The hall was silent. The ministers held their breaths, not daring to make a single sound.
Most of the civil officials were well-learned people, so they naturally knew about the deeds of Emperor Gaozu of Han Dynasty.
Even if some of the generals did not understand, they could feel the unusual atmosphere in the hall.
Kong Yingda's legs were trembling. She really wanted to kneel down and not get up.
"Your Majesty, why do you say that?"
Kong Yan asked slowly.
"I am tied for third place with Liu Bang?”Li Shiming's face turned ugly. The alliance at Weishui River was a disgrace in his heart. Li Wanshun had opened this scar a few days ago, and now Kong Yan had taken the opportunity to mock him again. How could he not be angry?
"Why not? Did His Majesty think that he was not worthy of living with Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty?”
As soon as Kong Yan finished speaking, the hall was in an uproar.
"How dare you, little thief! What kind of person is His Majesty? How can that despicable Liu Bang be on par with him?”
"Your Majesty governs the civil and martial arts, and the four seas submit to you. Who dares to disobey? A small merchant is inhumane and actually puts Your Majesty on par with Liu Bang? This is simply treasonous!"
"Your Majesty has long been far-reaching, merciful, saving the world, pacifying the sea, educating the people far away, and benefiting the people far away…How can Liu Bang compare?”
"Who gave you the courage to comment on His Majesty? Your Majesty abolished the rebellion of the Sui Dynasty and followed Shang Tang and King Wu of Zhou. The beauty of governance, almost Cheng and Kang, could be said to be a true eternal emperor, far surpassing Qin Shi Huang!”
"Your Majesty has the spirit to rule the four seas and has the talent to shock the eight wastelands. Since the time of the King of Qin, you can be compared to Tang and Wu. After you ascend to the throne, you will probably become a prosperous person.”
“……”
Li Shiming's face turned red, not only because of excitement but also because of shyness. He looked at the civil officials who were so generous and excited, and his heart was filled with a great sense of satisfaction.
"So this is the image of me in their hearts!”Li Shi Min felt that he had neglected these civil officials too much in the past.
The few Rank One and Two officials from the three provinces and six departments lowered their heads and remained silent.
"I've been doing business for more than ten years, but this is the first time I've seen such a shameless person.”Kong Yan muttered and the ministers behind him heard him.
Naturally, the emperor on the dragon throne heard it clearly.
Li Shi Min's smile froze, and his face turned red.
"Bastard, what did you say?"
The hall fell silent.
"I'm saying that Your Majesty has achieved martial and literary virtue, benefitting the common people and unifying the Great Tang for thousands of years!”Kong Yan said lazily.
"Your Majesty, he just listed you and Liu Bang as the third in history. This is disrespectful and his entire family should be executed!”Liu Yi of the Imperial Censorate jumped out once again, his face full of anger.
"How is it disrespectful?" Kong Yan turned around and shouted coldly.
The officials were shocked, and many people were shocked.
Liu Yi glared at him and said coldly,"You're just a lowly merchant. What right do you have to comment on His Majesty?" He even put His Majesty on the same level as a scoundrel. If this wasn't great disrespect, then what was?!”
"It was me, a lowly merchant, who donated five million taels of silver to solve the urgent problem in Guanzhong. What did you, a noble censor, do?”
Kong Yan's tone was cold, and he had a mocking expression on his face." As far as I know, the five million taels of silver, after all your deductions, was less than one million taels in the hands of the disaster victims! I'm a lowly merchant, so why do you love money?”
"Nonsense. The officials of this dynasty are clear and honest, and all the officials are united. What crime do you deserve for spouting nonsense and framing the officials of the court?”Liu Yi was filled with righteousness. His saliva flew everywhere, and his eyes were filled with killing intent.
Kong Yan sneered and said disdainfully,""Clear governance? Then why is the national treasury empty?"
"What's the connection?" Li Shi Min frowned.
The Minister of Revenue, Han Zhongliang's eyelids twitched. He stepped forward and said,""Your Majesty, every transaction in and out of the national treasury will be recorded. There will be no mistakes, and there will be no corruption of the national treasury!”
Kong Yan turned to Han Zhongliang and said with a faint smile,""Are you sure?"
Han Zhongliang glared at him and said angrily," Every account has to go through three layers of checks. How can there be a mistake?"”
