Liu Guan took it in surprise, but the next second he stood up with a look of horror on his face.
Because on the white paper of the folded book in his hand, it looked like the emperor's ink pen...
"Don't make any noise, see for yourself!"
Li Zhigang filled himself up with wine again and said with a smile, "It doesn't matter, it's just you and me, heaven knows and earth knows!"
Liu Guan's hands were trembling. Only then did he realize that this was a private letter written by the emperor to Li Zhigang.
"I don't dare to look at it!" Liu Guan suddenly pushed the folded book over and waved his hand, "I don't dare to look at it!"
"Ah!" Li Zhigang was stunned for a moment, then suddenly grinned, "Hahaha!"
He smiled as if he was about to shed tears, "Shaoying, Shaoying, what do you mean by you... Oh, let me tell you what you are good at. No wonder you were also a second-ranked Jinshi, and today you are only a fourth-rank official.
, you are too cowardly! I have already said that heaven knows and earth knows, you know and I know, so what if you take a look?"
"It's not that I can't see it, it's not just that I don't dare to see it!" Liu Guan said sternly, "Yi Xing, although you and I are close friends. But I also want to remind you that what the emperor gives you can only be seen by yourself. You said God knows
The earth knows that it is the crime of deceiving the emperor with heart-breaking words!"
"Ha!" Li Zhigang laughed again, then slowly ate a dumpling, chewing it carefully.
"Since you don't dare to look, then I'll tell you..."
"Don't listen, don't listen..."
"The Emperor asked me, as an imperial envoy, to raise eight million... military expenses in Zhili, Hubei, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Guangdong and other places before July next year!"
Suddenly, there was silence in the room.
It seems that even breathing has stopped!
"Eight million!" Liu Guan was stunned, "In what name?" He continued confusedly, "The imperial court's taxes are all fixed, and the excess will be assessed! That's right.
The officials and gentry are trying their best to escape from the tax imposed by the government, let alone this mindless apportionment?"
"Just in the name of clearing the royal grain!" Li Zhigang sighed.
"Hiss..." Liu Guan said in horror, "In this case, do you, Li Yixing, still have a foothold?"
Li Zhigang smiled slightly, "I have no place to stand!" As he said, he suddenly smiled again, "There is something in my heart, not because of it, but because I am thinking about how I can get these eight million together.
All together!" He said, and then said, "It's best, we can collect more!"
"You're crazy!" Liu Guanteng stood up.
If this happened to others, they would definitely want to die.
But what he, Li Zhigang, was worried about was not how to execute, but how to exceed the target.
"This is military spending!" Li Zhigang said seriously.
Liu Guan was stunned for a moment, and then asked, "Where should we use troops?" Then he frowned and said, "Where should we use troops, we don't need eight million! Besides, is the treasury short of money now?"
"There is no shortage. The revenue of the state treasury last year was almost more than 70 million!" Li Zhigang poured himself another drink, "But now, there are more places to spend money!"
As he said that, Li Zhigang sighed again, "In the military restructuring, the abolished border military guards, Uncle Qiu Ba, need money to resettle them. They will give them land, animals and houses. If they don't give enough, those people will become bandits with swords."
"The Qingzhou Ancient Road is a big money-burning hole. Hundreds of thousands of civilians spend astronomical amounts of money and food every day!"
"All the state capitals are building water conservancy projects. Each county must have a reservoir to prepare for emergencies. At the end of the year, the Ministry of Household Affairs received a summary of documents from various states and counties. In terms of working mules and horses, there are more than 6,000
A gap in horses!"
"The great projects on the Yellow River and the Huaihe River are also waiting for money!"
"Moreover, once the sea is opened, the expansion of docks in various places will be bottomless. Even the seaports in Burma and Korea will have to be built with money from the imperial court!"
"In addition, there are also signs of immigration. Yunnan is reclaiming wasteland, Guangxi is reclaiming wasteland, Liaodong is reclaiming wasteland..."
"The imperial court is even more interested in pushing forward the guard posts in Korea and Liaodong..."
