After the two generals from Heilongjiang and Jilin left, the emperor breathed a sigh of relief.
There is no doubt that Jilin's development is always the fastest, while Heilongjiang can only rely on military reclamation.
On the cabinet side, Wang Yingxiong, who succeeded Zhao Shu as the chief minister, was old-minded. He looked at the opening and hurriedly came forward to ask for an audience.
"Let him in!"
Zhu Yixi waved her hand, and Liu Afu hurriedly went out.
The emperor had different ways of getting along with each of his chief ministers.
Zhao Shu respected him with a little respect. After all, he was both a teacher and a friend, and he was at the level of a leader.
Wang Yingxiong came to seek refuge when he was in Sichuan, and the emperor's attitude was relatively mild. There was no respect, but there was still mutual respect.
Apart from anything else, his age was enough to soften the emperor's attitude.
Wang Yingxiong, who had gray hair, was in good spirits. He walked slowly but firmly: "Your Majesty, the land in northern Liaoning is now on track."
"Yes!" The emperor sighed and said with some excitement: "If things go on like this, the imperial court will add two new provinces, and the day when it will reach far beyond the Han and Tang Dynasties will not be far away."
"The Han and Tang dynasties are not as good as your Majesty." Wang Yingxiong shook his head: "Northern Liao was just a state in the Tang Dynasty, and was even occupied by the Bohai Kingdom. Now the imperial court has a general's mansion, with civilian officials and pastoral guards, which can be said to be superior to others."
"But His Majesty has taken one step at a time, never taking any risks and setting up prefectures and counties lightly, and overdoing it with the general's residence. He is really a sage, and the wise kings of ancient times are not as good as..."
Although this flattery was a bit stiff, Zhu Yixi accepted it and was very happy.
There is no way, ambitious monarchs in ancient times basically like to take risks and get everything done in a short time. For example, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty wanted to capture the Xiongnu in his lifetime; Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty wanted to quickly eliminate Goguryeo...
But doing some things too hastily can be counterproductive.
Excessive military occupation is the best way.
Of course, the Western Region is different.
The situation there is complicated. In order to avoid long nights and many dreams, we can only quickly turn it into a county.
"but--"
I summarized part of it earlier. Sure enough, everything was just for the sake of foreshadowing. After the turning point here, Wang Yingxiong said:
"According to the words of the Ministry of Household Affairs, Suiyuan, Anxi, Gansu, and Ningxia will have a hard time keeping their own money and food this spring. At the same time, the imperial court will have to allocate three million silver yuan in order for them to..."
The emperor frowned.
The meaning of this sentence is that it is not enough to retain all the four provinces for the future summer harvest. The court must also transfer payment and allocate money and grain from the Ministry of Household Affairs.
"Why?"
As soon as the words came out of his mouth, he felt a little stupid.
In one word, border army.
Coupled with the abnormal climate in the past two years, it will naturally lead to poor harvests in these barren lands, which will require transfer payments.
But what he said was that Wang Yingxiong's focus was not on money and food, but on gently admonishing him to be cautious.
In other words, he hoped that the emperor would not take risks as he did before, remain cautious and not act too hastily.
Wouldn't this be a slap in the face?
Zhu Yixi was silent.
Good guys, what a bunch of people.
Advising is indeed a technical job.
If it was Zhao Shu, he would directly lay out the carriage and horses, explain the pros and cons, and then let the emperor choose.
As Wang Yingxiong gets older, he becomes more cautious and tactful.
"Are you talking about Annan?"
After hearing the emperor's words, Wang Yingxiong's expression did not change: "I shouldn't have said anything about the Annan matter, but we can learn from the past and learn from others. Your Majesty——"
"I see."
The emperor waved his hand: "I repeat, this time is not for occupation, but to naturalize the vassal state and save the people of Annan from fire and water. This is what the Celestial Kingdom should do."
"But -" Wang Yingxiong stopped talking.
Zhu Yixi was annoyed: "Stop talking, don't you just want to talk about money and food?"
"This time the troops are dispatched, the money and food will be provided by internal funds. The deposits of the Ministry of Household Affairs will not be moved at all, and they are not included in the budget prepared by the Ministry of Finance."
"Is this okay? I'll save you all the trouble."
"Since Your Majesty insists on doing this, I have nothing to say—"
Wang Yingxiong sighed, shook his head, and left.
"snort--"
Watching his old figure leave, the emperor drank up the tea brought by Liu Afu in one gulp, his enthusiasm still lingering.
"After all, this Mr. Wangge is different from Mr. Zhao. He is really capable of angering the emperor..." Liu Afu said cooperatively while bringing another cup of tea.
