Ming Dynasty: Is a mere unruly commoner rebelling against heaven?

The Forbidden City.

The Imperial Study.

Led by Wang Zhi, Jia Jun entered the Imperial Study with his head lowered, and immediately knelt down to Zhu You樘: "Your humble servant, Jia Jun, pays respects to Your Majesty."

Zhu You樘 sat on the dragon throne with a gloomy expression.

Without even telling him to rise, he directly asked: "Jia Jun, I ask you, how much silver is needed to repair the three main halls of Fengtian?"

When Jia Jun heard that Zhu You樘 was asking about repairing the palace, his heart, which had been in his throat, finally relaxed.

In fact, he even felt a little happy and excited.

He calculated in his mind, and with a thought, he already had a number in mind.

"Your Majesty, repairing the three main halls of Fengtian requires the use of hundred-year-old Phoebe zhennan wood from the Southwest. This kind of wood is very precious and extremely inconvenient to transport."

"In addition, there is a serious shortage of registered carpenter artisans, and additional artisans need to be hired to repair it, which is another large expense."

"Approximately… six million taels of silver."

"What?!"

Zhu You樘 slammed the dragon desk, startled and stood up.

"Just repairing the three main halls of Fengtian requires so much silver?!"

Zhu You樘 stared at Jia Jun, his anger burning.

Jia Jun was so frightened that he shivered all over, but he braced himself and continued to insist.

"Yes, Your Majesty, building palaces has always been extremely expensive."

"When Emperor Taizong repaired the three main halls of Fengtian in the past, he also used six million taels."

"Absurd!"

Zhu You樘 scolded angrily: "During the Yongle period, the three main halls of Fengtian were severely damaged, almost requiring reconstruction."

"Now the three main halls of Fengtian only need to have their roofs repaired. Does that mean it will cost the same amount of silver as rebuilding them?"

"This… this is because… the materials are very difficult to collect…"

Jia Jun swallowed and cold sweat streamed down his body, his answer stuttering.

The murderous intent in Zhu You樘's heart rose again, when suddenly a little eunuch came to report: "Your Majesty, Grand Secretaries of the Inner Cabinet, Xu Pu and Liu Jian, request an audience."

Zhu You樘 was silent for a while before nodding: "Summon them."

"Understood."

Soon, Xu Pu and Liu Jian walked into the Imperial Study.

After the two saw Jia Jun kneeling on the ground, they were extremely surprised, but they did not dare to disturb Zhu You樘.

So after the two performed their greetings, they waited on the side.

Zhu You樘 didn't want to waste any more time with Jia Jun, and directly issued a final verdict.

"I will only approve two million taels of silver for you."

Hearing this, Jia Jun breathed a sigh of relief. Although the pressure was great, he had at least managed to secure two million taels of silver.

Although two million taels of silver was not as much as he wanted, it was more than enough to repair the roofs of the three main halls of Fengtian.

But Zhu You樘's next sentence shocked Jia Jun.

"However, in addition to repairing the three main halls of Fengtian, this two million taels of silver must also be used to build a new Hall of Mental Cultivation next to the Yuehua Gate for me."

"Use the best materials! The best craftsmanship!"

"Ah?!"

Jia Jun raised his head in shock, his face full of disappointment.

Although two million taels of silver was more than enough to repair the roofs of the three main halls of Fengtian, there wouldn't be much money left to build a Hall of Mental Cultivation.

In that case, wouldn't he, the Minister of Works, be working for nothing?

Watching the opportunity to make a big profit slip away, Jia Jun's heart was breaking.

Zhu You樘 did not look at Jia Jun on the ground, but instead glanced at Xu Pu standing next to him.

"Then it's settled. The Ministry of Revenue and the Imperial Treasury will each contribute half of the two million taels of silver."

This sentence seemed to poke at Xu Pu's sore spot.

Xu Pu's originally calm expression suddenly turned ferocious.

Disregarding the etiquette of a subject, he knelt down in front of Zhu You樘 with a thud, repeatedly exclaiming that it couldn't be done.

