Ming Dynasty 1627

Chapter 135 Lu Xiang-sheng, who has only been working for five years

Cheng Jiming walked out of the warm pavilion with a big smile on his face.

He glanced at the figure standing ramrod straight under the eaves outside the door, smiled and nodded as a greeting, then walked straight out of the hall.

At this moment, the eunuchs in the palace had already begun to tidy up the writing brushes, ink, and documents on the imperial desk. Cheng Jiming only glanced at them but did not take them to heart.

The new emperor also saw the Imperial Academy as a crucial point, but said there was another place that was even more important.
Where will it be?

The Ministry of Personnel? To assist Yang Jingchen in reorganizing the examination system? That's not entirely impossible. The Imperial Academy nurtures scholars, while the Ministry of Personnel selects officials; they are two sides of the same coin.

The Ministry of Rites? To be in charge of this year's special imperial examination, to select officials for the nation? This year's examination is the first of the new dynasty, so selecting the right people is indeed extremely important.

As he walked out of the main hall, a cold autumn wind blew in his face, making him shiver involuntarily.

But the wind couldn't cool the burning passion in his heart, and all sorts of calculations surfaced in his mind.

However, his pace gradually slowed down.

Finally, he stopped, looked back at the Qianqing Palace, and couldn't help but sigh softly.

"Being young... is great."

……

When Lu Xiang-sheng entered the warm pavilion, he was completely focused.

Without glancing to the side, before he could even look up and see the figure on the throne clearly, he meticulously followed the court etiquette, lifting his robe, bending his knees, and bowing down to perform the ritual of one kneeling and three kowtows.

"Your subject, Lu Xiang-sheng, Prefect of Daming Prefecture, pays his respects to Your Majesty. Long live the Emperor!"

Just as he was about to look up, a pair of strong arms steadily supported him.

Immediately afterwards, a gentle voice came from above his head.

"Lu Qing, rise. You've finally arrived."

Lu Xiang-sheng looked up in astonishment.

Only now did he truly see what the new emperor looked like.

It had been five years since he left the capital to take up his post. At that time, Prince Xin was just a twelve-year-old boy, raised in the deep palace, and had no interaction with the outside officials.

This was the first time he had ever examined the emperor of the Ming Dynasty so closely.

The afternoon sun shone through the windowpanes, casting beams of light into the air. Countless tiny dust particles floated slowly in the beams, giving the warm room an almost still and solemn feel.

The emperor stood within this beam of light.

Young was Lu Xiang-sheng's first thought.

But those eyes were unusually calm.

The hands supporting him were dry and warm, carrying an undeniable strength.

"His Majesty……"

For a moment, Lu Xiang-sheng completely forgot the strategy he had recited countless times on the way, and only felt a dryness in his throat.

He dared not pull his hand away from the emperor's grasp, and could only awkwardly reply, "Yes, Your Majesty, I have arrived."

Zhu Youjian looked at him and laughed heartily, the laughter dispelling the silence in the warm pavilion.

He took Lu Xiang-sheng's hand and led him to a huge screen in the hall.

"Minister Lu, there's no need for formalities. I've summoned you here today for one matter."

Lu Xiang-sheng's gaze fell on the screen, and he paused slightly.

But then I saw that his "Memorial on Horse Grass" had been neatly copied and pasted in the center of the screen.

Next to the memorial was a hand-drawn map of Beizhili, with mountains, rivers, prefectures, counties, and garrisons clearly marked.

"Minister Lu, I would like to hear your own words about the strategy for feeding the horses." Zhu Youjian released his hand and looked at him with a smile.

Looking at this picture, Lu Xiang-sheng's chaotic thoughts quickly calmed down.

He took a deep breath, and the draft he had been pondering for days resurfaced in his mind.

He cupped his hands in a respectful gesture to Zhu Youjian and said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, I believe that to manage the horse pastures in Liaodong, we should tackle the difficult issues from the easy ones and focus on the big picture from the small details. If we only focus on Liaoxi, we will be doing a poor job."

