Promotion Letter for the Chief Executive

Don't underestimate the treasury appropriations received by the internal treasury every year. In fact, they add up to a huge amount.

In fact, there is a reality that everyone knows, but it is not said: all the ministers, especially the Ministry of Household Affairs, are thinking about how to reduce the allocation of funds to the internal treasury every year.Even if there is a disaster year, the prime ministers will calculate how to get the emperor to take money from the internal treasury to make up for the loopholes in the national treasury.

There are too many places where a country needs money.

It has been a hundred years since the founding of Great Chu.A hundred years of stable life has begun to gradually corrode this country, from top to bottom.People's lives are still going on, but many gray areas have already appeared.Therefore, in the past few years, the tax revenue that the treasury can receive has become less and less.

But the money to be spent is not only not less, but also more and more.Especially with the war going on in the past two years, the money was spent like water.

The courtiers competed for the road construction not for money, but for political achievements.So as long as the emperor is willing to open his mouth, he will most likely succeed.

This is actually a little bit of Ping An's careful thinking, because if this matter cannot be handled in this way, then what awaits him next will be endless harassment and all kinds of troubles.He Ping'an is just a little eunuch, not everyone has the capacity to speak well, and the situation to be faced by then will be much more complicated.

Although it is not impossible for him to handle it, why does it take such a lot of effort?

After reading the plan, the emperor thought for a while with a gloomy face, and then asked, "Ping'an, are you sure these things can make a profit?" rational.

Thinking back to when Great Chu first established the country, there were mourners everywhere, the people were destitute, and a lot of waste was waiting for prosperity. At that time, the tax money received by the imperial court every year was less than ten million taels.However, the tax that the imperial court can receive now is 5000 to [-] million.If there is a certain amount of wealth in the world, isn't the imperial court exploiting the people?However, people's lives are much better than when the country was founded.

Therefore, the emperor easily accepted the theory of Ping An, and now he would not feel that he was "competing with the people for profit" by running a cement factory.

What he is worried about is that if he speaks out, he will not be able to make money, and the internal treasury will be stretched.

In fact, Emperor Zhao Qi was already considered an enlightened and conservative monarch, not arrogant and extravagant, but the necessary expenses could not be frugal.

Even if the emperor himself can save money, the annual expenses for concubines in the harem, palace repairs, purchase of pearls, pearls, silk and satin, and even the rewards given to courtiers during the New Year's festival...these are absolutely unavoidable. Otherwise, how can we show the weather of Tianjia?

"Don't worry, Your Majesty, if I can't make a profit by that time, then I will definitely come up with a way to make money to make up for the loss of the internal treasury." Ping An said without worry.

The emperor snorted when he heard the words, "You also came up with the folding fan, didn't you?"

Ping An smirked and avoided answering.At that time, I just wanted to find something to do for the families of those craftsmen so that they could settle down in Qinzhou.Didn't expect it to work so well.

However, this matter itself is not suitable for the emperor to do - folding fans is far worse than road repairing.Even if road construction can't make money, the common people will know that "the road was built by someone sent by the emperor", and the royal family's reputation among the people will naturally be greatly improved.

The emperor is not so short of money, or compared with money, he still has a better reputation.

The emperor didn't want the folding fan business, but he was a little unhappy when he thought that Ping An had so many money-making ideas and didn't offer them up early.

However, he just reminded this sentence and did not pursue it further.Seeing Ping An's tired face, he waved him to leave.

Ping An is very satisfied with the results of this face-to-face meeting.

Zhang Dongyuan sent him out, and said with a smile, "Your accommodation has been arranged long ago. I'll have someone lead you there. First, I'll settle your luggage and make some repairs. Then it won't be too late to get busy."

"There are still people waiting at the gate of the palace." Ping An said helplessly, "I'm a hard worker who can't take time off."

"You don't need to work hard on this, I'll send them to the station." Zhang Dongyuan said.

Ping An was indeed tired after traveling all the way, so he did not continue to refuse.Zhang Dongyuan had someone send him to his residence, fetched water to freshen up, then lay down on the bed and fell asleep.

This sleep lasted until the next day.When Ping An woke up, he felt that all the bones in his body seemed to be lazy, and he refused to move.

But he knew in his heart that there were still many things waiting for him to do, and now was not the time to rest in peace.So after lying on the bed for a while, Ping An reluctantly got up.Went to the Benchu ​​Hall for a while, and then went out of the palace. ——He is now the eunuch, although the emperor has arranged other errands for him, but he can't let him go completely.

With Zhang Dongyuan's help in coordinating, the news that the road to Jinmingchi was repaired safely spread to everyone overnight.

