After an intensive inventory, the wealth of many vassal kings was also revealed. The results were really unknown until they were checked, and they were shocking when they were checked.
Zhou Wang Zhu Gongzhen won the championship. The total supply of gold and silver in his mansion was more than 1.77 million taels. No wonder he could use hundreds of thousands of taels of silver to reward the defenders when Li Ge, the courier, besieged Kaifeng.
Zhu Cunji, the king of Qin who lived in Xi'an, ranked second. Shaanxi was a poor place, but King Qin's territory was in the Weihe Plain in southern Shaanxi. It was not poor at all. Moreover, King Qin was the vassal king opened by Taizu, so his family wealth was as high as More than 1.52 million taels.
Ranked third is Zhu Huakui, the king of Chu who is still domineering in the East Palace. The Jianghan Plain where Wu Chang is located is richer than the Weihe Plain. However, Zhu Huakui's spending ability far exceeds that of Zhu Cunji, and his family wealth is actually less than that of him. He is "only" one. More than 1.48 million taels.
After digging out the portion left for Huguang Governor Fang Kongzhen, Fang Yizhi's father, only 880,000 taels were transported to the capital, but it was still a lot. With 600,000 taels of silver, Fang Kongzhen could recruit troops and horses, and he could hold Wu Chang for at least two or three years.
King Xiang was different from King Chu and King Zhou in that he was a vassal king unsealed by Renzong. However, Xiangyang was undoubtedly a wealthy place. After hundreds of years of accumulation, his family wealth had reached an astonishing level. However, Hong Chengchou deducted 600,000 taels of silver from him. There are still 570,000 taels left.
The king of Jin, Zhu Shenxuan, was unwilling to come to the capital, but he was afraid of suffering the same fate as the king. When the factory guards inspected Shanxi merchants in Taiyuan, Zhu Shenxuan, who could not sleep at night, felt his bones soften. In order to save his life, he volunteered. , and at the same time presented a meeting gift of 920,000 taels of silver.
Next came the "rising star" King Fu Zhu Changxun. This vassal king only had a few decades to establish the vassal. With the love of Emperor Shenzong and Concubine Zheng, and the advantages of his fiefdom in Luoyang, he accumulated nearly 90 yuan in a short period of time. A wealth of ten thousand taels of silver.
It turns out that "among the vassal kings, only the King of Shu is the richest", because the Shu King's Mansion covers an area of nearly 40 hectares and is modeled after the Forbidden City. It requires huge sums of money to be repaired every year, making it difficult for the King of Shu's personal assets to increase significantly.
Excluding this mansion, none of the other vassal kings were as wealthy as the King of Shu. Considering this factor, a certain prince did not have much expectations for the King of Shu. He was very satisfied if he could get 500,000 taels of silver from Bashu.
There are also "poor people" among the vassal kings. For example, Prince Zheng, who was entrusted by Renzong, is old enough. Unfortunately, his fiefdom is in Huaiqing Mansion, Henan. This small place itself is not rich, and there are ten princes under his command, so there is no need for him at all. I can’t save much money.
There is another person here that makes a certain prince unlucky, and that is the acting king Zhu Chuanzhen. This guy's family wealth was first expropriated by Wang Pu, and then divided among the soldiers of the counter-rebellion army. A certain prince did not take any of it at all. How much does it cost.
In order to appease the vassal king, he had to give 65,000 taels of silver to others. Fortunately, Yang Wenyue's troops quickly captured Datong after they had special siege weapons, and the King of Jin also made contributions, otherwise this battle would have been over. You can't lose money...
Not counting what Hong Chengchou and Fang Kongzhen had withheld, a certain prince actually received the gold and silver wealth of thirteen vassal princes, with a total supply of 9.48 million taels of silver.
According to the previous agreement of 10% "rebate", at least 948,000 taels must be used as travel expenses for this group of "pig", and the acting king has to pay for the part out of his own pocket.
However, a certain prince was already satisfied with more than eight million taels of silver in his pocket. With the money taken out from the feudal king's ATM, the book funds of the East Palace had reached nearly 20 million taels of silver.
The East Palace Guards are money-burning monsters, and the city built on the Shandong Peninsula will also cost a huge amount of money, not to mention the new imperial city in the new capital of the capital. Each of these three major blocks will cost more than four million taels of silver.
Fortunately, a certain prince made money well and had gold mines as collateral, so people who bought Zijin Bonds did not have to worry about a certain prince being unable to repay the debt. What they took out was silver, and what they got back might be gold.
Thinking about it, this is a good thing. Although it will take five to ten years, the gold mine cannot be moved. As long as the gold mine is thought of, everyone feels at ease.
The situation in Taicang, which is the treasury, is also very mysterious. Li Shiwen, the Minister of Household Affairs, found that although there are many places that need support, only five northern places, Shandong, Shaanxi, Henan, Shanqian, and Beizhili, have implemented relief for work. This strategy would cost ten million taels of silver.
