After the ministers waiting outside entered the Ganqing Palace, they didn't know what they had discussed inside before, but when they saw several cabinet masters, the ministry's face was solemn, and they knew that there was nothing good.

Xiao Jing said: "Your Majesty, everyone has arrived."

"Um."

Zhu Houzhao looked around and finally looked at Li Yu, the Minister of Works, "Ministry of Works, why did I have no follow-up to build an palace in cities along the canal?"

Li Jue was watching the fun, but he did not expect to be the target of public criticism and didn't know how to reply.

As early as Zhu Houzhao's southern tour, it was proposed that Zhang Yuan, the eunuch in charge of the seal, was specifically responsible for the previous eunuch in charge of the seal. After Zhang Yuan fell, Zhu Houzhao went to Xuanfu, and the matter was gone.

Without anyone to supervise the Ministry of Works, naturally, it will not take the initiative to apply for silver to build palaces in cities along the canal to avoid wasting people and causing money.

Half a day later, Li Jue stammered and said, "The Ministry of Works has not received the imperial order."

Zhu Houzhao slapped the table: "Then can you give up halfway? Is the early investment a waste?"

No one was there to help, and Li Yu was not able to take the blame, but Zhu Houzhao said angrily: "This matter must be implemented as soon as possible. Palaces in Xuzhou, Yangzhou and other places must be built. I will send people to check the progress regularly."

The second assistant to the cabinet, Jin Gui, came out: "Your Majesty, disasters in the Central Plains are coming one after another, and wars and chaos in various parts of the Ming Dynasty are about to be restored. It is not appropriate to make a big move."

Usually, Jin Gui is the kind of honest friend who doesn't like to cause trouble, but at this time he takes the initiative to stand up and opposes, and Zhu Houzhao's face suddenly becomes very bad.

Zhu Houzhao changed color: "Sir Jin, I have already decided on building the palace. The time has been delayed for more than a year. Now the treasury fee is not so tight. Can't I do this?"

Zhu Houzhao's expression and tone were extremely domineering. Jin Gui was a little frightened, lowered his head and remained silent.

Liang Chuan next to him said: "Your Majesty, the Ministry of Revenue has huge expenses this year, so it is really not appropriate to increase the cost. After all, winter is over, there is a spring famine. You must reserve some money and food for emergencies."

"Are you all going to go against me?"

Zhu Hou raised his face and taught a lesson in an old-fashioned manner.

Liang Chu and Jin Gui quickly bowed, but did not let go.

When the ministers next to him saw this situation, they knew that there was a serious confrontation between the king and his ministers. They had not met for a long time, and they had a constant dispute as soon as they met, just like when Xie Qian and Yang Tinghe were in the court.

Chen Xidao: "Your Majesty should have priority in doing things. You don't have to hurry to build a palace. Didn't your Majesty say you're going to Xuanfu next? You're eager to build a southern palace now. You don't know when your Majesty will go to the south to go south. Maybe it's one or two years, or two years. If you don't stay for a long time, you won't be able to get ruined after a long time. Will you need to repair it again when your Majesty sets off to go south?"

Chen Xi’s suggestions were completely different from what he had just said.

Some people didn't come out to argue with Zhu Houzhao before, just waiting for Chen Xi to express their opinions. Now, after Shen Xi spoke, many people came out one after another, saying that the construction of palaces in cities along the canal could be temporarily suspended.

Zhu Houzhao was a little angry and frowned and looked at Chen Xi: "Shangshu Chen, I have to argue with you. It's really a matter of conclusion. The money spent cannot be wasted, right?"

"Why is Your Majesty using the inner palace's money to repair it?" Chen Xi said again.

Zhu Houzhao's face suddenly became very bad.

Previously, the Ministry of Revenue allocated 5 million taels of silver to restore people's livelihood, and some of them were put into the emperor's "private" pocket. Chen Xi's meaning was very clear. If you want to practice the Palace, don't let the court pay and use your private small treasury. We have no objection. It's just that it's not that easy for you to transfer the money from the Ministry of Revenue to the small treasury after spending the money.

"It's only 100,000 taels of silver at most. Can't the Ministry of Revenue take it out?" Zhu Houzhao asked with a frown.

