Chapter 649: Adding Two Million Bai Yin, Rounding the Budget to Thirty Million

The Great Ming was once very poor; all celebrations appeared extremely stingy. Later, in order to save money, the three dukes in the capital who held no military command were sent as high priests to the outskirts to offer sacrifices to the ancestors. The scale of these suburban sacrifices began to drop lower and lower. The most extravagant event in the Great Ming was during the Longqing years, when the Longqing Emperor watched the Aoshan lantern display during the New Year and bestowed lavish rewards upon the various performers.

Although the Aoshan lantern display was hosted by the Ministry of Rites, it actually relied primarily on the common people. During difficult times for the state, using grand ceremonies to unite the hearts of the people was a last resort.

Now, the Great Ming is very rich—so rich that during the tenth-anniversary celebration of the official factories, seventy thousand fireworks were used. Some of these fireworks had an excessively great power; for instance, the high-altitude fireworks jointly developed by the Imperial Academy of Sciences, the Directorate of Weapons, the Military Academy, and the Grand General Qi Jiguang accounted for 180 releases, and the explosive equivalent of these fireworks was already on par with nine-jin gunpowder, not to mention the numerous other types and vast quantities of gunpowder used.

"The east wind blows open a thousand trees of flowers, and blows down stars like rain."

"How much money must this have cost?" Zhu Yijun watched the seventy thousand fireworks ascend, feeling a pang of heartache over the money from afar.

In fact, fireworks are often used in military affairs. When attacking or when the enemy is besieging a city, releasing fireworks to intimidate the enemy and create a show of force is a very common military application. Military strategy is about deception; true and false, empty and solid, making the enemy unable to distinguish whether it is artillery fire or fireworks, thereby intimidating them and lowering their morale.

"Your Majesty, today's expenses are all being covered by Wang Qian," Feng Bao reminded the Emperor in a low voice. The state treasury isn't paying, and the inner treasury isn't paying either; the one paying is Young Master Wang. Young Master Wang's silver is also the profit from short-term trading on the Suiyuan-Chidao exchange, so the entire bill is being footed by the powerful and influential families who tried to short the Suiyuan-Chidao certificates!

"Set them off! Set them off with all your might!" Zhu Yijun was stunned for a moment, then immediately said, "Good, it's lively!"

Since he didn't have to pay the bill himself, naturally, the livelier, the better.

From dusk until the night fell and the stars twinkled, the horizon shifted from deep red to a touch of deep blue. The air was filled with the faint scent of gunpowder and the joy of the festival. Not only the craftsmen from the three official factories but even the common people of the capital gathered in the official square below the mountain to look up at the blooming fireworks. Because fireworks were prohibited in the capital, this rare and magnificent sight naturally attracted countless people.

Sharp whistling sounds rang out continuously; these were the whistles of the fireworks ascending. The fireworks bloomed in the sky, layers upon layers of light and shadow, colorful and brilliant—red with passion, blue with depth, green with vitality—interweaving into a flowing scroll, beautiful beyond description.

Cheers erupted continuously from the crowd. A child sitting on his father's shoulders pointed excitedly at the sky, pointing at the trails left by the fireworks, his eyes filled with curiosity and a yearning for a beautiful future.

Finally, as night completely descended, the magnificent chapter of light and shadow finally drew to a close.

Heavy drumbeats began to sound continuously in front of the viewing platform. Beams of light lit up on the stage, and a total of 120 lime spray lamps lit up around the stage, announcing that the performance for the grand celebration had officially begun.

Songs and dances celebrate the prosperity, cross-drums and banners move in sequence.

The craftsmen, bare-chested, carried three-zhang-long banners as they took the stage. A total of three hundred craftsmen raised the banners in their hands high. Amidst a unified roar and the sound of horns, the banner faces fell, inscribed with various auspicious words. The movements of dancing the banners were full of power, and the three-zhang-long banner faces were as nimble as an arm in the craftsmen's hands.

