C736 The Emperors Private Money (1/2)

Ai Xinjueluozaichun had always been the emperor of the Great Qing Empire, he had to protect the Great Qing Empire's interests.

Therefore, although on the surface, he cursed the dirty officials of the Ministry of Revenue, in the end, he still tried to bargain with his master, hoping that he would pull the imperial court over.

Xiao Letian quietly watched his disciple put on an act. Not only was he not angry, he felt gratified, the current Zai Chun at least knew how to solve the problem, and was not like how he used to be, either being like a wooden log or pushing aside all of his responsibilities and power to the ministers.

It didn't matter if a man was a bit of a scoundrel, at least it was an attempt to solve the problem.

The more Xiao Letian looked at Zai Chun, the more furry he became. Finally, he lowered his head and muttered, ”Isn't disciple really out of ideas? If I don't help, then I won't help. Why are you looking at me like that …”

”Hahaha …” Xiao Letian laughed, ”Three million? Was the great Great Qing only so mediocre? Your private money is even more than that! ”

”What?” ”Private money...” Zai Chun was so shocked that he even jumped up, ”When have I ever had private money before?”

What the little Emperor said was not wrong. Although people were saying that 'the shore to the earth is to the king' and 'the earth is to the king', there were not many monarchs with money in China.

Can the emperor use the imperial family's money as he pleases? The answer was no. The Ministry of Revenue provided the royal family with a fixed proportion of the annual allocation. The tax collection this year was sufficient, so the amount of money and foodstuffs transferred to the royal family would be a little more. If the local tax collection was in arrears, then the emperor would have to live a tough life for a few days.

Of course, the so-called bitter days didn't mean that there was no food or drink, but the quality of life of the emperor could still be guaranteed. But could the emperor just be like the old farmers in the fields, able to eat a bowl of white rice three times a day and be satisfied with it?

No, the Emperor had to spend money, and he had to spend a lot of it. The eunuchs and palace maids in the imperial palace were all supported by the emperor. So many wives had to be supported by the emperor himself, and he had to use private money to maintain relations with the imperial Qi clansmen.

The emperor would even bribe the court officials from time to time to maintain their loyalty. The more families they needed, the more expenses they would have.

The Ming Dynasty's emperor had sent eunuchs to serve as supervisors and tax officials, and the money and grain that had been gathered had all entered the imperial household. The Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Qing Dynasty managed the imperial estates from top to bottom.

For example, Cao Xueqin's family's third generation inheritance, the Jiangning Weaving position, was actually part of the Ministry of Internal Affairs's industry. In other words, the emperor's servants had monopolized a portion of the silk weaving business in Jiangnan, some of the high grade goods could be bought by themselves in the imperial palace, while others could be brought to the market to be exchanged for money.

Silk and money entering the Ministry of Internal Affairs was equivalent to entering the emperor's personal purse.

There were countless of such industries. From the moment they entered the pass, the enclosures never stopped. Silk weaving, porcelain heating, tea leaves … The shadow of the Ministry of Internal Affairs did not exist in countless of traditional Chinese violence industries.

On one hand, he still didn't have a personal authority, and on the other hand, even if he did, he might not be able to control the resources of the imperial family as quickly as if he was a powerful monarch. After all, he still had two Buddha statues up his sleeve.