Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 232 Lu Wenzhao leaves Beijing

"Cut it off." Just as Wang An was about to ask, Wei Chao, who had already arranged for the emperor's rest, returned to the Southern Study. As soon as he entered, the door of the Southern Study was closed by the eunuch on duty.

"What do you want to cut?" Wei Chao had a flattering smile on his face.

"Oh. I really want to chop you up, you old bastard." Although Wang An could probably guess why Wei Chao was so eager to please him, he still felt a sense of displeasure in his heart that the situation was beyond his expectations.

"Ah?" Wei Chao didn't understand what was going on, but he instinctively shrank his head.

"Why don't you quickly thank our Chief Wei?" Wang An turned his head to look at Liu Ruoyu and said.

Liu Ruoyu then stood up and bowed to Wei Chao. "Thank you, Wei Ancestor, for your recommendation and support."

"It's okay, it's okay. Why be so polite? Just like His Majesty said, when promoting people of talent, one should not avoid relatives." Wei Chao didn't know Wang An's concerns, so he didn't hear Wang An's ridicule. He climbed up the ladder according to his own ideas, and when he spoke, he didn't forget to steal a glance at Wang An's expression. "Junior brother. We are all serving the master, His Majesty, now. There is no need to call me ancestor, let alone call yourself a slave. If you don't mind, just call me Brother Wei."

"." Liu Ruoyu didn't respond. What Wang An said before was still quite inspiring and touching to him.

Eunuch Wei had flattered him into the Imperial Household Department by recommending him, and now he was saying this again, clearly trying to curry favor with his senior brother and bring him into the so-called "relative" category. His senior brother, however, was fickle, giving him lectures, not only warning him not to get carried away by his sudden rise to power, but also telling him that "forming cliques is taboo and should not be tolerated."

"Let's talk about changing our words after the badge is made." Wang An said calmly.

"Oh. How much effort does it take to make a waist badge?" Wei Chao wanted to continue climbing, but was interrupted by Wang An.

"Liu Ruoyu, tell our Chief Wei what you think." Wang An didn't scold Wei Chao, but directly changed the subject. "Wei Chao, why are you still standing there? Is the matter done?"

"Oh, okay." Wei Chao felt that Wang An seemed a little unhappy, but he didn't know why. He simply followed the invitation and sat back down in the seat opposite Wang An and got down to business.

"I would like to ask the ancestor a question first." Liu Ruoyu lightly emphasized the three words "ancestor".

"You say." Wang An nodded with satisfaction.

"Is the inner court going to increase its salary?" Liu Ruoyu asked.

"Where did you hear that?" Wang An asked. "This news shouldn't have been released yet."

"There are indeed many rumors out there, one of which is that salaries will be raised, but people generally don't believe it. I am just guessing." Liu Ruoyu explained: "Your Majesty said that after cutting redundant staff, the total expenditure of the inner court will be less than before the cuts. This statement is a bit strange, so I think so."

"Yes. It's time to increase your salary. From now on, you can receive 250 taels of silver every month." Wang An picked up his pen and began to deal with the backlog of memorials.

"So much! Did I hear it wrong? Isn't it two hundred and fifty taels per year?" Liu Ruoyu's eyes were as big as copper bells.

"The eunuchs who hold the imperial pen receive three thousand taels of silver annually. This is the second tier. However, after receiving this payment, they are not allowed to accept gifts or other customary contributions." Wang An used a small brush to apply a thin layer of paste to the back of the written note and affixed it to the cabinet's draft. He then replaced it with a new memorial and, following the emperor's red-ink comments, added explanations. The new one was more detailed and needed no further clarification, so Wang An set it aside and picked up another from the pile.

"Don't stop. Keep talking, we can hear you." For Wang An, multitasking is a basic skill.

"Okay. This idea of ​​mine is not only to implement the tasks assigned by the master as soon as possible, but also to reduce expenses in line with the will of the master." Liu Ruoyu roughly understood the basic idea of ​​this inner court reform: to curb corruption and waste by raising salaries, and to balance the additional expenses caused by salary increases in a short period of time by cutting redundancies.

"What's the idea?" Wei Chao was also able to do two things at once, but his efficiency was much lower than Wang An's.

"Cut off or reduce unnecessary vacancies," Liu Ruoyu explained briefly. "I just said we should bring the clerks from the Imperial Household Department over to the Imperial Household Department to help with the overstaffing."

"This is like investigating yourself, which won't work." Wei Chao also said.

