The Heavens: From Knowing Whether You Rule the World

Chapter 34 Stop rambling!

Chen Duan, the number one general of Cabinet Grand Secretary Wang Qinruo, has something to report!
In an instant, everyone turned their eyes to Chen Duan.

The Minister of Revenue is a direct descendant of Lord Wang Qinruo, and is also the younger one among the six ministers. He can barely be considered Wang Qinruo's successor.

Chu Hong raised his brows slightly. If the young man from Master Han didn't engage in group activities, he would almost be the chief officer of the six departments.

Theoretically speaking, Master Han's friend should compete with Chen Duan.

Now, theoretically speaking, they are both successors, and he, a fifth-rank official, has to fight against the Minister of Revenue.
From the fifth rank to the second rank!
Kill the enemy in adversity?
A mortal kills an immortal?

Too bad!
Unfortunately, I am a demon from outside the domain!
"What does Mr. Chen have to report?"

"Your Majesty, the total tax revenue of the two capitals and 18 provinces for the whole year was 45.6 million taels, and the budgeted expenditure for the year was 41.3 million taels. However, the actual expenditure for that year was 51 million taels. So, the expenditure last year exceeded the total tax revenue by 5.4 million taels, and exceeded the budget by more than 9 million taels. This is already the tax revenue for one quarter of my dynasty."

As soon as Chen Duan said this, the eyelids of most of the officials present twitched. It was not a good thing to bring up old things again!

Almost all officials did not like to bring up old issues, including those on Chen Duan's side.

After all, who doesn’t have a past that contains some mistakes that cannot be delved into?
Chu Hong's eyes twitched slightly. As a core member of the Korean system, he naturally knew where the overspending was.

The Ministry of Industry. The bulk of the deficit last year was in the Ministry of Industry.

Being poor cares themselves, being wealthy cares the world.

Last year, floods hit Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Han Zhang and others were from Jiangsu and Zhejiang, so they reported to build river embankments to help their hometown.
The construction method was to let the local big families in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas recruit workers to build the city. After the construction was completed, the Ministry of Works, the Ministry of Revenue and the emperor would send people to inspect it, and then pay them according to the costs reported by the subordinates.

Hmm. How should I put it? It's a bit like outsourcing.

However, local families in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions do have quite good experience in building dams, and the dams they have built are indeed very effective. There is no need to consider rebuilding them for at least the next ten years or so.

But the result was that the construction costs reported by local families in Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions were far greater than the costs of the construction by the people sent by the Ministry of Works.

Before the construction, the Ministry of Works reported a budget of one million taels, but after the completion of the construction, it was reported that the cost was about three million taels.

What can be done? After much wrangling and shirking of responsibility, the Ministry of Revenue still had to pay the money.

Although the money was overspent, the supply and demand relationship must be clarified.

This money does not pass through the hands of the Ministry of Industry.

In other words, the two parties of supply and demand were the Ministry of Households and the big families in Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas.

It has never been the Ministry of Revenue that owed the Ministry of Works money, nor has it been the Ministry of Works that owed money to the wealthy families in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, but rather the Ministry of Revenue that owed money to the wealthy families in Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

In terms of the relationship between officials and the people, the Ministry of Revenue is the officials, and the wealthy families in Jiangsu and Zhejiang are the people, which means that the officials owe money to the people.

As a result, the Ministry of Revenue had no choice but to accept the consequences.

After all, if the bills were not settled, any rebellions that occurred in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas in the future could all be blamed on the failure to settle the bills, and no one would be held responsible.

The wealthy families in Jiangsu and Zhejiang were happy when they made a lot of money, the common people in Jiangsu and Zhejiang were happy when they got some wages, and the high-ranking officials in Jiangsu and Zhejiang were happy when they achieved political achievements.

Well, the Ministry of Revenue cried miserably.

Is there any water in the reported amount? It is too much!

Local officials are too familiar with things like falsifying accounts. They never take the money directly, which is really too low-level.

The local big families usually agreed to raise the price of materials for the construction project slightly. The project was large and the materials were expensive, so the overall cost was more than the money embezzled directly. Unfortunately, it was difficult for the people above to see the problem. Even if they did see it, they could refute it.

After all, so much material is consumed, and the local materials are not enough to support the construction project. It makes sense to transport them from other remote areas, right?

For such a long journey, with horses for land transportation, ships for sea transportation, laborers who follow along the way, etc., it is reasonable that the price of materials is a little higher than the local price, right?

