lcionline Chapter 263 Is this king bankrupt?
Chapter 263 Is this king bankrupt?
Just then, Xu Yiming, who had just rushed back from the Su family's courtyard, arrived outside the hall.
Upon seeing Xu Yiming appear, the guards on duty hurriedly stepped forward to pay their respects.
Xu Yiming looked hurried and gestured to the guards to go inside immediately and inform King Ling that he had returned.
The guards obeyed and quickly entered the hall.
He returned shortly afterward and gestured for Xu Yiming to go inside.
Xu Yiming stepped into the hall, hurriedly bowed, and said in a loud voice, "Greetings, King Ling!" "Imperial Physician Xu!"
King Ling raised his hand slightly and said, "Minister Xu, you may dispense with the formalities."
Xu Jingru nodded in agreement: "Minister Xu."
King Ling looked at Xu Yiming and asked, "I wonder if Minister Xu's trip went smoothly?"
Xu Yiming respectfully replied, "Your Majesty, I have fulfilled your command and delivered all the gifts properly."
However, Su Ziyi was presumably out of town treating refugees, so only Cai Yao'er and the rest of the Su family were allowed to take him in.
"Yes, it's delivered!" the Spirit King replied.
Xu Yiming then asked, "Your Majesty, Physician Su informed me that he and Physician Xu have successfully formulated a prescription to control the plague."
Upon hearing this news, I immediately rushed back to the palace. I wonder how King Ling intends to handle this matter?
King Ling said calmly, "No rush. I have already notified all the ministers to come and discuss this. Since Minister Xu is here, please wait aside for now!"
King Ling glanced at the sky outside the palace, pondered for a moment, and then continued, "Judging by the time, they should be arriving one after another."
Once everyone has gathered, we will discuss a solution together.
Xu Yiming replied, "Yes!"
He then stepped back to the left, stood upright, and waited quietly.
Meanwhile, outside the palace gates, officials were arriving one after another.
Their expressions varied, but they all walked hurriedly, clearly aware of the importance of this meeting and daring not to slack off in the slightest.
Before long, the ministers entered the hall one after another and bowed in an orderly fashion to King Ling, who was seated on the throne.
The sounds of worship echoed within the hall: "Your subjects pay homage to King Ling!"
"no!"
After everyone stood up, he spoke: "I have summoned you all here today because the current situation is dire."
A message came from the court that a month ago, an earthquake caused a plague, and the situation is now out of control.
This earthworm disturbance spread from our country as the center, and Anxing County in our country was not spared either, suffering from the plague as well.
Although Imperial Physicians Su and Xu have successfully developed a prescription to control the plague, the situation is still far from optimistic.
Secondly, the Northern Gu Xuan Dynasty and the Southern Qin State are both eyeing our Ling State covetously and may intend to invade.
"The reason I have summoned you all here today is to discuss effective countermeasures."
Minister of Personnel Li Moming stepped out of the queue first, respectfully cupped his hands and said, "King Ling, in my opinion, the most urgent task is to control the plague and appease the people."
Human resources can be urgently mobilized from various regions to provide immediate support for the rescue and treatment efforts in Anxing County.
At the same time, we will comprehensively strengthen domestic epidemic prevention measures to prevent the further spread of the epidemic.
Left Attendant Zhang Quan quickly nodded in agreement: "What you say is absolutely right, sir. We can also instruct local officials to actively assist the people in fighting the epidemic."
In this way, the immediate crisis can be resolved, the people can feel the court's care, and public morale can be stabilized.
King Ling nodded slightly, then turned his gaze to Gu Tianmin, the Minister of Revenue, and asked, "Minister Gu, can the Ministry of Revenue guarantee the necessary funds and provisions for the epidemic control?"
Gu Tianmin looked worried and replied, "Your Majesty, in recent years, wars have been frequent and military expenditures have been enormous. In addition, the compensation and relief for soldiers who died in the wars have cost a lot of money."
The national treasury's current reserves are unlikely to last much longer.
Moreover, the current outbreak has only been reported in Anxing County.
However, if other places subsequently experience outbreaks of plague, in the long run, funds and supplies will inevitably become scarce.
King Ling frowned: "How could this be? What happened to the income from the soap, paper and other industries?"
Gu Tianmin explained helplessly, "Your Majesty, you may not know this, but two years ago we fought against the Gu Xuan Dynasty and the Qin State, and we used up sixty or seventy percent of our money and grain."
Since last year, many areas have experienced drought, resulting in a sharp decline in harvests and a significant drop in grain production.
King Ling's expression was serious: "Tell me directly, how much money and grain does the Ministry of Revenue have left?"
Gu Tianmin called out, "Lord Tian, Lord Fan!"
Upon hearing their superior's summons, Tian Jun and Fan Zhidu quickly stepped forward and replied in unison, "Lord Gu, your humble servants are here!"
Gu Tianmin said, "You two should truthfully report to King Ling how much silver and grain are left."
"Yes."
Left Attendant Tian Jun spoke first: "Reporting to King Ling, the Ministry of Revenue currently has 3,076,198 taels of silver remaining."
The Right Attendant Fan Zhidu then reported, "Reporting to King Ling, there are still 875,700 shi of grain remaining."
Upon hearing this, King Ling's brows furrowed instantly, and he blurted out, "How can there be so little?"
Gu Tianmin hurriedly explained, "Your Majesty, this money and grain were only accumulated after the Su family group from Huanling City arrived, which led to a significant increase in our country's production."
If they hadn't arrived a few years earlier, but instead arrived two years earlier, the national treasury would probably already be depleted, and there wouldn't be so much left.
King Ling said with a hint of anger, "So, you're saying I'm so poor that I can't even afford disaster relief funds?"
Upon hearing this, the court officials were filled with fear and knelt down in unison, shouting, "We dare not!"
King Ling sneered, "Dare not? I am already penniless, what else do you dare not do!"
King Ling looked at the kneeling crowd below, and not a single person responded. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became.
He demanded, "What? Isn't there anyone who can come up with a solution?"
In the end, it was Xu Yiming, the Minister of Rites who was kneeling on the ground, who mustered up the courage to respond.
"Your Majesty, we are now in a time of crisis for the Ling Kingdom. We will do our utmost to help the Ling Kingdom overcome this difficulty. We hope Your Majesty will calm your anger."
King Ling raised an eyebrow: "Overcome the difficulties? We have neither money nor food now, so tell me how we plan to get through this?"
Xu Yiming was speechless for a moment: "This..."
In an instant, the hall fell into a deathly silence, the atmosphere so heavy it was suffocating.
With only this little bit of food and silver remaining, and money being of little use in the face of the current disasters and calamities, it's difficult to make a significant difference for the time being.
However, the shortage of food is an urgent problem.
It was Xu Jingru who broke the oppressive silence.
He slowly spoke, saying, "Your Majesty, the most important thing right now is to send us physicians to Anxing County to do our utmost to save the people. That is the top priority."
Upon hearing Xu Jingru's words, King Ling couldn't help but sigh.
He was well aware that solving the plague was the primary task.
However, in this chaotic world, the disaster caused by the earth dragon has led to the destruction of many families and the deaths of many people. Many people have no choice but to become outlaws and bandits.
Although he had sent many generals to lead soldiers to incorporate them, it was still a drop in the ocean.