Jinling City has come to the end of midsummer May. The scorching sun hangs high in the sky, burning the clouds and water vapor without a trace. It is like an alchemy furnace by the Yangtze River, with dry firewood below and thin green smoke above.
.
The capital is an alchemy furnace, but the person in charge of the capital is not a Taoist master who became an immortal on Mount Wudang. He is just a panacea that can cure the sufferings of the people.
The ministers in the Wenhua Hall were working hard, not daring to rest even if they were sweating profusely. Zhu Di was sitting on a chair at the side of the hall, correcting the backlog of documents on the desk.
"Tell Xia Yuanji, the Minister of Household Affairs, to come here!"
Zhu Di was correcting the papers, and his face became darker after he corrected them. He endured the anger in his heart and shouted.
Mr. Xia, who was working in the palace, was confused and called over by the eunuch Tang Cheng. He saluted His Majesty the Emperor and said, "Your Majesty, what are your orders?"
He did not receive instructions from His Majesty the Emperor, but crackling pieces of folding paper were thrown at him. Xia Yuanji did not dare to dodge, and his forehead was bruised after being hit.
"See for yourself what your household department has done this year!"
Zhu Di pointed at the old minister and cursed, "The construction of the Shuntian Palace has come to an end. The final project is about to be completed. We are just short of a little money. Please contact me over there."
The ministry asked for money, how did the Ministry of Accounts respond?"
"While cultivating Shuntian, we fought in the seventh year of Yongle, in the eighth year of Yongle, in the ninth year of Yongle, in the tenth year of Yongle we conquered the southwest, in the eleventh year of Yongle we conquered Oara, in the twelfth year of Yongle we conquered Jianzhou, in the thirteenth year of Yongle we conquered Korea, and in the tenth year of Yongle we conquered Korea.
After four years of conquering Japan, it really doesn’t stop for even one year?”
Tang Cheng smiled and said: "How dare you fool your Majesty? This is a letter written by King Qi himself. He specially sent the boat master to return home. It will be delivered directly to your Majesty without going through the inn. I guess the batch of cash will be delivered soon."
We’ve arrived at Jinling City.”
"Um."
Although the emperor's grandson Zhu Zhanji was not deposed as a commoner after his rebellion, he was still reduced to the heir apparent of Prince Gan.
Xia Yuanji was so happy that he couldn't complain.
The emperor had no clear intention to imprison the father and son, but they still had some idea in mind. They closed the door and refused guests, as if they had disappeared from the world.
"Why the hell don't you die if you don't have money!"
The monarch and his ministers fell into a strange silence. Zhu Di felt that he was justified, and Xia Yuanji also felt that he was justified. Both of them felt that the other party was in the wrong, and for a moment they didn't know what to say.
Xia Yuanji's hands were shaking at this moment, and he couldn't bear the excitement in his heart. He no longer cared about what the emperor was saying, and murmured to himself: "Millions of taels a year, tens of millions taels in ten years, this
This, this... If we defeat a few more Japanese countries, why should we cry about being poor? We can just turn into local tyrants and spread money..."
"Ah, yes, yes."
Zhu Di shuddered and sat up. He thought he had heard wrongly: "What did King Qi say in the military report?!"
Tang Cheng repeated: "King Qi said in the military newspaper that the Japanese country has been classified as Yingzhou Province. There is a lot of silver here, and the annual output can reach millions of taels. King Qi has now transported the first batch of 50,000 cash silver back to the capital. Your Majesty
, this is a joyful event that the whole country celebrates!"
"Okay, then let me ask you again." Zhu Di asked, "This year I said that I would allocate some money to add two pairs of stone statues to the Fengyang Imperial Mausoleum to worship the ancestors and bring blessings to future generations. How much money did you spend in total?
How did the department respond?"
Zhu Di was speechless for a moment and defended himself: "Is it because of my own prestige that I fight with King Qi? The conquest of the southwest, the conquest of Jianzhou, and the conquest of North Korea opened up the territory of the Ming Dynasty and expanded the territory of three provinces! You figure it out for yourself, we will fight
How much money did it cost to finish these three battles? King Qi always led his troops to fight quickly, so it didn't cost much at all. With such a small amount of money, he bought the territory and taxes of three provinces! Lao Xia, you are money for the Ming Dynasty
Bag, don’t you understand this yourself? Which one is more profitable, a temporary deficit bill or an eternal tax?”
The prince Zhu Gaochi made three requests and resigned in the Fengtian Palace. In exchange for relinquishing his position as prince, Zhu Zhanji was saved and was reduced to the king of Gan.
Zhu Di looked at Xia Yuanji in a daze: "Old man, what did you say just now? Did you mean that the war was burning money and the national treasury could not make ends meet? I couldn't hear you clearly. Please repeat it again!"
He hesitated for a long time, then slowly said: "Tang Cheng, go and call King Gan and his son, I want to see them."
During the stalemate, the messenger sent by King Qi on the front line arrived, which relieved the embarrassment.
Looking at the important officials in the court, Xia Yuanji was the only one who had the courage to speak to His Majesty the Emperor like this.
The Yongle Dynasty was full of martial arts. Your Majesty, the Emperor, was so powerful outside that the Ministry of Finance was almost forced to hang himself!
Tang Cheng opened the fire paint on the military newspaper and said loudly: "In February, after our army won the victory in Korea, we thought about the speed of our troops and pursued the victory. We divided our troops into the north and south. In the same month, we launched an offensive against the Japanese country. In the same month, we occupied Tsushima Island.