"Huo!" Zhu Yijun was incomparably surprised, because a group of small children climbed to the top of the banners and began a new performance.

An art combining strength and skill.

The Great Ming Imperial Eldest Son, Zhu Changzhi, was extremely happy watching, his eyes fixed on the performance on the stage without blinking.

The grand performance made everyone jubilant, except for the Prince of Lu, Zhu Yiliu, who was unhappy. His idea of following the Emperor on a southern tour had been ruthlessly rejected by the Emperor. His Highness the Prince of Lu had to stay behind to supervise the state as the guardian of the Northern Yamen. The Prince of Lu wanted to go to the Southern Yamen and did not want to supervise the state, but there was no way around it; the Prince of De, Zhu Zaiyu, had no heart for administrative affairs, and in the entire Great Ming imperial family, only the Prince of Lu could supervise the state.

Zhu Yiliu did not want to face the lowly Confucian scholars. It wasn't that there was no way, but that having been taken by the Emperor to listen to government affairs all these years, Zhu Yiliu had seen too much. He was not afraid of these lowly Confucian scholars, but rather annoyed. Sometimes, he felt his imperial brother was a bit too conservative.

With those miscellaneous newspapers in the capital that looked like they were from rebels, his imperial brother actually allowed them to breathe; this was simply a huge mistake!

In Li Shunchen's travelogues, it was recorded that Philip II also liked liveliness, and he liked dwarf performances very much. Later, these dwarfs became arrogant because of the favor they received and became increasingly rampant. The rampancy of these dwarfs was not just in demanding privileges, but also in extortion and robbery, and even keeping bandits, etc., which triggered opposition from many people. In the end, Philip II stopped watching dwarf performances.

These dwarfs also lost their livelihoods, and some were even deliberately harmed or killed. In the end, almost all the dwarfs left Spain.

The craftsmen of the Great Ming were clearly not the dwarfs in the Spanish palace, because these craftsmen were powerful.

Zhu Yijun sincerely applauded the strength of the Great Ming craftsmen.

After Zhu Yijun left the official factory, he returned to the palace. From the 25th to the 16th of the first lunar month, there was no curfew in the Great Ming capital, and the Spring Festival was celebrated joyfully.

When everyone else was resting, the Emperor was still busy. On this day, Zhu Yijun went to the Northern City, met with the various vassal princes in the Ten Princes' City, received the soldiers in the Wu Ying Building, and then went to the Polytechnic Academy. The second phase of the project had been completed, and now the third phase was in full swing.

The children of the Great Ming capital garrison soldiers could attend the three-level schools in the Northern City, and after graduation, they could either take the exam for the Military Academy or the Polytechnic Academy. The Imperial Polytechnic Academy had special preferential treatment for the enrollment of the capital garrison's three-level schools. The most important point was that children of soldiers were exempt from tuition fees upon enrollment.

The tuition for the Imperial Polytechnic Academy was 120 silver per year for four years, which was 30 silver per year. Of this 120 silver, 60 silver had to be paid by oneself, and 60 silver was an interest-free loan. If one graduated from the Polytechnic Academy and served the country, this 60 silver would be completely waived. If one went to support the border regions, not only would it be waived, but there would also be various preferential treatments.

In the afternoon, Zhu Yijun went to Nanhai-zi in Daxing County to meet the Marquis of Duntai and their families. Now, because the border regions had become stable, the casualty rate of the Marquis of Duntai had dropped significantly. This was good news, but Zhu Yijun still came every year to visit them in person.

On the 27th, Zhu Yijun received foreign officials at the Huangji Gate. In the two wings of the Huangji Gate, there were over a thousand soldiers, civilians, and merchants from various places. They would also see the Emperor and write down what they wanted to say and the suggestions they wanted to make. It didn't matter if they couldn't write; the young eunuchs in the inner study who could read and write would help them copy it down.

