Because most civil and military officials agreed.
Therefore, His Majesty the Emperor immediately made a decision and ordered the British Duke Zhang Fu to be the general to conquer the barbarians. He would lead 50,000 elite soldiers from the northwest theater to send troops to the Western Regions to wipe out the disobedient barbarians in Hami and even the entire Western Regions.
After the dynasty ended, Xia Yuanji was still in a daze and has not reacted yet.
Jian Yi caught up with him behind him, his expression serious.
"Weizhe, the wind direction has changed!"
"Now the Wude court has changed its appearance!"
Jian Yi sighed and was about to say something more.
But at this moment, a eunuch hurried over and took Xia Yuanji away directly.
Arriving at the Imperial Study Room of Qianqing Palace, Xia Yuanji bowed and sat down honestly.
Seeing his dazed look, Zhu Gaoxu couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"What? You haven't figured it out yet?"
Hearing this, Xia Yuanji smiled bitterly and shook his head.
"Your Majesty, it is common sense in all dynasties for military leaders to fight against war."
"But why is it like this today? It's just that the noble military ministers took the initiative to ask for a fight. Instead of objecting, those civil servants and gentry also came out to support. This is really puzzling..."
"You have ignored a very important issue." Zhu Gaoxu said with a smile, "That is the issue of interests!"
"Indeed, in the past, it was the war masters who fought against the war, but in the final analysis, it was because the war only benefited the noble military ministers, but did not benefit the civil servants and gentry at all. On the contrary, it would cause their interests to be damaged!"
"No matter what the scale of the war, once the war breaks out, the young and strong civilians will be drafted from the fields to the front line battlefield."
"But the owners of these fields are those civil servants and officials. Now all the main labor force has gone to support the war. Who will plow the fields for them? Who will produce food for them? Therefore, the civil servants and officials of all dynasties will resolutely oppose the war. !”
"No matter how righteous and awe-inspiring they say, the real reason why they oppose the war is because of interests!"
His Majesty the Emperor's words rendered Xia Yuanji speechless.
Although he wanted to defend the civil servants and gentry, the problem was that he had no way to defend himself!
With the continuous implementation of Yang Shiqi's policy of sharing the land with the family, the corruption problems exposed by the gentry are simply shocking!
This time, they did not engage in corruption in official positions, but relied on their own fame, privileges and conveniences in official positions to annex property and land in their hometowns and countryside. It can be said that they are crazy and unscrupulous!
Therefore, there is indeed nothing wrong with the national policy of spreading the land among the people. It is a national policy that benefits the country and the people, and even saves the country and the people!
Xia Yuanji can now understand why Emperor Wude has always been biased against the literati and gentry. Since he was still the King of Han, he has spared no effort to suppress the literati and gentry!
In fact, we really can’t blame Zhu Gaoxu, it’s really these civil servants and gentry who are so unsatisfactory!
You deserve this!
"But now, the situation is different!"
"The main reason is that the artifact potato brings great confidence to the gentry!"
"Over the past few years, the main focus of the Ming Dynasty gentry has been on Lingbei Province, and they have also made a lot of money by opening up wasteland and planting potatoes!"
"Driven by interests, imagine that the imperial court is preparing to send troops again to occupy and plunder more fields. Do you think these gentry and gentry will be tempted?"
"As long as you have the magic potato in hand, you can grow food no matter what kind of field you are in. No matter how bad the conditions are, can it still be worse than Mobei Grassland?"
Xia Yuanji was startled when he heard this, and then nodded subconsciously.
The artifact potato really changed the entire Ming Dynasty.
Due to its ultra-high yield and strong adaptability, potatoes can be planted in almost all fields of the Ming Dynasty, including those uncultivated wastelands. They are worthy of the name of "the artifact of the country"!
And this potato can be completely used as a staple food, so its significance is even more extraordinary!
Food means population, means interests, means everything!
Xia Yuanji has been in charge of the household department and is particularly sensitive to money and food issues.
Today, Ming Dynasty's tax revenue has increased more than ten times, and many problems have emerged along with it.