"Let's not talk about the outdated accounting methods of the Ministry of Revenue.”Kong Yan said lightly," For example, what kind of food will be used for this disaster relief? What was the price? Where can I buy it?"
"This…" Han Zhongliang paused and hesitated.
He was the Minister of Revenue, a third-grade official, in charge of the national household registration, taxes, and labor policies. How could he know the specific situation of disaster relief?
"The Minister is busy with official matters, so I'm afraid he can't manage the specific matters of disaster relief.”Kong Yan chuckled and turned to look at Zhangsun Wuji." Do you know about State Uncle Zhangsun?"”
Zhangsun Wuji frowned and looked at Kong Yan calmly. He shook his head and said,""I don't know."
"What are you trying to say? Don't be so sarcastic." Li Shi Min was a little dissatisfied.
Kong Yan rubbed his nose and pondered for a moment before saying,""Your Majesty, do you want to hear about the disaster relief, or do you want to hear about Your Majesty and Emperor Gaozu being ranked third in history?”
"One by one." Li Shi Min's face darkened.
"Then…which one should I start with?" Kong Yan continued to tease her.
"Disaster relief." Du Ruhui said in a low voice, interrupting Li Shiming's anger.
"Disaster relief." Kong Yan hummed softly and said with a faint smile," Most of the ministers have experienced war and seen the sufferings of the human world. You should know that once a person is extremely hungry, they will eat anything.”
"The Guanzhong region is suffering from a great drought. The fertile lands of the Qin River have turned into a dry land. The people are displaced and it is common to sell their children for a mouthful of food.”
"What's more, you can exchange your son for food!"
Li Shimin frowned." The disaster relief funds have been allocated. Porridge stalls have been set up all over Guanzhong. You're exaggerating."”
"If this official's five million taels of silver were to be used on the disaster victims in Guanzhong, it would indeed be able to resolve the urgent needs of Guanzhong.”Kong Yan said indifferently," But I've already said that out of the five million taels of silver, less than one million taels were actually used on the disaster victims.”
Han Zhongliang frowned and said in a deep voice,""That five million taels, every single one of them is recorded, how could it be embezzled?”
Kong Yan laughed softly and walked to Zhangsun Wuji again. He looked at him and asked,""Does Uncle Zhangsun know how to take the disaster relief funds?”
Zhangsun Wuji narrowed his eyes and said coldly,""I don't know."
Kong Yan smiled and turned to Du Ruhui. He shook his head and said,"Du Pushe has always been incorruptible, so it is impossible for him to know.”
Du Ruhui was speechless.
"This old man doesn't know.”Fang Xuanling smiled when Kong Yan looked over.
Kong Yan nodded slightly and turned to Li Shimin, asking tentatively,"Your Majesty…"
"I don't know. If you have something to say, say it quickly!”Li Shi Min glared at him and said with a dark face.
Kong Yan cast a disdainful look and turned to look at the ministers. He said lightly,""The Ministry of Revenue's accounts are fake. It requires a certain amount of professional knowledge. I'm telling you here, but you probably won't understand. It's a waste of time.”
Li Shimin was speechless.
The ministers were speechless.
This was the first time in the history of the Great Tang that a merchant had looked down on a court full of civil and military officials and left them speechless.
Some of the officers hesitated, thinking that the other party was the richest man in the Great Tang and must be proficient in all kinds of accounting techniques. It was very likely that they would get burned if they argued with him.
Therefore, the entire hall was silent. No one refuted Kong Yan's words.
"People are divided into scholars, farmers, merchants, and businessmen, and there are three, six, and nine grades. Officials are divided into nine grades, and food is also divided.”Kong Yan's voice echoed throughout the hall." As the supreme ruler of the Great Tang, Your Majesty naturally eats the best food.
It was likely that the food that Uncle Zhangsun ate was not much inferior to the Emperor's.
And such as Du Pushe and other honest people, food should be three grades higher;
Ordinary people who had more money would eat fine grain during festivals. If the family is poor, they will have to eat grain…"
"There is also a specific division of food used to feed livestock. I won't explain it one by one. I think the ministers don't know much.”
The ministers were speechless.
Li Shimin was speechless.
"Back to the main topic." Kong Yan turned to Li Shimin and asked," Has His Majesty ever stipulated what kind of food should be used for disaster relief?”
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