Chapter 290: Wealth Does Not Last Three Generations (45th~)

The manpower and material resources an emperor can command are beyond anything a self-made transmigrator could imagine.

Take Lin Gao Qi Ming as an example: after years of operations, they went to enormous lengths to send special forces to capture Gao Shunqin, the Regional Inspector of Guangdong.

The man is a jinshi of the second year of Tianqi, and at present he is still serving as County Magistrate of Pucheng County in Fujian.

Never mind squeezing into the ranks of the New Deal county magistrates — this Lord Gao never even passed the examination-selection hurdle for county magistrate, and is still eating dirt down in Fujian. (Note: Pucheng is an inland county, east of the Wuyi Mountains.)

By contrast, in Tie Xue Can Ming, Zhang Guowei, the Governor of Yingtian who got caught up in the Tongcheng mutiny, has had rather better luck.

He too was a jinshi of the second year of Tianqi, had the good fortune to be selected by examination for the capital, and was even luckier to squeeze into the ranks of the New Deal county magistrates.

Right now, in the dead of winter, this future renowned minister is wrapped in a padded cotton jacket, toiling away at water-conservancy construction in Gu'an County.

Yet at this moment, Zhu Youjian has no idea who either of these two men is.

In his previous life, all his energy went into his career; reading web fiction was merely a pastime.

He could not even remember the names of many protagonists, let alone the background characters in the stories.

The ones he initially wanted to use were household names like Sun Chuanting, Lu Xiangsheng, and Sun Chengzong.

But the men he can actually rely on now include figures like Qi Xinxiao, Li Shiqi, Yang Jingchen, and Huo Weihua — people he had never even heard of, yet who have proven unexpectedly and immensely useful.

This is the authority of the Son of Heaven.

The talents of the realm are like carp crossing the river, vying to leap through the Dragon Gate, waiting only for a single glance from the sovereign.

If talent is like this, then wealth and material resources go without saying.

The first pot of gold that transmigrator protagonists like Chen Xin, Liu Minyou, and Wang Dou laboriously earned could not even cover the cost of the candles the Forbidden City burns in a single day. The marginalized Court of Imperial Sacrifices alone requires one thousand three hundred kitchen laborers to sustain its ritual offerings.

In the Wanli Emperor's time, the purchase of jewelry alone cost twenty-four million taels.

Ordering Shaanxi to weave cashmere on a single occasion consumed one million six hundred thousand taels of silver.

The investiture of the various princes, along with the celebrations for marrying off princesses and the like, cost a further nine million three hundred forty thousand taels.

At the age of twenty-one, he began constructing his mausoleum; it took six years and ultimately cost eight million taels of silver.

This is the majesty and bounty of the Son of Heaven.

The wealth and goods of the realm are extracted down to the last penny, and spent like mud and sand.

Of course, this extravagant lifestyle of his forebears has nothing to do with Zhu Youjian.

Wealth does not last three generations.

From the Wanli Emperor down to him, it is exactly three generations.

So his poverty is entirely in line with historical laws.

Inside the Hall of Earnest Reflection in the Western Park, Zhu Youjian was listening to Zheng Zhihui's report summarizing the privy purse expenditures since the Wanli era.

"Your Majesty, the above is the income and expenditure of the privy purse during the Shenzong Emperor's reign."

Having finished his report, Zheng Zhihui took a step back from the screen, allowing Zhu Youjian to examine the summary chart upon it clearly.

(No image, no precise historical data, but there are papers deducing that the Wanli Emperor extracted roughly twenty to forty million taels from the realm.) Zhu Youjian swept his eyes over it twice, and in the end could not help but let out a soft sigh.

Even though he had been mentally prepared, seeing these figures still filled him with regret for having transmigrated into the wrong era.

If only he had transmigrated into the Taichang era… or the Tianqi era.

The privy purse would not be the pitiful sum of a million or so taels it is now; it would be a literal mountain of gold and sea of silver.

"Very good. You have put great care into this task." Zhu Youjian withdrew his gaze from the screen and nodded in approval.

He clasped his hands behind his back and sighed, overcome with emotion.

"We have long been puzzled."

"During the Shenzong Emperor's reign, mining supervisors were dispatched far and wide, extracting enormous quantities of money and goods."

"Among this, the palace eunuchs, the Depot and Guard, and the local rogue clerks and runners certainly latched onto it, engaging in all manner of embezzlement and fleecing — but the proceeds that actually came in could not have been too small."

"No matter how greedy those at the bottom were, a fifty-fifty split should have been the minimum, no?"

