The next day, there was a court meeting.
After the ceremony of monarch and minister, Xia Yuanji came out to play in class.
He said that there is too much money in the treasury now, and if it is left like this, it will not have any effect on the Ming Dynasty's economy. It is better to leave enough emergency money.
All the remaining money will be spent, whether it is building places or doing other things, as long as the money can reach the hands of the people.
Only when the people have money can it be considered a truly prosperous era.
The prosperous age of Yongle cannot be limited to the court, but should also let the people feel what a real prosperous age is.
Xia Yuanji's words undoubtedly dropped a bombshell in the court, and everyone was stunned for a long time, unable to react.
The top leaders of each department all had disbelief on their faces. They looked at Xia Yuanji with doubts in their eyes. Did they think Xia Yuanji took the wrong medicine today?
In the past, when applying for some funds from him, it was always necessary to rack your brains and talk to get some out of his hands.
What happened today? You actually took it out on your own initiative. Could it be that you have changed your gender?
Hmm...there must be some fraud involved!
Many people came to such a conclusion after some brainstorming.
This is not to blame for their misunderstandings. The main reason is that Xia Yuanji was too abnormal today.
Prince Zhu Gaochi, who was at the front of the group of ministers, looked at Xia Yuanji, his eyes flickering, and he didn't know what he was thinking.
Zhu Di, who was sitting on the dragon throne, after digesting Xia Yuanji's words for a while, asked tentatively:
"I am currently preparing to add 2,000 muskets, 50 cannons, and 30,000 rounds of artillery shells to the Shenji Camp."
"This money..."
"Here, there's no problem here at Hubu."
Xia Yuanji waved his hand and agreed immediately.
"The expansion of military armaments is to enhance the strength of our Ming Dynasty, so as to better protect our Ming Dynasty."
"Of course I won't refuse."
"Okay, Xia Aiqing is really the pillar of my Ming Dynasty!" Zhu Di cheered loudly.
He was ready to argue with Xia Yuanji, but he didn't expect the other party to agree immediately. It was really... surprising.
When Zhu Di looked at Xia Yuanji again, he felt pleased with him.
Seeing Zhu Di taking the lead and getting off to a good start, the top leaders of each department began to get ready to take action.
But none of them spoke first.
After all, none of them knew whether Xia Yuanji would regret it at the next moment.
After all, Zhu Di was the emperor. When he asked, it was normal for Xia Yuanji not to refuse.
The ministers were silent for a while. Xia Yuanji was a little dissatisfied when he saw this.
"Don't any of your ministries need money?"
He asked directly.
As soon as these words came out, Song Li, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, couldn't help but said: "Shangshu Xia, the Ministry of Industry is preparing to repair the official roads from the capital to the provinces and prefectures of Jiangsu and Zhejiang..."
"Here, this money has been approved by the Ministry of Finance." Before Song Li could finish his words, he was interrupted by Xia Yuanji.
Immediately afterwards, Xia Yuanji said in a preaching tone: "Song Shangshu, your situation is still too small."
"It might as well be bigger."
"Please also ask Xia Shangshu for advice." Song Li didn't know what kind of medicine Xia Yuanji sold in his gourd.
But it was the uncle who handed out the money. He hadn't received the money yet, so he didn't mind coaxing Xia Yuanji.
"How can we just build official roads from the capital to Jiangsu and Zhejiang?"
"I think it's better to repair the official road from the capital to Shuntian."
"This time, let's not just dig a little soil and smooth the road like before. Let's build an official road from the capital to Shuntian according to the standards of Qin Zhidao."
Xia Yuanji's words shocked Song Li and other department leaders, and even Zhu Di and Zhu Gaochi frowned.
Something is wrong, very wrong!
The father and son looked at each other and understood what was in each other's eyes.
The standards of Qin Zhidao are extremely high. Qin Shihuang only built about two thousand miles at that time. Although the quality of the project was very high, and some roads are still in use by the Ming Dynasty, the manpower and material resources spent were too much.
The distance between the capital and Shuntian is more than 2,000 miles. Along the way, you will encounter various complex terrains and the construction difficulty will be high.
If it really followed Qin Zhidao's standards, Zhu Di really didn't know how much it would cost.
Xia Yuanji, who was at the bottom of the imperial steps, was still talking eloquently, and told Song Li, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, that more refugees should be recruited to work on these projects and fewer corvees should be recruited.
It not only built the project, but also stabilized the refugees and eliminated unstable factors.
It also allowed the people to rest and recuperate.
All these factors convinced Song Li that Xia Yuanji really wanted to send them money.
He was so excited that he really wanted to call Xia Yuanji his adoptive father. If the time and place weren't wrong, he might actually do so.
Seeing this, the top leaders of other departments also spoke one after another.
Xia Yuanji: Give it all, the Ministry of Finance has approved it!
As long as it is reasonable and the money finally goes into the hands of the people, Xia Yuanji will not refuse.
The court hall soon became a mess.
I seem to have forgotten, I am in the middle of going to court now.
It can be seen that Zhu Di's face turned dark.
What a wonderful meeting, why did it end up like this?
Xia Yuanji, you are so damn... Zhu Di glared at Xia Yuanji fiercely.
Then he gave the eunuch standing next to him a look.
The latter immediately understood.
Then he waved the whip in his hand and let out an air explosion.
In an instant, the whole court fell silent.
Only then did the officials realize that they were in the middle of the court.
What they just did was really against the etiquette of the court.
So they all asked Zhu Di to apologize.
"Hmph, you are all important ministers of my Ming Dynasty. You are such a mess. What do you think of the court?"
"I know you are guilty, please punish me!" All the officials apologized in unison.
"Everyone will be fined half a month's salary. That's it, quit the court!"
"If anything happens, just tell me."
"Xia Yuanji, come with me!"
Zhu Di flicked his sleeves and robe, leaving only his back to everyone.
"Everyone, you should not be doing what you are doing today!" Zhu Gaochi said to everyone.
Hearing this, all the officials looked at each other in shock.
They didn't want to, but for some reason they just couldn't control their legs and mouths.
If you want to blame what happened today, you still have to blame Xia Yuanji.
Who knows what medicine he took wrongly today.
He even took the initiative to ask various departments to apply for fees.
If it weren't for the fear of others snatching all the meat, I wouldn't even be able to drink the soup.
Will they disregard court etiquette?
Xia Yuanji, you deserve to die!
Everyone was cursing in their hearts, completely forgetting how they had flattered Xia Yuanji just now.
"Your Highness the Crown Prince, I am aware of my guilt!"
"Okay, you all go back to work!"
"We'll talk about this later when there are results."
Not far away, the second oldest Zhu Gaoxu and the third youngest were watching this scene quietly.
But the corner of the second child's mouth curled into a sneer.
…
