How can one be Emperor Chongzhen without money?

Chapter 37 What kind of corrupt official are you if you have no money? Borrow a loan to atone for your sins! (Please read on, please add to your favorites)

Qionghua Island, Renzhi Hall.

Two thick candles burned on the long elmwood table, illuminating the Chongzhen Emperor's face, which always wore a gentle smile. He sat upright behind the table, holding a huanghuali wood thermos cup in his hands, from which steam rose in wisps.

Cui Chengxiu knelt on the cold brick floor, his forehead pressed against the ground, his body trembling slightly beneath his plain white prison uniform. He was being held and interrogated in solitary confinement, isolated from Tian Ji and Zhou Yingqiu, which only intensified his unease.

"Your Majesty... This sinful subject... I know my crime..." Cui Chengxiu's voice was hoarse and dry, with a sob in it.

Chongzhen's gaze fell on Cui Chengxiu's hunched back, but his thoughts drifted for a moment. This scene... was all too familiar. In his previous life in Handong Province, those officials who were "detained" were initially just as fearful and anxious, weeping as they "confessed their crimes." The allure of power and money is the same throughout history, and so is the human heart.

He composed himself, picked up the thermos, and slowly sipped the warm tea. Setting the cup down, he spoke slowly, his voice low but each word clear:
"You admit your guilt? Then confess honestly. How much have you embezzled over the years? And how much damage have you caused to the country?"

He raised his hand and gently tapped the thick stack of confessions on the table.

“Wei Zhongxian, Wei Liangqing, Li Kuilong, Ni Wenhuan, Tian Ji, Zhou Yingqiu…” Chongzhen read out the names one by one, his voice calm and even, but it made Cui Chengxiu’s back tense instantly, and he broke out in a cold sweat. “The materials they used to expose you are all here.”

Emperor Chongzhen picked up the top copy, casually flipped it open, and glanced at the pages.

"During his tenure as the Inspector of Huaiyang, he protected private salt smugglers and reaped bribes from them, earning no less than 50,000 taels of silver a year."

"When you were in charge of the Ministry of War, you sold official positions and titles. The Ministry of War's Bureau of Military Affairs set the price at three thousand taels for a garrison commander; you dared to ask for five thousand taels for a border garrison commander! In a year, you must have sold no fewer than twenty substantive military officers, right?"

"In assisting the Ministry of Works with the construction of the three main halls, the timber alone was overstated, resulting in the embezzlement of no less than 100,000 taels of silver."

"And...you supervised the construction of shrines for Wei Zhongxian, spanning thirteen provinces across the north and south of Zhili! The cost to the national treasury was more than a million taels. How much did you pocket from it?"

Chongzhen's voice suddenly turned cold, carrying an invisible pressure:

"Cui Chengxiu, you're really greedy!"

Cui Chengxiu lay prostrate on the ground, trembling violently. Every single accusation the emperor leveled was true. But what offered him some solace was that the emperor didn't mention a single word about the "treasonous case"! Every sentence revolved around the word "greed for money"!
The signal couldn't be clearer!

What the emperor wants is not his life, at least not now. What the emperor wants is silver! Land! Money for redemption, land for atonement!

A complex mix of fear and ecstasy surged through Cui Chengxiu. As long as he could live, as long as he could keep his position… what did money matter? What did land matter? There would be plenty of opportunities to get it back later!

He abruptly raised his head, tears streaming down his face, and kowtowed heavily to Emperor Chongzhen, the sound of his forehead striking the gold brick producing a dull thud.

"Your Majesty, I confess! I was foolish! I deserve to die! I... I am willing to pay the fines for my crimes! I will offer up land for atonement! I will squander my entire fortune to atone for my sins!"

Looking at Cui Chengxiu's sincere and repentant expression, Chongzhen leaned forward slightly, his gaze fixed on Cui Chengxiu's face:

"Oh? You're willing to pay? Then tell me, how much are you willing to pay?"

Cui Chengxiu's mind raced. He gritted his teeth and recited a number he had already calculated countless times in his mind—a number that would make his heart ache, but was still bearable:

"Your Majesty, I... Your Majesty, I am willing to offer up all my assets! Two hundred thousand taels of silver! Two thousand taels of gold! Thirty thousand mu of land! Twenty-six properties in the capital, Nanjing, Yangzhou, and other places! I humbly beg Your Majesty... to grant me your mercy!"

"Snapped!"

A crisp sound!
Emperor Chongzhen slammed the rosewood thermos in his hand heavily onto the elm wood table!
The air inside the hall froze instantly.

Chongzhen's face was so dark it seemed to drip water, his gaze piercing Cui Chengxiu:

"Two hundred thousand taels of silver? Two thousand taels of gold? Thirty thousand mu of farmland? Twenty-six properties?" His voice wasn't loud, but it carried a thunderous rage. "Cui Chengxiu! Do you take me for a three-year-old child?!"

He suddenly stood up, grabbed the petition concerning the construction of the shrine from the table, and slammed it down in front of Cui Chengxiu:

"Just for the construction of the shrine for Wei Zhongxian, the expenses you handled exceeded one million taels! How much of that you embezzled? You dare say it was less than three hundred thousand?!"

