My subjects are too rebellious!

Seeing Heshen begging for mercy desperately, Qin Chuan decided not to tease him anymore.

"Wait a minute."

"Let him go."

"Thank you for sparing my life, Your Majesty. I will never dare to do it again, never again."

The moment Qin Chuan spoke out to stop him, Heshen knew that his life was over.

Saved.

He knelt on the ground and didn't dare to stand up. He didn't know whether it was because his legs were weak or because he really respected the emperor.

But that look seemed much clearer.

Looking at the loyalty score of 66 on Heshen's head, Qin Chuan was very satisfied.

"System prompt: Kill two corrupt eunuchs and you will be rewarded with 100,000 taels of silver."

Looking at the extra 100,000 taels of silver on the imperial desk, Qin Chuan smiled.

Now he had 12600 taels of silver in his private treasury, so he was no longer a poor emperor.

The money in the Imperial Household Department is the national treasury.

Even if Qin Chuan is the emperor, he cannot use it at will.

If there is no legitimate reason, those officials will jointly submit a petition.

"Heshen, tell me which are the largest banks in our Wu Dynasty now."

Heshen didn't understand why His Majesty asked these questions, but since His Majesty asked, he had to answer truthfully.

"Your Majesty, the most famous bank for this number of tickets is the Hedong Bank, known as the Shanxi Gang."

"This Hedong Bank is located in all major cities in the Wu Dynasty, and it is the only one that dominates."

"But when the previous emperor was in power, he supported a bank in Anqing Prefecture called Yuanfengrun, hoping to use it to counter the dominance of the Hedong bank."

"The boss of Yuan Fengrun is a smart and articulate man. He has firmly established himself in Anqing Prefecture by relying on the privileges granted by the late emperor."

"And starting from Anqing Prefecture, it spread to the surrounding areas such as Zhili, Suzhou, Jiangxia Prefecture and ancient Yuzhou."

"There are 36 Yuanfengrun banks of all sizes in various counties, states, and prefectures."

"It can be said that together with the Hedong Bank, they occupy half of the territory of my Wu Dynasty."

After hearing this, Qin Chuan began to understand the meaning.

Doesn’t that mean that these banks are richer than my court?

"Then why can't this bank be run by the imperial court?"

"This... to answer your majesty, I'm afraid this is inappropriate."

Heshen raised his head and glanced at Qin Chuan cautiously.

He said with some embarrassment: "This Hedong Bank has some connection with Empress Wu's family."

"And Yuan Fengrun was supported by the late emperor and later handed over to the empress dowager for management, so..."

Qin Chuan understood all of this completely.

No wonder these two women had the confidence to change dynasties. It turns out that they had money supporting them.

"This silver was originally made by the imperial court. If I must replace these two banks."

"He Shen, do you have any solution?"

Having said that, Heshen glanced at Qin Chuan who was sitting on the dragon throne, and seemed to understand.

"Your Majesty, you don't know."

"These silver and copper coins are legal tender and circulate among the people."

"Because there are so many types of coins, there are "gold back", "fire addition", "ingot edge" and so on in the coin making alone. The key is the quality."

"Moreover, the exchange rates between minted coins, private coins and silver fluctuate frequently."

"Therefore, money houses that operated the silver-to-money exchange business came into being."

"It is not impossible for the imperial court to establish its own bank, but I am afraid it will not be recognized by the people."

Qin Chuan thought about it and realized that this was the truth.

The whole court is filled with corrupt officials who abuse their power and exploit the people.

The common people would rather avoid them than take the initiative to hand over money to these people.

It's difficult. It seems that we must first establish prestige and strengthen the court's credibility in the hearts of the people before we can replace these private money houses.

"Heshen, are you familiar with this Yuan Zai?"

When Heshen heard this name, he understood.

"Your Majesty, I know the Minister of Finance Yuan Zaiyuan, but I'm not very familiar with him."

Qin Chuan sneered in his heart, but did not expose it.

And the fat guy is not honest.

"Does he obey the law, be diligent and frugal, and love the people?"

"this..."

Looking at Heshen's dead fish eyes rolling around, Qin Chuan knew that he must be thinking of how to fool me.

