Chapter Fifteen: Provisions Slave

  Night.

  It's very cold.

  Kun Ning Palace

  Yang Reform was hugging Zhou Huang's body, had just fought a battle, and was leaning against each other to talk about love.

  "Your Majesty, you're getting plumper and more radiant than before."

  "Where? How did it get so plump? I didn't even know myself!" The queen pretended not to know.

  "Of course it's here, where else?" After finishing speaking, Yang Reform grasped the plump part of Luo Li Huang Hou and pinched hard. The empress let out a sharp cry. Immediately afterwards, she flipped over and tangled with Yang Reform. Yang Reform took advantage of the situation to wildly ***, rubbing against her.

  After fooling around for a while, Yang Guang said: "Empress, I'd like to discuss something with you."

  Yang saw some serious talk, Empress Zhou also stopped her nonsense and asked: "What's going on?"

  "Empress, I'm thinking that tomorrow I'll arrange a business deal for you, so you can earn some personal money. What do you think?"

  "What's this about private money? Your Majesty, why is this?" The empress asked in confusion. If it were an ordinary family or a wealthy household, finding a few servants, opening a shop, or buying a few acres of land to keep as private funds would be quite interesting. However, as the Empress of the Great Ming Dynasty, the model for the entire country, why would she also need to have private money? Who would believe this if it got out? It's embarrassing just thinking about what others might say. The Great Ming Dynasty probably couldn't bear the shame of this.

  "Cough... Ah, it's like this. I've been thinking that with the current state of national affairs being difficult and the Ministry of Revenue constantly asking me for silver from my private treasury, it's likely that the income is less than the expenditure. Perhaps you and I will have to live a frugal life in the future. So, I was thinking of arranging a business for you as well, so that you can be financially comfortable and when the time comes to reward those below us with some silver or money, we won't be too strapped for cash. What do you think?"

  "This, Your Majesty, aren't you the Emperor of the Great Ming Dynasty? Rich and powerful in all four seas? This... seems to be a loss of dignity! The Empress still spoke out her mind, if this were to get out that the Empress was doing business, she would likely become the target of attack for the many officials, they would be delighted to rush over and slap her face repeatedly, and it's possible that even the Empress's position would be unstable."

  "Hmm, this doesn't require you to show up in person, just let your father or brothers take care of it, find a few servants to manage the store and find a reliable person to be in charge of accounting... Haha... I've heard that your father is very good at accumulating wealth, so I think I'll let my father-in-law take care of raising some funds to make up for the deficit in the imperial treasury. You also know how hard it is being an emperor, it's just like being a 'salary slave'..."

  To be honest, Yang Reform's impression of his father-in-law, the old man of Empress Zhou, comes from some legends in later generations, and is also related to Chen Yuanyuan. According to legend, the emperor's father spent 200,000 taels of silver to buy Chen Yuanyuan and send her into the palace. Therefore, Yang Reform thought that this guy had the ability to collect wealth, so he let him take charge of collecting wealth.

  However, Yang Reform also investigated some information and said that it was the people of Tian Fei's family who did it. Anyway, this matter is related to the imperial relatives, so Yang Reform had the idea of organizing the imperial relatives to deal with the Ming Dynasty scholars.

  Yang Reform was preparing to organize a group of imperial relatives to go and brush the Ming Dynasty's scholar-officials' base "Jiangnan Branch", hoping that every year they could get some silver from the scholar-officials through the hands of the imperial relatives. It is said that among the imperial relatives, there were many who were arrogant and domineering, which was just right for dealing with those Ming Dynasty scholar-officials. Of course, a cover was needed to be given to these imperial relatives. That's why Yang Reform and Empress Zhou discussed this matter.

  "But, Your Majesty... must it be so? And why do you call yourself a 'food slave'? If this gets out, it will lose the dignity of the imperial family. I implore you not to be so self-deprecating." Empress Zhou comforted and educated Chongzhen.

  "Haha... Ah, Empress, I understand now. Later on, I'll be careful. Mmm, find a time to let your father come into the palace for a visit..." Yang Reform's thoughts returned to the 21st century. This house slave, card slave, car slave, XX certain slave, it really is a world of slaves! He also thought that even if he traveled back to the Ming Dynasty and became Emperor Chongzhen, he still couldn't escape the fate of being a slave - a salary slave! That's probably his best description for now. It's likely that he won't be able to shake off this label in the next few years. He also thought that even in the 21st century, if you're not a house slave with a mortgage, at most you'll just lose your house if you can't pay on time. But what awaits him is not a court summons and judgment, but rather the noose on Coal Mountain... Yang Reform was speechless.

