Chapter 3: Preparing to Make Money

  Yang reform and Fang Hongzao, as well as the two small eunuchs, had all gone out before he spoke to Wang Chengen: "Grand Companion, this matter was originally meant for a trusted person to handle. You would have been the most suitable one to go, and I would have felt at ease. However, after some thought, I realized that this is a dirty affair, and it's inevitable that officials will speak out about it, and historians will record it in the annals of history. Therefore, I think it's better not to let you go."

  To be honest, Yang Reform still has a lot of feelings for Wang Chengen. This person watched himself grow up, saw him ascend to the throne, and finally followed him to hang himself on Coal Mountain. That kind of trust, except for himself, probably only belonged to Wang Chengen. Therefore, Yang Reform also did not want future history to record such a dirty affair on Wang Chengen's head.

  Wang Chengen listened to Yang's reform words, and the grievances in his heart instantly dissipated. He cried and laughed at the same time, saying: "Your Majesty, you really are killing me." While speaking, he was still crying and laughing. These expressions gathered on his face, truly rich enough.

  Yang Reform looked and said: "Da Ban, don't cry, by the way, I let you count the money, treasures, calligraphy and paintings, gold and stone in the palace, how is it cleaned up?"

  "Your Majesty, I have roughly calculated that there are approximately 5 to 6 million taels of silver, about 13,000 pieces of calligraphy and painting collections, about 28,000 pieces of gold, stone, and jade collections. In addition, there are treasures, wooden objects, bronze objects, porcelain objects, and tribute goods that fill up about 200 to 300 rooms. This does not include other household items, clothing, utensils, flags, swords, armor, etc."

  "So many?" Yang Gaizhi exclaimed. Yang Gaizhi did not expect that this thing would be counted by the house, how much stuff is this? The Palace Museum probably doesn't have so many things either.

  Come to think of it, isn't this Forbidden City also known as the Palace Museum?

  Thinking back, didn't they say there were over 15 million pieces of artifacts when I visited the Palace Museum before? Why are there only a few tens of thousands now?

  Thinking again, it seems to be true. In the 21st century, the cultural relics in museums probably include even their own clothes and pants, as well as the chairs they sit on, the beds they sleep on, and the utensils they use to eat. However, these things are absolutely not considered cultural relics now. The tens of thousands of collections that Wang Chengen mentioned should be the things that can be taken out of the palace.

  "Your Majesty, all of these were accumulated by the previous emperors over time, that's why there are so many. Except for some given away as rewards in previous years, things in the palace basically only come in and never go out."

  "Yes! The accumulation of the great Ming dynasty for over 200 years, it doesn't seem like too much now." Yang Reform muttered to himself, his eyes gazing into the distance without focus, lost in thought.

  It took a while for Yang's gaze to return from afar, focusing on Wang Chengen, saying: "Grand Companion, I've thought about it, these things have been stored in the palace for too long and can't be used. Now that I've just ascended to the throne, both inside and outside are unstable, and the days of needing money are still ahead. The silver that can be collected is not enough, so I think we should select some from the collection and find a suitable person to sell them outside, exchanging for some silver to support ourselves for a while."

  Wang Chengen was shocked, and with a sorrowful face said: "Your Majesty, this is not allowed! Your Majesty, doing so would bring shame to the imperial family... This is not allowed!" Wang Chengen was truly anxious, as it had always been that good things were brought into the palace from outside, never taken out. If this got out, where would the imperial family's face be?

  Yang reformed and pressed his hand, saying: "Don't cry, I know that selling the palace's collection is not a dignified thing, but I am also helpless! Alas, Taibei, you also know that now both inside and outside are not peaceful, they all want large sums of silver. I really have no way to make money, relying on the national treasury to solve the internal account with just that little bit of money. It's probably not even comparable to those wealthy families in the south... it can only be like this. Let's do it like this, first don't take out those with obvious imperial marks to exchange for money, take those that are not too eye-catching to exchange. This matter is settled, you find someone familiar with antique collection, who is capable and reliable to handle this matter."

