Chapter 157: Wei Zhongxian's Military Supervisor

The team transporting the ship models entered the imperial city and arrived before Wei Zhongxian.

Wei Zhongxian said with displeasure: "Why did it take so long? Where are the things?"

That eunuch dared not argue, for they had already informed Wei Zhongxian via four-hundred-li express courier that they could not travel quickly due to transporting the large ship models.

He could only move the ship model out and said in a low voice: "Ancestor, please take a look."

Wei Zhongxian's eyes lit up—a half-man-tall ship model was carried out of the carriage, its craftsmanship surpassing the previously delivered models by an untold margin.

Even the deck was assembled from small wooden planks one by one, nearly indistinguishable from a real ship.

"Good, good, good!" Wei Zhongxian was overjoyed—this object would surely win the Emperor's favor.

"Ancestor, this was sent along with it as well." The young eunuch produced a letter, unsigned and unsealed.

Wei Zhongxian took it out and looked—one page was densely covered in tiny script, while the other was a design drawing made by the Emperor's own hand, now covered in revisions.

Seeing this, Wei Zhongxian was greatly alarmed and hastily tucked the drawing away.

He thought to himself: "Fine, Ma Chenglie—so you presume upon favor, do you? Daring to scribble all over His Majesty's hand-drawn design—how many heads do you have?!"

If the drawing was like this, the letter surely contained no kind words either. Wei Zhongxian tucked it into his bosom, not intending to show it to Tianqi.

After all, this Fujian junk model was already enough.

"Have the shipwright wait outside the palace." Wei Zhongxian ordered.

This ship model's craftsmanship was so exquisite that once Tianqi was delighted, he would surely want to meet the shipwright, so he had him wait outside the palace for the summons.

Who would have expected the eunuch to look embarrassed: "Regional Commander Ma said that the shipwright is vital to coastal defense, and the Nan'ao naval forces cannot do without him—may Ancestor be lenient."

Wei Zhongxian's steps froze. He slowly turned back, his tone carrying an indescribable chill: "What did you say?"

The eunuch was terrified and immediately knelt: "Ancestor, please calm your anger. That Ma fellow said exactly that. This servant already rebutted him, but Ma stubbornly insisted—"

The eunuch had originally accepted bribes to put in a good word for Ma Chenglie, but with Wei Zhongxian reacting like this, the eunuch, seeking to protect himself, immediately sold Ma Chenglie out.

A towering rage bloomed in Wei Zhongxian's heart: "Fine, Ma Chenglie—you spurn the face given to you, do you?

I took you for someone sensible, someone worth nurturing. I never expected you to sell cheap after getting a bargain and forget so quickly who your master is!

Since that's the case, don't blame me for being ruthless."

At this thought, Wei Zhongxian revealed a warm smile, took the letter from his bosom, carefully folded it, and stuffed it back into the envelope.

He then had the envelope sealed and inscribed with the signature "Ma Chenglie, Vice Regional Commander of Nan'ao."

Having done all this, Wei Zhongxian took the envelope and walked toward the warm chamber of Qianqing Palace.

The eunuch asked for instructions: "Ancestor, what should be done with this model?"

Wei Zhongxian: "Split it up for firewood."

Moments later, in the carpenter's workshop of the eastern warm chamber of Qianqing Palace.

Wei Zhongxian bowed: "Your Majesty."

Tianqi was applying tung oil to a wooden bed he had made himself. He said happily upon hearing him: "You've come just in time. This bed of mine is almost done—much lighter and handier than the palace beds."

Wei Zhongxian praised it a few times, then shifted the topic: "Your Majesty, a letter has arrived from Nan'ao Island."

"Really?" Tianqi threw down his brush and sprang to his feet. "Why didn't you say so sooner? Quick, let me see it!"

Wei Zhongxian took the letter from his bosom, a smile on his face and a humble bearing, while a barely perceptible cold glint flashed in his eyes.

Ever since his last contact with seagoing vessels and handcrafting a ship model, Tianqi had lost all appetite for tea and food, waiting constantly for a reply.

