Chapter 53: I Came to the Capital for Only Two Things

“Master!”

Jia Lian hurried in to report to Jia Zheng. “The relatives have all arrived at Grandmother’s quarters and are talking with her. She has sent someone to ask how they should be accommodated.”

After the Shi and Wang families had been stripped of their estates, Wang Ziteng, Shi Nai, and Shi Ding were reduced to commoners. Each family had been given several hundred taels of silver for their livelihood and was left awaiting further orders.

Between the two households there were several hundred people. Even after most of the maids and servants were dismissed, dozens remained. A few hundred taels would barely suffice to buy a decent house.

Thus, the women of both families had come to Rongguo House of their own accord, while Wang Ziteng and the other men sought lodgings elsewhere.

Although the Jia family had also been surrounded, it was the only one that had not yet been confiscated.

Jia Zheng sighed. “There are seven or eight hundred people in the estate now, and we cannot enter Ningguo House either. There is no way to make room for all our relatives at once.”

Jia Lian thought for a moment. “Master, no matter how many people there are in the estate, only the young ladies can live in the garden... Whether His Highness the Qian King is willing to show us mercy depends entirely on whether the young ladies can serve him well when they enter the palace!”

“You mean...”

“Invite all the servants remaining in the garden to stay outside the second gate. Only the young ladies will live in the garden!”

Jia Zheng found the suggestion reasonable and immediately sent someone to inform the Lady Dowager.

Jia Lian continued, “Master, His Highness has spared our family alone. That is a boundless imperial favor. Even if we cannot leave the estate, should we not offer our thanks to His Highness?”

Only then did Jia Zheng think of it. He hurriedly rose and ordered, “You are right. Quickly, have an altar prepared. Invite the Lady Dowager and the others to come and bow before His Highness in gratitude for his mercy!”

Jia Lian hastened off to relay the order.

For a while, the Jia household was thrown into another uproar of activity.

First, the servants remaining in the garden were driven outside the second gate and ordered to sleep on the ground.

Then an altar was set up facing south. The Lady Dowager, Jia Zheng, Jia She, Madam Wang, and a great many others—including Wang Xifeng, Li Wan, Lin Daiyu, Xue Baochai, Yingchun, Tanchun, Xichun, Baoqin, Xiuyan, and the rest—bowed and kowtowed to thank His Highness the Qian King for his imperial grace.

Even Jia Baoyu was forcibly pressed down and made to knock his head against the ground three times.

The Shi, Wang, and Xue families took turns offering their obeisance as well. At last, when it was all over, Jia Lian entrusted a letter to Dai Wei, one of the Qian King’s personal guards, and had it delivered to the palace.

...

At the very moment the Jia family was bowing and kowtowing, Chu Yan was in the Imperial Palace, at Linjing Hall.

“Your Highness, please inspect these!”

Chu Ming, the chief commander of the confiscations; Xu Zhiyi, the deputy commander; and Li Changjin, the general superintendent of the confiscation operations, jointly carried a thick stack of account books into Linjing Hall.

The three men were the most trusted and powerful subordinates in the Qian Prince’s household. Assigning them to oversee this task was essentially the same as having Chu Yan conduct the confiscations himself—comparable in importance to the entire northern expedition.

The reason it mattered so greatly was that the confiscations concerned two major matters.

“Oh? Let me take a look.”

After handling official business for the entire day, Chu Yan finally had a moment to rest.

Leaning back in his chair, he took a sip of tea and casually flipped through the books. They were filled with records of rare treasures, antiques, estates, land deeds, and the like.

He smiled. “Why did you hurry to bring these to me before you had finished checking and comparing everything?”

Chu Ming smiled. “Your Highness will ascend the throne in three days. We must speed things up if the soldiers are to be rewarded before the enthronement.”

“When did I ever say they were to be rewarded before the enthronement?”

“Your Highness!”

After bowing, Chu Ming explained, “Once you ascend the throne, you will be sovereign of the world and lord of the Nine Provinces. Every word and deed of yours will carry the full majesty of Heaven.”

Xu Zhiyi and Li Changjin hurriedly voiced their agreement.

Chu Yan understood their reasoning.

Before the city was attacked, he had said that he would personally reward the entire army. Now that his enthronement was imminent, if he did not leave the palace to reward the troops and celebrate with them, then after becoming emperor, leaving the palace gates to drink with the soldiers would draw the attention of the entire realm.

It was not only the three of them who would object. The civil and military officials of the Qian Prince’s household, along with all the officials in Jinling, would submit memorials urging him to place state affairs first.

“Very well.”

Chu Yan nodded and pointed at the account books. “Take them away and store them. I cannot read through so much at once. Just tell me how much land and money were confiscated today.”

He had seen through the purpose of the three men at a glance.

The earlier they brought the account books to him, the more clearly it proved that neither they nor their subordinates had any opportunity to falsify the records.

First, the gold, silver, and jewels in the various princely residences, noble estates, and great officials’ homes had been sealed. The account books would then be used for detailed comparison.

The books would remain in the palace until that time.

Xu Zhiyi reported, “There are approximately twenty-three million mu of farmland, in addition to roughly three million mu of holdings in the capital region. The gold and silver directly confiscated amount to around fifteen million taels. The remaining gems, jade, carved ornaments, paintings, calligraphy, silks, shops, houses, and other property are worth approximately twenty-five million taels.”

