Mo Rigen was speechless. Of course, Daming wouldn't give him the chance to do so.
Thinking of this, Mo Rigen sighed helplessly. "It's all Hwang Tae-gil's fault!"
Sanniang glanced at the crestfallen Mo Rigen and smiled. "It's all in the past!"
"Wala will be better in the future, and so will we," Sanniang said confidently.
Datong Guards.
Ever since Qi Jiguang led his troops out of the grasslands, the atmosphere in Datong City had been unusually tense. Governor Xuan, Zhang Pu, had been keeping watch in Datong City.
These days, he couldn't eat or sleep well, afraid that news of the army's retreat would come from the frontlines.
If the battle went badly, it would be over. How could Zhang Pu not be anxious?
"Eunuch Chang, can we sit down?"
Looking at Zhang Cheng pacing back and forth in front of him, Zhang Pu couldn't help but say, "You're pacing back and forth, my head hurts."
These days, Zhang Pu and Zhang Cheng had become familiar with each other. This eunuch from the capital seemed like a good person to Zhang Pu.
He didn't cause any trouble, didn't invite others to dinner, and didn't extort money. The two of them got along quite well.
Zhang Cheng glanced at Zhang Pu and said with a smile, "Governor-General Zhang, aren't you worried?"
"Not anxious?"
Zhang Pu pointed at his mouth. "Look, your mouth is full of bubbles. Qi Shaobao too. Two days ago, there was news, but now it's gone. I'm still worried!"
Just as the two of them were bickering out of boredom, there was a sudden commotion outside.
Before the two of them could ask anything, a man suddenly ran in from outside. He shouted excitedly, "Great victory, great victory! Qi Shaobao, great victory!" This man couldn't even speak properly and kept shouting "great victory".
"Speak properly!" Zhang Cheng glared at him and scolded loudly.
The messenger was startled, but quickly calmed down, "Your Excellency, Eunuch Chang, there's news from the frontlines. It's a great victory. Qi Shaobao has fought with Hwang Tae-gil outside the Green Tiger Ravine, and killed a hundred thousand of his men."
"Hwang Tae-gil only managed to escape with his life. Now that the army has taken over Gui Hua City, our Daming has won!"
Hearing the other party's words, Zhang Pu jumped up from his chair and said with a laugh, "Good, great, he won, he won. Qi Shaobao, what a good Qi Shaobao, it's really great!"
Zhang Cheng also smiled, but compared to Zhang Pu, Zhang Cheng was more confident.
Zhang Pu did not believe in Qi Jiguang, but Zhang Cheng knew that the Imperial Majesty had been preparing for this battle for many years.
Although the Jing Camp was a newly formed army, they came from the hands of Ma Fang. Who was Ma Fang? He was a famous general!
Especially when it came to fighting against Wala, Ma Fang was very experienced. The entire Xijing Camp was trained to fight against Wala.
Originally, they lacked actual combat experience, but in the previous ambush, they had seen blood. They killed ten thousand Wala cavalrymen. Although they were not a strong army, they had seen blood.
In addition, they had a large number of people, so they would not be at a disadvantage against Hwang Tae-gil.
Now that the news of victory had come, it verified his conjecture. This battle had been won by Daming.
Beijing.
For Zhu Yijun, these days were quite difficult. However, there was also something that made him happy. Song Yingchang had finally settled the location, budget, and construction blueprints. This was something that Zhu Yijun had been looking forward to for a long time.
Compared to other things, this was also very important. It was related to the next step of his plan.
Looking at the unusually tired Song Yingchang, who looked like he had not had a good rest for a long time, Zhu Yijun could not bear to see him like this. He said to Zhang He, "Bring a stool for Official Song. Sit down and talk!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Song Yingchang hurriedly bowed.
In reality, Song Yingchang had not had a good time these days. First, he went to Tianjin to choose a location. He had been exposed to the northwest wind for a long time.
After returning to Beijing, he did the budget and planning. He was busy for a few months.
However, Song Yingchang was very gratified to be granted a seat by the Emperor. He did not work for nothing!
The civil officials dreamed of being Emperor Yao and Shun. Even if it was a little lower, it would still be "The Emperor treats me as a scholar of the nation, and I will repay him as a scholar of the nation."
Now, Song Yingchang felt that he had this feeling. He reckoned that his official position would be promoted.
Zhu Yijun glanced at Song Yingchang and said with a smile, "Tell me about it!
Look at the results you have achieved during this time. "
Song Yingchang hurriedly nodded. It was obvious that Song Yingchang had made sufficient preparations this time.
From the location to the construction, from the cost to the construction stage, every aspect was very perfect. It could be said that a perfect plan had been made.
"How much does it cost?" After listening to Song Yingchang quietly, Zhu Yijun asked with a smile.
This was what Zhu Yijun was most concerned about. When he heard Song Yingchang's words, Zhu Yijun had a bad premonition in his heart.
If it was done according to Song Yingchang's plan, it was estimated that the imperial shipyard would cost a lot.
"According to Your Majesty's plan for the ten shipyards, a total of 1.2 million taels of silver will be invested."
Song Yingchang said respectfully. This was the result of his detailed calculation. He dared to say it here. If it was in the imperial court, he really did not dare to say it.
