My Portable Ming Dynasty

Chapter 194 "A Memorial on Respectfully Presenting the Streamlining of Financial Utilities to Demonstrate the Sage's Governance"

Fan Kuan came out of the Shanxi Guild Hall.

Fan Kuan was a hermit employed by the Fan family of Datong. After leaving the guild hall, he went to the Fan family's grain store.

The grain shop manager welcomed Fan Kuan to the storeroom at the back of the shop. Looking at the mountain of grain piled up inside, Fan Kuan asked:
"How does that go?"

"The New Gentleman's Daily has already made arrangements; the next few issues will cover the flood disaster outside the city."

Fan Kuan nodded, then asked:

"Are the other shops all fine?"

The shopkeeper immediately said:
“Mr. Fan, there are only so many grain merchants in the capital. We are all in the same boat. How could we go back on our word after making an agreement?”

"Once the reports are published, various shops will spread rumors of food shortages, waiting for food prices to rise before selling off their stock."

"This isn't the first time; we all have an understanding."

Fan Kuan was finally relieved and said:
"Business is tough. Our boss has already lost a lot of business because of Dengliaohai, and the horse trade in Datong is also impossible to continue. We must get the grain business sorted out."

Fan Kuan sighed.

The Fan family of Datong was the head of the four major Shanxi merchants, yet they suffered the greatest losses.

First, Su Ze initiated the sea transport to Liaodong, which took away the Fan family's business of transporting goods on the Liaodong route.

This was followed by a further tightening of border policies. After Qi Jiguang took office as the commander of the Shanxi Provincial Military Commission and Wang Yongji took office as the governor of Datong, the smuggling industry in Datong was severely impacted.

The business of smuggling ironware to the grasslands in exchange for horses to sell in previous years has become completely impossible for the Fan family.

To be precise, Qi Jiguang didn't care if horses were brought back from the grasslands to sell, but if someone was caught smuggling ironware or even firearms to the grasslands, everything would be confiscated. Smuggling arms would result in the entire gang being beheaded and their heads hung on the gates of Datong. Now, the four major Shanxi merchant families dared not continue doing this.

If we don't transport ironware, what can we use to exchange for horses?
With its two main pillar industries damaged, the Fan family had to find other ways to make up for the losses.

Fan Kuan colluded with other grain merchants in the capital to plot to take advantage of the rain disaster to drive up grain prices.

This time, Fan Kuan used a new method: leveraging the power of newspapers to exaggerate the disaster situation outside the city and create panic among the victims who rushed into the city to grab food.

If this plan really works, then the Fan family of Datong will prepare to start their own newspaper in the capital.

Fan Kuan was so actively working towards the position of editor-in-chief of the new newspaper.

Besides driving up grain prices, grain merchants in the capital had another demand: to prevent the Crown Prince's shops from engaging in grain trading.

A few days ago, when the shops in the Eastern Palace started selling rice, it terrified the grain merchants.

Grain traders who collude to manipulate grain prices are most afraid of someone dumping their stocks at low prices.

Unlike other grain merchants, the crown prince could not possibly be drawn into this grain merchant gang.

The grain merchants used commercial tactics to temporarily squeeze the crown prince out of the capital's grain market, but they were still not at ease and asked Fan Kuan for help.

So Fan Kuan came up with another idea. He helped persuade Chen Jing, the Imperial Censor in charge of patrolling the five gates of the city. Chen Jing took the money from the grain merchants and came up with a radical solution: he submitted a memorial impeaching the Crown Prince and requesting His Majesty to take back the Eastern Palace's property.

If this matter is handled well, Fan Kuan can then encourage the Fan family to invest in and establish newspapers in the capital.

Fan Kuan felt that everything was ready except for the right opportunity.
-
In the Empress's palace, Zhu Yijun kowtowed and bowed to his stepmother, Empress Chen, and said:
May Your Majesty be well.

Empress Chen looked at Pang Jun with suspicion.

Empress Chen was an empress with a very weak presence.

Empress Chen had no children, and because she had advised Emperor Longqing against indulging in women, the emperor ordered her to be moved out of the central palace, which was equivalent to being exiled to the cold palace.