  After some thought, Yang Reform smiled and said: "Hehe, Da Ban, actually if outsiders find out about this matter, what's the worst that could happen? At most, they'll just say that I, the Emperor, am greedy for wealth. What can they do?"

  Wang Chengen cried for that sorrow, really, they all said the emperor was good, but he had only been emperor for a few days and yet, in order to raise money, even things from the palace were being taken out to be exchanged for cash... Alas! Since the emperor thought this way, it could only be done this way. It was all because of those greedy officials who embezzled the taxes that should have been paid, resulting in the national treasury having no silver, and a large group of officials with their eyes fixed on the inner treasury.

  After setting down several major plans for development, Yang Reform felt that his brain was not enough to use, and he thought it was a bit scary. He had some money, which seemed like a lot, but thinking about the natural disasters at the end of the Ming dynasty, the huge war expenses, and the astronomical grain rations, Yang Reform's scalp went numb.

  Yang thought for a moment, feeling that he had some money, but absolutely not enough, and still needed more ways to make money. On the other hand, his armed forces were still without a plan, and he didn't even have a good understanding of the imperial guards, the Eastern Depot, and other special agencies. He hadn't made any preparations at all, which was unacceptable. Next year would be the first year of Chongzhen's reign, and in two years' time, the Qing army would enter the pass. He needed to get ready.

  I have studied and read many books about the late Ming dynasty, which introduced a lot of history.

  Yang Reform thought again, next year Yuan Chonghuan was going to kill Mao Wensong, which is one of the causes that led to the Qing army's invasion of the pass later. Without Mao Wensong holding back on that side, the Qing army could enter the pass whenever they wanted. Mao Wensong's several adopted sons and generals were all the vanguard of the Ming dynasty's collapse later. He must not let Yuan Chonghuan kill Mao Wensong.

  Come up with a solution! Yang Reform rubbed his temples, that's not just any ordinary pain. He had to control the military power, and deal with Wild Boar Skin's frame, he couldn't just go into battle with a bare back, he needed to find someone who understood military affairs, a reliable person to train his new army, as the Emperor, he couldn't spend every day in the barracks with the soldiers!

  After some thought, I thought of a person, that is Sun Chengzong. He's a great figure and also understands military affairs. Asking him would be correct. Then, add some suggestions from the side, and this new army should be able to take shape.

  Yang Reform, a long-time otaku, quickly set down several development plans based on his own judgment and chose Sun Chengzong as the most reliable person in military affairs.

  Having thought of this, Yang Reform immediately started writing a letter. As for brush pen calligraphy, Yang Reform had also attended a special class in elementary and middle school, so his brush pen calligraphy was passable, although a bit clumsy. The letter contained many simplified characters, but fortunately, Chongzhen's physical memory from his previous life allowed him to recall some of the more difficult characters and change them into traditional characters. As for using too many simplified characters, he could only hope that Sun Chengzong would be able to understand them.

  Call Wang Chengen, let him send this letter immediately, and let Sun Chengzong return to Beijing immediately. Yang Gaizhi wants to train new troops. As for Sun Chengzong's whereabouts, it is no longer within the scope of Yang Gaizhi's consideration.

  Day has its thoughts, night has its dreams.

  In the daytime, Yang thought about reform and the dry skin of wild boar. At night, the movement of creating people was fierce and lasting. After falling asleep for a short while, he dreamed that he wore a bright yellow dragon robe, sent away his own son, forced his own empress to death, cut down his own daughter with a sword, and wandered alone in the Forbidden City, surrounded by chaos, desolation, shouts of killing, and wailing... Outside the Forbidden City was a raging fire, and he wandered towards Coal Hill, followed by an elderly Wang Cheng'en. He seemed to be just a spectator attached to Chongzhen's body, watching as Chongzhen walked step by step towards his doom, powerless to do anything.

