Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 196 Qiaoqin and Tianjin's Mission
"You want me to take a concubine?" Lu Wenzhao widened his eyes in shock, but he quickly reacted.

When a father-in-law Taishan arranges for his son-in-law to take a concubine, it is most likely to be through the son-in-law as a bridge to another family's marriage. This is also known as a bridge marriage.

The in-law relationship formed through this kind of marriage is weaker than marrying one's son to the other's daughter, but it is also relatively safer. At least if three clans are implicated, one's own clan will not be implicated. Of course, if nine or even ten clans are implicated, there is no way to deal with it.

"I'm not asking you to take a concubine. Whether this thing will succeed depends mainly on your own decision." Hai Zhentao said with a smile. Although he was half a son-in-law, in the end, Hai Zhentao was only Lu Wenzhao's father-in-law, not Lu Wenzhao's biological father. If Lu Wenzhao refused to take a concubine, he couldn't force him to agree by holding his head down.

"Which family is the girl from?" Lu Wenzhao asked.

"She's the niece of Lord Luo, the head of the guards. Although she's just a concubine's daughter, this marriage is a blessing many would beg for." Hai Zhentao replied, "Not long ago, the eldest son of the Luo family, also known as Captain Luo or Luo Jingli, approached me about this matter and said he's interested in marrying Miss Luo to you. I think he's impressed by your abilities. What do you think?"

"Luo Jingli was promoted from General Flag Officer to Captain? Is the Chief Guardian about to retire?" Lu Wenzhao's first reaction was that Luo Sigong was retiring, and Luo Yangxing would inherit his hereditary Captain position. Luo Sigong was the pillar of the Luo family; if he retired, the Luo family would be doomed. With a new Chief Guardian taking over, Luo Yangxing, a Captain, would likely lose even the actual position of a Captain in the Jingli Department.

"Of course not!" Hai Zhentao quickly denied. "The Emperor may be a new ruler, but the Luo family still enjoys their favor. Luo Jingli didn't just inherit the title of Thousand Households, but was promoted four levels in a row. It can be said that he's at the peak of his career. A marriage like this will only benefit you. As a family, if there's a good opportunity that requires merit or money in the future, they'll think of you instead of others." Hai Zhentao was surprisingly frank. "Of course, thanks to you, the Hai family can also benefit from being closer to Lord Luo."

Marriages in the Ming Dynasty were often based on no emotional connection. Lu Wenzhao's original intention for Hai Rou's marriage wasn't to become her husband, but rather to become Hai Zhentao's son-in-law. To put it bluntly, Lu Wenzhao's desperate pursuit of the Hai family's marriage was to establish connections with the chief official, thereby quickly inheriting his father's position.

Now that he could take a concubine to get close to Luo Sigong, the head of the imperial guards, he was naturally willing to do so. However, after a few years of getting along, he had developed feelings for Hai Rou that went beyond just "a ladder to climb up." So, Lu Wenzhao said, "Since we're taking a concubine, we should probably ask Hai Rou's opinion first."

"As long as you nod. Let her take care of it. Why ask her opinion?" Hai Zhentao said with a smile. In Hai Zhentao's opinion, when Lu Wenzhao asked this question, it basically meant he agreed.

It can be said that marriage never connects two people, but two families. The so-called "asking the wife when taking a concubine" is not actually asking the wife herself, but symbolically asking the wife's father or the wife's eldest brother for their opinion, to show the equality and closeness between the husband's and wife's families.

"Then I'll have to trouble Lord Taishan to worry about it." After a moment of silence, Lu Wenzhao nodded.

"Hahaha." Hai Zhentao laughed a few times, then patted Lu Wenzhao's shoulder with satisfaction. "Then it's settled. I'll take you to visit the Luo Mansion sometime and also go through the formalities of buying a concubine. Next year, Miss Luo will hold her coming-of-age ceremony. When the time comes, you can hire a sedan chair to take her back."

"Even though you're buying a concubine, she's still a daughter of the Luo family. You need to have enough money. You can't let the head guard think you're ignorant. I know you don't have much money. Here!" Hai Zhentao pulled an envelope from his pocket. "Here's one thousand taels. Take it to the bank and exchange it for cash. Then find a few people to carry it to the Luo family and say you paid for the concubine yourself. Don't mention me."

"My son-in-law will definitely pay it back as soon as possible." Lu Wenzhao did not refuse. Although both were concubines, the difference between taking a daughter from a poor family and a concubine from an official family was completely different. Taking a daughter from a poor family usually only required a dozen or twenty taels to complete the ceremony of buying a concubine, but taking a concubine from an official family required a considerable amount of money. This was not to say that the concubines of officials were more valuable, but that they had to save face. In the four words "the ceremony of buying a concubine", the poor family valued "buying", while the officials valued "ritual".