"By that reckoning, even if the Taichang and Tianqi courts disbursed tens of millions from the privy purse, We should not, by all logic, be this poor." "So it turns out… the bulk of the money was long ago spent on jewelry, investitures, and wedding ceremonies."

Zhu Youjian paused, his heart full of the pain of a family's fortunes in decline, yet he could not help but ask again, clinging to a sliver of hope:

"Continue, then. Tell Us — where did all those pearls and gemstones purchased in the past ultimately end up? And how much currently remains in the inner treasury?" Zheng Zhihui's expression was reverent and attentive; he picked up the ledger in his hand and began to read aloud in a steady voice:

"In reply to Your Majesty, after the Finance and Taxation Section's review and investigation of the Wanli-era account books, the purchased pearls and gemstones primarily went to three destinations."

"First, they were interred with the imperial tombs."

"For example, within the Dingling Mausoleum alone, there were buried as grave goods eighteen thousand one hundred forty-eight pearls, and two thousand twenty-eight pieces of various red and green gemstones, cat's-eye stones, and the like." (Note: Thanks to the Dingling archaeological excavation team for their statistical work — well dug!)

"As for the Qingling Mausoleum, it was…"

Zheng Zhihui finished reciting the list of jewelry buried with the various emperors and consorts, then continued on:

"Second, they were used in the grand wedding ceremonies or investiture ceremonies of the various princes and princesses."

"For example, the grand wedding of Prince Lujian alone used eight thousand seven hundred gemstones of various kinds, over eighty-five thousand pearls of various types, and over twenty-four thousand eight hundred coral-and-pearl ornaments."

"And for the grand wedding of Prince Fu…"

"Third, they were used for routine bestowals and rewards. The figures are scattered and disorderly, and there are no account books, so only a rough estimate can be made…"

Zheng Zhihui paused, and turned a page.

"As for what currently remains in the palace, after a preliminary inventory, there are four thousand two hundred fifty-seven gemstones of various kinds, and thirty-eight thousand two hundred thirty-two pearls of various types."

"As for the antiques, calligraphy, and paintings Your Majesty inquired about previously — theft over the years within the palace has been severe, and many items have been replaced with counterfeits. Verification and comparison are still underway, and no clear figures can yet be reported."

Zhu Youjian was silent for a moment, then sighed softly.

In this Great Ming, among the hundred officials, the landlords, the military chiefs, the palace eunuchs, and the ennobled aristocracy — few are clean.

But the emperor and the imperial clan — were they ever any better?

He pondered for a moment, then turned his gaze to the several trusted aides standing to one side and asked:

"If We wished to sell off these jewels and antiques to replenish the state coffers,"

"what do you think… can it be done? And what must We be mindful of?"

Gao Shiming, Tian Ergeng, and Wang Tiqian were all present and sat in on this small-scale briefing.

Hearing that the Emperor intended to sell off the treasures left by his ancestors, none of the three showed the slightest look of surprise.

In their view, given His Majesty's character, it was entirely normal for him to hold no regard for jewels and precious objects.

After a few moments of thought, Gao Shiming spoke first:

"Your Majesty, if you wish to sell them, the nominal justification requires some careful consideration."

"We might use the phrase 'exercising utmost frugality to aid state expenditure' as the rationale for the sale. In this way, not only is the imperial dignity undamaged, it instead highlights Your Majesty's virtue of loving the people."

"Furthermore, it would be best if the proceeds do not all enter the privy purse. For example, thirty percent to the privy purse and seventy percent for state use would greatly reduce gossip from the outer court and the common folk."

Zhu Youjian nodded slightly.

This was covering for him on the fronts of public opinion and popular sentiment.

Reframing the sale of ancestral property as "frugality"—Gao Shiming's suggestion sounded good.

Wang Tiqian thought for a moment, then also bowed and said:

"Your Majesty, there is actually a way to avoid selling them at all."

"Use the pearls and gems to serve as rewards for the hundred officials. As long as it does not become as excessive as the pepper distributions in the Yongle era, this is feasible."

"Bestowing treasures upon worthy ministers is, in truth, more dignified and better-sounding than the previously decided direct distribution of silver."

Zhu Youjian first nodded, but then shook his head.

"When silver is distributed, each official can use it as they wish, buying whatever they want."

"But if pearls and curios are distributed, the hundred officials can neither sell them nor not sell them—they become a burden instead."

"Tigan, your line of thinking here is not quite right."

