L.F-Hist.Novelist Chapter 8 Wei Zhongxian felt somewhat wronged
Chapter 8 Wei Zhongxian felt somewhat wronged
"Your Majesty, the court raised a total of 987,400 taels of silver and over 53,000 mu of fertile land this time. Minister of Works Dong Kewei donated half of his family property, equivalent to 15,000 taels of silver and 7,000 mu of land; Grand Secretary Sun Chengzong donated 100 taels of silver and 5,000 hectares of land; and the following officials each made donations, which are recorded here."
Zhu Ming took the list and glanced at the numbers.
The names of the eunuch faction were followed by large sums of silver: Wei Zhongxian 30,000 taels, Cui Chengxiu 25,000 taels, and Luo Sigong 20,000 taels.
This is the pledge of allegiance from the eunuch faction, written with a hefty sum of money.
The Donglin Party's figures were also substantial: Gao Panlong received 10,000 taels of silver and 50,000 mu of fertile land; Li Yingsheng received 4,000 taels and 20,000 mu of fertile land; Zhou Qiyuan received 1,200 taels…
He doesn't care about the size of the numbers; he cares about the thoughts behind them.
The eunuch faction was professing loyalty, the Donglin Party was upholding its reputation, and the centrists were observing the winds of change.
One million taels of silver revealed the true nature of the hearts of all the officials in the court.
Wei Zhongxian took half a step forward and lowered his voice.
"This old servant dares to suggest that ninety percent go to Your Majesty's private treasury, and one ten percent be kept as a stipend for those who handled the transaction. What does Your Majesty think?"
The accounts are split 90/100.
Zhu Ming did not answer. He got up, walked to a corner of the pavilion, and lifted the lid of one of the wooden boxes.
"I took 50,000 taels from the imperial treasury and donated it as well."
Wei Zhongxian's eyes widened.
Fifty thousand taels.
The emperor's private savings exceeded the donations of any single official in the court.
Wei Zhongxian donated 30,000 taels, while the emperor donated 50,000 taels.
What does this mean? It means that Emperor Tianqi (Zhu Ming) is telling everyone: donating money is not just a matter for your subjects; I am with you.
I provided the money and the effort. I wasn't just watching you go into the water from the shore; I jumped in before any of you.
The deeper meaning is that the emperor paid money, and thus gained official status.
The destination of this money no longer needed to go through anyone else; it was directly decided by the emperor.
The Ministry of Revenue couldn't control it, the Cabinet couldn't control it, and even Wei Zhongxian couldn't control it.
Because this is the emperor's money, the emperor can spend it however he wants.
Zhu Ming closed the box, turned around, and said, "My 50,000 taels, plus the donations, total one million taels. This money will not go into the imperial treasury or be allocated to the Ministry of Revenue. Instead, it will be given to the Ministry of Works to rebuild the Wanggong Factory... no, to rebuild the Great Ming People's Armory."
Wei Zhongxian's lips twitched rapidly.
Give it all to the Ministry of Works?
What about Wei Zhongxian?
He painstakingly set up this huge operation, offended a whole bunch of people, and didn't even get a penny? Thirty thousand taels plus thirty thousand taels equals ninety thousand taels, all of which he actually took from his own private coffers. What about Li Yongzhen, Tu Wenfu, and the others?
It was agreed that the eunuch faction's money would be returned in full, while the officials' money would be split 10/90!?
Now it's all being filled into Wanggongchang... the Great Ming People's Armory. The people are happy, but how will he explain this to those people?
However, this was not to be deposited into the imperial treasury for slow spending, nor to be used to offset this year's expenses in the Ministry of Revenue. Instead, it was earmarked for this purpose and all of it was poured into the reconstruction of Wanggongchang.
Wei Zhongxian felt somewhat wronged.
But he couldn't say it; not only could he not say it, he had to smile brighter than anyone else.
"Your Majesty is wise! Wanggongchang is a crucial location in the capital, the foundation of our military strength, and its reconstruction is of utmost urgency. Your Majesty's actions demonstrate your concern for the Liaodong affairs and your care for the soldiers. This old servant will immediately go and convey the imperial decree, ordering the Ministry of Works to expedite the reconstruction."
"Alright," Zhu Ming glanced at him, "Stop pretending. I can see through your act of grievance."
Wei Zhongxian's smile froze.
Zhu Ming pointed to the carved rosewood box on the table.
Wei Zhongxian's gaze was firmly drawn to it—in the center of the box lid was a brass plaque with the four seal characters "Tianqi Yuzhi" engraved on it, the strokes neat and incisive.
Each of the four corners of the nameplate is engraved with a ruyi cloud pattern, which is very exquisite.
"Open it and take a look," Zhu Ming said slowly. "This is a novel contraption that I commissioned the Ministry of Works to research and create over six months!"
Wei Zhongxian bowed and carefully lifted the lid of the box.
The moment the box lid was opened, a special piece of music began to play.
It started making noise by itself without anyone touching anything.