The people at the feet of the Son of Heaven are somewhat different from other places.They have a bit of arrogance in their bones, and they are also very concerned about the movements of the court.After tea and dinner, they will also talk about the east and the west, but most of them are talking about the state.

The fact that such a new thing as cement roads is not the first to appear in the capital city inevitably makes many people in the capital feel delicate.However, everyone is very curious about the legend that even if it rains, there will not be any muddy roads, and they have been paying attention.

So after knowing that the imperial court wanted to build the road to Jinmingchi, many people helped the old and the young to watch the fun.When Ping An led the crowd out of the city gate, he once again enjoyed the feeling of being surrounded by others.In fact, the people in the capital are very arrogant, and it is not so easy to let them take the initiative to watch this excitement.

Generally speaking, this honor is only granted when the army is triumphant.At other times, even if everyone saw it, they just pointed out a few words casually, asked what it was, and then dispersed.

Fortunately, these people brought by Ping An have long been used to being surrounded by people along the way.So when we got to the place, we quickly unloaded the tools and started working.

However, the concrete road cannot be paved from the beginning. The road must be leveled first, with stones built on the side to divide it, and ditches to drain water on both sides, so that the road will not be flooded when it rains.And these processes also take a while.So after the first few days, it was found that the concrete road was not immediately made, and the crowd of onlookers dropped sharply.

Ping An was actually a little anxious, urging everyone to work quickly.Because after autumn, there will be a period of rainy season. If the road cannot be paved before that, the situation will become very bad when it rains.

In fact, this season is not suitable for repairing cement roads.Because the cement road after paving is best to dry naturally in the shade, if it is exposed to the sun, there may be cracks.So winter is the best choice, and it is not a good time for autumn tigers to be rampant.

However, there are solutions to these problems, and fortunately there are many people, and that section of the road is really not long, Ping An hurriedly rushed, and the road was finally repaired within a month.

After the road was repaired, it was covered with tarpaulins found by Ping An, and it would take a while before it could be put into use.

It wasn't until then that Ping An finally got free, and then he realized that during the time when he was busy.A lot happened.

First, Zhang Dongyuan told him that after he started building the road, the emperor summoned several important ministers to discuss in the hall of Benchu ​​for a whole afternoon.Ping An thought about it. At the beginning, when Ping An and the others were working, there were still many people poking around, but after that day, there were no more.

It seems that these important officials of the court are worthy of praise for their control over the court.Obviously, the turmoil in the court before was inseparable from them. I am afraid that the purpose is to hold this credit in their hands.After the emperor agreed to the exchange of benefits, he let go.

The second is that it was originally just a simple military exercise. When Ping An made this suggestion, he meant to let the big Han generals in the Imperial Guard perform the exercise.

As a result, the emperor didn't know what he was thinking, and when he issued an order, he even asked both the Western Army and the Hebei Army to send a team of soldiers to Beijing to participate in this exercise.

Ping An asked carefully, only to find that this matter had something to do with him.

Since he presented the big fan, the emperor liked it very much, urged him to make a base, and placed the fan in the original hall. He stood in front of it to enjoy it after reviewing memorials and discussing matters every day.

But appreciating the emperor made him a little unhappy.He is the emperor of the great Chu, sitting on the world, rich in the world, but in reality?At this age, he hasn't even left the capital, let alone the war, and he hasn't even seen what the big Chu under his rule looks like.

Of course, the emperor was not happy, but he didn't mean to leave the capital to go on a personal expedition.Just sullen, it hurts the people who serve around.

Finally, someone wisely suggested that the emperor wanted to see the bravery of the frontier army, so he might as well let them come to Beijing to participate in the exercise.Although the emperor could not go to the northwest, he was still with the soldiers.This might make the frontier army appreciate Mu Huang's kindness and serve him faithfully.

After Ping An finished listening, he didn't know what to say for a while.He didn't know whether the army would be grateful to Emperor Mu and serve him loyally to death. He only knew that such a toss and turn would cost a lot of money.

It is said that the emperor himself took it out of the inner treasury.

Ping An always felt as if he had fallen into a big pit.

Didn't the emperor throw away his previous good habits of thrift and frugality and start spending money lavishly just because he promised to make money?If this is the case, no matter how much money you earn, you can't afford to spend it!

But it was also because the emperor paid for the expenses from the inner treasury, so the courtiers couldn't even find a reason to object.Although they all feel that instead of using the money in the internal treasury for these things, it is better to use it to subsidize the national treasury, but this kind of thing can be thought of and even put into action, but they just can't say it.

