It was another morning meeting attended by Zhang Zhou.
As expected, Tang Yin was targeted by the court officials because he applied to the court for an increase in shipbuilding expenses. He cannot deal with you Zhang Zhou, why can’t we start with the group of fans around you
p>Yu Zhong, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, stated that shipbuilding was a waste of people and money: "Your Majesty, since the shipbuilding of Hainingwei, more than 300,000 taels of money have been spent on shipbuilding, and the surrounding areas of South Zhili It costs a lot of money to transport the wood and iron tools away, and the civilians have been recruited many times. Currently, there are more than 10,000 civilians in Hainingwei serving as corvees. Such things that are not conducive to the people's livelihood should be stopped in time. "
Zhong Zhong obviously did some research beforehand.
As for the figure he mentioned, it sounded very inaccurate to Zhang Zhou, because the money spent since the beginning of shipbuilding was definitely more than 500,000 taels.
It can support the largest shipyard of the Ming Dynasty and support so many civilians. It can even make artillery and firecrackers for use by various garrison posts in the south of the Yangtze River, even though the number of firearms used in the south is not large. , but the cost of using one Ninghaiwei to meet the needs of the entire south is considered light.
Zhu Youtang said, "How much money and food did the imperial court spend on Hainingwei's shipbuilding?" The Ministry of Finance is still verifying it, but it is expected to be equivalent to more than 300,000 taels of silver."
Zhu Youtang said slightly angrily, "What I'm asking is, has the Ministry of Household Affairs allocated money and food?"
"Yes." Ji Zhongye replied firmly, "Since the beginning of preparations, more than 3,000 taels of silver have been allocated, and a lot of materials have been transported from Nanjing, which is equivalent to five or six thousand taels of silver. There are others"
“That’s enough”
Zhu Youtang interrupted Zhong Zhong’s words and said sternly, “Three hundred thousand taels, but the imperial court only allocated a few thousand taels of silver to pay for the follow-up expenses. It was all funded by the salt fields around Hainingwei, the mining kilns in the north, and even the local officials and gentry in Nanjing. When preparing for this matter, the Ministry of Revenue had repeatedly obstructed it. Now almost no money or food from the court is used. The foundation has been laid and we can build ships and cannons. Do you still need to question me?"
Zhong Zhongdao said, "Now the shipyard has a huge deficit and is unable to make ends meet. Otherwise, the governor of the Bohai Sea would not tell the court. Then he proposed to increase the fee."
Zhu Youtang remained silent for a while.
There is no immediate profit from shipbuilding in the south, but the Ming Dynasty made artillery and muskets to equip the ships, and then equipped the garrison posts. The garrison posts would not exchange money and grain, which is equivalent to saying that Tang Yin I just did an errand where I could only get out but not get in.
Such a large shipyard relies entirely on saltworks and Zhang Zhou’s mine for blood transfusion. Tang Yin himself is not very good at raising money, food and materials. To put it bluntly, he is not a professional accountant and does not know how. To create wealth and income, Tang Yin felt that he was alone in the matter of "running a shipyard".
Xiao Jing came out and said, "Your Majesty, more than three hundred thousand taels have been spent in the shipyard, but they have only used extraTo maintain such a large expenditure, it is reasonable to encounter difficulties for a while. It is better to allocate another 100,000 taels of salt tax from the Ministry of Household Affairs to support the operation of the shipyard. ”
Zhu Youtang did not answer.
The officials present were a little surprised.
You, Xiao Jing, have rebelled. You actually replaced Tang Yin and his When the shipyard talks, isn't it talking to Zhang Zhou?
Do you know how much the imperial court spent in the northwest to allocate one hundred thousand taels to the border town? Spend it where you can’t see any income
Zhong Zhongdao said, “If the three hundred thousand taels are not used for shipbuilding, they can be used everywhere in the northwest, and there will be no need to raise funds everywhere this year. The reported repairs to the frontier fortresses have yet to come up with enough money and food, and there are so many transport workers in the south that they have neglected the construction of pass and fortresses. The impact of the river engineering work is related to the well-being of the people in Jiangnan. ”
Zhu Youtang still didn’t know what to say for a while.
It’s not that he didn’t want to refute Zhong Zhong, but that his mind was not on the matter of shipbuilding right now, except for bringing it back from Nanyang In addition to a batch of valuable trophies, it seems that there is nothing that can recover the cost.
