Chapter 254: Cleaning Up Some Noble Titles

The news of the Ruyi Beans going on sale spread quickly, and so did word about the pricing.

Of course, beyond the price itself, what everyone focused on was the matter of the State Elder's advice to the throne. And the news that spread was quite detailed, with the specific course of events:

His Majesty did not know the price of grain in the outside world, and since the beans were being sold by the Imperial Household Department, he summoned the State Elder to the palace to ask his opinion.

The State Elder then stated his position, believing that a high price should be used to make each person buy less, so that more people could get their hands on them — after all, the quantity of Ruyi Beans was limited.

His Majesty agreed with the State Elder's proposal. The price of Ruyi Beans was set at thirty taels per shi, which could be called an extremely high price.

Once this price came out, the capital was filled with a chorus of curses, with all fingers pointed at the State Elder. Whether it was imperial relatives by marriage or the scholars of the present dynasty, all were the same.

Of course, they could not say so openly. After all, the banner the State Elder was flying was that of benefiting more people — you could hardly call that wrong.

But the routine memorials impeaching the State Elder also rapidly increased in number. Clearly, more and more people were dissatisfied with him, feeling that the State Elder was arrogant on the strength of imperial favor — which inevitably reminded people of Emperor Hongzhi.

Back then, Emperor Hongzhi doted exclusively on Empress Zhang, and as a result, Empress Zhang's natal family brothers could be said to be extremely arrogant and overbearing.

Especially since the current Emperor had also conferred on the Empress's two brothers the post of Vice Prefect of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, which made the ministers even more worried, and so the number of people impeaching them grew.

At the Western Park.

Zhu Youxiao flipped through the routine memorials before him, all of them impeaching Zhang Guoji. He smiled, then tossed them aside, having no intention whatsoever of reading them, because these memorials all spoke of impractical things.

In Zhu Youxiao's eyes, money truly mattered a great deal, because he was about to run out of it.

During this period, he had been burning through money constantly — the Hundred Crafts Institute over there, Qi Jin's troop training over there, those were the big money-burners, and all of it was burning through the money of his own inner treasury, which was nearly at its limit.

Moreover, he had previously sent a batch of rewards to Liaodong, which had also drawn on inner treasury funds.

As for the state treasury's money, Zhu Youxiao had never even considered it. Not because he thought the ministers would object — given his current level of control over the court, using it for proper purposes would basically not pose much of a problem.

The problem was that the state treasury had no money either. With the Great Ming's current revenue, there was simply no way to fill the state treasury.

Although the Imperial Household Department had begun to look toward making money, it had not yet produced any actual income — on the contrary, it had already sunk quite a bit of silver in the early stage. So Zhu Youxiao was about to run out of money.

If this sale of Ruyi Beans could bring in one million taels, it would solve a very big problem.

Zhu Youxiao let out a helpless sigh — he really was a poor emperor.

The Hundred Crafts Institute needed to mass-produce flintlock muskets, which would be another huge investment. Although the institute's technology had been innovated, the cost of a single flintlock musket still ran as high as twenty taels of silver, and that did not even include the other supporting equipment.

If one hundred thousand were produced, that would require two million taels of silver.

The supporting gear, and the army — those would require even more.

Right now, the initial production run was twenty thousand flintlock muskets, requiring four hundred thousand taels of silver, plus other things — armor, equipment, cannons, and so on — all of it costing money.

Although Zhu Youxiao's inner treasury was not completely empty, he truly could not scrape together any more.

One had to understand that this money had been inherited from Grandfather Emperor Wanli. After his own father took the throne, he had thrown out two million taels, which had not even made a splash.

At the same time, he had to repair Grandfather's tomb and also repair Father's tomb — yet another huge expense.

If he had not halted the project to rebuild the palaces, he would probably already be stretched thin by now.

Thinking of this, Zhu Youxiao felt even more helpless.

Times were hard!

Sitting up straight, he glanced at Chen Hong at his side and asked, "Has the Imperial Household Department begun the sale?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, the sale has already begun." Chen Hong replied respectfully.

Zhu Youxiao nodded and continued leaning back in his rocking chair.

As long as the sale had begun, there would be money coming in. As for those civil officials and the meritorious nobles and imperial in-laws, Zhu Youxiao did not consider them at all.

He still remembered the end of Emperor Chongzhen's reign, when the court had no money and Emperor Chongzhen hoped the ministers would donate a little.

In the end, no one took out any money. Whether meritorious nobles or imperial in-laws, every single one of them cried poverty. But when Li Zicheng entered the capital and squeezed them to the marrow, these people all turned out to be extremely wealthy.

