Li Daiwen had earned his jinshi degree during the Wanli era and was now past fifty, the age of knowing Heaven's will. His conscientious service had worn him down and left him with a host of ailments. Seeing him trembling even as he stood in the hall, Zhu Youjian hurriedly ordered someone to bring him a seat.
Li Daiwen's petition to retire was still on the desk. Seeing how sickly he looked, Zhu Youjian could hardly bring himself to make the man work. His voice softened as he asked, "Do you know why I summoned you here?"
Not a single court official was unaware of what had happened over the past few days. For the emperor to summon the two men responsible for the Ministry of Revenue and the Imperial Treasury now, it could only be a matter of money.
Besides, Governor Lu had just left the palace, so this money was surely connected to the coming campaign.
Li Daiwen understood perfectly well, but everyone also knew that the Ministry of Revenue had no money. That thought immediately left him unable to sit still, as though the chair beneath him were studded with needles.
"Your Majesty, the Taicang Treasury... truly has no silver to spare. Just yesterday, men from the Ministry of Personnel came demanding their salaries, and I had to turn them away."
The Ministry of Revenue's empty coffers were no surprise to Zhu Youjian. He waved reassuringly at Li Daiwen, then turned his gaze toward Zhang Yixian. Zhang Yixian hurriedly presented the account book in his hands and bowed. "Your Majesty, the Imperial Treasury still holds four hundred thousand taels of silver."
The Imperial Treasury was also known as the Inner Carriage Treasury. Together with the Key Office and the Provisioning Treasury, it formed the Inner Treasury.
Unlike the Key Office and the Provisioning Treasury, which mainly took in goods, the Inner Carriage Treasury chiefly received silver. Put simply, it was the emperor's private purse. The money here was his to spend however he pleased, and even the grand secretaries had no right to interfere.
The Inner Carriage Treasury drew its funds from the produce of imperial estates, tribute brought by envoys, and money seized through the confiscation of estates. Half of those confiscated funds went to the Taicang Treasury-the state treasury-and half went into the emperor's Inner Treasury. The final source was a host of oppressive taxes and levies. The most fiercely criticized of these was the mining tax of the Wanli era, which had very substantially filled the Wanli Emperor's Imperial Treasury.
Yet by the Chongzhen era in the late Ming, troop numbers on the frontier had fallen compared with the Wanli era, while military spending rose by the day. This left Ming finances in a state where "the granaries held not even tens of thousands of shi in reserve, and the army lacked even half a year's pay; never in two hundred years had there been such utter destitution."
Although Zhu Youjian had several ways to increase revenue in mind, none could yield results in the short term.
Hearing that the Imperial Treasury held only four hundred thousand taels, his heart sank. It really was not much!
Popular rumor claimed that when Li Zicheng took Beijing City, he obtained thirty-seven million taels of silver from the Imperial Treasury. But no matter how one looked at it, that was nothing but a rumor!
Not only was there no record of it in the History of Ming, but Records of the State also stated that "the Imperial Treasury held not even tens of thousands of taels of silver." Northern Account of the Late Ming clarified this point as well: to carry thirty-seven million taels of silver back, Li Zicheng would have needed 1,850 mules and horses working for an entire month.
Besides, Beijing was suffering from plague at the time. Where could anyone have found so many mules and horses to haul silver for Li Zicheng?
Moreover, although large quantities of silver had flowed into the country after the ports opened during the Longqing era, the total before the Ming fell was only around forty-five million taels. To claim that thirty-seven million taels sat in the Imperial Treasury was sheer Arabian Nights fantasy!
Zhu Youjian leafed through the account book, calculating how to allocate the silver, and did not reply for a while. After reporting the figure, Zhang Yixian heard nothing from the emperor for a long time and could not help growing uneasy.
Zhu Youjian paid no attention to Zhang Yixian's thoughts. As he examined the account book, he found not only records of gold and silver, but also lists of tribute from various countries. By far the most plentiful items were spices of every kind.
The Great Ming forbade private trade in spices, and in its early years had even prohibited overseas trade altogether. But while trade could be banned, demand could not. The result was rampant smuggling.
On the court's side, meanwhile, overseas trade had been forbidden, but the tributary system had flourished. One of the most important tribute items was spices.
Tributary trade had reached its peak under Ming Chengzu. The court's policy of "lavish gifts for modest offerings" showed tributary states there was profit to be made, so they frequently came to "present tribute," exchanging large quantities of spices for gold, silver, cloth, and silk from the Ming treasury. Calling it tribute was putting it politely. Put less politely, it was no different from robbery!
At that thought, Zhu Youjian could not help letting out a cold snort. Sooner or later, I'll make them give it all back!
To Zhang Yixian, however, that cold snort felt like a heavy punch landing on his body. His knees immediately weakened, and he dropped to the floor.
Seeing his reaction, Zhu Youjian understood. The man in charge of the Imperial Treasury probably did not have clean hands either. But he had no time to deal with that now. With that in mind, he said evenly, "Take two hundred thousand taels of silver from the Imperial Treasury and send them to Governor Lu as the initial military funds!"
Two hundred thousand taels of silver!
That was half the silver in the Imperial Treasury. Once it was handed over, palace expenditure would have to be cut again! And this was only the initial payment. From His Majesty's tone, more might be needed later. Was he going to spend the Imperial Treasury dry as well?
If he wanted to spend it, so be it. It was His Majesty's money, after all. But who knew where the silver for next year's gifts of filial respect would have to be scraped together?
Zhang Yixian kept his eyes lowered and his manner meek, allowing none of his thoughts to show. "Yes. This servant will see to it at once!"
"Wait." Zhu Youjian stopped him, then glanced at Li Daiwen. "Minister Li, I have approved your petition to retire!"
Li Daiwen had never expected such a pleasant surprise from today's visit to the palace. Over the past few years, his fistula had driven him to submit more than seventy retirement petitions at intervals, yet His Majesty had not approved a single one.
He had submitted another a few days earlier, expecting it too to sink like a stone into the sea. Who could have imagined that His Majesty would approve it now? His eyes reddened with emotion, and he hurriedly rose and kowtowed in thanks.
"Draw five hundred taels of silver from the Imperial Treasury. Go home and take proper care of your health."
Li Daiwen had come from poverty. After entering official service, he had remained diligent and incorruptible, devoting himself to his duties. He had provided disaster relief, built dams, fought locusts, guarded against flooding, and reduced the Liaodong military levy, doing much practical good for the people and wearing himself into a body full of illnesses.
They had used the man's services and worked him until he fell ill. Now that he was being sent home to recover, without a little silver he might well die on the road. Zhu Youjian could not bring himself to do such a thing.
On the other hand, Zhu Youjian also wanted the ministers at court to know that he would always reward officials who served loyally and fulfilled their duties. Even if he had to scrape the money from between his own teeth, the court would not let these capable, loyal men down!
"I am unworthy of such a gift!" Li Daiwen immediately declined. He had come before the emperor today without helping shoulder his sovereign's burdens, only to take His Majesty's silver instead. How could he face anyone?
"It is my command. Just accept it!"
Zhu Youjian's expression sternened. Li Daiwen dared not say another word and could only thank him and take his leave. In his heart, however, he was already planning to set aside some of those five hundred taels for the disaster victims who had recently come into the city, so that they too might survive this bitter winter.
Only after Li Daiwen had left did Zhu Youjian turn back to Zhang Yixian and ask, "Do you know whether there is a cellar beneath the Imperial Treasury?"
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