Xie Qian came out and said, "What Shangshu said is reasonable. It cost 300,000 taels. It's still used." After spending so much labor, aren't we using troops in the north now? We should distinguish priorities. I don’t know what Cai Guogong has to say.”
It was also because Xie Qian and others saw that Zhang Zhou had been silent and stood aside as if nothing had happened, so they came out to bring Zhang Zhou into the battle.
Zhang Zhoudao: "What Yi Budang and Xie Ge Lao mean is that building the Jinghai ship is not related to the welfare of the Ming Dynasty, right? I have heard that the number of pirates in the southeast has increased in recent years, and even pirates in the West have appeared and occupied the islands. If they could be destroyed, there would be a lot of resources on these islands. "
Xie Qian smiled and replied, "It's just a few uninhabited islands. What can it bring? You wouldn't think that relying on these few pirates can sustain the annual shipbuilding expenses of hundreds of thousands of taels." "
Zhang Zhou said calmly, "Who knows?"
Xie Qian frowned when he heard this.
I hope to accumulate shipbuilding expenses on some uninhabited islands. It sounds a bit absurd, but his rebuttal is not very strong. Even if some things seem to be "reasonable", Zhang Zhou has maintained a shipyard with such huge expenses with an inconspicuous salt farm.
Who knows what other options he has?
Zhong Zhong said to Zhang Zhou, "What Cai Guogong means is that he agrees to increase the expenditure on shipbuilding. Now, when the north is using troops, Cai Guogong is It is best for the Minister of War not to interfere in the affairs of the Ministry of Handicrafts and the Ministry of Household Affairs. "
A quarrel in the court can be regarded as a traditional performance project for Ming officials.
Zhang Zhou said, "Don't you apply for the expenses with the Ministry of Household Affairs? I don't have any objections. If Mr. Xie Ge Don’t ask, maybe I won’t tell you yet.”
After saying this, Zhang Zhou calmly retreated to his class.
Seeing that he was just building a ship.There was a bit of an argument about the matter. Liu Jian came out and said, "Your Majesty, as for the shipbuilding in Jiangnan, we should put it on hold for now. This matter can be discussed in the long run."
I don't say I agree or disagree. Anyway, let's drag it on until Tang Yin can't support it anymore, and finally drag this matter to death.
As a courtier of the Ming Dynasty, if Liu Jian did not even have this means, Liu Jian, the chief minister, would be in vain.
Zhu Youtang first looked over at Zhang Zhou. Seeing that Zhang Zhou was so calm and composed, he seemed to feel that Zhang Zhou already had a plan in mind, and he really had no intention of building a ship now. Too much attention, so he waved his hand and said, "As Mr. Liu Ge said, this matter should be discussed in the long term."
After the court meeting, Zhang Zhou went up to listen, but as soon as he arrived, Li Rong came over. A message was sent, saying that he was invited to Qianqing Palace.
Zhang Zhouben wanted to say a few more words to Wang Qiong, so he first explained to Wang Qiong before talking later, and then followed Li Rong to Qianqing Palace.
Li Rongdao, "Your Majesty is not too enthusiastic about shipbuilding. If Mr. Zhang proposes this to Your Majesty, he must first assess the outcome of the matter. Of course, if Mr. Zhang opens his mouth, Your Majesty will do his best to help you." Fight for it."
Li Rong is a smart man. He is reminding Zhang Zhou that shipbuilding should not be the top priority at the moment.
Let’s settle the matter in the northwest first.
But the emperor was on Zhang Zhou's side after all. As long as Zhang Zhou was determined to continue building ships, Zhu Youtang would definitely be on Zhang Zhou's side.
Zhang Zhou smiled and said, "There is no need to worry about shipbuilding."
"Haha." Li Rong smiled.
He was also wondering about Zhang Zhou’s stance on this matter. It stands to reason that the opening of the shipyard and even the establishment of a governor of the Bohai Sea were all proposed by Zhang Zhou, and the emperor followed suit. It’s done, so much money has been spent, so you can’t give up halfway.
But Li Rong only said what he should say, and then kept silent, and went to Qianqing Palace with Zhang Zhouzhou.
But besides Zhu Youtang, only Xiao Jing was waiting.
"Bingkuan, come and take a look. There is a new battle report. It was reported by Yang Yiqing, the governor of Ningxia. He reported to me before sending out troops, saying that he would fight to the death with the Tatars no matter what. , this is the military order he issued to me."
