Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 889 Account
"Let me go to the clan house to help?" Zhu Qiuqi asked back.

"Of course, we don't have enough people available right now, and neither the Ministry of Rites nor the Ministry of Revenue can intervene in the follow-up matters, not to mention the Imperial Guards, which are internal affairs of the Imperial Clan Court. So the follow-up work has to be done by me and Lao Wu, and the two of us really don't have the ability, so I asked if you could go and help for a few days."

"Of course I have no problem helping, and I am also a member of the Imperial Clan..." Zhu Qiuqi said. Just as Zhu Minfeng showed a hint of joy on his face, he heard Zhu Qiuqi continue, "But when I went to the palace to see Your Majesty today, I told Your Majesty that I would be returning to Shandong in a few days, and I can only stay in the capital for three or four days at most. I am afraid that..."

"Have you told His Majesty that you will return to Shandong in a few days?" Zhu Minfeng was stunned and asked immediately.

Zhu Qiuqi smiled bitterly and nodded, "That's right. I didn't know that such a thing happened in the Imperial Clan Court, and Your Majesty didn't tell me when I saw him today. I came back to Beijing just to report to Your Majesty on the situation in Shandong. I can't stay for long. There are too many things going on in Shandong, so I have to go back and take charge."

"If I had known about this earlier, I would have mentioned it to His Majesty today and asked him to give me a few more days to help you deal with the Zongrenfu matter before leaving. But now..."

Zhu Minfeng and Zhu Minqi looked a little regretful when they heard this. They indeed did not communicate this matter with Zhu Qiuqi in advance. They had thought that this time Zhu Qiuqi would go to see the emperor first when he came back, and then meet privately to discuss this matter after meeting the emperor. However, they did not expect it to be like this.

If I had known this earlier, I should have sent someone to inform Zhu Qiuqi of this matter before he came back. But it was too late to say this now. Zhu Qiuqi had confirmed his return date after entering the palace today. If he wanted to change it again, he had to report to the emperor and get his consent. Although Zhu Shenzhu would most likely agree, after all, he knew about the affairs of the clan house, and it was not a trivial matter, but this would disrupt Zhu Qiuqi's itinerary plan. Shandong was also not a trivial matter, and Zhu Qiuqi had to work for the emperor.

For a moment, the two of them didn't know what to do and the atmosphere suddenly became silent.

"Uncle, how about I go to the clan house tomorrow and see if I can help. Two or three days won't be a problem. At least I can do something."

"That's not necessary. You've finally come back to Beijing, and you have to spend time with your wife and children. There are also other things to do. Besides, you can't help much in just these two or three days. Let Laowu and I figure it out ourselves." Zhu Minfeng sighed and refused.

Zhu Qiuqi thought about it and felt that it was not a good idea for him to just stand by and watch. As for staying for a few more days, perhaps there was a way. However, he had only heard the general situation of the clan house, and now he didn't know what the main problems of Zhu Minfeng and Zhu Minyu were. It would be better to ask about these situations first and see if he could help.

At this point, Zhu Qiuqi asked what the key issue that the clan office currently needed to solve was. Zhu Minfeng thought about it and told him the truth, and explained in detail the difficult problems they were facing at the moment.

According to Zhu Minfeng, because of the previous incident, the accounts within the Ministry of Clan Affairs were in chaos. Now it takes time to sort out the accounts of salary payment for clan members. At the same time, the subsequent salary payment cannot be stopped, as this is related to the survival of all clan members of the Ming Dynasty.

In addition, they also need to sort out the subsequent procedures to ensure that similar situations will not occur again. Otherwise, if the same situation occurs again in the Zongrenfu after a period of time, the two of them will not have the face to serve as the left and right Zongrenfu in the Zongrenfu. The emperor trusts them and puts them in such an important position, but they make a mess of things? It would be better for them to resign from their positions and return to their hometown in Shanxi to be rich and idle.

After listening to Zhu Minfeng's story, Zhu Qiuqi asked about some details. The three of them talked for a long time before Zhu Qiuqi completely understood the dilemma of his two uncles.

He frowned slightly and thought carefully. After a while, his eyebrows suddenly raised and he thought of a good way to solve the problem.

"Royal Bank?"

"Yes! It is the Royal Bank!" Zhu Qiuqi said solemnly, "According to the previous procedures of the Imperial Clan Bureau, the Imperial Clan Bureau controls the payment of salaries to the royal family of the Ming Dynasty, and the specific operations are in the hands of officials at all levels below. In addition, the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Revenue are involved. Even if the current problem is solved, who can ensure that similar situations will not occur in the future?"

"As the saying goes, there are thieves who steal for a thousand days, but never guard against thieves for a thousand days. The two uncles are serious about their work. Not only is your nephew aware of this, but your Majesty is also aware of this. Otherwise, your Majesty would not have entrusted such an important responsibility to the two uncles. But the two uncles should think carefully. This person's greed is natural. Some people can resist temptation, but some people cannot. Otherwise, this would not have happened."

"If we only rely on our two uncles to conduct strict investigations, or ask the Jinyiwei for help, it may solve the problem temporarily, but it cannot solve the fundamental problem. Moreover, if something happens in the clan house again, our two uncles will not be able to escape responsibility no matter what, and it will make a fool of themselves to outsiders."

