20demayo Chapter 756 Court Intrigue, Dividing the Cake 2
Chapter 756 Court Intrigue, Dividing the Cake 2
"What can we do?! We can still mine the silver, but we can't just let them run rampant!"
Lin Feng was really anxious. If it were truly used for the construction of the Great Zhou Dynasty and benefited the people, that would be fine.
What I fear most is that corrupt officials, blinded by greed, will line their own pockets!
"Don't worry, tomorrow my grandfather, uncle, brothers-in-law, and I will all go to court. We will do our best to argue our case and try to get them to plunder less."
Now, even the lowest-ranking official in the Jiang family is a fifth-rank official, so they are all qualified to attend court.
Landlord Jiang, a fifth-rank official, worked in the Ministry of Revenue.
Jiang Changqing, a third-rank official, served in the Ministry of Personnel.
Dong, Li, Xue, Xiao, Wang, and Tan were all officials of the fifth rank or lower.
Jiang Wenqing also managed to obtain a sinecure of the fifth rank, the only one who was allowed to attend court but not attend.
However, Jiang Xiaoqi still called on his cheap father to make up the numbers, since more people meant more power and could overwhelm the enemy in terms of momentum.
That makes ten people. There are still quite a few Jiang family officials left, but they are all below the fifth rank.
Members of the Jiang family, such as Jiang Lin, Jiang Yan, Jiang Hao, Jiang Wenhai, and Jiang Wenhao, as well as Jiang family members who were sent to serve as officials outside the region.
There are fifty or sixty of them in total, which gives it the air of a large family.
Although not all of them could attend, their influence in the court was already beginning to take shape.
Although it cannot compare to the well-established and powerful families, it has already reached a certain scale.
Lin Feng also knew that many members of the Jiang family were now officials in the government, and his anxiety eased slightly.
"Alright, then we'll have to rely on the adults' efforts, but we don't need to fight them head-on."
At worst, our fleet won't rest; we'll go back to mining in a couple of days, and some of it will surely benefit the people.
"Master Lin is so righteous! Don't worry, the entire Jiang family will do our best."
However, when it comes to mining, it doesn't actually require the crew to work as hard.
"Doesn't Japan also have many people who go hungry? We can recruit some laborers, give them some food, and have them mine for us."
Jiang Xiaoqi came up with the idea of recruiting laborers, but he only used it on the devils—no, on the Japanese.
"Oh my, that's a great idea! Why didn't I think of that before?"
Indeed, there are many people in Japan who cannot afford to eat, and their lives are worse than those of the people of our Great Zhou Dynasty.
After all, their land is very barren, many crops cannot grow, and arable land is very limited.
Even the nobles ate very poor and coarse food.
Many people don't even know how to use fire, and they put food in their mouths before it's cooked.
Calling them savages who ate raw meat and drank blood wouldn't be an exaggeration; they were truly impoverished and backward.
Jiang Xiaoqi was surprised that Lin Feng's observation of Japan was quite thorough, and he pointed out the current situation of Japan incisively.
Indeed, Japan at that time was like that, even worse off than many small border tribes.
"Yes, even if they are lagging behind now, we cannot be soft-hearted. Weak countries are sometimes more likely to breed ambition."
When they think of forcibly taking what they don't have, trampling on other countries' land, and harming their people, they won't show any mercy.
Lin Feng expressed his agreement.
"Yes, to be merciful to the enemy or potential enemy is to be cruel to ourselves."
"That's right!"
Jiang Xiaoqi had a look of obvious confidence in Lin Feng; he genuinely believed Lin Feng was a good judge of character.
The next day there will be a large court meeting.
Just as Jiang Xiaoqi had predicted, the people in the court buzzed over like mosquitoes that had smelled blood.
Actually, it's more like a fly, after all, its face is disgusting.
"Your Majesty! The riverbed has been in disrepair for many years. If it is not reinforced, there is a risk of flooding!"
"Your Majesty, while river repairs are important, the disaster in the Northwest is spreading rapidly. Relief efforts are urgent, Your Majesty. The disaster victims are hoping for funds and grain from the court every day!"
"Your Majesty, the soldiers' pay at the border cannot be delayed any longer. They have risked their lives to defend their country; we cannot let their spirits be broken!"
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"
"Your Majesty, there is also..."
Emperor Zhao Hongchang was overwhelmed by the shouts. He knew some ministers would complain about being poor, but he hadn't expected so many.
Not only the Six Ministries, but even government offices like the Court of Judicial Review and the Hanlin Academy joined in the fun.
"Alright, alright, who else? Tell us all at once!"
The emperor was somewhat speechless. How come the previous emperor had enough money to spend when he was on the throne, but now he was struggling to make ends meet?
What? You think you're a young and easy target for bullying, don't you?
And what about the Ministry of Rites? What kind of temporary palace are they building?!
When did I ever say I wanted to build a temporary palace?! This is unauthorized action!
How is the Minister of Rites managing things? If he can't manage them, he should retire and go back to his hometown!
It also frees up the seats for more suitable people.
Jiang, the more suitable person, Xiao Qi, stepped forward at this moment.
"Your Majesty, I was unaware that the court was in such dire straits. Your Excellencies are truly something else."
Why didn't they mention it before? Today, it's as if they planned it all, and they've all come to complain about being poor to His Majesty.
This doesn't look like a grand court assembly; it looks more like a coup d'état!
Jiang Xiaoqi spoke softly and gently, but it sounded quite harsh to everyone.
Ahem, it seems they've made it a bit too obvious.
Ugh, these people are so unfair! How could they talk about this on the same day? Couldn't they have talked about it separately?
"Hmph, yes, I feel the same way. Back when the late emperor was alive, I never heard of the court being so strapped for cash."
"Has the Emperor implemented some form of tyranny since ascending the throne? Is this why the court is riddled with problems and needs constant patching?!"
It was impossible for the emperor not to be angry; he said this with emotion in his voice.
Everyone's smart enough to know that things have gone too far.
The fact that all departments were simultaneously complaining about being poor and launching attacks was indeed a bit too obvious.
Ahem, but now the die is cast, and words spoken are like water spilled; they cannot be taken back.
We shouldn't do things that contradict ourselves.
Otherwise, they might turn around and bite the hand that feeds them, or worse, what if His Majesty finds a pretext to punish them?!
"Your Majesty, please calm your anger!"
This is because when the late emperor was unwell, we did not want to cause him unnecessary trouble.
"Your Majesty, you are in the prime of your life and surely capable of leading the people of the Great Zhou to achieve unparalleled feats on the foundation laid by the late Emperor."
The ministers followed suit one after another, their words more eloquent than their singing.
Emperor Zhao Hongchang watched coldly, and it was surprisingly easy to tell who was loyal and who was treacherous.
Is this the court my father left me? Those once dignified officials have now completely abandoned all pretense of decency in the face of self-interest.