Chapter 845: Money is something that should be spent when it should be spent and saved when it should be saved

The "Theory of Barbarian Recognizing a Father" and the "Theory of Barbarian Constant Victory" were written by two successive Ministers of Rites. They were a methodology that was not rigorous, slightly crude, and even unsystematic.

Because Wan Shihe and Shen Li had dealt with these barbarians so much, they really could not use existing knowledge and experience to explain the fundamental logic of their behavior, which was why this crude explanation method—that is, "violent theory"—existed.

Violent theory could not enter the hall of elegance; that is, it could not be placed on the table to be passed down as a classic, but it could explain many problems.

Just like during the Chenghua period, the eunuch of the Inner Treasury, Lin Xiu, specifically wrote a "Classic of Irritating People" to teach the eunuchs of the Inner Secretariat how to irritate the ministers of the Outer Court and how to tear at the ministers. The "Classic of Irritating People" would certainly not be published on a large scale, but every little eunuch in the Inner Library had read this "Classic of Irritating People."

The two violent theories of the Minister of Rites had a high degree of reality, which was the reason for their rationality. This was the theory summarized by the officials of the Ministry of Rites through observing the various strange appearances of the barbarians.

Because of the appearance of these two basic theories, it became more convenient for the Great Ming to explain the behavior of the barbarians.

Only winning would lead to a problem that had already appeared in the Great Ming before, which was arrogance.

If a lie is told ten thousand times, everyone will think it is true. Self-deceiving winning, if said too much, will turn into arrogance, and finally destroy oneself in arrogance.

Finally, Shen Li concluded in the "Memorial on Barbarian Constant Victory": to avoid the arrogance caused by winology, the Great Ming must admit "losing." Only by admitting the existence of losing can one win more realistically.

Where one is backward, where one is advanced, where one needs to catch up, where one still needs to work hard, where one is controlled by others, etc. —one must have a clear understanding of one's own weak areas.

In the sixteenth year of Wanli, since the Wanli Reform, the disadvantages the Great Ming had admitted included: disadvantages in maritime days, disadvantages in insufficient understanding of the Earth, disadvantages in shipbuilding, disadvantages in wool craftsmanship, silver inflow being controlled by others, and high moral disadvantages in the process of colonization, etc.

This was a way of thinking based on the theory of contradictions. The antonym of winning is losing. Winning never exists alone. Only by admitting losing can one truly win. Announcing oneself as winning is a kind of fake winning, which is useless except for deceiving the foolish people.

For barbarians, they cannot admit the existence of losing, because for barbarians, the antonym of winning is not losing, but perishing.

The Great Ming wants to build its own real winology, not a delusional winology. This was the content that Shen Li's memorial wanted to talk about.

Opening up territory and submitting to the King's transformation was originally a joyous thing. Even the Great Ming civil officials took this opportunity to raise their heads fiercely and promote the justice of winning through benevolence and righteousness!

Even Dao Lansheng and Dao Shigong from Laos were very happy. The days of living in constant fear were finally over.

In this harmonious and joyful sound, a "pen-corrector" jumped out and fiercely disgusted everyone, including the civil officials who had been suppressed for a long time.

The theories of these "pen-correctors" were still very interesting. They opposed this annexation of Laos from three aspects: militarism, "the border becoming a sea of blood," and precise calculation.

They believed that this annexation of Laos was not a "great win," not a "small win," but a "great loss."

Militarism: The "pen-correctors" believed that the Great Ming imperial court should restrict this atmosphere of constant expansion; otherwise, it would be easy for the Great Ming to follow the old path of the Great Tang. The Great Tang recruited nearly 300,000 soldiers to open up the Western Regions, leading to the emptiness of the interior, and the final result was the An Lushan Rebellion in the hinterland, which directly broke the prosperity of the Great Tang.

The Great Ming's expansion at sea was because of cheap maritime transport; expansion on land could be slowed down.

The Great Ming imperial court must consider whether the stability of the hinterland was important or opening up the border was important. The historical lesson of the An Lushan Rebellion was worth learning from.

The border becoming a sea of blood: In the sixteen years of the Wanli Reform, they fought for sixteen years.

