Chapter 115: Dividing the Spoils!

Following the downfall of the Longhu Mountain Daoists, and with Li Taihou issuing another imperial decree, the monks of the world were ordered to undergo re-examination.

With this, whether they were troublemaking monks or officials harboring bias, they all became like eggplants beaten by frost—withered.

At the same time, time had unknowingly reached the end of the twelfth lunar month.

With only five or six days left until New Year's Eve, the entire city of Beijing was already decked out in red and colorful decorations, the sound of firecrackers rose from all sides, and the clouds in the sky took on beautiful shapes.

From time to time, children wearing thick cotton-padded clothes could be seen in groups of three or five, running wildly through the snow-covered alleys.

The adults were busy preparing for the New Year, and with a scolding laugh or two, they didn't bother to manage them.

Just past the third quarter of the Chen hour (8:45 AM) this day, a brocade-colored, apricot-yellow, carved carriage drove out from Dengshikou Street, heading straight for the Forbidden City.

Zhang Yunxiu sat inside, closing his eyes to rest his mind, his body swaying with the rocking of the carriage.

After today, the officials in the capital would begin their holiday, lasting until the fifth day of the first lunar month.

Therefore, Zhang Yunxiu wanted to take advantage of the eve of the holiday to first discuss with the Emperor how to carve out the areas around Songjiang Prefecture in the East Sea and Tianjin Guard in the Bohai, placing them directly under central jurisdiction.

These two locations had superior positions; one controlled the Bohai, and the other controlled the East Sea.

Due to the special locations of these two places, it was destined that they would play an extremely important role in the Great Age of Discovery.

Just as he was thinking, the carriage stopped. Zhang Yunxiu lifted the sedan curtain to look outside; all things were silent, and the surroundings were already a world of white snow.

He supported himself on the carriage edge to step down and walked toward the Forbidden City.

Familiar with the path, he wandered around for a bit, and Zhang Yunxiu finally arrived inside the East Warm Pavilion.

The Wanli Emperor was yawning, wearing only a bright yellow sleeping robe, slumped against his chair, looking impatiently at Zhang Yunxiu and saying: "Speak quickly, what exactly is the matter that you are looking for Us for?"

"Your subject wishes for the Emperor to separately carve out the prefectures near Songjiang Prefecture and Tianjin Guard, placing them directly under the Emperor's jurisdiction." Zhang Yunxiu glanced at the Emperor's dark circles and answered with great speed.

"Give Us a reason."

"To make money for Your Majesty, to make money for the imperial court." Zhang Yunxiu blinked his eyes, took the opportunity to walk two steps toward the Emperor, and said, "Think about it, these two places, especially Songjiang Prefecture, are lands of fat and wealth."

"In the past, they belonged to the jurisdiction of Yingtian Prefecture; more than half of the money and grain taxes were handed directly to Yingtian Prefecture, and Yingtian Prefecture then handed them over to the Ministry of Revenue in a unified manner."

The Wanli Emperor interrupted: "Yes, isn't that how it has always been? Twice a year, once in spring and once in autumn, this is the convention."

"Your Majesty, please do not be anxious, allow your subject to explain slowly." Zhang Yunxiu smiled, signaling him to be patient, and continued, "Think about it, which of those local officials is not cunning as a ghost? The money and grain they actually report to the imperial court must have a significant discrepancy with what they withhold."

"Tell me, what does Yingtian Prefecture do with so much withheld money and grain?"

"Yes, what do they do with the withheld money and grain?" The Wanli Emperor muttered to himself, then looked up at Zhang Yunxiu, urging him to continue.

Zhang Yunxiu received the order, cupped his hands toward the Emperor, and said loudly: "If Songjiang Prefecture is made independent, in the future, the taxes and customs duties of Songjiang Prefecture will be directly under the jurisdiction of the imperial court. In this way, the income of the imperial court's Ministry of Revenue will surely increase significantly."

"And what about Our Inner Treasury?" The Wanli Emperor swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

"Your subject has already thought it through: two parts will go into your Inner Treasury, five parts will be sent to the Ministry of Revenue, another two parts will be distributed by Songjiang Prefecture itself, and the last one part will be used to plug other people's mouths."

"Plug whose mouths?" The Wanli Emperor was full of confusion.