"Your Majesty, this must not be done!"

"The Ministry of Revenue does not have much silver to begin with, and the summer tax for this year has not yet been collected. There are many places to spend money, and the Ministry of Revenue is already under great pressure."

"Building the Mauling Mausoleum for the late Emperor has already cost a lot of money. Now, the Ministry of Revenue has to allocate one million taels to build palaces. The Ministry of Revenue cannot bear this burden, Your Majesty!"

"Your Majesty must not use the Ministry of Revenue's silver to build palaces for yourself!"

With Xu Pu taking the lead, Liu Jian also knelt in front of Zhu You樘, trying his best to dissuade Zhu You樘 from building the garden.

"Your Majesty, repairing the palace is a waste of money and manpower, and it is of no benefit to the country."

"It is inappropriate for Your Majesty to build palaces on a large scale so soon after ascending the throne."

"Your Majesty should also recuperate and replenish the national treasury. You must not engage in large-scale construction, lest it harm the country!"

"Bang!"

Zhu You樘 was so angry that he slammed the teacup beside him on the ground, making a crisp sound.

"You keep saying that I should recuperate and not engage in large-scale construction. Does that mean I should just let my three main halls of Fengtian rot like this?!"

"The three main halls of Fengtian are my face, the face of the Great Ming!"

"As the Celestial Empire, the Great Ming receives countless tributaries every year."

"If foreign envoys see this, they will think that I can't even afford to repair the house I live in. Is that a good look?!"

"You yourselves should take a look at the residence that Ma Wensheng built in Junzhou. It is magnificent and exquisitely beautiful!"

"It is larger than my Imperial Garden, and even better than my Imperial Garden!"

"The houses you corrupt officials live in are better than mine. Are you the emperors, or am I the emperor?!"

Faced with the furious Zhu You樘, the three people kneeling on the ground were trembling with fear, and none dared to answer.

Zhu You樘 scanned the three of them, his tone becoming unusually cold.

"Alright, since you say that the Ministry of Revenue does not have enough silver and is under great pressure, then I will not use the Ministry of Revenue's silver to repair the palace."

Hearing Zhu You樘's words, Xu Pu and Liu Jian both breathed a sigh of relief.

Although they had been scolded by Zhu You樘, it was worth it as long as they could prevent Zhu You樘 from using the Ministry of Revenue's silver.

As for Zhu You樘 using the Imperial Treasury's silver to build the palace, that was his own business, and they couldn't interfere.

But before Xu Pu and Liu Jian could catch their breath, Zhu You樘's next words made the three people present widen their eyes in shock and open their mouths wide.

"The money to build the palace will be paid by you officials of the court!"

"I don't care whether you raise the silver or borrow the silver, you must repair my three main halls of Fengtian!"

"Not only that, but my Hall of Mental Cultivation must also be repaired, and my West Garden must be rebuilt, with an area twice as large as it is now!"

"Everything must use the best materials and the best craftsmanship!"

"If it is repaired well, then there will be no problems."

"If you can't afford to repair the garden, or if the repairs don't satisfy me, then I will investigate your accounts!"

"I will investigate the accounts of every official in the court!"

"I will not only investigate your accounts in the capital, but also investigate your accounts in your hometowns!"

"If I find that you have embezzled silver, I will kill one and execute the whole family!"

"Since the founding of the Great Ming by Emperor Taizu, we have been supporting scholars for more than 120 years. I am not short of people who want to be officials!"

In the end, Zhu You樘 stretched out his hand and solemnly pointed at the three of them, word by word, with a fierce expression.

"I mean what I say!"

Please ask for tomorrow's follow-up reading data in advance!!! Everyone, please come tomorrow to read the book to the last page, please!!! Just make some changes, I wrote Taihe Hall before, and Taihe Gate are all wrong. During the Hongzhi period, Taihe Hall and Taihe Gate were still called Fengtian Hall and Fengtian Gate. The three main halls of Fengtian refer to Fengtian Hall, Huagai Hall and Jinshen Hall.