Top Scholar

Chapter 579 Your Majesty, I'll Perform a Magic Trick for You
After several days of rain and sunshine, Huang E fell into a deep sleep, completely satisfied.

Su Lu, however, was wide awake. He stared at the top of the tent and waited until Huang E's breathing became even before he could sleep. Then he gently lifted Huang E's head with one hand, removed the other hand that Huang E had been using to support her neck, and got up from the canopy bed.

It was already quite cold at night, so he put on his clothes, picked up his shoes, and went out of the inner chamber.

In the outer chamber, Guan Qi, who was on night duty, was dozing by the stove, but she was very alert. Hearing the noise, she quickly rubbed her eyes and stood up. "Young Master..."

"Hmm." Su Lu was used to being waited on all the time, so he nodded and said, "I remembered some official business. I'll go to the study for a while."

Guanqi quickly lit the candle on the table, moved the warm charcoal brazier to the side, and then deftly brewed a cup of hot tea, gently placing it within easy reach of him.

Su Lu sat down at the desk, opened his briefcase, took out the draft plan for the distribution of funds, and turned to the page detailing the specific quotas—

Under the lamplight, the column for allocation to the Ministry of Revenue clearly read 'Five Million Taels'.

After a moment's thought, he picked up his pen and erased the words "five hundred" and changed them to "four million five hundred thousand taels"...

We must heed our master's words. His strong request must be fulfilled! Giving him even an extra ounce would be disrespectful...

He had a basic understanding of Li Dongyang. Although this mentor was always a bit of a jerk, he wasn't like Liu Jian, Xie Qian, Liu Daxia, or Ma Wensheng—a pure representative of the scholar-official class.

Perhaps it was because of his background... Firstly, he was not from Jiangnan; secondly, he was a military household member; and thirdly, and most importantly, he was a child prodigy who was summoned by the emperor at the age of four. Emperor Jingtai once held him on his lap and watched him write large characters. Later, he was allowed to study in the Hanlin Academy. Therefore, his feelings for the imperial family far exceeded those of ordinary scholars.

This feeling that transcended class interests made it difficult for him to regard the emperor as a mere opponent and tool, unlike other civil officials. Therefore, during the great coup attempt in the early years of Zhengde's reign, he did not act as decisively as others, but instead advocated for both sides to take a step back.

This prevented him from suffering the same devastating blow as Liu and Xie, but it also caused him to lose the trust of the literati and prevented him from becoming a leader of the scholar-officials.

Originally, this position should have belonged to Wang Ao, and Professor Wang is a true Suzhou native, with impeccable revolutionary credentials. He is upright and consistent in his character, like a righteous old scholar, not a cunning and scheming power-hungry minister. Therefore, Yang Tinghe currently occupies this position…

Li Dongyang was more like a sandwich, caught between imperial power and the scholar-official class. He had to maintain the authority of the royal family while appeasing the scholars and officials. He was caught in a dilemma and had no choice but to work hard. It's no wonder that he was so exhausted that he coughed up blood and was bedridden. It was a sad sight to see him like this.

Su Lu picked up his teacup and took a sip. The warmth soothed his throat, and his resolve grew stronger. He had no intention of following in his master's footsteps, so his only option was to quickly expand and strengthen the Imperial Household Department, cultivating a completely new interest group!

With this in mind, he picked up his pen and quickly drafted the "Royal Assets Management Committee Establishment Plan" on the paper...

~~
A few days later, Zhu Houzhao made a special trip to Dongguitang.

The emperor sat upright on his throne in the main hall, a table piled high with account books before him. He held a 'too long, don't read' version in his hand, as Su Lu reported in a deep voice:

"Your Majesty, the valuables confiscated this time are worth a total of 35 million taels of silver. Half of them are gold and jade Buddha statues, ritual implements and ornaments. We believe that if such treasures are rashly melted down, their value will be greatly reduced. Therefore, it is better to leave them untouched for the time being."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Houzhao raised an eyebrow: "Oh? Then wouldn't that make it dead money?"

Su Lu replied, "Your Majesty, these are not dead money, but rather emergency reserves. Until we have a stable source of income, having these treasures will prevent Your Majesty from falling into the same predicament as before... If things really come to a head, these treasures can still be melted down and converted into cash immediately, although some of their value will be lost."

Zhu Houzhao nodded repeatedly and said, "Yes, that makes sense. I never want to go back to the days when I only had eight hundred taels. Just tell me, how much can you spend right now?"

"Your Majesty, the amount of silver that can be used immediately is approximately 18 million taels, including 4 million strings of copper coins, which is enough to solve the immediate crisis," Su Lu said calmly. "If we are careful with our spending, it should be enough to last for two or three years."

"Hmm!" Zhu Houzhao's eyes gleamed with greed as he quickly pressed on, "So how do you plan to distribute these eighteen million taels?"

Su Lu then said in a deep voice, "We suggest that nine million taels of these eighteen million taels be placed into the Inner Treasury, with half of it allocated to the Imperial Treasury for His Majesty's use; the other half should be allocated to the Outer Treasury, to be disbursed by His Majesty according to the needs of each department. What is His Majesty's opinion?"

"Huh? So, I have four and a half million taels of personal funds?!" Zhu Houzhao was overjoyed and almost jumped up from his throne.

Despite being the emperor, he was never truly well-off. Now, suddenly having twice the amount of silver in the imperial treasury as his private stash, exceeding his threshold, left him completely dumbfounded… “Your Majesty, that is indeed the case,” Su Lu replied respectfully. “However, before we have a stable income, please be careful with your spending… We can no longer afford to collect more monk coins.”

