Da Ming: The system granted me immortality; I clock in every day.

"lay off?"

Zhu Qizhen suddenly raised his head, his eyes bloodshot, like a trapped beast driven to the brink of despair.

"How do you disperse them? Those ten thousand-plus people are used to fine food and riches. Now you're ordering them to get out, won't they cause trouble? Won't they rebel?"

"Several thousand discontented hooligans have gathered in the outskirts of Beijing. If they cause trouble, the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture will surely report it to the Cabinet! At that time, all the officials will know that I, the Emperor of the Great Ming, have been secretly raising a herd of donkeys and scoundrels behind the court's back!"

Zhu Qizhen clutched his hair tightly, sinking into deep despair.

If he were dismissed, he would not only lose face, but Gu Yannian would also seize on this as leverage to publicly execute him in the court.

But if he doesn't dismiss them, these living ancestors will eat his entire treasury dry!

Caught between a rock and a hard place, unable to back down!

"Excellent methods... The Grand Tutor truly possesses excellent methods!"

Zhu Qizhen was so angry that he laughed, and two tears of humiliation welled up in the corners of his eyes.

He originally thought that he had learned some accounting skills and would be able to compete with that old thief.

He only discovered this today.

In front of Gu Yannian, his own cunning, which he was so proud of, was like a child showing off his sword in front of Guan Yu, utterly ridiculous.

"Issue my decree..."

Zhu Qizhen leaned weakly against the dragon throne, his voice hoarse.

"Order the pasture manager to stop recruiting any more people. From today onwards, the pasture's rations will be changed from cooked meat to coarse flour cakes and vegetable soup. If they dare to cause trouble, then..."

"Just say that the imperial treasury can't allocate any more money, and ask them to understand the difficulties faced by their sovereign."

Upon hearing this, Wang Zhen sighed inwardly.

At this time.

Inside the Grand Secretary's office next to the Wenhua Hall, all was quiet and peaceful.

Gu Yannian changed into a simple blue robe and sat on the soft couch by the window.

He held a black piece in his hand, studying the game on a chessboard all by himself.

Zhao Si, a centurion of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, appeared silently at the door and bowed his head respectfully.

"Your Excellency, news has come from the palace. His Majesty was furious in the East Warm Pavilion, smashed his desk, and just issued an edict ordering the imperial estates to reduce their rations and switch to coarse flour cakes."

Zhao Siqiang suppressed a laugh as he reported.

Upon hearing this, Gu Yannian did not stop playing the black pieces.

With a soft "snap," the chess piece landed steadily on the chessboard.

"Coarse flour pancakes?"

A gentle smile appeared on Gu Yannian's lips, but his eyes were as deep as an abyss.

"It's easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality. Those gluttons have been eating fatty pork and mutton for three months; how could they possibly accept being asked to eat coarse wheat cakes now?"

Zhao Si understood immediately and cupped his hands in greeting, saying, "Does Your Excellency mean that I should have my undercover agents stir up trouble and create a disturbance?"

Gu Yannian shook his head slightly and looked away from the chessboard.

"No need. Mutiny harms innocent people and is not the way to govern a country. Besides, if it really gets out of hand, the inner court won't be able to handle it, and in the end, the Ministry of Revenue will have to spend money to quell it, which will be a loss for the Ming Dynasty."

Gu Yannian picked up his teacup, moistened his throat, and spoke in a relaxed tone.

"Let them cause trouble for the eunuchs in charge of the inner court. Tell our people planted there that they are only allowed to cause trouble and demand meat, but they are not allowed to use knives or guns to hurt anyone."

"The more they made a scene, the more frightened the head eunuch became, and the more he would plead poverty and ask His Majesty for money."

A clear, insightful glint flashed in Gu Yannian's eyes.

"Our Emperor is extremely proud by nature and will absolutely not bow down to me at this time. He will definitely try every means to raise money to fill the hole in this imperial estate."

"Zhao Si, keep a close eye on everything the inner court does lately. I want to see where else he can squeeze money out of the palace."

"Your subordinate obeys."

Zhao Si accepted the order and withdrew.

Silence returned to the duty room.

Gu Yannian looked at the white piece on the chessboard that had been forced into a corner and gently shook his head.

The young emperor made a wrong move from the very beginning of his game.

