Chapter 13: Venting Frustration Under a Pretext
“Your Majesty, I have a matter to report!”
Someone stepped forward from the ranks of officials. Chongzhen glanced briefly and recognized the speaker as Shi Fenglai, the Grand Secretary of Zhongji Hall.
“Minister Shi, please speak.”
“Your Majesty, by imperial decree, I have coordinated with the Directorate of Ceremonies, Ministry of Works, Ministry of Rites, and the Imperial Astronomical Bureau to select the mausoleum site for the Great Xing Emperor. The location has been decided as Tanyu Ridge. The mausoleum's design follows the model of Qingling and, according to regulations, requires two million taels of silver. I seek Your Majesty’s approval.”
Chongzhen was momentarily stunned. He had been so occupied since arriving in this time that he had forgotten about the mausoleum of the Tianqi Emperor. Two million taels of silver—what a staggering amount. Before he could respond, the Minister of Revenue, Guo Yunhou, stepped forward.
“Your Majesty, the state treasury does not have two million taels of silver at present, and with the nine frontier armies about to receive their military pay, funds are unavailable for reallocation.”
“Minister Guo, your attitude shows contempt for the Great Xing Emperor. I petition Your Majesty to punish Guo Yunhou for this offense!” Left Censor Cao Sicheng immediately accused him with these harsh words.
“Minister Cao, what do you mean by that? Are you implying the soldiers on the front lines are incompetent? If this gets out, won’t it cause discontent among the troops?”
...
“Your Majesty, might we first allocate one million taels from the inner treasury to get things moving, and then seek additional funds later?”
After much debate, Shi Fenglai surprisingly suggested tapping into the inner treasury.
Chongzhen’s anger flared inwardly. He asked sternly, “Minister Shi, what is the current price of rice in the capital per shi?”
Shi Fenglai was confused. The report was about the Great Xing Emperor’s mausoleum—how did it come to rice prices? As a cabinet aide, he had no knowledge of rice prices.
Yet, the emperor had asked, and he dared not refuse to answer: “I believe it is about one tael of silver... I... do not know precisely.”
“Minister Cao, you answer!”
Left Censor Cao Sicheng hesitated: “Your Majesty, it is about one tael and one mace.”
“About? Hmph!”
Chongzhen snorted coldly. “Minister Fang, your turn!”
Minister of Personnel Fang Zhuangli: “I recall at the beginning of the year it was eight mace of silver per shi, but now I truly do not know.”
Chongzhen questioned a dozen or more officials, sparing only the Minister of Revenue. From Personnel to Censorate to the Director of Communications, all were asked, with a particular focus on members of the Donglin faction.
By the end, Chongzhen abandoned formal titles and called out by name.
“Guo Yunhou, you speak!”
Minister of Revenue Guo Yunhou immediately responded, “Your Majesty, as of yesterday, rice in the capital is priced between 850 and 930 copper coins per shi.”
“Wei Zhongxian, your turn!”
Upon being named, Wei Zhongxian stepped forward. “Your Majesty, rough rice fluctuates between 780 and 850 copper coins per shi, while polished rice ranges from 900 to 950 copper coins.”
Chongzhen quickly calculated in his mind. In the Ming dynasty, one shi was about 120 jin, and one jin in later times is approximately 1.2 jin, making roughly 145 jin in today’s weight.
Thus, one tael of silver could buy about 155 jin of rice. Given a modern jin costs roughly 2.5 yuan, the purchasing power of one tael of silver today would be approximately 388 yuan.
Constructing a mausoleum requiring two million taels of silver would cost about 770 million yuan in today’s currency—a colossal project indeed.
Materials and labor today are far costlier than in those times.
It was obvious there must be much corruption, but he could not voice this reasoning to his ministers.
