Secrets of Yuqing Palace

A few days later.

The atmosphere in the entire court was dull and depressing, with a sense of solemnity and murderousness.

Kangxi looked at the ministers standing solemnly below, but their expressions varied: some looked frightened, some were scheming, and some were indifferent and content.

A surge of anger suddenly ignited in his heart. His expression remained unchanged, but his hands were tightly gripping the armrests of the dragon throne. Because he was holding on too tightly, his knuckles were turning a cold white.

Suddenly, he slapped the armrest of the dragon throne, stood up, and scanned the officials in the hall with his eyes as sharp as torches.

The corners of the dragon robe brought with them a hint of solemnity and murderousness as he moved, making the atmosphere in the hall even more cold.

His brows were furrowed, the corners of his mouth drooped, and his face looked so gloomy that it seemed as if water could drip out of it.

"I originally thought that under my rule, the entire Qing Dynasty would be peaceful and prosperous."

"But at least this is the capital!"

"This is the place where the emperor stands!"

"We can say that the people live and work in peace and contentment and are prosperous!"

"But I never expected that right under my nose, my trusted ministers, who were already so poor that they could barely make ends meet, were actually borrowing large sums of money from the national treasury!"

"If all the ministers are like this, then wouldn't the capital be littered with corpses?!"

Looking at the people below with their heads slightly lowered, I wonder what they are thinking.

Kangxi looked at Yinsi first.

"Eighth Prince!"

"You are in charge of the Ministry of Revenue. I want to ask you."

"Do you know that the national treasury is empty and the Ministry of Revenue is in deficit?"

When Khan Ama suddenly asked him about the national treasury, Yinsi felt a pang in his heart. He didn't expect that Khan Ama would find out so quickly.

But then he calmed down, took a deep breath, knelt down respectfully, and sincerely admitted his mistake.

"Your son...your son knows."

Kangxi asked sternly, "If you knew, why did you conceal it?!"

"Why did you borrow most of the silver in the national treasury?!"

"Do you know what the consequences of this will be?"

Yinsi knocked his head to the ground, his voice trembling slightly but clear.

"Khan Ama, calm down. I did borrow money while I was working at the Ministry of Revenue."

"But I didn't lend it out for no reason. I had many difficulties."

Seeing that Kangxi did not respond, he gritted his teeth and continued.

"Khan Ama, most of the ministers and relatives who came to the Ministry of Revenue to borrow silver have devoted themselves to the Qing Dynasty for many years and are Khan Ama's capable and loyal ministers."

"Their family was occasionally in financial difficulty, so they borrowed money from the Ministry of Revenue."

"Seeing their miserable faces and sincere words, and their daily hard work for the country, I really couldn't bear to refuse them."

Yinsi paused, secretly looked up at Kangxi's expression, and seeing that Kangxi's face was as gloomy as water, he quickly lowered his head and continued speaking.

"I, your son, also know the importance of the treasury money and dare not touch it rashly."

"But I remember that Khan Ama once mentioned that if a minister's family is in financial difficulty, he can borrow money from the Ministry of Revenue."

"I believe that the ministers who came to borrow silver have made contributions to the Qing Dynasty. I only want to lend it to them temporarily. Once they overcome the difficulties, I will definitely return it in full."

"At that time, I only wanted to relieve Khan Ama's worries and appease these capable officials for the court. I didn't want to disappoint the court officials."

"I never imagined that this would deplete the national treasury. I deserve death. I beg your forgiveness, Khan."

Kangxi looked at Yinsi with a deep gaze and sneered at his sophistry.

"As expected of the Eighth Wise King, often praised by the ministers."

"Eloquent, tactful, caring, virtuous and kind!"

He strode down the stairs with a sullen face, and every step seemed to step on the hearts of the officials in the hall.

"I originally thought that all those in this court were my trusted ministers, loyal to the emperor and patriotic."

"Now it seems that the trust I placed in you was genuine."

