Fu immediately replied, "Your Majesty, although it is not considered ample, it is certainly not tight. But did someone say something?"
Zhu Ci touched the armrest of the chair and said, "Is the quarterly report for this quarter finished? Never mind, bring it to me to look at, whether it's finished or not."
Quarterly reports and semi-annual reports were both added by Zhu Ci later; annual reports are certainly unnecessary, since the Imperial Court summarizes the year's work every year-end anyway.
This is only because the current work efficiency isn't that high; if it were any more complex, we might even need monthly reports.
Fu said without a word, "Now, only the review remains," as he had someone bring the Quarterly Report over.
Zhu Ci took it and looked at it closely, but the more he looked, the more tired he became. Finally, he set the Quarterly Report aside and said, "Summarize it for me."
He really missed the charting systems of the future.
Fu had long known it would be like this. He didn't bother with the Quarterly Report at all, instead skillfully reporting a whole bunch of figures, the only one he failed to explain in detail being the military expenses.
The current military expenses are part of a separate system; at the beginning of each year, they are transferred directly from the Ministry of Revenue, the remainder is no longer under their control.
After hearing this, Zhu Ci thought for a moment and said, "Then the Censorate's concerns are not misplaced. It is always so tight every year, if a natural disaster were to occur, it would be very troublesome as well."
Fu Qingsheng said calmly, "Rest assured, Your Majesty, this portion of the expenditures is fixed and will not appear within the Quarterly Report or the Semi-annual Report."
As he spoke, he stood up and walked to the bookshelf, pulling out another ledger. "I have already established a Special Treasury based on previous circumstances; the Disaster Relief Grain Funds are all paid out from here."
Although it could be said that Great Ming has enjoyed favorable weather in these last two years, that was only in comparison to the past.
Ever since the Wanli Era began, especially during the Chongzhen Era, Great Ming has not seen an end to its annual natural disasters.
If one were to count them all, it would feel as if Heaven intended to destroy the Great Ming.
Now, there are still occasional floods, locust plagues, snowstorms every year, but it is much better than before.
Zhu Ci took a look and said, "No wonder they only mentioned grain when they spoke to me."
Speaking of grain, Fu sensed something and asked, "Is the Censorate worried about Taiwan?"
After all, many officials in the court had disagreed from the very beginning, it was only later, when the Dutch and the Tartars joined forces, that they felt the need to cut off the Dutch's retreat.
It was just that Zhang Huangyan and Zheng Chenggong had already besieged Zeeland City for over three months.
The Dutch reinforcements have also been defeated, it seems unlikely that they will send more reinforcements in the short term. Therefore, the allocation of grain and fodder for Taiwan could be reduced, or they could simply be allowed to eat what is available locally.
Zhu Ci gave an affirmative response, stretched his neck, said, "However, Taiwan is something that absolutely cannot be abandoned."
Fu said nothing, not because he didn't want to, but because it was difficult to say.
Based on his understanding of the officials in court, the ministers likely did not wish for the Emperor to give up Taiwan; after all, currently, the only towns still putting up a desperate resistance were those near Zeeland City, meaning victory was practically within reach.
At this time, anyone who suggested a retreat would be scolded by the others.
They probably wanted to pressure the Emperor to force Zhang Huangyan and Zheng Chenggong to launch a heavy assault on Zeeland City.
However, Fu was very clear that when choosing between spending money and wasting lives, the Little Emperor would definitely choose the former.
In his words, it was: "A thousand pieces of gold spent can be earned back, both money and grain can be obtained, but once a person is dead, they are truly dead. We have few people, every single person is important; elite soldiers and capable generals are even more precious, we cannot consume them like this."
While Fu was pondering how to respond, he suddenly saw the Little Emperor stand up and say, "Fine, as long as there are no major issues with the National Treasury. I will find a way to deal with the Censorate and the Six Ministries later."
Fu hurriedly stood up as well and said, "Regarding this matter, your servant.."
Zhu Ci walked while waving his hand. "You don't need to worry about this anymore."
The other members of the Grand Secretariat came out to see off the imperial carriage upon hearing the commotion, only for He Tengjiao and Huang Daozhou to hear that single sentence.
After seeing the Emperor off, the two of them looked at Fu curiously, very eager to know exactly what had happened.
This matter wasn't actually a big deal to begin with, but seeing how these two were asking questions while their eyes kept drifting toward his duty room, Fu simply invited the two of them into his own duty room.
He Tengjiao and Huang Daozhou both paused for a moment as soon as they stepped into his Duty Room, feeling completely overwhelmed by the sight.
Huang Daozhou asked bluntly, "This.. was all just sent by His Majesty?"
Fu replied with a nod, "Yes."
He Tengjiao smacked his lips and said with a hint of envy, "Grand Secretary Fu truly holds a special place in His Majesty's heart."
Fu Qingsheng smiled with reserve and said, "His Majesty is young; he simply likes things bright and lively."
His Majesty might like things bright and lively, but I haven't seen him change the other duty rooms in the Grand Secretariat.
“This.. this is.. this is an original by Zhong Yao?”
Is this.. a paper-cut appliqué plum vase?
“Oh? A painting by Li Gonglin!”
Fu sat down and slowly sipped his tea, allowing the two Vice Grand Secretaries to wander through his duty room like green boys who had never seen the world before.
The Little Emperor was not particularly interested in calligraphy or antiques, nor did he possess much appreciation for them, but the Emperor's private treasury had a professional appraisal team responsible for authenticating these antiques, so there were basically no issues.
After He Tengjiao and Huang Daozhou had looked through them once, the envy in their hearts was clearly written on their faces.
