Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 435: Parasites in the Ministry of Finance

"I'm here." Xu Guangqi stopped and responded.

Zhu Changluo said, "Didn't Deng Yuhan claim during the earlier interview that he knew Galileo, Kepler, and other great men of the time?"

"There is another one called Tycho." Zhu Youxiao added in a low voice.

"Tycho has been dead for several years." Zhu Changluo blurted out.

Xu Guangqi was horrified. This was news he had never heard before. "Is the emperor trying to recruit these talented people?"

"Not just them," Zhu Changluo said, turning to look Xu Guangqi in the face. "Anyone with real talent, regardless of their field of study, willing to journey across the ocean to the Ming Dynasty, I will give them a chance to display their talents. After returning to the Ministry of Rites, you can have Deng Yuhan or someone else write letters inviting them. To prevent those with insight from being deterred by financial constraints, their travel expenses to China will be fully covered by the court."

"I obey your order!" Xu Guangqi responded loudly.

"Okay, let's go." Zhu Changluo walked to the door of the hall and prepared to open it.

"Oh! Long live my master!" Just as the emperor's hand was about to touch the doorframe, Wang An, who had taken advantage of a break in the conversation to place the wooden box, ran back. "How could you be asked to do such rough work?" He glanced at Xu Guangqi with a slightly irritated look, as if blaming him for his lack of perspective.

"Opening a door is no big deal." Zhu Changluo frowned slightly, but still opened the door.

It's actually quite heavy. Even with regular maintenance and oiling, it still takes a bit of effort to open. No wonder it takes two people to open and close the door every day.

Zhu Changluo stepped out of the palace gate, and Zhu Youxiao hurriedly followed him. Zhu Changluo turned his head to look at Zhu Youxiao, who immediately blinked his eyes and smiled back at his father.

"Mr. Xu." Zhu Changluo seemed to have suddenly thought of something and called Xu Guangqi again.

"I'm here." The emperor did not stop, and Xu Guangqi followed him.

"Have you started preparing for the wedding?" Zhu Changluo asked, and Zhu Youxiao immediately lowered his head shyly. Although he had not experienced the affairs of children, he had also dreamed of them.

"."Xu Guangqi was stunned by the question.

He's been overwhelmed with things lately. Just the major events requiring his personal attention include the Imperial Examination, the establishment of the Veritable Records and History Bureau, the establishment of the Yelu Bureau, the Hundred-Day Banquet for the Imperial Princess, and the Crown Prince's enthronement ceremony. Furthermore, the Ministry of Rites also has countless other tasks that require his attention. Even more outrageous, the Emperor before him continues to assign him tasks.

With this in mind, Xu Guangqi prioritized his tasks and made a list. He pushed important but unimportant matters like the Crown Prince's wedding to the back of the pile. He believed that slow progress would lead to success.

But at this moment, Xu Guangqi couldn't just say that he hadn't started preparing yet. Wouldn't that offend both the emperor and the eldest prince?

Xu Guangqi was silent for a moment, then, thinking quickly, said, "To answer your Majesty's question, the Ministry of Rites has already tentatively determined the scope of the marriage selection process and is preparing to dispatch officials from its own department to various prefectures in Northern Zhili, Southern Zhili, Shandong, Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Henan to post notices for the selection process. The draft has been prepared and will be submitted soon."

"I agree. Let's postpone the process." Zhu Changluo nodded.

"Yes." Xu Guangqi sighed inwardly. He secretly decided that he must find a time to petition the emperor to appoint a new official to the Ministry of Rites, otherwise he would have no chance of survival.

As the king and his ministers were talking, they soon passed the Yuehua Gate and arrived near the South Study.

In the Southern Study, three eunuchs were chatting idly. These people were extremely sensitive to the emperor's voice, and they immediately shut up at the slightest noise.

Wei Chao stood up as usual, accompanied by Liu Ruoyu and the eunuchs who served in the palace. They lined up in order in the center of the hall, ready to pay their respects. Unexpectedly, Cui Wensheng, upon seeing the emperor's presence, instantly became excited. He strode out of the southern study in three steps, quickly approached the emperor, knelt, and kowtowed, shouting, "Your servant greets my master, long live the emperor, and your highness, a thousand years of life."

Wei Chao and Liu Ruoyu usually paid their respects to the emperor in the study, but Cui Wensheng jumped out of the study to greet him, and they couldn't just stand inside the door, so they could only follow him out of the palace gate and kowtow.