  When the rope around his neck was getting tighter and he could hardly breathe, Yang suddenly woke up with a loud cry, then saw the panicked queen. He wanted to wipe the sweat from his forehead, but found that his clothes were all wet.

  "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, what's wrong with you? Have you had a nightmare?" Empress Zhou Wan'er looked at Yang Guang with a shocked and concerned expression, and then touched his body, which was soaked in sweat. She hastily summoned the palace maid to change Yang Guang's clothes.

  Yang Guifei was helped by the palace maids to change her clothes and drink some water, before she gradually came round. It took a while for Yang Guifei to regain consciousness from the desolation, terror, weeping, slaughter and remorse in her dream.

  Looking at the young and beautiful empress, thinking about being forced to death by herself in over a decade, Yang Reform felt a wave of terror. He said: "Wan'er, I had a nightmare, dreaming that the Forbidden City was breached, everywhere was ablaze with flames, slaughter, I forced you to death, then hanged myself on the back mountain."

  Queen Zhou Wan'er let out an "ah!" and her mouth opened wide as she stared at Yang Reform in terror. She had not expected the emperor to have such a dream.

  "This dream was very clear, I still remember it clearly now, just like experiencing it myself......" Yang said to himself, the impression this dream gave him was really too deep, too shocking.

  "Wuuu...... wuuu......" Empress Zhou Wan'er was already at a loss and had begun to cry.

  "Wan'er, don't cry... This is a dream, not reality... I think we must change it, we must do something, or else it will really come true. I don't want to die, nor do I want you to die. We want to live healthily and safely..." Yang said somewhat woodenly.

  "Waaah... I understand, waaah..."

  "We must work hard, understand? You have to help me. The emperor guards the gate of the country, and the king dies for the altar - this sentence is not said in vain." A sentence suddenly popped into Yang's mind.

  "No conciliation, no compensation, no cession of land, no tribute; the Son of Heaven guards the gate of his country, and the king dies for his altars." Yang Reform murmured to himself, as if this sentence had been etched into his soul since birth.

  ……

  It would be so sweet to sleep again, but Yang's dream was strange. In his dream, he found himself sitting in front of the computer, browsing the internet. As soon as he opened a webpage, Baidu's homepage popped up. Unfortunately, when he tried to visit his usual websites, the page displayed " unable to connect". He could only search on Baidu and view the results after clicking on them, but couldn't access any other pages. It was really strange. Yang's dream didn't last long, probably just a few minutes, before it automatically popped out and he fell into a deep sleep again.

  The emperor's orders are most effective within the palace and also quite effective in the capital. Of course, for places further away, it's hard to say.

  Yesterday Yang's reform ordered several things to be done, and today they have already taken shape a bit.

  Yang has prepared to auction off the calligraphy and paintings in the palace, and Wang Cheng'en has already found a suitable candidate for him. As for the two small eunuchs who went to extort money from those suspected of being involved in the Wei case, there have been some developments.

  After having breakfast, Wang Chengen said: "I report to Your Majesty, the matter you instructed yesterday has made some progress today. Would you like to ask about calligraphy and painting first or the Wei case?"

  The calligraphy and painting refer to Yang's preparation for auctioning off his collection of calligraphy and paintings, while the Wei case refers to extorting those involved in the case.

  Yang didn't expect the efficiency to be so high, thought about it and felt that Wei's case was the big deal, estimated that he could get several million silver coins, said: "Let's ask about Wei's case first."

  ……

  "Your humble servant Er Xi Zi (Xiao Shun Zi) pays homage to Your Majesty, may Your Majesty live for ten thousand years, ten thousand years, and forevermore." After finishing speaking, she knocked her head on the ground a few more times.

  "Get up and talk about what you've done." Yang Gaofei said.

  "Thank you, Your Majesty." The two of them looked at each other for a moment, and then one of them spoke up: "Reporting to Your Majesty, I, Xi Zi, went to the Ministry of Punishment's prison yesterday to ask about it. They are all willing to redeem their crimes. I also asked how much silver they were willing to pay to redeem their crimes, and their answers were different, some more, some less. I have recorded them all." After finishing speaking, this little eunuch named Er Xi Zi held the thing in his hand high above his head.

