Chapter 199: The Armory Bureau

Zhao Yan's reasoning for saying this was simple—he truly couldn't return to Beijing right now. He needed to stay here to test the reliability of the Tianqi Model One matchlock musket while gathering first-hand data on its use.

And this had absolutely nothing to do with his unwillingness to return to the capital carrying Xiong Tingbi's routine memorial of thanks.

The reason he had Wei Chao take Xiong Tingbi's memorial back was, first, that it was Wei Chao's proper duty, and second, he genuinely wanted to make things unpleasant for him.

Because this matter was certain to be troublesome—if Wei Chao carried that memorial back, he would surely catch a scolding from His Majesty.

But Wei Chao clearly wasn't falling for it either. After inspecting five thousand Tianqi Model One matchlock muskets, he understood one thing in his heart: Liaodong was about to see a major battle.

Returning to the capital at this time would obviously be more loss than gain. Once Liaodong won its victory, he could return bearing news of triumph—that was an entirely different matter from going back now.

What Zhao Yan admired was that Wei Chao reacted quickly indeed—in such a short time, he'd thought up this trick of feigning illness.

"Then Eunuch Wei should rest well." Zhao Yan was a bit speechless and could only offer this false show of concern.

"Many thanks for your concern, Lord Zhao." Wei Chao said with a smile, looking completely unruffled.

While the two were talking over there, Xiong Tingbi quickly finished writing the memorial. He couldn't be bothered to pay them any mind and directly sent a man riding at full speed to deliver the memorial to the capital.

So the conversation between Wei Chao and Zhao Yan had no effect on Xiong Tingbi whatsoever.

The capital, Qianqing Palace.

Zhu Youxiao stretched his limbs. Come to think of it, some time had passed since he'd transmigrated here—he'd even already taken a wife—but he still hadn't left the palace to move about freely.

He truly wanted to see the capital of this era, but sneaking out of the palace was no small feat. The key problem was safety—who knew what things were like out there?

"Your Majesty, Minister of Works Zhao Nanxing has arrived." Chen Hong came to Zhu Youxiao's side, bowing as he spoke in a low voice.

Zhu Youxiao nodded lightly and said with a smile: "Let him in."

In truth, Zhu Youxiao knew that Zhao Nanxing's days had not been easy lately.

The reason was fairly simple—many people regarded Zhao Nanxing as a traitor, an official who had climbed to power by stepping on the blood of others.

Under such circumstances, Zhao Nanxing's reputation was very poor, so his days had become rather difficult.

This had led Zhao Nanxing to throw in his lot completely with His Majesty's side.

But Zhu Youxiao wasn't quite sure why Zhao Nanxing had come today. The Ministry of Works didn't seem to have anything major going on recently.

He had indeed been thinking of moving the Wanggong Factory under the Hundred Crafts Institute, but he hadn't made a move on that front yet.

Soon, Zhao Nanxing walked in from outside.

Upon seeing Zhu Youxiao, Zhao Nanxing hurriedly performed the ritual salute and said respectfully: "Your servant, Minister of Works Zhao Nanxing, pays respects to Your Majesty."

"Beloved minister, no need for ceremony." Zhu Youxiao said with a smile: "Beloved minister, have you come today on some matter?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, your servant has come today to report one matter to Your Majesty. This is the account I have audited in recent days; I beg Your Majesty to look it over." As he spoke, Zhao Nanxing presented a ledger with both hands, offering it before Chen Hong.

Chen Hong dared not be negligent and promptly presented the ledger to Zhu Youxiao.

Reaching out to take the ledger and flipping through it roughly, the expression on Zhu Youxiao's face turned quite interesting.

Because this was the account book of several offices under the Ministry of Works, including the Wanggong Factory, and it contained records of corruption.

Clearly, Zhao Nanxing had gotten word that the Emperor intended to deal with the Wanggong Factory and had struck first.

That way, the blame could not fall on the Ministry of Works.

Zhu Youxiao had wanted to use the pretext that the Ministry of Works had failed to manage the Wanggong Factory properly in order to transfer it to the Hundred Crafts Institute—but that plan evidently wouldn't work now.

At the same time, Zhao Nanxing was telling His Majesty that the Ministry of Works had no intention of giving up the Wanggong Factory.

"Beloved minister, why put yourself through this?" Zhu Youxiao looked at Zhao Nanxing and said with a wry smile.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, the Ministry of Works has indeed done poorly these years—your servant knows this well. But your servant has confidence that he can surely manage the Ministry of Works well, and can also manage the offices under it well, and absolutely will not allow the past to repeat itself." Zhao Nanxing said with a solemn expression.

Zhu Youxiao looked at Zhao Nanxing and let out a helpless sigh.

Clearly, Zhao Nanxing was giving him a guarantee—that he could definitely manage the Ministry of Works well—and begging him not to transfer the Wanggong Factory to the Hundred Crafts Institute.

Having one of his subordinate offices transferred under another's authority was a result Zhao Nanxing, as Minister of Works, could not accept.

Looking at Zhao Nanxing's earnest, serious face, Zhu Youxiao's heart did soften a little. After a moment's deliberation, he said: "Beloved minister, go ahead and do your work. I trust that you can handle things well."

This was Zhu Youxiao's promise to Zhao Nanxing: if you do your job well, I will not strip the Wanggong Factory from the Ministry of Works.

"Then your servant takes his leave." Zhao Nanxing said with a bow.

Zhu Youxiao waved his hand.

Watching Zhao Nanxing's departing back, Zhu Youxiao shook his head with a wry smile.

When his ministers did nothing, he was anxious in his heart; now that his ministers were all scrambling to do things, he was still anxious in his heart.

