After saving the Empress, I became the top scholar in the imperial examination.

Fifty thousand taels...

One hundred thousand taels...

The total military expenditure of the Great Liang Dynasty in a year was not low, but the expenditure on weapons and armor was not high, totaling about 600,000 to 800,000 taels.

One hundred thousand taels is not a low amount for either the Bureau of Armory or the Bureau of Military Equipment.

Even now, Hong Wei still finds it difficult to describe how he felt at that time.

In the past, the Bureau of Military Supplies received its funding from the Ministry of Revenue. However, in recent years, the Embroidered Uniform Guard has gained power and sometimes has more military supplies. In addition to the funds from the imperial court, the Embroidered Uniform Guard will provide them with silver to order a batch of supplies.

Apart from that, the Armory had no other income. Old Hong's income was not much either, and with the need to bribe and give gifts to various places, what he actually received was even less.

And right now...

His Majesty has given the silver... or rather... the power to spend the silver... to the various armies.

Let the various military units come to them or the Ordnance Bureau to purchase.

The various armies have long suffered from the lack of weapons from the Ordnance Bureau.

Hong Wei couldn't understand their reasons for not spending money on the Ordnance Bureau.

As for... he glanced to his left... the third long table, the so-called "New Equipment Bureau," which he naturally didn't pay any attention to.

What's there to care about with a blacksmith shop?

Hong Wei glanced at the various oddly shaped weapons the other party had laid out on the long table and smiled slightly.

The Queen had not yet arrived, and after waiting for a while, the room gradually became lively and bustling.

He mostly pointed at their long tables, sometimes shaking his head, sometimes nodding.

Some of the craftsmen were a little uncomfortable and timid, but Hong Wei didn't care and remained calm and composed.

He glanced at the generals on his left, all of them with ruddy complexions. That's right.

In the past, one had to beg grandpas and grandmas to kowtow to the officials of the Five Military Commissions and the Ministry of War for thousands of swords and spears or hundreds of suits of armor.

Now that they have the money to spend in their own hands, aren't they all in high spirits?

On the other hand, the people from the Five Military Commissions and the Ministry of War all had ashen faces.

Left Vice-General Zhou Yingyuan's face was so dark it looked like water, which made Hong Wei smile.

Although this time it was only a mere 100,000 taels, not involving food and provisions, and limited only to weapons, there was not even armor.

But this is just the beginning. Who knows... the Governor's Office and the Ministry of War will have less and less money to spend... the slightly plump eunuch thought gleefully.

I heard that His Majesty approved 100,000 taels.

Although the Yongwei Battalion only had 10,000 men, they received 30,000 taels of silver.

Jiangpu Army: 35,000 taels.

The Six Harmonies Army received 25,000 taels of silver.

The remaining three major garrisons of the capital, the five armies, the Shenji Battalion, the Shenshu Battalion, and the Shenshu Battalion... were only considered as joining in the fun.

With this in mind, Hong Wei turned his gaze to the generals of the Brave Guard Battalion, especially General Fan Shiwei...

The sun was setting in the west.

A slightly chilly spring breeze swept through the area.

As the date of the so-called "procurement meeting" arranged by His Majesty drew closer, Hong Wei's mood became increasingly nervous.

It was at this moment.

Several voices rang out in unison.

"Your Majesty... has arrived..."

In an instant.

A moment of silence fell over the room.

Footsteps echoed in unison.

Hong Wei and the others turned around at the sound of the greeting and saw a figure wearing a red dragon robe with a round collar and dragon patterns slowly appear on the white marble steps of Fengtian Hall.

thump.

Hong Wei immediately knelt down.

"This servant greets Your Majesty!"

"Your humble servant...pays homage to Your Majesty...Long live Your Majesty! Long live Your Majesty! Long live Your Majesty!"

Officials dressed in red, blue, or green robes bowed down one after another like waves...

……

……

Her Majesty the Queen did not delay for too long.

He simply said, "All my beloved subjects, rise," and then briefly explained why such a "military procurement meeting" was being held, which drew cheers from all the military officers.

Actually... that 100,000 taels of silver won't end up in their hands; they only have the right to use it, and any unused portion won't be given to them.

But one thing is that going to the battlefield means risking your life.

