Chapter 253: Putting the Ruyi Bean Seeds Up for Sale

In the capital, there was a great deal of commotion and bustle, but the issues involved were only a few, and everyone went back and forth discussing the hot topics of this period—those related to the court and those related to the common people.

Among the court-related matters, the one that drew the most attention was the Prince of Fu incident.

Among the matters related to the common people, it was the matter of the Ruyi bean seeds.

These two matters had not yet yielded any answers, and everyone was waiting for the Emperor to take a stance.

But after the Emperor recently invited everyone to a meal, he had retreated to the Western Park, showing no sign of intending to take a stance.

As for the matter of the Ruyi bean seeds, there was already further news.

At first, some ministers at court hoped that Your Majesty would distribute the Ruyi beans for free.

Then word came out in public opinion: Those are grains grown on Your Majesty's imperial estates—how could you have the nerve to ask His Majesty to give them away?

Of course, there were also many rebuttals; in short, it all devolved into a chaotic mess of quarreling.

Under such circumstances, someone took the initiative to submit a routine memorial. This time, it was a group led by Cui Chengxiu of the Censorate who submitted a memorial requesting that Your Majesty put the Ruyi beans up for sale.

At the same time, Cui Chengxiu also put forward a governing viewpoint.

This was the first time he had done such a thing. In his own words, the style or governing viewpoint he represented was to solve problems from a practical standpoint.

This Ruyi bean seed incident was a concentrated display of Cui Chengxiu's position.

Having the Emperor take out Ruyi bean seeds and give them away for free was an act of taking advantage, and it was also unrealistic. Aside from angering His Majesty, it served no other purpose.

Of course, if His Majesty kept all the Ruyi beans in the palace for his own consumption, that too would be an irresponsible display.

The people of the realm were crying out in hunger, urgently in need of high-yield grain seeds. As the Emperor of the realm, His Majesty should naturally set an example and bring out the seeds.

In order to balance these two needs, selling the Ruyi bean seeds became the best choice.

So after Zhu Youxiao received these memorials, he issued an edict commending Cui Chengxiu and approving this course of action.

The Imperial Household Department began selling Ruyi beans, and at the same time would also teach the planting methods to those who bought the seeds.

After this decision came out, aside from those who truly wanted to take advantage, most people were satisfied—spending money to buy seeds was not a difficult matter for them.

They were not people short on money to begin with; they were all large-scale producers with plenty of land at home, so spending a bit of money to buy seeds was, in the long run, more beneficial than harmful.

Under such circumstances, the Imperial Household Department was once again pushed to the forefront.

Although the Emperor had said he would sell the Ruyi beans, how they would be sold and how many there were—these were major questions.

So Zhang Guoji, the Grand Steward of the Imperial Household Department, was once again pushed to the crest of the wave of public opinion, and his doorstep was thronged with visitors.

Within the Western Park.

After resolving the matter of selling the potatoes, Zhu Youxiao finally relaxed.

Sitting in a rocking chair, gently swaying, with a palm-leaf fan in his hand that he waved lightly a few times, he exuded an air of languor and leisure.

The only thing he needed to think about now was: what price should the potatoes be sold at?

First of all, this was grain, so it should at least be priced the same as rice—and refined rice at that.

Secondly, right now this thing was seed, so its price should be even higher; doubling or tripling it was no problem.

However, as the Emperor himself, he should also consider his reputation—selling it too expensively was not very good. He could change his approach and let the Imperial Father-in-Law set the price instead; that would be fine too.

After all, he was the Emperor, raised deep within the palace, and did not know much about grain prices, so asking the Imperial Father-in-Law was perfectly normal, since he was in charge of the sales.

Thinking of this, Zhu Youxiao felt that his decision was correct. The reason was also simple: as an Emperor, treating worthy ministers with courtesy, humbly listening to the opinions and suggestions of his subjects—these were the fine qualities of an Emperor.

Zhu Youxiao felt that he was getting closer and closer to being a wise ruler.

Of course, this was only his own self-perception.

After this policy came out, there would certainly be criticism. It was just that the one being criticized would not be himself, but his father-in-law. Wasn't this exactly what he was for when he entered the Imperial Household Department?

It seemed he was still an Emperor with foresight.

Lifting his head to glance at Chen Hong not far away, Zhu Youxiao said, "Go to the Imperial Household Department and fetch the Imperial Father-in-Law."