However, facing his wife who had shared hardships with him in the Prince Yu's residence, Longqing ultimately couldn't bear to depose her.

Empress Chen was quiet and didn't cause any trouble, so she lived peacefully in a separate palace.

Empress Chen had no children of her own, but she was very kind to Zhu Yijun, her legitimate son.

Historically, after the death of Emperor Longqing, both Empress Chen and Consort Li were promoted to Empress Dowager, and the two empresses stood side by side.

Zhu Yijun also respected his stepmother very much, paying her respects and greetings frequently, and treating her with the same honors as his own mother.

Moreover, there are almost no records of Empress Chen during the Wanli reign in historical books, and she lived quietly until the twenty-fourth year of Wanli's reign before passing away.

Following the rhetoric taught by Professor Su Ze, Zhu Yijun addressed Empress Chen:
"Mother, I see that your palace is lonely, so I have invited an opera troupe to cheer you up."

After the last Hundred Plays Festival, the "King of Plays" was selected from a Southern Opera troupe from Suzhou Prefecture, and Zhu Yijun bought the troupe for a large sum of money.

Before Empress Chen could even accept it, the eunuchs around Zhu Yijun busied themselves setting up the stage.

After the simple stage was set up, the palace quickly became lively.

Empress Chen was pulled by Little Fatty Jun to watch the play. A slight smile appeared on her usually aloof lips. It had been a long time since the palace had been this lively.

A moment later, the eunuch outside the door suddenly shouted:

"Your Majesty is here!"

Empress Chen hurriedly took Zhu Yijun with her to greet them.

Upon meeting his father, the Empress, Zhu Yijun told the Emperor about how he had brought an opera troupe to perform for his mother.

The Longqing Emperor said with a smile:

"I was just saying that the palace is so lively, and it's rare to see such filial piety from you."

"Since I have nothing to do today, I'll watch a play."

Empress Chen remained silent, but when the Emperor suggested watching the play together, a slight smile appeared on her lips.

Sitting under the stage, Empress Chen felt as if she were watching a play with her family of three, and her eyes welled up with tears.

When the Longqing Emperor saw Empress Chen wiping her eyes with her robe, he recalled their affection for each other during their time as princes and said to Li Fang beside him:

"Let the Empress move back to the Central Palace."

"Leave the troupe here."
-
July 5th, Office of Transmission.

Yang Sizhong, the Vice Commissioner of the Court of State Affairs, put down Su Ze's memorial.

"A Memorial on Clearly Regulating Financial Use to Demonstrate the Sage's Governance"

After reading it, Yang Sizhong felt that this memorial was strange.

"I have heard that the Book of Documents, in the section on the Zhou Dynasty, says: 'The chief minister controls the national expenditures, and the expenditures are based on the amount of income, but the king does not participate in this.' This is why the sage kings set an example for future generations, distinguishing between public and private matters and valuing titles and positions."

"We deeply admire that Emperor Taizu, upon establishing the dynasty, learned from the mistakes of his predecessors and established the Inner Treasury for imperial use and the Grand Treasury for national finances. These were established as decrees to be strictly observed for all time. With strict internal and external defenses, the distinction between superiors and inferiors became clear."

There were no problems at the beginning. The distinction between the inner and outer warehouses of the Inner Transport Warehouse and the Imperial Warehouse of the Ministry of Revenue had been discussed countless times by officials throughout history. Su Ze had already mentioned these old topics repeatedly.

However, the part following Su Ze's memorial made Yang Sizhong frown.

The latter half of Su Ze's memorial is quite interesting.

He wrote:
"It does not allow foreign officials to discuss and decide on internal matters, thus reopening the door to 'using public opinion to control the monarch and father'."

Su Ze believed that the outer court's discussion of the inner court's expenses was an attempt to control the emperor and father by manipulating public opinion, which was an act of disloyalty.

Su Ze's proposed solution was to "reaffirm the old rules and strictly enforce both prohibitions."

In other words, the uses of the internal treasury and the external treasury must be clearly defined, and the two must not be used interchangeably.

