Everyone was lowering their heads, thinking about Qi Tai's words.
After a moment, Han Du looked up at Zhu Biao and said thoughtfully: "Maybe... it's not a misunderstanding."
Zhu Biao hurriedly looked up at Han Du, and everyone else's eyes were also focused on Han Du.
Han Du took a deep breath and said: "One hundred thousand stones of grain is already a big piece of fat for the Tatar tribe, but they didn't expect that Daning still has 600,000 stones of beans stored."
After Zhu Biao sighed with emotion, he suddenly remembered something: "Yes, although people don't eat beans very much, beans are the best food for horses. Six hundred thousand stone beans...at least they can Raise one hundred thousand war horses to make them fat and strong..."
The Tatars lacked everything except war horses. What is the concept of 100,000 war horses? Even if one person has two horses, it is enough to recruit 50,000 cavalry. If there is one person and one horse, it can even pull up 100,000 cavalry.
At this moment, several ministers suddenly came to their senses and why the emperor had a solemn expression just now.
Han Du suddenly raised his head and said: "With so much grain and beans, the Tatar tribe will inevitably grow rapidly. Even if he does not dare to march south, he can still take this opportunity to wipe out the surrounding Mongolian and Yuan tribes. Once the Tatar tribe is defeated Unifying the grasslands will inevitably become a serious problem for the Ming Dynasty. The attack on Daning this time also fully demonstrated that it is unsafe to transport grain and grass supplies through official roads. The minister suggested that in the future, all material exchanges between Liaodong and the Ming Dynasty should be carried out by sea, so that they can be completely Avoid Tatar attacks."
"All by sea? How is this allowed?" Qi Tai was the first to object.
Han Du originally looked calm and seemed to be in an acceptable mood, but now his face changed slightly and he said angrily: "Why not? The sea route is faster than the official road, and it does not require too much manpower and material resources to deliver the supplies. Yes, the cost is small.”
Qi Tai knew that the navy was under Han Du's command. If all supplies to the imperial court were transported by sea, only the navy could bear such a huge transportation volume. In this way, the navy's status will inevitably increase rapidly, which will lead to an increase in Han Du's power. This is something Qi Tai doesn't want to see in any case, so even if he risks his life, he will do everything possible to prevent the sea route.
"Your Majesty, there are many strong winds on the sea. Once there is a strong wind, the ship may not be able to go to sea for ten and a half days. If it is at a critical moment, wouldn't it be delayed?"
Han Du suddenly stared at Qi Tai: "There is a strong wind, but how can it be as serious as you said? If it is really like what you said, then the maritime merchants will simply stop doing business. But after so many years, have you seen that the maritime merchants are not doing business? Have you done business?"
Qi Tai was furious, pointed at Han Du's nose and said: "Businessmen pursue profits. What can't they do for money? But what the court wants is stability. If anything goes wrong, people's lives will be at stake. If the people need food, When we arrived, we were delayed due to strong winds, will you bear the responsibility?"
Han Du sneered and said: "You would oppose taking the sea route even if there is a one in ten thousand chance. This is like someone who choked to death after drinking water. Doesn't everyone in the world drink water?"
"You...are arrogant..." Qi Tai was at a loss for words and retorted with a red face.
Han Du sneered and said: "I think you are the one using strong words..."
"Okay!" Zhu Biao suddenly shouted and raised his hand to stop the increasingly fierce quarrel between the two.
Frowning, Zhu Biao looked at Han Du and said in a deep voice: "The Ministry of Revenue will immediately prepare 100,000 shi of grain and send it to Liaodong by the Navy. This matter is settled!"
"Your Majesty!" Han Du laughed and bowed slightly.
Bao Zhao, Chen Di, and Zheng Ci all agreed, "Your Majesty, your Majesty."
The three of them also believe that the most important thing now is to send food to the people of Liaodong. Otherwise, once the people's food reserves are used up and there is no food sent, there will be a big chaos.
As for whether the imperial court and Liaodong should choose the official route or sea transportation in the future, we will wait until the future.
When Qi Tai and Zhang Yan met, although they were reluctant, they had to lower their heads under the pressure of Zhu Biao's gaze.
Zhu Biao nodded slightly, barely satisfied.
Then he said: "What do you think about the Tatar attack on Daning?"
Even though all the ministers present here are ministers, they are still unwilling to speak easily when faced with such a major event.
Han Du had some thoughts in his mind, but after all, he was the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, so it was a bit bad to be the first to speak when it came to military matters. What's more, I still don't know what Zhu Biao is thinking.
Zhu Biao waited for a moment and saw that everyone was silent and silent, so he had to look at Qi Tai and called him by name: "Qi Tai, you are the Minister of the Ministry of War. You speak first."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Qi Tai bowed his hands solemnly, showing that he was confident.
Daning is the most important city between Guan Nei and Liaodong. In recent years, with the rise of Liaodong, the exchanges with Guan Nei have been very close and frequent. Just like this time, Daning also plays a huge role as a material exchange place between Liaodong and Guan Nei.
If according to Qi Tai's suggestion, material transportation will still have to rely on official channels in the future, then the importance of Daning will become extremely huge. No matter what, Daning cannot be allowed to fail again.
