The expeditionary force led by Liu Hongjian endured the cold current of Western Siberia all the way to the west, and the grain transportation team on the long supply line was also racing against time, almost at the same time, Zhu Cihong, who was 3,000 miles away, was also very painful.

The imperial conquest, the expansion of the territory, and the capture of the emperor of the Rakshasa Kingdom certainly made Zhu Cihong's prestige majestic in the court.

Especially in the people, the fans of the inner factory distributed leaflets everywhere, and quickly spread Zhu Cihong's great achievements to all parts of the Ming Dynasty, and the people all rejoiced and praised the military might of the Ming Dynasty.

In good conscience, Zhu Cihong listened to the news of people praising him from all over the world every day, which was really refreshing for a while, but it also satisfied his long-suppressed vanity of belonging to a newborn calf.

But there is also a price for coolness, the price is that the silver is like flowing water, the cannon goes off, and the gold is ten thousand taels, Liu Hongjian once said this to him, but Zhu Cihong only now understands the true meaning of this sentence.

The western expedition to the Rakshasa is his and Liu Hongji's common idea, although the courtiers have complaints, but they are also forced to compromise due to the strong choice of the two, but the war costs money, Zhu Cihong just came back not long after, Zhang Tianlu, the head of the household, began to settle accounts for him, is really reckoning, calculating the taxes and expenditures of the Ming Dynasty.

I really miss those days of war! Eating meat, drinking in a big bowl, happy revenge, alas, I don't know what happened to Liu Qing now, Zhu Cihong thought about it and seemed to be back to the days two months ago.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty?" Huge Hai stood aside and shouted quietly.

"Oh, what did Zhang Aiqing just say?" Zhu Cihong came back to his senses and found that the courtiers were staring at him with wide eyes, while Zhang Tianlu was holding an account book in his hand and looked a little unhappy.

"Your Majesty, there are only more than 18 million taels of silver left in the treasury, in short, if the imperial court follows the current expenditure rate, the Taicang silver will be exhausted in half a year." Zhang Tianlu closed the thick ledger.

"What? That's all there is left? Didn't there still be more than 60 million taels half a year ago? Zhu Cihong frowned.

You see, is this what people say?

If Uncle Chongzhen, or his uncle Tianqi, grandfather Taichang, and great-grandfather Wanli heard this, they would probably eat a whale.

The old man of Wanli sent tax supervisors and mine supervisors to various places, and he only barely maintained it after a lifetime, and if he made another disaster everywhere, the treasury would still have to run rats.

It's just that after being surprised, the ancestors will definitely roll up their sleeves and beat Zhu Cihong, a deflated calf, who spends 50 million a year, is there such a loser?

After he finished speaking, he found that the courtiers had strange expressions, and even a few elderly ministers shook their heads slightly, just now Zhang Tianlu said this year's expenses in a variety of ways, and it was obvious that Zhu Cihong didn't hear a word.

So Zhang Tianlu opened the account book again.

"Your Majesty, maybe what the minister said just now was a little fast, and the minister will repeat it again.

This year, the Ministry of Industry spent a total of more than 26.4 million taels of silver, which was used to build new official roads in various provinces, that is, cement and concrete official roads. Zhang Tianlu glanced up at Zhu Cihong and explained.

"In addition, there are other matters such as the construction of new schools in various prefectures and counties, the reinforcement of the Yellow River embankment, and the renovation of palaces."

Zhu Cihong knew about this that as soon as the first main road connecting the north and south of the Ming Dynasty was completed, Liu Hongjian suggested that the main road between the provinces should be repaired.

In his words, it is easy for millions of workers to disperse, but it is difficult to gather again, it is better to take advantage of the maturity of this group of workers' skills, strike while the iron is hot and build a few more roads, the merit is in the present and the benefit is in the future, Zhu Cihong also nodded at this.

There was also the issue of the reform of the imperial examination system, and the two discussed, and Zhu Cihong decreed that a comprehensive university should be established in each province, covering engineering, science, medicine, and the original Confucianism, which Liu Hong gradually called a university.

