213: Chapter 214 Building the Forbidden City, Opening the Floodgates

Yin Susu looked at Lu Chen, his young yet increasingly majestic face causing waves of emotion to rise in her heart.

Building schools was already an earth-shattering move.

She hadn't expected that this was not the end.

Lu Chen turned around and returned to the massive red sandalwood desk. Instead of looking at the mountain of processed memorials, he bent down and pulled out several thick scrolls of blueprints from the lower shelf.

They weren't ordinary Xuan paper or silk, but a type of thick, tough paper. Rolled together, they carried significant weight.

*Whoosh—*

He casually unfurled the largest scroll across the vast expanse of the golden-tiled floor.

It wasn't an ink-wash landscape or a military formation map, but an incredibly precise, complex, and magnificent architectural master plan!

Palaces, pavilions, city walls, corner towers, plazas, waterways... the layout was rigorous and symmetrical, with a majestic Aura and details that were masterpieces of craftsmanship.

The styles of the eaves and brackets, the regulations of the palace halls, and even the positions of trees and rockeries in the courtyards were all clearly marked.

Yin Susu's almond-shaped eyes widened as she involuntarily stepped forward.

"This is...?" she asked, her voice filled with wonder.

The palace complex on these blueprints was far more grand and orderly than the Yuan Dadu palace she had seen, even exuding a sense of solemnity and order she had never felt before.

"The new capital, the Forbidden City." Lu Chen tapped the central area of the blueprint with his toe. "Our home, and the face of the future Great Ming. Of course, the Kunlun Shangqing Palace and the Zhongnan Mountain Shangqing Palace will also be expanded simultaneously!"

His tone was flat, as if he were speaking of a trivial matter.

Yin Susu crouched down, carefully examining the details on the blueprint. The more she looked, the more shocked she became.

"This... this Hall of Supreme Harmony, Hall of Central Harmony, Hall of Preserving Harmony... and behind them, the Palace of Heavenly Purity, Hall of Union, Kunning Palace... this layout is unprecedented. Compared to Dadu, it's more than ten times more magnificent!"

The corner of Lu Chen's mouth curved in a nearly imperceptible arc before he quickly composed himself.

"This is the base of a Sect in the Immortal Realm. I borrowed the design slightly, made some modifications, and it's barely usable."

Yin Susu: "..."

"Building schools across the world already costs an astronomical sum. Now, to build a capital city of such scale..." Yin Susu stood up, her elegant brows furrowing slightly.

"Money is meant to be spent." Lu Chen interrupted her, walking to the window and standing with his hands behind his back, gazing at the early spring scenery outside the hall.

"If mountains of gold and silver are just piled in the warehouse, can they breed more?"

He turned around, his gaze sharp.

"After destroying the Yuan, the confiscated supplies, gold, and silver are piled as high as mountains. These things must be put into circulation to become true wealth."

"Building schools is to cultivate the Foundation for Great Ming."

"Building Beijing is to establish the facade for Great Ming."

He paused, emphasizing his words.

"More importantly, it is to 'open the sluice gates and release water'!"

"Open the sluice gates and release water?" Yin Susu was incredibly clever and vaguely understood what he meant.

"Exactly!" Lu Chen nodded. "With so much money, grain, and supplies, if they only go out and never come in, or only come in and never go out, it’s a stagnant pond! I want to make this pond come alive!"

"How will it come alive?"

"Infrastructure!" Lu Chen uttered the word.

"Building schools and the capital city—how many craftsmen are needed? How many laborers? How much brick, stone, and timber? How much grain and cloth?"

"The Imperial Court provides the money to hire them for work. Craftsmen get wages, laborers get money and grain, those who fire bricks, loggers, grain transporters... everyone has money to earn. Then they will go buy food, clothes, and necessities."

"Money flows from the national treasury to the construction sites, then from the hands of craftsmen and laborers to all walks of life, and finally flows back to the national treasury."

"In such a cycle, the economy of the entire world can truly come alive! This is called stimulating the economy!"

Yin Susu suddenly realized, her eyes sparkling with brilliance.

"Someone, come!" Lu Chen called out loudly.

A eunuch waiting in the corner of the hall immediately jogged forward, bowing his head.

"Pass my decree! Summon Yang Xiao, Fan Yao, and the Ministers of the Six Ministries to the palace for an audience immediately!"

"As you command!" The eunuch dared not delay and turned to leave quickly.

Yin Susu looked at Lu Chen and said softly, "Is the matter of building the city also to be handed over to them?"

"Naturally." Lu Chen nodded as if it were a matter of course. "Leave professional matters to professional people. I only care about providing the money, the blueprints, and setting the rules."

He walked to the massive master plan of the Forbidden City and bent down to carefully roll it up.

"Building Beijing, the Kunlun Shangqing Palace, and the Zhongnan Mountain Shangqing Palace... the budget is... three hundred billion!"

