Wealth and glory seek stability

Shangguan Tang smiled softly, "If the general can let me stay in your house for a while, I can help you treat one person unconditionally."

If Medicine King Valley had not been revealed, anyone who went there to seek medical treatment would have to pay a huge price. Shangguan Tang's behavior was undoubtedly doing Shen Nanxing a great favor.

Everyone has some ailments and disasters, especially military commanders who have been in high positions for a long time. They will have some ailments after years of fighting.

Shen Nanxing thought for a moment and agreed, "Okay, I will have the servants clean a courtyard for you. There are women in the inner courtyard, so I hope you don't walk around casually to avoid bumping into them."

"Of course it's my duty. I came here to wait for someone. Once the matter is settled, I should return to report to my master." Shangguan Tang stood up and saluted.

"Butler Liu, clean up the Zhuquan Courtyard next to Lengbixuan. Young Master Shangguan is an honored guest, so send a few servants to serve him well."

"Yes."

"Mr. Shangguan, please."

"Thank you."

Beijing, suburbs.

A large number of refugees wanted to go to the city with their families.

Seeing this, the officers and soldiers guarding the city had no choice but to drive them away.

Zhou Wei, the commander of the City Gate Division, frowned. "If all these refugees enter the city and the higher-ups blame us, we will be in big trouble."

The head guard Liu Lian wiped the sweat from his forehead and swallowed his saliva. "Commander, it's not that we don't want to stop them, but there are so many of them, we can't do anything. If we drive them all out, it will arouse public anger and cause riots."

"Yes, sir. I heard from that group of people that they walked all the way from the west to the east. There were countless starving people along the way. I estimate that there are more people behind them. I am afraid we need to submit a petition to ask for instructions from the higher-ups."

Zhou Wei's heart sank a little. If this was the case, it would be difficult to deal with. If a riot broke out under the emperor's feet because of refusing to accept refugees, he, as the commander of the City Gate Department, would be the first to be held accountable.

"That's it. Place all the refugees in the Huimin Office in the western suburbs. They will provide porridge and rice every day. From today on, we will collect city fees to prevent some refugees from taking advantage of the situation. I will submit a memorial to the cabinet and ask for instructions."

"Yes, Commander, you are wise."

The Welfare Office in the western suburbs had accumulated a large number of refugees and had long been unable to finance its expenditures.

Qin Liulang, the head of the Huimin Office, was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan. He packed up his things and rushed to the Ministry of Revenue to discuss countermeasures.

The Ministry of Revenue is in charge of the country's taxation and finances. Before the New Year, after all the ministries had reconciled their accounts and withdrawn their silver, the treasury was already half empty. The bulk of the tax revenue is collected after autumn every year, and it is still very early now, just after the New Year.

The Minister of Revenue Qian Zhong is almost bald, and the remaining silver must be carefully calculated. After the New Year, the crown prince will go to the northwest for disaster relief, and a large amount of money will be needed. Where can he find the money now?

"Sir, the Huimin Office is already struggling to make ends meet. There are more and more refugees coming. It's winter now, so we have to build a place to shelter from the wind and rain. Otherwise, won't it be a disaster?"

"The Jishitang in the west of the city has no more food left..."

"Didn't we collect more than 100,000 taels of silver from the last Hanmei Banquet? Why don't you use it for emergencies?"

Qian Zhong's head was splitting because of the noise, and he didn't care about his manners anymore, and yelled:

"Stop arguing. You all come to the Ministry of Revenue to ask for money. Don't you want to think of a way? Money is needed everywhere. If I give you this money, when the prince goes to the northwest to provide disaster relief, can you come up with 100,000 taels of silver?"

"But......"

.......

Each one of them thinks he is right, and they all want money.

He wanted to give it, but he couldn't just create it out of thin air.

Qian Zhong was depressed, so he simply drove all his quarreling subordinates out of the Ministry of Revenue and left them to figure out a solution on their own.

The next day there was a court meeting.

Someone from the Censorate reported Qian Zhongyi.

"Your Majesty, I want to report the Minister of Revenue Qian Zhong for his misconduct. He has caused a disaster for refugees outside the capital. As the Minister of Revenue, he does not want to share your worries, but actually lets his subordinates figure out a solution on their own. This is truly a dereliction of duty!"

"The Minister of Revenue is in charge of Taicang. He should transfer grain in a timely manner to calm the people, but he has been slow to act, causing complaints from the people."

Emperor Xuanyuan's expression remained unchanged, and it was impossible to tell whether he was happy or angry. "My dear Qian, is this true?"

Qian Zhong stepped forward and said respectfully, "Your Majesty, the treasury is empty right now. Although last year was a good year, there was a drought in the northwest. Many prefectures still owe taxes to the court. Your Majesty, please grant me a grace decree to defer the payment for two years."

"Your Highness the Crown Prince will be going to the northwest to provide disaster relief in the near future. The grain is already insufficient. If the officials are allowed to use it, it will cause chaos. So I will let them figure it out on their own. The purpose of being a minister is to share the worries of the monarch and do what others cannot do. Otherwise, wouldn't it be a waste of salary?"