Zhu Youjian casually pointed this out, and Wang Tiqian, unflustered, merely cupped his hands and bowed slightly.

Tian Ergeng, seeing that the other two had finished speaking, then began:

"Your Majesty, perhaps this matter could be combined with the luxury tax currently under discussion at the capital's tax office?"

"This subject has participated in those discussions because the Embroidered Uniform Guard has been investigating social conditions."

"Since a luxury tax is to be levied on jewelry, fine wine, tobacco, and the like,"

"why not start from this point, using the matter to promote a culture of frugality, and then have the imperial household set the example? The culture of extravagance might then be somewhat reined in. After all, the corruption of the Great Ming, at its root, actually arises from extravagance. This was discussed with perfect clarity by all the ministers at the relevant meetings in the Ministry of Personnel."

Zhu Youjian glanced at Tian Ergeng and smiled faintly. This Tian Ergeng was now leaning more and more toward the civil officials.

But ultimately he was not a civil official managing governance; his thinking, like Wang Tiqian's, was still too naive.

The culture of extravagance could not possibly be suppressed by such minor measures.

If one truly set out with the attitude of "transforming customs and habits," the only result would be a court full of hypocritical performances.

When the time came, the hundred officials would attend court in worn-out clothes, yet return home to fine wine, beautiful women, brocade garments, and jade delicacies—what would be the point?

Zheng Zhihui, seeing that the three senior figures had all expressed their opinions, then added from a professional standpoint:

"If jewelry and curios are to be sold, it should be done gradually, like the sale of materials from the Ten Warehouses, and not through large-scale dumping."

"Otherwise, with market prices in turmoil, things that were originally valuable will become worthless."

Zhu Youjian nodded, already having formed his own plan.

"Set this matter aside for now."

"Companion Gao, note a pending item: on the first day of the third month next year, remind me to reopen discussion of this matter."

To do this, one could not do it without cause.

Using a famine as the occasion would be a better entry point.

A charity auction? Could that sort of thing work in the Great Ming?

Besides jewelry, what else could I auction?

Should I try… composing a poem?

The thought flashed through his mind, and he waved his hand.

"Continue. Report on the state of the privy purse below."

Zheng Zhihui acknowledged the order and personally turned the screen to the next page.

"At the time of Your Majesty's ascension, the privy purse treasury held over 1,430,000 taels of silver."

"After the confiscation of the property of the villain Wei and his ilk, over 1,060,000 taels of silver were obtained…"

"The stockpiled materials from the inner storehouses have been sold for several months, yielding over 120,000 taels of silver for the time being. The remainder must be held for continued sale next year to avoid excessive discounting…" He continued without pause, listing various incomes and expenditures one by one, then pointed to the end of the table and said:

"Therefore, the silver currently held in the treasury is over 1,300,000 taels."

He paused briefly, and seeing that Zhu Youjian did not wish to ask questions, turned the screen to the next page.

"As for the various income and expenditure items of the privy purse for next year, they are on this table."

"Among them, for the gold-flower silver, first calculating based on a twenty percent arrears rate, the income is 800,000 taels."

"The imperial shops have not yet begun to be reorganized, so the income is over 60,000 taels."

"For many materials from the Ten Warehouses, it has been decided to commute them to silver payments and no longer collect them in kind—that amounts to over 230,000 taels."

Zheng Zhihui, reaching the end, summarized once more:

"If the privy purse has no other major expenditures, then in the first year of Yongchang, the net income of the privy purse should be over 1,210,000 taels."

"Added to the year-end balance of this year, the total is over 2,510,000 taels."

(Attached chart: privy purse income and expenditure in the seventh year of Tianqi, and planned income and expenditure for the first year of Yongchang.)

Zhu Youjian fixed his gaze on that figure and studied it carefully for a few moments.

Two and a half million taels…

In the eyes of an ordinary person, this was money that could not be spent in several lifetimes.

But in Zhu Youjian's hands, this money probably could not be held onto for very long.

The fiscal budget for the first year of Yongchang had been debated for a long time. Although some items remained uncertain, the broad outlines were now settled. Zhu Youjian was deeply pessimistic; the officials of the Ministry of Revenue were relatively optimistic.

Taking the pessimistic forecast.

On the revenue side: calculated on the assumption that after arrears and remissions, only sixty percent could actually be collected.

On the expenditure side: calculated on the assumption that all current military pay allocations remain untouched, kept at their original amounts.

And finally, adding Zhu Youjian's pledge that he would, without fail, disburse two million taels in back-pay arrears during the first year of Yongchang.