They successively launched wars against the Tumad Khan, the Altan Khan, Ava, the Goa Governor-General's Office, Luzon, Nagasaki, Joseon, and Japan. In these sixteen years, there was never a year without war. The wars killed a large number of soldiers and people, exhausted the financial resources of the common people, emptied the wealth of the world, left the people displaced, and death followed like a shadow.

Taking these places, besides satisfying the private desire of the monarch to love greatness and success, was it really necessary to launch them?

And the ministers in the court only knew how to flatter and cater to the superiors, never daring to refute the orders of the Emperor and the Senior Grand Secretary.

Precise calculation: Laos did not have enough value to be worth the Great Ming's effort. Even if the Great Ming did not invest heavily in King's transformation, there was no need to annex it. The Great Ming only had a need for the Jingjue Salt Mine in Laos. No matter who ruled that territory, in the end, they would sell the Jingjue Salt Mine to the Great Ming.

Being able to get what you want while minimizing investment is precise calculation and rationality.

"Interesting." In the Wenhua Hall, the Great Ming Emperor finished reading the several miscellaneous reports in his hand and said to the court ministers: "Why do I feel that what these 'pen-correctors' say is still very reasonable?"

"It is indeed reasonable," Zhang Juzheng said, stepping out of the ranks. "Your Majesty, reasonable is reasonable, but should all the good things in the world be occupied by the Great Ming itself? There is gain in giving, and there is giving in gain. No one can have everything. Wanting the Jingjue Salt Mine, wanting border stability, and not wanting any investment—this is impossible."

"These opinion-mongers can naturally say whatever they want, but when making decisions, one must weigh the pros and cons."

"I still believe that establishing the Laos Prefecture was not wrong."

Zhang Juzheng initially opposed Laos being annexed by the Great Ming, mainly fearing that the Emperor would pity the suffering of Laos and invest heavily like in the "King's transformation and soothing the distant," which would truly be too expensive and not worth the loss. When the Emperor promised not to invest heavily, Zhang Juzheng changed from opposition to support.

Just like Liu Bei taking Yizhou, there was no need to be overly entangled in debating the classics. Take it if you should. Even if you don't manage it after taking it, take it into your hands first.

What the "pen-correctors" said was all correct, but the "pen-correctors" did not need to make national policy decisions. Naturally, they could have everything. The Great Ming court ministers discussed and decided, so they had to be rational. If you want more, you have to pay a little.

Many times, although opposing opinions were affirmed, they would not be adopted.

Zhu Yijun put down the miscellaneous reports and said to the court ministers: "In short, money is something that should be spent when it should be spent and saved when it should be saved."

"Your Majesty is wise." The ministers stood up together to sing praises, their movements uniform.

Since the more important and urgent things were the Jingjue Salt Mine and the stability of the southwest border, spending a little was a matter of course.

The Great Ming army was fighting Ava on one side, and if they didn't give Laos a name or win them over on the other, wouldn't the Great Ming army be attacked from both sides on the southwest battlefield?

The Great Ming had always kept its word. Since they had given a safety commitment, they would not let the Ava Burmese bandits and the Annamese bully Laos. After all, the Jingjue Salt Mine was also on Laotian territory.

In fact, it was very simple for Ava to end the war: defeat the Yunnan border army.

Forcing the Yunnan border army to ask the imperial court for reinforcements, the imperial court would have to transport grain and pay across half the world, wasting millions, consuming huge human, material, and financial resources, yet harvesting a pile of rotten land not worth developing. Then the imperial court would naturally call a halt.

This was also the reason why the small southwest nations provoked the Great Ming in the past, because it was not worth the Great Ming imperial court's effort.

Just like at the beginning of the war, Ava used the Duke of Qian's trust in the "ripe Miao" to open a gap, forcing the border of Dali. The Han army in Sichuan and Guizhou had no choice but to enter Yunnan under the leadership of Liu Ting.

If Ava could win a few more such great victories, and the border could not be guarded, they could only ask the imperial court for reinforcements, and Ava would get everything they wanted.

