The Imperial Edict Shocks the World

The five patriarchs acted with lightning speed and astonishing efficiency for the sake of the Great Zhou's foundation.

In just a single day, an edict stamped with the Empress Dowager's seal and the joint golden seal of the five patriarchs flew out of the inner palace as if it had wings. Traveling at the speed of an eight-hundred-li urgent dispatch, it was circulated throughout the thirty-six provinces of the Great Zhou.

The content of the edict was simple: "We, as the mother of the Six Palaces, nurture the concubines and ladies, thinking to solidify the nation and uphold the Mandate of Heaven. Selecting virtuous women from good families is the foundation of the inner court's principles and concerns the continuation of the ancestral line. Now that the spring selection has begun, it is fitting to seek worthy ladies to fill the inner chambers.

All women between the ages of fourteen and twenty, of pure background, dignified appearance, and virtuous conduct, should be selected and sent to the inner court by the prefectures and counties. Only those without illness or fault, possessing both virtue and beauty, will be permitted to enter. The inner court guards and local officials must respectfully heed this decree, investigate thoroughly, show no favoritism, and not disturb good families. For the selected ladies, We shall memorialize the Emperor and choose an auspicious day for their investiture to comfort the ancestors.

Let this be proclaimed to the inner court so that all may know. Respect this."

As soon as this edict was issued, the world was in an uproar!

If it had been a month ago, the people of the world would have simply sneered upon hearing that the little emperor was holding a draft, secretly cursing him as a "ruinous monarch, debauched and wicked." Back then in the Great Zhou, ambitious schemers were restless, and hidden sects were fanning the flames everywhere. Everyone felt that the Great Zhou's destiny had run its course.

But now, the situation had completely changed!

Since the little emperor Wang Hao ascended the throne, he had first ruthlessly purged the court, seized military power, implemented new policies, established imperial enterprises, and enriched the inner treasury. He killed the child of destiny, then went head-to-head with the Heavenly Dao, drawing a nine-heaven lightning tribulation upon the imperial city without dying! Today's Great Zhou capital was a scene of vibrant vitality and flourishing life. Where was there even a hint of a doomed nation? It was clearly a sign of a great revival!

In an instant, major hidden sects, aristocratic families, nobles, and martial arts factions lit the candles in their secret chambers late at night, urgently discussing countermeasures.

"The Great Zhou's destiny is not yet severed; the true dragon of the Wang family has actually awakened!"

"Go investigate immediately! See which of the legitimate noble daughters in the clan have exceptional looks and talent. Even if they are already engaged, break it off! At all costs, we must send our people into the imperial palace and onto the little emperor's dragon bed! We must secure the future position of the Empress!"

Under this thin edict, the winds and clouds surged once again across the Divine Land.

And at this very moment, the instigator of this world-shaking earthquake—the Great Zhou Emperor Wang Hao—was slouching without any image on the dragon throne in the Sweet Spring Hall. Holding a cup of premium Snow Peak Jade Tea, his mind was entirely focused on how to make money.

"A draft? Draft my ass! Do I have a problem or not, wouldn't I know? Those five old geezers really treat me like a breeding machine!" Wang Hao complained frantically in his heart. Last night, he was almost called over by the Empress Dowager for a heart-to-heart talk all night long. All she talked about was "how to nurse the dragon body" and "do not hide your illness from the doctor," making him so angry... well, he had to hold it in even if he was angry. Especially the curious looks from his younger brother Wang Xuan and sister Wang Rou, which made Wang Hao completely die inside.

"Your Majesty."

Sun Li, the seal-holding eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, tiptoed into the great hall, holding an exquisitely crafted purple sandalwood box in his hands.

"Is the matter settled?" Wang Hao glanced sideways at Sun Li and immediately sat up straight.

Sun Li hurriedly knelt, raising the wooden box above his head: "Replying to Your Majesty, you can rest assured when this servant handles things. The Chief Minister of the Cabinet Zhuge Huaijin, the Minister of Revenue Qian Shoucai, and the Minister of War Tie Zhan—these three lords were 'invited' by this servant overnight to the Directorate of Ceremonial for tea. Under this servant's earnest, emotional, and reasonable 'persuasion,' they finally signed and fingerprinted the IOUs."

Wang Hao snatched the wooden box and opened it. Inside were three neatly folded IOUs stamped with the Cabinet seal and the private seals of the three ministers. The black ink on white paper and the red seals were striking.

"Thirty million silver coins!" Looking at the numbers on the IOUs, Wang Hao smiled so hard his eyes almost narrowed into slits. "Good! Very good! That bunch of old foxes in the Cabinet and the Six Ministries, thinking they could free-ride my money? Impossible. If it weren't for the fact that the arrears for the soldiers at the Nine Borders and the Jiangnan flood couldn't be delayed any longer, I wouldn't have lent them a single copper!"

To stabilize the military and the people, Wang Hao had to pay out of his own pocket. But who was Wang Hao? He was the type to pluck feathers from a passing goose. Make him pay for nothing? Dream on!

Since it was money that the state treasury should have paid, then it counts as the state treasury owing him!

Watching the emperor's miserly appearance, Sun Li swallowed hard and carefully spoke: "Your Majesty... the IOUs have been retrieved. But..."

"But what?" Wang Hao frowned, sharply sensing something wrong in Sun Li's words. "Spit it out."

"But Chief Minister Zhuge and Minister Qian said..." Cold sweat broke out on Sun Li's forehead, his voice growing softer and softer. "They said, since Your Majesty has already generously lent thirty million taels, as the saying goes, if you save someone, save them completely; if you escort Buddha, escort him to the West. Why not... why not Your Majesty lend another twenty million taels, to round it up to a neat fifty million..."

