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Author: Spring turns to summer

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Jiajing took in the expressions on everyone's faces and then praised them.

"But, you did a good job! I heard that all those officials were rejected by you."

"Your Majesty has entrusted such an important matter to your ministers, so naturally we cannot betray His Majesty's trust!"

Seeing the emperor opening his mouth to praise, everyone hurriedly spoke humbly.

"Well, that's good. I hope you can maintain this momentum and get the Maritime Trade Department back on track as soon as possible."

After Jiajing finished speaking, he followed up with a word of encouragement.

When Jiajing mentioned that the Maritime Trade Department should get back on track as soon as possible, several people looked at each other and finally decided that Gao Gong, the Minister of Maritime Trade, would speak.

"Your Majesty, when it comes to getting the Maritime Trade Department back on track as soon as possible, Wei Chen has some ideas."

Gao Gong stood up from his seat and said respectfully to Jiajing.

"Oh, but it doesn't matter."

Jiajing nodded and signaled Gao Gong not to have any scruples.

"Your Majesty, I think it's time for the Maritime Trade Department to sell the first batch of sea voyage certificates!"

"The first batch of sea-going certificates will be auctioned, with a base price of 10,000 taels of silver, and no upper limit! If the auction price is lower than 200,000 taels of silver, this auction will be void."

"In this way, not only can we immediately contribute at least six million taels of income to the court, but we can also take this opportunity to greatly enhance the influence of the Maritime Trade Department. What do you think?"

After Gao Gong repeated the specific methods discussed earlier, he anxiously waited for the emperor's evaluation.

After hearing what Gao Gong wanted to do, Jiajing pondered for a long time.

He was seen tapping the seat under him very regularly with his fingers. After a long time, he showed his attitude.

"Well, this matter can also be used as a grindstone for the Maritime Trade Department! I'm sure, you just go ahead and do it."

"In addition, according to what I said before, as long as these fleets going to sea can afford the price, the imperial court can also send navy to escort them."

After Jiajing finished speaking, he did not forget to add this sentence.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Seeing that the emperor agreed to this proposal, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and the stones in their hearts fell to the ground.

After Jiajing mentioned the Navy, he asked Zhang Juzheng about the current construction progress of the Navy.

"Your Majesty, the shipyard has been working day and night recently and has built a total of five warships!"

"And these five warships have been built. In addition, the number of cannons carried on the ships is more than before!"

"Therefore, in terms of combat effectiveness, it is stronger than the previous warships."

When Zhang Juzheng saw Jiajing asking about the construction speed of the navy, he did not dare to hide anything and informed him of the current progress.

"Well, that's good. Let's continue to maintain the current progress! In addition, I plan to allocate part of the money to the Arms Department to let them develop cannons that are more powerful and have a longer range."

"If it doesn't work out, I plan to wait until the sea trade officially starts, buy the cannon from those Hongyi people, and then hand it over to the Arms Department for imitation!"

"What do you guys think, dear friends?"

After Jiajing finished speaking, he stood up, poured himself a cup of hot tea, raised his eyebrows, and asked everyone for their opinions.

"Your Majesty, I feel that our Ming Dynasty does not currently have any strong opponents! Therefore, there is no need to invest heavily in the development of new cannons for the time being."

As soon as Jiajing finished speaking, Yan Song stood up and expressed his attitude.

"Xu Jie, what about you? Do you have the same idea as Mr. Yan Ge?"

Jiajing was noncommittal about Yan Song's statement, then turned his gaze to Xu Jie aside and asked.

"Your Majesty, I think this...is actually not necessary at the moment."

After Xu Jie noticed the emperor's gaze on him, he felt quite troubled. Finally, as if he had made up his mind, he gritted his teeth and responded like this.

"So, your opinion is the same as Mr. Yan Ge's?"

After hearing what Xu Jie said, Jiajing looked sarcastic.

"I am ignorant, please forgive me, Your Majesty!"

Xu Jie naturally heard the ridicule in Jiajing's words, and then he knelt down on the ground tremblingly and said.

"Gao Gong, what do you think?"

Jiajing didn't seem to give up and asked Gao Gong again.

"Your Majesty, I think this is..."

Facing Jiajing's inquiry, Gao Gong hesitated for a long time without expressing his thoughts.

"Your Majesty, I think we should invest corresponding funds to develop new cannons!"

Just when Yan Shifan wanted to stand up and support the emperor's decision, he was overtaken by Zhang Juzheng on the side. Therefore, Yan Shifan could only grit his teeth and secretly resent.

Seeing that everyone's eyes were focused on him, Zhang Juzheng looked as usual and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, since I became Minister of the Ministry of War, I have often felt that the current equipment of our Ming army is still a little behind."

"Don't mention anything else, let's just take the cannons on the warships. Compared with the cannons on the ships of the red barbarians, the cannons currently installed in our Ming Navy are quite different in terms of range and power.

many!"

"Therefore, once the two sides start a war, with the same number of warships, our Ming Navy will definitely be at a disadvantage, and the gap can only be filled with human lives!"

"Let me ask, why should the soldiers of the imperial court risk their lives to solve things that can be solved by spending more money? They are also living people! They also have families and children behind them, and they also have responsibilities."

Zhang Juzheng's words caused everyone present to fall into silence, and the entire cabinet was shrouded in deathly silence.

In the end, Jiajing coughed twice and broke the silence: "I think Zhang Aiqing's words are quite reasonable!"

"The national treasury is so abundant right now that it has even reached the point where it needs to be expanded! Why can't some of it be used to develop new weapons?"

"You must know that on the battlefield, once the gap between the weapons and equipment of the two sides is too large, then what awaits the weaker side will be a one-sided massacre!"

"If you fall behind, you will be beaten. This is an ironclad fact! Or would you rather let my soldiers of the Ming Dynasty fill the gap with their lives?"

Seeing the emperor say such heart-wrenching words, everyone present looked frightened and fell to their knees with a thud.

"Your Majesty, I have been wronged!"

Jiajing ignored everyone and said to himself: "I have no intention of discussing this matter with you today! If you can't do it, I will find someone else to do it."

"I don't believe it. We have so many officials in the Ming Dynasty, why can't we find someone who can accomplish this?"

"Do you think you can sit back and relax? Don't forget, there are many people coveting the position under your butt!"

"Now, answer me, can this matter be done?"

Jiajing looked cold as he glanced over Yan Song and Xu Jie.

After noticing the emperor's gaze, their bodies began to tremble uncontrollably, and they continued to say.

"Your Majesty, I am willing to supervise this matter!"

"Wei Chen is willing, Wei Chen is willing."

Seeing that Yan Song and Xu Jie no longer dared to raise any objections, Jiajing nodded with a smile on his face.

"In this case, then this matter is settled. When the time comes, Zhang Juzheng will make a report and hand it over to the Ministry of Accounts, and then the Ministry of Accounts will allocate the money!"

"Did you hear clearly what I said?"

"Your Majesty, I understand."
Chapter completed!