Keyboard Immortal - Chapter 2832

Chapter 1345: A Beautiful Figure in the Deep Palace

Augustus spoke up, “What’s so difficult about that? The root of all the Ming Empire’s problems before was that it lost more battles than it won in the wars outside the Great Wall, turning it into a bottomless pit that drained the imperial treasury. But now, with my Knights Templar outside the Great Wall…”

He paused, then added, “and with the assistance of the Second Elder and the Sixth Elder, even if the Tartars have the power of Annihilation to aid them, we will surely be able to quell the Tartars and reduce the empire’s expenses.”

The First Elder nodded, “I feel much more at ease with the Commander’s words.”

At this moment, the Fourth Elder said with a worried expression, “Although the Commander is skilled in battle, he has only been here for a short time. For the time being, the army outside the Great Wall will still need the imperial court to supply provisions and pay. Currently, the empire is also filled with peasant armies, and money is needed everywhere, but the national treasury is already empty.”

The Sixth Elder frowned and said, “You are the Minister of Finance. Can’t you even handle the financial problems of such a feudal empire?”

“Although it’s a feudal empire, things have changed a bit since our arrival,” the Fourth Elder scratched his head. “Second Brother, you’re in charge of commerce at the Chamber of Commerce, why don’t you offer some suggestions?” The

Second Elder asked calmly, “Besides military expenses, what’s the biggest expense for the court?”

The Fourth Elder had already prepared various documents and files: “The princes and royal families in various regions, because of the Ming Empire’s bizarre policies, they’re kept around without being demoted or having their titles passed down, leading to a growing number of them. They’re also kept at arm’s length, forbidden from taking the imperial examinations or becoming officials. These people are like pigs, completely useless, yet like money-devouring beasts, consuming huge amounts of money and grain every year.”

“In that case, why not just cut that expense? They’re all useless anyway,” the Sixth Elder said. They were just passing through and had no intention of keeping these royal families around.

The Fourth Elder shook his head: “I’m afraid that won’t work. Directly targeting the imperial clan like this could easily undermine the stability of imperial power. After all, they are all members of the Zhu family, and the court officials could impeach them on the grounds that ancestral laws cannot be changed.”

“Secondly, if those regional princes also take the opportunity to rebel, we will not only have to face the foreign tribes outside the Great Wall and peasant uprisings within the Great Wall, but also deal with these princely rebel armies.”

The Second Elder, who had been reviewing the documents, quickly scanned them with his powerful divine sense: “That’s easy to handle. We can issue war bonds using the salt and tea permits for the next five years as collateral. Both princes and court officials can buy them, and the bonds are bearer bonds, so the officials and princes won’t have to worry about being misunderstood by the emperor as having so much money through corruption. To dispel their concerns, we can start by having the Empress’s and Consort’s fathers, along with us, buy them together. Once there’s a leader, things will go smoothly.” “We can also

implement a system of purchasing official positions. To avoid a strong backlash from the civil service group that came from the imperial examination system, this policy will initially be limited to the princes and imperial clan. They can donate money and grain in the name of protecting the country, and once they reach a certain standard, they can be granted corresponding official positions.”

“To avoid the princes refusing to donate, we should first select a prince with a notorious and heinous crime, brandishing the banner of ‘disobeying ancestral precepts and being disloyal and unjust.’ This will win the hearts of the people and intimidate the other princes, making them dare not refuse to donate.”

“At the same time, we should establish overseas colonization companies, encouraging princes to invest in and build armed merchant caravans to expand and colonize Southeast Asia. The court will recognize their autonomy over the land and profits they acquire, provided they pay a certain percentage of taxes. Given the opportunity to expand their territory and establish their own kingdoms, I believe many princes will be tempted. This will reduce the court’s expenses and open up new sources of tax revenue.”

“Of course, in the empire’s final stages, corruption will inevitably reach its core. Even the best policies will be drastically altered in practice. This requires the Grand Elder and Fourth Brother to carefully oversee the process.”

“Once the war bonds and the princes’ affairs are on track, we should have already cultivated a group of reliable subordinates. Then we can deal with the civil service group and resolve the issues of land annexation and control over commercial taxes.”

“Also, we can contact Zheng Zhilong overseas. As far as I know, they have close ties with Japan and should be able to resolve the issue of silver exports there.”

…

The Second Elder spoke eloquently and logically, each point hitting the nail on the head, drawing applause from the crowd.

Zu An secretly admired the Second Elder, who was indeed in charge of the entire Global Chamber of Commerce’s business. His knowledge was truly ahead of his time; what was originally an unsolvable problem had become simple under his analysis.

At the same time, he wondered why the Second Elder, who should have been the most suitable person for the position of Minister of Finance, had become like Wu Sangui. Should he remind the First Elder about the possibility of his betrayal?

No, the First Elder was already at odds with me and would definitely suspect that I was using my position to settle scores and deliberately slander him. In that case, I would be at a disadvantage .

Besides, given his character, he probably wouldn’t become a traitor like Wu Sangui in history.

For example, now that I am Hong Chengchou, would I also defect to the Manchu Qing, who represented annihilation?

Thinking of this, he chuckled and dispelled his previous doubts.

Next, the Grand Elder began assigning tasks, even appointing Zu’an as Minister of War, overseeing military affairs in Shaanxi, Gansu, Yansui, and Ningxia.

In the Grand Elder’s group’s view, the peasant army was merely a minor ailment; the empire’s most important enemy was the Manchu Qing, empowered by the power of annihilation.

Once the empire’s finances were rebuilt, the three taxes abolished, coupled with tax reduction policies, those peasant rebels would naturally lose their foothold.

Therefore, they saw no problem in sending Zu’an to deal with a rabble.

Only Zu’an felt a vague unease, wondering if Li Zicheng in this world would grow into the historical figure who swept across the land.

However, with so many powerful figures in the Order faction, even Li Zicheng shouldn’t be able to cause much trouble.

He left the imperial study, his mind filled with thoughts of Chu Chuyan’s whereabouts, when suddenly a charming laugh came from beside him: “Oh, what a coincidence! You look so handsome, no wonder A-Jiu likes you so much.”

Zu’an turned around and saw a seductive, alluring woman in palace attire approaching, surrounded by eunuchs and maids.

“Isn’t this Fifth Elder Lilith?

” “The Imperial Concubine has arrived!”

Zu An was stunned. Currently, there was only one Imperial Concubine in Chongzhen’s palace—was this the Fifth Elder’s identity in this world?

Lilith waved for her attendants to step back, and Isabella nervously stepped in front of Zu An.

“Oh, still guarding your food? Afraid I’ll eat him?” Lilith giggled.

Isabella felt a little embarrassed, after all, the other was an elder.

“Why didn’t you come to the Imperial Study to discuss important matters?” Zu An asked curiously.

“Didn’t you all discuss things? Surely you could solve the problems of the late feudal dynasty? Of course, I wanted to enjoy myself in this world.” Lilith said, sizing up Zu An. “But this palace is full of eunuchs besides the maids, and the guards are cowards. Little brother, are you interested in staying in the palace for a while?”

“Fifth Elder!” Isabella was angry.

Lilith, however, didn’t seem to care: “Stay in the palace with you? What are you thinking?”

Isabella, a young girl, was no match for this mature woman and was quickly made to blush.

Just as Lilith was about to continue teasing Zu’an, a disgruntled voice came from the side: “Consort Tian, please have some self-respect!”

Zu An’s heart skipped a beat. He turned around and looked at the familiar figure. He never expected to run into her here.