Wanli Emperor Chapter 81 Part 1 (Patreon)

Chapter 81 Part 1: Dividing the Silver, Seizing the Moment

Translator’s Note: The character dossier is almost finished and will be posted soon. Now that I have a bit more free time, I’ll be able to release some extra chapters occasionally, in addition to the daily updates. 

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……

The amount of silver Hai Rui had scraped together on his southern expedition was not as much as Zhu Yijun had imagined—the grand spectacle of a single salt merchant yielding hundreds of thousands of taels was, to some extent, a fool's dream.

The main reason was that these salt merchants were merely gloves; the lion's share had already been sent upward, and how much they could keep for themselves was difficult to say.

In comparison, the salt merchants had not produced nearly as much as the Vice Magistrates of the Distribution Commission, the Salt Tax Commissioners, or the Vice Commissioners.

From all the salt merchants, large and small, the total haul of silver, jewelry, calligraphy, and paintings amounted to just over six hundred thousand taels.

Yet from the officials—of whom nearly a hundred were executed—a full one million, three hundred thousand taels were confiscated!

It was shocking beyond belief!

Indeed, no merchant, however wealthy, could compare to a prefect after three years of clean governance.

This was only the sum before Li Chunfang was accounted for.

If one were to add the salt merchants Li Chunfang had promised, the portion of grain tax held back by the Ministry of Revenue, and the family fortunes of more than ten high officials—including Censor-in-Chief Xu Shi, Prefect of Yingtian Prefecture Zhu Gang, Vice Minister of War Ji Lian, and the Prefect of Taizhou—they could probably scrape together another three million taels.

That would make five million taels in total!

In the fifth year of the Longqing era, the state treasury's annual income was only three million. This single expedition was worth nearly two years of revenue.

And there was more: the tens of thousands of additional salt certificates each year hereafter, the thirty percent increase in the tea tax, and the grain tax that had been relinquished.

Each year would see an increase of at least several million taels.

The harvest was so abundant that Zhu Yijun could not help but think of repeating such an endeavor every year.

Besides the salt administration, there were the horse markets, the Maritime Trade Supervisorates, border defenses, ghost soldiers, grain taxes, tea taxes... he could spend ten years picking at them and still not clean them all out.

Regardless, with this much money, he could finally begin to act with a free hand!

Previously, he had been trying to make bricks without straw, forced to maneuver and scheme in matters of politics. From now on, things would be different.

As long as he had this silver, he could emulate Emperor Wuzong and grasp military power!

The weapon of criticism could not replace the criticism of weapons.

To clarify the universe and sweep away the dust, one had to raise a thousand-jun rod.

Gu Huan had long been stationed in the Capital Garrisons, holding his troops in place, waiting for money and grain.

Only by forging the Capital Garrisons into a single, solid piece would he have the right to touch the Jin Clique and shake the southeast!

…….

The Minister of Revenue, Wang Guoguang, arrived at Chengguang Hall, panting for breath. The sweat on his forehead was somewhat improper for the occasion, a clear sign of his haste.

He could not help it. This was five million taels of silver!

The state treasury's current holdings of various silver, converted, amounted to no more than this sum.

If the Minister of Revenue were not anxious about such a matter, he ought to leave his post.

Outside Chengguang Hall, Wang Guoguang took a handkerchief from a eunuch, wiped his brow, straightened his robes, and only then stepped into the hall.

The moment he entered, he saw the emperor, the Senior Grand Secretary, and the Seal-holding Director of the Directorate of Ceremonial, each with brush and paper, writing and calculating.

Wang Guoguang took a second look before composing himself and stepping forward to salute. "Your Majesty."

Zhu Yijun glanced up and nodded for him to be seated.

Then, with no time for Wang Guoguang, he resumed his debate with Zhang Juzheng. "Senior Grand Secretary, to appease the various armies last time, the Privy Purse lent out a full one million taels!"

"For that, my Imperial Mother berated me several times, saying it was the funds set aside for my wedding and that of my brother, King of Lu, Zhu Yiliu. We nearly had a falling out!"

"Senior Grand Secretary, surely this money should first be used to repay the Privy Purse before it is divided, should it not?"

Previously, upon learning of the new emperor's accession, the unpaid soldiers had stirred up trouble, demanding their arrears from the court.

To quell the incident, the Grand Granary had produced three hundred thousand taels, the Court of Imperial Entertainments Treasury three hundred thousand, and the Frugality and Prudence Treasury two hundred thousand. The Privy Purse, however, had contributed one million.

This matter now served as a bargaining chip for dividing the money.

Zhang Juzheng said respectfully, "Your Majesty, in this matter, the Inner Court contributed one million, and the Outer Court eight hundred thousand. It is only right that the Privy Purse be repaid two hundred thousand."

Zhu Yijun spoke with great earnestness. "Senior Grand Secretary, that is not how it is calculated. The soldiers' unrest was due to unpaid wages, all old debts from years past. That has little to do with the Privy Purse."

Zhang Juzheng had a sudden realization and agreed. "True, old debts should not be counted against the Privy Purse, but..."

He looked toward Wang Guoguang. "Minister Wang, I recall that during the late emperor's reign, he borrowed from the Ministry of Revenue several times. Does the Ministry still have old debts?"

Zhu Yijun was struck speechless.

