Emperor Tongzhi immediately sensed that something was wrong. After going around for a long time, the final key was not whether to repair the steel plant or not! It's about money!
"Well..." Zai Chun said thoughtfully, "I have also read the income and expenditure reports of your Ministry of Household Affairs in recent years. At present, the imperial court has a surplus of more than 10 million per year. Is it still short of this steel factory?"
"Baojun! What do you mean?"
Baojun's face turned pale and he raised his hands and said, "Your Majesty! The surplus of more than 10 million in the Ministry of Revenue seems to be a lot, but the hole in our court is also huge!"
"Do you know how many new spending plans each ministry has waiting for you to use?"
"The banner salary paid by the Zongren Mansion every year is about two discounts short. Although I have paid back part of it over the years, I still owe the banner people a huge seven million!"
"The total amount of silver taels applied for by the Ministry of Industry to dredge the Huanghuai River is as high as 11 million taels of silver... Fortunately, there has not been much rain in the past few years, so there is no need to repair it. However, if there is too much precipitation in the Huanghuai area this year and next year, there may be a flooding situation!"
“There’s no money left!”
"The Ministry of War has long been clamoring to build the Jiangyin Fort. This will cost more than two million taels of silver!"
"Other ministries have applied for approval, and all of them add up to 40 to 50 million taels of silver!"
"Where is the money? The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Finance have no money. Please tell me, Your Majesty, the Ministry of Finance really has no money..."
Baojun is a hard-working minister, and his words carry a completely different weight than that of a bastard prince like Yikuang! Yikuang knows how to act like a fool and a rogue, but Baojun can show out where the country spends money one by one!
Every one of them leaves you speechless and unable to refute!
Shen Ke has been owed flag pay for many years, and has already owed it since the Daoguang period. It can be postponed, but how can we save money on the Huanghuai Water Conservancy?
In the past, the country had no money to fight the war, but now that it has money, why not make up for it quickly? Are you really waiting for God to get upset and get angry?
The Jiangyin Fortress had to be repaired. Nowadays, the maritime power of the Chinese and foreigners is getting stronger and stronger, and the coastal defense of the Qing Dynasty has become useless!
If Haiphong is gone, will Jiangfang also be lost?
Jiangyin is right between Shanghai and Nanjing. This fortress is controlled by the imperial court, and all enemy warships coming and going have to tuck their tails between their legs!
This is an investment for national security. Can it be saved? The Ministry of War has already slapped the table for this!
The remaining Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Punishment also have many projects asking for money, and every reason is absolutely high-sounding!
In the final analysis, the Ministry of Accounts has no money, so don’t think that the surplus of more than 10 million yuan every year is real. In fact, it does not take into account many debts!
Zai Chun's face suddenly turned dull. He didn't expect that running a country requires so much money, and everything is so important.
Everyone was looking at Zai Chun, eager to hear the emperor's reaction. Bao Jun kicked the ball over, and it was up to him to see how the emperor would respond!
This is a conspiracy, this is a trap. The old foxes in the officialdom have actually smelled it, but no one dares to speak!
The expressions of Cixi and Ci'an changed. They had vaguely guessed what these courtiers were going to do, but at this moment it was too late to remind the emperor, and they could not speak out.
Just when Cixi was about to interrupt Zai Chun's thinking, Yinggui, the Minister of War, suddenly stood up and knelt in front of Emperor Tongzhi, his eyes red.
"Your Majesty! I have something to say. The Jiangyin Fortress cannot be repaired without repairs. Only the Jiangyin section of the Yangtze River Estuary is the most dangerous!"
"As long as we build high forts and use the latest cannons, we can easily block the river. Then the enemy's warships will no longer be able to invade our inland river along the river!"
"The Yangtze River is the most prosperous place in the Qing Dynasty, and the safety of the river defense also determines the navigation safety of the Grand Canal. Your Majesty, the north needs food and goods from the south, and the transportation of troops also depends on this canal!"
"Your Majesty, please make a decision quickly and build the Jiangyin Fortress!"
Baojun jumped up when he heard this, "What you said is very light. Just buying the first batch of cannons and labor will cost the court 2 million. In the future, we will have to invest every year. The Ministry of Household Affairs has no money!"
"Money, money, money! All you care about is silver. Which is more important, the empire of the Qing Dynasty or the money?"
"Don't force me. If the Ministry of Revenue doesn't have money, I just don't have money, and I can't do it for you! As the chief accountant of the Qing Dynasty, I can't learn the skills of making teahouses in alleys every day!"
"Open your mouth, move your lips, and money will fall from the sky?"
Speaking of this, Yinggui suddenly seemed to think of something. He kowtowed to Emperor Tongzhi on the throne and said, "Your Majesty, I heard a very bizarre rumor in the market these days!"
"According to the foreigners in Dongjiao Minxiang, Long Live Lord received a large sum of money from Britain? I wonder if this news is true?"
Quiet! Dead silence! You can hear a pin drop in the entire Yangxin Hall!
Xiang Zhuang danced his sword with the intention of Pei Gong and caused so much trouble. At this moment, Zai Chun realized that the target of what these people wanted to do today was actually him!
What about choosing a queen, what about industrialization, what about steel plants, relocation of people and land acquisition, etc., they are all false! They were all feints. They made a plan and gradually led the topic to money!
Yinggui said with an upright face, "Your Majesty! There are rumors in the market that the British gave the Long Live Lord fifteen million taels of interest-free military aid!"
"Hahaha... This will really save the imperial court. Please allocate two million for Jiangyin Fortress!"
Baojun also raised his hand and said, "Your Majesty... I thought it was a rumor in the market at first, but later I heard the news spread, and even the foreigners over there in Dongjiaomin Lane were talking about it!"
"Please tell me whether you have this sum of money... If you do, I hope your Majesty will put this money into the Ministry of Accounts as soon as possible. The court is really short of money now!"
See you in the picture! It turns out that the biggest conspiracy of the entire court is to ask for money, and everyone has reached into the emperor's private treasury!
After all, Zai Chun is just a teenager, and he is still far from good at cultivating his Qi. Hearing this, he really couldn't help but get angry!
"That's enough! I asked you to talk about the steel factory, and your king is talking about it. What's the point of money? Don't you do errands if you don't have money?"
"Everyone is a high-ranking official in the imperial court, but they listen to the rumors in the market. What does it look like!"
Yinggui quickly kowtowed, "Your Majesty! I don't dare to disobey you. I just want to know whether this rumor is true or false!"
"Whether there is this military aid or not, Long Live Master can clarify it with just one sentence! Is it yes or no?"
Bao Jun also said impatiently, "Yes, if we don't have this money, then our court will think of another way, but if we really have this money, it's better to put it into the Treasury of the Ministry of Revenue!"
"Your Majesty is the lord of the world, so he should have the heart of serving the world as a public servant. At this time, there is no need to distinguish between inner and outer treasury!"
Speaking of this, Baojun felt sour and knelt on the ground and shed tears, "The imperial court...the imperial court is so poor that it really can't move..."
Hi... Zai Chun was so angry that he was speechless, and his hands were shaking with anger.
Yi Xin, who was watching coldly from the side, had a sinking face and said nothing, but his heart was already filled with joy!
"Boy, let's see how you defeat today's game!"
