Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 278 Gong You Manufacturing Factory

Wang An smiled and said, "Why be so polite, Prime Minister? It's a piece of cake." The rice spoon and bowl were both in Wang An's hands. If Wang An didn't give them to him, Fang Congzhe would not be able to serve himself.

"Then I feel guilty about it." In the end, Fang Congzhe was forced to accept the rice handed to him by Wang An.

Unlike dining at home, dining with the emperor was an honor, but not an easy experience. The dining table in the Southern Study was small, and the dishes on it were few. To prevent the two pairs of chopsticks from colliding, Fang Congzhe kept his eyes fixed on the rise and fall of the imperial chopsticks, and only when the emperor's chopsticks were raised did he quickly ditch them.

"Fang Qing."

"I'm here!" Fang Congzhe shrugged his shoulders at the emperor's sudden call, as his mind was highly concentrated.

"Haha." Zhu Changluo chuckled. "There are two things going on in Tianjin. I'll tell you, please listen and remember."

"Yes." Fang Congzhe shifted his focus and the frequency of picking up chopsticks slowed down a lot.

"The first one is about the interrogation of the criminals in the Commandery." Zhu Changluo asked, "Do you still remember Sun Qing's memorial?"

"Remember." Fang Congzhe nodded.

"Okay." Zhu Changluo continued eating, his conversation not slowing him down much. "The cabinet's proposal is to hand it over to the court for trial and presumption of guilt. I don't think this is necessary. Since the offenders are all military officers, and this case was previously handled by the Imperial Guard, we'll follow Sun Qing's instructions and let the Northern Pacification Office handle the case."

Fang Congzhe was stunned. "Yes."

Sun Chengzong's memorial hadn't been approved yet. If the cabinet drafted a new bill on the matter, it would be a change of bill. Fang Congzhe had no personal stance on the matter. If the emperor ordered it to be changed, then so be it. The only downside was that changing the bill would easily lead to criticism. However, since the emperor had already treated him to a meal, a little criticism was worth it. After all, the cabinet's daily work, besides drafting bills, was also subject to criticism.

"The second thing," Zhu Changluo continued, "is to integrate the Three Guards, clean up the military settlements, and establish model troops. All of these things require silver. The Tianjin Guard Treasury is empty of silver and cloth, only stale grain and rotten chaff. We can't get anything done with this. The Cabinet will draft an edict tomorrow. Allow Sun Qing to use the confiscated funds for his own use, without having to transport them to the capital."

Fang Congzhe did not agree immediately, but asked: "How much is the stolen money?"

"It hasn't been formally confiscated yet, so I don't know." Zhu Changluo thought for a moment and guessed, "Tianjin is a vital thoroughfare, after all. If everything is confiscated, and then sold, there should still be over 100,000 or 200,000 taels of silver."

"That's a lot of money," Fang Congzhe suggested. "We should send an imperial censor to oversee it. That way, Sun Zhisheng won't have to listen to the censors' nagging."

"Alright." Zhu Changluo nodded slightly and said, "Let Zhang Wenda select a suitable censor. Wang An, send some people from the palace to investigate the site of the factory as well."

Zhu Changluo decided to establish some "palace-owned" factories with the palace's funding. This would absorb the excess labor force in the capital region, dominate and regulate the market, and increase the central government's fiscal capacity. Before the anti-corruption campaign within the inner court was launched, allowing eunuchs to develop industries in the local areas would likely have been treated as a mining tax, resulting in a chaotic mess and the eunuchs would have taken the lion's share.

"Yes." Wang An, who was standing beside him, responded immediately.

"Explain it clearly to them. Let them learn from the recent events and not to interfere in local affairs under the guise of the palace, which would bring discredit to the palace." Zhu Changluo said coldly.

"Yes!"

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After eating for a while, Zhu Changluo put down his chopsticks. Fang Congzhe strictly controlled the rhythm and speed of eating. When the emperor stopped eating, he would finish eating and put down his chopsticks.

"Fang Qing, have you used it?" Zhu Changluo asked with a smile.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace." Fang Congzhe bowed deeply. "I will use it."

Zhu Changluo looked at Fang Congzhe, suddenly put away his smile, and asked seriously: "What do you think of Wen Qiu?"

Fang Congzhe was startled and silent for a long time before he managed to utter a word: "He took office in Jiliao in September of the 47th year of the Wanli reign."

Wenqiu took office after the previous governor of Ji and Liao, Wang Keshou, was dismissed and returned home following the disastrous defeat at Sarhu. Fang Congzhe's implication was that even if military expenditures in Ji, Liao, Baoding, and other places were not adequately managed, it would not be his fault.