Now that word had finally arrived, how could he not be excited? Tianqi snatched the letter, unfolded the paper, and was about to see how the Nan'ao Island carpenter praised him.

The letter read: "Project Number: Merchant Ship—001

Project Name: Clipper-Bowed Fujian Junk Design Review Opinion. Overall Assessment: The drawing's overall layout is grand and conforms to clipper ship characteristics; the watertight bulkhead and rib connection design is reasonable and possesses a certain degree of operability. However, in terms of structural strength, design philosophy, and seaworthiness, the following items may be optimized:

One: The hull load transmission path is unclear.

Problem Description: The clipper bow extends forward with a sharp taper; its structural core lies in efficiently and continuously transmitting enormous wave impact forces and rigging stresses to the main hull through complex curved ribs.

The drawing simply grafts the clipper bow onto the box-shaped mid-hull of the Fujian junk, forming a hard-point connection that may cause stress concentration and pose a risk of fracture under severe sea conditions.

Suggestion: The rib lines of the forward hull should be completely redesigned to achieve a smooth transition and continuous force transmission from the clipper bow to the Fujian junk mid-hull. It is recommended to conduct equal-scale wooden model stress testing.

Two: Insufficient hull structural strength and poor hull stability—

Three: Conflicting deck operation traffic lines—

Four: Insufficient mast base support system—"

Tianqi's eyes widened. The entire text contained not a single word of flattery—it went straight into the ship's problems, criticizing from start to finish, without even a token compliment. It was as cold and suffocating as the drawings previously sent from Nan'ao Island.

Emperor Tianqi had been fully confident in his own design, waiting only to hear praise. Yet after waiting over two months, this was the bucket of cold water that came splashing down on him.

He stared at the letter, his breathing gradually growing heavy, his face gradually flushing red, his fingers trembling slightly with anger, his teeth clenching tighter and tighter.

Wei Zhongxian stood to the side with his head lowered, catching the Emperor's reaction from the corner of his eye, his heart already blooming with joy.

Ma Chenglie, your good days are over.

"How dare you! Nonsense! The ship I designed—how could it be so inferior! Utter rubbish, truly audacious!" Tianqi finished reading the letter and crumpled it together with the envelope into a ball, hurling it away with force.

The revised drawing behind it was thrown out along with it—the Emperor did not see it.

But what had happened was already enough.

Wei Zhongxian hastily knelt, urging the Emperor to calm his anger, while at the same time demanding severe punishment for Ma Chenglie: "Your Majesty, this servant believes that Ma Chenglie's deception of the sovereign is surely instigated by someone. I beg Your Majesty to cast Ma Chenglie into the Imperial Prison of the Eastern Depot for rigorous interrogation!"

Tianqi had not yet given Wei Zhongxian the post of Commodore of the Eastern Depot.

His mention of the Eastern Depot at this moment was precisely a scheme to secure his own official position while throwing Ma Chenglie into prison—killing two birds with one stone.

Tianqi did not take up the topic, but paced back and forth, saying: "Tell me, is the ship I built good or not?"

"Your Majesty's ship is a work of divine craftsmanship!"

"Then on what grounds does he speak of me like this?"

"It must be that Ma Chenglie was instigated by someone to deceive the sovereign."

"Wasn't it you who insisted time and again that he was a loyal minister, a pillar of the state, and even brought me the memorial of the Macao victory to read?"

"And now he's acting on someone else's orders again?"

Wei Zhongxian was momentarily at a loss for words, choking for a long while before saying, "It was this servant's momentary oversight. As long as His Majesty gives the order, this servant will immediately send men to arrest Ma Chenglie and bring him to justice!"

Tianqi paced for a long while, panting as he said, "First bring me that ship model. I want to see—he criticized my ship as worthless, so just how good is the ship he built himself!"

"Ship model?" Wei Zhongxian was taken aback.

"The ship model that came with the letter. The letter said that from now on, my ship models should use it as a reference. Bring it to me to see!"