It would cost 1.2 million taels of silver to build a shipyard, and they had not even started building the ships!
However, Song Yingchang had also calculated that it would really cost so much from leveling the land, transporting the materials, and deploying the personnel.
What the Emperor wanted to build was not a small ship. It was a big ship. Without a big shipyard, it would be impossible to build it.
Investing 1.2 million taels of silver might not be enough in the end. However, it was calculated for the time being.
Hearing the figure of 1.2 million taels of silver, Zhu Yijun immediately let out a breath. For now, it was still within an acceptable range.
However, thinking of the subsequent costs of building the ships and the military expenses of the navy, Zhu Yijun still felt a toothache. How much money would it cost to throw out this navy?
If he did this, even the palace treasury would not be able to handle it.
Using troops in the northwest also required money. Disregarding everything else, just the rewards would be a large sum.
Having won a great battle, the Emperor's rewards could not be stingy. He also planned to use this victory to start military reform, at least in the northwest.
The threat of Walla had been eliminated, so he could move the troops in the northwest with peace of mind.
All of this cost money. Adding on the expenses of disaster relief, it was possible that he would be in the red again this year.
Thinking of this, Zhu Yijun sighed helplessly. Money, money!
"Rest for a while and nurse your body. I will arrange for you to be promoted to assistant minister of the Ministry of Works as soon as possible and be transferred to the position of chief steward of the Royal Shipyard. At that time, the construction of the Tianjin shipyard can begin."
Zhu Yijun was actually waiting for news from the northwest. That side was not stable, so he was not in the mood to do anything.
Song Yingchang left. When Zhu Yijun saw Zhang He come in with a memorial, he paused slightly. This was not the time to hand over a memorial.
Furthermore, it was only one memorial. Unless it was something big, this kind of situation would not occur.
"Whose memorial?" Zhu Yijun looked at Zhang He and asked.
"Your Majesty, it is godfather's," Zhang He quickly replied and extended his hand to hand over the memorial.
Zhang Jing's memorial?
Zhu Yijun extended his hand to take the memorial. He opened it and glanced at it. Joy immediately appeared on Zhu Yijun's face.
The matter in Yangzhou was settled. This was really good news. After letting out a sigh of relief, Zhu Yijun began to quickly flip through the pages.
In this memorial, Zhang Jing described in detail what happened in Yangzhou. From the moment he arrived in Yangzhou, he did not miss a single thing.
At the end of the memorial, Zhang Jing attached a detailed accounting form. Looking at the contents, Zhu Yijun sighed and said: "In this world, only I am poor!
However, this amount of money will be able to alleviate the financial crisis. "
Putting down the memorial, Zhu Yijun said: "The Qi Family will be executed. As for the other salt merchants, if any lives were lost, they will be beheaded in public and their families will be exiled to Lingnan. As for the officials in Yangzhou, they will be beheaded and their families will be confiscated. Their families will be exiled to Lingnan. Send the seal of the Rites Department!"
This time, they will definitely not be exiled to the army. They will be exiled to Lingnan and live a happy life there.
"Yes, Imperial Majesty!" Zhang He replied and turned to leave. He did not expect that Zhu Yijun would call out to him again.
"Send an order to Zhang Jing. Tell him to settle the matter in Yangzhou as soon as possible. Escort the confiscated money to the capital. Sell all the antiques, paintings, fields, and shops!
Tell Zhang Jing to take charge of the sales. Don't sell them too cheaply. "
"Yes, Imperial Majesty!" Zhang He replied and turned to leave again.
The matter in Yangzhou had come to an end. He could finally put down a piece of his worries. With this money, he would be rewarded for the war in the northwest.
However, he did not have enough money for the military reform. He still had to think of a way!
At the Civil Servant Academy in Beijing.
Tomorrow was the graduation day of the Civil Servant Academy. After three months of training, these civil servants could finally leave this place.
Basically, everyone's face was filled with joy and rejoicing.
Out of the twenty-seven people, in the end, only eighteen managed to persist. It was completely different from when they first came in.
At the edge of a field, Sun Chengzong and Li Yiqi leaned on the pickaxe in their hands and drank water while sweating profusely.
Glancing at Li Yiqi, Sun Chengzong put down the water bag in his hand and said with a smile, "In the past, I knew that farming was hard, but I really did not expect it to be this hard!"
"At noon, when I hoed the fields, sweat dripped into the soil. Who knew that every grain of rice on the plate was hard?"
"In the past, when I read this poem, I did sigh with emotion. Now, I really feel the same way!"
In the Civil Servant Academy, everyone had to plow two acres of land for themselves. This was part of the agriculture class.
Everyone had to do it. Plow the land and then plant it. For these scholars who had never worked before, it was really a challenge.
Sun Chengzong's originally fair face had now turned dark. It was all because of the sun.
"Our situation is still good. Farming is much harder than this."
Li Yiqi put the pickaxe on the ground and sat on it. Then, he said with a smile, "When I was young, I watched my parents farm. Every year, they would sell that bit of grain to buy pens and books for me to study."
"Brother Sun, do you know?
My father spent most of his days hungry. "