Thief Emperor

Chapter 1037 Buddha Country
His Majesty the Emperor's face immediately darkened.

If the Ministry of Rites had submitted this report three days ago, he might have actually considered it.

After all, the most important matters of state are sacrifice and war. Sacrifice does not only refer to worshipping heaven or ancestors, but also includes a series of festivals, celebrations, or ceremonies that can increase cohesion.

As the backbone of this country, it is not excessive for Li Yun to celebrate his 10th birthday in a grand manner every ten years.

If Emperor Li hadn't been so averse to grand celebrations, his fortieth birthday celebration would not only have been a nationwide affair, but it should have been a nationwide event, with all prefectures, counties, and districts sending him congratulatory messages—as grand as possible.

Even if these kinds of activities can't enhance so-called cohesion, they can at least make people feel that the event is relevant.

After all, the new dynasty has only been established for less than ten years. It can be said that, apart from children under the age of ten, everyone under heaven is a "remnant of the previous dynasty".

Being able to make a name for oneself in the hearts of the people is certainly useful, at least letting them know who the current emperor is and how old he is.

But that happened three days ago, and now…

It's not possible now.

Because now, Emperor Li has two battles to fight.

Even though fighting on the front lines requires more food than cash, and even though he had accumulated enough money and supplies over the past eight or nine years to support the war effort while also holding grand celebrations in the rear, the pressure on the court was still immense due to the three-front war.

The Minister of Rites seemed to sense the Emperor's gaze. He looked up at the Emperor's face and then quickly lowered his head.

"Your Majesty, if Your Majesty feels the expense is too great..."

Minister Zhang lowered his head and said cautiously, "This year's birthday celebration can be further reduced. Our Ministry of Rites can discuss and come up with a plan that should reduce it to 1.5 million strings of cash."

Emperor Li remained silent for a while before waving his hand and saying, "Let's celebrate, but there's no need to spend too much. One and a half million strings of cash is too much. I have money to use now."

"Alright then."

His Majesty the Emperor slowly said, "I will allocate 200,000 strings of cash from my private treasury and 300,000 strings from the national treasury, for a total of 500,000 strings of cash for the Ministry of Rites."

Minister Zhang's expression changed drastically, and he bowed his head, saying, "Your Majesty, we must do this, we must do this..."

"This might not conform to the proper etiquette!"

Etiquette is a rather complicated system, especially since the emperor's clothing, food, housing, and transportation were all regulated by etiquette. Even when traveling in public, the number of horses used and their coat colors had to be clearly specified.

The reason for such strict requirements is that this system of etiquette is designed to highlight the hierarchy between superiors and inferiors.

If the emperor must use it this way, then no one else can use it this way, otherwise it would be usurpation.

Only when the rules are clear and unambiguous can we ensure order between superiors and subordinates and maintain a proper distinction between the noble and the lowly.

It is precisely because the regulations are so clear and explicit that many expenses are unavoidable; otherwise, even the cost would not be enough.

Emperor Li frowned and waved his hand, saying, "Just do it according to the standard of 500,000 strings of cash. If your Ministry of Rites can't handle it, then forget about it this year, don't bother with it."

Minister Zhang's expression changed slightly. He lowered his head and knelt on the ground, repeatedly saying that he dared not, while inwardly he was also lamenting his misfortune.

He took over the position of Minister of Rites last year after Tao Wenyuan stepped down from his post as Minister of Rites and entered the Secretariat. He had only served for a little over a year when the emperor's 40th birthday arrived. It was a great opportunity for him to make a name for himself and perhaps even become prime minister in the future.

After all, Prime Minister Tao had already angered the Emperor. It was said that he had been publicly reprimanded by the Emperor in the Secretariat. He had lost the Emperor's favor. In addition, Prime Minister Zhuo had been dismissed, so now there were actually two vacancies for prime ministers in the Secretariat.

These two positions are now vacant, and the six ministries and nine ministers are all extremely envious.

Now, His Majesty the Emperor is not giving him money, yet he's being asked to do it; this is putting him in a very difficult position.

Minister Zhang knelt on the ground, not moving for a long time. Minister Du looked at him, forced a smile, and said with a smile, "Minister Zhang, we can discuss this matter in detail when you go to the Secretariat. There will always be a way."

Upon hearing Du Qian's words, Zhang Huan immediately understood, stood up, bowed to the emperor, and said, "Your Majesty, I will consider it again after I return."

"I will do my best to ensure a successful birthday celebration for His Majesty and the court."

"My minister retire."

His Majesty the Emperor waved to him, and Minister Zhang lowered his head and carefully withdrew from the Ganlu Hall.

After he left, Minister Du looked up at Li Yun and said with a smile, "Your Majesty, I think that money that should be spent should be spent. Over the years... over the years, the Ministry of Revenue has accumulated a lot of money."

