After hearing Xu Guangqi's words, Zhu Youxiao did not show any unhappiness on his face, but looked at him with a smile.
Zhu Youxiao certainly knew what Xu Guangqi meant by the palace construction.
Actually, this matter is not his fault. If he really wants to trace it, he can trace it back to his grandfather, Emperor Wanli.
In the 25th year of the Wanli reign, the three main halls of Huangji Hall, Jianji Hall and Zhongji Hall and the three gates of Huangji, Huiji and Guiji were burned down.
Since then, the construction of the palace has been ongoing in these areas.
During this period, the emperor and his ministers had many disputes. The most famous one was that the wood needed for these halls had to be cut from the deep mountains of Yunnan and Guizhou, and then transported to the capital via Huguang and other places. This journey was very expensive and resulted in heavy casualties.
After his father, Emperor Taichang, ascended the throne, the construction of the Huangji Hall finally resumed. His father took out 1 million taels of silver from the imperial treasury to fund the construction, but it was only half built.
In other words, the place where Zhu Youxiao lived, held court meetings and held court meetings was only half of the original three main halls.
The Donglin Party wholeheartedly supported their father, Emperor Taichang, in using the imperial treasury to build palaces.
Ever since my father came to power, the Donglin Party has been deceiving my father into spending the money in the imperial treasury, often amounting to millions of taels.
Several million taels of silver went out of his father's treasury. Zhu Youxiao felt very distressed when he thought about it now.
Even in the original history, Wang Huazhen was still doing things in Liaodong, asking for 1 million taels of silver to bribe the Mongolians to work for him. The purpose of such a military policy was also to make his father pay another million taels.
Now that Xu Guangqi said this, it was obvious that he was eyeing the matter of building the three main halls.
In fact, according to normal historical development, this construction will stop by next year.
However, it will be restarted again between the fifth and seventh years of the Tianqi reign. The Ming Dynasty will invest 6 million taels of silver in these two years to complete the construction of these three halls.
Many people in later generations said that the construction of the three halls was a sign of Emperor Tianqi's incompetence. The country was already in such a difficult situation, and you, an emperor, actually spent so much money to build the three halls for your own comfort?
But if we look at it from a country's perspective, the fact that they were able to spend so much money to build these three halls, and in just two years, proves that the country still has that much money.
Moreover, during the same period, all parts of the Ming Dynasty were reducing taxes, Shaanxi was providing disaster relief, many river works were in operation, and the military pay in Liaodong was relatively sufficient.
But after Emperor Tianqi died and Emperor Chongzhen came to power, the situation took a sharp turn for the worse and the court could no longer come up with any money.
The situation in Liaodong deteriorated rapidly, and a civil uprising broke out in Shaanxi. Many refugees in various places rose up in rebellion and caused trouble, and the situation became uncontrollable.
It can be seen that it is not that Emperor Tianqi should not have spent the money to build the three main halls, nor that the money was so important to the Ming Dynasty at that time, but that the money was of no use to the Ming Dynasty at that time, because it was not a problem of money at all.
After his father ascended the throne, he spent a total of four or five million taels of silver, all of which was silver from his own treasury.
Now Xu Guangqi and Zhu Youxiao are clearly talking about this matter in advance, because if they continue to repair it, they may not have to use the silver in the inner treasury again.
Because during the last house search, Zhu Youxiao put all the silver into the national treasury, so continuing the construction would require using the silver from the national treasury.
Xu Guangqi was trying to get ahead of Zhu Youxiao, and at the same time he hoped that Zhu Youxiao would not invest too much money and energy in the historical issues left over from these three palaces.
"My dear minister, haven't you heard that magnificence is the only way to strengthen prestige?" Zhu Youxiao asked with a smile, looking at Xu Guangqi with a hint of amusement in his tone. He also looked at Xu Guangqi with a hint of playfulness in his eyes, wanting to hear what he had to say.
"Your Majesty, I believe that without the foundation of the country, no matter how magnificent the palace is, it is nothing but a castle in the air." Xu Guangqi bowed and said respectfully. His voice was not loud, but everyone could hear it clearly.
After Xu Guangqi said this, everyone around him fell silent and no one dared to speak.
How dare you, Xu Guangqi, speak to the emperor like this? You are simply courting death!
Everyone looked at Xu Guangqi differently again. This little old man really dared to speak.
Because if you say that, it seems like you're mocking the Ming Dynasty as a castle in the air. Are you dying?
Zhu Youxiao didn't care about it because he also agreed with Xu Guangqi's words.
What’s the use of building a palace no matter how well and beautifully it is?
In the words of later generations, this was a typical image project. In later times, the better and more beautiful the local government office building was, the more it would be criticized by the people.
However, after listening to Xu Guangqi's words, Zhu Youxiao thought of something. He felt that he could take this opportunity to do something.
"But my dear, this world emphasizes that the people should have their own houses. Although I am the emperor, I also need a place to live; when I work with ministers on weekdays, I also need a place to talk. If this palace is not built, where will I go?" After saying this, Zhu Youxiao looked at Xu Guangqi.
Looking up at Zhu Youxiao, Xu Guangqi said, "It's not that I don't want Your Majesty to build a palace, I just think it's not appropriate now. The state is struggling, the court is in trouble, and the people are living in hardship. At this time, we should pool all our money and do something big."
"Once the army is strong and the state finances are sufficient, I will build a new palace for Your Majesty."
After saying this, Xu Guangqi knelt on the ground and said respectfully: "Your Majesty, what I said is all from the bottom of my heart. For Your Majesty and for the Ming Dynasty, please investigate it carefully."
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