Meanwhile, the Ministry of Rites.
Although he had left the cabinet, as Minister of Rites, Song Yue still had a lot of work to do, not only in charge of palace rites but also in national education, the imperial examinations, and matters concerning vassal states and diplomacy. Especially these days were the annual tribute period, with foreign countries coming to pay tribute and conduct trade with the court; he had to oversee everything from top to bottom.
Adding to the matters concerning the Wang School of thought and the handover of cabinet affairs, he had been hunched over his desk for nearly two hours. The tea brought by the steward would often go cold before he could even take a sip.
The steward serving him shook his head. If it were anyone else, they would probably still be fretting about leaving the cabinet, or running around trying to find connections and solutions. But Lord Song doesn't seem to care at all and immediately throws himself back into his work. He's the only one in the entire court who doesn't care.
He possessed exceptional talent and intelligence, yet was also incredibly pragmatic and diligent. No wonder he achieved second place in the imperial examinations at the age of seventeen and became a cabinet minister by the age of twenty-seven. How fortunate the Ming Dynasty was to have a Minister Song like him! If there were two more like him, the lives of the common people would be immeasurably better.
Beyond these admirable qualities, what truly moved him about Lord Song was the man's care and concern for his two students. At the height of his career, anyone else, let alone his own son, might have severed ties or sacrificed their own interests to protect themselves. But Lord Song didn't. Not only did he not, but he resolutely and decisively took responsibility for them. Without shirking, without arguing, without begging, he made this choice with the maturity and responsibility of a man.
When it was time to serve the eighth cup of tea that day, the steward couldn't bear it and, while grinding the ink, advised, "Sir, you've been working at your desk for almost two hours now. You should take a break. There are so many matters in the department that can't be dealt with all at once. If you ruin your health, these matters will be delayed even more."
Song Yue looked up at him, sighed, and smiled slightly. "Okay, I'll listen to you. I'll rest for a while, and you shouldn't be busy here either. Go and rest for a bit."
It was lunchtime, and if he didn't rest, the steward would have to stay in the room serving him. So he got up and rested for a while so that the steward could have his meal earlier.
He has a lot of energy and is often so busy that he doesn't know when to stop, but these are all his personal choices. If he always drags his subordinates along with him, he is not a good boss.
Stepping out onto the veranda, facing the snow-covered courtyard, looking at the snow on the brackets and the ice between the branches, Song Yue stood quietly for a while, his hands behind his back.
A moment later, someone came up behind him and draped a thick, sandalwood-colored satin cloak over his shoulders. It was Zhao Qiran, the Right Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate and a disciple of the School of Mind.
Song Yue turned his head and said calmly, "You've been running around these past two days, you must be tired."
Zhao Qiran shook his head. “The matter concerning the lord concerns the court and the people, so it is only right. Many people feel indignant on behalf of the lord, and some inevitably lose their composure. Fortunately, I have suppressed all the memorials, analyzed the pros and cons with everyone, and comforted them as the lord instructed, letting them continue with their work without losing their composure.”
"Yes." Song Yue nodded. "Given the current situation, this is the best course of action."
“But as long as the cabinet is without Your Excellency, the hidden dangers will remain. I know Your Excellency will eventually return to the cabinet, but in your absence, the Xu faction will likely become even more lawless. Every day will be a winter for us, a winter for the people.” Zhao Qiran hesitated for a moment, then added, “The Duke of Dingguo is a descendant of a meritorious official, and he watched the Emperor grow up. He is highly respected by the Emperor. A few days ago, on his birthday, the Emperor specially invited him to the Qianqing Palace for a chat… If the Duke of Dingguo were to intercede with the Emperor, perhaps Your Excellency’s return to the cabinet could be brought forward…”
Song Yue understood Zhao Qiran's anxiety and worry, as well as his racking his brains over this matter. The Duke of Dingguo's daughter had always admired him, and if he were to make even the slightest gesture, the Duke of Dingguo would surely plead with the Emperor on his behalf.
