Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 350: Secret Investigation of the Military Pay Department
"In reply to the Emperor," Li Changgeng replied. "Gaizhou's waters are complex, with numerous reefs. Boatmen and sailors consider this a dangerous journey."

"Which boatman, which sailor?" Zhu Changluo didn't want him to explain and interrupted him directly: "Wang An, make a note of it and ask the Jinyiwei to find him and ask him."

"Yes." Wang An looked down at Li Changgeng.

"This..." Li Changgeng's hairs suddenly stood up, and his eyelids began to twitch unconsciously. "That's what the official in charge wrote in the report to me. As for which boatman or sailor it was, I don't know."

"The officials handling this matter?" Zhu Changluo asked quietly, "Li Changgeng, are you going to shift the responsibility to someone else?"

"I dare not." Li Changgeng crouched even lower, hastily defending himself. "Since I've been supervising the supply, many ships have indeed sunk near Gaizhou. That's why the officials in charge reported that the boatmen and sailors were unwilling to sail this far. I've already reported in writing that the grain ship hit a reef and sank, with only a few sailors escaping. The Ministry of Revenue should have kept a record of this."

"There's a lot of stuff to keep on file," Zhu Changluo said. "Didn't you personally transport the first shipment of grain and money to Liaodong, also destined for Gaizhou? How come the ship didn't sink? At that time, Xiong Tingbi even praised you in his memorial, but he didn't often praise people."

Li Changgeng replied, "Fortunately, the grain ship I personally supervised escaped storms and reefs. However, divine protection is not always possible, and luck cannot be relied upon. Therefore, to prevent the ship from sinking and the loss of grain, which would otherwise cause further casualties, I had no choice but to find another good port to ensure the supply of grain and military supplies to Liao."

Li Changgeng's repeated arguments ultimately amounted to one point: Gaizhou was indeed not a good place, and based on the current situation of the sinking ships and the reports from his subordinates, he rationally adjusted the sea freight destination to Lushun, Jinzhou, and other places. However, Zhu Changluo was not buying his rhetoric.

He stared at the crown and sash on Li Changgeng's head, and after a moment's silence, he said, "Of course you have to 'choose another'. Otherwise, how can you maintain the proposal for 400,000 dan of grain and 200,000 taels of silver for shipping? Aren't you just afraid that someone will use this as an excuse to impeach you?"

"You need to transport the grain to nearby places like Jin and Lu to maintain the grain transport ratio of one dan of grain to half an ounce of silver. But if you do that, what's the point of having you as a finance minister? Why don't you take a ruler and measure it yourself, comparing the length of the two routes: Shanhaiguan to Liaoyang and Lushun to Liaoyang? So, you, the finance minister, have simply optimized the land route from Tianjin to Shanhaiguan into a water route from Tianjin to Lushun?"

"minister"

Zhu Changluo continued to chase him. "You transported the grain and military pay to Lushun and Jinzhou. You did your job well, and the Ministry of Revenue has kept a record of it. No one in the court can say a bad word about you, Li Xiangbu. But aren't you just transferring all the responsibility and pressure to the officials in Liaodong? Liaodong is short of men, cattle, and vehicles. We have to fight wars and resume farming and production. You stuffed all the grain and military pay to Lushun. Not only is it meaningless to save money, but it's also a waste of Liaodong's manpower and animal power. Li Changgeng, you are..." Finally, Zhu Changluo used two words to characterize Li Changgeng. "Lazy politics!"

This accusation was indeed a heavy one. Although the emperor's tone was not harsh, Li Changgeng began to tremble all over.

Zhu Changluo was about to escalate his accusation of laziness, but to his surprise, Li Changgeng pulled a pre-written letter of resignation from his sleeve and held it aloft. He raised it above his head and said, "I have committed a crime and deserve to be dismissed. This is my resignation, requesting your approval, Your Majesty."

"Li Changgeng, you're truly well-prepared." Zhu Changluo raised an eyebrow, offering a cold, sarcastic remark. "You just shifted the blame onto your subordinates. Now that the situation seems out of whack and your arguments are failing, are you throwing in the towel again?"

"Your Majesty!" the emperor pressed down on his head, making it impossible for him to utter a single word of defense. He held it in for a long time, and could only repeat what he had just said: "Your Majesty, I dare not!"

"You already dared." Zhu Changluo hooked his finger at Wang An, who immediately understood and walked over to take Li Changgeng's resignation letter.

Wang An opened the envelope and took out the resignation letter. "Master."