Zhu Youjian remained noncommittal, simply watching him quietly, signaling him to continue.

Lu Xiang-sheng stepped in front of the screen, his slightly worn official robe unable to conceal his sharp edge.

"If we only consider the matter of horse grazing in western Liaoning, it is actually quite easy."

He extended his thin but strong finger and tapped it on the map.

"There are 22,847 horses and mules in western Liaoning. According to the usual practice, they eat one bundle of grass every day, and the total amount needed in winter and spring is no more than 3.6 million bundles."

"I have checked the Yellow Registers and found that Yongping Prefecture alone has more than 1.83 million mu of land. Assuming that each mu yields one shi of rice and 150 jin of straw, which can be dried to make five bundles of horse hay, Yongping Prefecture can theoretically produce 9.15 million bundles of horse hay annually."

"Of the 300,000 bundles of horse fodder collected annually, one-thirtieth was taxed, but 8.85 million bundles were still used by the people themselves."

“After deducting 30% for livestock feed and 30% for cooking, there are still 3 million bundles available for sale. With a little relocation, this one place alone would be enough to cover the current expenses in western Liaoning.”

Zhu Youjian smiled slightly, but still did not speak.

Lu Xiang-sheng took a deep breath and changed the subject.

"However, the Liao Dynasty is indeed a major threat to the country. If we want to wipe them out completely, how can a mere 20,000 horses and mules be enough? Your Majesty has the world in mind and a long-term vision. In the future, when you are building up your army, you may need as many as 100,000 horses and mules."

As he said this, he subtly glanced at Zhu Youjian.

The emperor, however, seemed oblivious to his implied meaning and maintained his smiling demeanor.

Lu Xiang-sheng's heart skipped a beat, and he continued, "Moreover, the military and national needs all depend on Yongping Prefecture. What if a natural disaster suddenly strikes here?"

"Therefore, this is a lucky tactic, not a foolproof method. I believe that the current priority should be to prepare for the 3.6 million sheaves of horses and mules needed for 20,000 mules, while planning for the future with the 18 million sheaves needed for 100,000 mules!"

He stepped forward and pressed his finger heavily on the map.

"My plan is to focus on Yongping, collecting 300,000 bundles annually and purchasing 3 million bundles locally."

"Furthermore, with Hejian Prefecture as a supplement, its land area is 8.3 million mu, far exceeding that of Yongping. The annual tax of 670,000 bundles of horse fodder can be used to buy 13.6 million bundles of fodder locally."

"In this way, there will be 14.57 million bundles. Any remaining amount can be purchased from Shuntian Prefecture."

"In this way, by combining efforts from both near and far, and by making plans in advance, we can be prepared for any eventuality."

Zhu Youjian finally clapped his hands and praised, "Excellent. Being able to look to the future and not just think about the short term is indeed a strategy for governing the country. Continue."

Feeling somewhat relieved after receiving affirmation, Lu Xiang-sheng cupped his hands in greeting and continued to present his second key point.

"However, this is only a measure to purchase grass, and it is still a heavy burden on national expenditures."

"At the current market price, each bundle of hay in western Liaoning costs as much as fifty coins."

“However, on my journey from Daming Prefecture, the price of grass among the common people was only five or seven coins, at most ten coins. Nearly forty coins of that were lost to the transport and clerks at all levels.”

"I believe that Yongping Prefecture should be used exclusively to supply Shanhaiguan, with land transportation, and each bundle should cost no more than twenty-five coins."

“If the grass from Hejian Prefecture is sent to Tianjin nearby and then distributed to Ningyuan and Jinzhou by sea, the cost can be reduced to twelve cash.”

"Therefore, if we take the current 20,000 horses and mules as an example, we do not need the 180,000 taels that Huang Yuntai mentioned, but only 60,000 to 70,000 taels."