Yang Sizhong frowned. Why did it seem like Su Ze wasn't speaking up for the emperor?
The emperor had his own private treasury, but when he ran out of money, he would still ask the external treasury for funds. For example, during the Yongle era, Emperor Chengzu Zhu Di borrowed money from the external treasury, but Jian Yi, who was in charge of the external treasury at the time, resolutely refused, saying, "If the internal treasury is short, the central government will impose fines; if the external treasury is short, the people's wealth will be exploited."

Zhu Di was neither angry nor did he reach out further.

However, his descendants did not possess the magnanimity of Emperor Chengzu.

During the Zhengde era, the emperor seized 1.2 million taels of silver from the outer treasury to fill the Leopard House, which was actually misappropriated border reserve funds.

During the Jiajing reign, such incidents occurred even more frequently.

Emperor Jiajing repeatedly asked the Ministry of Revenue to pay for the purchase of ambergris.

When the emperor reached out to the outer treasury, it was called "seizing the outer treasury," a headache for every Minister of Revenue.

In summary, Su Ze's memorial conveyed the same message.

How the emperor uses the imperial treasury is his prerogative, and the outer court should not discuss it.

However, even after the emperor had exhausted his own private funds, he did not seek funds from the external treasury.

Yang Sizhong also didn't understand which side Su Ze was on.

However, it is conceivable that this memorial could completely silence those censors.

Yang Sizhong could only sigh, stand up, take the memorial that he couldn't understand, and walk toward the cabinet.

As Yang Sizhong walked, he sighed. Just then, he suddenly saw his old boss, Li Yiyuan.

Compared to last time, Li Yiyuan looked thinner and had dark circles under his eyes, indicating that he had just come from the cabinet.

"Isn't this Minister Li?"

Yang Sizhong greeted Li Yiyuan, and Li Yiyuan, seeing his old friend, quickly returned the greeting.

Yang Sizhong asked:

"Did Vice Minister Li return from the Cabinet?"

Li Yiyuan sighed and said:
"It's all because of the Civil Law."

Li Yiyuan sighed as he spoke, saying:
"The Ministry of Justice drafted several versions, but the Grand Secretaries were not satisfied with any of them, so this time it was sent back for rewriting."

Yang Sizhong tried hard to suppress his smile, showing a helpless expression, and watched Li Yiyuan leave with a lot on his mind.

Yang Sizhong felt extremely relieved, and even the slight annoyance he had been feeling about being troubled by Su Ze's memorial vanished.
-
——[Simulation Start]——

The memorial entitled "Respectfully Proposing the Clarification of Finances to Demonstrate the Sage's Governance" was sent to the Cabinet, and all four cabinet ministers voted in favor of it. The memorial was then sent to the Imperial Palace.

After reading the memorial, the Longqing Emperor hesitated for a moment. He then ordered Chen Hong, who was in charge of the Imperial Warehouse, to calculate the accounts and finally approved the memorial.

The emperor approved the memorial by imperial decree.

A day later, Chen Jing, the Imperial Censor in charge of patrolling the city gates, submitted a memorial impeaching the Crown Prince for abusing the imperial treasury and for "disrespecting his stepmother."

Empress Chen was furious and strongly argued for the Crown Prince's filial piety.

Chen Jing was demoted and exiled from the capital for "sowing discord among the imperial family."

——[Simulation End]——

[Simulation passed. This simulation will not consume a monthly simulation attempt.]

[Remaining simulation attempts: 2/2]

This time, it didn't cost any reputation points? It passed immediately?
Think about it too.

During the Longqing era, the imperial treasury was ample, and the palace did not have many large expenditures, so the emperor had no intention of embezzling from the external treasury.

Moreover, the Longqing Emperor cared more about his reputation than his father, the Jiajing Emperor. Since he had enough money, he figured he might as well leave behind a good name.

Last time, during the Lantern Festival, the emperor paid for it himself, and there wasn't much discussion about it outside the court.

If what Su Ze said is true, that the money in the imperial treasury is for the palace to use, and that no one should think of embezzling from the outer treasury, then the emperor can confidently retort no matter how he spends it—"That's my money! I can spend it however I want!"

