Late Ming Dynasty: So what if Emperor Chongzhen was inactive?!

Chapter 149 The Wave-Particle Duality of Having Money and Lacking Money in the First Year of Chongzhen's Reign

Farming is too difficult. The Great Wall, including its folds, truly stretches for ten thousand li. Of the nine important border towns of the Ming Dynasty, the defense line of Jizhou alone stretched for nine hundred li.

Zhu Youjian was not unaware of the importance of Jizhou, and there were also people in the court who saw the weakness of Jizhou and the danger of the capital's defenses. However, restoring the defenses of Jizhou was easier said than done. After the previous scare, Zhu Youjian urgently dispatched an additional 5,000 troops to Jizhou, but these 5,000 troops were deployed and did little to make a difference.

If a separate battalion were established, the area it could defend would be very limited. If the entire Beijing garrison were sent to Jizhou, the capital's defenses would become extremely weak. To fill the Jizhou defense line at full strength, at least 130,000 troops would be needed.

The cost of raising and using troops in the Ming Dynasty was becoming increasingly high. Even though the Liaodong Garrison didn't have 100,000 soldiers, it had already consumed tens of millions of taels of silver since the Battle of Sarhu. Of the annual military pay for the nine border regions, Liaodong alone consumed almost half of it, leaving the remaining eight garrisons with nothing to eat and emaciated from hunger.

Although Zhu Youjian collected slightly more money and grain, a capable and battle-hardened army cannot be conjured out of thin air. He didn't even have the spare capacity to train a new army; for more than a year, he had merely been playing the game of robbing Peter to pay Paul.

The original soldiers of the Beijing garrison were refined to form the so-called elite troops; by balancing the troops from the nine border regions, 30,000 suspected elite troops were barely cobbled together for the Jizhou Garrison. Adding the tens of thousands of old, weak, sick, and disabled soldiers remaining in the Jizhou Garrison, the total number did not exceed 70,000.

Last year and this year, the Ming army advanced triumphantly, with victories reaching every corner of the country. However, the cost was enormous: it was incredibly expensive. Defeats required compensation and reinforcements; victories required compensation and rewards; and the recapturation of lost cities necessitated rebuilding defenses. For example, even after the recapture of Ningyuan, construction work was still needed to strengthen the defenses.

Last year, Taicang only earned a little over four million taels of silver, but they managed to get by despite the hardships. This year, the total income reached eighteen million taels of silver, a fourfold increase, but it was still all spent.

Although there are still three million taels of silver in the imperial treasury, these three million taels are only enough to last until next summer's harvest. Each and every one of these three million taels has its own purpose, and officials from various departments are even saying that it is not enough, shamelessly asking the emperor to provide more support from the imperial treasury.

It seemed that as emperor, he had poured his heart and soul into his work for over a year, only to have it all come to nothing but labor for someone else. Zhu Youjian began to understand why previous emperors had such a reputation for stinginess; it was a clear sign of inner imbalance. Zhu Youjian cried out in anguish, "This is clearly my money!!!"

The theme of the year-end court assembly was to settle accounts. Bi Ziyan brought his abacus, not because he was cramming for the last minute and didn't do his job properly, but because the income and expenditure of the six ministries still maintained relative independence. He wanted to reconcile accounts with each department in court to prevent denials, such as selective amnesia, delaying tactics, or perfunctory responses.

Officials from various departments of the Ministry of Revenue were clicking away on their abacuses, the rhythmic sound almost soothing. Bi Ziyan tried his best to report the year's income and expenditure to the emperor in simple language, but Zhu Youjian listened with little interest, letting it go in one ear and out the other. He had previously promoted Bi Ziyan to the position of Minister of Finance, but Zhu Youjian hadn't felt any corresponding reward.

Yes, the court's tax revenue has increased, but is this all thanks to you, Bi Ziyan? The court's revenue has increased, but it seems that the money has been spent, and nothing significant has been accomplished. For the first time, Zhu Youjian considered replacing the old man Bi.

Of course, the thought was there, but he managed to maintain his rationality. Zhu Youjian himself could feel the change in himself; it seemed that sitting in this position for a long time really could change a person, regardless of what that person had done before.

He could have spared even palace maids who made mistakes and drug dealers who sold counterfeit medicine to the Empress, yet he ordered the blockade of northern Shaanxi, causing the deaths of millions of people; he launched a war, resulting in the deaths of tens of thousands of soldiers on the battlefield. He kept his own hands clean of blood, yet he bore the burden of countless wronged souls.

Previously, he had delegated power extensively, but now, seeing his ministers performing poorly, he harbored suspicions, even harboring a vague doubt that he had been set up by these ministers. The so-called "Imperial Party," Bi Ziyan, was nothing more than a member of the bureaucratic clique, conspiring to frame him, the young emperor. Seeing the emperor slumped on his dragon throne, sullen and unhappy, the court officials in the Hall of Supreme Harmony were utterly perplexed. This year, money was plentiful, the war was won, and the New Year's goods bought by the people of Beijing, the lanterns added to their eaves, were all larger and rounder than last year.

With the court and the people so elated, and the Ming Dynasty showing signs of a revival, what could the emperor possibly be dissatisfied with? Perhaps he couldn't control his concubines in the harem last night and was kicked off his bed, hence his sulking today?!

People's joys and sorrows are not shared. Currently, it seems that sycophantic officials and court jesters are not prevalent in the Chongzhen era. Even if the emperor is unhappy, he won't take it out on the officials. Although everyone is powerless to help the young emperor's frustrations, they aren't exactly terrified. A young man, feigning sorrow for the sake of poetry—that's how people his age are.

Bi Ziyan spoke enthusiastically below, believing that since becoming Minister of Revenue, the court's finances had been sufficient, which he considered a remarkable achievement. After all, the court had long suffered from deep-seated corruption; everyone was used to taking a little, and in the end, nothing was left. He was determined to secure the court's funds and use them effectively—a difficult task indeed.

"Alright, you, Grand Secretary, are fine with these accounts in mind. You can either prepare a memorial and submit it; there's no need to discuss it with me in court," Zhu Youjian said somewhat impatiently. For the past few days, he had been feeling uneasy, his body ached, his appetite was poor, and he was constantly experiencing internal heat, even in the dead of winter.

"By the way, have the compensation payments for the fallen soldiers been distributed this year?" Zhu Youjian asked, frowning.

Bi Ziyan frowned and said, "Your Majesty, the compensation for Liaoxi has been distributed, but there is some difficulty in Dongjiang Town in Liaonan."

“Serving in the army and receiving pay and compensation for dying in battle are basic human rights. What’s so difficult about that?!” Zhu Youjian said in a deep voice.

"This... Your Majesty, the Dongjiang Town reported over ten thousand casualties, which does not match the number in the battle report. In addition, Mao Wenlong has a criminal record, so our Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War have not yet come up with a solution."

"If we distribute it all, it would cost over a million taels of silver, which is truly outrageous; if we reduce the amount for each household, or even reduce the number of households, I worry that it might create a rift between Dongjiang Town and the imperial court, which would be counterproductive," Bi Ziyan said with some helplessness.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Youjian's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly pressed on, "The imperial court hasn't even issued the compensation for the great victory at Dongjiang Town at the beginning of the year, has it?!"

His eyes blazed with fury, and Bi Ziyan lowered his head slightly. Seeing this, Zhu Youjian was even more enraged, wishing he could draw his sword and kill someone.

"I have repeatedly told you to tighten the military supplies, but you have ignored my words, haven't you?!" As soon as he finished speaking, Zhu Youjian felt a pang of regret. Had he hurt him too much by saying that?

(End of this chapter)