All Heavens and Worlds Modified History System

Chapter 183 I will support you from now on

As the founding emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang possessed absolute power.

Even the nobles who held military power did not dare to rebel.

Because they knew very well that this emperor who called himself Huaiyou commoner not only possessed a righteous reputation and absolute superior strength, but he was also the most capable fighter in the world.

So the desperate Li Shanchang was unable to rebel and could only watch his entire family being captured by the Jinyiwei.

The arrest of Prime Minister Li Shanchang meant that Zhu Yuanzhang's large-scale campaign against civil servants had entered its peak stage.

The six ministers were basically wiped out, especially the Ministry of Revenue, which suffered the most. From the minister to the doctor and the deputy doctor, all were taken down.

As the department in charge of the country's money and grain, the Ministry of Revenue was almost at a standstill.

Zhu Yuanzhang also had a headache, thinking about who to assign to be in charge of the Ministry of Revenue.

Then, Zhu Biao came.

"Dad, look at this." He walked in with a happy face, holding a dog-head gold and red banner.

"Oh?"

Looking at the dog-head gold in Zhu Biao's arms, Zhu Yuanzhang also smiled and said, "Not bad, where did you get it from?"

After all, it's gold, everyone likes it.

"Zihou brought it back from Japan." Zhu Biao, feeling very happy, recounted the story. "Zihou said that Japan is rich in rice and the boat he brought back could not hold it all."

After learning that Japan had vast quantities of gold, silver, copper, and even rice, Zhu Yuanzhang's inner farmer once again erupted.

"Boss."

He played with the gold nugget in his hand and said to Zhu Biao, "I thought the war was almost over, so I wanted to rest and recuperate, and decided not to invade the surrounding countries. Now I think it was a bit hasty."

"I heard that Japan is arrogant and rude, calling itself the Land of the Rising Sun?" Zhu Yuanzhang began to find excuses at random. "Such disrespect should be conquered!"

"That's all from the Sui and Tang dynasties." Zhu Biao sighed speechlessly, "Dad, it's not appropriate for the army to go on a long expedition and fight across the sea."

"Then tell me." Zhu Yuanzhang put down the gold nugget. "Then tell me what to do."

"Japan is mountainous, with poor soil and a large population. If we really want to fight, it will be a waste of money and not worth the effort." Zhu Biao simply used Chen Ran's strategy of sowing discord, "Why not divide and conquer? Support local vassal states to fight each other and find agents to sell supplies and weapons. We just want things."

"good."

Zhu Yuanzhang stood with his hands behind his back, his face full of smiles, "Big brother, you have made great progress, you are worthy of being my son."

Zhu Biao quickly responded, "This is the solution proposed by Zihou."

Zhu Yuanzhang's face froze. "He does have some skills."

"Zihou is very capable." Zhu Biao stated his purpose. "Why not let him take over the Ministry of Revenue?"

"What?" Zhu Yuanzhang was immediately dissatisfied. "He has not even participated in the imperial examination. Why should he be in charge of the Ministry of Revenue?"

"Dad." Zhu Biao immediately retorted, "In these days, among all the civil servants who passed the imperial examinations, which one of them was good and capable?"

Without a doubt, these words left Zhu Yuanzhang speechless.

The civil servants who passed the imperial examinations were more corrupt than each other.

Especially those in the Ministry of Revenue, they are extremely greedy.

"In short, it's not possible. He has no experience and no qualifications. How can he convince the public?"

Zhu Biao was amused. "Those experienced and qualified people in the Ministry of Revenue are all in prison. As for convincing the masses, whose masses are you trying to convince? Those corrupt officials? Dad, do you have any problem with Zihou? Or are you jealous of his ability?"

This statement angered Zhu Yuanzhang. "Why would I be jealous of a young boy?!"

There is no doubt that what follows is a father-son chase.

Zhu Yuanzhang was furious and chased the boss to beat him.

Zhu Biao, who was escaping, did not forget to cheer for his friend, "He has this ability, why not give him a chance to get promoted~~~"

This pursuit finally came to an end with the mediation of Queen Ma, who arrived after hearing the news.

The family of three sat down again and ate together.

"I've heard about it, too." Empress Ma was good at mediating disputes, and she quickly put forward her own opinion, "Biao'er, didn't you set up a cabinet to help you handle government affairs? Just let him join the cabinet and help you with the Ministry of Revenue."

Zhu Biao's eyes lit up immediately when he heard this. "This is a good idea."

Then he looked at Zhu Yuanzhang again.

Zhu Yuanzhang, who was eating with his head down, snorted but didn't say much.

At this time, the cabinet was still just an advisory body.

The real power of the Ming Dynasty could not be gained until the Battle of Tumu, when the Ming noble group completely collapsed and the civil servants gradually took control of everything.

It is said that behind the Battle of Tumu, there was the shadow of the civil service group.

After all, no matter how you look at it, the loss in this battle seemed too strange.

"The cabinet can help you take some of the burden off, and that's a good thing."

During dinner, Zhu Yuanzhang wiped his mouth and preached, "But remember, they can only help you with work, not make decisions for you."

Zhu Yuanzhang was experienced and could see the advantages and disadvantages of the cabinet at a glance.

The benefits naturally shared the emperor's workload and improved the efficiency of handling government affairs.

As for the disadvantages, there is a risk of power falling into the hands of others.

When the emperor is capable enough and has a strong character, it naturally doesn't matter.

