Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 638: Seeking Enemies

Datong City.

Li Zisheng, Qin Chang and his party stayed in Datong for eight days and still showed no signs of departure.

Li Zisheng was extremely anxious. After all, he had a different mentality from Qin Chang who just muddled through. He came to the Northwest to make achievements. In addition, he did not bring Pang Qing with him, which led to him feeling helpless in communicating with officials at all levels in Datong Town. His actions were restricted everywhere.

He could only hope that Qin Chang would stand with him and set off earlier.

That day, he waited in the post station for more than an hour before he saw Qin Chang coming back from outside. He immediately approached him with an anxious look on his face and asked, "What's going on? Has the governor of Datong provided any convenience? How many troops can he dispatch to help us go to Pianguan?"

Tan Chang shook his head and said, "The area around Piantou Pass has been repeatedly attacked by Tatar troops, which has blocked the border roads. This is also related to the closure of border markets and the extinction of merchants in recent years.

"Now that the Tatars can't get winter supplies, they have evil intentions and are desperately heading south to plunder. The troops in Datong Town are currently unable to take care of themselves. Even if they send troops to help us continue westward, they will only escort us out of Datong. Without an order from Piantou Pass, how can they send troops to support us?"

Li Zisheng asked, "How far is it from Datong to Piantou Pass?"

"If we take the border road, it may be two or three hundred miles. But if we take the official road far away from the border, it will probably be around four hundred miles." Qin Chang replied.

Li Zisheng frowned and said, "We are responsible for delivering military uniforms and cloth along the border. What does it mean to stay away from the border? Are we going to ignore the border soldiers along the way from Datong to Pianguan?"

"What can we do?"

Qin Chang was also a little annoyed. "I go to the governor's office every day, and they just treat me perfunctorily like this... Minister Li, why don't you go there from time to time and use your interpersonal relationships to ask them to send troops to escort us along the way earlier? I also want to complete the task entrusted by His Majesty as soon as possible."

Li Zisheng comforted him: "Eunuch Tan, don't worry, it's just because the situation at the border is too dangerous...why are the Tartars so unwilling to stop this year?"

Tan Chang said: "If they behave themselves, why would we need soldiers at the border? Why are you and I here today?"

"The previous memorial has been sent to the capital for quite some time, but there has been no reply."

Li Zisheng felt lost, and then suggested, "How about this, we take the risk of taking the side road and let the Datong soldiers escort us for a while. We can go slower in the beginning, but once we are out of Datong, we will hurry up and rush to Pianguan day and night."

Qin Chang frowned and asked, "Given the current situation at the border, the Tartars often invade. What can you do when you arrive at Pianguan? Don't you still have to wait there? It all depends on whether the governor and the garrison commander at Pianguan are willing to cooperate..."

Li Zisheng said, "That's better than waiting in Datong, right? How long have we been out of the capital? We have just arrived at Datong Town. When can we reach Pianguan and Yansui? Not to mention that there are military towns in Ningxia and Gansu. At this rate, we may not even reach our final destination, let alone return to the capital next spring."

Tan Chang didn't care: "Minister Li is in a hurry to go back, but my family is not."

"Eunuch Tan, you can't say that."

Li Zisheng said tentatively, "Look, I have a few acres of land in the surrounding areas of the capital, and no one usually cultivates it. After returning to the capital, I will definitely give it to you, Eunuch Tan."

Qin Chang's expression finally improved after hearing this, but he still looked impatient: "Minister Li, it's useless for you to just ask me to do the hard work... You and I have equal power, and my connections in the northwest are not as good as yours. They won't listen to me."

Li Zisheng said: "No matter what, you are still the chief of the Imperial Household Department. Who dares to offend His Majesty's close ministers? Besides, this trip is an imperial errand!
"As long as you and I are willing to go on the journey, the governor and the general of Datong will have to consider the safety of our people. No one can afford to take responsibility if something goes wrong. Death is the least of the consequences. So what I mean is..."

