From a freeloader to a world leader

Just as various buildings were being constructed intensively inside and outside Hengzhou City, and the Datong Cup singing preliminaries were being held.

A rare scene in the past decade or so also occurred in the Golden Throne Hall.

Emperor Yuanfeng sat on the high dragon throne, looking at the noisy ministers in the Golden Palace. Finally, he could no longer suppress his anger, smashed the teacup in his hand under the dragon throne, and shouted angrily: "Shut up!"

The smashing of the cup and the angry shout.

Immediately, more than 100 ministers looked up in surprise, and then Emperor Yuanfeng stood up from the dragon throne.

In the memories of all the ministers, Emperor Yuanfeng was an emperor who was easy to talk to. Basically, as long as everyone opposed him, he would hide his ideas.

To put it nicely, this is called listening to advice.

To put it bluntly, this is called cowardice.

Today, no one expected that for such a trivial matter as a trip to Hengzhou, the usually gentle Emperor Yuanfeng would actually smash a cup.

Wang Deqiang thought about it and reacted first, saying, "Your Majesty, please don't be angry. You might get yourself in trouble. We are negotiating the safety and expenses of your trip. You know, the treasury is empty now, and we haven't received our salaries for two months."

As he spoke, Wang Deqiang glanced at the Minister of Revenue Lu Jinxi without waiting for Emperor Yuanfeng to speak, signaling him to continue persuading him.

"emperor-----"

As the core figure of Wang's party, Lu Jinxi had to bite the bullet and shout at the moment when Emperor Yuanfeng was furious.

But just as he was about to persuade him, Emperor Yuanfeng interrupted him forcefully and waved his left hand very firmly: "Shut up, my safety and expenses are all covered by my royal fund, and you ministers don't need to worry about it."

As soon as these words were spoken, the Golden Palace became boiling again.

what?

Costs and security are covered by the Royal Fund?

Although, everyone knows that these days, many princes and princes have come to the capital in person or sent their sons to participate in the Royal Trust Foundation initiated by Heng Wang Yang Yuanqing.

But I didn’t expect that in just five or six days, not only the Royal Foundation was established.

Moreover, they had to bear the expenses and safety of Emperor Yuanfeng's first trip since he ascended the throne.

Then, those of us who control the emperor are just decorations, aren't we?

"Your Majesty, this must not be done. It must not be done!"

Lu Jinxi was interrupted and waved his hands, pretending to be in a panic as if his parents had died: "You are the ruler of a country, how can you leave the capital so easily? Only when you sit in this golden throne, I, an old minister, and the people of the world can have peace of mind."

"Nonsense!"

Who would have known that today, Emperor Yuanfeng seemed to have eaten rat poison. He not only smashed the cups, but also started swearing.

"This country is ours. Whether it is in the Golden Throne Room or not, does that mean it is no longer ours? Doesn't it mean it is not ours? Doesn't it mean it is not ours? Doesn't it mean it is not ours?"

Emperor Yuanfeng pointed at the ministers who all looked strange and said, "Just now you were talking about the expenses. Now you don't have to worry about Lian's travel, and the Imperial Guards are responsible for his safety. So what do you have to worry about?"

Emperor Yuanfeng lowered his voice slightly and became sentimental: "Since entering the Forbidden City, Lian has been sitting in this throne room for ten years. Although he handles countless events every day, he thinks he is a diligent and good emperor."

"But why is the national treasury becoming increasingly empty, the internal treasury of the Union becoming increasingly poor, and the lives of the people of the world becoming increasingly difficult? Tell me, why is this happening?"

After hearing these words, more than 100 ministers lowered their heads.

Because what Emperor Yuanfeng said was true.

The current emperor in the Golden Throne Hall is much more obedient and diligent than the previous two.

However, this was the case with the Sui Empire: it became more dilapidated, poorer, and its territory smaller year by year.

In the first year of Emperor Yuanfeng's reign, the annual tax silver was nearly 2000 million taels, and the tax revenue and expenditure were basically balanced, and there was even a slight surplus. The territory also extended to the Wild Camp Grassland in the north and Jiannan area of ​​the Qinghai Plateau in the west.

