Chapter 312: National Defense and Fund Raising Office
Seeing that she was stunned and speechless, the Empress Dowager thought that she was worried about her young age and lack of experience in taking on such a huge sum of money.
He smiled gently and said, "If you feel that you are not up to the task and lack the manpower, I will assign you a few more people to help you. How about letting Caiwei, Jinhe, and Xianyue help you?"
She was referring to Princess Lin, Princess Cheng and Princess Qian.
Wen Li'er suddenly received this heavy trust and entrustment, and instantly felt under tremendous pressure.
She also realized that she could do much more than just flipping through a few medical books.
But with so much money in her hands, if something goes wrong, it will be terrible.
It couldn't be better to have three princesses to help.
Wen Li'er nodded heavily: "Your Highness... Your Highness will do her best to live up to the trust placed in her by the Grand Empress Dowager!"
Ye Caiwei was standing by and immediately agreed upon hearing this.
"Don't worry, Grandmother, I will definitely help you with all my strength!"
Ye Caiwei is a decisive person.
After leaving the palace, she did not rest for a moment and immediately went to Prince Cheng's Mansion and Prince Qian's Mansion to inform Ge Jinhe and Xu Xianyue of the Empress Dowager's order and her own plans.
However, in just one day, the three of them sold their dowries.
Land, shops, antiques, calligraphy and paintings, and even some precious jewelry...
Adding the cash on hand, they each raised 200,000 taels...
The three of them came to the Bixi Palace together with the silver bills.
When Wen Li'er watched the three people neatly place a thick stack of large-denomination silver bills on the table, the visual impact made her completely speechless.
“You…you…”
Princess Ge Jinhe of the City Prince has the most cheerful and heroic temperament.
She waved her hand and said indifferently, "It's just material possessions. When the country is in crisis, every citizen has a responsibility! As royal daughters-in-law, we receive salaries from the court and support from the people. We should set an example for the people of the world! We can contribute our hearts and minds to the country, to the soldiers fighting on the front lines, and to the suffering people. What does this little money mean to us?"
Her words were powerful and carried a heroic spirit that was no less than that of any man.
Princess Xu Xianyue of Prince Qian was a rather reserved and quiet person, and she nodded vigorously at this moment.
Her fair face flushed with excitement, and her voice was soft but extremely firm.
"Ah He is right. As wives of the royal family, we enjoy the support of the whole country. We should share the worries of the court and help the people. This is our duty."
Ye Caiwei looked at Wen Li'er with a smile and said gently, "Li'er, don't feel burdened. Even if you spend a fortune, it will come back! The most important thing right now is to relieve the court's urgent needs and protect our beautiful country. If our country is destroyed, even if you have a fortune, how can you find a place to live?"
Wen Li'er looked at what was in front of her, and felt her throat choked and her eyes hot. It took her a long time before she smiled.
"Alright! We sisters are united in purpose, and our strength is unstoppable! Since we all share this desire to serve our country, let's just go for it!"
Several people exchanged glances of understanding, and without further ado, they nodded heavily and said in unison:
"Okay, let's share the country's worries together!"
Wen Li'er looked at the banknotes on the table. The amount far exceeded the budget she had originally planned to spend on Zhennan Pass.
In this case, the three battlefields will naturally be arranged as appropriate.
Previously, due to the shortage of funds in the national treasury, the court discussed and came up with the silver allocation plan: first to the north, followed by the southwest.
As for Kanto, only a small amount of silver was allocated for the construction of the navy and the reconstruction of the destroyed salt fields.
Now with this large sum of money, they can readjust and optimize.
The four women gathered in the flower hall of the Tourmaline Palace and began a detailed and heated discussion looking at maps and account books.
The desk was piled high with lists of supplies and draft budgets.
They analyzed the battle situation, weighed the pros and cons, calculated the expenses, and repeatedly considered and compared countless plans. After a whole day of hard work, they finally came up with an optimal plan that took into account the three battlefields and strived to maximize effectiveness.
On the premise of ensuring the core needs of the north and southwest, more money will be allocated to Kanto.
Accelerate the construction of new warships and the purchase of sophisticated muskets and artillery in order to restore maritime defense capabilities and production capacity as soon as possible.
They also each selected the most capable, loyal and reliable managers, accountants and guards around them to form a special operations team called the "National Protection and Fund Raising Office."
The core mission of this team is to efficiently and safely convert money into supplies urgently needed on the battlefield and ensure their smooth delivery.
Checking accounts, purchasing, liaison, transportation...
The entire Bixi Palace and even several royal palaces in the capital became extremely busy due to the establishment of the "National Protection and Fund Raising Office".
