Chongzhen's domineering

Chapter 22 Making the best use of everyone's talents will naturally bring in money and supplies.
Around dawn, just as a sliver of light appeared on the horizon, the entire imperial city was already filled with people in a state of panic.

Groups of eunuchs were sweeping the roads in the passageways, while many palace maids were cleaning the interiors of the palace buildings.

Zhu Jue had already gotten up.

He usually went to Longevity Hill behind the palace to exercise, because the air in the mountains was good, and climbing was more effective than running. Besides, as the emperor, he couldn't just run around the Forbidden City.

However, this time he led Wang Chengen, Fang Zhenghua, Liu Ruoyu and others out of the palace, crossed the Jade Belt Bridge and came to the west side of the imperial city.

He had looked out from the mountain countless times, but this was the first time he had come here in person.

This is because there are too many people here. Not only are there many palace maids and eunuchs, but also many other people. Every day when the Xi'an Gate opens, the Imperial Guards, the Embroidered Uniform Guards, the artisans who come to serve in the palace, the miscellaneous servants recruited by various departments of the inner palace, and so on will all flood in.

Carriages transporting various kinds of money, grain, and supplies from the inner palace's treasuries also pass through this area, making it a bustling and noisy place with a constant flow of carriages and people.

If he comes over, we'll have to clear the area, which is too much trouble.

At this moment, the avenue leading from Xi'an Gate to Yudai Bridge was densely packed with Imperial Guards. Apart from the carriages transporting money and supplies from the inner palace warehouses, all other unauthorized personnel were blocked outside Xi'an Gate.

Zhu Jue stood at the head of the Jade Belt Bridge, looked at the endless stream of carriages in the distance, and then asked, "Ruoyu, are all the warehouses on the north side?"

The warehouse isn't entirely on the north side.

Liu Ruoyu quickly explained in detail: "Your Majesty, there is another treasury for smuggling and punishment to the south, right by the main road ahead."

There were many more warehouses to the north, including Warehouse A, Warehouse B, Warehouse C, Warehouse D, Warehouse E, Warehouse Trancheer, Warehouse Accumulation Warehouse, Warehouse Prosperity Warehouse, Warehouse Wisdom Warehouse, Warehouse of Stolen Goods and Penalties, Warehouse of Keys, and so on.

The imperial city has so many storehouses!
Zhu Jue nodded slightly and then asked, "Why are there so many carriages so early in the morning?"

How do you say this?

If I told the truth, it would seem as if I were speaking well of Duke Wei.

Liu Ruoyu hesitated for a moment, but still honestly said, "Your Majesty, there weren't this many carriages early in the morning."

However, these days, Duke Wei has been sending money and goods frequently, including money for buying land for the ancestral temple, bronze statues, gold and silver foil that were dismantled, as well as property confiscated from the Ke family and dirty silver sent from Xu Dahua's house. He has been transporting all of these to the capital.

He also ordered the confiscation of Cui Wensheng's residence in the capital, and the confiscated valuables were continuously transported to the imperial city, along with grain, with hundreds of cartloads arriving daily.

Wei Zhongxian finally realized what was going on.

This guy must have figured it out. He's desperately short of money and supplies, so he's frantically scavenging for them outside.

Sometimes it's important to motivate subordinates. Whether they are good or bad, as long as they do a good job, they deserve a good reward.

Sure enough, with just a little encouragement, Wei Zhongxian was as energetic as if he had been injected with chicken blood.

In fact, Wei Zhongxian, this kind of villain, was not entirely without merit; at least he knew how to do everything he could to please him.

When he lacked money and provisions, Wei Zhongxian would do everything he could to get them for him.

A petty person, if used well, can actually be more useful than a virtuous person.

If one is a virtuous person, who would be willing to rob money and grain for him?
The saying goes, "Make the best use of everyone's talents and resources." Even the talents of a petty person can be very useful if they are put to good use.

Sure enough, without him even having to urge him, Wei Zhongxian was already working hard to get money and supplies for him. With money and supplies, many things became much easier.

Zhu Jue nodded slightly, then asked, "The factories are all in the south, right?"

