Jiajing buried his head for a long time, then slowly stood up, looked at the chaotic people in front of him, and said coldly.
"Get up, everyone, what do they look like! Is this still my Ming Dynasty's cabinet?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Immediately afterwards, the cabinet ministers and the Supervisor of Ceremonies all stood up from the ground. Yan Song sat back down tremblingly with the support of Xu Jie. His high-arched eyes were red, still immersed in the previous atmosphere and unable to extricate himself.
"Since ancient times, filling the national treasury has been nothing more than increasing revenue and reducing expenditure." Jiajing glanced around the ministers and said loudly.
"The cost-saving should start with me. The palaces and mansions we planned earlier will not be repaired for the time being. Mr. Xu Ge, you are the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, please do the math for me."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Xu Jie replied, and then called the guard, took the account book from his hand, and took out paper and pen, and began to check the calculations carefully. After a while, Xu Jie raised his head.
"Your Majesty, according to my calculations, if the palace is not repaired, there will probably be a balance of four million taels of silver."
Hearing the figures reported by Xu Jie, Jiajing's eyes flashed with disappointment. It was too little. A mere four million taels of silver was a drop in the bucket for today's Ming Dynasty, and it was far from closing the financial hole.
Don't talk about anything else, just take the southeastern Japanese suppression campaign. The money spent by the court every day is an astronomical figure, not to mention the floods, droughts, and locust plagues. The people suffer disasters, and the government's relief is another huge amount. A pen of silver, and there are Tatars in the north watching the Central Plains, and the annual military expenditure is not small.
"Your Majesty has a very good heart, but the wood has already been transported to the capital. If it is not built, wouldn't it all be wasted?"
Yan Shifan frowned, but couldn't help but tried to dissuade him.
"What's so difficult about this? Just put a royal brand on it and sell it on the spot. There are many wealthy people who want to buy it. It's best to have a sales restriction."
Gao Gong stroked his beard, not paying attention to Yan Shifan's words, and argued casually.
"This is wood that can only be used by the royal family. Just sell it to those..."
Before Yan Shifan finished speaking, he was interrupted by Yan Song: "I think this method is very good. It can not only reduce the burden, but also fill the national treasury, killing two birds with one stone."
"Then let's implement what Mr. Yan Ge said." Jiajing nodded, agreeing to Yan Song's proposal.
"Reducing expenditure is just a small part. No matter how much you save a cup of water, it will eventually be used up. But increasing revenue is the big part. It turns the water in the cup into a mighty river and irrigates the two capitals and thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty. I don't know, you guys." My dear, what good advice do you have?"
After Jiajing finished speaking, he looked at the ministers in the room, and everyone seemed to be thinking hard.
"Your Majesty, I have a plan!" Yan Song's calm voice came, which seemed particularly abrupt in the silent room.
"Oh, Mr. Yan Ge, please speak." Jiajing also became interested and wanted to know what suggestions this Mr. Yan Ge, who had controlled the government for more than 20 years, could make.
"Your Majesty, a piece of high-quality silk can only be sold for six taels of silver in the mainland. If sold to Western countries, it can be sold for more than ten taels of silver. There are now 15,000 looms in Jiangsu and 10,000 looms in Zhejiang. I am wondering if we can add more looms to produce more silk."
"I made an estimate before I came here. If the policy is implemented smoothly, we will increase taxes by at least 8 million next year."
"Increase mulberry fields and looms? Of course you can, but how to increase silk production?" Jiajing held his chin and carefully considered the feasibility of Yan Song's plan.
"Your Majesty, your Majesty! Since ancient times, Jiangsu's silk has been supplied by Zhejiang. I am wondering if we can get Zhejiang to increase the supply of silk, add more mulberry fields, and install more looms."
"You mean to ask farmers in Zhejiang to stop farming and plant mulberry trees instead?"
Yan Song turned around tremblingly, glanced sideways at everyone, and then responded: "The cabinet's intention is to let farmers in Zhejiang convert half of their farmland into mulberry fields."
"If all the farmland is converted into mulberry fields, what will the people of Zhejiang eat?" Xu Jie seemed to be critical of Yan Song's suggestion and retorted.
"Farmers who switch to planting mulberry trees will make far more profits than they did before. As for food, they can temporarily transfer it from other provinces. If you have money, are you afraid of not being able to buy food?" Yan Song explained to Xu Jie unhurriedly.
"Old Yan Ge's plan is very feasible, but it's just the autumn harvest. Let's wait until the people harvest this year's food before making a decision."
"In addition, taxes in Jiangsu and Zhejiang are also reduced by 30%." Jiajing seemed to suddenly remember and added.
