The struggle for the throne among nine princes—I really don't want to be the crown prince.

Chapter 433 Do you think I resemble Emperor Chongzhen?

At the entrance of the Qianqing Palace, the members of the Six Ministries and Nine Ministers' delegation gathered together, each with a solemn expression.

Everyone knew perfectly well that Emperor Qianxi summoning the "family bucket" at this time meant something really serious had happened!

They had already seen the imperial edict that the Crown Prince was to go to the capital to build the mausoleums of Emperor Taizu and Emperor Taizong. This was Emperor Qianxi's decision!

No matter how much the crown prince tried to stop him, he couldn't stop the emperor's will.

Why is His Majesty summoning us in such a hurry? Is he perhaps preparing to depose the Crown Prince?

If that's the case, then the crown prince is completely finished...

Ma Qi was overjoyed, practically slapping his thigh in delight, wishing he could secretly set off a string of firecrackers at home. After all, he and the Crown Prince didn't get along.

If the crown prince is replaced, the eighth prince has a very high chance of becoming the center of attention.

Once the Eighth Prince ascends the throne, his family will rise to prominence and enjoy great wealth and status!

"My lords, why did His Majesty send us here in such a hurry?" Minister of Rites Zhang Yushu asked with a smile.

Zhang Yushu was publicly rebuked by the Crown Prince, losing all face!

However, this also brought his hatred for the crown prince to its peak.

He knew very well that he would not have a good end once the crown prince ascended the throne.

The fact that Emperor Qianxi is now sending the Crown Prince to the capital to repair the tombs of Emperors Taizu and Taizong is a sign that the Crown Prince has fallen out of favor.

In Zhang Yushu's view, Emperor Qianxi's haste in summoning them was a preparation for deposing the crown prince.

At this moment, if Zhang Yushu is unhappy, who has the right to be happy?
Zhang Yushu's words immediately made everyone present look serious.

However, most of them were fox spirits who had cultivated for thousands of years, and unlike Zhang Yushu, they had not offended the Crown Prince to the death.

So nobody wanted to engage with his gloating remarks.

"Lord Zhang, if you don't know about this, how could we possibly know?" Minister of Personnel Zou Yunjin said coldly.

Zou Yunjin and Zhang Yushu were not particularly close, and Zou Yunjin had no interest in currying favor with this man.

Seeing that everyone was pretending not to know, Zhang Yushu chuckled and said, "Whether you know it or not, it doesn't change one fact."

"What's meant to happen will happen eventually!"

Zhang Yushu's words were cryptic, but Zou Yunjin and the others were seasoned veterans of the officialdom, and naturally understood their meaning.

Just as everyone was lost in their own thoughts, Minister of War Nuomin arrived in a hurry.

Nuomin was in his fifties and was a shrewd and capable man. His father was an old minister who had fought in the north and south during the Qianxi Emperor's campaigns, and he left Nuomin a dukedom.

Therefore, he was both a minister and a duke, a position of great prestige.

Of course, he is still far inferior to someone like Tong Guowei.

"Lord Nomin, why are you so late?" Someone who was on good terms with Nomin greeted him with a smile.

Nuomin used to be cheerful and outgoing; when someone greeted her, she would basically remain silent without smiling.

But at this moment, he said with a serious expression, "Urgent military situation."

Before anyone could reply, Liang Jiugong stepped forward and said, "My lords, His Majesty invites you inside."

Upon hearing this, everyone walked into the Qianqing Palace with serious expressions.

Emperor Qianxi sat in the main hall of the Qianqing Palace. After everyone paid their respects, he said in a deep voice, "Nuomin, please convey the situation to the officials."

Nuomin is the Minister of War; this is his job.

He immediately replied in a deep voice, "Your subject obeys the decree."

"My lords, we have received a report today that the Jungars have invaded the Snow Region, Sun City has fallen, and the Snow Region King has been killed."

"The Jungar army is currently sweeping through the cities of the snowy region, and Dingkang City is also within their attack range. If we do not send troops in time, the entire snowy region will fall into the hands of the Jungar."

"By then, Ayunbutan will pose a greater threat than his uncle Galdan."

"Therefore, the Ministry of War suggested that troops be dispatched in two directions, not only to pacify the snowy region, but also to defeat Ayunbutan."

Upon hearing this news, everyone's expression changed.

Just recently, Emperor Qianxi personally led an expedition and ultimately defeated Galdan.

But now, just as the situation has calmed down, Galdan's nephew has sent troops to the snowy region, making this battle difficult.

As ministers of Emperor Qianxi, most of them were not afraid of fighting.

However, the amount of money spent on war is not a small sum.

As thoughts raced through their minds, everyone fell silent.

Emperor Qianxi glanced at the crowd and asked, "What are your opinions, my esteemed ministers, on the Ministry of War's suggestions?"

Upon hearing Emperor Qianxi's question, Zhang Yushu, the Minister of Rites, was the first to object: "Your Majesty, I believe that we can completely refrain from sending troops into this battle."

"Although the snowy region submits to us, it mostly pays lip service to the imperial court's orders while secretly disobeying them."

"Sending troops to the snowy region not only incurred huge costs, but also yielded little result."

"In my opinion, it would be better to let the snowy region and the Junggar fight each other. We can slowly accumulate strength and then send troops to the Junggar when the time is right."

Emperor Qianxi glanced at Zhang Yushu, then said indifferently, "Minister Zhang doesn't seem to know much about military matters. You should speak less in the future."

These words made Zhang Yushu's face turn pale.

