Yang Junmin did some calculations and gave a figure of 100,000 taels of silver. Of course, the national treasury had more than 100,000 taels of silver. Yang Junmin did not support the expansion of the war in Korea. Seeing that the Emperor had not only sent the army, but also the navy, it was too shocking. So, Yang Junmin purposely gave a low figure, hoping to end the war as soon as possible and even push for peace talks.
However, Zhu Yijun would never think that way. He would pay for it, but he would never do it so easily.
"100,000 … 100,000! Good, good, good! " Zhu Yijun threw a booklet at Yang Junmin and said angrily, "Since ancient times, the national treasury has been the one to pay for wars! You have arrived at my Great Ming! You want the Emperor to use the treasury to pay for the war? What did you do with the three or four million in tax money? Each and every one of you has dirty hands and feet. What have you done with my treasury silver! "
Yang Junmin was inexplicably panicked by Zhu Yijun's sudden roar. Before he could react, he knelt down. Shi Xing knelt down as well.
"Your Majesty, please calm down!"
Zhu Yijun threw another booklet at him and shouted angrily, "Calm down, calm down, calm down! Do you know why I don't want to see you? Every time I see you, you all want me to take silver from the palace treasury! Where is the treasury money? Where did the millions of silver go?! Did I raise a bunch of officials or a bunch of rats?! "
Zhu Yijun gave Yang Junmin and Shi Xing a good scolding. The two could not say a word and knelt on the ground, not daring to move. After a while, Zhu Yijun calmed down and returned to his seat. He said, "Stand up and answer carefully!"
The two immediately stood up as if they had been pardoned.
"Let's not talk about the matter of the national treasury's silver for now. I want to mobilize the navy to attack the Wokou pirates and conquer the Wokou Kingdom in one battle. I can provide the silver, but Yang Junmin, I'm telling you, the Ministry of Revenue has to provide at least two hundred thousand silver. If you're short even one tael, you can retire and return to your hometown!"
Zhu Yijun's tone was unprecedentedly stern, which made Yang Junmin pale with fright. The Ministry of Revenue did indeed have 200,000 taels of silver, but that was for the various departments. The Great Ming Dynasty had been living beyond their means for a long time. The current amount of silver might have been reserved by the other departments three to five years ago. As soon as the silver arrived, it would be taken out immediately. It would not be able to enter the Ministry of Revenue's warehouse, let alone store it.
He did have silver on hand, but that was the cost of the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Justice...
"Your Majesty, it's not that I don't want to take it. I do have silver on hand, but Your Majesty, the silver has its uses. In recent years, natural disasters and wars have been happening, and the tax revenue of the court has been decreasing year after year. Often, this amount of silver is needed by the various departments a few years in advance. There is no silver that can be saved that year, and we can only wait for the next year's silver to come. Once the silver comes to the capital, it is taken away by the various departments. It can't even enter the Ministry of Revenue's treasury. This complementation has always been maintained. Now that Your Majesty wants to take 200,000 taels of silver in one go, I, I really can't do it!"
Yang Junmin cried out of poverty.
"I don't care about this! All these years, if it weren't for the silver I took out from my own palace treasury to subsidize the country, your Ministry of Revenue wouldn't have been able to sustain itself a long time ago. From start to finish, I have subsidized more than a million taels of silver. Now you've all become accustomed to having me pay for everything!
Then what do I need you as the Minister of Revenue for? What do I need the Ministry of Revenue for? Yang Junmin, if you can't take out 200,000 taels of silver, today, all the officials in the Ministry of Revenue can resign. I will let the internal officials take over! I can't afford to support a bunch of useless people who can't even take out 200,000 taels of silver! Even a bunch of eunuchs are better at managing silver than you are! "
Zhu Yijun's words were very cold and didn't seem to be said out of anger. It scared Yang Junmin so much that his heart trembled and he complained incessantly.
In all fairness, the Emperor was venting his malice toward the entire group of civil officials on him alone. The struggle for the foundation of the country made the Emperor extremely angry. His impression of the officials was extremely poor, and he was just short of starting a war with them.
However, would the officials really dare to start a war with the Emperor? That would be a rebellion. If they really did it and forced the Emperor into a corner, it was not impossible for him to come out with a knife and kill the officials. The Song Dynasty did not kill officials, but the Daming Dynasty did not have such a tradition.
Back then, Master Jiajing had beaten dozens of people to death with a stick. Only then was Yang Tinghe brought down and the civil officials were tamed. Now, this Master did not have Master Jiajing's courage, but his methods were not weak and his personality was strong.
It was not a secret that the Emperor relied on the internal officials to earn money for his own expenses. If this was in other dynasties, the Ministry of Revenue would have a special allocation for the royal family. Only the Daming Dynasty did not have this, and the Emperor had to take out silver to subsidize the country.
However, Yang Junmin knew the inside story and knew to what extent the Daming Dynasty had been hollowed out. He only knew that the accounts of the Ministry of Revenue could not be seen by the Emperor. Otherwise, the entire outer court would flow with rivers of blood.
As for how much of the Emperor's words were true or false, Yang Junmin did not dare to guess. He only knew that this matter was definitely impossible. The Emperor had said these words out of anger, but if this anger was directed at him, he would not be able to gain any benefits.
The officials did not have a single day or two of ill will towards the Jindang group. The Jin merchants and the Jindang group had gone too far in providing financial aid, causing the other large merchants and landlords in the other regions to be very dissatisfied. They thought that they were stirring up trouble and poaching people. Thus, they mobilized their own interest spokespersons to start a dog-eat-dog fight.
Recently, this trend had been distracted by the fight for the foundation of the country and the battle of Korea. Everyone was temporarily working together to force the Emperor to compromise. However, once this matter was settled, everyone would definitely start fighting for power and profit again, preparing to divide the power in the next dynasty. The various parties and factions would also start to move, and at that time, he would be in a very disadvantageous position.
In order to not become a subject of gossip at this time, Yang Junmin could only swallow this bitter fruit and express his stance with a bitter expression.
"This official will do his best to raise 200,000 taels of military expenditure for Your Majesty!"
"Hmph!"
Zhu Yijun snorted coldly and turned his gaze to Shi Xing. "Shi Xing, I want to mobilize the navy to cooperate with the army in the battle, cutting off the retreat of the Japanese pirates from the water route. Do you have a suitable candidate for the navy admiral?"
Shi Xing realized that the Emperor's determination to mobilize the navy was unshakable. He thought for a moment and said, "This official recommends the current Deputy Commander-In-Chief of Ji Town, Chen Lin."
"Chen Lin? The name sounds familiar. Who is this person? "
Zhu Yijun felt that the name sounded familiar, as if he had heard it somewhere before.
Shi Xing replied, "Yes, Your Majesty. This person was recruited into the imperial court last year and was promoted to be the General of the Seventh Divine Armament Battalion. In his early years, he had fought against the Japanese pirates in the southeastern Guangdong region and quelled many rebellions. He was familiar with the tactics of the Japanese pirates, so he was recommended. This person is not only good at fighting on land, but also has some experience in fighting on water. Therefore, this official recommends this person to be the navy admiral."
"Chen Lin? Has this person been impeached and removed from office because of corruption? " Yang Junmin suddenly said, "This person has been impeached and removed for corruption for the past thirty years, so he was removed from office several times. But because he is indeed talented, he was used several times. However, he never changed his bad habit of corruption, so he was always impeached and removed from office. In the end, no one was willing to recommend him anymore."
Shi Xing was a little embarrassed.
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