Chen Xi did not answer, and Yang Yiqing, Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, left: "Your Majesty, now there are plans for the money and grain of the treasury of the Ministry of Revenue. On the one hand, we have to deal with the huge military expenditures of the nine borders, and on the other hand, we have to deal with the natural disasters that may occur across the country in the coming year, and we must not act rashly."

"hehe."

Zhu Houzhao glared at everyone present, feeling very embarrassed. He wanted to make some money to build an imperial palace, but he was pushed and blocked by others, just like all the ministers joined forces to deal with him.

Zhu Houzhao was very angry, but she didn't want to worry too much about this issue and said, "Since that's the case, I will use the inner treasury silver to practice the palace. This matter will be put on hold."

When everyone heard this, they breathed a little relieved, feeling that they had suppressed the little emperor's arrogance, which was considered a "stage victory". This would also allow the emperor's willful behavior to restrain himself.

But soon they realized a problem... When Zhu Houzhao came in with a minister outside, he said that he had something to discuss. Since he did not insist on the issue of the practice palace, it means that there is still some information.

Sure enough, Zhu Houzhao continued: "I just mentioned two things to you. You have a lot of opinions. Now I still have one more important thing... I am going to send troops to attack the country of Folangji and its overseas territory..."

When the civil officials present heard this, they looked at each other and were stunned for a moment.

In fact, there have been heard of the situation where Zhu Houzhao intends to expedition to Obarro to completely defeat the Folang Jiren. However, with Chen Xi sending troops to fight with the Folang Jiren, he won a complete victory and subsequently signing a trade agreement with him, he thought that this matter had been put aside and the war could not start again.

Unexpectedly, Zhu Hou mentioned it again as usual, and it was proposed in front of the civil servants present, as if it was to be implemented in the form of national policies.

Liang Chu hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, the country of Folangji has compensated the Ming Dynasty for the losses in war, and it is very intentional to surrender, why do you want to..."

Zhu Houzhao looked straight, "Where are they surrendering? They are overlords at sea. They were only repeatedly frustrated in the war with the Ming Dynasty, so they came up with this slowing strategy... Humph, they wanted to use some small favors to paralyze me, gather their troops again and then fight with the Ming Dynasty. Instead of waiting for the enemy to come to the door, it is better to take the initiative to fight out and take back their territory!"

"this……"

Liang Chu was completely speechless.

The Chinese officials of the Korean court had great opinions on the matter of Chen Xi signing an agreement with the Folang Jiren and preparing to reopen the trade. After all, in the minds of Confucians, they always adhere to the idea of ​​"there is no one who is not my race, but their hearts will be different." They do not think that peace talks with the Folang Jiren is a good strategy.

But compared to Zhu Houzhao's preparation to send troops to start the battle with the Folang Jiren who was far away in the sky, Chen Xi's choice is the best strategy.

Everyone looked at Chen Xi and waited for Chen Xi to make suggestions.

After all, Chen Xi had a very high voice when fighting with Folang Jiren. After all, Chen Xi was responsible for diplomacy and combat with Folang Jiren before.

But at this time, Chen Xi was silent.

Anyone with a discerning eye can see that the emperor is preparing to completely deny the negotiation results between Chen Xi and Folang Ji Ren, which is equivalent to a denial of Chen Xi.

Things can be big or small.

When Zhu Houzhao saw that Liang Chu did not speak, and Chen Xi did not mean to express his opinion, he said loudly: "Anyway, you don't object, right?"

Wang Qiong, Minister of War, said: "Your Majesty, you should make a long-term plan for the fight with the Folang Jiren. This matter is of great importance. There were not many exchanges between the two countries before..."

Zhu Houzhao raised his hand and refused to let Wang Qiong continue, saying, "I know what you are thinking. On this issue, you can fight or be harmonious. I thought about it before I remembered that the Folang Ji people can talk to us today and support pirates tomorrow. When the Japanese pirates fight us, they will snatch the islands on our coastline, hoard people and supplies there, and threaten the stability of the Ming Dynasty at any time."

The ministers present could not refute this.

After all, Folang Jiren used to be like this, and he went through the process of war-harmony-harmony with the Ming Dynasty. Both sides basically only talked about interests, not principles.

