ghter" Chen Tong dared to ask.Li Chen frowned, and said in a dry tone: "You're getting more efficient with your tasks now. To inquire about such matters, do you still have any sense of hierarchy"Chen...Chapter 303: Xu Changqing Claims Poverty

"So ruthless, are you not afraid of causing backlash and public anger"

Long Tiande said in a deep voice.

Long Huaiyu smiled and said, "Such a person, once enthroned and obtained the world, he would either be an emperor through the ages or a tyrannical despot who brought about the nation's ruin."

Long Huaiyu bowed to Long Tiande and said, “Therefore, Father, on this trip, we should go.”

He killed a man and then spread the word, implying that he's not ready to take the second path just yet, at least there's still room for compromise. So why not make a trip to the capital, to the East Palace It's just a matter of giving him face. After all, the real prize is the benefit we get.

Long Tiande frowned and said, "But if we go, wouldn't that be admitting defeat and letting him slaughter us at will"

Long Huaiyu self-assuredly said: "Please father rest assured, with me here, even if he is esteemed as the Crown Prince, he won't dare to toy with us."

"Since I understand his intentions, he can't always have the upper hand. I have my own ways to deal with him."

Long Tiande let out a hearty laugh and said, "Good, since you have such confidence, then father and son shall make a trip to the East Palace together. When shall we depart"

"Immediately!"

......

"Your Highness, the treasury is empty again."

Seeing Xu Changqing standing on Xizheng Hall with his hands spread out, looking worried and dejected, Li Chen felt a sharp pain in his temples.

Li Chen slightly closed his eyes and waved his hand, motioning for Wan Jiaojiao to rub his throbbing temples. "Xu Changqing, your Ministry of Finance is a bottomless pit. The tens of millions of taels of silver I confiscated from the wealthy families a few months ago wouldn't even make a dent. Now, after just this much time, you tell me there's no money again"

Xu Changqing said with a troubled expression: "Your Highness, as you know, the court needs money everywhere nowadays. I have already been extremely frugal, cutting out all unnecessary expenses, but I'm still struggling to make ends meet."

“Not to mention the disaster relief funds alone, which have spent half of the stored silver in these two months. Coupled with the natural disasters, tax revenue from all regions simply cannot be collected. Moreover, last year the Emperor issued an edict that for provinces affected by disasters, taxes and corvée labor would be reduced by 50%, to alleviate the suffering of the disaster victims, for a period of three years. This is only the second year, so naturally there’s no talk of any tax revenue.”

One side has no income, the other has massive expenditures. Right now, the imperial court is so strapped for cash that even paying officials' salaries by year-end is becoming a problem.

Xu Changqing stole a glance at Li Chen's face and boldly said, "As the year-end approaches, according to the usual custom, on the 25th day of the twelfth lunar month, we are supposed to give out New Year's gifts to the officials. This expense, I roughly calculated, still has a shortfall of about seven or eight hundred thousand taels..."

"How much silver does it take to buy such a gift!"

Li Chen opened his eyes and said angrily, "Seven or eight hundred thousand taels That's enough to do so many things!"

Xu Changqing hurriedly explained: "Your Highness, the total number looks large, but there are more officials. When distributed to each official, there isn't much. In previous years, even when the court was facing difficulties, at most some New Year's gifts were slightly reduced, but they always existed. However, since last year, none have been issued. Many officials are not easy themselves; the court owes a lot of salaries that haven't been paid out. As the end of the year approaches, it would be inconceivable for the officials to borrow money to celebrate the New Year"

Li Chen let out a grunt, though he was extremely displeased inwardly, he also knew that what Xu Changqing said was true.

Corruption among officials is endless and inexhaustible, and Li Chen never expected to create a court where everyone was honest and incorruptible. That's unrealistic.

It is still possible to curb large-scale corruption and bottomless decay through institutional and supervisory reforms.

Ultimately, the fundamental issue is to address the survival needs of officials themselves.

When the family can barely make ends meet, what hope is there for officials to be incorruptible

Those in power are human, not gods, and they also eat grains. Therefore, this expense cannot really be saved.Emperor Taizong's reign, the Imperial Examinations were reinstated. These exams sought to select talented individuals from across the land, bringing them into the imperial court to serve the nation, b...