Chapter 2840: The Beautiful Silhouette in the Palace

Augustus spoke up. “There’s nothing difficult about that. The root of Great Ming’s problems is that it has lost more wars than it has won, causing military expenditure to become an insatiable black hole for the imperial court. But with my Holy Knight Order guarding the borders...”

He paused before adding, “...and with the aid of the Second Elder and the Sixth Elder, even if the enemies are backed by Annihilation worshipers, we should be able to quell them with ease and reduce the empire’s expenditure.”

First Elder Oberon nodded. “I’m at ease after hearing your words, captain.”

Fourth Elder Mastema interjected with a frown, “But even if the captain is adept at warfare, we’ll still need funds to get things into motion. The armies stationed at the borders need rations from the imperial palace, and we need resources to subdue the peasant rebels. We need money everywhere, but our coffers are empty.”

Sixth Elder Naraka remarked with a frown, “It’s just an ancient feudal empire. Can’t you settle it?”

“Be that as it may, our arrival here has stirred some tricky changes in the economy.” The Fourth Elder rubbed his head. “Second brother, you’re the one who manages our Conglomerate’s businesses. Do you have any ideas?”

Second Elder Hermes calmly asked, “What is the imperial court’s greatest expenditure aside from military spending?”

Fourth Elder Mastema pulled out the scrolls he had prepared beforehand. “Great Ming has enacted a series of foolish policies. For instance, noble titles are unconditionally passed down through the relatives of the imperial family, but at the same time, they are forbidden from taking the imperial examinations or taking official roles out of wariness. These people are worse than pigs! They aren’t bringing any good at all, yet they continue to eat into the empire’s coffers.”

“Why don’t you just cut them off? They’re useless anyway,” Sixth Elder Naraka asked. They were just passers-by in this world, so they had no intention of letting the relatives of the imperial family continue mooching off them.

Fourth Elder Mastema shook his head. “I’m afraid that’s out of the question. They are ultimately still Zhu clansmen[1]. We would risk diminishing imperial authority. The officials would also impeach us for arbitrarily straying away from tradition.

“That move would also risk provoking the feudal kings to action. If so, that would put us in a worse position. We’d have to deal with the invaders, the peasant uprising, and the revolt of the feudal kings simultaneously.”

Second Elder Hermes scanned through the scrolls with his powerful divine sense. “This is simple. We’ll use the next five years of salt and tea trade permits as leverage to issue war bonds. These war bonds will be buyable by officials and feudal kings, and we will not record the names of bond buyers.

“This way, the officials and feudal kings need not worry about the emperor misunderstanding and thinking that they have earned their huge wealth through corruption. We can kickstart the process by issuing them to the empress’ and consorts’ families first, so as to encourage others to follow suit.

“At the same time, we’ll start a system of earning an official position through donations. We’ll justify it by tying it to national defense. To reduce the backlash from officials who have risen through the ranks via imperial examinations, we’ll limit this system to feudal kings and imperial relatives for now. Once their donation hits a target, we’ll bestow them with the corresponding official position.

“To ensure that feudal kings donate, we’ll first crack down on a heinous, obnoxious feudal king, accusing him of going against ancestral teachings and being disloyal. That will win us the people’s hearts while intimidating the other feudal kings.

“We’ll establish an overseas offshore company, and encourage the feudal kings to invest in an armed merchant convoy and head toward Nanyang[2] with their people to build up their own fiefs. We’ll demand taxes on their land and revenue, and in exchange, we’ll recognize their autonomy. I’m sure many feudal kings would be incentivized by the opportunity to expand their borders.

“That will reduce the imperial court’s expenditure while opening a new source of revenue.”

“Great Ming is corrupted to its core, however. No matter how good the policies are, there is bound to be problems in their execution. That’s why we’ll need first brother and fourth brother to keep a close eye on the execution.

“By the time we’re back on track through issuing war bonds and dealing with the feudal kings, we should have already nurtured a batch of reliable underlings. With that, we can deal with the cartels within the imperial court and simultaneously resolve the land and tax problem.”

...

Second Elder Hermes spoke with clear logic. His points were so pinpoint and direct that it induced loud applause from the crowd.

Zu An was awed.

I can see why the Second Elder manages the Universal Conglomerate’s businesses. His insights transcend this era. Under his sharp analysis, unsolvable problems become simple.

At the same time, he was perplexed. Second Elder Hermes was the most suitable candidate to become the finance minister, so how had he ended up as Wu Sangui?

Should I warn the First Elder about his possible betrayal?

No, that won’t do. I’m on bad terms with the First Elder. He’ll think that I’m trying to sow discord among them. It’ll just put me in a tight spot.

Besides, it’s unlikely that the Second Elder will become a Han traitor like Wu Sangui. He’s practically in the same position as me. I’m also Hong Chengchou, but that doesn’t mean that I’ll side with Annihilation’s Manchus.

Zu An dispelled his reservations with a chuckle.

First Elder Oberon proceeded to allocate tasks. Even Zu An was appointed as the Minister of War, tasked with looking after Shanxi, Gansu, Yansui, and Ningxia.

The First Elder and the others viewed the peasant uprising as a pebble in their path; their biggest enemy was still the Manchus, who had been augmented with Annihilation power.

Only Zu An felt uneasy.

I wonder if this world’s Li Zicheng will mature into the same formidable power that swept Great Ming off its feet in history. I might be overthinking it. There are so many experts from the Order faction here. I doubt even Li Zicheng can do much.

As he left the Imperial Library, his mind was filled with thoughts about Chu Chuyan’s whereabouts. Just then, he heard a coy laugh. “What a coincidence. You truly look dashing. No wonder Lil’ Ninth is so fond of you.”

Zu An turned around and saw a bewitching woman sashaying over with an entourage of eunuchs and palace maids. It was Fifth Elder Lilith.

“The noble consort has arrived!”

Zu An was startled. The only noble consort in Chongzhen Palace was Noble Consort Tian[3].

Is that the Fifth Elder’s identity in this world?

Lilith waved her underlings away. Isabella nervously stepped forward to protect Zu An.

“Oh? Are you protecting him? Are you worried that I’ll eat him up?” Lilith chuckled.

Isabella’s face reddened. Lilith was still her elder, after all.

“Why didn’t you join the earlier discussion in the Imperial Library?” Zu An asked.

“We have more than enough heads to handle an ailing feudal empire. I’m only here to enjoy myself,” Lilith said while eyeing Zu An. “But there’s nothing here but palace maids and eunuchs. The guards are too timid to do anything. Little brother, why don’t you stay in the imperial palace with me for a while?”

“Fifth Elder!” Isabella exclaimed angrily.

Lilith paid her no mind. “I’ll accompany you wherever you want to go if you stay with me.”

Isabella was no match for a veteran like Lilith. Her ears turned completely red.

Lilith was about to continue teasing Zu An when a dissatisfied voice echoed from the side, “Noble Consort Tian, please watch your words.”

Zu An’s heart quivered. He turned around to look at a familiar silhouette. He hadn’t expected to bump into her here.

1. The family name of the Ming Dynasty’s imperial family ☜

2. The Southeast Asia region ☜

3. Noble Consort Tian Xiuying was the Chongzhen Emperor’s favorite consort. ☜