Shipin Dalizheng

Chapter 373 Donating Silver in Exchange for Land

He opposed the continued pressure on Jiantai College, saying, "Things have their priorities. Minister Rong should prioritize disaster relief."

"Every year there are disasters, every year there's no money. The Imperial College is already mostly built. If we stop, it will become abandoned and overgrown with weeds, and all the initial investment will be wasted. We need disaster relief, and we also need to build the Imperial College. Funds must be used for their intended purpose and cannot be diverted or borrowed."

Minister Wei pressed on, "Minister Rong, are you refusing to let go? You're holding on so tightly, I strongly suspect the money for building the Imperial College has been embezzled."

The left and right assistant ministers of the Ministry of Revenue in the previous term were all removed from office due to corruption cases. Some were killed, and some were exiled. Therefore, the court is now terrified of corruption.

But Rong Tang was not afraid at all.

"Minister Wei insisted that I embezzled the money, and so I did. The money is gone, but I will continue to build the Imperial Academy according to the blueprints as promised. As long as I deliver within the stipulated time, I won't be guilty, right?"

In a word, you don’t get any money, and you don’t get your life either.

"you……"

Minister Wei glared at him angrily. Under the rule that a higher-ranking official can crush someone more powerful, it seemed that he, a second-rank official, could not suppress Rong Tang, a third-rank official.

The Minister of Revenue squinted his eyes, as if he was asleep, and did not look at Minister Wei's expression. His Majesty did not ask for it, so what should he say?

Rong Tang saluted and said, "Your Majesty, I am willing to donate five thousand taels of my own money to build a military camp for the border defense."

Having said that, Emperor Xuanning knew Rong Tang wouldn't be able to divert the money from Jiantai Academy. He gritted his teeth and said, "I will also donate 10,000 taels from my private treasury. I hope that all the ministers will prioritize the national economy and people's livelihood and donate enthusiastically. How about this: at today's court meeting, any official willing to donate will receive one tael of silver in exchange for one mu of land. This is valid only today and will not be counted after that."

Don't say I didn't give you a chance.

Rong Tang bowed again and said, "I will add another five thousand taels."

Despite Rong Tang's reputation, he wasn't without supporters. At least several officials from the Ministry of Works who profited from him were willing to give him face. The Minister of Works was willing to donate two thousand taels, the Vice Minister Qu Lord was willing to donate one thousand taels, and even the Earl of Zhongqin, who usually only attended court and didn't speak, also donated two thousand taels.

Everything needed a leader. Zhongqinbo was a die-hard Huai Wang party member, and his attitude was basically the same as Huai Wang's. Officials who supported Huai Wang also followed suit to a greater or lesser extent. A simple matter of raising money seemed to have turned into taking sides, causing some people to hesitate for a long time and not dare to make a decision.

Zheng Changzhi kept looking at Rong Tang. When no one else spoke, he suddenly added, "I will donate 10,000 taels of my own money."

When the final accounts were settled, a court meeting raised more than 50,000 taels of silver, and 50,000 mu of wasteland were tacitly allocated. But this was of course only a small part. At least one million mu of arable land could be created from that area, enough to accommodate hundreds of thousands of people.

After the court session, Zheng Changzhi naturally sent people to collect the money. Rong Tang and he had reached a consensus long ago that he would be responsible for production while he would be responsible for scheduling. The two of them exchanged accounts regularly and supervised each other.

After the court session, the two of them walked together. Rong Tang asked in a barely audible voice, "Why did you buy the land?"

"Aren't you growing beets?"

“Beets are worthless.”

"I don't know whether it's valuable or not. I just know if you buy it, I'll buy it."

Rong Tang looked at him speechlessly, "The amount of money that can be taken out of the national treasury is limited. It's obviously not enough. How do you plan to allocate it?"

"Local officials will raise some of the funds themselves, issuing targeted travel permits. Those willing to go to the northwest will be given some travel expenses, and promised to provide one acre of land per person for free. The rest can be rented or bought. Shangjing and other prefectures along the way will jointly allocate grain to the northwest to await the resettlement of disaster victims. As for how to divide villages and arable land, it is the responsibility of grassroots officials."

