noffsinger Chapter 1161 Your Ministry of Revenue's money, my Liuyang Prefecture embezzled.
Chapter 1161 Your Ministry of Revenue's money, my Liuyang Prefecture embezzled.
Xiao Yuan recounted the scene when the county soldiers arrived, speaking at length.
"That was when the docks were busiest, and everyone was watching them, but they stood there motionless, like gun barrels, not even blinking. They were amazing! Many of the visiting merchants didn't even know they were county soldiers and thought you were keeping a private army..."
"Then I told them that these were county soldiers specially trained for our county by the imperial court. You didn't see the look on their faces... they were drooling with surprise!"
Shen Zheng chuckled upon hearing this.
I don't know why Xiao Yuan used the words "surprised" and "drooling" together.
Xiao Yuan continued, his pride undisguised: "Then my subordinates and Brother Zhao boarded the boat and told the county soldiers you weren't in the county, so they could disembark first and follow us to the training ground. But..."
As he spoke, Xiao Yuan paused.
Shen Zheng guessed, "But they said that without orders, we can't move around freely?"
"Yes, yes, yes!" Xiao Yuan nodded hurriedly, a hint of longing in his voice: "They said they wouldn't listen to anyone except your orders, and they'd be waiting on the ship until you gave the order. That's why I rushed over here to ask for your decision..."
After saying that, Xiao Yuan sighed inwardly.
No wonder people say, "A soldier who doesn't want to be a general isn't a good soldier"...
Who wouldn't want to be followed by a group of people who are completely devoted to them?
The line "We will not listen to anyone except the orders of adults" alone is enough to get people excited and feel great!
Under Xiao Yuan's admiring and longing gaze, Shen Zheng asked Xu Yunyan for paper and pen, wrote two sentences on the paper, and then took out her private seal and stamped it on.
“Su Yan is right outside the government office. Take this letter and go find him.” Shen Zheng handed over the letter and added, “The training ground shouldn’t be finished yet, right? While I was away, I had Su Yan lead the county soldiers to help with the repairs. With their help, it should be finished in a few days.”
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yuan's eyes lit up, and he obeyed the order without hesitation.
Although the county soldiers are "soldiers", they are also part of Tongan County.
Repairing the training grounds... that couldn't be more suitable for them.
......
The two days passed in the blink of an eye.
In the past two days, Shen Zheng made a very bold decision that is likely to offend Ji Benchang.
But as the saying goes, "Every man for himself."
Shen Zheng believed that as the prefect of Liuyang, if he did not consider the people of Liuyang in his actions, then he should be "punished by heaven and earth".
Chamber.
Shen Zheng sat in the superior position, Xu Yunyan sat to the lower left, and the clerk of the Household Department and four other clerks sat opposite Xu Yunyan, their expressions respectful yet apprehensive.
"I have summoned you here today to announce a decision." Shen Zheng took a sip of tea and glanced at the group. "You have been following Lord Xu for the past two days, so you should have some understanding of Huai Gongwang's assets. It is a considerable sum, even a 'huge sum'."
The five people in the household nodded in unison.
Those who handled Huai Gongwang's fortune knew all too well how vast it was.
If all those things were replaced with grain... it would be enough to feed all the people of Liuyang Prefecture for two or three years.
Such a huge sum of money shocked not only ordinary people, but even those of them who worked in the household registration office.
People often say, "A higher-ranking official can crush you."
After this incident, they had a new perspective on the saying—"The higher the official rank, the more corrupt they become."
Thinking about it, they couldn't help but look at the highest-ranking official in the hall.
"Why are you all looking at me?" Shen Zheng tapped the table with her knuckles slightly, indicating to them, "Look at yourselves."
When they looked down, they discovered that a small booklet had appeared in front of them.
"These are the new regulations drafted by me and Lord Xu. Please take a look at them first," Shen Zheng said, picking up the booklet.
The officials looked puzzled and slowly opened the booklet.
After they saw the first line of the register, their eyes widened in shock, and they couldn't help but exclaim, "After the Huai family's property was sold off, it was all put into the government treasury, and not a single copper coin was given to the national treasury?!"
Not even a single copper coin... not... not given to the national treasury?
Not giving?
The officials all rubbed their eyes.
They were afraid they were seeing things and had mistakenly read an extra "no".
But after reading the small print several times, they realized they hadn't misread it—their superior did indeed want to offend the Ministry of Revenue to the death.
"My lord, isn't this a bit... inappropriate?"
Under Xu Yunyan's warning gaze, the clerk Liu Pei swallowed hard and said tactfully, "It is true that local government offices have the practice of 'prioritizing the use of confiscated funds to supplement local livelihoods,' but... but there has never been a government office that didn't give a single copper coin to the national treasury..."
Isn't this blatantly telling the Ministry of Revenue, "I, Liuyang Prefecture, have embezzled your money"?
If the officials in the Ministry of Revenue find out, everyone in the Liuyang Prefecture will be in deep trouble.
"Yes, yes, sir." Clerk Song Xishi glanced at Xu Yunyan and forced a smile, saying, "Sir, those items that are inconvenient to send to the capital and are suitable for local use, our government can refuse to give to the Ministry of Revenue, but how can we not hand over the confiscated gold and silver..."
After the two men finished expressing their opinions, the other officials whispered in agreement, all feeling that this action was inappropriate.
Shen Zheng did not speak. Xu Yunyan frowned, his gaze sharp: "The master is asking for your opinions."
The officials felt a bitter taste in their mouths when he stared at them.
If it weren't for the fear of losing their minor official positions, how would they dare to contradict Lord Shen...
"Keep reading," Xu Yunyan said, holding the booklet. "The purpose of the funds is clearly stated in the booklet. If you have any objections, you can discuss them after you've read it."
The officials swallowed their bitterness and looked at the booklet.
Clerk Liu Pei moistened his finger with saliva, turned to the second page of the booklet, and a few words caught his eye—"Special Fund for Scholarship in Liuyang Prefecture?"
Although he had never heard of the term "student aid," its meaning was not difficult to understand.
Immediately afterwards, the other officials read aloud as they looked at the document: "In order to improve the basic educational conditions of Liuyang Prefecture and provide long-term support for talent cultivation, the prefectural government will establish a special scholarship fund to renovate existing prefectural and county schools, and to help counties that have not yet established county schools... to establish county schools?"
Does that mean... all the counties in Liuyang Prefecture will have county schools?
This is indeed a good thing.
Thinking about it, the officials looked down.
"At the same time, the government will provide additional 'teaching stipends' to teachers of prefectural and county schools to attract more learned people to devote themselves to education. It will also encourage teachers to go to local areas to guide the teaching of free schools and connect the educational links between 'prefectural schools, county schools, and free schools'."
"At the same time, the government will provide continuous subsidies to students who pass the prefectural examination. If they achieve a higher rank, the government will also provide additional subsidies for travel expenses to the capital to help them realize their dream of going to the capital, thus forming a closed loop of 'talent selection - training - success'..."
Upon seeing this, the officials all looked up at Xu Yunyan: "Lord Xu, what does 'closed loop' mean?"
Xu Yunyan had only just learned the meaning of this word.
But he didn't show it at all; in fact, the officials seemed to think that he had created the word himself.
He said, "'Closed loop' means that through continuous learning, feedback and improvement, one thing after another forms a closed loop, with the beginning at the end and the end at the beginning, repeating the cycle until the end is achieved."