Of course, the distinction between the internal treasury and the external treasury is a very vague matter.

It's very difficult to determine which money is for national expenditures and which is for the royal family's private expenses.

However, regulating the use of the imperial treasury and preventing the emperor from diverting funds from the external treasury was indeed beneficial to the national finances.

Of course, Su Ze also has a tough side.

He helped the Crown Prince manage his businesses. After the Lingji Palace assembly, when Xiao Pangjun transferred the remaining funds to the Imperial Treasury, the Emperor was greatly surprised.

The emperor even summoned Xiao Pangjun to the palace. After listening to Su Ze teach the crown prince how to make money, the emperor accepted the money without any qualms.

Su Ze also deserves credit for the abundant imperial treasury!
Next, we just waited for Chen Jing to submit his memorial.
-
The next day, when the memorial from the Censorate was delivered to the Office of Transmission, Yang Sizhong knew after reading Chen Jing's memorial that the Censorate was about to be reshuffled again.

Then he thought of Su Ze's memorial the day before. Was this Su Ze's ambush in the Censorate?

After reading Chen Jing's memorial, Yang Sizhong felt even more strongly that the two were not on the same level at all.

Chen Jing kept repeating the same argument: "competing with the people for profit." The only truly damaging thing he did was impeach the Crown Prince for "disrespecting his stepmother."

However, Yang Sizhong was well-informed and had already heard that the Emperor, Empress Chen, and the Crown Prince had gone to see a play together, and that Empress Chen had moved back to the Central Palace.

Just then, Chen Hong, the third-in-command of the Directorate of Ceremonial, arrived at the Office of Transmission with a memorial in his hand.

After Yang Sizhong signed the memorial and saw Chen Hong off, he saw Su Ze's memorial, which had already been approved by the emperor, and became even more certain that Chen Jing was finished.

Chen Jing was the Imperial Inspector of the Five Gates, a position that was bound to offend people.

Yang Sizhong also disliked Chen Jing. After thinking it over, he decided to first withhold Chen Jing's memorial, and then order his subordinates to send copies of Su Ze's memorial, which had been approved by the emperor, to the Six Ministries.

"Someone is coming!"

After his subordinates arrived, Yang Sizhong said again:
"Publish Su Ze's memorial with imperial approval in the latest issue of the official gazette."
-
July 7th.

Su Ze's memorial was transmitted to the Six Ministries and quickly reached the outer court.

The Office of Transmission issued an urgent official gazette, which published Su Ze's memorial, which had been approved by the emperor.

The emperor's promise not to seize the outer treasury quickly won him unanimous praise from the court and the public!
As for the first half of Su Ze's memorial, most of the ministers actually agreed with it.

The imperial treasury was the royal family's money. Apart from the censors and officials in charge of remonstrance, who cared about how the emperor used the imperial treasury's money?

Zhang Juzheng immediately led the Ministry of Revenue to submit a memorial praising the emperor's benevolence.

The Ministry of Revenue also stated that it would clarify the accounts of the Inner Transport Treasury and the Ministry of Revenue's Imperial Warehouse as soon as possible, and ordered the Southern Zhili region to collect the outstanding gold and silver, and to help the emperor recover the taxes owed by the imperial treasury.

The entire court hailed the emperor as a sage ruler, and amidst this harmonious atmosphere between the emperor and his ministers, a few individuals trembled with fear.

Immediately afterwards, news spread from within the palace that Empress Chen had moved back to the central palace, and rumors circulated that the Crown Prince was the one who was able to reconcile the relationship between the Emperor and Empress.

After the emperor and empress reconciled, imperial edicts and memorials from the outer court were sent into the palace incessantly, praising the emperor so much that he couldn't suppress his smile.

Just then, Chen Jing's memorial impeaching the Crown Prince was delivered to the Emperor's desk.

In the Eastern Palace, Huang Ji of the Imperial Observatory finished calculating the accounts and said to the Crown Prince:

"Your Highness, these are my estimates of the grain reserves of several grain depots. If grain prices fall to this level, 30% of the grain depots will not be able to hold on."

(End of this chapter)