Chapter 0101: What a Vicious Scheme! What a Conscienceless Stratagem!
Innovation? Of course there is~
Xie Chengze swayed his head and said, “Your son believes that the petty sums from the various ministers likely won’t be of much use. Why not mobilize all officials in Jingcheng to donate? From Prime Minister Li down to the lowest clerks, impose compulsory contributions based on the number of carriages in their households, property area, number of lakes and ponds, concubines and maidservants, etc., using different weights and progressive rates. The more carriages a family has, the more silver they must donate. Those who can’t contribute should have their account books thoroughly investigated by the Ministry of Revenue!”
The ministers were instantly horrified: ?!
What a vicious scheme!
What a fucking conscienceless stratagem!
Generally speaking, without impeachment memorials or evidence from others, even the emperor couldn’t arbitrarily confiscate property and exterminate clans, as such actions were characteristic of tyrants. In proper ruler-subject relationships, there should be mutual “trust.”
Therefore, their account books recording “gift exchanges” were relatively safe—as long as they weren’t investigated, nothing would happen.
Even if investigated, as long as they were well hidden, it wouldn’t be a big issue.
But the problem was, even if they didn’t keep records while embezzling or hid them securely, that didn’t mean the lower-ranking officials who sent gifts wouldn’t keep account books or hide them carelessly.
If those minor officials couldn’t donate enough silver and their hidden account books were discovered, it would ultimately implicate them…
This meant that to avoid having their records uncovered, they not only had to pay up but might also have to cover the donations for those lower-ranking officials!
And the number of officials involved in this chain was enormous—if exploited by opposing factions…
The ministers’ hearts pounded like war drums, feeling as if darkness had fallen before their eyes.
Compared to the Crown Prince’s benevolent leniency, the Second Prince truly wore a ferocious smile while aiming straight for their vital organs!
“Your Majesty, this is quite inappropriate!”
“We already emptied our family coffers with the last donation silver and truly can’t scrape together any more money.”
“Second Prince, you can’t keep preying on us like this, can you? We work hard for our monthly salaries, not to mention our own households need to prepare for the harsh winter…”
“Ah, you exaggerate.” How could Xie Chengze not see through their little schemes? He declared righteously, “However bitter you are, can you compare to the common people? However difficult your situation, can it match the hardships of the common people! And where have I been preying on you? Haven’t I been preying on all officials in Jingcheng? This is called impartial treatment and fair dealing!”
“This…” This is sheer nonsense!
“Are you gentlemen unwilling?” Xie Chengze immediately showed deep disappointment and rebuked, “Just three days ago, you were vowing to devote yourselves to the court until your dying days! Now that donation money is mentioned, you immediately turn hostile?”He expressed profound disgust, ‘What a pity that Father Emperor cares for you so much, even specially having me propose raising your monthly salaries in the main hall that day!” Such a waste of Father Emperor’s heartfelt intentions—it turns out you ministers are only fit for sharing prosperity but not adversity!”
“Father Emperor—” Xie Chengze stood up and lamented, “Your son’s heart is broken! Just execute all these ungrateful people!”
The ministers: …
Emperor Jian: …
Oh, so his demand to raise monthly salaries that day was to legitimately demand donation silver today—even pushing the blame for proposing salary increases onto him!
Truly his “wonderful” eldest son.
Xie Chengze’s words left no room for rebuttal, especially as loyal ministers stepped forward one after another, expressing their willingness to donate silver to overcome the crisis together. This forced the unwilling ministers to swallow their grievances and accept their misfortune.
Emperor Jian nodded with satisfaction. Having tasted the sweetness brought by Xie Chengze, he couldn’t resist asking for more. “Chengze, how do you think we should organize donations from the common people?”
Unexpectedly, Xie Chengze’s expression shifted faster than flipping a page—the sorrow on his face vanished instantly, replaced by an impenetrable wall of indifference. “No idea. Ask Shen Yuan.”