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Seeing Jiajing's decision on the matter, the remaining ministers stopped talking.
Jiajing then sat back on his seat, looked at the cabinet ministers present, and added: "The policies proposed by Mr. Yan Ge are certainly good, but I am just wondering if we can take another step forward?"
"One more step forward?"
The cabinet members present looked at me and I looked at you. They all looked confused and didn't know what was going on. This was not because they didn't understand what the emperor was referring to, but because no one had the courage to speak out.
The atmosphere fell into a dull atmosphere. Jiajing's eyes swept over all the cabinet members one by one. The officials caught by Jiajing's eyes lowered their heads and did not dare to speak.
Finally, the silence was broken by Lu Fang, the eunuch in charge of the ceremony: "My lord, I understand what the emperor is referring to, but are you going to impose a sea ban?"
"Yes." Jiajing looked at Lu Fang and nodded, with a hint of approval in his eyes.
"Your Majesty, you must not do this! The maritime ban is a national policy and cannot be shaken!"
When Gao Gong saw Lu Fang just piercing the window paper, he knelt down with a thump, trying to dissuade her.
"At this time, the Japanese invasion has not been eliminated, and wars are breaking out frequently in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Banning the sea will do a lot of harm but no good!" Seeing this, Xu Jie also opened his mouth to dissuade him at the right time.
"Your Majesty, I have the same views as Mr. Xu Ge." Yan Song cupped his hands and expressed his wishes.
"With the lifting of the maritime ban and the thorough opening of maritime trade routes, Ming Dynasty's cargo ships can be exported to India, Persia and other places, and the goods are not limited to silk, tea, porcelain and other goods can also be exported. I made a rough estimate before, This time alone, my Ming Dynasty's income can reach 10 million taels, not to mention the taxes paid by those businessmen."
"Tell me, how can this make me give up!" Jiajing said, his tone gradually becoming more severe, with a strong sense of punishing anyone who disagreed.
"Your Majesty, even if you want to punish us, we still insist on our own opinion. We must be cautious in establishing a sea ban. If we are not careful, the country will be shaken. Therefore, we cannot rush forward and must take it step by step."
"To borrow what Mr. Xu Ge said earlier, if we lift the sea ban now, it will do a lot of harm but nothing good."
Yan Shifan, who had been "hanging up" for a long time, followed in the footsteps of Yan Song and Xu Jie and voiced his opposition.
At this time, only one of the five cabinet members, Zhang Juzheng, did not express his position.
"Well, let's follow Mr. Xiaoge's advice and not impose a maritime ban for the time being. We can discuss it later after the Japanese invasion of Jiangsu and Zhejiang is completely resolved."
Jiajing said helplessly, with a strong sense of exhaustion and powerlessness in his tone.
"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"
Seeing that the emperor no longer clamored for the lifting of the sea ban, everyone present breathed a sigh of relief, but at the same time, they felt a deep sense of guilt in their hearts.
"Since the sea ban is no longer in effect for the time being, let's expand the army first, build up the navy, and prepare for the future."
Jiajing picked up the teacup and asked in a relaxed tone.
After hearing the emperor's words, Zhang Juzheng, who had been silent until now, gradually began to light up in his eyes. Just when he wanted to thank the emperor for his kindness, Gao Gong spoke with an uneasy look on his face: "Your Majesty, the treasury is currently empty, please..."
Just listen to 'Bang! ', a crisp sound exploded in everyone's ears. Looking around, it turned out that the emperor was so angry that he threw the tea cup.
"Your Majesty, please forgive me!"
Seeing the emperor's anger, everyone knelt down to apologize.
"They won't let me open the sea, and you won't let me expand my army. So what can I do? I might as well just sit here and be a mascot!" Jiajing looked at the crowd and said coldly.
"Your Majesty, it is not difficult to build a navy. With the 3.8 million taels of silver you previously transferred to the treasury, it is enough to build a powerful navy! By then, we will be able to open up sea routes and sell our Ming Dynasty's goods. Going further, I support the expansion of the army." Yan Song lowered his head, and the old god spoke calmly.
"I also support the expansion of the army!" Almost as soon as Yan Song finished his speech, Yan Shifan spoke immediately.
"I also support the expansion of the army!" After Yan Shifan, Xu Jie had no choice but to express his support.
Zhang Juzheng still did not speak, just silent, but his eyes looked at Emperor Jiajing with an inexplicable meaning.
"In that case, let's settle it. I'm tired. You all can go."
Jiajing waved his hands, looking very tired.
"I also hope that your majesty will take care of the dragon's body. I will take my leave."
