I want to ruin the country

Yining Road,

"I'll do the math for you and you'll understand. One million taels for an ironclad ship isn't a lot, right?"

Ruijin said nothing, because he didn't know whether it was a lot or not!

Yining said again,

"Our country is vast, with a coastline of more than 64,000 miles.

Wouldn't it be enough if we each stationed a fleet in Dalian, Weihai, Songjiang, Taiwan, Guangzhou, and Hainan?"

Ruijin remained silent, because the places the emperor mentioned did need to be protected by a fleet.

Yining said again,

"Six fleets, each fleet needs at least seventy or eighty ironclad ships, right?

I don't know if two hundred million taels of silver would be enough for four or five hundred ironclad ships of equal size. Could Lord Ruijin tell me?"

Ruijin felt extremely unhappy. He built six armored fleets at once. Look at how capable you are. Why don’t you build ten?

But, does he dare to refute?

He did not refute, and Yining did not intend to forgive him, and said,

"The annual military expenditure for one fleet is estimated to be at least five million taels of silver. Six fleets would cost thirty million taels of silver a year. Am I right?"

Ruijin said,

"Your Majesty, this is not something that can be accomplished overnight. You have to eat your meal one bite at a time!"

Yining Road,

"You're right. Even if it's halved, it'll still be over 100 million silver. What can you do with that little money? I regret giving you that 10%!"

Ruijin got anxious and argued with a red face and thick neck.

"Your Majesty, you should pay for the warships through my Ministry of Revenue!"

Yining leaned back and said,

"You are wrong. The name of this fleet is the Daqing Royal Navy. It belongs to me and has nothing to do with your Ministry of Revenue!"

Rui Jin was stunned. "How can this be possible?"

Wen Qing was also stunned. The Royal Navy belongs to His Majesty. Doesn't that mean he, the Minister of the Imperial Household Department, should be in charge of the expenditure of these tens of millions of silver coins?

He was afraid that he had heard it wrong, so he pricked up his ears and listened carefully.

Yining Road,

"I sold my things for the silver. This is my private money, right?"

"Yes, but..."

Yining ignored him and continued,

"I used my own private funds to buy warships and also used my own private funds to pay for military expenses. What does this have to do with you?"

Rui Jin felt that he had grasped the truth and said hurriedly,

"But isn't the country yours, Your Majesty? Why is it so clear-cut between public housing money and private money?"

Yining sat up straight and asked,

"My country? Why can't I have the final say on matters concerning my country?

My country, why is it so difficult for my imperial edict to leave the palace?"

Ruijin didn't expect the emperor to say this, and for a moment he couldn't think of how to refute it.

Wenqing was overjoyed. What the emperor said was true. No matter whether this could be accomplished or not, at least the emperor really wanted to do it!

If that's the case, wouldn't my Imperial Household Department be richer than the Ministry of Revenue? Oh my god, I don't dare to think about it!

Yining said again,

"If this money is used to buy warships from the Ministry of Revenue, the warships will become the country's warships, and the fleet will become the country's fleet!

When a country’s fleet wants to go to war, it must get their consent!

If they don't agree, I won't be able to mobilize a single soldier!

So I won't play with them anymore. I'll buy my own warships and build my own fleet. I can attack whoever I want and do whatever I want. Isn't that good?"

Ruijin was stunned. It turned out that the emperor had so many things in his heart!

“This…?”

Yining said with a smile,

"You mean the ministers won't agree with this, right? I'm using my own money to run my own affairs. What's the use of their disapproval? Do I need to consider their feelings?"

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty...!"

He stammered and couldn't find a suitable reason to refute the emperor. In a hurry, he blurted out,

"This will make everyone sad!"

"Ha ha!"

Yining was happy and sad, but who would really feel sorry for me, the emperor, when I am sad?

He frowned.

"This is my private matter, no one has any right to interfere! I want to be myself for once and control my own destiny!"

Ruijin once again used rules to pressure people.

"Your Majesty, this is against the rules!"

Yining smiled,

"How is it against the rules? I really did separate the inside and outside, and I gave you over four million for free. Just now you said I did a good job and did the right thing. Why are you denying it now?"

"Ah...this..."

Thinking about what he had just said, Ruijin was speechless.

Yining said again,

"There's precedent for this internationally. England does it this way. Their navy is called the Royal Navy, and their police are called the Royal Constabulary. They're under the control of the King himself and are separate from the state!"

Ruijin was speechless. It seemed that what the emperor said was right, but he just felt that something was wrong.

Ruijin had no choice but to ask,

"Then Your Majesty will not care about the affairs of the country?"

Yining slammed the table.

"Bullshit, why shouldn't I care about my country?"

"That, that, that..."

Yining Road,

"In previous years, the actual amount of silver deposited into your Ministry of Revenue was only eight or nine million per year. I have already given you over four million three hundred thousand before the summer grain harvest has even begun. How can I not care about the empire?"

"I lost my words!"

"You didn't say anything out of turn, you just got jealous. Seeing that I have money in my hands, you feel unbalanced!

But you forgot that this is my personal money and has nothing to do with you. And you forgot how you tried to stop me at that time. Why don't you think this money is shameful now?"

"I know I was wrong!"

"These four million yuan aren't given away for free. This year's summer grain tax will be waived. The people have suffered so much, we need to let them rest and recuperate!"

Ruijin was even more stunned.

"Ah! Slave...slave..."

The emperor's words made Ruijin, who was just on the top of the Flaming Mountain, feel as if he had fallen into an icy cave, and his heart was chilled!

"Your Majesty, this servant... this servant... doesn't quite understand!"

Yining Road,

"What's there to not understand? When you have time, you should go down and take a walk to see what ordinary people eat and wear, and whether they have any food left over from the previous night!

You only collect food and money, but do you know whether they can pay it back? And whether they can survive after paying it back? "

Ruijin was so choked that he couldn't utter a word. Although his family was in poverty, it was not as bad as before, but at least they had not been hungry.

It is no exaggeration to say that they have been officials for generations, do not know the difference between grains and are lazy!

But over the years, no one has blamed them for anything. They think they have not done anything wrong, so they naturally classify themselves as good people!

After hearing what the emperor said today, Ruijin realized that he was indeed too far away from the people!

He believed that as long as he served the emperor well, managed official business and did not take advantage of others, he would be at peace with himself!

Today, the emperor's few words completely destroyed his self-confidence. Yes, where is his love for his country and the world? It seems that he has never thought about how the people live!