"You, the imperial inspector of Huaiyang, protected smuggled salt and earned 50,000 taels a year! How many years did you do that?!"

"The Ministry of War is selling official positions: five thousand taels for a garrison commander! Twenty a year, that's another one hundred thousand taels!"

"The Ministry of Works embezzled 100,000 taels of silver!"

With each sentence Chongzhen spoke, he took a step closer, his imperial majesty pressing down like a mountain:

"The silver you've amassed over the past few years must be no less than a million! And now you're telling me you only have two hundred thousand taels of silver left after selling everything?!"

"Where is your conscience?! Are you trying to take advantage of my compassionate heart?!"

Terrified by this sudden, thunderous rage, Cui Chengxiu collapsed to the ground, repeatedly banging his head against the earth and wailing:
"Your Majesty! This sinful subject dares not! This sinful subject dares not! This subject...this subject truly does not have a million! This subject is greedy...but the money this subject has embezzled...is not something this subject can keep all by himself! It must be divided...it must be divided among Eunuch Wei, Lady Fengsheng...and the people who work below...the money from the Ministry of War selling official positions, the officials and clerks of the Bureau of Military Appointments and the Bureau of Military Selection must all get a share...this subject...this subject truly does not have that much in his hands! Your Majesty, please understand! Your Majesty, please understand!"

Emperor Chongzhen coldly watched Cui Chengxiu's tearful explanation, a sneer forming in his heart. Profit sharing? Of course he knew. The Ming Dynasty's officialdom was deeply entrenched, with everyone sharing the spoils. But that was absolutely no excuse for Cui Chengxiu only being able to produce two hundred thousand!

He sat back down in his chair, picked up his thermos, and slowly sipped his tea. Setting the thermos down, his voice regained its calm:

"I don't want to hear your excuses. Here's the deal: one price. Eight hundred thousand taels."

Choi Seong-soo suddenly looked up, his eyes filled with despair.

"Deduct the 200,000 taels of silver you just agreed to, and you're left with 600,000." Chongzhen spoke calmly, as if discussing a business deal. "Your 2,000 taels of gold will be worth 20,000 taels of silver at market value. Your 30,000 mu of land will be worth 100,000 taels. Your 26 properties will be worth 180,000 taels. All in all, I'll give you 300,000 taels."

His gaze was sharp as lightning, fixed on Choi Seong-soo:

"There's still a shortfall of 300,000 taels. Cui Chengxiu, this 300,000 taels is money to buy your life! To buy the lives of your entire Cui family! To buy your head, Cui Chengxiu!"

Cui Chengxiu felt dizzy and disoriented. Three hundred thousand taels of silver! Even if he sold everything he owned, including his wives' and concubines' jewelry, he still couldn't raise that much cash!
"Your Majesty... Your Majesty..." His lips trembled, his mind blank, only the instinct for survival remained, "Your Majesty can borrow it! Your Majesty will borrow it!"

"Borrow?" Chongzhen scoffed, leaning forward slightly with a hint of amusement. "Borrow from whom? Relatives and friends? Minister Cui, you're in such a sorry state now, imprisoned. Do you think... which relative or friend would dare to lend you 300,000 taels of silver? Aren't you afraid of losing everything? Aren't you afraid of being implicated?" Cui Chengxiu was speechless.

Seeing Cui Chengxiu's ashen face, Chongzhen's cold smile deepened. He spoke slowly, his voice carrying a strange allure:

"How about... we do it this way?"

He paused, looking at Choi Seong-soo's eyes, which suddenly lit up with a glimmer of hope.

"You can borrow it from me."

Cui Chengxiu froze, thinking he had misheard. Borrow money from the Emperor? To atone for his sins?

Chongzhen seemed oblivious to the absurd expression on his face and continued speaking to himself:

“I am kind-hearted…and I cannot bear to see people suffer. I can lend you the 300,000 taels of silver needed for your punishment. Consider it a ‘punishment loan’.”

"You can repay this money in installments. I won't let you compound interest; I'll calculate it according to the highest monthly interest rate for private loans stipulated in the Great Ming Code—three percent. For a year... let's say it's 100,000 taels of interest. What do you think?"

3% monthly interest! That's 36% annual interest! That's 100,000 taels in interest!
Cui Chengxiu was completely dumbfounded. This...this is even worse than the most notorious usury in the capital! Your Majesty...how could Your Majesty do this?! This is simply...outright robbery!
"Your Majesty..." Cui Chengxiu's voice trembled, "If this sinful subject is dismissed from office... how... how can I possibly repay the interest of 100,000 taels a year..."

"Resign from office?" Chongzhen scoffed as if he had heard a joke. "Who said they were going to dismiss you from office?"

He leaned back in his chair, his fingers lightly tapping the inside of his thermos, making a crisp "tap, tap" sound.

"If he's dismissed from office, where am I going to collect this punishment money? Where am I going to collect the interest on this 100,000 taels a year?"