"Plug the mouths of these capital officials." Zhang Yunxiu smiled and cited historical precedents: "Your Majesty, back then, the Jiajing Emperor wanted to make his hometown, Chentian Prefecture, the same as the Shun-tian and Yingtian prefectures, all as third-rank offices. These capital officials would not agree. The Jiajing Emperor was helpless, so he followed the example of Central Capital Fengyang, and it did not reach the third-rank office status."

"What your subject is thinking is to use this one part of the money to raise the salaries of the capital officials; once they receive the benefits, they naturally will not object."

Those who eat others' food have short mouths; those who take others' hands have short hands.

As long as these capital officials are stabilized, the people in the lower prefectures will be easy to handle.

After hearing this, the Wanli Emperor carefully recalled the distribution ratio just now, his donkey-like face stretched long, and he continued: "Why does the Ministry of Revenue get five parts, and I only get two?"

"Your Majesty, only a thin stream can flow for a long time." Zhang Yunxiu frowned and advised, "Besides, this Inner Treasury is for your personal use alone, while the Great Granary of the Ministry of Revenue must supply the whole world; two parts is already quite a lot."

"I don't care, this year you earned me 300,000 taels of silver, next year you must earn me 400,000." The Wanli Emperor pouted, a flash of cunning appearing in his large eyes.

"These two parts from Songjiang, your subject has already sent into the Emperor's Inner Treasury." Zhang Yunxiu explained with a smile.

"Good, count those two parts as well." The Wanli Emperor clapped his hands and agreed, impatiently urging: "Alright, alright, if there is nothing else, you may go down; I am tired, ah."

"Your subject obeys the decree." Zhang Yunxiu bowed respectfully and stepped out of the Qianqing Palace.

Before he had walked far, Wei Qing chased out from inside, clutching his crotch in a hurry: "Director Zhang, Director Zhang."

Zhang Yunxiu stopped his steps, looked back, and asked with a smile: "Eunuch Wei, is there something else the Emperor needs?"

"Nothing... nothing." Wei Qing panted out two puffs of white air, saying breathlessly, "It is I who have some matters to discuss with you. It is not convenient to talk here; let us... let us change to another place to speak."

"Good."

Zhang Yunxiu grinned and signaled for Wei Qing to lead the way.

The two walked to a small pavilion behind the Qianqing Palace and sat opposite each other. Wei Qing was the first to smile and curry favor: "They say that when a person encounters happy events, their spirit is refreshed. Director Zhang's face is full of joy; I fear there have been constant great happy events recently."

"Sigh, what great happy events, they are all just troublesome matters." Zhang Yunxiu shook his head and went straight to the point: "Eunuch Wei, we are old friends; if you have something to say to me, just say it directly, no need to beat around the bush."

"Director Zhang is straightforward. This time I came, it is still for my useless nephew, Qin Tianzhu." Wei Qing cupped his hands and said what was in his heart, "Look, he has been in the position of a Hundred-Household of the Embroidered Uniform Guard for some time now; could he be promoted to a Vice Thousand-Household?"

Wei Qing had lost both parents since he was young and was raised by his older sister before entering the palace, so he was incredibly good to this only seedling of his sister. As soon as he gained some power, he immediately sent his nephew into the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Now, he had finally endured years of being a daughter-in-law to become a mother-in-law, becoming a powerful and influential great eunuch in the palace.

A Hundred-Household naturally could not satisfy his appetite.

"What Vice Thousand-Household, or full Thousand-Household." Zhang Yunxiu stood up and patted his chest to guarantee: "Don't worry, I will go back and ask my fourth brother. I remember that last month a Thousand-Household seemed to have committed some offense. Your nephew is also an old hand in the Embroidered Uniform Guard, so taking that position is not much."

"Yo, Director Zhang, you have given me a big surprise." Wei Qing's two white eyebrows rose, and his wrinkled face smiled as brilliantly as a chrysanthemum.

"We are friends, so naturally we should help each other."

"Director Zhang, rest assured, I will handle the matters in this palace for you. If there is any wind or grass moving, I will definitely give you a heads-up in advance."

The two exchanged pleasantries for a while, and Zhang Yunxiu looked up at the sky and said: "It is about to snow heavily, so I should not stay long, lest I get blocked on the road."

"Yes, then I will wish Director Zhang an early Happy New Year."

"Hahaha, Eunuch Wei is too polite."

Zhang Yunxiu replied with a smile and stepped toward the palace gate. Wei Qing saw him off for about ten minutes before turning back.

