Chapter 1334 - 1170: Opening the Mutual Market
Chapter 1334: Chapter 1170: Opening the Mutual Market
"Yes! I’ll investigate right away. This matter must be resolved quickly. The court has acted so swiftly, they probably intend to target us soon." After saluting, Lu Chen quickly left the study.
Li Chang An watched Lu Chen’s retreating figure, his eyes slightly narrowed.
"Prince! Do you really trust him so much? If he betrayed us, it would bring unimaginable losses to us. Prince Jing is so shrewd, one wrong step and we could fall into a place of no return."
"Of course, I can’t trust him fully. Don’t worry! Once we deal with the second, the fourth won’t be a concern. The second doesn’t have much time left; let’s wait a bit longer and refrain from attacking cities for now. Recuperate and rebuild. In a few months, we’ll march straight to the Capital."
Prince Gong clenched his fists tightly, a look of determination in his eyes.
Li Chang An couldn’t help but feel excited too; if this succeeds, his previous efforts wouldn’t have been in vain. The Emperor doesn’t have long to live, the Eldest Prince is blind, and the remaining princes are still too young to inherit the throne.
"Oh, right, Prince! Our Weapon Workshop has been completely ransacked, and we’ve lost a lot of Silver again." Li Chang An, initially excited, felt as if cold water had been poured on him upon remembering the plunder of the Weapon Workshop.
"Hm! If the court can rob us, can’t we rob them back? We’ll reclaim what’s ours. Send someone to disrupt the court’s recruitment office; we can’t let their recruitment go smoothly, can we? They use Silver to recruit soldiers, we’ll do the same. What the fourth doesn’t dare to do, I, as a prince, have no fear." Prince Gong snorted coldly, then instructed.
...
"Gu Siqing, you actually sent ministers to recruit soldiers at the border? This isn’t even a conscription year; such actions are sheer tyranny!" Minister of War Dai Yuanji stormed into Wenhua Hall, yelling angrily at Gu Chengyu, who was reviewing memorials.
The ministers inside were startled by the sudden outburst and unanimously turned their gaze toward Gu Chengyu.
Gu Chengyu gently closed the memorial in his hand and placed the brush on the rack.
"Why should Mr. Dai be so angry? Regarding this matter, I have already consulted with the Emperor, who wholeheartedly supports it, hence the decision to implement this plan. Also, this time the court is not conscripting, but purchasing soldiers."
"Purchasing soldiers? The National Treasury is not affluent, yet you use its funds to purchase soldiers? Do you know how much Silver this will cost? As the Minister of War, you dare undertake such an action without consulting me? Do you even consider the Ministry of War?"
Dai Yuanji’s grizzled beard quivered, showing his intense anger. Recruitment is originally the responsibility of the Ministry of War, and Gu Chengyu’s reach has extended too far. He just entered the Cabinet days ago and began bold reforms, interfering in the affairs of the Six Ministries.
"Mr. Deng, as the Minister of Revenue, you must know if the National Treasury is abundant. The expenditure for purchasing soldiers is significant, yet your Ministry of Revenue has approved it? You must think twice! Don’t let purchasing soldiers drain the National Treasury, leaving you unable to produce Silver when needed; how would you explain then?"
Seeing Gu Chengyu unmoved, Dai Yuanji suddenly targeted Deng Wenshang. Deng Wenshang had just been promoted to Minister of Revenue; could it be he doesn’t understand the current state of the National Treasury?
Previously, Jiangnan suffered disasters; the National Treasury hardly expended any Silver, but it was already not full. Amidst such scarcity, the Ministry of Revenue agreed to the purchase of soldiers—truly absurd.
"Indeed! How could the Emperor agree to this? The Emperor is well aware of the court’s finances; how could he consent?" Minister of Ministry of Industry Tong Shunmin also had this doubt, as the Emperor hadn’t shown his face for days, with only Pang Chu bringing written orders.
They hadn’t seen the Emperor for several days, and morning court sessions were nonexistent; how could they not feel anxious?
"That’s because purchasing soldiers doesn’t count as an expense from the National Treasury!" Gu Chengyu smiled lightly, seeing the ministers looking at him in astonishment, intending to explain to everyone.
"How is it possible it doesn’t count as a National Treasury expense? Is Gu Siqing personally funding this? This can’t be resolved with a few hundred or thousand taels of Silver; it might cost hundreds of thousands or even millions of taels."
Dai Yuanji sneered at Gu Chengyu’s words, not believing them. Does Gu Chengyu plan to pay out of his own pocket? If he did, the source of this Silver must be questioned.
Where would a court official from a poor family get so much Silver? Is it not embezzled from his position?
"Purchasing soldiers requires Silver, as everyone knows. But since the National Treasury can’t provide it, we must think of other ways. I invited everyone here today to discuss the opening of the trade market."
Gu Chengyu’s words were like a drop of boiling water in a pot of oil, stirring up the ministers.
"What? This mustn’t happen!" Tong Shunmin stood up in shock, not expecting Gu Chengyu to have such a plan.
"It’s ridiculous! We just fought Da Xing, causing them to lose over 200,000 soldiers; Da Xing resents us deeply. Now you propose opening the trade market; do you think Da Xing would agree? They’re no fools; Da Yan is currently amidst turbulent times. They don’t attack us because they just lost troops and are recuperating. Soon, they’ll return in force. Gu Siqing, when did you become so naïve?"
Dai Yuanji truly couldn’t comprehend Gu Chengyu’s idea, which seemed laughable. Da Yan and Da Xing are in a state of mutual enmity, yet Gu Chengyu fantasizes about opening market trade—is he mad?
Minister of the Ministry of Personnel Zhong Shize also opposed the opening of the market trade, believing that Da Yan’s relations with Da Xing have soured, making a trade agreement impossible.
"Recently, Da Xing’s spy reported that the Da Xing Imperial Family is in tumultuous conflict, fiercely competitive, unlikely to prioritize border wars soon. Our Da Yan’s current situation, I believe, everyone understands. Prince Gong is pressing steadily, with another observer waiting for both sides to struggle. We can’t move border troops, so we must recruit soldiers. However, with the late Emperor’s passing and the new Emperor’s ascension requiring a pardon, recruitment is impossible in the next two years."
Gu Chengyu stood up, walked to the window, gazing at the bleak winter scene outside, explaining the current situation clearly.
"Indeed! Yet Da Xing is also chaotic; why don’t we exploit the chaos to disrupt them further? Opening market trade now isn’t wise."
Zhong Shize expressed disagreement, opposing trade market opening.
"With our own issues, Mr. Zhong, your thoughts are overly simplistic. Have you forgotten the threats the court faces aren’t just Da Xing? They include internal and external troubles. We wish to exploit their weakness, yet others could do the same to us. If we can temporarily cease fire with Da Xing and solve internal strife first, I believe it’s most crucial now. To prevent Prince Gong from allying with Da Xing, we must act first."