Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 794 If the law doesn't punish everyone, then kill one as a warning to others 
As they spoke, the group arrived at the small square where carriages and sedan chairs were parked. In the center of the square were several carriages and sedan chairs, while the drivers, sedan chair bearers, and grooms who served these carriages and sedan chairs were resting and chatting under the shade of the trees near the square, fanning themselves with straw hats. When they saw the officials coming, they quickly shut up, got up, and led their animals back to their respective carriages to wait.

"Director Gao, everyone, please make yourselves at home," Sun Chengzong waved his hand. "Let's head back to the city now."

Gao Shiming bowed in agreement, then asked, "Minister Sun, do you have any other plans for tomorrow? If not, I would like to ask you to show us around the city again."

Sun Chengzong's lips twitched, an instinctive feeling of resistance rising within him. Although he hadn't been subjected to any distracting music lately, he was utterly exhausted by paperwork, with new files and reports arriving daily for him to review and approve. In Sun Chengzong's view, spending time with these eunuchs who were already out of breath after walking only a few steps was a complete waste of time.

“If I could, I would really like to accompany you all on your tour of Tianjin and properly show you the hospitality of a host,” Sun Chengzong said, his eyes darting around, a hint of regret in his brows that was hard to discern as genuine or feigned. “Unfortunately, the affairs of the office are numerous and complex, including canal transport, military settlements, taxes, and auditing—all sorts of matters piled up at once, I’m afraid…”

"Oh dear, how presumptuous of me!" Gao Shiming immediately understood Sun Chengzong's polite refusal and quickly put on an apologetic expression, saying, "Before leaving the capital, His Majesty specifically instructed us to act discreetly and not to interfere with local affairs or hinder government matters. Since Vice Minister Sun is so busy, we will not trouble you any further."

"Eunuch Gao, what are you saying? The pile of official duties is due to my incompetence, not my fault. How can it be considered an obstacle? Here's what we'll do." Sun Chengzong was secretly pleased, but his face showed even more regret and pity. He raised his hand and beckoned to Shen Zhengping, who had been by his side but had hardly said a word. "In the coming days, let Shen Zhengping take my place and accompany the three of you on your tour of Zhongwei. Shen Zhengping has been serving in Zhongwei for a long time, is familiar with the local situation, and is very reliable in his work. There will be no oversights."

“That would be good, of course.” Upon hearing this, Gao Shiming immediately looked at Shen Zhengping, but when he spoke, he still sensibly offered Sun Chengzong a way out: “I just don’t know if Shen Zhengping has any free time these days? If we delay the military affairs of the guards, wouldn’t we still become the sinners?”

Shen Zhengping was overjoyed. He had been looking forward to meeting the eunuchs from the inner court alone to find out what he hadn't asked and what he wanted to ask. So even if Sun Chengzong didn't greet him, he would find a way to approach them.

"I, Shen Zhengping, am but a mediocre man. Without the Censor's tireless efforts for our Guard, I would surely be struggling to cope. Fortunately, His Majesty is wise and the Censor is exceptionally talented, managing all affairs of our Guard in an orderly manner, allowing me to simply follow the established procedures to fulfill my duties. I have long been unproductive, and now that I have the opportunity to share the burden for the Censor, I am naturally obliged to serve." Shen Zhengping suppressed his emotions slightly, first echoing Gao Shiming's sentiments and praising Sun Chengzong. After speaking, he turned to Gao Shiming and the others: "Furthermore, the three eunuchs are noble sages from heaven, with broad knowledge. It is my honor to be able to listen to your teachings. Please convey my gratitude to Eunuchs Gao, Pang, Fang, and Xu for their generous guidance."

"Hmm," Gao Shiming was a little stunned by Shen Zhengping's words. "Hmph, since Shen Zhengping puts it that way, then we won't stand on ceremony."

"You flatter me, Your Excellency!" Shen Zhengping replied again. "It is my duty to share the burdens of the Censor and serve you all."

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Dusk, like a thin veil, slowly enveloped the blue brick walls of the post station. The setting sun cast its last rays of golden light on the eaves, illuminating the unlit lanterns. Fang Zhenghua and Xu Fang stood by the stone steps outside the gate, watching Gao Shiming and Pang Tianshou's sedan chairs gradually disappear into the alleyway.

The two men straightened up from their bows and turned to look at the courtyard gate. Just as they were about to knock, the wooden door creaked open from the inside. The young eunuch on duty greeted them with a smile, "Eunuch Fang, Eunuch Xu, you two are finally back! Have you eaten?"

