Ming Dynasty: Tanks blocked the door and you said to me, "Long live Ming Dynasty"

Wen Tiren, who had been present but never spoke, also changed his expression when he heard this.

"Your Majesty, I share the same opinion as Prince Xin!"

"If that's the case, where does Wu Chunfu stand?"

Zhu Youxiao felt a little embarrassed, but after thinking about it carefully, it was indeed the case!

Wu Chunfu, the Minister of Works, did not even enter the cabinet, so letting Wang Zheng, a Left Vice Minister, enter the cabinet first seems like an slap in the face to Wu Chunfu?

But this is an easy matter to handle!

He waved his hands at the two of them and said, "In that case, I will listen to your opinions. The Grand Secretary will stay with me for now, and we will talk about it when the time is right!"

Chapter 82 How much silver is left in my treasury?

The capital was very peaceful in the next few days, but the commotion caused by the Jinyiwei gave the people a lot of topics to talk about.

Especially when the East Factory suffered a setback, they couldn't help but cheer.

Time flies and it is November 14th.

That was Zhu Youxiao’s birthday.

Early in the morning, the palace was decorated in an extremely festive manner.

The place where Zhu Youxiao met with his ministers was also changed from Huangji Gate to Huangji Palace.

Under the direction of the officials from the Ministry of Rites, all civil and military officials presented their birthday gifts one by one. Some officials from other places also sent their gifts to the capital in advance, and others delivered them on their behalf.

The birthday gift alone took a whole hour.

Just when Zhu Youxiao thought the matter was over, Wei Zhongxian tiptoed to his side.

"Your Majesty, Madam Qin is here!"

"Who?" Zhu Youxiao didn't react for a moment.

Wei Zhongxian quickly explained: "Qin Liangyu, Old Madam Qin!"

Zhu Youxiao stood up from the dragon throne and grabbed his collar.

"Quick! Please come in!"

Wei Zhongxian rarely saw him lose his composure like this, so he didn't dare to delay for even a second and simply trotted out of the Huangji Hall.

Soon, he led an old woman in.

It’s Qin Liangyu!

Although she was over fifty years old at this time and her long hair had turned black and white, she was still energetic, and her eyes were not cloudy at all and her gaze was still sharp.

She was wearing iron armor that clanked as she walked. After entering the hall, she bowed and clasped her hands like other generals.

"Your humble servant Qin Liangyu pays respect to Your Majesty!"

"I wish your majesty a long life, and peace and prosperity for the Ming Dynasty!"

Zhu Youxiao walked down the steps, held Qin Liangyu's arms with both hands, and said with a smile: "Madam Qin, please get up quickly!"

"I have been looking forward to your coming to the capital for many days, but I didn't expect you to arrive today!"

"This is a double blessing!"

"Someone, come and find a seat for Madam Qin!"

Four eunuchs brought a solid wooden chair, and Qin Liangyu sat down after expressing her gratitude. Her old body truly demonstrated what it meant to sit as hard as a bell!

Her slightly thin back was so straight even when she was sitting, not inferior to any man's!

After sitting down, she asked, "I wonder if your majesty has summoned me to the capital for some errand?"

Zhu Youxiao had already made arrangements for her position when he issued the edict.

So he said frankly: "I intend to merge the White Spear Soldiers into the Five Army Camps, and they will be the Left Army of the Five Army Camps!"

"As for you, Madam Qin, you are the deputy commander of the Fifth Army Battalion!"

"Also, I heard that your two nephews are also good at fighting, so I let them serve as the left army lieutenant generals. As for who will be the leader and who will be the deputy, it depends on your opinion, Madam Qin!"

As soon as this statement came out, the whole hall was in an uproar.

The officials did not deny the battle achievements of the White Spear Soldiers, but they had different opinions on including them in the five military camps.

Wen Tiren bowed and stepped out: "Your Majesty..."

But as soon as he opened his mouth, Zhu Youxiao glared at him fiercely: "I have made up my mind, you can have opinions, but........."

"Better keep your opinions to yourself!"

Wen Tiren's face turned red from holding it in. He never expected this would be the result.

But his talent, which had enabled him to dominate the cabinet for more than ten years, was suddenly activated at this moment.

"Your Majesty, I want to say..."

"The White Spear Soldiers are capable of fighting, there is no doubt about that."

“But there are fewer people.”

"What I mean is, can we ask Deputy General Qin to send his trusted men back to Sichuan to recruit more soldiers?"

"Not too many, 20,000 people will be enough!"

Zhu Youxiao: ? ?

Damn, this old guy is smart!

The originally somewhat dissatisfied look instantly turned into approval, and he couldn't help but give him a thumbs up.

"Lord Wen is deeply in my heart!"

"That's it!"

After saying that, he turned and looked at Qin Liangyu.

"What do you think, Madam Qin?"