"Even if he had 100,000 horses and mules a day, the annual expenses would not exceed 200,000 taels."

(See attached image. The red lines represent the main waterways, namely the North Canal, Yongding River, and Wei River, which are not navigable year-round.)

(Tianjin serves as a daily base for transshipping grain to areas outside the Great Wall; this route, using sea transport, has been in operation for a long time.)
After he finished speaking, he looked at Zhu Youjian for the second time.

Zhu Youjian, however, seemed oblivious, and simply looked at the map and exclaimed, "With such meticulous planning and resourcefulness, you can truly be called a wise minister."

Lu Xiang-sheng gritted his teeth, hesitated for a moment, and decided to be more explicit.

"Your Majesty, the four problems with horse feed mentioned by the former Governor-General of Jiliao, namely unfair pricing, the rich being exempted from paying the poor, purchasing feed at double the price, and officials embezzling funds while the people flee, all boil down to nothing more than the two words 'corruption'!"

"If I take office, I will only need to conduct a thorough investigation, find the ringleader, and make an example of him. Within ten days, this malpractice will be eradicated."

He paused for a moment, then finally tentatively uttered the crucial words.

"However, if I were to leave office one day, times would change, policies would cease upon my death, and corruption would inevitably rise again."

“The problems of local officials are probably more difficult to deal with than those of government officials.”

Zhu Youjian nodded, seemingly agreeing: "That makes sense. It's easy to govern for a short time, but difficult to govern for generations. That's certainly true. Anything else?"

Don't they care about the clerks...?

Lu Xiang-sheng, feeling somewhat unwilling, continued, "Furthermore, the land quotas in various regions were all determined by the Yellow Register during the Wanli era. Over the decades, with population growth, encroachment on military settlements, and reclamation of tidal flats, the actual land area has long exceeded the old figures."

"Therefore, the annual horse fodder production in various regions is far more optimistic than I had estimated. However..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but his meaning was clear.

Zhu Youjian couldn't help but smile.

He laughed heartily and said, "Good thing, good thing! In that case, there's no need to worry about causing too much hardship to the people."

Are you also not interested in land surveying?
Lu Xiang-sheng felt somewhat disappointed, but he still continued speaking:
"Your Majesty, in addition to this, farmers tend to stick to old ways when cultivating land. If we can promote agricultural education in the local areas, spread improved varieties, and supplement this with the construction of water conservancy projects to cultivate some rice paddies, then the yield of the land will surely increase, and the amount of fodder for horses will also increase accordingly."

As he said this, as if to increase his persuasiveness or to encourage himself, he gritted his teeth and couldn't help but go against his pragmatic principles.

They surprisingly came up with a rather bold figure without conducting any investigation.

"With the combined efforts of land surveying and agricultural and educational development, Yongping alone could produce six million bundles of horse hay every year!"

"Okay." Zhu Youjian simply nodded, sparing with his words. This single "okay" made Lu Xiang-sheng feel utterly disgusted.

By this point, Lu Xiang-sheng was already somewhat disappointed, but he forced himself to finish explaining the last hook he had prepared:
"Your Majesty, the price of horse fodder is usually low after the wheat harvest."

"At this time, the flood season of the rivers has passed, which is the best time for shipping, and the ships carrying grain northward are about to return."

"If we can use this empty ship to collect horse fodder from Shuntian Prefecture and transport it to Tianjin via the Grand Canal... then raising 200,000 horses, let alone 100,000, would not be difficult!"

After hearing this, Zhu Youjian finally turned his head and stared intently at him.

Lu Xiang-sheng was overjoyed. Sure enough, he still had to start with military and national affairs.

The young emperor, indeed...

Unexpectedly, as Zhu Youjian looked at him, the smile on his lips grew wider and wider, becoming increasingly uncontrollable.

Finally, he could no longer hold back and burst into a thunderous laugh.