Naturally, everything they did could not be hidden from the emperor's eyes.
Qiuying secretly reported the details to the emperor.
In the imperial study, Yan Shixu was silent for a long time after listening to this.
The candlelight on the desk flickered, reflecting the indescribable complex emotions surging in his deep eyes.
There was surprise, emotion, pride, and even more, a deep comfort for being an emperor and having such a virtuous wife and close relative.
He whispered a few instructions to Qiuying.
The next day.
Storytellers in the capital no longer tell stories about pedantic scholars and pretty ladies secretly getting married.
One by one, they began to say that women could also be loyal and serve their country.
The Imperial Concubine lived frugally and sold her personal property to raise funds for the army...
The Grand Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager each donated huge sums of money to fully support the border war...
Princess Lin, Princess Cheng, and Princess Qian spent all their dowries to serve the country...
They said that when the country is in crisis, every citizen has a responsibility!
They said that since they enjoyed the support of the whole country, they should share the worries of the imperial court and help the people out of their difficulties!
They say that even if you have a fortune, you can still get it back. But if the mountains and rivers are broken, how can you find a place to live even if you have millions of gold?
The storyteller spoke eloquently and with tears in his eyes, which shocked the people beyond words.
The most noble women in the royal family can actually go to such lengths for the country!
This news was like a huge rock thrown into a calm lake, causing huge waves in the capital and spreading to neighboring provinces and even the whole country at an alarming speed.
For a time, whether it was the capital or the local areas.
From the aristocratic families, high-ranking officials, to wealthy businessmen, gentry and landlords, to street vendors and ordinary people, everyone was deeply touched.
A spontaneous and unprecedented wave of donations of silver and materials swept across the entire Dayan Dynasty like a prairie fire.
People spread the word and donated generously.
"Even the ladies and princesses are willing to ruin their families to help others in need, how can we just sit back and watch?"
"Serving the country is home! Without a country, how can there be a home?"
"You're right! A family is the smallest country, and a country is made up of millions of families!"
The people of the whole country were unprecedentedly united because of the righteous actions of several women.
Those who have silver donated silver, those who have grain donated grain, those who have things donated things, and those who have strength donated their strength.
Wen Li'er herself was stunned by the wave that swept across the country.
At first, she just wanted to do her bit quietly.
Who would have thought that this tiny spark would ignite the sincere hearts of the entire country in such a short period of time!
Looking at the donation amounts reported daily by the "National Defense Fund Raising Office" which were growing rapidly like a snowball;
As the list of people from all over the country asking to join the Fund Raising Office grew longer and longer;
After the initial shock and confusion, Wen Li'er felt an unprecedented sense of ambition and passion rising in her heart.
The whole nation is united in purpose and determination. With such high morale, why worry about the destruction of the invaders? Why fear the decline of national prosperity?
The war continued unabated. Members of the "National Protection and Fund Raising Office" wore special license plates and continuously transported food, medicine, clothing, and even repaired armor and weapons from all over the country to the three battlefields in the north, southwest, and Guandong.
To ensure the safety of materials and prevent thugs from impersonating or obstructing them.
Wen Li'er personally designed and supervised the production of identity badges for the team members.
This number plate is made of hard and wear-resistant metal, and the front of the plate clearly engraves the team member's household registration information, the team number to which he belongs, and the words "Huguo Chouzhangsi";
It is also stamped with the exclusive seal of the Imperial Concubine as the core symbol of official certification.
On the back is engraved a code word reported by the team member himself, the specific meaning of which only he knows.
Like a local slang, a fragment of a nursery rhyme, or an obscure expression of a special date...
The portraits of the team members and the secret codes reported by all the team members were recorded in detail in Jingzhao Prefecture and the Ministry of War and distributed to local government offices.
When every member of the action team arrives in any city to purchase or transport supplies, they must first report to the local authorities.
Officials will carefully verify the authenticity of the information on the front of the license plate, as well as the appearance of the team members and the content and meaning of the registered code words.
Once the information is confirmed, the local government will assign at least two reliable officials or yamen runners to accompany the team throughout the procurement and shipping process, and supervise them to ensure that the materials are safely escorted out of the city.
Any so-called "team member" who fails to report proactively, whose information or appearance does not match the verification, or whose codeword verification is incorrect will be detained and handed over to the authorities for strict interrogation and punishment, and will not be tolerated.
Yan Shixu didn't expect that the little woman who looked soft and a little silly on weekdays would act so methodically.
Since the establishment of the "National Protection and Fund Raising Office", Yan Shixu felt a lot more relaxed.
A steady supply of food, fodder and military supplies were delivered to the border, which greatly alleviated the financial difficulties of the national treasury.
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