Our family has been rebelling for generations, and you've become the top scholar in the imperia

"I have decided to bestow silver upon the Prince of Shiwan, to be paid from the Imperial Treasury, without using any silver from the National Treasury."

Inside the Imperial Study.

Zhou Zhengde sat behind his desk and spoke slowly.

Several senior cabinet ministers looked up, their expressions slightly surprised.

The invitation to meet the Emperor in the Imperial Study was to discuss this matter. Based on the cabinet's deliberations, they were more inclined to grant an annual stipend of 100,000 taels of silver.

As long as the grasslands remain stable, all that's needed is some silver. As long as there's no fighting, the court will be firmly in the hands of the civil officials.

did not expect.

The Emperor actually brought it up himself.

Could it be because Qin Feng beat up the grassland envoy?

"but……"

Before the others could speak...

Zhou Zhengde's voice turned cold as he spoke again:

"The annual silver allowance will be reduced to 80,000 taels starting next year. I can't keep increasing their silver allowance indefinitely. Including the silver supplemented by the trade, the grasslands alone will cost me nearly 200,000 taels a year. That's 200,000 taels, not 20,000 taels."

"If the grasslands continue to bestow silver upon the emperor next year, I have decided..."

"Give them a good talking-to."

These words were spoken.

The expressions of the veteran officials changed drastically.

How do you beat the grassland?

Naturally, troops should be sent to find a pretext to wipe out a few tribes, serving as a warning to others. The problem is, if the entire grassland revolts and many tribal leaders unite to attack the border, it could easily trigger a major war.

"Your Majesty, this old minister believes that we should send someone to communicate with the grasslands in advance and try to keep the annual tribute within 100,000 taels. Rashly launching a military campaign may be detrimental to the Great Zhou."

After careful consideration, Grand Tutor Wang forced himself to speak.

Can tell.

The Emperor was already very dissatisfied with the annual allowance of 100,000 taels of silver.

However, anyone would be dissatisfied if they were asked for such annual gifts every year.

There's nothing we can do about it.

One hundred thousand taels of silver can keep the grasslands stable for a year. If war were to break out, the cost would be far more than one hundred thousand taels; even a million taels wouldn't be enough.

The key point is that the Great Zhou has not waged war for decades. If it were to lose, the consequences would be unimaginable, and the entire court would likely be unstable. If, at that time, the grasslands asked for hundreds of thousands of taels of silver, would we agree or not?

In his view, the emperor had indeed acted somewhat recklessly.

The others saw that Grand Tutor Wang had spoken.

They all echoed this sentiment.

"Your Majesty, this old minister is willing to set off for the grasslands next year to persuade the grassland tribes to reduce the annual silver reward to 100,000 taels per year. Taking military action is a major taboo, so please reconsider, Your Majesty."

"Yes... The grassland people are good at fighting. The Great Zhou has not mobilized troops for many years. If they suddenly mobilize troops, the soldiers may not be able to adapt."

"This matter requires careful consideration. Perhaps we should consider establishing a marriage alliance with the grasslands?"

Zhou Zhengde looked at the senior cabinet ministers below with a gloomy expression; he truly couldn't understand it.

When did the officials of the Great Zhou become like this?

He can even come up with such an extremely foolish method as marriage alliance. If we were to have a marriage alliance with him, how would we face our ancestors in the future?

There have been no battles for decades, does that mean the soldiers have forgotten how to fight?

"This matter can be discussed further. I am tired; you may all leave."

Zhou Zhengde leaned back in his chair, exhausted, and waved his hand gently.

With the civil officials wielding great power, whatever he wants to do now will be directly rejected by the entire cabinet, prioritizing the stability of the Great Zhou Dynasty and the court.

If you insist on doing it.

These people will then invoke the words of the sages and kneel at the palace gates.

"You bastards! A yearly stipend of 100,000 taels of silver, plus trade revenue, could feed countless people. Yet you're giving it away to these barbarians on the grasslands! You deserve to die!!!"