Then the total fiscal gap, under this worst-case projection, would be…

5,740,000 taels! Naturally, the Ministry of Revenue officials had plenty of objections to this pessimistic calculation.

They were very confident, believing that once the new policies were rolled out — especially after the provincial administration commissions dispatched their teams — the overall tax collection rate could reach eighty or even ninety percent.

After all, many of them had personally witnessed the results of Zhang Juzheng's reforms.

There was no reason that new policies, more meticulous and more substantive, should perform worse than the Wanli-era reforms, was there?

To put it in the logic of the new policies.

Whether taxes are raised or lowered, the petty clerks at the bottom keep collecting all the same — it is simply that one part is the nominal rate, and another part is the effective rate.

If a local magistrate cannot collect taxes in full, and has made no effort whatsoever regarding the "effective rate"…

then whether that man is a black crow or a white crow — is that not perfectly clear?

For these Ministry of Revenue officials, the real issue to grapple with was actually the extra two million in arrears for the nine border garrisons, which fell outside ordinary revenue and expenditure. After all, the Great Ming's fiscal practice had always been to match expenditure to revenue; so long as taxes could be collected at one hundred percent, income and outgo would necessarily balance.

It was precisely this kind of expenditure, outside the "ordinary" framework, that required real effort to address.

Zhu Youjian was silent for a moment, then spoke:

"This privy purse income and expenditure — it needs to be revised."

"There are two items of spending, not previously finalized, that can now be settled."

"First: it has now been several months since the new policies were launched."

"I have observed the performance of every ministry and every official."

"Among them, many projects have not yet fully landed; some have barely made a start."

"But the new year is approaching. Even a common shopkeeper knows to distribute bonuses and rewards at year's end. I, as the Son of Heaven, can hardly be stingy."

He looked toward Zheng Zhihui:

"Zheng Zhihui, allocate seventy thousand taels from the privy purse, earmarked specifically for New Year rewards this time."

"Among these, the Directorate of Ceremonial, the Eastern Depot, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and the capital new-policy offices — these four departments began work earliest and have shown results fastest. Each department shall receive ten thousand taels." "The remaining new-policy officials shall divide the remaining thirty thousand taels according to the progress of their respective projects."

Zhu Youjian paused, then looked at Gao Shiming and said:

"Notify the committee. Have them put in extra hours and, within the next few days, finalize the reward roster and the justifications for each reward." "At the New Year's Day grand court assembly, publish it together with this year-end red-mark promotion list."

"In principle, the reward ratio between supervising officials and subordinate officials shall remain consistent with the performance-sharing ratio."

"Furthermore, each person's supplementary reward shall include a base reward, and shall also be based on the performance reward from red marks already earned."

The several men exchanged glances. In the end, it was Gao Shiming who stepped forward and probed cautiously:

"Your Majesty, what of the officials on the old-policy side? Should a modest reward be given to them as well, to convey the sense of shared celebration in the new year and universal rejoicing?"

Zhu Youjian shook his head, rejecting this suggestion born of consideration for popular sentiment:

"Do not give them a single coin."

"Even if a man has already begun doing new-policy work, and has accumulated zero-point-one or zero-point-two red marks."

"So long as his red marks have not exceeded one full mark, so long as he is not a man within the new-policy threshold, he gets nothing."

"In this matter, since we are doing it, we absolutely must not hold the bowl level."

"Only inequality provides the spur of incentive."

The four men nodded, cupped their hands, and accepted the order.

Zhu Youjian continued:

"As for the second matter — it concerns the 'Million-Tael Grand Reward' for the first year of Yongchang."

"The details can still be adjusted, but let us settle the matter itself before the new year."

"Simply deduct this million taels in advance from the privy purse expenditures."

"And by the way, synchronize this matter with the Ministry of Revenue."

"Next year, only 1.5 million will remain available in the privy purse. Let them harbor no illusions; they had best give serious thought to ways of generating revenue." Zheng Zhihui felt his eyelid twitch. A million taels — gone, just like that?

But with a prior offense on his record, he was always cautious in his conduct and dared not say more. He merely cupped his hands and accepted the order.

"Very well, that is all."

"Regarding the discussions on clearing up the imperial estates and imperial shops — press forward quickly as well. Once the draft is finalized, request an audience to report."

"Once spring begins, these two matters must be vigorously pursued."

With that, he strode out.

"You are all dismissed. Go attend to your respective tasks."

"Companion Gao, accompany me. We are going to meet the Great Ming's first cohort of Doctors of Science."