This was also the consistent practice of the small southwest nations in the past, using the timing, geography, and human conditions to take advantage and then negotiate peace. But now, Ava could not even beat the Yunnan border army, so they could only keep getting beaten.

The Great Ming had a total of three guest battalions on the southwest front, totaling only 9,000 guest soldiers. This was also the reason why the Yunnan treasury could fully support it.

Guest soldiers were easy to use, but their placement was extremely difficult. Guest soldiers who knew nothing but killing were hard to settle. Keeping them fighting like this could instead reduce the cost of maintaining stability. Therefore, the southwest front became so suffocating for Ava.

"The second ship of gold dust from the Golden Pool Governor-General's Office has arrived this year. This year, the gold inflow of the Golden Pool Governor-General's Office is 430,000 taels, and next year it is expected to be 800,000 taels of gold. If there are no accidents in the Golden Pool Governor-General's Office, the Great Ming's ten-year storage of 10 million taels of gold for issuing currency can be achieved ahead of schedule," said Minister of Revenue Zhang Xueyan, talking about the situation of the Golden Pool Governor-General's Office.

Wang Chonggu's eyes lit up, and he said, "In this way, the problem of the slowdown of Western silver inflow has been thoroughly alleviated! These Red-Haired Barbarians have relied on occupying rich silver mines these years and have said a lot of nonsense. Let's see how arrogant they can be in the future!"

"And they dared to threaten the Great Ming!"

The Great Ming occupied the Philippines Governor-General's Office and established the Luzon Governor-General's Office, not to mention conquering cities and land, supporting the Portuguese King Antonio, selling salt to the Dutch, and even selling five-masted ocean-crossing ships to the French. This kind of weapon that could change the battlefield pattern had been aggressively pushed by the Great Ming imperial court for these sixteen years.

In Wang Chonggu's mouth, it became the Red-Haired Barbarians' nonsense and arrogance.

The situation where silver inflow relied entirely on external inflow, with Japan being conquered by the Great Ming, the mines being occupied by the Great Ming, the establishment of the Golden Pool Governor-General's Office, and the Great Ming's goods becoming more and more numerous, finally became negligible after the issuance of currency.

This was the huge success of the Wanli Reform.

Zhang Xueyan continued, "We checked the account books of the Great Ming's banks everywhere. After several months of calculation, we found that the proportion of silver note redemption was less than 6%. For a 100-tael silver note, only 6 taels were exchanged for silver coins. And in more developed places, such as the capital and Songjiang Prefecture, the exchange ratio was even lower. The Ministry of Revenue believes that it is reasonable to over-issue with a 20% reserve."

"1.2 million taels of gold, issuing 6 million strings of currency, is the actual issuance. Calculated according to a 20% reserve, this year, issuing 30 million strings of currency is reasonable."

In the eyes of the Ministry of Revenue, the Great Ming Emperor's issuance of currency was a bit too cautious.

"The credibility of the Treasure Notes has not yet been established. We must not be too hasty. In the situation where the Tonghe Palace vault has not been fully built, we must not over-issue. Grand Minister, one cannot eat hot tofu in a hurry," Zhu Yijun said after hearing the Ministry of Revenue's opinion, expressing his attitude before other ministers could express theirs.

No over-issuance of Treasure Notes within ten years. The future is the future; now is the critical time for establishing the credibility of the Treasure Notes.

Zhang Xueyan wanted to say something but stopped, finally bowing and saying, "Your subject obeys the decree."

Zhu Yijun naturally opposed over-issuance. Every Wanli Treasure Note had to be redeemed with gold from the Inner Treasury!

Even if the gold in the Inner Treasury only entered and did not exit, and the imperial court used silver to redeem the Treasure Notes, the Treasure Notes would be returned to the Emperor to pay off debts. Therefore, the credibility of the Wanli Treasure Notes was linked to the Emperor's personal credibility.

As the Emperor, naturally, he could not allow over-issuance now.

The Ministry of Revenue's desire to over-issue was once again fiercely suppressed by the Emperor. Zhang Xueyan was very helpless. The Emperor did not particularly understand that the Emperor's personal credibility among the people was so strong.

