Chapter 52

I was just waiting for you, old boy, to ask that question.

But Su Qiao remained calm, his expression unchanged, and said indifferently,

"Your subject can affirm with certainty that, given time, the civil and military officials of Great Ming will surely be like this!"

"Do you know that Liu Bowen did not dare to make such a guarantee to us?"

Su Qiao sneered and said,

"Because the Earl of Chengyi deals in feng shui and numerology, whereas I do not. I only dig out the root of the disease. If the root is not removed and the patient dies of the illness, is that not common sense?"

"Where lies the root of the disease?"

"The root of the disease is Your Majesty himself."

49, silver is nothing but stone!

The entire Sihe Academy fell into silence.

Only the chirping of crickets in the corner remained.

Zhu Yuanzhang stared fiercely at Su Qiao and asked with some confusion,

"Do you truly fear no death?"

Su Qiao looked at Zhu Yuanzhang with a helpless expression and said,

"Your Majesty, during the former Song, a first-rank official received a monthly salary of one hundred and twenty taels of silver, plus various allowances totaling two hundred and forty taels, amounting to an annual income of four thousand three hundred and twenty taels."

"In our current dynasty, a first-rank official receives a monthly salary of only eighty-seven shi of grain, with no allowances whatsoever, and an annual salary of only one thousand and forty-four shi of grain."

"Your Majesty, do you think this is appropriate?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang immediately realized what was happening.

"We pickle our own salted vegetables every day in the palace, yet the entire court practices strict frugality?!"

"If the court eats one less mouthful, the common people under heaven gain one more mouthful. What is wrong with that?!"

Su Qiao sighed helplessly and said,

"Does Your Majesty know a common saying among the people?"

"Learn the arts of civil and military affairs, then sell them to the imperial family?"

"Everyone under heaven knows that when court officials enter the court, they are essentially coming to work as long-term laborers for the Son of Heaven. If the Son of Heaven pays only this little, how can one expect court officials to work hard and soldiers to be dedicated?!"

"If Your Majesty were a businessman, would you make this deal?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang immediately flew into a rage and shouted sternly,

"So what? We will just pay them eighty-seven shi of grain a month."

"Scholars under heaven will still flock to it, and all the talents of the world will enter the court."

Upon hearing this, Su Qiao immediately spoke with mockery,

"Does Your Majesty not find this terrifying?"

Zhu Yuanzhang opened his mouth.

He immediately fell silent where he stood, speechless.

He stared fiercely at Su Qiao.

For a long time, he did not utter a single word.

Indeed!

Even a fool knows this deal is bound to lose money.

But why is it still so sought after?

Could it truly be that their consciences have awakened, and they enter office solely for the sake of the people?!

Zhu Yuanzhang spoke sternly,

"Then if they do not take the imperial examinations, would their lofty ambitions be wasted in vain?"

"There is only one such place under heaven!"

"All the fertile lands under heaven already belong to Great Ming. The remaining foreign lands are either plagued by miasma or poisonous insects. Even if they wanted to go elsewhere, where would they go?!"

Obviously, Old Zhu could only cling to the point of monopoly to refute.

Unfortunately, Su Qiao immediately opened his mouth to refute,

"Your Majesty's words are erroneous. Although the kingdom of Gao Li is located overseas, its Gyeongsang Province, Jeolla Province, and Chungcheong Province (Chungcheong Province is composed of Cheongju and Chungju, not renamed after the Qing dynasty) have a climate no different from Jiangnan, without the miasma or poisonous insects of Jiaozhi, and they are separated only by the Pae River. Why do they not emigrate to Gao Li to display their ambitions?"

"As Your Majesty knows, the salaries of the hundred officials in Gao Li are in no way inferior to those of our Great Ming."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang immediately snorted coldly,

"Those mere barbarians beyond civilization, how could they be as wealthy as our Great Ming!"

"Has Your Majesty ever considered why wealth becomes a reference index for the hundred officials to compare three families?"

Zhu Yuanzhang was momentarily speechless.

Indeed!

Why do officials in wealthy Great Ming not leave?

Because wealthy places have oil to skim!

Obviously, Old Zhu has already been subtly shaken.

But

Zhu Yuanzhang's face grew gloomy.

"They dare! We have already issued the ancestral instructions and established an iron tablet, unchangeable for ten thousand generations. Anyone who embezzles sixty taels will be flayed and stuffed with straw!"

"Above are the words of the sage, and below are the ancestral instructions of the ruler and father. We do not believe so many people would dare to commit such a heinous act of betraying their teacher and destroying their ancestors..."

As he spoke the last words, Zhu Yuanzhang's voice clearly grew quieter.

Because the news from Chongzhen's side had already been confirmed.

The entire court of civil and military officials clearly did not take the Sage's words to heart.

As for Old Zhu's ancestral instructions.

They were probably already treated as toilet paper...

Su Qiao sneered indifferently.

"Your Majesty, do you truly believe that every monarch of later generations can control their ministers just as Your Majesty does?"

"Furthermore, has Your Majesty ever considered one thing?"

"Since the fifth year of Hongwu, officials' salaries have frequently been paid in kind."

"Do you, Your Majesty, think that silver will always maintain this price?"

Upon hearing these words.

Zhu Yuanzhang's expression suddenly changed.

He immediately rebuked,

"Nonsense! What difference does a few copper coins make? How can that be called a change?"

"If today it buys ten jin of grain, and tomorrow it buys twenty jin of grain, can that silver still be called silver?"

Su Qiao stood aside and reminded him,

"Your Majesty, rarity breeds value."

"The price of gold and silver remains constant because the total amount of gold and silver in the world is fixed."

"But has Your Majesty ever considered what would happen if a certain region suddenly mined a vast quantity of silver?"

"As far as I know, there is a silver mine in the overseas land of Fusang, producing hundreds of thousands of shi of silver annually in recent years! And it increases year after year. Given time, if all this silver flows into the Central Plains, will the meager salaries of the officials in the world then be enough to sustain life?!"

"No matter how you look at it, even if silver is extremely scarce, it is merely a piece of iron! A piece of stone!"

The moment the words fell.

Zhu Yuanzhang was instantly stunned.

Silver is merely stone?

The Fusang silver mine?

Thinking of this, Zhu Yuanzhang immediately became alert.

A few days ago, Zhu Youjian had told him about the grain prices in the Great Ming of that era.

One shi of rice actually cost two taels of silver!

In the Hongwu reign, one shi of rice cost less than one tael of silver!

At that time, seeing this, Zhu Yuanzhang only thought it was a year of disaster, with high grain prices and cheap silver.

If the matter of the silver mine is true.