As for relying on those old-line meritorious nobles to fight wars, Zhu Youxiao had never even thought about it.

Having come to this day, the Great Ming's hereditary military household system could no longer be kept; the meritorious nobles who sucked blood while clinging to that system could even less be kept.

Sooner or later, he would find an opportunity, like in the Han dynasty, to strip away a batch of noble titles.

In the fifth year of Yuanding, Emperor Wu of Han issued the southern expedition order, yet almost none of the marquises responded — which made Emperor Wu realize he had to eliminate those marquises who had already become estranged from the central court.

Emperor Wu then made use of the regulations set down by Emperor Wen of Han, using "tribute gold not up to standard" as the pretext to abolish the titles of one hundred and six marquises in one stroke.

After that, Emperor Wu frequently used "tribute gold not up to standard" as the pretext to strip the titles of Western Han marquises, nearly sweeping clean the political interest groups formed in the early Han.

What kind of method should he choose?

No matter what, he had to think of a way to sweep away a batch of these people. Once they were swept away, moving the army would become much less difficult.

While Zhu Youxiao was pondering how to reduce the number of noble titles in the Great Ming, a group of travelers had already arrived at Luoyang.

Luoyang — a city that had once been extremely prosperous, especially during the Han and Tang dynasties, when it had served as the national capital several times. One could imagine how grand the city of Luoyang was.

Although the city of Luoyang had been destroyed by war time and again, it had also been rebuilt time and again. By the Great Ming dynasty, though somewhat in decline, Luoyang remained a great city of the Central Plains.

Situated at a transportation crossroads, with fertile land and a bustling urban scene, it became a fine place — and a place favored by all the Great Ming's princely houses.

Luoyang was home to many Great Ming princes, with the earliest traceable back to the time of Grand Ancestor Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang.

Zhu Yuanzhang had numerous offspring. His twenty-fifth son, named Zhu Yi, was born in the twenty-first year of Hongwu and was enfeoffed as the Prince of Yi. It was not until the sixth year of Yongle that the seventeen-year-old Zhu Yi finally arrived at his fief of Luoyang, "with an annual stipend of only two thousand shi."

Zhu Dianying was the seventh Prince of Yi, inheriting the title in the twenty-third year of Jiajing. Holding the title for a full twenty years, and relying on being of imperial blood, Zhu Dianying completely disregarded local officials — "he would scheme to have them removed, and after they were removed, he would further humiliate them."

When court officials and gentry passed through Luoyang, Zhu Dianying would send men to stop them, "cursing them for not paying court, and those who did enter court he would humiliate with impropriety." If he treated officials this way, he was even more unbridled in exploiting the local commoners.

The Jiajing Emperor imprisoned Zhu Dianying and his son in Kaifeng and stripped the title of Prince of Yi.

Although the title of Prince of Yi had been stripped, many of Zhu Dianying's descendants still remained in Luoyang, including commandery princes — there should still be four or five of them.

One should understand that in the Great Ming, an emperor's son was enfeoffed as a Prince; the eldest legitimate son of a Prince inherited the Prince title, while the other sons of the Prince, upon reaching the age of ten, were granted gold-plated silver registers and silver seals, and enfeoffed as Commandery Princes.

The eldest legitimate son became the heir of the Commandery Prince, and the eldest legitimate grandson was granted the title of eldest grandson, with ceremonial dress ranked at the second grade. Other sons were granted the title of Garrison General, grandsons Assistant General, great-grandsons Service General, fourth-generation descendants Garrison Commandant, fifth-generation descendants Assistant Commandant, and sixth-generation descendants and below all became Service Commandants.

One could say that a single Prince would produce quite a few Commandery Princes, and then each Commandery Prince would produce a whole crowd of people. All of these people had stipends, all had lands, their lands paid no taxes, and at the same time they would encroach upon local lands.

Not to mention other places — in Luoyang alone, the various princes of Luoyang basically already controlled the entire city.

Apart from the Prince of Yi line, the Wanli Emperor had also enfeoffed his most beloved son, the Prince of Fu, here.

Although the Prince of Fu had not been in Luoyang long, the lavishness of his favors could be said to surpass all previous princes — lands, salt certificates, basically whatever was valuable was given to him.

With the development over these years, Prince Fu had already swallowed up countless lands. Add to that the various princes in Luoyang, and the entire province of Henan could barely support them all.

Under such circumstances, a group of people arrived in Luoyang. At their head was none other than Zhao Bingzhong's student, Chen Sihai.

Chen Sihai led his people into Luoyang without a sound, going directly to stay at the courier station in Luoyang.

