Chapter Fifty-Three Centralized Supply

  "The old man is thinking, and won't come up with a solution like you guys who recklessly throw out ideas and play with people's lives." Wen Tiren played the rogue.

  "You..." was about to curse him but didn't think of a good insult.

  The Minister of Works, Zhang Fengxiang, seeing that things were not going well, stepped out of line and diverted their attention, saying: "Your Majesty, it is advisable to order the various regions to urgently transport grain into the capital."

  Sun Chengzong opposed: "Although the bandits have left the capital, they are still in the suburbs of the capital, and it is uncertain whether they will stay or leave. I am afraid that the bandits will kill the horses and take the grain, which will fall into their hands instead. Moreover, at present, we have reached the coldest period of the year, and the canal has already frozen, how can we transport food?"

  Zhong Jinwei had been watching from the side, wanting to see what good ideas these high-ranking officials would come up with. But after listening for a while, he found that they had thought of many things, but none of them were feasible. So, he also spoke out and said: "Your Majesty, I have a plan, simple and practical."

  Everyone in the hall saw that Zhong Xingbo had a feasible plan and couldn't help but wait quietly for his words, wondering what good strategy he would come up with.

  The Wenhuad Hall suddenly quieted down. Zhong Jinwei looked at everyone, focusing their attention on himself, and didn't show any fear, after all, he had been through this situation before.

  Zhong Jingwei said to Emperor Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, the current difficulty is food and charcoal, as well as a lack of daily necessities, isn't it?"

  The Chongzhen Emperor nodded silently, for this was self-evident.

  "I just returned from the refugee camp, and along the way I saw that many restaurants and wine shops were open for business, with a considerable number of people eating and drinking. From this, it can be inferred that wealthy households in the city will not lack food and drink, but rather the uneven distribution of living necessities within the capital city has led to some people having enough to eat while others starve."

  Some people heard this and caught a hint of meaning - could it be that they are suggesting the imperial court rob from the rich and give to the poor?

  In fact, the imperial court was not unwilling to do so. On the contrary, the imperial court had previously also taken the excuse of being short of money to confiscate the property of rich merchants to alleviate its difficulties. However, this is the capital, and behind every rich merchant stands a high-ranking official or nobleman. Some rich merchants are just nominal figures, while in reality they are enterprises owned by high-ranking officials and nobles in the capital. Can Zhongxingbo afford to offend these officials and nobles in the capital with his reliance on the emperor's favor?

  Zhong Jinwei was completely unaware that many people in the hall had already made up their minds, and continued his speech: "So, I suggest to Your Majesty, in the name of the imperial court, to take over all grain stores and charcoal suppliers or other similar scarce materials, and have the imperial court uniformly allocate them, which can alleviate the current predicament."

  Zhong Jinwei had barely finished speaking when the hall erupted into a commotion, far more severe than they had anticipated. This wasn't just about targeting one or two wealthy merchant families, but rather ransacking the homes of all the rich merchants in the capital, making enemies of the officials and nobles backing them. Even if it were the Emperor himself, he would likely be too afraid to do such a thing!

  Sun Chengzong thought he was bold enough, but didn't expect that Zhong Jingwei's boldness surpassed his own, daring to challenge all officials and nobles in the capital. Most people inside the palace probably expected a collective attack at any moment.

  Wen Tianren secretly nodded in agreement, thinking that there were still officials like Zhong Jinwei who were loyal and dedicated to the imperial court, without regard for their own future. It was just a pity that Zhong Jinwei didn't consult with him beforehand and instead brought up the matter directly in front of everyone. Without using a more tactful approach, all he could do now was support him from behind.

  Emperor Chongzhen thought that Zhong Jingwei's plan was a way to solve the current difficulties, and it was also simple to operate. However, Emperor Chongzhen also understood that as long as one had a bit of political sense, they would know that this plan was fundamentally impossible to implement. If all these ministers were selfless and willing to give up small benefits for greater ones, the court politics wouldn't have ended up in such a state.

  As expected, before the Chongzhen Emperor could express his approval or disapproval, Cheng Ji, who was standing below, jumped out to oppose: "Your Majesty, Zhongxing Bo's words are treacherous and deceitful, intending to lead the court into injustice. If it weren't for his meritorious service of saving Your Majesty, I would suspect him of being a traitor of the enemy."

  As soon as Cheng Ji's words came out, the hall suddenly fell silent. Someone took the lead and said, "Let's take a look first, if it doesn't work, we'll go up again." However, opposing is just opposing, why put such a big hat on?

  Everyone looked at Emperor Chongzhen, waiting to see how he would handle it.

  The Chongzhen Emperor looked at Zhong Xingwei and saw his astonished expression, and couldn't help but feel a little amused in his heart. He thought to himself: "You've seen the ferocity of these officials now, haven't you? They can casually use their hats to suppress you - not just you, I'm often suppressed by them too." But on the surface, he still maintained a serious expression and asked: "What do you mean by this?"