"Alright, alright, whatever you say!" Zhu Houzhao grinned from ear to ear, his big eyes gleaming, his mind preoccupied with how to spend all that money, he couldn't care less about anything else.
Four and a half million taels! I want to raise a group of pandas and ten tigers, then rebuild the Three Treasures Fleet and go to Africa to catch zebras and lions!
As for Su Lu's advice, it mostly went in one ear and out the other...

~~
After a long while, Zhu Houzhao finally finished his daydream, wiped the drool from his mouth, and hurriedly asked, "So, what do you plan to do with the remaining nine million taels?"

Su Lu raised his eyes, gave the emperor a confident look, and slowly said, "I want to use these nine million taels to perform a magic trick for Your Majesty."

"Oh? What kind of magic trick?" Zhu Houzhao immediately became interested. "A magic trick that costs nine million taels of silver, how amazing must it be?"

The six people behind Su Lu nearly dropped their jaws in shock. Did the Emperor have no concept of money? Or had his trust in the top scholar reached the point of blind delusion? He actually wanted to try performing a magic trick with nine million taels of silver.

Su Lu, however, was already used to Emperor Zhengde's eccentricities. He smiled slightly and said, "Your Majesty, please give me two years. I can turn these nine million taels into eighteen million taels, so that Your Majesty will no longer have to worry about money."

He paused, then emphasized, "Moreover, it can help the royal family restore the credit that was completely destroyed by the precious paper!"

"Is there really such a good thing?" Zhu Houzhao's eyes widened even more, and he said urgently, "Tell me quickly! How will it change? Don't keep me in suspense!"

“Eight words—use silver to generate trust, and trust to generate silver!” Su Lu said loudly, snapping his fingers.

Zhu Zihe then quickly pulled back a curtain, revealing a mind map with a clear and easy-to-understand structure.

Su Lu took a thin stick and pointed to the map, explaining to the emperor: "Simply put, it's about establishing a Royal Assets Management Committee to manage all the confiscated property and assets under this committee."

"Then the Imperial Funds Commission established the Imperial Mint to mint these nine million taels of silver into gold and silver coins..."

Zhu Houzhao raised his hand to interrupt, saying, "Gold and silver ingots aren't unusable, so why bother recasting them into gold and silver coins? Isn't that just pointless?"

"No, Your Majesty, this is a great thing that benefits the country and the people, and it is also the first step in rebuilding the royal family's credibility." Su Lu was already immune to Zhu Houzhao's vulgar words and explained on his own:

“First of all, gold and silver ingots can be used, but their purity is mixed and varied. Jiangxi’s ‘mirror silver’ is 98% pure, while Fujian and Guangdong’s ‘salt-sprinkled silver’ is 30% lead mixed in… The common people cannot distinguish between the real and the fake, and merchants and officials use the excuse of impure silver to pick and choose in every way, discounting the weight and reducing the value of a hundred taels of silver to eighty or ninety taels, making the common people suffer another layer of exploitation out of thin air.”

"Even worse, some unscrupulous individuals use lead to make counterfeit silver to deceive the ignorant people..." As he spoke, he cupped his hands and said, "If Your Majesty were to mint gold and silver coins of uniform purity and weight, there would be no need to weigh or test their color. They could simply hold them in their hands and use them. This would not only make it convenient for the people and merchants to use, but also reduce the losses suffered by the people, eliminate the chaos of adulteration, and demonstrate Your Majesty's compassion for the people!"

"Yes, yes, since Secretary Su agrees, let's do it that way." Zhu Houzhao was actually not one to listen to much. He only liked spending money and wasn't interested in the intricacies of money itself.

“Furthermore, standardized gold and silver coins are the foundation for issuing banknotes. With royal mints in hand, ordinary people and merchants will have greater confidence that banknotes can be fully redeemed, allowing our ‘trust-based silver production’ plan to proceed smoothly.” However, Su Lu knew all too well how to arouse Zhu Houzhao's excitement, and listened as he said with great enthusiasm:

"Thirdly, it can also greatly enhance the Emperor's majesty—I suggest that His Majesty's portrait be printed on these gold and silver coins, and they be named 'Zhengde Gold Coin' and 'Zhengde Silver Coin'!"

"Print my portrait?" Upon hearing this, Zhu Houzhao's unfocused gaze indeed brightened again.

“Indeed,” Su Lu then vividly described, “Your Majesty, imagine that in the future, these Zhengde gold and silver coins will circulate throughout the land. The people of the two capitals and thirteen provinces will all be able to hold coins bearing Your Majesty’s holy image, gazing upon them daily and constantly remembering Your Majesty’s virtue. This is more effective than any inscription or eulogy! Who would then harbor any rebellious thoughts?!”

"Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!" Zhu Houzhao clapped his hands and laughed upon hearing this, his previous confusion vanishing completely: "This is good! This is good! I approve!"

Then he solemnly instructed, "My portrait must be carved to be majestic, so that the whole world can see how powerful their emperor is!"

"Your Majesty, I will certainly select the most outstanding craftsmen to meticulously carve out His Majesty's majestic and heroic demeanor!" Su Lu replied with a smile, "Of course, it is impossible to completely depict His Majesty's dragon-phoenix bearing and heavenly countenance, even the best craftsmen cannot do it."

(End of this chapter)