What else could Zhang Ruifu say? He could only agree again and again, then hurry off to write a letter to Wang Lu.
After he left, Yang Zhengshan looked towards Zheng Yang from the Ministry of Revenue. "Money and grain. I want one million taels of silver and one hundred thousand shi of grain!"
"Ah!" Zheng Yang was dumbfounded. "Marquis, didn't we bring three hundred thousand in silver and fifty thousand shi of provisions when we came?"
Yang Zhengshan's expression darkened somewhat. "Then take a look at what Zhaowu Guard has. Does building a camp and a harbor not cost silver? Do all these laborers not need to eat?"
"Those fifty thousand shi of provisions were originally meant for the soldiers' training, but you know the current situation too. This bit of grain won't support us for long at all!"
Originally, the silver and granaries provided by the Ministry of Revenue were only enough for the Four Seas Naval Force's training needs. Even if they fell somewhat short, they could requisition grain from the nearby official granary.
But now, in order to build the camp and harbor as quickly as possible, Yang Zhengshan had used the great art of throwing money around. This bit of money and grain was nowhere near enough.
"This!" Zheng Yang was about to cry. "Marquis, the Ministry of Revenue doesn't have that much money and grain!"
"That is not something this old man should be considering. It is something your Ministry of Revenue should be considering!" Yang Zhengshan said unhappily.
How could the Ministry of Revenue have no money?
The Imperial Merchant Bureau could provide the Ministry of Revenue with several million taels of silver every year. He was only asking for one million taels; there was no way the Ministry of Revenue could fail