"What nonsense!" Zhu Changluo didn't give Fang Congzhe any room for witty remarks. "I'm asking what you think of him, not when he took office."

Fang Congzhe had no choice but to say, "Based on my impression, Wenqiu has traveled extensively in the region for 25 years, has made outstanding achievements, and is known for his integrity and leadership. He is a capable official who can be employed."

"Then why do your people want to impeach him?" Zhu Changluo said quietly.

Fang Congzhe was truly devastated. He hadn't instigated the impeachment of Wen Qiu; he hadn't even learned of it until Liu Yirong's draft opinion reached him. He was mildly shocked at the time. Liu Yirong's draft proposal called for a joint imperial envoy, consisting of the Imperial Guard, the Censor of the Censorate, the Director of the Ministry of War, and the Censor-in-Chief of the Military Affairs Department, to investigate the Ji-Liao Governor-General's office to determine if Wen Qiu had engaged in corruption during his two years in office.

"I don't want any mistakes regarding the Liaodong issue." Zhu Changluo returned to the imperial desk, picked up a leaflet, and said in a flat voice, "This is Wenqiu's resignation letter. You should have read it. He said he was exhausted and ill from overwork, and couldn't handle such a heavy responsibility." At this point, Zhu Changluo handed the letter to Fang Congzhe and said, "Take it. Write a good letter in the name of the cabinet. Don't let him abandon his post at this time."

"Yes." Fang Congzhe took the resignation form respectfully.

"Okay, nothing else to do." Zhu Changluo stretched stiffly, turned his head and said to Wang An, "It's getting late, send a team to escort Fang Qing home."

"Yes." Wang An replied.

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Half a minute later, Wang An returned to the Southern Study and saw that the Emperor and Wei Chao had already left. He then approached Liu Ruoyu and asked, "Which palace did His Majesty visit?"

Liu Ruoyu closed the last memorial, stood up and said, "In reply to the old ancestor, it is in the east room."

"Okay, let's go to the Imperial Household Department." Since the emperor didn't leave the Qianqing Palace, he didn't need to make any additional arrangements. Shi Fuming would take care of everything.

"Yes." Liu Ruoyu responded while instructing the eunuchs on duty in the hall to turn off the lights and charcoal and pay attention to fire prevention.

"Senior Brother." After leaving the Southern Study, Liu Ruoyu's way of addressing Wang An changed immediately. "Who are you planning to send to Tianjin?" "Why?" Wang An glanced at Liu Ruoyu. "Do you have anyone to recommend?"

"Second Senior Brother came to me, hoping to find a real job." Liu Ruoyu said, "I thought we were all fellow disciples, so I think he should be trustworthy."

Wang An was stunned for a moment. He didn't immediately respond, but said, "Why don't you go to the Shang Ancestor's house and take a look?"

"Ancestor Shang?" Liu Ruoyu looked puzzled.

"Old Shang had three sons, but with the exception of Yang Songquan, none of them were useful. Previously, Liang Yong and Chen Feng were sent to other places to open mines and collect taxes, but they plundered the land and incurred public outrage. Now they've been liquidated, and the old man, who had lived a life of integrity, has lost his integrity in his later years and is now in tears. He used to be such a healthy man, proficient in all kinds of weapons, including swords, spears, sticks, and clubs. Even in his old age, he could still wield a sword skillfully."

"But when I went to see him during the New Year holidays, he was completely emaciated, lying in bed and unable to stand up. I'm afraid he doesn't have much time left." Wang An stopped and turned to look at Liu Ruoyu. "Godfather is in peace now, so please don't write anything on his tombstone."

"Second Brother is not such a person, right?" Liu Ruoyu said with a wry smile.

"Second Brother is certainly not that kind of person," Wang An said seriously, "but he could become like that. Our Lord said that we should take this past incident as a warning. If we send him to the countryside, what if he becomes corrupt? When that happens, will you personally kill him with a knife? Or will you let Wei Zhongxian do it?"

"This..." Liu Ruoyu lowered his head.

"If you recommend your godson, I wouldn't object. But not our fellow apprentices," Wang An said in an unquestionable tone. "If he comes to you again, just give him some money and send him off."

Liu Ruoyu didn't understand the cruel implication of Wang An's words. He said rather aggrievedly, "But I already promised him."

"Then you'll have no choice but to go back on your word and enrich yourself." Wang An wasn't worried about Liu Ruoyu secretly appointing others to positions. Within the inner court, his power over personnel was absolute. Without his approval, no one could appoint or dismiss anyone. Unless Liu Ruoyu approached the emperor to request a position, he would be forced to resign.

