Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 373 What do you want?
Soon, the eunuch on duty at Huiji Gate, responsible for delivering drafts to the Southern Study, entered the Cabinet's duty room. He quickly approached Fang Congzhe and, seeing him writing furiously with his head down, bowed silently. Just as he was about to pick up his plate and leave the duty room, Fang Congzhe stopped him. "Eunuch Xiao, wait a moment."

Eunuch Xiao put down the plate, freed his hands, and bowed to Fang Congzhe again. "What are your instructions, Prime Minister?"

"Here's another one." Fang Congzhe pasted the ticket onto the blank space and blew gently. Once the ink and paste had dried, he placed the list of punishments on the top shelf of the tray. "Sorry for the wait."

"You're too polite, Prime Minister Fang." Eunuch Xiao smiled slightly and then left with the plate.

After Eunuch Xiao left the duty room, the eunuchs behind him closed the door. Fang Congzhe rapped his knuckles on the table again. "Everyone, put aside what you are doing for a moment."

Everyone's attention shifted to Fang Congzhe's face again.

"Do you have any ideas about recommending officials for the Ministry of Revenue?" Fang Congzhe took out the piece of paper with the names of Li Sancai and Wang Ji from the drawer, spread it out and put it on the table.

"Aren't we going to wait for Lord Shi to return to the board of directors to discuss it again?" Han Yu looked at the empty seat of Shi Jikai.

"Since the nominations for the Ministry of Revenue have already been discussed in court, it would be best if our cabinet could come up with a list and submit it to the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Revenue for review." Fang Congzhe picked up his pen and rolled it around in his inkstone. "If Shicheng has other nominations, it won't be too late to add them then."

In reality, Fang Congzhe had intended to wait until the examinations were over and Shi Jixie returned to the cabinet before deliberating. However, the emperor had the eunuchs deliver a note to him, urging him to present Li Ruhua's resignation and the recommendation of a new minister in the palace. While a routine court meeting was essentially a formality, its greatest significance being to inform the ministers of the emperor's health, the specific note that the cabinet should go through with it was a subtle urgency. If Fang Congzhe didn't understand even this hint, he might as well be dismissed as Prime Minister.

Since Ye Xianggao, Liu Yirong, and Han Yu had all expressed their opinions on the previous recommendation, a brief silence fell in the duty room. After a moment, Liu Yirong spoke up, breaking the silence: "Li Changgeng, the Minister of Finance. Li Changgeng has served in Zhejiang, Shanxi, Jiangxi, Shandong, and other places. He has implemented many beneficial policies and is known for his integrity, encouraging integrity wherever he goes. He has been supervising finances for two years and has never been found guilty of corruption or waste. He may be worthy of the position of Minister of Finance."

"Haha, another one from the Yiwei department." Shen said sarcastically.

"Master Shen, you might as well put this more clearly." Liu Yirong's original intention in nominating Li Changgeng was just to throw a wrench in the silence. Unless the Liaodong war ended and Li Changgeng was recognized for his military service, he, Li Sancai, and Wang Ji would just be cannon fodder. But Shen's intervention made it seem like Liu Yirong was plotting something.

Shen shrugged. "I'm just stating the facts. Li Youqing was originally a member of the Yiwei class. Am I wrong?"

"Hmph. Absolutely right!" Liu Yirong took a deep breath and swallowed the anger rising in his throat.

Liu Yirong could tolerate it, but Han Yu truly couldn't. "Then, Elder Shen, please suggest a suitable candidate!" He was already prepared to fight back.

But Shen seemed to be waiting for these words. He smiled at Han Yu, then turned around and bowed to Fang Congzhe. "Prime Minister. I propose that the current Nanjing Revenue Minister Wang Yingjiao be replaced as Beijing Revenue Minister. Wang Qianfu has served in Fujian, Sichuan, Shandong, Shanxi and other places. When he was in charge of the army in Yizhou, he suppressed the mining envoy Wang Hu. When the Koreans were at war, Wang Qianfu was the governor of Tianjin. During his tenure, he recruited people to reclaim land, and the land was very profitable. After the Japanese rebellion was quelled, he was transferred to Baoding to provide drought relief and locust relief. He and the then prosecutor Xiong Tingbi complemented each other and were praised by everyone. They can assist each other in responding to the Liao incident."

Shen endlessly enumerated Wang Yingjiao's merits to justify his recommendation, but no one present could quite get their bearings. Liu Yirong and Han Yu were particularly baffled. This wasn't to say Wang Yingjiao was incompetent, but rather that Shen's recommendation of a lecturer for Donglin Academy was simply too bizarre.

