Su Yonglin posed the question of whether he should ask for money to the ministers.
The ministers immediately opened up their minds, brainstormed and brainstormed, and their desire to make suggestions was much stronger than before.
Yelu Chenghui, Zuocheng, the Minister of Finance, stood up and spoke.
"Your Majesty, I believe that the reason why the Yellow River is in trouble today is all caused by the Song Dynasty's misdeeds, and the Song Dynasty needs to pay the price!"
Huo Jianbai, the right minister of Shangshu, stood up and spoke.
"Your Majesty, the three emperors Renzong, Shenzong and Zhezong of the Song Dynasty changed the direction of the Yellow River three times, causing the Yellow River to burst its banks three times, causing great damage to the Central Plains and causing countless deaths. I think it is reasonable and reasonable to ask them for some compensation."
Cao Kai, the right minister of the Ministry of Finance, stood up and spoke.
"Your Majesty, the reason why our government has to spend a lot of money to regulate the Yellow River is all due to the incompetence of the Song Dynasty's monarchs and ministers, which caused the Yellow River to get out of control. His people and their country did so to shame the world. It is very kind to only use money to make up for such sins. .”
Qiao Yunliang, the left minister of the Ministry of Industry, stood up and spoke.
"Your Majesty, the Yellow River is what it is today, all thanks to the monarchs and ministers of the Song Dynasty. It is not enough to ask them for money. They should also be asked to provide manpower and material resources. Ask them for engineering and building materials, skilled craftsmen, and people who are good at building embankments. All these can be done want!"
Li Baocheng, the left minister of the Ministry of Finance, stood up and spoke.
"Your Majesty, all the mistakes are the fault of the Song court and the fault of the Emperors of Zhao and Song. How can one-time money be enough? The Yellow River project will inevitably be delayed for a long time. If you are not careful, ten years of work may not be completed, so it should be Let the people of Song Dynasty provide money, manpower and material resources to help me every year!"
What Li Baocheng said was quite domineering and relieving, which immediately aroused the approval of many officials. They praised each other and said that Li Baocheng was right.
Then Yelu Yuanyi, Minister of Civil Affairs, stood up.
"Your Majesty, I heard that the Song Dynasty had previously provided annual tribute to the Jin Kingdom. The annual tribute was 250,000 taels of silver and 250,000 bolts of silk. Since it can be given to the Jin Kingdom, it can also be given to the Ming Dynasty. I suggest sending someone Go south and discuss the annual tribute with the Song people."
Yelu Yuanyi's suggestion immediately ignited the enthusiasm of the ministers present.
Two hundred and fifty thousand taels of silver, according to the silver exchange ratio at this time, is equivalent to more than 200 million taels of silver.
Two hundred and fifty thousand pieces of silk, even if it is of average quality, costs about four guan per piece, and the best quality silk cloth cannot be bought even for ten guan. Moreover, the price of silk cloth has always been very stable, and there is a quasi-currency. functions.
Even if he was kind-hearted and allowed him to pay tribute every year, the silk cloth was of average quality. After a little calculation, the discount would be almost a billion yuan.
If the Song people can be asked for the same annual coins as the Jin Dynasty, even if it is slightly reduced, controlled to about one billion yuan, it can greatly reduce the financial pressure of the Ming Empire in regulating the Yellow River.
If all the extra income of one billion yuan a year is spent on people's livelihood projects, it will be a great help to Su Yonglin's plan to restore the vitality of the Central Plains before the Song Dynasty is officially destroyed.
Officials have put forward the feasibility of this suggestion one after another, believing that the Ming Dynasty's military power is far stronger than that of the Jin Kingdom, not to mention the Song people. The Song people can pay annual tribute to the Jin Kingdom, and they can also pay annual tribute to the Ming Dynasty.
If they don't give it -
Do you look down on Daming?
Do you look down on the Ming Dynasty that destroyed the Jin Kingdom?
What a joke!
The Ming Dynasty destroyed the great Jin Kingdom in three years. Do you also want to subjugate the country in three years?
Su Yonglin didn't need to say anything. Yelvxian, the right minister of the Ministry of Rites, had already thought of the words for Su Yonglin.
Su Yonglin was sitting in his seat, thinking about the possibility of getting Sui coins from the Southern Song Dynasty. He suddenly felt that the little income he earned from selling smuggled salt was really not up to par.
You don’t need more than one billion yuan in annual tribute, but you are working hard on 60 million yuan in private salt income?
The pattern is low.
So he looked at the beaming Yelu Xian and laughed out loud.
"Song is a big country with hundreds of thousands of troops after all. Do you all like to bully Song so much?"
The ministers immediately looked at Su Yonglin collectively.
Su Yonglin paused, whetting everyone's appetite.
"I would also like."
