Chapter 111: One Percent is a Lot

The truth is, Zhu Biao was used to cleaning up after Zhu Chong. When he knew that he had bought the coal mine in Changning County, Zhu Biao had already figured out how to clean up after Zhu Chong.

After all, if you use the price of a barren mountain to purchase such a large coal mine, anyone who is not a fool can sit at home and wait to collect the money every day.

But now Zhu Chong said that he had written his own name on the title deed of the coal mine, and he only asked Zhu Biao to give him 10% to use as public funds for the Baochao Tizhusi. This immediately made Zhu Biao look at Zhu Chong with admiration.

"Are you serious?" Old Zhu took a long time to digest the information in front of him, and stared at Zhu Chong who was still kneeling below with wide eyes.

"Absolutely true," Zhu Chong replied, head bowed. "If it weren't for the fact that my Treasury and Banknote Administration needed a certain amount of coal and silver to pay the craftsmen, I would have had the Crown Prince inform Your Majesty of the coal mine long ago."

Zhu Chong said this without any hesitation, and even added fuel to the fire.

"I know that my previous behavior was absurd and caused Your Majesty, the Crown Prince, and the Queen to be greatly disappointed in me. Seeing the imperial treasury empty, I am extremely anxious. Even if I offer a mere coal mine in its entirety, it would not be enough to make up for even a fraction of my previous mistakes..."

It has to be said that Zhu Chong's words touched the hearts of Zhu Biao and Zhu Biao, and they couldn't help but sigh that their second son had finally grown up after experiencing this period of civilian life!

But they never thought that Zhu Chong was completely adhering to the principle of "don't hit a smiling person" and started to lick the dog mode towards Zhu and Zhu Biao. In addition, he himself was a close relative of Zhu and Zhu Biao, so the effect was naturally twice the result with half the effort.

It was also because Zhu Yuanzhang was too murderous in his daily life. Although the prince was benevolent, the civil and military officials were more in awe of the two of them. No one was as imaginative as Zhu Chong.

Especially since Zhu Chong had done so many ridiculous things before, and suddenly he had such a big "merit" this time, Zhu Chong didn't know what to say next.

At this moment, the crown prince also knelt on the ground and said to Old Zhu: "Father, since my second brother is so worried about state affairs, why not distribute this coal mine as my second brother said? However, I beg you to take back the land deed and nationalize the coal mine."

Zhu Biao's move was the icing on the cake. He would definitely not keep the coal mine in his own hands. Even though he was the crown prince, no matter how much Zhu Yuanzhang doted on him, Zhu Biao still knew his limits.

Hearing the prince say this, Old Zhu couldn't help but cough a few times and laughed, "The Ming Dynasty is all ours. We don't even look down on a mere coal mine."

"Besides, the second brother has written your name on the land deed. This coal mine belongs to you, Prince. You can take the deed."

But then, Old Zhu changed the subject and said, "However, the coal mine involves a wide range of areas. If the prince is willing, he can hand over 50% to the national treasury, and the rest can be divided among you brothers."

After hearing what Old Zhu said, the brothers Zhu Biao and Zhu Chong, who were kneeling below, looked at each other in surprise. Zhu Biao did not expect that Old Zhu would be so generous and leave so much to them.

But he immediately thought of something and signaled to Zhu Chong with his eyes to get rid of this trouble as soon as possible.

Just as Lao Zhu said, the coal mine involves too many areas, and now countless eyes are watching it. He feels like he is holding a hot potato in his hand, so it is better to throw it away quickly.

When Zhu Chong saw Zhu Biao's eyes, he knew what his brother, the crown prince, was thinking and couldn't help laughing in his heart.

In fact, he also understood that Zhu Biao did not want to take on this hot potato. Taking 10% was actually too much for him. Even if the prince handed over 50% and kept the rest for himself, it would probably cause countless troubles in the future.

When Old Zhu finds out about the coal reserves and output value in Changning County, he will definitely hold a grudge against me. He might even find a reason to exile me or demote me to a commoner.

Zhu Chong then bowed and said with a smile, "Since Your Majesty has allocated 50% of the share, with the remaining share to be shared between me and the Crown Prince, then I would like to ask Your Highness to divide the remaining 50% into three parts."

"One share belongs to the Baochao Tizhusi, and is provided for the daily use of the Baochao Tizhusi."

"Thirty percent will be turned over to the inner treasury. Over the years, Queen Mother has consistently reduced palace expenses. It's all your sons' fault that the mother of a nation has such a difficult life. Your Majesty, please approve and retain this thirty percent to cover Queen Mother's daily expenses within the palace."

"The last ten percent belongs to the Crown Prince. I'm sure the Crown Prince won't object."

Hearing Zhu Chong's words, Zhu Biao's eyes suddenly lit up. Old Zhu, who was originally leaning on the dragon throne, straightened his back and looked at his son kneeling on the ground with a look of satisfaction on his face.

Although Zhu Yuanzhang had just said that the prince should hand over 50% of the profits, it did not mean that he only wanted that much.

Right now, the more money he has, the better. He is counting on more money to support his Northern Expedition and attack on Japan!

So when faced with such a big piece of fat meat but unable to eat it, one would naturally be anxious, but the meat was there and the rules could not be abolished.

The coal mine incident has now become a hot topic in the city. If he takes all the shares directly from the prince, it will definitely leave a bad impression on the people of the world that he is greedy and will be accused of not even letting go of his own son's property.

That's why Mr. Zhu only asked for 50%. As a result, Zhu Chong's subsequent proposal made Mr. Zhu very happy.

In the name of honoring the empress, 30% was given to the palace, and the remaining 20% was divided equally between the crown prince and the treasure banknote supervisor. If it was distributed like this, who would dare to say that the emperor was greedy?

But then again, it was equivalent to Zhu Yuanzhang getting 90% of the coal mines at once. After all, the empress and the prince listened to him, so how could the couple and children be separated?

As for the 10% from the Baochao Tizhusi, that should be given out. After all, there must be a reason, and Old Zhu doesn't mind being generous.

But after thinking it over, Old Zhu decided to be generous. "What does the palace need so much money for? Thirty percent is too much, and ten percent for the crown prince is too little. Let the palace keep ten percent, the crown prince twenty percent, and you, the second brother, keep twenty percent too."

When Zhu Biao heard this, he raised his eyebrows and was about to refuse, but Old Zhu looked at him. After being with Old Zhu for so long, Zhu Biao knew that Old Zhu had made up his mind and there was no room for doubt, so he stopped talking.

Zhu Chong bowed again and said, "I appreciate your majesty's consideration, but the 20% share taken by the Baochao Tizhusi is too much. I dare not accept it. Why don't you keep 10% for your own use?"

Hearing Zhu Chong still refusing and saying that it was pocket money for Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Yuanzhang finally realized that something was wrong.

"Second brother, there's no one else here. Tell me the truth. Is one percent of the coal mine you bought a lot?"