Secrets of Yuqing Palace

Therefore, when facing Kangxi's questions, Yin'er's worries and anger were real, without any act at all.

Kangxi asked calmly, "Then do you know where all the money in the treasury went?"

Yinzhen: "When Khan Ama asks questions, I dare not refuse to answer."

"After my son discovered the treasury was empty, he did check where the silver had gone."

"In addition to the annual military expenditures for the Eight Banners and the army, there are also large sums of money for disaster relief and water conservancy projects, totaling nearly 20 million taels of silver, all of which were borrowed by relatives and ministers."

Kangxi suddenly looked at Yinzhen below, his eyes as sharp as torches, as if he wanted to burn Yinzhen to ashes.

"What did you say?!"

"Nearly 20 million taels of silver?"

Yinzhen: "It is indeed nearly 20 million taels of silver. My son did not lie."

Kangxi slammed the table.

"Liang Jiugong, summon Zhang Yushu to see me!"

Liang Jiugong: "Yeah."

After waiting for about half an hour, Zhang Yushu followed the young eunuch into the Qianqing Palace.

When he saw the Ninth Prince sitting in the hall, he knew why the emperor had summoned him to an audience.

He knelt down tremblingly and greeted.

"Your humble servant pays homage to His Majesty. Long live the Emperor."

Kangxi waved his hand, "Alright, get up quickly."

He threw the letter in front of Zhang Yushu with an impatient look.

"have a look."

Zhang Yushu: "Yeah."

See Zhang Yushu finish reading the contents of the memorial.

"Does Lord Zhang have any objections to the contents of this memorial?"

Zhang Yushu bowed and replied, "Your Majesty, I have no objection."

"Now the treasury is empty, and I am helpless."

Kangxi looked calmly at the old minister standing below.

"Then, my dear minister, could you explain to me why the treasury is so empty? It's less than two million taels of silver."

"If the imperial court allocates funds to purchase grain, wouldn't the huge treasury be empty?"

"Is this what you, the Minister of Revenue, do?"

"I trust you and make you the Minister of Revenue, letting you manage the purse strings of the Qing Dynasty. Is this how you manage it for me?"

"Leaving the Qing Dynasty's purse empty?"

"Zhang Yushu, what crime have you committed?!"

Zhang Yushu knelt down and kowtowed, saying, "Your Majesty, please forgive me!"

"Your Majesty, the national treasury has large expenditures every year for military expenditures, disaster relief, and the construction of water conservancy projects such as dams and roads."

"In addition, the families of the clan members and ministers are in financial difficulties and often go to the Ministry of Revenue to borrow money. This..."

"This old minister deserves death."

Kangxi snorted coldly, without saying whether he believed it or not. He just looked at the person kneeling on the ground with a cold gaze and asked back.

"How much silver can a clan minister borrow?"

"I was worried that some ministers might be in financial difficulty, so I kindly asked them to lend me some money to help them out."

"Could it be that all of my relatives and ministers are in dire straits? Do they all have to borrow money from the Ministry of Revenue to make ends meet?!"

Sensing the doubt in the emperor's words, Zhang Yushu lowered his head slightly, glanced at the Ninth Prince Yinzhen who was sitting next to him with a pout, and then continued to reply calmly.

"Your Majesty, please forgive me. There is nothing I can do about this matter."

"The ministers of the royal family came to the Ministry of Revenue to borrow money. With the Emperor's order and the signature of the Eighth Master, I cannot disobey."

"And the price can range from a few thousand taels to tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands."

"That's why most of the money in the national treasury is now exchanged for debts."

Yin'er's eyes met Zhang Yushu's. He frowned slightly and then quickly looked away.

Kangxi narrowed his eyes slightly and asked in a deep voice, "My dear, are you saying that all the IOUs were signed by the Eighth Prince?"

"And the officials who borrowed silver all owed large sums?"

Zhang Yushu replied respectfully, "It was the Eighth Prince who was in charge of the Ministry of Revenue's loan."

