Therefore, the construction of Yuanmingyuan was ahead of schedule, but at that time, the national strength of the Qing Dynasty was already empty, and the Qing Dynasty implemented a closed-door policy. The national treasury is already empty, and there is no money to pay. At that time, many North Korean ministers raised objections to the construction of Yuanmingyuan, which was pardoned by Empress Dowager Cixi.
Moreover, Empress Dowager Cixi prepared 30 million taels of silver to decorate this banquet, in order to hold a birthday banquet as grand as Emperor Qianlong. For the Qing dynasty at that time, 30 million taels of silver was really unaffordable, while during the Qianlong period, the overall income of the Qing dynasty was only 50 million taels of silver. If you give this money to the troops at that time, you can give countless troops.
Since the national treasury could not afford so much money, Empress Dowager Cixi ordered the frontier defense, set aside several million taels and even increased various taxes to make up for the expenses of the birthday party. At this time, many ministers put forward other opinions in succession. They all think that the money is to ensure the operation of the Qing system and cannot be used to help her celebrate her birthday. If there is a war, the money will be wasted, and Empress Dowager Cixi is very angry. He said to the ministers, I am happy, everyone is happy, I am not happy, and everyone has to die. Those who disobey orders will be punished as they deserve. So this banquet was very expensive in the Qing Dynasty at that time, and then it can be said that Empress Dowager Cixi had a very important responsibility when the Japanese army failed in the raid.