In addition, the subjects of the Ming Dynasty insisted on the idea of ​​the heavenly dynasty, and no one looked down on the Folang Ji Kingdom, which was also related to Chen Xi's repeated conspiracy to defeat the Folang Ji people.

Zhu Houzhao said: "You don't object, are you? Shangshu Chen, what do you think?"

Chen Xi shook his head and said, "Your Majesty should not ask me about this."

"Hmm?" Zhu Houzhao frowned again. His words were the same as Chen Xi's previous comments about the abolition of the queen, which made him think more.

Zhu Houzhao understood that if he changed his original intention to start a war with the Folang Jiren, it would actually be like putting Chen Xi into a state of injustice. The original naive agreement is now basically invalid, and he will no longer be able to trade with the Folang Jiren in the future.

Zhu Houzhao frowned, obviously Chen Xi's attitude made him feel difficult.

While he wanted to suppress Chen Xi, he would reduce Chen Xi's prestige to a certain extent. At the same time, he had to rely on Chen Xi for the war against the people of Folangji, which created a contradiction... He had to suppress and make full use of Chen Xi's ability to command troops, so that he would have a chance of winning in the battle with Folangji. This was a paradox.

Wang Qiong said: "Your Majesty, for the sake of this, we must first investigate the situation of the Folang Jiren to determine whether it is necessary to fight with them."

"Yes, your Majesty."

Jin Gui stepped out and said, "If we don't even know the movements of the Folang Ji people, even if we send a sea boat, we may not be able to find the Folang Ji country... I checked the maps of all countries, but did not find any records about the Folang Ji people... I know myself and the enemy, and I will never be defeated in a hundred battles. Now I don't even know what the situation of the opponent is. Don't start a war rashly."

Although Jin Gui only mentioned it and did not explain it in detail, the ministers present realized that before Zhu Houzhao announced that he would fight with the Folang Jiren, he should have asked Jin Gui or the Hanlin Academy to check the situation in the Folang Jiren to prepare for the war.

Jin Gui clearly told Zhu Houzhao that unless the Folang Ji people took the initiative to fight, it would not be easy to lead troops to the sea to find the Folang Ji Kingdom.

Zhu Houzhao stood up and said angrily: "Shangshu Chen, you who proposed to fight with Folangji before, but why are you silent now? But you think the Red-haired Man is trustworthy? Can you rest assured by signing a trade agreement with them?"

A series of problems were thrown to Chen Xi, and Chen Xi looked calm: "It is okay to go to war with the Folang Ji people, but it costs a lot. The manpower and material resources alone cost tens of millions of taels of silver! From preparation to completion, it will take at least three years, and at most ten years..."

Chen Xi means, as the emperor, don’t you want to solve the problem of the Folang Ji people by force and seize a steady stream of resources for you? Now I will tell you clearly that if you want to obtain these, you must first cut off all trade with the Folang Ji people, and then take out more than 10 million taels of silver to prepare. At the earliest, it will take three years to see the benefits. In other words, the Ming dynasty and ministers must tighten their belts for life in the past three years.

And I was also afraid that the final expedition to the Kingdom of Folangji and its territory would end in failure, so all previous investments would be wasted.

Zhu Houzhao was very unhappy when she heard this. This was very different from his expectations. She said, "Didn't Chen Shangshu say that he could defeat them in about a year?"

Chenxidao: "When you go back to your Majesty, today the court will discuss the issue of sending troops. It will take one or two months to prepare for the troops from the Ming army port. After sending troops, the fleet will sail to the country of Folangji or the silver mines it controls overseas. It will take ten months or even a year."

"At the other side, even if the war can be completed in just one month, it will take half a year to a year to integrate the occupied land, and at the same time recruit indigenous people to mine, smel, transport and load silver mines, and then transport them back to the Ming Dynasty in about a year."

"This is the goal that can be achieved in three years, and it is estimated at the fastest and most smooth progress. Once there is a problem in a certain link in the middle, you will face failure, and all the investment in the early stage will be vain!"

After Chen Xi finished speaking, the ministers all showed a strange look on their faces and felt novel about Chen Xi's way of analyzing the problems.

