Chapter 266: Seizing Corrupt Officials and Confiscating Households to Fill the National Treasury

The capital.

As the weather turned colder, the capital seemed to leap in a single stride from autumn straight into winter.

Zhu Youxiao could only manage to go to the lakeside to soak up the sun at midday — mornings and evenings were simply out of the question, it was far too cold.

What he enjoyed most was the midday hour, when the sunlight was just right, fishing by the lake and basking in the warmth, and when he grew drowsy, closing his eyes for a brief nap.

Lately, there was nothing much to do all day long. The ministers had sensibly reached a consensus: anything they could handle themselves, they wouldn't trouble His Majesty with.

As a result, Zhu Youxiao had perfected the portrayal of a bored and decadent emperor to the fullest.

The New Year was fast approaching, and Zhu Youxiao planned to take advantage of this peaceful stretch to rest properly. After all the turmoil of recent times, he deserved to enjoy a good New Year — no point shortchanging himself.

"Your Majesty, the routine memorial from Henan has arrived." Chen Hong came to Zhu Youxiao's side and spoke with a respectful tone.

Zhu Youxiao lightly raised his eyelids without opening them, and gently lifted a hand, saying, "Read it out."

"Yes, Your Majesty." After acknowledging the order, Chen Hong hurriedly unfolded the memorial and began reading from the start.

This particular memorial didn't contain much — it mainly reported on the progress in Henan Province, and nothing beyond that.

The Prince of Fu had already set out and was en route to the capital; Chen Qiyu had already arrived in the capital.

As for why the Prince of Fu departed earlier than Chen Qiyu yet arrived later than him, the reason was simple — the Prince of Fu had been swindling food and drink all along the way under the royal banner, dawdling and sightseeing, unable to change his nature.

Had Wang An not urged him repeatedly, the Prince of Fu would likely have been touring the mountains and rivers of the realm on the public purse.

The corrupt officials of Henan Province were all undergoing interrogation; the specific sentences would only be determined after the questioning concluded.

As he listened, Zhu Youxiao furrowed his brow.

How should this Chen Qiyu be arranged?

The most suitable place would naturally be Sichuan — send Chen Qiyu there to serve as an official and experience a frontier post.

But on second thought, Zhu Youxiao decided that wouldn't work. Chen Qiyu could not be sent to Sichuan.

Sichuan was currently at war, and no one was willing to go there. Under such circumstances, if he sent Chen Qiyu over, it would invite speculation and suspicion.

One had to remember that Chen Qiyu had rendered great service — he was the very person Zhu Youxiao wanted to showcase. It was because of his secret memorial that the court had achieved such results, so he deserved generous reward.

Chen Qiyu was the exemplar he wanted to erect, something to show the outside world. If he were sent directly to Sichuan, wouldn't that make people think he had been demoted there?

That wouldn't do. It seemed he needed to make room for a new position for him.

Not only did Chen Qiyu need a good position, but it had to be one that would make people envious, jealous, and hateful.

Chen Qiyu was currently a County Magistrate. If he were placed in one of the Six Ministries as a bureau director, that would be wasting his talent.

So what suitable post was there in the capital?

Zhu Youxiao thought of one office — the legendary Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture.

Though some had joked: three lifetimes of misfortune, a county magistrate attached to a prefectural seat; three lifetimes of evil deeds, attached to a provincial capital; utterly wicked beyond redemption, attached to the capital city.

But that was merely a jest.

Because whether in the Great Ming or in later ages, the highest authority of the capital was always a high-ranking appointment, and the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture was no exception.

Otherwise, in a place like the capital where officials were as common as weeds and nobles as plentiful as dogs, you simply couldn't hold this office.

The Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture was the highest administrative authority for public security and governance in the capital, equivalent to the mayor of present-day Beijing, at the senior third rank.

In the capital, the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture held nearly equal authority to offices such as the Censorate, the Command Office of the Infantry Forces, and the Nine Gates Command. Moreover, Shuntian Prefecture also had the qualification to accept petitions and lawsuits from all over the realm, functioning as a miniature Ministry of Justice.

In other words, if the official sitting in the seat of Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture had a backbone hard enough, he would have the ability to influence, alter, or even completely overturn the decisions of numerous government offices through the Emperor.

With the power of a single position, one could simultaneously intervene in the affairs of many central departments without it even counting as overstepping authority — this position could be said to be extremely, extremely good training.

Putting Chen Qiyu in there to try it out — Zhu Youxiao felt his idea was simply wonderful.

Moreover, jumping from a county magistrate of the sixth rank junior directly to Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture at the senior third rank — this was no longer simply a promotion, this was promotion like riding a rocket.

It could be said that Chen Qiyu had set an example for countless local officials.

Want to climb up the ladder?

Hurry up and stir up some trouble, send your secret memorials up quickly, let me see how many corrupt officials there are.

For Zhu Youxiao, the corrupt officials of the Great Ming were simply too numerous; the atmosphere had deteriorated beyond repair.

Under such circumstances, trying to reform everything was far too difficult. Better to seize this opportunity and grab a haul first.

