There is no airtight wall in the world. After a night of fermentation, the news that Hai Rui personally mobilized his troops and ransacked all the houses of the "Four Saints and Three Sages" spread throughout the court and set off a stir. There was an uproar.
What shocked the courtiers even more was that Hai Rui actually confiscated 80 million taels of silver from those families. This was equivalent to more than two years of Ming Dynasty tax, not to mention another 360,000 taels of silver. Acres of land and countless antique curios!
Anyone with a discerning eye in the court could see that the emperor was standing behind Hai Rui.
In the eyes of these people, without the emperor's permission behind the whole incident, even if Hai Rui had a hundred courages, he would never have dared to do it!
With the downfall of these families, the courtiers became even more panic-stricken, especially the ministers who had been related to those families or had received favors from them, and they were busy looking for connections and destroying evidence of crimes.
The current situation is that no one wants to have anything to do with those families. If they are not careful, they will ruin their bright future!
While being shocked, some of the courtiers were secretly speculating about how His Majesty would reward Hai Rui for his great contribution. After all, this Hai Rui had brought a total of 80 million taels of income to the court. ah!
Among the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty, the one who pleased Hai Rui the most was none other than Zhao Zhenji.
Apart from anything else, the achievement of destroying the White Lotus Sect alone was enough for Hai Rui to be promoted. And now, while destroying the White Lotus Sect, Hai Rui also brought in 80 million taels of silver to the national treasury!
The sum of these two achievements is not simply one plus one equals two, but one plus one is much greater than two!
Zhao Zhenji felt that with the achievements Hai Rui had made so far, and if he continued his qualifications, it would be easy to serve as the censor of Zuodu in the future.
At this moment, Zhao Zhenji felt even more fortunate that he had recommended Hai Rui to the court in the first place. Because in the civil and military affairs of the court, no one knew that it was Zhao Zhenji who single-handedly promoted Hai Rui.
Based on this relationship alone, if someone wants to cause trouble for Zhao Zhenji in the officialdom in the future, they will have to weigh themselves carefully to see if they are qualified!
…
On the other side, early morning, cabinet.
When Xu Jie got off the sedan, he bumped into the sedan Yan Song was riding.
Seeing this, Xu Jie immediately stopped and stood aside respectfully. After Yan Song tremblingly got down from the sedan with the support of his servants, he took three steps at a time to greet him and said respectfully.
"I've met Mr. Yan Ge!"
Hearing this, Yan Song looked Xu Jie up and down with cloudy eyes before nodding in response.
"Mr. Xu Ge, is it so early?"
When Xu Jie heard this, he smiled and immediately responded.
"Mr. Yan Ge, to be honest, I still have some unfinished business, so I thought I'd come over early today!"
After hearing what Xu Jie said, Yan Song did not make any comment, but nodded and walked with Xu Jie.
After the two walked some distance away, they heard Yan Song's slightly curious voice.
"Speaking of Mr. Xu Ge, have you heard that Hai Rui, who was previously sent by His Majesty to Shandong to investigate the White Lotus Sect, mobilized soldiers to kill the "Four Saints and Three Sages" on the grounds that he had colluded with the White Lotus Sect? All the houses of this family were confiscated!"
Hearing this, Xu Jie didn't show any surprise on his face. He glanced at Yan Song and then spoke unhurriedly.
"That's natural. Now the news is spreading in the court. Let me tell you, this Hai Rui is really bold!"
"Yes, the future is really formidable. It seems that it's time for me, an old man, to make room for these young people!"
When Xu Jie's words fell, Yan Song on the side also sighed with emotion, his tone was full of exhaustion, and he looked senile.
When Xu Jie on the side heard this, he couldn't help but glance at Yan Song and complained secretly in his heart.
"Bah, Yan Song, you old guy, I think you really want to sit in the position of chief minister of the cabinet until you die!"
Although Xu Jie's malice toward Yan Song was so strong that it was about to overflow, on the surface, he still showed a rather respectful look and spoke immediately.
"What the hell, Mr. Yan Ge is joking, your body is still strong. In my opinion, you have to work for at least ten or twenty years!"
"Hahaha, sometimes you have to retreat. It is best to leave the stage to these young people!"
After that, the two chatted some more, then stepped onto the stairs and entered the cabinet.
After entering the cabinet, Yan Song and Xu Jie sat in their respective seats and began to deal with the unfinished memorials.
