Chapter 210: Abolition

Seeing the Emperor once again mention the Xinyang tragedy, and hearing that there were actually officials who made such morally perverse remarks, the assembled ministers all felt somewhat uneasy at heart. Though many among them were deeply self-serving, they had not entirely lost their basic conscience, and they were extremely repulsed by such extreme words and deeds.

Minister of Personnel Zhou Yun memorialized: "I report to Your Majesty, the capital evaluation will be held after the palace examination. I will certainly require all personnel within the ministry to strictly scrutinize the officials of every office in the capital, and will never permit such disgraceful elements of the scholarly class to remain within the government! I hope Your Majesty may rest assured!"

Wen Tiren memorialized: "As Chief Grand Secretary, I too feel ashamed that such remarks exist among officials! The words of the Minister of Personnel are also the heartfelt sentiments of all members of the Grand Secretariat. The Grand Secretariat will also fully support this capital evaluation; if any under our own gates commit words or deeds that violate the laws of the court, we will absolutely not intercede or shield them, but will surely drive them from the court!"

Zhu Youjian nodded in praise: "The Chief Grand Secretary and Minister Zhou are both ministers I trust. Your words just now accord well with my intentions; strict governance of officials cannot remain merely on the lips—there must be strict regulations and actions. The purpose of the capital evaluation is to eliminate the rotten apples among the officials. I hope the entire Ministry of Personnel will jointly shoulder this weighty responsibility!"

Wen Tiren and Zhou Yun bowed and withdrew.

Zhu Youjian took a drink of water and continued: "The farming households of the six provinces including South Zhili have fallen into hardship because of paying the Golden Flower Silver—this is my fault! I am resolved that from next month, the Golden Flower Silver paid by the six provinces shall be entirely abolished! Within their borders, apart from the regular assessed levies, the government offices are forbidden to collect any additional surcharges whatsoever! I will dispatch the Embroidered Uniform Guard to conduct inspections on my behalf. Should any official be found imposing extra levies, he shall be dismissed on the spot and never employed again for life!"

Because the Golden Flower Silver was the Emperor's personal wealth, using the Embroidered Uniform Guard to inspect the six provinces on the Emperor's behalf gave the court officials nothing else to say.

Though they had already guessed the Emperor would abolish the Golden Flower Silver, now hearing the Emperor speak the news with his own mouth, the civil officials and great eunuchs in the hall were all deeply moved.

Of course, Wang Cheng'en was the exception.

Hearing the Emperor open his mouth and say it, the palace would lose a million taels of income every year. Wang Cheng'en grumbled inwardly: Your Majesty, Your Majesty, since you ascended the throne, in order to save silver to suppress bandits and pacify the people, the entire household has lived frugally day to day. Now that you finally have a large sum of silver in hand, it can't withstand this way you scatter wealth! Sigh! The common people have it hard, but do you have it easy? The Empress, who sets the example for the realm, has to set up a loom in the palace to weave cloth to supplement the household expenses—if this got out, people wouldn't even believe it! No, since His Majesty has scattered his wealth, the Eastern Depot must make it back up for His Majesty. The Empress, the young lord, and the Princess usually reward their subordinates with only a few taels of silver—not even as lavish as the steward of some wealthy household outside! Wang Shiqin must be told to investigate more thoroughly, catch a few big fish, and fish back some outside wealth for His Majesty's household.

Li Banghua, his emotions surging, stepped out of the ranks, bowed, and loudly memorialized: "This act of Your Majesty will benefit countless common people! This is no longer plucking a single hair to benefit the world—it is truly giving up all private wealth to ease the people's burdens! By this single deed alone, Your Majesty already far surpasses the enlightened rulers of every dynasty and generation! Truly a benevolent ruler and sage sovereign never seen in a thousand ages! I feel deeply honored to serve during Your Majesty's reign! May my name appear in the annals of history in times to come!"

The dignified Yang Sichang was also deeply moved by the Emperor's unprecedented act. After straightening his robes and cap, he stepped out and bowed: "I have heard: when Yao and Shun blamed themselves, their rise was vigorous; when Jie and Zhou blamed others, their fall was swift! Your Majesty attributes the hardships of the people's livelihood to yourself rather than blaming your ministers—this shows the breadth of Your Majesty's heart and the vastness of your magnanimity! This is precisely the omen of the Great Ming's resurgence! Like the Censor-in-Chief, I too feel proud to work alongside Your Majesty! I too am willing to attach myself to the tail of the steed and follow Your Majesty in establishing an enterprise never seen in a thousand ages!"

Wen Tiren, somewhat displeased at having the spotlight stolen by the two men, stepped out, bowed, and memorialized: "I believe the words of the Censor-in-Chief and the Minister of War are the heartfelt sentiments of all officials under heaven! With the Golden Flower Silver exempted, there is no longer any question of food and clothing for the people of the six provinces! While the millions of common people feel grateful for Heaven's grace, they can also accumulate more grain and money, gradually enriching their lives! With Your Majesty performing this unprecedented act, the hearts of the people throughout the realm are won over entirely! This old minister congratulates the Great Ming! Congratulates all living beings!"

