Eat the whole family? I emptied the storehouse of the Marquis' Mansion and married the crippled

Standing on the dock, Ye Jintang finally saw the barracks hidden behind the woods.

She asked why she didn't see the barracks just now and she hid all her emotions.

The barracks are all two-story buildings, with about a dozen rooms in a row. Although it looks a bit crowded, it can accommodate many people. It is more comfortable than having a dozen or twenty people sleeping in one room.

Under the leadership of Hu Chongjin, Ye Jintang and Xiao Mo came to the barracks. There were many soldiers in the barracks, but it was not messy at all. All of them were wearing neat military uniforms and standing in a neat line to welcome the arrival of the emperor and empress.

"How do you solve the food problem here? Do you rely entirely on Fujiang City for supplies?"

"Some of it needs to be provided by Fujiang City, such as clothes and weapons. As for food, we can be self-sufficient. The terraced fields on the surrounding mountains are all wasteland we have opened up, and we can grow some grains and vegetables."

"Oh, that's great. You should keep some food in your own hands. You can't put your lifeline in the hands of others."

Although Ye Jintang did not say it very clearly, Hu Chongjin also heard the hidden meaning. Ye Jintang was afraid that if a war really broke out in the future, their Fujiang Navy would suffer losses.

If anyone is cut off from supplies, they will have to fight on an empty stomach.

"Thank you for your advice, madam."

Ye Jintang and Xiao Mo visited the house where the soldiers lived, which was quite clean.

"I see that the second floor of Admiral Hu's house is just built with wood and not thickened. How can you live in such a house in winter?"

"My queen, this barracks is the summer barracks. In winter, the soldiers will move to the winter barracks. However, the winter barracks are still used as food warehouses."

Ye Jintang immediately realized that the reason why Hu Chongjin did this was not because there was not enough space here to build a house that was warm in winter and cool in summer, but because he did not have enough money.

Otherwise, these summer barracks would not be made only of wood.

"Admiral Hu, you wouldn't use all the money the court allocated to you to build barracks to build warships, would you?"

After Ye Jintang finished speaking, Hu Chongjin was obviously stunned. He didn't expect Ye Jintang to be so sharp. He only said the beginning, but she had already thought of the end.

"Please forgive me, Queen. There are too many places where we need to spend money to build the Fujiang Navy. I have no choice but to let the soldiers bear with it."

"I know Lord Hu's good intentions. The number of warships directly affects the strength of the navy and even the lives of the soldiers. I understand why you do this."

The national treasury has been slightly replenished in recent years, but the silver needed to build a navy is simply a bottomless pit. Ye Jintang wanted to allocate a large sum of silver to Hu Chongjin, but the Ministry of Revenue disagreed.

Old man Lu Qixian is almost at the age of retirement, but he still keeps an eye on the national treasury all day long. No one can take more money from the treasury.

After a tour, Ye Jintang and his party went to the place where Hu Chongjin held meetings.

Logically speaking, as a first-rank official, the place where Hu Chongjin holds meetings would not be too small or too shabby.

But looking at the simple wooden house in front of him, Ye Jintang couldn't say a word.

The place where Hu Chongjin held meetings was only slightly larger than the room where the soldiers lived, and it just had a few more pieces of furniture.

It was the first time that Ye Jintang saw a first-rank official living such a simple life.

Even those self-proclaimed upright people in the capital did not live as simply as he did.

After everyone sat down, Hu Chongjin smiled a little awkwardly.

"I have been leading troops on warships for many years, so I have not kept the barracks in good order. I am sorry to have embarrassed the emperor and the queen."

"It doesn't matter."

Xiao Mo picked up the tea on the table and took a sip. The bitter taste almost made him vomit.

Hu Chongjin lives such a simple life, how could he have any good tea?

"Lord Hu, before I came here, I heard that you had led people to kill a group of Japanese pirates a few days ago."

"Your Majesty, this is true. The Japanese are jealous of the development of Fujiang City. They send pirate ships to attack Qiu Feng every now and then."

"They are just like a group of disgusting rats. If you are not careful, you will get bitten. I am also suffering from their harassment."

"Then have you ever thought about how to eradicate the Japanese pirates? We can't let them continue like this. When will our coastal people be able to live and work in peace?"

"There is only one way to eradicate Japanese pirates, and that is to turn Japan into our vassal state. However, Japan has a lot of warships, so it may not be that easy to take it down."

When Hu Chongjin said this, there was obviously some excitement in his voice.

He knew that Xiao Mo would not suddenly bring up the Japanese for no reason today. His words and deeds showed that he wanted to deal with those villains in Japan.

"Are you sure you can take down Japan in one fell swoop?"

At this moment, Xiao Mo was also unsure. The Qin Kingdom had never fought a naval battle before, and he, the emperor, knew nothing about fighting naval battles.

And as far as he knew, Japan was an island country surrounded by the sea. Their people had been making a living on the sea since birth. Almost everyone was familiar with water, and everyone could go to the battlefield to fight. Such a Japan was not easy to deal with.

"I will do my best."

The corners of Xiao Mo's lips rose slightly.

"I want a specific time. You can't just fight for a year or two. My treasury doesn't have that much money to spend on war."

Hu Chongjin is also a seasoned man, how could he easily promise Xiao Mo.

"Your Majesty, Japan is not a big country. Why don't we take it slowly and train our troops at the same time?"

Xiao Mo thought that this was a good idea. Their navy was composed of a group of novices who had never fought a naval battle. If they could practice with the Japanese, they would be able to deal with them calmly when they encountered more powerful overseas countries in the future.

"Okay, but my patience is limited. I will only give you one year. By this time next year, Japan must become our vassal state."

"Yes."

One year is enough for Hu Chongjin.

He had been tormented by Japan for so many years that he had long hated it. If the Fujiang navy went all out according to his plan, Japan could be conquered in a month at most.

If it was Hu Chongjin who had just entered the officialdom, he would definitely promise Xiao Mo without hesitation that he could conquer Japan within a month.

However, Hu Chongjin, who had been in the officialdom for many years, was still able to figure out the twists and turns of the officialdom. If he dragged it out for a year, and then he could conquer Japan a few months earlier, Xiao Mo would definitely praise him a lot.

Ye Jintang and Xiao Mo stayed in the Fujiang Navy Headquarters for most of the day and did not return until near noon.

As soon as the two entered the door, Nuannuan rushed towards Ye Jintang like a little rabbit.

"Mother, mother, someone sent over a large basin of turtles. They are all so cute."

"Oh?"

Ye Jintang looked in the direction of Nuannuan's finger, and sure enough, he saw Anan and the twins gathered around a large wooden basin.

She walked closer and saw that there were 10 baby turtles as big as her fists in the wooden basin.