Chapter 1652: You Traitors — Time to Buy Your Indulgences!

What? No confiscation of property? Only a fine of some silver and land?

Wang Tigan was stunned by Zhu Youjian's words, even forgetting to keep up his fake weeping. Was this young Son of Heaven telling the truth? How was he any different from Wei Zhongxian? Both took money in exchange for pardoning crimes.

Zhu Youjian looked at Wang Tigan, his tone already deepening: "What is this? We show mercy beyond the law and give you a chance to redeem your crimes, and you are still unwilling?"

Only then did Wang Tigan react, kowtowing repeatedly: "Willing, willing! His Majesty's imperial grace is boundless. This old slave is moved to tears of gratitude. This old slave is willing to offer up his entire family fortune, if only he may redeem a little of his guilt."

Zhu Youjian smiled. This attitude was acceptable. It seemed the business of selling "indulgences" could indeed be done! In his previous life, after all, they had confiscated so many households and never got much silver out of it — it only fattened the officials in charge of confiscation. Better to use that rebellious son's method: for the worst offenders, let the criminals' own families confiscate their own households in exchange for a limited number of pardons. For those with lesser crimes, have them hand over silver and land in exchange for indulgences. After redeeming their crimes, they could still reform and become loyal subjects again.

Just think — if every member of the eunuch faction filling the court had to buy an indulgence, why worry that the Great Ming could not be restored?

"Wang Tigan," Zhu Youjian said gently, "go back and rewrite your memorial of self-accusation. Give a proper account of your crimes of corruption and embezzlement — that is the key point! Also, state a figure: how much silver and land you are prepared to offer to redeem your crimes of corruption. Remember, the land for redemption should preferably be within the borders of Northern Zhili, and preferably in large contiguous tracts."

Unlike that rebellious son, who valued industry and commerce, what Zhu Youjian now valued most was still land! And specifically land in Northern Zhili — not because his thinking was backward or because he failed to see the benefits of industrial and commercial development, but because Zhu Youjian's current center of rule was Northern Zhili, not Southern Zhili.

Northern Zhili could not compare with Southern Zhili. Southern Zhili had convenient water transport and developed agriculture, enough to support a large concentrated industrial and commercial population, and its local agriculture could also supply raw materials for industry and commerce. Northern Zhili's land, by contrast, was barren, and its local output was insufficient to supply Beijing and the nearby military garrisons of Jizhou, Liaodong, and Xuanfu. Every year several million shi of rice had to be brought in via the Grand Canal, so it simply lacked the conditions for vigorous industrial and commercial development. If one wanted to develop industry and commerce on a large scale, one would have to concentrate even more population in Northern Zhili, and at the same time large amounts of farmland would be converted to cash crops such as cotton, mulberry, and hemp. That would cause Northern Zhili's grain output to fall, and even more grain would have to be shipped in by canal every year!

So Zhu Youjian, now based in Northern Zhili, could only base himself on land — using the Northern Zhili land right under his nose to support the Son of Heaven's household retainers. Only with truly effective elite troops could his position as Emperor be secure!

But where was the Northern Zhili land to come from? First, of course, by tapping potential: taking some land from the imperial gardens and imperial estates around Beijing (the estates belonging to the Emperor, the Crown Prince, and the Empress Dowager) and distributing it to officers and men. The imperial gardens covered roughly several hundred thousand mu; if fully exploited, it would still be possible to distribute 500,000 mu. The imperial estates were mainly distributed across the lands of the eight prefectures of Northern Zhili, concentrated chiefly in the three prefectures of Shuntian, Baoding, and Hejian, totaling about 37,000 to 38,000 qing — that is, 3.7 to 3.8 million mu. Imperial estates plus gardens came to about 4.2 to 4.3 million mu in all. Zhu Youjian also planned to dig out a bit more land near the capital from the corrupt officials of both the inner court and the outer court, to make up five or six million mu.

Then he would carefully distribute those five or six million mu, granting them to brave and battle-worthy cavalrymen selected from the military garrisons everywhere, to form a ten-thousand-household guard cavalry directly under the Emperor.

Of course, Zhu Youjian also needed the redemption silver. Because one could not fight a war with cavalry alone! That rebellious son's army was built around Western-style infantry as its main force, and its most elite unit was the boy-soldier guard. To train boy soldiers, money had to be spent — foreign officers had to be hired as instructors, first-rate muskets and cannon purchased for use, and poor children from the barren northwest bought as soldiers. If he could spend five or six years training thirty to fifty thousand boy-soldier guards, plus ten thousand guard cavalry, then pacifying Liaodong within five years would have some hope.