I am afraid of the emergence of a useless emperor, a lazy emperor, or even a child emperor.

"Dad, I understand."

After returning to the East Palace, Zhu Biao immediately found Chen Ran and said, "Zihou, come to the cabinet and help me."

Chen Ran smiled and said, "Since His Highness has given the order, I will obey. However, please settle the bill first."

"Account?" Zhu Biao was puzzled. "What account?" "Your Highness." Chen Ran smiled again. "We agreed before that I have found a way to make a fortune overseas. It's fine for me to give it to Your Highness, but you have to give me 10%."

Zhu Biao finally remembered and said, "Yes, it happened. I was just..."

He wanted to say, I was just saying it casually at the time, who knew you could actually bring back so much wealth.

Even if you only give 10%, it would be a huge sum of money.

Seeing his reaction, Chen Ran raised his eyebrows and asked, "Your Highness, are you planning to deny it?"

"How is that possible!" Zhu Biao almost jumped up and down. "I am a man of my word! But I think that it is useless for you to have so much money to live alone. It is better to store it with me first."

"I'm not alone." Chen Ran shrugged. "There are many people waiting for dinner at home now."

Zhu Biao then remembered that his father had sent many of the wives of imprisoned officials to Chen Ran's house.

His family has a large population now. If he relies solely on that little salary, he will starve to death if he has to eat porridge every day.

"well."

Zhu Biao smiled awkwardly, "I will order someone to settle the account and send it to your house."

"Then thank you, Your Highness."

It’s not that the Crown Prince of the Ming Dynasty didn’t want to give it, he still attached great importance to promises.

However, the war between the Ming Dynasty and the Northern Yuan Dynasty is still going on, and there are constant projects in various places. There are places to spend money everywhere, and the demand is still great.

He was also short of money, especially gold, silver and copper coins, which were useful as rewards.

More importantly, if we really expand the plunder of Japan in the future, won’t we have to give him a tenth of the profit every time?
We need to find a proper solution to this problem that satisfies everyone.

After finishing his shift, Chen Ran returned to his home.

This was once the residence of a prime minister. It was not only beautifully built, but also very large in size.

Similarly, just like hundreds of years later when property fees are paid according to the area, the larger the house is at this time, the more expenses and maintenance costs will be required.

Chen Ran is now just a small official of the sixth rank in the Eastern Palace.

With his salary, he couldn't afford such a big mansion.

More importantly, as soon as he entered the mansion, he saw a yard full of people waiting for him.

They were all women, some as old as Mrs. Wang.

Below them are people of all ages, including widows who have lost their husbands, young ladies, teenage girls, and even babies in swaddling clothes.

Their original fate was to be sent to the Jiaofangsi, where they would become vehicles and continue to sink to death.

At this time, he was able to preserve his life and innocence, so his attitude towards Chen Ran was naturally one of gratitude.

I just came back from a business trip of more than half a year, and there are so many new people at home.

Chen Ran first asked them to stand up, and then asked, "Have you been eating well these days?"

This was not a polite question, but a real question about how they were doing these days.

After all, these days, being able to eat and not starve to death is the biggest survival issue.

Among the women, a middle-aged woman stepped forward and saluted, "Let the master know that we are receiving your salary in the mansion."

"My salary is only eight stone of grain a month, what can I do with it?"

Chen Ran shook his head and asked again, "How many people are there in the mansion?"

"In reply to the master, there are more than 200 people in the mansion."

Chen Ran'Σ(°△°|||)︴'

Old Zhu is really cruel.

The wives of imprisoned officials who are not of sufficient rank would naturally not be sent to him.

Maids and concubines won’t be sent here either.

Those who could be sent here were all close relatives of the convicted officials who held high status and position.

In addition, under the influence and suppression of Confucianism, many wives of officials who were convicted had their families dealt with early upon learning of their families' plight.

Or maybe someone has connections, and the girl’s family is powerful, so they can be rescued in advance, etc.

The more than 200 people who were finally sent to him were the elite of the families of criminal officials.

"Eight shi of food a month, how can you two hundred people have enough to eat?"

In the Ming Dynasty, one dan was approximately equivalent to 180 jin in later generations.

Eight shi is more than 1,400 kilograms. If divided among more than 200 people, that means each person would only have more than seven kilograms of food per month. This would be enough to starve people to death.

"Let the master know." The woman lowered her head and explained awkwardly, "The banknotes issued by the court were used by us to buy grain."

"How much is it worth?" Chen Ran knew that the Ming Dynasty's treasure notes were worthless. Basically, a treasure note with a face value of one guan could only be exchanged for a few dozen coins. "What else?"

"We used the silk cloth given by the court to weave and sell. We also sold all the other items that could be sold."

At this point, all the girls lowered their heads, fearing that they would spend all of Chen Ran's salary and be blamed.

They still have the status of family members of a criminal official, and were bestowed upon Chen Ran by the emperor.

Whether from the perspective of Ming Dynasty law or other aspects, Chen Ran holds the power of life and death over them.

Not to mention letting them sleep with you, even selling them off or even killing them would not be a problem.

If he had a strong temper, he would not have come here and would have committed suicide long ago.

Chen Ran understood the girls' thoughts and nodded, "I will support you from now on, so you don't have to worry about food and clothing."

After that, he called out to all the girls, "Outside is the money I earned from this trip. Move it all into the mansion."

(End of this chapter)