"Hahahahahaha..."

This laugh made Zhu Youjian bend over backwards, laughing so hard that tears almost came out.

Lu Xiang-sheng was completely bewildered by the laughter, having no idea what he had said wrong.

He felt a burning sensation on his face, and a surge of anger rose from the bottom of his heart, but he dared not lash out. He could only stand there awkwardly, at a loss for what to do.

Finally, Zhu Youjian's laughter stopped.

He straightened up, walked up to Lu Xiang-sheng, and patted him on the shoulder.

"Lord Lu..."

Zhu Youjian spoke softly, a hint of mockery in his eyes.

"You're not being honest."

Lu Xiang-sheng suddenly raised his head, his eyes filled with surprise and uncertainty.

Could it be...?
Zhu Youjian spoke calmly: "Today, when I summoned Minister Cheng and Minister Wang for an audience, the first question I asked them was, 'Has the time come for reforms to be implemented in this empire?'"

"I think we don't need to ask Minister Lu about this."

Lu Xiang-sheng's eyes lit up, and he cupped his hands in response: "Your subject..."

“You don’t need to answer this question,” Zhu Youjian said, waving his hand to interrupt him.

He held up one finger and explained in detail:

"Firstly, your mention of 100,000 or 200,000 is a test to see if I have the will to pacify Liaodong, and to what extent I expect this important military and national matter to proceed."

Lu Xiang-sheng's face froze instantly.

Zhu Youjian extended his second finger.

"Secondly, you said that corruption has resurfaced after I left office. This is an inquiry into whether I have the will to clean up the bureaucracy, and whether this 'cleaning up of the bureaucracy' is a superficial or fundamental solution. Does it target officials or clerks?"

Lu Xiang-sheng felt somewhat ashamed.

Zhu Youjian began to speak faster.

"Thirdly, your mention of the empty ships in the canal transport is a test to see if I have any intention of reforming or even modifying the canal transport system."

"Fourth, the falsification of land records is a test to see if I have the intention to conduct a thorough survey of all the land in the country!"

"Fifthly, the so-called promotion of agriculture and education is a test to see if I am willing to resume farming in Beizhili!"

At this point, Zhu Youjian waved his five fully extended fingers in front of Lu Xiang-sheng and asked jokingly:

"What? Does Minister Lu think I haven't read 'Talks by a Guest on the Lu River,' or do you think I'm unaware of the affairs of Xu Zhenming, Wang Yingjiao, Zuo Guangdou, and Xu Guangqi?"

A string of names came out of the young emperor's mouth like a machine gun.

Behind each name lies a story of court intrigue and the hardships of reform.

Lu Xiang-sheng's face turned pale and then red, he was so ashamed that he could only awkwardly cup his hands and say, "Your subject... Your subject dares not."

Zhu Youjian shook his head, the smile on his face completely vanished at some point.

He didn't look at Lu Xiang-sheng again, but turned around and walked back behind the imperial desk step by step.

When Zhu Youjian slowly sat on the throne, the atmosphere in the entire hall seemed to freeze.

He simply sat there quietly, looking down at the ministers in the hall.

Although he still had that youthful face of a seventeen-year-old, Lu Xiang-sheng saw a maturity and authority in those deep eyes that were completely incompatible with his age.

Is it an illusion caused by the emperor's aura?
Or is it that people from imperial families are born precocious?

But the late emperor did not have such an imposing presence when he first ascended the throne!

"Lord Lu, young people should be energetic. In the future, you should be more open and honest. Don't follow the example of your senior officials and take such a moderate approach."

The words fell without a trace of emotion.

Lu Xiang-sheng stood there dumbfounded, filled with regret.

Sigh, when I visited my teacher yesterday, he said something like, "The new ruler is young and his thoughts are hard to fathom. He should be careful with his words and actions, observe more, listen more, and speak less."

