Don't forget that even if Goryeo were conquered, it would be virtually impossible for Goryeo to be self-sufficient in the short term. If that were to happen, the Ming Dynasty couldn't simply abandon it. Some short-term support would be necessary.
In earlier years, the Ming Dynasty consistently supported Japan, and it continues to support its vassal states of Japan and Japan. Many believe that the Ming Dynasty has also benefited from this, but many more understand that the Ming Dynasty is essentially engaging in a "loss-making business."
After conquering Japan and Korea, the royal families were granted titles and honors, but they still needed to be supported in the short term, which was a burden.
Money was never enough, even though the emperors of the Ming Dynasty didn't seem to lead extravagant lives. However, when it came to spending money, each emperor was more extravagant than the last, putting immense pressure on the Minister of Revenue.
Zhu Yunying seemed to remember something and looked at Wang Chengen, asking, "Has our Grand Minister of Works not been bothering the Grand Minister of Agriculture these past few days? Does this give Yu Xin time to come to the palace for an audience?"
Wang Chengen hurriedly told him what he knew, "Your Majesty, Minister Yan has been very busy lately. He said that all the officials in the Ministry of Works who are good at water management have been transferred back. He also said that Minister Yan went to the shipyard a couple of days ago to inspect the large ships."
"He's a bit busy, he doesn't even have time to bother Yu Xin." Zhu Yunying chuckled and said, "Yu Xin, I'm afraid he's not having a good time these days."
Wang Chengen continued, "Minister Yu has been quite busy lately. The imperial family is demanding their share of the bank's profits, and it's time for them to receive their share of the profits. I remember that the profits have already been deposited into the treasury."
Zhu Yunying was displeased and asked with a stern face, "Has the profit sharing from the bank not been distributed to the various prefectures yet?"
Wang Chengen wasn't making a fuss; he was simply doing his duty. "I'm afraid the profits haven't been distributed to the various households yet, but the profits from the imperial treasury have already been deposited into the coffers, and I've asked Her Majesty the Empress to review them."
Zhu Yunying laughed in anger, saying, "That's really good. They know we're someone they can't afford to offend, so they don't dare delay paying our money. As for the imperial clan, they know that the imperial clan of our Great Ming Dynasty is noble and powerful, so even if they lose power, they can't do anything to them!"
"Your Majesty," Wang Chengen said more cautiously, also trying to defend Yu Xin, "I suppose the Ministry of Revenue felt that the court had many places where it needed to spend money, which is why it was unable to distribute the imperial family's bonuses on time."
"Foolish!" Zhu Yunying grabbed the memorial and hurled it at Wang Chengen. "Shortsighted fool! You know the court needs money for many things. Today you can stop the imperial family from receiving their bonuses, but tomorrow will you stop paying the salaries of all the officials? And the day after, will you let them take our private treasury too?!"
Wang Chengen quickly knelt down, prostrating himself on the ground without daring to move. As for the other palace maids and eunuchs, they all knelt down as well.
The emperor's wrath can cause the deaths of millions. A commoner's wrath can cause blood to splatter three feet deep!
Zhu Yunying certainly had reason to be angry, and perhaps Yu Xin also had his own difficulties. For example, the court would need to spend money on many things in the future, so it was possible to consider withholding some of the money at this time to avoid the Ministry of Revenue not being able to come up with the funds later.
However, Yu Xinqian made a grave mistake by intercepting the royal family's share of the profits, and more importantly, by not informing Zhu Yunying.
The bank was something Zhu Yunying had set up, and he had also encouraged members of the imperial clan to invest. In the end, not all members of the imperial clan invested, or some members of the imperial clan and nobles invested simply to "pay to avoid disaster" and to give Zhu Yunying face.
The bank seemed to be on the right track and had even brought some benefits to the imperial clan. Now, the Ministry of Revenue is blocking the distribution of dividends, and the confidence that the imperial clan has painstakingly built up may be completely destroyed in an instant.
Most importantly, Zhu Yunying felt this was an extremely bad trend. If they dared to withhold the royal family's dividends now, it might become the norm in the future, withholding royal family dividends whenever something happened. Furthermore, he intended not to withhold dividends that should have gone into the imperial treasury.
Historically, when Emperor Chongzhen was raising funds for his army, all the officials and nobles complained of poverty, and together they managed to raise only 200,000 taels of silver. However, when Li Zicheng's army entered Beijing, they began to torture and plunder Ming officials and ransack their homes. Li Zicheng's generals even made 5,000 sets of torture devices and seized a total of 70 million taels of silver!
Officials, both civil and military, may be poor, but that is only superficial. They may complain about being poor, but they must never be wronged.
But the emperor's affairs are the emperor's affairs. If members of the imperial family are wronged, that's the emperor's problem, and has nothing to do with the civil and military officials. In fact, using the imperial family to establish authority is something officials throughout history have always loved to do!
Yu Xin performed well in his position as Minister of Revenue and indeed made many contributions. However, his biggest mistake was being presumptuous and setting such a bad precedent—something Zhu Yunying would absolutely not allow!
Zhu Yunying's face was cold; he was extremely displeased. It seemed that it was indeed time to replace the Minister of Revenue.
Yu Xin has been in this position for several years. This veteran minister from the Hongwu Emperor's era should relinquish his post.
Don't accuse Zhu Yunying of being heartless and ungrateful. Emperors often need to be ruthless; indecisiveness is absolutely not a quality an emperor should possess. From the moment Yu Xin acted so cleverly, he essentially announced the end of his official career.
Zhu Yunying would absolutely not allow his six ministers to act presumptuously, especially to set precedents that seemed extremely detrimental to the future development of the Ming Dynasty. There were things he could do, but his ministers absolutely could not!
The atmosphere in the Wuying Hall was extremely tense. Even Wang Chengen, who was most familiar with Zhu Yunying, was somewhat apprehensive. The other palace maids and eunuchs were even more cautious, afraid of inadvertently offending His Majesty the Emperor.
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