Chapter 156: Marriage?

The treasury of the Ming Dynasty has always been Zhu Qizhen's courage. As much money as he has, Zhu Qizhen dares to do many things.

Now that he only had such a small amount of money, Zhu Qizhen naturally felt more at ease, and acquiesced to the cabinet's proposal to ease and compromise with Wasa.

But Zhu Qizhen's compromise also had limits.

There are some things that Zhu Qizhen will never do.

The word "marriage" has actually angered Zhu Qizhen.

It's just that Zhu Qizhen suppressed his anger forcefully.

The general will not raise an army out of anger, and similarly, Zhu Qizhen will not be emotional. No matter how angry Zhu Qizhen is, his face will sink into the abyss, without any leakage.

I saw a quarrel in the cabinet.

"'It is a shame for me to send a concubine to settle down the country, but I don't know where to use the general.'" Zhang Fu couldn't help but said: "If your Majesty agrees to negotiate for peace, I will please retire and return home."

"I also apologize to my old age," Hu Hui said.

Cao Nai said: "Both of you, this is a national matter. An Neng is acting emotionally. Now the national treasury is empty, and the court's money and grain have nowhere to borrow. Once there is a war, the Yellow River construction will stop. Hundreds of thousands of victims will depend on the Yellow River construction to survive. Once the Yellow River construction stops,

What should we do with these hundreds of thousands of victims?"

"I am afraid that I will rise up and repeat the chaos at the end of the Yuan Dynasty. Now the imperial court is fighting with Wa Ci. It goes without saying that there is no victory. Once there is a defeat, the imperial court will not have a second military pay."

"The situation in Beijing will then be extremely embarrassing and endanger the country."

"Everything I do can be judged by heaven, and I have absolutely no selfish motives. This matter can be postponed, or I can marry the minister's daughter with the surname Zhu. If your majesty agrees, I am willing to marry my daughter."

"It's not that I don't love my daughter, it's that this is a time when we can't fight. Once something changes, the situation will be uncontrollable. Please tell me, Your Majesty."

What Cao Nai said was true and sincere. It can be said that every word is blood.

Zhu Qizhen also understood that what Cao Nai said was not a lie.

The Ming Dynasty's national power was insufficient to advance two major events at the same time.

This time it was Wa Ci's temptation. If he refused, it would probably lead to a big war.

Cao Nai acted against all the ministers because he felt that he was right. He would rather suffer infamy than to do more for the world.

If nothing else, after what Cao Nai said today, his future political future is gone.

Without him, the position of chief minister is connected to the emperor above and the ministers below. It is impossible to firmly hold the position of chief minister without the holy family members. It is also impossible to firmly hold the position of chief minister without the approval of a large number of officials below.

On this day, Cao Nai was in tit-for-tat confrontation with Zhang Fu and Hu Hui, and he was already shameless. Zhang Fu and Hu Hui both had a political group behind them. They were not alone.

There are currently six people in the cabinet, two of whom are clearly opposed to it, and the rest may not support him. He has become quite passive.

This matter was thankless for Cao Nai.

There is no benefit at all.

It can only be said that Cao Nai believed that what he said was right.

"Your Majesty, I second the advice of the chief minister. This is not the time to be at odds with Wasi. He and his relatives are not willing to do so. However, the country has always been generous and generous, and Wasi is the most diligent in paying tribute. Shouldn't the court reward him?" Wang Zhi said.

Finally spoke.

A trace of disappointment flashed in Zhu Qizhen's eyes.

He understood what Wang Zhi meant.

Wang Zhi meant that marriage was not an option, but he could make concessions in other aspects to hold off Wa Ci and allow Ming Dynasty to get through this period of financial weakness as soon as possible.

When the Yellow River project was completed, the Ming Dynasty had confidence. Even if Wasi didn't want to fight, the court would still fight.

Zhu Qizhen said: "What do everyone else think?"

Zhu Qizhen looked at Zhou Chen and Gao Gu.

Gao Gu said: "I have limited knowledge and dare not speak nonsense."

Zhu Qizhen sneered in his heart and said: "Trash."

It's just trash. Ministers from other places may be able to sit on the fence, but this place is the Wenhua Palace, the highest decision-making center of the Ming Dynasty.

All major events of the Ming Dynasty are decided here. How can a cabinet minister say that he has no opinions?

What's the use of you?

Zhu Qizhen was still undecided, and then looked at Zhou Chen.

Zhou Chen said: "I am in charge of money and food. I don't know anything else about it, but one thing is clear, that is, the court's money and food are not enough. Therefore, no matter what decision your majesty makes, I will support it. As long as your majesty gives the order,

I will try my best to raise any amount of money and food for Your Majesty."