"What the Wei ancestor said is correct." Liu Ruoyu did not refute, but followed Wei Chao's words and continued: "So this servant thought, we should transfer the clerks of the Internal Affairs Bureau directly instead of loaning them to the Imperial Household Department. In this way, these clerks will no longer be people of the Internal Affairs Bureau, but people of the Imperial Household Department. Then, when the personnel are transferred, the official positions will be vacant. But this time, after the vacancies are vacant, we will not fill them from higher levels, but directly dismiss them. Anyway, these jobs have already been taken by the Imperial Household Department."

Wang An thought for a moment, then agreed without further questioning, saying, "That's a good idea. Let's do it. But you should write a proposal first and show it to the Emperor tomorrow. Once he agrees, you can do it."

"Actually," Liu Ruoyu felt himself entering a state of bursting inspiration and overflowing with ideas. "This isn't limited to the Imperial Household Department."

"What do you mean?" Wang An put down his pen and looked up. He was no longer multitasking.

"What I mean is that some government offices have no need to continue to exist." Once Liu Ruoyu was put to use, he wanted to work his way up from humble beginnings to become a successful figure, and he wanted to use all his talents immediately.

"Cut off the government office? You really dare to fight and kill." Wang An had a new understanding of his junior brother. "Tell me about it."

"Grandpa Taizu divided the internal affairs offices into twelve bureaus, four departments, and eight bureaus, each with a dedicated eunuch in charge. While this division is meticulous and thorough, it's simply too numerous. Furthermore, many offices have overlapping functions. I think we should take this opportunity to make drastic changes, merging the offices with overlapping responsibilities into one, and then eliminating high-ranking positions like eunuchs, junior eunuchs, deputy eunuchs, chief eunuchs, ambassadors, and deputy ambassadors." After this, Liu Ruoyu asked, "Shouldn't the salaries of these positions be low?"

"Eight hundred taels for the fourth rank, six hundred taels for the fourth rank, four hundred taels for the fifth rank, and two hundred taels for the fifth rank." Wang An frowned slightly.

"That's right. The eunuchs in some yamen have only the job of clearing the roads and leading the way for the emperor. If His Majesty doesn't leave the Forbidden City, they have absolutely nothing to do. Paying them eight hundred taels a year is too much of an honor and a waste. Yamen like this should be directly abolished and downgraded, and turned into a department or bureau under a certain prison, and the person in charge of this prison can be in charge of it. There is no need to set up separate ranks, increase salaries, and waste money." Liu Ruoyu spoke faster and faster.

"Are you referring to the Chief Supervisor?" Wei Chao also put down the pen in his hand.

The Duzhijian, who originally oversaw the transfers of various eunuchs from the Imperial Household Department and the inspection of all customs and branches, held a position of exceptional rank. The title "Duzhi" also dates back to the Song Dynasty, referring to the highest rank of eunuch. It was said that "Dudu and Duzhi were the highest-ranking eunuchs." However, starting with Emperor Xuanzong's reign, the Silijian (official eunuch) rapidly rose to prominence with the establishment of the "red-approval system." Like the Neiguanjian (official eunuch), the Duzhijian's high-ranking functions were also usurped by the Silijian. The Duzhijian was reduced to merely "clearing the roads and leading the imperial court." "I only used the Duzhijian as an example; there are many such offices. If we want to save money, we must not only cut redundant work in craftsmanship and procurement, but also make sweeping changes to less prestigious offices like the Duzhijian (official eunuch), the Zhidianjian (official eunuch), the Sishejian (official eunuch), and the Baochaosi (official treasure banknote bureau). Eliminate those positions that hold the title of eunuch but do not fulfill their duties." Liu Ruoyu's eyes blazed with rage.

"That makes sense," Wang An nodded slightly. A similar thought had actually crossed his mind.

According to the old system, each of the Twelve Wards was to have at least one eunuch of the fourth rank, two left and right eunuchs of the fourth rank, and two left and right eunuchs of the fifth rank. This meant that the annual salary of the eunuchs in charge of the Twelve Wards alone was 2,800 taels, bringing the total for the Twelve Wards to 33,600 taels. If the new system were to be implemented, the annual expenditure would undoubtedly be much higher.

For example, the Imperial Household Department had over a dozen sub-offices in charge of construction or storage, including the Rice and Salt Depot, the Construction Depot, and the Imperial Altar Depot. The chief officials of these offices, without exception, all held the title of eunuch of the Imperial Household Department. If they were also paid 800 taels of silver per year, the salary expenses would be enormous.

"These servants in the yamen haven't done anything wrong. They're doing their jobs well. It's not fair to just dismiss or demote them without any explanation, is it?" Wei Chao seemed hesitant and vacant. In reality, these impoverished yamen officials had little opportunity to make money, and even committing crimes was difficult.

