After Emperor Qing'an's imperial edict, the Ministry of Husbandry and the Ministry of War became busy again. The Ministry of War had to allocate the purchase of war horses and prepare a large amount of fodder and beans for raising horses. The task of the Ministry of Hubu was even more terrible. It had to squeeze out one million taels of silver from the empty treasury.
.
The emperor was unwilling to increase taxes, so he ordered the palace to reduce expenses, and took 300,000 taels of silver from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and sent it to the treasury.
It can be said that Emperor Qing'an has been frugal in food and clothing since he ascended the throne. He neither selected concubines, nor filled the palace with concubines, nor built a palace. There were very few banquets in the palace, and instead he kept cutting down various expenses in the palace.
Du can be called a wise king.
All the ministers were deeply moved by the emperor's actions.
General Yuan took the initiative to submit a memorial, and the Yuan family was willing to donate 100,000 taels of silver as military pay. Emperor Qing'an was very moved and commended the Yuan family for their loyalty and benevolence at the court meeting.
General Yuan, who was in his seventies and had white hair and beard, raised his hands and said: "Your Majesty took money from the Ministry of Internal Affairs to train cavalry for the border army. Having such a wise emperor is a blessing to the people of Qi and a blessing to all officials and ministers.
It's a blessing. I have done all this with little effort. I just hope that the border army will soon train strong cavalry troops to protect the peace of our Daqi border."
Emperor Qing'an was so moved that he personally stepped down from the throne and helped General Yuan up: "The general is the humerus minister of Da Qi!"
King Zhao sighed hard in his heart.
Emperor Qing'an and General Yuan set up a stage to sing opera, and they sang in harmony. How could he not see it if he was not blind and his heart was not blind?
As ministers of the Yuan family, they could donate 100,000 taels of military pay to the border troops. He was a dignified prince and the emperor's brother, and he could not survive without bleeding.
King Zhao endured his heartache, stepped forward with an impassioned look, raised his hands and said loudly: "Your Majesty, my brother is also willing to donate one hundred thousand taels of military salary."
Emperor Qing'an was suddenly moved: "Third brother! Prince Zhao's palace is not very well-off, but suddenly it comes with so much money. How can I bear it!"
The extravagance of Prince Zhao's Mansion was well-known in the capital. Prince Zhao and his son often held banquets and enjoyed themselves, and everyone knew that they were extremely extravagant and extravagant. Emperor Qing'an's words would make anyone with a thin skin feel guilty.
Of course, King Zhao's city would never blush. His Highness King Zhao made a generous speech with a righteous face: "The training of the border army is imminent. The emperor took the lead and cut down on food and clothing, squeezing out 300,000 military pay. I am not talented, so I will follow."
The emperor will learn a lesson and save some money in the future."
When King Zhao opened his mouth, Prince Fu could no longer shrink his head, so he opened his mouth and donated fifty thousand taels.
The old ministers of the pavilion all spoke out one after another, donating donations ranging from 20,000 to 30,000 yuan.
Emperor Qing'an, who has always been majestic and aloof, was moved to tears by the lamentations of his ministers today: "It is a blessing for the Qi Dynasty to have loyal ministers in the state, and it is a blessing for me!"
The Secretary of the Ministry of Finance was also so excited that his eyes turned red.
Very good!
Military pay is finally available!
He doesn’t have to worry about losing his hair all day long!
The Minister of the Ministry of Hubu pays attention to his work carefully. After the court meeting, he immediately went to the Ministry of Hubu, summoned all the people in the Ministry of Hubu, and announced that the courtiers would donate military salary. He ordered everyone in the Ministry of Hubu to live in the official office from now on, in case officials come to the Ministry of Hubu at any time.
Every donation must be clearly recorded in the book.
Three days later, Shangshu Hubu entered the palace with a thick book. During these three days, Shangshu Hubu slept for up to four or five hours in total. His eyes were bloodshot, but his energy was surprisingly high.
