Chapter 61: Heaven’s Blessing

The emperor was furious!

It was obvious that Emperor Hongzhi was very angry right now!

Zhu Houzhao was a bit dazed, appearing less confident. He wanted to play dead and tried hard to squeeze out some tears.

Fang Jifan hunched his shoulders but could only brace himself and say, “Your subject and the Crown Prince were not doing business.”

This was… stubborn denial!

If the two of them had honestly admitted their mistake, it might have been forgivable, but these two guys were desperately trying to deny it, which became an issue of attitude.

“Do you know this is the Crime of Deceiving the Emperor?” Emperor Hongzhi wanted to teach these two a proper lesson at this moment.

Fang Jifan spoke clearly, “Your Majesty, your subject and the Crown Prince truly were not doing business. The Crown Prince was concerned about the nation and its people. Lately, the weather has been cold, and the Crown Prince saw that the common people lacked sufficient clothing. In the Capital, the price of charcoal kept rising day by day, and countless people suffered from hunger and cold. Because of this, the Crown Prince was so worried that he tossed and turned every night, unable to sleep.”

“Yes, yes, your son’s heart aches so much, tossing and turning, unable to sleep!” Zhu Houzhao clasped his chest, looking as if he was in unbearable pain.

Fang Jifan continued, “Therefore, for the sake of the common people’s livelihood, your subject and the Crown Prince bought the barren mountains, had people mine coal, processed the coal, and used this coal to replace charcoal. In the Capital, one jin of charcoal costs thirty to forty coins, while one jin of coal costs only three to five copper coins. When the Crown Prince learned of this, he was overjoyed. If they could greatly reduce the common people’s heating costs, this would save even more lives than stabilizing grain prices. The Crown Prince and your subject operating the coal mine was just a pretext; in reality, it was for the welfare of the people!”

What a shameless person, to describe this money-making venture in such a high-sounding way. Zhu Houzhao secretly glanced at Fang Jifan, feeling deeply impressed. Amazing, amazing.

He continued to clutch his chest as if constipated, “Yes, yes, my heart aches so much, for the welfare of the people…”

“…”

Just by looking at these two, Emperor Hongzhi knew they were almost certainly up to no good. Where was their so-called concern for the people’s welfare? It was complete nonsense.

“Selling coal for heating…” The Hanlin Academicians were in an uproar.

Although the Hanlin Academicians usually lived in ivory towers and kept their distance from mundane matters like firewood, rice, oil, and salt, they still had common sense. They said one after another, “Nonsense! How can coal be used for heating? This is not saving people; it is harming them!”

“Your Highness, perhaps you and this Fang Jifan together were forcing people to buy and sell? Your Highness, how could you do such a thing?”

Forced buying and selling…

This reason seemed the most fitting.

If it wasn’t forced buying and selling, who would be so idle as to sell coal for heating? It was probably Fang Jifan’s bad idea. To amass wealth, he teamed up with the Crown Prince to take that useless coal and force people to buy it. He was the Crown Prince—who would dare not pay? Thinking of those poor common people, what sins had they committed in their past lives? Already living in hardship and poverty, they now had to endure blood and tears under the oppression of the Crown Prince and Fang Jifan.

Someone beat their chest and burst into loud sobs, “How could the Crown Prince do such a thing? How could he? The heavy snowfall in autumn had already made the common people suffer terribly. Instead of sympathizing with them, the Crown Prince actually forced them to buy and sell. This is a great misfortune for the nation! This must be Fang Jifan’s bad idea.”

Given Fang Jifan’s notorious reputation, it seemed… this was the only explanation.

Hearing this, Emperor Hongzhi grew even angrier. In fact, he had been holding back, wanting to see what exactly Fang Jifan and the Crown Prince were up to. He knew a little about coal mining but had not interfered. He never expected that the purpose of these two mining coal was to sell it like charcoal.

Emperor Hongzhi trembled with rage and glared fiercely at Fang Jifan. Actually, his impression of Fang Jifan had always been fairly good, which was why Emperor Hongzhi had consistently turned a blind eye to Zhu Houzhao and Fang Jifan’s mischief.

This was unbearable! Absolutely intolerable!

