By the time Zhu Yixi returned to the palace, the sun had already set and the palace was brightly lit.
The concubines stood in a row, wearing palace robes. Under the leadership of Queen Sun Xueniang, they knelt respectfully to welcome:
"I congratulate Your Majesty on your triumphant return——"
"Get up quickly, you are already pregnant!"
Seeing the pregnant queen and other girls, he quickly went over to help her.
Suddenly seeing so many warblers and swallows, Zhu Yixi felt a little dazed for a moment, and then a wave of heat rose up in her lower abdomen.
However, he finally endured it.
"My son has met my father——"
At this time, several little people, led by the wet nurse, shouted in a sweet voice and walked a little unsteadily.
"Oh, my eldest princess!"
The one currently wearing braids and a light yellow skirt is the emperor's eldest princess, Huang Jie'er's daughter.
It's been almost two years now, and she's plump and extremely cute.
At this moment, the emperor suddenly felt a clear stream flowing through his brain, and all the fatigue dissipated.
Today, the size of his harem has reached double digits, including Queen Sun Xueniang, Sun Damiang, Miao Xian, Huang Jie'er, Sun Xuan'er, Zhang Man, sisters Zhang Yu, and Mu Han'er.
As for the children, they were also very impressive. In just two or three years, they gave birth to two sons and six daughters.
There are two sons, the eldest is born to Miaoxian and is nicknamed Brother Xuan; the second is born to Zhang Man and is nicknamed Brother Rong.
As for the queen, she has been pregnant for eight months. I hope it will be a son this time!
Mu Haner and Sun Damiang, who were always by her side in Yangzhou, were already pregnant. Their fat little faces exuded a different smell that almost made Zhu Yixi unable to hold back.
For several days, he expelled the fire and comforted the harem.
As for Gao Guiying outside the palace, Dou Meiyi and his wife gave him a surprise.
With constant indoctrination, the two girls became pregnant as expected.
Gao Guiying touched her belly, and her temper became much gentler, no longer so irritable, and she exuded the glory of motherhood.
Dou Meiyi, on the other hand, was overjoyed, thinking about entering the palace and becoming a concubine from time to time.
As a result, the emperor couldn't bear to break her illusion and kept perfunctory.
As a big stain, Zhu Yixi now has no shortage of sons to inherit the throne. Instead of fighting for power and profit in the palace, it is better to enjoy happiness outside!
It’s not easy for the royal children either.
On Bian Yujing's side, Zhu Yixi said frankly and affectionately: "I am a bodyguard of the palace, personally recruited by the emperor, and I cannot leave for a moment -"
Carrying an indescribable burden with both hands, Zhu Yixi's face was full of seriousness.
"I see!"
Bian Yujing was considerate and allowed the man to exude his enthusiasm: "I've noticed it often when I see you being helpless and powerful."
"As long as you stay with me."
As she said that, the woman's petite body came close to her. Zhu Yixi couldn't bear it and picked her up, even if she was holding her waist.
…
A few days later, the Fifth Army Governor's Office, the Ministry of War, and the Military Justice Department cooperated to finally tally all the meritorious deeds.
This time, seven people were promoted from earl to marquis, ten earls, and fifty-two sons and daughters.
Among them, nearly half of the titles were obtained by soldiers and horses from the four towns in Jiangbei, although most of them were sons and men with low-level titles.
But it shows that they are constantly integrating into the Ming Dynasty, and their combat effectiveness is getting stronger.
"And this war started in October last year and ended in April, and it was extremely costly."
Holding a heavy heart, Zhao Shu looked at the crowd and muttered word by word:
"Moving the people cost one hundred thousand shi of grain, building forts along the river, and one million taels of silver..."
"The bulk of it lies in military rations, rewards and pensions."
"One million shi of military rations were transferred from Nanjing every month for a total of six months. A total of 6 million shi were transferred away, leaving 1.3 million shi..."
Glutinous rice
"According to estimates, the exchange of merit points for this battle requires at least one million yuan of silver and three million acres of land to be settled."
"As for the pension, according to the standards over the years, if a soldier is paid for five years and his children are allowed to study until adulthood, it would have to be about one million yuan..."
"Muskets, replacement of damaged artillery pieces, armor..."
"stop--"
The emperor couldn't bear to be verbose. He had already seen these in the memorial. At this time, he asked directly: "How much is the total shortfall?"
"Two million stones of grain, two million yuan of money, three million acres of land..."
Zhao Shu stopped talking and said directly.
"How much is left in Taicang?"
"Your Majesty, although we will fight again after the autumn harvest, the cost of the capital is also huge. We have to pay monthly stipends. Now there are only three million stones left -"
Jiang Yueguang also began to cry for poverty: "The summer harvest will not be until June. If the court is to operate, it must have three million dan, and for disaster relief, it will have to save four million dan to survive."
"About 5 million taels of autumn taxes have been put into the treasury, and now there are still 2 million taels of silver in the national treasury..."
"In other words, after I fight this battle, my accumulation last year has been exhausted, and I still need a lot?"
Zhu Yixi was shocked. He stood up directly and felt unbelievable.
But he soon realized that he was not fighting a war of conquest, but a war of defense, and he was fighting at a loss.
The emperor patted his forehead and felt a little uncomfortable.
"After all, with the increasing number of firearms in the army, in the past few months, the imperial court's monthly purchase of sulfur and saltpeter has exceeded 300,000 taels, and the number of Japanese ships per month has increased from ten to fifty."
As the chief assistant, Zhao Shu also felt a headache. He said with a grimace: "In the past, silver flowed from the Japanese country into our country, but now it seems that it has flowed backwards."
"That's not the case!"
Zhu Yixi shook his head. Imports of sulfur and other materials were not common. A short war could not stop the outflow of Japanese silver.
However, firearms do cost money. A month's supply of gunpowder is worth more than a musket.
"We can't wait until the summer tax. Let the Commercial and Tax Department transfer the money for these months to the Ministry of Household Affairs. The army's rewards and pensions cannot be delayed."
The Transshipment Department was integrated into the Ministry of Household Affairs and renamed the Commercial Tax Department, which levied taxes and customs duties. In order to reduce transportation losses, it was put into storage only half a year like grain, but only in June and December.
"The Commercial and Taxation Department has set up customs offices in Sichuan, Huguang, and Nanzhili. If it is put into the treasury in advance, it can get about 2 million yuan in three months."
Jiang Yueguang nodded.
"Nanzhili is still rich!"
Zhu Yixi sighed and showed a relaxed smile: "If it wasn't in a hurry, why would it be like this?"
"The food for the officials will be put on hold until after the summer harvest, and they can be distributed together. Money can also be distributed."
"Your Majesty, where is the money?"
Everyone was surprised.
"Create money!"
After that, the emperor said directly: "Starting from today, the Ministry of Household Affairs will work overtime, and the monthly silver cents will increase from one million yuan to two million yuan."
"The number of copper coins must be increased to tens of millions!"
In the new currency, the profit from silver yuan is 10%, the profit from silver cents is 1.5%, and the profit from copper yuan is 30%, which is a huge profit.
One silver dollar can be exchanged for ten silver cents, and one silver cent can be exchanged for ten copper yuan.
One copper round is equivalent to five to ten copper coins in the old days, but the copper content is only equivalent to three copper coins.
"Strive to have all southern Zhili people use the new money by the end of the year!"
Zhu Yixi said in a deep voice, her words filled with desire.
He even planned to put an end to cash transactions after unifying the world.
Use gold and silver replicas.
In this way, just by casting money, the court can get at least tens of millions of silver dollars every year. Isn't this better than agricultural taxes?