I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 116: Spotting Boshhar's Flaw
The Lifanyuan Yamen was located in the former Honglu Temple.

The Honglu Temple almost became an institution under the Ministry of Rites. During the Zhengde period, they simply found a large courtyard near the Ministry of Rites and moved everything there.

The previous yamen was idle and became a warehouse and a villa of the Ministry of Rites.

Li Chunfang took charge of the Lifanyuan and obtained an imperial edict to clear out all the troublemakers and turned the Honglu Temple into the Lifanyuan.

The sedan chair carrying Xu Wei and the other two stopped at the side door of the Lifanyuan. They passed the inspection of the Warrior Battalion before entering.

The Lifanyuan was admired by the capital, one of the reasons being its tight security.

The six ministries, the Censorate, the Dali Temple, and other government offices of the Ming Dynasty all looked the same. The gates were guarded by military school servants, but in reality they were useless.

As long as you dress neatly and cleanly, and don't look sneaky, you can enter any place like the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Justice, or the Censorate.

Things often get lost in the Six Ministries and Censors Office; it's actually a common occurrence.

The Lifanyuan was established, with Li Chunfang in charge, but it was actually run by Xu Wei and Wu Dui and others.

Zhu Yijun told Xu Wei that the first thing to do was to strictly enforce the security of the Lifanyuan.

The Lifanyuan was not a local government office or a grassroots institution and needed to be close to the people.

It was responsible for matters related to foreign vassals, which on the surface included tribute, trade, education, etc., but in reality, it also involved espionage, subversion, conspiracy to start a war, and economic colonization.
These are all very important maintenance matters and must be kept strictly confidential.

So the first step is to pass the defense.

Entering the signing room in the living room of the Lifanyuan, Xu Wei asked Wu Dui and Li Zhi to sit down first. He went to the main hall to see if Li Chunfang was there.

The Lifanyuan was temporarily divided into the Dianshi Hall, the Trade Hall and the Siwu Hall.

The Dianshi Room was responsible for handling matters related to foreign vassal states, including tribute, protocol, introductions, enthronement, transmission of decrees, diplomatic missions, and study and education.

It is divided into four departments: Lidong, Libei, Linan and Lixi.

The Trade Office was responsible for trade with foreign vassals and was divided into the Maritime Bureau and the Inter-trade Bureau. One was responsible for maritime trade, and the other was responsible for land trade in the west, north, and southwest.

There is also an inconspicuous but important Customs Regulations Bureau.

According to Zhu Yijun's provisions, the formulation of maritime and land tariffs was to be formulated by it, and the specific collection was to be carried out by the various Maritime Customs Offices and the Inter-Country Trade Offices, and the Regulations Bureau was also responsible for supervision.

The Office of the Secretary was responsible for the daily operations of the Lifanyuan, which included the Important Bureau, the General Affairs Bureau, and the elusive Frontier Affairs Advisory Office.

After Xu Wei left, Wu Dui turned to Li Zhi and said, "Zhuo Wu, it's been more than a month since you were transferred to the Lifanyuan. Are you used to it?"

Li Zhi smiled bitterly and said, "To be honest with you, Brother Huanzhou, I am still feeling dizzy."

Li Zhi was from Quanzhou, Fujian. He passed the imperial examination in the 34th year of the Jiajing reign. Then, like Hai Rui, he failed the imperial examinations many times and ended up becoming an official.

He served successively as a teacher in Huixian County, Henan Province, a doctor of the Imperial College in Nanjing, a doctor of the Imperial College in Beijing, and a clerk in the Ministry of Rites in Beijing, all of which were minor officials of the eighth or ninth rank.

Suddenly he received a transfer order and was transferred to the newly established Lifanyuan, where he served as a clerk in the Secretariat. After arriving, he was assigned to the Secret Bureau and did some clerical work.

This time, Xu Wei again named him and took him to meet Bosihaer.

Wu Dui raised his head and laughed, "Haha, I was the same when Wen Chang first pulled me here, I was so dizzy and didn't know where to start."

He and Xu Wei are from the same hometown of Shaoxing, and have been classmates and friends for many years.

He was a Jinshi in the 38th year of Jiajing, served as an imperial censor, and later went to the local area to serve as the deputy envoy of military preparations in Qizhou, Huguang, to suppress the rebellion of local mountain people.

He was later transferred back to the capital and appointed as the head of the Ministry of War.

Wu Dui waved his hand. "It doesn't matter. The Lifanyuan is a place where real work is done, unlike other lukewarm and chaotic government offices. Zhuo Wu is a man of great talent, and he will definitely be able to show his talents and soar here."

Li Zhi bowed and said, "I am a person of limited talent and not well-known. I was able to be transferred to the Lifanyuan thanks to Huanzhou and Brother Wen."

Wu Dui looked at him, stroking his short beard, with a strange look in his eyes, "Zhuo Wu, to be honest, you were personally appointed by the Crown Prince!"