These opinions would all be summarized and handed to the Emperor, and Zhu Yijun would also respond to some of the opinions.

Zhu Yijun would be busy until the night of the 30th of the twelfth lunar month, because on the afternoon of the 30th, the hundred officials would bring their wives to the Tonghe Palace to pay New Year's greetings. The hundred officials would go to the Imperial Study, and the wives would go to pay respects to the two Empresses Dowager.

Busyness seemed to run through the life of a Great Ming Emperor.

A couple who came to the capital with the grain transport ships from Songjiang Prefecture was selected by the Emperor to be among the common people summoned by the Son of Heaven.

And this couple did not sing praises or scold, but recounted their experiences over the past ten years. The entire article was plain and unadorned, but it solved a doubt in Zhu Yijun's heart, which was how Shen Shixing managed to push through the "Order Against Leaving Fields Fallow."

This was a perspective that the Grand Secretary, the Junior Grand Secretary, and many officials of the Ministry of Revenue had not considered. Even the theory of contradiction that emphasized top-down power was already very common, but in practical application, it was still too macro.

"It really is like a divine revelation, suddenly seeing the light," Zhu Yijun said sincerely as he looked at the memorial of public opinion in his hands.

The husband's surname was Xue, and his name was Xue Cheng, aged fourteen.

Xue Cheng was an ordinary commoner in Shanghai County, Songjiang Prefecture, and his background was extremely miserable.

Their family had only one courtyard with a mud-brick house. Since Xue Cheng's grandfather's time, they had been long-term laborers for the local Dong clan. By scrimping and saving, Xue Cheng's grandfather bought ten mu of land, which was also bought from the Dong family at a high price.

Xue Cheng's grandfather was a good hand at farming. He married a wife in three years and had children. As time passed, the children grew up. The house had only three rooms and was not enough, so they thought about rebuilding it. As a result, the old house was torn down, but the new house could not be built because the Dong clan of Shanghai County gathered local ruffians like Wu Biyong and He Sanjin to cause trouble.

Xue Cheng's grandfather ran to the Dong mansion to kowtow, his head almost bleeding, only to realize he didn't understand the rules and hadn't paid the "house number silver." Even in the countryside, if you didn't pay the house number silver, you couldn't build a house. Xue Cheng's grandfather paid three thousand coins for the house number before he finally got it, and the new house finally started construction.

But the ruffians still came to the door to cause trouble. Xue Cheng's grandfather ran to the Dong clan again to beg, only to find out it was because he hadn't paid tribute to the Hailong Gang.

It was the Hailong Gang that was thoroughly destroyed by Yan Shixuan. At that time, the Hailong Gang was like a huge mountain pressing on the heads of all the common people.

Xue Cheng's grandfather ran around again to pay tribute to the Hailong Gang, and even had to invite the gatekeeper of the Dong mansion to be a middleman to introduce them to the Hailong Gang, otherwise, he wouldn't even know where to spend the silver.

The new house was delayed for three years. Xue Cheng was born, and the house had only had its foundation dug.

Xue Cheng's father was hot-tempered. In a fit of rage, he took a pair of iron pliers and crawled into the Dong house through a dog hole.

Xue Cheng's father saw it very clearly; from beginning to end, it was the Dong family making things difficult. Xue Cheng's father crawled into the Dong estate through a dog hole and began to kill. At first, he used iron pliers, and later, a wood-chopping knife from the woodshed. He killed four people in a row before finally being discovered by the Dong estate's retainers and beaten to death with clubs.

The Dong estate was too large, and Xue Cheng's father wandered around without finding the main culprit, so he only managed to kill the Dong family's fourth young master.

When Xue Cheng's grandfather heard the news, his anger caused his heart to fail, and he passed away immediately. When the Dong family came to their door, Xue Cheng's eldest uncle and other uncles scattered and fled. Xue Cheng's grandmother and mother were in utter despair and threw themselves into the river. Originally, his mother had held Xue Cheng, intending to jump into the river together, but in the end, she couldn't bear to do it.