As long as one could cope with a run, the credibility of the Treasure Notes would not collapse. A 20% reserve was completely enough to cope with a run.

Philip II's gold bonds had gone bankrupt three times, and he had never seen Philip be dragged to the guillotine.

This was also the reason why Yang Wei, Wu Shilai, and these "cheap scholars" took risks. In the court, the Emperor appeared more often as a conservative, blocking any political decrees that seemed a bit radical.

Even Li Yashi, a barbarian from a foreign land, believed that the Great Ming's Treasure Notes could be over-issued, because the Great Ming Treasure Notes were anchored not only by the gold in the Tonghe Palace, but also by the goods manufactured by the Great Ming people with their own hands. These commodities were also the composition of the Treasure Notes' credibility. Over-issuance was a matter of course and was beneficial to stimulating the economy.

Unfortunately, on this matter, the Ministry of Revenue had never been able to persuade the Emperor. The Emperor was able to agree to issue Treasure Notes only because the silver inflow had dropped sharply and he had no choice. Otherwise, the issuance of currency itself would have to wait for seven or eight years.

Zhu Yijun looked at Zhang Xueyan, knowing that Zhang Xueyan was convinced in words but not in heart. He thought for a moment before saying, "Grand Minister, paper money is debt. The imperial court has to write IOUs to borrow debt from my Inner Treasury. This debt must be repaid."

"Your subject obeys the decree." Zhang Xueyan bowed again and stopped discussing the matter of over-issuance. The attribute of the Treasure Notes was still gold bonds, not credit currency, and there was still a long way to go.

"The Great Ming envoy to Japan, Gao Qiyu, sent back a memorial, saying how crazy the Japanese 'Pure Land Sect' is," said Minister of War Zeng Shengwu, his face extremely ugly as he handed the copied memorial to all the court ministers.

The Japanese Pure Land Sect had previously launched the "White Chicken Feather Movement." Some samurai who fled the battlefield would be humiliated by these Pure Land Sect members with white chicken feathers. Samurai who could not bear the humiliation would go back to the battlefield and then die on the battlefields of Joseon and Tsushima.

After the signing of the "Kyoto Treaty," Qi Jiguang continued to launch attacks and had basically completed the combat mission. The coastal areas from Nagato Province to Izumo Province had all been captured by the Great Ming army. Now the Great Ming army was carrying out final cleanup, eliminating some stubborn Japanese pirates, clearing away future troubles, and ensuring that the silver from the Iwami Bai Yin Mine could flow smoothly into the Great Ming.

In the hinterland of Japan, the Pure Land Sect members were no longer using white feathers to humiliate people, but had launched the "Catch Them" movement. In short, they cooperated with some Japanese daimyo to catch all males over thirteen years old and throw them into the battle to recover the northern lost territory, including their own family members.

If all the males were sent to the battlefield, these Pure Land Sect members could inherit all the family property. Therefore, the Japanese males who hid and refused to go to the battlefield were all reported.

After they died on the battlefield, the family property all belonged to the Pure Land Sect members.

"These Japanese finally realized that the family, beliefs, morality, and samurai spirit they regarded as treasures were worthless, so they started a counterattack—a counterattack action called 'Glorious Killing'—which unfolded in Japan itself," Zeng Shengwu finished telling this story.

During the White Chicken Feather Movement, the Japanese males had no resistance, but instead went to the battlefield because of humiliation. But in the "Catch Them" movement, the Japanese finally reacted, and they had weapons in their hands.

"Glorious Killing" was intensifying in Japan.

Minister of Rites Shen Li said with lingering fear, "In just one month, twelve murder cases occurred on the streets of Osaka, Japan, with extremely cruel means. Toyotomi Hideyoshi requested the Great Ming to cooperate in exterminating the Pure Land Sect."

Toyotomi Hideyoshi was a bit helpless about this situation, mainly because the Great Ming's attitude was difficult to judge, so he had to request Gao Qiyu, who lived in the Ying'en Hall, to think of a way.

Zhu Yijun frowned, very uncomprehendingly saying, "No, why does the Pure Land Sect born in Japan itself have to be related to the Great Ming?! Why do they have to tattoo themselves and write the word 'Ming' on their bodies?!"

