"The court owes a large number of officials salaries, and has used banknotes to deduct their salaries, leaving many officials in dire straits. This time, I request one million taels of silver to make up for the salaries owed to officials."
After a brief pause, Zhu Youxiao said, "This matter needs to be discussed carefully between the emperor and his subjects afterwards. It is indeed a major matter and requires long-term planning."
After hearing what Zhu Youxiao said, Zhou Jiamo was stunned.
However, Zhou Jiamo understood instantly that His Majesty was going to cut the salaries of officials.
He knew in his heart that since His Majesty had not said how to use the knife, there was nothing he could say.
So Zhou Jiamo quickly said, "Yes, Your Majesty."
Zhu Youxiao nodded.
After Zhou Jiamo left, Zhu Youxiao continued, "The Ministry of Personnel has finished speaking, now it's time for the Ministry of War to speak."
Everyone present understood one thing: while it looked like they were dividing up the money, His Majesty was actually arranging the next tasks and assignments for the various ministries. If you didn't say anything, you probably wouldn't get away with it.
Sun Chengzong took a step forward, bowed vigorously, and said, "Your Majesty, the Ministry of War needs a lot of money. After preliminary calculations, the Ministry of War needs 7 million taels of silver."
Sun Chengzong made a huge request.
After this number came out, everyone stared at Sun Chengzong, their eyes almost falling to the ground.
In fact, can the Ministry of War spend seven million taels?
The answer is yes, but not even enough.
But the Ministry of War couldn't spend all the money. And if all the money was given to the Ministry of War, what would happen to the other government offices?
"Tell me about it." Zhu Youxiao looked at Sun Chengzong, his expression calm and unchanged.
Anyway, it is certain that the Ministry of War spends money, and it is a big spender, which is also certain.
Although Sun Chengzong's request was very high, Zhu Youxiao was not surprised.
"Yes, Your Majesty." Sun Chengzong agreed and said slowly, "The money from the Ministry of War is mainly divided into two parts. One of them is to repair the nine borders."
"Due to the earthquake in the northwest, many passes have been damaged. They really need to be repaired. Otherwise, if the Tartars invade, the imperial court will suffer heavy losses."
After a pause, Sun Chengzong took a breath and continued, "In addition to the northwest, Liaodong and other places also need reinforcement. The wild boar skin has repeatedly invaded the border, and the forts and strongholds in Liaodong have suffered heavy losses. They all need repairs."
"In addition, the border troops have suffered heavy losses of weapons, and many local troops have run out of weapons. The Hundred Craftsmen's Academy has forged many new firearms. I request that some be provided to the local border troops."
"Please also send a batch of swords, spears, swords, and halberds from various places to the local border troops. The steel mills in the capital are producing a lot of steel now, and the speed is very fast; the swords and spears they produce are much better than the original ones."
"Even the newly manufactured steel crossbows have a longer range, better power, and are less prone to deformation, making them more suitable for border troops. We should also equip a batch of them."
After Sun Chengzong finished speaking, he just stood in the hall.
The ministers were chattering among themselves.
After listening to Sun Chengzong's words, Zhu Youxiao also understood what he meant.
The Minister of War simply wanted to give the border troops some money, on the one hand to allow them to repair cities and fortresses, and on the other hand to replace some equipment for them.
These two areas should indeed be spent, so Zhu Youxiao nodded and said, "Please make a specific budget."
The meaning of this sentence is very clear. You don’t have to think about seven million. Just be realistic and take what you deserve.
Sun Chengzong nodded and said, "Yes, Your Majesty. I will go back."
Zhu Youxiao nodded and said, "Since we're talking about this, let's talk about another thing. I want to set up an office to command the Royal Guards. As for the personnel composition, I'm still thinking about it and will tell you later."
After hearing this, the ministers' faces changed.
The Office of the Head of the Imperial Guards has a very clear meaning. This office is responsible for commanding the Imperial Guards.
With a personal army command office, there must be a royal personal army. Your Majesty is going to assign the new army to his own name.
The Ming Dynasty originally had its own imperial army. The Shangzhiwei Imperial Army Command had 26 guards, 12 of which were established during the Hongwu period, and some were set up during the Yongle period.
These were all under the jurisdiction of the Imperial Guards Commandery, and could be said to be the emperor's private army. They were not under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of War or the command of the Five Military Commanderies, and only accepted the emperor's orders.
However, as time went by, the emperor declined in power and civil officials intervened, and the office of the commander-in-chief of the imperial army became a mere name.
The only one still under the direct jurisdiction of the emperor was the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
Obviously, His Majesty did not want this to happen. He wanted to establish a new office for the commander of the imperial guards. His Majesty even changed the name to the office of the commander of the imperial guards.
Given the current emperor's temper, it is definitely not as simple as setting up a government office. It is about rebuilding the Twenty-Six Guards of Shangzhi.
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