The other assembled ministers also spoke out one after another in lavish praise of the Emperor's measure. This time their words were truly sincere, because what Zhu Youjian had done was indeed something never seen before in history.

Zhu Youjian was in an excellent mood as well. Smiling, he waved his hand for everyone to return to their places, and said: "I will issue an edict on this matter; after the Grand Secretariat affixes its seal, it need only be dispatched to the six provinces. Next, we should discuss how to resettle the disaster victims of Shanxi and Henan."

Wang Yingxiong memorialized: "Since Your Majesty is issuing funds from the privy purse for disaster relief, the two provinces can also follow the example of Shaanxi and Shandong in digging wells and cultivating military farmland; as long as they get through this year, after next year's summer and autumn harvests, the disaster victims of the two provinces should be settled!"

Zhu Youjian shook his head. After stating his concerns, he said: "The measures used in Shaanxi and Shandong cannot be implemented on a large scale in Shanxi and Henan. The only way to resolve the immediate crisis now is to relocate the people elsewhere. My intention is to move the disaster victims of Runing and Nanyang prefectures in Henan to the neighboring Jing and Xiang prefectures in Huguang, relying on their numerous waterways to sustain the victims. This measure is essentially identical to the Shandong approach. The censors of the Censorate may carry the edict and go there. As for the disaster victims of Shanxi, my intention is to use the Zheng family's fleet to move them to Taiwan in batches. According to what the Zheng family's people have said, Taiwan's climate and geography are both suitable for settlement. This land has been part of our Chinese domain since ancient times; the island is currently vast with few people, just right for Great Ming subjects to cultivate and settle. With several years of careful management, the Great Ming will gain a granary of abundant produce!"

Wen Tiren memorialized: "This old minister has also heard that Taiwan is plagued by miasma and swarming mosquitoes, and that it is humid, hot, and rainy year-round; people from the northern lands moving there may suffer from illnesses of maladjustment! How to prevent miasma and epidemics before departure is truly a necessary preparation. Many people from Fujian and Guangdong travel back and forth to Java, Luzon, and other places, and the local physicians there have considerable experience in preventing miasmic plagues. I suggest ordering the local governments to recruit medical practitioners to accompany the migrants to Taiwan, to guard against the outbreak of disease!"

Zhu Youjian praised: "Minister Wen's words are truly the counsel of mature statesmanship. This matter need only be dispatched by the Grand Secretariat to the localities. The disaster victims in Shanxi are numerous; after this discussion, the relocation matters must be set in motion immediately. I will issue an edict to the Zheng family, instructing them to make proper preparations. The Ministry of Revenue shall allocate grain from the supply depots, establishing temporary official granaries every thirty li along the route for the disaster victims to eat! Today's discussion ends here—all ministers may withdraw!"

Zhu Youjian, with Wang Cheng'en in tow, descended from the imperial throne and walked toward the rear hall. Wang Dehua and others of the inner court followed closely behind. Only after the Emperor's figure had disappeared did the assembled ministers turn and depart.

"Your Majesty, from what this old servant knows, the Zheng family's grain fleet numbers around thirty-odd vessels each time. If they are to transport disaster victims to Taiwan, I fear they cannot carry many people in a single trip!"

Wang Cheng'en followed behind Zhu Youjian, reporting as he walked.

The Zheng family's grain fleet had now been replaced with large ships of one thousand liao capacity; thirty-odd vessels could carry around two hundred thousand dan of grain each trip. But cargo can be stacked—you can't pile people on top of each other, can you? Such vessels could each hold roughly four hundred-plus people, so thirty-odd ships could move over ten thousand people per trip—a drop in the bucket for the uncountable disaster victims of Shanxi.

"Companion, go to the Directorate of Ceremonial to draft an edict and forge an iron certificate, ennobling Zheng Zhilong as Count of Jinghai, and bestow the iron certificate! Promote Zheng Zhibao to Regional Commander of Fujian! Promote Zheng Zhifeng to Vice Regional Commander!"

Zhu Youjian had finally made up his mind—to reward the Zheng family with a noble title for their merits, urging them to give their full strength in helping the court get through the current crisis.

Though the Great Ming had always only granted noble titles for military merit, the Zheng family's fleet had transported nearly a million dan of rice to the capital over the past year and more, and had only collected two hundred thousand taels of silver. Even this was because Zhu Youjian felt he could not take their efforts for nothing and had forcibly sent people to deliver the silver to Zheng Zhifeng's residence—otherwise Zheng Zhifeng would never have asked for it at all.

This million dan of rice, in this famine year when grain was dear and silver cheap, was enough to keep countless people alive. For this point alone, ennobling Zheng Zhilong as a count was entirely without question. Moreover, this time the Zheng family would need to increase their investment in ships. If Zheng Zhilong agreed to Zhu Youjian's request, it would mean the Zheng family would have to reduce the number of merchant ships plying between the South Seas and Japan, and their income would suffer great losses.

Exchanging a noble title for the Zheng family's complete allegiance—I believe Zheng Zhilong will make the right choice.