I am a temporary worker in Jinyiwei, how did I become a powerful official?

Chapter 203 The Prelude to the Mutiny

In the capital, at the duty room of the eunuch in charge of the Eastern Depot.

Since the Yongle reign, the Embroidered Uniform Guard has always been under the supervision of the Eastern Depot.

Lu Bing was a formidable figure. During the mid-to-late Jiajing reign, the Embroidered Uniform Guard was nominally subordinate to the Eastern Depot. In reality, however, they operated outside the established order, reporting directly to the emperor.

However, on the first day of each month, Lu Bing still had to go to the Eastern Depot to symbolically report to the supervising eunuch Huang Jin about the affairs of the Embroidered Uniform Guard for that month.

Lu Bing was carried into the duty room by two men.

He was terminally ill, his face turning black. This was a sign that his liver disease had penetrated to the bone.

Lu Yi, Zhu Xixiao, and Liu Shouyou worked together to carefully lift the head manager off the two men. They then helped him to a chair.

Seeing Lu Bing's sickly appearance, Huang Jin, with a compassionate heart, was overcome with sorrow, and tears welled up in her eyes.

Huang Jin said, "My dear Commander Lu, you're still not well, so please don't come to my office. Let Lu Yi and the others come instead."

Lu Bing said weakly, "Eunuch Huang, nothing can be accomplished without rules. Rules cannot be abandoned."

Huang Jin personally poured Lu Bing a cup of tea and handed it to him.

Lu Yi replied, "Eunuch Huang, my father appreciates your kindness. However, the imperial physicians at the Imperial Hospital say that he cannot drink tea and can only drink plain water."

Huang Jin quickly instructed a young eunuch, "Quickly bring Governor Lu a cup of warm water."

Lu Bing said, "No need for that. Let's begin reporting."

"This month, cough cough cough, we... Jinyi..."

Lu Bing was too weak to speak. Left with no other choice, he had his son Lu Yi deliver the message on his behalf.

Lu Yi said, "Eunuch Huang, this month the Embroidered Uniform Guard handled eighteen imperial cases. In addition, they handled six major cases, thirteen medium cases, and forty-nine minor cases."

"One of the most important things was that Lin Shisan cracked down on the Japanese pirates' intelligence network in Nanjing."

"Lin Shisan reported that he planned to use this intelligence network to send false information to the Japanese pirates in order to help achieve a complete victory in the war against them."

Lu Yi then handed the secret letter written by Lin Shisan to Huang Jin.

Lu Bing and his son listed this matter as the first important matter to be reported to the Director of the Eastern Depot that day. This shows the significance of the matter.

After reading the secret letter, Huang Jin slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "What a brilliant Lin Shisan! This kid is a gem; he'll shine brightly whether in the capital or Nanjing!"

"With this channel providing false intelligence to the Japanese pirates, they will become like headless flies, and will be led by the nose by Hu Zongxian and his men!"

"I don't understand military strategy, but I know the weight of this matter!"

"I want to petition His Majesty on behalf of Lin Shisan! I want to recommend him for a promotion to General of Martial Valor, and also change his position as a commander of a thousand men from a substitute post to a hereditary one!"

Lin Shisan had only recently been "promoted" to the position of Commander of the Nanjing Imperial Guard, a military officer of the fifth rank.

The initial rank of a fifth-grade official is General of Martial Virtue. To be promoted to General of Martial Integrity, one must wait at least three years and achieve excellent performance in annual evaluations.

Of course, there are exceptions. If one makes a great contribution, one can be promoted directly without having to wait for seniority.

This reward is nothing compared to what others have to offer.

Changing one's position to a hereditary one—that's true, unparalleled wealth!

The positions in the Embroidered Uniform Guard were divided into two types: substitute and hereditary.

Hereditary succession, as the name suggests, means that the position is passed down without fail. If one generation is a commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, then the next generation will also be a commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

A replacement position is one where the person dies and the position is no longer held, meaning the position cannot be passed down to someone else.

The Imperial Guards in the capital and Nanjing currently have thirty-six commanders of various ranks, including those with regular and miscellaneous duties. Among them, only ten are hereditary commanders.