Their outward identity was not that of the Office of Transmission, nor even its inspection branch—their stated purpose was merely that they had come on business.

After checking into the courier station, Chen Sihai immediately summoned the station's courier liaison.

These people were all his own men; it was they who had sent up the secret memorial, and they also had some understanding of local affairs. Though they had not been here much longer than he had, still, it was longer.

Sipping his tea, Chen Sihai waited.

Before long, a man walked in from outside. A scar on his face was especially prominent—it was Zhao Zhu, the courier liaison of Luoyang County.

"Your subordinate Zhao Zhu pays respects to Your Honor." Upon seeing Chen Sihai, Zhao Zhu hurriedly bowed in salute.

Giving a slight nod, Chen Sihai looked Zhao Zhu up and down and said, "We've come this time with matters to handle. Tell me, what is the situation in Luoyang these days?"

"To answer Your Honor," Zhao Zhu said slowly, "the one in charge in Luoyang now is naturally Liao Zhong, the Prefect of Henan. This man is a jinshi by examination, having weathered many years of ups and downs in officialdom. In recent years he found a connection in the capital and only then was promoted to Prefect of Henan."

Chen Sihai nodded and asked, "Do you know what kind of connection?"

"That, your subordinate would not know." Zhao Zhu shook his head directly. "Your subordinate can only pick up rumors from the streets and alleys; anything beyond that, your subordinate is not clear on."

Giving a slight nod, Chen Sihai continued to ask, "What sort of man is Chen Qiyu, the County Magistrate of Luoyang?"

Zhao Zhu understood in his heart that the higher-ups sending people down this time must be because of that secret memorial he had sent up. And the one who had submitted that memorial was Chen Qiyu, the County Magistrate of Luoyang, so it was no surprise they were asking about him.

In fact, before this, Zhao Zhu had already made some preparations.

The reason was also simple—he was not willing to remain a courier liaison here forever. As a man with ideals and ambitions, Zhao Zhu felt this was an opportunity. If he handled things well, he might just get promoted.

You see, the various posts within the Office of Transmission were managed vertically and were not subject to local jurisdiction.

As long as he could do the job well and gain the recognition of the upper levels of the Office of Transmission, he could be promoted regardless of his background. So Zhao Zhu felt this was a chance.

And so during this period, Zhao Zhu had been working hard the whole time, gathering quite a bit of information about Chen Qiyu.

"To answer Your Honor, Chen Qiyu has a fairly good reputation in Luoyang. The common folk all say he is a good official—no corruption, clear in distinguishing right from wrong, fair in judging cases. Some among Luoyang's commoners have already begun to call him 'Chen the Clear Sky.'"

Zhao Zhu spoke with confidence and ease, clearly his earlier preparations had paid off.

"Your subordinate has also looked into it privately—rather, it is within official circles that satisfaction with Chen Qiyu is not high. Many feel he is too harsh. Previously, over the matter of courier corruption, Chen Qiyu severely punished a batch of courier soldiers; reportedly he came down on them quite hard."

"At the same time, because of the matter of commoners' land being seized, he also personally went to Prince Fu's residence. Only, he never even got through the gate before being chased out."

When Zhao Zhu got to this point, he raised his head to glance at Chen Sihai. Seeing no reaction from him, he continued: "But Chen Qiyu didn't let it go at that. Instead, he sealed up quite a few of Prince Fu's salt shops, saying Prince Fu was selling smuggled salt."

"In the end, with no other choice, Prince Fu returned those lands to the commoners. But that was only a small portion, after all—those salt shops weren't worth that much, and there was no way Prince Fu would give up too much land."

"It was precisely because of this matter that Chen Qiyu came into conflict with Liao Zhong, the Prefect of Henan."

Hearing this, Chen Sihai suddenly raised his head to look at Zhao Zhu and asked, "What kind of conflict?"

"According to what's said, at the time Liao Zhong told Chen Qiyu not to seal Prince Fu's shops, but Chen Qiyu didn't listen to him. So Prefect Liao found all sorts of faults with him, and the past two years the two have not gotten along pleasantly."

Chen Sihai nodded and continued to ask, "Is there anything else?"

"There is." Zhao Zhu also nodded and said, "The reputation of Liao Zhong, the Prefect of Henan, is not very good. Whenever Prince Fu and commoners were involved in disputes, any case that touched on land was always ruled entirely in favor of Prince Fu's household."

"It's already common knowledge among the local people—Prefect Liao Zhong and Prince Fu's household wear the same pair of pants."