Now, twelve years later, tax revenue has shrunk to 1400 million taels, a % decrease.

The territory also shrunk by about 20% to 30%, and the dangerous areas in the northwest gradually fell into the hands of a few barbarians of Ye Meng.

"Why don't you speak? Who can tell Lian what happened to Lian's country?"

Seeing that everyone was shrinking like eggplants hit by frost, Emperor Yuanfeng couldn't help but feel blood boiling. He shouted loudly: "So, I'm listening to Prince Heng's report. In just half a year, Hengzhou has undergone earth-shaking changes. Not only has the population doubled, but the tax revenue has increased from just over 10000 taels a month to 10 taels by the end of last year-----"

Emperor Yuanfeng stretched out his hands and waved them vigorously twice, his voice so high that it seemed to penetrate the lifeless Golden Throne Hall: "10 taels! It has increased tenfold! Ten times, did you hear that?"

The almost hysterical roar of Emperor Yuanfeng stimulated the ministers who had been bowing their heads to turn their heads left and right to look.

Ministers like Wang Deqiang and Lu Jinxi, who had already known about Hengzhou's taxation and were planning to replace their personnel, were better off.

However, a considerable number of ministers who had only heard of Hengzhou and did not know the real situation started to shout like chickens with their necks pinched: "Really? Is there really 10 taels of tax silver?"

Some even stopped the Minister of Revenue, Lu Jinxi, and asked, "Lord Lu, please tell us, is this true?"

Lu Jinxi looked at the expressions of Wang Deqiang and Emperor Yuanfeng, and nodded awkwardly: "It's true. The auction in Hengzhou at the end of last month paid 5 taels of tax silver. Add to that the income by the end of the year, so it's naturally more."

After hearing this, no one cared about Lu Jinxi's analysis.

Anyway, Hengzhou did collect 100,000 taels of silver in taxes in one month!

My God, the imperial capital Yangzhou has a population of over 100 million, and it seems that the tax silver is just around this amount.

It seems that Chuzhou, the capital of Hengzhou, only collects more than 200,000 taels of tax a year?

At this time, Zeng Ziqiang, the Minister of War and the one who was most anxious for money, shouted anxiously: "Lord Lu, have the taxes in Hengzhou been collected? Our Ministry of War has been delaying the payment of military funds for three or four months. If you don't give us money, there will be a mutiny!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire hall seemed to be poured with a bucket of cold water.

Everyone stared at Zeng Ziqiang, who had a beard and looked rude but was actually cunning and greedy.

I thought to myself, you are a bottomless pit!

Last year, the tax revenue was 1400 million taels, and your military department alone took up half of it. And you still say that we are owed wages? Who would believe that?

You keep talking about a military mutiny. If you have the guts, go ahead and do it. I’ll see if you’ll be the first to die.

At present, the expenses of the entire Sui Empire mainly come from three major areas: military expenses, officials' salaries, and supporting the descendants of the royal family.

Because the amount of tax collected is getting less and less, all industries and sectors are greatly affected.

Even the high-ranking officials in the Golden Palace had been owed two or three months' salary and had no income.

Although, for these senior officials, the salary is just a tip.

However, for some minor officials in the capital who had no extra income, life was extremely difficult.

I heard that some minor officials have either found ways to make money in private, or have tried every possible means to take bribes.

There are even a small number of officials who resigned from their posts and simply gave up their official positions.

After all, the expenses in the capital are too high.

Another very strange thing is that although the money in hand is getting less and less, the prices are getting higher.

These people don't understand the reason behind this, but let Sun Shan explain that as the chaos intensified throughout the empire, wealth was rapidly concentrating in the hands of the top powerful families.

As a result, the rich became richer, while the poor could not even afford to eat.

Moreover, these high-ranking officials in the imperial court only know how to cut costs but not how to increase revenue. Only by creating job opportunities like those in Hengzhou can wealth roll in quickly.

This will form a virtuous circle and everyone will become richer and richer.

It can be said that the entire empire, except for a few places like Hengzhou, was caught in a deep state of inflation and deflation.