Seeing Wang Guoguang about to answer, he quickly cut him off.

He waved his hand. "Enough. The palace and the court are one body. To speak of such things is to create distance."

"Then let us divide it according to the rules. What the Embroidered Uniform Guard confiscates goes to the Privy Purse, and what the government offices confiscate goes to the Outer Court. As for the extra grain tax, we shall divide it evenly."

This was a strange claim. In this round of confiscations, no one outside the Embroidered Uniform Guard had been seen to lay a hand on the process.

Zhang Juzheng shook his head. "Your Majesty, though this is family property, it is, in truth, embezzled salt tax."

"This subject's meaning is, why not follow the procedure for salt tax entering the capital? Seventy percent should go to the Ministry of Revenue, and the rest can be divided evenly between the Court of Imperial Entertainments Treasury and the Privy Purse."

The two went back and forth, reaching a stalemate.

Wang Guoguang watched for a good while before he could not resist interjecting. "Your Majesty, Senior Grand Secretary, the affairs of state are paramount. Why not first settle the places that need money, and then discuss the rest?"

At this rate of haggling, they would never reach a conclusion.

Wang Guoguang immediately offered a more practical approach.

Hearing Wang Guoguang's words, the two ceased their argument.

After a moment's thought, both gave a reluctant nod.

Zhu Yijun spoke first. "Based on the evaluations, let us first distribute a portion of the salaries owed to officials of all ranks."

"For now, pay what is owed in the two capitals and the one province. The amounts for the other provinces must also be set aside."

"This year's performance bonuses must be reserved for the Privy Purse."

"All told, it comes to about nine hundred thousand taels."

Purifying the government also cost money. After all, a lack of money could turn a man into a ghost.

Only by distributing funds could he coordinate with measures.

Zhang Juzheng immediately agreed. "There is none more sagacious than Your Majesty."

It was not that the two could not agree on how to divide the spoils, but that they held different views on the use of the silver. However, when it came to spending it on the Law of Evaluation, there was no disagreement.

But with a single sentence, nine hundred thousand taels were committed.

Zhang Hong, at the side, picked up his brush, wrote down the word "Salaries," and next to it, "Five million, minus nine hundred thousand, leaves four million, one hundred thousand."

Zhang Juzheng continued. "Your Majesty, after two more seasons of trials, by the eighth month, a full year will have passed."

"This subject requests to implement the Law of Evaluation on a trial basis in Huguang, Shandong, Henan, Shaanxi, and other provinces."

Zhu Yijun glanced at Zhang Juzheng, knowing this was to begin the land survey as soon as possible.

He thought for a moment and slowly nodded. "I am not well-versed in matters of governance. You and the Grand Secretariat may discuss it with the court officials."

"However... when the time comes, the shortcomings and defects must all be properly sorted out, and a more complete charter must be produced."

He would not interfere in such specific matters.

It was enough to grasp the general direction.

Zhang Juzheng bowed and acknowledged.

After the two had spoken, Wang Guoguang spoke with great impatience. "Your Majesty, the tribute grain from the Grain Transport Administration has arrived in the capital, totaling two million, seven hundred and ten thousand, five hundred and one shi and one dou."

"This is four hundred thousand shi less than in previous years, and compared to what should have been stored, it is also short by two hundred and ninety thousand shi."

"Might I request Your Majesty's grace to purchase a portion from the great households around the capital?"

This shortfall was partly due to sunken grain transport ships, and partly because Wang Zongmu had diverted a portion to sea transport.

These were all provisions for the border garrisons; in any case, this portion had to be made up.

The "great households around the capital" were, in fact, the great landholding families around the capital. After all, there were far too many people in the capital region exempt from taxes.

Zhu Yijun and Zhang Juzheng exchanged a look.

This account naturally had to be settled. They could not take the benefits and refused to acknowledge the losses.

Zhu Yijun thought for a moment and said to Wang Guoguang. "At eighty percent of the market price. The accounts must still pass through the Ministry of Revenue."

What the Ministry of Revenue was to store was all coarse-grain, unhusked rice mixed with wheat.

The exact price of one shi of coarse grain was not fixed; sometimes it was two mace, sometimes one tael and two mace.

But with only minor disasters at present, it was not too expensive. Around the capital, it was seven mace per shi.

To buy at eighty percent of the price meant one hundred and sixty thousand taels.

Zhang Hong, at the side, picked up his brush, wrote down the words "Grain Silver," estimated the amount, and then, from the four million, one hundred thousand, deducted one hundred and sixty thousand, leaving three million, nine hundred and forty thousand.

Wang Guoguang naturally had no objections and quickly gave his thanks.

But he did not immediately withdraw. Instead, he spoke again. "Your Majesty, this year's stipends for the imperial clansmen have risen by a large margin, and the silver requested by the Privy Purse has increased by more than one hundred thousand..."

There were too many places that needed money. He could only list the items and ask for what was needed.

But Zhu Yijun could not indulge him in this.

He refused at once. "Minister Wang, you yourself said earlier to settle the accounts for urgent needs. The stipends for the imperial clansmen have their own precedent. Why bring it up now?"

Although Zhu Yijun knew Wang Guoguang had a point—the amount of silver the Privy Purse took away for this purpose increased year by year, all under the pretext of increasing stipends for the imperial clansmen.

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