Sometimes people grow up overnight, and this is what happened to Zai Chun. He grew up under the care of people for the first sixteen years of his life. In the Forbidden City, he was the emperor, and everyone supported him. Even in Ryukyu, he was the emperor. The closed disciples of the head of state received all kinds of care.
All he does is study and perform image projects everywhere. For a child of this age, no one gives him any major responsibilities.
Why did Shen Baozhen, Ma Ming and others refuse to ask for help from the little emperor even though they were so poor?
On the one hand, they were afraid of leaving an unfavorable impression in front of the emperor, and on the other hand, these people subconsciously regarded Emperor Tongzhi as a child. They did not believe that an emperor without a pro-government could solve these problems!
Today's Emperor Tongzhi really feels like he has grown up overnight. This is the first time he has personally experienced what it feels like for 30,000 people to spend money to eat and to ask you for something!
In the past, it was all false to point out the exciting culture of the country. Wargames are very enjoyable, but they are not real life after all. Every small move of a small chess piece on the sand table may be a consumption of one million cash in reality.
Money and food! Money and food, it’s difficult for a rich man to be a man without money!
"Tell me, how much do you owe now, and how much more money will be needed to improve the combat effectiveness of the army in the future?"
Shen Baozhen gritted his teeth and said cruelly, "Your Majesty, you know the salary system of the new army. The daily salary of ordinary soldiers is one silver dollar per month. During war, it will be tripled. Those who train for more than 20 days in the month will be paid 1.5 times! "
"Officers have higher salaries. In addition, the new army is different from the previous green battalion soldiers, and their combat effectiveness must be guaranteed, so basically a large number of training missions are sent out every month..."
"The monthly military salary is about 100,000 yuan. We have already owed the salary for three months. This is 300,000 silver dollars... It's not over yet. The soldiers' food, clothing, housing, transportation, soups and medicines are also a huge expense!"
"The food, clothing, housing and transportation for 30,000 people, plus pensions for soldiers injured during training, and compensation for damage to people's property during performances...the shortfall is 400,000..."
One mouth is worth 700,000, and all the officials present shrink their necks! But this is not the end, Ma Ming and other generals still have details in their pockets!
"Long live! In fact, the biggest expense for the new army is not just military pay. We still haven't purchased all the weapons and equipment!"
"Right now, the entire army has not yet reached the level of having a Mauser in hand, and one-third of the soldiers carry front-mounted Remingtons. Such soldiers can only be organized into reserve service!"
"There is also a shortage of artillery. We have studied the battle cases of the Franco-Prussian War. We have read the battle reports sent back by His Majesty... We must have Krupp steel cannons. If our new army wants to become the king of the Qing Dynasty, we will not be equipped with such sharp weapons. It’s not possible!”
"Sixty guns, there must be sixty guns no matter what! As many cannonballs as there are..."
"I have a statement here. The cost of arms purchase is about 3 million silver dollars... In order to ensure combat effectiveness in the future, at least 150,000 yuan in shells and bullet consumption will be needed every month..."
Another vacancy of more than three million yuan popped up. The civil servants present were astonished. This adds up to four million. Where can I change it?
"Four million? Four million... four million..." Zai Chun sat on the big rock and tapped his fingers gently on the cold stone, thinking non-stop in his mouth.
None of the high-ranking civil and military officials at Mawei dared to speak. They were afraid that they would be embarrassed if they didn't get the money in the end! Since ancient times, accompanying the emperor is like accompanying a tiger. All matters related to making money are handled by the ministers. I only heard that the emperor asked his ministers for money, but I never heard that the emperor gave his ministers money to spend.
After five minutes of silence, Shen Baozhen couldn't hold back his anger. "Long live the Lord, don't worry, I will leave tomorrow...I will go to Shanghai, to Hong Kong, and I will borrow money from foreign banks..."
"I, I, I...I will kowtow to the governors of each province. Even if I don't want to die, I can still raise these four million for Your Majesty!"
Emperor Tongzhi woke up from his trance, "Huh? Oh... No, no need... I was a little distracted. In fact, I was just a little bit emotional. Our Qing Kingdom is so vast, how come we can't even squeeze out four million..."
"Stop kowtowing, I'm so dizzy... Now you think of going to a foreign bank to raise money? Why didn't you go there before?"
"Long Live Lord, the foreign devils are also bullies. They want our tariffs as guarantee, and they want the authorization from the Prime Minister's Office! These grandsons are just bullying Long Live Lord for not being in charge!"
Zai Chun's eyes showed a fierce look, it turned out that the root was here! Foreign banks are all profit-seeking. They cannot be philanthropists. On the one hand, they are greedy for interest, but on the other hand, they also want the safety of funds.
National loans require tax guarantees, but who can guarantee tax revenues? After all, he is still a politician and the one with the most power.
In any case, the little emperor has no pro-government. What he said is that there are no Japanese soldiers or six good emissaries... Those foreign devils who are evil and evil have seen countless overt and covert fights. Europe has been in war for more time than China, and countless kings have died.
Do you, Zaichun, dare to guarantee that you will live a long life? Not necessarily!
With this level of worry, the foreign bank said, "There is plenty of money, but the guarantee must be endorsed by Hurd and Guiziliu. Only if they endorse it with tariffs can we borrow it!" '
Will Yi Xin endorse this nephew emperor? If he had money, he would still use it for military training. The Xishan camp was getting bigger and bigger, and it was like a bottomless pit swallowing gold.
Moreover, there is also a faint struggle for the division of power in the future. It will not be that easy for Zaichun to take charge.
"Not to mention foreign banks...well...didn't you go to Fan Lian, the God of Wealth in the East China Sea? Don't the Chinese central banks also lend money?"
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone shrank their necks again, and they all turned into shrinking turtles!
Who dares to answer this question? Can Shen Baozhen not borrow it? When I went to Shanghai to have a secret meeting with Fan Yan and Liu Heshen, I thought that I would definitely come back with a full harvest.
Emperor Tongzhi’s master! It was Xiao Letian who brought him out of the Forbidden City with his own hands, and took him on study tours around the world, and the idea of training a new army in Fujian was given by him.
Coupled with the prosperity of Chinese business, there are countless merchant ships trading on the sea. Isn't it just a joke to lend a few million?
But I never expected that Shen Baozhen would get a black nose and face in Shanghai, and the Chinese central bank would just say "no loan" without any reason, and would not give you a reason.
In the end, Fan Yan gave him 100,000 yuan as a private person. It’s just such a small amount of money. Do you want it or not?
Humiliation, Shen Baozhen felt humiliated when he thought of that scene. In the end, the dignified Chinese central bank relied on the old shopkeeper to personally donate 100,000 yuan. Is this a way to send beggars away?
But the New Army can't even take the blame, and they still have to ask for 100,000 yuan! I didn’t even dare to tell the emperor about this just now!
Now the little emperor asked directly, how to answer? Who dares to answer?
Even now, people still can't figure out the details. What is the relationship between the emperor and the head of state? Did they have a falling out? Which of the various rumors is true?
All the courtiers in the Manchu and Qing Dynasties are as smart as ghosts. Who dares to say anything if they are not sure?
If you guessed the emperor's thoughts wrongly, and it is clear that master and apprentice share the same love as father and son, why would you say something bad?
It's clear that the two of you are having a falling out, but you still try your best to flatter the head of state?
If you don't say anything, even if you beat me to death, I won't say anything, and I will continue to act like a coward!
Emperor Tongzhi became angry as soon as he saw it, "What's going on? Are you mute? Are you talking? I just returned home and you started a scam, and then you started to show off to me?"
