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

Chapter 302 Opening the sea?
In the private room on the second floor attic of the Shuntian Prefecture Engineering Department, Emperor Hongzhi sat by the window, staring at the crowd in the courtyard indifferently.

To be precise, his eyes were always on Chen Ce.

He looked at Zhu Houzhao, who was eating his lunch lazily with a large bowl next to Chen Ce, and his brows furrowed slightly!
You little rascal, you don't look like a prince at all.

Qin Hong and Xu Guan were still reading the bidding prices sent by the merchants. They were shocked at first, but gradually they were sweating profusely.

Especially Xu Guan.

When the price of renovating the Shuntianfu Imperial Examination Hall project was finally set at between 93,200 and 100,000, he became increasingly nervous.

Previously, the project budget given by their Ministry of Works to the Ministry of Revenue, the Cabinet and the Emperor was 200,000 taels of silver. But now that the project has been handed over to private merchants, the price has been reduced by half!
What does this mean?
How much money did the Ministry of Industry embezzle from national engineering projects?
Minister Xu swallowed his saliva slightly, looked up at the calm Emperor Hongzhi, and finally couldn't help but speak, confessing his guilt: "Your Majesty, I know my crime."

Emperor Hongzhi turned his gaze away from the window and asked Xu Guan, "What crime do you know? Did you embezzle money?"

Xu Guan hurriedly said: "How dare I!"

Emperor Hongzhi asked, "Since you didn't commit corruption, what crime are you admitting?"

Xu Guan said with a stiff upper lip: "I have not been strict with my subordinates, and corruption has become rampant among them."

Emperor Hongzhi said, "Oh," and waved his hand, "Get up."

Although Emperor Hongzhi appeared calm on the surface, he was deeply shocked in his heart. This was just a small engineering project, and handing it over to private businessmen could save half the money.

What about the big projects like repairing Taihu Lake, repairing the official roads and even repairing the imperial mausoleum? How much money did the Ministry of Industry embezzle?
Emperor Hongzhi pointed at Chen Ce in the crowd outside and said to Qin Hong, "Go and call that boy up here and ask me two questions."

"First, can private merchants guarantee that they will not cut corners at such low prices?"

“Second, will the businessmen exploit the people even more unscrupulously?”

Qin Hong pondered for a moment, and hurriedly said to Emperor Hongzhi: "Your Majesty... There is also the Crown Prince next to Young Master Chen, and he recognizes me."

Emperor Hongzhi chuckled and said, "He will pretend not to know you, go ahead."

Qin Hong took the order, went downstairs and went straight to Chen Ce.

When Zhu Houzhao saw the Minister of Revenue, he hurriedly said to Chen Ce: "I'm full, I'm going to the bathroom."

Chen Ce: “Oh.”

This guy can eat and poop... Uh, it turns out that the Minister of Revenue is here, no wonder he slipped away so quickly.

Chen Ce bowed and said, "Master Qin."

Qin Hong smiled and nodded, then asked Chen Ce in a low voice: "How are you? Are you feeling better?"

Chen Ce shook his head and said, "It's an old problem, there's no good or bad to it."

Qin Hong sighed and said to Chen Ce, "There are too many people here, let's go upstairs and talk."

He wanted to remind Chen Ce and secretly point out that the emperor was upstairs, but after thinking it over, he did not speak.

When Chen Ce went upstairs, he found Xu Guan was also there, and his face looked unhappy. It seemed that the budget given to him by the businessman today had completely hit him.

Otherwise he wouldn't have such a grief-stricken expression.

Chen Ce greeted Minister Xu, who nodded slightly.

Emperor Hongzhi had already taken his seat in the private room.

Qin Hong spoke slowly to Chen Ce, "As you said, the final budget price given by this group of merchants is set at around 92,000 taels." "With such a low price, they really won't cut corners?"

Chen Ce: “…”

Um, didn't I tell you this before? Why are you asking again?

Chen Ce had no idea of ​​Qin Hong's good intentions. The emperor was eavesdropping inside. He wanted Chen Ce to show his talents to the fullest so that the emperor would remember this young man who had silently contributed to the Ming Dynasty.

He couldn't let Chen Ce continue to travel at night in fancy clothes!
Of course, Qin Hong was completely overthinking it, because Chen Ce had already been in the emperor's favor.

Chen Ce could only helplessly answer: "I have told Lord Qin before, Lord Qin may not have listened carefully. This group of businessmen are not fools. They are smarter than anyone else."

"Even if the contract fee is more than 90,000 taels, they can still make a profit. It's just a matter of how much profit they will make."

"As for whether they will cut corners, no, this is a project assigned by the imperial court. If there is a problem, the specific businessmen can be traced back. Do they dare to do it? Who dares to commit a crime against their will and risk death?"

Qin Hong nodded, and then asked Chen Ce: "Will they squeeze the living space of ordinary people?"

Chen Ce said helplessly: "Master Qin, you are worrying too much again. How much living space can merchants squeeze from ordinary people? Ask yourself, are you as cruel as the government in exploiting and oppressing people?"

Whoa, whoa, whoa!
Qin Hong and Xu Guan coughed violently, thinking to themselves, "Don't talk nonsense, kid!"

"If there are more merchants in the Ming Dynasty, they can provide the people with extra family income after the busy farming season. When the people's family income increases, it will stimulate the market. Only by repeating this process can the country's economy be thoroughly revitalized from the bottom up, and the country's fiscal revenue can also be continuously improved."

The room fell into silence, everyone was lost in thought, suddenly a deep voice came from the private room, and Emperor Hongzhi spoke.

"The total income of a country is limited. Stimulating people's consumption may increase the country's income in the short term, but there will always be a limit. When development reaches a certain point, how can we go further?"

Chen Ce felt that the voice seemed somewhat familiar. Although he deliberately changed the tone, he still felt like he had seen it before.

Chen Ce bowed and saluted: "I, Chen Ce, greet His Majesty the Emperor. Long live the Emperor."

Shangshu Qin and Shangshu Xu could only stand outside and ask questions. Who else could the person inside be but Emperor Hongzhi of the Ming Dynasty?
Emperor Hongzhi knew that as long as he opened his mouth, with this kid's intelligence, he would be able to guess his identity immediately.

"Don't be polite, just tell me."

Chen Ce replied in a neither humble nor arrogant manner: "Your Majesty is wise. When the country's development reaches a bottleneck... let's go outside."

"Let's look outside, to the Jurchens in Liaodong, the Western Regions of U-Tsang, the Tusi in the southwest, Korea, Japan, and even further afield... overseas."

"When the money from these places enters the Ming Dynasty and forms a trade cycle, the country's income will be further increased."

The whole room fell silent again, so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

I have to say, this kid is really ambitious and has a long-term vision!

After an unknown amount of time, Emperor Hongzhi in the private room finally spoke slowly and said, "Go down."

"The common people resign."

Chen Ce bowed and saluted, then bowed to Lords Qin and Xu before leaving.

After he left, Emperor Hongzhi came out with his hands behind his back and asked Qin Hong and Xu Guan, "What do you think of what he said about overseas?"

The two ministers were very secretive about this. The ancestral precepts of the Ming Dynasty said that no ship could be sent to the sea. Now the maritime customs offices in various parts of the Ming Dynasty are still closed. Opening the sea... this sensitive topic is not something they should discuss!

(End of this chapter)