These things are not just highly valuable; most importantly, the Emperor understands the Grand Secretary's preferences very well. Even though the overall style still carries a strong imperial flair, these items should already be the most suitable things in the Emperor's possession to give to Fu.
It could no longer be described simply as being close to the Emperor's heart.
The two sat down after looking around until they were tired, only to find that the chairs seemed a bit different; they were perfectly firm yet soft, exceptionally comfortable.
Huang Daozhou looked around and quickly noticed the subtle details, couldn't help but ask, "Where were these presented from? I have never seen chairs like this before."
Fu explained, "His Majesty came up with this idea. His Majesty said that the chairs in the Imperial Study were tiring to sit in, so he had the craftsmen make a few of them."
The two Vice Grand Secretaries..
The Emperor had designed them, they were chairs commissioned personally; these were essentially the highest tier of imperial use. Unless a subject was extremely favored by the Emperor, they would not receive such a reward even for performing meritorious service.
Merit is always rewarded with proper gifts. Even if the Emperor grants something casually, it is always a precious item. Who has ever heard of rewarding someone with two chairs?
-----------------------
Author's Note: Zhu Ci: Why the sourness? It's not like I'm wholesaling chairs; if you want one, go make it yourself. A kitty lying comfortably on a chair. jpg
Next update at 6:00 PM~
Chapter 207
Fu spoke as if he hadn't noticed their expressions, "If you two like it, just have your family's craftsmen make imitations; it's just that they won't be able to replicate it perfectly."
He Tengjiao and Huang Daozhou shook their heads hurriedly. If Fu Qingsheng had made this himself, they might have had the audacity to ask for one or have craftsmen make a replica.
But this was designed by the Emperor; how could they dare?
The Little Emperor might not mind, but if the Censorate found out, they might just slap him with a charge of great disrespect.
After being intrigued for a long while, the two of them seemed to finally remember why they had come, they hurriedly asked, "What happened that caused His Majesty to personally visit the Grand Secretariat?"
Fu gave a brief account of what had happened.
After hearing this, the two did not even ask for the details; they simply exchanged a few polite words and left.
There was no other reason; he simply didn't want to be further agitated here.
Throughout all ages, it has always been the ministers who alleviate the Emperor's worries and resolve issues as they arise.
What did the Emperor just say to Grand Secretary Fu? He said he didn't need to worry about this matter, which meant the Emperor would settle the Censorate on his behalf.
Who could possibly receive such treatment? Listening to just a few more words would cause anyone's mental state to collapse!
Before they left, they cast an envious glance at Fu's duty room, then decided they would not concern themselves with this matter anymore.
Theoretically speaking, the affairs of the Six Ministries are all under the jurisdiction of the Grand Secretariat, while the Censorate serves a supervisory role over both the Grand Secretariat and the Six Ministries.
However, when it came to matters of the Ministry of Revenue, they all tacitly accepted that the Grand Secretariat held jurisdiction and did not interfere easily.
When it came to the National Treasury, they avoided it whenever possible. Especially when Duke of Xin had previously launched a massive investigation into corruption, from top to bottom, only the Ministry of Revenue—the most lucrative department—remained perfectly clean, with no issues discovered.
No one believed it at the time, but after some investigation, it was discovered that it wasn't that no one was reaching out their hands, but rather that everyone who had reached out had been cut off by the Grand Secretary.
From then on, everyone tacitly accepted that the Ministry of Revenue was the Grand Secretary's private domain; as long as no corruption occurred, no one would interfere.
Of course, this was also determined by the Emperor's attitude.
Although He Tengjiao and Huang Daozhou said they wouldn't interfere, they were still very curious about how the Emperor would handle this matter.
The two of them discussed it privately for a long time, finally concluding that the most likely course of action for the Emperor would be to use heavy-handed suppression.
After all, once the Little Emperor set his mind on something, he would never change it, facts proved that he was always right; therefore, after having been proven wrong several times, everyone had learned not to clash with him.
However, this time, since the two Censors of the Censorate had submitted a joint memorial, it was impossible for the Emperor not to give them face; the most likely outcome was that he would simply ignore it.
Unfortunately, in the end, they were all wrong.
The Emperor not only took action, but his actions were also incredibly swift.
After the next day's morning court session concluded its discussions on state affairs, the Emperor kept all the officials behind and said, "Come, I shall take you to see something."
After hearing this, the officials could not help but exchange glances, unsure of what His Majesty intended to show them.
Yet the Emperor only said he would take them to see something, without even mentioning what it was, simply led the officials toward the West Ladies' Courtyard.
At first, many of the officials felt somewhat out of place; was the inner palace a place where external officials could just wander in as they pleased?
However, as they walked, they grew accustomed to it.
The passing palace rooms were basically all empty; no one lived in them at all.
It was only then that many people remembered that the Little Emperor had neither married an Empress nor taken any concubines; the harem was even more tranquil than the imperial court.
Some people subconsciously glanced at the female officials beside the Little Emperor.
It was strange; he didn't seem particularly close to any of the female officials.
With their experience, if the Emperor had any close relationship with the female officials by his side, they would certainly be able to tell.
They couldn't possibly be stuck with an Emperor who has no interest in women, could they?
It is certainly a good quality for an Emperor to be free of lust, but being completely uninterested in women would be quite troublesome.
This series of conjectures was cast aside by the time they arrived at Dashan Hall.
Although many officials had never entered the Imperial City, they knew to some extent what the Dashan Hall was used for.
However, the Dashan Hall at this moment seemed quite different from what they had imagined.
Wasn't this supposed to be a place for worshiping the Buddha? Why does it look so strange? Eunuchs were coming and going, some carrying kettles and others carrying crates of unknown items.