amaotonovel Chapter 737 Is my salary not enough to afford drinking and carousing?
Chapter 737 Is my salary not enough to afford drinking and carousing?
As Emperor Zhu finished speaking, the expressions of the civil and military officials in the court changed drastically.
Yang Shaofeng, who had been leaning against the dragon pillar, now stood up straight.
Why doesn't he say that Dadu is in Beiping, and the ancestor of the iron pot is in Dadu watching over everyone?
And he didn't say that everyone should lay bare their hearts and souls.
Old Deng is still lacking something, huh?
While Yang Shaofeng was internally ranting, he carefully observed the expressions on the faces of the ministers.
See who looks the worst, then have the Imperial Guards investigate them.
Emperor Zhu continued pacing in the main hall.
"We used to think that whether the common people could live a good life depended on two things: the weather and the government."
"But in the last two years, we've gradually realized that looking at the heavens is not as important as looking at the imperial court."
"Whether God wants a drought, a flood, or even an earthquake, as long as the local government is well prepared and there is no shortage of food or water, the people can still get by."
“But if the officials in the imperial court and local governments become greedy or lazy, the common people will not be able to live a single day.”
Emperor Zhu walked up to an official wearing a five-ridged crown, a robe with scattered floral patterns, and a gold and silver ribbon around his waist. Suddenly, he kicked the official to the ground and stared at him coldly, asking, "Minister Hu, am I right?"
The official addressed as Vice Minister Hu was taken aback at first, but then obediently knelt down and replied, "Your Excellency is right."
Emperor Zhu chuckled, then suddenly kicked Minister Hu to the ground, cursing, "Right? Since we're right, then what did you, you dog, do?"
"Damn it, in order to make money, you've mixed up with those money-grubbing gentry and merchants, and with that damned White Lotus Sect!"
"You have kids too, you bastard!"
"When they abduct children, did you ever think about what would happen if your child were abducted?"
"Your entire family of thirteen, all of them died at Hu Yuan's hands, yet you bastard let them smuggle ironware for Hu Yuan!"
"We're asking you, what the hell have we done to deserve this? Why are you causing such harm to ordinary people? Huh?"
Seeing Emperor Zhu suddenly enraged, Yang Shaofeng continued to watch the show from the sidelines, while Li Shanchang and Liu Bowen unconsciously wiped the cold sweat from their foreheads.
Now I understand why people in power are so irritable.
Hu Xianliang had been following Emperor Zhu since Haozhou. Over the years, he had risen step by step to become the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, a third-rank official. If he were to advance one more step, he would become a second-rank official, enough to be appointed as a provincial governor or a high-ranking official in a province.
Even without being sent out to a post, one can gradually rise to the rank of Minister, and even entering the Secretariat... the Grand Secretariat is not impossible.
From any perspective, Hu Xianliang meets the criteria of being an "old brother," and his future is bright.
Unfortunately, he also got involved in the child abduction case and the case of the outflow of ironware.
How could Emperor Zhu accept this?
Just as Li Shanchang and Liu Bowen were exchanging glances, Hu Xianliang knelt down again and bowed to Emperor Zhu, saying, "Your Majesty, I know I was wrong. I will accept whatever punishment you may give me."
Emperor Zhu's anger intensified. He glanced coldly at Hu Xianliang and asked, "Then tell me, why did you get involved in the child abduction case and the ironware smuggling case?"
Hu Xianliang lowered his head and replied, "I don't have enough money, so I accept it when someone gives me money."
Emperor Zhu roared, "Not enough to spend? You get four hundred shi of rice every year, and we even reward you with some paper money from time to time. What have you done that makes it not enough?"
Hu Xianliang quietly raised his head, glanced at Emperor Zhu, and then quickly lowered his head again, replying, "Buy a courtyard, buy concubines, and drink wine and women."
After a slight pause, Hu Xianliang turned his head to look outside the hall again and said, "It's really not my fault for being greedy for money—with such a small salary, a few drinking sessions can wipe it all out. If I don't try to make some money, my whole family will starve."
"And you have no idea how powerful we are! Money in the capital is practically worthless. Forget about courtyards, even the price of vegetables is higher than elsewhere!"
"And those pleasure boats are even more extraordinary. A single trip up there costs several strings of cash, or even more than ten strings. That little bit of salary really doesn't last long!"
Emperor Zhu was completely stunned.
Yang Shaofeng couldn't help but burst out laughing.
What were you thinking, saying to Lao Deng's face that the money Lao Deng gave you wasn't enough for drinking and partying?
This isn't just a matter of being bold; this is a complete disregard for the entire extended family!
Emperor Zhu turned his head and glared at Yang Shaofeng, pointing angrily at him and shouting, "Shut up and get out of here!"
Yang Shaofeng covered his mouth with his hand and took half a step back.
Old Deng is probably out of his mind right now, so we can't provoke him any further.
Emperor Zhu then turned his attention to Hu Xianliang.
"If you don't have enough money, you'll join them and harm the common people?"
"When your entire family of thirteen was killed by the Tartars, did you hate them?"
"Now that you're harming the people, don't they hate you?"
Hu Xianliang lowered his head again and said in a muffled voice, "Your subject knows his mistake."
Emperor Zhu sighed softly, glanced at his ministers, and asked, "I know that many of you rely on your immunity from death tokens, thinking that you can escape the death penalty even if you commit a capital crime, is that right?"
As Emperor Zhu finished speaking, all the officials immediately lowered their heads.
As Emperor Zhu said, many officials really did rely on the "golden token of immunity" in their hands, thinking that they could escape death even if they committed a capital crime, and even their descendants could be spared from death, which is why they dared to act recklessly.
Emperor Zhu suddenly smiled, but there was a hint of desolation in his smile.
"What's the point of giving you get-out-of-jail-free cards?"
"We're just afraid that if you make a mistake someday, we'll have one more chance to save your life."
"You're not allowed to use your immunity from death to harm the people!"
"Now look what's happened! You're just taking advantage of your immunity from death to ruin the country we fought so hard to build, and you're just oppressing ordinary people like this?"
"Your salary isn't even enough to afford lavish entertainment? Have you ever considered how many ordinary people would go hungry because of just one more night of drinking at brothels?"
At this point, Emperor Zhu shook his head again, sighed helplessly, and returned to his dragon throne.
"We did some calculations once."
“To support a seventh-rank county magistrate for a year, five farmers are needed to cultivate more than seventy acres of land and carry rice stalks for hundreds or even thousands of miles.”
“A third-rank official, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, whose salary is five times that of a seventh-rank county magistrate, would need twenty-five farmers to cultivate three hundred and fifty mu of land.”
"That's still not enough for you to drink and frolic in brothels?"
Emperor Zhu sighed with disappointment, "Guards, take Hu Xianliang away, revoke his pardon, and punish him according to the law."
"Today, let's add another condition to the 'immunity from death' token—anyone who harms the people, even with the token, cannot escape death!"
After the Han general dragged Hu Xianliang away, Emperor Zhu turned his attention to Liu Bowen.