The Alcohol Debate
Watching Zuo Murui's departing figure, Xie Zhuo felt no emotion whatsoever.
In any case, the only person he wanted to marry was Fu Zhi Qiao.
On the contrary, Fu Zhi Qiao was not determined to marry him. Thinking of this, Xie Zhuo's heart was immediately shrouded in gloom.
We must finalize their marriage arrangements as soon as possible.
He could not find peace of mind until he had brought a woman into his household.
After the New Year, Xie Zhuo couldn't wait to write a letter to the old prince Xie Heshan. In the letter, he said that he was in love with a woman and wanted to marry her, but his mother objected because of their different social statuses. He hoped that his grandfather could make the decision for him.
That's right, Xie Zhuo plans to start with his grandfather. As long as his grandfather agrees, even if his mother is unhappy, she will have to swallow her anger.
Xie Zhuo was absolutely certain that his grandfather would side with him. For others, a good marriage would be a powerful alliance, but for the Duan Prince's Mansion, keeping a low profile was the only way to ensure lifelong peace. If he were to marry the daughter of a powerful minister, His Majesty would inevitably become suspicious again, suspecting that he was secretly forming factions. If he married a woman without a powerful family background, it would put His Majesty at ease.
Having witnessed Xie Zhuo's abilities, Xie Heshan had completely relinquished power to him, shedding his burdens and leaving the center of power behind to visit his old friends in Youzhou. They spent their time enjoying the scenery and fishing. Xie Heshan was very happy away from the capital. Before the new year, he even sent a letter saying that he and his old friends were getting old and didn't know how many more years they could spend together, so he would stay in Youzhou for the New Year and return to the capital afterward.
The letter has been sent; now all that's left is to wait for a reply.
Inside the palace.
The officials lined up in two neat rows and entered the Hall of Diligent Governance from outside the Meridian Gate.
Xie Zhuo wore a crimson fitted official robe with light-colored embroidery on the hem and gold trim on the cuffs. He had a jade belt of the same color as the robe tied around his waist. He was tall, handsome and extraordinary.
As soon as Emperor Chengde appeared, the courtiers immediately prostrated themselves and bowed, saying, "Your humble servants pay their respects to Your Majesty. Long live the Emperor!"
The first morning court session after the New Year was mostly about trivial matters. What really sparked discussion among the officials was the memorial submitted by Wu Zhikang, the Minister of War.
Alcohol played a significant role in the military camp.
The winter is bitterly cold, and every year at this time, many soldiers die in the barracks. Soldiers suffer from fever due to the cold and infected wounds, and eventually there is no cure, so they can only watch helplessly as they die.
Today is different. Soldiers who developed high fevers were able to bring down their fevers after being rubbed with alcohol, and eight out of ten eventually survived.
Wu Zhikang saw the magic of alcohol.
At first, he didn't take this so-called alcohol seriously, but after testing it for more than half a year, especially after the winter when there were frequent high temperatures, he deeply felt the benefits of alcohol and the value that alcohol brought to Dawei.
Since obtaining alcohol, very few soldiers in the barracks have died from fever. This is not an isolated case. More than half a year has passed since the court issued the alcohol, and after so long of testing, it has been confirmed that alcohol is indeed a good thing.
Wu Zhikang reported this situation to the emperor.
The Chengde Emperor was overjoyed upon hearing this.
The reduction in casualties meant that the nation's military strength would be further enhanced, and the ministers congratulated in unison: "Your Majesty, we congratulate you!"
There was also a minister who was good at reading people's expressions. Seeing Emperor Chengde's smiling face, he immediately offered his opinion, "Your Majesty, since this alcohol is so useful, can it be used among the common people?"
This proposal was met with both support and opposition from some ministers, sparking heated debate in the court.
The ministers who agreed to use alcohol among the common people believed that many people die every year from fever that cannot be reduced, and many of them are children. These children will be the future pillars of the Great Wei Kingdom when they grow up.
Ministers who disagreed argued that alcohol was too expensive and that the amount consumed by ordinary people would be too large for the national treasury to bear.
"Why not just spend some money to buy out the alcohol production formula and bring the alcohol production workshop to the imperial court?" The speaker was Wang Xie, the Vice Minister of Works. He first glanced at Prime Minister Du Zhengbang and only spoke after seeing him nod.
Everyone in the court knew that Wang Xie was a member of the Prime Minister's faction, and his words basically represented the Prime Minister's opinion.
Now that the Prime Minister had expressed his opinion, the other ministers no longer objected.
Xie Zhuo frowned upon seeing this and looked up at the person sitting on the dragon throne. He did not miss the slight glimmer of interest in the eyes of the Chengde Emperor. It seemed that His Majesty's desire for the alcohol formula had not been completely extinguished.
Xie Zhuo's expression was solemn. Just as he was about to speak, a minister stepped forward from the right and said, "Your Majesty, in recent years, the border regions have been continuously at war, and the military expenditures have been quite large. Last year's war with the barbarians has already emptied most of the national treasury. Afterwards, the south suffered from floods... Your Majesty is benevolent and cares about the people, continuously allocating funds for disaster relief and even exempting them from taxes for a year. Now the national treasury is almost in deficit."
The speaker was Chen Deyi, the Minister of Revenue.
Chen Deyi was a minister in charge of managing the national treasury's revenue and expenditure, including taxes, salaries, and provisions. He knew the state of the treasury better than anyone.
There was a moment of silence in the court.
The Emperor Chengde's expression turned serious.
Du Zhengbang's face also darkened. Chen Deyi came from a poor family and his political views had never been compatible with his. He suspected that Chen Deyi was deliberately going against him.