As he spoke, Li Zhigang sighed heavily, "The national treasury needs to have money, but it can't afford to ask for money everywhere. And that's not even counting the money that the officials of the Ming Dynasty used to support their integrity!"
"This..." Liu Guan was stunned, "Then where should we use our troops? Eight million, that's eight million!"
"The Emperor has decreed that Prince Yongyi, Prince Yongyi, has gone to Guangdong and Guangxi as a general to train troops!" Li Zhigang said again, "Training troops is all about money. The hundreds of thousands of troops are required to eat, drink, have sex, use equipment, horses, and be clothed, etc.
, there’s money everywhere!”
"Guangdong and Guangxi?" Liu Guan paused, "Annan?" He said sadly, "Is it worth spending millions of money and food on troops in such a small country?"
"We who are ministers should not ask whether it is worth it! Instead, we should think about how to help the emperor solve difficult things!" Li Zhigang glanced at Liu Guan, "In addition to Annan, Japan has also grown a few years ago. By the end of the day,
At that time, the imperial court was preparing to end it once and for all!"
“In addition, Champa, Ailao, Siam and other places are also expected!”
"And!" Li Zhigang suddenly lowered his voice, "Tatars from the north!"
"The important towns in Liaodong, Gansu, and Ningxia cannot always spend a lot of money to support the soldiers..." Li Zhigang continued, "The imperial court wants to march north!"
"If they don't come, wouldn't it be better to live in peace with the Ming Dynasty?" Liu Guan stamped his feet and asked, "Why do we need to march north?"
Now he finally understood where the eight million military expenditures were going to be spent.
"That's not a matter of 100,000 people!" Liu Guan said again, "If the north moves, there will be at least 200,000 to 300,000 people..."
"Humph!" Li Zhigang snorted, "You don't understand our Long Live Lord!" He lowered his voice, "More than two or three hundred thousand? More than just the north?"
"That.....?"
"Western Region, Tubo!" Li Zhigang said softly, "In the past, it was all a tyranny, but now the emperor intends to set up officials." He then lowered his voice, "Especially in Tubo, the integration of politics and religion is not allowed...
.”
"No matter how big these places are, they will definitely spend money!" Li Zhigang added, "And it costs money like water! Do you think eight million is more? Huh, do you know why I want to exceed the quota?"
Liu Guan immediately asked, "Why?"
"The emperor has accumulated four million from his private treasury!" Li Zhigang said sternly, "He has collected twelve million in military expenses to prepare for everything!"
"Hiss..." Liu Guan took another breath and murmured, "This is too much, this... the key is that these eight million are allocated without a name...
"
"What happened to the apportionment?" Li Zhigang sneered, "More than eight million?" He said quietly, "Twenty-five years ago in Hongwu, the imperial court launched a total of twenty-two expeditions to the north, spending a total of more than fifty million in silver. And
Now, the emperor only wants eight million, is that still enough?"
"Besides, is the Ming Dynasty at that time the same as the Ming Dynasty now? At that time, the whole world tightened their belts, and the food from the northern provinces was sent directly to the front line." Li Zhigang continued, "And what the emperor wants now is only the money of the officials and gentry.
!”
"What he wants is people's money, which is easier to handle!" Liu Guan sighed, then glanced at the folded book in front of Li Zhigang, struggled for a long time, gritted his teeth and said, "I'll help you!"
"You?" Li Zhigang asked unexpectedly, "How can you help?"
"I am the temporary prefect of Suzhou now. I am not afraid of offending anyone anyway!" Liu Guan also drank a glass of wine. "There is not much else in Suzhou, but there are many rich people. I will find a way to get you some of the eight million."
million!"
"Shaoying..."
"Me, it's only temporary anyway!" Liu Guan said with a smile, "The worst I can do is offend someone, I'll just go back and continue my short-term political participation!"
Unexpectedly, Li Zhigang said seriously, "Shaoying, one million is not enough!"
"Don't push yourself too far!"
Li Zhigang smiled and said, "At least 1.5 million!"