ATPnovel Chapter 354 My son, Wang Li, truly has the bearing of an emperor!
Chapter 354 My son, Wang Li, truly has the bearing of an emperor!
The courier took a deep breath, suddenly raised his head, and roared out those earth-shattering words with all his might:
"General Wang Li led the vanguard fleet back this time, bringing back the first batch of refined snowflake silver... a full six million taels!!!"
"We're outside the palace now!"
Six million taels of silver?
Upon hearing this astronomical figure, the entire Qilin Hall fell silent.
At that moment, everyone's brains completely shut down, and even their breathing stopped.
Since the founding of the Qin Dynasty, the only currencies in circulation have been half-ounce copper coins and gold; silver has been extremely scarce and valuable. Even at the height of the national treasury's wealth, such a terrifying amount of silver reserves had never been seen!
Six million taels, what does that mean?
This enormous sum of money is enough to fill the entire treasury of the Qin Dynasty!
That would be enough to kill all the civil and military officials present with silver bricks!
"Six...six million taels?"
Upon hearing this number, Li Si gasped in shock.
He grabbed his gray beard, tearing out several strands without even noticing, and was so moved that tears streamed down his face: "Auspicious omen from heaven! Unexpected wealth from heaven!"
After a brief silence, the ranks of generals suddenly erupted in exclamations!
"Hahaha! Excellent! What a fine East China Sea Fleet!"
"Six million taels of silver! I've fought wars my whole life, and I've never even dreamed of seeing so much money!"
At the forefront of the military officers, Marquis Wang Ben of Tongwu was stunned for a moment, then his face turned bright red.
He slapped his thigh suddenly and burst into wild laughter. In his elation, he shouted out a boast that nearly made Zhang Fan throw up his back:
"Hahaha! Well done! No wonder you're from the Wang family!"
Wang Ben threw his head back and laughed loudly, his voice booming like a bell, "My son Wang Li truly has the bearing of an emperor!!!"
"Pfft! Cough cough cough!"
Upon hearing these familiar words, Zhang Fan, who was standing to the side, nearly choked on his own saliva and coughed repeatedly.
Good heavens, General Wang, if this were in later generations!
Wang Li is definitely a male protagonist in an online novel!
In stark contrast to the military generals' revelry was the deathly silence on the side of the old aristocratic civil officials.
Zong Yu, who had just been muttering "the national treasury is empty and there is no money to fight the war," now had an extremely interesting expression on his face. First, he was stunned, then his face turned ashen, and finally his face turned a deep liver color.
He opened his mouth, but the memorial of persuasion that he hadn't finished reading earlier remained stuck in his throat, unable to be uttered or swallowed.
No money?
Six million taels of silver are laid out outside the palace!
"Master Zong?"
Zhang Fan stopped coughing, turned his head, and looked at Zong Yu, whose face was ashen, with a half-smile. He then added in a low voice, "What were you muttering about just now? Saying the national treasury was empty? Saying there was no way to cover the expenses for military supplies and weapons?"
"Should we... continue reporting this?"
"You! I..."
Zong Yu was so angry that he trembled all over. He pointed at Zhang Fan, but he couldn't say a word in rebuttal. He felt a blackout before his eyes and almost spat out a mouthful of blood.
On the high platform.
Looking at Zong Yu, who had been rendered speechless by Zhang Fan's rebuttal, and then at the generals celebrating in the court, Ying Zheng felt all the frustration and burden in his heart vanish completely at that moment!
Zhang Fan took on the task of transporting the grain and fodder!
Wang Li brought back the military expenditure!
The final piece of the puzzle for the Northern Expedition was perfectly completed at this moment!
"Good! Good! Good!"
Ying Zheng said "Good!" three times in succession, then commanded, "Issue my decree!"
Ying Zheng waved his hand, pointing outside the palace, his voice booming like thunder: "All civil and military officials, follow me out of the palace! I want to personally see this mountain of silver that Wang Li brought back to Qin!"
The civil and military officials looked at each other in bewilderment.
After a brief silence, many people's faces lit up with surprise.
For them, with this money in the national treasury, local government operations would have more room to operate, and they could also profit from it.
This sum of six million taels of silver has given many people pause for thought.
The crowd followed Ying Zheng and headed out of the palace.
Upon arriving at the square, the group stopped.
Squads of armored soldiers were seen unloading large wooden crates from carriages and arranging them neatly in the open space. The procession of carriages stretched all the way to the outskirts of the imperial city.
Everyone present held their breath, staring intently at the wooden crates.
"Open the box!" Ying Zheng ordered.
The soldiers stepped forward and opened the box lids one by one.
Legend of the Silver Age!
A large expanse of silvery-white luster was revealed, and each box was filled with silver ingots.
The visual impact of opening dozens of boxes at the same time is enormous.
At this moment, Wang Li, standing at the front of the convoy, was wearing armor and had an arrogant expression.
Seeing the shocked reactions of the court officials, he couldn't suppress the smile on his lips. Bringing back six million taels of silver, he knew in his heart that he had performed a great service.
Just as everyone's attention was drawn to the silver, Zhang Fan slowly walked to a wooden box.
He looked around, then reached out, took out a silver ingot, and quietly slipped it into his pocket.
After stuffing one piece in his mouth, Zhang Fan felt it wasn't enough, so he picked up another one.
He turned his head, looked at Eunuch Li standing to the side, and handed over the silver in his hand, indicating that Eunuch Li should also take a piece.
When Eunuch Li saw the silver being handed to him, he instantly broke out in a cold sweat. He hurriedly waved his hands and stepped back, not daring to reach out and take it.
The civil and military officials around him saw Zhang Fan's actions and their faces immediately darkened.
They knew Zhang Fan acted casually, but this was far too blatant!
Just now, inside the palace, Zong Yu was impeaching him for embezzling huge sums of money. Now, he dares to stuff silver from the national treasury into his own pocket right in front of His Majesty and all the officials!
Ying Zheng was originally overjoyed, but when he saw Zhang Fan's actions, his face darkened.
Seemingly noticing the gazes gathering around him, Zhang Fan immediately stopped his casual actions.
He straightened his clothes with a serious expression and explained loudly, "Ahem, I'm not sure if the refining process of this silver is up to standard. I need to take two pieces to the Institute of Natural Sciences for detailed testing."
Seeing Zhang Fan's nonchalant attitude, Ying Zheng shook his head helplessly, not taking his clumsy excuse to heart.
Prime Minister Li Si stepped forward, cupped his hands in greeting to Ying Zheng, and said, "Your Majesty! Currently, the main currencies circulating in the Qin Dynasty are Banliang copper coins and gold. The matter of silver can be gradually promoted among the people first!"
Secondly, with our army away on campaign, we can use this silver to trade with other foreign tribes for warhorses and supplies.
Li Si's emotions grew increasingly heightened as he spoke, and he knelt down, shouting, "Your Majesty! At a time when the army desperately needs funds, this six million taels of silver has been transported back to Xianyang. This is truly a divine mandate!"
Seeing Li Si's actions, the ministers behind him no longer hesitated and knelt down.
The crowd's faces were filled with fervor and excitement as they shouted in unison, "The Mandate of Heaven is upon us! Heaven blesses Great Qin!"
With this huge sum of money replenishing the national treasury, there are no longer any objections in the court regarding the northern expedition.
Even the civil officials, including Zong Yu, who had just tried their best to stop him, now kept quiet.
Although the civil officials usually engage in open and covert struggles in court affairs, if the Qin Dynasty can truly win this war and severely punish the foreign tribes, they will stand united on the same front.