"The method is quite good." Qi Xingyun nodded and said: "Now their victory or defeat depends on their own ability. If they lose, they can't blame others, and they won't come and make noise in front of me."

Ma Chao hesitated for a moment and said: "Your Majesty, although this method is good, it consumes a lot of silver. Our Ministry of War really can't come up with the money. What Jiang Shilang means is to raise money from the Yang Chamber of Commerce..."

"Yang Chamber of Commerce? The Ministry of War really can't get it out?" Qi Xingyun frowned.

"Well, the Ministry of War really can't spare any money. It has recently replaced a batch of new equipment. The floor of the room is in disrepair. You may fall when you walk on it. The roof leaks on rainy days and cannot withstand the wind and cold.

, and can't bear the rain. As a result, seven or eighty-eight silver taels have been spent." Ma Chao lowered his eyes.

It's not that he deliberately complained, it was really helpless. There were too many places where the country needed money, and such a large military department needed a lot of money to support it. The only money he had had been arranged in advance, so how could it be temporarily allocated.

"How much silver do we need to have enough?" Qi Xingyun stretched out his hand and rubbed the center of his brow.

Ma Chao raised his head and said, "About one hundred thousand taels...that's enough."

"Ma Aiqing, what did you say before?" Qi Xingyun said.

"Your Majesty, one hundred thousand taels."

"No, it's not this sentence, it's the previous sentence."

"The Ministry of War is repairing the house and purchasing equipment, but there is no money left."

"That's not the case either."

Ma Chao was stunned and said: "The Yang Chamber of Commerce can raise money."

"I'm sure, Yang's Chamber of Commerce is really a model for national chambers of commerce to deal with the country's difficulties..."

After Ma Chao left, Qi Xingyun breathed a sigh of relief.

There was nothing he could do, and he didn't want to do this. Who made the treasury run out of money? From the bottom of his heart, he didn't want the Imperial Guard to be interfered with by other forces.

This has nothing to do with trusting Yang Ruoqing, but rather the bottom line of the emperor's power.

The directly subordinate Imperial Guards could never be out of control. If the emperor could not control the army, then the change of dynasty would not be far away.

However, there is nothing we can do. The treasury is really empty, many jobs have been forced to a standstill, and even the food and clothing expenses in the palace have been drastically reduced.

…

"I went to the palace and got His Majesty's permission. From now on, the matters related to the Imperial Guard competition will be left to Mr. Jiang." After Ma Chao returned to the Ministry of War, he immediately found Jiang Wulang and told him.

The decree of Emperor Qi Xingyun.

However, he changed the topic and warned: "Master Jiang, this is a competition that Your Majesty values. No matter what, there can be no mistakes or mistakes. You must be careful and come to me at any time if you have any problems."

"Don't worry, Mr. Ma, I will definitely do my best and live up to my trust." Jiang Wulang nodded.

After receiving the news that the event was confirmed, Jiang Wulang returned to Uncle Zhongyong's Mansion with relevant information, hoping to tell Yang Ruoqing about the matter.

But what surprised him was that he missed it.

Yang Ruoqing was not in Zhongyongbo's mansion, but at the invitation of Wan Qingchun, she went to Biyun Garden to visit the flowers.

This year's Biyun Garden, camellias are in full bloom.

Various rare species compete for beauty.

Therefore, the owner of Biyun Garden, Mrs. Lu Yuan, invited many celebrities from the capital to come and watch it, especially Lu Yuanding, a famous calligraphy and painting master in the capital, who painted the flower scrolls on the spot.

Yang Ruoqing was currently in Biyun Garden.

The scenery in front of you is simply beautiful. The colorful camellias are dotted among the fake stone pavilions and streams, forming a fairyland-like artistic conception on earth.

She also saw the painting master Lu Yuanding.

Lu Yuanding was about forty years old. He was a Jinshi and an editor of the Hanlin Academy. He was of noble status and was good at painting. He was famous not only in the capital, but also in the Jiangnan region.

Mrs. Lu Yuan's wife, Lu Yuan, was really prosperous when she invited Lu Yuanding.

Lu Yuanding painted in front of all the dignitaries and ladies, among the mountains and rivers, the gorgeous camellias jumped out, lifelike, as if they were real.

Even people like Yang Ruoqing who don't know much about painting can't help but say a good word when they see it.

She instantly felt that she was being influenced by something inexplicable. Perhaps there was a breath of art reverberating in her body, which instantly made her soul seem to have been baptized.

But to be honest, she couldn't tell what was so good about this painting.

If you ask her to comment, she can only say one sentence, it's so beautiful!

After thinking about it, Yang Ruoqing didn't say anything after all. If such a simple comment was uttered, Master Lu Yuanding might not like it.

"The level of Master Lu's paintings has improved again. It looks like a very ordinary painting, but in fact it has an air of leisure. Look at the fog covering the mountain top. It seems to be a very casual and blurry mass, but in fact

The artistic conception is perfect. I personally feel that this is when Master Lu’s life realm has reached a certain level, and fame and wealth have become like floating clouds to him.”

"Mrs. Li, I think there is another artistic conception hidden in it. It may seem as idle as floating clouds, but the magnificence and uprightness of these camellias mean that Master Lu also has made contributions to the court and is not willing to be left behind.

"

"Mrs. Liu, I think there is a sense of desolation after wealth in this, which means that things in the world are impermanent."

To be honest, it is said that there are many talented and beautiful women in the capital. Yang Ruoqing felt eye-opening just by looking at the comments of these ladies and the young master.

And after all, they raised their heads at 45 degrees, which gave them a somewhat talented temperament!

Comparing herself again, Yang Ruoqing suddenly felt that she was also called an artistic young woman, but she just didn't have this temperament.

Alas, there is still a gap.

Well, I learned a lot, and it was really a worthwhile trip.

After several ladies and talented men made their respective evaluations, they each read a poem, but no one was convinced by the other.

Faintly, there seemed to be a strong smell of gunpowder in the air.

Lu Yuanding glanced at the ladies, young ladies and gentlemen around him. What they said was not bad, and the poems they recited were also very interesting, and their quality was good. However, after all, there was still a gap between them and his paintings.

But he couldn't say it out loud. These were all rich and noble, and he didn't want to offend so many people at once.

If I directly say that there is a gap between their poetry and my own paintings, I'm afraid it will bring me a lot of trouble.

He simply smiled and looked at everyone.

Everyone is not a fool, so everyone knows that these poems are not perfect.

"Let Mr. Shen do it. Mr. Shen is a master of poetry." Someone in the crowd shouted.

Amidst the shouts of the crowd, a woman who looked like a clear lotus stepped out.

She covers her whole body in a blue gauze skirt and wears a white fox shawl. Her black silk stockings are tied up with a hairband, and she is lightly applied with pink and white, creating a petal-like beauty.
Chapter completed!