Ming Dynasty: I risked my life to teach the prince, the emperor begged me not to die

Chapter 288 Hongzhi's Sorrow

The Zhang brothers left Chen Ce's courtyard holding umbrellas. Zhu Houzhao studied the vase for a long time, but couldn't think of an answer. He asked Chen Ce curiously, "How do you get the wood out?"

Chen Ce said: "You fill the vase with water, and the wood will automatically float out."

Zhu Houzhao: "..."

Um, so simple? Why didn't I think of that?
It rained all day today, and Zhu Houzhao returned to the palace in the evening.

The lights in the Qianqing Palace were already on, and the elders of the six ministries of the cabinet had gathered in the side hall of Emperor Hongzhi. The water levels of the Huaihe River and the Yellow River had risen, and several sections of the Yellow River had burst their banks.

As more and more crops were affected on both sides of the strait, the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Works, and the Ministry of War sent people to the disaster relief work.

As the chief minister, Liu Jian was the first to report the matter. River management has always been a top priority of the dynasty, but the results have always been minimal.

The Ministry of Works suggested that after the flood was over, 100,000 corvée laborers should be recruited to focus on dredging the Yellow River.

The Ministry of Revenue was in a difficult situation. The amount of money required to provide 100,000 corvées was too huge, and the Ministry of Revenue simply could not afford it.

The Minister of Works bowed and said to the Cabinet: "The Cabinet asked the Ministry of Works to dredge the river, and the Ministry of Works will naturally not delay. This is also the responsibility of the Ministry of Works."

"For such a large project, the Ministry of Revenue can't come up with the money. How can the Ministry of Works recruit civilians for labor service?"

"Lord Liu, let me make this clear. Without money, we can't do it."

Liu Jian asked Qin Hong again, "Minister Qin, it will take several months for the Yellow River flood level to recede, and by then the summer grain will have been collected. Can your Ministry of Revenue first allocate funds to the Ministry of Works?"

Qin Hong shook his head and said, "The Ministry of Revenue's main task now is to promote commercial tax reforms throughout the country, which requires a large amount of money, which is already taken out of the fiscal budget of this year. The Ministry of Works' 100,000 corvée laborers will require at least hundreds of thousands of taels of silver, and the Ministry of Revenue really can't afford that much money."

Qin Hong then asked Xu Guan, the Minister of Works, "Apart from conscripting corvée labor, is there no other way to both dredge the silt and save money?"

Xu Guan said: "If someone can really come up with this idea, I will give him the position of Minister of Works. From ancient times to the present, has there ever been a way to tame a river without spending money?"

"Which time didn't it cost hundreds of thousands of taels of silver? This amount is already considered small. I know you have a hard time with the Ministry of Finance, so I have already saved money for you."

"Your Ministry of Revenue will use the money from promoting commercial tax reform to support the Ministry of Industry, which will be enough to solve the problem of dredging the Yellow River."

"What's the point of commercial tax reform? I really don't understand why your Ministry of Revenue is spending so much money on this!"

Qin Hong was hesitant to speak, and after thinking it over, he decided to give up debating with the Minister of Works. It was meaningless. The Ministry of Works didn't know the ins and outs of this, so it was enough for the Emperor to know.

Listening to the endless quarrels in the court, Emperor Hongzhi finally spoke up. He said, "Okay, stop arguing. In the end, it's all about money."

"Ministry of Industry, please give me a rough estimate of how much money is needed. I will check the treasury to see how much is left. If that doesn't work, I will allocate funds from the treasury."

Minister of Works Xu Guan said: "Your Majesty, my colleagues in the Ministry of Works have roughly estimated that at least 400,000 taels will be needed. I dare not trouble the emperor with the treasury..."

Emperor Hongzhi held his hands and said, "No need to be polite. I will see if the treasury is sufficient for the expenses first."

"That's it for today. You have worked hard, so please go down."

The six ministries of the cabinet all bowed and said, "We will take our leave."

After the six ministers of the cabinet left, Emperor Hongzhi said to Huai'en, "Go and call the eunuch Li Guang, the supervisor of the inner palace." "As you wish."

After a while, a fat eunuch came to the hall panting, bowed and said respectfully: "This old servant greets the emperor, long live the emperor."

Emperor Hongzhi asked Li Guang, "How much money do I have left in my treasury?"

Li Guang hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, the cabinet can now take out about 200,000 taels of silver."

This amount of money was obviously not enough for the Ministry of Works to control the floods. Emperor Hongzhi waved his hand helplessly and said, "I understand. Go down."

After Li Guang left, Emperor Hongzhi couldn't help but sigh deeply. The money in the treasury was not even half of what the Ministry of Works needed. It seemed that the project of dredging the silt and sand in the Yellow River would be postponed again this year.

However, if the Yellow River is not dredged during the non-flood season, who knows what kind of disaster will be caused during the flood season in the second half of the year.

Emperor Hongzhi looked worried. He walked outside the hall with his hands behind his back, looking up at the rain. The wind ruffled his robe. Emperor Hongzhi looked worried. He looked up at the sky and murmured, "Why does God want to harm my people?"

"I have worked diligently throughout my life, always worshipping heaven and earth with piety. Why do you punish me like this?"

There are times when the emperor is powerless and can only pray to God for help.

Zhu Houzhao came over holding an umbrella and saw Emperor Hongzhi standing outside the hall with a worried look on his face. He hurried over and asked, "Father, is there a flood in Lianghuai and the Yellow River?"

Emperor Hongzhi smiled bitterly and nodded, "Yes."

What my little brother said was right. A flood really happened. Seeing that Emperor Hongzhi looked worried, Zhu Houzhao asked again, "Look at your father, are you helpless?"

Emperor Hongzhi shook his head and said, "It's not that we are helpless. Since ancient times, river management has always been a steady and cautious approach. As long as there is money, there will naturally be a way to manage it. The key is the lack of money!"

Zhu Houzhao hurriedly asked: "Isn't this simple?"

Emperor Hongzhi narrowed his eyes, thinking that Zhu Houzhao had some clever ideas, or more accurately, that Chen Ce would have some countermeasures, so he asked hopefully, "Do you have any ideas?"

Zhu Houzhao laughed and said, "Isn't it just that you are short of money? In my opinion, if the emperor asks the East Factory and the Embroidered Uniform Guard to catch corrupt officials, wouldn't it only cost a few hundred thousand taels of silver? If we kill ten or eight corrupt officials, we might be able to collect the money."

Emperor Hongzhi: “…”

You little brat, I thought you had some clever trick. If it were as simple as you said, then I wouldn't be short of money.

Emperor Hongzhi taught Zhu Houzhao, "It's easy to kill corrupt officials, but it's not that easy to find them out. Once they are found out, it will bring up a lot of trouble. If there are many people involved, it will cause political turmoil. It's useless to catch one or two."

"When water is too clear, there will be no fish. Didn't you tell me before that the court cannot be full of honest officials, nor can it be full of treacherous officials? Have you forgotten the theory of the weight so quickly?"

This was the policy of governing officials that Chen Ce taught Zhu Houzhao. Of course he had not forgotten it. Wasn't this just something he said casually?

"Okay, don't worry, Father. I'm going to ask you an IQ test. You put a piece of wood into a porcelain bottle. If you don't touch the bottle or break it, how do you get the wood out?"

Emperor Hongzhi said speechlessly: "Isn't it enough to fill the bottle with water?"

Damn it? My father is so smart that he knows the answer without even thinking about it? It seems that my father is also unfathomable!
(End of this chapter)