Without money, what is the point of being a traitor?

Chapter 720 Over-Execution
The court will first issue a portion of the money to create a partial reality. By the time the summer tax is collected, things will have changed, and who will care about today's promises?
The imperial court will naturally incur new expenses.

Those border troops who were being lured by the imperial court might not think that way.

When Liu Jin's new policies were overthrown, wasn't it precisely because of the "excessive implementation" of the investigation of military farms that the border troops were angered, which led to the border troops joining forces with the Prince of Anhua to rebel, ultimately causing Liu Jin's new policies to collapse?

Seeing Zhu Houzhao constantly trying to win over the army, the ministers were well aware of what this young rascal was up to.

Previously, Zhu Houzhao had expressed his desire to interfere in military affairs. Fortunately, the ministers were already on guard and kept a close watch on this matter.

A seemingly inexplicable "grand evaluation of merits" inexplicably exonerated Xiao Chong and Bian Xian, forcing Minister of War He Jian to resign. Meanwhile, Xiao Jing, a eunuch in the Directorate of Ceremonial, colluded with Li Hao, the Vice Minister of War, to seize the opportunity of the Ministry of War's weakened state and issue an official document summoning the border troops to the capital. With the arrival of the four garrison troops and the power of the "adopted son policy," Zhu Houzhao swiftly completed his military breakout.

Aside from restricting military supplies and provisions, the ministers didn't have any other good ways to limit Zhu Houzhao for the time being.

But since you can't hold him back, why not give him a push? Give him a hard push, push him until he's bleeding, and then he'll know what to do.

This time, however, Zhu Houzhao had already reached a higher level, and firmly stated, "No need. Since I ascended the throne, the little prince has repeatedly violated the borders. Before, he only dared to plunder in Ningxia and Shaanxi, but now the threat has gradually shifted eastward."

"Before the New Year, the Prince of Dai, along with the general, governor, and eunuch in charge of the Datong Garrison, urgently reported to the court that the young prince of Datong had gathered a large force and intended to launch a major invasion of the Datong line."

"I can no longer turn a blind eye."

"The proposal just presented by the Ministry of Revenue contains many points that the Ministry of War had previously raised. Since things have come to this point, I have decided to accept it entirely and push this matter forward with all my might."

"After the Ministry of Revenue returns, first check how much of the grain tax and silver and other cash that should have been paid in various places has not yet been deposited into the treasury. Send these silver stranded in the localities to the Ministry of Revenue first, and then we will make overall plans."

"Make purchases where necessary, pay salaries where necessary, and provide disaster relief where necessary."

"I will not hesitate!"

The courtiers below couldn't help but whisper among themselves upon seeing this.

What's going on? Wasn't the Emperor quite resistant just now?
Did they achieve their goal so easily?
Xiao Zhao, what's your struggle?
The ministers couldn't come to a conclusion, but it was clear that the Ministry of Revenue's plan was very targeted, so targeted that even the emperor was speechless.

Sun Jiao's eyes flickered, and he decisively stepped back, giving the stage to someone else.

Next to submit a memorial was the Ministry of Works, which had always been the major spender of the money.

Besides major tasks like dredging waterways, repairing cities, and connecting roads, there were also more specialized tasks such as maintaining imperial tombs, mining and burning coal, and manufacturing weapons, gunpowder, guns, cannons, warships, and cargo ships.

In addition, the Ministry of Works was responsible for the smooth operation of the entire country. For example, ice in the summer, charcoal in the winter, silk as a reward, ceramics, and the production of weights and measures used in daily life all fell under the Ministry of Works' jurisdiction.

Many tasks may seem small, but each one is actually of great importance.

For example, the Yizhou Mountain Factory, which was responsible for supplying fuel, was a vice-ministerial level unit with the rank of third grade. The head of the factory was officially called the "General Manager of Yizhou Mountain Factory," and was supervised by a special person who held the title of Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works.

It is abbreviated as "Prime Minister's Vice Minister".

In the eighth year of the Jiajing reign, the ministers felt that the current title would make it difficult for later novelists to write, so they changed it to "Supervisor and Vice Minister".

When the Ministry of Works stepped forward, everyone knew that the big boss had arrived.

Sure enough, Li Sui said slowly, "I heard from the Ministry of Revenue that they would take some money from the summer tax to make up for the shortfall in expenses. It just so happens that the accounts of the Ministry of Works also need to be consolidated."

"There are several important things to do this year. The first is to repair the city walls of our capital. This matter has been discussed before, and the Ministry of War has also agreed to allocate 25,000 officers and soldiers from the three major battalions to help with the repairs. Zhou Xian, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, will oversee this matter."

"The craftsmen and laborers are almost ready, but there is still a considerable shortage of materials. Originally, we planned to repair while waiting for the summer tax from the imperial court. But judging from the current situation, there are still quite a few accounts to cover for the summer tax."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Houzhao thought to himself, "Damn it, even the Mongol prince has marched south with his army. What am I supposed to do with building this capital?"

