Chapter 975

Chen Xun opened his mouth to look at her, then whispered: “People will die.”

Yu Qian remained silent, his expression unchanged.

Hu Ying sighed: “His Majesty has only been on the throne for a year; now is not the time to survey land—it won’t uncover much hidden acreage. Grand Secretary Li is proposing this now for three reasons: first, to find an excuse to reorganize officialdom; second, to help the Ministry of Revenue increase output; third, to make an example of a few to frighten others into behaving themselves for years to come.”

Hu Cheng, a southern man, said nothing.

Hu Ying glanced at Pan Yun, then smiled softly: “It’s not entirely bad—once land surveying is underway, the Ministry of Works can proceed more easily with these projects. But this memorial must not leak. At most, only His Majesty may see it.”

Some state policies require advance publicity to rally officials and the people toward a common effort;

others must be kept secret, achieved under the guise of other justifications.

For once something is made public, it faces immense resistance from the very start.

If certain people see this memorial, they’ll think land surveying is trivial by comparison.

The most critical point of this memorial is people!

It speaks entirely of people!

If what the memorial claims comes true, not only will landless people across the realm be settled, but many peasants will be pulled away from their fields.

How many of those peasants actually till land they own?

Hu Ying was a Metropolitan Graduate of the Jianwen era, had toured the realm, and, from annual Ministry of Revenue reports alone, could guess how many tenant farmers existed.

Once these people move from the land to the mines, factories, workshops, and industries listed in the memorial, who will till the vast estates of the landlords?

Surely not the landlords themselves?

And which noble or high official in court isn’t a major landlord?

Hu Ying glanced at Yu Qian—oh, this man was an exception.

Hu Ying thought: if the memorial’s proposals are carried out, even his own household must lower rents to keep tenant farmers.

Rents may need to drop to thirty percent—or even less; two percent might be necessary to retain them.

Currently, landlords charge tenants forty to seventy percent.

The harshest charge seventy percent; the most generous, forty; most are fifty percent.

Hu Ying’s family had always charged forty percent.

He was seventy, understood his fate, had no great hopes for his descendants—each generation must find its own fortune; he had already given them what he could.

So he accepted it calmly.

Hu Cheng cared only for crafting; he had no ambition for politics. While Chen Xun and others scrambled to enter the Grand Secretariat, he was the only Minister who desired no place there.

Moreover, like Yu Qian, he owned no land.

Oh, by the way, this Hu Cheng was Vietnamese; both he and his father were top-tier scientific talents from Vietnam, but his father had an especially sharp tongue, which so intrigued the Yongle Emperor during the invasion of Vietnam that the entire family, along with other artisans, was relocated to Great Ming to serve.

This Minister Hu was wholly absorbed in crafting, building houses, and laying roads and bridges; his greatest passion was making guns and cannons.

Before Pan Yun appeared, the most advanced firearms in Great Ming were almost all designed by him.

His ancestral lands were numerous, but now meant nothing to him; in Beijing, like Yu Qian, he owned little land beyond a single house, enough for his family to till themselves.

He didn’t till it himself—he could assign disciples; he had no need for tenant farmers.

So he nodded directly and praised the memorial highly.

Thus, the only one who remained silent was Minister of Revenue Chen Xun.

All turned to him. Chen Xun grew nervous and hurriedly said: “I naturally agree—after all, if this succeeds, the state will never again lack funds.”

Pan Yun: “It won’t be that simple. Money is made to be spent—taken from the people, returned to the people. Don’t let it rot in treasuries or divert it to the Inner Treasury.”

Pan Yun remembered and asked: “Does the Inner Treasury still draw funds from the state treasury?”

She had only recently learned that the imperial family had a tradition: each year, they withdrew silver from the state treasury and repaid it in copper coins, thereby siphoning off state wealth.

Chen Xun muttered inwardly: So it was her who told the Emperor? No wonder he’d been displeased with me lately.

His Majesty must have thought I deliberately informed the State Teacher, prompting her to counsel him.

Heaven and earth bear witness—I merely complained once to Minister Wang, but Pan Yun was nearby, overheard, and took the ledger to examine.

Chen Xun replied: “His Majesty previously didn’t know of this. Upon learning, he showed compassion for the people and strictly forbade the Neiwu Prefecture from drawing silver from the state treasury. He even returned part of the funds from the Inner Treasury, and even for this Emperor’s Birthday, the Inner Treasury contributed funds, greatly easing the state treasury’s burden.”

Pan Yun nodded: “Good. Back to the topic—Minister Chen, do you truly agree, or are you just saying so?”

She added meaningfully: “Don’t agree now, then leak the memorial once you leave.”

Chen Xun’s face flushed red: “State Teacher, I may own more land than you all, but state affairs come first—and I, Chen Xun, would never do something so unprincipled!”

Yu Qian looked at Pan Yun with mild disapproval: “Though Minister Chen lacks your brilliance and cannot devise such clever schemes, his character is sound.”

Yu Qian sighed regretfully: “He simply lacks ability.”

Chen Xun: … This defense didn’t make him feel better.

Pan Yun said: “I trust Minister Chen’s character, or I wouldn’t have invited him—but I don’t trust his ability to judge people.”

Chen Xun: … Even less pleased.

He paused, then retorted: “State Teacher, did you invite me because you truly trust my character—or because the Ministry of Works needs money for these projects?”

According to the memorial, these projects require vast sums.

Such sums clearly cannot come from individuals—they must come from the state treasury.

Chen Xun gave a light snort: So this is about extracting funds from me.

But Pan Yun shook her head: “It’s better if the state treasury pays—but if it doesn’t, I have other means.”

She counted on her fingers: “My money, the Emperor and Empress’s Inner Treasury funds, multiplied from one to two, from two to three—combined with talents from across the realm who can serve His Majesty—achieving these goals won’t be difficult.”

“I invited Minister Chen not for capital, but for management.”

Chen Xun was startled: “Management?”

Yu Qian mused: “Each has his specialty. Minister Hu is not skilled in management; even if a steel mill is built, he cannot make it profitable. That’s why we need Minister Chen’s help.”

Pan Yun nodded firmly: “Correct. Besides the steel mill, all the factories listed here require joint cooperation between the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Works.”

She added meaningfully: “If the Ministry of Revenue and Ministry of Works handle this, these enterprises become state-owned. If the Ministry of Works and the Emperor and Empress handle it, they become imperial family property.”

Chen Xun immediately shouted: “I’ll do it!”