Zhu Changluo gave Cui Wensheng a long look, but didn't immediately call the eunuchs to their feet. He tilted his head, remained silent for a moment, and finally waved to Zhu Youxiao and Xu Guangqi. "You all go back and do what you need to do." With that, he walked towards the southern study without looking back.

"I'll take my leave." Xu Guangqi saluted the emperor's back.

"Your son will take his leave." Zhu Youxiao also bowed.

Zhu Changluo walked all the way to the door of the South Study. The emperor did not ask the eunuchs to stand up, but the eunuchs remained kneeling in the same place, only changing the direction of their heads as the emperor moved.

"Let them all in and close the door." Zhu Changluo stepped over the threshold and instructed Wang An.

"Yes."

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After a while, the eunuchs entered the study and took their seats. Because the emperor hadn't ordered the room cleared, there were still eunuchs waiting inside. With them, the chief eunuchs didn't have to close the door themselves.

"When did you come?" Zhu Changluo looked at Cui Wensheng and found that the plate of snacks on his desk was empty.

"In reply to your Majesty," Cui Wensheng said, seeming a bit nervous but also clearly excited. "I've only been waiting here for less than an hour. To see His Majesty, any longer is worth it."

"I've been waiting for an hour," Zhu Changluo said teasingly, rather than responding to his flattery. "You've just been sitting there doing nothing?" Cui Wensheng was stunned.

"I have the audacity to present this petition to His Majesty," Wei Chao came out to explain. "Cui Wensheng did want to do something, but when he arrived, I and Liu Ruoyu had already finished reading the earlier batch of memorials. This latest batch hasn't arrived yet."

"So, you three are just going to sit here for an hour?" Zhu Changluo casually picked up a memorial that had been approved by the Cabinet and the Imperial Household Department, quickly read through the contents, and then picked up a red pen and wrote "Got it" at the end. This was another unremarkable memorial about a trivial matter.

"There are no new memorials sent yet." Wei Chao knew that the emperor was joking, but he was not panicked.

Zhu Changluo put down the memorial and looked at Cui Wensheng. "You came here in person and waited for an hour. Is there a result in the Beitang case?"

Cui Wensheng straightened his posture, concentrated his mind, and prepared to respond, "Master, you are wise."

Zhu Changluo stopped trying to do two things at once. He put away the smile on his face, looked at Cui Wensheng steadily, and raised his head, instantly increasing Cui Wensheng's heart rate.

"This is the express delivery I received this morning, from Cui Yuan." Cui Wensheng pulled out a thick envelope, warmed by his body heat, and placed it on the edge of the desk. "I present this to His Majesty, the Master, for your perusal."

Zhu Changluo remained motionless, merely extending his hand and beckoning to Wang An. Wang An understood and immediately stepped forward to shake out the contents of the envelope. After a brief inspection, Wang An placed the letter on the imperial desk, where it would be most convenient for the emperor's hand.

Zhu Changluo picked up the first piece of letter paper and took a quick look. He found it was a list of names. "Who are these people?"

"To answer your Majesty," Cui Wensheng replied, "these people are all scoundrels Cui Yuan caught from the Ministry of Finance."

"Those bugs in the Ministry of Finance?" Zhu Changluo asked again, "What did they do?"

"This person is either a personal attendant of Li Xiangbu or a clerk employed by the Xiangbu. They occasionally team up with the sailors recruited by the Xiangbu to create some 'drifting' incidents." Cui Wensheng replied.

"How to create 'floating'?" Zhu Changluo did not take the letter paper to look at it again.

"Their method for 'sinking' is simple. To put it bluntly, it's a combination of insider collusion and theft." Cui Wensheng had a plan in mind and summarized it simply: "The sailors on the ship carrying the cargo would bribe or murder the coastal defense soldiers escorting the ship while it was underway, then sail the ship elsewhere to unload the cargo. Afterwards, either a few 'survivors' would return to complain to the Ministry of Revenue, or the entire ship would simply disappear."

"When the Ministry of Revenue learns a transport vessel has vanished, it sends someone to verify the disappearance. At that point, the corrupt officials within the Ministry of Revenue will cooperate and register the vessel as 'sunken.' Once the Ministry of Revenue pays out the compensation, the 'sinking' incident is complete. Afterward, the treacherous sailors who vanished will either change their names and board someone else's ship, or simply register the entire ship as something else and then openly work for the government again. Because the government has these corrupt officials within its fold, these incidents are easily covered up."

"What about Li Changgeng? Was he involved?" Zhu Changluo's face began to turn ugly.

"At least based on the current evidence and confessions, Li Changgeng was simply deceived and did not actively participate," Cui Wensheng replied.

