Jingtai: Making the Ming Dynasty Great Again

Zhu Qiyu looked at Shen Yi, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue: "When will the military equipment from Nanjing be delivered to Beijing?"

Now, the reserve troops, the anti-Japanese troops, and the newly recruited volunteers have gathered in Beijing, numbering nearly 200,000.

Yu Qian rebuilt the three major battalions according to the principle of selecting the best of the best, and more than 60,000 people were selected.

The remaining 140,000 were all elderly, weak, sick, disabled, or without combat experience.

These people were responsible for assisting the three major battalions and deploying defenses on the city walls.

The current situation in Beijing is that there are too many people and not enough weapons.

Not to mention that each person had a suit of armor, even many of the elites of the three new battalions only had the long swords they were usually equipped with.

The defensive sword is too inefficient; it would be better to prepare more logs.

Of course, due to the scorched earth policy, there were no trees left within a ten-mile radius of Beijing.

A few days ago, Zhu Qiyu stood on the city wall and looked into the distance, sighing with emotion.

Historically, people from the Ming Dynasty have said that the defense of Beijing was a success.

But in Zhu Qiyu's view, there is no such thing as success; all failures are failures.

The mighty Ming Dynasty not only had its emperor captured, but was also driven to its doorstep by nomadic tribes from the grasslands—this was a defeat.

And then there's the series of things they're doing now to protect Beijing: destroying villages and cutting down trees.

Destruction is easy, construction is difficult.

Zhu Qiyu could already foresee that Beijing would experience a lot of sandstorms in the next few years.

Shen Yi stepped forward, saluted, and said, "Your Majesty, the military equipment from Nanjing has been sent out and is expected to arrive in the capital before October."

"Too slow. Order the recruitment of porters along the route and ensure that the goods are delivered to Beijing before September 25th." Zhu Qiyu thought for a moment and then added, "Let prisoners from the counties along the route serve as porters. Once they arrive in Beijing, they will be pardoned regardless of their crimes."

Shen Yi bowed and said, "As you command."

After speaking, Shen Yi did not return to his seat, but continued, "Your Majesty, I have something else to report."

Zhu Qiyu looked at Shen Yi with suspicion: "What is it?"

The Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue looked grave, clearly indicating that the matter he was about to report was no small one.

Shen Yi took out a thick booklet from his sleeve: "Your Majesty, I wish to report on the income and expenditure of the national treasury today."

Since the beginning of the fourteenth year of the Zhengtong reign, the national treasury has suffered a huge deficit. If it is not replenished in time, it may affect the defense of the capital and the operation of the court.

Zhu Qiyu leaned forward slightly: "Tell me in detail."

Shen Yi opened the booklet: "Your subject has followed the imperial decree to calculate the deficit, and the main reasons for the national treasury deficit are as follows."

Firstly, the expenses incurred by the retired emperor personally leading the expedition.

Shen Yi paused, looked up to observe Zhu Qiyu's expression, and only continued after seeing that his face was calm:

"From the decision to launch the northern expedition in July to the Tumu Crisis in August, in just over a month, the imperial court allocated a total of 2.8 million taels of silver for military expenses and 1.5 million shi of grain and fodder."

Of these, each of the 500,000 troops was allotted three taels of silver, totaling 1.5 million taels.

The cost of replenishing military equipment and purchasing horses amounted to 500,000 taels, while the cost of grain and fodder supplies along the way was 800,000 taels.

In addition, there were miscellaneous expenses such as rewards for generals at all levels and rewards for the troops, which are too numerous to list.

A low gasp filled the hall.

Many officials knew that the northern expedition would be extremely costly, but they did not expect it to reach such an astronomical figure.

Zhu Qiyu nodded, not surprised at all, as this was consistent with the later saying of "emptying the national treasury".

Shen Yi turned a page: "Secondly, the additional expenditures to cope with the current crisis."

Since His Majesty assumed regency, numerous expenditures have been made to secure the capital and prepare for defense.

Regarding the matter of transporting grain, His Majesty ordered that the people be rewarded with one tael of silver for every twenty shi of grain they transported back, and so far two hundred thousand taels of silver have been distributed as rewards.

The daily transportation costs for the people involved in transporting the grain amounted to 62,000 taels.

There were also expenses for relocating refugees and settling new recruits, totaling 74,000 taels.

Today, His Majesty's enthronement edict clearly stipulates that the soldiers defending the city should receive double the pay.

According to the current pay system of the Beijing Garrison, the monthly pay of ordinary soldiers is nine qian, while that of officers increases according to their rank.

With the monthly salaries of 200,000 people doubled, an additional 180,000 taels of silver are needed each month.