"We're all family. I've always treated you like my own son." Hai Zhentao smiled and waved his hand, saying, "It's too polite to say you won't return it. Just keep it."

"How can I accept this!" Lu Wenzhao shook his head repeatedly and refused to accept it.

"Stop talking, that's it," Hai Zhentao said in an unquestionable tone. The position of East Office Assistant was a lucrative one, second only to the Commander-in-Chief's Office and the Northern Pacification Office's Pacification Commissioner within the Jinyiwei system.

"Then my son-in-law..." Lu Wenzhao paused and said, "It is a gift from the elders, and I dare not refuse it."

"That's right." Hai Zhentao nodded, then coughed twice to clear his throat. "We've finished talking about personal matters, now it's time to talk about business."

Upon hearing this, Lu Wenzhao immediately put on a solemn expression. "Sir, please speak."

"There are two official business items." Hai Zhentao raised two fingers and waved them in front of Lu Wenzhao, then put away his middle finger and said, "The first one is the task assigned by the emperor to the chief guard."

Then, Hai Zhentao briefly told Lu Wenzhao about the layoffs and layoffs.

"This is what's going on," Hai Zhentao concluded. "The Emperor wants to cut redundant officials from this guard and increase the salaries of those who remain. The Chief Guard intends to start with the Southern Division, completely replacing it first, and then using its authority to launch a 'Jingchao' (imperial inspection) of the current officers. The Chief Guard has decided to assign me to the Southern Division, holding the seal of the Pacification Commissioner and taking charge of this matter."

"Congratulations, father-in-law!" After Hai Zhentao said this, Lu Wenzhao immediately praised him.

"Oh? How do you mean?" Hai Zhentao looked at Lu Wenzhao with a testing look.

"The fact that Commander Luo is still in control of such a major matter shows that he is truly trusted by the emperor. And the fact that he has asked you to take the lead in this matter further demonstrates his trust in you." Lu Wenzhao paused, remaining silent for a moment before continuing, "But your son-in-law would like to boldly give you a reminder."

"If you have something to say, just say it. There's no need to be daring." Hai Zhentao gave Lu Wenzhao an encouraging smile.

"I would like to ask Lord Taishan to do his job impartially and not show favoritism." Lu Wenzhao said.

"Ha, I haven't even started my mission yet, and you already know I won't be impartial?" Hai Zhentao teased, but he didn't mean to blame. "That's why I'm so bold. Your Excellency Taishan is honest and upright, as all can see. But you should be even more cautious on this mission." Lu Wenzhao was about to explain when Hai Zhentao interrupted him.

Hai Zhentao sighed softly and said, "You're indeed much smarter than my stupid son. All he cares about is money. His first reaction when he heard about this was that this was a great opportunity to make money or gain favors. Bullshit! It would have been fun if he'd pulled out a knife."

It's no wonder Hai Bokang thought this way. The emperor wanted to cut redundant staff, meaning to reduce the number of officials on the payroll. As for who would stay and who would leave, the emperor had no way of deciding who would be retained. He could only retain the supreme decision-making power of one vote for or one vote against, and delegated the power of judgment to the officials in charge.

Generally speaking, laying off people while retaining them is a lucrative position. As long as it is not too outrageous and old men or children who cannot lift a knife are not allowed to serve in front of the emperor, there will not be any big problems.

But this time was completely different. The emperor couldn't see, but someone was watching for him. The Western Depot had been re-established, its job being to monitor the Imperial Guard. Even if the Western Depot wasn't keeping a close watch, there were still so many censors watching. Now the Eastern Depot and the Imperial Guard were completely disconnected. If a letter of impeachment was delivered, there wouldn't even be anyone to speak up for him in front of the emperor.

At present, Hai Zhentao clearly knew that the only person who had an affair with the high-ranking eunuch in the palace was Tian Ergeng. However, Tian Ergeng had already broken off relations with Luo Sigong. If anything went wrong, Tian Ergeng would definitely punish Luo Sigong to death.

At this time, committing crimes against the law and trying to make money by currying favors is almost the same as seeking death.

Seeing Hai Zhentao figured it out on his own, Lu Wenzhao breathed a sigh of relief. Hai Zhentao had never met the palace's high-ranking eunuchs, but he had. Not only were these people all-powerful, but each one was more clever than the last. If Hai Zhentao truly misbehaved, lost the emperor's favor, or even incurred the wrath of heaven, the palace might even use the Hai family's connections to target him.