In the past, civil officials of the Ming Dynasty relied on the so-called death advice to fight against the emperor. There were not many times when they really reasoned, while Chen Xi presented facts and reasoned, so that Zhu Houzhao knew how difficult it was to implement this matter. He considered many details and was convinced, but he had to adopt it.

After hearing this, Zhu Houzhao did not suspect that Chen Xi was exaggerating, and a look of disappointment appeared on her face.

Zhu Houzhao looked at Wang Qiong again: "Shangshu Wang, is there a way to speed up the process?"

Wang Qiong had not prepared to go to the country of Folangji or its territory since the beginning. These were always under the responsibility of Shen Xi. He didn't even know how many ships the Ming Dynasty had now, nor did he know where the country of Folangji and its overseas territory were.

Wang Qiong said in embarrassment: "Reply to Your Majesty, I believe that every sentence mentioned by Shangshu Chen is reasonable, and this matter should be discussed for a long time."

This made Zhu Houzhao extremely dissatisfied and shouted: "Long-term plan! Why do you have to long-term plan for everything? Can't you do things more easily? Why do you all oppose any decision I make?"

Chen Xidao: "Your Majesty, we are not familiar with ocean routes now, and we are confused and ignorant of the situation of the overseas territories of the Flangers, especially the deployment of troops. The right time, place, and people are not in my hands. Therefore, I suggest that we trade with them first, earn silver from them and strengthen ourselves, and then prepare for a few years to ten years."

"When everything is ready, we will achieve twice the result with half the effort. At that time, we have our own ports, ships and troops in Nanyang. Once we launch, we will occupy the territory of the Folangji people in the South and Western Oceans with a destruction. Then we will launch our troops to fight and defeat the Folangji in one fell swoop."

After Chen Xi returned to the capital, this was his first report to Zhu Houzhao, and it was also the first time he explained his ideas and plans to the court.

Although Chen Xi wrote a memorial to Zhu Houzhao before, Zhu Houzhao did not calm down and read it, so he could not understand Chen Xi's good intentions.

Liang Chu heard Chen Xi's words and hurriedly came out to salute: "Your Majesty, the matter of going to the country of Folangji and its territory is of great importance. The interests involved in all aspects are too deep and too broad, so it takes some time to plan. This matter...it is really not to be too hasty."

Zhu Houzhao's face looked very bad. After all, he was blocked by the ministers of any suggestions he made, and he felt that he was a boring emperor.

Zhu Houzhao said: "I said that the battle will be carried out, so I cannot delay it. I can't wait for ten years, at most three years... I will occupy the territory of Folang Jiren within three years... Do you don't object?"

Although the ministers had opinions, they were not as good as having to break up with Zhu Houzhao, because they knew very well that the emperor was not a "normal" one. Now Zhu Houzhao has made a compromise. If they didn't know each other and insisted on arguing, they would definitely suffer. Liu Jian, Xie Qian, Yang Tinghe and others are the lessons of the past.

When Zhu Houzhao saw that everyone was not speaking, he finally looked at Chen Xi: "Shangshu Chen, what do you think?"

Chen Xidao: "Your Majesty has made a decision, I have no objection... But, I don't know who will be responsible for the three years of preparation?"

Zhu Houzhao almost blurted out and asked Chen Xi to take responsibility, but on the one hand, Chen Xi might leave the capital, so that he would lose a powerful helper in the court. On the other hand, he had just been obstructed by Chen Xi in various ways, and now he had to rely on the other party again, so he couldn't bear to face.

After a long silence, Zhu Houzhao said: "This matter should be the responsibility of the Ministry of War... Oh, by the way, did the Minister of War Tang Yin go to Jiangnan to take charge? I asked him to handle it in Jiangnan. Nanjing is just close to the new city at the estuary of the Yangtze River, so he asked him to supervise the construction of ships and train troops!"

The ministers had objections to Tang Yin being valued. They did not think that Tang Yin had such ability. But the problem was that Zhu Houzhao had made a decision now. After they looked at each other, no one came out to refute it. Some people also waited for Chen Xi to give their opinions, but Chen Xi was silent and seemed to be happy to see it.
Chapter completed!