Running towards him from afar was Sun Wei, the Minister of Revenue. Although they were both Jinshi graduates of the same year, Sun Wei was ten years older and held a high position in the Ministry of Revenue, making him appear more like his elder. Sun Wei's eyes were dark, indicating that he had not slept all night.
“Brother Junze, save me!” Sun Wei stepped forward and bowed.
"Ying Qing, what are you doing?"
Sun Wei clung to his hand, his fingers gripping tightly. “The silver ships from the lower county haven’t been salvaged yet, and the newly collected autumn taxes were robbed en route. The imperial granary and the Guanghui treasury are already depleted of silver. How can we possibly raise enough for next year’s military pay?”
"What about the Changying, Jieshen, and Dongyu treasuries?" Ji Jun asked urgently.
“The Ministry of Works’ Jieshen Treasury is already struggling to keep up with its own needs, and the Ministry of Rites’ Dongyu Treasury is already nearly empty. With the New Year’s Day and the Emperor’s Birthday approaching, the Grand Secretary intends to hold a grand celebration. Minister of Rites Dai comes to my residence every day asking for money, making it impossible for this old man to go home. It’s truly unbearable.” Sun Wei’s shoulders slumped down, looking emaciated. “As for the Changying Treasury of the Court of Imperial Stud, Brother Junze, you know that the Minister of the Court of Imperial Stud is a member of the Grand Secretariat.”
As if things weren't going to go wrong, the late emperor hadn't left much of a foundation to begin with, and the current emperor's fondness for military campaigns and the natural and man-made disasters since his ascension to the throne meant that the Minister of Revenue had changed three times in just the four years of the Shengde era. The first retired and went home, the second was imprisoned, and Sun Wei was the third, and also the one most likely to die a glorious death in the line of duty.
"If it were just fate playing tricks on me, that would be one thing, but it's clear that someone is deliberately trying to bring down the Ministry of Revenue and Brother Junze."
He, Sun Wei, and Chen Jian, the Minister of Works who was in charge of flood control in the two rivers, were not only all Jinshi graduates in the ninth year of the Yuanning era, but also all disciples of the Five Masters, and were known as the "New Stream" by their contemporaries. However, unlike the other two who had only heard the Five Masters lecture, he was the Five Masters' inner disciple and ranked three seats after the current emperor.
They shared the same ideal back then, to revitalize the Great Wei Dynasty at all costs. How did things come to this? Why did my former second brother become like this after ascending the throne?
Ji Jun was preoccupied with trying to figure out the emperor's intentions and didn't hear what Sun Wei was saying at all.
He only came to his senses when he arrived at Fengtian Gate.
"When the court proceedings begin, I implore Brother Junze to uphold justice!" Sun Wei pleaded.
The Great Wei Dynasty practiced a system of holding court on odd-numbered days and holding government hearings on even-numbered days. In other words, odd-numbered days were the Emperor's working days, while on even-numbered days, officials could wait at the main gate of the outer palace—Fengtian Gate—if they had business to attend to. If His Majesty was in a good mood and got up early, he would hold a government hearing at the gate. If he was reluctant to leave his wife, children, and warm bed, then all of you should wash up and go to bed, and please come early tomorrow.
In this respect, compared to the late emperor who never attended court and spent all his time in comfort, the current emperor is a very competent one, having never missed a session of government before today.
Of course, this was before today.
"What?! No government duties today?" The officials who had been waiting in the Fengtian Hall were in an uproar.
"Brother Junze, what should we do? What should we do?" Sun Wei burst into tears.
This time, the Emperor wouldn't listen at all, clearly leaving no way out. Even if the Emperor didn't want the purists to become too powerful and intended to balance the power between the court and the people, why would he shut out his ears and leave no chance at all?
Thinking of this, Ji Jun pulled aside the chief eunuch who came to deliver the order and discreetly slipped him some money as a tip. "Eunuch Qian, where did the Emperor rest last night?"
The head eunuch chuckled as he weighed the silver in his sleeve. “Reporting to Lord Ji, His Majesty stayed in the West Garden last night and did not choose a concubine.”
West Garden? His heart sank. "Which official was on duty at the West Garden guardhouse yesterday?" Ji Junze asked urgently.
"It's the Grand Secretary." Surprised that Minister Ji was completely unaware, the chief eunuch said, "Last night, His Majesty summoned the Grand Secretary in the Qianqing Palace and even drafted an imperial edict."
"What imperial edict?" He gripped Qian Gonggong's sleeve tightly.
"If Lord Ji is so eager to know, why don't you come and ask me?" A smug laugh rang out from behind.
"Your Excellency, the Grand Secretary."
People around him greeted him and tried to curry favor with him.
Concealing his worry, Ji Jun bowed and greeted him. "Good morning, my lord."
"Hmm." Staring at his slightly bent back, the Grand Secretary said with enjoyment, "Want to know who that imperial edict was given to last night?"
"Please enlighten me, Your Excellency."
"Lord Ji should also know that what His Majesty needs most right now is money, but unfortunately the Ministry of Revenue is useless and cannot share His Majesty's burden." As he spoke, the old man glanced at his side, causing the Ministry of Revenue official to tremble uncontrollably, fearing that the imperial edict would fall upon his head.
"After much deliberation, I have finally come up with a good solution to this urgent problem."
Upon hearing this, Sun Wei immediately stopped crying: "I hope the Grand Secretary will enlighten me!"
He clung to Prime Minister Zheng with both hands and feet, as if holding onto a lifeline, not caring whether the current was clear or muddy, as long as it could save his life.
Even if one had great ambitions back then, one ultimately becomes confused in the face of life and death.
Ji Jun coldly observed the unprincipled Sun Wei and made a plan in his mind.
"How did Lord Ji guess? That's right, Lord Ji is a young talent that comes along once in a century. Even if he can't enter the cabinet, he should be able to come up with this kind of method." With a sarcastic tone, the chief minister looked at him with great pride, "There are twenty-one extremely wealthy households in the country. Just take a few of them and we can solve the silver deficit this winter."
Upon hearing this, all the officials were stunned.
"You mean...confiscate our property, sir?" Ji Jun stared at him in disbelief.
"Lord Ji is indeed clever."
Killing the goose that lays the golden eggs is tantamount to destroying one's own Great Wall. That old dog, that old dog!
His hands trembled uncontrollably. "Does Your Excellency know the consequences of this action?"
"Consequences? Anyway, the trick of 'the thief blooms' is everywhere. This time it's just a few wealthy families involved. What could possibly happen? Or does Minister Ji have a better way to share the Emperor's burdens?"
After saying this, Chief Minister Zheng smiled smugly, summoned the Minister of Justice, and left the main hall.
"It's over! It's over!" With his hair disheveled, Sun Wei burst into tears.
"This is a turning point, sir," the officials from the Ministry of Revenue said, trying to reassure him.
"What do you know? What do you know! This time I am going to die, and the Ministry of Revenue is going to die! I need to go back and settle my affairs!"
Pushing aside the crowd, Sun Wei threw his head back and ran out of the main hall, laughing wildly. Seeing this, all the officials said Sun Wei had gone mad, but only he knew that Sun Wei was perfectly clear-headed.
The Great Wei Dynasty has existed for a century. From initially paying taxes in kind to now uniformly using silver as the tax base, this is a victory for merchants. In the complex bloodline of the imperial tax system, merchants may seem weak, but in reality, they control the exchange of goods for silver, especially the extremely wealthy merchants.
Merchants prioritize currency and consider the sale of rare and unusual goods as secondary.