At this time, if there were still people who did not understand the purpose of County Uncle Li's appearance, they were not qualified to stand in today's court.
Of course, it was impossible for His Majesty to arrest all the corrupt officials in the court or drag them out to be beheaded. Not only would the court collapse, but the entire official system of the Jing Kingdom would also collapse.
However, corruption was real. His Majesty could not pretend that he did not see it. If he downplayed it, this phenomenon would become more serious in the future.
His Majesty needed a way out, and some officials in the court also needed a way out, or a chance to atone for their crimes.
Now, this opportunity had appeared.
After an official from the Ministry of Revenue walked out, another official stood up and said with a serious face, "Your Majesty, the students of the Mathematics College are the future pillars of the court. I am willing to donate five thousand taels to the Mathematics College."
As soon as he finished speaking, another official followed, "I am willing to donate eight thousand taels to the Women's College."
"I am willing to donate ten thousand taels to the Academy of Sciences."
"Your Majesty has worked hard for the country and did not hesitate to reduce the expenditure of the Inner Residence. I am deeply ashamed and am willing to donate half of my family property …"
…
…
All the officials in the court had never been so patriotic and so loyal to the Emperor. For the sake of "sharing the Emperor's worries", they would easily donate thousands of taels. In the future, it would definitely be a heavy stroke in the history books.
During the reign of Jing He, the Emperor was benevolent and reduced the taxes of many affected states, causing the national treasury to be empty. In the second month of the third year of Jing He, the officials were generous and donated nearly a million taels of silver in one day. Some even donated half of their family property. They were the role models among the officials and were used by many emperors in the later generations to spur the officials …
In the golden hall, Emperor Jing sat steadily on the dragon throne. The expression on his face was much more relaxed than before.
No one knew when a table had been moved to the front. Deputy Minister Ma of the Imperial Censor sat there and took notes. The officials lined up one by one and fought to be the first to donate their family property.
For them, this was not giving away their wealth, but fighting for their lives.
All the officials present had already left a criminal record with His Majesty. His Majesty did not seem to want to pursue the matter, but under such circumstances, if anyone pretended to be stupid, their ending would not be much better than those who had been dragged out.
Some officials didn't even know how much they had embezzled. At this moment, they had to make a rough estimate. They could only give more, not less. If they didn't have enough money, they had to sell everything they had and scrape together the money. If His Majesty found that the amount was not right after the comparison, he might use their official positions or their heads to make up the number.
If they really couldn't come up with the money, they could only donate more than half of their family's wealth and use their sincerity to influence Her Majesty.
Ma Zhongcheng sat upright in front of the table, his hand writing in a very upright manner. He raised his head to look at the official who was walking over and smiled, "Lord Xu, tens of thousands of taels?"
"20,000."
"Lord Zhou?"
"Ten thousand …"
"Wei …"
"Five thousand!"
…
…
"Kid, tell me honestly. Did you come up with this idea?" Old General Xue stood behind the pillar and asked Li Yi.
"Old Xue, you're wrong. This kind of thing isn't something a kid can participate in." Li Yi waved his hand and shook his head.
Old General Xue's face was full of disbelief. If this kid didn't mess up with Her Majesty … if this kid didn't collude with Her Majesty, why would he remind them to seize the opportunity?
Li Xuan was about to walk over when he was pulled back by Li Yi. Li Yi looked at him and asked, "What are you going to do?"
"Donate money …" Li Xuan's face was full of doubt as he asked, "So many people have already donated. Aren't you going to donate some?"
Old General Xue shook his head. MIngzhu looked at him but didn't say anything.
Li Yi sighed and waved his hand, saying, "Go, go …"
Seeing his expression, Li Xuan immediately stood still and said, "That's not right. Is there something I didn't think of?"
Li Yi pointed at the dozens of officials who were chatting at the side and asked, "Why aren't they donating?"
He was really starting to suspect if this guy's brain was really lacking in sensitivity to politics. In this aspect, even Her Royal Highness, as a woman, was better than him.
