Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 374: Fools Are Human Too

Shortly after Wei Chao left the main hall, Admiral Cao Huachun led a group of eunuchs back to line up in front of Wang An.

Wang An sat quietly, leaning back in his chair. None of the eunuchs in the hall dared to make a sound to disturb the silence. They held their breath, not even daring to breathe. It seemed to them that the ancestors and the great ancestors had just gathered to discuss a matter that must be discussed in secret. As for what this matter was, no one knew, and no one dared to ask.

The person who broke the silence was a young eunuch who was holding a tray with a cup of warm tea and a stack of freshly baked mung bean cakes.

This eunuch was one of the latest batch of eunuchs officially castrated and brought into the palace, and a new student at the Inner Academy. Adhering to the motto "The Imperial Household Department does not support idlers," the eunuchs in charge of these eunuchs would assign them light duties like serving tea and water in addition to their studies. Besides the "no idlers" principle, these duties also helped the Imperial Household Department screen out clumsy individuals.

After nearly two hundred years of iteration, the palace has established a relatively mature process for training senior eunuchs. As these eunuchs grow older, their schoolwork and extracurricular duties become increasingly heavy and complex. The eunuchs who manage them and the examiners in the inner academy will constantly observe and select outstanding talents throughout this process, training them at varying levels, essentially teaching students in accordance with their aptitude.

The most talented eunuchs were either retained to gain experience in their own department or sent to serve the crown prince, becoming part of the imperial court, hoping for a promotion. As for those who couldn't even handle serving tea, the Imperial Household Department didn't expect them to take on key duties in key government offices. Besides rare exceptions like the Jiajing Emperor's succession of a prince or the Taichang Emperor's sweeping internal purges, there was always a shortage of talented officials, so they were simply sifted out.

The eunuch carefully carried the tray to Wang An's desk, but was stopped by Cao Hua. "Give it to me."

"Yes." The eunuch lowered his head and handed the tray to Cao Huachun stiffly.

Cao Huachun came to the large table and gently placed tea and snacks in front of Wang An. "Godfather, please enjoy."

"Come here." Wang An waved to the eunuch.

The eunuch was stunned for a moment. "Old, old ancestor." When he realized that Wang An was greeting him, he was actually shocked.

Wang An picked up a piece of mung bean cake from the plate and handed it to the eunuch. "Good boy, eat it." Wang An looked at the eunuch as if he were a loving grandfather looking at his grandson.

This mung bean cake is made by the confectioner in the kitchen of the Silijian (official chamber of ceremonies) using peeled mung beans mixed with white flour, white sugar, and fresh goat's milk. This is why it looks white and smells fragrant. This thing is expensive and labor-intensive, so even in the Silijian (official chamber of ceremonies), where the food standards are first-class, only eunuchs can enjoy it.

"Thank you, old ancestor." The eunuch hesitated for a moment, but still took the mung bean cake. What he didn't know was that the moment he took the mung bean cake, the eunuchs present all breathed a sigh of relief.

Wang An rubbed the eunuch's head with his free hand. "Go play."

"Yes." The eunuch happily left with the mung bean cake in his hand. He didn't intend to eat it alone, he wanted to share this hard-earned and precious cake with his roommates.

Wang An turned his head to look at Cao Huachun and found that he was staring at the plate of cakes. "You want some too?" Wang An picked up a piece of mung bean cake and handed it to Cao Huachun.

Cao Huachun's mind suddenly twitched, and he actually waved his hand to refuse. "You can use it, there are more in the kitchen. I will get it myself later."

"Humph." Wang An laughed, not knowing whether he was angry or amused. He picked up a book and hit Cao Huachun on the head. "Tell me about it!"

Cao Huachun shrank back a bit when he was knocked. He smiled innocently and said, "Son, I have a little good news for your godfather first."

"What good news?" Wang An put down the book and took a blank piece of manuscript paper. Cao Huachun immediately helped him take down the brush hanging on the shelf and rolled it in the inkstone to dip it in ink.

"Seventy percent of the first batch of commercial books printed by the factory has been sold. After deducting the cost of materials, labor hours and commission, the total profit deposited in the warehouse is 357 taels and 4 qian of silver." While replying, Cao Huachun also handed the ink-dipped brush to Wang An.

Wang An wrote down the first draft of the briefing. "Seventy percent sold so quickly?" Although the first trial run was only a few thousand copies, it had only been a few days since the finished books left the imperial city and entered the market.

"Demand outstrips supply," Cao Huachun said. "These books have been placed in the study rooms of Mingshifang and Huanghuafang, where many candidates awaiting the imperial examinations gather. Many of the books were snapped up as soon as they were released."

