Chapter 109: The Cavalry Has Arrived

With the Senior Grand Secretary's deliberate indulgence and the Censorate extinguishing its fire, the Eunuch faction's arrogance rose for a time.

Seeing the court officials suppressed, Zuo Guang'en, who was in charge of the Directorate of Ceremonial, was radiant.

The name "Zuo Prime Minister" gradually spread from the inner court to the court.

Some officials, in order to flatter, even used the title of "Zuo Prime Minister" in official documents.

The signs of power overwhelming the court were intensifying.

Xu Mansion.

As one of the two bigwigs in the Qingliu camp, after Pang Pang Hengsheng chose to let things be, Xu Xu Wenyue became everyone's last hope.

"Grand Secretary, the Eunuch faction is becoming more and more presumptuous.

If this continues, the nation will not be a nation!"

Chu Lan Linjie said indignantly.

The Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices is in charge of imperial sacrifices, banquets, wine, and food, as well as the food arrangements for court meetings and banquets.

Although it cannot be considered high position and great power, it is also a real-power position in the court.

The court's annual expenditure on this is no less than one million taels of silver, a proper fat job.

With the rise of the eunuchs, everything has become different.

First, the power of imperial banquets was stripped away, then the power to manage wine and food was lost, and now even sacrifices have been snatched away by eunuchs.

Nominally a Senior Rank Three official, in reality, only an empty title remains.

Such a great grievance, normal people can't stand it, and Chu Lan Linjie naturally can't endure it.

As an official with a brain, he knows very well that he, who has been sidelined, has no weight in the court.

Wanting to topple the Eunuch faction requires the entire Qingliu group to exert force together.

"Minister Chu, these words cannot be said randomly!

Now the world is peaceful, and the people live and work in peace; how did it become 'the nation will not be a nation' in your mouth?

The Eunuch faction is indeed acting recklessly, but there are lords in the court restricting them, and it is far from reaching the point of causing chaos in the world!"

Xu Xu Wenyue reprimanded him immediately.

He can fully understand the mood of toppling the Eunuchs.

But rising to the political dimension, that is absolutely not allowed.

Status determines stance; if the nation is really not a nation, what does he, this cabinet minister, become?

"The subordinate spoke out of turn, and I ask the Grand Secretary to forgive me!

That group of Eunuch faction is truly too much; they actually want to cut the establishment of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, otherwise I wouldn't be in such a rush."

Chu Lan Linjie hurriedly explained.

Originally, the power content was low, and if the subordinates were cut again, he, this Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, would have no way to mix.

According to the eunuchs' style, it's quite possible that the future Court of Imperial Sacrifices will be an empty government office.

"The court's finances are difficult, and cutting redundant personnel is imperative.

The court's various ministries are all compressing the establishment; why is it that your Court of Imperial Sacrifices can't do it?"

Xu Xu Wenyue asked with a frown.

Unlike other reforms, the matter of cutting redundant personnel was entirely concocted by the cabinet.

The main goal is not to reduce the number of officials, but to drive those who only hang names and don't do work back home.

It is mainly aimed at the imperial clan, nobles, and maternal relatives; these two groups occupy a large number of empty positions, only receiving salaries and not doing work.

According to the plan, after clearing these hanging-name personnel out of the court, 500,000 taels of administrative expenses can be saved every year.

As for affecting individual people on their side, that is also an unavoidable thing.

The cabinet always has to do things; one cannot do nothing all day.

They don't have the ability to promote opening up sources, so they have to think of ways to save.

The plan to cut redundant personnel was proposed by the two newly promoted cabinet ministers; Xu Xu Wenyue naturally voted in favor of this kind of move that benefits the country and the people without affecting himself.

"Grand Secretary, the situation is different!

The Ministry of Personnel is trying to catch my Court of Imperial Sacrifices in one net; except for me, the Minister, everyone else has been cut.

Junior Ministers reduced from six to one.

Temple Assistants reduced from seven to one.

Registrars reduced from eight to two.

Department Heads reduced from sixteen to three.

..."

Before Chu Lan Linjie could finish, Xu Xu Wenyue interrupted him:

"Wait a minute, I remember the Court of Imperial Sacrifices establishment was two Junior Ministers and two Temple Assistants; where did so many people come from?"

In normal times, everyone's attention is on the core government offices like the Six Ministries, and few people pay attention to government offices with low presence like the Court of Imperial Sacrifices.

Especially after the real power was usurped by eunuchs, the Court of Imperial Sacrifices became a cold government office, and no one cared about it.

"Grand Secretary, these are all historical legacy problems.

Some officials were demoted here, some were directly assigned by the imperial examination, and some were purely mixing days.

In the past, celebrations were the responsibility of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, and occasionally when grand events were held, people were borrowed from other government offices.

Because of various reasons, some borrowed officials couldn't go back, so they stayed in the Court of Imperial Sacrifices.

The establishment in the government office was full, so they could only add a few positions to settle them, and over time, the number of people increased."

Chu Lan Linjie explained awkwardly.

The current Court of Imperial Sacrifices is indeed filled with a large number of redundant personnel.

The problem is that he is the Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices; his status determines his stance, and he cannot stand up to support downsizing himself.

Redundant personnel being serious is not just a problem for the Court of Imperial Sacrifices; all ministries of the court have similar situations.

