Chapter 444 Whose Inner Treasury
The palace gates of the Great Xia Imperial Palace finally opened, and Qin Mo followed Prince Yan, Qin Mu, straight into the court.
This was Qin Mo's second time attending court. The last time was when he was granted the title of Prince Heng. After many years, his position in court was vastly different from the last time.
In the imperial court, the emperor sat facing south, with east to his left and west to his right. East is associated with wood and life, while west is associated with metal and death. Military generals led troops to fight, so they were on the right. Civil officials governed the people, so they were naturally on the left, hence the saying "civil on the left, military on the right."
The Prince of Yan, Qin Mu, is ranked first on the right, the second is the Prince of Chang Le, Qin Jian, and Qin Mo is ranked third on the right.
Among the dozen or so high-ranking officials standing at the front of the two rows of civil and military officials, only Qin Mo himself was relatively young and inexperienced.
"Attend court!!!"
"Greetings, Your Majesty!!!"
After Emperor Zhaowu took his seat at court, he began to inquire about the daily affairs of the Six Ministries and quickly provided solutions. It must be said that he was indeed talented, decisive and capable in handling state affairs.
"Today I have gathered all the important ministers of the empire because there is a very important matter to discuss with you all. This matter concerns the fate of our Great Xia for a hundred years. You must not show favoritism, but must set aside your prejudices and work together to plan this important matter."
After Emperor Zhaowu swiftly resolved the memorials from the six ministries, he began his speech. In his description, the invincible army of Great Xia marched westward, penetrating the enemy's vitals, and finally defeated the orcs. The entire vast land of the Western Regions was incorporated into the territory of Great Xia, and even distant Persia was within Great Xia's reach.
Emperor Zhaowu's passionate and persuasive words stirred the blood of his court officials. The younger officials, in particular, were filled with anticipation, for new territories required new prefectures and counties, and new prefectures and counties needed a large number of new officials.
If you go to the Western Regions to serve as an official and aspire to serve in the imperial court, then you should diligently govern the region. The Great Xia Dynasty promotes officials in remote areas very quickly, and after middle age, they will inevitably return to the central government and be promoted several ranks.
If your only goal is wealth and pleasure, then even if you're far from the emperor's reach, you can become a local tyrant and forcibly abduct women without anyone interfering!
As for whether the Great Xia could win this battle, no one seemed to have any worries. For several years, the Great Xia had never been defeated in the battles against the Orcs, and the people of the Great Xia had great confidence in the fighting strength of the Great Xia army.
Only a group of older officials, including Qin Mo, were worried and looked somber. They all knew that once a war of this magnitude started, the national treasury would be empty. War is about spending money, so where would the money come from?
"Your Majesty, the Ministry of Revenue had a surplus of four million taels last year, which is probably insufficient to support an army of hundreds of thousands on a distant expedition."
Emperor Zhaowu must have gotten a dry throat from talking, because he finally stopped. Qian Boyi, the Minister of Revenue, immediately jumped out to say that the Ministry of Revenue was in trouble.
"Four million taels? Wasn't last year's annual revenue over sixty million taels? How come there's only so little left?"
"Your Majesty, this year there were floods in Hedong and other places. The cost of disaster relief and the restoration of people's livelihoods was enormous. The Ministry of Works spent countless amounts of money on developing new weapons and the Coast Guard added new ships. It is already very fortunate that the Ministry of Revenue was able to save four million taels."
Qian Boyi was indeed relieved. Last year, not only did the Great Xia suffer from natural disasters, but the Ministry of Works also extorted a large sum of money under the pretext of "creating new types of military equipment." The Coast Guard even demanded five million taels of silver. As a result, the Ministry of Revenue still had a surplus of four million taels of silver after distributing red envelopes to officials at all levels by the end of the year. This was something that would have been impossible in the past, and they would not have been able to get through this hurdle without increasing taxes.
"It's alright. This year's tax revenue will be collected soon, and all of it can be used to support the war in the Western Regions. The Ministry of War should mobilize troops and prepare provisions and weapons as soon as possible. The army must set off on a long expedition before summer!"
"Your Majesty, the Ministry of War has no extra soldiers to mobilize, and its armaments are also quite insufficient. We beseech Your Majesty to make a wise decision!"
Emperor Zhaowu decisively diverted this year's tax revenue ahead of schedule, silencing the Minister of Revenue, but a single sentence from the Minister of War immediately infuriated him.
"No soldiers? Are all the Imperial Guards that were replaced in the north crippled? Unable to handle swords and spears? I am going to eliminate the orcs, this age-old scourge, for the empire. Why are you all hindering me at every turn?"
"Your Majesty, please calm down. Two years ago, the Imperial Guards did indeed replace over 100,000 Imperial Army soldiers from the north, but their two-year rotation period has expired. They should be rotated back to the north this summer! And since the Imperial Guards have been fighting in the north for two years, it is probably difficult for them to launch another expedition to the Western Regions."
Emperor Zhaowu's expression softened slightly, and he said coldly, "Just let the Imperial Guards take turns on duty for another year. They receive such high salaries, so it's only right that they endure more hardship and toil!"
"This... Your Majesty, last year Her Majesty the Empress instructed the Ministry of War: 'If normal rotation is not possible, then the Ministry of War should allocate funds for the Imperial Guards' pay...'... The Ministry of War simply does not have the funds!"
Emperor Zhaowu's face darkened in an instant, and after a long while he said, "Since the Imperial Guards bear the name of the Imperial Family, their pay is naturally provided by the Imperial Household Department, so the Ministry of War doesn't need to worry about it! What about the lack of weapons you mentioned?"
"Your Majesty, artillery battalions are being established in all the Imperial Guards. The Central Military Command owes the Royal Workshops far too much money, and now... they can no longer obtain cannons!"
"Hehehe! According to you, my royal workshops and imperial guards have become unruly and difficult to manage?"
"Your Majesty, I dare not! That was absolutely not what I meant!"
Seeing Emperor Zhaowu's anger, the Minister of War was secretly annoyed: "If you don't give the Empress face, do you think she'll give you money?"
Which of the high-ranking officials in the court isn't well-informed? Everyone knows that Emperor Zhaowu has been trying to curb Wang Yushi's increasingly powerful influence since the beginning of this year.
This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com