With such a personality, as soon as he goes to the palace, surrounded by countless civil and military officials, and the officials are in front, he can't stand anything.

"Official family."

After blaming himself for a moment, Li Guang reluctantly put away his tone and continued to answer sincerely. "I am not accusing you of anything. In the current situation, the priority is to support the army. The imperial camp was established before, and the water supply is maintained at this time.

The army and the ministers all fully agreed. I just want to remind the officials that things in the world are not that simple, and you can't just take everything at face value. The changes in Jingkang before, last year, and the war the year before that, now we have to support soldiers and horses everywhere.

The people's power in Henan has long been exhausted. At this time, 300,000 guan of money is not much, but it is just a temporary shortage. Money and food from the south will be sent after spring plowing, and it will be able to get through. But it is not a lot, if it is forced into Henan.

Asking for money will probably make the people miserable and make them unable to survive."

At this point, there was finally a commotion in the palace. It was obvious that some people wanted to express their approval and some wanted to express their opposition. Prime Minister Lu Haowen, who had been silent all this time, was also ready to speak at the right time to ease the atmosphere.

"What Li Qing said is true."

However, at this moment, Zhao Jiu, who was sitting in the throne, finally spoke, but it was somewhat beyond the expectations of some people in the palace. "I am still a little naive about raising troops, but the overall situation is like this, so I can only advise everyone to agree."

Tolerance serves the country.”

Innocence is a good word that comes from "Zhuangzi", but when Zhao Guanjia uses it here, although it means to cover up, it also has a tendency to admit his mistakes.

Therefore, not only Li Guang was slightly startled, but also the palace, which had been in commotion for a while, suddenly became quiet.

"I have a few words about this matter." Zhao Jiu continued to speak slowly. "First, Zhang Rong and his troops have made great contributions. It is absolutely impossible to reward them with just one flag. The three hundred thousand coins must be given to , and it must be done as soon as possible, as quickly as possible, and in sufficient quantity, without any neglect or deficiencies. Otherwise, let alone the reputation of the court, no one can be blamed even if a military coup occurs."

This was something that had been discussed a long time ago, so there were no words in the palace.

"Secondly, the imperial army has no military exploits this time, so it is difficult to change their military pay without permission, let alone borrow from other commanders and ministers. Otherwise, the imperial court has finally built up little credibility in the army. There's still going to be a problem."

At this time, there was a sudden chaos in the palace, because it seemed that Zhao Guanjia wanted to pay the sergeants with all their strength, but wanted to use all the officials in the court?!

Logically speaking, as civil servants and ministers of the country, it seems that everyone should share the country's worries.

But the problem is that the officials in Tokyo City and the Henan area are not just the high-ranking officials in the palace, but also many low-level officials. These three hundred thousand guan are Jiaozi. If they all fall on everyone, wouldn't it be a disaster in the winter? Some people really drink the northwest wind?

And even the people in the palace are really poor, okay?

How can this be tolerated?

"Third," Zhao Jiu got ahead of everyone and continued to raise his voice in response. "All ministers and ministers, not to mention those who are wandering around, are just ordinary people who have taken up their posts and have experienced several wars. They are undoubtedly loyal. I am a minister of sincerity, but I only allow them to keep half salary... Now the country is only in temporary difficulty, and it is not as desperate as before. If I let them fill this hole again, I really have no conscience."

The atmosphere in the hall was like a tide, rising and falling.

"Fourth, as Li Zhongcheng said, the people are tired and the people's power is empty... I was already depressed about the last tax increase. How can I take food from the people again this time?"

As soon as this statement came out, everyone in the palace had different reactions. Some people were obviously puzzled, while others couldn't help but sneer in their hearts... This official said it so nicely, in the end, Xianggong Xu had to borrow it first and then hand it over. Then everyone can share the means of handing over the money equally?

After wandering around for a long time, apart from saying a few nice words to show that he was serving the country and showing pity for the people, it was of no use at all.

"Xianggong Wang, please sort out today's memorial to Li Zhongcheng and send it to all the commanders. Then Xianggong Lu and Xianggong Xu, you two will organize the handover and make preparations, but don't send it out until the end..." …That’s it for today, I’ll try my best to think of something.” Zhao Jiu continued, but as soon as he finished speaking, he didn’t stop for a moment and turned around to go down to the palace.

It can only be said that, as everyone thought, the difficulty of real money was there, and the Zhao Guan family could only agree to the matter of Jiaozi in the end, but with a little more advice to the commanders.

And in the end, the officials left in such a hurry, it seemed a bit like they were trying to escape.

There was no words on the spot. Everyone called to each other and dispersed in groups.

