Jingtai: Making the Ming Dynasty Great Again

As Zhu Qiyu flipped through a booklet, he said to Xing'an, "Get up. You've had a hard time these past few months."

Xing'an quickly bowed and said, "Your subject dares not complain of hardship; it is all my duty."

Xing'an's gaze was lowered, but the events of the past two months involuntarily surfaced in his mind.

After Zhu Qiyu burned the secret documents "in public," he issued another decree to him.

After receiving the imperial decree from the Qianqing Palace, Xing'an had only one thought in his mind: This matter is not easy to handle.

More than three thousand eunuchs and more than two thousand palace maids were scattered throughout the palace and its various offices.

How many of these people have their own agendas?

How many of them actually live peaceful and law-abiding lives?

he does not know.

But he knew that what Zhu Qiyu wanted was a clean and tidy harem.

A harem that only listens to the emperor.

Then it needs to be cleared up.

He only found out later when they took a headcount.

The Empress Dowager's palace had 153 eunuchs and 127 palace maids.

According to regulations, the Empress Dowager's palace should have eighty eunuchs and sixty palace maids.

Now it has more than doubled.

However, he dared not say anything about it.

He simply recorded the facts in the register and then reported it to Zhu Qiyu.

The most difficult people to deal with are those who are young, strong, and have no faults.

Xing'an remembers a young eunuch in the Qianqing Palace, surnamed Zhao, who was nineteen years old.

After entering the palace in the tenth year of the Zhengtong reign, he worked in the tea room.

He had investigated the child's background; his family had a clean record for three generations, and he had never committed any wrongdoing since entering the palace.

He gets up at 3 AM every day to boil water and doesn't rest until midnight, a routine he has maintained for five years.

When he went to inform the eunuch surnamed Zhao that he was being transferred to the Imperial Horse Stables, the child was stunned.

Xing'an suddenly felt a pang of pity.

The child did nothing wrong; he was simply transferred away because he had served the Emperor.

But he didn't say anything, he just had someone take him to the Imperial Stables.

Later, the Imperial Horse Stables reported back that the child was very hardworking and never slacked off.

Xing'an kept this in mind, thinking that he might be able to bring it up with His Majesty in a couple of years and have him transferred back.

And then there are those who are guilty but not deserving of death.

He was sent to the laundry department.

That place is outside the palace.

It was a large courtyard with hundreds of low-rise houses.

Winters are as cold as an icebox, and summers are as hot as a steamer.

Those sent there had to wash three large tubs of clothes every day, from morning till night.

When you get sick, no one cares; when you die, they just take you out to be buried.

Of the 293 people he sent,

Some stole things, some fought, some slacked off, and some gossiped.

As for the hundred people sent to the Eastern Depot, they weren't so lucky.

There were sixty-seven people who accepted bribes and colluded with officials outside the capital; all sorts of strange things happened.

There was a eunuch from the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs who was specifically responsible for delivering memorials.

He secretly wrote down the contents of the memorials and sold them to officials outside the capital.

He sold each serving for ten taels of silver for several years, accumulating over a thousand taels in savings.

When Xing'an interrogated him, the eunuch still argued confidently: "That's how it's done in the palace."

Those who bought information included civil officials, military generals, and even members of the imperial family!

Some of them died in Tumu Fortress, while others are still alive.

Xing'an wrote down all the names and reported them to Zhu Qiyu.

He knew these people would be dealt with sooner or later.

There were also twenty-three others who stole valuables from the palace.

Some stole gold and silver utensils, some stole silk and cloth, and some stole tea and snacks.

The most outrageous one was the theft of a painting titled "Bamboo and Sparrow" by Emperor Xuanzong, which he sold for five hundred taels of silver.

Xing'an recovered the painting, which is now stored in the storeroom of the Directorate of Ceremonial.

As for the eunuch and the buyer, they have both been beheaded according to the law.

In addition, there were ten others who formed cliques, ostracized their colleagues, and engaged in factionalism.

These are all prominent figures in their respective supervisory offices.

