How can one be Emperor Chongzhen without money?

Chapter 38 Vertical Selling of Official Positions: No Middlemen! (Please add to your favorites and read on!)
"Your Majesty... This sinful subject... This sinful subject is truly bankrupt! Five hundred thousand taels of silver... 87,000 mu of land in Beizhili, Shandong, and Nanzhili... 43 properties in the capital, Nanjing, and Yangzhou... and Emperor Huizong's 'Willow, Crow, Reed, and Wild Goose Painting', a white-glazed child pillow from Ding kiln... All, all are offered to Your Majesty! Any more... I truly cannot afford any more!"

Emperor Chongzhen sat behind his large elmwood desk, toying with a rosewood thermos in his hand, his gaze sweeping over the weeping, corrupt official Zhou Yingqiu. His face remained expressionless, but inwardly he sneered: "Zhou Yingqiu, the 'Zhou Ten Thousand'! Truly living up to his reputation! This fellow has amassed far more wealth than Cui Chengxiu! A mere Minister of Personnel, in just fourteen months, he's managed to amass an enormous fortune! No wonder he's called 'Zhou Ten Thousand'; his schemes of selling official positions have reached a level of unparalleled mastery!"

He sipped his warm tea, his gaze sweeping over the list Gao Qiqian had just presented on the table: fields, houses, and treasures listed densely. That old fox Zhou Yingqiu was probably only handing over superficial wealth. But no rush.
"Zhou Yingqiu." Chongzhen put down his thermos, his voice not loud, but rather gentle. "When you were Minister of Personnel, how much did a substantive county magistrate cost? Three thousand taels? And a prefect? ​​Five thousand? Eight thousand? I heard that you even dared to price a secretary in one of the Six Ministries in Nanjing at ten thousand taels! In fourteen months... how many official positions did you handle selling? Hmm?"

Zhou Yingqiu trembled, lowered his head even further, and dared not answer.

Emperor Chongzhen tapped his finger lightly on the list: "Your possessions... are not enough."

He looked up, his gaze sweeping across Zhou Yingqiu's back like a sharp blade:

"Here's what we'll do. I'll give you 1.5 million taels of silver for your alleged crime."

Zhou Yingqiu looked up abruptly, his eyes filled with terror and despair. One and a half million! Even if you crushed his bones, you couldn't squeeze that much out of him!
Emperor Chongzhen ignored him and continued calculating: "You've pledged 500,000 taels of silver. And those twelve houses in Beijing, the three-courtyard house by Shichahai Lake, the two shops in Jinyu Hutong… I'll give you 150,000 taels. The 50,000 mu of fertile land in Beizhili, valued at 250,000 taels. Those paintings, calligraphy, and antiques…" He chuckled, "Let's say 400,000 taels. In total, 900,000 taels."

He paused, looking at Zhou Yingqiu's instantly ashen face, and slowly said:
"You still owe me 600,000 taels of silver."

Zhou Yingqiu's lips trembled, and he was about to cry out, "I really didn't," but Chongzhen raised his hand to stop him.

"I am kind-hearted." Chongzhen's voice revealed no kindness whatsoever, sounding more like a moneylender in a casino. "Considering your confession and acceptance of punishment, I will lend you this 600,000 taels."

Zhou Yingqiu was completely dumbfounded, thinking his frozen ears were hallucinating. Lend... lend it to him?
"Sign an IOU and establish a 'creditor' loan." Chongzhen's voice was calm and even. "Three percent monthly interest, no compounding. As for the year... let's say two hundred thousand taels of interest. Gao Qiqian!"

Gao Qiqian, who was standing to the side, immediately bowed and presented a piece of plain paper that had just been written. The ink was not yet dry, and it clearly read, "Borrow 600,000 taels of silver from the Imperial Treasury, with a monthly interest rate of 3%, to be repaid in installments over the years." The signature was left blank.

"Bring the inkpad," Chongzhen ordered.

Gao Qiqian placed the IOU and a small box of cinnabar ink on the gold brick in front of Zhou Yingqiu.

Zhou Yingqiu stared at the bright red inkpad, then at the expressionless emperor. This wasn't a loan agreement; it was a death warrant from the King of Hell! Three percent monthly interest! Thirty-six percent annual interest! That's two hundred thousand taels of interest a year! He, Zhou Yingqiu, was now a prisoner, dismissed from office and his property confiscated. How could he repay it? With his life?
He trembled like a leaf in the autumn wind, his face streaked with tears and snot: "Your Majesty... this sinful subject... this sinful subject is already guilty and penniless... this, this interest... how can I possibly repay it..."

"Can't pay it back?" Chongzhen raised an eyebrow slightly, leaned forward a little, and looked at Zhou Yingqiu with kindness in his eyes. "Zhou Yingqiu, I think you... haven't figured it out yet."

He gently tapped the lid of the thermos with his fingers, making a crisp "tap, tap" sound, each sound striking Zhou Yingqiu's heart.

"You don't need to rush to sell your fields, houses, and antiques." Chongzhen's voice carried a strange seductive quality. "I know that your most valuable possessions are not these inanimate objects."

Zhou Yingqiu looked up blankly.

Chongzhen stared at him and said, word by word:

"Your most valuable asset is your ability to sell official positions."

Zhou Yingqiu was petrified on the spot.

