Jingtai: Making the Ming Dynasty Great Again

Liu Yu's forehead was covered in cold sweat, but he quickly forced a smile: "Eunuch Cheng is unaware of this."

Those iron and gunpowder were reserved for the government.

The government said they would not take it for the time being, but would store it in the treasury.

"If Eunuch Cheng wishes to see, I will take you to the storeroom right away."

Cheng Jing looked at him and said, "Okay, lead the way."

The warehouse was in the backyard; it was a large building filled with goods.

Cheng Jing immediately spotted the iron ingots and gunpowder barrels piled up in the corner.

He walked over, picked up an iron ingot and looked at it, then opened a gunpowder barrel and looked inside.

Then he looked at Liu Yu: "Are these iron ingots and gunpowder reserved for the government?"

Liu Yu nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, they are all reserved for the government."

Cheng Jing sneered: "Eunuch Liu, do you think we're three-year-olds?"

Will the government reserve goods without paying a deposit?

Will no written record be left?

"Would I just leave it to gather dust in your royal shop?"

Liu Yu's face turned deathly pale, and he opened his mouth but couldn't utter a word.

Cheng Jing threw the iron ingot on the ground: "Eunuch Liu had better pray that all the goods you reserved would match the accounts."

After saying that, he turned and left.

Behind him, Liu Yu slumped to the ground, his back soaked with cold sweat.

Meanwhile, Shen Yi arrived in Ganzhou full of ambition.

He had hoped that being transferred from the position of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue to Governor of Gansu would allow him to make great strides in his career.

But when I arrived in Ganzhou, I found that the people here were much more difficult to deal with than the corrupt officials in the capital.

Shen Yi stepped into the governor's office for the first time.

He was greeted by several clerks.

The leader was an old official in his fifties, surnamed Zhou, who was known as Master Zhou.

Master Zhou smiled broadly: "Lord Shen has come from afar and must be tired from your journey."

The servants have prepared a welcome feast; please proceed to the back hall, sir.

Shen Yi waved his hand: "The welcoming banquet isn't urgent. I need to check the grain accounts, silver accounts, and household registers first."

Master Zhou: "Of course, of course. Please wait a moment, sir, I'll go and get it right away."

He turned around and gave a few instructions, and the clerks hurriedly left.

Shen Yi sat in the main hall for a quarter of an hour, but no one came.

Another fifteen minutes passed, but still no one came.

Half an hour later, Master Zhou hurriedly returned, his face full of apology, and said, "Please forgive me, sir."

Those account books are all in the storeroom, and the key to the storeroom is in the hands of Chen, the clerk.

Clerk Chen is on leave today and is not at the yamen.

or……

Will your lord come again tomorrow? "

Shen Yi: "When does Clerk Chen begin his shift?"

Master Zhou thought for a moment: "They should come tomorrow. Perhaps you could come again tomorrow, sir?"

Shen Yi got up and left.

Shen Yi came again the next day.

This time, Clerk Chen was present.

But he brought over a stack of account books, placed them on the table, and said, "Sir, these are last year's grain accounts. Please take your time to look through them."

Shen Yi opened the account book, and after reading a few pages, his brows furrowed.

The ledger was a mess, with incorrect dates and altered numbers, making it impossible to make sense of anything.

He looked up at Chen, the clerk: "Why are these account books so messy?"

The clerk, Chen, looked completely innocent: "My lord, you are unaware of this."

Last year, the border was under pressure, and there was a lot of grain and supplies coming in and out, so there wasn't time to keep detailed records.

These were all added later, so some omissions are inevitable.

Shen Yi suppressed his anger: "Then is there the original account book?"

Chen, the clerk, shook his head: "No, those were all drafts. We threw them away after we finished using them."

If adults want to see this, this is the only one they can see.

Shen Yi knew he was lying, but he couldn't produce any evidence.

In the days that followed, Shen Yi spent every day outwitting and outmaneuvering these clerks.

He asked for a grain ledger, but they gave him a fake one.

He wanted the accounts book, but they messed it up.

He asked for his household registration information, and they said they were processing it.

Shen Yi lost his temper several times and cursed at people a few times.

Those clerks admitted their mistakes to his face, but then turned around and continued as before.

On one occasion, Shen Yi slammed his fist on the table in anger and shouted, "Are you trying to fool me by saying I don't understand accounts?"

Master Zhou calmly replied, "Please calm down, sir."

We had no such intention.

That's just how things have always been done in government offices.

If Your Excellency finds this inappropriate, you may petition the court to replace the missing personnel.