They form cliques and control affairs; anyone who doesn't listen to them will be ostracized.

Those ten people were eventually exiled by him to grow vegetables in Xiaolingwei, Nanjing.

Sending them to grow vegetables for the founding emperor is a way to make the best use of them.

For the past two months, Xing'an has been running around to various palaces during the day and interrogating people at the Eastern Depot at night.

But whenever he recalled His Majesty's words, he regained his spirits.

"What I want is a clean and tidy harem."

He understood what Zhu Qiyu meant.

It's not that I think having too many people is expensive; it's that I think having too many people leads to chaos.

With over three thousand eunuchs and over two thousand palace maids, who knows how many of them are spies for others?

Whatever His Majesty says or does, people will know the next day.

What's the point of being an emperor like that?

Therefore, it must be cleared.

After cleaning up, replace the staff with someone you trust.

Even if those people are a little stupid or lazy, as long as they are loyal, that's enough.

Apart from those who served the Emperor Emeritus and made mistakes.

Xing'an also dismissed a group of people as Zhu Qiyu had requested.

Most of these people had previously entered the palace through bribery.

There are also some redundant positions.

It's something that one person could do, but they insist on assigning three or four people to do it.

Xing'an was thinking when he suddenly heard Zhu Qiyu close the book.

Zhu Qiyu asked, "How did you handle things at Qingning Palace afterwards?"

Xing'an bowed his head and said, "I followed Your Majesty's instructions and did not move a single person. I only counted the number of people and made a register."

Zhu Qiyu sighed softly: "You did a good job. I will handle things with the Empress Dowager."

Xing'an lowered his head and didn't dare to reply.

He knew that the relationship between His Majesty and the Empress Dowager was delicate.

The Empress Dowager was Emperor Xuanzong's empress, the biological mother of the retired emperor, and the one who approved Zhu Qiyu's ascension to the throne.

Such people are untouchable and should not be touched.

Even though she had over a hundred idle eunuchs in her palace, they could only let her have her way.

Zhu Qiyu suddenly asked again, "Was that little eunuch surnamed Zhao sent to the Imperial Horse Stables?"

Xing'an was taken aback, not expecting Zhu Qiyu to still remember this matter.

He only mentioned it briefly to Zhu Qiyu at the time, and hurriedly replied, "Your Majesty, it has already been sent to the Imperial Stables to feed the horses."

Zhu Qiyu: "How is he?"

Xing'an said, "The Imperial Horse Stables reported that they work very diligently and never slack off."

Zhu Qiyu nodded: "Okay, write down his name, and transfer him back in two years."

Xing'an kowtowed: "Your subject obeys the decree. Your subject thanks Your Majesty on his behalf!"

Zhu Qiyu thought for a moment and said, "Let the Eastern Depot thoroughly investigate those who bought the memorials."

Compare the confidential documents to see if there are any other issues.

After verification, all persons and evidence will be handed over to the Ministry of Justice. I intend to handle this matter with great fanfare.

Xing'an was startled and immediately replied, "Yes, Your Majesty!"

Killing one person isn't considered high-profile; killing nine generations of their family is!

Silence fell again in the hall.

Xing'an waited with his head down, unsure if Zhu Qiyu had any further instructions.

After a while, Zhu Qiyu's voice rang out: "You've worked hard these past two months, go and rest."

Xing'an kowtowed in gratitude and bowed as he withdrew from the Qianqing Palace.

A cold wind blew as I stepped out of the palace.

He then realized that his back was completely soaked.

Zhu Qiyu sighed as he watched Xing'an leave.

He replaced a group of eunuchs and palace maids when he first ascended the throne.

Cheng Jing selected a group of people who had never served Zhu Qizhen closely before to take care of Zhu Qiyu's family.

Zhu Qiyu showed the utmost leniency towards these eunuchs.

As a result, the very day before, he announced in the palace that he wanted to change the system of kinship.

The news reached some officials the very next day.

It is tolerable and unbearable.

Thus, this major investigation took place.