In fact, the Duke of Dingguo had already arrived at the Ministry of Rites early this morning. His request was very simple: he only hoped that the Duke could visit his residence and have a chat with his daughter. That was all.
He did not agree. Since they were destined to be apart in this life, he didn't want to give others false hope. He had always done this before, and he would continue to do so in the future; it wouldn't change because of any change in status or position.
“I know you’re anxious.” Song Yue patted Zhao Qiran on the shoulder. “But you’ve been with me for so many years, you should know that I won’t use emotions as a bargaining chip in my career. Even for the sake of the country and the people, I would rather do ten more things to make up for it.”
Snowflakes drifted down from the eaves, and Zhao Qiran pursed his lips somewhat embarrassed.
“Besides,” Song Yue continued, “you should believe me. I didn’t make this choice on a whim. I’m a teacher with responsibilities to my students, but I’m also a subject with responsibilities to the country and its people. Don’t worry, this situation won’t last long, and everything is still under my control.”
Zhao Qiran nodded. "Of course I believe you, but it seems that Xu's faction has already started to make moves. This time, their target is... Lan Tan."
Song Yue narrowed his eyes slightly and patted his shoulder, "Let's go inside and talk."
The Qianqing Palace.
Emperor Zhu Rui sized up Shen Qingchen, then asked Han Yuanshu, "Is this the person who offered the advice?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Zhu Rui looked at Qing Chen, "The Huairou dike repair is short three thousand taels. I heard you have a solution?"
Qingchen nodded, "Your Majesty, I did suggest a method to Lord Han."
"You're short three thousand taels, yet you somehow managed to conjure up money out of thin air?" Zhu Rui asked.
"Your Majesty, I have only come up with a plan to raise funds to meet the urgent need for dike repairs," she said modestly, which made Zhu Rui somewhat disappointed upon hearing this.
He thought it was some brilliant plan, and said rather irritably, "From whom can I get this advice?"
"Raise funds from noble families and other people who are well-off and have extra money."
Zhu Rui was increasingly disappointed upon hearing this, thinking to himself that this strategy was not particularly novel. When local government offices were short of money, they had borrowed money from local wealthy merchants and issued IOUs.
If we make Zhu Rui issue IOUs, wouldn't that be tantamount to announcing to the whole country that the national treasury is empty? Where would he put his face then?
But since everyone was already there, it would seem as if he couldn't speak up in front of so many people, so he had no choice but to say, "My government will not make things difficult for those wealthy and powerful families. How do you plan to raise the money? How do you get them to willingly hand it over to you?"
"Your Majesty, the answer to Your Majesty's question is simply 'profit'," Qingchen said calmly after taking a breath. "The world is bustling, all for profit; the world is bustling, all for gain. If something is profitable, it will naturally attract those who want to profit. Noble families and powerful clans have great wealth and power because their ancestors inherited their titles. However, after several generations, their descendants become accustomed to a life of luxury and have no interest in learning how to make money. They often rely solely on the rent from the land and shops inherited from their ancestors, always spending more than they earn. Occasionally, there are those who lend money for profit, but the risk of losing that money is too great. These noble families have surplus wealth, but they don't know how to make money from wealth, so they often gradually decline after a few generations."
"If there were a way to make money now, they would only need to invest some capital to have a stable profit. How could they not be tempted?"
Zhu Rui frowned slightly upon hearing this, "What benefits would come from building a dam?"
Qingchen looked at the emperor and said clearly, word by word, "Your Majesty, the dike repair project itself is not profitable, so we need to create profits from it."
This was something Zhu Rui hadn't expected. It wasn't about borrowing money, or issuing IOUs; it was about creating profit to attract people to spend their own money… Could this seemingly honest young man really do that?
Zhu Rui asked, "How is this profit created?"
"Your Majesty, we are still short three thousand taels of silver for the dike repair. If we only raise three thousand taels, it will only be enough to cover the repair costs and will not generate any profit. If we can raise six thousand taels of silver, then after deducting three thousand taels for the dike repair, the remaining three thousand taels can be used to generate profit."