"At the same time, over these years on Luoyang soil, Liao Zhong has also squeezed merchants and gentry alike. It's said that when collecting taxes he used an oversized measure, sometimes even demanding as much as one and a half dou—he is deeply hated by the local people."

Hearing this, Chen Sihai furrowed his brow. Was this Liao Zhong really so detestable?

The matter of colluding with Prince Fu, Chen Sihai didn't much care about. Rather, it was the use of the oversized measure in tax collection that made Chen Sihai quite dissatisfied.

Though using an oversized measure was already common practice in officialdom, going so far as one and a half dou was going too far.

The so-called oversized measure was actually quite simple—it was the measure used for weighing when collecting taxes. Normally it should be a standard dou by weight.

But some people would have an especially large measure made. Filling this one large measure with grain required more than a standard dou's worth. Then, since a portion had to be deducted for losses when delivering to the court, the rest naturally went into his own pocket.

"This Lord Liao Zhong has taken four concubines in three years. Every time he says he won't make a big fuss, but anyone who sends too little in gifts will find trouble coming for them afterward." Zhao Zhu continued.

"Truly a man with methods for officialdom." Chen Sihai sighed in remark.

In fact, these were all ordinary methods in officialdom—Liao Zhong was certainly not the only one who used them; it was just a matter of how deeply they were applied.

Some people had black hearts and thick faces, with solid backing, so they struck harder. Others didn't have such solid backing, nor such thick faces and black hearts, and being timid as well, they wouldn't be too ruthless.

The Kangxi Emperor of the Qing Dynasty once said a phrase: "Three years as an incorruptible prefect, a hundred thousand taels of silver."

Though this phrase did not exist yet, everyone knew that local officials could rake in money very effectively.

Part of the money they raked in went into their own pockets, while another part was given to their superiors and their patrons at court—otherwise, no one would protect them.

This was an enormously vast chain of interests.

Chen Sihai was pondering what he should do, and to what extent he should go.

Now he finally understood his teacher's meaning—this matter truly was thorny. If he did everything according to his own thinking and inclinations, then he feared he really would be called a cruel official. It might well be that instead of leaving a good name in history, he would leave an eternal stench.

At this moment, Chen Sihai thought of Chen Qiyu. He didn't know what this man of the same surname was thinking, but he could meet him first.

So Chen Sihai said, "When is your next inspection round?"

Zhao Zhu hastily stepped forward and answered, "To answer Your Honor, it is tomorrow."

Giving a slight nod, Chen Sihai said, "Go deliver a message to Chen Qiyu. Arrange a meeting place, and say that we wish to see him."

"Yes, Your Honor." Zhao Zhu acknowledged and said respectfully.

"Alright, you may go." Chen Sihai nodded and said.

After Zhao Zhu had left, Chen Sihai leaned back in his chair.

He had not even made a move yet, but he could already feel the pressure. He hoped everything would go smoothly.

Early the next morning, at the Luoyang County Magistrate's office.

Chen Qiyu rose early, stretched his muscles and bones, then washed up and began his breakfast.

This was something he did every day; for Chen Qiyu, it was already the most familiar of routines.

At this moment, his private secretary Li Fang walked in from outside. He came straight to Chen Qiyu and said, "Your Honor, Zhao Zhu is here."

Hearing the name Zhao Zhu, Chen Qiyu set down the chopsticks in his hand.

This courier from the Office of Transmission had come several times before; to Chen Qiyu, it was nothing out of the ordinary.

But when he saw the expression on his adviser Li Fang's face, this was not the look of someone with nothing on their mind.

"Is something the matter?" Chen Qiyu looked at Li Fang and asked.

"Reporting to Your Excellency, Zhao Zhu requests an audience, saying someone asked him to deliver a message to you." Li Fang said hurriedly, a note of worry in his tone.

In truth, ever since that secret memorial had been sent off, Li Fang's heart had not been at ease.

Reaching out to set down the chopsticks in his hand, Chen Qiyu said with a smile: "Then have him come in."

Li Fang nodded, turned around, and walked out to bring Zhao Zhu in.

"Zhao Zhu, ninth-rank courier of the Office of Transmission, pays respects to Your Excellency." Upon seeing Chen Qiyu, Zhao Zhu bowed in salute.

Chen Qiyu waved his hand and said with a smile: "Someone asked you to deliver a message to me? Who is it, and what do they wish to say?"

"Reporting to Your Excellency, it is the Inspector of the Office of Transmission." Zhao Zhu bowed and said: "As for what the matter is, this humble officer does not know. The Inspector only instructed this humble officer to deliver one sentence to Your Excellency."