If the war lasts for three months, that would amount to 540,000 taels.

His Majesty just issued an edict ordering the expedited transport of military equipment from Nanjing and the recruitment of porters along the route.

More than a hundred cargo ships traveled from Nanjing to Beijing.

If all the rope pullers were recruited, no fewer than 10,000 rope pullers would be needed in the counties along the route.

According to custom, the laborers are paid five cents of silver per day for their work and food. They are required to arrive by September 25th as Your Majesty demands, which will take twenty days. This alone will cost ten thousand taels of silver.

Shen Yi closed the booklet: "Your Majesty, the total amount of the above items is 926,000 taels."

Currently, the Imperial Treasury holds only 375,000 taels of silver.

The hall erupted in uproar; the gap was far too large.

Most importantly, the soldiers' pay is for more than three months' wages; we can't just withdraw the troops first and then dismiss them.

Chen Xun frowned and stepped forward to ask Shen Yi, "Minister Shen, could the construction of the new recruits' barracks be postponed? Should the soldiers temporarily stay in temples, empty houses, or set up tents?"

Shen Yi smiled wryly: "Minister Yu, how could I not have thought about it?"

But now it's late August, and the autumn chill is getting stronger.

If the 140,000 people have nowhere to keep warm, countless will suffer from frostbite and fall ill even before the Oirat attack the city.

Furthermore, if soldiers do not have fixed barracks, they are difficult to manage and prone to causing trouble.

Yesterday, there were three incidents of clashes between new recruits and civilians, all stemming from their lack of shelter and wandering aimlessly.

Zhao Rong, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works, also stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, although simple tents are cheap, they are easily damaged and do not keep out the cold."

A single autumn rain could render half of it unusable, requiring reconstruction and resulting in more harm than good.

Although the initial construction costs of building barracks according to the existing plan are higher, they can be used for a long time and can be converted into civilian housing or permanent military facilities after the war.

Zhu Qiyu listened quietly, and only spoke after the discussion had subsided: "What about the property confiscated from Wang Zhen and his cronies? Didn't Lu Zhong report it a few days ago?"

Shen Yi hurriedly replied, "Your Majesty, the Embroidered Uniform Guard has seized a total of 37,000 taels of gold, 890,000 taels of silver, and treasures and antiques valued at approximately 400,000 taels. The land deeds and other real estate have not yet been liquidated, totaling approximately 1.3 million taels."

"The 375,000 taels I just mentioned already includes the proceeds from the confiscation of property."

Minister of Personnel Wang Zhi murmured, "This doesn't even include daily administrative expenses, officials' salaries, palace expenses..."

A penny stumps the hero.

I have not yet completed my great undertaking when I am suddenly short of funds.

Back in the day, Emperor Taizong Zhu Di didn't even blink when compiling the Yongle Encyclopedia.

The five expeditions to the northern deserts cost money like water.

Only twenty-odd years have passed, and the Ming Dynasty is on the verge of collapse after a single defeat.

Zhu Qiyu suddenly frowned: "This is not right. The proceeds from the confiscation of property amounted to 1.3 million taels, while the expenses you mentioned earlier were only a little over 600,000 taels."

Even with the remaining money, it only amounted to a little over 900,000.

What about the rest of the money? Was it embezzled?!

As he finished speaking, Zhu Qiyu's eyes suddenly sharpened.

At a time of national crisis, someone actually embezzled funds, and even embezzled funds from cases they were in charge of!

Shen Yi cautiously reported, "Your Majesty, according to regulations, thirty percent of the proceeds from confiscated property are sent to the Imperial Treasury..."

Zhu Qiyu fell silent. The embezzler was actually himself?

Immediately following was a surge of anger; the money had gone into his pocket without him even realizing it.

Does that mean you might not even know if the money has left your pocket?

Zhu Qiyu sighed and asked, "How much is currently in the Imperial Treasury?"

This question stunned everyone.

The emperor's private treasury was separate from the national treasury and was the private property of the imperial family. It was traditionally managed by the Directorate of Ceremonial and the Directorate of Palace Attendants, and the Ministry of Revenue had no authority to interfere.

Zhu Qiyu's public inquiry into the imperial treasury's inventory at this moment speaks volumes.

His idea was simple: if you don't have money, make money.

There were experts who taught this, and more than a hundred years later, an emperor with the reign title Jiajing demonstrated it.

Copy the house!

Whose house was raided?

The current officials are definitely out of the question; if we confiscate their property now, the Ming Dynasty probably won't even live to see the New Year.

The border general has plenty of money, but he can't win.

That leaves only one choice: Zhu Qizhen.