Chapter 2674 is glory
Manbao sat aside, feeling very eager and wanting to ask how much money had been raised from yesterday until now.
But there were so many people sitting here, she didn't feel comfortable asking.
Although this important question was difficult to ask, another important question was possible. She asked, "Your Majesty, will all this money be given to our Imperial Medical Bureau for disposal?"
The Queen smiled and nodded, saying, "If there is any surplus, it will be handed over to the Ministry of Revenue to prepare food and fodder."
It’s impossible to have too much, no matter how much they have, it’s never too much.
Lady Zhao was more concerned about another question, "Will Lord Zhou always be by His Majesty's side while accompanying the army, or..."
Man Bao smiled slightly and said, "That depends on the arrangements of the Ministry of War. The Imperial Medical Bureau is only auxiliary. Once you join the army, you will naturally have to obey the army's orders."
Even if they have already made a policy, they can't tell you about this. Is this considered a secret?
The wife of Duke Zhao was cheered up. If the Ministry of War made arrangements, Zhou Man would most likely have to go to the front line.
Duke Zhao will definitely go to the front lines...
The wife of the Duke of Zhao immediately said, "Your Majesty, I don't have much money, so I'm donating 100,000 coins as a token of my gratitude. I just hope it can save a few more soldiers."
Madam Yin also immediately said, "I will also donate 100,000 yuan."
She was much more direct than the wife of Duke Zhao. She smiled at Manbao and said, "Once we get to Liaodong, I'll leave my son in the care of Lord Zhou."
Manbao narrowed his eyes and smiled, then nodded, "Okay, okay."
Seeing this, the others who had family members going to the battlefield followed suit and donated 100,000 coins without blinking. The others donated a little less, but to save face, they would not donate less than 80,000 coins.
Manbao counted and found that there were quite a few, and there were still many people in the Wude Hall.
Manbao was eager to go to the Wude Hall.
The queen seemed to know what she was thinking. She found an excuse to send everyone away and kept her. She reached out and took an account book from the head maid and handed it to her.
Manbao took it and asked, "What is this?"
"This is the money book sent by the royal family yesterday. What's new at the bottom is the amount of money pledged by each family. Take a look at the total."
Manbao's eyes fell on the final number. Adding the estimated selling price of the jewelry presented, it was about 6.8 million coins, not to mention the miscellaneous items. After all, some of the jewelry were just estimated prices, and they might be more or less when converted into silver.
This is more money than the Ministry of Revenue gave them.
The Queen laughed and said, "That's a lot of money, isn't it? Da Jin is a great country after all. It's just a war, and it's fine for the royal family to tighten their belts to raise funds. But if they were to seize even the ministers' salaries and the officials' wives' cosmetics, it would damage the prestige of Da Jin."
The Queen meant that this was the end of it.
Their royal family can be frugal in raising military funds, but if they ask ministers and officials' families for donations, it means that the treasury is empty and the royal family lacks prestige.
Therefore, the Queen did not want Zhou Man to set his sights on the officials' wives outside. The people in the hall today were all old ladies and wives of high rank, and they were also brought out when she was talking to Princess Mingda, so the Queen did not care.
She glanced at Mingda and said, "Let's leave it at that. Tomorrow I'll have someone take the jewelry and exchange it for silver, which I'll then hand over to your Imperial Medical Bureau."
Manbao was very disappointed. After hesitating for a moment, he said, "My Lady, this little money is not enough..."
The queen frowned slightly.
Manbao reached out and asked the palace maid for an abacus, and while telling her the names of the herbs on the prescription, their unit prices and approximate quantities, he calculated them for her.
More than eleven million yuan may sound like a lot, but it is not enough to buy medicinal materials for each person, not to mention that Manbao can also spend it on specific symptoms.
A soldier may not be injured only once in three months, nor may he need medicine to stop bleeding only once.
Moreover, if we buy a large amount of these medicinal materials, the price will likely rise, and the medicinal materials will be even more scarce.
Although the majesty of the Great Jin Dynasty is also important, Manbao feels that the lives of the soldiers are more important.
She suggested carefully, "Your Majesty, what if the court didn't ask them for things, but they gave them to them on their own initiative?"
Mingda said: "Just like the old ladies just now."
The Queen laughed and said, "That's because the Duke and Lady Zhao are so worried that they are confused. They have family members on the front lines."
Manbao said, "What if it's a kind of honor?"
"That's right, we don't accept money from everyone," Chang Yu said. "After we accept the money, all we need to do is give our mother a few words of praise. Isn't that an honor?"
The queen was speechless for a long time.
Manbao and the other two looked at her eagerly.
It was rare to see Mingda and Changyu so concerned about state affairs. The Queen smiled and said, "Alright, go ahead and do it, but don't force me to do it."
Manbao and Mingda nodded happily immediately, but Changyu was a little confused. "Do we really have to do it ourselves? Can't we just send a few clever palace maids to pass on some gossip?"
The Queen said, "If you want others to feel honored, then your status cannot be low. I think you three are good enough."
She thought for a moment and then said, "Go and call the Crown Princess along."
Changyu: ...
Mingda and Manbao responded respectfully, and each of them pulled Changyu aside and dragged him away.
After leaving the hall, Chang Yu looked around and asked, "How should we do this? We can't just stand in front of everyone and say, 'It's an honor for the wife of the Duke of Zhao to have donated money, right?'"
Mingda directly summoned a palace maid and asked, "Where is the Crown Princess?"
The maid knelt and said, "The Crown Princess is resting in the Wude Hall."
The Crown Princess's belly is very big. If she were not the Crown Princess, she should be resting and preparing for the birth.
But she is, so she has to come forward.
However, the queen was also considerate of her, so she did not let her work hard and just let her sit in the Wude Hall to rest and wait for the palace banquet to begin.
The three of them then went to the Wude Hall to look for someone.
The Crown Princess was eating grapes. When she saw the three of them, she waved and said with a smile, "These are grapes sent from the imperial farm outside the capital. This is the last one. The farm's manager said that because of the good sunshine this year, the grapes are sweeter than in previous years. Come and try some."
Three people came forward and each of them twisted one and ate it.
The three of them hissed at the same time, feeling very sour.
The maidservant beside her suppressed her laughter and said, "This year's grapes are sweeter than last year's, but our queen has a strong taste and prefers sour ones. But she finds them sweet."
Upon hearing this, Chang Yu's eyes fell on the Crown Princess's bulging belly. "I've heard there's a saying that goes, 'sour sons, spicy daughters.' Is this baby, Sister-in-law, the Emperor's grandson?"
The Crown Princess couldn't help but look at Zhou Man.
After swallowing the grapes, Manbao said, "It's hard to say for sure. Some people like to eat smelly and bitter things. What do they want to achieve?"
This makes sense.
Chang Yu was indignant, "Who made up these idioms?"
Sorry, I sent too much. See you at 9pm.
(End of this chapter)
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