Ding ding dong, ding ding dong, ding ding ding ding dong!
This is not a flute, not a zither, not a pipa; it is a timbre that Wei Zhongxian had never heard before.
It is "High Mountains and Flowing Water".
It's amazing! This little box can actually play such beautiful music.
Wei Zhongxian's hand froze in mid-air, his mouth slightly open, forgetting to close it.
The lid was fully opened, revealing the internal structure: a brass roller densely inlaid with tiny steel needles; a row of steel combs of varying lengths, arranged from longest to shortest; and several gears smaller than soybeans, tightly meshed together, slowly turning.
Zhu Ming looked at his expression and smiled.
Tremble, ancient people!
Feel the power of the time traveler, feel the wisdom of a ninth-level carpenter who combined the skills of an eighth-level fitter... and the music box that he created by drawing blueprints from memory and working with the old craftsmen of the Ministry of Works for half a year!
"This is called... the Heavenly Revelation Sound Box!" Zhu Ming said, "We'll still split the profits 70/30, you get 30%, and I get 70%."
Fireworks and popcorn exploded in Wei Zhongxian's mind!
After all, he was in charge of the Royal Treasure Shop, so he knew all too well what price such a unique item could fetch.
From Nanjing to Beijing, from Suzhou and Hangzhou to Guangzhou, all royal commercial operations were under his control.
Silk, porcelain, tea, exotic Western goods, spices from Southeast Asia—these things circulated in his hands, and he would peel off a layer of skin with each transaction.
He had long noticed how valuable the novel toys in the palace were.
Zhu Ming... also refers to those small wooden items made by the former Zhu Youxiao, such as wooden oxen and flowing horses, automatic flying birds, and water-powered repeating crossbows. If one of these items were to be released, it could fetch several thousand taels of silver on the market.
Wealthy merchants, nobles, and royalty would spend money without batting an eye for the title of "Imperial Made".
Moreover, the glass zodiac animal given last time... was also a glass craft product, but Wei Zhongxian sold it for a high price, easily earning hundreds of thousands of silver dollars. His revenue in half a year exceeded his haul in five years!
Otherwise, Wei Zhongxian wouldn't have been so quick to spend so much money on disaster relief after the Tianqi Explosion!
Moreover, this little gadget looks very high-end, and those salt merchants, tea merchants, imperial relatives, and gentry from Jiangnan will definitely be interested in it and will surely fight tooth and nail to grab it!
Wei Zhongxian's mind was already racing with calculations.
This product is unique in the entire world; there are no other branches.
Once it was placed on the counter of Baohe Store and a sign was hung up, the news spread, and not only the salt merchants of Jiangnan, but also the banks of Shanxi, the tea merchants of Huizhou, and the maritime merchants of Fujian would all be scrambling to grab it.
The price can't be set too high, nor too low. Too high and it scares people away; too low and it doesn't reflect its value. Three thousand taels? Five thousand taels? Ten thousand taels?
More importantly, this thing is rare.
The Emperor said it took half a year to make, which shows that the process is complex and difficult to replicate.
The more difficult it is to replicate, the more precious it becomes.
The first batch will consist of a hundred or so units, released to test the waters; the second batch will consist of a few hundred units, with a slightly lower price to increase volume; the third batch can have the music changed to something new, such as "Qin King's Battle Song" or "Yangchun Baixue." Changing the music creates a new product, and a new product means a new price.
This is another hen that lays golden eggs.
Seven parts go to Zhu Ming, and three parts go to Wei Zhongxian. With just this one item, he can fill the hole in the donations several times over and still make a fortune.
"Your Majesty, rest assured, this time we will definitely reap them a heavy blow!" Wei Zhongxian's voice trembled.
"This old servant will personally oversee Baohe Shop. Display the items there for three days without prices, just let people see and hear them. Once things have gained momentum, then spread the word—the highest bidder wins."
"Those salt merchants from Jiangnan spent a fortune on those glass zodiac figurines before. This imperial-made 'Wonderful Sound Box,' for the first time, you'd be embarrassed to even raise your paddle if you didn't offer ten or twenty thousand taels."
Zhu Ming nodded. As expected of Wei Zhongxian, he came up with a marketing plan in an instant. What a talent!
Yes! Sometimes he wondered, how could there be so many talented people at the end of the Ming Dynasty?
Xu Guangqi, Sun Yuanhua, Wang Zheng, Song Yingxing, Li Zhizao... these people would be top minds in any era, so why did they all end up in this turbulent dynasty?
Moreover, with so many people crammed together, how did the Ming Dynasty still end up like that?
The fate of talented people at the end of the Ming Dynasty can be summed up in four words: unappreciated talent.
Now, I've traveled here!
Zhu Mingde must ensure that everyone plays their part, rebuild the glory of the Ming Dynasty, and reshape the backbone of China!
Perhaps this is the historical mission of the Ming Dynasty!
But how can an emperor trapped in the capital make reasonable judgments?
It's time for the role of the Embroidered Uniform Guard to be demonstrated...