"What did you say?!" Wang Hao suddenly jumped up from the dragon throne, his voice rising eight octaves, as if someone had stepped on his lifeblood.

Sun Li shivered in fear, hurriedly knocking his head on the ground, explaining rapidly: "The two lords said, the military pay for the Nine Borders soldiers has been made up, and the relief funds for the Jiangnan flood have been disbursed. But... but the civil and military officials in the capital and various regions haven't received their salaries for a full year! The officials are now strapped for cash; many lower-ranking officials can't even open their cooking pots, and some even have to sell calligraphy and paintings on the streets to survive. If the salaries are not issued, the court situation might become unstable! So they want to ask Your Majesty to lend another ten million taels to make up for the officials' back pay... and that ten million taels will serve as treasury reserve silver."

"Outrageous! These old things are truly shameless!"

Wang Hao angrily smashed the premium tribute cup in his hand onto the ground. The jade cup shattered, and tea splashed everywhere.

"Dream on! Do they really think I'm a living Bodhisattva who grants every request? Round it up? Why don't they round up their own heads and let me chop them off!" Wang Hao pointed outside the hall, cursing loudly. "If I lend more to the Cabinet and the Ministry of Revenue, can Zhuge Huaijin and Qian Shoucai, those two old fools, even pay it back? Ah?! Even if you skin them alive and sell them, they wouldn't even make up a fraction! That's my money! It's my money! Shearing sheep, they're shearing it off my head now. They're just like that treacherous minister Zhao Wuji, no good at all."

Although Wang Hao loved money as much as his life, he also knew how to prioritize.

The soldiers at the Nine Borders were shedding blood at the frontier, the local garrisons had to guard against the demon race and rebellions, and the people of Jiangnan were soaking in the floodwaters, crying out for food. He had to fork out this money. Throwing down these thirty million taels was enough to stabilize the Great Zhou's core military and civilian foundation.

As for the equipment replacement and back pay for the Imperial Guards and the Capital Camp, Wang Hao also directly paid it from the inner treasury, which essentially saved the Cabinet a massive amount of trouble. These civil officials had taken such a huge advantage, yet they still wanted to push their luck and continue shearing wool from him, the emperor?

"Simply pushing their luck, absolutely insane!" Wang Hao gritted his teeth, pacing back and forth in front of the imperial desk.

Sun Li knelt on the ground, a bitter expression on his face as he pleaded, "Please calm your anger, Your Majesty. But it is a fact that the officials are owed their stipends. If they are truly pushed to the brink, during tomorrow's grand assembly, those censors and advising officials will probably threaten to smash their heads against the pillars and remonstrate to the death again."

Wang Hao stopped pacing, let out a cold sneer, and looked down at Sun Li from above. "Sun Li, let me ask you. You have been in the palace for so many years and have seen a lot. Have you... ever seen a civil official starve to death?"

Sun Li froze for a moment, carefully searched his memory, and then honestly shook his head. "To answer Your Majesty, this servant... has never seen such a thing. There are a few lower-ranking officials who supposedly live in poverty, but as for starving to death... I have truly never heard of it."

"Exactly! Neither have I!" Wang Hao slammed his hand onto the imperial desk and sneered. "These aristocratic civil officials, every single one of them spouts righteousness and morality, but behind the scenes, which of them doesn't have countless ties to local tyrants and prominent families? Which of them doesn't have thousands of acres of tax-free fertile land at home? Which of them doesn't own several shops that rake in gold every day? When they cry poor, they are crying for me to hear! They want to use the state treasury's money to line their own pockets! But we can't lump them all together; after all, there are still officials from humble backgrounds."

A gleam flashed in Wang Hao's eyes, and his mouth curled into a smile that made Sun Li's hair stand on end.

"Go! Tell the Grand Secretariat: if they want money, there is none! If they want my life, they can't have it either! I am broke!"

"But Your Majesty, what if they threaten to strike..."

"Strike?" Wang Hao burst into loud laughter. "I have already thought of a way out for them! Go immediately and deliver a decree to the seal-holding eunuch of the Royal Bank. We are launching a brand new service—the Official Salary Loan!"

"Official Salary Loan?" Sun Li's eyes widened. What kind of newfangled term was this?

Wang Hao explained with immense pride, "That's right! Aren't the officials out of money for food? Aren't they struggling to even keep the pot boiling? No problem! The Great Zhou Royal Bank is their staunch backer! As long as they bring the official ivory identity token issued by the Great Zhou imperial court, they can go to the Royal Bank and apply for a loan! An annual interest rate of ten percent, fair and honest! The money they borrow will be enough for them to eat meat at every meal and listen to music every night!"

"Then... how will this money be repaid?" Sun Li listened in utter bewilderment.

"Simple! Whenever the imperial court has money and issues their stipends, we will deduct it directly from their pay! First deduct the principal, then the interest, until the debt is cleared! If they can't pay it off, then we use the fields and estates under their names as collateral!" Wang Hao grew more and more excited as he spoke, as if he could already see countless civil officials lining up to give him money.

Sun Li knelt there, dumbfounded, his mind in a complete mess.

Letting officials who weren't getting paid borrow money from a bank opened by the Emperor, and then using the salaries the Emperor paid them to pay back the Emperor's loan, while the Emperor also collected interest from them in the process?!

What kind of unprecedented scheme was this? It was unheard of!

His Majesty's way of solving problems was simply... simply deranged to the extreme!

"Your Majesty is wise! Once this plan is revealed, the officials will surely be moved to tears of gratitude!" Sun Li offered a heartfelt kowtow, silently mourning for those civil officials for three seconds in his heart.

"No need for tears of gratitude, just remind them to repay the principal and interest on time." Wang Hao waved his hand, wearing a strictly businesslike expression.

"Yes, this servant will go handle it right away."