Chapter 289: People's livelihood is not simple
Tianyuan Imperial City, in the court.
Emperor Tianyuan spoke with eyes full of joy.
"My dear ministers, the report from the northwest has arrived. It's great news! The northwest city wall has been recaptured, and the northern wing army has been repelled."
The ministers were surprised when they heard this.
"It's back. This is really great news."
"Yes, it turns out that the actions of the Divine Martial Marquis are different..."
"Yes, back then Lord Shenwu Hou was a young general..."
"He has repelled the Northern Wing Army with just one move. It turns out that the Marquis of Divine Martial Arts is indeed the Marquis of Divine Martial Arts."
Listening to the ministers praising Ren Jinzhou, a hint of gloom appeared in Emperor Tianyuan's eyes, but it quickly disappeared, and he spoke with a smile.
"My dear ministers, although the Marquis of Shenwu arrived in time to support the northwest during this battle, in terms of merit, it is still a new general named Li Xiao who is more outstanding."
As he said this, he raised his hand and signaled the eunuch to take the memorial away and show it to the ministers.
The eunuch walked down the stairs step by step with the memorial in his hand. First, he handed the memorial to Prime Minister Yun.
"Your Majesty, Prime Minister."
Prime Minister Yun took the memorial and took a look at it. The appearance of such a great general in Tianyuan was a great joy for Tianyuan. He handed the memorial to another adult, then raised his hand to bow to Emperor Tianyuan and spoke.
"Congratulations, Emperor, for gaining another formidable general. It's unfortunate that General Pei, General Wei, and other soldiers were sacrificed in this battle, but it's also a blessing for Tianyuan to have a general like Li Xiao."
Emperor Tianyuan smiled when he heard this.
"According to the memorial sent by Marquis Shenwu, Li Xiao's father was also a fifth-rank general in the northwest. He can be said to be from a military family. As expected, a tiger father will have a dog son. I was still worried. The northwest has always been guarded by General Pei. Now General Pei has died, and even General Wei has died with him. Now we have a soldier like Li Xiao, who is brave and resourceful, and both civil and military, which can be said to have relieved a big worry of mine."
The ministers took turns reading the memorial. After reading it, Crown Prince Jun Moxu became curious. This Li Xiao suddenly appeared, and no one knew who his family was. It seemed that he had to ask someone to investigate. However, since his father was so optimistic about him, he thought that Li Xiao would soon be preparing to enter the imperial city. He would send someone to contact him then.
The other ministers discussed in low voices.
"I've never heard of this person before? Have you heard of him?"
"I haven't heard of him either, but since his father was once a fifth-rank general in the northwest, I think his family must have always lived in the northwest. The Imperial City is so far away from the northwest, so it's normal that we haven't heard of him."
"That's right. Anyway, we have managed to hold the northwest, and the troops on the northern wing have retreated. Overall, this battle is a victory."
Soon a minister came forward and bowed.
"Your Majesty, this Li Xiao is so brave and resourceful. He was able to turn the tide even after losing the city tower. He is a great general. Your Majesty, why don't you recruit him into the imperial city and reward him as a token of your great grace? And by the way, take a look at this Li Xiao."
Once someone speaks, others will naturally follow suit.
"Your Majesty, I second this motion. Li Xiao repelled the Northern Wing and even killed the Northern King and a special agent of the Northern Wing. This is a great achievement and he should be recalled to the Imperial City."
Emperor Tianyuan turned his gaze towards Jun Moxu.
"Prince, what do you think?"
Jun Moxu bowed and saluted.
"In reply to your Majesty, I believe you two are right. We must recapture the city and repel the Northern Wing. Furthermore, when General Pei and his men died in battle, there weren't many troops left in the northwest. The memorial mentioned that Li Xiao actually used civilians as soldiers. With a group of remnants and new recruits, he was able to repel the Northern Wing while waiting for the arrival of reinforcements from the Divine Martial Marquis. He's truly a prodigy. I'd love to see him in person."
