Su, today is the third day. Has the Ministry of Revenue prepared the salary owed to my Suzaku Guard? It's time to pay it! The soldiers in the army are waiting for your help."

Su Zhengfang did not forget to step hard on Lu Yuanshan and asked, "Minister Lu, has the Ministry of Revenue raised the money promised to Duke Zhu?"

When Lu Yuanshan heard Su Zhengfang's question, he felt cold in his heart. Have you raised the money? Don't you have any idea? I want to raise the money, but your people are hindering me everywhere. Now you are asking me. How can you be so good at taking advantage of others' misfortune?

Since you are unkind, don't blame me for being unjust. Let's wait and see.

Lu Yuanshan knelt on the ground and kowtowed, saying, "Your Highness, I failed to do my job well and failed to raise money for the Suzaku Guard. I am willing to be punished and will let you deal with me as you wish."

When Duke Zhu heard that no money had been raised, he immediately became furious and rebuked: "Lu Yuanshan, do you know what you are saying? You want to evade responsibility with just one word of punishment. Have you ever thought about the tens of thousands of soldiers who are still waiting for money to support their families? Have you ever thought about their families who are still starving? You are unforgivable. I request that Your Highness severely punish Lu Yuanshan to serve as a warning to others."

There were many different opinions among the civil and military officials in the court, and all of them wanted to severely punish Lu Yuanshan.

Su Zhengfang looked at Lu Yuanshan coldly, ignored his pleas, and stood by and watched.

Lu Yuanshan suddenly felt sad, as if his whole world had collapsed. He was surrounded by verbal abuse and humiliation from his colleagues. Even some people who were usually close to him kept their distance from him for fear of being implicated.

At this moment, he finally realized how fickle the world is and how it meant that everyone would turn against him when he fell.