From Hoarding to Time-Travel: My Supplies Saved Him

Chapter 686: Chapter 688: Passing the Buck

Hua Shunming directed them to take the memorial to a side hall for discussion. After all, a mountain of memorials still awaited him.

"That Gu Wenheng is such a handful," Gold complained the moment they arrived at the side hall.

He felt he and Gu Wenheng were simply fated to clash. Nothing good ever came of their encounters.

"He is a capable man, though," Niu Hai’an said, sipping the tea a palace maid had served him. "If this move succeeds, Yi Province might just shed its status as a poor province.

The Holy Emperor truly has a keen eye for talent and knows how to appoint the right people for the job."

The other high officials inwardly curled their lips in disdain. ’This Niu Taifu is such a smooth operator, never missing a chance to flatter the emperor.’

But as they glanced at the palace maids and eunuchs standing in attendance, they all inwardly cursed him as an ’old fox’.

"The Holy Emperor is wise." No matter what, agreeing at a time like this was the right move.

"But what if all this silver is spent and there are no results to show for it?"

Zhou Shicong wore a worried expression. "My lords, you all know the National Treasury’s expenses are already immense. If we approve another large expenditure, how will we plug the hole if an emergency arises later on?"

Niu Hai’an looked up at him. "Mr. Zhou, the Holy Emperor has confiscated the assets of so many families recently. Surely the National Treasury can afford this."

Zhou Shicong retorted, "Lord Niu, it’s clear you’re not the one managing the household finances, so you don’t know how much things truly cost.

The National Treasury has to cover far too many expenditures. The silver is constantly flowing out. Even the greatest of fortunes will one day run dry.

One must be mindful of danger even in times of peace. If we wait until we’ve hit rock bottom, it will be far too late."

"You’re being a bit of an alarmist, Mr. Zhou," Yu Ligao said with a smile. "There is money coming in as well as going out. It’s impossible for the treasury to run dry.

Besides, there have been no natural or man-made disasters in recent years, and we have a large tax income from Lu City. The Holy Emperor is well aware of these facts."

There’s a time and place to plead poverty. The Rong Dynasty is hardly poor right now—not unless we’re feeding some giant rats.

Zhou Shicong sighed. "Alas, moving funds back and forth like this is far too troublesome.

Don’t taxes come in every year? Mr. Gu could easily wait until after the tax collection to implement this plan. That would save everyone a great deal of trouble."

Hearing such shameless words, the others were rendered speechless. "..."

Niu Hai’an spoke up. "What was the situation in Yi Province before? I’m sure all of you, my lords, are aware.

It was a good year if the province didn’t end up in debt. What tax revenue could there possibly be?

Furthermore, Mr. Gu’s request is not excessive. He simply wants to recover the public funds that Liu Xuan plundered. That was money earned through the blood, sweat, and tears of the people of Yi Province. It’s only right to return it."

Zhou Shicong’s face darkened. "Lord Niu, you’re mistaken. Since ancient times, all assets confiscated from corrupt officials must be turned over to the National Treasury. If we create a precedent now, it will throw all the established rules into chaos."

"Then let’s just do as the memorial says and allocate a sum of funds. That doesn’t create any conflict, does it?" Yu Ligao had long found Zhou Shicong disagreeable. Though he was merely in charge of the Ministry of Revenue, he acted as if all the silver was his own.

His everyday stinginess was one thing, but to obstruct a matter concerning the nation and its people... The man clearly had no sense of priorities.

But Zhou Shicong refused to yield. "It’s easy for all of you to talk. The National Treasury is the foundation of the nation. If we start handing out silver for a single memorial, won’t everyone else try to do the same?

Besides, this plan may look promising on paper, but who knows what will happen during its actual implementation? It could very well start with a bang and end with a whimper."

Hearing this, Niu Hai’an was no longer annoyed. He simply smiled and reminded him, "Mr. Zhou, if the Holy Emperor didn’t approve of this plan, He wouldn’t have summoned us to the palace.

