Chapter 70: Venomously Underhanded

When he reached the rear hall of the Eastern Depot, Chongzhen saw a large wooden chest, its top open, piled high with a gleaming white mound that rose to a peak like a little mountain.

Walking over, Chongzhen reached in and rubbed a pinch of the white powder between his fingers, examined it carefully, and found it exactly identical to what he had seen before — inwardly, he could not help but feel deeply satisfied.

He had originally intended to taste it, but his fear of death kept Chongzhen from daring to put the stuff into his mouth.

After a moment's thought, Chongzhen turned and asked Cao Huachun, "Are you certain it won't be discovered? Has it been tested?"

Cao Huachun replied, "In answer to His Majesty, this slave is willing to stake his head on it: in the short term, no one will ever detect the slightest clue. Even if someone discovers it later, we need only push out a few scapegoats — it will absolutely never implicate the dynasty.

Furthermore, this substance has already been tested. This slave ordered the boys to try it on pigs, sheep, and condemned prisoners. A day or two makes no difference at all. Only when consumed in large quantities do the effects begin to reveal themselves, little by little."

Hearing this, Chongzhen said to Cao Huachun, "As for those who took part in this matter, you decide on the rewards according to merit. All expenses are to be drawn from the privy purse.

Only, this affair must be kept strictly secret. Do not, under any circumstances, let the grand ministers at court find out — otherwise there will be endless carping again."

After Cao Huachun bowed and acknowledged the order, Chongzhen continued, "Have your Eastern Depot agents organize merchant caravans and smuggle this in great quantities to the steppe and to the Jianzhou barbarians in Liaodong.

Take Our oral decree to Lu Xiangsheng and tell him to let the caravans pass.

There is just one point: you will assign men to watch this closely. This substance absolutely must not be sold to the common people of our Great Ming. If anyone privately sells it to the common people of Great Ming for consumption, We want his head!"

Cao Huachun, hearing this, recalled the wretched state of those prisoners who had consumed large amounts of the stuff, and a shudder ran through him.

Not daring to imagine what would happen if the common people of Great Ming ate it, he did not even pause to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead and hastily said, "This slave will keep a death-grip on it!

If anyone dares violate this, this slave will personally flay the skin from their bodies!"

After Chongzhen left the Eastern Depot, Cao Huachun, still terrified, hurriedly summoned the Section Head in charge of the matter.

Looking at the Section Head kneeling before him, Cao Huachun said, "Today's business — you handled it very well. His Majesty is most satisfied, and rewards will be issued shortly. You little whelps have done the job well, and you can count yourselves as having caught His Majesty's eye."

The Section Head was overjoyed at these words and kowtowed, saying, "Many thanks for the Old Ancestor's cultivation! This grandson will henceforth serve with all his heart!"

Cao Huachun, however, ignored the Section Head's pledge of loyalty and merely said flatly, "We are all serving His Majesty — of course you must serve with all your heart.

That said, His Majesty has a few more words that I am to convey to you. When you return, pass them on to the little whelps under you as well. Otherwise, if you run afoul of His Majesty's mood, just think of the Depot and the Guard men who were purged before — no one will be able to protect you."

The Section Head's heart tightened at these words, and he said, "I beg the Old Ancestor to instruct me."

Cao Huachun cupped his hands in the direction of the Hall of Supreme Harmony and then said, "His Majesty has decreed: merit shall be rewarded. But if anyone sells these adulterated goods to the common people of Great Ming, then His Majesty will have that man's head.

His Majesty is merciful, but my heart is ruthless. If anyone dares transgress, I will see to it that their families suffer as well."

Hearing the sinister chill in Cao Huachun's voice, the Section Head hurriedly said, "Old Ancestor, set your mind at ease. When this grandson returns, he will immediately discipline the little whelps below him.

Not a single speck of this stuff will ever appear in the homes of Great Ming's common people."

Only then did Cao Huachun say with satisfaction, "That is very good, very good. Serve His Majesty with all your heart, and you will not lack for rewards. After you return, organize the men of your section into a merchant caravan and smuggle these things to the steppe and Liaodong for sale. Go."

After the Section Head withdrew, Cao Huachun finally let out a breath. After a moment's thought, he took a small pouch, filled it with some of the powder, rose, and called out, "Let's go — to Xuanfu."

Far away in Xuanfu, Lu Xiangsheng, having dismissed his attendants, was studying the man before him. This damned eunuch — he recognized him.

What he could not fathom was why, with the New Year almost upon them, the famously powerful Superintendent of the Eastern Depot, Cao Huachun, was not staying in the capital but had instead ridden through the night to Xuanfu.

His last contact with anyone from the palace had been that utterly heartless fiend Wu, the Section Head from the Inner Investigative Depot — a man who deserved to bear a son without an anus. The Superintendent of the Eastern Depot was likely even more terrifying than Section Head Wu.

After relaying Chongzhen's intent, Cao Huachun said, "That is His Majesty's wish. Has Lord Lu understood it all?"

Lu Xiangsheng said, "His Majesty's intent — this official has grasped it. I simply cannot understand why we should let these merchant caravans pass. After all, salt has always been a commodity the steppe and the Jianzhou barbarians desperately lack; its importance is no less than that of ironware."

Cao Huachun gave a sinister laugh. "Lord Lu, this salt is no ordinary salt. This salt has been mixed with lead powder. Eaten in small amounts, nothing will show — not in a year or two, not even in three or five years.

But if it accumulates day by day and they eat too much of it, wasting away to skin and bones would be the least of it. I fear that even a man of iron would be left too weak to truss a chicken.

Therefore, you must pay extra attention. Every caravan that passes out through the pass from here must be meticulously inspected.

Not a single grain of this salt must be left behind. If any remains, the lingering poison would be endless, and you and I would have no choice but to die to repay His Majesty's heavenly grace."

After Lu Xiangsheng heard Cao Huachun describe the results of the experiments, his heart tightened. He thought to himself that this damned eunuch was indeed vicious enough — no wonder every one of these eunuchs ended up with their line cut off.

What surprised him, though, was the Emperor: how had he come to employ such a venomously underhanded trick?

In truth, for a veteran programmer who had haunted countless online forums in a later age, there was no low-down trick he would not dare to use.

If his power were not so limited at present, he would even dare to set up concentration camps and torture chambers.

In fact, Chongzhen had once again proven the law that human beings truly have no lower limit whatsoever.

Because after arranging this affair of smuggling poisoned salt to the steppe and the Jianzhou barbarians, Chongzhen had also summoned a group of the palace's damned eunuchs, intending to strike while the iron was hot and research some even more vicious substances, to see what else could be mixed in that would go undetected for a long time.

It was only after discovering that in Great Ming, there truly was nothing easier to implement than mixing lead powder into salt that Chongzhen left, thoroughly disgruntled.

Fortunately, however, by this time Xu Guangqi had already arrived in the capital from the south and was awaiting an imperial summons from Chongzhen.

The stats are rising way too brutally. So We have decided to be utterly inhuman for once.

(End of chapter)