Emperor Tianyuan nodded slightly and looked at Prime Minister Yun.
"My dear Yun, what do you think?"
Prime Minister Yun bowed.
"Your Majesty, Li Xiaoli has made tremendous contributions in this battle. I believe he should be recalled and rewarded. However, for now, I believe we need to consider two more issues. Who will be the next commander stationed in the northwest? Too many soldiers have died in the previous battles in the northwest, and the reinforcements brought by Lord Shenwu Hou are currently stationed there. Should we leave these reinforcements in the northwest, or dispatch a larger force to garrison there?"
Emperor Tianyuan pondered for a while.
"I have decided to summon Li Xiao first to see what kind of person he is. As for the people stationed in the northwest, I have decided to temporarily have the soldiers brought by the Divine Martial Marquis stationed there. After all, even if we recruit new soldiers temporarily, it will take a while to train them. I will wait until a suitable commander is selected to be stationed in the northwest, and then let the Divine Martial Marquis take over."
Seeing that Emperor Tianyuan had made the decision, the ministers hurriedly bowed in greeting.
"Father is wise."
"Your Majesty is wise."
Emperor Tianyuan looked at the ministers and continued speaking.
"The Northwest relies on civilians as soldiers. Since we lost our city walls and granaries at the beginning, we lack food and fodder for recruiting new soldiers and reinforcements. The memorial mentioned that a merchant called Minji bravely provided food and fodder, as well as medical supplies, to the Northwest soldiers during this battle. General Song Huaian has already made a detailed record of the amount of money they spent, and I'm afraid we'll have to settle this amount."
After Emperor Tianyuan finished speaking, he handed one of the memorials on the table to the eunuch.
"Show it to the Ministry of Revenue."
The eunuch quickly handed the memorial to the Minister of Revenue.
The Minister of Revenue opened the box and looked at the silver on it, his face not looking good. It cost a lot, and the Ministry of Revenue also had to prepare food and fodder for the soldiers stationed in the northwest. Although he was in charge of the Ministry of Revenue, he couldn't just give the silver away. There were too many places to spend the silver.
"Your Majesty, the records here indicate that a total of three hundred thousand taels of silver are owed to the people. Logically, it is only natural to repay debts, but Your Majesty, the war in the northwest has just begun, and so many soldiers have died in the battles. Their families need to be comforted and pensions must be paid. Many of them sacrificed their lives as soldiers.
Calculating this way, the Ministry of Revenue will have to come up with at least two million taels of silver. It's only February now, and this year's taxes won't be collected for several months. During this time, the national treasury will inevitably be strained..."
Emperor Tianyuan frowned and spoke after hearing this.
"What does the Lord of the Ministry of Revenue mean?"
After hearing this, the Minister of Revenue bowed his head and spoke.
"Since we are all using civilians as soldiers, as a major local merchant, it's not a bad idea to contribute to the war in the northwest. Your Majesty, why don't you award Min Ji a plaque for being the world's best businessman and call on all merchants to learn from Min Ji and take the initiative to do their part in this national crisis."
Listening to the Minister of Revenue's remarks, some people had different expressions.
This Minister of Revenue is really treacherous. He wants to exchange a plaque for 300,000 taels of silver with just a few words.
Prime Minister Yun bowed.
"Your Majesty, I have heard that many places in Tianyuan are now full of Minji shops, mainly dealing in mushroom seeds, millet seeds, and rice seeds. These shops were developed in large numbers last year. Millet seeds and other seeds are not yet completely common in Tianyuan.
But it is said that the people of Tianyuan can now grow their own mushrooms, and some merchants even collect mushrooms grown by the people and sell them to countries like the Xuanyuan Dynasty and Dayan.
Emperor Tianyuan was a little surprised when he heard this. He was busy dealing with many state affairs all day long and naturally would not pay attention to a merchant. He did not expect that Min Ji was so powerful, and the name was quite meaningful.
"This Minji actually has such abilities. I'm quite ignorant of this. But isn't this name quite simple?"
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