Yin Susu sucked in a breath of cold air.

Another three hundred billion!

Two hundred billion for schools, and three hundred billion for three palaces!

This scale was simply... a spendthrift? No, it was heroic grandeur!

"So much money and grain... the project is so vast, won't it require conscripting millions of laborers? The suffering of corvée labor under the former Yuan, the people..." She was still somewhat worried.

Lu Chen sneered with a hint of disdain.

"Corvée labor? That's a stupid method used to scrape the earth and suck the marrow from bones! Only those without money use corvée labor!"

"My Great Ming does not do that!"

He patted the rolled-up blueprint in his hand.

"All craftsmen and laborers participating in the project will be paid daily with money and grain, and their meals will be provided until they are full!"

"Furthermore," he changed the subject, "the world is newly settled, and the Equal Field System has already been implemented."

"The land is 'owned by the Royal Family,' and fields are distributed to households based on the number of people and registered. The people rent the Royal land and pay grain taxes; their enthusiasm is very high!"

"Those prestigious families and powerful landlords who used to occupy tens or hundreds of thousands of acres of fertile land have either been purged by the rebel armies or had their families wiped out in the previous chaos."

A cold glint flashed in his eyes.

"Now, everyone truly has land to farm! Though it’s not much, it’s enough for food and clothing."

"During the slack farming season, coming out to work for the Imperial Court not only provides food and lodging but also allows them to bring home a generous wage to improve their lives. Who wouldn't want that?"

"Working for the Imperial Court is working for themselves! The capital they build, they can come to see in the future! The schools they build, their descendants can go to study in!"

"As for officials," Lu Chen added, "from top to bottom, a salary system will be implemented. Officials are officials, clerks are clerks; they eat based on their abilities and take a salary from the Imperial Court. No one should think about becoming a landlord or a local tyrant again, relying on land to exploit the people!"

These words completely overturned Yin Susu's understanding of the traditional dynastic operation model.

Soon, the Grand Secretaries Yang Xiao and Fan Yao, along with the Ministers of the Ministries of Personnel, Revenue, Rites, War, Justice, and Works, hurried to the Palace of Heavenly Purity.

Everyone looked somewhat apprehensive, wondering what startling move this new Great Emperor, who acted with unconstrained imagination and thunderous methods, had in store.

"We pay our respects to Your Majesty!" Everyone bowed in unison.

"Rise." Lu Chen sat behind the desk and signaled for them to stand.

He tossed the master plan of the Forbidden City onto the desk.

"Take a look."

Yang Xiao stepped forward and carefully unfurled the blueprint.

With just one look, the former Left Envoy of Light, now the Left Chancellor of Great Ming, felt his pupils contract sharply.

The others also crowded forward, every face showing shock.

"Your Majesty, this is..." Yang Xiao couldn't help but ask.

"The new capital, the palace of Beijing. I have named it the 'Forbidden City'," Lu Chen said indifferently.

"Starting today, the Grand Secretariat will lead, the Ministry of Works will manage, the Ministry of Revenue will allocate funds and grain, and the other ministries will assist. Build this city for me!"

"The specifications and styles, down to the last detail, must follow the blueprints! No unauthorized changes allowed!"

The Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works, Yan Tan—formerly the Flag Leader of the Thick Earth Flag of the Ming Cult—began to sweat as he looked at the dense annotations and complex structures on the blueprint.

"Your Majesty... this project is so vast, and the materials so exquisite, I'm afraid..."

"The budget is three hundred billion!" Lu Chen interrupted him. "The money will be drawn from the Great Ming Royal Bank. If it's not enough, I will add more!"

*Hiss—* The sound of people drawing in cold breaths echoed in the hall.

Three hundred billion!

Everyone also knew that the Great Ming Royal Bank held vast reserves of gold and silver.

This amount of money really wasn't much!

"All project materials will be centrally purchased and allocated by the Ministry of Works! All craftsmen and laborers will be accounted for by the Ministry of Revenue, and their money and grain will be issued in full and on time!"

"Remember!" Lu Chen emphasized, his gaze sweeping over everyone. "Abolish that corvée labor system completely for me! It must be a hire-based system! Let the people come voluntarily and happily!"

"Building schools is for the future of Great Ming. Building the capital is for the face of Great Ming!"

"These two matters are of the utmost importance! You must handle them well for me!"

"Furthermore," Lu Chen looked at Yang Xiao, "infrastructure projects involve many people and are prone to corruption. The Grand Secretariat must work with the Censorate and the Embroidered Uniform Guard to formulate the strictest regulatory regulations!"

"The Ministry of Works manages construction, the Censorate manages the accounts, and the Embroidered Uniform Guard is responsible for inspections and secret visits!"

"Whoever dares to reach out their hand, no matter who they are, will be executed without mercy!"

Yang Xiao and the others felt their hearts tremble and quickly bowed to accept the order: "We obey Your Majesty's decree! We will not fail your trust!"