"The Secretariat and the Ministry of Rites have already calculated that even with a grand celebration this year, the national treasury will still have 15 million strings of cash left."

The emperor shook his head slightly: "It's not that I'm stingy."

He looked at Du Qian and said quietly, "This money should have been spent anyway. If it's kept in the national treasury, big money won't generate small money."

The money in the gold standard era was not the same as the money in the paper money era. In the paper money era, currency had no added value. What the government needed to do was to spend as much money as possible, even borrowing money to spend it, so that the money could circulate in society.

However, in Li Yun's era, the more money the national treasury had, the wealthier the court was. After all, the money at that time was real money, made of precious metals, not paper currency with no added value. The court couldn't conjure money out of thin air.

Therefore, you will need savings to prepare for any possible events.

For example, various natural disasters and man-made calamities.

Even so, Emperor Li was not a stingy person. He still did not believe that the more money in the national treasury, the better. In his view, the money in the national treasury was enough to keep the court running and to have a certain ability to withstand risks.

The rest of the money should be spent as it is, preferably on the benefit of the people.

Emperor Li looked at Du Qian and sighed, "But now, war is about to break out."

Du Qian paused slightly, looked up at Li Yun, but was not surprised.

He was unaware of the movements in the Northwest and Tibet, but the Emperor had been frequently summoning military generals for meetings these past few days, and Du Qian had already guessed some of the details.

Li Yun took out several documents from his desk, pushed them to Du Qian, and said, "These are messages from the Ninth Division. I have already had them summarized, but Brother Shouyi can read them at a glance."

"Let's look at the original."

Du Qian nodded, walked to Emperor Li's side, picked up the documents, and read them through one by one. He read them very quickly, finishing them in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea. He then stacked them neatly and placed them back on the emperor's desk, before quietly saying, "Your Majesty, Tibet is merely a foreign matter. The only place where the court needs to deploy troops is in the northwest. The threat from the northwest is far less than that from the Khitan."

"Supporting the war in the Northwest will not delay His Majesty's birthday celebration."

Emperor Li shook his head and said, "As I just said, this is not about money."

He looked at Du Qian and continued, "Our new dynasty, starting with the Jiangdong Army, and to this day, most of the Tang troops in various places, including the Imperial Guards near Luoyang, are from the Jiangdong Army of that time."

"I wonder if you, Brother Shouyi, can understand."

His Majesty the Emperor pointed to his nose and said, "I have always considered myself a member of the Jiangdong Army, and I will likely continue to do so in the future."

This is the biggest difference between the founding emperor and later emperors.

Even if Li Yun's son, Li Yuan, were to inherit the throne, his status as a ruler in the future would be that of a head of state.

But Li Yun is different; he has another hidden identity.

He was a military leader, a member of the Jiangdong Army, and also the supreme commander of the Jiangdong Army.

Even though the Jiangdong Army designation no longer exists on the surface, it still lives in the hearts of every Tang soldier.

It also lives on in Li's heart.

Emperor Li said quietly, "The brothers of the Jiangdong Army are about to go to the front line to fight the enemy to the death. I can't stay behind and celebrate my birthday in a big way, so this is enough."

At this point, His Majesty the Emperor rubbed his temples and said, "If it weren't for the fact that this only happens once every ten years, I would have preferred to let it go this year."

Upon hearing this, Du Qian was somewhat moved. He looked at Li Yun and sighed, "Your Majesty... Your Majesty's vision has far surpassed that of us."

"It has nothing to do with the overall situation."

Emperor Li gestured for Du Qian to sit down. After he was seated, Li Yun continued, "Besides the war in the Northwest, I am also preparing to fight a battle in Jiannan Circuit."

Du Qian was taken aback.

Today, he came with the Ministry of Rites to discuss having the Ministry of Rites contact the Tibetans and change the marriage alliance to a "mutual aid" relationship. From beginning to end, the war was not mentioned.

What, Your Majesty…

Emperor Li looked at him and said quietly, "We can't just focus on the present; we have to think about the future. My goal in this battle in Jiannan Circuit is to control the vital gateway between Jiannan Circuit and Tibet, so that in the future..."

"In the future, there will be an opportunity to bring the Tibetan territory under our control."

"Tibet…"

Du Qian shook his head slightly and said, "When the Old Zhou Dynasty was at its peak, it once invaded the Tibetan territory. After the soldiers arrived in Tibet, they had trouble even breathing and could not withstand the local water and soil at all."

His Majesty the Emperor smiled.

Take your time.

"The Tibet of today is not the Tibet of the past."

Emperor Li said slowly.

"Perhaps it's already a Buddhist kingdom."

(End of this chapter)