That is, the population of the Ming Dynasty increased explosively, which brought an unimaginable amount of labor to the Ming Dynasty. However, the problem was that the population of the Ming Dynasty grew too fast, and there were only so many fields in the Ming Dynasty. There was an embarrassing situation of too many monks and too little rice.
As a result, the imperial court has long been prepared for the Liaodong Development Plan and the Lingbei Development Project. Anyway, with the artifact potato, the wasteland can be turned into cultivated land and good land suitable for people to farm and live!
Liaodong has been developed, and Lingbei has also been developed. Now it seems that there is really no area that can be developed in the entire Ming Dynasty.
So what’s the next step?
The Ming Dynasty now has enough food, and the people's lives are more than a hundred times better than before. Not only can they have enough to eat and clothe themselves, but they can also save a lot of surplus food.
As the saying goes, if you are full and warm, you will think of lust. In this way, the population will become more and more, and the growth rate will be faster and faster!
So, where should we develop next?
New territory!
And if you want to gain new territory, you must start a war!
The land of the Western Region is probably just an excuse!
Xia Yuanji took a deep breath, feeling a little uneasy.
The Western Regions, Hami is the gateway to the Western Regions, and the Western Regions is the gateway to Central Asia!
The Wude Emperor in front of me, his real goal is probably not the Western Regions, but the land of Central Asia!
After understanding this, Xia Yuanji couldn't help but persuade him.
"Your Majesty, please think twice about this matter..."
"Central Asia is too far away from our Ming Dynasty. The amount of money and food the King will need along the way will be an astronomical figure!"
When Zhu Gaoxu heard this, he just smiled happily.
Xia Yuanji was indeed Xia Yuanji, and his true purpose was immediately apparent.
"Of course I understand this problem, so aren't I here to come to you?"
Xia Yuanji: "???"
Find me?
What does it mean?
Do you want me to pay from the Ministry of Accounts? !
"impossible!"
"This is absolutely impossible!"
Xia Yuanji immediately shouted: "Your Majesty, please don't forget that we had divided the financial power back then. You were in charge of mining and commercial taxes, supporting soldiers and military expenditures."
"This march and war is part of military expenditures. It should be the responsibility of the royal family and has nothing to do with the Ministry of Revenue and the treasury..."
"Hey, what did you say!" Zhu Gaoxu pretended to be angry: "What did Xia Aiqing say?"
"Of course I know that this is military expenditure and should be paid for by the royal family. But the problem is that the navy has just gone to sea and ocean trade has just started. I don't know how many years it will be until they come back!"
"So, I just thought that since you have so much money and food in your treasury, why not let me appropriate it first and finish this battle first..."
"What? Embezzling public funds?" Xia Yuanji was angry, "Absolutely impossible!"
At this moment, Xia Yuanji was like a kitten protecting its food. He dared to grin even when facing the Ming Emperor Zhu Gaoxu.
When Zhu Gaoxu saw this, he immediately became angry. He slapped the table and shouted, "Xia Yuanji, don't go too far!"
"What does "misappropriation of public funds" mean? I am the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty. This entire Ming Dynasty belongs to me. Please keep your mouth clean..."
"Your Majesty, we cannot set a precedent!" Xia Yuanji said with a serious expression, "The money and food from the national treasury can only be used for the development of people's livelihood. It is taken from the people and used for the people. This is the meaning of the division of financial rights!"
"Your Majesty is wise and powerful, I have always understood it, but what about your Majesty's descendants? If something happens... this precedent must not be set!"
After hearing this, Zhu Gaoxu couldn't help but sigh.
"You, you, you are so worthless and a bastard!"
"Let's do this. I'll write you a note. It's a loan of internal funds. I'll pay it back to you when Zheng He comes back!"
Xia Yuanji was stunned when he heard this, and then spoke with a smile.
"Your Majesty, if you say so, then we will have to discuss it carefully."
"What are we discussing?" Zhu Gaoxu was stunned, "I'll write a note and you can approve it. I'll discuss it with you, sir!"
"Since it's a loan, there must be interest, right? And how much you borrow and when you will return it, these must be discussed clearly, right? What if your Majesty wants to default on the debt..."
"Get the hell out of here!"
