The officers and soldiers of the Western Expedition were resting and recuperating in the Gumo Kingdom as scheduled, ready to march at any time to conquer the two countries of Tianzhu and Black Clothes.
Liu Mingzhi and a group of officials in the DPRK were also very busy because of Japan's request.
The bookstall was left to Liu Song to take care of, and the fortune-telling stall had not been set up again to welcome customers for seven or eight days.
It was another small court meeting, but a 'farce' was being staged in the Qinzheng Hall that should have been full of majesty.
Seven or eight officials were panting and holding on to Jiang Yuanming, the Minister of Household Affairs, with their faces flushed, struggling desperately to hit the dragon pillar supporting the main hall.
"Jiang Shangshu, no, no."
"Master Jiang, life is precious. It's easy to discuss everything, and it's easy to discuss everything!"
"Old Jiang, this is above the imperial court. How can you behave like a shrew seeking death and survival?"
"Master Jiang, His Majesty did not force you to insist..."
Young Master Liu glanced at a group of stunned envoys from various countries, panted heavily and patted the dragon table, and pointed with angry eyes at a group of officials under the dragon platform who were pulling Lao Jiang hard.
"Let go of everyone. Doesn't he want to die to prove his ambition? Let him die. I still don't believe it. Without him as the Minister of Household Affairs, can the world still be destroyed?
The Great Dragon is the superior state of the Celestial Empire. In order to express their respect for me and the imperial court, envoys from various countries traveled thousands of miles to come and worship.
Our country is a country of etiquette, and we have always paid attention to etiquette and reciprocity.
The envoys of various countries have paid so much tribute. Why can't I agree to their requests in the credentials and reward them with what they ask for to show the favor of the heaven?
As soon as you say it, there is no money; as soon as you say it, there is no money.
In this world and this court, it is your Ministry of Household Affairs that has the final say, or I have the final say.
I've tried to persuade you with nice words but don't agree, now you dare to threaten me with death.
Who are you scaring? Was I scared?
Let him crash. He really dared to die to prove his ambition. He crashed and died in the court. I posthumously named him the King of Loyalty and Righteousness. "
Jiang Yuanming, who was struggling to hit the dragon pillar, suddenly stopped and pointed at Mr. Liu with a flawless expression, his arms trembling: "Hunjun, Hunjun!
The third batch of grain and grass for the Western Expedition Army has not yet been paid out by the state treasury. Tongzhou and Xiangzhou suffered from drought for three consecutive months. Floods in Lianzhou and Gongzhou were difficult to eliminate in May. Jianzhou, Shunzhou and Kezhou were plagued by locusts for several months, so that the people were left without food. Collect, not enough to eat.
Millions of victims are like newborn babies, waiting for food and relief from the government.
At this time, the national treasury was empty, the emergency money was exhausted, and there was no disaster relief money.
But you asked the old minister to spend 300,000 taels of silver to cast troops to reward the Japanese envoys. Hunjun, you are driving the old minister to death.
For a foolish king like you who doesn’t know how to be diligent and caring for the people, it’s okay for the old minister not to serve you.
It doesn't cost money, it costs a life.
If His Majesty wants to continue to force me, the old minister will have no choice but to kill himself on the dragon pillar and die.
Colleagues, please let me go. It is this foolish king who has repeatedly denied me a way to survive.
I only have one chance to die. "
Three muffled bang bang bang sounds were recalled in the Qinzheng Hall. Young Master Liu pressed his palm on the dragon table, his face flushed, and he stared at Jiang Yuanming with a gloomy look.
"Jiang Yuanming, who gave you the courage to call me a fool?"
"If you don't know how to be considerate of your ministers and can't take good care of the people, what else is a foolish king but a coward?"
"You - you are so brave. Come, push Jiang Yuanming, the Minister of Household Affairs, out of the palace gate and behead him in public."
"Even if you kill the old minister, the treasury will still have no money. If you kill one Jiang Yuanming, thousands of Jiang Yuanming will still stand up.
The old minister is not afraid, the old minister is not afraid! "
"Jiang Yuanming, this is your own death wish. Don't blame me for not caring about the relationship between the king and his subjects. Come on, push him out!"
The Ministers of the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Industry hurriedly came out, raised their imperial huts and saluted Young Master Liu.
"Your Majesty, wait!"
"Your Majesty, calm down!"
Liu Mingzhi sat heavily on the dragon chair, panting and looking at Song Yu and Yang Tao.
"Ministry of War, Ministry of Industry, do you want to intercede for Mr. Jiang who dares to insult me?"
"I don't dare."
"I dare not plead for Jiang Shangshu, but I just beg your Majesty to think twice.