Qin Liangyu was stunned. It was not because happiness came suddenly, but because a dignified cabinet minister could change his face even better than the actors in his hometown. This made her stunned for a moment.

Only when she heard Zhu Youxiao's question did she come to her senses, and shook her head with a wry smile.

"On behalf of the people of Shiqu, I would like to thank Your Majesty for his grace."

"The truth is that Shiqu's population is limited. It's not realistic to summon 20,000 soldiers at once."

Zhu Youxiao explained: "No, no, no, Madam Qin misunderstood!"

"These soldiers don't have to be confined to Shiqu."

"I give you the Imperial Edict and the Emperor's Sword. The entire Sichuan is your conscription area!"

"Anyone who joins the army will receive two taels of silver to settle down and seven cents of silver per month!"

"If you go to the battlefield, the wounded and disabled will be compensated according to the law. For those who die in battle, in addition to compensation, a white pole temple will be built outside the five military camps and worshipped for generations!"

Upon hearing this, Qin Liangyu quickly stood up and bowed with red eyes.

"I, on behalf of the brothers of the White Spear Soldiers, thank Your Majesty!"

"When I go back today, I will ask my nephew to go back and recruit soldiers!"

"Within a hundred days, I will gather 20,000 white-pole soldiers for your majesty!"

As soon as she finished speaking, she saw Lu Xiangsheng walking out with a look of grievance on his face.

"Your Majesty, the Shenjiying has not yet built the ancestral hall......"

Zhu Youxiao was in a good mood and nodded in agreement immediately.

"Then build it! Not only the Shenji Battalion, but also the Sanqian Battalion!"

"All the armies in the nine borders and all the garrisons in various places will be eliminated!"

Having said that, he glanced at the three ministers of the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Works, and the Ministry of Revenue.

"Ministry of Rites, immediately bring out the regulations and hand them over to the Ministry of Works for calculation. Work will begin after the thaw after the New Year. The Ministry of Revenue must not shirk its responsibilities. The required money must be paid in full!"

The Minister of Rites Meng Shaoyu had no objection. It was just building a ancestral hall, no big deal!

The Minister of Works Wu Chunfu had no objection either. If there was work to do, there would be…

Cough!

It cannot be said. It cannot be said!

But the Minister of Revenue Guo Yunhou was not happy!

"Your Majesty, there is no money in the treasury......"

Zhu Youxiao's mouth twitched unnaturally when he heard this. He then remembered that the last time Sun Chuanting led his army to Shaanxi to suppress bandits, it was he who drew money from the treasury!

The Ministry of Revenue hasn’t paid it back yet!

He turned around and looked at Wei Zhongxian standing beside him: "How much silver do I have left in my treasury?"

Wei Zhongxian immediately took out a small notebook from his arms, turned to a page and read.

"Your Majesty, the nobles have previously paid a total fine of 20 million taels."

"The Shenji Camp is recruiting soldiers and replenishing firearms and military equipment. Two million taels will be allocated in the initial stage."

"Later, he lent the Ministry of Revenue 800,000 taels to supplement the frontier army's pay, and lent the Ministry of Revenue another 200,000 taels to suppress bandits in Shaanxi."

"Today's birthday banquet cost 20,000 taels of silver!"

"On the emperor's birthday, the eunuchs and maids in the palace presented birthday gifts worth 1,653,000 taels of silver!"

"The current balance of silver is 18,633,000 taels!"

Perhaps because of pride, the old man's voice became uncontrollable as he spoke!

The Minister of Revenue Guo Yunhou was very close and heard the final number clearly. His old face instantly turned green like gall.

But before he could say anything, Zhu Youxiao slapped Wei Zhongxian in the face with his backhand.

"Old dog, don't you know that wealth should not be shown off?!"

Wei Zhongxian apologized awkwardly, took a few steps back, covered his face, and dared not say another word.

Then, Zhu Youxiao looked at Guo Yunhou.

"Since the Ministry of Revenue is struggling to make ends meet again, I cannot just sit back and watch."

"Well, I'll lend you another five..."

"Is five hundred thousand taels enough?"

"But remember to pay me back... You already owe me three million taels!"

Chapter 83 Does Apocalypse Really Like Carpentry?

When Guo Yunhou heard this, a thousand horses ran through his mind instantly...

Three million taels!

Even if you sell the Ministry of Revenue, it’s not worth that much!

There was severe drought in many places this autumn, and the planted seedlings were severely affected. Who knows whether we can harvest the summer grain next year!

If the people can’t collect enough grain, how can they pay taxes?

Without taxes, how can you pay off your debts?

Business tax?

Gan!

If I dare to say such things, I guess those wealthy merchants in Jiangnan will dig up my ancestral graves!

No, it has to explode!

I still can't get over it........

The more he thought about it, the more he felt that his job as a minister was aggrieved. Guo Yunhou fell to his knees with a thud, and cried with tears on his face.