Was he destined to be the emperor trapped in the capital, leaning against the newly repaired city walls, helplessly and furiously watching the southward-bound barbarian horses?
Zhu Houzhao immediately declared firmly, "If it can't be repaired, then it won't be repaired. This year's funds and grain should be prioritized for the border towns!"

Pei Yuan, who was eavesdropping in the back hall, couldn't help but give Zhu Houzhao a thumbs up and praise him for his determination.

Zhu Houzhao then looked at the ranks of military officers and said, "We can't let our guard down here in the capital either. Where is the Duke of Cheng?"

Duke Zhu Fu of Cheng State hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Your subject Zhu Fu is here."

Zhu Houzhao said, "The soldiers of the three major camps have been neglected for a long time. I order you to select two assistants from among the meritorious officials. Go and choose carefully to select a fighting force that is ready to support Xuanda at any time."

Zhu Fu shuddered upon hearing this.

For some reason, he suddenly remembered his grandfather, Zhu Yong, the Prince of Pingyin.

Zhu Yong received the task of training the capital's troops for war preparation. He then followed a very brave emperor to reinforce Datong. However, his 50,000 cavalrymen were ambushed on Ming territory and were completely wiped out. The succeeding Jingtai Emperor also forbade the family of the Duke of Cheng to offer sacrifices, citing Zhu Yong's failure as a general to capture the emperor.

Fortunately, after the coup, it was Emperor Yingzong, who should have hated the Chengguo Duke's family the most and was the one who was framed, who acknowledged Zhu Yong's merits and posthumously conferred upon him the title of Prince of Pingyin.

Upon hearing Zhu Houzhao's arrangement, Zhu Fu felt a pang of panic, as if a prince was beckoning to him.

He could only reply, "Your subject will certainly work together with all the meritorious officials to accomplish this task."

Upon hearing Zhu Fu's words, Zhu Houzhao nodded in satisfaction.

The other dukes and marquises who had the same idea turned pale and were all furious in their hearts, saying, "Work together my ass!"

Xiao Ying, the least noticeable among the military officials, had a slight thought and wondered if he should visit Zhihua Temple after the court session ended.

When the officials heard that Zhu Houzhao had rejected the suggestion to repair the Beijing city walls, they couldn't help but whisper among themselves.

Once the officials had quieted down, Li Sui continued, "Besides repairing the city walls, there is another considerable expense this year."

"Previously, in order to dredge the canal and replenish the number of grain transport boats, the imperial court appointed Chen Tianxiang, the chief censor in charge of the area north of Dongchang Prefecture, Zhang Feng, the river transport director, to be in charge of the area from Dongchang to Pei County, and Zhang Jin, the grain transport director, to be in charge of the area south of Xuzhou."

"Zhang Feng is now suspected of corruption. After the case came to light, the Ministry of Works urgently sent people to investigate. They found that the northern section of the river had not been thoroughly cleaned, and many of the planks of the newly built cargo ships were unusable. In order to fix this mess, the court had to spend a lot of money to dredge the river again and build cargo ships."

Zhu Houzhao found himself at a loss for words.

The Grand Canal was crucial for transporting goods between the north and south. If something went wrong and grain ships couldn't deliver the goods, it would cause a major problem.

Fortunately, most of these river sections are in Shandong, and the Linqing Shipyard, which builds and repairs cargo ships, is also in Shandong. We can discuss with Pei Qing later whether we can use banknotes to make up for it.

Zhu Houzhao gritted his teeth and said, "I will find another way to handle this matter."

Li Sui nodded and continued, "Other official matters are rather trivial, so there's no need to discuss them today. Also, there are some matters Your Majesty has entrusted to me, requiring a large sum of money and provisions, which I dare not presume to handle on my own." Zhu Houzhao, of course, wouldn't be fooled by this old fox. Since Li Sui said he dared not presume to handle matters on his own, he was bound to say it in court.

Since that's the case, we might as well be more open and honest.

Zhu Houzhao then said unhappily, "I have no private matters to discuss. What do you want to say?"

Upon hearing this, Li Sui hesitated and said, "At the end of last year, the court demolished Mingyufang and Jiqingfang, saying that it would make room for large-scale construction to build residences for His Majesty's adopted sons. Although the people there have been barely settled, the money and grain for the new residences have not yet been secured."

Zhu Houzhao understood; so that's what it was about.

Building residences for his adopted sons, with the Yongshou Earl's Mansion as the core, was an important means for Zhu Houzhao to directly control military power.

But with national affairs at hand, there's no rush.

Zhu Houzhao then glanced at the ranks of the military officials and said, "Let's leave that land vacant for now. After we drive away the little prince, those who have rendered meritorious service may be promoted and rewarded. At that time, I will elevate their social standing."

Then, as if afraid that the Ministry of Works might waver in its stance, Zhu Houzhao said directly, "I might as well be frank: this year, all the court's efforts will be focused on preparing for the enemy. Not only summer taxes, but even autumn taxes will be prioritized for the border towns."

