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

Chapter 204 Inciting a Mutiny
In Huang Maoguan's eyes, Lin Shisan was a scoundrel who mingled among nobles and high-ranking officials, using his ability to eat, drink, and have fun to please them and seek personal gain.

The residence of the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue.

The servants announced that Lin Shisan requested an audience, but Huang Maoguan directly instructed his servants to relay the message: "Minister Huang is unwell today and is unable to receive guests."

Left with no other option, Lin Shisan resorted to his old trick: he forcefully stuffed a one-hundred-tael silver note into the servant's hand.

Unexpectedly, the servant's attitude changed: "I am a servant sold into servitude to the Huang family. Even if I have made a mistake, sir, I will not break the law even if you beat me to death."

"Do you know what the Huang family rules would be if I accepted your money? Sixty lashes!"

Indeed, if an honest official becomes honest to a certain extent, even his household servants will follow suit.

Lin Shisan said, "I have important business with Minister Huang! Can't you make an exception?"

The servant said sternly, "I've already told you, Minister Huang is not feeling well today."

Lin Shisan became anxious and shouted, "Huang Maoguan, if a mutiny breaks out in Nanjing, your health will suffer even more!"

"Something terrible is about to happen, and you're just turning a blind eye?"

The so-called Left Vice Minister's residence was nothing more than a clean and spacious courtyard house.

Lin Shisan shouted at the gate of the courtyard, and Huang Maoguan heard it clearly.

Before long, another servant came out of the gate: "Commander Lin, stop calling, my master invites you."

Lin Shisan followed his servant and rushed into the main hall of the Huang residence, where he met Huang Maoguan.

Huang Maoguan asked, "You just shouted that there was going to be a mutiny in Nanjing? What's going on?"

Lin Shisan told Huang Maoguan about the news concerning the Zhenwu Camp.

Upon hearing this, Huang Maoguan locked the door tightly: "A group of mysterious people have entered Zhenwu Camp, instigating discord between the soldiers and the imperial court?"

Lin Shisan nodded: "That's how it is."

Huang Maoguan asked, "Do you know where these people came from?"

Lin Shisan replied, "I'm sending people to investigate. It will take a day or two."

"Minister Huang, in my opinion, the soldiers of Zhenwu Camp are demoralized because the court has reduced their monthly military pay by one qian."

"Simply increase the military pay by one cent, and the morale of the troops will immediately stabilize."

"The Zhenwu Battalion has a strength of 5,000 men, and the Nanjing Ministry of Revenue will only spend an extra 500 taels of silver per month."

"If the Nanjing Ministry of Revenue can't even come up with these five hundred taels, then I'll pay for it!"

Upon hearing this, Huang Maoguan coldly asked, "Lin Shisan, how long have you been in officialdom?"

Lin Shisan replied, "It has been five years since the Tangtie Xiaowei was transferred to the registered staff in the thirty-fourth year of Jiajing."

Huang Maoguan rebuked Lin Shisan: "You're supposed to be someone who's been in officialdom for five years! Ming Dynasty officials using their own money to pay soldiers' salaries? What are you trying to do? Win over the soldiers, plot treason, or intend to rebel?"

"Once this gets out, no matter how many powerful backers you have, no one can protect you!"

"There is no precedent for this in the Ming Dynasty. The precedent I'm referring to is not officials paying soldiers out of their own pockets."

"It is a precedent where officials paid their own salaries without losing their heads!"

Even setting aside the law, what you've done sets a very bad precedent!

"If anyone with ulterior motives were to follow your example and use their own money to pay the soldiers, the consequences would be unimaginable."

Lin Shisan said, "Then what about the Nanjing Ministry of Revenue issuing official funds to increase salaries? I don't believe that such a large Nanjing Ministry of Revenue is short of five hundred taels of silver per month."

Huang Maoguan said, "The Nanjing Ministry of Revenue has a system for allocating silver! If you want to increase this amount of silver, the Nanjing garrison commander, the assistant garrison commander, the advisor on military affairs, and the officials of the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue must jointly submit a memorial to the court."

“The increase in wages can only be implemented after the imperial court approves it.”