Zhou Zhengde overturned the things on the table and ordered through gritted teeth:

"Tell Qin Feng that I have given him the silver, and he is absolutely not allowed to take a single tael of silver back with those wild boars!"

"Send a few more generals to the palace. I want to see what our chances of winning are against the wild boar skin of the grasslands if we really go to war."

"yes!"

Eunuch Miao wanted to offer some advice, but seeing the Emperor's fury, he quickly knelt down to accept the order and ran out of the Imperial Study.

The emperor probably can't go against these ministers, especially these civil officials, and there's absolutely no way he'll agree to send troops.

Fortunately, there was no problem with the annual allowance this year.

As for next year.

Hoping for a change in circumstances, the grasslands continued to demand an increase in the annual silver tribute. Based on his understanding of the emperor, he feared that even if all the civil officials opposed it next year, the emperor would still take action against the grasslands.

As for whether they can defeat the grasslands.

Some of the things said did have some evidence of wrongdoing by the Imperial Guard, but the implications were too great, and even he dared not present it to the Emperor.

……

"Ha ha ha ha!"

West Ward.

Inside the gambling den at the back.

Batel, accompanied by a dozen or so wild boar hides, sat around the gambling table, with trays of silver ingots laid out to the side.

After winning the first time, the girls stopped sleeping and stopped wandering around the streets.

Even meals were delivered to the gambling den.

Aside from sleeping, they sit at the gambling table day and night.

They just couldn't stop winning.

These Zhou people are indeed fools; they can't even beat the grassland warriors when it comes to gambling.

"You won! How much did you make today?"

"One hundred and fifty taels."

Batel nodded in satisfaction.

He grabbed a few more silver ingots and threw them directly onto the table.

"continue!"

The other group of wild boar skins were gesticulating wildly, banging on the table and shouting for it to start.

Inside a courtyard outside the alley.

Qin Feng sat in the courtyard and could clearly hear the excited shouts of a group of wild boars next door.

"The annual allowance has arrived today. Starting tomorrow, they will continue gambling, preparing to slowly close the net."

Grandpa Miao just left.

The Emperor received several envoys today, including the one from Wild Boar Skin, and gave him the annual silver reward.

Three days at most.

These people will then leave the capital.

Therefore, we must act as soon as possible.

"My lord, rest assured, everything is arranged. The one who rolls the dice is Liu Yishou from the capital. He has been doing this since he was a child. He can get whatever number he wants. Even if someone else rolls the dice, he can tell what number it is just by listening."

"That amazing?"

Qin Feng couldn't help but be taken aback.

This person is a real talent!

"Go back and ask Liu Yishou if he'd be willing to work for the Ministry of Works in the future. If he is, arrange a job for him. I really need this kind of talent!"

"clear!"

Qiu Tuizi nodded; how could he possibly refuse?

He now has a good understanding of Lord Qin's temperament and way of doing things.

Adults only care about the result, not the process.

I don't really care.

If Liu Yishou is unwilling, they naturally have ways to make him agree.

Moreover, following Lord Qin is the right path, and Liu Yishou will thank him in the future.

"Ten thousand taels of silver will be taken within three days. Once we have it, we'll send it to the Imperial Guard. As for the rest, these wild boar hides came all the way from the grasslands. We couldn't have come here without any travel expenses. We'll win them all."

"Find someone to lend them money at exorbitant interest rates, sign an IOU, it might come in handy in the future, the maximum amount you can lend them is 10,000 taels of silver for gambling."

If you're going to do something, do it thoroughly.

If this Batel has connections on the grasslands, he might be the same guy who comes next year to demand the annual stipend.

He has loan receipts from loan sharks.

It becomes much easier to control the other party.

Even if you go to the yamen (government office), you have to pay back your debts and pay for your life if you kill someone. These things are a matter of course, and the yamen can't do anything about them.

"That's it, let's hurry!"

Qin Feng got up and walked out of the courtyard. He glanced at the gambling den, smiled, and shook his head.