Chapter 21: The Crown Prince Deliberates on State Affairs

Zhu Cilang rose and performed a grand bow to the Chongzhen Emperor, then said, "Father Emperor, Your Majesty has shown me great favor, so I will pluck up my courage and briefly share my humble views. If there is anything amiss, I beg Your Majesty to offer guidance."

Chongzhen smiled and nodded, signaling that he could begin his performance.

Zhu Cilang turned to the assembled officials, coughed lightly in imitation, and then said: "In this prince's humble opinion, the Ministry of Revenue should focus its efforts on the war in the Central Plains. The roving bandits have wrought havoc, causing the population of the surrounding regions to dwindle by more than half and draining away social wealth entirely. It will be difficult for these areas to recover their vitality for years to come.

Therefore, the sooner the roving bandits can be wiped out, the better. Only when the Central Plains are free of war and production can be maintained will our Great Ming recover its strength and have taxes to collect. Minister Hou, might this prince ask whether what I have said is correct?"

Before Hou Xun could respond, Zhang Fengyi stepped forward with a smile on his face to praise the crown prince.

After thinking for a moment, Hou Xun said, "What His Highness says is not without reason. However, every department reaches out to the Ministry of Revenue for silver, and I fear the Ministry of Revenue will find it very difficult to manage."

Zhu Cilang also knew that the Ministry of Revenue currently had little silver and was in considerable difficulty, so he faced the Chongzhen Emperor, performed a bow, and said: "I report to Your Majesty: Liu Rong, the seal-holding eunuch of the Armory Bureau, and Ma Xianxiang, the supervising eunuch—the two of them have accepted bribes and perverted the law, and the evidence is conclusive.

Yesterday, your son already had the Embroidered Uniform Guard search their mansions, and they seized ready silver and various goods and utensils worth one million taels of silver. Your son petitions that these monies be turned over to the national treasury to prepare for the war in the Central Plains."

As he spoke, Zhu Cilang drew from his sleeve some neatly arranged evidence and presented it to Chongzhen. This evidence had been compiled by excerpting a bit from Zhu Chunchen's account books.

In truth, no evidence was even needed—the fact that one million taels of silver could be confiscated from the mansions of two eunuchs already spoke for itself.

It certainly could not be a case of being framed. Who would be so addled as to spend one million taels of silver to frame someone?

At these words, all the civil and military officials felt a chill in their hearts. It seemed the matter was real—it truly was His Highness the crown prince who had moved to bring down the Armory Bureau.

The Duke of Cheng, Zhu Chunchen, standing in the front rank, wore a very sour expression. Those two great eunuchs of the Armory Bureau had no small stake in his interests, and now the Eastern Palace had actually cut off his source of income.

After hearing this, Chongzhen nodded in agreement, his face showing not the slightest surprise—after all, Zhu Cilang had already informed him in advance and received authorization to oversee the matter. He had merely not expected the crown prince to be able to confiscate so much silver. What a veritable money-attracting boy!

Hearing this, Hou Xun's face broke into a smile, yet he dared not show too much, fearing he might lose composure before the sovereign. He hastily coughed once, stepped forward, and memorialized: "I thank Your Majesty for your consideration."

Zhu Cilang looked at Hou Xun and continued: "If the Ministry of Revenue wishes to have surplus silver each year, it can reduce expenditures. Take the annual grain transport by canal—our Great Ming's official operations consume far too much. Would it not save money to ship grain by sea or to have merchants handle the operation?"

After Zhu Cilang finished speaking, Hou Xun suddenly felt as if struck on the head with a staff—a sudden clarity dawning upon him. Admiration filled his heart, and he said aloud: "His Highness the crown prince is most wise."

As Minister of Revenue, Hou Xun naturally understood well the drawbacks of the canal transport system. According to Great Ming regulations, eight million dan of grain had to be shipped north each year from the south via the Grand Canal to resolve the north's food problem.

Yet in shipping eight million dan of grain, a staggering thirty million dan were mysteriously consumed along the way. This did not even include the costs of repairing the canal and dredging silt—a colossal sum that could not be avoided.

Zhu Cilang then looked to Liu Zunxian, the Minister of Works, and said: "Let this prince speak a little on the Ministry of Works. The Ministry of Works should focus on project quality. Only by guaranteeing quality can expenditures be reduced.

For example, this year the Ministry of Works must complete six flood-prevention dike construction projects, each requiring one hundred thousand taels of silver, yet the Ministry of Revenue has only allocated three hundred thousand taels.