"Although the Ministry of Revenue in Nanjing is large, every tael of silver spent must comply with the imperial court's fiscal system."

Huang Maoguan was a hardworking and reliable man, but he was not without his flaws. His flaw was his inflexibility.

On the other hand, after 192 years since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, many systems had collapsed and become tools for corrupt officials to seek personal gain. The collapse of the system lay in the word "adaptation".

Lin Shisan said, "Do you think a living person can be suffocated by five hundred taels of silver? Can you just stand by and watch the morale of the Zhenwu Camp waver and cause a disaster?"

Huang Maoguan said, "The best course of action now is for you to immediately find out the identities of those mysterious people who are sowing discord. Capture them all in one fell swoop."

Lin Shisan gritted his teeth: "Fine. I'll work tirelessly for the next few days to wipe out these bastards."

Upon returning to Dachanggan Street, Lin Shisan immediately ordered his comrades to use every means possible to gather information.

The next evening.

Uncle Zhang strode in: "I found it."

Lin Shisan hadn't slept for a day and a night. He stood up and asked anxiously, "Who are those people?"

Zhang Bo lowered his voice: "People from the Ministry of Justice's Arrest and Arrest Division."

Lin Shisan was taken aback: "Luo Longwen's men?"

Zhang Bo nodded.

Lin Shisan frowned: "Could it be that Luo Longwen's secret mission to Nanjing was to instigate a mutiny in the Zhenwu Battalion?"

"That doesn't make sense!"

What benefits would the Grand Secretary and the Junior Grand Secretary gain from the Zhenwu Camp mutiny?

Zhang Bo said, "If the Zhenwu Camp mutiny occurs, the court's first priority will be to deal with the garrison commander, the eunuch in charge of the garrison, the assistant garrison commander, and the advisor on state affairs."

"Could it be that one of these five people has offended Grand Secretary Yan or the Junior Grand Secretary? Are they planning to incite a coup and use the opportunity to suppress their political enemies?"

Lin Shisan calmly analyzed, "Commander Xu Pengju is a harmless and good person. He does only two things all day: fishing and horse racing."

"Such a hands-off manager would never interfere with the affairs of the Grand Secretaries and the Junior Grand Secretaries. How could they possibly have the time or inclination to suppress a hands-off manager?"

"The garrison eunuch Yang Jinshui is a person from the palace. People from the palace are those close to the emperor. Since ancient times, it has been said that one should not interfere with relatives even if they are distant. Yan Song and his son understood this principle well."

"Over the years, the Yan family has persecuted and killed countless people. When have they ever persecuted or killed any eunuchs? They certainly didn't do this to deal with Yang Jinshui."

"The two shrewd men, Li Tingzhu, the Marquis of Linhuai, and Liu Shiyan, the Earl of Chengyi, are very clever. Despite being nobles, they send people to the capital every year to deliver generous New Year's gifts to the Yan family."

Why would the Yan family target them?

"Not to mention the counselor and Minister of War, Lao Cai. Even if he offended the Yan family, would the Yan family need to take action now? With his illness, he won't last more than three months."

Zhang Bodao said, "If you look at it this way, the Yan family's instigation of Luo Longwen to incite a mutiny in the Zhenwu Camp had nothing to do with suppressing political enemies. So what was their purpose then?"

“Inciting a mutiny is a serious crime. Unless something threatens the fundamental interests of the Yan family, the Yan father and son will never take that risk.”

Lin Shisan said, "I'll go find Luo Longwen. After all, he's my second brother. I'll try to get some information from him."

Luo Longwen resided at the Huizhou Merchants Guild Hall in Nanjing.

He was originally a merchant from Shexian County, Huizhou, and living in the Huizhou Merchants Guild Hall was quite in line with his background.

The next morning, Lin Shisan went to the Huizhou Merchants Guild Hall and found Luo Longwen.

Luo Longwen laughed and said, "What brings you here, kid?"

Lin Shisan said, "Look at what you're saying, Second Brother. You've gone to all this time to come to Nanjing, and we're just going to go for a stroll on a pleasure boat and then never see each other again?"

