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What is the Nanyang Army like?

All the ministers knew it clearly.

The Nanyang Army belonged to the Nanyang Palace several years ago. After the previous emperor ascended the throne, he sent Zuo Zhen to take over, and the Nanyang Army was considered to be back in the hands of the court. A few years later, a group of Nanyang Army generals impeached the chief general Zuo Zhen for taking empty salaries, drinking blood and exploiting soldiers, and the evidence was conclusive. After Zuo Zhen was stripped of his official position, Nanyang County Princess Jiang Shaohua strongly recommended Yu Chong to be the chief general.

At this point, the Nanyang Army was again under the control of the Nanyang Palace.

After Emperor Taihe ascended the throne, the treasury was empty and the military expenditures for the garrisons were seriously insufficient. The garrisons in various places all lived a hard life of austerity. Only the Nanyang Army did not reduce its military expenditures at all. The weapons, war horses and food were all sufficient, which was of course the credit of the Nanyang Palace.

In the past two years, the imperial court has directly saved the military expenses of the Nanyang Army, and all the Nanyang Army is supported by the Nanyang Palace. In this way, the Nanyang Army is the army of the Nanyang Palace in name and in fact.

As the Minister of War, Wang Shilang had long been dissatisfied with this. He brought up the matter at the small court meeting and pointed his finger at Princess Nanyang.

All the ministers looked at the princess.

Jiang Shaohua said calmly, "The Nanyang Palace helps the court to relieve its burdens and allocates a large sum of money every year to support the Nanyang Army. In the past two years, Nanyang County and Jingzhou have been peaceful, mostly because of the strong Nanyang Army. I wonder where the chaos that Minister Wang is talking about will come from?"

Minister Wang was clearly well prepared. He sneered and said, "The Nanyang Army was the imperial garrison, but now it has become the Nanyang Palace's army. Whoever pays for the army will own it. The other big families in the prefectures and counties or the other princes have followed suit and each has their own private army. How can there not be chaos?"

Jiang Shaohua said, "Minister Wang is worrying too much. The noble families cannot afford to support an army. The other princes can afford it, but they dare not and cannot raise troops. The only one who has the courage, bravery and financial resources to be tolerated by the emperor is this princess."

Minister Wang: “…”

Princess Nanyang is not only powerful, but also very thick-skinned.

This is the cunning and experienced nature that only top politicians possess.

Prime Minister Wang curled his lips in his heart, thinking that Minister Wang was still a little naive. If Jiang Shaohua was so easy to deal with, he would never allow her to be so domineering and arrogant.

Minister Dong and Minister Yang looked at each other, with approval and satisfaction in their eyes. Being a woman was originally the biggest disadvantage. But Princess Nanyang had the ability to turn disadvantages into advantages. Such a princess was worthy of their support and following.

Zheng Chen, who was taking notes, paused slightly with the tip of his pen on the paper, and a drop of thick black ink fell, about to drip.

Jiang Shaohua's voice rang out again, interrupting Zheng Chen's chaotic thoughts. Zheng Chen continued to write without thinking.

"Insufficient military funds for the garrison is indeed a big problem and can easily cause hidden worries. Minister Wang's concerns are not unreasonable. However, the national treasury is indeed empty at the moment and cannot provide such a sufficient amount of military funds. How much should be allocated and the specific figures, please discuss it later."

"Minister Ji, you are in charge of the Ministry of Revenue, you speak first."

Minister Ji, who was suddenly called out, reacted quickly and said, "Things have their priorities. Money is needed everywhere. We must first repair the river bank. Military funds will have to wait."

Minister Wang was about to retort as usual, but Jiang Shaohua's bright and sharp eyes swept over him and said, "This is a place for court meetings, not a place for quarrels. Minister Wang, please listen to what everyone has to say first, and then you can speak."

Minister Wang twitched his lips and kept silent.

More than 20 ministers expressed their opinions one by one. Some were in favor of allocating military funds first, while most supported Minister Ji and asked the Ministry of Works to repair the river embankment first.

Jiang Shaohua thought for a moment and said, "There are six people who support the memorial from the Ministry of War, and sixteen people who support repairing the river embankment first. This memorial from the Ministry of War will be rejected for the time being, and we will discuss it again when there is money in the national treasury in the future." Minister Wang was indignant, but there was nothing he could do.

Next, the court continued to proceed in an orderly manner. With the precedent of Minister Wang being beaten black and blue, the ministers spoke more cautiously, so as not to be stabbed by the sharp-tongued princess, which would be embarrassing and shameful.

At noon, the government affairs had not been dealt with yet. Jiang Shaohua directly ordered the imperial kitchen to send food into the palace. Each person had a food box with four dishes and one soup, two meat dishes and two vegetable dishes. It was neither rich nor simple.

"Let's have lunch first, and then discuss it after that."

The palace door did not open until it was almost dark. The tired ministers slowly left with heavy steps.

Even the energetic Minister Zhang couldn't hold on any longer today. After leaving the Showa Hall, he called his attendants to help him up, shaking his head and sighing, "I'm getting old. I can't compare to when I was young."

Prime Minister Wang also let his followers support him and slowly walked out of the palace.

Minister Ji came out shortly afterwards.

Being in charge of the Ministry of Revenue is a thankless job. The benefits are abundant, but the effort is unimaginable. Especially for the Minister of Revenue of the Liang Dynasty, it is even more difficult. As the saying goes, a good cook cannot cook without rice. The tax revenue of the treasury has been decreasing, but the places where silver is used are increasing. He has lost most of his hair in the past two or three years.

Fortunately, today Princess Nanyang showed her power and suppressed the greedy Minister Wang. Even the military expenditure of the Ministry of War was rejected, and the memorials of other departments asking for money were naturally not approved. This made him feel relieved.

Think about Feng Changshi of the Nanyang Palace. He is in charge of the palace's money and grain. With such a princess, it is not a hard job.

……

Zheng Chen, who had been writing with his head down all day, felt his wrists were sore and his head was a little dizzy.

No wonder Wang Jin was in that state yesterday. Today, it was my turn to understand what it felt like. I wrote for a whole day! The paper I wrote down was more than fifty pages!
Zheng Chen raised his head and saw Jiang Shaohua, who looked energetic and normal. Thinking of her terrifying divine power and skills, his mood became more complicated.

"Mr. Zheng, you have worked hard." Jiang Shaohua smiled and ordered: "Please ask Mr. Zheng to present the record you wrote today to the emperor. After the emperor has reviewed it, the record will be filed."

Zheng Chen raised his eyebrows: "Do we need to archive this record?"

"Of course." Jiang Shaohua said leisurely: "For every memorial, every government matter, the ministers have different opinions and ways of handling it. This princess did not interfere too much, and decided by the majority. If there is anything wrong in the future, you can check the records at any time, and it will be convenient to hold people accountable."

"This county lord will let them know that they cannot speak carelessly, cannot be perfunctory in their work, and cannot act recklessly. If there is any trouble, they will be severely punished!"

Zheng Chen: "..."

Zheng Chen's pupils trembled violently as he stared at Jiang Shaohua, his heart surging like a raging sea.

How did she come up with such a sophisticated method?

Or maybe, in her previous life, she married into the Wang family as a daughter-in-law, and her true brilliance and talent had always been restrained by the inner house. (End of this chapter)