The remaining twenty-six substitute commanders dream of making their positions hereditary!
In short: a substitute position becomes hereditary, just like a postmark becomes a registered one.

Lu Bing drank a few sips of warm water and recovered his senses: "Hmm. Eunuch Huang, Lin Shisan is shrewd, capable, and loyal."

"If I don't survive this year, please give him an important position in the future, Eunuch Huang."

Lu Bing spoke as if he were giving his dying words.

Huang Jin quickly replied, "I will remember Governor Lu's teachings."

Lu Bing shook his head: "It's not so much instruction as a request. If I pass away, I ask Eunuch Huang to take care of the brothers who risked their lives for me."

Huang Jin immediately replied, "Don't worry. Your brothers are my brothers, Huang Jin's brothers. I will treat them as if they were family."

Huang Jin reported this matter to the Jiajing Emperor. The Jiajing Emperor was overjoyed and immediately issued a secret decree to reward Lin Shisan.

Intriguingly, the secret edict stated, "Lin Shisan is hereby granted the hereditary title of Commander of the Northern Garrison of the Embroidered Uniform Guard."

Although Lin Shisan was a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard in Nanjing, the Jiajing Emperor still regarded him as a member of the Northern Garrison.

Half a month later, the secret imperial edict arrived in Nanjing.

Upon receiving the imperial decree, Lin Shisan was overjoyed: "Wonderful! From now on, my Lin family has an indestructible golden rice bowl."

A moment later, Lin Shisan was troubled again: He had originally wanted Hu'er to study, take the imperial examinations, and become a scholar, a provincial graduate, and a metropolitan graduate, so that he could become a famous minister whose name would be remembered for all time.

Now he's stuck doing secret work at the Northern Garrison.

Since it was a secret decree, it had to be kept quiet. Lin Shisan didn't even tell his first wife, Biyun.

It was late spring and early summer of the thirty-ninth year of the Jiajing reign.

Lin Shisan has been in Nanjing for two months. In addition to accomplishing a remarkable task, he has also cultivated close relationships with the nobles and high-ranking officials in Nanjing.

He's a social butterfly. He can make anyone feel comfortable and at ease.

That day, after attending the horse race at the Duke of Wei's mansion, Lin Shisan led Li Gao back to Dachanggan Street.

A while ago, Sun Yue was punished by Lin Shisan with a lisp and placed under house arrest for three months. Therefore, Lin Shisan has only taken Li Gao with him when he goes out recently.

Li Gao is of noble birth, being the Crown Prince's brother-in-law. With him by his side, Lin Shisan's status seems to rise even higher.

The nobles and high-ranking officials in Nanjing were also happy to associate with the Crown Prince's brother-in-law.

The two were humming a tune when they reached a narrow alley. Suddenly, eight burly men surrounded them from both ends of the alley.

The eight burly men had bulging bulges around their waists, which, judging from the shape of the protrusions, were likely carrying crossbows.

Lin Shisan subconsciously reached for the short knife at his waist for self-defense.

But how could a short sword outrun a crossbow bolt? Besides, the enemy outnumbered him, and Lin Shisan was attacked from both sides.
The burly man at the head of the group stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "Thirteenth Master, there's no need to panic. I am Gao Hetang, one of Master Luo's men."

Lin Shisan exclaimed in surprise, "It's you? You've been protecting my second brother all this time. Has my second brother come to Nanjing?"

The burly man nodded: "Master Luo is in the sedan chair outside the alley. Please, Thirteenth Master, enter the sedan chair for a chat."

Lin Shisan hurriedly followed the burly man out of the alley and into a sedan chair carried by eight men.

The capital city had strict rules, and the system of official sedan chairs was extremely rigorous.

In Nanjing, however, the emperor was far away and the city was high up, so no matter how high an official's rank, they dared to use a sedan chair carried by eight men.

Sure enough, sitting in the sedan chair was Luo Longwen, the leader of Yan's faction's junior Imperial Guards and a senior official in the Ministry of Justice's Arrest Department.

