Therefore, government affairs are often like this.
Even if everyone agrees on a certain direction, there will still be a lot of resistance when it comes to actually implementing it.
Does Shen Yi not understand the importance of the border defense line? No, but there are indeed real problems ahead.
Large-scale mergers of passes, relocation of people, resettlement of refugees, and even the construction of new solid military towns and the construction of border walls.
Each of these things is very expensive.
As Minister of the Ministry of War, Yu Qian considers how to ensure the tranquility of the border, build a tight defense line to defend against foreign enemies, and ensure long-term peace and stability for the people.
But as the Minister of Household Affairs, Shen Yi had to consider where the silver came from, how to resettle the refugees, and whether the national treasury could support it.
"Your Majesty, after the Battle of Wala, the imperial court first rewarded the officers and soldiers, then repaired the border towns and recruited craftsmen. This year, the Ministry of Works built a large canal. Baoding Boliang Yao was still in Miao land to quell the chaos. The imperial court needed silver taels everywhere, and Yin was eating grain. These are no longer enough to describe the emptiness of the national treasury.”
"Today, the peppercorns' salary deductions in various yamen have just been stopped. If Yu Shangshu's nine-sided proposal is put into action, just preparing to build the city and border walls will consume a lot of money and collect labor. It will not be the Ministry of Household Affairs. What you can afford.”
Shen Yi spoke slowly, not caring about Yu Qian's already darkened face.
"Your Majesty, I know the importance of the border defense line, but this matter is related to the national economy and should not be taken too hastily. Now that the Tatar ministries have good relations with my court, and Oara is also interested in peace talks, it is likely that there will be no war on the border again in the short term."
"Therefore, I thought that we might as well order the officers and soldiers at each pass to drill strictly to guard against the invasion of bandits. Our court will rest and recuperate. After a few years, we can slowly plan for it."
To sum up, Shangshu Shen’s attitude is very clear.
Jiubian Town is too expensive. Let alone now, it may not be able to support it in a few years.
After Chen Yi finished speaking, Zhu Qiyu was noncommittal, but the ministers below were already discussing.
Although they were sitting on the throne and couldn't hear clearly what was said, it could be seen from their expressions that most of them were leaning towards Shen Yi's attitude.
After all, if the imperial court really wants to implement the Nine Sides, it must find a way to make money.
The elders all still remember that the last time they made money, every one of the ministers in the capital received half of their salary for half a year.
They can’t be sold, but they can’t be used, and they are still piled up at home!
The emperor said nothing, obviously meaning to continue the discussion.
So, Yu Qian, who had been holding back for a long time, stepped forward and spoke.
"Shen Shangshu's words are wrong. As the saying goes, be prepared for danger in times of peace. Although the border is still peaceful now, the army has been defeated, and the Tatars have also been on good terms with the Ming Dynasty. However, decades ago, Oara was extremely respectful to the Ming Dynasty. .”
"The thieves of that generation are cunning and unpredictable. Precisely because the border is now stable, our court should take this opportunity to be prepared for any eventuality. Otherwise, we will be truly unprepared when the war comes again."
Shen Yi knew a lot about border affairs. In contrast, Yu Qian didn't know anything about the Ministry of Revenue's finances.
During the Battle of Wala, he had seen Chen Yi's methods.
As long as this guy thinks about it, he can always make money out of every corner.
Just what Chen Yi had just laid out, such as repairing the border walls, recruiting craftsmen, building canals and building rivers.
When any of these things were first brought up, wasn't it because the boss of the Ministry of Revenue was unwilling and said he had no money to postpone it?
In the end, which one of them was not accomplished after a lot of effort and effort?
Seeing Shen Yi's confident look, Yu Qian couldn't stop complaining in his heart, but on his face he had to give in a little bit and said.
"What's more, as Shen Shangshu said, the establishment of a nine-sided town should not be done too hastily. Didn't the Liaodong Military Town also take several years of construction to reach its current scale?"
