I am the prince of the Ming Dynasty, I don't give up

Chapter 318 Argument in Court
Zhu Houzhao not only notified Zhu Houxun, but also issued an imperial edict through formal channels, requiring the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue to provide weapons, equipment, supplies and food.

Zhu Houxuan used the emperor's seal on the imperial edict without hesitation and gave it directly to the cabinet. After a brief discussion, the cabinet decided to reject the edict.

This was also within Zhu Houxuan's expectations.

So he quickly convened a meeting in the Qianqing Palace, with the cabinet ministers and nine ministers attending.

"Your Highness, please be advised that what the Emperor said is too bizarre. It is unheard of to determine the scale of the northern barbarians' southward migration based solely on the words of the Mongolian refugees. In my opinion, these things are very likely to be fictitious. They are using this as an excuse to ask for more food and money," Mao Ji said first and very impolitely.

The other people present at the meeting also nodded in appreciation. This was also their opinion. From their perspective, Zhu Houzhao must be up to something this time.

Zhu Houxuan did not bring up the news from the Shanxi merchant. He knew that given the conservative level of the court officials, they would definitely not believe the news from this merchant, let alone make decisions based on it.

This news is as good as nothing, so he simply didn't mention it.
"Even if the scale of the Northern Barbarians' southward movement will not increase, the time for them to move south is approaching. At this time, even if Your Majesty is not in the border towns, the court will allocate food and salaries to the border towns. What's more, Your Majesty is still in the border towns this year, so more food and salaries should be given to the border towns in case of emergency." Zhu Houxuan said.

Even though Zhu Houxuan had fully supported Zhu Houzhao, the specific method still had to be considered.

Although the Royal Group now has the financial resources to support Zhu Houzhao alone in fighting this war, Zhu Houxuan is not prepared to do so, because he cannot spend only the Royal Group's money. After all, the Royal Group's money does not come from the wind, and this kind of thing should be funded and equipped by the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War. He also knows that the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue are rich, so he convened this meeting.

What Zhu Houxuan said made sense, so everyone present turned their eyes to the Minister of Revenue Shi Jie.

"Your Highness, three months ago, the Ministry of Revenue sent a batch of food and salaries to Xuanfu at the request of Your Majesty. Is that batch of food and salaries not enough?" Shi Jie stepped out and asked.

Zhu Houxuan looked at the expressions of the ministers in the hall and understood what they meant. "Before that, I want to clarify one thing. There have been some bad rumors about Your Majesty in the capital recently."

"For example, there are rumors that His Majesty went to Xuanfu to seek pleasure, built a mansion in Xuanfu, and demanded the wives and daughters of officials and civilians, and harmed the people, forcing the local people to live in misery."

"I don't know where these rumors came from, but I know they are all nonsense!" Zhu Houxuan suddenly raised his voice.

The important ministers present had their thoughts revealed by Zhu Houxun. They believed that Zhu Houzhao was asking for food and money in order to use it for personal enjoyment.

"Gentlemen, please do not believe the rumors. What is the real situation? After arriving in Xuanfu, Your Majesty immediately began to reorganize the army and enforce strict military discipline. He also frequently transferred generals from border areas, demoted those who were unqualified, and transferred generals who could fight from various places."

"The next step is to check the number of soldiers, replenish as many troops as possible, check the official ranches, collect available war horses, and reorganize the cavalry!"

"The military affairs in Xuanfu area are improving rapidly now. Your Majesty, all this is done to resist the looting of the Mongols, and all these things require the support of food and money. The last batch of food and money was also used for this purpose," Zhu Houxuan said in an affirmative tone.

He was not lying. Zhu Houzhao had not been sitting there doing nothing during those few months he had been there. He had actually done some work.

The important officials present all started to whisper to each other. Shi Jie smiled bitterly and said, "It is true that the Ministry of Revenue is short of money and grain. Even a good cook cannot cook without rice."

Zhu Houxuan sneered: "I know how much money and grain the Ministry of Revenue has left." "Those have been allocated for use. They will be used for disaster relief in various places," Shi Jie said with a stiff face.

Zhu Houxuan looked at Shi Jie deeply and said, "In this case, I will not use the money and grain from the Ministry of Revenue."

The important officials present all breathed a sigh of relief.

"However, this year's 1.3 million taels of salt tax from the Changlu Salt Field has not yet been sent to the Ministry of Revenue. Since Your Majesty needs food and wages, just give it directly to Your Majesty." Zhu Houxuan said quickly.

The important officials present were all shocked by this sudden turn of events.
"Your Highness, how can this be possible?" Shi Jie said anxiously.

"Why not?" Zhu Houxuan retorted.

Faced with Zhu Houchun's power, Shi Jie was quickly defeated. If Zhu Houchun really did this, he would have no way to stop him.

"Your Highness, please calm down. Now that things have come to this, I, an old minister, will make things clear. Your Majesty is the ruler of a country and cannot stay in Xuanfu forever," Liang Chu stepped out to smooth things over.

Zhu Houxuan pondered over Liang Chu's words, looked at the important ministers, and suddenly understood something.

"Are you trying to force His Majesty to return to the capital by not paying him food and wages?"

Liang Chu didn't answer, which was considered as his consent.

Yang Yiqing said: "I would like to ask Your Highness to cooperate with us and let His Majesty return to Beijing as soon as possible."

This bad idea was collectively thought out by the ministers, but its realization still required the cooperation of Zhu Houxuan.

No matter how large or small the Mongolian march southward is, the emperor has made it clear that he will lead the army in person. If there is not enough food and money, you will have to return to the capital obediently.

They didn't care too much about the scale of the Mongols' southward advance. Anyway, it was unlikely that they would reach the capital. The most important thing now was to get the emperor back to the capital.

After understanding the ministers' intentions, Zhu Houxuan was actually moved, but he immediately threw the idea out of his mind.

"My lords, your majesty has a strong character. Will he give up the war because of insufficient food and pay? Since this method is useless, why do we still withhold the food and pay? If because of your strategies, your majesty is not given food and pay, which leads to his defeat, and then there is another Battle of Tumu, are we worthy of being the sinner?" Zhu Houxuan said in a deep voice.

Zhu Houxuan's words were so shocking that everyone present began to sweat. The phrase "Tumubao Incident" was so shocking.
What's more, what Zhu Houxun said was very pertinent. Given Zhu Houzhao's personality, it is really possible that he would do such a thing.

"In this case, we cannot hold back His Majesty. We must unite our thoughts today and fully support His Majesty in leading the army in person," Zhu Houxuan said to the important officials present.

The important officials present once again engaged in a heated discussion.
"Is the war really going to happen? Will there really be 9 to 11 Northern Tartars heading south this time?" Liang Chu suddenly asked. He suddenly began to take the intelligence seriously.
(End of this chapter)