Ming Dynasty: I, Yan Maoqing, am truly radiating auspicious energy!

Chapter 67 I Will Kill His Mother
Zhu Houcong gripped the armrest of the dragon bed, feeling dizzy in waves.

It's obvious that Zhang Zan and Lu Bing came here for this very reason.

However, he rarely allowed Lu Bing to interfere in court affairs.

Therefore, Lu Bing would not presume to submit a memorial to him regarding the restoration of the Tao, but would instead soon report some of the relevant secrets behind this matter.

After all, there were also members of the Embroidered Uniform Guard on this trip, and they should have sent back news by now...

These secrets were what he most wanted to know at this moment. He needed to know first how the agreed-upon "tribute" had inexplicably turned into a "repeated exchange," and what kind of bizarre schemes Guo Xun, Yan Maoqing, and the others were up to!
then.

"Huang Ban, summon Zhang Zan in first, and tell Lu Bing to wait outside!"

"According to the order."

Huang Jin trembled and quickly withdrew to be summoned.

He was also completely bewildered at the moment, but if he were to speculate on why things had turned out this way, he highly suspected that Yan Maoqing was involved.

Because, not to mention the four people on this trip, even looking at the entire court, he couldn't find many people more unconventional than Yan Maoqing.

This time, however, Yan Maoqing has probably gone too far.

Matters of national importance are not child's play.
Even if the Emperor had high hopes for him before, he would absolutely not tolerate him jumping around like this!

……

Zhang Zan was granted permission to enter the hall. Upon seeing Xia Yan, who had arrived earlier, he paused slightly before calmly kneeling down to begin his report:

"Upon hearing that Your Majesty is determined to restore the empire, I dare not be careless and have worked through the night to compile relevant plans and estimates."

"Recapturing the fortress is no small matter. I believe that at least 200,000 troops will be needed, and the initial troop mobilization alone is expected to cost 3 million taels of silver."

"An army marches on its stomach, and we must also consider the costs of provisions, equipment, weapons, gunpowder, horses, porters, and many other things. I estimate that this war will require an investment of at least ten million taels of silver just to start."

"In addition, regardless of the outcome of this battle, the expenses for post-war compensation and rewards need to be planned in advance, and we will probably need to prepare several million taels of silver."

"Therefore, I believe that the matter of restoring the cloak requires careful consideration. I humbly request Your Majesty to reconsider!"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Houcong merely nodded slightly and asked noncommittally:

"In that case, at least 20 million taels of silver will need to be allocated in advance for the purpose of refining the system. Grand Secretary Xia, the cabinet has records of the accounts of all departments. What do you think?"

"Your Majesty, I'm afraid the Ministry of Revenue will have a hard time raising such a large sum of money."

Xia Yan straightened up and said in a passionate voice,
"However, the restoration of the city is a great achievement for future generations. If Your Majesty remains steadfast in your resolve, I am willing to cooperate fully. If all else fails, we will have to make the people suffer, and I will bear the blame!"

Xia Yan naturally had her own considerations.

Firstly, under Yan Song's relentless pursuit, he could feel that his importance in the emperor's heart was gradually diminishing.

Secondly, the Emperor ordered Guo Xun to secretly prepare for this matter, and he expected that the restoration of the Tao was inevitable. How could he let his mortal enemy, Guo Xun, have the credit?
Thirdly, once the re-entry is successful, whoever takes the lead will become the greatest contributor to this dynasty.

As long as one becomes such a meritorious official, regardless of the matter of being ennobled or appointed as prime minister, even if the emperor has any dissatisfaction with him in the future, he will probably have to be cautious and at least not easily punish him. This is an invisible guarantee of merit!

"Hehehehe."

However, Xia Yan had no idea that Zhu Houcong was now so angry he wanted to laugh.

What a fine example of "I, your humble servant, will bear the blame"!
So this world doesn't belong to you!
You're the one who constantly preaches about "the interaction between Heaven and humanity," but when natural disasters or man-made calamities occur, you're the one who asks me to issue an edict of self-reproach.
Are we going to make the people suffer even more?
Although the Hetao region was considered beautiful and fertile by the Tartars, it was not a bountiful land for the Ming Dynasty. How much tax revenue could be collected in a year, and how many years would it take to make up for the cost of returning to the Hetao region?

At that time, the people will suffer greatly, and their complaints will be endless. They will be cursing me, and I will be the one issuing an edict of self-reproach to appease them.

You'll bear the blame?
Even if I were to exterminate your entire clan, could you bear the consequences?

People have two faces; there are many in the court and among the people who speak up for you, and in the end you become a meritorious official of the Ming Dynasty, while I am the greatest victim! However, on the surface, Zhu Houcong still maintained an ambiguous expression, and took the opportunity to use a delaying tactic:
Since you two have a disagreement on this matter, let's discuss it further.

"Zhang Zan, first order the governors-general, governors and generals of Gansu, Ningxia, Shaanxi, Shanxi and Hebei to submit their respective reports and propose a more detailed plan."

"Grand Secretary Xia, you should also make preparations. Once Zhang Zan proposes the plan, we will summon the court officials to discuss this matter together."

"You may all leave; I am weary."

Upon hearing this, Xia Yan and Zhang Zan could only bow and take their leave.

"The minister obeys the order."

……

"Humph……"

After the two men left, Zhu Houcong grew angrier and angrier, his face contorting into a ferocious expression, his chest heaving violently like a bellows.

A delaying tactic is ultimately just a delaying tactic; it doesn't solve the problem!
He still couldn't escape the subsequent court meetings and had to attend them in person.

Because he knew very well that Xia Yan held great power in the court, while Zhang Zan was weak, and that Xia Yan would definitely suppress Zhang Zan throughout the court discussions.

If he didn't want this farcical and ridiculous drama to continue, he had to personally take sides with Zhang Zan in the court proceedings.

However, if one personally denies the existence of a copycat design, a barrage of criticism will inevitably follow...

"It's all that Yan Maoqing's fault, he'll never forgive him!"

Zhu Houcong threw Xia Yan's thick memorial to the ground again, gritting his teeth and shouting at Huang Jin,

"Summon Lu Bing in here, and let me hear just how bold Yan Maoqing really is, and how tough his neck can be!"

"According to the decree..."

After a while.

Lu Bing entered the hall with a solemn expression. He knelt down from afar and shuffled to the front of the hall on his knees before bowing and saying:
"Your Majesty, this is a secret letter sent back from Datong by Shen Lian, a commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Please take a look, Your Majesty."

"Huang Jin, bring this to me!"

When Zhu Houcong saw Lu Bing's attitude, his heart sank even further.

Lu Bing was unaware of the details of Yan Maoqing's "Bird Plot," so if the secret letter only contained information about "re-entering the trap," Lu Bing would not have gone to such lengths.

Therefore, after receiving the secret letter from Huang Jin, Zhu Houcong quickly unfolded it and stared at it intently.

"..."

Seeing this, Lu Bing quietly lowered his body even further.

"?"

Upon seeing Lu Bing's actions, Huang Jin immediately became more vigilant and quietly took two steps back before kneeling down.

This took about three breaths.

With a whoosh, Zhu Houcong's chest expanded rapidly at a visible speed, followed by a dragon's roar that almost lifted the dome of the Qianqing Palace:

"I killed his mother, and he demanded a bribe of 100,000?!?!?!"

(End of this chapter)