"Shameless." Cao Nai looked at Zhou Chen and thought to himself.

In Cao Nai's view, Zhou Chen's performance fully demonstrated why neither Yang Shiqi nor Yang Pu felt that Zhou Chen was qualified to serve as the first assistant.

At this critical moment, as the bachelor in charge of the Ministry of Revenue, you know the most about the money and food expenditure of the Ming Dynasty. I really want you to tell the emperor the following situation and not let the emperor make wrong decisions, but you are actually flattering me.

Yes, in front of the emperor, everyone will inevitably flatter him, but they also have their own persistence. At this time, they must adhere to the correct opinions and help the emperor.

How can this happen?

Cao Nai still wanted to make further remarks.

Zhu Qizhen waved his hand and said: "This matter is of great importance, let me think about it. Everyone, please go back first."

Zhu Qizhen immediately stood up and rolled away his sleeves.

After Zhu Qizhen arrived at the Qianqing Palace, he could no longer hold back his anger. He gently held the tea cup in his hand and turned it around and around. Zhu Qizhen didn't know how many times he turned it, and suddenly he smashed it with a loud "snap"

On the ground, countless ceramic pieces flew up.

Zhu Qizhen stood in front of the window with his hands behind his hands and closed his eyes.

To be honest, Zhu Qizhen wanted to smash things as soon as he returned to the Qianqing Palace. His years of training allowed him to suppress his emotions, and finally he couldn't suppress them anymore, so he smashed the cup.

As an emperor, it is a very bad habit to get angry at will.

Because every time you get angry, you may lose your life. Just like when Zhu Qizhen got angry about Wang Zhen's death, he implicated hundreds of eunuchs.

If these are Wang Zhen's gang members, does everyone have a way to die?

not necessarily.

Therefore, restraining one's anger, emotions, and expressions, and reaching a state where one's chest is filled with thunder and his face is as flat as a lake. This is what Zhu Qizhen has always asked of himself.

It's just that many times he can't do it.

Zhu Qizhen didn't know how he got into such a dilemma. The Yellow River breach spread thousands of miles, and repairing the Yellow River would make the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River much calmer for a long time.

Even if the Yellow River goes north, the Huaihe River management project can be started.

Of course, Zhu Qizhen knew that this was a much bigger project than the Hebei Water Conservancy Project. After all, the Yellow River project was huge, but the rest was just a river embankment.

The entire Huaihe River Basin is vast. Once the Huaihe River is stabilized, it will be a large granary for the Ming Dynasty.

How could Zhu Qizhen not do such a thing?

The marriage between Wasi and Wachi seriously violated Zhu Qizhen's ideas. In Zhu Qizhen's view, it was just a slap in the face. Zhu Qizhen would never agree to such a thing.

Not only did it go against Zhu Qizhen's personal wishes, Zhu Qizhen also did a lot of things against his will. It was also because of his posthumous reputation and the current political influence.

Most of the civil servants and military officers in the imperial court strongly opposed this matter.

Zhu Qizhen went against public opinion. Although he was not Cao Nai, he had to pay a price.

It's just that the problems Cao Nai mentioned are real. There is no food and grass, and no military pay. How can we fight a war? There is no problem with the current Ming Dynasty's finances to maintain the current strategy.

But if there is a war with Wasi, all kinds of expenses will definitely be unsustainable.

Zhu Qizhen doesn't know what to do when the time comes? We can't let everyone below fight with hunger, so that we can win the war.

At this moment, Zhu Qizhen admires the orthodox emperors in history. Under such a situation, he still dares to send his imperial commander to personally conquer? In other words, after more than ten years of governance, the current situation is not as good as before the Tumubao Incident.

When he thought of this, Zhu Qizhen was deeply frustrated.

In fact, he thought wrong.

The orthodoxy in history was far worse than it is now. Ye Liuzong of Fujian died, and Deng Maoqi was still fighting everywhere. The Battle of Luchuan lasted until last year. The wars continued for many years. Because of the Guizhou rebellion, the imperial court mobilized 100,000 troops to encircle and suppress them twice.

The Miao Rebellion in Guangxi and the Yao Rebellion in Lianzhou, Guangdong. As for Huguang, there were various uprisings by the White Lotus Sect in Jiangxi, which even mobilized the troops of Huguang.

In short, later generations said that the world was on the verge of collapse.

Speaking of which, Zhu Qizhen is much happier now than the orthodox people in history.
Chapter completed!