After all, although this difficulty for the imperial court is a headache, it is only a minor illness, a kind of happy worry after a great victory. Not to mention the overall situation, even for the finances, it is only a temporary difficulty. And now, the new year is approaching. , the city of Tokyo opened up again after the great victory. While slowly building bridges and filling ditches, it gradually became lively again.

Nothing can stop us from celebrating the New Year.

What happened today cannot be said to be just a few words of conversation at the New Year's Eve table.

Not mentioning the rest, they only said that Shi Wanqi, the imperial censor, came down from the court, returned home first, and sat behind closed doors for half a day. In the evening, he said hello to his old wife who had just arrived in Beijing recently, and sent Chang Sui there.

'My very kind elder' Wang Shuzhan handed a letter to Wang's house, saying that he wanted to meet Wang Shuzhan's in-law Zhao Huangshu today, and then he rode a donkey and went out alone.

However, when this guy came out, he first went to find Qu Duan, the deputy commander of the imperial camp, who was alone in Tokyo. Seeing Qu Duan promise in person and riding out on the iron elephant that is now famous in East Asia, the two

People walked one behind the other, and then went to Wang Shuzhan, the "very kind elder of the family".

Wang Shuzhan's family is a wealthy family in Shezhou.

After the situation in Tokyo stabilized, on one side there were fugitive officials and officials from poor families in the north who were left penniless, while on the other side there were officials from the south, especially those from wealthy families south of the Huaihe River, whose wealth had never been less than two cents... As a former celebrity in the official family, he had recently lost his fortune.

Wan Qixi, who holds such a noble position as the imperial censor, is absolutely unwilling to take bribes casually. If he wants to eat, drink and enjoy life, he will inevitably come here often.

It's a twist... After this man became a Jinshi, he rarely made trouble in the palace with his words. However, many people mistakenly thought that he had changed his temper and gained favor, so he was often deliberately attracted to him. Only this guy left the official position.

In front of the family, he still has a bad mouth and refuses to change, which seems embarrassing.

For example, Wang Shuzhan had actually been accused and scolded by him several times in the past, saying that Wang Shuzhan was bent on pursuing personal gain and only regarded being an official as an official. He also said that his son Wang Ruohai only regarded one of Jingkang's "Please Stand"

"The Book of the Descendants of the Zhao Family" is the basis for advancement and has no other achievements. It is just that book. It is impossible to say that it was just a fake book made by Qin Hui, Ma Shen, Zhang Shuye and so on...

After several attempts, even people like Wang Shuzhan no longer dared to provoke this person.

As for the Chinese New Year, Wanqi Yuanzhong actually summoned this talented man of literature and martial arts, Qu Datong. I don’t know what he had in mind?

Sure enough, both the Wang family and his son, as well as the Wang family's in-laws who were specially invited here, Da Zong Zhengzhao Shi? father and son, were very happy to see Wan Qixi. When they saw Qu Da,

But they all changed their minds. It happened that these two families wanted to be proud, and they couldn't chase people away during the Chinese New Year, so they had no choice but to hold a banquet.

Everyone in Wang's house, including Hu Hongxiu who basically lived in his father-in-law's house, remained calm... This was because Qu Duan could only say that he talked on paper and was not that serious.

Everyone sat down, Da Zongzheng and Mr. Wang were sitting on the left and right, Wan Qixi and Qu Duan were on the left, Zhao Bufan, Wang Ruohai and Hu Hongxiu, three opposite-sex brothers-in-law, were on the right, and there was no one directly below...

It was a standard intimate family dinner, but the atmosphere was particularly weird.

However, fortunately, Wanqixi, the imperial censor, spoke casually and played both sides. He first raised a toast to congratulate the imperial court on its victory, then wished longevity to the two elders present, discussed the future situation, and talked about a few juniors.

The way forward for the future is to let the banquet atmosphere gradually increase.

After drinking for three rounds and saving three or five times, Wanqi Yuanzhong suddenly talked about the minor issues of today's small court meeting, which attracted Zhao and Wang, senior politicians with high status but not qualified to participate.

Listen attentively.

"It's difficult to be an official!"

After Wan Qixi said one word, he set the tone himself. "If today's discussion is spread, people who don't know will probably say that the officials only say good things, but it is of no use at all. It still falls into the category of

Let others make up for the shortfall. But how could you and I not know that the official family is so poor, not even the slightest bit of extra money or food has been transferred to Yanfu Palace, and tributes from various places have been cancelled. Even the appearance of the two noble concubines is completely dependent on the help of their families.

...When it comes to making up for the shortfall, the officials have already made up for it themselves through poverty."

Hearing this, before Zhao, Wang, Hu and others had time to sigh, Qu Duan frowned again: "Brother Yuan Zhong, I understand that you are unfair to the officials, but how can you bring your opinions here to talk?

How many of these people must be qualified to participate in important military and state affairs? If word gets out and a commotion occurs because of Jiaozi, wouldn't it be your and my fault?"

