"Mr. Governor, someone is coming to the palace! It's still the same father-in-law from before."
"Well, I know, please go down."
Near evening, Hu Zongxian and Qi Jiguang finally received the reward from the court.
The person who came to announce the decree this time was still the old eunuch with a white face and red clothes. When he saw Hu Zongxian leading the officials from the Governor's Mansion, he did not rush to announce the decree. Instead, he looked at Hu Zongxian with a smile on his face. .
"Congratulations to Governor Hu!"
Seeing that his father-in-law was so polite, Hu Zongxian didn't know that the reward from the court would be very powerful this time, so he quickly and respectfully responded: "In recent days, I have been busy taking care of my father-in-law."
Hearing Hu Zongxian's flattery, the visitor was in a good mood and said slowly: "Everywhere, this is all your own contribution, Governor Hu."
Then he slowly put away the smile on his face, looked solemn, and said loudly: "You two, get ready to receive the order!"
Then, under the leadership of Hu Zongxian, Qi Jiguang and many officials in the Governor's Mansion knelt down, their faces full of respect.
The Emperor Fengtian Chengyun issued an edict: "This time Hu Zongxian, the governor of Zhejiang Province and the governor of Zhejiang Province, has made great achievements in suppressing the Japanese. He is now awarded the title of General Jianwei! The commander of the Dengzhou Guards, Qian Shi, and the Commander-in-Chief of Jizhou, Qi Jiguang, are awarded the title of General Zhaoyong! The responsibilities remain unchanged."
"In addition, the soldiers who participated in this battle will be given double pay by the court as before! Those who unfortunately died in battle will also be given double pensions, and their remaining family members will also be supported by the government. I appreciate this!"
After the old eunuch finished reading out the decree, he looked at Hu Zongxian with a smile and said softly: "Governor Hu, please accept the decree!"
"Your Majesty, Hu Zongxian, bows to your Majesty, long live my emperor!"
Hu Zongxian bowed again and just took over the imperial edict from the old eunuch. This time, Hu Zongxian didn't need to wink. The subordinates on the side stepped forward very discerningly and quickly stuffed the large stack of thick banknotes that had been prepared into the old eunuch's hand. In the eunuch's cuffs.
"Governor Hu really has a bright future. Not only did he destroy the Japanese pirates, but he is also so valued by His Majesty!"
The old eunuch calmly put away the banknote and said a few words of flattery.
"No, my father-in-law said something harsh! I hope that my father-in-law can say a few more kind words in front of His Majesty."
Hu Zongxian handed the imperial edict to his subordinates to put it away and bowed his hands.
"Easy to say, easy to say. I will try my best."
Hearing Hu Zongxian's words, the old eunuch smiled and bent over and responded.
"Since the imperial edict has been delivered, it is not convenient for me to stay here any longer, so I will leave first."
After the old eunuch finished speaking, he turned and left, followed by the two young eunuchs.
"Father-in-law, walk slowly!"
After Hu Zongxian finished speaking, he led the officials of the Governor's Mansion to see the old eunuch off.
After sending the old eunuch away, Hu Zongxian forcibly suppressed the excitement in his heart. After sending all the officials away, including Qi Jiguang, he returned to his study.
"Huh~ I am now General Jianwei! I am a first-grade military attache."
Hu Zongxian breathed a long sigh of relief and said silently to himself.
Before that, Hu Zongxian didn't take the imperial court's reward too seriously! In his opinion, the rewards from the court this time should be the same as usual. The merits of this time should be accumulated, and rewards will be given together after the next meritorious service.
At most, it's just a few words of encouragement and a reward of some gold and silver.
Unexpectedly, this time it greatly exceeded Hu Zongxian's expectations. Instead of accumulating credit for his achievements, the imperial court rewarded himself heavily and appointed him General Jianwei. This was something that countless military attachés in the Ming Dynasty could not achieve in their entire lives. high!
Hu Zongxian knew very well that the reason why he was able to advance to two levels in such a short period of time was because of His Majesty's support! Maybe it was His Majesty who overcame all the objections to get his appointment approved.
"Your Majesty is wise, and my minister Hu Zongxian will swear allegiance to your Majesty to the death!"
Hu Zongxian secretly made up his mind, and then kowtowed three times in the direction of the capital.