Wang Zaijin allocated 4 million taels of military pay to Wang Zaijin, who was stationed in western Liaoning. Hong Chengchou and Sun Chuanting, who went south to suppress the bandits, still needed the same amount before the end of the year. Adding in the daily expenses of border troops and court operations in various places, the total amount was another 10 million 200 taels. huge.
Logically speaking, all the money in the account account should have been spent long ago, but now there is still a balance of almost three million taels. Li Shiwen thought for a long time and checked several times before discovering that this was money from selling land and selling antiques, calligraphy and paintings.
In other words, with 25 million taels of silver, the imperial court will be able to sustain itself until the end of the year, because all expenditures have been budgeted, the part of the money that should be spent is already ready, and the remaining money can be used for activities funds to use.
As the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, Li Shiwen felt the benefits of having money for the first time. He could indeed handle border affairs and governor with ease. If the Ministry of Revenue could harvest another five million taels of silver, he would be able to spend the new year safely.
As a result, the confiscated land of the feudal prince became the target of the Ministry of Household Affairs. According to the standard of "30% of the bid price and 10% returned to the treasury" agreed with a certain prince, all the land in the feudal prince's fiefdom will be auctioned.
For every acre of land sold by the Ministry of Household Affairs, one or two to three taels of silver can be earned. If one buys 50 million acres of cultivated land, he can earn at least two million taels. He can get the selling price of his antiques, calligraphy and paintings. Fifty percent, adding up the two items, it is not too difficult to record five million taels of silver.
A certain prince is cashing out crazily with everything that can be cashed out. This is a quick way to quickly accumulate original funds. Except for the Forbidden City, he will sell anything that can be sold, especially other people's things...
There are still more than a dozen vassal kings roaming around outside. If these "pigs" are captured in the capital, even though they are not as rich as Zhou Wang, they can probably pocket four to five million taels of silver in terms of gold and silver alone. .
At that time, you can also do business in partnership with the Ministry of Accounts, and even make the funds in the East Palace exceed the deposits in Taicang, the Ministry of Accounts. It should have been greatly exceeded now, but there are many places where you need to spend money, so you still can't be lavish.
"Okay! Okay! Okay!"
"Wonderful! Wonderful! Wonderful!"
Zhou Wang Zhu Gongzhen and Qin Wang Zhu Cunji kept admiring the photos taken yesterday. Although they were copper plate photos, they were already regarded by many vassal kings as priceless things from the fairy world.
The photos captured really lifelike images of the people, which can be said to be miraculous workmanship, far surpassing the work of painters. It was as if real people were put inside. The lords really liked it more and more as they looked at it.
Since all the feudal lords had received their own travel expenses and had money in their pockets, a photo of thirty taels of silver did not seem so expensive, and one could afford to take a hundred photos in one go.
Mounted in a painted photo frame with a layer of glass attached to it, it looks even more luxurious. Coupled with the unparalleled shooting techniques, it seems to be completely worth the price, or even a great value for money.
After the news spread, the outer court after retreating from the court, especially the courtyard behind Chengtian Gate, almost became a temporary shooting venue that was requisitioned by the feudal kings.
It was just a little fuss at the beginning, taking three or five photos and I felt it was enough. But after adding the background, especially the buildings, in order to leave a memory for myself, I upgraded to the level of crazy selfies.
It usually starts with twenty photos, including the Chengtian Gate, the Meridian Gate, the Huangji Hall, and even the Jinshui Bridge in front of the gate. In the end, the Chang Chao Elephant is even added, and various majestic and domineering postures of the protagonist are added.
It was not enough to take photos by themselves, so the vassal kings asked their servants to invite all their family members. They started taking family portraits, and then they took photos together with many princes and princes.
And the officials were not ambiguous at all. When they heard that the imperial court took the initiative to take photos of everyone, or the Ministry of Revenue paid for it, they all started to queue up. The photo location was naturally at the Ministry of Personnel. Since it was an ID photo, it could not be like the vassal princes. Choose your location as you wish.
All the officials showed great curiosity about the photos of palm-sized crowns. The official department was already overcrowded, and there were many long queues. Even the chamberlain in charge of taking photos was treated with high courtesy by the officials. It was no longer what they usually thought. "Imperfect people".
The specific grouping is determined according to rank. The first, second and third rank officials are high-level officials. They are either cabinet ministers or ministers, and the worst are ministers. They are naturally superior to others and enjoy preferential treatment. It is understandable that no one can say anything.
The fourth, fifth, and sixth grades are considered middle-level. Even if they are from the sixth grade, they still have a monthly salary of sixty taels of silver. As long as they don't spend money recklessly, the family can still live a very comfortable life.
The rest are considered to be at the bottom, better than petty officials, but they can still be nodded and bowed by their subordinates and common people when they go out. The status of an official means that he is better than ordinary people. This is an undoubted fact.
The lower the grade, the greater the number of officials. The queue time is naturally very long, but you have to wait patiently. All officials who go to court, regardless of grade, can take photos today. Tomorrow it will be the turn of officials from around the capital. .
