Richest Man: Divine-Grade Reconstruct System Chapter 1222 - 1122: The Treasury Is Short on Silver (Part 2)

At this moment, Xiao Zihan appeared poised and graceful, sitting dignifiedly on the chair Lin Yi had prepared for her.

She looked down at the people below with a smiling expression.

Of course, although Xiao Zihan had a smiling face, she was incredibly shocked inside.

No matter what, Xiao Zihan was a person from the modern world, and she had never seen such a grand occasion.

Even when holding meetings for the employees of the nuclear group, where the setting would feature thousands or even tens of thousands.

But it was completely different from now, for standing below were officials and ministers.

It could be said that the whole of Dayou relied on these people to govern, which was a completely different mentality from that of employees.

What shocked Xiao Zihan even more about this moment was the attire of the people.

Although Lin Yi was accustomed to this attire for a long time, Xiao Zihan felt extremely shocked as a newcomer.

Even though the material of the clothes worn by these people was not as good as in later generations, it must be said that it was indeed imposing.

If not for Lin Yi sitting beside her, giving her ample courage, even as she traveled here now, she might have felt a bit uncertain.

At this moment, as Lin Yi and Xiao Zihan settled in their seats and the officials below looked up, a small eunuch suddenly raised his voice:

"If there is a matter, present it; if there is no matter, retreat from court."

This phrase was merely a formality, as it was the same every day when attending court, initiated by the eunuch’s words before the officials below began discussing official business.

The reason for shouting this phrase was definitely to give the Emperor face and authority.

And the ministers below, today as usual, although deeply shocked, were roused by the eunuch’s words.

At this time, the Minister of the Ministry of War stepped forward and bowed to Lin Yi:

"Your Majesty, we have received battle reports from the front, today our third batch of officials has been escorted to their posts. They will return yesterday."

Regarding such topics, Lin Yi merely nodded.

He referred to those officials sent to Yan Country and Zhao Country, who were escorted by the Ministry of War all along.

Clearly, the third batch of officials had already arrived there, and now they could return.

Such matters were ordinary, so Lin Yi would not pursue them further.

After nodding to show his acknowledgment, he let them continue reporting the next matter.

In the following time, officials below began to report to Lin Yi one after another.

At this moment, Xiao Zihan listened intently to the various statements from below.

Finally, after an official finished reporting, the place fell into silence for a moment.

Lin Yi knew that today’s affairs had been fully reported.

If it were usual times, Lin Yi would speak directly if he had matters; if there were none, he would announce the end of court.

But today he acted differently, after the discussions stopped, he turned his gaze to Xiao Zihan:

"How about it? Do you have anything to add?"

Though the voice was not loud, everyone present heard it.

This made the officials even more shocked.

No one expected that this woman would be so assertive, requiring the Emperor to personally seek her opinion, what did this mean?

When they looked at Xiao Zihan, their expressions were full of disbelief.

Upon hearing Lin Yi’s inquiry, Xiao Zihan nodded with a smile, then spoke softly to Lin Yi:

"I am new here and do not understand many things, but regarding the reports from the ministers just now, I would like to say a few words."

Saying this, Xiao Zihan paused briefly, then turned to the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue.

She first smiled and nodded at him, then began speaking with a gentle yet authoritative voice:

"I have heard everything the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue said earlier.

Currently, the court lacks silver.

Now there’s a huge gap in the national treasury.

Just the officials’ salaries have been in arrears for over three months.

According to the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, they intend to transfer funds from the treasuries of the other two countries to supplement the national treasury.

It must be said, this is a solution in a crisis, but it’s not the most effective or root-cause solution. Addressing the symptoms without addressing the root won’t solve anything.

The most critical point is that once we rely on this method here, it will lead to a vicious cycle.

By then, it will greatly impact the entire financial system of Dayou."

After these words, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue’s face noticeably changed.

He never expected that the first matter raised by the woman appearing on the Imperial Court for the first time would target him, making him feel embarrassed.

However, he was unaware of the other’s true background.

Not to mention anything else, just the phoenix robe on her ensured he dared not openly refute.

And the unsightly expression was clearly seen by Xiao Zihan.

At the same time, Xiao Zihan immediately guessed the thoughts in his mind.

This guy clearly wasn’t convinced by her.

But everything she mentioned was truly existing issues.

Putting aside other matters, considering her control over financial power in the nuclear group, Xiao Zihan was more aware of fiscal affairs than anyone else.

Running the entire nuclear group, although not a country, it was not inferior to a nation, especially compared to this backward ancient country.

Put simply, Xiao Zihan using her skills to manage Dayou’s finances is akin to a dimensional reduction strike.

Saying this may sound exaggerated, but Lin Yi found it completely appropriate.

After all, putting aside other issues, simply, the arithmetic methods used by the finance department today were extremely outdated.

Moreover, they hadn’t even introduced Arabic numerals.

Hence the Ministry of Revenue’s monthly account records are transported by dozens of carriages filled with bamboo slips.

With such efficiency, it’s no wonder their speed was slow.

Not only was speed an issue, but accuracy was also questionable.

The presence of bad debts was rampant.

Without exaggeration, if you truly challenged the Ministry of Revenue to determine the exact amount of silver or assets in the national treasury, even they’d be at a loss.

From these aspects, it’s evident how backward the Ministry of Revenue was, let alone doing business.

It’s not an exaggeration to say, besides iron production and salt, there’s essentially no national enterprise in Dayou.

Which implies Dayou’s finances can only rely on taxes.

And merely agricultural taxes without any commercial or personal taxes.

Adding to the current corruption among officials, it further makes the already insufficient agricultural tax even more negligible.

Without exaggeration, half of the agricultural tax collected each year diminishes before reaching the Capital City.

The agricultural tax that truly enters the national treasury is pitifully little.

Maintaining daily expenses is already extremely difficult.

Even salaries for court officials and soldiers have not been paid for three months.

In some places, it’s even worse, with some military camps not receiving salaries for a year.

[To be continued...]