Even though they were well aware that the Xiongnu had grand ambitions, it would be impossible to wage war against them for the time being.
The old emperor was muddle - headed and indulgent in luxury. In previous years, his excessive extravagance had emptied the national treasury. Coupled with the fact that there were many corrupt officials in the court, after layer upon layer of exploitation, there was hardly anything left. It was only thanks to the tight - fisted Minister of Revenue that the treasury hadn't been completely looted by these people.
Moreover, there had been heavy snow the previous year, and some areas had suffered from snow disasters. The treasury still needed to allocate funds for disaster relief, so there was simply no extra silver for war.
Xie Yan knew the situation of the Ministry of Revenue well, and he had frowned over this matter more than once. "I won't mention other things. Now, more and more people are borrowing money from the court."
And they never repaid it.
This was actually an unwritten rule. At first, some court officials, who were poor but in urgent need of money, borrowed from the court. But later, they found that no one ever urged them to repay. Some honest officials would still return the money when they had some extra; however, most of them were not so self - disciplined. Since no one was chasing them for repayment, why should they bother?
Once one person set this precedent, there would be an endless stream of people following suit. By then, it would be impossible to stop.
If you wanted to stop this phenomenon, the borrowers would even turn around and ask you, "Haven't you ever borrowed money from the court?"
You would be left speechless.
Chen Tingfeng was sitting in front of him, sipping tea. As the weather was getting warmer and the mountain flowers were in full bloom, he cast his eyes on the flower vendors in the street and said indifferently, "You'd better not get involved in this."
Debt collection was a thankless task. Xie Yan knew this himself, but he couldn't help feeling annoyed. "The top - level people are useless, and so are the subordinates!"
"The only thing to be thankful for is that eunuchs are not in power now," he said self - deprecatingly.
Such things had happened in previous dynasties. Although the current emperor was muddle - headed, there were grown - up princes. No matter what, the power wouldn't fall into the hands of eunuchs.
Chen Tingfeng withdrew his gaze. "Any news from Xie Guang?"
Xie Yan had more informants in the palace. He frowned. "Xie Guang is still the same. He contacts court officials every now and then, but it's hard to tell what he's up to. However, there's something strange about the Empress..."
The Concubine Rou had been keeping an eye on the Empress. She had been lying low in the harem for a long time, and with the help of the Concubine De, she had quite a few capable people under her.
"She has privately met with the wives of some minor officials recently," Xie Yan said. "They're just ordinary families. I've investigated but found nothing."
Chen Tingfeng thought for a while. The Empress never acted without a purpose. There must be something special about these people. "If you can't find anything from this generation, look into their predecessors."
Back then, the Song family had been very powerful, and countless people had connections with them. He guessed that if he were the Empress, he wouldn't let go of these seemingly useless forces.
"Focus on checking their former relationships with the Song family," he said gravely.
Xie Yan was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized. "I understand."
Once the Empress made a move, she would inevitably use the spies she had planted in the harem. The Concubine Rou was keeping a close eye on her. Since they had already fallen out, she would pull out these spies one by one whenever she saw them.
After chatting for a while, their topic returned to the national treasury.
After much thought, Xie Yan still felt that this problem had to be solved. "Putting aside my feud with Xie Guang, we will surely have a war with the Xiongnu. They had the intention of moving south last year, but were barely stopped. I'm afraid this year..."
Most of the military generals in the court were led by Chen Xuan. However, Chen Xuan had injured his hand and was now at home on leave. The soldiers who followed him didn't have as much experience as he did. If they really had to go to war, the only reliable general was General Mao who was on the border.
Xie Yan couldn't help worrying. It was no exaggeration to say that the country was facing both internal and external troubles.
He glanced at Chen Tingfeng, who looked calm, and probed, "What if you and I go to war?"
Chen Tingfeng looked him straight in the eye. "Are you out of your mind?"
If they left the capital, Xie Guang would surely make a move without hesitation and take over the capital.
Xie Yan rubbed his temples and was silent for a long time.
How could he not know this truth? But if the Xiongnu launched an attack, they really needed a capable general.
"Forget it. Let's solve the problem of food and supplies first," he murmured. "Who should we assign this task to?"
Collecting debts was a hot potato. Taking on this task would only lead to negative consequences. Xie Yan thought to himself, and suddenly his eyes lit up. "What do you think of assigning it to the Liu family?"
Chen Tingfeng raised his eyebrows. "The Liu family?"
The family of that big corrupt official?
Xie Yan chuckled. "The Liu family is backed by Xie Guang. Actually, I'd rather throw this task at him."
Wasn't Xie Guang always trying to contact court officials? Well, debt collection was a great opportunity for in - depth communication with them.
Although this task was unpopular, from another perspective, it could indeed help to connect with court officials, especially those he was not familiar with. If handled well, it might even win over some people's hearts.
As for how difficult it was to win over people's hearts through this task, Xie Yan didn't mention it at all.
Wasn't Xie Guang always boasting about his capabilities? Since he was so capable, he should surely be able to solve this problem perfectly.
The more he thought about it, the more feasible it seemed. "What do you think? What do you think?"
Chen Tingfeng neither said it was good nor bad. He just asked, "How can you be sure that this task will end up in Xie Guang's hands?"
Xie Yan thought for a moment. "Then we'll make him take it on willingly."
Didn't the court officials know that the national treasury was empty? They just lacked an opportunity for this fact to be exposed.
Listening to Xie Yan's plan, Chen Tingfeng raised his eyebrows. "Rarely do I see you being so smart."
Xie Yan had made great progress. In the past, he had to rely on Chen Tingfeng to make a rough plan first before he could continue. Now, even without Chen Tingfeng's guidance, he could plan things thoroughly.
Xie Yan snorted. "I think your mind is not on me now, but on your sweetheart, right?"
In the past, Chen Tingfeng didn't like going out. Now, he was almost like a young lady who never left her boudoir.
Chen Tingfeng smiled faintly, a hint of pride on his brows. "You know it well."
Xie Yan rolled his eyes. "Alright, alright. We've almost finished our business. You can go back. I'll sit in the Yongchun Tower for a while longer."
Chen Tingfeng immediately got up without the slightest hesitation. "Farewell."
Xie Yan: "..."
He was both angry and amused. "It takes ten times of calling to get him out, but he leaves as if his butt is on fire when it's time to go back."
He shook his head and sighed, "Love, this thing..."
It could even melt an iceberg.
In the Marquis Mansion.
Fu Zhen was sitting in the corridor embroidering. Suddenly, she heard a sound of footsteps. She looked up and saw only a profusion of mountain flowers.
She was a little surprised. "Did you go out to buy flowers?"
Chen Tingfeng had bought all the flowers from the flower vendor. The basket was full of mountain flowers. Although they were small, they were colorful, novel, and full of wild charm, perfectly matching the spring scenery.
He said softly, "I saw a flower vendor on my way back and suddenly realized that spring was in full swing. I was afraid you might miss the spring scenery, so I had to bring it to you."
Fu Zhen smiled warmly. Her eyes looking at him seemed to be dotted with stars. She was a bit shy, but her fingers stroked the flowers. "I like them very much. Thank you."
Last year, she had seen the spring scenery on the streets and alleys by herself. She never thought that in the future, there would be someone who would be so afraid that she might miss it and buy the spring scenery for her.