Soon after, Zhang Juzheng, Gao Gong, and Yan Shifan also came to the cabinet one after another.
After all five members of the cabinet had arrived, a subordinate soon came in carrying a memorandum as tall as a person.
Just as everyone was concentrating on the memorials in their hands, there was a rush of footsteps from outside the door. Not long after, a subordinate official came in, turned his eyes to the direction of Yan Song and Xu Jie, and reported respectfully.
"Mr. Yan Ge, Eunuch Lu is outside asking for an audience!"
"Oh, Eunuch Lu is here, please invite him in quickly!"
After listening to the subordinate's report, Yan Song immediately put down the half-finished memorial in his hand and gave instructions to the subordinate.
"Yes, Mr. Yan Ge!"
After receiving Yan Song's specific instructions, the subordinate official quickly left without stopping at all.
No one in the cabinet was surprised at all by Lu Fang's sudden arrival. After all, the court had received a new income of 80 million taels of silver. It was time to discuss how to spend this money!
Xu Jie, who was on the side, had a sad look on his face. He supported his chin with one hand and began to think about the Hubu side. How long will it take this time to get the 80 million yuan? The two pieces of silver have been counted.
After all, it took their household department ten days to completely count the 30 million taels of silver that was sent to the treasury last time!
"Oh, I really didn't expect that one day I, Xu Jie, would actually worry about the imperial court having too much money!"
At this moment, under the guidance of the former subordinate, Lu Fang entered the cabinet with silent steps.
Immediately, under the leadership of Yan Song, the chief minister of the cabinet, everyone stood up from their seats and saluted him respectfully.
"I've met Eunuch Lu!"
Lu Fang was in a particularly good mood today, with an unconcealable smile on her face. After looking around, she turned her attention to Yan Song and Xu Jie beside them, and spoke unhurriedly.
"Where is it? Mr. Yan Ge, Mr. Xu Ge, Your Majesty asked you two to go over there immediately, saying that we have important matters to discuss!"
When Yan Song and Xu Jie heard this, there was no surprise on their faces. Immediately, after looking at each other, they turned to look at Lu Fang, leaned down, and responded respectfully.
"Yes, Eunuch Lu!"
Seeing this situation, Lu Fang nodded, immediately looked away from the two of them, and then spoke.
"Without further ado, let's set off now, don't keep His Majesty waiting in a hurry!"
"Um."
After a subtle response, the two of them no longer hesitated and immediately followed Lu Fang's footsteps and embarked on the road to Qianqing Palace.
On the way to Qianqing Palace, Yan Song could not suppress his curiosity. After carefully considering his tone, he spoke to Lu Fang to find out.
"Eunuch Lu, may I ask why your Majesty came to us this time? Could it be..."
Lu Fang, who was walking in front, suddenly stopped when he heard this, turned around, glanced at Yan Song, and responded with a smile.
"Mr. Yan Ge, you are right. His Majesty came to you this time just to discuss how to spend this money."
When Lu Fang finished speaking, not only Yan Song, but also Xu Jie beside him breathed a sigh of relief.
After that, everyone had no intention of talking anymore, but followed Lu Fang's footsteps and marched slowly towards Qianqing Palace.
…
Outside Qianqing Palace, Lu Fang paused, turned around, glanced at Yan Song and Xu Jie, and immediately gave instructions.
"Mr. Yan Ge, Mr. Xu Ge, please wait here for a moment. We will go in and inform His Majesty!"
"I'm here to help Eunuch Lu!"
Upon hearing this, Yan Song and Xu Jie leaned down and bowed their hands to Lu Fang.
Seeing this situation, Lu Fang nodded slightly, without any hesitation, and immediately stepped onto the stairs of Qianqing Palace.
Looking at Lu Fang's leaving figure, Yan Song looked away and took the lead in provoking the topic.
"Mr. Xu Ge, in your opinion, what should be the use of the 80 million taels of silver newly received by the imperial court?"
When Xu Jie heard Yan Song's words, he was stunned for a moment, and then responded with a smile.
"Mr. Yan Ge, it's almost summer. When the rainfall increases, the old dykes built in the past are at risk of bursting under continuous heavy rains. If you are not careful, they will burst."
"Mr. Yan Ge, you probably don't want to see what happened in Zhejiang where the dams were damaged due to continuous heavy rains happening again, right?"
"In addition, it's time to strengthen the dams on the banks of the Yellow River!"