Zhu Youtang was originally worried that all parties would refuse to fight, but he did not know that Yang Yiqing had reported to the emperor before entering Shigou City, indicating that he would not fight. Success leads to determination.
"Everything is as you expected. I have never thought before that this Yang Qing family is so responsible and much better than Baoguo Gong."
Zhu You Zang was very happy.
Zhang Zhou said, "If the local soldiers and horses of Ningxia can lead this battle, the rest of the troops will be necessary. But help is still needed. After all, Ningxia had previously reported to the court that it was in the battle of Huamachi. , a lot of shells and explosives are consumed, and they need to be replenished."
Zhu Youtang said, "This will not affect the development of the battle."
I was still rejoicing at first, but now the emperor is a little worried.
"Your Majesty, don't worry." Zhang Zhou said, "Meeting on a narrow road depends on the word courage. After the Tatars experienced their defeat in the Battle of Huamachi, their morale was not high. There is no one who cannot win this battle. That makes sense."
"That's good, that's good." Zhu Youtang felt that Zhang Zhou could figure it out.
Since Zhang Zhou said he would win, he believed it.
Zhu Youtang said, "Bingkuan, I won't say much about shipbuilding today because you seem to have your own plan. Tell me about it. Even if those ministers don't agree, I will." Decide to allocate money and food."
Zhang Zhou said, "Your Majesty, have you forgotten that the Ming Dynasty's fleet has now crossed the sea to the east. I believe that if everything goes well, the fleet will be gone in less than two months. Can come back. When they bring back what I want, I believe the officials in the court will change their stance." "Is that true?" Zhu Youtang asked with a smile.
Zhang Zhou nodded and said, "As for the cost being too high, I also think so. However, the bulk of shipbuilding has already passed. My opinion is to stop the ships currently being built. After all, the Jinghai matter can be done." Hold on for now. The civilian husband who is serving can return to his hometown first, or even transfer Tang Yin back to the capital first."
"Ah" Zhu Youtang was a little surprised.
Not to mention Zhu Youtang, even Li Rong and Xiao Jing on the side didn’t understand.
It’s okay to wait for the result, but what’s the purpose of putting an end to this matter now?
Zhang Zhou said, “I mean, in this matter, you can go ahead with it first.” According to the wishes of the courtiers, when the fleet from the sea returns, or when pirates start to become rampant, the ministers will naturally propose that the matter be reopened. As for the output of the salt farm, the minister thinks that it can be saved first and waited until the reopening. "
Who said that I, Mr. Zhang, must go against those ministers?
You think it is not necessary now. When you find out that it is really fragrant, you will shamelessly propose it to the emperor. I’ll start over, and I’ll get as much money as I want from you.
I really thought I was asking you for everything
Zhu Youtang thought about it and seemed to understand the trick. He said, "That's right. The people who opened coal kilns and iron kilns back then At that time, the ministers in the DPRK also had many objections, but now if I ask Bingkuan to stop all these mines, it would be strange for them not to be impatient with me. They are still too utilitarian. They only see the effort and not the reward. "Short-sighted."
Xiao Jing on the side was very happy to hear this.
Fortunately, I spoke a few words for Zhang Zhou and Tang Yin before, although it was also reluctant, and even added fuel to the flames to cause conflicts between Zhang Zhou and the ministers.
But now it has a positive effect. At least it makes the emperor feel that he is a "loyal minister" and has one heart.
The Imperial Palace, inside Qingning Palace.
The Queen Mother Zhou was sitting in her own rocking chair. The rocking chair was modified and specially "customized" from Zhang Zhou. It was when the Queen Mother Zhou was enjoying herself, but next to herThere was an "ignorant" woman who kept nagging and complaining, making her tireless.
"The Empress Dowager has to make the decision. Others who join the army can just follow the qualifications. But when they come to my home, let me take the lead in the expedition. If there is a problem, I will Remarry?"
The person coming is none other than Princess Yongkang.
She heard that Zhu Hui sent his son-in-law to the front line of Shigou City. She knew that this matter was very dangerous, so she came to the Queen Mother Zhou to complain.
The Empress Dowager Zhou closed her eyes and said absently, "It's not a good idea to go to the front line. No one else can go if they want to."
Princess Yongkang said, "I heard that the Empress Dowager also has two people in her family. They were all with the army, but they were sent to the front line together."