Upon hearing these words, Chen Hong promptly replied, "Yes, Your Majesty, this servant will go at once."

After saying this, Chen Hong promptly turned and walked out, preparing to find the Imperial Father-in-Law.

After Chen Hong left, Zhu Youxiao pondered what he should do—more precisely, what price he should set.

The strategy he had just formulated would not work; that was a strategy made under the condition that he still had to worry about his reputation.

Now that he no longer needed a reputation, that previous strategy was naturally unnecessary.

Zhang Guoji did not know why His Majesty wanted to see him, but if he guessed, he could roughly figure that it was probably related to the matter of the Ruyi beans.

During this period, the major affair of the Imperial Household Department was the Ruyi beans, which His Majesty had ordered him to sell.

Outside, things had already become stirred up; everyone was thinking about how to get more Ruyi beans cheaply from Zhang Guoji's hands. Some were even willing to pay high prices, just hoping to obtain more Ruyi beans.

But Zhang Guoji knew very well in his heart that although His Majesty had ordered him to sell them, not everything was within his power to decide—many things were not his call.

Clearly, this time His Majesty summoning him to the palace meant there was something that was not his call.

Following Chen Hong to the Western Park, Zhang Guoji wore a very solemn expression.

Recently, he had been keeping a very low profile, because his reputation outside had been getting worse and worse.

Zhang Guoji did not even know why—his reputation just kept declining. It was not as if he had done anything that provoked heaven's wrath or popular indignation, so how had he become someone everyone wanted to denounce?

Especially those former study companions from his youth—they now attacked him with such ferocity, as if he had dug up their ancestral graves and there was an irreconcilable enmity between them.

This made Zhang Guoji feel both stifled and wronged. What was going on?

After pondering for a long time without finding the reason, Zhang Guoji simply kept a very low profile during this period. If not for the matter of the Ruyi beans, he would have almost become invisible at court.

The tide of criticism had originally been gradually subsiding, and Zhang Guoji was quite pleased. But who could have expected this sudden affair to crop up?

Now it was just great—being invisible was no longer possible; instead, he had been pushed back to the crest of the wave.

Arriving beside the pavilion, Zhang Guoji saw Zhu Youxiao lying in the rocking chair enjoying the breeze, and he walked somewhat nervously before His Majesty.

He truly was rather afraid of this emperor son-in-law.

Although this emperor son-in-law's schemes were not particularly brilliant, Zhang Guoji still sensed a slightly different flavor about him.

Ever since he entered the Imperial Household Department and began working for this emperor son-in-law, his reputation seemed to have started sliding downhill.

Zhang Guoji didn't actually think his imperial son-in-law was trying to set him up—what he feared was his son-in-law asking him to do something else.

Once the imperial son-in-law asked him to do something, his reputation would drop another two notches.

"Your servant pays respects to Your Majesty." Zhang Guoji bowed respectfully, silently praying that nothing unexpected would come up.

Hearing this, Zhu Youxiao gently opened his eyes, glanced at Zhang Guoji, and a smile immediately spread across his face.

He said mildly, "The Imperial Father-in-Law has come?"

At the same time, he turned to Chen Hong and instructed, "Quickly bring a chair for the Imperial Father-in-Law. Serve tea."

Zhang Guoji immediately felt flattered and overwhelmed, while at the same time a sense of foreboding rose in his heart—this imperial son-in-law had been courteous to him before, but it was rarely a sign of anything good.

Chen Hong quickly brought the chair over and respectfully invited Zhang Guoji to sit.

After Zhang Guoji sat down and the tea was served, Zhu Youxiao finally spoke: "This is tea just delivered from Jiangnan—this year's tribute Dragon Well. Imperial Father-in-Law, have a taste."

As he spoke, Zhu Youxiao also raised his teacup and took a sip.

Zhang Guoji naturally dared not hesitate; he too raised his teacup and took a sip, and an instant fragrance lingered between his teeth.

Zhang Guoji felt his whole body relax considerably.

"Truly fine tea." A look of appreciation also appeared on his face.

Zhu Youxiao said with a smile, "When the Imperial Father-in-Law leaves later, have two catties brought for him."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Chen Hong hurriedly acknowledged from the side.

After drinking tea for a while longer, Zhu Youxiao felt the time was about right, and looking at Zhang Guoji, he said, "I called the Imperial Father-in-Law over today because there are some matters I wish to ask you about."