The highest official who can be confirmed at present is the fifth-rank Agricultural Official Zuo. Many administrative officials are also needed. The Rong family's new army can be used temporarily for public security management, and the overall command requires village and town or even county-level officials. Although the official position may seem small, it is a class that ordinary people cannot cross in their lifetime.

The two men looked at each other and suddenly quickened their pace. Zheng Changzhi, whose ankles were aching and sweating from standing for too long, also hurried out of the palace.

Lord Zuo trotted over to Rong Tang and asked, "Lord Rong, can I take my brother-in-law with me?"

"can."

"Uh, the third boy from my second cousin's family..."

"Take as many as you can, but remember His Majesty's instructions not to tell the whole truth. Otherwise, if you let it out and ruin His Majesty's plans, you'll be beheaded. I can't protect you."

Zuo Da Ren's scalp tightened, "I know, even if I beat and scold them, I will take a few of them away."

When Rong Tang left the palace, other officials either took carriages or sedan chairs, but he mounted a horse and galloped all the way, with Ergou's four hooves sending out sparks as he headed straight for the Sima family.

The family was composed solely of women, so they didn't hesitate to greet him, inviting him into the inner hall to speak. Madam Sima chuckled, "Tiantian hasn't arrived yet. Their actuarial club is competing in math with the Imperial College's Class D these days, and she's giving some students some last-minute practice, so she usually doesn't get home until very late."

Rong Tang opened his mouth and said, "I'll go find my uncles. Forget it, Grandmother will do too. Whatever extra money we have at home, save enough for our expenses and give it to Zheng Changzhi, stating that it's for disaster relief. Remember to get the approval from the Ministry of Revenue to exchange it for land."

Madam Sima was at a loss, "What's going on? Why are you so anxious? Is there a disaster somewhere that requires the destruction of the family property for donation?"

Although she was confused, she still asked her eldest daughter-in-law to take stock of the family assets, simply because she believed that her grandson-in-law would not harm her family.

It was a coincidence that Sima Ren, Sima's second uncle, had to go home today for some business. He was the Director of the Water Conservancy Department of the Ministry of Works, and there was another Sima Li who was the Director of the Military Farm Department. They were technical talents, not of high rank, often away on business trips and not often at home. It was just right that they were both the talents needed to build the new prefecture.

Rong Tang and him discussed this in secret in the study for half an hour, and when they came out, they made a major decision: the Sima family would not only pay for the wasteland, but also send two branches of people to develop in the northwest. Not just two people, but two branches of people.

Sima Laofu was panicking. "Why did you suddenly make such a big decision? Didn't you discuss it with the brothers?"

Sima Ren comforted her, "Mother, we must discuss it. As soon as my eldest brother and third brother come home, we will discuss it. Don't worry, mother, they won't object. I will go to the Ministry of Revenue first."

The Sima family collected a total of 12,000 taels and, following Rong Tang's advice, divided it into eight parts. The four brothers, the old lady, and the mother and son of the Tang family donated the silver respectively. Each person donated only a little over 1,000 taels, which was not very conspicuous.

After returning to the Earl's Mansion, Rong Zhan and several others also said that they had contacted their wives' families and each would send one or two sons to go with them. Xu Yingniang even asked a cousin who had just passed the imperial examination to register.

By this time, Rong Tang already had a list of seventy or eighty people willing to go. Among them, those from Rongjia Village were basically all literate. In this era of severe lack of knowledge, they were like treasures when they went to remote areas.

As the days passed, the sugar beets were finally harvested on a large scale, and some early-planted and early-maturing sugar sorghum was also harvested. Raw sugar production was running at full capacity and working overtime.

The veterans of Fuxinzhuang can only demonstrate their value during these two months a year. They cherish the job opportunity and consciously start the inhumane two-shift system, doubling the daily sugar production.

While the Rongjia Village Sugar Factory and the Fuxinzhuang Sugar Factory were in full swing, Rong Tang did not pay too much attention to the sugar output, as there were dedicated people to take care of that. He only focused on making storable dry food from beet pulp.

After several days of research day and night, beet pulp was mixed with fried sorghum flour and dried beet leaves to make palm-sized pulp cakes. A bowl of it, mixed with water, would keep one from starving for a whole day.