Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 298 Priorities

Wei Zhongxian's words made Emperor Tianqi frown slightly, but he admitted that Wei Zhongxian's concerns were somewhat reasonable.

In the first year of the Tianqi reign, the fiscal revenue of the entire Ming Dynasty was 7.55 million taels. Because Liaodong had just been defeated, the court had to spend 10 million taels on military expenses and other expenditures to stabilize the war in Liaodong. According to the fiscal revenue of that year, the gap was as high as 2.73 million taels.

In order to make up for the shortfall, Emperor Tianqi took out 1.3 million taels from the treasury for emergency use and allocated it to the Ministry of Revenue, but it was still a drop in the bucket and not enough. This is why Emperor Tianqi later asked Wei Zhongxian to find a way to get money in the name of tax clearance.

Now Liaodong's annual expenditure has reached a huge amount that is equivalent to the previous annual fiscal revenue. Although Wei Zhongxian has done a good job in taxation, he cannot maintain such expenditure for a long time.

"What does Wei Banban mean...?"

"Your Majesty, I was just wondering, since Nan Juyi can take the initiative to start a war in Fujian, why can't Lord Sun also fight in Liaodong? You should know that the soldiers in Liaodong are the elite of our Ming Dynasty. Now the situation in Liaodong has stabilized. Lord Sun is very talented. I heard that he has been reorganizing the army these days and has made a lot of cannons, muskets and other firearms. If possible, we can fight a battle with the Jiannu and teach them a lesson. Even a small victory is good."

"I don't know much about military affairs, but I always feel that the cost of building a city according to Lord Sun's strategy of taking every step carefully is too high. It's not that I think this city shouldn't be built, but I think even if a city is built, we can't always avoid fighting. The rampant Jiannu is well known to everyone. If we just defend and don't attack for a long time, it will be a waste of the court's money..."

"Of course, this is just my humble opinion. I just want to share the emperor's worries. I am worried that the Ming Dynasty in Liaodong now has elite soldiers and generals, but hundreds of thousands of troops are only used to build cities but have no place to use them. However, whether there is any other deep meaning behind this arrangement by Lord Sun, I dare not comment on it..."

Having said this, Wei Zhongxian stopped and looked quietly towards Emperor Tianqi again, as if he wanted to see something from his face.

But what disappointed him was that Emperor Tianqi had a calm expression, as if he didn't care at all about what he had just said, which made Wei Zhongxian feel depressed.

"Well, what Wei Banban said makes some sense." Finally, the Tianqi Emperor said this, but before Wei Zhongxian could show his joy, the Tianqi Emperor said indifferently: "Wei Banban, you just said that you don't understand military affairs. Since you don't understand, it's better to do your own thing. I know Mr. Sun well. He has strategies. There is nothing wrong with going to Liaodong except that the military expenditure is higher. Moreover, I also approved the construction of Liaodong City. Now Ningyuan is under construction, and Jinzhou has also sent back news a few days ago. The money has been spent. Wouldn't it be a waste to stop it?"

"Besides, the Jian Nu has been much more peaceful in the past year, which is enough to prove that Mr. Sun's response was correct. As for the fact that the court's expenditure is indeed higher, there is nothing we can do about it. Wei Banban, you need to pay more attention to taxes and other matters. I am waiting for this money."

"I obey your order. Please rest assured, Your Majesty, I will do my best and will not disappoint Your Majesty." Wei Zhongxian replied quickly.

"Okay, it's getting late. You go down and do your work. I have to go to the imperial concubine to see the prince." Emperor Tianqi waved his hand and a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth as he said this.

Three years after he ascended the throne, Emperor Tianqi finally had a queen. In fact, more than a month ago, Empress Zhang gave birth to a son, but unfortunately the child was stillborn. Upon hearing the news, Emperor Tianqi was greatly disappointed and felt extremely regretful.

Fortunately, just ten days after Empress Zhang gave birth, Imperial Noble Consort Fan also gave birth. This time it was also a son, and the child was born very healthy. Upon hearing the news, Emperor Tianqi was overjoyed and personally gave the prince a name and rewarded Imperial Noble Consort Fan and everyone in the palace.

Now the child is already one month old, and the little guy is gradually growing up. His appearance is quite similar to Tianqi, which makes Emperor Tianqi even happier. Emperor Tianqi loves this prince very much, and at the same time, he values ​​Concubine Fan even more. Whenever Tianqi is free these days, he will go to Concubine Fan's palace to sit, see the prince, and talk to Concubine Fan.

Hearing what Emperor Tianqi said, Wei Zhongxian smiled and praised the little prince, which made Emperor Tianqi, who had just become a father, even happier. Standing up, Emperor Tianqi asked Wei Zhongxian to go and do his own thing, while he changed his clothes and then went to the harem.

The distance from the Palace of Heavenly Purity to the Imperial Concubine's residence was not far. The Emperor Tianqi was young and healthy, so he did not ask the eunuchs to prepare the sedan chair. He had time to prepare this thing, and it only took him a few steps to get there. Besides, it was good for him to walk around after a busy day.

As he walked towards the Imperial Concubine's Palace, the words Wei Zhongxian had just said flashed through Emperor Tianqi's mind, and he could not help but shook his head. Wei Zhongxian's words were full of meaning, and Emperor Tianqi did not fail to hear it, but deliberately pretended not to know. The reason why Wei Zhongxian suddenly brought up the Liaodong military expenses and the Liaodong city construction expenses was nothing more than the idea of ​​suing Sun Chengzong in front of the emperor.

As Emperor Tianqi placed more and more trust in Wei Zhongxian, his position in the court became higher and higher, and his power became greater and greater. Wei Zhongxian was not afraid of the extremely powerful Donglin Party, and dared to challenge them even if they were not as strong as him.