"I have my doubts about whether you are loyal to the emperor and patriotic."

"You're struggling financially? Can't make ends meet?"

Hearing the emperor's angry rebuke and questioning, almost all the relatives and ministers in the palace felt insecure.

He walked step by step to the front of the ministers and pointed at each of them.

His fingers kept shaking, not because of fear, but because of extreme anger.

Every minister who was accidentally pointed at by the emperor felt guilty and frightened when the emperor's gaze swept over him. Cold sweat slid down his forehead and almost flowed into his eyes, but he still dared not blink.

"Olundai, you have borrowed nearly 300,000 taels of silver from the national treasury. What's going on?"

"Is the First-Class Duke's Mansion so poor that it can't even afford to eat?"

"Or was it that my uncle Tong Guogang divided the family property before he went to the battlefield in the 29th year of the Ming Dynasty, giving all the family assets to Fahai and Kua Dai, leaving nothing for you?"

"You've been reduced to the point where you need to borrow money from the Ministry of Revenue to make ends meet?"

When Orondei was pointed out by the emperor himself, his face turned red and he couldn't say a word.

Everyone knew that he did not get along with Fahai, the illegitimate son, and he often argued with his father. When his father was alive, he often reported to the emperor that he was unfilial and asked the emperor to kill this rebellious son.

Now that His Majesty has said this, isn't that like peeling off your face in public and throwing it on the ground and stepping on it?

But facing the furious emperor, he shrank his neck, not daring to move at all, and his breathing became lighter.

Kangxi didn't even wait for him to reply and continued pointing to the next person.

"And you, Chang Tai!"

"I remember that before Sony passed away, the eldest branch of the family received the most when the family was divided. You inherited the title and became the Minister of the Imperial Guards. Not to mention your family's wealth, even the annual stipend is quite a lot!"

"Why did you borrow 50,000 taels of silver from the national treasury?"

Chang Tai had already received the news from the prince, and at this moment he just lowered his head, looking guilty.

Kangxi began to mention other names.

"Kui Xu, Mingzhu's condition has been so severe in recent years that the Nalan family has been struggling to afford medical treatment and medicine. They actually borrowed over 200,000 taels from the Ministry of Revenue?"

"If Ming Xiang's condition was serious, he should have informed me earlier so that I could have the judge go to the Nalan family to see Ming Xiang."

"After all, Prime Minister Ming was once a loyal minister of the Qing Dynasty. I cannot allow the people of the Qing Dynasty to think that I am too harsh on an old minister. I can't even afford to let the Nalan family pay for Prime Minister Ming's medical treatment, right?"

"I still have a lot of good medicinal herbs in my private storehouse. I'll have Liang Jiugong personally deliver them to Prime Minister Ming after the court session. Tell him to take good care of himself. I'm worried about you."

Listening to His Majesty's sarcasm, Nalan Kuixu did not dare to say anything in rebuttal and knelt on the ground trembling.

"Your servant...thanks...thanks for the emperor's grace."

.........

Kangxi called out the names one by one, including most of the important officials in the court.

Every person named owed money to the Ministry of Revenue, it was just a matter of how much.

The entire hall was filled with an eerie silence, so oppressive that it made one feel breathless, with only Kangxi's angry breathing and shouting as the only sounds.

There were also a few officials who were so frightened that their legs kept trembling, making a slight sound of friction between their official robes.

After selecting the court officials, he began to select several of his sons who were in the court.

"And my royal brothers, I gave you money to settle down when you left the palace to build your own homes. Why are you still borrowing money from the Ministry of Revenue?"

"Prince!"

"The Crown Prince is quite sensible and did not borrow money from the Ministry of Revenue."

When mentioning the crown prince, he paused and thought that there was no crown prince on the list, and turned his attention to his eldest son Yinzhen.

"But Boss, why did you borrow nearly 500,000 taels from the Ministry of Revenue?!"

(Happy New Year! Orange is celebrating the New Year with the babies, hehe.)