…
After several days of long journey, the batch of silver previously confiscated from the Wen family was successfully transported to the treasury via the Grand Canal.
In the cabinet at this time, Xu Jie, who is the Minister of Household Affairs, has been enveloped in a deep sense of happiness! At present, the treasury has received almost 30 million taels of silver. Adding in the 13 million taels that are still on the way, it is a total of 43 million taels of silver.
If we add the money previously stored in the treasury, even if the court does not receive a penny of taxes from the country, it can still support it for several years!
"There is too much silver now, and the original treasury can no longer hold it!"
"Therefore, at the next cabinet meeting, I would like to request His Majesty to expand the national treasury! The specific amount has been calculated, and it will probably cost about one million taels."
After Xu Jie finished speaking, he handed the budget report in his hand to Yan Song.
After hearing what Xu Jie said, Yan Song shakily put on his reading glasses. After reading the budget report, he couldn't help but said in surprise: "Mr. Xu Ge, is the amount of money really so much that even the national treasury can't put it down?"
"Mr. Yan Ge, I am the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. No one knows the current situation of the treasury better than me! Although I can reluctantly let it go now, what about the future?"
After Xu Jie finished speaking, he added: "Mr. Yan Ge, to tell you the truth, the amount of money in the treasury right now is probably in the hundreds of millions."
"What? So many!"
Even Yan Song, who had been in official circles for a long time, was also shocked by the figures revealed by Xu Jie.
"Well, that's right, and I have a strong feeling that there will be big moves on His Majesty's side next!"
After Xu Jie finished speaking, he stood up from his seat and poured himself a cup of hot tea.
"Well, well, I will do my best to persuade His Majesty at the next cabinet meeting!"
Seeing this, Yan Song nodded, agreeing to Xu Jie's proposal.
"By the way, the switch from rice to mulberry is about to be implemented. How are the food preparations in the neighboring provinces of Zhejiang being prepared?"
Xu Jie suddenly asked Yan Song.
"Well, this time the rice is changed to mulberry, most of the grain needed in Zhejiang will be mobilized from the grain-rich provinces next door, such as Anhui Province, Jiangsu Province, etc."
"Although Fujian Province is also on the list, it has just suffered from war, so you only need to prepare the minimum amount of food!"
When Yan Song heard what Xu Jie said, he thought he was dissatisfied with Fujian Province being on the list, so he explained.
After hearing the answer given by Yan Song, Xu Jie nodded and said solemnly: "Mr. Yan Ge has thought carefully. I would like to thank you on behalf of the people of Fujian!"
After Xu Jie finished speaking, he bowed slightly to Yan Song.
"What the heck, Xu Ge's old words are serious! We have been officials in the same court for so many years, and we still have to be considerate where we should be."
Yan Song helped Xu Jie up, with a warm smile on his face.
…
Forbidden City, Hall of Nourishing Heart.
After Jiajing exited the meditative state, he said silently to himself: "It still doesn't work. Compared with the established goal, it is far behind!"
Jiajing tried to restore the ecstasy array in the array secret book in a state of meditation, but no matter how many times he repeated it, it was always just a little bit behind! Helpless, Jiajing had to give up temporarily.
"It seems that before my strength breaks through, this enchantment array will not be set up for the time being."
At this moment, Lu Fang walked into the Nourishing Heart Hall with silent steps.
"Your Majesty, I found out everything you asked me to check last time."
"Here is the list of officials who often visit Li Chunfang, the Minister of Rites, and the crimes they committed!"
After Lu Fang finished speaking, he handed it to Jiajing with great respect.
"Well, you did a good job in this matter, and I want to reward you!"
Jiajing took the list from Lu Fang's hand, nodded and encouraged.
"Being able to serve His Majesty is the greatest honor for me. How dare you ask for other rewards?"
When Lu Fang heard what Jiajing said, she immediately knelt on the ground and said respectfully.
Jiajing then opened the list submitted by Lu Fang. After he saw the records of the crimes committed by these officials, he couldn't help but frown and handed it back to Lu Fang.
"You can just pick a few of the people here and take care of them! Keep the property you get and treat it as a reward from me."
Jiajing turned his gaze to Lu Fang, who was kneeling on the ground, and said casually.
"Slave, thank you for your grace!"
Lu Fang said it and bowed again.
(End of chapter)