But in the court, apart from his master, the Emperor Tianqi, Wei Zhongxian was not without someone he was afraid of, and that person was the current Liaodong governor, Sun Chengzong.

Sun Chengzong was not only an important official in the court, holding the titles of Cabinet Elder and Minister of War, but he was also the Governor-General of Ji and Liao appointed by Emperor Tianqi himself.

In other words, Sun Chengzong is now a high-ranking official. Although he is not in the court, his influence on the court is enormous. Not to mention the first two identities, just the position of the governor of Ji and Liao is extraordinary. Sun Chengzong is the de facto top leader of the entire Ji and Liao, and controls the most elite army of the Ming Dynasty. It is the pinnacle for a civil official to achieve this.

More importantly, Sun Chengzong was the teacher of Emperor Tianqi and had the aura of "Emperor's Teacher". Even though Wei Zhongxian was afraid of Sun Chengzong, he did not dare to confront him openly, because Wei Zhongxian was very clear about Sun Chengzong's status in the heart of Emperor Tianqi. In terms of imperial favor, Sun Chengzong was no less than himself.

In addition, Sun Chengzong was a member of the Donglin Party.

Sun Chengzong or former Prime Minister Liu Yirong were not actually the backbone of the Donglin Party, because their political ideas were relatively moderate. They were not as radical as Yang Lian, Zuo Guangdou, Yuan Huazhong and others. They could be said to be the moderates in the Donglin Party.

After Sun Chengzong entered the cabinet, he was appointed as the governor of Ji and Liao. His status in the Donglin Party was quickly improved, and he became an important leader in the Donglin Party. Even if Sun Chengzong himself didn't want to admit it, during the more than one year he was the governor of Liaodong, his background in the Donglin Party saved him from many troubles in the court.

But there are pros and cons, because of Sun Chengzong, the Donglin Party's influence in the court became even greater. After all, he was the governor of Ji and Liao, held military power, and was also the emperor's teacher. Wei Zhongxian wanted to fight against the Donglin Party, and Sun Chengzong was a hurdle that he could not cross no matter what. No matter how moderate Sun Chengzong was politically, he could not change the label of the Donglin Party.

The Donglin Party's support for Sun Chengzong in the court allowed him to flex his muscles in Liaodong, and the trust of Emperor Tianqi gave him the power to make decisions in Liaodong. However, due to his existence, Emperor Tianqi was somewhat restrained when instructing Wei Zhongxian to deal with the Donglin Party. In addition, Wei Zhongxian was originally afraid of Sun Chengzong, which made Wei Zhongxian think that he had to bring down Sun Chengzong before he could deal with the Donglin Party.

What Wei Zhongxian said to Emperor Tianqi today was nothing more than trying to flatter Sun Chengzong in front of Emperor Tianqi, and at the same time reminding Emperor Tianqi not to forget the past of Li Chengliang, the general of Liaodong.

How did the Liaodong Jiannu become so powerful? Wasn't it because of Li Chengliang? As the general of Liaodong, Li Chengliang was equivalent to a local emperor in Liaodong. In order to keep his military power and wealth, Li Chengliang pretended to obey the court and secretly supported the enemy. He thought everything was under his control, but no one expected that he would mess it up in the end, leading to a disaster.

Now Wei Zhongxian deliberately mentioned that Sun Chengzong had a large army in Liaodong but did not take the initiative to go to war with the Jiannu, but just relied on defense to attack and build cities. These actions must be guarded against, otherwise he might become the second Li Chengliang.

However, Emperor Tianqi did not care about Wei Zhongxian's report at all. He knew very well what Wei Zhongxian's purpose was, and he knew that Sun Chengzong was definitely not Li Chengliang and would not become the second Li Chengliang.

Emperor Tianqi had great trust in Sun Chengzong, and every move of Liaodong was under his attention. More importantly, the strategic arrangements proposed by Sun Chengzong were also recognized by Emperor Tianqi. After experiencing two major defeats in the early days of his reign, Emperor Tianqi was no longer the young emperor who knew nothing. He clearly realized that it was not so easy to solve the problem of the Jiannu in Liaodong. With the current military strength of the Ming Dynasty, the chances of directly winning the war were not great. The tactic proposed by Sun Chengzong of advancing step by step and defending instead of attacking was the safest.

The Ming Dynasty could no longer afford to fail again. The three previous disastrous defeats had already left it seriously injured. Now it had finally managed to stabilize the situation in Liaodong. It must not get carried away at this moment. It had learned from past experience, and Emperor Tianqi would not be fooled by Wei Zhongxian's words.

With a sigh in his heart, Emperor Tianqi felt that he was really exhausted. This emperor's job was really boring. But what could he do? Once he sat on this position, he could only move forward and not retreat. No matter how difficult it was, he had to grit his teeth and persevere. As for Sun Chengzong, Emperor Tianqi had already made plans. Now was definitely not the time to touch his teacher. The Ming Dynasty needed Teacher Sun now, he needed Teacher Sun, and Liaodong needed Teacher Sun even more. If Teacher Sun was taken away, who would clean up the mess in Liaodong? Who would implement the subsequent strategy?
In order to seize power from the Donglin Party and stabilize the government and Liaodong, Emperor Tianqi could only turn a deaf ear to Wei Zhongxian's tricks and not only did he give him a warning, hoping that Wei Zhongxian would understand his thoughts. As for Mr. Sun's matter, let's put it aside for now and talk about it when the time is right. There is no way to wrong Mr. Sun by then, because Mr. Sun is also a member of the Donglin Party.

(End of this chapter)