  Wang Chengen ran over to take it and spread it out for Yang Gaizhang to see.

  On the paper were written some people willing to redeem their sins with silver coins.

  “

  Minister Wen

  Chui Chengxiu: 50,000 taels.

  Tian Ji (Minister of War): 20,000 taels.

  Wu Chunfu (Minister of Works): 50,000 taels.

  Li Kuidragon (Deputy Metropolitan Governor): 30,000 taels.

  Ni Wen Huan (Taichang Temple Minister): 15,000 taels

  ………”

  There are more than 150 million tons.

  Yang Gaizhi thought for a moment, feeling that this amount of money was too little, just over a million taels, and it didn't seem to match their status! Yang Gaizhi had thought that this time's "redemption" would at least be worth four or five million taels.

  "I report to Your Majesty, the eunuch Xiao Shunzi found those officials who were not deeply involved in the Wei case rebellion. They heard that Your Majesty did not want to kill many people and praised your benevolence. However, most of them are not willing to redeem their crimes with silver, saying that you are seeking private gain. Only a few people are willing to redeem their crimes with silver." The eunuch Xiao Shunzi's voice became lower as he spoke, and after finishing, he covered his head with the paper.

  King Chengen took over the paper and spread it out for Yang Gaizhi to see.

  On paper, there were only a few names, and the amounts weren't large, yet they added up to several hundred taels of silver. This made Yang's blood boil with rage, thinking to himself, "You people really are heartless, not shedding a tear until you see the coffin. You wouldn't even hand over the silver when asked, it seems like we'll have to throw you all in prison before you'll cough up the silver!"

  "Has Fang Hongyan arrived?"

  "Your Majesty, Fang Hongyan is waiting outside." Wang Chengen replied.

  "Have him come in, I have something to ask."

  "Yes, Your Majesty, I obey."

  "Chuan Fang Hong Zun Jin Jian."

  ……

  It's still that flying fish suit, wearing it on the body is quite spirited, Yang reform nodded and said: "Fang Hongzhan, you look good in this suit, quite spirited."

  "Thank you for your praise, Your Majesty. I dare not accept it." Fang Hongyan knocked his head on the ground and then lowered his head, not daring to speak.

  "Get up, sit down, you're also a commander now, don't be so formal from now on." Yang said with a hint of politeness.

  "Thank you, Your Majesty, I understand." Fang Hongzhan sat on the wooden bench, with his buttocks half hanging off. Yang Gaizhi looked at him and just smiled, understanding that this emperor's authority was truly "authoritative". It wasn't something ordinary people could resist, even if it was an outsider like Jin Yiwei's commander-in-chief who would turn pale when talking about tigers, but in front of the emperor, he became a small insect. Yang Gaizhi had gone from being unaccustomed to gradually getting used to it since the beginning.

  Since I have become the emperor, then I should exercise the rights of the emperor.

  "How did it go with the thing I entrusted you with yesterday?"

  "Your Majesty, I deserve to die. I am incompetent and failed to fulfill your orders. Those officials who were not imprisoned but only implicated in the case refused to pay the redemption silver, while those who were imprisoned were willing to do so." Fang Hongyan said as he knelt on the ground.

  Jinyiwei's commander, Tongzhi Fang Hongru, was still very restrained.

  ……

  Don't want to pay silver? That won't do, have to think of a way. Yang Reform pondered for half a day.

  "Hmm, that's right. I remember reading a memorial two days ago. Some official came to report that they wanted to pursue the silver that Wei party had embezzled?" Yang asked after thinking for a moment.

  Wang Chengen hastily replied: "Your Majesty, I remember it was called Fan Weicheng, the chief clerk of the Upper Forest Park."