Wei Zhongxian's heart gave a thump—the consequences of being illiterate now made themselves felt. He hadn't expected Ma Chenglie to have kept a trick up his sleeve in the letter.

"This servant will have someone fetch it."

With that, Wei Zhongxian withdrew from the warm chamber, scrambling and crawling all the way out of the palace, and said to his subordinate eunuchs: "Quick! The ship model—bring it back!

Whatever you do, don't let it be chopped up for firewood!"

After a short while, two young eunuchs hurried back, carrying the ship model.

Wei Zhongxian took one look and felt as if he had fallen into an ice pit—the ship model was already in pieces.

The young eunuch said with a mournful face, "Grand Ancestor, when this servant arrived, Eunuch Cheng and Eunuch Yang had already chopped up the ship model."

"Dispose of those two who don't know their place first. Then wait an hour and deliver it to His Majesty!" Wei Zhongxian said through gritted teeth, his voice filled with hatred.

An hour later, inside the warm chamber, Emperor Tianqi saw the ship model's sorry state and exclaimed in shock, "How did it come to look like this?"

Wei Zhongxian knelt to the ground, weeping as he said, "Two servants heard that Commander Ma had submitted a disrespectful memorial to Your Majesty, and in a fit of righteous fury, they took an axe to the ship. By the time this servant arrived, it had already become like this."

Tianqi gave a cold snort: "Enough. Chopped up is fine too."

He was still in a rage, and his anger now extended to the ship model Ma Chenglie had presented.

But then, he was immediately drawn to the cross-sections left by the axe blows.

In the broken hull, Tianqi truly saw the wooden planks of watertight bulkheads!

In this era, the vast majority of scale models only reproduced the exterior appearance—for instance, a model of a palace would not include the furniture inside the rooms.

Watertight bulkheads were invisible from the outside, so no one would bother making them.

Had the axe not split open the hull, Tianqi truly would never have seen them.

"Eh?" Tianqi leaned in for a closer look, and saw that not only the watertight bulkheads, but every aspect of this ship model was exquisitely crafted.

Take the hull, for instance—Tianqi's own hull was carved with wood-grain texture from a single block of timber.

But the hull of the ship before him was truly assembled from individual planks of wood.

Even more astonishing, between the planks there was fine hemp fiber, soaked in tung oil—this was the caulking technique!

Who would caulk a ship model?

Emperor Tianqi was immediately struck by this spirit of relentless refinement, staring at the ship model in a daze.

From stem to stern, it was assembled from all manner of timbers, with mortise-and-tenon joints fully reproduced—not a single corner cut.

Made with such precision, it was as if it were truly meant to go to sea.

A flash of insight struck Tianqi's mind.

Of course—the shipwrights of Nan'ao Island built ships that were truly meant to sail the seas, not like him, building for showmanship and amusement.

So their pursuit of sound design and structural strength was only natural and reasonable.

After all, if it couldn't float on the sea, then no matter how exquisite the ship model, it would be useless.

Tianqi looked at the wooden bed he had built.

The reason he had made this wooden bed was that the beds in the palace were too bulky and crude—moving one required a dozen or more men.

If he scaled it down into a bed model, wouldn't the flaw of bulkiness be concealed?

"What about the letter? Give me the letter!" Emperor Tianqi looked around the room and said.

Wei Zhongxian hurriedly searched everywhere.

The carpenter's workshop was piled high with all kinds of timber, full of nooks and crannies and winding corners—a crumpled ball of paper falling into such a place was truly hard to find, not to mention the thick layer of sawdust covering the floor.

To show his diligence, Wei Zhongxian prostrated himself on the ground, searching inch by inch, and finally found the crumpled ball of paper amidst a pile of cobwebs and sawdust.

"Your Majesty, it's here." Paying no heed to the sawdust and dirt covering his body, Wei Zhongxian unfolded the letter and handed it to Tianqi.

Tianqi took the letter and re-examined the "review comments" on it, feeling that every word was a gem, each phrase carrying profound meaning.

