Chapter 62: Mission Accomplished

Emperor Hongzhi was stunned.

He understood Liu Jian’s meaning.

He also knew why Tutor Liu was so excited.

Emperor Hongzhi said sharply, “Can it really replace charcoal?”

“Yes!” This time, it was Fang Jifan who spoke.

This made Zhu Houzhao look at Fang Jifan with dissatisfaction.

Old Fang, you’re being unfair. When it was time to take a risky chance earlier, you sent This Palace to do it. Now that it’s time to claim credit, how come you rushed ahead?

Fang Jifan said, “Smokeless coal can not only replace charcoal, but it works even better than charcoal. If Your Majesty still doesn’t believe it, you can ask the Crown Prince.”

Zhu Houzhao, acting as the spokesperson, had already memorized countless lines and routines. He immediately gave a thumbs up and said, “Your Son and Servant guarantees it with his character.”

After spending so much time with Fang Jifan, he always heard Fang Jifan talking about guaranteeing with his character. He heard this catchphrase so often that it just slipped out.

Emperor Hongzhi actually didn’t need to ask the Crown Prince. Wouldn’t he know what his own son was really like? But he completely believed the words of Liu Jian and the others.

His heart could not calm down for a long time. He put his hands behind his back and paced back and forth. “The Imperial Ancestors are watching over us…”

Emperor Hongzhi lifted his face toward the empty space, as if looking at the spirits of the Imperial Ancestors. At this moment, he was so moved that the corners of his eyes became moist. The Imperial Realm, for some people, was all about indulging in pleasure day and night. But for Emperor Hongzhi, it was a heavy burden. With so many refugees suffering from hunger and cold, he couldn’t rest easy for a single day. Especially with the long, severe winter approaching, every person who froze to death would make his heart ache terribly.

But now… Fang Jifan’s mere smokeless coal had easily solved the problem.

His eyes were red as he tried hard to keep the tears from falling.

Seeing this scene, Fang Jifan began to suspect that Emperor Hongzhi had a tendency towards being a bit of a charlatan.

Fang Jifan didn’t like charlatans. It wasn’t because of the charlatan tendency itself, but because, damn it, he had put in so much effort to develop the smokeless coal, desulfurize it, and promote its use. Yet instead of thanking him, you say ‘heaven bless us’? What kind of nonsense is that?

Emperor Hongzhi exhaled a breath and said, “If this is really true, as Minister Liu said, who knows how many people can be saved. Crown Prince, Fang Jifan, how many catties of this coal can you produce in a day?”

Fang Jifan thought to himself: The smokeless coal reserves in this mine, according to later data, were tens of millions of tons. Because it was open-pit mining, excavation was easy. As long as there were enough workers, supplying any amount daily wouldn’t be a problem. However, Fang Jifan still calculated carefully. Right now, he and the Crown Prince had only hired a few dozen people to start trial excavation. Daily coal production was at most a few thousand catties. If they increased production, as long as they had enough workers, maintaining a daily output of a million catties wouldn’t be a problem. A million catties sounded scary, but it was actually only five hundred tons. However, this era used the market catty, where one catty was sixteen taels.

Open-pit coal mining costs were really low, and it was close to the Capital. Once it became a necessity, the population in the Capital Region alone numbered over a million households, several million people. This didn’t even include places like Tongzhou and Tianjin Garrison, which could be easily reached via the Grand Canal. That is to say, this output of several hundred tons could be completely absorbed just by supplying the Capital Region.

Of course, Fang Jifan could choose to reduce production capacity in order to hoard supplies and drive up the coal price. But once he did that, coal would become a luxury item. Rather than that, it was better to supply it on a large scale.

Fang Jifan said, “Your Majesty, as long as there are enough workers, the quantity is not a problem. Manpower… I have also thought about it. We can recruit refugees from inside and outside the Capital. They are currently suffering from hunger and cold, already in a desperate situation. Relying solely on Shuntian Prefecture’s relief efforts is not enough to help. The Crown Prince pities them, so he hopes to recruit as many refugees as possible.”

Upon hearing this, Emperor Hongzhi was overjoyed. This was no longer just about solving the heating problem; even the most headache-inducing refugee issue was also resolved. He immediately said happily, “You two have finally done a good deed.”

Was that a compliment? Fang Jifan felt he needed to improve his comprehension skills.

Zhu Houzhao quickly said, “This is mainly because Your Son and Servant was worried about the country…”

Emperor Hongzhi glared at him, making Zhu Houzhao not dare to continue boasting. He could only shrink his neck. Fine, no showing off. Making money, just focus on making money. Making money sideways, making money vertically, making money even while lying down. Thinking of the endless silver, Zhu Houzhao suddenly felt he had grown up. No, he felt he had finally accomplished a major task. This feeling was light, floating, and very proud.

Old Fang was a capable man. He said they would make money, and they would make money.

The Hanlin Academicians watched dumbfounded, especially the Reader-in-waiting Zhou Chao, whose jaw almost dropped, looking very unrefined.