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Half an hour after the court session ended, two sedan chairs, accompanied by a large crowd, landed almost simultaneously at the gate of the Imperial Household Department, located northeast of the Imperial City. Seal-carrying eunuch Wang An and chief scribe Wei Chao descended from the sedan chairs. By this time, the eunuchs on duty outside the gate had already knelt in anticipation.

As soon as he got off the sedan chair, Wei Chao quickly walked behind Wang An, ready to go in with him.

"Aren't you supposed to go to the bank? Why are you following us to our headquarters?" When Wang An stepped over the threshold, the eunuch who was kneeling to greet him had already put his head to the ground.

"Wait a while. I have a small matter to ask the old ancestor." When Wei Chao also followed him into the Imperial Household Department, the eunuch on duty stood up by himself.

"Let's talk inside." Wang An walked past the kneeling eunuchs, around the screen wall that stood in the main courtyard, and arrived at the open main hall door. Cao Huachun, the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department, immediately came forward with a group of powerful eunuchs to greet him. They all knelt and kowtowed, as if they had rehearsed the ceremony. "Your son (your servant) pays homage to your godfather (old ancestor), your servant pays homage to your great ancestor."

"Everyone, get up." Wang An said to the eunuchs.

"Thank you, Ganfather (Grandfather)." The eunuchs rose and went their separate ways. Those who had reports that needed to be reported in person stayed in line, while those who didn't need to report but still had unfinished work returned to their rooms to continue their duties. Those who had nothing else to do that day simply left the Silijian yamen and went home. The Silijian had strict rules and a lot of work to do, but they never ran unnecessary overtime.

"Grandfather," Wang An came to the main table surrounded by eunuchs. But before he could sit down, he heard Wei Chao say, "I would like to speak with you for a moment."

"Why does everything have to be so mysterious?" Wang An took off his official hat and handed it to Cao Huachun.

"Excuse me." Wei Chao said with a flattering smile.

"Everyone, get out." Wang An sat down and lent a step to Wei Chao in a special way.

"Yes." The eunuchs withdrew one after another. Soon, only Wang An, Wei Chao, and Cao Huachun, who had put away his official hat and returned, were left in the hall.

"Go ahead." Wang An said to Wei Chao.

"This..." Wei Chao looked at Cao Huachun.

"You go out too." Wang An frowned.

"Yes." Cao Huachun seemed to have something to say, but he still retreated obediently.

"What exactly happened that requires everyone to be sent away?" Wang An's face was extremely serious until Wei Chao took out an exquisite octagonal wooden box from his arms.

"What is this?" Wang An asked in confusion.

Wei Chao slowly opened the box and said mysteriously, "This is Sanyuan Dan, also known as 'Red Lead Pill'."

Wang An's eyes twitched slightly, but he didn't respond.

He didn't say anything, so Wei Chao introduced himself: "This 'Sanyuan Pill' is made by mixing innate red lead with autumn stone and cinnabar, and then refined with various seasonings. This medicine can astringe essence and strengthen qi, and it is like a pill to lock up essence." At this point, Wang An interrupted Wei Chao.

"It's just a medicine for tigers and wolves?" Wang An's tone was full of disdain.

"That's not the case," Wei Chao carefully took out a pill and held it in front of Wang An. "Xiantian red lead is the ultimate yang among yin." He wanted to imitate Li Kezhuo's way of explaining the wonders of this to Wang An, but was interrupted by Wang An again.

"Take it and eat it yourself." Wang An turned his head to the side and rolled his eyes fiercely.

"What's the point of me eating it?" Wei Chao smiled awkwardly. "Humph." Wang An snorted and asked, "How do you know it's useless if you don't eat it?"

"I know it's useless even if I don't eat it. I lost that since I was a child." Somehow, Wei Chao suddenly thought of Wei Zhongxian, and the unquenchable flame of hatred in his heart inexplicably burned even more fiercely.

"So," Wang An asked knowingly, "you want to present it to the Lord?"

"Yes. Yes." Wei Chao threw away the distracting thoughts in his mind and nodded repeatedly.

"Then why didn't you offer it directly just now?" There was a subtlety in Wang An's tone that Wei Chao didn't notice.

Wei Chao smiled and said, "How can I offer it directly? I still need to test the medicine carefully. If it works, I will refine it in front of you. What do you think?"

Of course, Wei Chao wouldn't offer the medicine directly. His plan was to not give either of the two pills Li Kezhuo presented to the emperor. Instead, he would first find healthy men to test both. Once they were confirmed to be non-toxic and effective, he would have Li Kezhuo refine a new medicine in his presence. Once the medicine was ready, he would have Li Kezhuo test it himself. Once all potential risks had been eliminated and it was proven to be foolproof, he would then present it to the emperor to curry his favor.

