Xiao Lizi had been with Emperor Qianxi for many years and had a clear understanding of Emperor Qianxi's character, so he first poured a cup of tea and placed it in front of Emperor Qianxi.
Then he came behind him, patted Emperor Qianxi's back very considerately, and whispered comfortingly, "Your Majesty, calm down your anger, Your Majesty, calm down... don't let the dragon's body be so angry because of these things."
Emperor Qianxi picked up the cup and took an indignant sip of tea, enjoying the attentive service of Xiao Lizi. However, there seemed to be a suffocation in his chest that made him unable to calm down for a long time, "Humph! Those ministers bathed in the emperor's favor and lived on my salary, In the end, I can’t compare to Xiao Li’s caring attitude.”
"Your Majesty, I'm scared. How can I compare to those ministers? I just see that Your Majesty is tired, so I feel sorry for Your Majesty."
Emperor Qianxi sighed, "Yes! They have never seen my hard work. They know how to ridicule me and ask me for money every day."
Xiao Lizi didn't say anything at all and just gently massaged him.
Ling Yun watched from the side and lamented that this little plum was really a genius and could coax Emperor Qianxi to his position every time. It was no wonder that he could always stay with Emperor Qianxi.
On the third day, Emperor Qianxi was discussing the increase of annual tribute in the royal study. Ling Yun was not qualified to participate in such a national event, so he could only wait beside a young eunuch.
The ministers went in and waited for a cup of tea. Just when Ling Yun thought they had reached the conclusion of their discussion, the roars of Emperor Qianxi came from the imperial study.
In the Imperial Study Room, Emperor Qianxi threw the memorial in the faces of everyone in the audience and said angrily, "I gave you time to discuss, but the result is that I will agree to the treaty of the Da Mang traitor to increase the annual tribute?"
"Your Majesty, calm down..."
Emperor Qianxi sneered, staring at everyone with sharp eyes, "Calm down, what else can you say besides calming me down? What else can you say? Talk? Weren't you eloquent in the past in Jinluan Palace? What happened today! They are all mute. ?”
"You keep saying that you will eat your salary and share your worries. When you have no money, you will ask me to use your internal funds. Is this how you share your worries and solve your problems?"
If the treasury was full and the annual tribute money could be withdrawn, perhaps Emperor Qianxi would not be so angry. These people actually coerced Emperor Qianxi and asked him to open internal funds to compensate for the money. What would happen to Emperor Qianxi who already loved money as much as his life? Can bear it.
Let me explain here. In ancient times, the treasury was under the Ministry of Household Affairs and could not be used by the emperor alone. However, internal funds were different. This was equivalent to the emperor's private property. This is why when ministers heard requests for internal funds, they Emperor Xi was unwilling to spend his own money to serve as money for the treasury, and no one else would be willing to do so, even the emperor.
Qiu Caiying, the Secretary of the Ministry of War, glanced at Emperor Qianxi cautiously and said with sincerity and fear, "Your Majesty, it is not us who agree to increase the annual tribute. It is really the Da Mang traitor who is despicable and shameless. According to the information sent back by the governor of Pingyang yesterday, Da Mang claimed that Da Mang was behind his envoy's entry. During our court, we actually stationed 10,000 cavalry near Hedong East Road and Hebei North Road at the same time, so that Daming Prefecture and Yizhou Prefecture were in emergency one after another. It was reported that if our court did not agree to the Damang envoy's proposal to increase the annual tribute, Binh Duong Province would We will definitely be attacked by Da Mang traitors, and the various capitals in Binh Duong Province will be in danger by then."
As soon as these words came out, Emperor Qianxi became furious, pointed at Qiu Yingcai and yelled, "Da Mang dares to attack, doesn't it mean that our army in Pingyang Province doesn't dare to resist? Or is Pingyang's army in vain?"
Qiu Yingcai sighed, shook his head helplessly and said, "Your Majesty, if Da Mang sent out infantry, our army could still fight with them. But what Da Mang sent out was 20,000 elite cavalry. Infantry has no power against cavalry." Possibility of victory.”
Although Emperor Qianxi didn't know how to fight, he also knew that infantry had no chance of winning against cavalry. He paused for a long time, seemed to remember something, and said thoughtfully, "Didn't Annan already develop a saddle last year? Didn't you say that this thing can be used by me?" Are the soldiers of the DPRK motionless on horseback?"
"Your Majesty, the saddle can indeed increase the strength of our cavalry, but it only increases part of the strength. Moreover, our horses are not only rare, but also extremely short. Even if we have saddles, we still have little chance of winning against the great cavalry. "
Qiu Yingcai thought to himself, how did Emperor Qianxi know that although this saddle was a good thing, given the state of the court's cavalry, it was impossible to train an army capable of fighting.
Moreover, the imperial army has not experienced a war for a long time, and has long lost the determination and momentum that it once had to share the same hatred with the enemy and go into battle to kill the enemy.
Furthermore, because the imperial army faced repeated defeats against the Da Mang cavalry, it had long had a shadow on it. If a war really broke out, if one were not careful, the imperial army would probably be defeated like a mountain.
In Qiu Yingcai's understanding, the strength of the two armies was not on the same level. If a conflict broke out in a hurry, his side would definitely suffer. Therefore, the result of their negotiation was to agree to the other side's conditions.
After all, using 10,000 taels of gold and 50,000 taels of cloth in exchange for a year of stability on the border, in their eyes, this is a sure-fire deal.
At this time, Wang Yangyu, the left prime minister, suddenly coughed twice. These two coughs had a profound meaning. They actually meant that he had something to say and that he also wanted to ask Emperor Qianxi for permission to speak.
Sure enough, when he heard Wang Yangyu coughing, Emperor Qianxi was slightly startled and immediately looked at him, "Oh? If Zuo Xiang has something to say, please tell me quickly."
Wang Yangyu did not refuse, first bowed respectfully to Emperor Qianxi, and then expressed his opinions in detail.
"Your Majesty, in my humble opinion, whether or not our army can win is one thing, but whether it can win is another."
Emperor Qianxi was stunned and didn't understand what Wang Yangyu meant for a while.
"Oh? What does Prime Minister Zuo mean?"
"Your Majesty, it is true that these 10,000 taels of gold and 50,000 taels of cloth seem to be a lot, but if there is a war on the border, the military expenditures allocated alone can range from hundreds of thousands to millions. The most important thing is that we dare not It is easy to talk about victory, but when comparing the two, I still feel that peace is more valuable."
"this…"
As soon as he heard about the military expenditures, which amounted to hundreds of thousands, Emperor Qianxi's expression changed with shock. He froze on the dragon chair, lowered his head in deep thought, and remained silent for a long time.
"I know this, please step aside!"
Obviously Wang Yangyu's words made Emperor Qianxi worried and he did not dare to fight easily, but he was unwilling to ask him to pay for it, so he could only shirk his decision.
The ministers left one after another. When passing by, Ling Yun noticed that they were all sighing. Coupled with the roar from Emperor Qianxi in the imperial study, he guessed that the matter was not optimistic, otherwise everyone who came out would not have a downcast face. .
This chapter has been completed!