"I've eaten," Fang Zhenghua replied casually, stepping inside first.

Behind the gate was a square courtyard, with clumps of moss growing in the cracks of the blue bricks. Two unlit paper lanterns hung under the west corridor, swaying gently in the breeze. The two men, accompanied by four attendants, stepped inside. Just as they passed the courtyard, they saw a middle-aged man in a blue cloth robe walking briskly from the direction of the west wing.

The man was around forty years old, with three short tufts of beard on his chin. He was holding two booklets in his arms, the pages of which were neatly bound with fine hemp rope. When he saw Fang Zhenghua and Xu Fang, he immediately stopped and bowed, saying, "Greetings, Eunuch Fang. Greetings, Eunuch Xu."

"Mr. Qin." Fang Zhenghua turned around and returned the greeting formally.

"Mr. Qin." Xu Fang bowed slightly, her gaze falling on the booklet in Mr. Qin's arms.

"Commissioner Xu, my two colleagues and I have finished copying the 'Records of Gentry and Merchants' that you entrusted to us yesterday." Mr. Qin straightened up, took two steps forward, and presented the booklet in his arms to Xu Fang. "This is the original book, and this is the copy. Please take a look, gentlemen."

Xu Fang reached out and took the booklet, then thanked Mr. Qin, saying, "Thank you for your hard work, gentlemen."

“No need for thanks, Eunuch Xu,” Mr. Qin declined. “It is our duty.”

“Mr. Qin, if I may ask a question,” Xu Fang said, holding one book in each hand and gently weighing it in her hand. “Did you make any omissions or losses while copying it?”

"Reporting to Eunuch Xu," Mr. Qin hurriedly replied, "After receiving the booklet yesterday, my two colleagues and I, as instructed, disassembled the original booklet and copied it into three parts. To be on the safe side, after disassembling it, we did not immediately begin transcribing. Instead, we first bound each part together with cotton string before starting our work. Not only were there no omissions, but the page order was also perfectly correct. After finishing the transcription, we checked it several times. We found a few pages with typos along the way, so we rewrote the entire pages. Now that I think about it, there should be no omissions or typos. However, if you two find anything wrong after comparing it, we can always go back and correct it."

“Alright. Thank you for your trouble, gentlemen,” Xu Fang said with a satisfied smile. “It’s getting late, Mr. Qin, please go and rest. If you need anything else later, we’ll trouble you again.”

"I dare not accept such praise. If you have any instructions, please summon me at any time." Mr. Qin took a half step back, bowed again, and then turned and quietly left the courtyard.

“Brother Fang,” Xu Fang looked around and then handed the original book to Fang Zhenghua: “This is the list of suspects in the canal smuggling case that I mentioned to you yesterday, which I obtained from the East Depot liaison station. Take a look.”

Fang Zhenghua reached out and took the book, his fingertips brushing against the cover of "Records of Officials and Merchants," but he didn't open it immediately. He glanced towards the study, silently turned his head, and then looked at Xu Fang.

Xu Fang understood and nodded slightly. Then she waved her hand to dismiss her attendants and followed Fang Zhenghua toward the study.

Pushing open the study door, a faint musty smell mixed with the scent of wood wafted out. Although it wasn't quite dark outside, the chill of night had already seeped into the room, making it rather dim; even the writing implements on the desk were barely discernible. Xu Fang called out towards the door, "Light the lamp." "Yes, coming!" came an immediate reply from outside, and soon after, the young eunuch who had been on duty at the gatehouse rushed in carrying a tinderbox. He went inside, removed the cap from the tinderbox, and then gently blew on it. The smoldering wick instantly ignited, the orange-red flame illuminating his slightly youthful face.

The young eunuch, carrying a tinderbox, carefully walked to the desk and lit the oil lantern on it. The wick crackled, and the warm yellow light immediately spread out, illuminating most of the study. The empty room instantly became visible.

As it was a place for guests to rest temporarily at the inn, the bookshelves and cabinets against the wall were fully equipped, but they were empty; not even half a book could be found. There were writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones on the table, but there was no ink mark in the inkstone, and the paper was neatly folded, indicating that no one had touched them for a long time.

The eunuch went to the corner again and lit the oil lamp on the low table. The dim light and the warm glow of the lantern intertwined, dispelling the shadows in the corner and illuminating the entire study. He closed the tinderbox, shook it vigorously to make sure the wick was out, and then stepped back to the door, asking softly, "Gentlemen, would you like some tea?"

