Blossom In Adversity - Vol. 2

C364. An Empty Treasury.

Chapter 364: An Empty Treasury

Old Master Zhu nodded thoughtfully, "Why did His Majesty suddenly come up with such an idea? Has someone been slandering him?"

"He said he has accomplished nothing. When a person says something like that, anyone with a bit of ability will want to change the situation. His Majesty holds the imperial power, so how could his ambitions be any less than ordinary people?"

The old master nodded, once again confirming in his heart that Zhi'er's source of information was not simple. The emperor's words were not something that ordinary people would know.

Unaware that she had inadvertently exposed something, Hua Zhi continued, "It's not that the Grand Canal cannot be built, but the current situation, you know better than I do. The crown prince has not been established, which is a domestic crisis, and the Chao Li tribe is making a comeback, which is an external threat. With both internal and external troubles, if we were to dig the Grand Canal, there is a risk that the Great Qing Dynasty would be dragged down. We can die last in the capital, but my grandfather and the others are on the frontier. Once all the young and strong are conscripted to build the Grand Canal, and the front line loses reinforcements and Wu Yong is defeated, my grandfather and the others will be the first to suffer. To let you know, the Seven Stars Bureau has convinced the emperor to order an early conscription. You should tighten your purse strings and not give the emperor a chance. He won't be able to openly say that he wants to dig the Grand Canal under these circumstances."

"If he's already opened his mouth, it can't be refused, so let's just make sure he doesn't have the chance to open his mouth, right?" The old master smiled, asking casually, "Did you come up with this idea?"

"Someone else did." All the way back from the north, Yan Xi would talk about these things when they rested. Unlike other men who couldn't tolerate women having their own thoughts, he would encourage her to express her own opinions, and she naturally wouldn't go against his wishes.

The old master nodded and then said, "Have you contacted the Ministry of War? I haven't heard anything yet."

"It should be necessary to wait until the south is pacified before conscription. I only heard a little bit about it, and I don't know the details very well."

The old master pondered for a moment and slowly revealed something about the Ministry of Finance, "The treasury of the Great Daqing Dynasty is actually not very full. In recent years, there have been frequent natural disasters, and the court has been providing disaster relief every year. In addition, the emperor's large-scale construction of the palace last year cost a lot of money, and the treasury is already half empty."

"Half empty... how much is left? Before last year, I thought that the Great Daqing Dynasty was not a prosperous era but was still stable. How come the treasury is not full?" Hua Zhi was a little panicked. Internal and external troubles, an empty treasury, the old emperor wanted to dig the Grand Canal, and he was always wary of the officials' heads... This looked like the signs of a troubled world!

"We currently have about nine million taels to use, but we'll need to allocate a portion of that for disaster relief. This amount is barely enough to support one campaign. Zhi'er, the Great Daqing Dynasty is short on money, and our grain reserves are nowhere near as full as they used to be." The old man chuckled bitterly.

Now was clearly not a good time to ascend to a higher position, but since the imperial edict had been issued, he could only accept this hot potato. If he had a choice, he would have preferred to resign.

Hua Zhi didn't know how to describe her feelings. The national treasury only had nine million taels left. That meager was the only savings of an entire country!