  "Hmm, it's him. Since he dares to memorialize about pursuing the corrupt silver, he must have some ideas. Alright, issue an edict and let him take charge of the pursuit as a special envoy. Let him be responsible for making the list, see who should be on the list. Fang Hongzhan, you will supervise and assist from the side. Whoever is on the list will be thrown into prison. Treat this matter as a big deal, understand? Of course, to prevent Fang Hongzhan from randomly framing people, the specifics of the negotiation and the silver matters will be handled by Er Xizi and Xiao Shunzi. Understand?"

  Yang Reform suddenly remembered that he had heard a few days ago that a small official had petitioned to pursue the recovery of stolen goods, so he simply let him open a list, Fang Hongzuo assisted, and two small eunuchs specifically executed the collection of silver. This way is more comprehensive, just letting a few small eunuchs go is not enough, they are also confused, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, after all, this matter involves too many high-ranking officials of the Embroidered Uniform Guard who have been imprisoned, it's a bit unclear. Three batches of people supervise and restrain each other, and are not afraid that they will embezzle their own money. The matter can be said to have started with difficulty.

  The second thing I told you yesterday was to find someone who knows what they're doing to handle the auction of collectibles.

  "Grassroots Li Lai Fu pays homage to His Majesty, long live, long live, forever and ever." The man on the ground looks like he's in his forties or fifties, with two white whiskers, and his eyes seem quite spirited, looking like a shrewd person.

  "What's your name?"

  "Your Majesty, I am Li Laifu, a humble subject from Shuntian Prefecture, and I work as a teacher at Libao School."

  "What's Libai Inn for?"

  "Your Majesty, Li Bao Zhai is a specialized pawnshop that deals with gold and silver, calligraphy and painting, antiques and collectibles."

  "Hmm, very good, you're quite knowledgeable about collecting ancient calligraphy and painting antiques?"

  "Your Majesty, I've been in this line of work for over thirty years and have gained some insights."

  Wang Chengen interjected: "Your Majesty, this Li Shifu of Lijin is also a top-notch figure in the field of antique collecting."

  "Is it? That's good, Li Lai Fu. Now I have something, are you willing to help me with it?"

  Li Laifu was so scared that he almost died, never expecting that at the age of 40 or 50, he could still enter the imperial palace to see His Majesty. It's really a blessing from his past life, and he even has to do things for the emperor, isn't that a royal decree? He was shaking with fear.

  But it didn't take long for him to stabilize, and his body arched as much as it could, his head knocked against the ground, his buttocks raised high, and Yang Reform only saw a head and back.

  "The humble subject is willing to run errands for Your Majesty."

  "Hmm, that's good. Actually, what I want you to do isn't anything difficult, it's also your old profession. I've just ascended the throne and am in dire need of silver to spend, so I'm thinking of taking some of the calligraphy and paintings collected in the palace outside to exchange for cash. Do you understand?" Yang Reform said very bluntly, having just arrived and not understanding the local customs or market conditions, Yang Reform was a straightforward person who spoke his mind.

  Li Lai Fu was nearly scared to death. The emperor let him take things out of the palace to sell, wasn't this taking his own life? He had never heard that the emperor would do such a thing, it had always been the case that only good things were sent into the palace! Li Lai Fu's body shook like sifting chaff, and his emotions, which had just stabilized, immediately collapsed.

  "Li Laifu, you don't have to be afraid either. I won't do anything to you. I just want to exchange these collections for silver. As long as you do a good job, there will be benefits for you. Do you understand?" Yang Gaizhang looked at Li Laifu's trembling like sifting flour and didn't bother talking nonsense with him, letting Wang Chengen take him away directly. As for whether he was willing or not, it was out of his control.

  Yang Reform thought for a moment and said to Wang Chengen, "Grand Companion, discuss this matter with Li Laifu again, let him follow my imperial decree to handle it, don't be afraid. Hmm, if there's achievement, grant him a hundred households to manage, so he has some motivation to do things."

  "I understand, Your Majesty."

  "Ugh..." Yang Reform sighed, several things didn't go very smoothly, and thinking about last night's nightmare made him feel even more uncomfortable.