Shen Li immediately said, "Indeed, there is no origin. The Great Ming has defined it as an evil spirit. I believe we can cooperate with the Toyotomi Hideyoshi Shogunate to exterminate the Pure Land Sect. As long as the Great Ming Nagasaki Governor-General's Office does not accept any Japanese slaves or Japanese women with tattoos, the Pure Land Sect will lose its foundation and can be effectively contained."

According to the doctrine of the Pure Land Sect, the Great Ming was the "Pure Land" of their sect, and everything was to reach this "other shore" in reality.

When the Great Ming and the overseas Governor-General's Offices no longer accepted any Pure Land Sect members, the Pure Land Sect would lose its foundation, and its scale would immediately shrink and become controllable.

"Toyotomi Hideyoshi admits that the line from Nagato City to Matsue City in Izumo Province belongs to the Great Ming," Shen Li informed all the court ministers of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's bargaining chip.

Wang Chonggu scoffed, "If he doesn't cede it, does it not belong to the Great Ming? It was captured by the Great Ming army! Even his entire Japan is a vassal state enfeoffed by the Great Ming; it all belongs to the Great Ming!"

Zhang Juzheng pondered for a moment before saying, "We can agree to it, for fear that the Pure Land Sect will spread and backflow into the Great Ming."

The Japanese pirates in the southeast of the Great Ming were an overflow of the Japanese pirates in Japan, and the Japanese pirates in Japan were caused by the constant wars in Japan and the wandering of samurai. If the Great Ming did not exterminate the Pure Land Sect, I fear that one day, they would eat this boomerang.

"What are the opinions of the ministers? Should the Great Ming agree to Toyotomi Hideyoshi?" Zhu Yijun began to ask for the opinions of the court ministers.

In the end, Zhang Juzheng, Shen Li, Zhang Xueyan, and Wang Daokun believed that it could be banned, while Wang Chonggu, Zeng Shengwu, and Lu Guangzu believed that the Pure Land Sect could be used as a knife—a knife to eliminate Japan. After court discussion, it was finally determined to agree to Japan's request and ban the spread of the Pure Land Sect.

Zhu Yijun did not object, but stamped the Wanli Great Treasure seal. He looked at everyone and said, "I believe it should be exterminated to prevent it from backflowing into the Great Ming and leaving harm for ten thousand ages."

The Great Ming could no longer watch the excitement of the Pure Land Sect, because if they watched any longer, they would set themselves on fire.

The Great Ming was in the process of transforming toward a commodity economy. The spread of this extreme hedonistic trend was not a good thing for the Great Ming. If its scale was not contained, I fear this evil wind would blow across the entire Great Ming.

After the court discussion was approved, the Pure Land Sect was not allowed to continue spreading. This allowed Toyotomi Hideyoshi to let go of his hands and feet. Part of the reason why the Shogunate was helpless against the Pure Land Sect before was that the war needed the Pure Land Sect to force these samurai to go to the battlefield, so they tacitly allowed their activities.

Moreover, because the "Pure Land" of the Pure Land Sect was the Great Ming, it was easy to make people associate the popularity of this sect with the Great Ming. Kyoto could no longer withstand the Great Ming flying "Divine Fire Flying Crows." Once the Great Ming approved the ban, Toyotomi Hideyoshi would have no more scruples.

It was the same principle as the Great Ming banning drugs within the actual control of Japan. These harmful things should be pulled out cleanly so that the Great Ming could be cleaner.

Ultimately, Zhang Juzheng, Shen Li, Zhang Xueyan, and Wang Daokun believed it could be banned, while Wang Chonggu, Ceng Shengwu, and Lu Guangzu believed the Joyous Sect could serve as a blade—a blade to eliminate Japan. After court deliberation, it was finally decided to grant Japan's request and ban and stifle the spread of the Joyous Sect.

"Some time ago, the Ministry of Rites memorialized about cultivating medical students. How is it going?" Zhu Yijun inquired about the purpose of the Great Ming's initial implementation of the currency issuance method, which was to cultivate medical students, so he borrowed such a sum of money.