  Before Cheng Jinming could speak, Wen Tiaren came out and scolded him: "Things can be eaten randomly, but words cannot be spoken randomly. Dare to falsely accuse me? I'll spit in your face."

  Cheng Ji argued, "Your Majesty, the merchants of the capital have been loyal and law-abiding, without any fault. Yet Zhongxing Bo wants to confiscate their property, which would bring shame to the imperial court."

  Wen Tianren directly interrupted Cheng Jiyin's words: "In the Jiajing era, there was a precedent for confiscating the wealth of silk merchant Shen Yishi from Zhejiang to use as military funds. There is also Taizu..."

  "Zhongxingbo is going to confiscate all the wealth of every merchant in the capital!"

  "So what? Normally you don't care about the poor, and when refugees are starving to death right in front of your eyes, you're still unmoved. You deserve to have your home confiscated."

  Cheng Ji didn't bother to reason with him anymore, if they continued arguing, everyone would forget about Zhong Jingwei.

  "Your Majesty, there is another reason. The bandits are still in the vicinity of the capital, and if we were to search for and confiscate the property of all merchants in the capital, I fear it would lead to internal unrest within the capital. And if the bandits take advantage of this opportunity to launch a counterattack on the capital, then the capital will be in danger! Therefore, I deduce that Zhong Xingbo has ulterior motives and is actually a spy for the bandits."

  "Joke! Do you think the great army outside the city is vegetarian?"

  Three times, twice, being interrupted and opposed, Cheng Jiming was furious: "Old thief, you have deceived me too much, I have tolerated you for a long time." After finishing speaking, he went forward and tore Wen Tiren's court clothes. Wen Tiren didn't want to suffer either, so he went to pull Cheng Jiming's beard. You came and went, the Wenhua Hall was suddenly in chaos.

  Zhong Jinwei, the person involved, was instead left out in the cold, watching with a mixture of emotions. Later on, while browsing online, I saw a netizen claiming that officials from the Ming dynasty had a fight inside the Golden Temple, and I even commented saying the netizen was fabricating stories, only to find myself witnessing it firsthand.

  The Chongzhen Emperor stood up from his throne and ordered the Jin Yiwei colonel on duty to hurry over and separate the two men who were fighting.

  Actually, Wen Ti Ren and Cheng Ji Ming seemed to be beating each other fiercely, but in reality they were just pretending, at most their clothes got a bit torn, nothing else happened.

  It was not easy to separate the two, but they did not stop talking, saying to each other, and other officials also joined in, basically all agreeing with Cheng Ji's words, which meant that whoever wanted to plunder the wealth of the merchants in the capital would be considered their enemy.

  The Chongzhen Emperor raised his voice and coughed. The people below saw that the emperor was about to speak, so they quieted down. Wen Tianren and Cheng Jiming also straightened their official hats and returned to their positions.

  "I know that all of you officials are loyal and dedicated to the country, but also pay attention to etiquette!"

  "We, your ministers, humbly remember."

  This has been said many times, and in the end it's still like this. Emperor Chongzhen is also very helpless. Looking at their appearance of being wholeheartedly for the public good and working desperately hard, even giving them a court beating would be embarrassing.

  The one who tied the bell must be the one to untie it. Emperor Chongzhen knew that Zhong Xingye couldn't just take responsibility like this, so he asked him: "Master Zhong, what do you have to say about Chengen's words?"

  "Your Majesty, I think the method just mentioned is the most direct and effective, with simple operation, so I mentioned it first. However, it seems that someone has misunderstood earlier. It's not about copying the merchants' houses, but rather having the imperial court uniformly distribute scarce goods." Zhong Jinwei replied. In his own time, hadn't they gone through a period of history like this to get through disasters and famines? Now, except for Wen Ti-ren, all the other ministers seem to be opposed to this method.

  Chongzhen Emperor saw that Cheng Ji was about to come out again, and hastily waved his hand at him. Then he turned to Zhong Xingwei and said: "This method indeed has its drawbacks and cannot be implemented for the time being. Does Master Zhong have any other plans?"

  Zhong Jinwei saw that this method was rejected by Emperor Chongzhen and many ministers, but he didn't rush, because he had already prepared a backup plan, and this backup plan was his key strategy for disaster relief.

  "Your Majesty, I have another plan, but it's a bit more troublesome."

  Wēn Tǐ Rén suddenly remembered the first time he met Zhōng Jìn Wèi, who was talking about the current situation with a confident and composed demeanor. Suddenly, it dawned on him that this young man still had some tricks up his sleeve, and this should be his true solution strategy. However, he himself hadn't lost anything by fighting for him, and in front of Shèng, it made him appear isolated but not partisan, absolutely refusing to compromise with those who were corrupt and idle.

  Chongzhen Emperor nodded slightly, this is indeed the impression of Master Zhong in my mind. The previous idea was not feasible for anyone who had experienced worldly affairs. If only one or two rich merchants were investigated, it might have been possible, but to investigate all of them together would be shocking and unprecedented throughout history.

  Shen Yishi's example was referenced from "The Great Ming Dynasty 1566", which may not exist in history. But such things are definitely there, this is...