Moreover, throughout the entire text there was no form of address—not even a single word of respectful salutation to the Emperor.

If Ma Chenglie was not an idiot, then there was only one possibility: Ma Chenglie had no idea this letter was written to the Emperor.

Of course—Tianqi recalled that what he had sent to Nan'ao Island was only the ship model and the drawings, without a single imperial decree or even a verbal message.

The palace already had the Imperial Manufactories Bureau, responsible for managing and producing all manner of wooden objects—Ma Chenglie must have mistaken the eunuch who came for someone from the Imperial Manufactories Bureau!

If that was the case, then this was not disrespect, but rather ignorance being excused.

It was then that he noticed that behind the review comments there was another sheet of paper—the drawing he had made.

On it, red-ink brush markings had been made for corrections and annotations. At first glance it seemed like random scribbling, but upon closer inspection, the corrections were made with great care, and every line was perfectly straight and level, drawn with strict precision—unlike Tianqi's own casual scrawling.

Tianqi stared at the drawing for a long time. The more he looked, the more he felt the revisions made excellent sense, like drinking fine aged wine.

He had briefly attended school as a child, and when his teacher Sun Chengzong corrected his homework, he too would mark it directly with a red brush.

When he submitted a page of Tang regular script, wherever a character was well written, the teacher would draw a small red circle; wherever the brushwork was weak, the teacher would trace the correct strokes in red ink.

Though he had not studied for long, and had little interest in learning, his respect for his teacher Sun Chengzong was etched into his very bones.

Now, seeing this drawing marked with red brush strokes, he immediately thought of his teacher, feeling both warmth and comfort—and, rarely, it also matched his interests.

Once he started looking, he could not stop. Wherever he found something puzzling, he would hold the drawing up against the ship model to compare.

After resolving each puzzle, he would clap his hands and exclaim, "So that's how it is! Wonderful, wonderful!"

Even Wei Zhongxian, who had served Tianqi for a long time, could not fathom what had gotten into His Majesty—he had been in a thunderous rage just moments before, and now suddenly he had gone quiet, as if possessed.

Could that chicken-scratch design drawing be some kind of spell?

Whatever tricks this Ma fellow had used, it seemed His Majesty had been fooled again.

Wei Zhongxian found it most curious—this emperor of his had a strange temperament, and even he, who accompanied His Majesty year-round, had to tread carefully when serving him.

How did this man surnamed Ma know His Majesty's preferences and gauge them so precisely?

Strange, most strange!

The sun set behind the western hills, and palace lanterns began to glow.

Tianqi lifted his gaze from the blueprints, a smile at the corners of his mouth, and stretched contentedly.

Wei Zhongxian knew that tonight would likely be another sleepless night accompanied by saws and wood shavings, so he perked up and said: "Which timber does His Majesty require? This servant will fetch it."

Unexpectedly, Tianqi said: "It's getting late. We won't start work today."

Wei Zhongxian was taken aback—this was the first time the Emperor had behaved in such a manner.

Tianqi continued: "What Minister Ma said in his letter is right. Building this ship is not a matter of a single day; it must be pursued gradually, and first of all, one must conserve one's energy."

"This servant shall attend to His Majesty's evening meal." Wei Zhongxian kept his eyes lowered and his expression meek, while shock roiled within him like crashing waves.

This emperor of his had always been obstinate and headstrong, stubborn beyond measure—one could only stroke him with the grain, never against it.

Even his many attempts to persuade His Majesty to sleep early and take care of his health had proved futile.

How could a single memorial from Ma Chenglie, a thousand li away, prove effective?

Was this man a tapeworm in His Majesty's belly?

Wei Zhongxian's heart was full of questions. Only after he had finally seen Tianqi settled into bed did he leave the palace, and facing the star-filled sky, he fell into deep thought.

He now held the power of red endorsement in the Directorate of Ceremonial—removing Ma Chenglie from his post would be a matter of a single sentence.