"Yeah"
The Queen Mother Zhou was startled, and then she opened her eyes and looked at Jiang Lu beside her. The meaning was obvious. , tell me.
Jiang Ludao: "Back to the Empress Dowager and the eldest princess, it's like this. Although the two of the Zhou family are with the army, they also have important responsibilities. They are leading troops for training outside. I heard that they are still with us this time. In the army, he is responsible for spying on the enemy, but he has not obtained the position of vanguard officer."
When Yongkang heard this, he still had to fight for the job of sending someone to his death
If he could do it. If you want to fight for it, then why didn't Zhu Hui lead the central army and let others go?
Jiang Lu glanced at the Queen Mother Zhou and added, "I heard that there are two groups leading the army as the vanguard this time. Consort Cui Those who follow Uncle Xiangcheng are all elite soldiers. Uncle Xiangcheng was once a trusted general of Marquis Weining, and he has a good chance of making achievements this time."
"My child. "Have you heard that Mao Ren will be fine?" said Empress Dowager Zhou, "They are all relatives of the emperor. They are just going through the motions with the army. How can we put them in danger?"
Yongkang said. But Sun Chen heard that Zhang Lun, the grandson of the British Duke, also went out with the army and was seriously injured. He had sent a message back to the capital, saying that he had been given a place to rest, and if he was not careful, he would not even be able to save his life."
“Who can tell how old the grandson of a British official is?” Empress Dowager Zhou said angrily, “They are a family of honorable ministers and they are responsible for protecting the family and the country. How can you compare with the royal relatives of the Ming Dynasty? "I thought about it"
Jiang Lu whispered, "Back to the Queen Mother, the British Duke's eldest grandson is not very old. I heard that he is not married yet, he may only be fourteen or fifteen years old."
The Empress Dowager Zhou frowned and said, "You are only fourteen or five years old, and you are so brave to live up to the glory of his ancestors."
"The Empress Dowager" Yongkang was always quick-tempered, and now he became anxious, "You "My grandson-in-law is now sent to the front line to commit danger. You don't care about it. Or you just care about your nephew, so you don't care about it here."
The Empress Dowager Zhou is usually quite aggressive, and she is old. My temper actually got better after that, but when I heard this, I still felt very unhappy.
You, a younger generation, still dare to accuse the old man
The Queen Mother Zhou said coldly, "How do you manage the Ai family? Is it too late to call him back? Yongkang, you are too shameless, you know it." Nothing can be said here now.It doesn’t help. You are still so stubborn. Are you too spoiled? You want your son-in-law to come out to compete for military glory. Look at your elder sister and younger sister. How come they don’t have such a request? Now that your brother has given you a chance, you feel dissatisfied. Is it fun to ask him to lead the troops on the front line? Is military glory so easy to get?"
Yongkang looked aggrieved and said, "Empress Dowager, Sun Chen just hopes that he will not be harmed. Sun Chen also knew that he actually didn't have much ability. Even during the previous assessment, he was reminded by the Wang Shilang that he ranked among the best in the assessment, so some people looked down upon him. Sun Chen also heard that he was in the army. He was not very popular, so he was sent to complain. Sun Chen just hoped that he could come back safely, and military achievements were not important.
Empress Dowager Zhou hummed and said, "At this time, I wonder what the couple has been doing since they are so deeply in love. The biggest complaint against my husband is that you are restless. Unlike Deqing, you see how well she knows how to obey the three virtues and the four virtues." What about you?"
At this point, Empress Dowager Zhou couldn't say more, especially when she saw Yongkang, who had always been unruly and willful, wiping tears in front of her. For an old person like her who "eats fasting and chants Buddha's name" , I couldn’t bear it.
“Why didn’t your Majesty come to say hello?” Queen Mother Zhou asked.
Jiang Lu said, “Your Majesty is meeting guests at Qianqing Palace. It seems to be Cai Guogong. I saw Li Rong and Eunuch Li brought people to invite him earlier, so I guess he has arrived. ”
“Bingkuan? The Ai family hasn’t seen him for many days. Ask them to come together. The Ai family misses them a lot.” Yongkang, if your Majesty is here, just lean on your side and don't cry. What's the matter with your appearance? Ai Jia will ask for you. With your brother making the decision, our royal family will not suffer in the army. The worst is that he will not be allowed to join the army in the future. That’s it”
When Zhu Youtang was summoned by the Empress Dowager Zhou, he was also very confused.