Cui Chengxiu was completely stunned, his mind utterly blank. Not resign? Then…then he'd still be the Minister of War? Could he still hold office? But…how could he possibly continue? The interest of 100,000 taels a year…

Seeing his bewildered expression, Chongzhen laughed and said, "Cui Chengxiu, you were once the Salt Commissioner, weren't you? You must have made quite a bit of money in Huaiyang, right?"

Cui Chengxiu felt a chill run down his spine, wondering why the emperor had suddenly brought this up.

"Then you must know where all the salt tax revenue from Lianghuai has gone over the years, right?" Chongzhen's voice was cold. "After the 'Salt Tax Law' reform in the 45th year of the Wanli reign, the annual quota for Lianghuai salt tax was 1.2 million taels. But how much actually went into the imperial granary? 800,000? 700,000? Or even less?"

Cui Chengxiu dared not respond; he knew better than anyone how deep the waters were in here.

Chongzhen stared at him, each word like a heavy hammer blow:

"My request is not high. You collect the quota of 1.2 million taels for me! Not a penny less, and send it to the imperial granary!"

"In addition, grant me an extra 300,000 taels of silver annually!"

"Of these 300,000 taels, 200,000 taels are the price I paid for giving you the lucrative position of Salt Commissioner of Lianghuai! The remaining 100,000 taels is the interest on your 'negotiated loan'!"

"Furthermore, the position of Salt Commissioner of Lianghuai was given to you by me. You no longer need to bribe Wei Zhongxian, other eunuchs in the palace, or any other ministers in the court! You only need to send me silver!"

"Furthermore, you must manage the Lianghuai salt administration well for me! We can't let it run dry! We need to ensure a steady, long-term flow of revenue!"

"If you can do that..."

Chongzhen said calmly:

"You'll stay in the position of Salt Commissioner of Lianghuai forever! How about that?!"

Salt Commissioner of Lianghuai!
That was the most lucrative position in the land! In charge of the salt administration of Lianghuai, wielding immense power over salt production, he would be the richest man in the world! Although he had to pay 1.5 million taels of silver every year (1.2 million taels as a fixed amount plus 300,000 taels as an extra)... if managed properly, Cui Chengxiu could not only pay off his debts with this position, but also make a comeback and even be more successful than before!

After leaving, he no longer needed to pay tribute to Wei Zhongxian or bribe other government departments; he only needed to be responsible to the emperor!
This is simply... an incredible windfall!

Cui Chengxiu dared not hesitate any longer. He practically crawled forward two steps, kowtowing heavily to Chongzhen, his forehead striking the gold brick with a resounding thud. His voice was hoarse and distorted with excitement.
"Your subject, Cui Chengxiu, kowtows in gratitude for Your Majesty's divine grace! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Your subject will surely dedicate himself to the cause, working tirelessly until his dying breath, to manage the salt affairs well for Your Majesty and collect the full amount of tax revenue! I will never fail Your Majesty's grace of giving me life again!"

Seeing his tearful gratitude and eagerness to go through fire and water for him, Chongzhen nodded in satisfaction. He turned to Gao Qiqian, who was standing to the side recording the events, and said in a low voice:
"Gao Banban, bring me that note that says '300,000 taels of silver borrowed from the Imperial Treasury, with a monthly interest rate of 3%, to be repaid in installments over several years,' and have Cui Qing sign it and put his fingerprint on it."

Gao Qiqian bowed in agreement, quickly took out a prepared document and inkpad from his sleeve, and walked up to Cui Chengxiu.

Without even glancing at the specific terms, Cui Chengxiu picked up the pen with trembling hands, signed his name in the borrower's section, dipped it in ink, and pressed his bright red fingerprint heavily onto the paper.

Looking at the bright red handprint, Chongzhen seemed to see a future flood of silver. He picked up his thermos, took another sip of tea, and slowly said to Cui Chengxiu:
“Cui Qing, remember this. This is usurious money.”

"You must work hard as an official in the future."

Holding the still-wet ink and bright red fingerprints on the IOU, Cui Chengxiu kowtowed repeatedly as if it were a life-saving talisman, saying, "Your subject understands! Your subject understands! I will certainly do my best! Do my best!"

Chongzhen waved his hand. Gao Qiqian understood and stepped forward to help (or rather, support) Cui Chengxiu, whose legs were still a little weak, and led him out of the cold and gloomy Renzhi Hall.

Emperor Chongzhen leaned back in his chair and let out a long sigh of relief.

In reality, Cui Chengxiu had become the general contractor of the Ming Dynasty's salt tax! With his abilities and cronies, earning a "contract fee" of 1.5 million taels a year was no problem at all.

"Cao Huachun".

“This servant is here.” Cao Huachun, the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, who had been standing like a shadow in the corner, immediately stepped forward.

"Go and bring Zhou Yingqiu here."

"This kid is known as 'Sunday Ten Thousand'... He's very good at selling official positions."

"I happen to have a big business deal in Fujian, and I want him to handle it!"

(End of this chapter)