Chapter 606 Want to build a ship first to comfort the army
It was still dark at the fifth watch, and people had begun to move around in front of the Forbidden Gate. Lanterns in groups of three and three had already stood in front of the Forbidden Gate. Officials from various ministries and halls in red and purple colors had already stood in front of the Forbidden Gate, preparing to make early morning pilgrimage.
Today is a great court meeting that takes place every ten days. Officials of the sixth rank and above in various ministries in Beijing, or officials who have been granted permission by grace to attend court, can enter the palace to participate in this great court meeting.
Xiao Cong got down from the sedan chair, wrapped in a brocade robe and arrived in front of the palace gate, giving orders to the captain of the imperial army guarding the palace gate.
"Go, bring me a chair."
The captain looked around and saw that there were dozens of officials who had arrived, including more than a dozen senior officials from the third rank. If all these officials needed a chair, he would not be able to do this job.
Kneeling down on the ground, the captain said with a tired smile:
"General, look at my shoulders and back. I can just sit on it. I have my duty as a general and I dare not leave without permission."
Xiao Cong looked at the captain and scolded him angrily:
"It's your grandma's fault. I can't control you anymore."
Dong Cheng got off his horse, looked around in the crowd, saw Xiao Cong at the door, and came over in two steps.
"General, why bother to make things difficult for Bocheng? It's only a blink of an eye before he enters the imperial court."
Xiao Cong snorted in his nostrils:
"Okay, I know this is a rising star in your military department. You think highly of him. He is a young general who will join various guards in the future. Tell me, something happened over there, and he came over in a hurry."
Dong Cheng waved his hand to the captain, who stood up. With a wave of his hand, the imperial guards nearby shrank back and were three feet away from the two men.
"The Battle of Wangjiang is over. General Su Ping used one to block two and destroyed the Yingte's two battleship fleets."
"That's a good thing. This guy Su Ping is really good at naval battles. He can defeat many with less. How many people died?"
Xiao Cong said with a red light on his face.
Dong Cheng shook his head: "There were heavy casualties, 90% of the battleships were damaged, and 70% of the navy was killed. The battleships were heavily damaged and need major repairs."
"It can't even be considered a tragic victory."
Dong Cheng hesitated to speak and looked at Xiao Cong. The look on his face was very clear. The Wangjiang naval force was greatly damaged and now it no longer has the ability to deal with naval battles. At first, the Ministry of War wanted to build two stern battleships, but the Ministry of Household was blocked.
It hurts my neck. You, General Xiao, must show up this time.
Xiao Cong's face also looked a little ugly.
"This victory was won by the lives of the soldiers. The dead sergeants must be given preferential compensation. The disabled sergeants may be transferred to logistics duties or to local patrol battalions. The aftermath must be properly dealt with."
The palace door suddenly opened, and several lanterns were lined up at the palace entrance. The little eunuch who led them had a shrill voice.
"My lords, Your Majesty has ordered you to come to court early."
Xiao Cong patted his clothes and took a look at Zuo Jian. Today's morning meeting started a bit early, and most of you adults have not arrived. Zhou Ping, Qian Qianyi, and a few old guys came late.
Soon, the officials from the civil and military classes lined up in order, and headed towards Qinzheng Hall under the guidance of the eunuch holding a lantern.
In the palace, in the palace.
Li Qing was wearing court clothes and sitting on the side of Su Lu, his face a little ugly.
"In the Battle of Wangjiang, we lost nearly 60% of our navy, and our only stern battleship was severely damaged. What will we do to deal with the British blockade at sea in the future?"
Su Lu teased little Su Yi, who had gotten up early, with a somewhat helpless tone.
"When soldiers come, we will block it. When water comes, we will cover it with earth. If there are no soldiers, we will recruit troops. If there are no ships, we will build ships."
"Yesterday, along with Su Ping's report of victory, weren't there more than a dozen sailors who came to the Ministry of War to report their work? They were called to the court meeting to praise their achievements and count their scars."