After a moment, Li Xuan finally came to a realization. "Brilliant, really brilliant. Which immoral guy came up with this idea? If those corrupt officials knew about it, wouldn't they hate him to death?"
"Thank you, County Uncle Li." When an unfamiliar official walked over, he stopped by Li Yi's side for a moment, cupped his hands, and said in a low voice.
Under Li Xuan's astonished gaze, another person walked over and said in a low voice, "I will remember Lord Li's kindness."
…
"Let me give you a suggestion." After dealing with a few people, Li Yi turned back to look at Li Xuan and said, "When you go back, eat more walnuts. Remember not to use the door clip …"
Her Royal Highness walked over and frowned. "I didn't expect there to be so many vermin in the imperial court. If the fifth and sixth rank officials are already like this, won't they be even more daring if they go higher up?"
Li Yi shook his head and said, "Petty officials are greedy. The higher you go, the less common this phenomenon is."
The higher one's official rank was, the more importance they would place on their reputation. Their every move would be watched by countless people. Moreover, to them, a few thousand or ten thousand taels of silver was disdainful. At that level, which official didn't have a huge family or influence behind them? Only an idiot would delay their career for the sake of money.
The purge in the imperial court this time was mostly aimed at middle-level officials. Those above the third rank were not involved. On one hand, these officials couldn't be easily touched. On the other hand, Li Yi had checked the accounts. Except for a few, the rest were relatively minor and harmless.
After all, the annual tax revenue of the Jing Kingdom didn't exceed ten million taels of silver. The old emperor wasn't blind. It was impossible for him not to notice that too much money disappeared at once.
Of course, this was the capital, where the emperor lived. The situation outside the capital was definitely more serious than here.
The old emperor was really obsessed with money. The morning court session lasted for a long time.
The morning court session still exceeded everyone's expectations. There was thunder, but it didn't last long. More of it was a light breeze and drizzle. The difference was that if someone didn't know what was good for them, the drizzle might be followed by thunder.
They knew how much they had taken. This time, His Majesty was merciful and only punished a few typical people. As for the others, if they took the initiative to donate money, they wouldn't be held accountable. But it was only this time.
Even if they avoided this time, they might not be able to avoid the next time. From now on, some people in the imperial court would have to be careful. If they went out of line again, they would have to settle old and new accounts at the same time …
Of course, in the eyes of those officials who weren't affected, His Majesty's move was extremely brilliant.
After today, the situation in the imperial court would change greatly. All the forces would be reshuffled, especially the King of Shu, who would suffer heavy losses. Among them, the Qin family, the Chen family, the Cui family and a few other big families would suffer heavy losses, but it wouldn't shake their foundation. However, for those officials who didn't have a solid foundation, His Majesty had a handle on them. They could only pray for themselves in the future …
It could be foreseen that His Majesty's control over the entire imperial court would reach its peak in the future. It would even reach a peak that none of the previous emperors of the Jing Kingdom had reached …
…
…
"Your Majesty, about the matter of the Cultivation Lake in the Academy …" In the rear hall, Li Yi looked at Emperor Jing and asked tentatively.
"Thirty thousand taels." Emperor Jing seemed to be in a good mood. He waved his hand and said, "I will only give you thirty thousand taels. You can figure out the rest yourself."
After a moment of shock, Li Yi immediately cupped his hands and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty. I will leave first!"
Looking at his decisive action, Emperor Jing's expression froze and he asked, "How much money did you originally want from me?"
Li Yi had already stepped out of the hall. He turned his head and said, "Your Majesty, I had originally planned to ask for 50,000 taels of silver, but the national treasury is tight. I will think of a way to get the remaining 20,000 taels of silver."
"Should I have said ten thousand taels just now?" After Li Yi's figure disappeared, Emperor Jing touched his chin and said regretfully.
Chang De thought for a moment and said, "Judging from County Uncle Li's decisiveness just now, I'm afraid five thousand taels is also possible."
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