Chapter 2037: Chapter 2034: Embezzlement and Bribery

"By having the imperial court step in to improve the soldiers’ treatment, it can also win their hearts," Chu Heng said candidly, though Emperor Xuanming was reluctant to admit that he was indeed tempted.

The reason was quite simple: as an Emperor, the King of Huainan’s affairs made him most wary of the betrayal by favorites and the decentralization of military power. He needed centralization.

Emperor Xuanming looked at Chu Heng with an assessing gaze, and his previous disgust and apprehension had mostly faded. Chu Heng dared to speak to him like this in person, which meant there was indeed no act of betrayal behind the scenes.

Moreover, Chu Heng indeed had his weaknesses.

As long as this man didn’t covet his throne, he didn’t mind continuing to use him, after all, this person was indeed a talent.

As Emperor Xuanming’s thoughts turned, he finally discussed calmly with Chu Heng: "Minister Chu, your words are absolutely right. However, with the current reforms in soldiers’ severance pay, the imperial treasury still cannot come up with so much silver."

"I have considered this problem, so I suggest first setting up some workshops in the Northern Region, where treatment can be improved in batches. For instance, starting with the food supply issue in the military as well as military uniforms, then addressing the regular salary and severance pay."

"As for hiring workers in the workshops, I suggest you first find those retired soldiers in the barracks. These people, having been injured, have no work to do. If they join the workshops, it saves us from having to find other ways to settle them."

In fact, Chu Heng’s idea was to nationalize, as was done in later generations.

However, during this feudal era, workshops required better officials for oversight, otherwise, corruption and bribery would be inevitable.

Chu Heng had once heard Ye Muyu talk about some examples of development in later generations.

He still voiced this relatively advanced idea: "I believe, if the imperial workshops can be developed long-term, they can not only solve the problem of retired soldiers but also earn considerable silver. Although not as profitable as salt, it wouldn’t earn much less either."

"To prevent corruption and bribery, rules must be set from the beginning, and if anyone violates them, they should be dealt with according to the regulations." After Chu Heng finished speaking, he met the gaze of Emperor Xuanming.

Emperor Xuanming looking at Chu Heng’s eyes no longer held disdain, but admiration.

In any case, Chu Heng’s idea was indeed progressive, and Emperor Xuanming felt a bit shaken.

Of course, the most crucial point is that the workshops and shops being established belonged to the imperial court, meaning they were privately owned by him, the Emperor. With silver, wouldn’t it be possible to do anything?

No Emperor can resist such temptation.

"Therefore, I suggest that these workshops be managed in batches by local officials, and overseen together with stationed troops. After deducting necessary expenses, only ten percent of the income remains as emergency funds."

"The remaining eighty percent should be sent to the national treasury, which in turn, distributes silver to the military."

In ancient times, the reason why there was so much corruption and bribery was precisely because of inconvenient transportation and communication. As long as one was bold enough and destroyed the evidence, one could live well.

Additionally, coupled with local squires and landowners, as they say, ’a strong dragon cannot suppress a local snake.’

Completely eradicating corruption and bribery is indeed a very difficult task.

"Regarding oversight, I further suggest establishing a monitoring department directly under the Emperor’s command. This way, collusion between local military and officials could also be avoided."

Speaking of collusion, it’s an exceedingly easy thing to do.

When the imperial court’s control over the localities was strong, it was manageable, at most it was just a matter of embezzling a bit of money.

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