"You want me to agree to take the risk of marching west with you?" Tan Chang shook his head. "Even if I agree, the soldiers below will not agree. The New Year is coming soon. Is there anyone who wants to risk his life in the Chenghua year and not see the Hongzhi year?"

Li Zisheng leaned over and whispered, "As long as we don't tell the soldiers about the dangers in the west, how will they know? Some things must be kept secret. Otherwise, who will be willing to complete the mission entrusted by His Majesty if they are afraid of fighting and death?
"I have also thought about it. The Tatars will not enter the pass so easily. After all, the Great Wall pass is still there. How can a large group of troops break through so easily? Even if we occasionally see a few Tatars on the road, can they steal our things?"

Qin Chang asked, "Do you mean to say that we should just go ahead regardless of everything?"

"Yes, just pretend there is no harassment from the Tartars!"

Li Zisheng said, "As long as there are no Tartars in your heart, you won't see the Tartars in front of you."

Qin Chang seemed speechless, rolled his eyes and said, "Are you trying to deceive yourself? There are rumors along the way. Wherever you go, there are rumors of Tartar activities. The soldiers below are not stupid, how can they not be alert?"

Li Zisheng smiled and said, "That depends on the two of us speaking in unison and using interests to drive them. At the same time, we should make the soldiers feel that there will be no problems with the Datong troops escorting them. As long as we reach Pianguan, we will have completed the next stage of the mission. After arriving at Pianguan, we will rest first and then think of a solution. What do you think..."

Tan Chang asked, "How many acres of land do you have in the capital?"

"I can't tell you exactly how much."

Li Zisheng smiled bitterly, "You know, I never care about these things. All of them are taken care of by the people below. But don't you know what kind of person I am? What have I promised that I haven't done? If you really don't trust me, I will immediately write you a written receipt. I won't deny what's written in black and white, right?"

Qin Chang waved his hands quickly: "No need, we believe in Minister Li's character... Besides, you and I have the same goal, we are both working for the court, and we can't say who is helping whom."

"Yeah."

Li Zisheng agreed verbally but was thinking in his heart, are you afraid that we will leave paper evidence and people will accuse me of bribing you, and then they will use it to settle accounts with you?

Qin Chang said, "Well, I will go to the local officials tonight to put pressure on them. I will not want to lose face! Anyway, we must set off at the latest in the morning of the day after tomorrow! This time, we have indeed wasted a lot of time. Since we left Juyong Pass, we have been delaying our journey. We really can't wait any longer!"

"Yes."

Li Zisheng looked very excited.

But I was thinking, you are so slow, are you waiting for me to bribe you?

This way you can get your job done and get some benefits from me.

Alas, you got a bargain!

Am I paying to do this? It's fine to go through so much trouble to help the emperor, but I have to pay out of my own pocket... It really hurts.

Where is Laizhan?
Please help me speak up so that I can complete the mission in the northwest smoothly!

……

……

The twenty-ninth day of the twelfth lunar month.

On this day, Ye Qi went to visit the residence of Li Rong, the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department... He was invited, and when he arrived, he not only met Li Rong, but also Huai En, the seal holder of the Imperial Household Department, which shocked him.

He had been waiting for employment in the capital recently, and it was a rare opportunity for him to meet a powerful figure in the court, so he felt inexplicably excited.

But he also knew that as a foreign official, he had private dealings with eunuchs. Once this got out, it would have a great detrimental effect on his reputation and might even become the biggest stain in his life.

"Eunuch Huai, Eunuch Li."

Ye Qi stepped forward and saluted respectfully.

As the host, Li Rong invited Ye Qi to sit at the guest seat.

After chatting for a while, Li Rong finally brought up the topic: "The court intends to reform the salt tax and change the grain tax to silver tax. Do you know about this?"

Ye Qi nodded: "I just heard about it in the past two days."

