Chapter 426: Time Slips Away, The Past Does Not Return

Zhang Zhang Juzheng was busy in the Zhang Wenyuan Pavilion. The officials of the Office of Transmission handed memorials one by one to the Grand Secretary. These memorials all contained attachments, on which the main content was written in a few brief sentences. Some unimportant ones, such as memorials inquiring after the Emperor's health, would have a blank floating slip attached at this step.

The Left and Right Vice Ministers wrote on the attachment: "Lin Lin Shizhang, Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, has again submitted a memorial admitting his guilt and begging to be dismissed."

Wang Wang Guoguang picked up the memorial, preparing to write his opinion on the floating slip. Lin Lin Shizhang was using "advancing as a means of retreating." Wan Wan Shihe was a sycophant; the censors of the Office of Scrutiny could not defeat Wan Wan Shihe in verbal attacks, so they targeted Lin Lin Shizhang. Liu Chao, a Supervising Secretary of the Ministry of War, said that he could not correct the mistakes within the Ministry and was also involved in private trade with foreigners. If the Emperor granted Lin Lin Shizhang's request to be dismissed, the Ministry of Personnel would follow the procedure; if not, he would continue in his post.

The charge against Lin Lin Shizhang of private trade with foreigners was not a fabrication, but a confirmed fact. He himself was a member of the Jin Party. Before entering the court as a Right Vice Minister, he had served as the Provincial Governor of Xuanfu and Datong. The business of the tribute trade was a mess that could not be cleared up no matter how one explained it. Lin Lin Shizhang had already submitted a memorial explaining the situation last time.

However, the censors of the Office of Scrutiny were still unwilling to let it go. They were simply using the tribute trade business as an excuse to clip Wan Wan Shihe's wings.

Wang Wang Guoguang attached a sentence to the floating slip: "Creating trouble for the sake of it. Lin Shizhang has always been clean and cautious. The censors' impeachment is based on hearsay. It is appropriate to order him to continue his duties as usual."

Whether the charge of private trade with foreigners was valid was a matter very much open to debate. At that time, the Great Ming and the Northern Barbarians were negotiating peace, so some transactions were not considered private trade. But now that the Great Ming and the Northern Barbarians were at war, those transactions were indeed private trade. The wind was changing, and the nature of many things was changing too.

Wang Wang Guoguang finished writing the floating slip. After Zhang Zhang Juzheng read it, he did not change a single word. Although he was beating the Jin Party, he did not intend to take action. If he really took action, where would he still need to compete in acting with Wang Wang Chonggu? With the front lines at war and party strife breaking out in the rear, he, the Senior Grand Secretary, would have no need to continue his work.

Zhang Zhang Juzheng handed the memorial to the Left and Right Transmitting Officials. After checking it, they sealed the memorial and sent it to the Directorate of Ceremonial's Half-Room to wait for the vermilion approval before sending it to the Imperial Study in the Tonghe Palace, waiting for the Emperor to read it and affix his seal.

In most cases, the Emperor only needed to follow the vermilion approval of the Cabinet and the Directorate of Ceremonial, and affix his seal, to maintain the operation and slow decline of the Empire. Before the memorial reached the Imperial presence, the Inner Court and Outer Court had already fought out the result.

Part of the decision-making power for the Empire's routine affairs lay in the hands of the Cabinet and the Directorate of Ceremonial, but the Emperor held the final decision-making power. If the Emperor was dissatisfied, he could review it himself and provide his opinion. After the Cabinet read it, if they disagreed, they would seal and return it; if they agreed, they would carry it out.

Zhang Zhang Dingsi, a Censor of the Shaanxi Circuit, impeached Wang Yu, the Shaanxi Provincial Administration Commissioner, and his assistant official Yu Xue Lun for soliciting bribes and harboring villains. This was a report by Shaanxi Provincial Governor Shi Shi Maohua in December of last year. This matter was indeed true. Wang Yu and Yu Xue Lun had embezzled a total of 70,000 taels of silver, and 40,000 taels of that had been obtained from the Lanzhou Woolen Factory.

Wang Wang Guoguang looked at these two names, his heart filled with mixed feelings, lamenting how easily human hearts change.

Wang Wang Guoguang knew these two people. Back then, when they had just passed the imperial examination, they were high-spirited and spoke with grand words, vowing to use the righteous energy in their bellies to sweep away all injustices in the world. Today, they had become corrupt officials, their names listed on the "Stele of Happiness" outside the Zhaoyang Gate.

This was the biggest official to fall in the ninth year of Emperor Wanli, and the charge was soliciting bribes and harboring villains. This was neither glorious nor upright. After falling, they were reviled by ten thousand people.

Wang Wang Guoguang took up his brush: "Both men had grand ambitions in their youth but have now gone astray. It is difficult to end well. Summon them to the capital for slow questioning, dismiss them, and send them back to their native places to await employment."

Seventy thousand taels of silver—in the early days of the dynasty, that would have been enough to "skin" someone more than 30,000 times. Times had changed. As a local chief official in Shaanxi, this corruption figure was actually still within the court's tolerance range.

Zhang Zhang Juzheng read the memorial and flipped through the Ministry of Personnel's performance records. Both had been in the lower grade for three years. Zhang Zhang Juzheng added a sentence to the floating slip: "Strip them of their official status and academic honors."

"Summon to the capital for slow questioning" meant torturing them to find out where the corruption proceeds were used and recovering the stolen silver; calling it "torturing" was actually just interrogation. "Dismiss and send back to native place to await employment" still left a chance for reinstatement.

