I want to ruin the country

The two men fell silent. Even if half of the food was reduced, it would still cost 60 million silver coins, which was a huge amount!

Man Hing Road,

“Maybe not so many people are short of food!”

Yining Road,

"Okay, I'll cut the food cost by half, thirty million taels of silver. Do you have any solution?"

Wen Qing was speechless. He had never been a local official, so he didn't know how much grain the country had in stock or how much relief the people needed!

Su Shun was speechless. Thirty million taels was the actual amount of silver deposited into the national treasury over the past three years. Where did he get it from? He had no idea!

Yining looked at the two of them.

"Is there anything else to say? Do we have to wait until the people rise up in rebellion before we find a solution?"

Wen Qing had no choice but to say,

"If they're rebelling, then we can just fight them. Why not just pull out the Eight Banners and Green Camp soldiers? They're just a bunch of thieves and bandits. My army is no match for them, like boiling water pouring over snow."

Yining slammed his palm on the table.

“Haha, you are a cabinet boss, you are the Minister of the Interior, but have you ever been to the military camp?

Are we fully staffed? If we have 60% or 70% of our soldiers, we're good. Furthermore, are there any young and strong soldiers among these soldiers? Are the remaining old, weak, sick and disabled able to fight?"

Wenqing and Sushun were not sure what was happening in the army and were both shocked.

"Ah, Your Majesty... no way?"

"Do you think I would joke with you about state affairs?"

The two knew that there was no way the emperor would joke with them, so they lowered their heads and remained silent.

Yining said again,

"I wish I could immediately have tens of millions of silver in my hands so I can recruit and train new troops to defend our country!

I also wish I could have dozens of ironclad warships galloping across the ocean right now, but I have nothing in my hands right now, and I have the will but not the strength to do so!"

After saying that, he sat down dejectedly on the chair and sighed deeply!

After a while, Wen Qing asked tentatively,

"Your Majesty, how about issuing an order for all the princes and ministers to collect some money first, and then we can repay it when the national warehouse is full!"

Yining Road,

"Think about the Chongzhen Emperor of the previous dynasty. When Li Zicheng surrounded Beijing, did you ever see anyone take out even a tael of silver?!"

Man Hing Road,

"Your Majesty, my family can still provide a few hundred thousand silver coins. I will take the lead..."

Su Shun also said,

"The servants can also make some up!"

Yining waved his hand and said,

"It's just a drop in the bucket. If we don't solve the problem fundamentally, everything else will be in vain. How much money do you have in your family? I've made up my mind. No need to persuade me!"

"emperor……"

Yining's face darkened.

"I said, this is not a negotiation!"

Wenqing didn't dare to say anything more and shuddered in his heart. How could the emperor change his mind so suddenly?

Yining Road,

"I've had the Ministry of Revenue issue a notice in the capital, announcing that the royal family is holding an auction of precious treasures. All the wealthy and powerful in the capital are welcome to participate. Bid for whatever you like! The highest bidder wins!"

Su Shundao,

"Your Majesty, there are many foreigners in the capital who come here just for these treasures. Can they participate?"

Yining shook his head.

"No, the fine things passed down by our ancestors must not be sold overseas. If anyone dares to sell the treasures we brought back to foreigners, the entire family will be executed!"

“What if they need money in the future?”

"This is easy. People can buy and sell it among each other, or they can return it. We will buy it back at the market price!"

Su Shundao,

"That's good, otherwise we would really be unfilial descendants!"

Yining's expression softened a bit.

"To boost everyone's enthusiasm, we could even give some of them a commemorative gold medal with the inscription 'Serving the Country and the People, Role Models for Generations'. Having this medal will save them from death once! Do you think such an award would be appealing?"

Wenqing said hurriedly,

"Of course there is. The death-free medal is priceless. How can we just give it away casually?!"

Yining's face darkened.

"First, we won't give money to just anyone. We'll investigate them in secret. We won't give money to anyone with bad character or family tradition, or who has a bad reputation among the people!

Besides, if they really commit a crime, don't expect a piece of gold to save their lives. We will have the final say when the time comes!"

"Your Majesty, you..."

Yining smiled and said,

"So, you want to say that I'm going back on my word?"

Wen Qing was speechless. Asking the emperor for a promise was like trying to get the skin of a tiger! And why was the emperor so out of tune recently?

Yining said again,

"After the first auction is over, we'll send out notices all over the country about holding a second one!"

"A second time?"

Yining said with a smile,

"What a spectacle it would be if wealthy people from all over the country gathered in the capital. What huge business opportunities would that bring to the capital's merchants!"

Su Shundao,

"It's probably unsafe for so many wealthy people to come to the capital. The pressure on public security in the capital will be huge!"

Yining Road,

"This is easy. Send soldiers to protect the roads and increase patrols in the capital. I don't believe that the bandits have the guts to go against me!"

Man Hing Road,

"Your Majesty, how can we have so many treasures?"

Yining smiled.

"Didn't you say there are hundreds of thousands of them in the palace? Besides, if you run out of treasures, you can sell them to me!"

Wenqing was shocked.

"Ah, selling the emperor?"

Yining Road,

"We can spread the word nationwide. Anyone who wants to see the emperor can pay 10,000 taels of silver. If you want the emperor to give you a banquet, you can pay 100,000 taels. If you want to dine with the emperor, you can pay 300,000 taels. Do you think anyone will come?"

Wenqing nodded like a chicken pecking at rice.

"Yes, yes!"

Yining said again,

"Don't be afraid if no one comes. We can secretly assign tasks to local officials, so that those local wealthy and unscrupulous businessmen will come whether they want to or not!

As the saying goes, the prefect who confiscated property and the county magistrate who exterminated families, can't they deal with them? "

Wenqing was completely convinced.

"Your Majesty, the reputation of our court..."

Yining Road,

"Now we have so much to rebuild, which is more important, face or money?

Besides, we are cheating the rich, not bullying the common people, so my conscience won't hurt!"

Wen Qing wiped the sweat from his head and silently sent blessings to those rich people in his heart. You guys better take care of yourselves, our money-loving emperor is targeting you!

Su Shun didn't say a word during this period, but in his heart he was full of admiration for the little emperor!

Your Majesty, how could I not realize that you are so shameless? However, I like this kind of Your Majesty!

Man Hing Road,

"Your Majesty, do you have any other orders?"

"These things will keep you busy for a while, and we'll deal with the rest later!"

"Slave, please resign!"

Wen Qing knew that he had a lot of things to do. He had to lay off the palace maids, eunuchs, and cooks, prepare training classes, and arrange for the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Revenue to ask local officials to select a site for the restaurant. All of this was his responsibility. Oh my god, could his old bones handle it?