Not to mention a few young people, Uncle Zhao Huang and Wang Shuzhan, a pair of highly respected in-laws, blushed for a moment, but it was really difficult to refute.

"Qu Da, this is how you judge a gentleman's belly with a villain's heart." Others were afraid of Qu Duan. How could Wanqixi be afraid? He immediately put on a straight face and refuted it. "Uncle Zhao Huang must be here.

This is a national patriarch and an important official of the clan. He should know the whole story, but a moral model like Uncle Wang, even if he knew about it, he would consider the country, so how could he spread it privately? "

"If you know people well but don't know their hearts, how could it be that some people know that they are going to hand over money and take the opportunity to lend money and hoard money to get rich?" Qu Duan blurted out.

But with just these words, he bowed his head to drink and eat the food without saying another word, which made many people at the table want to have an attack, but they didn't know whether they should or not.

When he came back to his senses, was it still Zhao Shi? Uncle Zhao was highly respected and tolerant. He twisted his beard and smiled bitterly, and expressed his opinion on the spot: "Officials are poor, and some are even a little cruel to themselves. I know that. But I have to come.

He said that this matter of 300,000 yuan is just a trivial matter after all, and has nothing to do with the overall good... And the official family has a heroic appearance and has always made decisions, so there is no need for me, an old minister, to interfere... Under the New Year's Day, and since

Just entertain yourself."

Wang Shuzhan nodded slightly and wanted to hold a cup to join him.

But at this moment, Qu Duanfu raised his head again and said coldly: "As a member of the royal family, everything about you is supported by the people. Even if the officials don't need you, don't you want to serve the country? A king is still serving the country.

It's day and night, and the soldiers fighting in the front still have to use their handouts to pay for their military pay, but your clan is here making a banquet with the people's fat and the people's anointing! The so-called Du Gongbu said that the bones of the Zhumen were frozen to death on the roads that smelled of wine and meat, and that's what they were talking about.

, but you yourself speak as if you have suffered some grievance. Are you grievanced? What does it mean to be an official? Who do we who live and die for the country count?"

Not to mention that the table was full of people, even the servant waiting next to him had been stunned for a long time and was holding a hot towel in his hand. And Uncle Zhao felt his chest pounding and his throat was tight since he was "Minzhimingan"

, but I wanted to scold but didn’t know what words to use, and I wanted to refute but I didn’t know where to refute for a while, so that my face turned red from holding it in.

As the saying goes, a father's humiliation will lead to his son's death. On the other side, Zhao Bufan, the eldest son of Emperor Zhao's uncle, was the first to react when he saw his own father being humiliated. Then he stood up angrily and pointed his finger at him, intending to scold him.

But Qu Duan was still not afraid. Without waiting for the other party to speak, he just glared at the young clan member who stood up opposite him: "What are you pretending to do?! I tell you, it's a good thing you don't have a weapon in your hand, otherwise you would have been dead by now."

He's a dead man... I just had to lift the table and knock you down. Then I walked over to find the candlestick beside you, inserted it into your throat, and made your father the white-haired man send the black-haired man to you... Who?

How dare you, a useless member of the clan who only knows how to drink and eat meat, dare to act cruelly in front of a general like me who has fought countless battles?"

Zhao Bufan wanted to express his position again, but Wang Shuzhan had already called his son Wang Ruohai and son-in-law Hu Hongxiu to come forward and hold him down, plus a few servants, and finally dragged the eldest son-in-law out.

Seeing Zhao Bufan being dragged out, Wang Shuzhan turned back to comfort Uncle Zhao, and drove away the remaining two maids. Then he turned to look at Wanqixi who had not said a word for a long time, just lowering his head to gnaw on the chicken feet.

, with a hint of complaint in his words: "Yuanzhong, what exactly are you thinking about tonight... Our relationship is like that of uncle and nephew, so why not speak frankly?"

After hearing this, Wan Qixi put down the chicken feet, calmly took the hot towel that the servant had just put down from the table and wiped his hands and mouth, and then he laughed: "Uncle Wang, who knows me! Uncle Wang, you have been ruined since the alchemist incident.

I have always been an idle official in the future. Have you ever thought about regaining the favor of the saints and finding a future in your life to serve the country? Even Uncle Zhao, after listening to Qu Da's words today, have you ever thought about trying your best in this time of chaos?

How about you contribute to the country instead of being a ridiculous loser?"

"What's your plan?" Wang Shuzhan was excited for a moment.

Qu Duan, however, did not let go even Wan Qixi: "I knew you had bad intentions when you invited me today... Others say you are a loyal person, but I know you are a villain."

What about bad intentions, what about villains?

Wan Qixi sneered in his heart, but his face was solemn: "Qu Da, I must be sharing the country's worries!"
To be continued...