Inside the Qianqing Palace, Eunuch Li wore a worried look on his face as he heard the constant rustling from the dragon bed where Emperor Xia Huaishi of Dongling, the current sovereign, tossed and turned.
After a while, a hand emerged from the dragon - curtain. Eunuch Li immediately stepped forward to support the emperor.
"What time is it?" Emperor Dongling sat up in bed, covered by the quilt, looking wide - awake without a trace of drowsiness.
"Your Majesty, it's just the fourth watch. There's still an hour until the morning court. Why don't you get some more sleep?" Although Eunuch Li said this, he knew that the emperor had woken up an hour ago and had been tossing and turning in bed without being able to fall asleep.
Sure enough, the emperor waved his hand upon hearing this. "Help me get dressed." Eunuch Li immediately stepped forward and personally helped the emperor put on his shoes and socks.
Then, other eunuchs came forward to assist in dressing the emperor.
The emperor, supported by Eunuch Li, stood at the palace door, his eyes fixed on the distance in silence. Eunuch Li just lowered his head, not disturbing the emperor's thoughts.
Suddenly, Emperor Dongling murmured as if talking to himself or to Eunuch Li beside him, "I'm really old."
Eunuch Li's eyelids twitched, and he bowed to apologize. "Your Majesty is the true dragon emperor. You will surely live for ten thousand years!"
The emperor seemed not to hear his words. He just silently watched the sun rise slowly in the east as the sky gradually brightened.
Looking at the sky outside, Eunuch Li said to the emperor, "Your Majesty, it's getting late. Are you going to the morning court?"
The emperor still didn't say a word. Holding Eunuch Li's hand, he turned around and said, "Summon Concubine Chen to see me after the court."
During the morning court in the Golden Luan Hall, Emperor Dongling suddenly brought up the issue of the increasingly empty state treasury in recent years.
"I've been looking at the memorials submitted by the Ministry of Revenue in the past few months and found that the state treasury has been getting emptier in recent years."
At this time, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Your Majesty, the revenue and expenditure of the state treasury have indeed been unbalanced in recent years. But these were necessary expenditures. In the 13th year of Tianyuan, floods occurred in more than ten areas of three southern prefectures. The court spent 200,000 taels of silver on disaster relief. After the floods, a plague broke out. A large number of people died, and many became displaced. The court then allocated another 150,000 taels.
"The next year, it cost 120,000 taels to repair the bridges and river channels after the disaster. Just as the displaced people were being resettled and starting to reclaim wasteland, Your Majesty, out of your kindness, exempted the newly - settled people from taxes for three years. In this way, the court spent more than 420,000 taels on this flood, and the loss of land taxes was even incalculable. As a result, the silver in the state treasury decreased significantly."
"Minister Guo, that was ten years ago," Emperor Dongling said seriously.
The Minister Guo of the Ministry of Revenue was silent for a moment. Just as he was about to speak again, he heard Emperor Dongling sitting above suddenly say, "Our Dongling Kingdom has a vast territory and a large population. Can't we recover from a flood even after ten years?"
Minister Guo immediately knelt on the ground to plead for mercy. "Your Majesty, the flood caused great losses. But in recent years, the tax revenue of the state treasury has gradually recovered. Compared with the previous dynasty, the tax revenue has increased by 20%."
"The previous dynasty was a time of debauchery, with the relatives of the empress in power and the imperial power in decline. Does Minister Guo also think that I'm the same as the emperors of the previous dynasty?" Emperor Dongling stared darkly at the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue.
"I dare not!" Minister Guo continued to plead for mercy.
"Do all of you ministers also think so?" Emperor Dongling swept his eyes over the ministers below and said coldly.
"Your Majesty's laws are strict, and the internal affairs are well - governed! You are the true dragon emperor!" All the ministers knelt down and said in unison.
Emperor Dongling softened his expression a bit. "All of you ministers may rise."
Even though the emperor's expression had softened a lot, his imperial majesty still remained. Everyone knew that the emperor's anger could lead to countless deaths and a river of blood, something they couldn't bear.
Immediately, some low - ranking and timid officials began to sweat on their backs. Fortunately, their official robes were thick enough to hide it.
"The state treasury is empty. I wonder if any of you ministers have a solution?"
When the emperor said this, the ministers below all dared not speak. It was obvious that the emperor was in a bad mood today. They were afraid that they might accidentally anger the emperor.
Emperor Dongling sneered inwardly as he watched the ministers shrink their necks and try to lower their presence. But on the surface, he remained calm. "Where is Minister Xu?"
Immediately, a middle - aged man in his forties stepped out of the queue. "Your servant is here!"
This Minister Xu, whom the emperor mentioned, was the legitimate son of the Marquis of Xuanping and the older brother of the current empress, Xu Pingyan, the vice - minister of the Ministry of War.
"I wonder if Minister Xu has any suggestions on how to deal with the empty state treasury?"
Being called out by the emperor in front of the court, especially after the emperor had just gotten angry, anyone would feel a bit nervous, and Xu Pingyan was no exception.
He thought for a moment and replied, "Your Majesty, I think that to deal with the empty state treasury, we should increase the sources of income. Now the people are living and working in peace and contentment, and there have been no disasters in recent years. They surely have some money. Since the state treasury is empty, we can increase the tax to make up for the deficit."
"I wonder how Minister Xu suggests we increase the tax?"
"Your Majesty, in my opinion, we should increase the current tax by 20%. " Here, he looked up at the emperor's face and then continued, "No, we should increase it by 30%!"
After he finished speaking, the hall fell into silence.
A few bold ministers looked up and saw the emperor's face darkening visibly.
Immediately, a quick - witted minister stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I think Minister Xu's proposal is inappropriate!"
The one who spoke was Duan Jun, the vice - minister of the Ministry of Revenue.
He summoned up a lot of courage to stand up under the heavy atmosphere in the hall. First, unlike the Marquis of Xuanping and Minister Xu, he was a loyal supporter of the Fourth Prince. Second, the emperor's abnormality in the court today, especially the words "relatives of the empress in power", had made many people start to think.
At this time, Emperor Dongling looked at Duan Jun and said, "Minister Duan, if you have any different opinions, feel free to share them."
Duan Jun was overjoyed. From the moment the emperor spoke, he knew he had made the right bet. The fire in the Golden Luan Hall today was aimed at the Second Prince's group.
But on his face, he suddenly showed a reluctant expression. "Increasing the tax has always been a cautious matter in all dynasties. Does Minister Xu know what increasing the tax means?"
Duan Jun then turned to Xu Pingyan beside him and asked.
Just as Xu Pingyan opened his mouth, Duan Jun preempted him. "Of course, Minister Xu doesn't know what this means! Increasing the tax is a sign of a declining country! In all dynasties, how many monarchs in prosperous times have increased the tax?"