Force the southern island belt of Japan." "In March, our army landed in the northern part of Japan, launched a rapid offensive against the enemy's rear, drove straight in, and surrounded the Kyoto Prefecture of Japan. The next day, our army annihilated the main force of tens of thousands of enemy troops on Kyushu Island in the south of Japan, and led the Liaodong General Army
Liu Rong's troops are the main force, marching to Honshu Island, joining forces with Zheng He's troops in the north, and locking Kyoto away!"
This is a huge favor. Working under Lao Zhu's family, you are really risking your life. You have three days off at the beginning of the year, but now you can take half a day off, which makes the officials in the Wenhua Hall excited and runny noses.
With tears streaming down his face, he immediately bowed his head and kowtowed to His Majesty the Emperor to thank him. His voice was like a mountain torrent and a tsunami.
"The Japanese country was unable to resist and surrendered to the Ming Dynasty! Then it unified the Japanese country and changed it to the Ming Dynasty's 'Yingzhou Province'. It abolished the original system of the Japanese country, converted the barbarians into Han, and naturalized the system. The details will be reported later after returning to China."
Zhu Di muttered, somewhat unbelievably, "Are you sure this is the military report sent back by King Qi? Is it correct?"
"His Royal Highness King Qi, may you be blessed and safe!"
Xia Yuanji spread his hands and said helplessly, "Your Majesty, the Ministry of Revenue is really out of money. How much money did Xiu Shuntian's palace invest in it in the early stage? It will cost money to reopen the canal, and it will cost money to transport grain from the north.
We need money for construction materials, right? This is just the money to build the palace. We still have to immigrate to Shuntian Prefecture. If we immigrate, won’t the court support the policy? Yes, in this way, the population problem of Shuntian Prefecture will be solved.
It was saved by Tobe tightening his belt!"
…
"The annual output is millions of taels of silver, millions of taels?"
Xia Yuanji answered straightforwardly: "No money!"
"Even if you kill me, the Ministry of Finance will have no money."
"The first batch of mined silver ore has been refined and transported to the capital by the navy. The amount is equivalent to approximately 50,000 taels."
After the ministers in the Wenhua Hall left, Zhu Di sat on the golden armchair, tapping the armrest with his fingers, wondering what he was thinking about.
"Now that you are no longer fighting, King Qi is going to fight again. It is true that King Qi does not spend a lot of money sending troops, and sometimes he even gives feedback to the court, but you have to see how diligent he is in fighting!"
Nothing was done. This was Zhu Di's fault. Finance is the life and death line of the Ming Dynasty, and this life and death line has always been maintained by Xia Yuanji. The Ministry of Revenue headed by him was not convinced by heaven and earth, and neither was the emperor. Who could
If you are not a bird, there is nothing you can do. Who can let others have the ability?
Zhu Di was now paralyzed by the fiscal deficit problem of the Ministry of Revenue. Even if the news of a victory on the front line came back, he was not in a good mood. He waved to Tang Cheng: "Nian."
Xia Yuanji, who had always hated war, was red-necked like an angry young man. He wished he could take a boat to Japan and follow King Qi to kill the enemy bravely on the battlefield!
Instead of going to fight, this person is clearly going to pick up money!
King Qi is simply the God of Wealth of the Ming Dynasty!
Xia Yuanji said tiredly, "I, Lao Xia, have nothing to say about these three battles fought by King Qi. Let's talk about your northern expedition to Oara. Can you please give me some advice? Is there a Mao tax in Mobei?"
Did we make anything after that battle? Did we make a whole truckload of cactus?"
Mr. Xia Laoshang made Zhu Di speechless.
"My son, Zhu Gaojie, comes to report."
"Fight! We must fight! One war a year is not enough. If you want to fight, fight ten wars a year! King Qi fights, and the Ministry of Revenue pays for it. Who said there is a truce? I, Lao Xia, will fight for my life with him!"
Now Zhu Di wants to summon them, and his meaning is self-evident.
"Let's just say that in the 11th year of Yongle you conquered Oara in the north, and our household department tried every means to raise money and food for you. You were fighting in the front, but we in the back were all bald!"
"Long live my wise emperor!"
Xia Yuanji worked hard to protect Ming's finances. Who dares to say otherwise?
You you on the line?
Tang Cheng did not dare to think about it further, and bowed his head respectfully: "I obey the order, and I will go and invite the Prince of Gan and the Crown Prince to come and see you."
"Our army discovered a large number of silver mines in the Japanese country, and the output was astonishing. The 'Shi Jian Yin Mountain' was particularly horrifying. We tried our best to develop mineral projects in the Japanese country, and the results were very good. It is estimated that after the project is fully implemented, the annual output will be about several million
two!"
Zhu Di waved his hand and said boldly: "King Qi won a great victory in Yingzhou. He passed on my decree and rewarded the ministers. All officials on duty in the Wenhua Palace should take a half-day bath."
Zhu Di felt his blood pressure rising sharply, "There is no money here and there is no money there. Why don't you take all the officials from the Ministry of Household Affairs to Jinling City to beg for alms? I will chop you up, you bastard!"
Xia Yuanji remained upright: "No money!"
Xia Yuanji was in tears at the end. He was as tired as a dog at his age. Is it easy for him to wipe Yongle Chao's butt?
"Long live the Lord, our army has won a great victory in Japan!"
The complex emotions in Zhu Di's eyes were intertwined and weaved together to form a tenacious persistence.
His life was full of ups and downs, from a King of Yan who had everything but the throne to the emperor who now has nothing but the throne.
He used his own actions to get to where he is now. He has no choice but to keep going!
For this vast Ming Empire, Zhu Di would give everything!