  ……

  The next day, Yang Gaoli slept in late. The exercise the night before was too intense and he needed to recover during the day. After getting up, dressing, washing his face, and eating, at around 10 o'clock, Zhou Huanghou's father arrived. It seems that the empress is still very enthusiastic about this matter.

  The Imperial Garden.

  Wan Chunting

  "I knock to see Your Majesty, our Emperor lives for ten thousand years and ten thousand years more." Zhou Huang Hou's father knelt on the ground and kowtowed to Yang Reform.

  Yang Reform has always looked down on this bowing ceremony in his heart, thinking it is a product of castrating people's personality and dignity, with an added halo of weakness. However, if someone else bows to him, he would "grudgingly" accept it. Anyway, he doesn't have to bow to others, so he just goes along with it, without getting hot-headed or being a passionate young man, and abolishes this bowing ceremony once and for all.

  "Father-in-law, get up quickly, we're a family, no need for so much etiquette." Yang said.

  "Thank you, Your Majesty." The queen's father was delighted and immediately got up. He thought to himself, why is His Majesty being so good to me this time, calling me Father-in-law? In the past, he had never been so friendly and courteous!

  "Father-in-law, come and sit down, I have some matters to discuss with you today."

  "Yes, Your Majesty, thank you, Your Majesty." The Empress's father sat down on the small stool opposite Yang Reform with a thud. As for whether it was the legendary half-buttocked stool, Yang Reform had no interest in knowing.

  "Old man, have you heard any interesting rumors in the capital recently?"

  "Your Majesty, the most discussed topic in this capital is Your Majesty's recruitment of brave warriors to go out to sea. People all over the world admire you!"

  "Old man, don't flatter me, speak seriously. Don't bother with so many empty things, I don't have time to listen to such nonsense. Having been in the Forbidden City for a long time, I can no longer hear the truth about outside matters. So, I want to understand the situation outside through your eyes and ears." Yang Reform didn't come here to listen to the emperor's father-in-law's nonsense. Such nonsense can be found anywhere in the Forbidden City, and someone can talk about it for several days and nights.

  "I have an audience with Your Majesty, I understand... reporting back to Your Majesty, the most discussed topics outside are not only about Your Majesty recruiting brave warriors to go out to sea, but also about the Emperor's 2 million taels of silver. They all say that Your Majesty is a wise and virtuous ruler... This is not me flattering you, this is true... Then there is the case of Wei Ze, although many people praise Your Majesty's benevolence, there are also those who show disrespect to Your Majesty, saying that when eliminating bandits, one should eliminate them completely, rather than leaving a large number behind. Especially since the root of evil, Wei Ze, has not yet been punished...".

  Yang thought to himself, "Wei's rebellion? The root of the disaster? Waiting for the law? Hehe, it seems that among the elite scholars of the Ming Dynasty, many people want Wei Zhongxian to die quickly! Unfortunately, he was going to use Wei Zhongxian as a Damocles' sword hanging over the heads of the Ming Dynasty's scholars, especially those of the Donglin Party. Suspended but not used. There had never been any intention of killing Wei Zhongxian from the start.

  To know, the eunuchs of the Ming dynasty were different from those of other dynasties. Typically relying on imperial power, they were the emperor's household slaves. Without the emperor, they could do nothing. Even Wei Zhongxian, who had obtained the title of Duke of Nine Thousand Years, could be put to death by a minor eunuch carrying an imperial edict and transmitting an oral decree.

  However, Wei Zhongxian was indeed not a good thing. Chongzhen hated him to the bone and even stabbing his corpse did not relieve his hatred, which is understandable. For example, the "mortality rate" of the sons of Emperor Xizong, Chongzhen's brother, reached 100%. If no one was playing tricks, even with ancient medical technology being underdeveloped, it would not have been possible to reach a mortality rate of 100%. From this, we can see how much Chongzhen hated Wei Zhongxian. However, now that Yang is reforming and has become the new Chongzhen, his hatred for these past events has faded and his attitude towards this matter has changed greatly.

  History is so strange, if Wei Zhongxian didn't play tricks, the "mortality rate" of Xi Zong's children wouldn't have been as high as 100%, and Chongzhen wouldn't have become emperor.