Xue Cheng was only two years old at that time, just learning to walk.

Just like that, Xue Cheng lost his grandfather, his father, and his mother. Moreover, the Dong family wouldn't allow anyone to give Xue Cheng any porridge, and the family property that Xue Cheng's grandfather had earned through hard work was looted and carved up until nothing remained.

Some fellow villagers couldn't bear to watch, so under the cover of night, they carried Xue Cheng to the Songjiang Prefecture Relief Institute. Even then, the Dong family still wanted to make trouble, wanting to drag Xue Cheng out of the Relief Institute and starve the little beast to death before they would be satisfied.

That year, Wang Daokun took office as the Provincial Governor of Songjiang, and the Great Ming began to open the seas.

At that time, Xue Cheng was still small; he didn't understand at all. He didn't know that on that stormy, thunderous night, it was because of Wang Daokun's arrival that he was able to survive.

The official in charge of the Relief Institute couldn't gauge Wang Daokun's temper. If he happened to be a man like Hai Rui and really agreed to the Dong family's request, the hatred-filled Governor Wang, once he found out, would likely make everyone suffer the consequences.

This official guessed correctly. As soon as Wang Daokun arrived, he began to audit the files and dug up this case. It was true that people had been killed at the Dong estate, but Wang Daokun took note of Xue Cheng and, while he was at it, cleaned up the chaos at the Relief Institute.

Because Wang Daokun took an extra look at the files, Xue Cheng's tragedy came to an end. Under the grand trend of opening the seas, Songjiang Prefecture changed with each passing day.

Zhu Yijun annotated this memorial on public opinion before saying, "The so-called clans are nothing more than the major branches eating the minor branches, the minor branches eating the clansmen, the legitimate sons eating the concubines' sons, and those with many sons eating those with few, eventually wiping out the entire household."

The reason Xue Cheng's grandfather was harassed was simply because his surname was Xue, not Dong. A long-term laborer dared to leave the Dong family to set up his own business, and the Dong family just wanted to make trouble; they just wanted to deliberately create an incident.

The reason Zhu Yijun said it was "big fish eating small fish" was because the fourth young master of the Dong family who died had offended the third young master of the Xu family of Huating with a few words during the Lantern Festival. He was then tied up by the Dong family and taken to the Xu family to beg for forgiveness with a thorn on his back. Only after he had kowtowed until his head bled did the Xu family forgive the fourth young master's offense.

And when this fourth young master returned to the Dong estate, he was lashed twelve times with thorns until his skin was torn and his flesh mangled.

Compared to these clan patriarchs, those workshop owners who rack their brains to pay a little less in labor wages are filled with the radiance of humanity.

The clan system is no different from the "Great Harmony" world touted by the lowly scholars; it is just an illusory lie that sounds beautiful but carries no obligations.

"Your Majesty, today is only the second day of the new year." Feng Bao tried to persuade the Emperor. The Emperor had only rested for one day on the first day of the new year, and by the second day, he had already had these memorials on public opinion brought to the Imperial Study.

"What's wrong with the second day?" Zhu Yijun closed the memorial and said with a smile, "I know that the craftsmen of the Suiyuan-Chidao, the Jingkai-Chidao, the Jingmi-Chidao, and the third phase of the Polytechnic Institute haven't even rested on New Year's Eve; they have been rushing the work. If the craftsmen can work through the New Year without rest, I can just look at some memorials on public opinion; it's not like I'm handling state affairs."

"That's only because Your Majesty has provided enough silver; naturally, the craftsmen are willing to work without sleep or rest," Feng Bao said, citing a rule in the construction of the Great Ming: the speed of a project depends on the speed at which the project funds arrive.

