Obviously, Sun Chengzong proposed this matter not in order to get it done.

Everyone knew that the new army was the lifeblood of the emperor, and reaching out to the new army at this time would definitely annoy His Majesty. Sun Chengzong would not do such an unwise thing. He simply wanted to mess up Xu Guangqi's affairs.

When Xu Guangqi wanted to allocate more money to His Majesty to support the army, Sun Chengzong would say it would be better to give the troops to the Ministry of War. Once things got out of hand, neither side could do anything, and the money would be lost.

Xu Guangqi glanced at Sun Chengzong calmly, hating the old man in his heart.

However, Xu Guangqi also knew that this was a way to suppress him. If he insisted on doing it, the remaining two guys would definitely not stand idly by and would follow Sun Chengzong to step on him.

Even if His Majesty favors me and wants to agree to my conditions, I'm afraid he won't be able to do it.

Xu Guangqi also snorted coldly and said directly: "These matters should be discussed in front of the emperor. It is not the way of a minister to discuss them in private."

After saying this, Xu Guangqi stood up, flicked his sleeves and walked into the inner room.

His meaning is very clear. If he doesn't want to discuss it with me, then you guys don't have to discuss it either. Let's just go our separate ways.

Huang Kezun and Han Yu looked at each other and smiled.

They were both happy to see the struggle between Sun Chengzong and Xu Guangqi, but now was not the time to intervene, or else those two old foxes might gang up on them and bite them.

"Then we'll talk about it tomorrow before the Emperor." Han Yu stood up and said with a smile, "Now let's go do other things. There are so many things to do in the cabinet, and we have to do them all, so we need to be more attentive."

Sun Chengzong smiled, stood up and walked into the inner room.

Not letting Xu Guangqi accomplish his goal was enough for Sun Chengzong. As for something as foolish as fighting Xu Guangqi to death, he would never do that. If he did that, wouldn't Han Yu be taking advantage?

We can fight, but we can't go too far. If we really anger His Majesty, no one will be happy.

At the same time, the news that the money was about to be distributed spread instantly to all the government offices, big and small, in the capital.

For officials who have been tightening their belts, this is great news worth celebrating, and everyone can finally relax.

Nowadays, with the Tongzhengsi (Comprehensive Civil Service) keeping watch over the Ming Dynasty's officialdom, and the secret petition system in place, no one dared to be as greedy for money as before. However, if money passed through one's hands, one could still get a little bit of it.

Sharing money is a good thing for everyone, as it allows everyone to have enough food to eat.

"It's not easy to live in Beijing" is not just talk. It's not easy to live in a city like Beijing with a population of one million.

Even for officials, it was difficult to survive in the capital with their low salaries, let alone live a decent life. If you want to live a decent life, you need some extra income.

Not to mention other things, for honest and law-abiding people, just a house alone cannot solve the problem.

So everyone is looking forward to it, hoping that the people above them can make more money and share it with everyone.

Similarly, this was a subject of intense competition within the imperial court. If you couldn't raise money, your subordinates would complain. With morale falling, it would be difficult to lead the team.

In this environment of public opinion, every high-ranking official was under great pressure. Whether it was the cabinet ministers or the ministers of the six ministries, everyone was thinking about this matter in their hearts, and they became hostile to each other.

That morning, all the cabinet ministers and the six ministers entered the palace.

Also entering the palace were people from the General Staff Office, the Six Ministries, the Tongzhengsi, etc. Even the Dali Temple and Shuntian Prefecture arrived.

Everyone smiled and bowed to each other, but in their hearts they were thinking about how to kick each other.

When the time came, everyone entered the palace with forced smiles on their faces.

Zhu Youxiao sat on the dragon throne, looking at the ministers who were paying homage below, and he felt a headache.

Although we made a lot of money this time, more than 17 million in silver was made in the early stage, and there will be more income in the future.

This amount of money sounds like a lot, and it is indeed a lot. If it were given to just one person, he would be extremely wealthy. However, in such a large country, this amount of money would only create a ripple on the surface of a lake. It would be a drop in the bucket if he wanted to accomplish what he wanted. Zhu Youxiao couldn't help but feel overwhelmed.

The most important thing is that there are too many wolves and too little meat, so how to divide the money becomes a problem.

"My dear ministers, please don't be so polite." Zhu Youxiao looked at everyone and said slowly.

After everyone stood up, Zhu Youxiao continued, "I have summoned you all here today. I believe you all know why. I will not beat around the bush. Each department should state the amount of silver you need, and we will discuss it."

"Let's start with the Ministry of Rites. Minister of Rites Shen Tingyun, you speak."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Shen Tingyun agreed and quickly walked out of the crowd and said, "Your Majesty, the Ministry of Rites doesn't have many things to do, and the silver required won't be much either. Only three million taels will be enough."

Hearing Shen Tingyun say this, everyone's eyes fell on him.

Isn't this too much?

You're asking for too much! It's like you're asking for your life!

The total was only over 17 million taels. Even if the six ministries divided it equally, each would get less than 3 million, not to mention that some would have to be given to the emperor. And wouldn't the Shuntian Prefecture and the Dali Temple also get some?

"Minister Shen, be careful with your words." Minister of Personnel Zhou Jiamo could no longer bear it and took a step forward, saying in a deep voice, "Why does the Ministry of Rites want so much money?"

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