noffsinger Chapter 488 New Year’s Plan
Chapter 488 New Year’s Plan
Yuan Chuan, the Imperial Household Official, stood up again and said, "Your Majesty, this Longevity Festival also includes chanting sutras and praying in Buddhist temples, sacrificial ceremonies, distributing longevity money, setting up the stage and interior decoration of the palace, and preparing various items according to the regulations. The total cost should be 700,000 to 800,000 taels of silver."
"So the total cost of this year's Wanshou Festival is one million taels of silver?" It was hard to tell from the emperor's tone whether he thought it was too much or too little.
In the past, Zhou Chang would have thought that spending one million taels of silver on his birthday was an astronomical figure, but now that he had Yuan Qi's support, he would be numb even if it was ten million taels, let alone less than one million taels.
Emperor Lin asked: "Since next year's Longevity Festival is so important and we need to build a Longevity Platform, the silver cost will have to be doubled?"
Yuan Chuan, the Imperial Household Official, paused for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, according to my estimation, your Majesty's 70th birthday, with foreign envoys coming to the court, plus the Wanshou Terrace, will only show the grace of our great country. At least three million taels of silver will be needed."
I remember that Zhong Yu said last time that building a dam would cost three or four million taels of silver.
Even if we start building from the upper reaches of Peishui, I'm afraid that one dam would not be enough if we count downstream.
If Prince Yi really takes on this matter, he will have a huge amount of money in the future.
Zhou Chang couldn't help but worry.
Feng Ming was determined to do it: "Then let's calculate it as three million taels of silver."
The Minister of Finance Song Ming had a smiling face, but his words were not pleasant to hear: "Your Highness Prince Yi, you can just do it? In this case, the two items would cost seven or eight hundred taels of silver. Not to mention that the national treasury doesn't have it, even if it did, the Ministry of Finance wouldn't dare to allocate it. There are too many places that need silver throughout the year, not just these two items."
Apart from other things, the expenses for the birthday banquet can be paid from the imperial treasury, but if the Wanshou Terrace and the dam are to be built, money must be asked from the Ministry of Revenue.
Feng Ming raised his head and glanced at Song Ming: "So what? We can't build the dam just to build the Wanshou Terrace, right? The Wanshou Festival is not only my father's birthday, but also a day for the whole world to celebrate. Since it is a day for the whole world to celebrate, and we are all the same, building a dam is a long-term plan. How can we not treat it as the same?"
The emperor's golden nanmu coffin is worth a million taels of gold, so why can't he use the silver to build a dam?
Feng Ming wanted to forcibly link these two things together so that Emperor Lin would not be able to build the Wanshou Terrace alone.
"Lord Song, why are you so anxious? Didn't His Majesty just say that the Jin Caosi should be responsible for finding a solution?" Prince Xian shook his head and interrupted again.
Zhou Chang didn't know whether King Xian was drunk or what, but he spoke in a sinister tone today.
Feng Mingze didn't care at all, he just said to Emperor Lin: "What do you think, Father? Can you approve it?"
Emperor Lin also drank two more cups. Although he was hesitant, he could reluctantly accept it: "This matter can be discussed."
"Negotiationable" means there is a way.
Feng Ming's eyes curved: "Father is wise."
"Your Majesty, that silver..." Song Ming was about to refuse.
Emperor Lin frowned, today was his birthday banquet.
Song Ming was so scared that he took back the second half of his sentence and looked in Zhou Chang's direction again.
Feng Ming took the lead and continued to attack: "Sir Song, what do you want me to do? You should keep an eye on the 'money bag' of the national treasury. His Majesty's 70th birthday celebration may cost more than 3 million taels of silver. No matter how much, as long as your Ministry of Revenue can allocate the same amount of silver, I will not trouble you."
"I, I..." Song Ming said "I" for a long time but couldn't utter any words. The smiling Buddha was about to turn into a furious Vajra.
Prince Rong remained silent for a long time, then interrupted again: "Silver is easy to talk about, but I am worried about how much you know about building a dam, my ninth brother?"
"This..." Feng Ming obviously didn't have time to think about it.
Prince Xian glared and said, "The construction of the imperial mausoleum is just about to be finished, and the Ministry of Works is about to build the Wanshou Terrace, but there is no manpower to build the dam."
Zhou Chang then remembered that after Prince Duan broke his leg, the affairs of the Ministry of Works were taken over by Prince Xian.
But he didn't expect that Prince Xian not only took over Prince Duan's career, but also his temper. Today he is making things difficult for Prince Yi.
Feng Ming was the same as before: "Brother Rong, don't worry. Even if the Ministry of Industry can't spare any manpower, I can find people among the people. I can always complete this task."
"How can this be done? Civilian craftsmen have no experience in building dams. If we are not careful, it may lead to greater disasters and waste people's time and money. It would be better to..." Prince Rong looked worried.
In the past, Zhou Chang would have only thought that Prince Rong was worried about Prince Yi, but ever since he heard various speculations about Prince Rong from Duke Gu Yan of Xu, he had some concerns in his heart.
Zhou Chang could remain calm and composed in the face of difficulties, but if he really met someone who had treated him sincerely, he would inevitably feel resentful once he was let down.
Feng Ming, on the other hand, had never felt anything about Prince Rong's affairs, and he was still the same at this moment. He probably didn't believe Gu Yan's instigation at all.
Therefore, while Zhou Chang was still feeling awkward, Feng Ming had already glanced down and asked, "Where is the Minister of Works, the Minister of Works, Lord Jia?"
Minister of Works Jia Rui had just sat down when he had to stand up again: "I am here, Your Highness Prince Yi, what can I do for you?"
The ranks of the six ministers were higher than those of the "Taizai Bakushou", but Prince Yi was still a prince, so there was nothing they could do about him.
Feng Ming walked around the table and towards Jia Rui, with a gentle smile on his face: "Master Jia Rui, the Ministry of Works has been repairing the imperial mausoleum for more than ten years. Now that it is nearing the end, they should be able to spare some manpower, right?"
Jia Rui clearly saw Prince Yi's friendly smile, but for no reason he felt a chill down his spine. He shuddered in his heart and didn't care if he could spare any manpower: "Yes, yes..."
King Xian was so angry that his nose almost got crooked.
On the surface, he seemed to have taken over the Ministry of Works, but Jia Rui was still a member of Prince Duan's party and he could never be controlled.
Feng Ming turned back to Emperor Lin and said calmly, "Father, today is the birthday banquet. Your Majesty is here, and all the ministers are here. We heard it just now. Lord Jia will definitely keep his word."
"This..." Emperor Lin never agreed to this matter from beginning to end.
Now he is being talked about to death by Prince Yi.
Jia Rui was still trembling beside him: "I dare not, I dare not..."
Song Ming, the Minister of Finance, was sitting next to Jia Rui and immediately objected: "Yes, Your Majesty is here. It is a good thing that Prince Yi wants to build a dam, but since Your Majesty is the head of the Jin Cao Division, Your Majesty should also issue an order that Your Majesty should also solve the problem of filling the national treasury."
"Why should I solve this problem?" Feng Ming turned sideways and glanced at Song Ming. "Does the annual income of the national treasury only rely on the taxes from the Jin Caosi? Even if it relies on taxes, it is the business of the Ministry of Revenue. What does it have to do with the Jin Caosi?"
"How can it not be the business of Jin Caosi? Annual taxes are the bulk of the national treasury revenue, and Jin Cao is in charge of tax policies." Unexpectedly, Song Ming had a smiling face and was "not shirking his responsibility" when it came to silver.