“I’m just a lowly official with nothing better to do than sit around doing nothing all day. I’ve come to ask you for a drink, to chat and kill some time.” Luo Longwen nodded: “Sure. I’ll have the chef at the guild hall prepare some authentic Huizhou hometown dishes for lunch, so you can try them. Let’s have a good drink together.”

Lin Shisan subtly hinted, "Don't delay your second brother's business. I'm free, but you came to Nanjing specifically to handle important matters for the Grand Secretary and the Junior Grand Secretary."

"By the way, how's your serious business going?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than a man approached Luo Longwen, seemingly having something to report.

Luo Longwen waved his hand: "Go down first, we'll talk later."

Luo Longwen was clearly avoiding Lin Shisan.

Lin Shisan said, "Second Brother, if you haven't finished your business and still have to keep busy, I won't bother you any longer."

Luo Longwen replied, "It's alright. Don't go. There are people below handling things. I'm just sitting in the central command tent. Do you think I don't even have time to have a drink with my own brothers?"

Lin Shisan and Luo Longwen chatted idly.

Lin Shisan knew Luo Longwen's temperament well. He was usually very tight-lipped and never let his guard down.

Once someone has drunk too much, the iron bolt on the door will loosen.

Luo Longwen was well aware of this shortcoming of his. Therefore, he never drank heartily with people he didn't trust.

Around noon, the restaurant's chef prepared a meal of authentic Huizhou cuisine.

Huizhou cuisine emphasizes saltiness and freshness, with flavors leaning towards northern China. This meal for two was not extravagant, consisting mainly of Huizhou specialty dishes.

The first dish is the Three Treasures of Huizhou, made by stir-frying tofu cubes, dried bamboo shoots, and ham.

The second dish was bayberry dumplings. The third dish was beef rice crust. The fourth dish was preserved meat glutinous rice cake. The fifth dish was Xingmi tribute goose. The sixth dish was Bao Gong fish.

Originally, they were going to serve Huizhou Jia wine. This wine is a rice wine, sweet like sugar water, and not very strong. Lin Shisan was afraid that this wine wouldn't get Luo Longwen drunk.

Therefore, Lin Shisan said, "Let's have some Daughter's Red wine. Among the wines of Jiangnan, only Daughter's Red is palatable."

When the Daughter's Red wine was served, Lin Shisan started playing drinking games with Luo Longwen, drinking one cup after another, seemingly determined to drink until they were completely drunk.

Lin Shisan's alcohol tolerance is actually about the same as Luo Longwen's.

But he knew his own drinking habits. Lin Shisan's drinking habits were: if he drank too much, he would only have a headache and vomit, but his mind would remain perfectly clear.

After downing two bottles of Daughter's Red wine, Lin Shisan felt a churning in his stomach.

He glanced at Luo Longwen. Luo Longwen was already seven-tenths drunk and began to ramble incoherently: "Damn it, I can't stand our big brother's penchant for taking other men's wives."

“It’s immoral to steal someone’s wife. I’ve told him this so many times, but he just won’t listen to me.”

Lin Shisan hiccuped: "Hiccup. Second Brother, our eldest brother sent you all the way to Nanjing, hiccup, what exactly did you come here for?"

"What important matter requires the head of the Criminal Investigation Department to personally handle it?"

Luo Longwen, his eyes glazed over, said, "Ahem. Our elder brother hopes that the Zhenwu Camp can stage a mutiny. He wants me to incite the troops."

Lin Shisan asked, puzzled, "The capital is two thousand miles away from Nanjing. If those soldiers from the Zhenwu Camp were to mutiny, what good would it do for our elder brother?"

Luo Longwen laughed and said, "You're asking me? Who the hell am I supposed to ask! We're sworn brothers in name only, but in reality, we're master and servant. If a master tells a servant what to do, would the servant dare to pry?"

Lin Shisan said, "But, but this matter is too risky. Inciting a mutiny is a capital offense punishable by the extermination of nine generations of one's family."

Luo Longwen said, "Nonsense. How many dirty deeds have I done for the Yan family over the years that deserve to be punished with the extermination of nine generations of my family? I'm not afraid of adding one more."

Luo Longwen refused to reveal the reason for inciting the mutiny. Perhaps he truly didn't know.