"My inner treasury silver is also piled up like a mountain, it's the same thing." Zhu Yijun picked up another memorial and shook his head, saying, "I'll just read ten volumes, and then I'll rest after I finish them."

Ten volumes were not many; it only took half an hour for Zhu Yijun to finish reading them. He had someone bring ten more. At this point, no matter how much the Emperor asked, Feng Bao refused to give him any more.

"How have the arrangements for the Chonggu Progress Award been made by the Ministry of Rites?" Zhu Yijun still remembered that he had to present the Chonggu Technological Progress Award for the cowpox method of the Great Physician Pang Xian.

Feng Bao said helplessly, "It was arranged before the new year, but Pang Xian hasn't returned to the capital yet. Physician Pang discovered a problem with the cowpox and decided not to return to the capital for the time being."

Cowpox inoculation can have a small probability of problems, with about ten percent of people experiencing symptoms of local redness and ulceration. Currently, Pang Xian is still looking for the cause.

The reason Pang Xian isn't returning to receive the award is actually very simple: because the Emperor wants to inoculate the imperial heirs with cowpox to prevent smallpox, Pang Xian wants to figure out the problems of large-scale inoculation before he dares to return.

On the fifth day of the first lunar month of the thirteenth year of Wanli, Zhu Yijun presented the Chonggu Technological Progress Award, which was accepted on behalf of Pang Xian by his teacher, Li Shizhen.

On the sixth day of the first lunar month, the Great Ming Emperor appeared in the Wenhua Hall as usual to preside over the first court session of the new year.

"During the Gengxu Tatar invasion, from the twenty-ninth year of Jiajing to the third year of Longqing, more than one hundred Battalion Commander in Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia, and other places fled to the north." Zhang Juzheng first reported that since the invasion of Altan Khan in the twenty-ninth year of Jiajing, more than one hundred Battalion Commander in the Shaanxi border regions had fled to the Tatars.

"Harsh government is fiercer than a tiger." Zhang Juzheng used five words to summarize the situation at that time. It was not because the Great Ming was defeated, but for the sake of victory and to ensure military supplies, they had to harshly squeeze and exploit the soldiers and civilians of the three border regions. Coupled with the habitual "free-riding" in the officialdom, this shocking scene eventually occurred.

The Great Ming commoners fled to the northern Tatars.

"Your Majesty often says: 'If you keep the land but lose the people, you lose both; if you keep the people but lose the land, you keep both.' This is a common principle." Qi Jiguang immediately mentioned a phrase the Emperor often said, which was an extension of the Jingying army's soul: "Save the common people."

"In fact, the Great Ming's repeated defeats in the conflicts with Altan Khan were for this very reason. Without the Great Ming commoners, it was like a fish leaving the water. It was clearly a battle to defend the city, but it was fought as a battle in a foreign land; how could it be won?" Qi Jiguang further elaborated on one of the reasons for the defeat back then.

In the border regions of the Great Ming, the distinction between soldiers, civilians, and commoners was actually very small. The widespread existence of unpaid wages and harsh demands made morale tend toward zero. During battle, it was very easy to be attacked from both front and rear, because in the border regions, every village and stronghold was actually an earthen fortress and market, serving as extremely important strongholds, supply sources, and intelligence sources on the battlefield. If the people ran away and the commoners were alienated, fighting under such circumstances meant certain defeat.

The Great Ming knew how to use watchtowers and scouts to probe enemy intelligence, and Altan Khan also sent scouts and spies to probe the Great Ming's strengths and weaknesses.

"These one hundred Battalion Commander who fled to the northern lands have become the cornerstone of the Great Ming in Suiyuan." Zhang Juzheng concisely reported Pan Jixun's success in making the commoners who fled their homeland the cornerstone of local governance.

Legazpi roared angrily in front of Philip; there was no such thing as "ten thousand men with one strength." Legazpi only saw "one man with ten thousand strengths." Only a small portion of people were working hard to revive the Great Ming. When the commoners were needed, where were they?