"If the emperor doesn't believe the amount of the debt, I can present the Ministry of Revenue's account book of loans and debts."

Kangxi was furious and threw the teacup on the table.

"This bastard!"

After saying this, he turned around and glanced at Yinzhen below, and saw that the other party seemed to be lost in thought about something.

After feeling Khan Ama's burning gaze, Yinzhen immediately knelt down.

"Khan Ama, calm down. Be careful not to get too angry and hurt your body."

"I think the starling may have been deceived, which is why such a serious consequence occurred."

Kangxi snorted coldly, unwilling to talk more about this matter.

"Zhang Yushu, I give you three days!"

"Sort out all the money owed by the Ministry of Revenue."

"I want to see which of these clan ministers are so poor that they can't even support their families and have to borrow money from the Ministry of Revenue to support them, and even see how staggering the amount is!"

"Old Nine, you are best at arithmetic, so go with Minister Zhang."

Yinzhen was stunned for a moment, then nodded and said, "Yes, son, I understand."

After the two left the Qianqing Palace, Zhang Yushu looked at the Ninth Prince in front of him meaningfully and bowed.

"Master Ninth Prince, I will return to the Ministry of Revenue first. His Majesty has instructed us to deal with some matters as soon as possible. I wonder if Master Ninth Prince would like to come with us?"

Yinzhen was stunned for a moment, then nodded.

"Since Khan Ama needs it so urgently, let's hurry back to the Ministry of Revenue to deal with what Khan Ama has asked us to do."

After the two of them left the palace, they got on two carriages one after the other.

Yinzhen ordered another personal eunuch beside him.

"Xiao Yinzi, go to the Tenth Prince's Mansion in person."

"Tell the Tenth Prince that His Majesty will probably deal with the matter in the court in three days."

"Then ask Master Shi to send some good food to the Ministry of Revenue these days."

"Master Jiu will be busy for a few days. If he doesn't eat and drink well, he will be useless."

Xiao Yinzi bowed and replied, "Yes, I will go right away."

After Xiao Yinzi left, Yinzhen leaned against the carriage.

"Xiao Jinzi, pour Master Jiu a cup of hot tea."

Xiao Jinzi: "Yes."

Yinzhen drank tea happily, wondering how the old man would deal with the eighth brother after this incident.

........

Seeing that the ninth prince followed Khan Ama to the Qianqing Palace, the other princes had many guesses in their minds.

After Yinreng returned to Yuqing Palace, he was also waiting for news.

It was not until he heard the news from the young eunuch that the Minister of Revenue Zhang Yushu was summoned to the Qianqing Palace by the Emperor, and the sound of teacups breaking was heard from the Qianqing Palace, that he knew the matter was settled.

Originally, he didn't want to target Lao Ba.

After all, in his heart, the stability of his position does not depend on his brothers, but on the emperor Khan Ama.

The only one who could shake his position was the emperor who was high above him.

But the Eighth Brother's jumping around was really annoying, and he also wanted Khan Ama to see the true face of the Eighth Brother, and let him take a good look at what kind of person this person, whom he personally selected to assist the eldest brother Yinzhen, was.

Only when his brothers' shortcomings and ambitions were revealed to Khan Ama could he see the importance of himself as the prince.

As long as he is the crown prince, those princes who want to seize the throne must first pass the crown prince's test. Isn't this a layer of protection for the emperor?

If he, the crown prince, were to die, those ambitious people would no longer be fighting for the crown prince's position, but the throne!

By then, will Khan Ama still feel at ease?

Therefore, even if it is for the dragon throne under his butt, no matter how wary Khan Ama is, he will keep his position as the crown prince!

After all, sometimes the position of crown prince is a glaring target.

Thinking of this, Yinreng showed an ambiguous sneer on his face.

【Khan Ama, ah Khan Ama. 】

[I never thought that we, father and son, would reach this point.]

[I don't know if it's fate or human nature.]