"Your Majesty, this is the military salary donated by the officials of the DPRK and China. Every payment has been recorded properly." The Minister of the Ministry of Revenue reported in a hoarse voice: "The total amount is 1,235,000 taels."
"I have ordered five hundred thousand taels of this money to be sent to the Ministry of War, and the rest has been sent to the border army for military pay."
Emperor Qing'an frowned, his eyes filled with relief: "Okay! Good! All the ministers in the Qi court are loyal!"
The Minister of Hubu smiled again and reported: "Also, the Cui family of the imperial merchants also came to the Hubu and wanted to donate 200,000 taels of military pay."
There are many giant merchants in Da Qi, and there are eight families that have been named imperial merchants. The oldest among them is the Luo family, which had secretly surrendered when Emperor Qing'an was still King of Yan. The youngest is the Cui family. Six years ago, the Cui family secretly donated half of their family property to King Yan. When King Yan went to Jiangnan, he stayed in the Cui family's garden.
In the eyes of outsiders, the Cui family boarded the dragon boat of King Yan because of their grandson-in-law Shen You.
Only a few people know that the real hero is Feng Shaojun.
When Emperor Qing'an heard that the Cui family wanted to donate military salary, he frowned a little: "Although the Cui family is a merchant, they are loyal. The Ministry of Household Affairs can set up a separate book to list the military salary donated by the Cui family first."
Well, the Cui family has taken the lead in donating military salaries, so why don’t the rest of the imperial merchants follow suit? Moreover, all the imperial merchants have great businesses, so this donation is not worth 30,000 to 20,000 silver.
The Minister of Household Affairs suppressed the excitement in his heart and accepted the order.
…
As expected, before word spread about the Cui family’s donation of 200,000 taels of military pay, the head of the Luo family went to the Ministry of Household Affairs and offered to donate 300,000 taels. He must outdo the Cui family. Otherwise, the leader of the imperial merchants Where should I put my face?
The rest of the imperial merchants also donated money.
The Cui family is here to compete, and each family donates from 100,000 taels to 200,000 taels.
As for the ordinary wealthy merchants, they can't donate money to buy a good reputation. The Ministry of Household Affairs does not want everyone's money. Only imperial merchants are qualified to donate military pay.
In just a few days, there was another 1.5 million taels of silver in the Treasury of the Ministry of Revenue.
As a result, the military pay was enough to support the training of 10,000 cavalry. Emperor Qing'an immediately issued an imperial edict to the border army and ordered General Meng to select 10,000 elite troops for training.
After receiving the imperial edict, General Meng was greatly excited and kowtowed three times in the direction of the capital. He immediately started training the cavalry.
The imperial merchants who donated huge amounts of military pay also received praise from the emperor. The Cui family, the first to come forward, received a plaque personally mentioned by the emperor's imperial pen. Cui Yuanhan's official position in the Ministry of Internal Affairs was also promoted by two levels.
For the Cui family, this was also an unexpected surprise.
Feng Shaojun was in the palace and had the best information. Before the plaque was sent to the Cui family, Feng Shaojun had already taken leave of absence and told the Xu family and Cui Yuanhan about the happy event.
Mrs. Xu was overjoyed and laughed repeatedly: "This is really a good thing that I never expected."
The Luo family donated more money, and the eldest son of the Luo family was promoted to an official position in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. However, the Cui family was the only one to have this plaque personally mentioned by the emperor.
Among them, not only was the Cui family the first imperial merchant to donate military salary, but also Feng Shaojun’s dedication to his job.
No one knows the latter point, only Cui Yuanhan of Xu family understands it in his heart.
Cui Yuanhan's face was radiant and energetic, and he smiled at Feng Shaojun and said: "When the plaque is delivered, the family will have a banquet for relatives and friends, and the plaque will be hung up in a graceful manner."
Feng Shaojun was also sincerely happy: "This is natural. Such a big happy event, I have to see it with my own eyes."
