Jiajing Chengming

Chapter 38 How much money was left in Zhengde’s inner treasury?
Wei Bin glanced at Zhu Houcong in surprise.

He really didn't expect that the emperor in front of him would take the initiative to ask this and would have such insight into the late emperor's attitude towards the court.

After all, it stands to reason that the new emperor is just the son of a local prince. He shouldn't know so much about the late emperor, and he wouldn't ask such a question.

Wei Bin became more and more frightened.

He had to admit that the new master in front of him was indeed a man of extraordinary talent and deep scheming.

He therefore knew that every word he answered now would determine whether he could keep his head.

After all, the eunuchs in the inner court were waiting to take over his position, and the outer court was waiting to pave the way for new policies by punishing him.

But the new master is terrifyingly powerful.

Therefore, Wei Bin was now walking on thin ice and answered cautiously:
"Your Majesty is wise, the late emperor did leave you with some last words."

"I haven't had time to tell the emperor yet, I really deserve to die!"

"What last words?"

Zhu Houcong glanced at Wei Bin seriously.

Wei Bin quickly prostrated himself on the ground, his eyes red as he said, "The late emperor said, tell the new emperor that my money should not be misused."

Speaking of it.

Wei Bin started crying because he thought of Zhengde.

Zhu Houcong's eyes lit up and he asked hurriedly, "So, the late emperor left money for me?"

Wei Bin suddenly felt a hope of survival in his heart, and he quickly answered with a sob:

"My Lord, yes!"

"The Neichengyunku has been storing the wealth accumulated by the late emperor since he ascended the throne. Some of it was confiscated from Liu Jin and Qian Ning, some was confiscated from Prince Ning, and some was confiscated from the Shibosi and border towns through trade and farming. Although a lot of it has been used to train and strengthen the army in recent years, there is still a lot left."

"Take me to the inner transport warehouse!"

Zhu Houcong stood up immediately.

As the saying goes, money can make the world go round.

As the saying goes, without money you can't go anywhere.

Although Zhu Houcong was now the emperor and held great power, he did not have much money.

But if he has no money, what good is it even if he is an emperor?

Once the soldiers are short of pay, they will mutiny no matter what the court or imperial power is. The loyal and brave ones will at most shoot three arrows for the court in battle, which can be considered as doing their best for the Ming Dynasty.

Therefore, when Zhu Houcong heard that Zhu Houzhao had left money for him, he naturally became excited.

When Zhu Houcong, with wet black hair and wearing a pure white silk shirt, came to the Neichengyun Warehouse accompanied by Wei Bin and others, he saw that the warehouses were indeed filled with large amounts of precious metals such as gold and silver, as well as large amounts of precious fabrics such as silk and satin. In short, they were all wealth that could serve as hard currency in that era.

"Your Majesty, the total value of the various gold, silver, copper, silk and other items in the internal transport warehouse is more than 7 million taels of silver, and there are also confiscated proceeds from Jiang Bin that have not yet been recorded."

Wei Bin also reported the approximate figures to Zhu Houcong at this time.

Worth more than seven million taels!

It's all my money!

Zhu Houcong knew what this number meant at a time when silver had not yet flowed in in large quantities.

Now, he just stared at the gold and silver silks, and said with a slight smile: "I have never seen so many gold and silver silks in my life!"

And when he thought of the scene in which he was so happy when he saw the 50,000 taels of silver, he felt even more ridiculous.

but.

Zhu Houcong had to admit that he, the man who "ate the whole family", really did a good job of killing the whole family. No wonder so many people in the world like to eat the whole family.

But the bigger the meal, the more you have to avoid looking too ugly when eating.

After all, there are many people who are jealous.

Therefore, Zhu Houcong knew that he needed to be more cautious and respectful towards Zhengde and everything he left behind.

Zhu Houcong then asked Wei Bin: "What is the purpose of all the money that my brother has accumulated?"

"The late emperor intended to raise troops. Since the seventh year of Zhengde, the late emperor established the East and West Offices, and later established the Weiwu Tuan Training Camp to strengthen the imperial guards. This money was intended to be used to raise these troops."

Wei Bin replied.

Zhu Houcong asked again: "What is the purpose of raising troops?"

"When the late emperor first ascended the throne, the Tartar invaded Xuanfu in large numbers and camped in Niuxin Mountain, Hei Liulin and other places, which was more than 20 miles long and wide. Our government troops were unable to stop them. They looted countless men, women, livestock and equipment from our Han people, which made the late emperor furious, so he decided to strengthen the army and revitalize the country."