PS: According to the Ming Records, in 1626—the sixth year of Tianqi—rice cost about 0.8 taels of silver per shi. Considering the political strife that year, prices might be slightly higher. Some sources claim one tael equates to 660–800 yuan today, sometimes more. For example, in the early Hongwu years, one shi was 0.25 taels, meaning one tael bought four shi, or about 600 jin, equating to about 1,200 yuan now.
“Fang Zhenghua, send someone to the streets to inquire immediately. Speed is essential. I will wait here.”
Fang Zhenghua acknowledged and exited Zhongji Hall.
Chongzhen rose from the dragon throne, standing on the nine-tiered platform, coldly staring down at the gathered ministers. After a full quarter of an hour, he finally spoke.
“Do you all think I am making a mountain out of a molehill?”
“We dare not, Your Majesty!”
Seeing the mass of officials kneel in unison, Chongzhen’s fury boiled over.
“Do you think that by saying this, I do not know you secretly curse me in your hearts?”
“You proclaim daily that you would die for the Ming dynasty. Yet, look at yourselves—you don’t even know how much the common people pay for their daily rice.”
“Do you believe that as ministers of the court, such concerns about the lives of ordinary people are beneath you?”
“What do the people care about most? Whether they can eat three meals a day. That is rice.”
“Minister of Personnel, I ask you: if local magistrates do not know the price of rice in their counties, how can they sincerely care for their people?”
“Ministry of Works, if you do not know the price of rice, how can you recruit laborers properly? Do you think state projects are merely signed off by local officials, and any amount of pay will do? Have you considered the effort of the common folk in relation to their rewards?”
“Ministry of Rites, you oversee the scholars who constantly invoke the sage kings. Yet they neither understand agricultural seasons nor labor, nor can they distinguish grains. How can they claim to work for the welfare of the people when ignorant of their hardships?”
“Ministry of Revenue, you control all the nation’s finances and economy. If you cannot grasp the price of rice, how will you manage transport? If disaster strikes, how will you promptly arrange relief? Will you decide by guesswork?”
“And the Ministries of Justice and War—do you think this has nothing to do with you?”
“The frontier armies receive eighteen taels of silver yearly. Can today’s eighteen taels be compared to those of ten years ago? If soldiers’ families cannot eat enough, how can they fully dedicate themselves to defending the nation?”
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“Even Northern Song’s Fan Zhongyan said: ‘Be the first to worry about the world’s troubles, and the last to enjoy its pleasures.’ You sit high in the court yet know not even the price of rice. What kind of concern for the people is that?”
“Consider why my great ancestor rebelled. Was it not to have enough food to eat, to survive?”
“Must you wait until the Jurchen troops maraud inside the passes, countless compatriots slaughtered, and the people rise in revolt, where the pain of kin is the joy of enemies?”
“Must you wait until Beijing falls, and you are all slain by the enemy, becoming traitors to a fallen nation while I become a failed sovereign?”
“If that day comes, I will fight to the death and before I perish, I will have your nine clans wiped out!”
Chongzhen unleashed a torrent of scorn upon the ministers. Though some words were idealistic or exaggerated, it did not stop him from railing at them.
Two years later, why did Li Xiaoge erupt into rebellion and muster a million troops in such a short time? Was it not because the people were starving?
If they had enough to eat, who would risk their heads in rebellion?
Who the emperor is matters little to them.
If they have food and warmth, they care for no one else.
Why had he come? Why hadn’t he arranged to eliminate Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong, the two rebels who swept across the northwest Ming territories a few years later?
Because without solving the famine, killing these two would only see countless others rise.
“Your Majesty, we have surveyed twelve rice shops. The prices match those stated by Minister Guo of the Revenue and Director Wei of the Eastern Depot. Here is the guarantee signed by the rice shop owners!”
In a short time, the men Fang Zhenghua dispatched returned.
Chongzhen examined the list, nodding inwardly. His judgment had been correct.
The list detailed three shops in each of the four directions of the capital, their locations, owners’ surnames, prices for rough and polished rice, with handprints of the owners at the bottom.
“Do any of you have anything to say? I give you a chance to refute!”