"Who says it's not the case?" the emperor said angrily: "Although Mr. Zhao is also a tough guy, he's not very irritating, but this guy is so full of tricks that he makes people extremely irritated."
"What's a little money? I'm rich in the world and have millions of people, so what's the difference?"
Liu Afu even took off his coat for the emperor to avoid panicking due to the heat.
At this time, Zhu Yixi suddenly realized: "Sure, I was tricked."
Suddenly, he understood that Wang Yingxiong had made up his mind from the beginning to use the emperor's internal funds instead of using the user's banknotes.
Good guy, you went through such a big detour just for a little money and food.
"Isn't this back court too conspicuous?"
Suddenly, the emperor asked an inexplicable question.
Liu Afu was stunned and said hurriedly: "There is no big expense, as usual, except that this year, the Ministry of Internal Affairs mobilized tens of thousands of people to build the Chengde Palace and spent millions of yuan..."
"really--"
Zhu Yixi had no choice but bowed her hands and said: "In the future, you must keep a low profile. As a royal, you must be diligent and thrifty. Extravagance is not the way of a saint."
"yes!"
The internal funds and the Ministry of Household Affairs are two separate systems, and the income of the Ministry of Internal Affairs is even more closely linked. If it is easily leaked, few will survive.
Without it, the Ministry of Internal Affairs runs the business, and the people who manage the accounts are basically domestic servants. Once it is known, the emperor does not need to take action at all, and the eunuchs can take care of him.
In the past few years, the income of the Ministry of Internal Affairs has been rising steadily, making the emperor a little frightened.
Customs alone earned 15 million yuan last year. This is a huge number.
The income from other royal estates, shops, sugar, etc. together is about 5 million, of which sugar accounts for the majority. The plantation plus sugar shack, plus the opening of the mainland market, the annual income is 2 million.
The total amount is about 20 million yuan.
This is an all-time high.
If such a huge amount of income were known to the civil servants, they would probably keep an eye on it every day and find ways to drain it.
For such a large amount of money, the emperor did not have anything else to spend. One million yuan was enough for the entire harem every year, and the rest was left over.
In this case, it is logical to build a Chengde villa.
Just like the traditional Chinese, the emperor liked to save it for other uses.
After all, there will be a lot of consumption in the future. For example, if the prince becomes a vassal, his son must give money, right?
If a daughter wants to get married, the dowry must not be small.
The princess's mansion, the prince's mansion, twenty or thirty children, the cost involved is immeasurable.
Of course, Zhu Yixi was looking for trouble for herself. Under normal circumstances, the Ministry of Revenue was responsible for repairing the mansion.
Moreover, in the feudal era, the economy was unstable, so leave more money to your children and grandchildren for emergencies.
"Sure enough, with a little money, the civil servants will know."
The emperor thought in his mind: "It seems that their coveting of the customs is not just a matter of time."
"Go and ask the Ministry of Finance for the specific amount of last year's tariffs."
The customs here refers to the water gate above the canal. In the past, this was the main source of internal funds for the emperors of the Ming Dynasty. Later, Zhu Yixi took a liking to the customs and replaced it.
After a while, Liu Afu sent some documents over.
After the household department is divided into three parts, the finance department is responsible for
Regarding specific taxes and the budget for the coming year, the Ministry of Household Affairs is responsible for warehousing and bill collection, while the Ministry of Civil Affairs is responsible for household registration and other matters.
"really--"
After seeing those numbers, Zhu Yixi shook her head helplessly.
After the burden of water transportation was eliminated, the thousands of miles of canals have now become the fastest and most efficient north-south passage, with countless ships traveling between them.
After all, although sea transportation is fast, the risks are also high, and there is no safety inland.
In the fourteenth year of Shaowu's reign, customs revenue reached 6 million yuan, which was also a record high.
It is conceivable that with such a busy customs and several times the number of ships, there must be more taxes.
"Let Zhu Jing come to see me."
The emperor shook his head and suddenly turned around and said.
Soon, Zhu Jing came to the palace in confusion.
Although Zhu Jing was younger than the emperor, she was nearly thirty years old at this time. She had a beard and looked very mature and steady.
Even though he only wore a baron, he had no complaints over the years, which was especially appreciated by the emperor.
"Want to make meritorious deeds?"
Suddenly, the emperor asked.
Zhu Jing was stunned and immediately replied decisively: "Of course I do."
"Your Majesty, I am already thirty years old."
"Since you think about it, it's easy to do."
Zhu Yixi stood up directly and walked in front of him. She looked at the head that was taller than her and felt deeply for a moment.