Fight corruption and promote integrity, arrest corrupt officials and confiscate their households, to fill the national treasury.

After maintaining this high-pressure posture for a while, newly appointed officials would no longer dare to act so recklessly. Then, when the time came, he could introduce the Assessment Law and properly clean up the atmosphere of officialdom.

Strike first.

As for how to govern, that would be discussed after the striking was done.

Chen Qiyu was an example, and could also be said to be a fuse.

Zhu Youxiao didn't believe that all the officials of the realm were united in cliques. There were far, far too many people in this world who wanted to climb up.

Making money is addictive, and being an official is addictive too. Today a seventh-rank, tomorrow thinking of sixth-rank; today sixth-rank, tomorrow thinking of fifth-rank; today a fifth-rank official, tomorrow thinking of whether one can enter the capital; officials who've entered the capital think of getting an external post, and those with external posts think of entering the Six Ministries and the Grand Secretariat.

Whether purely to serve the country or to realize one's self-worth, the bigger the office, the more things one could do. Not to mention that among them there were those who genuinely wanted to make the country better.

Zhu Youxiao felt that the coming period would also bring great excitement.

Gently waving his hand, Zhu Youxiao said, "Send this memorial to the Grand Secretariat and have them draft a proper response. Just have them keep an eye on it. I'm feeling a bit drowsy — I'm going to the Empress's quarters to rest."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Chen Hong hurriedly acknowledged with deference.

In the Grand Secretariat.

The four Grand Secretaries were quite busy as well.

After all, with year's end approaching, many matters demanded their attention. But this year there was extra income, so silver was comparatively ample.

This allowed them to breathe a slight sigh of relief, though things were still tight.

The so-called "ample" simply meant they weren't in debt.

After working busily for a while, the four of them came to the duty room, each taking a seat before starting to drink tea and eat snacks.

This was their lunch. After resting, they would have to keep working in the afternoon.

From his pocket, Xu Guangqi pulled out two osmanthus cakes, broke off a piece, and stuffed it into his mouth. He then picked up his tea and took a sip, nodding with satisfaction.

Han Kuang glanced at Xu Guangqi's osmanthus cakes and suddenly felt that the plain steamed buns in his own hand no longer smelled appetizing. He chewed dryly a few times and set them aside.

Soon enough, everyone had finished eating and began drinking tea and chatting.

For a time, the atmosphere in the Grand Secretariat could be said to be quite harmonious.

As they chatted, the four of them eventually turned the conversation back to matters of state.

It was Xu Guangqi who spoke first.

His gaze swept over Han Kuang and the other three as he said slowly, "The New Year is almost upon us, and spring will follow right after. Next year is also a great examination year. Shouldn't we discuss this?"

Upon hearing Xu Guangqi's words, the expressions of Han Kuang and the other three turned serious, and the hands holding their teacups slowed.

The imperial examinations of the second year of Tianqi — this year was very important to all of them. They needed to recruit their own people anew and arrange the examination affairs. Plainly put, it was an opportunity to take on new disciples.

The reason no one had brought this matter up was simple: next year's examinations were clearly a trap.

The Imperial Academy, which had caused such a stir at court for so long, had now gotten on track, and quite a few people had already enrolled this year. Those people would certainly participate in next year's examinations — so how were they to be admitted then?

If too few were admitted, wouldn't the scholars of the realm say the Imperial Academy was useless?

And if too many were admitted, what would the empire's scholars think? Would they suspect something underhanded was going on?

That was why the four Grand Secretaries of the Grand Secretariat had been avoiding the topic, thinking it a trap.

Another point was that Xu Guangqi now controlled the Ministry of Rites — Minister of Rites Shen Tingyun was his man.

And Han Kuang had also stuck his foot in — that Feng Congwu was now at the Imperial Academy, serving as its Chancellor.

It was said that Feng Congwu spent his days at the Imperial Academy promoting his restorationist doctrines. Though everyone deliberately avoided the subject, the fact remained.

So regarding next year's examinations, the question of who would serve as chief examiner was a very serious one.

Sun Chengzong wanted his own man to be chief examiner, and Han Kuang naturally wanted to arrange for his own man as well. As for Xu Guangqi, he certainly wouldn't let them have the chance to interfere — he wanted Shen Tingyun's people to handle the matter.

This was a point of convergence for all their conflicts. The only one who might not want to stick his hand in was Huang Kezuan.

Or rather, it wasn't that Huang Kezuan didn't want to interfere — it was that he didn't have the qualification to. It might also be because he and Han Kuang shared the same trousers; if Han Kuang stuck his hand in, that meant he had too.

No one had expected Xu Guangqi to raise the great examination year at this time, so there was some hesitation.

"This matter will likely require His Majesty's decision." Sun Chengzong glanced at the others and spoke first: "It would be improper for us to discuss this privately. There's no harm in waiting until we've reported to His Majesty before deliberating."

Hearing Sun Chengzong say this, Han Kuang and Huang Kezuan suddenly felt as if they had swallowed flies.

Originally, there was nothing wrong with everyone discussing the matter among themselves — after reaching an agreement, they could go see His Majesty with a plan already prepared. Once they had settled the distribution of benefits, there would be no need to bring the matter before His Majesty at all.

But now that Sun Chengzong had said this, the others naturally couldn't speak up anymore.

"That works as well." Han Kuang smiled and stroked his beard, saying, "Then let us wait until we have reported to His Majesty before we deliberate."

As he spoke, Han Kuang raised his teacup for a sip, then stood up and slowly walked toward the inner chamber.

Walking without looking back, he said, "It's about that time. Let's finish today's business first."

Since the Chief Grand Secretary had already spoken, the other three naturally couldn't remain seated drinking tea. They also stood and followed him inside.

In the Western Park, within the warm pavilion.

Zhu Youxiao, wearing a newly made cotton-padded coat, was also drinking tea and eating snacks.

At the same time, he thought of something — the matter of greenhouse cultivation. He wondered how the experiments at the imperial estates were going. He should go take a look one of these days.

Zhu Youxiao had ordered a large batch of frosted glass to be fired for use as greenhouse glass.

This kind of glass, sold to people for windowpanes, fetched a decent price; using it for greenhouses was somewhat wasteful.

But that wasn't the right way to look at things.

First, greenhouses could employ many common folk, especially those without land. These people could be put to work inside the greenhouses. At the same time, vegetables grown in winter naturally commanded extremely high prices, and selling the vegetables also required manpower — this created an entire industrial chain.

Compared to simply firing glass and selling it, this industrial chain was infinitely more important, because it concerned the people's livelihood.

Besides, only Zhu Youxiao knew the true cost. This stuff really wasn't expensive. If he truly felt he was losing money, he could sell the vegetables at a higher price and find some people to promote them properly.

For example: you need to eat vegetables in winter to stay healthy; vegetables are rich in nutrients, and eating only meat makes you prone to illness; eating vegetables helps prevent high blood pressure, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, and so on and so forth.

He could even say that eating chives boosts virility — with some fresh green chives in the dead of winter, even bedroom matters would be pursued with passion.

Zhu Youxiao simply refused to believe that, after such a wave of promotional propaganda, this stuff still wouldn't sell.

When the time came, he'd have the Imperial Household Department enclose land in various regions, using all the public fields to build greenhouses and promote his new crops.

As for where the land would come from — what was there to fear? There was as much as one could want. Confiscate one household after another, and the land would accumulate on its own.

One had to understand that officials and gentry of this era were extremely eager to acquire land, always thinking of it as ancestral property passed down from their forebears, which could also be passed on to their descendants.

Zhu Youxiao would tell them: your land is Our land, and when We need to use it, We'll take it back.

Just as Zhu Youxiao was wondering whether he should get some green cucumbers to eat, Chen Hong suddenly appeared before him, bowing and speaking in a respectful tone: "Your Majesty, the four Grand Secretaries of the Grand Secretariat request an audience."

Upon hearing that Han Kuang and the others had come, Zhu Youxiao's brows immediately knitted together, and his mood turned rather unpleasant.

He wondered what business Han Kuang and the others had coming here.

It probably wasn't anything good — otherwise they wouldn't have come to see him all at once.

Zhu Youxiao nodded expressionlessly and said, "Let them in."

Whatever their business, Zhu Youxiao felt that the most appropriate thing for him to do lately was to muddle through and smooth things over.

For Zhu Youxiao, the current situation at court was one he was happy to see — relatively stable. It absolutely could not be recklessly disrupted, so smoothing things over was the best choice.

Soon, Han Kuang and the other three walked in.

After they paid their respects to Zhu Youxiao, they were all granted seats.

Once the four had seated themselves, Zhu Youxiao asked with a smile, "Several of my beloved ministers have come together — is there something you wish to tell Us?"

At this point, Chief Grand Secretary Han Kuang spoke up.

"We report to Your Majesty: the New Year is nearly upon us, and spring follows after. Next year is a great examination year. Regarding the metropolitan examination, your ministers humbly request Your Majesty's instruction."

He stopped right there, having said just enough. The meaning was clear: do we continue as before, or does Your Majesty intend to make changes?

In plain terms, they wanted to ask Zhu Youxiao: what should we examine next year? If we still examine according to the old format, that might not work.

Zhu Youxiao swept a faint glance over Han Kuang and the other three, and understood in an instant—these four were at odds again.

Not only did they want to inject their own governing ideas, they were probably also thinking of grabbing a few more hands for themselves.

Sure enough, wherever there are people, there is strife—had it even been a few days of peace?

Zhu Youxiao had actually already had plans for the metropolitan examination long ago. Without a moment's thought, he said directly: "This matter is actually quite simple—all it takes is having a suitable chief examiner."

"May I ask whom Your Majesty deems suitable?" Han Kuang asked respectfully.

In truth, the moment they heard Zhu Youxiao's words, the four of them instantly had a bad premonition, their backs feeling as if needles were pricking them, unable to sit still.

"I think Feng Congwu will do. Give him the additional title of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, and have him serve as chief examiner—wouldn't that work?" Zhu Youxiao's face was all smiles, but his tone brooked no dispute, leaving not the slightest room for negotiation.