Chapter 353: Concern for the Country
The last small meeting ended in a bad mood.

But no matter how unhappy he was, the little emperor still pretended to be happy the next day and announced the seal and gave everyone a holiday.

The vast majority of officials went home for the New Year holiday, and only a small number of them stayed to take turns on duty.

Yang Shiqi was already very old. He seldom attended court, let alone was on duty.
Since the fourth year of Zhengtong, he gradually transferred power to his subordinates and reduced government affairs.

The young eunuch respectfully supported Yang Shiqi and whispered, "Your Majesty wants to see the elder. I am here to fetch him on the orders of the master."

Yang Shiqi nodded with a smile: "Thank you, Mr. Wang."

When Yang Shiqi arrived at the imperial study, Wang Zhen came out to greet him personally, stood by the door, bowed slightly, and said with a smile: "Please come in, Lord."

Yang Shiqi nodded slightly, took the young eunuch's hand and walked in.

The young emperor was standing sideways in front of a huge map in a daze.

Yang Shiqi stood still and was about to kneel down, but the emperor, who had come to his senses, called him back, "Hurry up and hold on, sir."

The emperor himself stepped forward and held Yang Shiqi, "Sir, why do you have to be so polite to me?"

Yang Shiqi: "Rituals cannot be abolished."

The emperor waved his hand and said, "It doesn't matter. Come and see, sir."

He pulled Yang Shiqi to the map, pointed to the southwest and said: "Si Jifa's wife and children were captured by General Wang, Yunnan has been recovered, but it is hateful that Si Renfa and Si Jifa fled to Burma, and Burma is holding back and is reluctant to hand over the prisoners. This shows that the power of the court is still not enough in the southwest. If we send troops again and punish the Burmese king, the southwest will no longer dare to disobey the court and neglect the court's laws and policies."

Yang Shiqi squinted his eyes and nodded, stroking his beard and said, "Your Majesty, the Luchuan War has been fought for so many years. Not only are the soldiers tired, but the people are also tired. The national prestige must be enhanced, but it is not worth wasting national wealth for this."

The little emperor took back his hand, "Sir, do you also think that I shouldn't fight in the Luchuan battle?"

Yang Shiqi shook his head slightly, "No, the war must be fought, but it depends on how it is fought."

He sighed and said, "Si Renfa and his son have disobeyed the court several times and spoken rudely to Your Majesty. If we don't fight, the court's prestige will be gone, and the other vassal states in the southwest will probably rebel frequently. But... it's not worth spending so much manpower and financial resources to fight this war."

He said, "Last year, Si Renfa and his son asked for peace, and Your Majesty should have agreed."

The little emperor had a gloomy face and said nothing.

Last year, Wang Ji won a great victory. Si Renfa and his son wrote a letter to ask for peace. Half of the people in the court agreed, and half opposed.

The emperor felt that they had caused such a big fuss, but in the end they just admitted their mistakes and begged for peace and he would let them go. This was too lenient to Si Renfa and his son.

He was still angry, and Wang Zhen also agreed with his idea, so he did not agree and let Wang Ji continue fighting.

However, they did not expect that the subsequent war would be full of ups and downs, with some wins and some losses. In order to win, they could only invest more manpower and financial resources.

The little emperor clenched his teeth and tightened his cheeks. After a moment, he said, "Sir, do you think we should put our troops on the southwest border or in the north?"

Yang Shiqi: "North."

He paused and said, "The Oirat has grown stronger in recent years and has seized Tatar grasslands and cattle and horses many times. Now, Tatar power has been forced to move closer to the Ming Dynasty. Toghtobukha and Yesen have wicked ambitions and have close contacts..."

He slowed down his speech, took a breath and said, "Your Majesty, in this land of China, since ancient times, it has been easy to attack from north to south, but it is difficult to attack from south to north."

The little emperor said disdainfully: "Sir, they are just ants, how can you bring them up in the war to defend the country? They are just barbarians, not worthy of being involved in the war to defend the country."

"When governing a country, one should be prepared for danger in times of peace," Yang Shiqi paused, and seeing that the emperor looked unhappy, he smiled and said, "Of course, with your majesty's heroic spirit, these are all trivial matters. The Ming Dynasty has strong soldiers and horses, so there is no need to be too taboo."

The little emperor nodded, "These are all small matters, silver is the big matter."

He said: "As long as we have money and can keep up with the military equipment, what do our Ming soldiers have to fear?"

Yang Shiqi remained silent.

Seeing that he didn't say anything, the young emperor asked directly: "Sir, you are from Jiangxi. What do you think of the silver mines in Jiangxi?"

Yang Shiqi was silent for a moment and then said, "It's nothing more than the local officials privately opening silver mines, or the landlords and gentry secretly mining and bribing the officials."

The little emperor was so angry that he slammed the table and shouted angrily: "Investigate now!"

Yang Shiqi lowered his head and said after a moment: "Your Majesty, the silver mines in Jiangxi only produce a few thousand taels a year, which is a drop in the bucket for the national treasury. The emptiness of the national treasury is not due to the silver mines, but to other things."

Little Emperor: "If we can't manage the small, how can we make it big? But sir, where do you think the problem of the empty treasury lies?"

Yang Shiqi: "It's about the administration of officials and taxes."

He said: "The taxes paid by ordinary people are already very heavy, but the national treasury is still short of revenue. The problem lies in the administration of officials and extravagant spending. If Your Majesty wants to rectify the national treasury, you must rectify the administration of officials, and also rectify the inner court and the royal family."

The little emperor frowned slightly, "Rectifying the administration of officials...how about you preside over it?"

Yang Shiqi refused outright. He was already 79 years old and had difficulty walking. How could he have the energy to rectify the administration of officials?