Before he knew it, he was thirty-six years old.
Where's the time?
"Let's go to the study."
He leads the way and walks ahead.
Zhu Jing followed suit, her mind full of confusion, but she followed closely without delay.
Soon, I came to the study room.
There is a very obvious screen here, which you can see directly when you walk in.
This is a map that the emperor treasures.
The emperor took three steps and two steps together, pointed to the position below the Champa and said: "This is the foothold that will be prepared soon."
"Then gradually go north, eat away at the city of Champa, then go north again, swallow up the Ruan family and the Zheng family in one go. Then the Qin Kingdom will be born directly."
"What do you mean?" Zhu Jing understood, but felt a little unbelievable.
"That's right, you will lead the troops."
The emperor nodded and smiled: "You are older than King Qin, so he will listen to what you say."
"The other generals will inevitably have their hands tied when the time comes. Only if you go will you make them obey. There will be no constraints and the war will proceed smoothly."
"At the same time, this is also a good opportunity for you to make a contribution."
For Zhu Jing, the emperor had a compensatory mentality.
After conquering Annan and establishing a vassal state for the King of Qin, an earl would surely be in control.
Zhu Jing was silent at first, and then said with excitement on her face: "Don't worry."
"good."
Zhu Yixi nodded: "I believe you, but the first batch can only give you 5,000 people. After you capture Champa, I will add more troops to you. Take your time."
"My requirements are not high. I just need to strive to capture Annan in three years."
Hearing this request, Zhu Jing smiled bitterly.
The emperor continued: "Not to mention hardship, the elite soldiers under your command are all from the Beijing camp. Moreover, I still ask the Nanhai Navy to help you. Whether it is soldiers, horses, money, or food supplies, you will not be short."
"Although Annan once went out on his own during the Xuande period, his armor, firearms, or warrior prowess are not comparable to ours."
"If you still can't take it, then it's really useless."
In fact, it is very simple to capture Annan in a short time.
The 50,000-strong army rushed down at once, like tigers descending from the mountain. Annan's few men were absolutely no longer a problem.
But in this case, considering the cost of suppression in the later period, it would be impossible to win it without even tens of millions of dollars.
Moreover, the people of Guangdong and Guangxi will also bear the cost of the army's corvee service.
This, the local vitality will be severely damaged, and it will not be able to recover within ten years.
Therefore, considering the cost of war, small-scale war is most suitable.
After Zhu Jing made her solemn promise, she returned home again worried.
Not long after I arrived, someone announced that King Qin was visiting.
He didn't take it seriously either.
If it was not beyond his expectation, the emperor took the initiative to leak this matter.
In other words, unless there is some secret matter that requires secrecy, ordinary news will spread quickly in the palace.
"Brother Thirteen——"
Zhu Cunzhang shouted very affectionately, with the intimacy of an adult at the age of sixteen.
"His Royal Highness the King of Qin, please come quickly."
Zhu Jing hurriedly bowed to greet him: "Your Highness, just call me Ningzhi."
"This can't be done. If my father finds out, he will definitely scold me again."
King Qin smiled and said: "Brother Thirteen, we have such a relationship, we don't want to see each other outside."
As he said that, he put his arms in and looked extremely affectionate.
After entering the seat and serving tea, King Qin said calmly: "My father told me before, should I stay in the capital and be a carefree prince, or should I go to Annan and be a powerful and powerful prince?" A powerful vassal king."
"I was confused at the time. I could only hesitate for a while and chose Annan."
"Then, my father talked about the war in Annan."
"I never thought that Brother Thirteen would go with me. It must have come naturally."
"It doesn't take three to five years, one year is enough."
Faced with such flattery, Zhu Jing was neither humble nor overbearing, and said with a smile: "Although I have little talent and knowledge, I have experienced it. Your Majesty asked me to capture Saigon first, and then move forward step by step to capture the city."
"Three years is a bit tight, but we can win it in the end."
Zhu Jing was a man of many talents, and he immediately knew that His Highness the King of Qin was impatient.
But I can't eat hot tofu in a hurry, and three years turn into one year, which is simply fatal.
Therefore, taking steps step by step and fighting steadily is the principle he pursues.
After encountering a soft nail, King Qin was not annoyed and continued to smile: "This time we send troops, we can give priority to the selection of soldiers and horses. Brother Thirteen is well versed in practical military affairs. This must be done by you."
"Don't worry, Your Highness." Zhu Jing said seriously: "The soldiers I choose must be elite soldiers who have experienced hundreds of battles. I will never allow others to fish in troubled waters."