Before meeting the Emperor today, he had originally planned to do exactly that.

But now that Ma Chenglie enjoyed such favor from the Emperor, it truly was not the time to move against him.

Yet if he let things run their course, in time Ma Chenglie would hold Wei Zhongxian in even less regard, and might even climb over his head with his skill at beguiling the imperial heart!

At this thought, Wei Zhongxian felt the matter was quite thorny, and could only summon his trusted eunuch Wang Tiqian to discuss it.

Wang Tiqian smiled faintly and said: "What the Ancestor desires is simply to make Ma Chenglie more obedient. This is easily done—just send a military supervisor. If he obeys, give him a little sweetness; if he disobeys, hobble him so he can accomplish nothing at all!"

One month later.

The eunuch military supervisor Qian Zhong, dispatched by Wei Zhongxian, arrived with his party at the naval stockade of Zhelin Bay.

Ma Chenglie received word and rushed over with his household troops, only to see five or six eunuchs standing before the camp. The one at the lead wore a flying-fish robe, had a pale, beardless face and triangular eyes, and stood with his hands clasped behind his back, pointing and gesturing at the camp soldiers within Zhelin Bay with an arrogant bearing.

Ma Chenglie wore a brilliant smile as he stepped forward with clasped hands: "Why has Eunuch Wang arrived so late? This humble officer has been waiting long!"

Qian Zhong turned, his triangular eyes scanning Ma Chenglie up and down, and said with a smile that did not reach his eyes: "This one came to Nan'ao as military supervisor and deliberately did not notify the local authorities. Marshal Ma's words about waiting long are rather intriguing."

Ma Chenglie's expression did not change, and he continued to speak with warm enthusiasm: "Eunuch Wang jests. Please, come to the camp quarters—this humble officer has prepared a banquet to welcome you."

Qian Zhong lightly brushed the dust from his robes and said: "No need! This one's appointment to Nan'ao was personally chosen by the Ancestor—I dare not neglect official duties. Let's go."

"Go where?" Ma Chenglie was startled.

"To Nan'ao Island!" Qian Zhong's voice was shrill. "Marshal Ma, you've set up your headquarters at Zhelin Bay—surely you don't truly think of yourself as a land-based Regional Commander? Come now, take me to the island to see the commander's residence."

Without the helmsman's permission, Ma Chenglie would never dare bring Qian Zhong onto the island, so he could only stall as best he could, and ordered his household troops to bring out the five hundred taels of silver that had been prepared.

"Eunuch Wang has just arrived—this silver is for your arrangements. If it proves insufficient, feel free to draw more from this humble officer at any time."

Ma Chenglie said with warm smiles, his posture extremely deferential.

He did not feel particularly wronged by this—military officers of the Great Ming had always behaved thus before military supervisors.

Ever since the Great Ming established this precedent, every single military-supervisor eunuch had been rotten to the core.

Those who caused entire armies to be wiped out through reckless command, those who fled at the head of the line and caused the battle line to collapse, those who engaged in rampant corruption and drove officers and men to mutiny—such cases were everywhere, too numerous to count.

If this Qian Zhong took the silver and behaved himself, he could count as a positive exemplar among military supervisors.

Fortunately, Wei Zhongxian had sent Qian Zhong here only to knock Ma Chenglie down a peg, not truly to drive him to the wall.

Seeing Ma Chenglie's respectful attitude, Qian Zhong's face also took on a hint of a smile: "Very well then, I shall stay a few days in the camp, and it will not be too late to visit the island another day."

Ma Chenglie laughed heartily: "Eunuch Wang, please!"

In the camp quarters, cups clinked and crossed; after a dozen or so cups of light wine, Qian Zhong was already floating on air.

Ma Chenglie had Qian Zhong settled in the camp, while he himself took a boat to Nan'ao Island that very night.

Late at night, in the captain's cabin of the Tianyuan, Ma Chenglie met the helmsman and reported the arrival of the military supervisor.

Lin Qian's bamboo pen paused, and he slowly looked up: "You had no prior knowledge of this?"