Although he suspects that he has cheated himself, Ping An absolutely cannot show it.After he finished his work on road construction, he naturally returned to the Primordial Palace to work as an errand.The first thing to do is to arrange for Jin Mingchi's military exercise.

Probably because he felt that Ping'an already had experience in preparing for the literary conference, so the emperor asked Ping'an to come up with a plan for this matter.

So obviously these things are what the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Rites should worry about, but Ping An can't escape.

He really wanted to ask the emperor for a planning salary.This kind of large-scale event planning, if you hire a special person to do it, the asking price is also very expensive, okay? !

But he can only think about it.In fact, the emperor entrusted him with the arrangements. Many people envied and hated this kind of honor, waiting to replace him.

Naturally, Ping An will not keep a low profile. Since the matter is entrusted to him, it is natural to do the best.

Peace is arranged in accordance with the military parade of later generations.Of course, soldiers of this era have not undergone such similar training, and may not be able to achieve that effect, but there is still a little time now, and it is still possible to bluff people by speeding up the training temporarily.

In addition, very coincidentally, the day of the military exercise happened to be scheduled for the Mid-Autumn Festival.So Ping An simply organized a themed event of "The Emperor and the Soldiers Have Fun", which was arranged after the military exercise.The main content is to ask the emperor to distribute two moon cakes to each of the soldiers, and then everyone eats the moon cakes together, and the activity is over.

Soon it was the day before the military exercise.

Ping An had to go to the scene to watch the rehearsal of the soldiers and go through the whole process.After all, if something went wrong in front of the emperor, the responsibility would be too great.Moreover, in this exercise, the emperor's purpose was actually to frighten the captured Xirong and Beidi leaders. If something went wrong, it would make people laugh.

In addition, after such a period of time, the cement road should be ready for use.Ping An will lead people to put away all the tarpaulins covering it, exposing the white ground.

Ping An is very satisfied with this road.In this era without all kinds of machines, it is unbelievable for Ping An to be able to build such a smooth road with the same width.Although he personally led people to do this matter, but when he really saw the results, he still couldn't help but be moved by it.

This feeling is very familiar.Whenever he did something that he felt would have a far-reaching impact, such emotions would arise in Ping An's heart.

He is a part of this big Chu, but he can't forget the difference between himself and others.

After checking and accepting the concrete road, Ping An asked the others to go back and went to Jinming Pond by himself, but as soon as he got there, he saw Zhao Can.

Zhao Can was standing in the Xinxin Pavilion by the Jinming Pond.There is a gentle breeze, and the surrounding scenery is pleasant. It is a favorite place for the common people to go to when they enjoy the scenery in spring.Moreover, the entire Jinming Pond is separated from the place where the exercise will take place, and the emperor and ministers will watch the exercise here.

But now, there is a team of people practicing at the exercise site, and Zhao Can is standing in the pavilion watching from afar.

The distance is actually very far, only his figure can be seen, not his face at all, let alone his expression.But Ping An could tell at a glance that it was Zhao Can.

He was a little surprised because he didn't expect to meet him here.

Although when the two separated, they agreed to see each other in the capital.But in fact, they both understand that after returning, it is very difficult for both of them to meet again.So it's been more than a month since I came back safely, not to mention seeing each other, I haven't even heard Zhao Can's name once.

Now that he suddenly found out that he was here, Ping An was both surprised and delighted.

He hesitated for a moment, not knowing whether he should go or not.As a result, in such a blink of an eye, someone came up to say hello to him.The person who came was an official from the Ministry of War and asked him to confirm some details.Ping An took another look at the pavilion, just in time for Zhao Can to look over, and he couldn't move anymore.

Seeing this, the official of the Ministry of War followed Ping'an's line of sight and thought for a while before saying, "Oh, it's His Royal Highness the Seventh Prince over there. You should have seen him in Ping'an, right? This time he went out of Beijing to stay in Hebei and led the army." He ran thousands of miles to rescue Xinzhou City, and now he is well-known in the court. I heard people say that His Majesty intends to make him king!"

Ping An came back to his senses, and said casually, "Even if you want to be crowned king, you have to start with the first prince. There is no reason for a younger brother to surpass an elder brother."

Although Zhao Can has meritorious service, Zhao Rong and Zhao Xuan are not wrong, the royal family is most concerned about the seniority and inferiority, it is impossible to surpass the two elder brothers and give Zhao Can the title of king alone. ——In fact, Ping An felt that even if it was possible, Zhao Can would not agree.That is putting himself in a place of injustice.

The military official nodded and said, "That's true." After a pause, he asked again, "Ping An, do you want to go over and say hello?"