Li Rong glanced at Huai En and waited for instructions, which was actually a disguised way of telling Ye Qi that I am asking you on behalf of the Internal Minister Huai En.

"But it is said that before you returned to Beijing, you, Ye Zhongcheng, made several reports to the late emperor, during which you mentioned the issue of changing the salt tax... Why was it not you who proposed this after the new emperor ascended the throne, but Minister Zhang of the Ministry of Revenue?" Li Rong asked seriously, "Could it be that you gave Minister Zhang a heads-up behind his back?"

"I know nothing about this!"

Ye Qi was confused, shook his head and denied it before asking, "How similar is this salt tax reform strategy to what I advocate? I haven't seen the specific rules of the salt tax reform proposed by Minister Zhang, let alone hidden behind the scenes to give advice. Perhaps... My two eunuchs, if you want to ask for advice, wouldn't it be better to ask Minister Zhang directly?"

Ye Qi was also a little angry.

It seems that you have your own opinions on the salt tax reform and want to discuss them with the instigator.

But the problem is...

This matter was not initiated by me at all. Did you call me here just for this purpose?
I risked being looked down upon by my colleagues in the literati circle to come and meet you, the eunuchs, and this is the "greeting gift" you give me?
It's so deceiving!

Li Rong was about to say something, but Huai En interrupted him.

Huai En greeted: "Minister Ye."

"Don't dare to take it seriously."

Ye Qi said respectfully, "I am not yet a minister."

"In fact, it's okay to call you that, because from the beginning, you were transferred back to the capital by the late emperor as the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue to wait for appointment, but something unexpected happened in the middle... A few years ago, the Ministry of Personnel reported that you were going to serve as the governor of the Yizhou Mountain Factory in your capacity as the Minister." Huai En said, "This personnel appointment has been reported, but there is still a reason."

After hearing this, Ye Qi's face became even uglier.

What's going on? I'm a full-time Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, but now I'm the Vice Minister of the Yizhou Mountain Factory. Is there still any doubt about this? Does it mean that they don't want to give me an official position?

Do I have to make some achievements and work hard to be able to get such a heartbreaking official position?
If this continues, I don’t want to be an official anymore!

At worst, you can resign and return home!
Huai En said: "Because the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, that is, Zhang Guozhang, is likely to enter the cabinet soon, and if someone is to be found to take over the position he leaves behind, you will definitely be the first choice."

When Ye Qi heard this, he thought, if you say so, then we can continue the conversation.

Huai En took out a proposal for salt administration reform from his bosom and handed it to Ye Qi, saying, "Minister Ye, this is a preliminary plan for salt administration reform, but it is said that many of the contents are similar to your previous proposals. Please read it carefully and see if you can find any problems in it?"

Ye Qi took it in his hand.

He had keenly realized that Huai En and Li Rong were not trying to help Zhang Luan, but were probably trying to ruin the matter.

But if you want to find faults, you must find a professional.

Now, with Zhang Luan's status and ability in the court, if he wanted to find someone to refute his claims, he had to find someone who had a "grudge" against Zhang Luan. Therefore, he, whose position as the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue was robbed by Zhang Luan, became the best candidate at the moment.

Ye Qi took a quick look at Zhang Luan's memorial and shook his head, saying, "We need to ensure that the northwest border has abundant reserves, and we also need to convert grain into silver and use the method of converting grain into silver to return the silver to the Taicang Treasury. This is almost impossible."

"oh!?"

Huai En's eyes lit up, and he quickly suggested, "Then you should speak frankly. People like us lack understanding and research on salt administration, so it is difficult to refute.

"Besides, this matter has not been brought to the court for public discussion yet, but if someone can explain the pros and cons clearly in advance and give your majesty and Zhang Guozhang a reference, it would be a great thing. With Minister Ye's many years of experience in serving in the northwest, I think this matter is best suited for you!"

(End of this chapter)