As the saying goes, the great affairs of a nation lie in ritual and warfare. For people of this time, matters of sacrifice are of paramount importance, serving as a certain kind of symbol.
Regarding this, Zhu Ci expressed, "I have merely cut some unnecessary expenditures; it is not as if I am stopping the sacrifices. Rest assured, whether it be the Heavens or the gods above, they will all understand me."
If any other emperor had said this, they would likely have been drowned in remonstrances from the Censors, yet when it came from him, no one dared to utter a word.
Even now, the dragon-shaped beam of light that appeared during last year's sacrificial rites is still a subject of much discussion among the common people.
The common people only found it miraculous through hearsay, but these people had actually witnessed it in person.
Moreover, although the Emperor has reduced the scale of the sacrificial rites, all the necessary procedures remain in place, even so, he has not cut their salaries, which is already quite generous.
This meant that the Emperor's daily expenses were all his own responsibility; otherwise, the national treasury would have collapsed long ago.
Even so, after two months had passed, the Censorate still could not help but submit a memorial suggesting that it would be better to have Zheng Chenggong relinquish Zeeland City and temporarily share rule over Taiwan with the Dutch.
This time, it was not a personal memorial from an individual censor, but a memorial submitted in the name of the Censorate, so Zhu Ci had to take it seriously.
He specifically summoned both Emperor Zhu Yujian and Yan Yingyuan, the two Left and Right Censors.
It was rare for Emperor Zhu Yujian to express an attitude regarding state affairs; as the Left Censor, he had always acted like an official dedicated solely to fighting corruption, focusing intently on that one matter and rarely offering opinions on anything else.
On this rare occasion, Zhu Ci was somewhat curious.
Regarding the Emperor's question, the first thing Zhu Yujian said was, "Your Majesty, has the Grand Secretariat never mentioned the difficulties faced by the Ministry of Revenue?"
Zhu Ci said after a pause, "That is indeed the case. Why? Are there problems with the Ministry of Revenue's accounts now?"
Zhu Yujian glanced at Yan Yingyuan, leaving Yan Yingyuan with no choice but to take over the conversation. "Your Majesty, even if the treasury has no problems now, it won't be able to sustain us for two more years under the current circumstances. We don't know how much longer Taiwan will be under siege; it has been three months, Zeeland City has yet to surrender. If this continues.. I fear we will run out of provisions."
Zhu Yujian also said, "Even if we can supply them now, the national treasury must always maintain grain reserves; if a natural disaster were to occur, we must be prepared to respond."
Although the weather has been relatively favorable over the past two years, aside from being a bit cold in the winter, what if something unexpected happens?
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Author's Note: Zhu Ci: You have a point, but it's useless. The Dutch must get out. A cat jumps onto the roof and looks toward the southeast. jpg
Next update tomorrow morning at six o'clock~
Chapter 205
Zhu Ci thought for a moment after hearing this and asked, "How many years are you calculating when you say the expenditures exceed the income?"
Ten years. We use ten years as the benchmark.
Yan Yingyuan was worried that the Little Emperor would find ten years too long, so he said earnestly, "Your Majesty, you must still pay more attention to long-term development."
Ten years.
Zhu Ci smiled and said, "Fine, I understand. I will discuss it with the Grand Secretary."
Zhu Yujian and Yan Yingyuan felt slightly more relieved; it was good that the Emperor was willing to listen.
They had been worried that His Majesty would insist on following his own will.
After all, they could also sense that the Emperor's obsession with Taiwan seemed even greater than his obsession with Beijing, no one could truly understand it.
After Yan Yingyuan and Zhu Yujian left, Zhu Ci thought for a moment and, instead of sending someone to call him, set aside his current tasks and strolled toward the Duty Room with the eunuchs and female officials.
When Zhu Ci arrived, all the officials coming and going to deliver documents in the Grand Secretariat stood up and saluted in trepidation.
Most of them had never seen the Emperor.
Zhu Ci said in a gentle voice, "Carry on with your business; I have come to see the Grand Secretary."
By this time, Fu had already received the news and came out of his Duty Room to welcome him, the other two Deputy Grand Secretaries also walked out together.
Zhu Ci waved at them and immediately took Fu's wrist and headed to his duty room.
The two Grand Secretaries, Huang Daozhou and He Tengjiao, exchanged a glance, both seeing confusion in each other's eyes.
This was the first time the Emperor had personally visited the Grand Secretariat; what was he doing here? Could it be.. that something major had happened?
"Judging by His Majesty's expression, it doesn't seem like anything urgent has happened." Huang Daozhou reflected on the situation just now.
He Tengjiao shook his head and said, "It might just be that His Majesty isn't showing it."
Huang Daozhou stood at the entrance of the Duty Room, peeking in, couldn't help but say, "How about.. we go listen?"
Listen.. listen? Eavesdropping?
He Tengjiao glared at him. "There was nothing going on, but now that you've gone to listen, there's a problem."
Huang Daozhou simply sat back down at his desk and said, "Fine, if there really is something important, the Grand Secretary will say it anyway."
Zhu Ci, who was being discussed by them, was currently strolling through Fu's duty room.
After wandering around for a bit, Zhu Ci stood in the middle of the duty room with his hands behind his back and said, "Why is there nothing here?"
Fu hesitated for a brief moment: "What does His Majesty desire?"
Zhu Ci said, "It is not that I want something, but rather that it is far too cold in here."
He finished speaking without waiting for Fu's reply, said directly, "Ma Lin, go and bring a few pots of the jade hairpins and daylilies from my place."