"It is better to suffer a short pain than a long one. Let's take advantage of this fire and burn it all away in one go. If the salary is paid according to the salary system, it will be even more difficult to change it." Liu Ruoyu said.

"Master! Don't be afraid of offending others." Wang An's heart was moved. He felt this was an opportunity to show his loyalty to the emperor, so he said, "Tomorrow I will present this matter with you."

Wei Chao had no intention of being stubborn. Seeing Wang An's resolute tone, he followed suit. However, he did not directly agree with him, but smiled and nodded at Liu Ruoyu in a friendly manner.

------

Doctor Liu's medicine was clearly effective. After a few doses, Zhang Shirui's fever subsided. Once her condition stabilized, Ding Baiying formally bid Zhang Shirui farewell and left the Zhang residence, taking the money she had earned over the past few months and the wooden pot Zhang Shirui had bought her at a high price.

After a few detours, she entered an alleyway and then a few steps down a winding, straight road to her senior brother Lu Wenzhao's residence. Honestly, Ding Baiying really didn't want to come here, but she still needed Lu Wenzhao's help. So, she bit the bullet, bearing gifts, and came to pay him a visit.

Arriving at the door, Ding Baiying let out two long breaths and weighed the gift in his hand. Finally, without hesitation, he walked forward and knocked on the door of Lu's residence.

The one who opened the door was Ah Jiu, the only maid in the Lu residence. "Excuse me, are you Miss Ding?" Ah Jiu thought for a moment and recalled the identity of the visitor.

"I'm Ding Baiying." Ding Baiying smiled and nodded. "Excuse me, is Captain Lu here?"

She heard the news of Lu Wenzhao's promotion from Zhu Shangshi.

Hai Rou heard the noise and quickly put down the novel in her hand and came out to greet him. "Junior Sister Ding, come in and sit down." Hai Rou seemed very enthusiastic.

"Hello, sister-in-law." Ding Baiying handed the rice, flour, grain and oil in his hand to Ajiu, and then bowed politely.

"Hello, Junior Sister Ding." Hai Rou was startled, then returned the greeting.

"Senior Brother is out?" Ding Baiying stood outside the threshold, with no intention of going in.

"There's no point in standing outside and talking. Come in and sit down." Hai Rou came to Ding Baiying, took her arm, and then said to Ajiu, "Ajiu, serve the young lady some tea."

Ding Baiying didn't want to go in, but Hai Rou held her arm and she was too embarrassed to break free, so she gave in to Hai Rou and followed her into the gate of Lu's house.

"Isn't senior brother here?" Ding Baiying looked around.

"He's out on some errand," Hazel replied. "It would have been better if you had come a little earlier."

"Then when will he come back?" Ding Baiying asked.

"I don't know. He never tells me about official business, and I don't ask." Hai Rou blushed and shook her head regretfully. "I only know he left the capital. It might be a long time before he returns."

"Leaving Beijing? How could that be! He had previously offered to take me to meet General Qin." Besides this, Ding Baiying had another question he wanted to ask Lu Wenzhao.

"General Qin, which General Qin?" Hai Rou asked.

"The Sichuan Shizhu Envoy and Tusi General Qin Liangyu. Sister-in-law, haven't you heard of her?" Ding Baiying didn't want to face Hai Rou directly, so he turned slightly sideways.

"No." Hai Rou rarely asked about these violent events, but she was very curious, and Ding Baiying's words piqued her interest. "What do you want to do with General Qin?"

"Go north to Liaodong and join the army to serve my country." Ding Baiying replied: "I have some martial arts skills. Instead of earning money by traveling back and forth as a bodyguard, it is better for me to join the army and serve my country on the front line to earn military merit. Maybe I can even be awarded an official title and leave my name in history." She sighed and said in a rather complaining tone: "Senior brother said before that he would help introduce me, but now he left without even saying goodbye. Really..."

"Join the army to serve your country. Won't your family arrange a husband for you?" Hai Rou took the teacup from the tray brought by Ajiu and handed it in front of Ding Baiying.

"As for me, ha." Ding Baiying smiled calmly, neither sad nor happy. "One person's food feeds the whole family."

The smile on Hazel's face froze. "Sorry."

"Don't worry, sister-in-law." Ding Baiying shook her head slightly. Then she picked up the teacup, pressed her lips against the rim, and took a sip politely. She stood up and said, "Since my senior brother is not here, I'll find a way myself. Goodbye, sister-in-law."

Hai Rou quickly stood up, held Ding Baiying's shoulders, and said, "Don't be in a hurry to leave. I can help you."

(End of this chapter)