Li Zhi was stunned!
Soon, Xu Wei came in.

"Lord Li has gone to the West Garden. No problem, let's discuss it together first and then report to him."

Li Zhi looked at Xu Wei, who was full of high spirits, with a complicated expression.

He had previously had contacts with Xu Wei and Wu Dui.

Wu Dui had the best luck and passed the imperial examination. He had the second best luck and did not advance any further after passing the imperial examination.

Xu Wei had the worst luck. He was a scholar at the age of 20. He was talented and famous in the Three Wus, but he failed the imperial examinations repeatedly. Later, he was appreciated by Hu Zongxian, the governor of Zhi and Zhejiang, and was appointed as his staff.

Suddenly he was noticed by the Crown Prince, who made him his right-hand man. He made many outstanding achievements and was promoted all the way up the career ladder. He went from being an unranked aide to the Governor-General of Zhizhe to a fifth-rank doctor.

They all ran ahead of Wu Dui, who had passed the imperial examination and became a Jinshi.

Thinking of this, Li Zhi's heart warmed.

He claims to be very talented, but just unlucky.

Now that his luck had come, he told himself that he must seize it.

Xu Wei said, "After meeting with Bosihar today, I can see that Altan Khan still attaches great importance to this peace talk."

Wu Dui stroked his beard and replied, "That's right. Bosihaer is Altan Khan's younger brother. He is of high rank and respected status in the Tumed tribe. Altan Khan really put a lot of thought into sending him out."

Xu Wei continued, "Hu Butang sent a secret report from Datong to the capital. During the time when Xin Ai was captured, the northern barbarians in Datong and Xuanfu were constantly active, with no less than fifty large and small border raids.

The largest attack was when the Northern Tartars mobilized tens of thousands of troops to attack the Wanquan Right Guard Zhangjiakou Fort in Xuanfu Town, but were beaten back. Hu Butang also organized five counterattacks, beheaded more than 3,000 people, and captured more than 50,000 people, cattle and sheep.

Li Zhi was stunned. "Doctor Xu, so Altan Khan is willing to negotiate because he can't gain an advantage in Xuanda?"

Xu Wei nodded with a smile: "Yes. According to the intelligence of the Border Investigation Department, the news that Xin Ai was captured alive by us spread to the Tumed tribe, and there were more than ten or twenty Taijis and Nayans who clamored to raise troops for revenge.

The harassment on the Xuan-Da line was caused by them. The attack on Zhangjiakou Fort was jointly carried out by Bodidala, another brother of Altan Khan, and Buyan Taiji, the third son of Altan Khan.

Hubutang fought back, and these two suffered the heaviest losses and were the first to shut up. Finally, Altan Khan's adopted son, Qia Taiji, stepped in and persuaded the Taijis, Zaisang and Nayan to agree to send people to negotiate with us.

The situation is well understood.

Wu Dui and Li Zhi were both a little surprised.

Compared with Li Zhi, Wu Dui felt it more deeply.

Previously, the Ming Dynasty court was completely in the dark about the situation outside the border. Only the Ministry of War, out of duty, collected some intelligence from the border troops and merchants.

No one can tell how much is true and how much is false.

Now Xu Wei casually stated the differences within the Tumed leadership clearly.

It is completely different from the previous blindness.

Amazing!
As they were talking, a clerk came to the door and handed in a document.

Xu Wei took it, read ten lines at a glance, and pondered for a while after finishing it.

"The Crown Prince asked the Eastern Depot to plant spies in the Sifang Posthouse. This is the latest intelligence sent by their agents. Brother Huanzhou and Brother Zhuowu, please take a look."

After reading it, Wu Dui said nothing.

Li Zhi took it and was a little curious.

The intelligence is all trifles.

Which courtyard did Bosihaer live in, which courtyard did Naimanman and Qiebulihua live in, how were the followers arranged, and then what things were purchased through the servants of the four-way posthouse.

Li Zhi's eyes lit up and he saw the suspicious point.

"Brother Wenchang, Brother Huanzhou, Bosihaer lives in the largest courtyard, but he has arranged for a follower to live in the small courtyard next to him. It's a bit strange."

When Xu Wei heard Li Zhi's words, he smiled and gestured for him to continue.

"Also, in the catalog of items to be purchased, there is actually a bunch of sandalwood, and it specifically says it wants one from Renouji."

Wu Dui also understood what he meant. "He lives alone in the small courtyard next door. He might be Boshaer's staff and think tank. He just pretends to be an attendant and doesn't want to attract our attention.

Want sandalwood? And specifically ask for incense from Renwangji? That's a bit strange. Could it be that this aide is a Buddhist and has been to the capital?"

"Brother Huanzhou and Zhuo Wu have both seen it. Good."

Xu Wei said decisively, "Investigate! I will go to see the Crown Prince right away and ask him to contact the East Factory and the Embroidered Uniform Guards. Start from Renwang Temple and find out this brain trust of Bosihaer!"

(End of this chapter)