If those three hundred thousand taels are spread across all six projects, they could all be completed by cutting corners, but the quality would suffer serious problems. Every year during flood season, dikes of poor quality would breach, requiring vast sums to repair.

But if the money were spent on only three projects, guaranteeing quality and assigning responsibility to specific individuals, then the solution would be permanent. If problems arose with the projects, those responsible could be traced and dealt with strictly according to law.

Alternatively, the projects could be contracted out to merchants with quality guarantee agreements signed. Merchants pursue profit, so they would certainly reduce costs. The Ministry of Works would only need to properly supervise and accept the completed work.

This approach has two advantages: first, it saves costs while ensuring project quality; second, it reduces the number of officials handling the projects, avoiding corruption. Minister Liu, what do you think?"

Liu Zunxian smacked his lips in approval and expressed great admiration for the crown prince's ideas. Being an upright man, he naturally would not consider other interest-related factors.

Zhu Cilang then looked to Zhang Fengyi, the Minister of War, and said: "Soldiers at the front who win battles naturally deserve rewards, and those killed or wounded must receive compensation and care. Otherwise, the troops at the front will be disheartened.

This prince believes we could change the method of rewarding them. For example, soldiers who participate in battle could have their families' taxes waived for a number of years; the wounded could have additional years added; for those killed in action, their families would be tax-exempt for life, and their children would be supported with silver paid annually by the local authorities. Minister Zhang, what do you think of this?"

Hearing this, Zhang Fengyi thought the method was truly excellent—it could take care of the soldiers' families and make the troops fight even more desperately.

Minister of Revenue Hou Xun also wore a smile, thinking to himself: as long as the Ministry of Revenue doesn't have to pay out silver, anything goes.

Before the two men could step forward to speak, the Chongzhen Emperor on the dragon throne declared in a loud voice: "Excellent! This method is a good one. I approve it. All my beloved ministers should carefully consider the crown prince's ideas when you return home—I believe there is much that is feasible."

After hearing Zhu Cilang's words, all the assembled ministers felt their hearts stirred and their minds dazzled. That the Eastern Palace, so young in years, could possess such insight made them regard him as something extraordinary.

The matter that the three ministers had been wrangling over for half a day had actually been resolved by the young crown prince. The ministers marveled inwardly, and many thought to themselves: could our Great Ming be about to see the rise of a sovereign who will restore its glory?

Others sneered inwardly. The suggestions were all well and good, but the factions and interest groups of the Great Ming officialdom were deeply intertwined. Whether the canal transport or the Ministry of Works' projects, both touched the interests of many people. To think one could resolve such matters with nothing but talk—what a joke!

Zhu Cilang was naturally well aware of this, yet he paid it no mind. If one wanted reform, if one wanted to amass silver, what undertaking could avoid offending people or entangling interests? If one feared offending others and did nothing at all, then what use were these ministers?

Next, the audience continued. A minister memorialized that, affected by the war in the Central Plains and the famine, many refugees fleeing disaster were streaming toward the capital. At present, tens of thousands of refugees had already flooded into the outer city of the capital, and the Troops and Horses Office of the Five Wards did not know how to handle the situation.

Someone coughed and stepped forward to advocate expulsion, while others opposed it, arguing that this would easily provoke popular unrest. Once again, the court session descended into bickering and recrimination.

Chongzhen was also deeply troubled. Many regions of the Great Ming had suffered disasters, and with the impact of the war, the national treasury had no money for disaster relief, which had led refugees from all over to flee all the way to the capital.

Minister of Revenue Hou Xun kept his mouth firmly shut. Having just managed to scrape together one million taels of silver, already earmarked for suppressing the bandits at the front, he naturally could not step forward to say anything more.

Zhu Cilang watched the pack of ministers bickering, his brows furrowed tightly. What use was all this wrangling? Not a single practical action or constructive suggestion—just empty talk.

At this moment, the Duke of Cheng, Zhu Chunchen, leapt forward and said: "I report to Your Majesty: His Highness the crown prince is brilliant and full of ingenious schemes. If His Highness could go out from the palace on Your Majesty's behalf to comfort the people, he would surely resolve the refugee problem."

Reply to readers: This book's chapters have not been rambling or digressive. The early period is essentially plot of preparation, laying groundwork for what comes later. Up to now, every name that has appeared in the book will have considerable presence later on, and the things they do are also meant to advance the plot. I don't like padding my writing—though admittedly some places have been a bit wordy, and I'll pay attention to that going forward. From here on, I'll get down to business around the main storyline!