The ministers were stunned for a moment, overjoyed, and shouted in unison that His Majesty is wise.
This is the first time since the founding of the Ming Dynasty that the four major political factions of the Ming Dynasty have reached a completely unified opinion. None of the four major political factions have any different opinions from each other. They completely unanimously believe that the Ming Dynasty can ask for some benefits from the Song Dynasty. benefit.
At first I just wanted to blackmail a certain amount of money, then I felt I should blackmail more money, then I felt I should blackmail some people or things in addition to the money, and finally, I just wanted to just pay tribute.
He won't give it?
You look down on Daming!
It’s you who gets beaten!
"Although this matter is not in line with the peace treaty just signed by the two countries, the Yellow River matter is not included in the peace treaty, and the reason why the Yellow River is where it is today is entirely the problem of the Song Dynasty. It is inappropriate for them to stay out of the matter. of."
Su Yonglin pretended to sigh with emotion: "What a pity, I just don't know whether the people of the Song Dynasty are sensible and aware of current affairs. If they are ignorant and ignorant of current affairs, leading to a war between the two countries, I really don't want to see it. "
When the ministers heard this, they knew that the emperor was pretending, so they all pretended to sigh together.
But the final conclusion is the same.
This is not a problem of the Ming Dynasty, but of the Song Dynasty. All responsibilities must be borne by the Song court and the emperor of the Zhao family.
Su Yonglin then made up his mind and planned to make a formal request to the Song Dynasty for the sake of all people in the world, requiring them to provide a certain amount of money, materials, and manpower every year during the management of the Yellow River.
And the total value of these things cannot be less than the annual tribute they paid to the Kingdom of Jin.
Su Yonglin then set out to form a negotiating mission and quickly decided on the person in charge of the negotiating mission.
Chief of Staff of the Ming Dynasty General Staff Council, Xin Qiji.
Su Yonglin vaguely remembered that Xin Qiji once persuaded him to defect to the Southern Song Dynasty. Although this never happened again, and Xin Qiji also said that he saw through the hypocrisy of the Southern Song Dynasty, Su Yonglin still wanted him to see with his own eyes what the Southern Song Dynasty was like.
So Su Yonglin called Xin Qiji and handed him this responsibility.
During the meeting, Xin Qiji was also one of the people who loudly called for the Southern Song Dynasty to pay the price, so after learning that Su Yonglin had given him this task, he readily agreed.
Su Yonglin looked at him and smiled, which made him feel uncomfortable all over.
"Why are you laughing, Your Majesty? Is there something wrong with you...?"
"No, there's nothing wrong with you, I just think it's funny."
Su Yonglin smiled and said: "I just remembered that when you and I first met, we talked about the general situation of the world at night, telling me that I must support the Southern Dynasty and surrender to the Southern Dynasty before I can succeed. Do you still think so now?"
Xin Qiji immediately put his hand on his forehead, looking depressed.
"Your Majesty still remembers."
"How could you forget? That was the first strategy you presented to me."
"I...I was too young at the time and didn't understand anything, so I told lies. Please don't be offended, Your Majesty."
"No, no, I just think it's funny."
Su Yonglin walked up to Xin Qiji and patted him on the shoulder: "At first, you strongly advocated for me to defect to the Southern Dynasty, but now, you have completely changed your view and become someone who is determined to demand annual tribute from the Southern Dynasty. I am very disappointed. I’m curious, what do you think of the Southern Dynasties now?”
Xin Qiji felt relieved when he saw that Su Yonglin's expression didn't seem to be fake, but that he was really asking.
"Your Majesty, I really don't have any such thoughts now. I can see clearly what kind of virtue the Southern Dynasty is. They are just a group of cowardly, incompetent and fearful people. There is no possibility of restoring the Central Plains. It is wishful thinking to expect them to save the people of the Central Plains."
Speaking of this, Xin Qiji sighed with emotion: "At first, His Majesty told me that we can only rely on ourselves to save the people of the Central Plains. I thought this was unreliable in my heart, but later I discovered that Your Majesty is the one who can really do it. He who saves all the peoples of the Central Plains.”
Su Yonglin nodded and did not deny Xin Qiji's remarks.
"I'm glad you think so, but I have to modify some of your words."
"Your Majesty, please speak."
"I alone cannot save all the people in the world. Only if you all stand together with me and help me can I save all the people in the world. Without your support, I cannot move forward."
Xin Qiji understood this and saluted Su Yonglin.
"I understand."
"Um."
Su Yonglin helped Xin Qiji up and said, "Go to the Southern Song Dynasty, look at their faces, their luxurious life, and the poverty and despair of the people under their rule. You will understand more clearly why they are not only unreliable, but He should be cut into pieces and his bones scattered to ashes!"
Xin Qiji nodded.
"I understand."