Shen Li hurriedly bowed and said, "Returning to Your Majesty, the 'Hygiene Prevention and Simple Prescriptions' has been carved and printed. Currently, 10,000 copies have been printed and distributed to the People-Benefit Pharmacies in each county for the use of the myriad people. We plan to carve and print another 2,000 copies for teaching and training."

"We are drafting a system for specially assigned medical students. The Dissection Institute, the Imperial Hospital, and the People-Benefit Pharmacies are planning to cultivate 1,000 medical students, selected from the People-Benefit Pharmacies in each county."

Zhu Yijun sat up straight and said, "Bring the 'Hygiene Prevention and Simple Prescriptions' for me to see."

"Your subject obeys the decree." Shen Li whispered a few words to a ritual-correcting official. After Zhao Mengyou nodded, the ritual-correcting official went to the Ministry of Rites to take sample books, as well as the receipts for the printing of the Three Classics Factory.

In less than a quarter of an hour, all the books were delivered to the Wenhua Hall.

Zhu Yijun held the two books and said somewhat suspiciously, "Using the worst paper and the worst ink?"

The Ministry of Rites presented two medical books to the Emperor. One was printed extremely beautifully, even with the smell of ink; the other was crudely made, the paper was very thin and yellowed, a bit like toilet paper, and the smell of ink was a bit foul. Zhu Yijun randomly sampled seven or eight pages, and the content was exactly the same.

"Your Majesty, what is expensive is the words above. They are to be sold to rural physicians. If it is expensive, no one will buy it. The lower the cost, the lower the price, and the more people will buy it. This ink comes from the West's iron gall ink, which is very cheap," Shen Li explained the origin of the cheap ink.

Li Yashi had translated many volumes of Western books, among which there was a method for making iron gall ink. After the Great Ming took it, they found it was both cheap and easy to use, so they used it directly.

"The Minister of Rites is right. What is expensive is the words above." Zhu Yijun expressed deep agreement, opened it and read a little, and nodded constantly, saying, "The regulations formulated by the Ministry of Rites are very good. I am very satisfied. Rural physicians will study the 'Hygiene Prevention and Simple Prescriptions,' and the chief medical officers of the People-Benefit Pharmacies in each county must thoroughly read the 'Dissection Theory' and conduct regular examinations."

"In this way, the Inner Treasury still has 2.2 million silver. I will allocate 1.2 million silver to build a medical school next to the Royal Institute of Technology, exclusively for the medical officers of the People-Benefit Pharmacies to study."

"In the future, another 200,000 silver will be allocated each year, specifically for the cultivation of medical officers."

The Great Ming Emperor exploded gold coins again.

The situation of the Emperor's Inner Treasury was clear to the Great Ming court ministers: 1.63 million taels of gold and 1 million silver.

The 1.2 million silver that the Emperor had just allocated was the 1.2 million taels of "gold flower silver" that the Ministry of Revenue had just delivered to the Inner Treasury. It was just an account transfer, and before it was moved to the treasury, it was taken out to build the medical school.

You must know that in the thirteenth year of Wanli, the Inner Treasury had 30 million silver in cash. Since the construction of the Longkai Road in the thirteenth year of Wanli, the silver in the Inner Treasury had not exceeded 10 million silver. Wang Qian managed a portion of it, using it for gold storage in the Yanxing Building.

Zhu Yijun signed the check, used the seal, blew the ink dry, and handed the check to Feng Bao. When he looked up, he saw that the court ministers were all looking at him.

"What's wrong?" Zhu Yijun asked somewhat suspiciously.

Zhang Juzheng did not take the check brought by Feng Bao, but stepped out and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, should the Inner Treasury keep some silver for emergency use? With less than a million in savings, if there is any emergency, I fear it will be beyond our reach. Your Majesty intends to tour the south next year. This southern tour is not a small expense."

"The Ministry of Revenue still has a lot of silver. This year, the old inventory of 1 million silver has already been deposited, and the State Treasury has 7.3 million silver in savings, enough for the construction of the medical school," Zhang Xueyan hurriedly stood up and bowed, saying.