Shen Yuan: “…”
Emperor Jian: “…”
Shen Yuan shook his head with a wry smile, then stepped forward and said, “Donations from the common people should be voluntary and are likely to be limited in scale, so there’s no need to go to great lengths. Instead, we should focus on wealthy merchants and businesses across the regions, urging them to donate money and supplies to aid the northern snow disaster areas. To encourage larger contributions, we could erect merit steles in the capital and other prosperous areas, engraving the names and benevolent deeds of donors. At the same time, if Your Majesty were to inscribe these steles, it would not only showcase Your Majesty’s benevolent governance but also inspire others to follow suit, making charitable donations a widespread practice.”
This method was something Shen Yuan had learned from Xie Chengze. Since merchants valued official endorsements, the Emperor’s calligraphy would be priceless to them—something countless people sought but rarely obtained. Acquiring it would bring honor to their ancestors, and merchants would surely flock to the opportunity.
“Oh? This method is brilliant!” Emperor Jian couldn’t help but nod in approval. With a once-in-a-century snow disaster approaching, it was indeed a worthwhile trade to condescend to wield the brush and exchange his calligraphy for the generosity of the wealthy. “Let the Director of the Ministry of Revenue handle this matter.”
That day, the court session dragged on as ministers deliberated over the snow disaster, missing lunch and standing until their legs grew numb and their lips parched.
After offering his own chair to an elderly minister with leg problems, Xie Chengze slipped out of the main hall and took a deep breath of the cold outside air.
He muttered to himself, “I wonder if Sheng Yiren has any news yet.”
After gazing at the sky for a while and doing some eye exercises, Xie Chengze hitched up his court robes and headed to the Ministry of Works. The place was sparsely populated, with no one even guarding the entrance—the main gate was tightly shut, as if barring outsiders.
Xie Chengze knocked on the door, but there was no response. He called for Wuhen, who then carried him over the wall into the Ministry of Works.
Sure enough, the gate was locked from the inside. The courtyard was empty, with no sign of the officials on duty. Wuhen’s ears twitched, and he pointed in a direction, reminding him, “Your Highness, everyone is over there.”
That direction led to the Bureau of Forestry and Hunting under the Ministry of Works, which oversaw the streets, gardens, mountains, forests, and hunting affairs of the capital.
Xie Chengze strode over and saw that the officials of the Ministry of Works were indeed gathered in the Bureau of Forestry and Hunting. Some stood in the courtyard looking up at something, while others were tinkering with something in a workshop to the east. Everyone seemed exhilarated.
Xie Chengze quietly approached and asked, “What are you looking at?”
“Gah!” The sudden appearance of a head over their shoulders and a voice speaking out of nowhere startled the officials, causing them to gasp in shock. Once they recognized Xie Chengze, they relaxed and bowed in greeting. “Second Prince, we heard that Master Gu has completed the heated sleeping platform for winter. We came specifically to see it.”
Oh! The Northeastern heated kang was built this quickly?
The Ministry of Works is quite efficient!
“But… who is Master Gu?”
Several officials exchanged glances before replying, “Master Gu is the chief supervisor of our Ministry of Works, particularly skilled in overseeing the production of various tools. Whether it’s daily utensils for civilian use or military equipment for warfare and defense, everything he supervises improves by several grades.”
“I see. Then I must witness his capabilities.” Xie Chengze nodded and walked into the workshop in the eastern chamber. Inside, two officials were squatting as they stuffed firewood into two different structures: one with a built-in wok and another without, clearly intending to test the effects and differences between the two.
As the firewood burned, smoke gradually rose from the chimneys outside. When the burning was nearly complete, an elderly man with silver hair strode steadily toward the heating kang, his expression stern as he placed his hand beneath the covering.
He immediately jerked it back with a “whoosh,” his expression growing increasingly grave.
Xie Chengze couldn’t help but cover his mouth with a chuckle.
The old man must have been burned.
Hearing the laughter, the elderly man frowned slightly and looked up, asking displeasedly, “Who is laughing here?”