Although he was a most filial person, and the Empress Dowager Zhou was his only surviving person in the world. Although he is a blood relative, he does not go there every day to pay his respects. Occasionally when the government is busy, Queen Mother Zhou understands and asks him to put state affairs first.
This time he took the initiative to call, which made Zhu Youtang feel that nothing good happened.
"Your Majesty, I will go back first. "Zhang Zhou naturally wants to go back as soon as possible.
It is not a good thing for him to meet the female relatives in the palace, especially the Queen Mother Zhou is so shrewd and cunning, and she can use some tricks on him every time. Even if he and Empress Dowager Zhou were allies in the matter of the emperor's concubine, Zhang Zhou felt that this united front could not be maintained.
Zhu Youtang said, "Bingkuan, didn't you listen?" She also asked you to come with her. You still have to listen to her words. ”
Zhu Youtang himself was a little frightened. At this time, of course he took Zhang Zhou with him.
If the old lady wanted to make trouble, maybe she could let Zhang Zhou go with him. One in front.
"You guys go too. "Zhu Youtang looked at Xiao Jing and Li Rong on the side, meaning that if one of them counts, isn't it Qingning Palace? It's not that far away. Come with me for a walk. What's the matter? You all have to come out at the critical moment.Make peace with me and speak for me.
After all, when you are an emperor, it is still inconvenient to say some things. If you say it from your mouth, the old lady may be able to understand it better
A thousand words spoken by oneself is not as good as one word spoken by others.
Qingning Palace.
Zhang Zhou followed Zhu Youtang in, but saw that Queen Mother Zhou had already sat back on a normal chair, and there was a woman standing next to her. This woman Zhang Zhou had seen from a distance before, was Cui Yuan's. His wife is Princess Yongkang.
But neither Zhu Youtang nor the Queen Mother Zhou allowed Zhang Zhou and Princess Yongkang to introduce each other.
After all, Princess Yongkang is also married, so she should not appear in meetings with foreign ministers, and it seems that she is not the protagonist today.
"Royal Grandma, what do you want? My grandson has been busy with military affairs recently. Matters in the northwest have made my grandson very worried. Many times, Bingkuan needs to share the burden." Zhu Youtang said.
Empress Dowager Zhou said, "How is the progress now?"
When Xiao Jing was about to come out to talk, Zhu Youtang raised his hand to interrupt, meaning that it was just bragging, so I'll just come.
"That's it. The Tatars invaded from Huamachi. Bingkuan figured out their plot early in the morning and asked the Ningxia governor to lead his troops to intercept them at Huamachi and then cut off their retreat. This battle would at least kill them. There are more than a thousand Di Yi people, and nearly a thousand people have been killed. The Tatars are now in chaos." Zhu Youtang said.
"The Tatars are going to defeat so many of their troops." Empress Dowager Zhou was good at grasping the key points.
"The Tatars have more than 30,000 soldiers and horses, and most of them are direct descendants of the little Tatar prince Batu Meng. They are considered brave." Zhu Youtang replied.
The Empress Dowager Zhou seemed dissatisfied and said, "30,000 people killed more than a thousand people. How much impact does it have on them? Let's talk about how to attack Ai Jiaming in the future. We should drive the Tatars out early, not at home." If you fight in the backyard, it’s your own people who will be harmed.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Zhu Youtang cleared his throat, seemingly agreeing, but actually he meant, I won’t say anything else.
The Empress Dowager Zhou said, "Actually, this is the case. Yongkang said that her consort was squeezed out by Duke Baoguo and became a pioneer officer. He was in danger. She came to the Ai family to complain. The Ai family didn't know what happened. I can only come to you to find out."
Zhu Youtang glared and said, "Yongkang, there are important matters in the court, so you might as well come and disturb the Queen's grandmother."
< p>Yongkang said, "Your Majesty, I just don't want to be a widow. I think Cui Yuan was sent to the battlefield by you, so you have to send him back alive.""The general is outside, let me Shall I arrange it little by little? How does Duke Baoguo arrange it? That is his business and I cannot interfere too much." Zhu Youtang was also annoyed.
You are causing trouble behind the scenes
I thought the old lady was such a big deal. So what if she loses her brother-in-law? She is loyal to the country
Yongkang He looked at Zhang Zhou with a bit of anger in his eyes and said, "I'm afraid someone has ulterior motives and is jealous of Cui Yuan's talent." Please remember to bookmark, the latest and fastest website for free reading without anti-theft