Fu was just about to refuse when Zhu Ci said, "Just grow some greenery; that way, you can rest your eyes when you're tired. Your aesthetic sense is quite good, so why is your own workspace so cold and lifeless?"
Zhu Ci was truly somewhat puzzled. Back then, Fu had arranged for people to repair and decorate most of the Imperial Palace. Although the Qianqing Palace, as his sleeping quarters, was not made to be incredibly magnificent, it was absolutely comfortable and elegant, the Imperial Study was even more comfortable and well-appointed in every detail.
How could he be so careless with his own office?
One must realize that Fu Chunsheng certainly spends more time in the duty room than at home; how could he allow the duty room to be uncomfortable?
However, Zhu Ci only provided two pots of plants. If he decorated any more, he felt like a capitalist who provides a comfortable workstation for employees just to make them work harder.
If it weren't for the fact that Fu's duty room was so monotonous—with only a few colors visible at a single glance, the walls, bookshelves, documents all being in dark tones, it was enough to make one feel utterly gloomy.
It just so happened that both Yulan and Xuancao loved the shade, Fu's duty room didn't have much sunlight to begin with; any sun-loving plants would likely wither and die one by one.
Fu said helplessly, "Thank you for the reward, Your Majesty."
Zhu Ci immediately waved his hand and said, "What kind of reward are two pots of flowers and plants?"
After sitting down, he said, "This chair of yours is nothing special. Tell Ma Lin to also bring me my rosewood armchair."
He turned his head and said to Fu, "I had that chair modified; it is quite comfortable to sit in. You should try it later."
The wooden chair was good, but it was truly hard.
Therefore, Zhu Ci had chairs made according to his memory of ergonomic chairs, designed to fit the waist and back better. To be fair, the craftsmen's skills were quite good, they were relatively comfortable to sit in.
Zhu Ci had many made, intending to bestow them upon close ministers when the time came, which served as a means of winning people over.
It's the perfect time to send them to Fu.
Hmm, then this can't be considered a reward.
Fu looked on with a rare sense of bewilderment as the Little Emperor came in and added a heap of things to his place. Adding a few flowerpots and replacing the chairs was not enough; he also had people bring in many paintings and calligraphic works to hang on the walls, even brought in several antique vases and Boshan incense burners.
Most of them were precious items sent from below. At first, Fu advised Zhu Ci that he did not need so many, but the Little Emperor simply would not listen to him.
Consequently, eunuchs began arriving and departing with the Jinyi Guard to move items. After one item was moved after another, the two Grand Secretaries, who had originally prepared to work seriously, could not help but come out to take a look, only to find that the Secretariat Drafters from the other duty rooms were also gathered around to watch.
After seeing the two Vice Grand Secretaries come out, the Secretariat Drafters immediately scattered back to their respective duty rooms.
However, one unlucky fellow was still caught by Huang Daozhou, who beckoned and said, "Xiao Song, come here, come here."
Young Master Song came over honestly to beg for mercy and said, "This official knows his mistake and will not dare to do it again.."
He had not even finished speaking when He Tengjiao interrupted him and asked, "What just happened?"
Xiao Song blinked, realizing that his superiors seemed to be gossiping as well, immediately recounted the whole story in detail.
Huang Daozhou and He Tengjiao exchanged a glance, both looking somewhat bewildered. Was His Majesty's great business simply coming over to assign duties to the Grand Secretariat?
Why?
Who else has "bullied" the Grand Secretary and caused His Majesty such heartache?
Never mind them, Fu had already given up struggling at this point, only glanced at the duty room after Zhu Ci was initially satisfied.
In just half an hour, his duty room had undergone a massive transformation. If it weren't for the bookshelf, the desk, the four treasures of the study that he loved still being there, he would have begun to doubt whether this was even his duty room.
In truth.. there were so many things that it was becoming somewhat noisy.
But upon closer inspection, all the items sent over were of the style the Little Emperor preferred—vibrant and bright, yet not vulgar.
Thinking of how his duty room was now in the style the Little Emperor liked, Fu, who had always preferred simplicity, suddenly felt that this was quite good.
Zhu Ci was also very satisfied at this moment; the duty room finally had some character. He used to feel that the previous style made it seem as if his family's Grand Secretary was working in a prison.
After the arrangements were finished, he waved his hand. "Come, try this chair. If it is not suitable, I will have someone adjust it."
After sitting down, Fu immediately grew fond of this chair; it was incredibly comfortable, as both the seat and the backrest fit the curves of his body perfectly.
Thank you for your generosity, Your Majesty.
Zhu Ci then said, "If I weren't afraid of distracting you, I would want to send you another macaw so you wouldn't be bored."
Fu suppressed the urge to sigh and said, "Your Majesty, this is a duty room."
And it's even the Grand Secretariat's duty room, such a solemn place—how could anyone keep a macaw here?
Zhu Ci said righteously, "What do you know? One must balance work and rest. Work belongs to the state, but your body belongs to yourself!"
Fu really couldn't listen to this anymore and directly changed the subject, asking, "Has His Majesty arrived at the Grand Secretariat to issue any important orders?"
Zhu Ci faltered for a moment after hearing this.
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Author's Note: Zhu Ci: What was I here to do again? A cat holding a ball in its mouth, lost in thought. jpg
Next update at 12:00 PM~
Chapter 206
Watching the Little Emperor's silence, Fu suddenly had a strange thought: could His Majesty have already forgotten why he came here?
Fortunately, Zhu Ci's memory was not that bad; after only a moment of silence, he remembered his purpose for coming and hurriedly asked, "Is the national treasury extremely tight right now?"