As the saying goes, "Travel ten thousand miles and read ten thousand books." While goods flowed across rivers and seas these days, most books circulated only within the narrow confines of their original publication locations, often still in handwritten form. Only the classics of sages and a handful of renowned works could be printed and widely circulated. Therefore, a major motivation for scholars to travel far and wide was to read and collect local books. Every time the imperial examinations approached, the capital's booksellers and paper merchants would experience a surge in business, much like the inns and rental houses near the Imperial Examination Hall. Wealthy candidates would purchase books directly, while those less well-off would buy paper and borrow books to copy, using their own labor to lower the price of knowledge.

Zhu Changluo believed that the Silijian Sutra Factory, the largest and most professional printing house in China and even the world, was wasting resources by printing Buddhist and Taoist scriptures day and night, in addition to its daily operations, and then giving them away for free to temples and Taoist temples. It would be better to print and sell popular books. Selling them in Beijing now, then nationwide, and finally exporting them overseas would not only increase the circulation of knowledge and spread Ming culture abroad on a large scale, but also provide a small source of income to subsidize court expenses. So, in the name of the emperor, he issued an order to the Silijian to print and sell books.

"What books have been printed?" Wang An stopped writing, turned his head and looked at a eunuch standing at the end of the line.

That was Feng Siwen, the Director of the Imperial Household Department's Jingchang (Jiangsu) rank. Before the salary adjustment, the Jingchang Director had held the rank of eunuch. However, Chief Officer Liu Ruoyu felt that giving a purely administrative eunuch like the Jingchang Director the rank of a Fourth Rank eunuch and an annual salary of 800 taels was too much of a privilege. So he immediately demoted the position to Director. Although Feng Siwen was an old man, he had no objections.

Feng Siwen trotted over to Wang An, stood with his head bowed, and replied with a humble look, "To answer the old ancestor's words, the emperor's imperial calligraphy, the classics of the ancient teachers, the elegant works of famous people, and popular stories are all printed."

Normally, Cao Huachun would report, and Wang An would take notes. Only if there were more specific questions would Wang An call the person in charge behind Cao Huachun over for questioning. Most of the time, these people were just background figures, and they only wanted to be background figures.

After taking a brief note, Wang An asked, "Which books are selling best?"

"I don't know." Instantly, cold sweat covered Feng Siwen's forehead. Wang An held power second only to the emperor in appointing and dismissing personnel within the inner court. With the exception of a few key government offices, Wang An could appoint or remove people with a single word.

"Why don't you know?" Wang An asked.

"I'm incompetent!" Feng Siwen knelt down. The other eunuchs awaiting their report were also hushed. "Godfather," Cao Huachun said, "Feng Siwen is already very busy just verifying incoming and outgoing materials and supervising printing. He really doesn't have time to investigate the market. The factory collected the proceeds from the various consignment bookstores, and based on the planned price, calculated that 70% of the goods had been sold, and reported it."

Since there are no existing sales outlets, the sales model for this trial sale of printed books is to entrust existing booksellers to do consignment sales and give them a share of the profits.

"Yeah." Wang An raised his chin towards Feng Siwen. "You get up."

"Thank you, old ancestor, for forgiving my incompetence." Feng Siwen kowtowed and stood up, looking at Cao Huachun with gratitude. He would also say this, but if he really said it, it would sound like a quibble.

"The next thing." Wang An wrote the three words "New Yamen" on the draft, and then looked at Cao Huachun again.

"I'll take my leave." Feng Siwen tactfully backed away to her original position.

Before Feng Siwen could leave, Cao Huachun spoke up, "The Armament Bureau has reported that, according to the Ministry of War's request, they have delivered one thousand serviceable old bird guns and two thousand serviceable old three-barreled guns. They will also deliver two thousand seven hundred sets of cotton helmets and armor."

Within the inner court, the Armory Bureau was responsible for the manufacture and storage of military supplies, primarily for the palace's long-serving sword-bearing attendants, the imperial guards, the imperial cavalry, and the Imperial Guard. Upon the emperor's order, the inventory could also be allocated for use by other units. For example, this batch of military equipment, at the request of the Ministry of War, was specifically allocated to the newly recruited Zhejiang Zhinan troops arriving in Beijing, allowing them to quickly build up a base of combat power.