These words left everyone speechless.

Some people were dissatisfied. "It's just a little grain. The Huimin Bureau doesn't use much every day. Is Mr. Qian holding on to that money and grain in order to have children?"

Qian Zhong was as still as a mountain. "The Huimin Office now needs about 20 dan of rice every day. Ten days means 200 dan, and a hundred days means 2,000 dan. If we take into account the people who keep coming to the capital, the amount will be more than double or triple, not to mention the people in the capital."

"If we continue to spend money without considering the cost, how many days will the grain in Taicang last? Lord Zhang is a scholar, and I'm afraid he doesn't know the current market conditions of the grain market. If you think that I'm not doing a good job, how about you become the Minister of Revenue?" He snorted coldly.

Qian Zhong was in charge of the Ministry of Revenue for more than 20 years and had never made any mistakes. However, due to his stingy nature, he offended many officials in the six ministries, and once they found a mistake, they would naturally attack him.

Seeing the heated argument below, Emperor Xuanyuan was afraid that Qian Zhong would quit his job if he was not satisfied, so he came out to smooth things over.

"My dear ministers, you are all my loyal subjects. Why should you hurt your colleagues' feelings over such a small matter?

I have seen how diligently and conscientiously Qian Aiqing has performed his duties over the years. The national treasury and the granary are indeed unable to make ends meet this year. The disaster in the northwest cannot be delayed. I plan to help the prince choose a concubine after the new year, and go to the northwest to provide disaster relief immediately after his wedding."

"Your Majesty is wise!"

The prince's wedding was thus put on the agenda.

During the Lantern Festival, Concubine Shu held a Lantern Festival in the Zhaixing Tower in the palace and invited officials of the third rank and above to participate with their families. It was an unprecedented grand event.

In order to please Emperor Xuanyuan, Concubine Shu invited many folk artists, who performed fireworks, iron flower tricks, and flower spear tricks...all of which were novel and interesting, and Emperor Xuanyuan was very pleased.

That night, even outside the palace, one could see the fireworks above the Zhaixing Tower. It was so lively.

Jian Xi stood in the courtyard wearing a crane cloak, and couldn't help but sigh:

"As expected, this General's Mansion is located at the foot of the Emperor. It is so close to the Imperial City that I can even see the scenes in the palace. It's a pity that I won't be able to see the good show tonight."

The fireworks above the palace lasted for a full quarter of an hour before they stopped.

After the Lantern Festival, Emperor Xuanyuan appointed Wei Yuyan, the second daughter of the Earl of Wuchang, as the Crown Prince's principal wife, and Lin Yun as the Crown Prince's concubine, and the wedding date was set for the first day of March.

Originally, Concubine Shu's preferred candidate was Lan Mei'er from Duke Lan's Mansion, but Concubine Zhao intercepted her halfway and Lan Mei'er was assigned to Prince Jin Xuanyuan Qiyuan.

There was a lot of discussion in the court and the public, with everyone speculating on Emperor Xuanyuan's true intentions.

The Wuchang Earl's Mansion is not of high status, and the Wei family has always been dependent on the Lan family. Emperor Xuanyuan's move is probably because he is afraid of the growing power of the prince, so he uses the Lan family and Prince Jin to contain him.

Once the marriage is decided, the next step is to prepare the betrothal gifts and dowry.

I don’t know if it’s because there are too many families getting married in the capital, but many people in the timber business made a lot of money.

The prices of many rare woods remain high, even to the point where there is no demand for them.

Fortunately, Jian Xi had foresight. Since she started making money, she asked Lei Zi to pay more attention to some precious materials on the market every year.

No matter it is gemstone raw materials, rare woods, or precious medicinal materials, buy them when you see them. These things are all value-preserving. Whether they are given as gifts or for personal use, it is always better than looking for them when you need them.

She owns many farms, and these things are stored in various farms.

The most rare one is the golden nanmu tree, which requires two adults to hug together.

Lei Zi brought the account books to the general's mansion to report the accounts and mentioned this matter.

"Master, in addition to the wood you ordered, we will set aside a portion for the furniture used in the betrothal gift to the general. It would be a pity to leave the remaining wood lying around. We might as well take advantage of the rising price of wood and sell it. I roughly calculated that, not counting the wood that has already been used, the remaining wood can be sold for at least 50,000 or 60,000 taels of silver."

The businessman's careful calculations were fully exposed.

Jian Xi immediately made the decision, "Then let's sell it." It would be a bastard not to make money. When Lei Zi made the previous purchases, he only spent a little over 12,000 taels in total. Now that there is such a good opportunity, of course he cannot let it go.

"Yes, I will listen to you, Master. However, there is another golden nanmu in it, which is extremely precious. I bought it from a foreign merchant who didn't know the value of the goods when I was traveling with the caravan.

Even if you have money, there is nowhere to buy it. According to the market price, this golden nanmu tree alone costs 50,000 taels. Now that wood is in short supply, I am afraid it will be even more expensive. "