Sure enough, Qi Tai shook his hands, revealing the hands under his sleeves, and said confidently: "Your Majesty, I believe that Daning is the key to the connection between Liaodong and Guan Nei, and we must ensure that Daning is absolutely safe."
Han Du immediately sneered, "How to ensure it? There is not even a pass around Daning, it is an endless plain. The Tatar cavalry can come and go here like the wind, and come and leave as they please. Unless a large number of cavalry are arranged to guard it. How else could the Tatar cavalry be intercepted and held back in Daning?”
Qi Tai thought that his method was better than Han Du's, and immediately looked at Han Du proudly, and said proudly: "There are indeed no passes around Daning, but I thought that the Great Wall could be built to connect Daning and Xifengkou Get up. This will not only ensure that Daning is safe, but also prevent the Tatar cavalry from wandering around."
Build the Great Wall?
"What a great idea, Mr. Qi is really wise!" Zhang Yan couldn't wait to praise it. He and Qi Tai stand together. Even he doesn't know whether this is good or bad, but as long as Qi Tai proposes it, he will support it without any bottom line.
Of course, Qitai's idea cannot be said to be wrong. Even this is a good idea.
Zhu Biao also felt that this method of building the Great Wall was a good one, but he did not directly nod in agreement. Instead, he looked at the others and asked, "What do you dear ladies think?"
Bao Zhao and Chen Di lowered their heads and thought for a moment, and they felt there was no problem with this. After all, the Ming Dynasty was not the first to build the Great Wall, and the benefits of the Great Wall have been fully demonstrated to the world for more than a thousand years. What's more, after the founding of the Ming Dynasty, the former emperor also built the Great Wall for many years.
"I believe that building the Great Wall can indeed be achieved once and for all." Bao Zhao and Chen Di nodded in agreement.
Zhu Biao then looked at Han Du and Zheng Ci and asked, "Where are you?"
Once the decision was made to build the Great Wall, a large amount of money, food, and craftsmen would be needed. Both of these would rely on the Ministry of Household Affairs and the Ministry of Works respectively. Zhu Biao naturally wanted to ask them for their opinions.
Before Zheng Ci could speak, Han Du shook his head and refused: "I think it's inappropriate."
"Oh?" Zhu Biao's expression, which had been relaxed just now, suddenly became serious. He took Han Du's opinion very seriously.
So, Zhu Biao hurriedly asked: "What's wrong?"
When Qi Tai saw Han Du's objection, his face suddenly darkened, and he complained directly to the emperor, "Your Majesty, Han Du is dissatisfied with me, so he will oppose the method proposed by me."
Qi Tai was accusing Han Du of secretly opposing for the sake of opposition.
Han Du really didn't have the slightest fondness for Qi Tai. He looked at him and asked in a solemn tone: "Master Qi wants to build the Great Wall to connect Xifengkou and Daning. Let me ask you, do you know the distance between Xifengkou and Daning?" How far is Daning?"
"More than eight hundred miles." Qitai opened his mouth and came without any hesitation.
It can be seen that Qitai, the Minister of War, is not just messing around. He is also familiar with the military affairs of the Ming Dynasty.
"Do you know how many people are needed to build the 800-mile Great Wall and how long it takes to build it?" Han Du asked again.
Qi Tai could answer in one sentence how far Daning was from Xifengkou, but he could not tell how many people and how much time it would take to build this section of the Great Wall.
When Zheng Ci saw this, he paused and said: "Your Majesty, to build the 800-mile Great Wall, at least one hundred thousand corvees must be recruited, and it will take at least three years to complete. In the past, recruiting corvees was simpler, but now corvees are merged into taxation After that, I’m afraid we will have to recruit civilian husbands. Moreover, during this period, countless money and food will be spent. I sincerely ask the emperor to think twice..."
Han Du also nodded and said in agreement: "Exactly, it will take at least three to five years for one hundred thousand people to repair it. The cost during this period is a huge burden for the Ministry of Household Affairs. Although this year's taxes have been paid into the Taicang, But last year the Ministry of Revenue only had a balance of tens of thousands of guan, and even if this year's balance is included, it will not exceed 10 million guan. It took a lot of effort for the Ministry of Household Affairs to have some emergency money, so we can't just spend it all here, right?"
Qitai's eyes suddenly lit up, he pointed at Han Du's nose and cursed: "Han Du, it's all your fault for changing the tax system so that people can use taxes to offset corvee labor. Otherwise, it would only be a matter of one sentence to recruit one hundred thousand corvee labor."
Seeing Qi Tai's shameless nonsense, Han Du suddenly became furious and stopped being polite to him. He cursed angrily: "What's more, shameless. If it weren't for changing the tax system, clearing the land, and merging taxes, the Ministry of Household Affairs would be able to collect so much now." Taxes are coming up? I'm afraid it's still the same as last year. It would be good to have a balance of tens of thousands of guan. If you don't have money, you will use your family fortune to build the Great Wall?"
Before Korea changed the tax system, even Zhu Biao actually had no idea. However, the effect of changing the tax system was far beyond Zhu Biao's expectations.
Now that Qi Tai mentioned this point again, Zhu Biao was naturally dissatisfied. What? You, Qitai, can't bear to see that the imperial court has two spare cash?
