Chapter 517: Going Crazy
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Yu Youyao gasped and suddenly raised her voice. “How dare they!”
It was obvious that An Shou Hall was burning Di Long and had a charcoal fire. It was much warmer than the Jade Courtyard, but she only felt her body turn cold.
She had heard from her cousin that the military salary distributed by Youzhou every year could pay 100,000 soldiers.
However, there were already so many greedy people in Zhejiang every year.
How dare they?
How could that be?!!
Just hearing her grandmother say this made her so angry that she couldn’t control herself. One could imagine how she had felt at that time.
Old Madam Yu’s expression did not look too good either. “After that, your father asked if the Zhejiang navy had suffered a huge loss in recent years, and thousands of people had died every year. Was it because of the lack of military supplies?
This last question was like a slap to the emperor and the court officials.
Everyone in the court knew how King Li of Zhou had died.
In the end, it was still because of the word ‘military’.
“The Ministry of War was already scared out of their wits. How could they dare to take on this responsibility? Immediately, they took out the military booklet distributed by the Zhejiang navy every year and said that every year, the military salary was given by Zhejiang first, not a single cent less. Then, they took out the memorial submitted by the Zhejiang navy every year and realized that the number of casualties was seriously inconsistent with the number of people reported. They clearly lied about the number of casualties and falsely reported the number of casualties…”
It had to be known that every year, the Imperial Court would reward the Zhejiang navy with a lot of silver and good things.
Only the officials and generals of Zhejiang could be rewarded.
This was clearly disregarding human lives and asking the Imperial Court for benefits.
Yu Youyao’s heart trembled. “Among all the crimes that Ning Yuanbo reported to Song Xiuwen, there was the crime of killing commoners and asking for merits. I think those people that were not reported were all pirates and bandits. They still made a report to the Imperial Court and asked for benefits!”
This was the main point of the fifth question. Anyone who heard the words “casualties” would feel their scalps go numb and think of the key point.
Yu Zongzheng’s actions were indeed brilliant.
He used all the questions in Zhejiang to question the Imperial Court, directly pushing the Ministry of War into the limelight. The Ministry of War did not want to be accused of embezzling money from the army, so they could only throw the responsibility to the Zhejiang navy.
The five consecutive questions during the memorial were really each more sharper than the last. They were just short of saying explicitly that Song Xiuwen and the officials of Zhejiang were misusing resources.
They only mentioned the Zhejiang navy and did not mention anything else.
Yu Zongzheng could escape unscathed.
However, once Yu Zongzheng returned to the capital, there would probably be a shocking wave in Jiangnan.
Yu Youyao suppressed the anger in her heart and asked, “How did the ministers in the court react?”
Old Madam Yu sighed slightly. “What other reaction can there be? All of them were shrinking their heads, so how can they dare to show their faces? Do you think that the King Li of Zhou’s case wasn’t enough? Or do you think that they’ve lived for too long?
Yu Youyao couldn’t help but say, “Aren’t the huge profits from maritime trade enough? Isn’t it enough to collect and suppress pirate ships and bandits at sea? Zhejiang is golden everywhere, and there’s profit everywhere. Zhejiang is greedy, but they’re actually so greedy that they targeted the Imperial Court and the emperor.”
If this wasn’t self-inflicted, what was?
Old Madam Yu agreed deeply. “Every year, when we ask the Imperial Court for a military salary, the Imperial Court will first give it to Zhejiang, not daring to miss a single word. Only when Zhejiang was given enough will they give it to other places. Why do you think the annual military salary in the North is insufficient? From this, it can be seen that King Li of Zhou’s death is related to Zhejiang.”
Yu Youyao’s body even trembled. She was angry and sarcastic. “Heh, if Zhejiang wants a military salary, how can the Imperial Court not give it to them? Zhejiang is a place with heavy taxes. Not to mention the huge profits from maritime trade, just the weaving, salt, tea, porcelain, food, crafts, and so on in Jiangnan are all sources of taxes for the Imperial Court. The pirates went ashore to burn, kill, and plunder. The ones who suffered the most were the Imperial Court and the emperor. They were clearly fearless and greedy!”
If the Ministry of Revenue was rich, why wouldn’t they allocate money to the Ministry of War?
The Ministry of War had enough military salary. As for the annual salary, not only was it insufficient, but it was also decreasing?
As long as there were more troops in Youzhou, the Di people would not be so sure that Youzhou was short of supplies and invade wantonly. If they did not invade wantonly, there would not have been the battle four years ago.
The Marquis of Changxing and the others would not have the chance to steal the military power of Youzhou and persecute the King Li of Zhou’s family.
She finally understood why her cousin had targeted Zhejiang.
The rich have too much wine and meat to eat, while the poor are dying of cold and hunger on the streets.
Jiangnan was already extremely rich, but they were still greedy for the
Imperial Court’s military salary and harmed the interests of the Imperial Court. They had become accomplices in persecuting King Li of Zhou. They were simply a group of parasites and were even more hateful than the Marquis of Changxing.
If they weren’t eliminated, it would be difficult to relieve the hatred in their hearts!
Old Madam Yu also sighed. “That’s right. Less than 80 0/0 of the money that was
given out was actually used in war. The remaining 70% was actually all coveted. Don’t you think it’s infuriating?
Yu Youyao was furious.
She had the same thoughts as Yu Youyao. If Zhejiang hadn’t coveted the
Imperial Court’s army, the tragic incident in Youzhou wouldn’t have happened.
Yu Youyao felt terrible.
Old Madam Yu sighed slightly. “Zhejiang is corrupt. It’s a pity for Song Xiuwen. He’s a general and has a large army. When he comes to Zhejiang, if he doesn’t lean towards Zhejiang, I’m afraid he’ll end up like King Li. If he doesn’t want to die, he can only follow the crowd.”
If they did not join Zhejiang, they would be mortal enemies.
In the past, even the King Li of Zhou, who had 300,000 troops and was a relative of the royal family, could not defeat a group of officials and nobles in the North. On the other hand, Jiangnan had always been a rich place with vast land and abundant resources. How many people would go crazy for it?
How could he defeat half of the Great Zhou?
Yu Youyao also felt that it was ironic. “The Imperial Court doesn’t allow officials to form cliques for personal gain, but the Imperial Court still has to split into the Summer Party, the Royalist Party, and the Consort Party to fight for power. Which official above the sixth-grade doesn’t take sides? Which one doesn’t form cliques? Even if they don’t rely on the nobles, they have to band together to reinforce their power. The Jiangnan Province is so powerful that they have long disregarded the Imperial Court. A border feudal official like Song Xiuwen has no choice.”
She suddenly understood why her cousin had said that such a world should come to an end.
Song Xiuwen was easy to deal with. When Yu Zongzheng returned to the capital and reported Song Xiuwen’s crimes, the imperial envoy would release him into the capital.
However, the emperor was not stupid. It was impossible for Song Xiuwen to embezzle military money alone. With the emperors personality, if his own interests were involved, he would definitely not let Jiangnan off easily.
There was still more to do in Jiangnan.
Jiangnan was in chaos, and the world was unstable. Wasn’t it still far from the vassal lord’s rebellion?
Yu Youyao closed her eyes. In less than three years, or at least three to five
years, the world would be in chaos..
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