"The matter of the court selling Ruyi Bean seeds has been put on the agenda. However, regarding the pricing, there hasn't been a good result so far."

"I grew up deep in the palace. Though I know well the hardships of the common people and how difficult their lives are, I'm not too clear on what price would be appropriate to sell them at—what price would be most beneficial to the people? So I wanted to ask the Imperial Father-in-Law."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Guoji's face relaxed with relief.

So it was only about asking about prices—that was easy to handle. It wasn't that sensitive, and it didn't involve the court.

However, Zhang Guoji didn't think he could offer any good advice either. After all, at home he was the master; buying grain was not something he needed to worry about. At home there were servants, stewards, and his wife—basically he never had to buy grain himself.

He didn't even know the price of grain, let alone the price of seeds.

But Zhang Guoji still had a way out. He said, "Your Majesty, the Ruyi Bean is a divine thing. With such a high yield per mu, the seed price naturally should be higher than current seeds."

"Since the yield is three to four times that of rice, then the seeds should also be priced at three to four times that of rice."

Zhu Youxiao glanced at Zhang Guoji, feeling that this father-in-law of his had a clear way of thinking.

This was exactly the right approach—well done!

As long as he guided things a little further, that would do it!

So Zhu Youxiao said, "But although the Ruyi Bean has a high yield, the palace doesn't have much of it either. Since we're selling it, it should benefit more of the common people, rather than letting one person buy too much. If that happened, the original purpose of the sale would be lost, and it wouldn't be good for the Ruyi Bean's distribution."

Under normal circumstances, the way to solve this problem would be purchase limits, but that wouldn't have much effect.

Which household nowadays didn't have countless tenant farmers?

They could just send their people to buy—but it was still easy to verify, for example, those who owned land.

Zhu Youxiao naturally wouldn't choose this method. What he wanted was more money.

Under these circumstances, raising the selling price so that many people couldn't afford to buy more potatoes—that was a good method. One could say it killed two birds with one stone, but he couldn't be the one to say it.

Zhu Youxiao looked at his father-in-law with expectation, hoping he would give him a pleasant surprise.

After hearing Zhu Youxiao's words, Zhang Guoji nodded, then furrowed his brow.

After thinking for a moment, Zhang Guoji said, "Then sell them at a higher price. Although some people might not be able to afford them, or could only buy a small portion, at least they could still buy some. Those who want to buy a lot wouldn't buy so much either, since the price would already be quite high."

Zhu Youxiao looked at Zhang Guoji, wishing he could give him a thumbs up.

Gently nodding, Zhu Youxiao's face still showed no particular expression as he slowly said, "Then let's do as the Imperial Father-in-Law suggests."

At the same time, he turned to look at Chen Hong beside him and asked directly, "What's the price for the palace's procurement of polished rice?"

Any fool knew that rice bought by the imperial palace was more expensive. Part of that was because the rice was better, but there was also false reporting and corruption involved. That price couldn't be used as a reference—using it as a unit would scare quite a few people to death.

In any case, a successful merchant would absolutely never use that unit to calculate prices.

Zhang Guoji didn't care either way, because he didn't know—grain was grain, wasn't it just that price? Since His Majesty had already spoken, he would just follow His Majesty's lead.

Chen Hong hurriedly said, "Reporting to His Majesty, the polished rice procured by the palace costs three taels of silver per shi."

After speaking, Chen Hong retreated to the side, afraid that His Majesty would find fault with him.

Any fool could tell this price was too high.

Outside, in a normal year, rice was generally around one tael of silver per shi. That referred to fine polished rice—not coarse rice, not the kind common folk ate, but the truly fine rice that the wealthy and noble households consumed.

In famine years it might be more expensive, and in bumper harvest years it might be a bit less. But a price of three taels of silver was simply fleecing a fat sucker.

Zhu Youxiao glanced at Chen Hong, then turned back without speaking. He didn't know whether this was the actual price, or whether Chen Hong was making it up to raise the price for him.

He would definitely have to investigate later—dare to skim off his money?

Although the Imperial Household Department had already started a cooperative investment model and many things in the palace had already become free, grain didn't count—after all, this was food for His Majesty, so caution was required.

Chen Hong knew this too. If he thought about it, after this incident, some people were probably done for.

Of course, these grains were said to be for the nobles, but in reality most of it was consumed within the palace. What His Majesty ate was grown by a dedicated office. Among the Eight Bureaus of the Inner Palace eunuchs, there was the Wine, Vinegar, and Noodle Bureau.

