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

Chapter 438 Your Majesty, the army can't move without money!

When he held a meeting with Tong Guowei and other supporters, the Eighth Prince was still full of hope.

He reasoned that whether it was the wise Grand Secretary or other supporters, wouldn't they all be willing to go to great lengths to help him at such a crucial moment? Money was just a drop in the ocean!
But what happened? The moment money was mentioned, everyone went silent!
Their mouths were like welded-on zippers, they stood there like wooden figures, refusing to utter a word.

When pushed to the limit, there's only one reaction: shrug and say, "I have no money."

It's easy to say you don't have money!
But if you can't get things done without money, that would be a huge problem!
Lao Ba was furious; his blood pressure was soaring.

He managed to restrain himself and prevent himself from losing his temper.

After all, these people are his cheerleaders; the position of crown prince depends on their support and encouragement.

If you anger these people, your influence will greatly diminish.

Whether he can ascend to the position of crown prince is another matter entirely.

After instructing everyone to go back and find a solution, the Eighth Prince grabbed Tong Guowei and said, "Prime Minister Tong, is it really that difficult to raise this money?"

"As far as I know, there are also many slush funds in various government offices, and they are all very rich."

"If everyone supports me and we pool our money together, we could easily have several hundred thousand taels of silver!"

"besides……"

After the impatient Eighth Prince finished speaking, Tong Guowei leisurely handed him a cup of tea. The Eighth Prince's eyes lit up, and he asked, "Do you think it can work?"

"Eighth Prince, you're overthinking it! It's not that the officials don't support you, it's just that that money is too important to them."

"Without this money, it will be difficult for you gentlemen to live in the yamen."

"Those below will all have opinions about them."

"For the imperial court to function, every government office must also function!"

Looking at the composed Tong Guowei, the Eighth Prince suppressed his anger and said in a calm tone, "Lord Tong, what do you suggest I do in this situation?"

"Without money, we can't explain ourselves to Father."

"What will Father think of me then...?"

Looking at the distressed Eighth Prince, Tong Guowei hesitated for a moment before saying, "Eighth Prince, you really shouldn't have accepted this assignment."

"Don't you think about it? If the Crown Prince won't accept it, the court officials will be even less likely to accept it. Do you think accepting it will solve the problem?"

"This isn't two or three hundred thousand taels of silver."

"That's four million taels of silver!"

Tong Guowei's words made Yun Si realize that he had really been reckless.

He was moved by his father's words and felt that an opportunity had come. Little did he know that this opportunity would turn out to be such a huge pitfall.

He hesitated for a moment and said, "Lord Tong, it's too late to regret it now."

"Even if it's tough, we have to get this done, otherwise we won't be able to explain it to Father!"

At this point, the Eighth Prince hesitated for a moment and said, "I have heard that there are many wealthy families in the capital, especially the nobles, who also have a lot of silver."

“They’ve been quite supportive of me. Look, I’ll go beg for some alms, and we can all squeeze in together, what do you say?”

Tong Guowei glanced at the Eighth Prince, whose lips were a little dry, and smiled almost imperceptibly.

Seeing Tong Guowei's reaction, the Eighth Prince asked with delight, "Do you think my plan is feasible?"

Unexpectedly, Tong Guowei poured cold water on him, saying, "Eighth Master, your plan is too simplistic!"

"Emperor Chongzhen had the same idea back then, but in the end he only managed to raise tens of thousands of taels of silver, which made him a laughing stock."

"By doing this, you're probably even worse than Emperor Chongzhen. Believe me, those nobles would love to fake their bankruptcy on the spot."

"Even if everyone supports you, you should know that people have always believed in keeping their wealth hidden."

"If someone were to provide you with a large sum of money at this time, do you think they wouldn't be afraid that His Majesty would find out how wealthy they are?"

"Isn't he afraid of being questioned by His Majesty about where all this money came from?"

As Tong Guowei continued to ask rhetorical questions, the Eighth Prince's face turned green.

He then realized that he had acted rashly in the heat of the moment, and that he had oversimplified the matter!

"Grand Secretary Tong, according to you, I have no choice but to tell my father that I can't raise the four million taels of silver?"

The Eighth Prince's expression held a hint of resentment.

Tong Guowei was a supporter of the Eighth Prince, and naturally he did not want the person he supported to suffer a loss.

He pondered for a moment and said, "Eighth Prince, whether or not we can raise the money is one thing, but whether or not we do our best in our duties is another."

"You should take charge of the Ministry of Revenue!"

"I urge the Ministry of Revenue to transfer silver from the various provincial treasuries to the Taicang as quickly as possible."

"Also, contact the money shops in the capital as soon as possible to see if we can borrow some silver from them, in the name of the Ministry of Revenue."

"Also, take action against the Imperial Household Department, investigate some bad accounts, and see if you can squeeze some money out of them."

"Send someone to inspect the salt trade in the Jianghuai region and urge the salt merchants in Yangzhou to contribute silver as soon as possible. This time, we cannot show any leniency; we must get at least several hundred thousand taels, or even a million taels!"

……

Tong Guowei offered the Eighth Prince a series of suggestions, which gradually calmed the prince down.

He looked at Tong Guowei with admiration; this Grand Secretary had given him a lot of advice.

Hearing these ideas, he had a feeling that Emperor Qianxi's order might not be so difficult to fulfill. "Grand Secretary, can we raise four million by doing this?" the Eighth Prince asked eagerly.