"Didn't you say you wanted to keep it a secret?" Liu Ruoyu nodded repeatedly and said, "Yes, there are too many warehouses in the north, and countless people come and go every day, making it easy for secrets to be leaked. The south is different. We just need to block the entrance in front, and unauthorized people won't be able to get in."

Hmm, not bad, it suits my taste perfectly.

To the north of this bridgehead stands the Yuxi Palace, whose southwest corner is situated precisely between the main roads leading west and south.

Zhu Jue looked at it carefully, then raised his hand and said, "Then extend the wall of Yuxi Palace to the west and connect it with the wall of the Zangfa Bieku (a warehouse for theft and punishment). Open a gate in the middle. From now on, the Zangfa Bieku should not be used to store any stolen goods. Order people to empty the contents of the warehouse and use it for other purposes."

That doesn't require much effort.

Upon hearing this, Liu Ruoyu nodded repeatedly and said, "This servant understands."

Zhu Jue nodded slightly, and then led the group toward the main road to the south.

At the entrance to the main road to the south, there are two walls, one large and one small. The large wall encloses the western treasury for smuggling and punishment, while the small wall encloses the silkworm pond, which seems to be a courtyard specifically for raising silkworms.

Further ahead, to the east, beside Taiye Pond, is a grove of trees, and to the west, the ruins of Wanshou Palace.

The Wanshou Palace was originally the residence of the Prince of Yan. During the Jiajing reign, Yan Song spent more than three million taels of silver to renovate it in order to curry favor with the emperor. Jiajing practiced there for more than ten years, but accidentally burned down the newly renovated Wanshou Palace!
Later, Xu Jie spent more than two million taels of silver to repair the Wanshou Palace in order to curry favor with the emperor. However, before the repairs were completed, the Jiajing Emperor died and the Longqing Emperor succeeded to the throne. The Longqing Emperor actually ordered the Wanshou Palace, which was not yet fully repaired, to be demolished!

Nowadays, all that's left of the once magnificent Wanshou Palace are some steps, base, and pillars; there's not much to see.

The south side of Wanshou Palace was originally the back garden of the Prince of Yan's residence. To the west of the garden, near the city wall of the imperial city, there was a Rabbit Hill. The three or four hundred acres between Rabbit Hill and Taiye Pond were originally full of flowers, trees and shrubs. Now, two long, narrow walls have been built around the flowers, trees and shrubs.

Both walls have been built to about shoulder height, and each has been divided into five large squares.

Zhu Jue glanced at it and then nodded approvingly, "Hmm, not bad, this is a good location."

Encouraged by this, Liu Ruoyu couldn't help but show a hint of joy.

He repeatedly said modestly, "These were all chosen according to His Majesty's wishes."

You've chosen a good location, but the progress is too slow.

Zhu Jue pondered, “The people I recruited will probably arrive in a few days. You need to build this wall quickly. Also, you need to build a row of houses inside, with storage in the front and back, and living quarters for the craftsmen on the left and right.”

Uh, a few days!

Liu Ruoyu cautiously said, "Your Majesty, if I may be so bold, even if we recruit more craftsmen in just a few days, we can only finish building the wall at most. I'm afraid we won't have time to build the row houses."

I didn't say the row houses had to be built in a few days, that's unrealistic.

Zhu Jue nodded slightly and said, "Yes, try to recruit as many artisans as possible. We are not short of money and food for the time being. Recruit as many artisans as you can. We will need to build not only row houses but also factories."

There is no shortage of artisans; there are more than 27,000 artisan households in and around the capital that are recruited by various government offices.

The problem is that this place is only so big, how many artisans can be squeezed in?

Liu Ruoyu thought about it carefully, and then cautiously said, "Your Majesty, why don't we recruit several thousand craftsmen to fire bricks and process timber and stone outside Fuchengmen, and recruit another thousand craftsmen inside just to be in charge of construction? What do you think?"

Well, it's good that you can use your brain.

Getting things done requires using your brain and taking initiative.

Zhu Jue nodded without hesitation and said, "You can handle these things as you see fit. My only requirement is that it be done quickly."

(End of this chapter)