"Wu Shan, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites of Weichen, is hereby recited: I am speaking bluntly to the king, for the right monarch, for the minister's position, and for eternal peace. Weichen in the year of Yiwei to explore the flowers and the first, into the Hanlin, as the editor, when the treasury is full, the people live and work in peace and contentment, is the image of the Ming monarch. However, the saint is obsessed with metaphysical cultivation and consumes the national money on the Taoist altar, and now the treasury is empty. If the Sanqing Taoist Temple and the altar are repaired, there will be no rice in the sect today, and disasters will come in the future, and the people will be miserable. I implore the Holy Upper Waste Project and the state funds for social ......"

Wu Shan seemed to have accumulated a long time in his heart, and sprinkled hundreds of words in the recital, explained the drawbacks, and once again implored Jiajing to stop the Sanqing Taoist Temple and altar project.

Xu Jie was silent for a long time, and suddenly called a Si Zhilang named Ding Shimei in, and directly ordered him: "You go to the household department and invite Gao Shangshu to me!" ”

Ding Shimei responded, then turned around and left the secondary duty room, and hurried directly to the household department. Many times, Si Naolang does this kind of errand work.

Gao Yao has been in fear since the fall of Liu Ji. After hearing Xu Jie's search for him, he didn't ask the reason, so he hurried over as soon as possible.

When he entered this duty room, he didn't care about the beads of sweat on his forehead, he looked out of breath, and immediately asked respectfully: "Elder Xu Ge, why are you looking for a lower official?" ”

Xu Jie was dealing with the song, carefully finished writing the last word, looked up at Gao Yao, the fat man, and found that there was no impatience on his face, and he couldn't help but feel satisfied, and he didn't plan to pull him in vain, so he handed Wu Shan's share of the song over and said, "Take a look!" ”

Gao Yao didn't know why, but he still solemnly took the note, wiped the sweat from his forehead and sat down on the chair. After reading the content of this recital, a gloating expression immediately appeared on his face.

This Wu Shan was born in the Hanlin Academy, and he is also a scholar of the Ministry of Rites, and he has such a promising son-in-law, but he is so stupid. The saint is obsessed with cultivation, and recently he has become even more urgent, and persuading the saint at the moment is simply looking for death.

After reading the content of the song, Gao Yao didn't know what medicine was sold in his stomach, and immediately asked directly: "Elder Xu Ge, you called the lower officials over, but I don't know what to do?" ”

"What do you think of Wu Shan's proposal?" Xu Jie didn't answer directly, but looked at him and asked seriously.

Gao Yao met Xu Jie's gaze and replied categorically: "You are a noble minister, and you should share your worries for the king." It's just a gang of nobles making trouble, so they asked the saint to stop cultivating, and the lower officials naturally won't agree with Wu Yuejing's opinion! ”

"Okay, then you can meet the saint with the old man!" Xu Jie nodded with satisfaction and said lightly.

As he got more and more notes and began to formally participate in the work of ticket drafting, he naturally knew more about the current situation of Daming than Wu Shan. It's just that he understands better how to stand in line with this matter.

"Dare to disobey!" Gao Yao was overjoyed when he heard this, and immediately saluted respectfully.

The two went to the outside of the Wanshou Palace together and reported their names. If it was only Gao Yao who came, he might not be able to enter and face the saint, but following Xu Jie, there would naturally not be much of an obstacle.

Soon, a little eunuch came out and led them in.

"Elder Xu Ge, Your Majesty is cultivating in Xuanxiu, please wait for a while!" Feng Bao came out of it and whispered to Xu Jie, who came in.

After a while, the saint wearing a blue robe appeared.

Jiajing saw the note that had been placed on the case, and then knew Xu Jie's intention, first snorted coldly, and asked in a calm voice: "Elder Xu Ge, is Daming's finances really so embarrassed?" ”

In the tone, there is a clear dissatisfaction. But I don't know if it was dissatisfaction with the financial situation, or dissatisfaction with Wu Shan's behavior, or both.

"Your Majesty, I'm afraid I have to ask Gao Shangshu about this matter!" Xu Jie stepped forward and immediately pushed Gao Yao to the front of the stage.

If it was in the past, Jiajing would not have summoned the Hubu Shangshu for these things, but asked Yan Song directly. It's just that now that Gao Yao is in front of him, he naturally won't be reluctant to seek the near and far.

Gao Yao glanced at Xu Jie gratefully, this was really a good ally, and he had already prepared, and immediately stepped forward and said seriously: "Qi Qi Sheng, the finances of the Ming Dynasty are more urgent, but the reasons for this can not be summarized in one word. However, Wu Shangshu's words are alarmist, and Weichen thinks that things are far from the point where the altar is suspended? ”

"What do you mean by that?" Jiajing's eyes lit up slightly, and he asked in a calm tone.

Xu Jie saw this scene in his eyes and knew that there was a small game hidden here.

The Holy One should not only be arbitrary, but also have a good reputation. He will always act like a wise man, and the people below must do what he wants, and take all the responsibility on him.

The reason why Yan Song was able to stand in the court for twenty years without falling down was precisely because he had always acted according to the wishes of the saints, and took the initiative to take a lot of infamy on himself.

Gao Yao also studied Jiajing for more than 20 years, and at this time, he met Jiajing's gaze and replied loyally: "Your Majesty, as long as it is delayed for another two months, the summer grain will be transported to the capital, and everything will be solved!" ”

When Xu Jie heard this, he secretly sighed in his heart.

Not to mention, it takes a lot of time for the new rice to be transported to the capital, and I am afraid that it will not work in two months. The military salaries, rations, and salaries of the officials on these nine sides all need money, and it is even more impossible to squeeze the money into these low-level nobles at that time.

Gao Yao's words are not a solution to the problem at all. Up to now, Daming's finances are beyond his means, and if he continues to eat grain, he will only have no food to eat in the end.

If everything is focused on the new tax, it will definitely make the Ming Dynasty's finances sink deeper and deeper in the end.

In addition, the amount of rice owed to these nobles this time is far more than 10,000 taels, and this 10,000 taels is only the amount that the nobles are currently demanding. And if it drags on for another two months, then they will no longer ask for 10,000 taels.

Of course, although he can see these problems, he knows that he should keep silent at this moment and not act against the will of the Holy One.

"Well, then according to what Gao Shangshu said, let's delay this matter a little longer!" Jiajing nodded with satisfaction, and then made up his mind.

Although he knew in his heart that this was not a good solution, his plan to expand the Temple of Heaven was categorically unstoppable. Now, the only way to do this is to "listen" to Gao Yao's proposal, delay the matter a little longer, and let Xia Liang fill this hole.

It got to this point, but it didn't end there.

Xu Jie glanced at Gao Yao, and Gao Yao stepped forward again, looking worried about the country and the people, and said loudly: "Your Majesty, Wu Shangshu has a very high reputation in Shilin, but today's words are too alarmist, and they are so sloppy that they may attract other officials to follow suit, and this move is suspected of selling his name." ”