Besides, do you really think that’s a defensible reason to refuse?"

Zhou Shicong: "..."

"Alright, this now comes down to a decision from the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Justice.

If the Ministry of Justice cannot recover the silver, then the Ministry of Revenue will simply have to cover the cost." Yu Ligao added this remark after taking a slow sip of tea, thoroughly enjoying the spectacle.

Everyone present knew that if allocating silver weren’t part of the issue, the Holy Emperor would have likely issued a direct decree instead of summoning them to the palace at all.

Zhou Shicong turned to Gold. "Lord Huang, since the men are in the Ministry of Justice’s prison, I presume their family assets are in the hands of your officials. How is it that after all these days, nothing has been turned over to the Ministry of Revenue?"

Gold replied, "You’re being a bit too hasty, Mr. Zhou. Until the case is officially closed, no one can touch that silver.

Besides, I can tell you frankly, the confiscated items aren’t worth anything close to the two-hundred-some-thousand silver taels mentioned."

Gold sneered. "We are now waiting for the culprit, Li Xuan, to arrive in the capital. He is the mastermind, and we need him to get to the bottom of this.

However, the round trip to transport and interrogate the prisoner will take quite some time. My only concern is that the Holy Emperor might not be willing to wait that long."

With Gold tossing the problem back into his lap, Zhou Shicong’s expression darkened further. It wasn’t that he was hoarding the National Treasury’s silver; revenues were simply failing to cover expenditures. If this kept up, they would sooner or later face the Holy Emperor’s reprimand.

"In that case, the funding requests previously submitted by your various ministries will have to be postponed," Zhou Shicong said through gritted teeth, seeing that no one was lifting a finger to help him.

But to his surprise, no one seemed concerned. One of them even picked up a pastry and popped it into his mouth.

’So they’ve decided to turn this into a tea party and dump all the difficult problems on me.’

Zhou Shicong looked at the others and said, "Actually, apart from taking silver from the National Treasury, there is another way."

Without even looking up, Niu Hai’an said, "I’d advise you against that idea. Mr. Zhou, you are in charge of the Ministry of Revenue. If you cannot produce the silver, that would be a major offense..."

Zhou Shicong fell silent. "..." ’He could produce the funds for this, but what about the next time?’

"My lords, can’t any of you spare a thought for my position?"

"Then let the Holy Emperor audit the books," Gold interjected. "As long as every expenditure is documented and justified, I’m sure the Holy Emperor won’t blame you, Mr. Zhou, even if the National Treasury ends up empty."

Gold’s only goal at the moment was to push the entire matter onto Zhou Shicong to buy his own side more time.

Zhou Shicong gritted his teeth. "I am not afraid of an audit. For years, the Holy Emperor has had His own people supervising the Ministry of Revenue. The chance of finding any problems is minuscule.

On the other hand, Lord Huang, your Ministry of Justice has become increasingly sluggish over the years. I haven’t heard of you cracking any major cases. It seems the men under your command are rather inefficient.

You can’t let that continue. In the long run, you’ll only foster their laziness, and their competence will only decline."

The two Chiefs of Staff were just short of pointing fingers and shouting curses at each other.

Seeing the two glaring daggers at one another, Niu Hai’an stepped in with a smile. "Alright, alright. We are all officials serving the same court. There’s no need to make such an ugly scene over a minor squabble.

When all is said and done, isn’t this just a matter of silver taels?

The Ministry of Revenue can simply allocate the funds for now, and then settle the account with the Ministry of Justice later..."

Gold immediately cut him off. "Lord Niu, I must disagree.

How has this suddenly turned into the Ministry of Justice owing a debt?

The case hasn’t even reached a final verdict, yet you want to pin this debt on the Ministry of Justice? That’s completely unreasonable.

What happens if the stolen funds are never recovered? How will this be settled then?"