HCB Chapter 223 Today is the day the newly appointed Minister of Personnel received his pre-arranged mea
Chapter 223 Today is the day the newly appointed Minister of Personnel received his pre-arranged mea
"I intend to replace that wooden bridge with a stone bridge."
"Well, even so, do you really need that much silver?"
The old emperor was not satisfied with this answer.
The governor of Xuzhou continued, "Your Majesty, I intend to build a few more stone bridges. The people living near the river often have to take detours to get into the city, which is really inconvenient."
"If that's the case, why don't you just say so?"
The old emperor was still not satisfied.
The governor of Xuzhou simply cried out, "If I speak frankly, the higher-ups definitely won't approve it. They'll just think one bridge is enough, why do we need so many bridges?"
The old emperor was taken aback.
I listened and thought about it.
The governor of Xuzhou is absolutely right.
Not only him, but even that old fellow, the Minister of Revenue, wouldn't agree to build so many stone bridges in one place.
That being said, it is absolutely unacceptable to admit it.
"Ha, you're so certain without even trying? This is, to put it bluntly, a crime of deceiving the emperor!"
The governor of Xuzhou wanted nothing more than to cry out that he was wronged.
It's not like he hadn't tried it when he first took office.
Too many people have tried to get money from higher-ups, but his applications are either rejected or his funding is reduced, so in the end he has to figure out a way himself.
Having learned his lesson, the governor of Xuzhou changed his approach.
"Besides, you received a full five thousand taels of silver from the wealthy merchant. Are you worried that you won't be able to build many bridges?"
The governor of Xuzhou stared wide-eyed.
He doesn't covet the people's hard-earned money; his entire family survives entirely by swindling money from wealthy merchants.
You should know that the five thousand taels of silver given by that wealthy merchant was rightfully his!
How can we use this money to repair a bridge?
There must be a bottom line for officials.
But the governor of Xuzhou dared not say anything.
He agreed to everything the old emperor said.
"Ah."
The old emperor nodded affirmatively, and seeing that the other party's attitude of admitting his mistake was very good, he spared the other party's life.
"Although the death penalty can be avoided."
The governor of Xuzhou was thrilled; was he about to be resurrected?
"but……"
The governor of Xuzhou was uneasy; why was there still a "but"?
"But there will be a fine; he'll have to pay three thousand taels..."
Governor of Xuzhou: It's alright, it's not much, just a mere three thousand taels of silver.
The old emperor revealed a wicked smile.
"Three thousand taels of gold."
The governor of Xuzhou was dumbfounded.
Three thousand taels of gold?
Thirty thousand taels of silver!
Just kill him.
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"
The old emperor murmured, "The crime of deceiving the emperor—"
"Your Majesty, please don't worry. I will find a way. I will definitely get three thousand taels of gold."
Kill him, kill him.
However, if the emperor were to investigate the crime of deceiving the emperor thoroughly, it would mean the extermination of nine generations of one's family.
Thinking of his large family, the governor of Xuzhou began to wail and think of ways to get money.
After returning from the old emperor, the governor of Xuzhou collapsed into a chair in his study.
On the one hand, he was relieved that he wouldn't have to be beheaded.
But on the other hand, he was also troubled about where to find three thousand taels of gold.
"Sell the flower boat?"
"No, no, no."
Thinking of his beloved pleasure boat, the governor of Xuzhou felt as if his heart was bleeding.
"Even if you sell it, you won't get three thousand taels of gold."
Moreover, even if they tried to swindle the wealthy merchants of Xuzhou, it would be impossible to obtain all of their money in a short period of time.
The old emperor had truly given him a difficult problem.
On the other side, the satisfied old emperor was in high spirits, eating heartily and walking with great energy.
Zhang Sheren quickly wrote it down, then took out his notebook and continued to compile his plan to win over the lady.
Just then, a cold voice came from outside the door.
The old emperor was overjoyed.
"Yanchen, come in quickly."
The newly appointed Minister of Personnel pushed open the door and entered. Seeing the happy expression on the old emperor's face, he relaxed a little.
"Your Majesty, I have come to ask the Governor of Xuzhou how you intend to handle this matter, and what you require of me?"
"No need. That guy really didn't embezzle. The money allocated by the court was used for practical purposes. The money needed for his family's expenses was obtained through local wealthy merchants. The methods were, well, not exactly respectable, but harmless."
The old emperor suddenly burst into laughter at this point.
"However, I did not take his life, nor did I intend to demote him."
Upon hearing this, the newly appointed Minister of Personnel knew that he would not need to go through the trouble of selecting a new governor for Xuzhou.
"I fined him three thousand taels of gold."
The newly appointed Minister of Personnel, who had initially seemed somewhat nonchalant: ? ? ?
How many?
Three thousand taels of gold?
The old emperor really dared to speak his mind.
"Your Majesty, you wouldn't get this much silver even if you sold him, unless you've struck gold."
The newly appointed Minister of Personnel paused at this point.
He seemed to understand the old emperor's intentions.
The old emperor clapped his hands excitedly and got down from his chair.
"That's right, it's a gold mine."
"These past few days, I've been mentioning gold mines to Shen Zhiyi quite often, but she just won't listen to me."
At this point, the old emperor had a real headache.
Shen Zhiyi's greatest love in life is food, followed by money.
How can he remain so unmoved by a gold mine?
The newly appointed Minister of Personnel couldn't help but sneer.
It wasn't that she was unmoved by temptation; it was that she was perfectly clear-headed. She knew where the gold mine was but couldn't possibly be hers, so she preferred not to look, rather than suffer the pain of seeing something she couldn't have.
"Therefore, I have decided to send the governor of Xuzhou to sound him out."
The newly appointed Minister of Personnel remained silent, only sending blessings to the Governor of Xuzhou.
May you rest in peace.
"Yanchen, these past few days you have stayed by Shen Zhiyi's side, keeping a close eye on the whereabouts of the gold mine for me."
He needs to know firsthand information.
The newly appointed Minister of Personnel: He shouldn't have come.
"The minister obeys the order."
The scene changes.
Shen Zhiyi was still eating pastries, having long forgotten about the governor of Xuzhou who had said he would be back later.
Meanwhile, the governor of Xuzhou had long forgotten that he still needed to go back to visit Shen Zhiyi.
The two forgot about each other; one had delicious food, and the other had the trouble of three thousand taels of gold. Only Shen Zhiyi's wonderful world was achieved.
"Minister of Personnel? What brings you here?"
Chen Decai looked at Shen Zhiyi, who had a great appetite, with a kind smile. When he looked up, he saw the sullen Minister of Personnel.
The newly appointed Minister of Personnel exhaled a breath of stale air and sat down directly opposite Shen Zhiyi.
"Shen Lang has given himself some special training, hasn't he?"
Shen Zhiyi puffed out her cheeks, hesitated for a moment while looking at the lotus flower pastry in her hand, and then generously handed it to the person opposite her.
"Here, this is for you."
Her gaze slid down to the cloud-shaped cake, and she said, "This is from Eunuch Chen."
Then I looked at the flower cake again.
"This is His Majesty's."
Then it landed on that lotus flower pastry.
"Please remember to leave some lotus flower pastries for Zhang Sheren."
The newly appointed Minister of Personnel couldn't help but twitch at the corner of his mouth.
After all that, he still has to fight Zhang Sheren.