Zhu Changluo took the resignation letter and tore it in half without even looking at it. "Li Changgeng!"

"I'm here." Li Changgeng felt that what was echoing in the hall was not the sound of paper being torn, but something sharp that was carving on his skull.

"I won't let you give up this responsibility so easily." After a few breaths, Zhu Changluo's voice suddenly softened. "Mencius said, 'People constantly make mistakes before they can correct them. They are troubled by their thoughts and weighed by their thoughts, and then they act.' I've reviewed old records and know that you were quite well-respected for your benevolent policies during your time as a provincial governor and governor. Didn't your hometown even build a shrine for you? I don't like to condemn people with one stroke, so I'm giving you a chance to mend your ways and work with integrity. I hope you won't let fear of criticism keep you from making the mistake of lax governance. Return today and urge your men to transport the food and supplies to where they should be."

In a short period of time, Li Changgeng's mood fluctuated greatly, and he stood there in a daze without replying immediately.

"Answer me." Wang An said in a low voice.

"I obey your order!" Li Changgeng shuddered.

"You go back." Zhu Changluo waved his hand.

"Long live the emperor, long live the emperor, long live the emperor!" Li Changgeng kowtowed twice on the front of his official uniform before standing up, lowering his head and stepping back facing the emperor.

"Come back." When Li Changgeng's heels were about to leave the room, the emperor's voice came again. "Take your resignation letter with you!"

"Yes!" Li Changgeng shuddered, quickly picking up the torn resignation from beside his dragon-embroidered boots. He stumbled over to the emperor, who leaned against the armrest, his head propped up, silently gazing down at him. It was the first time in his life that he had ever met the gaze of a Ming emperor. He couldn't understand the look, only to feel a chill creep down his spine.

--------

After the brief meeting, Li Changgeng was taken back by Shi Fangda along the same route.

After Zhu Changluo saw Li Changgeng standing away from the eight-character shaped glazed screen through the lattice window, he also stood up.

When he walked out of the Qianqing Gate and into the courtyard, Wang An finally couldn't help but ask, "Master, why don't you just remove Li Changgeng and replace him with a new official?"

"Who should go next?" A light breeze blew, causing Zhu Changluo's beard on his chin to sway slightly.

Wang An suggested, "There's no need to replace anyone. Isn't Master Sun in Tianjin? We can let the Governor's Office take charge of the salary."

Zhu Changluo shook his head and said, "Master Sun already has enough on his plate. He just needs to get the grain and supplies shipped to Tianjin City to the Ministry of Revenue on time." The door to the Southern Study was open, so Zhu Changluo and Wang An walked straight in. Upon seeing the emperor, Wei Chao and Liu Ruoyu immediately stood up. But just as they were about to greet him and salute, Zhu Changluo waved them away.

"Besides, Li Changgeng has been in charge of the supply management since Xiong Tingbi took office. Handing this over to someone else wouldn't be enough to keep things in order for a while. There are different priorities. The Northern Gate has already been lost, and Nurhaci no longer has any worries. This time, we're going all out, and we won't just fight a single battle at Fengji Fort. We must ensure that all supplies to Liaodong are maintained."

"Even if Liao can't fully recover its self-sufficiency due to a lack of animal power, it's simply a matter of economics. The treasury has money, and the state can still afford it." Zhu Changluo walked over to the shelf where memorials were stored, casually pulled out a copy, and began to read. "And the issue of military pay isn't just about lazy governance. Food, fodder, military pay, and waste—these items have always been hotbeds of corruption and abuse of power."

"Master, are you saying that Li Changgeng is not only lazy in his administration, but also meddled with important matters concerning food and wages?" Wang An walked to the stove against the wall, took the kettle from the eunuch who was tending to the fire, then carried the kettle to the imperial desk and poured half a cup of warm water into the crystal cup that the emperor often used.

"Maybe, maybe not. It doesn't matter." Zhu Changluo quickly finished reading the memorial that Wang An had already read, then switched to a new one and continued reading. "What's important is that it's not enough to just change one node in this chain. We have to dig up the entire root."

"If a hasty change of personnel leads to the paralysis of the military payroll, and then the entire Liaodong region is cut off from food and pay, giving Nurhaci an opportunity to seize the opportunity, then the loss will outweigh the gain."

"Master. Have a drink of water." Wang An felt the temperature of the cup with the palm of his hand. After making sure that it would not burn his mouth, he brought it to the emperor.

Zhu Changluo was indeed a little thirsty. He took the cup of water, drank half of it in one breath, and then handed the cup back to Wang An.