Chu Yan frowned. “That is rather less than I expected. I estimated that, excluding their land, their household wealth would amount to three or four years of Shun dynasty tax revenue. Yet only a little more than a year has passed. Could it be that all the officials in the capital are incorruptible?”

The confiscations concerned two major matters: filling the national treasury and rewarding the army.

The treasury went without saying. He was about to ascend the throne, and if the treasury had no money, then he had no money either. Nothing could be accomplished.

The Shun dynasty had just finished fighting him, and its treasury was impoverished. Fortunately, there was still a considerable reserve of grain. If official salaries could not be paid in silver, grain could be used in their place for the time being.

Rewarding the army was equally important. From the highest generals to the common soldiers, everyone was waiting for the rewards that would follow the fall of the city. Today’s confiscations were therefore the moment of their greatest excitement.

Chu Ming smiled. “The seventeen princely residences were not included. They contain approximately ten million mu of farmland and nine million taels in gold and silver. Once the rest is converted into monetary value, it should amount to another twenty million taels or so.”

Chu Yan laughed. “So you left one portion aside for me after all!”

The three men laughed as well.

The emperor’s private property had not been confiscated. Chu Yan knew that much. As for how much money and silver were in the imperial inner treasury, he had never asked the eunuchs. In any case, his personal guards had surrounded the palace, so nothing could go missing.

Still, he estimated that the sum would not be small.

The wealth of the seventeen princely residences was nearly equal to the combined fortunes of all the commandery princes, nobles, and officials of the third rank or higher. The old saying that the empire was the emperor’s private household was certainly no exaggeration.

“Your Highness, you ought to keep the princely residences!”

Before Chu Yan could say anything, Xu Zhiyi took the initiative to advise him. “Your Highness is about to ascend the throne. Aside from governing the realm and bringing peace to the people, your most important task will be to sire heirs and continue the imperial line. These princely residences should be kept for your future sons.”

Chu Yan was twenty-five years old. Because he possessed the system, even severed limbs could grow back, and he was therefore confident that he could survive on the battlefield.

Moreover, he possessed abundant vigor. To avoid ending up with hundreds of children, he had no intention of having any for the time being. He had told his subordinates that he would not have his first daughter until after ascending the throne.

The many extraordinary things about him had silenced the generals’ doubts.

Yet they were all eagerly awaiting that day, and the closer his enthronement drew, the more expectant they became.

“Your Majesty!” Chu Ming changed his form of address and said with a smile, “Today we inspected the households of Shun’s powerful nobles and had the chance to see what their daughters look like. Quite a few are breathtaking beauties. Once they enter the Palace of the Rear Court, the palace matrons can select a number of them to fill out the imperial harem.”

Xu Zhiyi and Li Changjin hurriedly agreed.

“If Your Highness has no interest in the daughters of the meritorious nobles, then why not select some of the more beautiful daughters of Shun’s high ministers and nobles and make them consorts?”

It was clear that the question of the Qian King’s heirs had driven them to suggest, of their own initiative, that the daughters of the former dynasty’s ministers be sent into the palace, all in the hope that an imperial prince would be born as soon as possible.

The Qian King would not spare their families merely because he ennobled their daughters as consorts.

“We shall discuss it later.”

Chu Yan did not answer directly.

The men who had helped him conquer the realm were mostly of humble birth, and their daughters’ appearances were difficult to praise. He had no desire to make things awkward for his brothers.

In any case, the glory and wealth due to his meritorious servants would not be diminished by so much as a single coin.

After thinking for a moment, he said to the three men, “Take the wealth of seven princely residences and add it to the spoils from this confiscation. Once the remaining ten residences have been inventoried, submit the accounts to me.”

He needed the money to reward his personal guard army once more. The rest would be kept in reserve.

As for the money and silver in the imperial inner treasury, those would be used to maintain the palace’s daily operations before reforms were undertaken.

When the three men accepted his orders, Chu Yan added, “Prepare a list of rewards and bring it to me. We shall discuss it at tomorrow morning’s court session.”

He had a feeling that a fierce struggle, both open and covert, awaited him in the morning.

The rewards would affect future ennoblements. If someone received a reward one rank lower, he might later receive a title one rank lower as well.

“Yes, Your Highness!”

The three men took their leave and indicated that the eunuchs should remove the account books and store them inside the palace.

Chu Yan trusted them. According to the system, every civil and military official he had personally cultivated possessed a loyalty rating of one hundred.

Half of his subordinates had been raised in this manner, so their loyalty was beyond doubt.

“Have someone bring me dinner,” Chu Yan ordered Xia Shouzhong. The latter hurried out to speak with the Qian King’s personal guards.

The cook who prepared Chu Yan’s meals was still the one he had brought from Jinling. For the time being, he had no intention of eating food prepared in the palace kitchens.

After finishing his meal, Chu Yan was just about to rest when Xia Shouzhong returned to report, “Your Majesty, General Dai Wei, who is overseeing the Jia family, has come to request an audience!”

“Bring him in.”

Chu Yan had already guessed what it might concern. Sure enough, after Dai Wei presented the letter Jia Lian had written, Chu Yan unfolded and read it.

Among the list of young ladies from the Jia family who could enter the palace, he immediately found the name Lin Daiyu.