Chapter 163

Jing Sheng Di's words caused the ministers to gasp again; they did not expect that Jing Sheng Di would directly state that seeking peace was unacceptable!

Wang Ziteng and Xu Qianxue felt an even darker cloud settle over their hearts.

They had guessed that Jing Sheng Di might be pro‑war, but they did not expect that Jing Sheng Di actually possessed the resolve of a Son of Heaven to guard the nation's gates and a king willing to die for the state.

Moreover, they did not expect that at this moment Jing Sheng Di would still remember to mention Jia Jing's merits!

Jing Sheng Di, his expression calm, looked down at the speechless Da Han Empire ministers and spoke again:

"This time is no different from the previous one; it's merely that there are more troops."

"But I have Marquis Jingwu, Lord Niu, Liaodong, as well as Nian Gengyao and Yue Zhongqi; the northwest also has countless loyal ministers and fine generals, and the Da Han Empire has a hundred‑thousand soldiers. What have I to fear?"

"All we have to do is fight! In a memorial from Marquis Jingwu, there is a line that says well: strike with a single punch, lest a hundred punches follow."

"Whether it is False Qing, the Northern Yuan, or Hun Xie, or any future enemies from the southwest or the South Seas,"

"they refuse to give the Da Han Empire time to recuperate; they do not wish to see our empire grow strong; they intend to invade the Da Han Empire, and I can only meet them in battle."

"In other words, if they choose to fight, they fight; no matter how long they fight, we will see it through, fighting until… until the Da Han Empire achieves total victory…"

The ministers below gasped again, not expecting that Jing Sheng Di's stance seemed even more intense than that of the hawkish Jia Jing!

The momentum is indeed great, yet it is unclear what exactly gives him such abundant confidence and resolve.

Could it be that he relies on the young Jia Jing and the Da Han Empire's northwestern forces?

Jia Jing is only twenty years old! Can such a great responsibility truly be entrusted to him?

The northwestern troops have been inspected by imperial envoys, but few of them are elite.

How long must we continue to fight, seeing it through to the end?

The treasury cannot even muster funds and provisions for half a year! Truly, there is no money left!

Wang Ziteng's mouth twitched; the emperor mentioned the young Jia Jing again—how favored is he, indeed?

The previous sentence just quoted the words of the Great Ancestor, and this one is about the young Jia Jing.

Jia Jing sat quietly in the hall, furrowing his brow; why does the emperor's final line sound so familiar?

Seems that I once inadvertently mentioned in my own memorial that we must fight to total victory, to eradicate the great border calamity that has plagued the steppe for nearly a thousand years, and resolve it, yet I did not expect Jing Sheng Di to have taken it to heart.

Well, I hesitated a moment just now, perhaps at a loss for words, and suddenly thought my sentence seemed

quite fitting for the occasion—

Why does the emperor always involve me whenever he makes a statement?

With all this praise, the others in the hall must be seething with jealousy.

Win or lose, we won't speak of it first; as long as the ruler and ministers are of one heart, I believe that even if we suffer occasional setbacks, the final victory will also belong to our Da Han Empire.

"Victory or defeat, let's set that aside; as long as the ruler and ministers are of one mind, I believe that even if we suffer minor setbacks, ultimate victory will belong to the Da Han Empire."

"The only problem is funds and provisions; the front‑line soldiers shed blood for the nation, and supplies must never be lacking!"

"Taxes are already heavy; the people's taxes cannot be raised further, otherwise they cannot survive, civil unrest will erupt, and that would let False Qing achieve its aim!"

"If the treasury lacks money, I will draw from the inner treasury; my inner treasury still holds three million taels, all of which will be taken for the northwest war."

"Furthermore, Da Ban, note this: from today onward, palace meals are halved, all superfluous luxurious garments and regalia are removed, replaced with plain clothes and wooden items."

"The consorts may not acquire new clothes; jewelry shall be melted and confiscated. The exotic birds and beasts kept in the palace gardens shall be released or sold, the vacant land replanted with vegetables and grains for palace consumption, surplus to be used as military provisions."