This was actually Legazpi's problem. When the Great Ming needed the commoners, the commoners were right there, and they had always been there.

"This year, we plan to start construction on two more Chidao: from Chang'an to Kaifeng, and from Chang'an to Jiayu Pass." Wang Chonggu, as the Second Grand Secretary, reported the work plan for this year. Starting construction on two more Chidao—the Chidao from Jiayu Pass to Kaifeng—once this Chidao is connected, it will represent the most important and substantive step the Great Ming has taken toward reopening the Western Regions.

The reason Wang Chonggu chose to start construction this year is very simple: because in the middle of this year, when the production of silver coins and Wanli Tongbao reaches above the safety line, the Emperor's inner treasury will begin to release its funds. Therefore, seizing this opportunity is the best time to start construction on the Chidao.

Chidao are very expensive; they can empty the Emperor's inner treasury and even leave the Emperor with a mountain of debt.

"Second Grand Secretary Wang, from Kaifeng to Jiayu Pass, passing through Ningxia and Zhongwei, the total mileage exceeds 3,700 li. At 7,500 silver per li, it will cost at least 28 million silver. And that's not counting crossing mountains and ridges. You make it sound so simple! Where will the silver come from!" Minister of Revenue Wang Guoguang immediately expressed his opposition.

It was too expensive.

"In the entire twelfth year of Wanli, the court's total tax revenue was only 29 million silver. Are you going to spend it all on your Chidao, Second Grand Secretary Wang!" Zhang Xueyan also immediately opposed the construction of such a long Chidao.

"Because Chidao are expensive, that's why we need to build more of them, so the cost will be lower," Wang Chonggu said quite calmly. "The expense of Chidao is not just in the construction itself. To build Chidao, we have carried out many technical breakthroughs, such as tunnels, mudflats, and bridge construction. We have raised countless Five Classics scholars to be responsible for surveying and investigating. For this, the Great Ming capital has formed six engineering regiments, and Henan and Shandong have formed twelve engineering regiments."

"What's expensive is not just the Chidao, but also the people. Before, when we changed the river transport to sea transport, countless people opposed it. In the Emperor's words, it was 'the livelihood of a million canal workers.'"

"Now, it's the same with the Chidao. The Suiyuan-Chidao will be completed in two years, but the Jingkai-Chidao and the Jingmi-Chidao will be finished soon. Where are we going to put all these people?"

"Grand Minister, some money cannot be saved."

"If we save this little bit of silver now, these engineering regiments will have to be disbanded, these craftsmen will have to disperse to find their own way to survive, and the Five Classics scholars will lose their purpose. Grand Minister, if you want to do it again, you'll have to re-recruit personnel, re-verify the technology, and even re-establish some of the official workshops that support the Chidao. That is truly wasting money."

Wang Guoguang immediately said loudly, "Even if you talk until the sky falls, this Chidao cannot be built. We can consider the section from Chang'an to Jiayu Pass, but the section from Kaifeng to Chang'an can be delayed. It won't be too late to discuss it after the Suiyuan-Chidao is finished."

The Ministry of Revenue just felt it was expensive. It wasn't that they said the Chidao was bad, but mainly that the construction cost of over 28 million silver made Wang Guoguang feel that Wang Chonggu was crazy.

"That's fine, just from Chang'an to Jiayu Pass," Wang Chonggu's eyes lit up, and he said, "Just from Chang'an to Jiayu Pass, at 7,500 silver per li. If it's even one silver more, I'll find a way myself, and I won't trouble the Ministry of Revenue."

"Since we're going to build it, let's build it all together. The Ministry of Revenue can calculate how much is missing, and the inner treasury will make up for it." Zhu Yijun saw the two court officials arguing back and forth and made the final decision directly.