Shen Yi was speechless.

He knew these people were local strongmen, deeply entrenched in their power.

He, a newly arrived governor, has no power over them whatsoever.

We need to approach it from other angles.

Wu Ning sat in the signing room of the governor's office, with a thick stack of official documents spread out in front of him.

The Governor-General of Gansu, who had risen from the position of Vice Minister of War, had a gloomy expression on his face.

He has been in Ganzhou for more than ten days.

When he first arrived, he, like Shen Yi, thought that the reorganization of Gansu Town was just a matter of course.

However, after more than ten days, he realized he was wrong.

And it's wildly wrong.

The door to the signing room was gently pushed open.

A clerk brought in a cup of fresh tea, his face beaming with smiles: "Lord Wu, you've been reading all morning, take a break."

This tea is newly arrived this year; please have a taste, sir.

Wu Ning glanced at him.

The clerk's surname was Sun. He was in his early thirties and always spoke in a soft voice, appearing harmless.

But Wu Ning had already figured it out in those ten days.

This clerk, Sun, was Ren Li's informant.

Your every move will reach the ears of the intended recipient within half an hour.

Wu Ning said calmly, "Put it down."

Clerk Sun placed the teacup on the table but did not leave immediately.

Instead, he stepped closer and lowered his voice, saying, "Sir, there's something I'm not sure if I should say."

Wu Ning looked at him and said, "Speak."

Sun, the clerk, said, "Sir, you are new here and there may be some things you are not yet aware of."

If you wish to have smooth business dealings in Ganzhou City, you might as well pay your respects to the local officials first.

Wu Ning raised an eyebrow: "Pay homage to whoever you want? Whose homage?"

Sun, the clerk, chuckled but didn't answer directly. He simply pointed to the northwest.

That's the direction of the General's Mansion.

Wu Ning: "I will personally pay a visit to General Ren. Is there anything else?"

Seeing that he didn't respond, Clerk Sun smiled awkwardly and said, "That's all, please enjoy your meal, sir. I'll take my leave now."

After the door closed, Wu Ning's face darkened.

Paying homage to the powerful?

They came here to dismantle the dock!

Wu Ning then sighed again.

At this time, the Ming Dynasty had not yet established a governor-general's office, nor did it have a resident governor-general.

The so-called governor-general was an imperial envoy sent by the imperial court.

After finishing his business, he returned to Beijing to report on his work.

Wu Ning initially thought that Ren Li and the others would dare to give Fan Guang and his group a perfunctory response.

But one has to give face to oneself as an imperial envoy.

But after taking office, Wu Ning discovered that it was all the same.

He wanted to see the grain and fodder ledgers, but the clerks said they were being organized.

He wanted to verify the military quotas reported by each garrison, and the clerks brought over a pile of yellowed booklets, saying they were from three years ago.

He wanted to check the military pay disbursement records, but the clerks said the former governor had taken them away.

Take away my ass! How long has it been since Gansu sent a governor-general?!

Wu Ning knew they were stalling and giving him the runaround.

The real issue to be addressed is Ren Li.

This was the descendant of a meritorious official who inherited the title of Earl of Huining during the Jingnan Rebellion.

Although he was too scared to move after the Tumu Crisis.

But within the territory of Ganzhou, he remained the undisputed leader.

A month ago, the capital received a memorial from Prince Su.

It is said that Ren Li demolished the old palace of Prince Su to house soldiers.

Prince Su was the only one who sent 500 cavalrymen to the capital to defend the emperor a few months ago.

Emperor Taizong reduced the power of the regional military governors several times.

These five hundred people represent almost all the assets of the Prince Su's mansion.

Wu Ning's other mission this time was to investigate this matter.

Suddenly a commotion arose outside the window.

Wu Ning looked in the direction of the sound.

A troop of cavalry roared past on the street opposite the governor's office.

The leader was a young man.

Wu Ning recognized the man: Ren Li's eldest son, Ren Jie.

Nominally, he was the Vice Commander of the Ganzhou Guard.

In reality, he does nothing at all.

He would parade around the city all day with a group of personal guards.

As Wu Ning watched the cavalry disappear around the street corner, a deep sense of powerlessness welled up inside him.

Before he arrived, Yu Qian had told him: "The problems in Gansu are deeply entrenched and difficult to reverse."

After you arrive, do not be hasty. First, find out the details, and then proceed slowly.

But what Yu Qian didn't know was that the details here were completely unknown.

Because everyone was lying to him.