"It's hard to handle!"

After sighing, Xu Xu Wenyue also felt a headache.

He never expected that the boomerang would come so fast.

He thought that cutting redundant personnel was just weeding out a group of people hanging names, never expecting that so many redundant officials would be blown out.

"Grand Secretary, you must help think of a way.

If we follow the Ministry of Personnel's approach and cut so many people at once, it's going to cause a big mess!"

Chu Lan Linjie said urgently.

The real power of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices was stripped away; otherwise, adding a few establishments wouldn't count for anything.

Taking the Six Ministries as an example, there was no large-scale appearance of redundant officials, not because the number of officials didn't increase, but because the demand for officials was also constantly increasing.

Regardless of whether the work undertaken is important or not, as long as there is work in hand, one will not become a "redundant person."

"Fine, I know about the matter.

If it can be solved, I will naturally think of a way; you go back and wait for news first!"

Xu Xu Wenyue waved his hand impatiently.

The wind and rain in the court, Li Mu, who is far away in Yangzhou, cannot feel it for the time being.

He is now full of good news: the imperial court's military budget for next year is going to increase.

Under the strong demand of the military, Emperor Emperor Yongning promised that next year's military expenditure will increase by 15% on the basis of this year.

The beneficiaries are mainly the border troops, and the increased expenses are for preparing for the counterattack on Liaodong.

Emperor Emperor Yongning is not a person who suffers losses; the last defeat in Liaodong made him lose all face, and he certainly wants to find a way to get it back.

The turmoil in the court is all centered on making money.

Whether it's the eunuchs or the cabinet, the movements they make are all for money.

The Emperor wants to recover Liaodong and destroy the Northern Barbarians; this cannot be separated from the support of money and grain.

Major factions in the court have basically reached an agreement on this issue.

Even if there are differences, they are differences in the time of sending troops.

Wanting the "Emperor Yongning Restoration," it is not enough to just comb the interior; one must also achieve something in foreign wars.

Officials with a bit of political ideals and ambitions all support destroying the Northern Barbarians.

Especially officials from the northern border are firm main-war factions.

"My lord, what is written in the official document that makes you so happy?"

Seeing Li Mu smiling, Lan Lan Linjie asked suspiciously.

"The 1,000 warhorses I applied for, the court approved 700.

They are currently on the way, and it won't be long before they arrive in Yangzhou.

If there are no accidents, the military funds allocated to us by the court next year will increase by roughly 10,000 to 15,000 taels."

Li Mu answered with a laugh.

The benefit of being a direct descendant is right here; whatever favorable policies the court has, one can enjoy them first.

Although the money was increased because of the cavalry establishment, the cavalry was also something he fought for!

Besides distributing to officers and scouts, 500 warhorses can be used to form cavalry.

Placed on the front line of the Nine Borders, 500 cavalrymen don't count for anything, but this is Jiangnan.

Looking at the entire south, one can't find a few generals who have 500 cavalrymen under their command.

"My lord, if this is the case, our military expenditure will increase again.

The court's allocation is completely a drop in the bucket!"

Lan Lan Linjie said with a crying face.

He didn't see the benefits of the cavalry, but as the chief steward, he knew that military expenditure would be tight again.

Besides warhorses, cavalry also needs to be equipped with pack horses.

It would be fine if they could be obtained from the court; if not, they would have to find ways to add them.

Even if all the cavalry equipment is handled by the court, the subsequent training grounds, warhorse feeding, and equipment maintenance still need to be handled by them.

It seems that only 500 cavalrymen were added, but in reality, the military expenditure increased by 40%.

"No matter, difficulties are temporary.

Build the racecourse larger; if there is a chance, the cavalry establishment will continue to expand in the future.

Also, go dig up more craftsmen; the quality of the firearms issued by the court is worrying; see if they can be modified.

Once the finances are abundant, I will also learn from the border troops and try to build artillery myself."

Li Mu said with a beaming smile.

Compared to the improvement of military strength, a little money and grain don't count for anything.

From the results, this move of going to Yangzhou was clearly the right one.

If it weren't for the local wealth, if it were changed to the northern border region, it wouldn't be easy to support this army.

Not to mention anything else, just talking about grain prices, the Liaodong front line is several times that of Jiangnan.

The border troops have high expenses, a large part of the reason is the loss of land outside the pass, losing the ability to be self-sufficient.

The strategic materials needed by the army are almost all transported from the rear.

"The student will go down and arrange it!"

Lan Lan Linjie said helplessly.

Having a boss with too much enterprising spirit is not a good thing.

He thought that after the situation stabilized, Li Mu would settle down and make money in Yangzhou for a few years, then be promoted and leave.

Following him to accumulate connections, he could also retire successfully and devote himself to the imperial examination career.

From the current situation, Li Mu clearly didn't come to make money, but more like he was aiming to hoard troops to bolster his own power.

Fortunately, Li Mu's status as a noble son made him gradually feel at ease, otherwise he would have to consider packing up and running away.

Compared to other dynasties, the Great Great Dayu nobles are relatively reassuring and haven't caused any big messes.

As a group that shares the fate of the country, the nobles themselves are deeply bound to imperial power, and there hasn't been a case of hoarding troops to bolster power yet.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 110 =====