Ma Chenglie immediately fell to his knees: "Helmsman, this humble officer dares to swear by the lives of my family before heaven—I truly did not know! I only received word when this eunuch arrived at the gates of Zhelin Bay."

Lin Qian slapped the table: "Get up! Always kneeling at the slightest thing—you make it seem as though I mistreat you."

Ma Chenglie rose with a cheeky grin: "This humble officer wouldn't dare, wouldn't dare——"

Lin Qian stood and faced the window, anger rising within him bit by bit.

Fine, Wei Zhongxian—so lacking in discernment, can't tell who's the big king and who's the little one, is that it?

I treat you as a partner, and you dare treat me as a dog?

With Nan'ao Island's current military strength, launching an assault on the shore would be impossible, but standing as a rival to the Great Ming's naval forces should be achievable.

This dead eunuch dog truly isn't afraid of forcing Nan'ao Island into rebellion.

Push me too far, and I'll lead the fleet into the Bohai Sea, bombard Tianjin with cannon fire, and let the capital hear the thunder!

After silently venting his anger, Lin Qian calmed down and analyzed the situation.

Roughly half of his military strength was currently at Hirado—even if he wanted to break with the Great Ming, he would have to wait until the fleet returned.

The Hirado trade was currently the top priority; if this voyage failed, Nan'ao Island's capital chain would snap in an instant, and the island would face the danger of collapse.

But if the trade could be completed smoothly, bringing back ample profits, then whether developing strength or going to war with the Great Ming, he would have more confidence behind him.

On further reflection, however, going to war with the Great Ming now would still be premature.

The best approach would be a method that could both display Lin Qian's "loyalty" to the court and maintain the surface peace.

And at the same time show the court his muscle, so they would not dare send petty troublemakers to harass him again. Lin Qian frowned in deep thought for a moment, and a grand plan slowly took shape.

And the first step of this plan was to swallow humiliation and bear the burden—letting that eunuch surnamed Qian live a few more months.

Having finished his deliberations, Lin Qian turned to Ma Chenglie and said, "Do something for me—keep Eunuch Wang well attended, don't let him set foot on the island, and don't let him see through our naval identity."

Ma Chenglie clasped his hands and said, "As you command, Helmsman. This Eunuch Wang is already one of the more reasonable ones among the supervisors—likely because he doesn't want to pressure us too hard on Eunuch Wei's behalf either—but still, he needs silver."

"How much?"

"I estimate at least ten thousand taels to start." Ma Chenglie gritted his teeth.

This price was already quoted very low—ten thousand taels of silver was an astronomical sum to common folk and merchants, but merely a starting price for powerful ministers and corrupt officials.

Lin Qian's voice was calm: "Give it to him. Also, as long as he doesn't cause any major trouble in Chaozhou Prefecture, don't interfere with him either."

"Yes, this subordinate understands." Ma Chenglie clasped his hands and withdrew from the captain's cabin.

Lin Qian gazed at the bustling harbor scene outside the window, his expression calm, yet his eyes were filled with killing intent.

The sea bandits' silver was not so easily taken—within six months at most, that gelded dog surnamed Qian would have to pay it back with interest!

Several months had passed in the blink of an eye since Ye Xianggao and Huang Ke parted ways with each other after arriving in Fujian.

On their journey home earlier, the two had agreed to visit Chaozhou together if the opportunity arose.

Though the two had leisure and refined tastes, and both were commoners in plain clothes, they were nonetheless heads of their own households, facing daily domestic trifles and busier than they could manage.

For a time neither brought it up, and the matter was simply shelved.

It was not until mid-July that Huang Ke received a letter from Ye Xianggao, revisiting the matter of touring Chaozhou.

A specific time was also agreed upon—set for the beginning of next month.

Huang Ke put down the letter and muttered to himself: "When I first brought this up, the Chief Grand Secretary wasn't interested—how is it that he's now the one taking the initiative to invite me on a tour? How strange."

Pink Round

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