Seeing all the ministers fall silent, Zhao Ji, the emperor, was also quite helpless.
At this moment, he almost missed the previous Cai Jing, but unfortunately, the once attentive confidant had fallen fast asleep.
"Yuanzhang, what do you say about this matter?"
Seeing Fan Zheng's eyes still fixed on him, Zhao Ji was finally out of options and had to bite the bullet and call him out.
However, Cai Jing was truly old now, and his hearing was terribly poor. At home, his son had to speak close to his ear.
Let alone in the Daqing Hall now...
"Yuan Weng! Yuan Weng!"
Seeing the emperor's displeased expression, Wang Pu, who was standing next to Cai Jing, immediately leaned in and shouted a couple of times near Cai Jing's ear.
"Ah?"
Just as he was about to fall asleep, Cai Jing was suddenly awakened and looked bewildered.
"His Majesty is calling you!"
Seeing the bewildered look on his face, Wang Pu's heart was filled with glee.
"This old minister is not feeling well today, which is why I am drowsy. I beg His Majesty's forgiveness!"
Hearing Wang Pu's gloating tone, Cai Jing knew in his heart that this fellow was clearly doing it on purpose.
However, at this moment, he could only accept the blame first.
"Forget it, since you are not feeling well, I think you should go back and rest!"
Since Cai Jing had already said so, even if Zhao Ji was unhappy, he could only wave his hand and signal him to go back and rest.
But even with Cai Jing gone, the problem remained unresolved, and the difficulty remained the same.
"You are all the backbone ofๆ, why are you all silent now?"
As soon as Cai Jing left, the others all lowered their heads again.
Looking at them, who would fight fiercely when there was something to do, but cower and pretend to be timid when there was trouble, Zhao Ji was truly infuriated.
No matter how angry Zhao Ji was, the ministers today seemed to have agreed, all lowering their heads, with not a single one willing to speak.
Seeing their evasive behavior, Fan Zhengguo let out a cold laugh. This was the court of the Great Song Dynasty.
At this moment, Han Mo's words from back then suddenly came to his mind.
Is the atmosphere in the officialdom like this truly because of the ministers?
In the past dynasties, the court was filled with upright officials. Even when similar incidents occurred, there was never such shirking and bickering as there is now.
"Secretary Fan, you are the Secretary of the Ministry of Revenue. Since the problem was raised by you, do you have any solutions?"
After struggling for a long time, Zhao Ji finally had to pass the buck back to Fan Zhengguo.
Only now did he realize that there were too many people in the court who listened to him, but when it came to matters, there seemed to be fewer and fewer people who could get things done.
Just like now, in the entire Daqing Hall, the only ones who dared to directly confront him, the emperor, seemed to be Fan Zhengguo and Nie Shan.
He had wanted to corner Nie Shan, but after hesitating for a long time, he gave up.
After all, if Nie Shan, the Secretary of the Ministry of Personnel, had another problem, he probably wouldn't be at peace before the New Year.
For the sake of his own peace and quiet, he could only see if Fan Zhengguo had any other methods.
"Reporting to His Majesty, this minister has also thought hard for a long time and has no good plan, so I was forced to report it to His Majesty!"
In fact, by this point, the solutions were already obvious.
Both the emperor and the ministers understood clearly now.
The best solution now was to find a merchant and borrow some money for the court to tide over the emergency.
But the problem was, no matter who came forward, once this money was borrowed, it would definitely not be repaid.
In the end, the court would get the benefits, but the person who borrowed the money would bear a lifetime of infamy.
Moreover, if those who lent the money had a change of heart and caused any deaths, the person who borrowed the money would truly bear a lifetime of infamy.
Although Fan Zhengguo had no interest in officialdom, he had promised Han Mo that he would help him secure his current position, so he could only feign ignorance here.
"If you have no ideas, you can report to me, but what do you want me to do? Or how about you see how much this imperial palace is worth and sell it!"
Seeing these old foxes feigning ignorance, Zhao Ji finally lost his patience, slammed the table heavily, and turned to leave.
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty, the rewards for the Imperial Guards can no longer be delayed. If there is a problem, the Ministry of Revenue cannot bear it!"
The salaries and annual stipends of the officials could perhaps be delayed a little. After all, high-ranking officials did not live by this, and low-ranking officials were not heard by the emperor even if they spoke. Mid-ranking officials, considering promotion, would not dare to make too much of a fuss about this matter.
But the Imperial Guards were different. The court's military pay was already not much, and now prices were soaring.
After enduring a whole year, they were waiting for the rewards from the court to celebrate the New Year. Anyone who dared to touch their money would have to be prepared for tens of thousands of Imperial Guards blocking the palace gates.
Never mind the law; riots over military pay among the Imperial Guards had been a common occurrence for a long time. If these people were pushed to their limits, let alone a Secretary of the Ministry of Revenue, even a prime minister would be beaten without hesitation!
Although he was shouting at the top of his lungs, the emperor was in no mood to listen to him now.
However, Fan Zhengguo was not in a hurry. He was confident that someone would eventually come forward to resolve this matter.
As for who would eventually step forward, it had nothing to do with him. He only had to collect the money and then disburse it; the rest was irrelevant to him.
"Prime Minister, this matter cannot be delayed any longer. If it is delayed any further, the Imperial Guards will cause trouble, and it will be no joke. If they smash the Ministry of Revenue building, the next target will be your Prime Minister's mansion!"
Seeing that the emperor had already left and the ministers were naturally returning, just as Wang Pu was about to leave, Fan Zhengguo suddenly grabbed his wrist.
Hearing his words, Wang Pu's mouth twitched. Was this fellow talking about a problem or humiliating him?
What does the Ministry of Revenue have to do with him, the Junior Prime Minister?
He was not the Grand Prime Minister, so even if there was something, it shouldn't come to him.
"Secretary Fan, the main culprit has already gone back to sleep, what are you rushing for?"