When Yan Song heard this, after a moment of silence, he immediately responded.
"Well, what Mr. Xu Ge said makes sense. I will work with you to raise this matter to His Majesty in person later!"
"Um."
Seeing that Yan Song agreed to his proposal, Xu Jie was in a good mood. Just when he was about to speak, he heard a high-pitched voice: "Xuan, Yan Song and Xu Jie have an audience!"
After hearing this, the two looked at each other and immediately stepped onto the stairs of Qianqing Palace.
As soon as Yan Song and Xu Jie entered the Qianqing Palace, they knelt on the ground respectfully, looked at the figure on the dragon chair, and said in unison.
"I bow to your majesty, long live my emperor!"
"Well, you two, get up!"
Jiajing, who was sitting on the dragon chair, glanced at Yan Song and Xu Jie respectively, waved his hand quite casually, and gave instructions.
After hearing Jiajing's voice, Yan Song and Xu Jie couldn't help but feel happy, because they could tell that the emperor was in a good mood today, but after thinking about it, they felt it was very reasonable.
After all, right now, the imperial court suddenly has an additional income of 80 million taels of silver!
With an extremely anxious mood, Yan Song and Xu Jie just slowly stood up from the ground.
After that, Jiajing had no intention of going around in circles with Yan Song and Xu Jie, but chose to go straight to the point.
"Yan Song, Xu Jie, I came to you two today to discuss how the newly acquired 80 million taels of silver should be distributed!"
After Jiajing finished speaking, without waiting for a response from the two of them, he turned his gaze to Xu Jie and asked.
"By the way, Xu Jie, how much money is there in the treasury now?"
Xu Jie heard this and after recalling it for a moment, he gave the answer without thinking.
"Your Majesty, the current amount of money in the treasury is 165,293,700 taels!"
After Xu Jie finished answering Jiajing's question, Yan Song on the side couldn't help but take a breath of cold air, with a look of disbelief on his face, and immediately lost his voice: "Hiss, there are so many!"
Although Xu Jie had revealed to him earlier when he was presiding over the expansion of the treasury, the current amount of money in the treasury may be counted in the hundreds of millions.
But what Yan Song didn't expect was that the amount of silver in the national treasury was actually so large, reaching an astonishing 160 million taels. You know, before this, the Ming Dynasty only collected 3,000 taels of taxes a year. One hundred and eighty thousand taels!
This much money was enough for the Ming Dynasty to last for five years without collecting any taxes!
Thinking of this, Yan Song's breathing became rapid, even though he knew very well that most of the money was obtained by ransacking homes.
Some of them came from the clans and nobles whose homes were confiscated, such as King Hui, King Zhao, King Gui, etc., and most of them came from the smuggling families in the southeastern coastal area and the big salt merchants.
These people have made extremely outstanding contributions to the prosperity of the Ming Dynasty's treasury. It can be said that without them, there would be no surplus in the treasury today!
Just as Yan Song's thoughts were racing, Jiajing's voice sounded again, bringing him back to reality.
"Lu Fang, show them the brochure!"
"As you command, Your Majesty!"
After Lu Fang responded, he immediately took the book with detailed property records from the desk beside him and brought it to Yan Song and Xu Jie.
Yan Song did not refuse, and immediately took the booklet from Lu Fang's hand and began to read it carefully.
The further he looked down, the more gloomy Yan Song's face became, because the property records of those families in the manual were really too astonishing.
"These damn guys have such a big appetite!"
After Yan Song finished speaking, he immediately handed the booklet in his hand to Xu Jie who was standing aside.
When Xu Jie took the book from Yan Song's hand, after flipping through it for a moment, his face couldn't help but show the same expression as Yan Song's before. Immediately, he came back to his senses and cursed secretly.
"These damn guys really deserve to die!"
The reason why Yan Song and Xu Jie were so angry was because these families had taken the share that should have belonged to them.
Jiajing saw General Xu Jie reading the book in his hand, nodded, and said slowly: "As you can see, not long ago, Hai Rui personally mobilized his troops to steal silver from those families, a total of eight One thousand three hundred and two hundred and sixty-five thousand two hundred and ninety taels!”
"In addition, we also found several land deeds and land deeds from the homes of those families, totaling a total of 365,600 acres of land!"
"Because of this, I came to you two today. In addition to discussing how to spend this money, I also want to ask you, how should these 360,000 acres of land be disposed of?"
(End of chapter)
