Shen Yicheng looked at the silent officials and spoke again.
"Everyone, I know this is a difficult task, but we can't give up just because it's difficult. Otherwise, the refugees will rebel."
Shen Yicheng had once again given them a strong dose of medicine. He wanted to test this fledgling group of his.
Based on the current state of the national treasury, it was impossible to allocate funds for disaster relief. Shen Yicheng said this to see if they were willing to speak up for him and take action against the Jin merchants!
Shi Xing had always been a man of his words. He quickly realized that this was the time to prove his loyalty. If he didn't clarify his allegiance, it would be hard to tell how Shen Yicheng would look at him.
Hence, Shi Xing spoke.
"Everyone knows the state of the national treasury. Don't even think about allocating funds from the national treasury. Her Majesty's internal funds … I won't say anymore. If I continue, it won't look good on everyone. The compensation from Japan is due this year, and it will last until October this year. The final payment of 1.6 million silver will be over. What's left is one million silver and ten thousand taels of gold every year.
But I heard that someone has already booked this batch of silver for five years. Everyone, five years later, how much silver will be gone? In the past, when we didn't have the silver, we booked it for three years. Now that we have the silver, not only did it not solve the problem, we are even more short of silver than before. Do I need to explain further? "
Shi Xing looked at Xu Zuo meaningfully.
Xu Zuo instantly exploded.
"Shi Butang, what do you mean?"
Shi Xing sneered.
"Hmph! What do I mean? I don't mean anything. I'm just lamenting that someone in the Ministry of Works took away a lot of silver in the name of repairing the Yellow River dykes. Then, the dykes didn't get repaired, but many people got fat. I don't know why. "
"Shi Xing! Don't slander me! "
Xu Zuo slammed the table and stood up.
"I'm slandering you? Do you think I don't know what you've done?! Xu Butang, Xu You, Imperial Censor, is the food in the Imperial Censorate good recently? Ah? Hahahaha! "
Shi Xing was not angry. He just sat on his seat and looked at Xu Zuo coldly.
Xu Zuo immediately understood that Shi Xing was showing his dissatisfaction with the Ministry of Works, but in reality, he was expressing his dissatisfaction with the Imperial Censorate.
Who asked him to hold the position of the Right Imperial Censor and be one of the heads of the Imperial Censors?
However, Xu Zuo was too embarrassed to say that he was clean. Of course, no one here was clean. Oh, Zhao Zhigao might be relatively clean. Yes, relatively.
"Look at me, Shi Butang, your Ministry of War also asked for a lot of money."
Xu Zuo sat down and stared at Shi Xing.
"The Ministry of War wants silver, and every sum of silver is accounted for. This silver is used to comfort the families of the soldiers, to reward the soldiers, to buy new weapons and armaments, and to repair the old ones. Xiao Zhennan's tens of thousands of troops are fighting fiercely against the Northern invaders in Datong, and people are dying every hour. Is it alright if I don't want silver? What do the soldiers eat and wear? What do they use to fight? "
Xu Zuo was furious. Just as he was about to use his special skill to lash out, Shen Yicheng spoke.
"Enough! I asked you to discuss serious matters, not to quarrel. You need to come up with a plan. Quarrel every day. Can quarreling solve the problem? Can quarreling satisfy the soldiers and repair the dykes? "
Shen Yicheng reprimanded the two. Shi Xing cupped his hands to show that he was wrong. Xu Zuo snorted and turned his head away without saying anything.
"Let's not talk about the compensation from Japan first. This is a serious matter. Let's talk about what other money can be used to fill the gap in Shanxi Datong. I asked someone to do some calculations a few days ago. I estimate that without a million taels of silver, there is no way to settle the victims.
It is now spring, but the weather is cold. Spring plowing will be delayed. This year, the northern grain production will be reduced again. Datong will not have a chance to spring plowing, nor will northern Shanxi. They need more grain for relief. "
The cabinet returned to its previous silence.
"What else can we do? Send them all to Myanmar!"
Xu Zuo said as if in a fit of pique.
This time, before Shi Xing could scold him, Song Yingchang spoke.
"Xu Butang, be careful with what you say."
Xu Zuo looked at Song Yingchang with a little surprise. He did not expect that this old guy, who had never had a sense of existence, would attack him.
"Xu Butang, how many people can Myanmar send? How many people can it carry? You should also ask Xiao Zhennan. What's more, even if you send them, how long will it take to send millions of victims? How much money and food will it take to appease them during this period? What about the empty land in Shanxi and Datong? Will it be abandoned after the war? Or will it be directly taken away by some people with ulterior motives? "
Song Yingchang's words were a little harsh. The more Xu Zuo listened, the bigger his eyes became. In the end, he directly opened his mouth and looked at Song Yingchang with a look of disbelief. He could not believe that these words came from Song Yingchang's mouth.
How could this old guy, who had always been a man of few words, say such words?
When a man who had always seemed to be an honest man suddenly opened his mouth, he would often say amazing words that shocked many people. Even though Shi Xing and Song Yingchang had been colleagues for a long time, it was not until today that he knew Song Yingchang's level of political struggle was not low.
"You … what do you mean?"
Xu Zuo hurriedly retorted.
"I just think that it is an inappropriate move to send all the victims of Shanxi and Datong to Myanmar, so I oppose it. I don't mean anything else. What do you think, Deputy Chief?"
Song Yingchang did not look at Xu Zuo, but just looked at Shen Yicheng.
Shen Yicheng nodded slightly and said with a smile, "Yes, sending the refugees to Myanmar is an expedient measure. If we blindly send them to Myanmar, there will be a time when Myanmar can't bear it. If something goes wrong, it will be bad. What's more, it will cost a lot of money to send people there. Which one is more cost-effective, or providing disaster relief on the spot? We have to calculate carefully and can't make a decision casually."
Shen Yicheng's words sounded gentle, but in fact, he was on Song Yingchang's side, belittling and ridiculing Xu Zuo. Xu Zuo was caught off guard and confused. He thought he had heard something wrong and was stunned there, unable to say a word.
Then the scene fell into an indescribable silence again.
Shen Li looked at Shen Yicheng a little and felt that Shen Yicheng seemed to want to express something extraordinary.
Zhao Zhigao narrowed his eyes and looked at Shen Yicheng. He sighed slightly and closed his eyes to continue resting.
His judgment was correct. Shen Yicheng was a real smiling tiger, but there was a beast lurking in his heart. Zhao Zhigao could not see the purpose of this beast at the moment, but he instinctively felt the horror of this beast.
But he soon saw it clearly, because Shen Yicheng said something.
It seemed to be an unintentional personal complaint.
"Alas! It is all because of the Northern Barbarians that we are in such trouble today. If the Northern Barbarians had not gone south, if Shanxi and Datong had not fallen so quickly, we would not have to rack our brains here to discuss a solution. Alas … "
Zhao Zhigao's breath stopped, and his hands suddenly clenched the hem of his clothes tightly. He opened his eyes involuntarily and looked at Shen Yicheng.
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