As long as they have an ID photo, it will be impossible for anyone to pretend to be a court official from around Jifu and sneak into the imperial city. In the future, chamberlains, factory guards, and even Han generals will also have to take photos, and the security level of the imperial city will be further improved.
In order to produce the first generation of official documents, the identity information of the officials must be monitored, such as height, weight, fingerprints, signatures, as well as the place of origin and date of birth in the files. These are the most basic contents and must be collected at once.
"It's not easy! It's not easy!"
After going through a set of procedures, even Xue Guoguan, the first assistant, found it very cumbersome. Just to measure the weight, you need to take off your hat, slippers, and take out all the odds and ends on your body. Fortunately, it is summer, and the new court clothes are light enough, so no need Take off your clothes again...
"Tsk! This photo is very novel!"
Du Yinxi, as the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, was already very busy in order to obtain certificates for hundreds of colleagues. However, in the view of Feng Quan, the Minister of Rites, this matter was indeed very interesting, and the photo alone was rare. Something gained.
Not only many vassals, but also officials, big and small, are all interested in photography, which the prince calls a science and technology. Today, the vassals taking photos outside the court attracted great attention from everyone.
Since the vassal princes would soon leave Beijing and go to new fiefdoms, this kind of thing aroused the dissatisfaction of the officials. After all, the Imperial City is also the residence of the royal family, but Huangji Hall is just an office, so there doesn't seem to be much wrong with taking photos of the clan.
All the officials who could frequently enter and leave the East Palace were fortunate enough to have seen the photos in advance, so both Xue Guoguan and Feng Quan already had a clear understanding of what the photos looked like.
Those who have really never come into contact with are those officials below the third rank. If the prince and the Ministry of Household Affairs had not agreed on the fee, I don't know when and what month the photos and certificates would be distributed to the officials.
"Thanks to His Highness's wisdom and wisdom, otherwise I would never be able to obtain this object in my lifetime!"
Second Assistant Wu Di was not like his two colleagues. He was a well-educated man, but he had never heard of such a technique. After chatting with Song Yingxing, the dean of the Academy of Sciences, he learned that even dean Song was not familiar with this technique. Therefore, this photography can be described as unpredictable.
Only two people from the Academy of Sciences came to the Ministry of Finance to take photos, namely President Song Yingxing and Vice President Xiong Renlin. Although the Academy of Sciences was an official bureau of the imperial court, none of their subordinates were officials, so that the original intention of employing talents in an eclectic way could be realized.
If you want to become an official, you must pass the imperial examination. However, many talented people, including Bo Jue, know nothing about stereotypes and are not interested in them. They will definitely fail in the examination. Only then did a certain prince come up with a compromise.
Many officials are also very jealous of the annual salary and benefits of the Academy of Sciences. However, the imperial censors are restricted by their rank and are blocked from the palace. According to the instructions of a certain prince, the cabinet will retain all unfavorable memorials about the Academy of Sciences written by the imperial censors. No hits.
Under such proper and thoughtful protection, the Academy of Sciences was able to operate normally, implement scientific research projects, and quickly catch up with the gap with the West. Otherwise, it would have been torn apart by a group of "pink-eye patients".
"That's true, it's a beautiful thing!"
Zhang Guowei, minister of the Ministry of Industry, has been supervising the progress of the new city base at the construction site outside the city. He only came back to take ID photos. Chief Engineer Zhang has a supportive attitude towards all scientific projects that are beneficial to the imperial court.
His Royal Highness the Prince advocated the construction of a new city, and Zhang Guowei fully agreed. Let alone the role of the new city, even if it was to take care of the poor people around Jifu and the disaster-stricken people living here, it was necessary to implement such a work-for-relief move.
The new city project can absorb tens of thousands of laborers at once, and with the addition of brick-making, iron-making, transportation, accommodation, catering and other links, it can cover even more industries, and almost half of the businesses in the capital will benefit from it.
If only four million taels of silver were spent, it would probably not be able to achieve such an effect, and when the money is spent, everything will return to the way it was before.
It would be better to directly build a city with extremely high defenses. Not only can it serve as a rival to the old city to prevent the Eastern invaders from threatening the old city, but it can also accommodate hundreds of thousands of people and troops. It can be regarded as a good thing to win in one fell swoop.
Now, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is taking ID photos for hundreds of officials. Although it is charged and the fee is not low, it is the first time in ages. Most of the officials are applauding this.
Among the seven ministers, Zhang Guowei, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, Du Yinxi, the minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and Lu Zhenfei, the minister of the Ministry of Medicine, clearly supported the prince.
Wang Jiayan, the Minister of the Ministry of War, and Li Daiwen, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, hold neutral views. If the prince is in charge, he will support the prince. Otherwise, he will argue with the reason.
Zhen Shu, the Minister of Punishment, and Feng Quan, the Minister of Rites, were slightly different from the previous two groups. Zhen Shu did not want to participate too much in government affairs. He would listen to whoever made the final decision.
Feng Quan is a servant of Xue Guoguan, the first assistant. Since the first assistant has become a quasi-national warrior, Feng Quan is right to do this. At least he can protect himself wisely...
