Chapter 48 Chongzhen Becomes a Nouveau Riche

Chongzhen's gaze was projected out from the gate of Wenhua Hall, as if an old farmer as the New Year was approaching was penetrating time and space, looking at the two big fat pigs he raised with joy, containing the expectation of a good harvest.

Wang Chengen was also happy for his own emperor, but he changed his mind and said, "Your Majesty, it is not time to overturn the table as Wang An said. We still need them to transport salt, so it is not the time to touch them yet."

Chongzhen smacked his lips, like a greedy child looking at a fat pig but unable to kill it.

After a long while, he said, "Yes, let them hop around for a few more days. After all, the Huizhou merchants still have enough money to last for a long time."

"I will tell Wei Zhongxian to speed up the salt monopoly. The eight million taels of silver seized in Yangzhou will be sent to the inner treasury first. As for the properties of the Huizhou merchants, he will be allowed to keep some of them after the confiscation to manage his subordinates and fulfill my promise to the cooks. The salt will be purchased by the court for monopoly."

"Your servant obeys the order," Wang Chengen accepted the order and then said, "Your Majesty, the hour of dawn is approaching, and it is time to build the Huangji Gate."

Chongzhen nodded and suddenly asked, "Has Yuansu arrived in Beijing?"

Wang Chengen immediately replied: "Your Majesty, it has arrived on the thousandth day."

Chongzhen nodded without asking any more questions, then stood up and left Wenhua Hall.

Striding towards the Huangji Gate, Chongzhen sat down on the dragon throne.

Looking at the officials below who were kneeling and following the Ministry of Rites singing the ceremony, Chongzhen was in high spirits, which was rare.

This is one of the rare times when I feel like I have everything under control, except after the day of registration.

"No need to be polite, everyone! Stand up!" Chongzhen looked at Bi Ziyan with a smile and said, "I have asked Wang Chengen to transfer the 300,000 taels of Liaodong military pay I ordered you to embezzle from the treasury some time ago. After the court session, you should check carefully to see if there is any shortage."

All the officials were shocked. Although no one knew how much Chongzhen had in his treasury, they could roughly estimate it. Why did he become so generous today?

Bi Ziyan was even more surprised. He had thought that he would never get the 300,000 taels back, and had been racking his brains over how to make up for the shortfall. He never expected that Chongzhen would actually do what he said and get the silver back!
And it was paid back so quickly. Only a little over a month had passed since the Ministry of Revenue allocated 300,000 taels.

Where did the emperor get the money?

At this moment, this question became the common question in everyone's mind.

The silver from Chongzhen was naturally the first commercial tax collected by Wei Zhongxian after he arrived in Jiangnan.

Originally, Chongzhen had no plan to return the money to the Ministry of Revenue so quickly, but to keep it for later use when the money was urgently needed.

But now with the eight million taels donated by the Huizhou salt merchants, Chongzhen suddenly felt rich and powerful. He was so happy that he paid back the silver he owed first.

Although Bi Ziyan was puzzled, he immediately bowed and flattered: "Don't be afraid of your majesty laughing at me. I am worried about the military pay in Liaodong. Your younger brother Bi Zisu has written five or six letters to urge him to pay. This time I can finally shut him up."

Bi Ziyan's words were humorous, and Chongzhen couldn't help but chuckle. "Bi Zisu is the governor of Liaodong. He can't do without food and silver. Tell him that he doesn't need to worry about the military pay in Liaodong in the future. I will take care of it myself."

All the officials were even more surprised when they heard this, as the court had been short of money for a long time.

Liaodong has been in arrears for a long time. In the past, when talking about money, the young emperor would always frown like an old man. But today, he spoke like a local rich man, with the words "I am very rich" written on his face. So the officials' curiosity, which had just been put down, surged again, and they all speculated where the emperor's money came from.

Could it be that the secret treasury left by the previous emperor has been discovered by Chongzhen?

However, before they could come up with an answer, Chongzhen, who was sitting on the dragon throne, asked in high spirits, "Where is Yuan Chonghuan, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War?"

"I'm here!" As soon as he finished speaking, a burly man stepped out from the queue.

Chongzhen looked at the brave general in front of him who was said to have killed Nurhaci with a single shot. This was the first time he saw Yuan Chonghuan in person, and he couldn't help but become more and more delighted the more he looked at him.

"It is indeed as majestic as a dragon and a phoenix, and as powerful as a tiger!" Chongzhen praised.

When Chongzhen was still Prince Xin, he often heard the three names "Yuan Chonghuan" from people around him. Especially during the Battle of Ningyuan, Yuan Chonghuan's reputation in the court and the country was at its peak.

As soon as Chongzhen ascended the throne, the Wenhua Hall was almost filled with memorials suggesting that Yuan Chonghuan be reinstated.

Chongzhen himself also had this intention, not only because of Yuan Chonghuan's fame, but also because the current Liaodong commander-in-chief Wang Zhichen seemed too cowardly in his strategy to deal with the Jiannu, which made Chongzhen very unhappy.

A while ago, he even submitted a memorial saying that the city wall of Jinzhou had collapsed due to heavy rain, and that the general You Shilu who was guarding Jinzhou should be transferred to Xingshan.

Although Chongzhen had never been to Liaodong, he knew that it was a place with little rain outside the Great Wall. What kind of heavy rain could collapse the city wall?

This is absolutely ridiculous. It is obvious that they just want to shrink the defense line.

But doing so would be tantamount to handing over large tracts of land to Huang Taiji.

So on November 19, the seventh year of the Tianqi reign, he issued an edict to promote Yuan Chonghuan to the position of Right Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate and Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, intending to find a suitable opportunity to send Yuan Chonghuan to Liaodong, but he had just arrived in the capital in the past two days.

After hearing Chongzhen's praise, Yuan Chonghuan's depression suddenly dissipated, and even his back straightened a little.

A few months ago, the censors in the court impeached him for "negotiating peace" with the Later Jin Dynasty and "cowardly fighting", and even treated him differently when it came to rewarding meritorious service in defeating the Later Jin army in the Battle of Jinzhou. He was so angry that he submitted a petition to resign.

Now that the new emperor has ascended the throne, he was immediately re-employed, and even received praise from Chongzhen for his "dragon mark and phoenix color" in front of all the officials in the court. The anger that had been pent up in his heart was immediately vented.

Yuan Chonghuan was not in a hurry to be modest. Instead, he turned his head slightly to look at the expressions of the officials around him, then he saluted and said modestly: "Your Majesty, thank you for your praise. I am just a dull person."

Chongzhen raised his hand and smiled, "My dear minister, there is no need to be too modest. I have long heard of your talents. This time I summon you to Beijing to serve as the Minister of War. I hope you will work hard and help the Ming Dynasty solve the Liaodong border problem as soon as possible!"

Chongzhen's words can be said to be extremely flattering. If it were an ordinary veteran official, he would probably be humble and say something like "I'll do my best."

However, Yuan Chonghuan accepted Chongzhen's praise and expectations without hesitation, saying: "I will do my best to help Your Majesty eliminate the border troubles!"

All the officials could not help but despise him when they heard this. Everyone could see the rise of the Later Jin in recent years, and it had already become the biggest threat to the Ming Dynasty. Even veteran commanders such as Sun Chengzong and Xiong Tingbi did not dare to say that they could definitely quell the border threat.

(End of this chapter)