"Let the Jinyiwei..." Zhu Changluo paused, then changed his tone. "Forget it. Let's not use the Jinyiwei for now. Let the Dongchang send some people to Beitang to conduct a secret investigation. See who is profiting here. If Li Changgeng is just lazy and can really be effective after being taught a lesson, then it's not impossible to spare him or even give him a promotion. After all, impeachment was a common practice during the previous emperor's reign, and it's human nature to want to protect oneself. If he knowingly allowed the depravity to continue, then it won't be too late to dismiss him in a few months. But if he's greedy, and his greed is excessive, dismissal won't be enough."

Wang An nodded deeply and said sincerely, "Your Majesty is wise."

--------

To the east of the imperial city, northwest of the Shangshenjian, four eunuchs were standing in a row in the main room in the backyard of the Neidongchang Yamen.

Among the four eunuchs, one was holding a wash basin, one was holding a foot basin, and the remaining two were each holding a piece of fine cotton cloth.

In the main room, besides them and Cui Wensheng, seated on the bed, there was a red-robed eunuch kneeling on the floor, removing Cui Wensheng's boots. This was Cui Wensheng's eldest son, Cui Yuan, while the four eunuchs were Cui Yuan's newly recruited "disciples." Whether these disciples would eventually become Cui Yuan's adopted sons, and ultimately Cui Wensheng's adopted grandsons, securing a position in the East Depot or elsewhere, remained to be seen. The criteria for this assessment lay entirely in Cui Wensheng's mind.

"Godfather, please lift that foot." Cui Yuangang took off the shoes and socks on Cui Wensheng's left foot, and then he took the initiative and earnestly asked Cui Wensheng to lift the other foot for him to serve.

Cui Yuan's movements were gentle and slow, as if he was holding not the old eunuch's ankle, but a precious but fragile work of art. After both shoes and socks were removed, the eunuch holding the foot basin immediately and steadily placed the warm water at Cui Wensheng's feet.

Rise early, take a nap, and sleep late. Cui Wensheng's feet were washed three times a day, and he changed his socks every time. They were truly odorless. As Cui Yuan placed Cui Wensheng's feet in the foot basin, the eunuch holding the face towel also brought the wrung handkerchief to Cui Wensheng. "Second Ancestor, would you be so kind as to allow me to serve you?" He wasn't yet Cui Yuan's godson, so he couldn't call Cui Wensheng his godfather.

Cui Wensheng didn't respond, but he also didn't take the handkerchief from him. This was considered as consent.

The eunuch carefully shook out the mask that was still covered with mist, but before he could touch Cui Wensheng's face, he was roughly pushed away by Cui Wensheng.

"Grandfather!" Cui Wensheng saw a solemn and majestic python appear before his eyes through the window and immediately stood up. He didn't care whether the foot washing water would stain his nightgown. He trotted barefoot across the floor to the door. He knelt down with a plop, kowtowed and shouted, "Your servant greets the Grandfather."

"Your servants kowtow to the ancestor!" The five people serving Cui Wensheng in the room also put down their work and came behind Cui Wensheng to kowtow to Wang An.

"Wow, you seem to be enjoying this." Wang An teased, "You still need five people to wait on you during your lunch break."

Cui Wensheng acted terrified and kowtowed to Wang An again. "I am guilty! I will tell them to leave right now."

"Stop talking about guilt or not all the time. It makes me afraid to joke with you." Wang An lowered his head and looked down at Cui Wensheng.

"I am not good at talking, I am not good at talking." Cui Wensheng raised his head and saw that Wang An had a smile on his face, so he immediately smiled back.

"That's enough!" Wang An found a nearby stool and sat down. "Everyone, get up."

"Yes." Cui Wensheng stood up and walked to Wang An's side, standing with his head down.

"Sit down." Wang An patted another stool in front of him.

"I thank the old ancestor." Cui Wensheng hurriedly sat down and waved away Cui Yuan who tried to put on a dragon robe for him.

"Ancestor, did that brat Cui Zhongqing bring back any news?" Cui Wensheng asked with a smile.

Although Cui Zhongqing, the representative of the envoy, was from the East Depot, the execution and the entertainment mission were directly assigned by the Imperial Household Department. Therefore, Cui Zhongqing could directly contact the Imperial Household Department headquarters without having to go through the East Depot.

"No, there is no news from him yet. The master has another task to assign to you." Wang An said.

"Great! Who are we going to arrest?" Cui Wensheng was overjoyed. He was worried that he would have nothing to do after the house-confiscation mission was completed.

(End of this chapter)