The little emperor took the opportunity to ask, "Sir, do you have any candidates to recommend?"

Yang Shiqi lowered his eyes and thought for a while before saying, "Former Dali Temple Junior Secretary Xue Xuan is fair and strict, and is not afraid of the powerful. Perhaps we can give it a try."

The emperor was a little unhappy.

Xue Xuan was dismissed from office and expelled from the capital, and he had left a message that he was not allowed to enter the capital again.

Wouldn't it be embarrassing to bring him back to rectify the administration of officials?
The emperor asked, "Who else can do this?"

Yang Shiqi was slightly disappointed in his heart, but he did not show it on his face. He still smiled and said, "Yu Qian, the right assistant minister of the Ministry of War, has a strong character and can be used."

Emperor: "Yu Qian?" Yang Shiqi nodded and said with a smile: "He is currently on a tour of Henan, Shanxi and other places. If Your Majesty wants to rectify the administration, you can recall him and use him."

The emperor seemed to be thinking about something.

It was almost dark when Yang Shiqi was sent out of the palace, but there were still many colleagues waiting at his door.

There are civil officials, military generals, and nobles.

As soon as they saw Yang Shiqi, they immediately came forward, helped him down, and escorted him into the house.

Yang Shiqi held the butler's hand and walked over the steps. He turned around and whispered to them, "It's cold. You should go back soon."

"Lord, will His Majesty send troops to Luchuan?"

"The Wala in the north are becoming more and more arrogant. Your Majesty, do you want to send troops to the north as well?"

"The treasury has no money. Will we have to increase taxes again next year?"

"What about the Jiangxi silver mine?"

"The story of the treasure in Quanzhou has not been fully uncovered yet. Lord Wang and the Imperial Guards are still out there, and the people of Fujian are also in a state of panic."

Everyone talked at once, and one person asked a question, just like ducks quacking in Yang Shiqi's ear.

Yang Shiqi raised his hand to suppress it, and said gently: "Your Majesty is a holy monarch, and good advice will naturally be heard. Don't worry, go back and celebrate the New Year. If there is anything, we can talk about it next year."

The ministers looked at each other, then stepped back, raised their hands and bowed, and replied respectfully, "Yes, Lord."

Everyone gave Yang Shiqi New Year's greetings in advance and then left.

Yang Shiqi held the butler's hand and stood at the door, watching them leave in groups of two or three, without moving for a long time.

The housekeeper tried twice to help the man but failed, so he could not help but call out softly, "Old Master?"

Yang Shiqi sighed, "Look, they are working in groups of three or five, some are clearly separated from each other, and some catch up and join together."

The housekeeper was confused and didn't understand what this meant. He could only smile and said, "Perhaps the adults have a good relationship and have something to say."

"Yes, the relationship is good..." Yang Shiqi turned around, held the housekeeper's hand and walked into the courtyard, muttering: "The trend of party struggle has already taken shape. How difficult is it for Your Majesty to open up the situation?"

Yang Shiqi's heart was in a knot, and he whispered: "It's too late to regret, it's too late to regret..."

The butler didn't know what he regretted, so he couldn't say anything and could only remain silent.

"Grandpa, I'll ask the kitchen to bring the food over."

Yang Shiqi waved his hand and said, "I can't eat it."

Housekeeper: "I'll ask the kitchen to make a bowl of egg custard, at least use some."

Yang Shiqi finally sighed and agreed, saying, "I am old and can no longer change the situation. If I could return to the energy I had five years ago, no, even three years ago, I would be willing to give it a try."

The housekeeper smiled and said, "Master, you are a cabinet elder and a junior tutor. The late emperor entrusted his son to you. You are already the best among the civil officials. What else do you want to fight for?"

"You don't understand, these are just empty names," Yang Shiqi said, "I have failed the late emperor's trust."

The housekeeper was startled and couldn't help but ask in a low voice: "Old Master, is there something wrong with the emperor?"

Yang Shiqi said expressionlessly: "He is very good. Your Majesty is talented, wise, loyal, and ambitious, but he is too proud."

Being too proud can be simply called conceited.

The butler lowered his head, and just then the egg custard was served. He quickly took it, mixed it with sesame oil and handed it to Yang Shiqi, "Old Master, everyone has their own fate. That's His Majesty, not a clay figure. It's impossible for you to mold him into any shape you want."

Yang Shiqi looked at the housekeeper in admiration and said, "You are very insightful. It took me 75 years to figure out this truth, and then I let it go. As a result, I regretted it four years later. Now that I heard this, I understand it again, and I don't feel so bad anymore."

The housekeeper smiled and said, "That's all because of the good teaching of the old master. In the past few years, you have been talking about self-reflection. You said this yourself. I just added a few words to it and said it again in my own words."

"I didn't say it as elegantly as the old master, but I just wanted to make him feel better."

Yang Shiqi smiled and said, "That's very comforting. Never mind. Let them be. I'm already this old. What else can I do?"

"That's right, it's time for the old man to enjoy his life."

That being said, Yang Shiqi listened to what was said, but he still suffered from insomnia at night.

How can the Ming Dynasty break out of this predicament?
Yang Shiqi didn't want to hurt the emperor, nor did he want to hurt the ministers, and even more so, he didn't want to hurt the people.

But it is impossible to have three things at once.

Everything has its pros and cons. If you want to fill the national treasury without hurting the people, there will definitely be people who suffer.

The world is bustling with people all seeking profit. Even if the profit is ill-gotten, people will not be willing to give up the profit they have already obtained or suffer losses.

They will oppose and fight.

Whenever there is resistance there are victims.

The emperor, the people, and the ministers may all be harmed.

Yang Shiqi sighed and couldn't fall asleep again.

(End of this chapter)