Lin Shisan's first reaction upon seeing Luo Longwen was, "Second Brother, you've also been promoted in name only and demoted to Nanjing? How come I didn't receive any news before?" Luo Longwen smiled and said, "Not at all, I've been sent to Nanjing on a secret mission by the Grand Secretary and the Junior Grand Secretary!"

Lin Shisan said, "What kind of job is it? If there's anything I can do to help, just let me know. I'm not bragging, but I've been in Nanjing for two months and I've managed to build up some connections."

"I'm very familiar with all sorts of positions, from garrison commander and co-garrison commander to advisor on military affairs, various garrison officials, and governors."

Luo Longwen shook his head: "Our Superintendent's Office has been taking away your Embroidered Uniform Guard's jobs. If I ask you, an Embroidered Uniform Guard, for help, wouldn't I be laughed at by others?"

"The Nanjing Imperial Guards were still Imperial Guards!"

"In addition, before I left, our eldest brother told me that this secret mission must not be revealed to you."

Lin Shisan said, "What secret mission? You're even keeping it from your sworn brother?"

Luo Longwen said, "Our elder brother didn't let you know about this for your own good. Sometimes, knowing too much isn't a good thing."

"To be honest, I'm completely baffled by this secret mission. I can't figure out why our elder brother wants me to handle this personally."

Luo Longwen's words piqued Lin Shisan's curiosity.

But Lin Shisan didn't press the matter further. Luo Longwen had already made it clear that he would keep it a secret from him, and asking any more questions would only arouse suspicion.

Lin Shisan said, "No matter what, now that Second Brother has come to Nanjing, I want to do my best to be a good host. Tonight I'll take you to stroll on the pleasure boats of the Qinhuai River."

“However, I can’t stay overnight on the pleasure boat. Biyun found out that I slept with a boatwoman on West Lake. She’s been keeping a close eye on me lately.”

Luo Longwen laughed and said, "Alright. The girls of the Qinhuai River are famous throughout the world. It's true that I'm here on official business, but I also have to balance public and private matters."

"If I were to refuse your kind offer and not go for a stroll along the Qinhuai River, wouldn't I be passing by a treasure mountain only to return empty-handed?"

That night, Lin Shisan led Luo Longwen onto a pleasure boat.

The whole process of having tea, drinking and making merry, enjoying songs and dances, and composing poems and couplets has been almost completed, with only the last step remaining.

Lin Shisan stood up to take his leave: "Second Brother, let these ladies serve you and help you rest. I'm going home."

Luo Longwen said, "Alright, I'll have a drink with you after I finish my secret mission."

Lin Shisan had previously arranged for Xue Yanwang to reside permanently at "Wenyuan Xiuju" with the intention of keeping an eye on Hojo Koji.

Gradually, Xue Yanwang learned a lot of gossip about Nanjing from the pleasure boat.

This is not surprising, as the guests on the pleasure boats are a mixed bag, including nobles, high-ranking officials, military officers, wealthy merchants, and even local ruffians on a visit.

Flower boats are a good place to gather intelligence.

So Lin Shisan found Bai Jiahei, the Fengluan of the Jiaofangsi (Imperial Music Bureau), and asked him to use the bureau's authority to plant many Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) comrades as spies on various pleasure boats.

To outsiders, they said they were all from the same hometown as Master Bai.

This prompted complaints from the madams and prostitutes of the various pleasure boats: Bai Fengluan probably wanted to feed all the stray dogs in the village to the pleasure industry.

Lin Shisan's move was quite effective. A lot of valuable intelligence was gathered on Dachanggan Street.

That day, Uncle Zhang took the intelligence he had just compiled to Lin Shisan.

Zhang Bo said, "Thirteen, in the past few days, spies from seven pleasure boats have reported the same piece of information."

Have you ever heard of the Zhenwu Battalion?

Lin Shisan blurted out, "Of course. Zhenwu Camp is very famous! This camp has a strength of 5,000 and was built ten years ago by Zhang Ao, the Minister of War in Nanjing, to defend against Japanese pirates."

"The soldiers of Zhenwu Battalion were carefully selected from various battalions. They also absorbed some strong men from the Yangzhou canal gang and salt gang."

"These soldiers are good at fighting, but they're also wild. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call them a bunch of hooligans."