At this thought, Zhu Youjian's tone deepened again. "Wang Tigan, do not imagine that every follower of Wei Zhongxian's faction can redeem his crimes. Some heads will still have to roll! That is necessary!

Only by killing a batch of them can the rest be made to understand how rare this chance to redeem their crimes is! As for who is killed and who is spared, that will depend on the sincerity of their redemption!"

The meaning of these words was: if the silver and land offered for redemption were too little, your head would roll! And there were quotas for beheadings. Were you afraid to die?

Wang Tigan was of course terrified of death, and kowtowed like a pestle pounding garlic: "This slave is sincere in redeeming his crimes! This slave's sincerity is very great, very great!"

Zhu Youjian said: "Then go back and write your redemption memorial properly. Think it through clearly before you write, because this is your only chance!"

With that, he waved his hand and sent Wang Tigan back.

After Wang Tigan came Li Yongzhen and Liu Ruoyu, two other great eunuchs, who came one after another to confess their crimes. Of course, the crimes they confessed to did not hold up; they were sent back to rewrite their memorials, and had to deeply recognize their crimes of corruption!

After that, more than a dozen other great eunuchs who had ordinarily been close to Wei Zhongxian came in an endless stream. One of them was actually Liu Chao, the Governor-General of Nanhaizi. It turned out that when Zhu Youjian had struck inside the imperial city, he had not been with his troops at Nanhaizi, but at his private residence in Beijing.

After learning of Wei Zhongxian's downfall, Liu Chao had found a place to hide. At the same time he sent trusted eunuchs to gather news, and when he learned that indulgences were being sold in the Hall of Literary Splendor, he hurried over to buy one.

He knew his crimes were enormous and that he had many enemies — the other great eunuch Wang An, who had once stood in the way of Wei Zhongxian's rise, had been tormented to death by him personally.

Many of the eunuchs now in favor around Zhu Youjian were old associates of Wang An. If he did not strive to save himself, and let his enemies strike first, then there would certainly be a beheading quota with his name on it!

So he went all out, producing at once 200,000 taels of silver and 20,000 mu of land in Northern Zhili!

"This slave is guilty. This slave became a corrupt official. This slave betrayed the trust of the late Emperor." So Liu Chao, groveling on the ground and pleading piteously, looked pitiful — but in his heart he was reckoning thus: I have offered up so much silver and land; surely the Emperor will spare me now?

But beyond Liu Chao's expectations, Zhu Youjian's answer to him was a cold snort.

Watching Liu Chao shudder, Zhu Youjian said in a deep voice: "Liu Chao, do you think We do not know you are one of Wei Zhongxian's die-hard followers? The Palace Guard that Wei Zhongxian meant to use for rebellion were all your subordinates. Your crimes are so great — and you think a mere 200,000 taels of silver and 20,000 mu of land can redeem them?

Guards! Drag this traitor out and put him to death by slow slicing!"

Death by slow slicing?

Liu Chao was stupefied, too stunned even to beg for mercy. Only when two Qianqing Palace guards seized him and began dragging him out of the Hall of Literary Splendor did he react, letting out a pig-like shriek: "Your Majesty, spare my life! Your Majesty, spare my life! This slave — this slave knows his crimes! This slave wants to atone by meritorious service! This slave wants to expose — to expose the crimes of Cui Chengxiu, Tian Ergeng, Xu Xianchun, and the rest!"

Zhu Youjian gave a few cold laughs. "Drag him back!"

The two guards answered with a grunt, hauled Liu Chao back into the great hall, and dumped him at Zhu Youjian's feet.

Zhu Youjian glanced at Liu Chao, who had just taken a turn past the gates of hell and now lay sprawled on the floor, and said coldly: "Liu Chao, We already know the crimes of Cui Chengxiu, Tian Ergeng, and Xu Xianchun. We do not need you to expose them!"

No need to expose them? Then what was he to do?

Liu Chao was nearly scared out of his wits by Zhu Youjian's words.

Zhu Youjian said: "Still, We can show leniency and give you a chance to keep your life! Are you not quite familiar with Wei Zhongxian? Then you must know how much silver and how much land the Wei Zhongxian family has?"

"I know, I know! This slave knows it all!"

Zhu Youjian said: "Then We shall send you to confiscate the households of Wei Zhongxian and his several nephews and grand-nephews. When the confiscation is done, We shall have Wei Zhongxian's nephews audit your accounts! If the accounts do not match, We kill you and spare them! If the accounts all match, We kill them and spare you! Liu Chao, look out for yourself!"

(End of Chapter)