As a result, he tried to draw a tiger but ended up with a dog-like creature, creating this mess that resembled nothing at all.

This time, it seems we've made a mistake.

Zhu Youjian found it amusing.

Lu Xiang-sheng, at twenty-seven, is still quite inexperienced.

He said calmly, "Never mind, let's finish talking about the horse feed first."

Zhu Youjian continued, "Your plan is very good, but I need to add a few points."

"You said that one-third of the horse feed used by ordinary people is used for firewood."

"But you haven't taken office yet, so you probably don't know that Luanzhou in Yongping Prefecture is rich in coal, and two catties of coal here are only worth one coin."

"The amount of horse fodder used for cooking firewood by the people of Yongping is probably not as much as you imagine."

"Lu Qing deduced that further revisions would be needed after he took office, and that is one of them."

Lu Xiang-sheng awkwardly cupped his hands and said, "Your subject understands."

Zhu Youjian nodded and continued:
"Xixin Factory has created a new product called 'honeycomb briquette,' made by mixing coal dust with loess. Its calorific value and durability are superior to raw coal."

"According to preliminary estimates, under the same heat output, its price is only one-third of that of coal."

"The method of making this item is very simple. Before you take office, you can go to the Directorate of Ceremonial to get sample blueprints. After you take office, you can try making it and you will know."

"Once this product is introduced, the amount of straw that people use for firewood will likely drop even further."

Zhu Youjian spoke faster, his eyes gleaming with confidence.

"Thirdly, I have secretly ordered General Ma Shilong to lead his 6,000 cavalry to wait in Tongzhou."

"We only need to wait for Busitu and Huduntuhan to have a decisive battle in the southern desert before launching a surprise attack on Hu Chief from behind."

"If this battle is won, then the tribes of southern Mongolia will become the exclusive domain of our Great Ming. At that time, you can use money to buy horse fodder from outside the Great Wall, which will not only bring you real benefits but also allow you to bestow favors, achieving two goals at once."

Lu Xiang-sheng silently pondered for a while, and after a moment, he let out a long breath and bowed deeply to Zhu You-jian.

"Your Majesty is discerning and insightful, able to see the truth in the smallest details and make decisions on the big picture. Your humble servant... has only shown off his limited skills before an expert."

Although he didn't know what honeycomb briquettes were, the fact that he hadn't thought of buying horse feed from the tribes outside the Great Wall and that Yongping was rich in coal mines were indeed practical and useful methods.

But none of these are the most important things right now!
Lu Xiang-sheng forced a smile, his tone full of feigned excitement:

"I will return immediately to prepare. I will arrive in Yongping within three days and relieve the urgent crisis in Liaoxi before winter arrives!"

—Hurry up! If we don't leave now, the emperor will remember that I just spied on his thoughts, and then we'll be finished.

"No rush." ​​Zhu Youjian shook his head. "It's not too late to leave after attending my third daily lecture in two more days."

He looked at Lu Xiang-sheng and asked with a smile:

"Does that mean Lu Qing isn't interested in the answer to that question?"

That question!

Lu Xiang-sheng paused almost imperceptibly.

The teacher's words still echoed in my ears—"The new ruler is young and his thoughts are unpredictable. You should be careful with your words and actions, observe more, listen more, and speak less!"

Can……

but!

He suddenly raised his head, and all the hesitation in his heart transformed into a surge of pride and courage!
After ten years of hard study and five years of official service, what have I been seeking?
Isn't it all so that one day, I can stand in this golden palace, express my ambitions, and find a way out for this turbulent world?

The question of the world is: Who else but me?! Who else but me?!

Thinking of this, all the struggle and hesitation in his eyes faded away, leaving only a clear and firm determination.

Lu Xiang-sheng bowed deeply to the throne, his voice louder than ever before.

"Your subject, Lu Xiang-sheng, is precisely seeking an answer to this question!"

【Ask for monthly ticket】

(End of this chapter)