Lin Shisan said, "But the soldiers of Zhenwu Camp aren't fools. They can't just mutini from a few words of encouragement, can they?"

Luo Longwen laughed and said, "You don't need to worry about that for me. In Nanjing, someone is helping me to force the Zhenwu Camp to rebel."

With a thud, Lin Shisan fell under the table. He wasn't pretending to be drunk; he was genuinely drunk.

Luo Longwen mocked him: "You, you idiot. If you can't drink, then don't drink. You're just being a busybody. Come on, come on. Quickly serve Commander Lin to help him rest."

Lin Shisan slept for a full five hours at the Huizhou Merchants' Guild Hall. He slept from the afternoon until midnight before waking up.

Fortunately, he remembered clearly the tips Luo Longwen had given him before he fell into a deep sleep.

Lin Shisan rubbed his temples and suddenly noticed a gentle and refined woman lying next to him.

The Huizhou Merchants' Guild Hall frequently hosted officials, providing them with a complete package of food, drink, and lodging. Consequently, the guild hall housed seven or eight exceptionally beautiful women.

The woman said softly, "Commander Lin, shall I serve you as you enter the port?"

It's said that wine is a catalyst for lust. But when a man drinks too much, he becomes like a limp willow catkin, utterly uninterested in sex.

Lin Shisan said, "You go to sleep. I need to hurry back to the manor. Otherwise, I'm afraid my wife will be looking for me all over Nanjing."

Lin Shisan rushed back to his residence on Dachanggan Street.

Uncle Zhang brought him a bowl of hangover soup.

Lin Shisan said, "Although this trip confirmed that Luo Longwen wanted to incite a mutiny, I couldn't find out why the Yan family instructed him to do so."

"Perhaps even Lao Luo himself doesn't know."

Uncle Zhang asked, "So what are your plans next?"

Lin Shisan said, "Naturally, it's to stop the mutiny. The situation at the front against the Japanese is dire, and Nanjing in the rear cannot afford any more chaos!"

Zhang Bodao: "You plan to arrest all those who are sowing discord in the military camp?"

Lin Shisan shook his head: "No way. Those are all Luo Longwen's men. Our men are all familiar with them."

"If I manage to catch even one or two, they'll run back and report to Luo Longwen. Wouldn't that be me openly opposing the Yan family?"

"The Emperor and Lu Bing sent me to get close to the Yan family so that I could be used at the most critical moment. If I break ties with the Yan family now, wouldn't all the effort I've put in be in vain?"

Zhang Bo said, "How can you stop the mutiny if you don't arrest people?"

Lin Shisan said, "We need to arrest the people. But not Luo Longwen's men. The soldiers of Zhenwu Camp won't mutini just because those people are inciting the enemy with their empty words."

"Luo Longwen said that he had helpers in Nanjing. They were helping to force the Zhenwu Battalion soldiers to rebel."

"As long as we find this person and arrest him, we can naturally stop the mutiny."

The following morning. The main hall of the Ministry of Revenue in Nanjing.

Fang Youshan, the Assistant Director of the Treasury, arrived at the main hall early and waited quietly for Huang Maoguan, the Vice Minister of the Left, to take his seat while drinking tea.

The position of Assistant Director of the Treasury was a crucial one. They were in charge of both the treasury and the external allocation of public funds.

In the entire Ministry of Revenue, only two people were the most diligent, showing up at the hall every day to report for duty. One was Huang Maoguan, and the other was Fang Youshan.

The difference is that Huang Maoguan was diligent because he was dedicated to public service, while Fang Youshan was diligent in order to facilitate bribery.

Fang Youshan had initially become a disciple of Wan Cai, a key figure in Yan's faction. Wan Cai planned to promote him to a position in the Ministry of Revenue.

Fang Youshan, however, believed that since the Ministry of Revenue was under the emperor's nose, it was inconvenient for them to make money.

He actually took the initiative to request a transfer to the Ministry of Revenue in Nanjing, a seemingly leisurely government office.

The Nanjing Ministry of Revenue was inconspicuous, and embezzling money from it was even less conspicuous.

In his view, the highest level of corruption and bribery is: to slip in silently like the wind in the night, nourishing things without a sound.

(End of this chapter)