Originally, everything was going well, Jiang Wenbin's acting skills were good, and he almost burst into tears when he cried on the spot, and the emperor was very satisfied.

Jiang Wenbin's ability to climb along the pole is also good, as soon as he turned around, he ran to the side of Mrs. Mu's money box and stood still, holding the edge of the wooden box with one hand, looking stingy and reluctant to let go, and then spoke: "Your Majesty." The soldiers were born and died at the border passes, and no one could lack them. As the saying goes, the soldiers and horses go first before the grain and grass are moved, but at present, the household is overstretched, and the ministers are empty-handed, and they have long been desperate and do not know where to raise more food. ”

"The minister actually thought about whether to temporarily levy the army, but the summer grain was put into storage not long ago, and the summer grain was being put into the warehouse, and the summer tax was being passed through all over the country, and this year's annual situation was average, if the military was added at this time, I am afraid that the burden on the people would be too heavy."

"yes!" The emperor sighed very cooperatively, and put on a worried look: "But the war in the north is tight, and now Shuozhou is besieged, and the battle of Danzhou has suffered heavy losses, so we must urgently transfer troops into the north, and we can't let the soldiers go to the battlefield on an empty stomach." ”

"Your Majesty," Jiang Wenbin immediately arched his hand: "Old Madam Mu understands the righteousness and is willing to donate one year's taxable silver from the Anguo Mansion as a military endowment, although the minister understands that he does not dare to let the Mu family donate silver to anyone, but he still implores the emperor to let the minister accept these silver taels." ”

"Your Majesty," Mrs. Mu also said again: "The temporary addition of military endowments is quite a heavy burden for the people, but for the old family, it is not difficult, these silvers are voluntarily taken out by the old body, if you are not willing to accept the old body's donation of silver, then you might as well regard these silver as military endowments, and the Anguo Mansion is just taking the lead in accepting military endowments." ”

"The old lady understands the righteousness." Without waiting for the emperor to speak, Jiang Wenbin rushed to speak: "Your Majesty! The minister was willing to follow the old lady, and also took out the family's tax payable for a year as a military endowment. The minister's name does not have much property, and the population of the family is small, but it is still much better than the ordinary people. The minister was willing to take out the Tian Fu and Ding Fu that should be paid for one year as a temporary military levy and put it into the treasury as military expenses. ”

Mrs. Mu is well aware of the righteousness, and the head of the household actively echoes it, this singing and matching, the courtiers present are all human spirits, can you not feel a little taste? Xie Xiang and Li Xiang looked at the emperor's face and didn't say anything for the first time, but Scholar Gu couldn't stand still.

Not to mention, his grandson-in-law is now guarding the Yanmen Pass, the old lady of the Mu family stood up to donate, and the Hubu Shangshu who couldn't beat the eight poles all responded, is he, an in-law, standing still like a talk?

Therefore, Senior Scholar Gu took a step forward and said, "Your Majesty, the minister is also willing to donate silver for military expenses. ”

Scholar Gu would take the initiative to stand up and respond, which was originally expected by the emperor. Just like Scholar Gu has walked in front of the emperor for many years and knows the emperor very well, the emperor also knows the personality of Scholar Gu very well and knows that he will not stand still.

And Gu Daxue all stood up, Xie Xiang, Lord Wang, and Li Xiang, are you embarrassed not to express your position?

"Oh?" The emperor immediately nodded at the scholar Gu: "I have thanked Gu Qing for the soldiers of the northern border in my ancestors. I don't know how much Gu Qing is willing to donate. ”

How much to donate, that's the question. Senior Scholar Gu looked back at the silver that Old Madam Mu had brought, and was a little embarrassed. He is not only the in-law of the Mu family, but also a product of the dynasty, and Scholar Gu knows that he must be very particular about the amount of silver he donates.

It is naturally inappropriate to be less than the Mu family, but the number cannot be too much. Because Scholar Gu actually knew in his heart that the emperor wanted the courtiers to donate money to fund the military expenses, after he stood up, the emperor would definitely encourage the courtiers to follow. Therefore, if he donates too much, it will inevitably make others embarrassed.

If he could know how much the Mu family had donated, he could handle it by comparison, but at the moment, he didn't know how much silver Mrs. Mu had brought, so Senior Scholar Gu was really a little hesitant, and he didn't know what kind of amount to say.

When the emperor saw Scholar Gu turn around, he knew that he was thinking about how much to donate. Of course, this amount can't be said by Scholar Gu, he immediately raised his eyes and glanced at Jiang Wenbin, and Jiang Wenbin immediately jumped out and made suggestions.

"Your Majesty," Jiang Wenbin seemed to have rehearsed in advance, and the card points were quick and accurate: "The minister has a suggestion." Scholar Gu was selfless and willing to donate silver to raise military expenses for the imperial court, and Weichen was impressed. With Gu Daxue as an example, there are many people who want to come to the court and the central government and are willing to donate military expenses. It's just that in this way, donating more and donating less will inevitably have pressure and comparison, and the courtiers are not all from big families, and some courtiers from cold families will inevitably be despised if they donate less. ”

Therefore, Weichen thought that it was better to set a standard for donating silver first. Mrs. Mu said before that what she took out was calculated according to the Mu family's property, and the tax and silver payable for a year were donated as temporary military endowments, so it was better to take this as the standard, so that the rich family could donate more according to the tax and silver accounting, and the cold family would not be too stressed. ”

Of course, Scholar Gu had no opinion on this proposal, and he was worried about what amount to mention. Therefore, as soon as Jiang Wenbin said, Scholar Gu also nodded, expressing his agreement with this donation plan. No matter how good this is, it won't offend people if it's too much.

Jiang Wenbin's proposal was also approved by many courtiers. Some courtiers who are willing to donate feel that the pressure of donating a year's tax silver is not too great, and they are willing to come out and buy it in front of the emperor. There are many people who take the initiative to stand up and make donations, and it can be a pressure for others, everyone donates, you don't donate, what does it look like? What if the emperor looks at him and leaves a bad impression?

Therefore, it was not much effort, and most of the courtiers of the court expressed their desire to donate silver.

Originally, the situation was very good, but there was never a shortage of people who spoke the opposite. For example, the Book of Rites.

The Ministry of Rites Shangshu was not short of money, but he had been standing in the crowd and did not speak, frowning and not knowing what to think, and when most of the courtiers said that they wanted to donate, he suddenly took a step forward and said: "Your Majesty, you can only survive for a while by donating silver, and it is not a long-term solution!" Rong Di's army pressed the border this time, and it seems that the war will not end in one day or two, or even in one month or two. If it drags on for a year or two, or even three or five years, how can it survive with all this silver donated by the courtiers? ”

The emperor glanced at the Ministry of Rites and asked, "Then Aiqing thinks that how to solve the current predicament." ”

"It's better to think about peace earlier." The Ministry of Rites replied: "If this battle continues, Rong Di will also suffer serious losses, so it is better for us to send an envoy to contact Rong Di Khan first, talk about the withdrawal of troops and negotiate peace, and then listen to their armistice conditions first." Even if the annual tribute is better than the huge military expenditure, the burden on the imperial court will not be as heavy as it is today. ”