The old inventory of silver exceeded 10 million, and there were 7.3 million silver in savings on the account. The Ministry of Revenue was now full of confidence.

Zhu Yijun heard this and was happy, shaking his head and saying, "In the past, the World Temple asked the State Treasury for 2 million taels of silver to repair the Yongshou Palace, and the State Treasury argued with Emperor Shizong for four years, finally only giving 200,000 taels; when the late Emperor was alive, he wanted 300,000 taels of silver, and the teacher obstructed it in every way, memorializing three times, finally only giving 100,000 taels, to the point that the late Emperor issued a decree of reprimand."

"My silver is enough to use. No need. Just handle it according to the decree."

After fighting wits and courage over silver for so many years, now the Emperor emptied the Inner Treasury and used all the money for state affairs, but the ministers were a bit afraid.

The Emperor's silver being converted into gold for currency issuance was also for state affairs.

Zhu Yijun saw that Zhang Juzheng still did not take the check, so he had to continue, "If I really have no money, I will borrow a little from the wealthy families. Rest assured, can I still mistreat myself?"

"I only hope that the tragedies of 'red sugar eggs' and 'hot iron amputation' can be a little less. Even one case less counts as accumulating virtue."

"Your Majesty, it is better for the State Treasury to undertake it," Zhang Xueyan requested again.

It is very, very dangerous for the Emperor to have no money for the empire. Previously, the State Treasury was empty, and the Emperor emptied the Inner Treasury for state affairs, which was a helpless move. Now that the State Treasury is increasingly full, the Emperor, as the supreme human being, exhausting the Inner Treasury to do things again, easily makes some wealthy merchants and powerful families look down on him.

Many times, "My will is decided" requires silver to speak.

"Your Majesty, it is appropriate for the State Treasury to undertake it," Zhang Juzheng requested.

The Emperor having no money is a very, very dangerous thing for the empire. Previously, the State Treasury was empty, and the Emperor emptied the Inner Treasury for state affairs, which was a helpless move. Now that the State Treasury is increasingly full, the Emperor, as the supreme human being, exhausting the Inner Treasury to do things again, easily makes some wealthy merchants and powerful families look down on him.

Zhu Yijun thought for a while before signaling Feng Bao to take back the check and destroy it, saying with a smile, "Since all the ministers have advised, I will take it back. But the annual allocation of 200,000 silver must still be given. Consider it my intention."

"Your Majesty's holy grace is vast." Zhang Juzheng led the court ministers to accept the decree.

Sixteen years had passed, and Zhang Juzheng knew that in the Emperor's heart, he always carried the myriad people of the Nine Provinces. ===== CHAPTER 846 =====

one case, it can be considered accumulating virtue."

"Your Majesty, it is better to have the State Treasury handle it." Zhang Xueyan bowed his head again to request the order.

If there is too little money in the Inner Treasury, problems easily arise, and big ones at that. The Emperor is supreme; economic status determines political status. Once the Emperor is impoverished, or even unable to make ends meet, the imperial system will have problems. If the imperial system has problems, the sky of the empire will collapse.

Many times, My will is decided, and it requires silver to speak.

"Your Majesty, it is appropriate for the State Treasury to handle it." Zhang Juzheng bowed his head to request the order.

For the Emperor to have no money is a very, very dangerous thing for the empire. Previously, the State Treasury was empty, and for the sake of state affairs, Your Majesty emptied the Inner Treasury—that was a helpless move. Now that the State Treasury is increasingly full, as the supreme being on earth, if the Emperor continues to exhaust the Inner Treasury to get things done, it is very easy for some wealthy merchants and tycoons to develop a sense of contempt.

Zhu Yijun thought for a moment before signaling Feng Bao to take back the check to be destroyed, and said with a smile: "Since all the ministers have urged me, I will take it back, but the annual appropriation of 200,000 silver must still be given; consider it My good intention."

"Your Majesty's holy grace is vast." Zhang Juzheng led the court officials in receiving the decree.

Sixteen years had passed, and Zhang Juzheng knew that in His Majesty's heart, He always carried the people of the Nine Provinces.