Chapter 418: The Emperor Is Short of Money Too (Third Update, Seeking Votes!)

"It will cost some money, after all."

After hearing this, Zhu Youxiao was taken aback, then felt that Empress Zhang made sense, and nodded, saying, "Then let's follow last year's example. No need to change the rules."

Empress Zhang nodded and said with some helplessness, "Then we'll do as Your Majesty says."

Zhu Youxiao also remembered one more thing — that he ought to do something else. He asked, "The prince's hundredth day is almost here, isn't it?"

Hearing Zhu Youxiao say this, Empress Zhang nodded and said, "Indeed, it's coming soon."

"Then we should hold a hundred-day banquet." Zhu Youxiao thought for a moment and said.

At these words, how could Empress Zhang not know what her imperial husband was thinking?

He was feeling psychologically unbalanced. He gave rewards to his ministers, and there was no return on the money — it made him unhappy inside.

Empress Zhang understood her imperial husband well. He usually loved money dearly, and when he spent it, he did so lavishly, never stingy.

Take the Hundred Crafts Institute, for example, and the New Army — those were major money-burners, yet he threw money at them without the slightest hesitation, tossing in millions of taels, tens of millions, without even a furrow of his brow.

But on certain expenses, he was extremely stingy — like rewards to his ministers, or making clothes together on ordinary days, which made him frown. When the palace spent silver, it pained him terribly.

Empress Zhang knew this was a good thing, after all, the Emperor had learned to be frugal. But he couldn't go too far either.

Four dishes and a soup for every meal was fine, and saving money at Mid-Autumn was acceptable. But if you wanted to hold a hundred-day banquet, wasn't that plainly an attempt to collect money from the ministers?

How could that be allowed?

That was absolutely not something an Emperor should do.

Empress Zhang said, "It's enough to hold it just within the palace."

Zhu Youxiao was very helpless; he also knew this matter wouldn't work.

If word got out, he believed many would support it. But this couldn't be done — he'd be cursed behind his back. Not good, not good.

Still, holding it within the palace was acceptable.

Zhu Youxiao said, "Then let's hold it in the palace. Summon some imperial relatives into the palace. Since it's held in the palace, there's no need to invite anyone else. I practice strict frugality and cannot break the rules."

Watching Zhu Youxiao's pained expression, Empress Zhang almost laughed out loud.

But Empress Zhang dared not laugh. Glancing at the map behind her, she said directly, "I will arrange this matter. If there is nothing else, I shall take my leave."

Zhu Youxiao nodded and said, "The imperial kitchen just received a new batch of lambs. Tonight we'll have roast whole lamb. Call Noble Consort Tian and Noble Consort Yuan as well, and we'll all eat together at your place."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Empress Zhang acknowledged and said, "I will arrange it as soon as I return."

Zhu Youxiao nodded, watching Empress Zhang leave, his face gradually turning serious.

Zhu Youxiao looked at Chen Hong and said directly, "Go fetch Zhao Bingzhong, Chen Qiyu, and Chen Sihai."

Hearing that His Imperial Highness wanted these three men, Chen Hong's heart trembled. Something was about to happen!

In the current Great Ming, several officials had very great reputations, including Zhao Bingzhong, Chen Qiyu, and Chen Sihai. These three could be said to be renowned far and wide.

Zhao Bingzhong and Chen Sihai had built their reputations on countless official hats. These two received a great deal of cursing outside, with people even calling them harsh officials comparable to Lai Junchen — framing and slandering, their methods came as easily as breathing. They were hardly good men.

Their reputations were even more foul than those of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot.

As for Chen Qiyu, this man was someone everyone kept at arm's length.

When serving as an official in Henan, Chen Qiyu single-handedly toppled the entire Henan officialdom, and incidentally toppled Prince Fu as well — it could be said his might and prestige were formidable.

Chen Qiyu was now the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture, and his prominence was unmatched. He enforced the law strictly in the capital, prosecuting every violation without the slightest regard for personal feelings. Such a man inspired both fear and hatred.

These three combined were a great killing weapon in the officialdom of the Great Ming. Under such circumstances, no one dared to ignore these three.

Now His Imperial Highness wanted all three of them brought here — something was about to happen.

Chen Hong hurriedly ran out.

He dared not be negligent in this matter. If he delayed His Imperial Highness's business, he would be finished.

When Chen Qiyu and the other two were summoned, they all looked bewildered.

What was this about?

Could it be that His Majesty was going to investigate someone again?

Judging from the current situation, it seemed to be someone in the capital?

But Chen Qiyu and the other two did not ask each other — privately colluding would not be good.

After walking into the great hall together, Chen Qiyu and the other two hurriedly bowed and said, "Your ministers pay respects to Your Majesty."

Zhu Youxiao glanced at Chen Qiyu and the other two, waved his hand and said, "Rise."

Only after all three had straightened up did Zhu Youxiao continue, "I summoned you three because there is a matter I wish to discuss with you."

Chen Qiyu and the other two hurriedly bowed to listen, waiting for Zhu Youxiao to assign them their tasks.