"Okay. I understand." Liu Ruoyu sighed.

"Don't be such a pushover. Learn to say no." Wang An patted Liu Ruoyu on the head, his tone softening. "I've got support for all my fellow apprentices. As long as you don't resort to whoring, gambling, or squandering, you can live a comfortable life."

Wang An wasn't exactly kind to his fellow apprentices under Chen Ju's name; he wouldn't give any of them a job. But he wasn't exactly bad either. Every month, he'd take out 20% of his salary and share it with his fellow apprentices. Considering his salary, this was a considerable sum.

"I know." Before entering the Imperial Household Department, Liu Ruoyu also received help from Wang An.

After walking in silence for a while, Wang An asked, "Are there any difficulties with the layoffs?"

Liu Ruoyu licked his lips and said, "It's not difficult. It's just that many people don't want to leave."

"Life outside is hard, but once you enter the palace, you'll have enough imperial rations to last you until you die. So many people leave the palace every year to get their money, isn't it just for this?" Wang An felt sympathetic, but his eyes were firm. "But everything has a price. If they want to eat the imperial rations, they have to get their money. If we want to save money at the palace, we can't let them eat the imperial rations. It's the same principle."

"Yes. I know."

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The next day, in front of Dong'an Gate.

A sedan chair, carried by four men, landed. The bearers lifted the curtain, and Fang Congzhe stepped out. Cabinet members gathered around and saluted Fang Congzhe. Fang Congzhe smiled back at each one, but he showed a disapproving look towards Shen.

Shen was a little confused. After Fang Congzhe sat back in the sedan chair, he went to the window and asked softly, "Prime Minister, did I do anything wrong?"

"." Fang Congzhe ignored him.

At the hour of Mao, the city gates opened, and the cabinet members followed Fang Congzhe's sedan chair into the duty room.

After sitting down, Fang Congzhe remained silent until the Junior Supervisor on duty at Huiji Gate handed over the first batch of memorials sent by the Ministry of Public Administration. Fang Congzhe then stood up and walked to Shen, slapping the resignation letter that the emperor had given him yesterday on Shen's desk.

"This is Wen Shouhuan's resignation." Fang Congzhe's words pricked up everyone's ears. Liu Yirong, in particular, almost stood up.

"This was handed to me personally by the Emperor yesterday evening after I had the honor of accompanying him for dinner." Fang Congzhe deliberately mentioned the Emperor's gift of dinner. Although his tone was as calm as possible, the cabinet members could still hear the obvious excitement in it.

Shen picked up the letter and opened it, only to find that there was no written document on it. So he asked, "Does the emperor have any instructions?"

"You are not allowed to resign!" These three words made Liu Yirong breathe a sigh of relief.

After a pause, Fang Congzhe continued, raising his voice, to Shen: "Jizhou borders Liaodong to the east, and the military situation in Liaodong is tense. The emperor does not want anything to happen that will affect the military situation in Liaodong at this time. Lord Shen, on behalf of the cabinet, write a letter of consolation to Wenqiu. Be sincere in your words."

"Yes." Shen lowered his head, his eyes dimming slightly. He knew he had to rein in the censors and halt his reckless attacks. The Donglin Party's lesson was a lesson for them. If they continued to cling to this and disobeyed the Emperor, someone would likely suffer the same fate as Zou Yuanbiao and Zhao Nanxing.

"Ji Hui." After gently tapping Shen, Fang Congzhe turned to look at Liu Yirong and said, "Draft an imperial edict to Tianjin, instructing them to escort the criminal to the Northern Pacification Office. The Tianjin case will be heard by the Northern Pacification Office."

"Change the ticket?" Liu Yirong asked in surprise.

"Yes." Fang Congzhe nodded.

"Okay." Liu Yirong immediately realized that the water below was probably not very clean, but he didn't intend to ask any further questions. "Anything else?"

"The emperor has issued an edict stating that the stolen funds in Tianjin should be used in Tianjin and not sent to Beijing, which would be a meaningless round trip," Fang Congzhe said. "But we still need to send someone to verify the exact amount of the money. The Ministry of Revenue has already sent a grain official, so Zhang Deyun can just select a suitable censor to go there."

"Okay." Liu Yirong responded, and Fang Congzhe returned to his seat.

Fang Congzhe knew that unconditionally cooperating with the emperor and doing things that went against protocol would inevitably draw criticism. This wasn't a partisan dispute, but a conflict between the inner cabinet and the outer court. However, Fang Congzhe was prepared to be called a sycophant.

(End of this chapter)