Chapter 65: The Fallout Reaches the Dukes

Wei Liangqing stood at the entrance of the trading company, gazing at the chaotic street, his heart filled with immense satisfaction.

In this vast capital, only his establishment had not been ransacked; in the days to come, his would be the most precious signboard—no shortage of business to worry about!

Wei Liangqing laughed for a good while, his mood so fine he ate ice in the twelfth month. Turning around, he announced loudly, "Little Li, from now on, keep the door half-closed. Aside from business matters, turn everyone else away!"

"Half-closed?"

Little Li was stunned—if they were to turn people away, why only half-close the door? But Wei Liangqing was the manager, so he acknowledged the order and went to close it.

With such a major affair, the great households and wealthy merchants of the capital could hardly lick their wounds in isolation. They swiftly contacted one another, exchanging messages ceaselessly, all wanting to unite and demand an explanation.

"What did you say? The Huitong Trading Company? The one Wei Liangqing runs?"

"He's the manager."

"They're untouched? How is that possible—he made such a ruckus before, there's no way the court would let them off!"

"Indeed, but they say quite a few people shielded that company. According to some, its backing runs deep."

"Wait, I recall—when they first opened for business, quite a number of high officials and nobles came?"

"Yes, at least several dozen."

"It seems... Wei Liangqing has latched onto some noble patron."

Such discussions arose all over the capital, each person harboring different designs.

"Pick out a few good pieces from what we've hidden at home and send them to the Huitong Trading Company for safekeeping."

"Take fifty thousand taels of silver and deposit it with the Huitong Trading Company."

"Take my invitation and go invite Wei Liangqing."

——

——

In the afternoon, as the sky darkened, Zhu Xu left the palace and sat in his carriage, pondering silently.

With the court having gathered so much in "tax revenue" this time, the situation in Liaodong should ease somewhat. But how much longer Sun Chengzong could hold out, Zhu Xu could not be certain. Without Wei Zhongxian's suppression, the infighting within the Donglin Faction and the pure-stream officials had grown even more intense and increasingly unscrupulous.

Cao Wenzhao drove the carriage; he understood Zhu Xu's thoughts perfectly. Turning his head, he said in a low voice, "Your Highness, will you truly not go see Supreme Commander Sun?"

"I cannot see him." Zhu Xu sighed softly. His identity was awkward—if he went, it might backfire and bring trouble upon himself.

Cao Wenzhao was equally helpless. More than once he had thought that if His Highness were emperor, many things might never come to pass, and the court would not have fallen into such chaos.

The carriage circled through the alleys several times before Cao Wenzhao said to Zhu Xu, "Your Highness, no one is following."

"Mm, go to my maternal uncle's place." Zhu Xu said.

The moment Zhu Xu entered the Fu residence, Fu Changzong's expression changed drastically as he pulled him into the secret chamber, chiding, "Xu'er, why have you come at a time like this?"

Zhu Xu smiled faintly and said unhurriedly, "I had planned to come earlier, but this matter delayed me."

The two sat down in the study, and only then did Fu Changzong breathe a slight sigh of relief. "What matter is so urgent?"

Zhu Xu sat in the chair, half-reclining with a smile. "Not urgent, really—just came to have a look."

Fu Changzong was helpless before Zhu Xu's indolent manner. "You want to know how much wealth the Ministry of Revenue confiscated this time, don't you?"

That was indeed one of Zhu Xu's purposes in coming. "There should be a rough figure by now."

Fu Changzong nodded. "Around two million taels in ready silver, roughly two million in bank notes, about one million in goods—five million taels in total, more or less."

Zhu Xu's expression shifted and he sat up straight. "How much?"

Fu Changzong knew why Zhu Xu was startled and smiled wryly. "You've always been in the palace, so you don't know much about the various offices. Silver allocated by the court gets skimmed at every level, and silver paid up gets peeled at every level too. So the court allocates more, and the taxes below get heavier."

Zhu Xu's mouth twitched—it wasn't that he didn't know, but that he hadn't known it was this ruthless. Originally over fifty million taels, yet what ultimately reached the court was less than a tenth!

"So that's how it is."

Zhu Xu sighed in reflection. The Ming's salt tax brought in a little over a million taels a year, with a population of roughly sixty million. By rights, collecting ten million taels a year should have been no problem—but now, in light of Fu Changzong's words, it all made perfect sense.

The court lost out, the common people toiled, and the bureaucratic clique grew rich.

"This is already decent," Fu Changzong also sighed faintly. "Adding the two million taels of Liaodong military pay, one million for suppressing bandits in Shanxi, and one million for Sichuan—it should resolve the most pressing needs."

Zhu Xu shook his head slightly. "Hard times are still ahead. By the way, Uncle, what happened today? Early this morning my imperial sister-in-law pulled me aside and asked whether I had been affected."

"Her Majesty the Empress?" Fu Changzong was taken aback, then said thoughtfully, "Given how Her Majesty looks after you, it's only fitting."

"What happened?" Zhu Xu looked at Fu Changzong, clearly aware that he knew something.

Fu Changzong said, "Over at the Censorate, taking advantage of this affair, they've thrown several Dukes into prison. Over a dozen Censors are all impeaching them for holding their titles improperly, demanding their titles be stripped."

Zhu Xu's mouth moved slightly—this was the very tactic they had once used against Wei Zhongxian and Madam Ke. Calling them creatures of the eunuchs, of the nurse's ilk—and within the pure-stream ranks, it came down to the word "improper."

Zhu Xu had no interest in such matters. Suddenly leaning in, he said, "Uncle, those things I had you plant outside the city—should be ready for harvest by now, right?"

Fu Changzong showed a look of sudden realization. "So that's what you came for. Mm, tenants came to report earlier—they did indeed grow. But that corn matures in the seventh month; it still needs a while. As for that sweet potato, I'm afraid it'll need another two months."

Zhu Xu nodded. Corn and sweet potatoes had long since reached the Ming, but they didn't match Ming dining habits, so they weren't widespread, and few knew of them.

"Good," Zhu Xu said with considerable excitement. "There should be about ten-odd days left. Have them harvest it, grind it, and deliver it to the city—I'll give you the address."

Fu Changzong knew Zhu Xu must have a plan behind this. After a moment's thought, he said, "There's plenty of wasteland everywhere these days, and the prices are cheap. There are also many refugees and displaced people. If you want to plant more, there shouldn't be much difficulty."

Zhu Xu took this matter very seriously and said with a grave expression, "Good. Silver won't be a problem—after this affair, scraping together ten million taels will be easy. By then we'll be taking in a good amount daily as well. Good, let it keep rolling like this."

Fu Changzong found his last words somewhat puzzling, but still said, "Mm, as long as there's enough silver, doing these things in the name of the Ministry of Revenue will be much simpler, with no obstacles."

Zhu Xu's heart surged with excitement. With these two high-yield, drought-resistant crops, once popularized, they would be powerful weapons for future disaster relief and for managing refugees.

"Father."

Suddenly, Fu Tao's voice sounded from outside the door.

Fu Changzong's brow furrowed slightly. He stood, walked to the door of the secret chamber, opened it, and looked at Fu Tao. "What is it?"

Fu Tao glanced at Zhu Xu inside, then said in a low voice, "Father, Duke Zhang has been arrested."

"Duke Zhang? Which one..." Fu Changzong's brow furrowed deeper. He was about to rebuke him when his expression suddenly shifted. "You mean Her Majesty the Empress's father?"

"Which office took him!"

Zhu Xu stood at Fu Changzong's side, speaking in a cold voice.