"He Shen, think it over before you speak. If what you describe does not match what I have found, then the consequences..."

"So, do you understand?"

When Heshen heard these threatening words, he felt distressed in his heart.

What are these things?

My heart is so miserable with my baby.

"Your Majesty, I dare not deceive you no matter what. I beg your Majesty to understand."

"Then tell me, is Yuan Zai an honest official?"

"Your Majesty, I really have no connection with this Lord Yuan. I only know that Lord Yuan has a habit."

"He is keen on building large-scale buildings and houses."

Qin Chuan glanced at Heshen coldly: money, house, and women.

Isn’t this the trilogy of all corrupt officials?

"Okay, I came to you today for only one thing."

Heshen immediately sat up straight and looked at Qin Chuan seriously.

He looked like a truly loyal minister who was one of a kind throughout the ages.

"I want to establish a private army of about 5,000 people."

"I don't want to transfer them from the Ministry of War. I want you to find five thousand orphans for me."

"These orphans must be strictly screened, and those with smart minds or a talent for martial arts will be given priority."

"I'll leave this matter to you. Are you sure about it?"

When I heard it was a private army, and there were 5,000 of them.

Heshen wanted to roll his eyes and fall to the ground at that moment.

Asking for money is like asking for his life...

"Your Majesty, the Ministry of Internal Affairs is out of money. All we have left is some small change at the bottom of the box."

"Even if I have this intention, I can't do anything about it."

Qin Chuan stood up and shouted, "You bold Heshen, you bribed the people around me with 50,000 taels at a time."

"I'm asking you to do something for me now, and you tell me you don't have money?"

"Have you embezzled all my treasury?"

Heshen felt so wronged that he immediately knelt down and complained with tears and snot.

"Your Majesty, I am truly wronged."

"The court built a mausoleum for the late emperor in Mount Li, which must cost money."

"Your Majesty, in the years since you ascended the throne, the court has been busy with construction projects every year, and those provincial governors also need funding every year."

"Several generals of the imperial court often use the slogan that foreign tribes in the border areas are disturbing the people and march their troops in large numbers."

"All of this costs money, Your Majesty. You need money from my Ministry of Internal Affairs. Where do I get so much money?"

At the end of his speech, Heshen actually started crying.

That voice sounded like that of a bullied young wife, feeling extremely aggrieved.

Qin Chuan had no choice but to come to Heshen and pat him on the shoulder.

"My dear, I know you are suffering, but I am suffering too."

"The court is now under threat from eight foreign powers, and from within, the left and right prime ministers are disrupting government affairs."

"In the harem, there are two queens who want to harm me."

"Tell me, if it were you, wouldn't you be eager to cultivate your own confidants?"

Heshen wiped his tears and listened carefully to the emperor's words.

My heart felt warm.

Your Majesty treats me as one of your own.

"Hurry up and get up. We'll discuss the matter of the five thousand private soldiers later."

Heshen heard the unwillingness in the emperor's voice and quickly stood up and spoke seriously.

"Your Majesty, leave this matter to me."

"I promise to do this beautifully for Your Majesty."

"I will never let your Majesty down."

Qin Chuan looked at the loyalty level of 77 shown on Heshen’s head and was very happy.

It seems that my acting skills are still pretty good. By coaxing, deceiving, and giving rewards after a beating, I can actually increase the loyalty of the person.

Although I was happy in my heart, I couldn't show it on my face.

"He Aiqing, I hope it won't be too difficult for you."

"If it's difficult, don't worry. You can do it later when you have more money."

He Shen immediately said firmly.

"Don't worry, I will definitely raise money for your majesty and get this done properly."

"In that case, my dear, please go quickly."

"I obey your command! Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace. Long live Your Majesty!"

After He Shen left, Qin Chuan was so excited that he wanted to shout "Awesome!"

But look at Zhang Rang and Zhengxiang standing on the left and right of the throne.

"If even a word of what happened today gets out, you know the consequences."

"Especially you! Zhang Rang."

Zhang Rang, who was watching his nose with his eyes and his heart with his nose, knelt down immediately to show that he dared not hear the shout.