"Also, dismiss the redundant palace maids and internal supervisors, allowing them to return home and reunite. Halt all construction of royal gardens and temporary palaces."

"The Wan Shou Festival and other celebrations shall be simplified; the saved budget will be allocated to the Ministry of War to fund the northwest campaign!"

"This time I will practice frugality and wage a national war against False Qing, the Northern Yuan, and Hun Xie."

The moment Jing Sheng Di uttered these words, the ministers present were startled.

Even the emperor must be so frugal to support the northwest war; these ministers, as subjects, cannot simply stand by!

Xia Shouzhong was first stunned, then a few tears welled up at the corner of his eye, his heart heavy with worry,

"Your Majesty! This cannot be…"

Chief Counselor Chen Tingjing directly knelt on the ground and bowed his head, saying:

"The ruler's worry brings disgrace to the minister; the ruler's disgrace brings death to the minister! It is all my incompetence; as chief counselor overseeing the Ministry of Revenue, I cannot store wealth for the nation."

"Now the border passes are at war, yet I cause Your Majesty to worry about funds and provisions; I am foolish and incompetent, deserving ten thousand deaths!"

The other ministers could no longer remain stunned; they all knelt on the ground, bowing together and pleading guilty:

"We are incompetent; we beg Your Majesty to lower the punishment!"

Jing Sheng Di rose, descended the imperial steps, first helped Chen Tingjing to his feet, and said gravely:

"What does this have to do with you! I am fully aware of how you have bled the treasury for years."

"The court has spent heavily on campaigns and disaster relief, and a group of corrupt officials have meddled, ruining administration; the implementation of New Policies has been hindered."

"This has caused taxes to decline year after year, leaving the treasury increasingly empty. You have done your best, but many matters are entrenched and cannot be reversed in a single day!"

After speaking, Jing Sheng Di helped each minister to stand, then said solemnly:

"I do not intend to blame you. The current fiscal difficulty is only temporary; once this war is over, it will be resolved!"

"I hope you all can unite, overcome the hardship together, and spend every penny I have saved on the front‑line soldiers; that would fulfill my expectations!"

The reason Jing Sheng Di spoke before the ministers about cutting palace expenses to support the northwest was

on one hand to demonstrate his resolve to share hardships with the troops at the front, thereby rallying morale and uniting the court officials.

Secondly, the court truly lacks funds, forcing him to act thus.

Thirdly, it serves as a foundation for later implementation of New Policies and the recovery of deficits.

After all, he himself practices frugality; later, when he cracks down on corruption and recovers deficits, no one can claim he is overly harsh or ungrateful!

Having said that, Jing Sheng Di exhaled, turned to Jia Jing, and said warmly:

"Minister Jia! I entrust the northwest campaign to you!"

Jia Jing replied solemnly: "Your Majesty! Regarding the northwest campaign, I already have plans in mind, but may Your Majesty grant me one condition?"

Jing Sheng Di heard this, looked at Jia Jing with some surprise, not knowing what he sought.

Your Majesty, please take great care of your dragon body! Your subject, having recently disciplined the wicked servants in my household and gained three hundred thousand taels of silver, is willing to present it all to Your Majesty for your daily expenses on food and clothing.

If Your Majesty wishes to cut down on palace maids, eunuchs, and garden construction, I have no objection; but as for food and clothing expenses, I am willing to provide silver for Your Majesty.

I only ask that Your Majesty not neglect your dragon body; Your Majesty recently fell ill due to unrest in the northwest, and you labor day and night, rising early and working late.

If you further reduce food and clothing expenses, how can your dragon body endure? If Your Majesty does not agree to my request, I will be worried, and even at the frontier I will find it hard to concentrate on battle.

In my view, Your Majesty's dragon body being healthy is more important than any military affairs; only if Your Majesty lives for ten thousand years will my victories have meaning.

Without waiting for Jing Sheng Di to ask, Jia Jing's expression turned solemn and he spoke extremely seriously.