Late Ming Dynasty: So what if Emperor Chongzhen was inactive?!

Chapter 22 The Emperor Asks Not About the People, But About Ghosts and Gods

Zhu Youjian was so desperate to make some money that he begged and pleaded with everyone he could, even willing to sell himself to a rich woman!
In a corner of the imperial estate, a young eunuch was stealing bags of old grain; local gentry and officials colluded to evade taxes; and the Ministry of Works, now holding over a million taels of silver, was considering how to reduce costs and increase efficiency.

When later generations excavated Emperor Wanli's tomb, they discovered that it had long been leaking and filled with water. This is one of the reasons why Zhu Youjian was so passive about the construction of the imperial tomb; he really didn't want to use the blood and fat scraped from the people to support this bunch of parasites in the empire.

At this time, Xue Fengxiang, the Minister of Works, was being besieged by his subordinates:
"Lord Xue, you have no worries about making a living, but my two children, wives, concubines, and elderly mother are all waiting for this little bit of silver to buy rice to cook! You are so generous, giving away two hundred thousand taels of silver, what are we going to eat?!"

"Yes, sir! We know the country is in dire straits, but if the Ministry of Revenue isn't contributing any funds, how can we expect those who are supposed to do the work to pay for it themselves?"

However, Xue Fengxiang remained calm and composed when faced with attacks from his subordinates. He slowly and deliberately told a short story:

The emperor loved to eat shad, but after years of fishing, the number of shad has greatly decreased, and fishing has become more difficult.

However, in order to meet the demand for tribute, the fishermen in Binjiang discovered some ways to increase the catch.

Before the fishing season begins, they regularly release grain into the river at specific locations. Attracted by the grain, the shad gradually gather in this area, making it easier to catch them by fishing or netting. There's a local saying: 'Want shad? Trade grain.'

So, if you're unwilling to part with food, where will you get shad?!
"Hiss, Your Excellency is wise! We were wrong to misunderstand you!!!" Everyone exclaimed in unison, beaming with joy.

Zhenwu Guard in Daizhou, Shanxi Province, is not too far from the capital, about 800 li away.

After eight days of traveling through wind and rain, the eunuch delivering the imperial decree and the accompanying Imperial Guards finally arrived.

The leader was a centurion of the Imperial Guard, who should theoretically command 112 men, but in reality, there were fewer than 30. It's like the British Empire having only 25 tanks but 313 generals: as a country develops, the number of workers decreases while the number of leaders increases.

The main gate of the Sun family's old residence was wide open. Having been unannounced, Sun Chuanting could only have his wife move the incense burner from the ancestral hall to the main hall to light incense and candles, while he himself changed into an old set of official robes. The accompanying Imperial Guard commander, seeing the bull-and-bullf pattern on Sun Chuanting's robe, showed a look of surprise.

Sun Chuanting politely cupped his hands and said, "I returned my original official robes to the court after I resigned. This set of clothes was passed down from my ancestors. My family is a hereditary household of one hundred households. Originally, I was from a branch line, but the main line died out. I was also the first person in the family to pass the imperial examination, so the clan elder gave me this set of clothes."

"Then he's one of us!" The Jinyiwei centurion was honored and looked at Sun Chuanting with much more warmth. Besides, the civil official was generally more easygoing than him; it was already a favor that a mere centurion like him didn't give him a hard time. With Sun Chuanting being so polite, what could he possibly complain about?
The imperial eunuch carrying the decree entered the hall, and Sun Chuanting knelt before the incense table to receive it. He had expected to receive an imperial edict to reinstate him and appoint him to an official post, but he never expected that the emperor had taken a liking to his two daughters. Sun Chuanting was completely stunned, his heart filled with mixed feelings, including deep doubt and uncontrollable indignation.

He wasn't entirely thinking of his daughter; rather, he was angered by the emperor's "inquiry into the gods and spirits instead of the people's plight": in such a dire situation, instead of thinking about saving the country, the emperor was indulging in lust. This behavior made it difficult for him to suppress his anger.

Moreover, he was certain that neither his daughter nor he himself had ever met Zhu Youjian. Why then did the emperor specifically seek out his daughter? He hadn't, like some others, deliberately flaunted his daughter's beauty to curry favor with the powerful. This completely baffled him. Furthermore, Sun Chuanting was proud; he had raised his daughter to be both scholarly and martial, to be like Qin Liangyu. How could he possibly confine her to the palace to compete with a group of women in palace intrigue and power struggles?
"Lord Sun, please receive the imperial decree," the eunuch called out in a loud voice, politely reminding him. Sun Chuanting was about to become the Emperor's father-in-law; had the eunuch lost his mind and gone to offend him?!
However, Sun Chuanting remained kneeling on the ground, motionless. His wife, Zhang, knew that Sun Chuanting's stubbornness had flared up again, so she pretended to cough a few times and frantically gave him meaningful glances.

"Your subject, Sun Chuanting, receive the imperial decree!" he shouted reluctantly.

After the imperial decree was read, the eunuchs and Imperial Guards did not leave, as they still needed to take Sun Chuanting's two daughters back to report. Madam Zhang warmly arranged food and lodging for the envoys and, citing the need to dress up her daughters, requested a few days to prepare. Although her reason was far-fetched, the envoys agreed. After all, the emperor wasn't pressing them, and they had traveled for many days; a rest would be good.

“Even if he is the emperor, he cannot forcibly conscript women!” Sun Chuanting said indignantly.

Zhang looked worried: "That's what they say. If we disobey the emperor's decree and offend him, will we still be able to hold office?"

Sun Chuanting clearly understood this principle, so he said dejectedly, "Go and call our daughters over. I want to ask them what they think. What's the worst that could happen? I, Sun Chuanting, can't be seen as someone who sells his daughters for personal gain!"

"What nonsense are you spouting!" Madam Zhang's eyebrows shot up, clearly angered. They had two more sons! And Sun Chuanting himself was the hope of the entire family: the only Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) in over two hundred years—what a prestigious title!
Zhu Youjian was unaware that his shady dealings in an attempt to win over Sun Chuanting had inadvertently offended Sun Chuanting and earned him the label of a "tyrant."

At this time, the incompetent emperor Zhu Youjian was busy selling everything he owned to raise funds for the border troops.

"Wanli gold chopsticks, wow, they're so beautiful, glittering and shiny. Sigh, never mind, metal chopsticks are slippery, I'll stick with wooden ones, I'll sell them!"

"A Hongwu underglaze red plum vase with the Three Friends of Winter design, only single people use it for flowers, I should use it for... I'll sell this one too!"

"The Yongle sword?! Wasn't this the one given to the monks in Tibet?! Could it be that the one given was female and this one is male?! Ugh, it's so ugly. I really want to sell it, but unfortunately I can't. Sigh."

"Rare Xuande incense burner, for sale!"

"The Daoist Emperor's Golden Elixir, a harmful substance, is for sale!"

"Your Majesty, you can't sell it! The palace will be emptied out!" the eunuch Wang Chengen pleaded.

"Sell! They're all family, why can't we sell them? 60% off, 60% off!" Zhu Youjian imagined himself and Wang Chengen working together to swindle his family, but unfortunately, China hadn't yet connected to the internet in 1627.

(End of this chapter)