By the time Zhang Yunxiu arrived at Zhang Jianxiu's mansion, it was the end of the Shen hour (4:45 PM).

The sky over Beijing was shrouded in a layer of black mist.

The two brothers met, and Zhang Jianxiu curled his lips, spread his palms, and hummed: "You brat, running to my place all day long, you really treat this as your own home, don't you? Come, settle the meal money for this period of time."

"Fourth Brother, don't forget, a few days ago I gave you tens of thousands of taels of silver." Zhang Yunxiu smiled as he brought up old accounts.

"The past is the past, the present is the present." Zhang Jianxiu said with a thick skin, urging, "If you want to eat now, you have to pay money, so you don't come here to sponge off me all day long."

Before Zhang Yunxiu could speak, Wang Ling walked in from the outer hall with a smile, holding a child of over two years old in her arms.

Handing the child to Zhang Jianxiu, Wang Ling smoothed the hair by her ear and looked at Zhang Yunxiu with a smile, saying, "Yunxiu, don't listen to his nonsense. How much does a meal cost? Even if you came to eat for a whole year, it wouldn't be enough for him to go out and drink at a flower house once."

"Madam, that was for socializing, not drinking at a flower house," Zhang Jianxiu hurriedly explained.

"Socializing? Can't you socialize somewhere else? You have to go to that kind of dirty place. Aren't you afraid of catching some disease? Look at Yunxiu, running around all day, and he doesn't go to such places." Wang Ling pursed her lips and looked at Zhang Jianxiu with a face full of disgust.

Zhang Yunxiu smiled and shook his head, not answering, only watching the couple with the look of someone enjoying a good show.

Seeing that the atmosphere was wrong, Zhang Jianxiu changed the subject and asked, "Madam, how is Father-in-law's health since he returned to his hometown?"

"He's fine, still quite robust," Wang Ling replied.

"Oh, then I can rest easy. I was worried that Father-in-law was still angry with our father."

"What kind of person do you think my father is? Is he that petty? Father and my father are old friends of many years; what is there that cannot be explained or clarified?"

Wang Ling was a little angry.

Zhang Jianxiu gave a sheepish smile, and Zhang Yunxiu, standing to the side, smiled and smoothed things over: "Sister-in-law, I've been here for a long time, and my stomach has been growling with hunger. You two are singing in harmony and leaving me aside; you wouldn't be intentionally keeping me from eating, would you?"

"You brat, what are you saying!" Wang Ling raised her eyebrows, put her hands on her hips, and scolded with a smile, "Although our family isn't considered wealthy, can we really not afford to feed you? Wait, I'll go tell the kitchen to prepare some food right now."

"Thank you, Sister-in-law."

Zhang Yunxiu smiled and watched Wang Ling walk away.

"Women are just women, unreasonable and troublesome. If it weren't for you being here, I wouldn't be so easy to talk to." Seeing the "tigress" leave, Zhang Jianxiu straightened his back and said quite proudly.

"Fourth Brother, do you see it?" Zhang Yunxiu suppressed his laughter, pointed his finger at the roof, and asked.

"See what?"

"There's a cow flying!"

"Are you looking for a beating, you brat?"

Zhang Jianxiu's face turned red, and he pretended to be furious as he struck at Zhang Yunxiu.

Suddenly, Zhang Zhongyun in his arms opened his eyes and babbled, "Daddy."

"Hey, good son." Zhang Jianxiu was so happy he couldn't close his mouth, and Zhang Yunxiu also leaned in to tease his chubby little nephew.

Zhang Jianxiu composed his face, put on the air of an older brother, and said earnestly, "Yunxiu, you'll be twenty soon. You have to put in some effort; Zhongrun is already old enough to run errands, and you haven't even started yet."

"That's because I don't want to. Besides, what if Xi'er gives birth to a son first? Wouldn't Ruoxi be embarrassed?" Zhang Yunxiu prevaricated.

"That's true. If an illegitimate son runs ahead of the legitimate son, that is indeed a big problem. It seems you'll have to wait another year or two." Zhang Jianxiu nodded and teased his fifth brother with a smile.

Zheng Xi'er was merely a concubine; even if she gave birth to a son, he would only be an illegitimate son with no right to inherit the family property at all.

"Sons aren't that great either; they only know how to cause trouble all day. It's better to have a daughter; a daughter is a father's little padded jacket." Zhang Yunxiu smiled freely and muttered with a pout.

"I think you're just sour grapes."

(End of this chapter)