Lin Fan's face was as gloomy as water, and he said coldly: "Speak!"
The man trembled and knelt directly on the ground, saying: "Because, because the cannonballs of this armored ship are very expensive, it costs 100,000 Ming coins to make one!"
"Therefore, the Ministry of Finance was unwilling to allocate funds for this ironclad warship. As a result, the ironclad ship only had two cannonballs. The general said that he should use them sparingly, so he never sailed this warship!"
Creak!
After the man said that, Lin Fan's fists clenched loudly. Isn't this fucking inappropriate, Weng Tonghe?
Does this Ni Yuanlu think of herself as Li Hongzhang?
The artillery shells of this armored ship must be manufactured not only for one hundred thousand Ming coins, but also for one million Ming coins, and must be produced in large quantities.
Thinking of this, Lin Fan turned around and left, asking the general guarding the navy to continue training, and asked him to drive out the ironclad ship to let the navy officers get used to the operation of the ironclad ship.
Then, he left the naval headquarters and headed to the capital to have a good talk with Ni Yuanlu.
Among the households, Ni Yuanlu had already received the news of Lin Fan's return to the capital, and also knew about Lin Fan's anger because the armored ship had no cannons.
"Your Majesty, please save this old minister!"
Ni Yuanlu found Emperor Chongzhen, knelt on the ground, and burst into tears.
Behind him, there were dozens of officials, not only from the household department, but also from the six departments. They were all speaking out for Ni Yuanlu at this time.
"Your Majesty, the cannonballs on the armored ship built by His Highness the Prince cost 100,000 Ming coins each. This is really expensive!"
"Our household department is also considering the imperial court, so we don't make so many. We think that we are not at war now, so two pills are enough!"
"However, after His Highness the Crown Prince learned about it, he was very angry and has already returned from the Navy Headquarters. Looking at this posture, he is afraid that he will punish Lord Ni severely!"
"Your Majesty, please make the decision for us on this matter. This armored ship costs too much money. If we allow His Highness the Crown Prince to do whatever he wants, the Ming Dynasty will be brought down!"
The officials said one after another.
After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen's face was as gloomy as water. He did not question Lin Fan because of what these people said, but he was angry because these people were disobeying Lin Fan's wishes.
"So, you withheld the cannonballs from the armored ship just because of your own selfish motives?"
Emperor Chongzhen said coldly.
kindness!
The officials were stunned, and Ni Yuanlu was also dumbfounded. His Majesty usually advocates frugality, so how could he be so direct and help the prince today?
"His Majesty……"
Ni Yuanlu said in a deep voice, but before she could finish her words, she was interrupted by Emperor Chongzhen.
"How presumptuous! You must remember that our Ming Dynasty will never be decided by you ministers! Even if you have opinions, you must speak out and destroy the armored ship's cannonballs without saying a word!"
"The prince is going to the country of Wo now to start a war with the people of Wo. Without these cannonballs, how can you ask the prince to fight them?"
"If anything happens to the prince, how many of you people have enough heads to chop off?"
Emperor Chongzhen scolded.
hiss!
Everyone present took a breath of air, and Emperor Chongzhen said again: "The prince discovered it in time, and there is still a chance to remedy it. You all just wait and see!"
"The prince has arrived!"
At this time, the eunuch's loud shouts came from outside the hall.
Lin Fan strode in. He was extremely angry. When he saw Emperor Chongzhen, he did not kneel down. Instead, he looked at Ni Yuanlu and said coldly: "Ni Yuanlu, you are smart and know how to hide here. Let me ask you, the armored ship's cannonballs
Woolen cloth?
Why not produce it?”
Ni Yuanlu trembled and did not dare to raise his eyes to look at Lin Fan. He lowered his head and said, "Your Highness, this matter has caused great embarrassment to me!"
"Although I am the Minister of the Ministry of Hubu, there are many officials in the Ministry of Hunan. The officials of the Ministry of Hunan are keeping an eye on the transfer of so much money. I am very embarrassed!"
"Haha! Ni Yuanlu, you are the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. You are building cannonballs for armored ships. This money is a normal transfer. You have no power. So what are you, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, doing with you?"
Lin Fan said with a sneer.
"Your Highness, you can't say that. Our Ming Dynasty is peaceful and peaceful, and now we are about to usher in a prosperous age. Why do we still need to build artillery shells? Do we have to go to war with surrounding countries?"
"Your Highness, peace is the most important thing in everything. If the surrounding countries learn that our Ming Dynasty is forging weapons, they will definitely be frightened and regard our Ming Dynasty as a thorn in their eyes and a thorn in their flesh!"
"Your Highness, we in the Ming Dynasty must not make any more enemies. This armored ship has a majestic appearance. Two cannonballs are enough to scare Xiaoxiao, but more are really unnecessary."
…
All the ministers said one after another.
"Haha! It seems that you have been keeping an eye on the money from the Ministry of Revenue. Why were you not active when the officials from the Ministry of Revenue were collecting money?"
"Why do you dare to act so wantonly when it's my turn to mobilize money? Do you know how much it cost to build the armored ship?"
"Tens of millions of Ming coins! Does a weapon built with so much money become just a decoration just because it contains one hundred thousand shells?"
"It is an artifact that can kill enemy troops and make them fearful! Our soldiers of the Ming Dynasty only need to operate it, and they can destroy the enemy troops without even suffering any casualties!"
"Now, just because of your short-sightedness, do you know how many soldiers of our Ming Dynasty will die because of this?
Are the thousands of soldiers of the Ming Dynasty not as good as your one hundred thousand Ming Dynasty coins?"
"Come here! Pull out all these people and chop them down! Destroy their nine tribes! If anyone commits this crime in the future, they will be killed without mercy!"
Lin Fan said coldly.
What!
Kill the nine tribes!
These people were shocked and looked at Lin Fan, unable to believe their ears.
"Your Highness the Crown Prince! I have devoted myself wholeheartedly to the Ming Dynasty and made countless contributions. You! How could you kill me and the nine tribes for such a trivial matter?"
"Your Highness, we are extremely loyal to the Ming Dynasty. We are also doing it for the good of the court. You! You are a coward and a tyrant!"
"Your Highness, when you treat us and my ministers like this, aren't you afraid of being alienated from your heart and losing the support of thousands of people?"
…
"Haha! If I hadn't found out about this in advance and went to my country with only two cannonballs, I don't know how many naval officers would have died because of this!"
"Aren't these naval officers human beings?
Aren't they the children of their father and mother?
They could have survived, but just because you are risking their lives, you are looking down on human life, shouldn't they be killed?"
Lin Fan said with a sneer, the murderous intent in his eyes getting even worse. These people must die. Only in this way can the civil and military officials of the court be frightened and they will not dare to tamper with military supplies.