He'd soothed Zhao Nanxing on this side, but he still needed to give Xu Guangqi an explanation on that side.

Fortunately, he had a backup plan ready. Since the Ministry of Works' Wanggong Factory couldn't be touched, then he would just build another one.

In fact, there was no need to build a new Wanggong Factory, because one already existed within the palace—the Armory Bureau among the Twenty-Four Offices.

The Armory Bureau had originally been managed by eunuchs, and the reason for its establishment was simple: to forge weapons for the imperial guard.

It could be said that when the Ming dynasty was first established, the Emperor kept the court and his own imperial household very clearly separated.

The place that forged weapons for the court's armies across the realm was the Ministry of Works, but the place that forged weapons for the Emperor's imperial guard was the Armory Bureau—that is to say, the Armory Bureau was the Emperor's private weapons manufacturing base, used to equip the Emperor's private army.

In the division of military forces, the various regions had guard stations under the jurisdiction of local officials and the court; but in the capital there were the Imperial Guards, which belonged to the Emperor's army, directly commanded by the Emperor and subject to no one's restraint.

To put it plainly, the Imperial Guards meant that when imperial authority and ministerial authority came into conflict, the Emperor had the capacity to resort to violent means.

But this situation had only grown worse over time. The civil officials had been weakening imperial authority for a long time—they had even abolished the Emperor's Imperial Guards, so how could they tolerate an office like the Armory Bureau?

There was even less chance they would allow the Armory Bureau to grow strong—it absolutely had to be dealt with.

From the Tumu Crisis onward, the Armory Bureau went from its original 3,163 craftsmen down to only 1,781 by the Longqing era; as for now, only two or three stragglers remained. All weapons manufacturing had fallen into the hands of the Ministry of Works' Bureau of Armaments.

Under such circumstances, the Armory Bureau was nothing but a decoration.

Just now, Zhu Youxiao had thought of a possibility—he could hand the Armory Bureau over to the Hundred Crafts Institute.

He had originally been pondering what role the Hundred Crafts Institute should play; now it seemed it could serve as the old Armory Bureau had.

Since much of the Eight Bureaus' work was going to be handed to the Imperial Household Department anyway, he might as well transfer the Armory Bureau to the Hundred Crafts Institute. At the same time, letting the Ministry of Works and the Hundred Crafts Workshop compete would spur the development of both—a method that killed two birds with one stone.

After reaching this conclusion, Zhu Youxiao nodded with satisfaction. This matter was finally settled, and the most critical point was that he could appease both Xu Guangqi and the Ministry of Works.

One had to understand that Zhu Youxiao had to consider the sentiments of the officials throughout the Ministry of Works. The previous great purge had already left many people anxious and uneasy; if he were now to forcibly suppress the Ministry of Works as well, that would not be a good thing.

If the Hundred Crafts Institute could truly perform well, then there would still be time to abolish the Weapons Bureau of the Ministry of Works at that point.

Having thought this matter through, Zhu Youxiao turned and said to Chen Hong, who stood not far away: "Go to the Grand Secretariat and tell Xu Guangqi that Wanggong Factory cannot be given to him, but I can give him the Armory Bureau."

"Yes, Your Majesty. This servant will go at once." Having said this, Chen Hong turned and walked out.

Watching Chen Hong's retreating figure, Zhu Youxiao let out a sigh. He had finally managed to get things done.

Once this matter was settled, he could rest assured and turn his attention to other things — that was what mattered more to him.

The court's pressing matters were only a few in number; as long as the Imperial Household Department proceeded in an orderly fashion, and the various other offices were all doing fine, and the Academy was advancing quickly, then there was nothing much of significance left.

Rather, he could now consider moving some money out. Relying solely on executions and confiscations of property would not do — he needed a stable source of revenue. How should he go about it?

Having the Imperial Household Department find partners to cooperate with might be a good approach.

Joint venture?

These two words suddenly surfaced in Zhu Youxiao's mind.

It seemed worth trying, but who should handle these matters?

His own father-in-law, Zhang Guoji, was probably not a suitable candidate; Fang Zhengfa did not seem to work either — so he would have to find someone more fitting anew.

But such a person was truly hard to find. At the thought of this, Zhu Youxiao could not help but feel a headache coming on.

This required someone skilled in doing business, and at the same time someone he could trust — such people were truly few and far between.

He had not quite figured out who would be suitable for this.

The eunuchs within the palace probably would not do; he needed to look for someone outside. He needed a figure like the merchant Hu Xueyan — that is, a red-top merchant.

Have people investigate — look into which of his ministers had the largest family businesses; the nobility and imperial relatives could also be looked into, and official positions could be granted to them later.

The reason for doing this was actually quite simple: on the one hand, it was to demonstrate the importance attached to them; on the other hand, the reason was even simpler — when the time came for him to deal with them, he would not need to find any excuse; he could simply convict them directly. The charge of corruption was quite suitable — it could make them obediently confess and submit to the law. It was a good excuse.

Having thought this through, Zhu Youxiao decided to proceed with this plan; as for the candidates, they could be sought out slowly.

Seeing Chen Hong walk back, Zhu Youxiao said: "I have a matter for you to handle. Investigate which minister's family across the court has the largest business, and have the Embroidered Uniform Guard conduct the investigation."

"Yes, Your Majesty. This servant will make the arrangements at once." Chen Hong promptly acknowledged.

Although Chen Hong did not know why His Majesty wanted this investigated, since His Majesty wanted it done, then he must certainly do it — and do it with diligence and effort, without allowing any slip-up whatsoever.

Of this, Chen Hong was perfectly clear in his heart — this was the most important means of consolidating his own position.