Now that an army of 400,000 has gone thousands of miles away to conquer the barbarians, it has been several months and the national treasury has been depleted. It is understandable that Jiang Shangshu cannot come up with any silver.
In order to demonstrate our majesty to heaven, Your Majesty generously rewarded the envoys of various countries. I understand His Majesty's kindness towards the subordinate countries.
However, God's grace is so great that it is not just a reward all the way.
Your Majesty should not force the elders of the three dynasties who were loyal to the imperial court to death in order to reward all nations!
Otherwise, all the officials will be disappointed and all the people will be sad. "
"The old minister seconded the suggestion. Please think again, Your Majesty."
"Okay, I can spare his life, but within two days you must come up with a charter for me to deal with this matter perfectly.
Otherwise, Jiang Yuanming, the Minister of Household Affairs, must be forced out of Gongmenzai and beheaded in public.
Retreat from the court. "
Young Master Liu flicked his sleeves and walked toward the back of the palace with a gloomy expression, not even leaving a chance to present himself to the officials.
"Jiang Shangshu, why are you doing this? Your Majesty is doing it for the sake of the face of the Celestial Empire. No matter how empty the treasury is, you can always come up with some money."
"That's right, your Majesty is the king, and we are ministers. If you don't leave any steps to your majesty, how can your majesty, as an emperor, not be furious?"
"Jiang Shangshu, please give in. At worst, our colleagues will help you figure out a solution. This is not just a matter of rewarding the envoy, it is also a matter of your life!"
"Old Jiang, you continue to be so stubborn..."
The officials reacted and gathered around Jiang Yuanming to give him good words.
Wang Hezheng, the minister of Honglu Temple, coughed twice and walked towards a group of bewildered envoys from various countries with a low face.
"Dear envoys, please follow me back to Honglu Temple first. There will be unrest in the court hall soon."
Sakai He and others looked at each other for a while, nodded hurriedly, and followed Wang Hezheng towards the outside of the hall.
It took about two sticks of incense after Wang Hezheng left with the envoys from various countries.
In the back hall of Qinzheng Hall, Young Master Liu was leaning on the door of the hall with a cup of tea, staring at Jiang Yuanming non-stop.
"Old Jiang, why do I feel that the words you, an old man, scolded me for didn't sound like you were acting, but more like your own words from the bottom of your heart?"
Jiang Yuanming, who was drinking tea, snorted, and the tea came out of his nostrils. He looked at Young Master Liu in embarrassment.
"Ahem...Your Majesty, you can't slander me out of thin air!"
Song Yu and Yang Tao laughed a few times, but did not interrupt when looking at Lao Jiang's confused reaction.
"Yes, yes, you can scold me if you want. As long as it doesn't reach my ears, I don't care how you want to scold me."
"Don't dare, don't dare!
Even if the old minister had the guts to eat, he would not dare to curse His Majesty secretly. "
Liu Mingzhi tapped the teacup lightly with the tea lid and glanced at Song Yu and the others: "I sent people to secretly investigate the wing of Honglu Temple. In addition to the gold, silver, jade and other tributes, the nationals of each subject country Even privately, he carried a large amount of gold, silver and jewelry.
I think we all plan to buy some of our specialties in Beijing Fangshi and bring them back to the mainland, so that we can make a fortune.
Especially the two envoys of Japan.
Each side carried nearly fifty thousand taels of gold, more than three hundred thousand taels of silver, and various treasures.
What does this mean?
This shows that even if they cannot get my reward, they will still find ways to buy a large number of weapons from private iron shops and transport them back to their homeland to complete their respective masters' missions.
It seems that the fish has bitten the hook. Whether it can be caught depends on Lao Wang's ability! "
Upon hearing Young Master Liu's words, the eyes of the three of them suddenly lit up and became like copper coins.
"Your Majesty, why don't I and the others rush to Honglu Temple immediately to assist Mr. Wang?"
"Yeah, I've been acting for so long, and I finally got the hook. It would be a shame if I ran away again."
"The veteran seconded the proposal."
"Don't act like this, we are smart, and Japanese people are not fools.
The more impatient we are, the easier it will be for them to see our flaws. If we want to get the gold and silver in the hands of the Japanese, we must work step by step and proceed step by step.
In order to complete the orders of their respective masters, they are more anxious than us.
What we have to do now is to remain unchanged in the face of changes.
As long as you hang them, they can't run away.
After all, the initiative is not in our hands. "
"Your Majesty is right, but I have lost my temper."
"Do you want all the hundred swords and armors you made to be completed?"
"Your Majesty, don't worry. It was built three days ago, so the Japanese will take the bait!"