“No need,” Fang Zhenghua said, walking to the table and running his fingers over the inkstone. “Drinking tea at this hour will definitely keep you awake tonight.”

Xu Fang leaned against the window, gazing at the deepening twilight outside the courtyard, and casually said, "Could you get us some hot water?"

"Yes, this servant will go right away!" The young eunuch responded repeatedly, gently closing the door behind him, his footsteps gradually fading into the distance.

The study fell silent, save for the occasional crackling of the cheap lamp oil burning. Fang Zhenghua sat down in the lamplight, slowly turning the pages of the booklet in his hand, his fingertips tracing the names on the list page by page.

At first, Fang Zhenghua's face was expressionless, but when he was halfway through the book, he suddenly stopped, looked up at Xu Fang, and said with some surprise, "Does this case really involve so many people?"

“You make it sound like I’m bluffing you,” Xu Fang said, walking from the window to the corner oil lamp and sitting down. “It’s not just that. That Bai, the head of the Eastern Depot, said that this book only records the important figures. If you include the nobody, this book will be twice as thick.”

"My God," Fang Zhenghua couldn't help but mutter.

“Don’t be so quick to make a fuss. This is only in Tianjin,” Xu Fang said casually, flipping through the copybook. “That Captain Bai said that the Eastern Depot is already preparing to extend its investigation to Shandong.”

Fang Zheng closed the booklet and tapped the cover lightly with his fingertips: "I know, you told me about this yesterday."

“If we keep investigating like this, from Tianjin to Shandong, and then from Shandong to Zhejiang, humph,” Xu Fang snorted, her tone carrying a hint of inexplicable sarcasm, “we’re afraid it will implicate thousands or even tens of thousands of people.”

Fang Zhenghua looked up at Xu Fang: "Brother Xu, what are your plans for the future?"

"What else can we do?" Xu Fang shrugged. "First, we'll return the original book, and then we'll go check out those investigation stations to understand the situation on the front lines and see how they actually investigate cases."

Fang Zhenghua patted the booklet in front of him: "I'm talking about the case itself."

"The case itself?" Xu Fang raised an eyebrow. "This is a case of the Eastern Depot, and it has no direct connection with our Western Depot. We're only here on behalf of the Emperor and the Directorate of Ceremonial to check if the Eastern Depot is up to any tricks, and also to let the people in the Eastern Depot know their place. Ultimately, how the case is handled is their business."

Fang Zhenghua paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "Brother Xu, haven't you thought about how this case will ultimately turn out?"

"Of course I've thought about it." Xu Fang looked at the flickering lamp wick, her voice seeming a little somber. "But how this case ends is not something we nobody can interfere with."

"It wouldn't hurt to talk about it, would it?" Fang Zhenghua leaned forward slightly, the lantern light reflecting on his face, creating a play of light and shadow.

"Hmm," Xu Fang looked down at her fingertips, remained silent for a while, and then clicked her tongue softly: "In my humble opinion, the crux of this case lies in the policy that cargo ships do not need to be inspected on-site. So it's simple to solve the problem: just make the customs offices inspect cargo ships on board like they inspect merchant ships, and that will naturally close the loophole and bring back the missed taxes."

“This is certainly a solution once and for all.” Fang Zhenghua nodded slightly, then shook his head, saying, “But Brother Xu, have you considered that once the ships are inspected, the sailing time for the grain transport vessels will be greatly extended? We saw this firsthand when we were at Hexiwu. It takes at least half an hour and at most an hour for an ordinary merchant ship to go from inspection to passing through customs. This time may not seem long, but if you add up the total time for the grain transport vessels from Hangzhou to Tongzhou, the arrival time of the grain transported to the granaries will probably be delayed by several days. If the customs office is blocked as a result, the time will probably be even longer. At that time, there will only be more trouble.”

"Hehe," Xu Fang couldn't help but chuckle, "Yes, so my method is only easy to talk about. In reality, it's just like the story of Zhao Kuo, who only talked about war on paper. Brother Fang, do you have any ideas?"

"Kill!" Fang Zhenghua uttered the word without hesitation.

"Murder? That's easy." Even Xu Fang was startled by Fang Zhenghua's gaze. "But the law doesn't punish everyone. There are hundreds of people involved in Tianjin alone."

“The law can’t punish everyone, so let’s make an example of one to warn a hundred.” Fang Zhenghua opened the booklet, his finger scribbling casually across the list, then suddenly pointed: “We can’t kill tens of thousands of people, but picking one out of every ten, or five out of every hundred, shouldn’t be a problem, right?”

(End of this chapter)