"On the battlefield, they were all brave and valiant, far surpassing the garrison troops and ordinary soldiers."

"The Emperor regarded them as the mainstay of Nanjing's defense and never dared to send them to the front lines against the Japanese pirates."

Zhang Bo said: "Recently, many generals of Zhenwu Camp have privately revealed that a group of mysterious people of unknown origin have entered the military camp and stayed overnight."

Lin Shisan frowned: "People of unknown origin have entered the military camp and stayed overnight? How is that possible? Military camps are strictly prohibited from allowing outsiders to stay overnight."

Uncle Zhang added, "What's strange is that they not only stayed, but they also drank with the soldiers in the camp every day, their words full of instigation."

Lin Shisan asked, "What are you instigating?"

Zhang Bo replied: "Instigate conflict between the Zhenwu Battalion soldiers and the imperial court."

Lin Shisan gave a wry smile: "Do we need to instigate them? The Zhenwu Battalion's pay is already low. Ordinary soldiers only get a mere five qian of silver per month."

"This meager salary was further reduced to four qian of silver by the former Minister of War in Nanjing, Ma Kun."

Zhang Bo said, "Yes. Zhenwu Camp is like a pile of dry firewood. Now a group of mysterious people have arrived, seemingly to pour oil on the firewood and set it on fire."

Lin Shisan sensed danger in Zhang Bo's words.

He hurried to the Yangtze River and found Xu Pengju, the Nanjing garrison commander, fishing for the five delicacies of the Yangtze River.

Xu Pengju was overjoyed to see Lin Shisan: "Little Shisan, you've finally arrived. In just half an hour, I've already caught two pufferfish and one shad. Two of the five delicacies of the Yangtze River!"

Lin Shisan praised, "The Duke is truly an old fisherman; his skills are extraordinary."

Xu Pengju instructed his servants, "Quickly get Commander Lin a fishing rod. Let him fish with me."

Lin Shisan said, "Wait a moment. Duke, I have come to see you today to report some confidential matters."

Xu Pengju was getting impatient: "Huh? You've come to talk to me about official business? Hurry up and say it, so I can adjust the hook and cast the line."

Lin Shisan informed Xu Pengju of the unusual situation at Zhenwu Camp.

Xu Pengju scoffed: "When did you start imitating Huang Maoguan, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue? You're just spreading alarmist rumors!"

"A mutiny? I wouldn't dare even if I gave those soldiers of the Zhenwu Battalion two hundred lives!"

"Those soldiers won't rebel unless they can't even afford to eat."

Lin Shisan hurriedly reminded him, "A mutiny is something you can't be too afraid of, even if it happens one in ten thousand. We must take precautions, my Lord Duke."

Xu Pengju scoffed: "You just said that only the Zhenwu Battalion is acting strangely. Besides the Zhenwu Battalion, there are five other battalions near Nanjing. Not to mention the hundreds of thousands of garrison troops."

"The Zhenwu Battalion is outnumbered and outgunned. Do you think those soldiers would be so foolish as to throw eggs at a rock?"

"Alright, if you're here to fish, then sit down. If you're here to bother me, then get out of here."

Left with no other choice, Lin Shisan had to leave the banks of the Yangtze River.

Garrison Commander Xu Pengju ignored the matter, leaving Lin Shisan with no choice but to seek out the two co-garrison commanders, Marquis Li Tingzhu of Linhuai and Earl Liu Shiyan of Chengyi.

Li and Liu are practically the Ming Dynasty version of the Haier Brothers, always together. Coincidentally, the two recently went to Qingtian, Zhejiang, for a trip and haven't returned to the city yet.

Lin Shisan then went to find Yang Jinshui, the eunuch in charge of the garrison. Yang Jinshui was also not in the city; he had gone to Fengyang to discuss important military matters with Tang Shunzhi, the governor of Fengyang.

Lin Shisan then went to see Cai Kelian, the Minister of War in Nanjing. Old Cai was indeed at his residence, but he was so ill that he was barely breathing and could not even understand what was being said.

Left with no other choice, Lin Shisan had to go to the only person in Nanjing who was actually doing business—Huang Maoguan.

(End of this chapter)