The Wine, Vinegar, and Noodle Bureau's duty was to "manage the wine, vinegar, sugar, sauces, noodles, and beans for consumption within the palace." The so-called "within the palace" referred to those serving the imperial household within the palace grounds. In its duties, items like wine and vinegar were manufactured by the bureau itself.

Vegetables and such were also grown by dedicated personnel, but they couldn't very well say that to the outside world. This was also one of the few opportunities for the palace eunuchs to have extra income. So this matter had been left as it was all this time—who would have thought that this Ruyi Bean affair would stir them all up.

This time, some people were probably going to suffer. Chen Hong offered them a moment of silent mourning in his heart.

Zhu Youxiao didn't rebuke Chen Hong either. Instead, he turned to look at Zhang Guoji and said matter-of-factly, "Three taels of silver per shi—if it's seeds, then it should be able to sell for ten taels of silver per shi. If we sell it a bit higher, I think twenty taels of silver per shi would be more appropriate."

Hearing Zhu Youxiao's words, although Zhang Guoji didn't understand much, a sense of foreboding rose in his heart.

This price was way too high—thirty taels of silver!

For a moment, Zhang Guoji didn't know what to say.

Zhu Youxiao didn't pay Zhang Guoji any attention at all, but continued matter-of-factly: "The price of thirty taels of silver is a bit too high. How about this—lower it a little, twenty-five taels of silver will do."

One shi of potatoes weighs about 150 jin. This time, the imperial estate planted a total of 3,000 mu of potatoes, yielding over 5 million jin — roughly 40,000 shi. If they could be sold at 25 taels per shi, how much would that be worth?

After a rough calculation, it could probably sell for 1 million taels of silver.

Thinking of all that money, Zhu Youxiao nearly laughed himself awake.

As for whether they could actually be sold, Zhu Youxiao wasn't worried in the slightest.

As word spread, more and more buyers came. Even if they couldn't be sold down to Jiangnan, they could still be distributed throughout the entire region north of the Yangtze. Through the channels of the Imperial Household Department, they would be dispersed in no time.

After all, the Imperial Household Department had already forged connections with many merchants who could help sell them.

Potatoes being easy to transport meant they could be sold to even more distant places, so Zhu Youxiao felt the price was quite suitable, and the money was quite suitable too — a million taels in hand was a beautiful thing. He just wondered whether merchants might buy them up and then resell them at a markup.

But Zhu Youxiao thought the likelihood was small, because whether it was the nobles and imperial kinsmen at court, or the officials and landowners in every region, none of them would find it difficult to absorb these potatoes. Wouldn't it be better to take them home and plant them themselves?

Everyone here owns land, so one could afford to speak a bit arrogantly.

At this moment, Zhang Guoji also snapped back to his senses. He hesitated, wanting to say something — even wanting to advise His Majesty to lower the price. Twenty-five taels of silver per shi was simply too high.

But Zhu Youxiao gave him no chance to speak, saying directly: "Alright, that's settled then."

After saying this, Zhu Youxiao turned to look at Chen Hong and said directly: "The Imperial Father-in-Law has rendered meritorious service in offering counsel. Award him one thousand taels of silver, and confer upon his two sons the rank of Vice Prefect of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. You shall deliver the edict in person."

Hearing that Zhu Youxiao was granting rewards, Zhang Guoji's heart grew even more flustered. But at this moment there was nothing he could do — when the Emperor gives you a reward, how could you not accept it?

So Zhang Guoji hurriedly knelt to the ground and said: "Your servant's merit is but a trifle — how dare I accept such a reward from Your Majesty?"

"The Imperial Father-in-Law is too modest. How could such great merit go unrewarded?" Zhu Youxiao said with a brilliant smile.

This reward absolutely had to be given, and it had to be done with great fanfare — otherwise, why would he have Chen Hong personally deliver the edict?

It was to tell everyone about this matter, to make it known to all, so that everyone would understand that this policy was proposed by the Imperial Father-in-Law, and that this price was set by him as well.

Otherwise, wouldn't all his efforts have been in vain?

So whether you accept it or not, you must accept it.

Zhu Youxiao said: "Chen Hong, why don't you hurry and help the Imperial Father-in-Law to his feet? Go with the Imperial Father-in-Law back to his residence to deliver the edict."

Chen Hong hurriedly assented from the side: "Yes, Your Majesty. This servant will go at once."