No matter what the situation is in Fujian, at least the urgent military situation in Zhejiang cannot be delayed.
Zhejiang was still waiting for orders from the Ministry of War and the Cabinet as to whether or not to fight this war, and how to fight it. Xu Anying was a little anxious: "Zhejiang was also harassed by the Japanese pirates, and now the Japanese pirates in Fujian have also fled to Zhejiang. The situation in Zhejiang is now extremely critical. Should we fight this war? Please come up with an idea..."
The Japanese pirates entrenched in Pinghu committed all kinds of atrocities after entering the country, including burning, killing, looting and so on. The most brutal thing was that they massacred an entire village of people in the middle of the night.
This behavior is extremely bad.
What made Emperor Longqing even more angry and ashamed was that more than 3,000 militiamen in Zhejiang were hacked to death! But there were only more than 300 Japanese pirates in total!
This was tantamount to a loud slap in the face of the imperial court.
Emperor Longqing calmed down, staring at Qian Shiyun and Xu Anying with his eyes like a hawk, and turned away after a moment, asking them: "According to your opinions, what should we do?"
Liu Biping in Fujian cannot be investigated openly now, but the battle in Zhejiang must be fought.
Otherwise, if something really happened in Zhejiang, the momentum of the King of Jin, which had just subsided, would probably rise again immediately.
This cannot be done.
Jiang Zining and Qian Shiyun looked at each other, then looked away calmly.
Jiang Zining became the Prime Minister, and the new Minister of Revenue was his man. He knew how difficult the Ministry of Revenue was now. Fujian's military expenditure was increasing year by year, Zhejiang and Jiangxi were also asking for money, not to mention the Tatars in the north...
However, Qian Shiyun keenly perceived Emperor Longqing's intentions.
He knew the determination of Emperor Longqing and knew that he would definitely fight this war. After careful consideration, he stroked his beard and turned to ask Xu Anying: "You are the Minister of War, you answer, in your opinion, how is Zhejiang?"
Xu Anying thought about it carefully and answered carefully: "Zhejiang Governor Zhou Yunyi is a capable person. The reason why the Japanese pirates did not invade Zhejiang before was also because Zhejiang was guarded by Zhou Yunyi."
What this means is that if Zhou Yunyi is given enough supplies, this battle can be won.
Emperor Longqing then turned his gaze to Xue Ziming, who had remained silent, and asked, "What does the Ministry of Revenue think?"
Xue Ziming thought for a moment and said, "Reporting to His Majesty, the Ministry of Revenue collected a total of 51 million taels of tax silver last year. The original expenditure budget was 42 million taels, but the actual expenditure was 58 million taels, a deficit of 7 million taels..."
From last year to now, the Yellow River has flooded, the Jiujiang River burst its dikes, the Prince of Jin has rebelled, the Fourth Prince has passed away, and money is needed everywhere.
Considering the military expenditures of Fujian and Zhejiang, as well as the salaries of the northern border defense forces, it is normal to have such a deficit.
Everyone fell silent.
Emperor Longqing looked at him deeply and asked him, "I know the difficulties of the Ministry of Revenue. But in extraordinary times, there must be extraordinary measures. Is there no other way? Let the soldiers in Zhejiang go to fight the Japanese pirates with empty stomachs to defend their country?!"
It means that you must fight.
Xue Ziming cautiously glanced at Jiang Zining's face with his peripheral vision, and when he saw his master nodded almost imperceptibly, he cupped his hands and replied generously: "In reply to the emperor's words, I request that an imperial envoy be sent to inspect the salt industry in the south, sort out the salt tax, and use it for state use."
Salt tax...
That would make the salt merchants bleed.
Emperor Longqing immediately looked at Jiang Zining and nodded without hesitation: "Approved!"
But this is not a long-term solution. Although the salt tax can solve the problem temporarily, the money needed for war cannot be paid by the salt tax alone.
Emperor Longqing waited for Xue Ziming to continue speaking.
As expected, Xue Ziming immediately leaned forward again, and said passionately but calmly: "I have another request! The Fujian officials are in collusion and corruption is serious. Although we cannot investigate it in a big way now, we cannot just leave it alone."
He knelt on the ground, kowtowed, and said word by word with his hands clasped in a dignified manner: "I ask Your Majesty to immediately appoint the Marquis of Pingxi to take office, open the Maritime Customs Office, and raise funds for the army!"
Emperor Longqing's eyes lit up.
Everyone also looked at Xue Ziming.
Yes, Liu Biping could not be directly sent to the capital for trial because the implications were too great. But what if someone went to Fujian to build a Maritime Customs under the pretext of raising military funds for Zhejiang
As long as Shen Chen has the ability to take down Liu Biping without shaking up the Fujian officialdom...
Emperor Longqing immediately called Xu Anying's name: "What do you think?"
Xu Anying lowered his head and thought carefully, then nodded seriously: "I think it is feasible. It has been said for nearly a year or two that Pingxi Hou will go to Fujian to serve as the envoy of the Maritime Customs. If he is allowed to go now, Liu Biping and the Fujian officials will not find it strange and will not be suspicious. As long as the Marquis can stand firm, even if he cannot do anything to Liu Biping openly for a while, at least he can make Liu Biping restrain himself and give up the income from the Maritime Customs to fill the national treasury. Not to mention that it can also deter the Fujian officials and let those Fujian termites know the power of the court!"
Emperor Longqing hummed, and it was unknown what he was thinking. After a moment, he said, "In this case, you go and draft the bill. After the cabinet drafts it, let An Yong approve it!"
Everyone responded in agreement.
Emperor Longqing then summoned Shen Chen, Marquis of Pingxi, into the palace.
At that time, Shen Chen had also received the news that although Prince Jin was losing ground, Jiujiang was hit by a sudden flood. Prince Linjiang was busy comforting the affected people and had no time to quell the rebellion in one go, which gave Prince Jin some breathing room.
Xue Song sighed and said, "I heard... I heard that the Prince of Jin sent a letter of persuasion to the prince, saying that the prince's death was unjust and that it was clearly the court who deliberately killed him. He asked the prince to just join the rebellion and make the prince a straight-shoulder king after the success..."
Shen Chen sneered, put the letter in his hand on the fire and burned it, then asked Xue Song: "How is the matter with Xue Changshi going?"
Xuesong regained his composure and shook his head. "That guy has a very sensitive nose. After the news of the prince's death spread, he hid himself and became the military advisor of the King of Jin. Our people sneaked into Nanchang and Guangchang several times, but they couldn't do anything to him."
Shen Chen frowned, "We can't keep this person. He knows a lot about Chu Jingxing and is one of Chu Jingxing's confidants. This letter of persuasion to surrender might have come from him. If father refuses to agree, he might make Chu Jingxing's deeds public and let father be accused by the world, so as to force father to rebel."
Xuesong knew how serious it was, and immediately became serious. He quickly responded, "Don't worry, I have already sent a secret letter to inform the prince..."