He shouldn't have tried to use money to build a private army that was disloyal to the country.

Those scoundrels who gather for profit will only suck the life out of their host like leeches.

However, Gu Yannian was not in a hurry to close the net.

This young man is bound to stumble and fall a few more times, and suffer a few more great losses.

Only then can one truly understand how hard-won the wealth of the Ming Dynasty was.

In the following months, Zhu Qizhen lived a life of extreme hardship.

Back in Huangzhuang, because of the reduced food rations, those scoundrels went on strike and caused trouble every few days.

They smashed and looted the imperial estate's property, and even tied several eunuchs in charge to trees to starve.

When the news reached the palace, Zhu Qizhen was furious, but there was nothing he could do.

They could only grit their teeth and melt down the few remaining gold and silver utensils in the imperial treasury to exchange for cash and send them to appease the people.

By late autumn, the imperial treasury's accounts were cleaner than a face.

Not only were the funds from the imperial estates not being distributed, but even the monthly stipends for the palace eunuchs and maids were becoming increasingly strained.

On this day, a heavy rain fell, and the autumn wind was bleak.

Inside the Qianqing Palace, Zhu Qizhen looked at the empty account books in front of him, his hair turning white with worry.

"Your Majesty, if all else fails, we...we might as well go and plead with Prime Minister Gu. We can say that the Imperial Estate is no longer viable and ask the Ministry of Revenue to take over. At least we can get rid of these plagues."

Wang Zhen cautiously offered his advice from the side.

"shut up!"

Zhu Qizhen slammed his hand on the table, his eyes bloodshot, like a wolf cub cornered at the edge of a cliff.

"I am the Emperor! How can I bow down and admit defeat to a mere powerful minister! He's just waiting to see me make a fool of myself! I will not let him have his way!"

The young emperor's pride displayed astonishing resilience at this moment.

He paced back and forth in the warm room, frantically thinking of ways to make money.

The financial management methods and business techniques he had learned in the Wenhua Hall over the past seven years were put to their fullest use at this moment.

Suddenly, Zhu Qizhen stopped in his tracks, a glint of light flashing in his eyes.

"Wang Zhen, I remember that old scoundrel Gu set up a trade market in Annam, exchanging our silk and porcelain for their copper ore. The profits were substantial, weren't they?"

Wang Zhen paused for a moment, then nodded.

"Yes, this is a major source of revenue for the Ministry of Revenue, amounting to a million taels annually. But that's money from the imperial granary; our inner court can't touch it."

Zhu Qizhen sneered, a smile that revealed a desperate madness.

"I cannot touch the money in the imperial treasury, but what about the money in the private sector?"

Zhu Qizhen walked to the imperial desk, ground the cinnabar, and picked up the imperial brush.

"Issue my secret decree. The inner court shall provide... no, use several vacant properties of the inner palace as collateral to borrow 300,000 taels of silver from the four major money houses in the capital!"

"We'll form our own caravan, ostensibly for royal procurement, but we'll bypass official trade routes and use clandestine channels!"

Zhu Qizhen became more and more excited as he spoke, as if he had grasped a lifeline.

"Transport the finest silks from Jiangnan to Annam, then bring back Annam's spices and gems to the Ming Dynasty to resell at high prices! Just one trip can fill the hole in this imperial estate, and we might even make a profit!"

"That old scoundrel taught me that the most profitable business in the world is international trade!"

Wang Zhen was stunned and stammered, "Your Majesty... this... this is smuggling! The laws of the Ming Dynasty strictly prohibit officials from engaging in private overseas trade with the royal family. If Prime Minister Gu finds out..."

"I am the emperor! Who dares accuse me of smuggling when my own household conducts business!"

Zhu Qizhen's eyes widened as he roared recklessly.

"That's it! Let my trusted eunuchs handle it, so no one will know. As long as I earn the money, I'll have the confidence to turn the tables!"

Driven by a thirst for power and the pressure of money, the young emperor finally took a dangerous step.

Meanwhile, in the Grand Secretary's office in the Wenhua Hall, Gu Yannian listened to the rain outside the window, leisurely turned a page of a book, and smiled.

"This young dragon has learned to use others to lay its eggs."

"Unfortunately, the rules of commerce in this world are also my rules."