Who wouldn't want their knife to be sharper?

Don't you want your armor to be thicker?

They didn't want the muskets issued to them by the Ministry of War to have fewer misfires and fewer barrel explosions.

The private manufacture of military weapons is prohibited, so even if they wanted to pay for it themselves, they couldn't, and most people couldn't afford it.

Now that there's an opportunity to buy weapons from the Armory, naturally no one would be unwilling.

With Her Majesty the Queen's words, "Please make yourselves at home,"

This unique, yet somewhat awkward, military procurement meeting has officially begun.

"General, how should we spend the money?"

Jiangpu Army's rather unconventional centurion, dressed in an ill-fitting green official uniform, said with shining eyes.

General Jiang Luzhi had not yet spoken.

One of the scholars' advisors he had invited said indifferently:

"Commander Lu, General Jiang, in my opinion, this so-called procurement meeting is not as simple as it seems. Please don't be impatient."

General Lu exclaimed "Huh?" He had never liked this general's advisor who always liked to create confusion, and raised his eyebrows in puzzlement:

"Mr. Zou, we're just buying things, right? Either we buy from the best store, or we buy from the cheapest. What else could there be?"

The scholar surnamed Zou smiled and said:

"If the affairs of the court were as simple as Commander Lu says, that would be perfect. It's just a pity that all the officials in the court have been studying for several more years than Commander Lu."

General Lu said irritably, "Mr. Zou, if you have something to say, say it. What's the point of belittling a mere warrior like me?"

He had intended to mock the other person by saying, "You've read more than someone like you who only passed the imperial examination."

But thinking that if this scholar were to pass the imperial examination and become a Jinshi in the future, he would inevitably offend people, he held back and didn't say anything.

Jiang Luzhi stroked his chin and said:

"Mr. Zou, please speak freely and let me have my opinion."

Mr. Zou cleared his throat and smiled:

"In my opinion, this so-called procurement meeting, ha, is actually Her Majesty the Empress's... first step in initiating reforms!"

The deep voice roared out.

He glanced at Jiang Luzhi.

"General Jiang acted rashly today; he may easily choose the wrong side in the future!"

……

……

Fengtian Temple.

Side hall.

Zhu Cuiwei sat quietly at the head of the table, and Chunyu draped a cloak over her shoulders.

Wang Bing and Yan Yuqing sat on the right.

Sun Chengshan, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, and Chen Yuezhi, the Military Minister of the Ministry of War, sat on the left.

The two remained silent.

For various reasons, they now have to temporarily put aside their reform efforts to avoid causing turmoil in the court at such a time.

Zhu Cui smiled and said:

"Gentlemen, which company do you think will receive the most orders this time?"

Wang Bing said with a smile:

"In my opinion, the Ordnance Bureau will likely be the winner in the end. The Ordnance Bureau has excellent weapons, but they are quite expensive. The Ordnance Bureau's weapons are crude, but they are cheap. Moreover, they are even cheaper now."

"Take the goose-feather saber for example. The goose-feather sabers made by the Bureau of Armory for the palace guards cost a full tael and two mace of silver. The goose-feather sabers of the Han generals cost a full two taels of silver."

"But the Ordnance Bureau's goose-feather sabers, which they previously quoted the Ministry of Revenue for three qian and two yin each, have now been quoted at two qian and eight yin after this procurement meeting."

Zhu Cuiwei nodded and said, "This is a good thing."

Sun Chengshan said, "This matter... Your Majesty should carefully consider it. Price is not the most important thing. If the military officers collude with the Ordnance Bureau or the Armory Bureau, and the Ordnance Bureau only needs to bribe a little, I'm afraid these battalions will all choose the Ordnance Bureau again."

"Hmm?" Wang Bing's expression changed.

Chen Yuezhi echoed:

"The ancestral system of checks and balances is not without reason. Without the Ministry of War to check and balance them, if the two collude, the national treasury would probably be completely emptied by a bunch of rats within a few years."

He frowned, stood up, and cautiously bowed, saying:

"In comparison, I would like to know more about who gave Your Majesty this idea? Such an idea that shakes the foundation of our Great Liang deserves my death. I beg Your Majesty to be cautious, very cautious."