Liu Mingzhi glanced at Jiang Yuanming with a slightly questioning look on his face with twitching eyes, turned slightly and spit out the tea in his mouth.
My originally good mood was instantly destroyed by Jiang Yuanming's words.
Could it be that I, the young master, do not know that those soldiers and equipment are worth a lot of money? How can I, the young master, not feel distressed if they are rewarded like this?
Damn your sister, I feel sorry for you more than anyone else.
I don't want to agree to the Japanese mission's request more than anyone else, but for the sake of the overall situation, I have to agree even if I don't want to.
I thought about it for a few days and finally made up my mind, but you just told me to break my defense with just one sentence.
What a sin.
I can't think about it anymore, I can't continue to think about it, the more I think about it, the more distressed I feel.
Jiang Yuanming and others saw the uncertain expression on Young Master Liu's face, and they all looked at each other in confusion. They really didn't know what Liu Mingzhi's uncertain expression was about.
Especially Jiang Yuanming, the Secretary of the Ministry of Revenue, couldn't help but secretly debate whether he had said something wrong just now.
"Old ginger."
"Is the old minister here, Your Majesty?"
"It's nothing, I feel like you've gained a lot of weight recently."
"ah?"
Xia Gongming and others heard the conversation between Liu and Young Master, and instinctively looked at Jiang Yuanming who looked stunned.
Has Mr. Jiang gained weight recently? You don’t feel any difference in this?
What's going on? Could it be that His Majesty and Lao Jiang are playing some riddle?
Well, it seems that I have gained a little weight, but it is not too obvious. It may also be because the weather has turned colder and I wear more inner linings and the like.
What do you mean by your majesty's words? Damn it, could it be that this old guy Lao Jiang has been collecting illegal money recently, so your majesty deliberately used the phrase "getting fat" as an excuse to hit him?
It shouldn’t be. Among the six major offices of the Six Ministries and Nine Ministers, the Hubu Department has the most oil and water. A little pinch from under the fingernails can last him for a year and a half. There is no need to risk his life.
Go collect black money.
After Jiang Yuanming came to his senses, he felt the strange looks from his colleagues and subconsciously glanced at his stomach.
Have you gained weight? Have you gained weight recently?
Your Majesty, what exactly does he mean? Why are there so many words that don’t match the preface and the follower?
Jiang Yuanming thought hard and couldn't figure out what Mr. Liu just said. He reached out and patted his stomach, and looked at Mr. Liu with an embarrassed expression, who was puffing away at the cigarette stick.
past.
"His Majesty."
"Huh? What's wrong?"
"I'm begging you, please give me a good time. I really can't bear this feeling of dissatisfaction!"
Liu Mingzhi looked at Jiang Yuanming's uncomfortable expression, and the joy of successful revenge flashed in his eyes.
Old man, you also know what it feels like to feel uncomfortable, right?
"Old ginger."
"The old minister is here, the old minister is here."
"What you said makes me confused. How can I give you some pleasure?
Firstly, you are not rebellious, and secondly, you have not violated the laws of the dragon, so what kind of pleasure do you want me to give you?"
"Lao Chen, Lao Chen, Lao Chen."
Young Master Liu looked at Jiang Yuanming's vague expression and tapped the stone table with his fingers gently, pretending to be impatient.
"What do you mean? You say what you want and say farts when you want. I am staying with you to discuss court affairs with you, not just to listen to your old minister's incessant chatter.
What exactly do you want to say? If you want to say it, say it quickly and don’t delay me as I continue to discuss business with you."
Jiang Yuanming looked bitter when he heard Mr. Liu's somewhat irritated tone. He suppressed the awkwardness in his heart and took two puffs of cigarettes.
what you want to say?
I don’t know what I want to say either?
No, no, why did I make His Majesty unhappy today? Why did he torture himself like this?
"Old minister, I have nothing to say."
"If you don't have anything to say, forget it. Let's just waste time and talk about business."
Jiang Yuanming looked stunned and subconsciously blurted out his thoughts.
"Is this the end?"
When these words were spoken, Jiang Yuanming instantly regretted his words and wished he could raise his hand to slap himself twice in the mouth.
Your Majesty, he said everything is fine, why do you insist on taking up this topic?
"Otherwise? What else do you want to do? I'm still saying the same thing, if you have something to say, say it, if you have something to say, let it go. Why are you wasting your time?"
"No, no, let's talk about business, talk about business."
Liu Mingzhi saw the expression of doubt on life on Jiang Yuanming's old face, and the distress in his heart instantly reduced by 80%.
Compared to just now, it was simply too much fun.
Seeing that the topic had returned to the main topic, Jiang Yuanming breathed a sigh of relief.
Liu Mingzhi leaned over and knocked out the embers from the tobacco pot on the stone bench. He reached out and picked up a bunch of grapes from the tray on the stone table and threw them into his mouth one by one.
"Mr. Xia, Mr. Cai.
Now one of you is the head of the civil service in the court, and the other is the head of the military attache. You two should first share your thoughts."
Xia Gongming saw that the dry tobacco in his hand had burned out, and after knocking out the ashes, he gently placed the tobacco stem on the table.
"Your Majesty, we have thirty thousand weapons, twenty thousand fine armors, ten thousand ordinary armors, eight thousand crossbows, three thousand serial crossbows, and fifty thousand arrows.
The number of troops requested by the Japanese envoy Sakai He was not a small number.
Even if the veteran is not very familiar with these things, he still has a rough idea.
If these soldiers and equipment were converted into silver, I'm afraid they wouldn't be able to get it if they don't have two hundred thousand taels of silver!"
Jiang Yuanming frowned slightly and pondered for a moment, then took out a ledger from his pocket and looked through it for a long time, then naturally accepted Xia Gongming's words.
"Your Majesty, Mr. Xia, colleagues, don't even think about 200,000 taels. If all calculations are based on standard military equipment, let's say at least 250,000 taels as a base.
If something special happens during this period, even if it is increased to 300,000 taels of silver, it is not impossible."
Liu Mingzhi spat out the grape skins in his mouth and placed the remaining half bunch of grapes on the table.
"How much military equipment they request is their business, and ultimately how much military equipment we reward them is our own business.
I will reward them as much as they ask for. That is impossible.
What do you think of me? What do you think of me as the imperial court of Dalong? Do you think of me as someone who is taken advantage of?
This is also the reason why I keep you here. I hope that you can come up with a suitable amount to reward as soon as possible.
I don't care how the troops are deployed, nor do I care about the final number of troops.
I have only one request for you, and that is to save money as much as possible under the premise that the amount is appropriate.
The imperial treasury is extremely rich, but our Dalong family has a great cause and there are too many places where money is needed.
Save money if you can!"
Cai Jun, the Honorable Marquis, stroked his gray beard and thought for a long time, then raised his head and looked at Liu Mingzhi, who was frowning slightly.
"His Majesty."
"Hmm? The old Marquis has an idea?"
"The old minister boldly asked, Your Majesty, do you still want to eat half a bunch of grapes?
If Your Majesty doesn't want to eat it, just give it to the veteran. It would be a pity to waste it."
Liu Mingzhi's face was startled, and after he realized what he was doing, he shook his head angrily, picked up a new bunch of grapes from the tray and put it into Cai Jun's hand.
To be continued...