"What about the other official business? Do you want my son-in-law to lead a team to capture the people from Nansi?" Lu Wenzhao asked.

"No. If I ask you to arrest someone from the Southern Division, then there's only one thing. You don't need to worry about the Southern Division's mission for the time being. Besides, that's next year's matter, so there's no rush now." Hai Zhentao shook his head, then fixed his expression, stared into Lu Wenzhao's eyes, and asked seriously, "Have you ever been to Tianjin before?"

"Yes, I received an order from the Chief Guard to go to Tianjin to capture Zhang Shirui." Lu Wenzhao asked doubtfully, "What happened?"

"How much money did you receive from the Tianjin Wei Commander?" Hai Zhentao did not answer immediately, but asked back.

Officials from other provinces, both civil and military, would pay the usual tribute to the Imperial Uniform Guards upon seeing them arrive from Beijing. Even if nothing happened, the Imperial Uniform Guards would still find fault with them even if the case they were investigating had nothing to do with them. After all, few officials were clean these days. A decade or so ago, when the mining tax eunuchs were rampant, the Imperial Uniform Guards would arrest even the most honest local officials, bring them to Beijing for trial, and sometimes torture them to death. This only made the Imperial Uniform Guards even more notorious.

"I really didn't confiscate it." Lu Wenzhao denied. "Hiss! What was the commander's name?"

"Shen Caiyu," Hai Zhentao reminded him. "Born in the third year of the Longqing reign, he inherited the title of Qianhu (a hereditary centurion) from Emperor Chengzu's generation. Before his father died, he passed the military examination. But he has no military achievements, so it's safe to say he's never fought in a battle, let alone killed innocent people and claimed credit. He was able to rise to the position of Commander of Tianjin Garrison, most likely through connections with the military, but exactly when and through whom he got involved is still unknown. Perhaps we'd have to ask him personally."

"Master Taishan knows him?" Lu Wenzhao was a little surprised. The Tianjin Garrison Commander had said he was a third-rank official, but such a third-rank official wouldn't have caught the eye of a fourth-rank official like Hai Zhentao. But now, not only was he in, but he was deeply involved, clearly having been investigated.

"Just found out." Hai Zhentao replied, then immediately pressed, "Don't lie to me about this. Tianjin Wei, at the very least, is the last checkpoint for grain ships heading north. All grain, taxes, and silver must pass through here. It's a big place. If you go there to find someone, you can't help but ask for the assistance of the Tianjin Wei Command. If he sees you, there's no way he won't give you the money. Even if you don't ask for it, he will definitely give it to you."

"He gave it to me, but I really didn't take it." Lu Wenzhao replied solemnly, "This is what happened. We arrived at Tianjin that night. At that time, the gate of the city was already closed. I used the Jinyiwei badge to open the gate and sent people to the Commandery to find Shen Caiyu for help. But this family gave me two thousand taels of silver right away. Even as a filial gift, it was too much. I felt it was wrong, so I didn't dare to accept it. I asked him to go back and exchange it for the usual amount, but before he came back, my brothers found Zhang Shirui. As you know, we returned with the man at dawn the next morning."

"Not even a tael of silver was confiscated?" Hai Zhentao was still a little suspicious.

"Really? I found him visiting prostitutes in the government office. I was worried he'd get into trouble if I took his money." Lu Wenzhao nodded solemnly. "Originally, I wanted to take the regular payment, but after arresting him, I changed my mind and didn't send anyone back to collect it."

Hai Zhentao believed it and praised him: "Good boy! Well done!"

"Lord Taishan, did anything happen in Tianjin?" Lu Wenzhao asked.

"Tianjin is going to abolish the Wei and change it into a prefecture." Hai Zhentao said.

"The Emperor has issued an order to the Chief Guard. He wants the Imperial Guard to thoroughly investigate the three Tianjin Guards. He's divided the work into three parts, and I'll take the Tianjin Guards." Hai Zhentao took another sip of his teacup, which had already cooled. "Shen Caiyu must be imprisoned. I was originally planning to have you kill him to prevent him from accusing you. But since you confiscated his money, you must bring him to justice. Whether he's been soliciting prostitutes in the government, collecting salaries without working, taking lives without a care, or embezzling grain, he must be punished to death."

"What if other people are implicated?" Lu Wenzhao asked.

"He's just a guard commander. Even if he wants to jump up, he can't reach it." Hai Zhentao said disdainfully: "We'll do what needs to be done. You do this job and make sure he's in good hands."

"Yes, sir." Lu Wenzhao clasped his fists.

(End of this chapter)