I want to ruin the country

Li Cunxuan wanted to speak, but Prince Gong shouted,

"Get out! All of you, get out! I don't want to see you. Li Hongzhang, make arrangements right away. We'll leave tomorrow!"

Li Cunxuan and the other two were shocked. Prince Gong had a bad temper.

Li Hongzhang said,

"My Lords, please go back first, don't make the prince angry!"

Li Cunxuan and the other two had no choice but to come out embarrassedly.

After they left, Prince Gong was no longer angry and asked Li Hongzhang with a smile,

"Li Hongzhang, what do you think of my acting skills? Can I win an Oscar?"

Li Hongzhang raised his thumb,

"Your Highness's acting skills are world-class. I give you a thumbs-up!"

“Hahahaha, same here!”

Li Cunxuan and his companions came back to see Li Sheng in disgrace. After telling him what happened, Li Sheng was also dumbfounded.

"Your Excellency, it seems that if the silver is insufficient, we will not be able to pass Prince Gong's test!"

The few people held a meeting with sad faces for the whole morning. In the afternoon, Li Cunxuan and three others came to see Prince Gong again.

Prince Gong did not see me.

They came to Li Hongzhang again and begged him in every possible way.

"Special Envoy Li, you must go and talk to the prince no matter what. Our king said that we should first collect 5 million taels of silver for the prince to take away!

Within the next year, we will find a way to raise another five million taels. This is the maximum we can afford. We can’t come up with more than that!”

At first, Li Hongzhang refused in every possible way, but finally agreed to give it a try.

Prince Gong met them very reluctantly.

When Li Cunxuan repeated his promise, Prince Gong said impatiently,

"I thought you were going to show off some big guns, but you were planning to take 10 million silver. I'm a prince, and I'm only worth 10 million silver. Forget it, I can't afford to lose face. Go away!"

Li Cunxuan and the others said almost pleadingly,

"Your Majesty, our country's annual income is only three to four million silver coins. It will take us several years to collect this ten million. Please understand and be understanding!"

Prince Gong sneered,

"Do you know how our emperor raised the money to buy warships? He sold all the treasures left by his ancestors. Your king's face is face, but our emperor's face is not face?"

Li Cunxuan and the others certainly knew that the court was holding an auction at the palace. They had also discussed it and wondered what had happened to the crazy emperor. Was he so poor that he had to pawn his pants?

Now I know that the emperor was raising money for the military!

Li Cunxuan could only pretend to be confused and said in surprise,

"Ah, there's such a thing?!"

Prince Gong said impatiently,

"Alright, I won't say any more to you. It would be a waste of the Emperor's kindness!

He also said that when you heard about building a joint fleet to defend the country, you would definitely rack your brains to find ways to raise military funds!

"It turns out that you are all thinking about how to deal with the emperor. If you had known this would happen, you should not have come. Does my great Qing Dynasty need your 10 million silver? Let's go!"

Li Hongzhang said,

"My lords, the prince is very angry, so please go back first!

But I still want to say to the king, for such a big country, is it difficult to get only 20 million silver?

I still say the same thing. If the Japanese invaders come and kill your men, rape your women, burn your houses, and rob your money, will 200 million be enough, let alone 20 million?"

Li Cunxuan and the others came back to see Li Sheng with their heads down and their eyes embarrassed.

Li Sheng was speechless after hearing this.

After thinking for a long time, he said,

"If the mad emperor can sell the treasures in his own home, why can't I?

Lord Prime Minister, let's learn from the Emperor and sell antiques!"

"Oh, my king, you must not do that!"

Li Sheng said,

"Why not? The Great Qing Emperor is right. These things can't be eaten or chewed, and they just take up space. It's better to sell them and exchange them for warships to defend our country!"

Li Cunxuan smiled bitterly,

"If the king really wants to sell the antiques, that would be humiliating. Let's think of other ways!"

Li Shengdao,

"Why not? Is my face more valuable than the emperor's? Otherwise, let the ministers in the palace pool their money and pay according to their ranks!"

When Li Cunxuan heard about raising funds, he knew that this would be more difficult than selling antiques, so he hurriedly said,

"Speaking of which, selling some antiques is also an option. If there is any other way to think of it, it's best not to sell them!"

Li Sheng certainly understood what he meant. Anyway, you have already said it. Isn't it just that you don't agree with the ministers raising funds? Let's see if there is anything else you can do. He asked,

"Then what else can we do?"

The Left Councillor said,

"During the dinner that day, Special Envoy Li seemed to have mentioned that minerals can also be exchanged for money!"

Right Prime Minister,

"Minerals. We don't have many gold, copper, or iron mines. Mining takes time. Is it urgent?"

Li Cunxuan said,

"Let's prepare for both scenarios. One is to find ways to raise money, and the other is to sell the antiques in the palace!"

Li Shengdao,

"Prince Gong is so difficult to talk to now. He seemed quite nice when he first arrived!"

Li Cunxuan suddenly had an idea and said,

"Is it because of Miss Yuji?"

Li Sheng slapped his thigh.

"That's right, I just feel like something's wrong. We've whetted his appetite, but then we're not letting him meet. So that's the problem!"

Li Cunxuan said,

"Then what should we do? Is Your Majesty really willing to give Miss Yuji to Prince Gong?"

Li Sheng said,

"As long as I can contribute to the country, what's wrong with that?"

It turns out that Li Yuji is not Li Sheng’s sister, but a Kabuki that Li Sheng likes very much, and is known as the most beautiful woman in South Korea.

Li Cunxuan said,

"Your Majesty, Miss Yuji is your sister. The princess is unmarried. If Prince Gong finds out that she is not a virgin, it will backfire!"

Li Shengdao,

"Don't worry about that. I haven't done anything to her yet. Tomorrow I'll take Yu Ji to see Prince Gong and have her do his job. See if I can get less money!"

"Okay, okay, let's do it!"

Li Cunxuan agreed without hesitation. A dancer was nothing to Li Cunxuan and his friends!

Not to mention a dancer that the king likes, even if it is the king's own sister, if she can solve a big problem, they will send her away without hesitation!

The next morning, Li Yunxuan brought Li Yuji to Prince Gong.

"Your Highness, we are trying to gather some money. The King is worried that you might be worried, so he asked me to send Miss Yuji over here to keep you company and help you while away the time!"

Prince Gong didn't even raise his eyelids

"I can stay with Yuji, but you really think I'm a fool. Is she your king's sister?"

Li Cunxuan was startled and immediately broke out in a cold sweat. What does this mean? Has the secret been revealed? He hurriedly said,

"Your Majesty, what do you mean?"

"She's just a dancer. I know what you're thinking, but I do like Miss Yuji. It's fate, I guess!

Let’s make it clear first, it was your king who gave it to me, I didn’t steal it away!

Besides, let me ask you first, Miss Yuji, are you truly willing to serve me? I will not do anything that is difficult for you!