Chen Deyi's position as Minister of Revenue was personally promoted by the emperor. Born into a humble family, Chen was largely ignored in court and belonged to no faction. The emperor recognized this and decided to groom Chen for the position, aiming to counterbalance the influence of powerful clans and further solidify his imperial authority by supporting officials from humble backgrounds.
Chen Deyi had been working diligently as Minister of Revenue for many years, so the emperor valued his suggestions.
Wang Xie sneered inwardly, but didn't show it on his face. He simply asked, "How much would it cost to buy an alcohol prescription?"
"Buying the alcohol formula may not be expensive, but what about building an alcohol mill? Buying the raw materials for alcohol doesn't cost money, does hiring craftsmen and workers not cost money? Putting aside all these expenses, may I ask how much silver Lord Wang plans to spend to buy out the alcohol formula?"
Although Wang Xie was the Vice Minister of Works, the Minister of Works handled important matters such as military equipment, civil engineering, and water conservancy. He only assisted from the side. His real management was the relatively leisurely Miscellaneous Construction Bureau, Bamboo and Wood Bureau, and Water Management Bureau.
Furthermore, having been pampered since childhood, he had no idea how much money it would cost to hire craftsmen and buy sons, so he could only bite the bullet and say, "All land under heaven belongs to the king. As long as Your Majesty speaks up, the alcohol recipe and alcohol workshop will surely be obtained without breaking a sweat."
Xie Zhuo immediately spoke up: "What an effortless statement! Lord Wang is really talking without any real understanding of the situation. He just wants the people to contribute. If you want to contribute, why doesn't Lord Wang take the lead and donate his own house?"
Hearing this undisguised sarcasm, Wang Xie raised an eyebrow. "General Xie, your words are extremely rude. If the house is sold, where will my whole family live?"
"Lord Wang, you know that if you sell the house, you'll have nowhere to go, but what about the common people? You're asking ordinary people to hand over their very means of survival. How merciful you are!"
Wang Xie, his face flushed with embarrassment, cast a questioning glance at Du Zhengbang. Seeing that Du Zhengbang did not respond, his eyes flickered uncertainly, and he stammered, "This...this is just a discussion..."
Chen Deyi's opposition to buying alcohol formulas and building a distillery was not to oppose Du Zhengbang, but because the national treasury was indeed running out of money.
At first, his idea was the same as His Majesty's: instead of spending so much money to buy alcohol, why not produce it ourselves and use it ourselves? Wouldn't that save a lot of money?
Later, it is unknown what General Xie said to His Majesty, but His Majesty gave up the idea of building an alcohol workshop. However, Chen Deyi never let go of this matter in his heart, because he personally signed off on each purchase of alcohol. Each purchase of alcohol cost tens of thousands of taels of silver, and his heart was bleeding!
When Xie Zhuo went to Qingzhou to purchase alcohol, Chen Deyi went with him. During the trip to Qingzhou, Chen Deyi visited all the facilities except for the most confidential alcohol refining room, which he did not enter.
Firstly, the method of refining alcohol is unique in the world, and it would be unreasonable for the imperial court to forcibly take it back; secondly, refining alcohol is indeed not an easy task. Not to mention that skilled workers are hard to find, just building an alcohol workshop and warehouse is a considerable expense.
Most importantly, building a distillery is not something that yields immediate profits.
The initial steps involved building houses, hiring workers, and buying grain, which would cost at least a million taels of silver. The imperial court could certainly afford this amount, but refining alcohol was not something that could be done overnight. If the imperial court wanted to build an alcohol workshop, it would mean continuously investing hundreds of thousands of taels of silver!
In the long run, the court will definitely benefit from keeping the alcohol mill in its hands, but it will take several years to recoup the money spent. The national treasury is currently tight, and if more money is withdrawn, the accounts will look very bad. When His Majesty sees the empty treasury, his position as Minister of Revenue will be nearing its end.
Chen Deyi didn't want to be demoted.
It would be different if alcohol were produced privately.
The amount of alcohol purchased each year is determined by the imperial court. If the court plans to purchase one million taels of silver worth of alcohol this year, it can do so in five or six installments, paying only one or two hundred thousand taels of silver each time, thus greatly reducing the pressure on the national treasury.
Only when the national treasury is full can his position as Minister be secure.
Besides, the imperial court can collect some taxes from merchants when they purchase goods from the people!
Since there's something already there, why bother building it again? It's better to use what's readily available!
Therefore, after returning from Qingzhou, Chen Deyi gave up the idea of building a distillery. Now that he heard people mentioning that the imperial court should build a distillery, he naturally opposed it.
Upon hearing that Xie Zhuo was on his side, Chen Deyi secretly breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Lord Wang, your actions are putting His Majesty in a very difficult position!"
Wang Xie was only in his thirties, and among the officials, he was indeed not considered to have much seniority.
"Lord Chen, stop talking nonsense!" Upon hearing Chen Deyi accuse him of disrespecting His Majesty, Wang Xie was shocked and immediately bowed to Emperor Chengde. "Your Majesty, I am loyal to you without reservation, and Heaven and Earth can bear witness!"
Chen Deyi retorted without backing down: "Lord Wang speaks eloquently, yet the Emperor himself demands that commoners offer up ancestral secret recipes. Isn't this putting His Majesty in a precarious position? What will the people of the world think of His Majesty?"
Wang Xie's palms were covered in a fine layer of sweat, and cold sweat slowly condensed on his forehead. He knelt down and said, "That's not what I meant, Your Majesty! Please see the truth!"
The courtiers were also discussing the matter extensively.
"Enough! I will not forcibly seize the alcohol formulas from the people. This matter need not be discussed further!" Emperor Chengde felt a throbbing pain in his forehead and shouted, "Alcohol is a life-saving treasure. I am the Emperor of Great Wei, and I will ensure that all the people of Great Wei have access to this substance!"
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