The rarity of Li Kezhuo's so-called "Innate Red Lead" wasn't a problem for the Imperial Household Department. As long as Wang An agreed to Wei Chao's use of the department's resources, he was confident he could find a sufficient number of girls of marriageable age in a very short time. As for the girls' commissions, or the cost of the ingredients for the Innate Red Lead, Wei Chao didn't mind paying for them himself.

"What? Humph!" Wang An sneered, then stretched out his hand and threw the red pill in Wei Chao's hand.

Snapped!
The red pill flew high, and Wei Chao instinctively reached out to grab it. But Wang An's strength was so great that as Wei Chao leaned forward, the red pill hit the wall and fell down.

"Oh, what are you doing..." Wei Chao wanted to complain, but when he turned around and saw Wang An's eyes, he immediately shrank and knelt down.

"Luckily you didn't offer it," Wang An glared at Wei Chao fiercely, a look that threatened to tear him apart. "If you dare open this box in front of His Majesty, you'll be buried alongside Ni Zhen and Ni Jin after your death."

"That's not the case." Wei Chao felt uneasy under Wang An's gaze. "I just wanted to help His Majesty with his entertainment and get some good luck."

"Still asking for a chance to cheer you up? I think you're courting death!" Wang An raised his voice only half a degree, and Wei Chao lowered his head. "Have you forgotten how sick the Emperor became last year after consuming the aphrodisiac brewed by Cui Wensheng? Tell me! Was it Cui Wensheng who gave it to you?"

"No!" Wei Chao quickly shook his head. "This was given to me by Li Kezhuo, the Minister of the Ministry of Rites."

"Li Kezhuo"—Wang An also had an impression of Li Kezhuo. "The interpreter who served as the translator?"

"Yes, yes, yes." Wei Chao nodded like a chick pecking at rice.

"You bastard!" Wang An had originally admired Li Kezhuo's tact, but after this incident, Wang An's good impression of him immediately disappeared. "You don't do your job properly as an official, but you're trying to use tricks and sleight of hand to curry favor and gain a position."

Wei Chao thought Wang An was criticizing him indirectly, so he didn't try to explain it and kowtowed to Wang An. "I know I was wrong."

"Get up." Wang An blinked, and the anger on his face gradually faded with his breathing.

"I know I was wrong." Wei Chao kowtowed again.

"Get up." Wang An said again.

"Yes." Wei Chao stood up, but he still kept his head down.

"Go pick up that aphrodisiac." Wang An pointed at the falling red pill.

"Yes." Wei Chao had already locked onto Hong Wan's location and quickly returned to Wang An.

Wang An beckoned, and Wei Chao obediently held the red pill in front of him. "I'm a little mad at you. Do you know why?"

"I am guilty." Wei Chao wanted to kneel again, but was stopped by Wang An.

"Stand up!" Wang An didn't intend to blame Wei Chao: "You are not guilty, you are just stupid."

"Yes, I am stupid." Wei Chao lowered his head even lower.

He was indeed not as smart as Wang An, otherwise he would not have been assigned to the Miscellaneous Affairs Office after leaving the Inner Academy and wandered around for half his life until he was able to enter the Imperial Household Department with the help of Wang An.

"Do you know where you are stupid?" Wang An asked.

"I respectfully listen to the teachings of our ancestors," Wei Chao said.

"With your position, you no longer need to learn from Cui Wensheng to rely on this kind of thing to curry favor and maintain favor." Wang An pinched the red pill in Wei Chao's hand with two fingers and waved it in front of Wei Chao.

"As long as you don't make big mistakes, don't violate taboos, and do your job sincerely, you'll be there as long as your master is here. But who is this Li Kezhuo? He's the Minister of the Ministry of Rites, a lowly sixth-rank official. How many sixth-rank officials are there in Beijing? If they were lined up hand in hand, they could stretch from Chengtian Gate to Wumen Gate, and you're hanging out with him! He's offering medicine to you for high office, wealth, and glory. To put it bluntly, he wants to climb up by stepping on your shoulders, but what do you want?"

Cold sweat oozed from Wei Chao's head. "I don't want anything. I just want to help His Majesty."

"Don't hang out with these shady people. If anything bad happens to our Lord, I'll drag your whole family out and chop them up. I'll be buried with you." Wang An stuffed the red pill into the box. "Take it, either eat it yourself or throw it in a stinky ditch. I'll pretend this never happened."

"Yes." Wei Chao took the box and put it back in his arms.

"Go out," Wang An rubbed his brows. "By the way, call the kid outside in."

"Yes." Wei Chao turned around hunched over.

But before she had taken a few steps, Wang An's voice came from behind her: "Put away your sad little wife look and stand up straight!"

"Yes!" Wei Chao walked to the door, and the chief eunuch's momentum was strengthened again with the support of the eunuch in charge of the seal.

(End of this chapter)