Tong Guowei gave a professional fake smile: "Eighth Prince, you can have anything in your dreams. You're overthinking it again."

"These methods can only raise a limited amount of silver."

"Moreover, many of these methods are like trying to quench a thirst with water from afar!"

"Take the salt inspector, for example. Once this person is sent down, it will take at least one or two months for him to be effective. Even if he travels by fast horse, it will still take more than ten days to get to Yangzhou!"

"Moreover, the adults sent there are pampered and delicate. If they go on a shopping spree and drinking in Yangzhou, it would be quite a feat if they could get there in a month."

The Eighth Prince paced back and forth a few steps, and finally sighed, saying, "That's the only way."

"But what if Father blames us?"

Tong Guowei smiled at the Eighth Prince and said, "You are so busy with His Majesty's arrangements, how could His Majesty be too harsh on you?"

"After all, you are His Majesty's son!"

The Eighth Prince nodded and began to quickly implement Tong Guowei's plan.

For a time, the Eighth Prince was so busy that he was practically running around. He even settled down at the Ministry of Revenue, adopting the motto "The right approach is all that matters, the results are up to fate."

Under the impetus of the Qianxi Emperor, the entire court was like a wound-up machine, running at high speed.

Soldiers, provisions, weapons...

Various supplies were quickly gathered and piled up like small mountains around the capital.

With just one order from Emperor Qianxi, the army could set off at any time.

However, as more and more people gathered, Emperor Qianxi's expression grew increasingly grim.

The Eighth Prince ran himself ragged and talked himself hoarse trying to raise the money, but the amount he finally managed to raise... well, the Emperor could only sigh.

If you were to reveal the entire treasury's assets, it would amount to just over 1.2 million taels.

But the Ministry of Revenue can't just take all the money!

Even the Ministry of Revenue needs to make a living, right?

With the New Year just around the corner, it would be too unreasonable if the imperial court didn't even give the ministers a year-end bonus.
But where would the money for these bonuses come from? Emperor Qianxi couldn't eat or sleep when he thought about it.

At that very moment, Liang Jiugong quickly stepped forward: "Your Majesty, Minister of War Nuomin requests an audience."

"Let him in!" Emperor Qianxi was quite fond of Nuomin, after all, he was the Minister of War, and at this critical juncture, the Ministry of War was a pillar of the government.

"Your humble servant Nuomin pays his respects to Your Majesty." Nuomin performed a deep bow as soon as he entered.

Emperor Qianxi waved his hand: "Nuomin, just say what's on your mind."

"Your Majesty, a battle report has just arrived from the front lines: Dingkang City has been besieged by the Dzungar Regiment! The General of the Border Garrison has requested that the court send troops to its aid immediately. Any later... and a major disaster may ensue!"

When the words "something big has happened" were mentioned, Nuomin secretly glanced at the Emperor, and her voice became weak.

As an emperor who rose from the ashes, Emperor Qianxi was all too familiar with the phrase "delay leads to trouble"—after all, he had used it to urge others quite a bit back in the day.

"Send a message to the General of the Border Garrison, telling him that the army is about to set off and that he must hold out for another two months! Dingkang City is the gateway for the imperial court into the snowy region; it must not be lost!"

"If he can hold out until reinforcements arrive, I will reward him handsomely! If he cannot hold out... then he shall come to me with his head!"

When the emperor spoke of "bringing his head to me," his tone was so cold it could freeze.

Nuomin instantly understood the Emperor's meaning; how could she dare to plead for the General? She could only silently memorize the order.

Emperor Qianxi stroked his chin and pondered for a while before asking, "When can the army set off?"

Nuomin quickly replied, "Your Majesty, the Ministry of War is on standby, just waiting for your order. However... the provisions and pay allocated by the Ministry of Revenue have not yet arrived."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Qianxi's lips twitched.

He knew that it wasn't easy for the Eighth Prince to raise money, and he was so busy every day that he couldn't even find an excuse to scold him—after all, he wasn't the kind of unreasonable father, and he didn't want to be too harsh on his son.

"Nomin, how about this: half of the pay will be given before the army sets off, and the other half will be paid after the victory?" Emperor Qianxi felt guilty as he said this.

Nomin had led troops before, so he knew all too well how important morale was!

Where does morale come from? It's supported by food, pay, and rewards!

If only half the silver is given, the army will probably collapse before the battle even begins...

"Your Majesty, if only half of the pay is issued, I fear those ruffians will abandon their posts on the spot!"

Emperor Qianxi nodded: "Making people risk their lives and not paying them enough, and then haggling over the price, is indeed a bit unreasonable."

He was about to ask Liang Jiugong to summon the Eighth Prince when Liang Jiugong preemptively reported, "Your Majesty, General Fu'erxing requests an audience."

Emperor Qianxi had always valued Fu Erxing, and this time he even planned to appoint him as the commander-in-chief of the northern front, so naturally he could not be neglected.

"Invite him in quickly."

In less than half a minute, Fu Erxing strode into the Qianqing Palace.

After performing the salute, he said with a serious expression, "Your Majesty, I have come to inquire when the army will launch an attack on the Dzungar Khanate?"

"The northwest is freezing cold every day. If we don't send troops soon, we're afraid that in a few days, the army won't be able to move at all!"

The north wind howled outside the window, and Emperor Qianxi's face was even more gloomy than the sky.

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(End of this chapter)