Upon hearing Zhu Houzhao's words, all the officials were shocked.

The land of China is vast, and the main crops are wheat and rice. Therefore, taxes are levied twice a year, depending on the growing season.

The tax levied when wheat ripens is called the summer tax. The tax levied when rice ripens is called the autumn tax.

Therefore, the summer tax mainly came from the four provinces of mountains and rivers, while the autumn tax mainly came from the southern provinces.

Summer taxes are one thing, but autumn taxes are a huge amount.

Pei Yuan, who was eavesdropping behind, saw how inspired A Zhao was and how passionate he was. He became even more convinced that he hadn't misjudged him.

Realizing he had misjudged the man, Li Sui asked in surprise, "Your Majesty, is the Leopard House also handled in this manner?"

Zhu Houzhao was slightly surprised and asked, puzzled, "What does this have to do with the Leopard House?"

Li Sui hurriedly replied, "Since Your Majesty built the Leopard House, more than 240,000 taels of silver have been spent in the past five years. Your Majesty also mentioned that you want to add more than 200 rooms, but the funds for that are still pending."

Zhu Houzhao's expression changed slightly, and his voice became less forceful. After a moment of contemplation, he said, "Go back and do a general ledger first, and see how much silver is needed. I'll take a look and then decide."

Seeing this, Li Sui felt relieved. As expected, Xiao A Zhao was still the person he knew.

He then pressed on, “Your Majesty previously ordered the Ministry of Works to rebuild the Taisu Hall. The original Taisu Hall was simply decorated with chalk and thatched, and was very simple, which was very fitting for its name. However, Your Majesty’s new design is extremely luxurious and extravagant, requiring more than 200,000 taels of silver, employing more than 3,000 soldiers and craftsmen, and spending more than 13,000 shi of rice and 34,000 jin of salt annually. Other expenses and additional works are not included in this figure.”

"If Your Majesty still intends to rebuild the Taisu Hall, even if the scale is reduced, it will still be a considerable expense."

Seeing that Zhu Houzhao was hesitant and remained silent, Li Sui lowered his voice at the opportune moment.

Zhu Houzhao hesitated for a long time, unable to make up his mind, so he asked again, "Is there anything else?"

Li Sui said, "The Dharma King of Da Ci'en Temple requested the construction of monks' quarters, saying that His Majesty had previously promised them. The Ministry of Works is completely unprepared, and if the construction is to proceed, all the materials will probably have to be purchased again."

Zhu Houzhao quickly replied, "We cannot be frugal with this. I have already promised, and it would be a great loss to break my promise to the Dharma King for such a small amount of money."

Li Sui hesitated, "Then..."

Zhu Houzhao looked away.

Lu Yin said at the opportune moment, "This old servant is thinking that the reserves here cannot be accumulated in a day. We need to buy grain, make swords and spears, and repair armor and equipment, and transport them over little by little."

"The summer and autumn taxes also differ in their location. The summer tax mainly comes from the northern provinces and arrives faster, which is just in time for emergencies. By the time the autumn tax is collected, we might be able to handle all the affairs at all levels."

"This old servant thinks we might as well try them all out first. If any gaps appear, we can find a way to fill them in."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Houzhao turned back to the three cabinet ministers and said, "This is how the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs sees it. My dear ministers, do you think there is anything that can be improved?"

Lu Yin remained calm and composed, and followed suit.

The cabinet members had no objection to this.

Even those who had nothing to do with this scheme didn't have a good impression of the Ming Dynasty's paper money.

So they all said, "What Eunuch Lu said makes sense. We can try doing it first."

As opinions gradually converged in the front hall, Pei Ayuan, who had just become enthusiastic in the back hall, quietly put his hands behind his back again.

After the Ministry of Works finished its report, the other ministries and temples also stepped forward one by one.

Apart from the Imperial Stud, which was relatively extravagant and could use some of the money from selling official positions to help the imperial treasury, the other ministries and institutes were all asking for money.

Pei Yuan was too lazy to listen carefully anymore, and only half-heartedly paid attention to what was in front of him.

At noon, since the matter had not been fully discussed, Zhu Houzhao, as was customary, hosted a banquet for his officials.

Remembering Zhu Houzhao's previous arrangements, Pei Yuan left Fengtian Hall and went to Huagai Hall behind it.

Sure enough, not long after, a young eunuch brought food.

The young eunuch then said to Pei Yuan, as if seeking credit, "This was something His Majesty took down from his own desk and bestowed upon the commander."

Pei Yuan smiled, feeling he should say something to express his gratitude, but he couldn't bring himself to say it.

So he took out a silver ingot from his sleeve and gave it away as a reward.

The young eunuch, who was always trying to curry favor and get a reward, happily took the silver and left.

Pei Yuan looked at the food in front of him, and a thought slowly flashed through his mind: "If their country is about to be attacked, what more can be expected of their food?"

Eat it if you want.

(End of this chapter)