  "Old man, what's your take on these 2 million taels of military pay?" Yang interrupted, cutting off the Emperor's father-in-law's incessant "report".

  "Uh, to report to Your Majesty, I think the 2 million taels of military pay that Your Majesty has allocated is indeed valuable and timely. Considering the provinces of Shanxi, Shandong, Jizhou, and Liaodong, some have not received military pay for several months, while others have been owed for several years. Without military pay, it's not just a matter of their families having elderly and children to support, but even they themselves will likely go hungry and cold, how can they possibly have the strength to fight, or even hold a knife or gun?" The Empress's father said as much.

  Yang Reform didn't think that the emperor's father would say something with some level and insight, so he smiled and said: "Hehe, Father-in-law, you're right. Without military pay, soldiers can't even fill their own stomachs or keep warm, let alone support their wives and children at home. How can they fight with all their might?"

  The queen smiled and said: "Your Majesty is right, you are absolutely right."

  "Old man, I've come to find you today, there's something I need you to take care of." Yang said.

  "What is it? Your Majesty, please speak, I will definitely accomplish it."

  "It's like this, the other day I got a secret, I think it's interesting and can make some money. If I do it myself, I feel it's not worth it. In the palace, silver is tight, you know that, Father-in-law. The expenses in the palace are unavoidable, and I don't want the Empress to suffer with me. So, I decided to give this thing to the Empress as her own private money. In the future, when she wants to reward someone, she will have enough money and won't lose face for the imperial family. You are the Empress's father, so I trust you with this matter. You find a reliable person to take care of it, and you can take 20% of the silver earned, the rest belongs to the Empress. The Empress will send someone to supervise the finances. What do you think?"

  The emperor's father-in-law is already stunned. He can't get over it for half a day. What's going on? No! This empress of the Ming dynasty also wants to run her own business? If this gets out, it'll be a disaster! The deadly "competing with the people for profit" will surely come out, and even the empress won't be spared.

  "Your Majesty, this is absolutely unacceptable! Your Majesty... The Empress, as the mother of the nation, sets an example for the world. How can she engage in such a lowly occupation?" The Empress's father was already frightened out of his wits, thinking that the Emperor was dissatisfied with his daughter and planning to depose her. He kowtowed on the ground again, making obeisance.

  "Alas... cough... Father-in-law, didn't I say so? Let you find a few reliable people to be in charge of the business and manage it, not let the Empress do business. Don't you understand this? Get up quickly, get up quickly." Yang Reform did not expect that this father-in-law would make such a big commotion, and he himself was also startled.

  "This... Your Majesty, must it be done this way? I understand the reasoning, but if the imperial concubine is involved in such a base occupation and the court officials find out, there will inevitably be a commotion. At that time..." The empress's father was torn between two difficulties, on one hand was the emperor's request, on the other hand he feared others would attack the empress, if she were to be deposed, he as the imperial father-in-law would also be affected. Of course, he did not want this to happen.

  "Alas! Actually, Father-in-law, I won't hide it from you. This private business, I've also found someone to manage it, and no one dares to make a fuss about it. In our great Ming dynasty, which official doesn't have some side business? Don't worry, I'll take care of it for you. Of course, this is the Empress's industry, and it absolutely cannot use the Empress's nameplate, nor does it have anything to do with the Empress. You're the Empress's birth father, so I trust you, that's why I'm entrusting it to you. If it were someone else, I wouldn't be at ease, fearing they'd embezzle the Empress's money..."

  Yang's explanation was enough to convince the emperor's father-in-law, who thought that with the emperor on their side, they had nothing to fear. Besides, in this great Ming dynasty, which official didn't have some kind of business venture? If they relied solely on their salary, wouldn't they starve to death? Even Hai Rui eating two liang of meat became a "news" sensation in the great Ming dynasty.

  "I understand, Your Majesty. I will definitely send someone to manage it properly and not use the Empress's name as a cover-up. This matter has nothing to do with the Empress and is entirely my own doing. I also guarantee that I won't embezzle any of the Empress's money." The Empress's father solemnly promised.

  Yang thought the old man was quite interesting, he actually knew how to avoid risks and took on this matter alone. He got the money and then returned it to the empress, so if someone were to use this against the empress in the future, he would take the blame himself and have no relation with the empress. As long as the empress didn't fall, others wouldn't be able to do anything to him.