Chapter 1637: Emptying the Money Bag

"You... I..."

Emperor Yuan Ding's face was pale, and he had nothing to say. Although his memory was not very good, he still had some impression of what happened two months ago. It seemed that Xie Changling had indeed mentioned that the Northwest would move this year.

However, he was the Emperor.

Shouldn't Xie Changling cover for the monarch? Putting everything on the table was clearly to embarrass him.

The other party succeeded.

At this moment, he felt incomparably embarrassed, resentful, aggrieved, and hateful!

Deliberate!

Xie Changling must have done it on purpose.

Deliberately making him lose face, deliberately ruining his image, deliberately making him lose his majesty in front of court officials. This was suppression!

The suppression and humiliation of imperial power by ministerial power!

He was angry!

He wanted to roar!

"Why not directly mention the autumn offensive, such a big thing, why not report it? You said the Northwest wants to move, why not clarify the scale, making me misunderstand, thinking it was just a small-scale conflict. You are clearly deliberately misleading me! You have no monarch or father in your eyes, you are all rebellious officials!"

Emperor Yuan Ding was burned by anger and had lost his reason.

He didn't need reason, he just wanted to vent.

He didn't point at the court officials and curse them as rebellious officials, which was already an act of extreme tolerance.

"Every time I mention the Northwest, Your Majesty is always impatient, and I am also powerless. Your Majesty only cares about the movements in the court, and has never paid attention to the movements outside the capital from beginning to end. May I ask Your Majesty, what exactly do I need to do to satisfy Your Majesty?"

Xie Changling was aggressive and pressed step by step.

Emperor Yuan Ding was very unbearable and subconsciously took a step back. Immediately after, he realized that this was too embarrassing, felt angry, and gritted his teeth. "Is Minister Xie accusing me?"

"Your Majesty misunderstood, I am sincerely asking for advice. Please clarify, Your Majesty." Xie Changling bowed slightly, his attitude was very respectful, and he could not find a single mistake. It's just... Emperor Yuan Ding felt great pressure.

Even other court officials could not help but frown, seemingly dissatisfied.

Cao Song stood out first. "Minister Xie, please stop. As a subject, how can you force the Emperor."

Emperor Yuan Ding let out a long breath, Cao Aiqing was still the most upright.

Before he could praise him, he heard Cao Song say again: "Your Majesty, the autumn offensive has already begun and cannot be stopped. Currently, the national treasury is empty, and subsequent support from Your Majesty's inner treasury is needed. I hope Your Majesty can cooperate. If Marquis Pingjiang can strike at the root this time and destroy Xiliang's wolfish ambition, changing the Northwest for decades of peace, I think paying a little price is acceptable. I hope Your Majesty will think twice!"

"Two million taels is not enough, how much more money do you want me to pay to satisfy you?"

Emperor Yuan Ding was furious.

Moving his money bag was equivalent to moving his life.

It was not easy for him to save some money, most of which was inherited, and it was gone after being used.

The key was that Xie Changling not only stared at his money bag, but also stared at his money-making tool, wanting to find the Shaofu to collect taxes. He demanded that for every coin cast by the Shaofu, a tax of two li of money should be collected.

Simply absurd!

Too much bullying!

Fortunately, this was just his personal idea and had not yet formed a discussion in the court.

He didn't even dare to imagine the scene of officials forcing him and firmly collecting taxes from the Shaofu; he couldn't handle it.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, the early funds for the autumn offensive are in place. After the war ends, there is no source for the subsequent funds to reward the three armies. After the war, a group of military generals will definitely be promoted, and the rewards that the court should give cannot be stingy, which is also a large expense. Currently, the national treasury is empty, and we are eating the grain of the future, only by funding from the inner treasury can we survive this year first."

Cao Song came forward and talked eloquently.

Toward Cao Song, Emperor Yuan Ding was not so disgusted, nor would he subconsciously choose to confront him. At least he could listen to a few words.

He frowned tightly, feeling incomparably angry about bleeding heavily again.

"I can pay, but can you ensure the success of the autumn offensive? Don't end up with a tiger's head and a snake's tail, the money is spent, but Xiliang is still a heart-trouble, and the Northwest will never be peaceful."

He would never spend money unjustly.

He would never let Xie Changling get his wish.

"In this autumn offensive, the three armies are all out, Marquis Pingjiang personally sits in the central army camp to command, and all troops and horses have no choice but to obey. I have confidence in Marquis Pingjiang."

Xie Changling took the lead in expressing his position.

Other officials followed one after another, all expressing great confidence this time.

Emperor Yuan Ding didn't know much about war, he didn't believe it. "In previous years, Marquis Pingjiang also sat in the central army, why couldn't he solve Xiliang. The war has been deadlocked. Why is it possible this year?"

"In previous years, fighting only mobilized one way of troops and horses, small-scale contact. Whether it is the scale of the war or personnel configuration, it is very restrained. This year is different, this year is the whole army dispatched, even tens of thousands of civilians have been conscripted. The goal of this war is to strike at the root, completely defeat Xiliang, and make it lose its vitality. From now on for decades, Xiliang will have no power to fight. For this war, the court has been silently preparing for several years. Several years of accumulation, emptied at once, with Marquis Pingjiang's ability, he will definitely be able to settle the universe!"

The Minister of War came forward to solve the confusion for Emperor Yuan Ding. It was also to inject confidence into the court.

Because the Northwest war emptied the national treasury, there were already dissatisfied voices in the court, and some opposing voices appeared.

Although the voice was still very small, if it was not curbed in time, it would only become a constraint. Although it would not affect the war at the front, it had a great impact on the arrangements after the war ended.

Everyone followed Xie Changling's lead, naturally anxious for what Minister Xie was anxious about, and could not let the court have noise, and could not destroy Minister Xie's arrangements.

This year, no matter who it is, give him peace.

Whoever dares to stand out and make noise, clean him up.

The Emperor is not allowed to make noise!

If the Emperor is nagging, then empty the Emperor's private treasury. If the Emperor is still not sensible, then find trouble with the Shaofu and collect taxes from the Shaofu.

Regarding the suppression of imperial power by ministerial power, there are various different sayings in the court.

However, most court officials are happy to see it happen.

Imperial power is dominant, and the first to bear the brunt is the court officials.

Ministerial power suppresses imperial power, and court officials can finally raise their eyebrows. Even the Embroidered Uniform Guard next door has to be regular when handling cases and dare not act recklessly.

When Xiao Jincheng was the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, that arrogant energy, everyone's teeth itched when they saw it.

It's better now!

The Embroidered Uniform Guard began to follow the rules, at least on the surface, following the rules.

"All officials, do you have such confidence in Marquis Pingjiang? Believe that he can settle the Northwest war in one battle and return peace to the Northwest?"

Emperor Yuan Ding didn't believe it that much.

He naturally knew that Marquis Pingjiang was very awesome, but once he thought that Marquis Pingjiang was the Empress's grandfather, and the Hou Fu had been reluctant to express support for him as the Emperor, he had a secret thought in his heart.

From a private perspective, he didn't want Marquis Pingjiang to win that much.

He wanted Marquis Pingjiang to win, because the court paid a huge price and could not drag down the court. But he hoped it would be a small win, not a big win. In this way, did he have an excuse to beat the Empress, beat the Hou Fu, and then beat Marquis Pingjiang.

He didn't dare to tell anyone about this secret, invisible thought.

He was afraid of being scolded!

Scolded for not being worthy of being a monarch! For the sake of private gain, he didn't care about the country.

But he couldn't control this thought. ===== CHAPTER 1638 =====