Emperor Hongzhi no longer had the heart to continue the lecture. This was good news. Just this mere smokeless coal could solve two major crises for the imperial court.

But he still glared at Zhu Houzhao and Fang Jifan, as if afraid these two rascals would become complacent. Yet he couldn’t help but chuckle. “All ministers may withdraw.”

Obviously, he had something to say to Zhu Houzhao and Fang Jifan, so he said, “The Crown Prince and Fang Jifan will stay.”

Liu Jian looked deeply at Emperor Hongzhi. The Hanlin Academicians had no choice but to stand up, bow to Emperor Hongzhi. The words “smokeless coal” had left a deep impression in their hearts.

After everyone had left, Zhu Houzhao smiled and turned to Emperor Hongzhi. Having rarely accomplished a major task, he couldn’t fall behind in claiming credit. With a bit of pride, he said, “Imperial Father, you see… is Your Son and Servant quite capable?”

Emperor Hongzhi narrowed his eyes but reached out his hand to Zhu Houzhao. “Where is Our ‘Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains Painting’?”

“Ah…”

Emperor Hongzhi kept a straight face. “Your starting capital was stolen from Us, wasn’t it?”

Zhu Houzhao couldn’t keep smiling anymore. Suddenly, he felt a bit uneasy.

Emperor Hongzhi put his hands behind his back and looked at him seriously. “Since the capital didn’t belong to you… so… Minister Fang, We know your coal yard is split fifty-fifty. Therefore, this other half of the profits has nothing to do with the Crown Prince. You must send it to the palace on time to be deposited into the Imperial Privy Purse.”

“Imperial Father…” Zhu Houzhao never expected this comedy to instantly turn into a tragedy. This was his share! How could it just be gone? Imperial Father was openly cutting in.

Fang Jifan looked at the Crown Prince sympathetically. But, it seemed it had nothing to do with him. Cooperating with the Crown Prince was cooperation; cooperating with the Emperor was also cooperation.

“Imperial Father…” Zhu Houzhao said with a bitter face. “Your Son and Servant worked hard front and back. Even if there’s no credit, there’s still hard work.”

Emperor Hongzhi didn’t give him any chance to complain. A coal yard producing millions of catties daily could mean a monthly net profit of over a hundred thousand taels of silver. This didn’t even include future production expansion. The yearly profit would be an astronomical figure. How could he trust such an unreliable son with it?

Naturally… only by handing it over to him for safekeeping could he feel at ease.

“Stop making trouble!” Emperor Hongzhi scolded.

Zhu Houzhao immediately shut up, too scared to make a sound, but he was still a bit unwilling. He muttered softly, “Old fox…”

This “old fox” was said very quietly, so Emperor Hongzhi didn’t hear it. But Fang Jifan heard it and couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Ahem…” Emperor Hongzhi kept a straight face and looked at Fang Jifan. “Minister Fang, what are you laughing at?”

“Uh…” Fang Jifan glanced at Zhu Houzhao, then said, “Your Majesty is so wise…”

“What?” Emperor Hongzhi looked suspicious.

Fang Jifan smiled and said, “Your Majesty’s immense grace, your servant looks up to you with great admiration, and has long been utterly impressed by Your Majesty. Now your servant thinks, I’m not doing business with the House of the Crown Prince, but with the Imperial Palace, with Your Majesty, selling coal. Your servant is overjoyed…”

“Alright, alright.” Emperor Hongzhi now understood clearly. This kid Fang Jifan was terribly shrewd, but he just wouldn’t change his spoiled nature and had to be so nauseatingly flattering.

Emperor Hongzhi didn’t like people who bootlicked and flattered. If it were anyone else, he would have punished them long ago—definitely a treacherous villain. But Fang Jifan, at his age, smoothly spouting such shameless words, didn’t seem too out of place.

Of course, this also had to do with Emperor Hongzhi’s view of Fang Jifan. He was really starting to see Fang Jifan as a junior. If a junior flattered him nauseatingly, could he really just beat him up?

Emperor Hongzhi was already too lazy to pay attention to Zhu Houzhao. Instead, he stared at Fang Jifan. “This time, you have made a great contribution. This coal yard must start operations quickly without delay. We will not appoint a Garrison Eunuch there. We know that this coal is largely thanks to your efforts. We are also at ease letting you manage it. The Imperial Palace and you will still follow the agreement between the Crown Prince and you, splitting the profits fifty-fifty. We will not take a single extra cent from you. What is yours, is yours!”

Without hesitation, Fang Jifan said, “Your Majesty does not compete with the people for profit, truly a model of a Sage Monarch. Such breadth of mind is unprecedented throughout history. Even if the great founders of the Tang and Song dynasties were reborn, they could not hope to match even one ten-thousandth of Your Majesty. Your servant currently has only one thought, which is to sing out loud, praising Our Emperor, long live, long live, long long live!”