Zhu Rui seemed to understand a little, "Explain in detail."
"In the capital there is the wealthy Wang family, in Jiangnan there is the powerful Ye family, and in Guangzhou there is the extremely wealthy Hu family. Besides these, there are other wealthy merchants whose expertise lies in business. Their businesses involve horses, furs, porcelain, tea, spices, and so on, often yielding profits of five or six percent. They are professional merchants with rich experience and have long established numerous channels for purchasing and selling goods. They are experts in this field. If His Majesty entrusts the remaining three thousand taels to them, and they generate four percent interest after a year, they can repay the three thousand taels of principal. The extra amount can be considered their reward. It should not be a difficult task for them."
Seeing Zhu Rui deep in thought, Qing Chen continued, "The 4% interest on 3,000 taels of silver translates to 2% interest on the 6,000 taels raised. Although 2% interest may not seem like much, it comes with the guarantee of the imperial court. Those who contribute money do not have to bear any risk, and it is almost a sure thing. Naturally, there will be no shortage of people willing to participate. In this way, the interest on the 6,000 taels of silver raised will be secured."
As soon as the words were spoken, even the usually composed and experienced Xu Yan was secretly taken aback. His cloudy eyes, which had been feigning inactivity, began to move. He hadn't expected this young concubine to be so quick-witted. He had always thought his son was intelligent and quick-witted, but compared to this young concubine, he was still somewhat lacking.
Han Yuanshu knelt on the ground listening without any expression. In any case, he already knew the whole plan and was the first to know it.
Zhou Shiping had come to file a complaint, but upon hearing this, he became somewhat flustered. He felt as if his legs were about to give way, and his knees were being sucked into the floor, feeling heavy and sluggish.
Zhu Rui finally understood—with money managed by professionals and backed by the imperial court, of course people would be willing to invest. If he weren't the emperor, but just a prince, making money this way would be incredibly worry-free. He had to admit, it was a good idea.
Unfortunately, he was the emperor, possessing a vast national treasury. He couldn't possibly entrust the entire treasury to merchants to manage, as no merchant could handle such a large amount.
Emperor Zhu Rui pondered for a moment, then returned to the matter of repairing the dike, asking, "The interest has been received, but we've only used three thousand taels of capital for the dike repair. I still need to repay those three thousand taels..."
The dike repairs were originally funded by the national treasury, so being able to use other people's money to solve the immediate crisis was already quite generous. But Zhu Rui was a greedy man; thinking he could make money out of thin air, he didn't even want to repay the initial investment.
Qingchen looked at the greedy emperor, then glanced at Han Yuanshu who was still kneeling on the ground, and slowly opened his mouth: "Your Majesty, this money... is not in a hurry to be returned."
"Hmm?" Zhu Rui raised an eyebrow.
"When the agreed-upon period arrives and the Emperor needs to return their initial investment, the same method will be used to raise another six thousand taels. The money raised in the second round can then be used to repay the initial investment. After that, the money raised in the third round can be used to repay the initial investment in the second round..."
As soon as the words were spoken, the Qianqing Palace fell silent, with only a few candles burning brightly. Everyone was stunned.
"Wonderful—" Zhu Rui paused for a moment, first murmuring to himself, then exclaiming twice, "Wonderful! Wonderful!"
What a brilliant example of copying!
He used the money from later payments to pay off the money from earlier payments, the principal was circulated repeatedly, and the interest was generated by professional merchants. In this way, he didn't have to worry about owing money, and he could repay the three thousand taels whenever he wanted...
Qingchen lowered his head, "Your Majesty flatters me."
Actually, this method was not created by her, but rather she had seen a similar model in modern times and transplanted the model that originated in later generations to the Ming Dynasty.
This type of model is called a fund.
As soon as he finished speaking, Xu Yan, who had once served as the Vice Minister of Revenue, was shocked. He felt goosebumps all over his body and stared intently at the young official in front of him.
A method never before heard of, unparalleled talent. This young man far exceeded my expectations!
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