These local families generally know what premium the higher-ups can accept, and as long as they keep it below that amount, the Ministry of Revenue can only accept it.

This was the first major expense for the Ministry of Industry.

The second major expense of the Ministry of Works was to rebuild the tomb for the little prince. That year, the little prince died suddenly and was hastily buried in a tomb of the specifications for a prince.

As a result, the emperor was troubled by the problem of choosing an heir last year. He thought about it day and night, and naturally he dreamed about the little prince. The little prince told him in his dream that the house was a little small and crowded.

Therefore, with the joint efforts of the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Revenue, and the Ministry of Works, the little prince's tomb was expanded and renovated again. This was the most important project last year.

Building the imperial mausoleum for the little prince was a very lucrative job. The budget reported at the time was two million taels, but the Ministry of Works spent two and a half million taels.
There is a lot of money to be made here. Although it is not as much as the dam construction in Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas, it is still considerable. The officials who build the mausoleum basically make a living from the construction of this tomb.

There's nothing you can do about it. If you want others to follow you unwaveringly, you have to feed them, right?
Fortunately, high-ranking officials basically had no involvement in the money for building the mausoleum. This way of getting money was too low-end and too easy to be misled by others. The real money-making should be done by the families behind the scenes, and there was no need for high-ranking officials to raise money personally.

However, when it came to building the mausoleum, greedy people were involved from more than one faction, and petty officials from almost all factions wanted a share of the feast.

Can this be brought up?
Chu Hong quietly looked at the Minister of Works Chang Heng, only to see him looking around secretly, his purple sleeves tightly grasped, and he was obviously a little flustered. Many officials also frowned, wanting to see what was going on.

What's the purpose of bringing up old things again?

Chu Hong narrowed his eyes slightly. All factions had intervened in the construction of the imperial mausoleum. Not only were many people involved, but there was also the particularity of building the prince's mausoleum. If something was not said well, it might cause the emperor to recall the past and feel sad. In theory, the Minister of Revenue should not dare to run into this bad luck.

Is that about the construction of dams in Jiangsu and Zhejiang?

But this matter involves many people, and it is a real people's livelihood project. It is not an exaggeration to say that it involves the people of Jiangsu and Zhejiang. This cannot be blamed on Master Han!

Chu Hong looked at the Minister of Works Chang Heng thoughtfully. Did he want to make Chang Heng the only one to take the blame for the overspending in Jiangsu and Zhejiang and remove Han Shi's right-hand man?

Or, is it a risky move to mention both?

"Why do you bring this up again, my dear?"

Zhao Zhen was a little confused. Weren't these things concluded a few years ago?
"Your Majesty, of the more than nine million taels of overspending, more than three million taels were spent on shipbuilding by the Ministry of War, more than three million taels were spent on overspending by the Ministry of Works, and the remaining amount was shared by the four ministries."

"I checked the Ministry of Works' expenditures and found that the debts were mainly for the construction of dams in Jiangsu and Zhejiang and the construction of the young prince's mausoleum. The construction of the dams in Jiangsu and Zhejiang exceeded the budget by 2 million taels, and the construction of the young prince's mausoleum also cost more than 2.5 million taels, an overspending of 500,000 taels. You must know that the construction of the mausoleum by the late emperor only cost more than 2 million taels. I am afraid that some treacherous officials will take advantage of this and turn the sorrow of the young prince's mausoleum construction into a carnival for the scoundrels."

Holy shit, it really is high risk and high reward!

The fact that the Minister of Revenue Chen Duan brought the imperial mausoleum to this place was truly outrageous. It would certainly touch the emperor's nerves, but it would also easily lead to backlash!

The effect of the imperial mausoleum is very good. The change in Zhao Zhen's expression on the throne is almost visibly visible. The royal heir has always been a pain in his heart. The little prince, as the last royal heir to pass away, is even more of a sustenance in his heart and a taboo in his heart that cannot be violated.

Zhao Zhen went to see the imperial mausoleum in person and found it to be well built. After the little prince's coffin was buried, he no longer paid attention to the imperial mausoleum.

Is anyone making money from this?
"Who do you think took the money from this?"

"Your Majesty, the Ministry of Works is fully responsible for the construction of embankments in Jiangsu and Zhejiang and the repair of the imperial mausoleum. I'm afraid you have to ask the Minister of Works about this."

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(End of this chapter)