Chapter 2680 The Emperor's Expedition
The emperor was a man who cared a lot about face, especially since it was not only his face but also the face of the country.
Although the national treasury is not rich, it is not necessary to force the ministers to donate money. This is something the last emperor of the previous dynasty would do when he was desperate.
Of course, the last emperor did not ask his ministers to donate money, but directly ordered his people to raid the homes of his ministers and rob them of their money.
But no matter which one it is, it is a very shameful thing and a disgrace to the court.
Having taken this step, will the next step be to sell official positions and titles?
This is a sign of the country's demise. The emperor returned to the harem in anger. After drinking two cups of tea, he asked the empress, "Did the Crown Princess and the officials' wives ask for money yesterday?"
The Queen smiled and said, "It was requested by me and them."
Emperor: "...Queen, please don't take the blame for them."
The Queen shook her head and said, "It was I who really spoke up."
She sighed, "I was inconsiderate. I know this will damage the dignity of the state, but the lives of the soldiers are also important. This year, disasters have struck various regions. Your Majesty is unwilling to increase taxes and has reduced them in some areas. The treasury is indeed struggling. I heard that the Ministry of Revenue is only willing to allocate 5 million yuan to the Imperial Medical Bureau."
She said, "Not counting the expenses for the medicinal materials for Your Majesty and the ministers, even if everything were divided equally, based on the number of soldiers Your Majesty has currently dispatched, each person would only receive forty coins for the medicine."
The Queen said, "A bottle of golden wound medicine costs more than this price, not to mention other herbs for stopping bleeding and replenishing blood."
"Did Zhou Man tell you?" He even specified forty cents per person. If Zhou Man hadn't said it, he wouldn't believe that the Queen would know even if he was beaten to death.
The Queen did not deny it. She sighed and reached out to hold the Emperor's hand. "Your Majesty, this matter has not become a big deal. It is because the officials' wives are kind-hearted and want to seek merit. It is not a disgrace to the court."
The emperor couldn't help but snort, "You think too simply. Those ladies are short-sighted and believe your words, but the officials in the court are not stupid. They were just mocking me in a roundabout way just now."
The Queen was displeased and withdrew her hand from his paw. "Who says ladies are short-sighted?"
She said, "That's just the ladies giving us face. Your Majesty, do you really think they donated military funds to pray for Zhou Man's wishes to come true? But it's true that they are accumulating merit. After all, it's a kind act, and they can show their face before us."
Even though the atmosphere was right last night and everyone believed it at the time, they should have sobered up after sleeping for a night outside the palace.
I dare not say all of them, but at least most people can understand that the Crown Princess and Zhou Man are doing this just to raise money for medicine, but today they are still willing to send money into the palace, which shows their attitude.
Do you really think they are fools and really want to go and pay homage to Zhou Man?
The emperor rubbed his forehead and said, "But what about you gentlemen..."
"Don't worry, Your Majesty," the Queen said calmly, "I am here. They won't mention this matter again."
The emperor thought for a moment, and since the money had already been sent, it would be embarrassing to return it. So he said, "Alright, but this kind of thing must never happen again. It will not benefit the country."
"I know. This time I was not thoughtful enough. I won't do it again."
The emperor then sighed and rubbed his forehead.
When the Queen saw him, she stood up and rubbed him, then asked softly, "When will your Majesty leave?"
"The Imperial Astronomical Observatory is calculating the date and has announced it to the world today. It shouldn't be long. Speed is of the essence in war. Troops and horses drawn from various places have already set off and will reach Liaodong and Dengzhou in no time."
The emperor remembered something, took her hand and asked curiously, "How much did they donate in total?"
The Queen smiled and said, "Someone is still delivering silver at the palace gate. I haven't counted it yet. I'll let you know when I have."
The emperor nodded.
The fundraising effect was greater than the emperor and empress had expected. They had originally thought that one or two million yuan would be enough, but who knew that so many people would donate.
In some families, the wife of the head of the household originally wanted to donate twenty taels as a token of appreciation, but who knew that once she mentioned it, the daughters-in-law below, whether to please their mother-in-law, the emperor, the empress, or the crown princess, all donated generously.
I dare not exceed Madam, but if the eldest wife donated ten taels, I will donate eight taels, and the third wife will follow suit with another eight taels...
A family might donate fifty or sixty taels.
In addition to silver, some families directly took out a gold ingot, and these gold and silver were directly converted into copper coins. The total amount was more than six million coins.
It’s about the same as the two donations they received two days ago.
After Zhou Man came out of the meeting at the Ministry of Revenue, he was called into the palace. When he came out, he had an account book in his hand, which contained a total of 13.28 million yuan.
Manbao turned around and went directly to the Imperial Medical Bureau to find Xiao Yuanzheng and others. They held another meeting, avoiding the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue, and used the donation to buy a large amount of medicinal materials, linen, gauze, needles and thread, etc.
At the same time, the Imperial Medical Bureau suspended classes, and all students participated in the preparations. Some of the purchased medicinal materials needed to be processed, and then stored. After the list was compiled, it was handed over to the Ministry of War, who would escort it;
The linen and gauze purchased must also be cut according to standards, then collected in batches and transported to various places;
There was also catgut, which they needed to produce in large quantities, including blood transfusion devices, and they also made several extra sets.
All of this was done by the imperial physicians from the Imperial Medical Bureau and the students from the Imperial Medical Bureau. Zhou Liru was also urgently recalled and lived in the Imperial Medical Bureau to work overtime.
Manbao was so busy that he basically had no time to rest.
Bai Shan was also busy. The Imperial Astronomical Observatory calculated the time and found that August 21st was a good day because the emperor would lead the army in person on that day.
He finally got a place to join the expedition, so he had a lot of things to deal with. He also had to check the official documents reported by the post stations in various places to ensure that communications were smooth and that information from various places in Liaodong could flow smoothly to the capital.
It can be said that everyone in Dajin is busy now.
The people in the Honglu Temple were also busy. Some envoys from vassal states had to leave after attending the palace banquet, so they prepared gifts to send them off. Some envoys needed to be retained as much as possible, and they would stay for a month or two before being given generous gifts to send them off.
For example, the envoys from Tubo.
Liu Huan was also on the list of people going to the expedition. He was sent in by the Ministry of Works. He was mainly responsible for the calculation and escort of military equipment, and needed to cooperate with the Ministry of War.
Bai Erlang also followed, but he was called not because the Hanlin Academy needed to accompany the army, but because the emperor had chosen him, and he wanted him to accumulate some merits.
The emperor felt that with Bai Erlang's current state of slacking off, it would be difficult for him to get a promotion, so he should try to gain some merit when he gets the chance. After staying in the Hanlin Academy for a year or two, he could get a promotion in rank, and then continue to stay in the Hanlin Academy without embarrassing Mingda.
Everything was ready, and early in the morning of August 21st, the emperor set out on his expedition.
See you at 9pm
(End of this chapter)
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