Li Qing was a little stunned. He pondered for a while and said:
"Isn't this inconsistent with the system?"
Su Lu glanced at Li Qing:
"Then we have no choice. We can only wait for the Yingte people to come and fight. After all, our country is too big and there are wars happening everywhere. The Ministry of Revenue is also struggling to deal with it. I want them to allocate the silver to the shipbuilding company. There is no reason.
no."
Li Qing hesitated for a moment, unable to make up his mind.
Changning came in, asked for instructions and said:
"Your Majesty, the ministers have begun to enter the palace. It's time to get up."
Li Qing put down the hand-warming bag, gathered the sleeves of his robe, stood up and walked out. Before leaving the palace gate, he suddenly said to Su Ge next to him.
"Suge, go and go to the Ministry of War to invite the naval generals who have returned to Beijing to report on their duties. Invite all the disabled ones. The ones with the most scars on their bodies are going to go to the palace to praise themselves and let them think about what happened to those scars.
Come."
Su Ge went to receive the order.
Li Qing entered the Qinzheng Hall and sat down on the throne.
Beginning with Qian Qianyi, the Minister of Rites, Li Qingsheng made a report on the court affairs in these days in advance.
I was appointed Minister of the Ministry of Industry, Zhou Yuan, the Minister of the Ministry of Husbandry, and Zhou Ping, the Minister of the Ministry of War. Sure enough, the first thing I did was the naval battle at Wangjiang. The navy suffered serious losses and needed to replenish soldiers and warships. I asked Your Majesty to give your approval.
"80% of the warships were damaged in this battle. It can be said that after this battle, we no longer have naval forces outside Wangjiang Port, and we can no longer guarantee the protection of the coast. The Yingte people can disembark wherever they want.
.”
"Your Majesty, this is a critical time for our survival. I hope that your Majesty will approve the construction of more warships, recruit troops, restore the combat effectiveness of the navy as soon as possible, and defeat the British army on the sea."
Zhou Yuan made an impassioned speech and loudly asked for money.
Li Qing glanced at Zhou Yuan, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, and she naturally agreed to send the money, but the Ministry of Revenue did not agree, so it was useless to speak again.
Zhou Yuan left the mission: "Your Majesty, gentlemen, as Zhou Shangshu said, our Ministry of Revenue has no objection and has already allocated funds for the construction of one cockpit and twelve small grasshopper ships. This is enough.
"
"A few days ago, Your Majesty approved the salary of the sergeants in the southern border. The total amount for one ground guard was 120,000 taels. The amount of silver allocated by the Ministry of Revenue to the Ordnance Office for shipbuilding was already 690,000 taels. I
The amount of silver the Han State spent on military campaigns throughout the year was only 1.5 million taels, and one-third of it was given away at once."
After saying that, Zhou Yuan took off his hat and held it in his arms with a look of exhaustion on his face.
"Your Majesty, I would like to tell you what Zan Yue said. I have no money. Our household department really has no money."
Su Ge entered the hall, and all the sergeants he had summoned arrived. Among them, three were seriously injured and could not move, and five had broken legs and arms.
Li Qing waved his hand and pointed directly at the dispute between the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Household Affairs. If the quarrel continues, this place will become a vegetable market.
"Come here, please come to the palace, sergeants."
After Li Qing finished speaking, the dispute in the palace became quiet.
Officials from the Ministry of War, the General Staff Office, the Ordnance Office, and the Ministry of Household Affairs all looked at the door of the main hall in astonishment.
Please come to the palace, sergeants. Your Majesty is angry. Do you want to throw all the quarreling adults out of the hall?
Li Qing sat high on the throne and looked at the ministers in the palace, feeling helpless. He must have been right to allocate money to the shipbuilding company, but what Zhou Yuan said was also right. The Ministry of Revenue really had no money.
We can only place our hope on the praise of these sergeants...