"Then what do you say we should do? Can the Royal Bank you mentioned solve this problem?" Zhu Minyu couldn't help but interrupt him and asked. "Haha, the reason why my nephew mentioned the Royal Bank is because it can solve this problem." Zhu Qiuqi said with a smile.

"Eighteen, please tell me in detail and don't keep us in suspense." Zhu Minfeng asked hurriedly.

Zhu Qiuqi then expressed his opinion. He told Zhu Minfeng and Zhu Minwei that the main problem with the incident at the Zongrenfu this time was because of the royal family's salaries. According to the previous procedure, the Zongrenfu's payment of royal family salaries was based on the royal family's list and coordinated by the Ministry of Rites. After the Ministry of Revenue allocated funds, it was handed over to the officials under the Zongrenfu for distribution step by step and finally delivered to the royal family.

This involves many links, including the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Revenue, and multiple links within the Ministry of Clan Affairs.

Although Zhu Minfeng and Zhu Minyu were members of the left and right clans, they were just general supervisors and could not do specific work. Many specific tasks had to be carried out by subordinates and other yamen officials. As a result, there were more links and more people involved, which naturally made it easy for problems to arise. In addition, the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty had a bad atmosphere, and the court's funding had always had the bad habit of "losing". Moreover, there were nearly 200,000 members of the Ming Dynasty royal family, of which only middle and high-level members were a small part, and low-level members were the majority. This made it easier for mischief to occur.

Withholding, misappropriation, shady accounting or other various means, as long as they can scrape a little bit of money from each royal family, the total amount is quite considerable, and this is a long-term money-making process, and they can make money from the annual or even monthly distribution. Otherwise, how can these people have such a heavy burden? Isn't this all about money?

In this case, it is necessary to improve procedures and strengthen supervision, but even so, it can only solve temporary problems but not permanent ones. Once you relax a little, it will give others an opportunity to take advantage of you, and after what has happened, these people will be more cautious if they want to make money from it.

To put it bluntly, these people have too many ways to make money. They can find any legitimate reason for loss to get money. Even if they want to investigate at that time, they may not be able to verify it, and after a few years, the situation is still in a mess.

Since this is the case, Zhu Qiuqi believes that the key to completely solving this problem lies in overturning the original procedures and operating methods and no longer following the previous process.

Zhu Qiuqi was in charge of maritime trade in Shandong and also held a position in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. In addition, he had close cooperation with Hengtong when he was in Shanxi, and he was very familiar with the operating model of the former Hengtong Bank, which is now the Ming Royal Bank.

Moreover, after its formal establishment, the Royal Bank has been responsible for Ming Dynasty's trade in the northwest, namely the Shanxi, Shaanxi border and Mongolia, as well as Shandong's maritime trade today. Now the Royal Bank of Ming Dynasty is equivalent to a trade platform, with huge amounts of money flowing in and out every day. In addition, the Royal Bank of Ming Dynasty has opened more and more branches, and it has also played a considerable role in finance and capital circulation, including the authority to monitor trade and taxation.

According to Zhu Qiuqi, he felt that the previous way of paying salaries to royal family members could be completely replaced by the Ming Royal Bank, and would no longer be the responsibility of the Ministry of Clan Affairs, the Ministry of Rites and local governments.

This is not necessary at all. Just let the Ming Royal Bank intervene in this matter. The Ministry of Clan Affairs will be responsible for counting and calculating the salary amounts of the Ming royal family at all levels, and then add the clan list under its control to open accounts in the Ming Royal Bank.

As long as this is done, the Clan Court will no longer have any chance of coming into contact with money, and will only be responsible for digital calculations and allocation procedures. The same goes for the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Rites. Funds will be allocated according to the list submitted by the Clan Court, and then the funds will be transferred to the account within the Ming Royal Bank.

Because the final account holder is directly in the hands of the royal family, the monthly fixed-term salary is paid directly into the account, which eliminates the middle links and completely solves the previous problems. Moreover, this is not only more efficient, but also promotes the development of the Ming Emperor Bank in the local area, which is what Kang Youfu has been doing.

"It sounds good, but can it really be done? Can the Royal Bank take on such a task? And will the court departments not object? As for His Majesty..." After hearing the explanation, Zhu Minfeng and Zhu Minyu couldn't help but be tempted, but still couldn't help asking these questions.

"I just thought of this. From the operational point of view, it is indeed feasible, but I still need to ask Kang Youfu whether it can be done. In addition, this is not a trivial matter. I think it is better to report to His Majesty first and see what His Majesty means. If His Majesty thinks it is feasible, it will not be too late to do it."

Zhu Minfeng and Zhu Minyu nodded in agreement at the same time. After thinking for a while, Zhu Minfeng said, "In this case, let's discuss this matter first, prepare a memorial, and tomorrow morning the three of us will go to the palace to see His Majesty and report this matter. How about that?"

"Yes!" Zhu Minyu agreed without hesitation. As for Zhu Qiuqi, it goes without saying that he was the one who proposed the suggestion, so he would not refuse it and agreed immediately. Then the three of them discussed it for almost a whole night, and finally came up with a relatively complete plan and wrote it into a memorial. After a short rest, the day gradually brightened. The three of them went to the palace together, handed in a sign to ask to see the emperor, and soon the eunuchs and guards took them in and arrived at the Qianqing Palace.

(End of this chapter)