The household department provided money, the Ministry of Industry produced craftsmen, each province built a comprehensive university, each prefecture established a middle school, and each county established a relatively small school for a certain subject.

The silver in this big battle must have been spent like flowing water, Zhu Cihong naturally had a little pressure in his heart, and motioned to Zhang Tianlu to continue in a trance.

"In addition, the R&D expenditures of the Ordnance Institute, the reward of silver, the wages of craftsmen and laborers, etc., have been paid in total to more than 12 million taels of silver this year."

Zhang Tianlu paused after speaking, as if he was waiting for Zhu Cihong to ask, if Zhu Cihong had any objections, he would immediately explain where the money was spent.

But Zhu Cihong did not delve into it, the Ming army can have today's majesty, in addition to strict training, it relies on more advanced and powerful firearms, and these are all thanks to the craftsmen who are working day and night in the ordnance institute to carry out research and development.

The current stall of the Ordnance Institute is too big, it is simply a military industry and R&D group supported by national finance, from the R&D and iteration of artillery and muskets to the development and iteration of new inventions such as tractors, rubber, and bicycles.

Except for the manufacture of firearms, which is related to the great cause of the militaristic state, the Ordnance Institute of civilian products is only responsible for research and development, and the mass production after the technology is mature is handed over to the Xishan Commercial Cooperation, which is close to the water, and the Western Mountain Commercial Cooperation is responsible for paying taxes.

The reason why the Ordnance Institute still has to develop civilian products is also a matter of no way, the best craftsmen from the Ming Dynasty are all gathered in the Ordnance Institute, relying on craftsmen from other places to carry out the industrial revolution by themselves, it is estimated that he will not be able to see it when he dies, and it is unrealistic to spread the drawings to various places.

Therefore, Daming can only do his best to engage in education and cultivate a group of trusts with novel thinking and daring to think and do.

Liu Hongjian also once told Zhu Cihong that the army cannot rely only on courage and not fear death, but must have advanced firearms, firearms rely on science and technology, science and technology rely on education, and investment in education and research and development will certainly be very large.

Education and technology cannot be achieved overnight, and it will take one generation, or even two or three generations, to cultivate them slowly, and they will be the foundation and pillar of the future empire.

So, there's nothing wrong with this expense.

These two items alone cost nearly 40 million a year, burning money, definitely burning money, Zhu Cihong seems to see Liu Hong gradually pull out the hard-earned money of the Ming treasury one by one, and he can't do anything about it.

"The last big expense is the war that the imperial court is currently waging with the Rakshasa Kingdom and the Dutch Kingdom." Zhang Tianlu continued.

He didn't even mention the salaries of the officials, because compared with these three major expenditures, the salaries of the officials are a little inadequate.

Especially this year's war, Zhang Tianlu and most officials have always felt a little inexplicable, in the eyes of these officials who have gathered the masters of Confucianism, the Ming only needs to hold the inherent territory is completely fine.

After all, Confucianism pays attention to etiquette, and fighting a war is even more about a famous teacher, and such behavior towards Liu Hongjian is tantamount to invasion in their eyes, which is contrary to the original intention of Confucianism.

Daming is rich all over the world, with high-yield crops such as sweet potatoes, potatoes, and corn, plus local wheat and rice, which can be completely self-sufficient and live a peaceful life.

But when today's son and the king of Anguo want to seek some ocean, and they are also at war with the Rakshasa country and the Dutch country at the same time, it is really a pain to find something to do.

"The household department must ensure the supply of the king of Anguo and the expeditionary force, or make any discounts, I will say this one last time!"

Zhu Cihong was not sloppy at all when he heard this, and stood up directly and glared at Zhang Tianlu, the head of the household.

……

PS: Yesterday I was in the hospital with back pain, and today I took painkillers for a chapter, and I will continue tomorrow, so don't leave me, I'm also working hard, and if others ask me if I have any protrusions in the future, I can tell them that I have a herniated disc, and my body likes to mention a new disease, which is uncomfortable.