How much silver does Zhu Yijun's inner treasury actually have? According to the year-end audit, Zhu Yijun's inner treasury had 5.8 million in silver coins and 26 million taels of silver, totaling over 31 million taels of silver—a mountain of silver in the physical sense.

"The two ministers shouldn't act in front of me. Second Grand Secretary Wang is an old pro at acting, but the Grand Minister isn't good at acting. Isn't it just that you've set your sights on the silver in my inner treasury?" Zhu Yijun said quite calmly. Wang Guoguang wasn't good at acting; his lines were excellent, but the way his eyes kept looking at the platform gave him away.

"Your Majesty, the Chidao from Kaifeng to Jiayu Pass is very likely to lose money," Wang Guoguang whispered. The reason he kept looking at the Emperor during the discussion was because, in the eyes of the Ministry of Revenue, this Chidao would definitely lose money.

Because along this route, it is all poor and remote countryside.

Not all Chidao make money. For example, the Chonggu-Chidao from the capital to Shanhai Pass makes money, but the section from Shanhai Pass to Liaoyang and Jilin in the Liaodong Regional Military Commission has been losing money, although the annual losses are narrowing, it is still losing money.

And for the section from Jiayu Pass to Kaifeng, Wang Guoguang couldn't see any possibility of profit at all. Even after it was built, due to maintenance reasons, it would continue to lose money.

"No, Grand Minister, that's not how the accounts are calculated. As long as it is built, it is profitable." Zhu Yijun waved his hand repeatedly and began to sell his business philosophy. His business philosophy was very simple: building it is a huge profit, because the road is right there. Just the process of building the road and the official workshops created for it are important strategic investments for the Northwest region.

Strategic investments do not need to deliberately pursue profit.

"The 'Chu Shi Biao' says: 'I will exhaust my meager abilities to eliminate the treacherous and evil, restore the Han house, and return to the old capital.' From Chengdu to Chang'an, 1,300 li, the Martial Marquis walked his whole life and never reached it." Zhu Yijun pondered for a moment and said more directly and clearly, "The Great Ming's reopening of the Western Regions has been mentioned repeatedly. From the Hongwu years to now, it has been over two hundred years, and the Western Regions have still not been reopened. Gentlemen, even if this Chidao really loses money, it must be built."

"Could it be that the Great Ming will also walk its whole life and never reach the Western Regions?"

"Your Majesty is wise." Wang Guoguang no longer insisted. Since the Emperor already clearly understood that this Chidao might lose money and still insisted on building it, there was no need to argue any further.

"Second Grand Secretary Wang, can this Chidao really be built through?" Zhu Yijun mentioned his own worries. He wasn't worried about losing money, but he was worried that such a long Chidao would be subject to the "habitual 'I think' power when building wonders." If it ended up becoming a Great Ming joke and a typical proof of the Emperor's vanity, that would be truly ridiculous.

Wang Chonggu bowed and said, "Your Majesty, since the reopening of the Western Regions began, this Chidao has already begun to be verified. The Five Classics scholars have already walked it twice. I dare to sign a military order: 28 million silver. If it's one silver more, I will find it myself. If it really doesn't work, I'll just make the Shanxi merchants suffer a bit; I will take the blame."

If there's no money, go find money. Wang Chonggu had already formed a path dependency; whenever he had no money, he would look to the Shanxi merchants.

"No, what I mean is, we can appropriately increase the budget. How about this: I'll take out another two million silver to round it up to 30 million silver. If it's not enough, we'll add more." Zhu Yijun shook his head. He was afraid that the money wouldn't be enough. After all, the journey was so long and the road conditions were so complex; a budget of 7,500 silver per li was definitely insufficient.

"Ah?" Wang Chonggu hurriedly bowed and said, "I kowtow and thank you for your imperial grace."

The Great Ming monarch and his subjects did not know that at this time, Philip II, in order to appease the Great Ming's anger, had already shipped two million silver in compensation and was on the way.

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