"His Majesty has had it hard. The officials below are always doing evil in the Emperor's name. Take this conversion from rice to mulberries—His Majesty merely wanted to build a palace. How much silver could that possibly cost? How had it produced such enormous deficits?
Wasn't it all skimmed into their own pockets? They concealed land and population, refused to pay taxes, and grew more outrageous by the year. The court's revenues dwindled year after year; in the final analysis, it was all because of them. Yet His Majesty had to bear the blame. Bah!"
Western Garden, Jade Brilliance Palace, afternoon.
After Lu Fang attended to Jiajing's foot washing, he had one of his adopted sons read aloud the secret report delivered by the Jinyi Guard.
"This Wang Yan had actually turned Chun'an into an ironclad fortress? He even captured Zhu Qi alive?" Jiajing was surprised by Wang Yan's capabilities.
"Master, Wang Yan replaced every official in Chun'an from top to bottom. Anyone who refused to obey him had their household confiscated. He suppressed Chun'an's prominent families so thoroughly that none dared make a move. When the common people suffered injustice, he truly resolved it for them. The housing he promised is also under construction, and he even developed cheap new bricks that are fit for use. Zhu Qi failed Your Majesty's trust. Once he returns, this servant will certainly punish him."
"Forget it. Zhu Qi did not wish to harm the common people—otherwise, how could he have been captured alive? He still has his merits." Jiajing smiled. "And this Wang Yan actually came up with new bricks..."
"What is even rarer is that he understands how difficult things are for Your Majesty." Lu Fang spoke at just the right moment. "He is merely a ninth-rank registrar, yet he