"Blinded." Zhu Changluo pressed on. "Whether the boat disappeared or not, he had no doubt at all?"

"It's hard for Li Changgeng to doubt it. With strong winds and rough waves at sea, sinking is a common occurrence. Furthermore, these people don't go overboard when it comes to causing sinking. They usually only perform these tricks at the end of the month. As long as the actual sinkings that month haven't reached the expected losses from normal sailing, they'll stage a few more to fill that 'gap'. Even if they occasionally exceed the estimated losses, they won't be so exaggerated as to be immediately noticeable."

"During the interrogation, some people referred to this as the 'slow and steady approach.' And if Li Changgeng showed any suspicion, they would immediately withdraw and remain silent for a while. Preliminary estimates suggest that since the establishment of the Ministry of Finance, these individuals have used this method to embezzle at least 100,000 taels of silver worth of grain. This is indeed a large sum, but not a significant amount compared to normal losses and the total amount transported by the Ministry of Finance."

Cui Wensheng swallowed his saliva and said, as if to "exculpate" Li Changgeng, "The entire Ministry of Finance matter rests on him, Li Changgeng, alone. Even if the people below him conspire to hide things from him, it's difficult for him to know everything. If the emperor hadn't sent this servant to intervene, he would still be kept in the dark."

Wang An was so smart that when he heard Cui Wensheng's words, he immediately understood that he was using the matter of the Ministry of Finance to elevate himself and the East Factory. Wang An pricked up his ears and heard the emperor chuckle and say, "Huh, what are you saying?"

"That's true." Zhu Changluo blinked and brought the topic back on track. "Were they also responsible for the two disappearance cases you reported earlier?"

Cui Wensheng replied sternly, "Yes. Cui Yuan has already obtained the confession, and the crew members will be arrested soon."

"So he hasn't been caught yet?" Zhu Changluo asked back.

Cui Wensheng's trick was instantly seen through, and he panicked. He hurriedly explained, "We've already apprehended quite a few crew members involved in the 'sinking' incidents, but these two cases fall under the category of 'entire ship disappearances' I mentioned earlier. The crews of these two ships are no longer in Tianjin; some have even fled beyond the borders of Northern Zhili to Shandong. However, the Ministry of Finance has discovered their hiding places, and the East Factory has dispatched officers to issue a formal ultimatum to the authorities there, requesting their full assistance in their arrest. We expect to apprehend these individuals soon."

"How come the Ministry of Finance discovered the hiding place?" Zhu Changluo came up with a word.

Cui Wensheng explained, "As long as the Liao incident continues, maritime transport must continue. We can't let the investigation affect maritime transport and, by extension, the supply of materials to Liaodong. The key to maritime transport lies in the seamen. If the East Factory were to arrest and interrogate them, it would inevitably cause panic and make innocent people uninvolved in the case feel uneasy. So, Cui Yuan decided to have the Ministry of Finance step in and summon the gentry and elders from every village and stockade to apprehend those who broke the rules. This way, the investigation wouldn't be hindered and the people would be reassured. While the case was being handled, the Ministry of Finance continued its operations as usual, and the grain and cargo ships scheduled to go out to sea set sail on time."

"Yeah." Zhu Changluo nodded slightly, with an appreciation look on his face.

Zhu Changluo stopped asking questions for the time being. He picked up the letter and quickly read through it page by page. After reading more than ten pages, the content of the letter finally came to the subject of the noble relatives that Zhu Changluo had always cared about.

The writing order of this report is actually in reverse order!

"Cui Yuan went to borrow soldiers from the governor's office?" Zhu Changluo picked up the water cup, took a sip, and continued to read the rest of the content.

"My lord," Cui Wensheng explained, "the manpower sent to Tianjin was limited. If we relied solely on the East Depot, the criminals would inevitably escape, making the case difficult to complete. Furthermore, Cui Yuan believed that the Tianjin Coastal Defense Battalion was untrustworthy until the case was fully investigated. After all, the Coastal Defense Battalion had the job of escorting ships, and Li Laicai and his lackeys had repeatedly paid their respects to Li Weidong, the Coastal Defense Guerrilla. To prevent any unforeseen events, Cui Yuan sent Sun Yuerong to the Zhongwei Governor's Office to request assistance. Master Sun was a trustworthy person, and Mao Yuanyi, the guerrilla commander of the Governor's Standard Battalion, was personally appointed by the Emperor against all odds. It was thanks to the assistance of Master Sun and Mao Yuanyi that this case was successfully concluded without incident."

(End of this chapter)