Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 782: Chapter 595: Year 13 of the Star and Moon, Bountiful Achievements

Two years ago, when the Ru River dyke was being built, Yang Ziheng was not yet the Minister of Industry, and he did not partake in this matter.

But now that the dyke has breached, he, as the Minister of Industry, cannot avoid being implicated.

What makes him even more depressed is that he had just sent people to inspect the breached dyke, and how should I put it, those people did too ruthless a job, with absolutely no bottom line.

Shoddy construction was bad enough, but they even botched the job!

Now, repairing the dyke is no different from rebuilding it, requiring more money, grain, and laborers than two years ago.

Before Emperor Yanping had even dealt out punishments, Chief of Staff Li Zhijie from the Ministry of Revenue spoke up, ”Your Majesty, the national treasury has no more money or grain available.”

Is the national treasury really out of money and grain?

Indeed, it is!

Although over the years the Imperial Commerce Bureau has provided the Ministry of Revenue with a great amount of silver, the places where Da Rong has been spending money are also numerous, especially in the last and this year.

Last year the Wuliang Hu Clan launched a large-scale invasion of Beiyuan Town. The court allocated a significant amount of money and grain to Beiyuan Town, but most of it was plundered by the clan division of the Wuliang Hu Clan.

After the Wuliang forces retreated, Beiyuan Town needed to be rebuilt, and the court allocated a significant amount of money and grain again. Now, Beiyuan Town is like a gold-devouring monster, almost draining the Ministry of Revenue dry.

Apart from Beiyuan Town, the famine in the five southern provinces also needed relief. Just last month, the Ministry of Revenue scraped together fifty thousand taels of silver and thirty thousand shi of grain to send to the south.

Now, the national treasury and grain depots of the Ministry of Revenue are virtually empty.

”Your Majesty, I impeach the Senior Grand Secretary Jiang Wei of the East Pavilion for embezzling funds for the construction of the Ru River dyke!” Deputy Imperial Censor Zhang Nanxing suddenly jumped out and said.

Jiang Wei, the ministerial aide of the Cabinet, is the former Minister of Industry, and it was he who oversaw the construction of the Ru River dyke two years ago!

”Your Majesty, the breach of the Ru River dyke is not a natural disaster but a man-made calamity. The Senior Grand Secretary Jiang Wei must bear the primary responsibility! The former governor responsible for river management, Hong Fangjian, and Assistant Minister of Industry Shen Yulou must bear secondary responsibilities!”

”I second the motion!”

”I second the motion!”

Before the matter has been fully discussed, a group of ministers burst out in the hall, taking the opportunity to attack Jiang Wei.

Liang Chu, standing in the lineup of noble warriors, furrowed his brows at this and couldn’t help but think about withdrawing from the court.

The court nowadays is in too much chaos, and the civil servants are close to knocking their wits out.

It is true that Jiang Wei is the former Minister of Industry, and the Ru River dyke was built at his suggestion. But the problem is, he did not personally go to Ru River for the construction; everything was managed by the governor responsible for river management, Hong Fangjian.

Assistant Minister of Industry Shen Yulou is even more wronged; like Yang Ziheng, he had no involvement in the construction of the dyke, but now he too has been dragged down into this mess.

This is not about accountability; it’s an attack.

Without discerning right and wrong, they just think about pulling people down.

It is unknown when the civil servants of the court turned into such a state.

What further unsettled Liang Chu was the fact that the noble warriors were also fighting for power.

Zhou Mao had already retired to his home, and Duan Rui was also stripped of his office and demoted due to the defeat at Beiyuan Town. Now, with no leader for the nobility group, they had become a disorganized mess.

However, becoming disorganized doesn’t mean these nobles have become compliant. On the contrary, without a leader for the nobility group, these nobles began to form alliances to stay warm, each of them fighting for their own power and interests.

The Changping Marquis Mansion has always abstained from power struggles. However, Liang Chu is still the Left Governor of the Central Army Commander’s Mansion, and sometimes he encounters unavoidable circumstances, inevitably getting embroiled in them.

According to the tradition passed down in the Liang family, when the court is in turmoil, the Changping Marquis Mansion should withdraw from the court and act low-key. This is also why the Changping Marquis Mansion has been able to survive until today.

So, Liang Chu really did harbor the thought of retiring.

The early court session ultimately did not reach a resolution, with many officials attacking each other. Although Emperor Yanping also had some dissatisfaction with Jiang Wei, he ultimately did not mete out punishment.

Because he still needed Jiang Wei to maintain the balance of the Cabinet.

As for disaster relief and dyke repair, in the end, no one paid attention. After discussions for half a day, everyone actually forgot the main topic of today’s early court session—ironic, to say the least.

After the morning court session ended, upon returning to his mansion, Liang Chu sat in his study frowning and contemplating for a long time, until the sky grew dim, then he went to the Filial Piety Hall in the backyard of the Changping Marquis Mansion.

”Grandfather!” Liang Chu stood outside the door and called out softly.

Inside the hall, stood an old and a young figure. The elder seemed to be in his fifties, casually lying on a couch with a scroll in hand, while the youth, looking seventeen or eighteen, was making tea for the elder.

The elder was Liang Chu’s grandfather, Liang Shengze, and the youth was Liang Chu’s great-grandson, Liang Qingyu.

”Grandfather!” Liang Qingyu saw Liang Chu arriving and quickly stood up.

Liang Shengze glanced over, ”Come in, what’s the matter?”

Liang Chu entered, and Liang Qingyu hurriedly brewed him a cup of tea.

”Grandfather, about the matters on the court...” Liang Chu briefly described the recent situation of the court.

After listening, Liang Shengze said unconcernedly, ”If you want to retire, just retire. It’s also a good opportunity to concentrate on your cultivation. You’ve eaten a Jade Dew Spirit Peach and three Three Yellow Plums, and yet you have still not broken through. Truly useless!”

Liang Chu felt awkward, thinking that his grandfather might as well speak nicely yet he actually reproached his grandson.

To be fair, Liang Chu really should be scolded. When Emperor Chengping was seriously ill, the former Crown Prince was the regent, and Yang Zhenshan was offered a Jade Dew Spirit Peach by the Silver Coin Loft as a bounty. After the Silver Coin Loft was destroyed, the former Crown Prince, in an attempt to win over Liang Chu, awarded that Jade Dew Spirit Peach to Liang Chu.

After eating the Jade Dew Spirit Peach, it took Liang Chu several years just to break through to Half-step Innate.

Later, after the establishment of the Imperial Sponsorship Institute, Liang Shengze could obtain a Three Yellow Plum every year. In order to help Liang Chu become an Innate Martial Artist, Liang Shengze gave Liang Chu three Three Yellow Plums in a row.