For the past few years, Wei Chao had been in charge of the Armour Bureau. Under the old system, Wei Chao had inflated the bureau's labor costs to facilitate his dealings with officials, pay tributes to the emperor, and supplement his own coffers. However, his conscience remained intact, and he didn't exploit the Ming Dynasty to its utmost. As a result, the bureau's overall armaments remained intact, though the cost was relatively high. The armaments of the imperial troops Xiong Tingbi led north, along with the newly recruited troops from the West Factory Executive Bureau and the East Factory Foreign Service Bureau, as well as the recent batches of recruits to aid the Liao Dynasty, were all old stockpiles forged during Wei Chao's tenure.

"How much inventory is left?" Wang An asked.

The eunuchs from the Armory of the Military Affairs Bureau were among the group, but Cao Huachun knew about this and addressed it directly. "Excluding this batch, there are still 4,742 swords, spears, halberds, whips, axes, etc., 4,924 firearms of various types, and 5,955 suits of armor. There are no cannons. The current inventory is far below the authorized inventory." The authorized inventory of various weapons in the armory was measured in tens of thousands.

"Step up production, work day and night, and make up the difference as soon as possible." Wang An ordered.

"The inventory of various materials is not enough, especially iron and copper," said Cao Huachun.

Wang An said: "Go through the withdrawal process and allocate funds to the Ministry of Industry for them to purchase." The Armory Bureau is only responsible for production and storage, and the raw materials are all prepared by the Ministry of Industry.

Normally, the Ministry of Works would regularly allocate silver from the Jieshen Treasury to purchase materials to replenish the Bingzhang Bureau's stockpile. However, in recent years, silver from various external treasuries, including the Ministry of Works, had either been diverted by the Ministry of Revenue to cover Liao military expenses or appropriated by the previous emperor to "support major projects," leaving little remaining. Even the most skilled cook cannot cook without rice. If the Ministry of Works was to provide raw materials according to the Imperial Court's plan, silver had to be allocated to it.

"Yes." Cao Huachun replied.

--------

"It's all gone."

"The slaves retire."

After reporting a few more miscellaneous matters, Cao Huachun waved his hand to dismiss the accompanying eunuchs, while he remained standing beside Wang An. After the eunuchs left the hall, Cao Huachun took a small booklet from the shelf and handed it to Wang An. This was the report from the Imperial Household Department.

"Let's talk about the important things first. You can just copy the daily records later." Wang An said.

"Yes." Cao Huachun flipped open the booklet and read, "The Jinyiwei has reported. In the past month, there have been a number of cases of people leaving the palace being defrauded. Some of them were severely victimized, having lost all their money, and chose to commit suicide. Currently, the Jinyiwei's East Study is working with the Shuntian Prefecture Office to track down the suspects. Based on the confessions of the victims, the handling officials believe that this case may involve the eunuchs serving in the palace. Therefore, the Jinyiwei has requested that the Silijian (National Ceremonial Bureau) conduct a thorough investigation."

After reading it, Cao Huachun handed Wang An a copy of the interrogation record. "Godfather, this is the confession of the victim of fraud."

"Yes." Wang An took the interrogation record and asked as he read it, "Is this Zheng Shiyi the Jinyiwei cavalryman Hui Jingao accidentally encountered at the Shuntian Prefecture Office?"

"It's him," Cao Huachun replied. "Zheng Shiyi was originally assigned to monitor the Jesuit headquarters in Zhengxifang. After the Northern Pacification Office seized his position, the Commandery lodged a protest on behalf of the Eastern Office. After their protest was rejected, Zheng Shiyi was assigned this new role."

"I thought Cui Wensheng had lost his mind again. Turns out it was just a scam." Wang An read through the interrogation record quickly and basically agreed with the Jinyiwei's judgment.

"It's not just a scam. After all, someone died," said Cao Huachun.

Wang An said calmly: "There will be casualties if there are layoffs. They can't keep the money, it's their own fault. A few deaths are a small matter. When the Shimiao Temple laid off employees, there was unrest throughout the north. How many people do you think died at that time?" In order to cooperate with the emperor, Wang An had read a lot of relevant historical records.

He discovered that the patrol battalion had undergone a massive expansion by several thousand men in the early years of the Jiajing reign. The reason for this was the emperor's drastic reduction of redundant personnel to save money. This resulted in a large number of redundant personnel losing their jobs and stable incomes in a short period of time, leading to a rapid deterioration in public security in the capital and even in northern China. The young emperor's solution was simple and brutal: Suppress! Suppress until the situation subsides!

Cao Huachun swallowed his saliva and asked, "Do we need to investigate further?"

"Of course we have to investigate! Stupid people are still human, and it's not the bad guys' turn to cause harm." Wang An ordered, "Send the Jinyiwei to investigate thoroughly. Don't worry too much. As for the palace, let the Western Factory investigate."

(End of this chapter)