"Recently someone submitted a memorial of impeachment, saying that much of the land in the capital is of unclear status, all of it occupied. The meritorious nobles and imperial relatives run rampant and break the law — land that clearly isn't theirs, they insist on taking into their own households. Such matters are very numerous."

"I also feel this cannot be allowed, so I summoned you to conduct a thorough investigation."

Zhu Youxiao walked down from the steps as he spoke: "However, doing so will offend some people. This task is not easy to handle, and I wouldn't feel at ease entrusting it to anyone else, so I can only give it to you."

Zhu Youxiao cherished Chen Qiyu and the other two greatly and rarely deployed them. Unless absolutely necessary, he simply would not use them.

Now no one else was suitable, so Zhu Youxiao could only summon these three — this matter could only be handled by them.

Hearing Zhu Youxiao's words, Chen Qiyu and the other two understood what this meant. Clearly His Majesty wanted to audit all the fields around the capital, to see if there was any excessive taking or occupation.

Such matters had always been numerous — occupying public land was something everyone tacitly understood, and the meritorious nobles and imperial relatives were even more so.

"Your ministers understand." Chen Qiyu and the other two hurriedly agreed.

"Not only the homes of officials must be investigated, but also imperial relatives, and even temples and Daoist abbeys. Anyone who has encroached on land must all be registered in the books; those who built houses without land deeds must also all be registered. Once the investigation begins, the Shuntian Prefecture is not to sell a single mu of land."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Chen Qiyu hurriedly agreed.

This matter itself was not particularly difficult; the difficulty lay with those officials and meritorious nobles. Once the investigation reached them, trouble was likely — they would throw tantrums, and you couldn't hit them, but you couldn't not hit them either.

But Chen Qiyu and the other two were not worried about this — they all knew His Majesty's temper. Since the Prince Fu's mansion had been dealt with, naturally the people of the capital were no different.

Moreover, the new noble ranks were about to be introduced, and the capital was now in a state of anxiety. Presumably no one would step forward to make trouble. This was a good opportunity.

"Alright, then go handle it." Zhu Youxiao waved his hand and said.

Chen Qiyu and the other two bowed and said, "Your ministers take their leave."

With that said, the three of them withdrew together.

Watching their retreating figures, Zhu Youxiao turned his gaze back to the map, a look of satisfaction on his face.

After this round of inspection, a considerable amount of land was sure to be uncovered. Of course, getting those gardens and estates was out of the question—those people couldn't have built houses without land deeds.

However, Zhu Youxiao thought of something else—could he classify land by category?

Divide it into commercial land, industrial land, and agricultural land.

No buildings whatsoever were to be permitted on agricultural land.

Only on commercial land would shops be allowed to be built.

Only on industrial land would factories be allowed to be built.

As for residential land, that would require special approval. In any case, the prices would all be different—whatever you wanted to do, you'd have to pay for it.

If you wanted to build a residence, you'd have to buy residential land; if you wanted to build a shop, you'd have to buy commercial land. With such a division, they were bound to make a good deal more money.

But this policy couldn't be rolled out overnight. If it were to be implemented, it would certainly have to be carried out nationwide. If it were implemented only in Beijing, then land-buying fever would likely sweep the entire country.

Not just a land-buying fever, but they'd be building houses too—wouldn't that defeat his original purpose?

Zhu Youxiao's original purpose was to rake money into his own pockets, not to let these people seize the opportunity to speculate wildly on land and get rich. Although he was eager to do this, he still suppressed the idea.

For now, deal with these people first. Once this new city was built, he'd be able to raise plenty of money then.

Affairs must be handled one at a time, rice must be eaten one mouthful at a time, and money must be earned a little at a time.

Still, there was one place he could consider cleaning up.

Zhu Youxiao's gaze passed over the capital on the map and settled on an unremarkable spot—a place called Zhangjiakou.

The most flourishing center of smuggling trade right now was probably Zhangjiakou. In later ages, there was a very famous saying—"going west through the pass." There should already be signs of that now.

"Going west through the pass" roughly had two routes. One started from central and northern Shanxi, heading west, exiting through Shahukou Pass, and entering the Mongol grasslands.

The other route went east, passed through Datong, and exited through Zhangjiakou into Mongolia.

The western route was not easy to travel right now—checkpoints were numerous and the population sparse. Zhangjiakou, on the other hand, was a critical spot that could connect the Great Ming with the grasslands.

Smuggling trade there was very prosperous—grain, ironware, and all kinds of implements could all be smuggled out through Zhangjiakou.

Zhu Youxiao stared at Zhangjiakou, recalling from memory, and began to mull things over in his mind.

His move against Zhangjiakou was naturally not about trade, but about money.

If official trade could be opened with the Mongols, Zhu Youxiao would be willing to do so—but that wasn't possible for now. He'd have to find a way later.

Before official trade could begin, those who had made their fortunes through smuggling would also have to be dealt with. But how to deal with them and when—that would require the right opportunity.