The disgraced official I took care of was actually Zhu Houcong's childhood friend.

Chapter 655

Previously, the Ming Dynasty's consumption was extremely high. If the Ministry of Revenue quoted one million taels for the construction of a palace, the officials of the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Works could consume at least six hundred thousand to seven hundred thousand taels.

This is just a microcosm. The prices of food, clothing, and daily necessities for palace maids, and even the dishes served in the palace, are inflated many times, even more than ten times. All the extra money is pocketed by officials of all ranks, as well as female officials in the Imperial Wardrobe.

But things are completely different now. With the performance evaluation system in place, and the railway construction, Zhou Chu saw through the Ministry of Revenue's quotations at a glance. Now, the officials in the Ministry of Revenue all follow Zhang Cong's lead. Even if the quotations are somewhat inflated, it's only by one or two percent. Any more than that, and they won't get past Zhang Cong.

Upon receiving the Ministry of Revenue's quotation report, Jiajing immediately summoned Zhou Chu to his study.

Zhou Chu glanced at the prices listed. He wasn't very clear about the prices of many items, but Chu Li knew perfectly well. Chu Li had been in business for many years and could easily tell the prices of things on the market. This time, Zhou Chu had brought Chu Li with him when he went to the palace.

Chu Li took the folded document from Zhou Chu and glanced at it, instantly recognizing the trickery involved.

“Your Majesty, the price is reasonable, but it should be able to be reduced further. These timbers can be obtained from Annam. If an ordinary person were to buy them, they would probably pay the market price or a premium, but if the Ministry of Works were to buy them, there are ways to further reduce the cost. Even if the price is reduced by another 20%, the profit will still be considerable.”

Chu Li said respectfully.

"You go down first."

Seeing that Chu Li had finished what she needed to do, Zhou Chu waved his hand, signaling Chu Li to leave.

Upon hearing this, Chu Li breathed a sigh of relief. Even though she had been a successful businesswoman for many years and had earned countless sums of money for Zhou Chu, she still felt immense pressure and trepidation when facing the emperor.

"Then send it back and have the Ministry of Revenue recalculate it."

As he spoke, Jiajing handed the memorial to Huang Jin.

This kind of cost accounting is a matter of wrangling between the Ministry of Revenue and the emperor. If it were an emperor in the past, the Ministry of Revenue could be said to be just going through the motions. But Jiajing was different at this time. Not to mention that Jiajing held great power and expanded the territory of the Ming Dynasty, Jiajing had Zhou Chu, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, by his side. With Zhou Chu around, Jiajing was too lazy to even think about many things. He could give Zhou Chu a satisfactory result.

Zhou Chu, as a minister, did everything perfectly, yet attributed all the credit to Jiajing, and even shared it with others, such as Lin Lu, Lu Yunjin, and Lu Bing.

Where can you find such a minister? That's why Jiajing cherished Zhou Chu so much. Jiajing was always a very sentimental person, and he always tried his best to protect Zhou Chu.

When Huang Jin sent the memorial back to the Ministry of Revenue, Zhang Cong looked at the rejected memorial and sighed helplessly.

The officials in the Ministry of Revenue were hesitant to look at Zhang Cong, fearing they might anger the Minister of Revenue.

"What? You dared to quote that price, but now you're too scared to admit it?"

Zhang Cong slammed the memorial on the desk and shouted.

These words sent a chill down the spines of the officials in the Ministry of Revenue.

"My lord, this matter of cost accounting is not something that can be resolved in one go. His Majesty didn't say anything, but just asked us to recalculate it."

The Vice Minister of Revenue smiled apologetically.

"Do you really think I don't know what you're thinking? You just want to make money. In the past, it would have been fine if you made a little, but times have changed. The Ming Dynasty is now thriving, its territory surpasses that of the Tang Dynasty, and the people are prosperous. We have all benefited from this golden age, and you're still thinking about how to make money? You're really pathetic."

Zhang Cong explained it to him with reason and logic.

"The Grand Secretary is now devoting himself to the Ming Dynasty. He is already seventy-four years old. He doesn't have to work so hard, but it is his good fortune to live in such a prosperous era at this age. It is also a good fortune for all of you here today. You all have the potential to join the Zhenwu Hall in the future, so don't ruin your lives!"

Zhang Cong was so angry not because his memorial had been rejected—that was normal—but because he wanted to use it to give his subordinates a warning. With the Zhenwu Hall about to be built, and Zhang Cong being the Minister of Revenue, it wasn't impossible for him to enter the cabinet in the future. He was determined to get his hands on the Zhenwu Hall.

If you want to enter the Zhenwu Hall, you have to be like Yang Yiqing, devoting yourself wholeheartedly to the Ming Dynasty. But these officials in the Ministry of Revenue are only thinking about how to make money. Zhang Cong must correct their thinking, otherwise he knows very well that he will be dragged down by these subordinates.

"Gentlemen, think it over carefully. Are you really short of money? The government's salaries are so generous these days, and there are also rewards from the performance evaluation system. If you were to enter the Zhenwu Hall, you would be remembered in history. Most of you are younger than me and have a bright future ahead of you."

Zhang Cong began to paint a rosy picture for the officials in the Ministry of Revenue.

Upon hearing Zhang Cong's words, the officials of the Ministry of Revenue all lowered their heads in reflection. Some of them were utterly hopeless, but most of them could not refuse the promise of being remembered in history.

“What you say is true, sir. We should not let a little money blind us. We are so lucky to live in such a prosperous age. Now that this golden age has just begun, we all have a bright future ahead of us.”

A fourth-rank official from the Ministry of Revenue spoke passionately.

Not only him, but many people in the Ministry of Revenue had come to this realization at this time.

"My lord, I think the cost can be reduced by about 30%. The price of these timbers can be negotiated by the Ministry of Works, and it can be reduced significantly."

The Vice Minister of Revenue was also filled with enthusiasm and said...

With everyone contributing their ideas, the cost was reduced to about 65% of the original amount, leaving almost no profit to be made.

When the memorial was presented to Jiajing again, he was shocked after reading it.