I want to ruin the country

When Ruijin saw that the emperor had received so much money, he could not help it and bravely came to see the emperor.

"Your Majesty, you can't put all this money into the treasury. At least give me half!"

Yining laughed in his heart, but said,

"Let me ask you first, since the imperial court announced that summer grain will be tax-free this year, how have the people reacted?"

Ruijin pouted and said,

"Then what else is there to react to? They're all overjoyed. Throughout history, unless there was a major disaster, which dynasty would exempt taxes for no reason?"

Yining teased him,

"Look at what you said. You're not happy about my tax exemption!"

Ruijin said with a bitter face,

"The Emperor has exempted taxes, but they're still asking me for all sorts of expenses. My treasury is so poor that even the rats are starving and running away. What can I give them?"

Yining certainly understood.

"I'm asking you, how much was the Ministry of Revenue's annual revenue last year?"

Ruijin replied,

"Your Majesty, during the reign of the late Emperor, the Ministry of Revenue's average annual revenue was approximately 50 million taels, but the actual amount deposited into the treasury was 9.9 million taels. Last year's figure was lower than the average, at only 8.9943 million taels!"

Yining asked,

“Why has it decreased?”

Rui Jin was transferred to the position of Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue in the second half of last year. He replied,

"Well, I've only been at the Ministry of Revenue for six months, so I don't know the specific reason yet!"

Yining glanced at him.

"You are the purse strings of the imperial court, and yet you don't even know why you're missing over a million taels of silver a year? Are you qualified to be the former Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue?"

Ruijin had nothing to say and could only admit his mistake.

"I know my mistake!"

Yining sighed.

"I don't care about the past. From now on, you have to think carefully about how you want to be an official!

In my eyes, simply not being greedy or taking advantage of others is not enough to make you a good official. You must also do your job. Otherwise, I will replace you. I will not employ someone who just sits there and doesn't do anything. Do you understand?"

Ruijin was sweating and said,

"I understand! But how can I live on?"

Yining Road,

"When the summer grain arrives at the warehouse, I will transfer the money to you according to the amount of tax you should have collected.

Not only that, the imperial treasury will no longer ask you for money. Your life should be much better now, right?"

Ruijin has a toothache. You are a billionaire, but if you still borrow money from us poor people like the Ministry of Revenue, is there any justice in the world?

"Your Majesty, spring has arrived, the ground has thawed, and reports have arrived from Henan and Shandong that the Yellow River floods must be controlled!"

Yining Road,

"I didn't realize you were such a good official who cared about the country and the people!"

"Your Majesty, although I dare not call myself a good official, I am loyal to the emperor and I will never forget my duty!"

"I want to ask you, what would you do if you didn't have this money from me?"

Ruijin shook his head and sighed,

"I, a slave, have no other recourse but to borrow from here and there, rob Peter to pay Paul, and when the going gets tough, raise taxes. What else can I do?"

Yining Road,

"Don't mention raising taxes anymore. As long as I live, I can only reduce taxes, not increase them. Remember, even if I starve to death, I won't increase taxes!"

"Your Majesty loves the people, and I am deeply grateful for your kindness. However, I must live my life!"

Yining Road,

"Let's be frank. No matter how much money I have, I can't bring it with me when I'm born, and I can't take it with me when I die. This money will be spent on the people, but I don't want it to go through your Ministry of Revenue!"

Ruijin was anxious.

"Why?"

"Because you guys are too inefficient and wasteful, I can't afford you!"

"Your Majesty, why do you say this?"

Yining said coldly,

"Let's take the matter of confiscating property as an example. If we follow past practices, I'm afraid that even six or seven tenths of these hundreds of millions of silver will not reach my hands!

But now, I only employed one eunuch, Yi Guofang, and he returned all my money without missing a cent. Is what I said right or wrong?"

Ruijin had to admit it!

"But Your Majesty, the bad atmosphere in the officialdom can be rectified. You cannot vent your anger on me!"

"I will definitely rectify the administration. Don't you see I'm already taking action?"

Ruijin knew that what the emperor said was true. It had only been a few days since the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, and the emperor had done so much!

Not to mention the small matter of quitting smoking, the palace laid off employees, held auctions to raise money, provided porridge for relief, and forced his immediate superior Sai Shang'a to resign.

Prince Gong also went abroad to deal with Qi Ying and arrest the four young masters of the capital. He also issued a surrender order to rectify the administration and asked corrupt officials to confess within a month.

Oh, if you don’t think about it, you won’t know. This thought is really amazing!

"Your Majesty, I just realized that the Emperor has been playing a game of chess!"

Yining Road,

"I won't say anything else. I've already assigned the Yellow River flooding issue you mentioned to the Ministry of Works. I'll take whatever money is needed. Now you can rest assured, right?"

Ruijin felt a little disappointed, but he didn't dare show it.

"So His Majesty has already made arrangements. That's good. I can rest assured now!"

"Have you compiled the data I asked you to collect regarding the need for disaster relief?"

"The nearby states and counties have already received some rewards, but those far away haven't!"

"Then we'll start from the vicinity of the capital. We can't delay rescuing people. If it doesn't work in distant areas, we'll have the local officials provide porridge. I've said, no one must starve to death this year!"

"I will get started right away!"

Yining Road,

"How's the granary inspection going?"

Ruijin Road,

"I have already made the arrangements, and I will report back soon!"

Yining Road,

"I'll tell you again, I want the actual amount of food in stock. I must have the actual amount. Do you understand?"

After dealing with the emperor for these days, Ruijin also understood the emperor's style of doing things. He doesn't like to talk nonsense and only wants to speak the truth!

“The quantity is easy to check, but I can’t guarantee whether it’s actually true or not!”

Yining sneered,

"You're still asking me for money for this? I won't give you a cent!"

Ruijin fell to his knees. He could see that the emperor was angry!

"Your Majesty, deceiving superiors and concealing secrets from subordinates has always been the case. The grain storage has always been managed by Lord Mu Zhang Amu. I am unable to do anything about it. What can I do?"

"Before the wheat harvest, you must find a way to find out how much grain is in my official warehouse. If you do it well, I will forgive you. If you don't, you will have to bear the consequences yourself!"

Ruijin felt a cool breeze coming out from the groove of his spine.

I thought to myself, maybe the emperor heard something and is going to find trouble with Mu Zhang!

Everyone knows that Qi Ying and Mu Zhang'a are very close. If Qi Ying falls, the next one will be Mu Zhang'a. Is the arrest of Sai Ading a signal that the emperor is going to take action?

I still have to do this job well, otherwise, the emperor will classify me as one of Mu Zhang'a's gang, and I will never be able to clear myself even if I jump into the Yellow River!

He said hurriedly,

"I will definitely do it well. If anything goes wrong, I will bring my head to you!"

"Kneel down!"