"The Ministry of War does not want to build border walls, refugees, military towns and cities all at the same time overnight. You have to eat in one bite, but you can't stop eating."
"At least, the border walls that need to be built must be built first, and the troops at the border passes must also consciously start to gather, slowly adjust, and gradually build a nine-border joint defense line."
Yu Qian had a sincere attitude that was easy to discuss and discuss, which made Chen Yi secretly curse an old fox, saying that he would make gradual adjustments and start construction first.
As soon as this thing was approved by the court, construction began to mobilize troops and resettle the people. How could the Ministry of Household Affairs have the final say on the progress?
When the time comes, the money will flow out. If the money is really not available, will half of the border wall be built? Or will the people just abandon it and leave it alone?
Put lightly!
Once such a big matter is approved by the court, all aspects of the government, from the central government to the local government, need to cooperate.
If the progress of the project stagnates because of the failure of the household department, all the blame from the yamen will not be attributed to the household department.
After pondering for a moment, Shen Shangshu opened his mouth and said.
"Yu Shangshu, to tell you the truth, the foundation of the national treasury is too weak. In addition to silver coins and corvee labor, many military towns have been added. How should we arrange the garrison generals, supervising ministers, supervising military officers, and patrolling censors? Adjustment? These matters involve too much and still need to be discussed again."
As he spoke, Shen Yi glanced sideways at the other ministers next to him.
That means, don't let me go out to confront Taiwan alone. I'm not the only one who doesn't want to do it.
So Chen Yi, the censor of Zuodu, also stepped out of the queue and said.
"Your Majesty, what Shen Shangshu said is true. The establishment of the nine-border town is a major restructuring of the border defense layout. It not only involves the local yamen, the reorganization and mobilization of the government and the army, but the court also needs to dispatch effective ministers, generals and officials. .”
"But after the Civil War, there was a shortage of officials in the court, and many governors and ministers had vacancies. The same was true in the army. Not only would the national treasury be unable to support the establishment of military towns, but it is also possible that officials and generals would not be able to hold high positions for a while."
Of course Yu Qian is not someone who is easily defeated. After listening to Chen Yi's words, he pondered for a while before preparing to refute.
However, the opposition of the two important ministers seemed to open some floodgates.
Immediately afterwards, Ning Yuan Hou Renli also stood up.
This Marquis has been fighting for many years, and his bones are still strong. After recovering from his injuries for more than half a month, he was finally able to go to court.
With some difficulty, he came to the palace, bowed his hands, and Ren Li also said something.
"Your Majesty, I also think that Yu Shangshu's memorial is too hasty. Although it is said to be prepared for danger in times of peace, the border has just settled down, the officers and soldiers are still recuperating, and many places have not yet recovered from the War at Oara."
"At this time, if officers and troops are mobilized on a large scale, it will easily lead to instability in the morale of the military. If trouble occurs again, we may have to wait for the Mongolian tribes to take advantage of it."
Civil servants and military commanders all expressed opposition on both sides.
Yu Qian glanced at the other ministers next to him. Although he did not speak, he clearly disagreed.
Then, censors and ministers from various ministries continued to appear, and basically they all expressed opposition.
There were a few people who supported it, but they were quickly refuted to the point where it was difficult to speak.
Seeing this situation, Fan Guang, who had drawn up the nine sides with Yu Qian, was a little anxious. He strode to the palace and was about to speak.
But at this time, the emperor raised his hand and stopped the debate in the palace.
"Since all the ministers feel that it is too early to discuss the nine-border matter at this time, then we will put it aside for the time being and wait until the national treasury is more abundant before we discuss it."
"Retreat from the court."
Thus, this court discussion ended just like this in the face of Yu Shangshu.
After the ministers respectfully sent the emperor off, Yu Qian straightened up, turned around and walked out of the palace without saying a word.
However, as soon as he reached the palace gate, two young chamberlains stopped him.
"Young Master Yu will stay away. Your Majesty will summon you and Shen Shangshu to meet you at the Qianqing Palace."