"The late emperor accumulated wealth and raised troops for the future northern expedition, to recover Hetao and Daning."

Wei Bin answered seriously. "So the late emperor is worried that after he is gone, the money that was meant to strengthen the army and the country will be squandered and used for other purposes?"

Zhu Houcong asked with a smile.

Wei Bin replied, "Your Majesty is wise! But I am mainly worried that Your Majesty will be deceived by the outside court and easily use the treasury to reward the whole country or use it to help the people instead of investigating the deficits of the outside court. After all, this money is used to support the army and strengthen the military, and it is also the guarantee for the stability of our Zhu family's country."

Zhu Houcong nodded after hearing this: "My brother is right!"

In Zhu Houcong's view, this money should not be abused.

As the saying goes, the one with the strongest army and the most powerful horses will be the emperor.

Therefore, the emperor does need a special fund to support a strong army that directly obeys his orders.

And this money should indeed be used to maintain the army.

It’s a pity that the elite troops belonging to the emperor have been laid off by Yang Tinghe!
"A sin!"

"The soldiers who were trained with great difficulty, who even fought bloody battles with Zhengde in Yingzhou and had a high degree of recognition from the emperor, are being forced to become farmers or thieves because they were laid off."

Zhu Houcong couldn't help but sigh in his heart, with a look of regret on his face.

But Zhu Houcong also knew that he now had no soldiers and the only thing left was the money left by Zhengde.

And this money must have been coveted by foreign governments for a long time, and they are just waiting to take it away with various excuses.

After all, no one would sit idly by and watch him eat the extinct Zhengde family alone, even if he was the only one who could legally eat him in this era.

Therefore, Zhengde left nothing but this sentence before his death.

"Is this amount of money enough to support a large-scale imperial army?"

Zhu Houcong was secretly complaining at this time.

Because his ambition was actually greater than Zhu Houzhao's. What he wanted was not only to defeat the Tatars, but he also had big plans for the north and the south.

So, Zhu Houcong started to think like this in his mind.

then.

Zhu Houcong then asked Wei Bin: "Wei Bin, do you know your crime?"

Wei Bin knelt down hurriedly and said in fear and trepidation:
"I know my crime! I did collude with Jiang Bin and even formed a marriage with him. I did many things that damaged the late emperor's virtue. I am sorry to the late emperor, to the emperor, and to the people of the world!"

After Wei Bin said this, he burst into tears and kowtowed, saying, "I am willing to be killed!"

"Then what exactly have you done to let my brother down and me down?"

Zhu Houcong asked meaningfully.

Wei Bin replied, "I allowed my subordinates to seize the farmland of the people for me. When I was investigating Liu Jin and Qian Ning, I followed Jiang Bin's instructions and embezzled a lot of money, which was worth more than 2 million taels of silver. As a result, I never reported the truth to the late emperor, and I still haven't reported it to the emperor until now. I am sorry to the late emperor and the emperor."

"You are a man without any offspring!"

"Why do you want to take over so much land and annex so many fields?!"

"You want to stay in the coffin?"

Zhu Houcong deliberately made a ferocious face and stretched out his hand to blame Wei Binlai in extreme anger.

Wei Bin only kowtowed and cried: "I was foolish and failed the late emperor and the emperor! I deserve to die!"

Huang Jin and others on the side were so frightened that their faces turned pale and they dared not even breathe.

"That's fine!"

"You should get up first."

After a while.

Zhu Houcong then sighed and said this.

He was not really angry with Wei Bin just now. He was just pretending to be angry in front of the ordinary palace servants who didn't know the truth, so that they could know how upright and strict the emperor was.

Because Wei Bin mentioned so much silver at this time, he was actually expressing his willingness to use his family property as atonement silver.

So, after Wei Bin stood up, Zhu Houcong said:
"Since you have served my brother, you should hand over all the things you have taken and then stay in the imperial prison. I will not let you go to the Censorate and let the civil officials from the outer court to try you. I will also spare your life."

"After all, my brother didn't let me spare your lives before he died, just to leave this grace of forgiving you to me. How could I go against his wishes?"

"Although you have been spared the death penalty, you cannot escape the punishment of life. You cannot stay in the Imperial Household Department. Go to the Imperial Prison and give a clear account of what you have done!"

"Then, whether you choose to guard the mausoleum or live in Nanjing, please tell me your opinion and I will agree to it, considering your contributions to the country and the protection of etiquette."

After Zhu Houcong said this, Wei Bin finally relaxed completely and kowtowed devoutly: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your great grace. I will do as you say!"

(End of this chapter)