"Have you been there?" Ping An turned to look at him.

The other party looked embarrassed and embarrassed, "Where do we dare to go? You also know that His Royal Highness basically didn't appear in front of people in the past, and everyone didn't know him. It was only when he went to Hebei that anyone noticed. They said he He is a god-like figure, who dares to disturb him at will?"

"..." Ping An didn't expect that Zhao Can would have such a reputation after going out to fight.

I don't know whether he knew it himself, whether it was intentional or not.However, Ping An feels that as long as his reputation as a cannibal is not spread, or just mentioning his name can "stop children crying at night", then some prestige is not a bad thing.Just like now, it can deter these people with ulterior motives.

It stands to reason that Ping An should be honestly like everyone else at this time.But it's rare to meet him outside the palace. He really didn't want to let go of this opportunity, so he hesitated and said, "When I was in the northwest, I met His Royal Highness the Seventh Prince a few times. If I don't know, that's fine. Now that I know him Here, I’m afraid it’s unreasonable to go and ask for peace.”

The official of the Ministry of War thought so too.Ping An is not the same as them. Princes are not allowed to make friends with courtiers. They used to pay greetings as a matter of courtesy, and no one can fault them if they don't go.But Ping An is a eunuch, and in terms of status, he is just a domestic servant of the royal family.Since you are a domestic servant, how could you not go to pay your respects when you see "Young Master"?

Besides, the official himself wanted to have a relationship with Zhao Can.He is an official of the Ministry of War. Although he is not a military officer, he is still very interested in fighting.And Zhao Can fought so well and was a prince with a bright future, so it would be good for him to make connections.

So he thought for a while, and then said, "How about I go with you. The law does not punish the public. Even if His Royal Highness the Seventh Prince is unhappy, he will not be angry if he thinks about it."

"Alright." Ping An achieved his goal, and his brows and eyes stretched a little.

The two walked towards the Xinxin Pavilion together.

In the process of walking over, Ping An clearly noticed Zhao Can's gaze several times, but when the two walked outside the pavilion, Zhao Can was facing Jin Mingchi, as if he hadn't seen the two of them at all.He suppressed a smile, coughed lightly, stood outside the pavilion and said, "Your Highness, Seventh Prince."

Only then did Zhao Can turn around in response, glanced at the two of them, and nodded slightly, "What's the matter?"

Pretending to be like that.

Ping An suddenly remembered what happened when he went to Jiangnan to pick up Zhao Can.

At that time, Wang Congyi was not one of his people. On the contrary, he was ordered to monitor Ping An and Zhao Can, so when the two met in front of him, they also behaved politely, as if they didn't know each other at all.

I didn't think there was any problem at the time, but now that I think about it, I suddenly find it very funny.

"I'll come over to greet you when I see His Highness here." Ping An also said with a straight face.

"Oh." Zhao Can responded, seeming to think about it, and then said seriously, "I remember you, your name is Ping An? When did you return to the capital?"

"If I go back to Your Highness, I've been back to Beijing for more than a month. I'm working in the Supervisor of Rituals now, and I'm lucky enough to be favored by His Majesty, and ordered me to help with the military exercises, so come and have a look." Ping An said, and introduced himself by the way. The people around him then asked, "I don't know when His Highness came here, but what do you need?"

Zhao Can glanced at him and said, "After standing here for a while, I feel thirsty. Do you have tea?"

"There are some." The official of the Ministry of War rushed to say, "I will send someone over later?"

Zhao Can frowned slightly, "It's not right. I just heard that some people from Hebei came to participate in the military exercise, so let's take a look. Don't disturb too many people."

That person thought you had been standing here for half a day, who didn't know you were here?But he also knew that it was one thing for others to know about it, but it was another for Zhao Can to make it public.Just like now, if it is not safe, he would not dare to come to pay his respects.

Thinking of this made me happy again.Zhao Can is unwilling to stretch, so he has room to play. Otherwise, with his status, he can only stand behind those adults and take a look from a distance. How can he talk to the Seventh Prince?

He wanted to bring the tea himself, but he hesitated for a moment, looked at Ping An who was standing beside him, a flash of inspiration flashed in his mind, and said, "Ping An, you are fine, why don't you go and bring tea for His Royal Highness the Seventh Prince?"

Sure enough, as soon as he finished speaking, he found that His Royal Highness the Seventh Prince's gaze on him was somewhat satisfied.

Compared with himself, of course Ping An is closer to the Seventh Prince.Anyway, we have already talked, this official is very knowledgeable, and he doesn't think there is anything wrong with giving this opportunity to Ping An.