But stripping them of their official status and academic honors meant there was absolutely no chance left. This was a very severe punishment. It negated the first half of their lives; ten years of hard study were like a dream, an illusion, a bubble.

The opinion of Hence Hai Rui, the Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, was only to dismiss them and send them back to their native places to await employment. Hence Hai Rui could not tolerate a grain of sand in his eyes, but his opinion was even milder than Zhang Zhang Juzheng's. The reason Zhang Zhang Juzheng was being severe was that he had comprehensively considered their performance results.

They were both corrupt and unable to get things done.

There are many types of corruption. Zhang Zhang Juzheng himself was a corrupt official; many times, one cannot get things done without being corrupt. Zhang Zhang Juzheng could understand the difficulties of his subordinates. In an environment where everyone was corrupt, if you were not corrupt, you were an outlier. But if you were corrupt and still couldn't get things done, you couldn't blame Zhang Zhang Juzheng for not showing mercy.

The power of the Performance Evaluation Law lay right here; it completely influenced the rise and fall, honor and disgrace of a bureaucrat. The drawback of the Performance Evaluation Law also lay here; the hundred officials were tortured by the Performance Evaluation Law until they were miserable.

The Office of Transmission delivering memorials, the Grand Secretaries' floating slips, the Senior Grand Secretary's review, sealing and sending to the Directorate of Ceremonial, the Directorate of Ceremonial's vermilion approval sent to the Imperial presence, affixing the seal and sending back to the Cabinet, the Cabinet issuing orders for the various ministries to act—the speed of the Great Ming's government affairs circulation was extremely fast. Especially since His Majesty the Emperor had been extremely diligent these years and never left memorials in the palace overnight, this greatly accelerated efficiency.

The Office of Transmission was originally an extremely important department of the Empire. Since the founding Emperor established it, the successive Emperors held court, and by the time the sun reached the west, they had not even had time for a morning meal, all because they wanted to reach the four corners of the world and bring in the words of the world. The Office of Transmission was an institution created by Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang after he abolished the Prime Minister, aimed at facilitating government affairs.

The status of the Transmission Commissioner was extremely respected during the Emperor Hongwu, Yongle, and Emperor Xuande years. Whenever there was a regular court session, the Transmission Commissioner's reporting of affairs was not limited in number. That is to say, the Transmission Commissioner was often the person presiding over the meeting during regular court sessions. In the early years of the During Zhengtong reign, the Emperor ascended the throne at a young age, and the three Grand Secretaries, Yang Rong and others, worried that the Imperial body would easily tire, so they created a new system: every day at the morning court, only eight matters were allowed to be spoken of.

The power of the Office of Transmission came entirely from facilitating government affairs. By speaking of only eight matters, its power was greatly restricted. Slowly, the power of the Office of Transmission returned to the Cabinet, and the Cabinet Grand Secretaries, who were originally just the Emperor's secretaries, gradually became the actual center of power in the Great Ming.

Zhang Zhang Juzheng, sitting in the Zhang Wenyuan Pavilion, suddenly picked up a memorial, his eyes becoming sharp. After reading the entire memorial, he picked up a floating slip, pondered for a moment, and then took up his brush to write: "The Barbarian King cannot match the sharpness of the Capital Battalion, so he is stirring up the wind. This type of memorial should be investigated to see if there is private trade and silver smuggling."

Altan Khan could not defeat Qi Qi Jiguang on the battlefield. Whether it was the probing of the Capital Battalion's vanguard or the Datong defense line, Altan Khan had suffered losses. The Great Ming's advance was neither hurried nor slow, and Altan Khan could not find an opportunity, so he set his sights on the court, attempting to stop the advance of the Great Ming army from within.

"Senior Grand Secretary, something has happened at the Prince Huaiyi Prince's Mansion." Wang Wang Guoguang stood up and walked from his square table to Zhang Zhang Juzheng.

Zhang Zhang Juzheng opened the memorial. Wang Yi'e, the Vice Minister of Shuntian Prefecture, submitted a memorial about an incident: a great fire at the Prince Huaiyi Prince's Mansion. Arson was a means of doing evil with very few future troubles, because under the great fire, all sins were burned clean.

It was not only the radical faction of the Great Ming that wanted Tuman Khan dead, but also the grassland people.

Judging from all kinds of clues, this arson was done by the Northern Barbarians. At this time, Tuman Khan dying in the Great Ming's capital was most beneficial to Altan Khan. The Great Ming had accepted Tuman Khan's surrender, yet the suzerain Khan had died in the capital. Altan Khan only needed to raise the banner of avenging the suzerain Khan to win over people's hearts, to make the grassland people twist into a single rope, and to make the Great Ming's backyard catch fire.

The Great Ming's degree of Imperial transformation over Tuman Khan's territory was extremely low. Once Tuman Khan died, these ruled places would likely cause quite a stir.

There was a great fire at the Prince Huaiyi Prince's Mansion. The Prince Huaiyi Prince was not in the mansion. The mansion was still being decorated, and there were too many people coming and going, which was not very safe. Moreover, the Great Ming and the Northern Barbarians were at war, so Tuman Khan, this suzerain Khan, had been placed extremely properly by Zhu Zhu Yijun.

At this time, Tuman Khan was at the Yicheng Earl's Mansion in the Western Hills, which was the place where Zhang Zhang Juzheng lived during his mourning period.

The Emperor went to that place every month, so the defense was extremely strict. