Chapter 378: How to Split the Money?

Xu Xianchun's proposal at this moment wouldn't offend too many people; in fact, quite a few would be grateful to him. After all, this was something they ought to have done themselves, and no one wanted to be held accountable afterward.

Xu Xianchun was one of His Majesty's close ministers, so his words would make everyone believe it all the more. The most crucial point was that Xu Xianchun was now one of their own — they had all made the same kind of mistake.

Under such circumstances, no one would interpret his motives in a malicious light.

Everyone smiled and agreed, cupping their hands in thanks to Xu Xianchun. "Then we'll trouble Lord Xu with this!"

After everyone had left, Xu Xianchun let out a sigh and walked out with a resolute gaze.

At this moment, Zhu Youxiao glanced at Chen Hong standing beside him and asked calmly, "Have they all left?"

"Reporting to Your Highness, they've all gone." Chen Hong nodded and said.

Zhu Youxiao said nothing more.

This matter ended here, and he would not pursue it further. He believed that after this warning, they would know how to conduct themselves. If anyone dared to offend again in the future, he would no longer need to be lenient.

That said, this time it wasn't really leniency — it was simply a matter of political considerations.

Standing up and stretching his limbs, Zhu Youxiao remembered something and said with a smile, "Send word to the Grand Secretariat and the Six Ministries — tomorrow we hold court to discuss how to spend the money."

"Yes, Your Highness." Chen Hong's hand trembled slightly as he hurriedly acknowledged.

In truth, even without Zhu Youxiao saying so, those below had long since set their eyes on this money.

With so much money brought back from Shandong this time, it was impossible for those below not to covet it — everyone was waiting with empty pots for the rice to cook.

When there was no money, they held back; now that there was money, they naturally had to find ways to use it.

Zhu Youxiao also knew the money couldn't be kept, and he had no intention of keeping it — he had brought back so much precisely to spend it.

But how the money was to be spent still required discussion among everyone. Some areas needed more, while others didn't need so much.

Of course, there were other matters to discuss as well, though none of them were particularly major.

"Come, let's go see the Empress now." After saying this, Zhu Youxiao walked out in high spirits.

After returning from Shandong, the first thing Zhu Youxiao did was go see Empress Zhang. After all, Empress Zhang was still carrying his child — no matter what, he had to see her first.

Having been apart for so long, he was startled when he saw her visibly pregnant belly, so naturally he wanted to go check on her again today.

"Yes, Your Highness." Chen Hong hurriedly followed.

Within the imperial palace these days, no one dared to provoke Her Majesty the Empress. This Empress, favored by His Majesty and now pregnant, might very well give birth to a Crown Prince.

The two soon arrived at Empress Zhang's residence.

Empress Zhang was sitting in a chair basking in the sun, while a palace attendant gently waved a palm-leaf fan beside her.

Ever since becoming pregnant, Empress Zhang had grown extremely cautious, placing great importance on her own wellbeing, fearful of harming the child in her womb. Every day she would sun herself for two hours and also come out to move about a bit.

Seeing Zhu Youxiao approach, Empress Zhang tried to stand up, but her body was somewhat heavy and her movements were slow.

Zhu Youxiao quickly strode over, gently pressing his hand on Empress Zhang's shoulder, and said with a warm smile, "Don't get up — we're an old married couple, no need for such formalities."

Empress Zhang chuckled softly and didn't insist on standing.

After sitting back down, she said with a gentle smile, "Still, propriety cannot be abandoned."

"Propriety is for show to outsiders; between husband and wife, there's no need for it." Zhu Youxiao sat down as well, took Empress Zhang's hand in his, and asked with concern, "How have you been feeling lately? If anything's uncomfortable, see the imperial physician right away. If you crave anything to eat, give the order and have them prepare it. Don't always think about being frugal — this great Ming can well afford to support my Empress and my prince."

Hearing this, Empress Zhang chuckled softly and said, "Your concubine has already grown quite plump, and the attendants below have served with utmost dedication — Your Majesty need not worry. It's just that this trip to Shandong was rather too risky."

"If I don't go out and see for myself, I won't know what's happening out there." Zhu Youxiao sighed and said, "Only by going out and looking can I see how they've been governing as my officials."

Hearing this, Empress Zhang didn't continue the topic, for this matter was far too sensitive.

After a moment's thought, Empress Zhang said, "Your Majesty summoned people into the palace today — was there some matter? I heard quite a few left in low spirits."

"Has someone been gossiping at your doorstep?" Zhu Youxiao looked at Empress Zhang with a darkened face.

"Your Majesty, don't overthink it. This isn't exactly a secret — everyone in the palace knows." Empress Zhang smiled and tugged at Zhu Youxiao's hand. "Your concubine merely wishes to tell Your Majesty not to worry about too many things. Those people need a lesson to learn the weight of their actions. This time, even my own natal family has some entanglements — Your Majesty need not show consideration for me!"

"I know what to do — I won't let them off easy." Zhu Youxiao said with a smile. "It's really not that big a deal — they merely fell for the schemes of those with ulterior motives. A lesson will suffice."

"Whatever Your Majesty says, so it shall be." Empress Zhang sat with Zhu Youxiao, smiling.

The couple then stopped discussing matters of state and simply basked in the sun together, chatting idly about this and that.

At this moment, the atmosphere was warm and harmonious.

A gentle breeze brushed the willows; the weather was pleasant.

In such an atmosphere, both of them felt somewhat languid.

Meanwhile, in the Grand Secretariat.

Several Grand Secretaries were also chatting idly.

The Grand Secretariat knew the Shandong affair in detail, though some of the inner particulars remained unclear.

Han Kuang was inquiring about the specifics of certain matters while Xu Guangqi explained — the atmosphere was quite cordial.

"These people had some nerve!" Han Kuang set down his teacup and said with some indignation in his tone.

"Indeed!" Sun Chengzong chimed in from the side. "Bribing local officials, selling off the court's disaster relief grain, colluding with the Wenxiang sect — utterly lawless! And after the matter came to light, they even dared to try threatening and coercing His Majesty. They deserve death!"

There was essentially no dissension over this matter within the Grand Secretariat, and the few of them quickly reached a consensus.

This was a consensus that had to be reached — moreover, at their level, such things truly could not be tolerated within their bounds.

This was a challenge to the authority of the court. A challenge to the authority of the court was a challenge to those who wielded that power.

"The Kong family matter still needs to be resolved." Xu Guangqi looked at Han Kuang and the others and said slowly, "Otherwise, we'll have no way to account for ourselves before the scholars of the realm, and things could turn very bad. This matter requires us all to work together!"

Hearing Xu Guangqi's words, the others fell silent.

They had naturally heard of the Kong family affair. Though some aspects couldn't be spoken of openly, they understood the general direction of things.

What the Kong family had done was truly excessive — even more so than the feudal princes. In the past, everyone spoke of the princes with righteous indignation; now that it was the Kong family's turn, they could hardly be so self-righteous.

But for now, the Kong family matter had come to a close, and their crimes were still being tallied. Han Kuang and the others wouldn't obstruct, but neither would they kick a man when he was down — they would simply let things take their natural course.

But there was one matter that needed resolving: the Kong family had fallen, yet the title of Duke Yansheng could not fall with them. Once the ducal title fell, they would likely lose the people's hearts.

Under such circumstances, Han Kuang and the others naturally had to think of a solution.

The best solution was to establish a new Duke Yansheng.

With the Kong family fallen, only the Northern Branch had fallen. The Kong family still had a Southern Branch—supporting them would suffice.

Supporting the Southern Branch of the Kong family was something of a consensus among Han Kuang and the others. But there was one thing they could not control, and that was the Emperor's intentions. They did not know what the Emperor was thinking right now—to put it plainly, would His Majesty agree or not?

After all, the Kong family had done such a thing at this time; asking His Majesty to support the Southern Branch of the Kong family might not be entirely appropriate.

Who knew whether the Southern Branch of the Kong family would become the next Northern Branch?

If His Majesty thought that way, things would become difficult. So Xu Guangqi said that everyone should do their utmost to persuade His Majesty on this matter.

"I'm afraid it won't be easy." Han Kuang glanced at Xu Guangqi and sighed helplessly. "His Majesty is in a rage right now! Persuading His Majesty will be rather difficult."

"We can't wait any longer." Sun Chengzong sighed and said, "If we wait any longer, things will fall into chaos."

"There's deliberation tomorrow—why not bring this matter up then?" Xu Guangqi picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said, "Keep the people below in check. They must not speak recklessly, and certainly must not say anything nonsensical."

The meaning of these words was clear: do not let them say all sorts of nonsense. At this time, they could only go along with His Majesty—they absolutely must not provoke him.

If His Majesty developed a rebellious mentality, things would become even more troublesome. If ministers and His Majesty ended up at loggerheads, the situation would be even worse.

"We'll be careful." Sun Chengzong nodded and said, "Instructions have already been sent down."

Xu Guangqi nodded and said, "Tomorrow, we too must be careful in how we speak. We cannot let His Majesty think we have selfish motives. Otherwise, it will become very troublesome. Everyone should be prepared."

Han Kuang and the others nodded and said nothing more. The matter was thus settled.

What remained was the matter of spending money.

Xu Guangqi's gaze swept over Han Kuang and the others once more as he said slowly, "The court's funds and grain have always been tight. This time we did indeed recover some from Shandong. But shouldn't we discuss whether some things should not be reported upward?"

Xu Guangqi was now terrified of provoking Zhu Youxiao, so he planned to discuss things in advance—not letting just anyone speak up.

If everyone spoke recklessly, the amount of money would certainly increase, and then His Majesty would surely be displeased.

"There's no rush to discuss that. Let's discuss how to divide it instead." Sun Chengzong looked at Xu Guangqi and the others and said.

Upon hearing this, Xu Guangqi and the others all fell silent.

As for the so-called division—of course it wasn't a division among themselves, but how to divide with His Majesty. Once the silver was taken out, it would ultimately have to be split into two portions.

One portion would go to the national treasury under the Ministry of Revenue, and the other portion would be delivered to the Emperor's inner treasury. According to past convention, the national treasury usually received sixty percent and the inner treasury forty percent.

"Is there anything improper about that?" Han Kuang looked at Xu Guangqi and the others and asked directly.

In truth, every government office was spending money, and Han Kuang, as Chief Grand Secretary of the Grand Secretariat, had a headache over it too.

Under such circumstances, if they still had to allocate more money to the palace, Han Kuang feared he would not be able to account for it to those below.

"His Majesty needs money too." Xu Guangqi said slowly, "This time in suppressing the rebellion in Shandong, Qi Jin fought a splendid battle. You should all understand that the New Army has always been funded by His Majesty out of his own pocket. By now, His Majesty probably has no money left."

"With the battle fought so splendidly this time, the New Army will likely be expanded as well. Once the New Army is expanded, more money will certainly need to be spent."

After Xu Guangqi finished speaking, Han Kuang and the others all remained silent. Everyone present understood why Xu Guangqi was saying this.

Training the New Army had always been something Xu Guangqi supported, and the Hundred Crafts Institute was also under his control.

Once this money was allocated to the palace, His Majesty would certainly spend it on these matters. Though it was said to be giving more money to the palace, in reality, that money would ultimately end up in Xu Guangqi's hands.

Clearly, Xu Guangqi was using this reasoning to secure more money for himself, which was rather displeasing.

"The New Army's expenditures should be allocated from the national treasury." After a moment of silence, Sun Chengzong said slowly.

These words took everyone by surprise—all eyes turned to Sun Chengzong.

Sun Chengzong, without any hesitation, continued, "You should all know why His Majesty paid out of his own pocket to train the New Army. It was because His Majesty wanted to train a new army at that time, and the national treasury had no money; even if the treasury had money, we wouldn't have let His Majesty invest so much."

"But now facts have proven that the New Army can indeed fight, so there's no harm in the national treasury bearing this cost. After all, the realm is not at peace right now—last year the southwest rebelled, and there were frequent battles in Liaodong; the Tartars over in Shaanxi are restless too, having invaded more than a dozen times within a single year. You can see how rampant they are."

"Now Shandong has rebelled as well—clearly, no region is at peace. At such a troubled time, expanding the military is not a bad thing. When troops are needed, we won't find ourselves without men to use. You should all know the people in the localities—when something truly happens, they can't be relied upon."

Sun Chengzong was the Minister of War. This time, wanting to shift the money to be paid from the national treasury was, to put it bluntly, seizing power for himself.

When the Ministry of Revenue paid the money, it had to be allocated to the Ministry of War, and then the Ministry of War would allocate it to the various armies. There was no small amount of power in that.

Xu Guangqi and the others did not echo Sun Chengzong; instead, they looked at him with some concern.

If the inner treasury paid, then the Emperor was supporting the troops. The New Army could be said to have been built single-handedly by His Majesty. Sun Chengzong trying to get a hand in would probably not be easy. Would His Majesty agree?

Though on the surface it appeared His Majesty would no longer need to pay, everyone knew full well what was really going on.

"This matter will not be easy." Han Kuang looked at Sun Chengzong and said somewhat helplessly.

After saying this, Han Kuang did not speak again.

Everyone present understood what Han Kuang meant, and for a moment there was an awkward silence.

After a long while, Xu Guangqi said, "Things must be done one at a time; we cannot be too hasty."

Sun Chengzong glanced at Xu Guangqi and said, "Some rules cannot be broken either."

At this, everyone understood.

Sun Chengzong was striking back at Xu Guangqi's earlier attempt to spend more money for himself.

Han Kuang watched the two of them, a hint of an amused smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

These two old foxes.