“Do you two admit your guilt?”

Emperor Hongzhi’s low roar was the last chance he was giving them.

“Your Majesty!” At that moment, a voice rang out.

Everyone couldn’t help but look toward the source of the voice.

They saw a person slowly stepping forward.

There were very few people in the world who dared to interrupt the emperor at such a moment, but as it happened, this person was one of them.

This person was the Grand Secretary of the Grand Secretariat, Liu Jian.

Liu Jian had profound knowledge, was courageous in upholding justice, took the world as his responsibility, was broad-minded, and bore no personal grudges. As the Chief Grand Secretary, he was also a noble person in the court. Emperor Hongzhi trusted him greatly.

Therefore, his every word and action carried significant weight.

Emperor Hongzhi was just about to roll up his sleeves and severely punish these two when Liu Jian interrupted. He couldn’t help but glance at Liu Jian suspiciously but had to say, “Minister Liu, do you have something to say?”

Liu Jian solemnly knelt and said, “Your subject believes that smokeless coal is truly excellent!”

“…”

An eerie atmosphere suddenly filled Chongwen Hall.

If the Crown Prince’s absurdity was one thing, and that scoundrel Fang Jifan need not even be mentioned—if he weren’t absurd, the sun would really rise from the west.

But Lord Liu… the esteemed Chief Grand Secretary, the veteran minister to whom the emperor listened and entrusted state affairs, actually also…

“This old minister also believes that smokeless coal is good.” This time, it was Xie Qian who stepped forward.

Xie Qian had been holding back for a long time. He was straightforward and had long wanted to speak.

Buzz, buzz, buzz…

The Hanlin Academicians were completely in an uproar.

Was Lord Xie also siding with the Crown Prince and that Fang Jifan?

What… what exactly was happening?

But just as everyone was stunned.

Li Dongyang also stepped out calmly. His expression appeared composed. “The Crown Prince and Fang Jifan indeed rendered immeasurable service. Just with this smokeless coal alone, who knows how many lives they saved! The Crown Prince and Fang Jifan, with such a righteous act, saved countless people. This old minister deeply admires them!”

This time, even Emperor Hongzhi was taken aback.

He usually took others’ words with a grain of salt.

But these three, to Emperor Hongzhi, were not only his ministers but also trusted close friends. The three Grand Secretaries of the Grand Secretariat, the chief ministers of the Great Ming, had all, as if by prior agreement, praised this coal. They even used words like “saving countless lives.” How… how was this possible?

Liu Jian’s expression was very calm; he didn’t seem to be joking at all. And in fact, the esteemed Chief Grand Secretary of the Great Ming would definitely not joke at such a moment.

Emperor Hongzhi frowned. “Minister Liu, what do you mean by this?”

Liu Jian said seriously, “Your Majesty, recently not only in the Capital, but from Beijing City to Tongzhou, and even in Henan and Shandong, there has been heavy snowfall. From what your subject has learned, the price of charcoal has been rising repeatedly. As for the common people, they have no firewood for heating. The number of those frozen to death is countless. The people’s livelihood is full of hardships. Your Majesty is kind-hearted; can you just stand by and watch the common people suffer from hunger and cold?”

Emperor Hongzhi was moved. He stared at Liu Jian without saying a word.

Liu Jian continued, “But the helpless part is that even a clever housewife cannot cook without rice. Now, the Crown Prince and Fang Jifan actually came up with smokeless coal. This old minister has personally used it. It lasts longer than charcoal, is odorless and smokeless, and is truly a divine item for keeping out the cold. Your subject also learned that the price of one jin of coal is only one-tenth that of charcoal. It is so cheap that, just as the Crown Prince said, even the common people can buy it for heating and keeping warm. Your subject dares to say that with this smokeless coal, the number of people frozen to death in this year’s cold disaster will be greatly reduced.”

Speaking of this, Liu Jian was deeply moved. When the severe cold came, he and the other Grand Secretaries were deeply worried. Who would have thought that it could be easily resolved by this small thing called smokeless coal.

The emergence of this thing was like receiving sweet rain after a long drought. It made him feel, even now, that this was heaven’s blessing.