PFC Chapter 76 Sign in again, huge reward!
Chapter 76 Sign in again, huge reward!
The next few days were peaceful.
Li Sui assembled a new team for the Ministry of Works and began to take over the work that the previous Ministry of Works had not completed.
The former officials of the Ministry of Works were punished according to the amount of silver they had embezzled; those who deserved confiscation of their property were executed, and those who deserved beheading were beheaded—not a single one was spared.
Perhaps because of this, Zhu Houzhao noticed that the restoration work on the Qianqing Palace was progressing much faster than before.
I can do more work in a day now than I used to do in ten days.
Furthermore, the number of craftsmen involved in the restoration of the Qianqing Palace has increased from more than 200 to 500.
After that, Li Sui gave another report to Zhu Houzhao alone.
Li Sui personally led the Ministry of Works officials to reassess the cost of the entire project and ultimately gave a quote of 1,376,000 taels of silver.
This price is very close to the price that Xichang had previously estimated.
In order to get Zhu Houzhao out of Cining Palace and back to Qianqing Palace as soon as possible, Li Sui not only increased manpower but also tried his best to shorten the construction period.
The project, which was originally expected to take three years to complete, was forcibly compressed into ten months by Li Sui.
However, Zhu Houzhao was not in a hurry to move back to the Qianqing Palace.
Or rather, Zhu Houzhao now has absolutely no desire to move back to the Qianqing Palace.
So he instructed Li Sui to have the Ministry of Works complete the expansion of the Leopard House as soon as possible, while the Qianqing Palace could be postponed.
Li Sui dared not refuse Zhu Houzhao's order, so he could only arrange for the more than 300 craftsmen to go to the West Garden to expand the Leopard House.
……
Several days later, Cao Zhengchun, the director of the Eastern Depot, arrived at Cining Palace.
He came to report to Zhu Houzhao on the results of the Eastern Depot's confiscation of the most prestigious estate in the land.
"Your Majesty, the Eastern Depot has completed the confiscation of the number one manor in the land."
"Within the number one manor in the world alone, thirty million taels of silver were found!"
Even Cao Zhengchun, who had seen many storms, trembled as he uttered this number.
That's thirty million taels of silver!
What does this mean?
When Zhu Houzhao first ascended the throne, the national treasury couldn't even afford the 1.8 million taels of silver needed for his enthronement ceremony and Emperor Xiaozong's funeral.
After Zhu Houzhao ascended the throne, he investigated tax arrears in various places and confiscated the property of local officials, nobles, and relatives of the emperor. As a result, the national treasury still has less than 20 million taels of silver.
Zhu Houzhao merely destroyed the number one manor in the land and killed Wan Sanqian, yet he seized thirty million taels of silver from it!
Is this the wealth of the world's richest merchant?!
Thirteen thousand is a fortune that rivals that of a nation. This is not just an adjective; he is truly richer than the treasury of the Ming Dynasty!
Cao Zhengchun gasped, and Zhu Houzhao was also quite shocked.
But then, he revealed a mocking smile.
This Wan Sanqian is really interesting. He has such a large fortune, yet he can't forget a woman.
With so much money, what kind of woman couldn't you have? Why would you put your heart into one woman?
For Zhu Houzhao, the women in the harem were merely a pastime to spice up his life.
The only thing he cared about was the power he held.
Anyone who threatens his power, no matter who they are or what their relationship is with him, he will eliminate without hesitation!
Even if Shangguan Haitang, whom he quite liked, were to do something that threatened his imperial power, Zhu Houzhao would personally order her execution!
"Very good, send this money to the imperial treasury immediately."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
This money, regardless of who it belonged to before, now belongs to Zhu Houzhao.
Once this money is deposited into the treasury, Zhu Houzhao's national treasury will have reserves of nearly 50 million taels of silver.
A nation must first become wealthy before it can become strong!
With this money, Zhu Houzhao's many ideas could be realized one by one.
Not long after Cao Zhengchun took his leave, Yu Huatian, the supervisor of the Western Depot, arrived at Cining Palace with more than ten Western Depot agents carrying five huge wooden boxes.
Yu Huatian's usually expressionless face now showed a hint of excitement.
"Your Majesty, the Western Depot has found the Zheng He nautical charts that Liu Daxia had hidden!"
As soon as Yu Huatian entered the room, he immediately knelt down in front of Zhu Houzhao and reported in a rapid-fire tone.
Upon hearing the words "Zheng He's nautical charts," Zhu Houzhao was startled and pressed for an answer: "Where are the charts? Where are they?"
"Your Majesty, it's right outside the palace. Please take a look!"
Zhu Houzhao hurriedly got up and walked quickly outside the hall.
Outside the hall, there were indeed more than a dozen agents from the Western Depot guarding five huge black wooden boxes.
"Your humble servant greets Your Majesty!"
Upon seeing Zhu Houzhao, the agents of the Western Depot immediately knelt down on one knee to pay their respects.
Zhu Houzhao ignored their greetings and walked straight to the wooden box in front of him.
Zhu Houzhao opened the box, which was filled with various documents.
Judging from the yellowed paper, it must have been quite some time ago.
Zhu Houzhao picked up a document, which was filled with data on ships and firearms.
Zhu Houzhao then picked up another document, which again recorded the direction of various ocean currents and the distribution of reefs in different places...
Zhu Houzhao was somewhat excited, as these data were national treasures passed down from the Yongle era!
This precious data is a key, a key to opening the country's doors and reaching out to the world.
With this key, the Ming Dynasty was able to conquer the seas and the world much earlier than European countries.
To establish colonies around the world, plunder the wealth of people worldwide, and subjugate the entire world to the military might of the Ming Dynasty.
At that time, people in other countries around the world will work hard, but the value they create will be plundered by the Ming Dynasty.
The people of the Ming Dynasty could all live a life free from worries about food and clothing, and enjoy happiness and well-being.
Just as Zhu Houzhao was envisioning his future conquest of the world, a heavenly melody once again resounded in his mind.
"Ding! Item available for check-in: 'Zheng He's Nautical Chart'. Check in now?"
Can I check in using this nautical chart?
Zhu Houzhao was slightly surprised and quickly muttered to himself: Sign in!
"Ding! Check-in successful!"
"Reward: Upgraded version of Zheng He's Treasure Ship, Steel Steam Treasure Ship blueprint, allowing you to build a Steel Steam Treasure Ship!"
"Reward blueprints: upgraded version of the musket, flintlock rifle blueprints, which can be used to manufacture flintlock rifles."
"Reward blueprint: General's Cannon Upgrade, Buzzer-loading Rifled Cannon, can be used to build breech-loading rifled cannons."
"Reward: Steam Engine Technology: Able to manufacture steam engines."
"Reward: Steel smelting technology: capable of producing steel."
"The Emperor is rewarded with the title: 'A century's worth of merit, to suppress the world!'"
"Reward: Two Heavenly Fragrance Cardamoms: Taking Heavenly Fragrance Cardamoms will prevent even the most severe injuries from worsening, but will cause the patient to fall into a deep sleep until another Heavenly Fragrance Cardamom is taken, at which point the patient will awaken."
"After taking the second Heavenly Fragrance Cardamom, a third Heavenly Fragrance Cardamom must be taken within one year for the person to be completely brought back to life; otherwise, they will die immediately!"