"I have many official positions available for sale right now," Chongzhen's voice was not loud, but it resounded like thunder in Zhou Yingqiu's ears. "Moreover, they are high-ranking officials! High-ranking officials that people are willing to pay hundreds of thousands or even millions of taels of silver to buy!"

Zhou Yingqiu's breathing instantly became heavy, and a glint of disbelief flashed in his cloudy old eyes. Selling official positions? The emperor ordered him... to continue selling official positions? To sell official positions for the emperor?
Is this how emperors are supposed to be?

Emperor Chongzhen took in his reaction and smiled faintly:

"Have you heard of that notorious pirate Zheng Yiguan from Fujian?"

Zhou Yingqiu nodded hurriedly: "This sinful subject...this sinful subject has heard of him. This man is based in Fujian, with tens of thousands of followers, thousands of ships, and is as rich as a country..."

"Hmm." Chongzhen nodded. "This man is very wealthy and eager to become an official. I am willing to give him a chance to serve the court." His tone suddenly turned cold as he changed the subject.

"However, I also know that the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty, from the bottom up, is full of parasites like you! Each layer intercepts and siphons off the money! In the end, what percentage of the silver that Zheng Yiguan presented actually ends up in my private treasury? I'm afraid it's less than one percent, isn't it?"

Zhou Yingqiu dared not respond.

"Tell me," Chongzhen's gaze sharp as a hawk's, fixed firmly on Zhou Yingqiu, "what should I do?"

Zhou Yingqiu's mind raced, and in a flash, he understood the emperor's meaning!
"Your Majesty, I, your humble servant Zhou Yingqiu, am willing to share your burdens! I am willing to make a trip to Fujian on your behalf to persuade that Zheng Yiguan to surrender! I will make him... make him deliver the tribute directly to Your Majesty! I will not let those... those parasites suffer another loss!"

"Smart." Emperor Chongzhen nodded approvingly, but there was no smile on his face. "I hereby appoint you as 'Imperial Inspector of the Coast'."

He picked up the thermos, took another sip of tea, and slowly began to arrange things:

"You are fully responsible for contacting Zheng Yiguan and the other pirates who want to submit to the court. Remember, you are only responsible to me! What are Eunuch Wei, what are the Grand Secretary, the Grand Councilor, the Minister... none of them have the final say! Only I have the final say!"

He put down his cup, his gaze intense:

"Tell them that I can not only give them official positions! General, deputy general, brigade general... I can give them all! I can also give them even greater benefits—exclusive rights to overseas trade! The privilege of going overseas to expand territory and establish a base!"

Chongzhen's voice was seductive:

"As for how much these privileges are worth... Let them come to Beijing! Come and talk to me in person! Only if they are willing to spend money to buy the official positions of general, deputy general, and brigade commander from you will they be qualified to come to Beijing and talk to me about these really big deals!"

He leaned forward slightly, looking into Zhou Yingqiu's pupils, which were dilated with excitement and fear:

"Zhou Yingqiu, if you handle this big deal well for me... paying back the 600,000 taels with interest shouldn't be a problem, right? Maybe... you can even save up some money for your retirement?"

Zhou Yingqiu felt a surge of excitement rush to his head! A Maritime Inspector! A monopoly! A franchise! Directly negotiating big deals with the Emperor! This…this wasn't a matter of being punished; it was as if an immense fortune had been dumped on his head! If he could simply cling to the Emperor's coattails, bypass those layers of exploitative officials, and directly trade with the pirate leader…not to mention 600,000 taels, 1.6 million taels was entirely possible!
He kowtowed heavily, his forehead striking the gold brick with a dull thud, his voice sharp and distorted with excitement.
"Your Majesty's grace! This sinful subject... no! This subject! This subject Zhou Yingqiu! I will surely give my life to accomplish this task for Your Majesty!"

Looking at his tearful gratitude and eagerness to go through fire and water, Chongzhen's eyes flashed with a deep weariness and cold mockery. He waved his hand:

“Gao Qiqian, take him downstairs and make him pay the fine and the land for redemption first, then wait at home.”

Emperor Chongzhen did not intend to appoint Cui Chengxiu and Zhou Yingqiu by imperial decree. Instead, he planned to follow the normal procedure and have the Court Appointment Committee recommend these two money-collecting agents.

This is also why he wanted to protect the four "rubber stamp" Grand Secretaries: Huang Lijie, Shi Fenglai, Zhang Ruitu, and Li Guopu. Three of these four were eunuchs, and the other was a relatively harmless fellow townsman of Wei Zhongxian. Now they were all loyal to the Emperor, with Huang Lijie even "violated regulations" by concurrently serving as Minister of Personnel (arranged by Wei Zhongxian). Through them, Chongzhen could more effectively control the personnel of the Ming court.

"This servant obeys the decree." Gao Qiqian bowed and replied, then stepped forward to help Zhou Yingqiu, whose legs were still a little weak.

Zhou Yingqiu was helped back out of the cold and gloomy Renzhi Hall.

Emperor Chongzhen sat alone in the empty hall, his fingers unconsciously stroking the warm inside of the thermos.

Use corrupt officials to fight corruption.

Using pirates to establish colonies.

But to deal with the Jurchens, we still need weapons, and even better, more weapons!

Thinking of this, Chongzhen then ordered, "Bring Tian Ji here!"

(End of this chapter)