Emperor Qianxi showed Zhang Yushu no mercy whatsoever, meaning that if you don't understand these things, you shouldn't offer random opinions.

To avoid exposing my low IQ and becoming a laughing stock!

Seeing how Zhang Yushu was treated by Emperor Qianxi, the officials all felt a sense of unease. Zhang Yushu's fate was laughable; if they didn't learn their lesson, they might be the next ones to be rebuffed in the same way.

"Your Majesty, the last campaign against Galdan involved various battles, costing a total of twelve million taels of silver from the imperial treasury!"

When Emperor Qianxi looked at Ma Qi, the Minister of Revenue, he hesitated for a moment before honestly saying, "This time, although the money won't be spent all at once for the two-pronged attack, the army will need at least four million taels of silver to set off."

"The Ministry of Revenue has less than one million taels of silver in its coffers, and with all expenses increasing at the end of the year, this silver..."

Ma Qi suddenly stopped halfway through his speech. He wanted to shout at the Emperor, "Even if you place so much hope on this battle, I can't do it!"

He simply laid out the difficulty of not having money; as for how to solve it, that was the Qianxi Emperor's business.

The reason Emperor Qianxi summoned his ministers was actually to discuss matters of money.

Hearing Ma Qi complain about being poor, he was also in a real bind.

The last time we fought Galdan, we already spent too much gold and silver.

This wiped out Taicang's savings accumulated over many years.

But now, only a year has passed, and war is about to break out again. The imperial granary simply doesn't have that much money.

He doesn't have the Midas touch!
After Ma Qi withdrew, Emperor Qianxi glanced around and said, "My dear ministers, the army is setting off, and silver is indispensable!"

"Let's brainstorm and pool our wisdom to discuss where this money should come from."

No one uttered a sound, and almost everyone lowered their heads when Emperor Qianxi looked at them.

Emperor Qianxi was very dissatisfied with this situation, but he still asked, "Zou Yunjin, what are your thoughts?"

Zou Yunjin was the Minister of Personnel, and he did not handle matters related to the Ministry of Revenue.

However, since Emperor Qianxi had posed the question to him, he had to give Emperor Qianxi an answer.

After a moment's hesitation, he said to Emperor Qianxi in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, four million taels of silver is not a small amount."

"I think...I think we can increase the number of official positions that can be obtained through donation."

Upon hearing this suggestion, Emperor Qianxi's expression grew even more unpleasant.

Donating official positions sounds nice, but frankly, it's just selling official posts!
Emperor Qianxi had always done such things out of desperation.

Moreover, he has experienced the negative consequences of such a thing, and if possible, he would never do such a thing.

After thinking about it, he said in a deep voice, "We'll discuss this further."

Zou Yunjin was actually unwilling to do the thing of buying an official position, after all, he was the Minister of Personnel, and if he bought too many official positions, he would be condemned by scholars all over the country.

However, he understood Emperor Qianxi's temperament and knew that if he didn't give a clear answer when Emperor Qianxi asked him questions, Emperor Qianxi would not let it go.

Therefore, he suggested the path of purchasing an official position.

Hearing that Emperor Qianxi did not accept the suggestion, Zou Yunjin breathed a sigh of relief.

Emperor Qianxi's gaze then fell upon Fu Lun, the Minister of Justice, and he asked Fu Lun, "What solutions does your Ministry of Justice have?"

Floren forced a smile and said, "Your Majesty, in the previous dynasty, there was a system of fines for punishing crimes."

"If the court truly needs silver, I think... perhaps we could use this?"

"Of course, the targets of the fines are those criminals whose crimes are relatively minor."

Emperor Qianxi looked coldly at Fulun and said, "What are you laughing at? Is this funny?"

Florence thought to himself, "If it weren't for you, what would I be laughing at? It's all because of you..."

Although he was inwardly furious, on the surface, Floren still obediently said, "Your Majesty, please forgive me."

Emperor Qianxi waved his hand, then looked at the faces of ministers such as Chen Tingjing.

Finally, he said in a deep voice, "My dear ministers, do any of you have a solution?"

The Minister of Works hesitated for a moment before saying, "Your Majesty, the Ministry of Works has spent a considerable amount of money on several projects."

"If we stop temporarily, we can squeeze out some money."

"But……"

Several projects undertaken by the Ministry of Works are now major affairs of the imperial court, such as river works, and so on...

If these things were to stop, it would be a huge loss to the future of the imperial court.

Emperor Qianxi waved his sleeve and said, "We'll talk about it later."

Chen Tingjing hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, there is a problem in the snowy region, and the court has no choice but to respond."

"In my opinion, we can have all the civil and military officials raise funds by pooling their resources!"

"This might solve our immediate problem."

Emperor Qianxi came up with the idea of ​​having all the civil and military officials donate silver. He turned to Chen Tingjing and said, "Censor Chen, do you think I am very similar to that poor Emperor Chongzhen who hanged himself?"

Chen Tingjing never expected that his suggestion would become such a huge mockery.

He hesitated for a moment, but finally hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, I have no such intention. I just feel that when the court is in trouble, we officials should do our part."

At this point, he hesitated for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, I am sincere and beg for your understanding."

Emperor Qianxi ignored Chen Tingjing and instead glanced around before saying, "Don't you have any other ideas?"

No one answered!
The whole place was silent!

The two Grand Secretaries and a group of officials all lowered their heads and stared blankly, not uttering a word.

Just then, someone suddenly shouted, "Your Majesty! I recommend someone; perhaps he has a solution!"

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(End of this chapter)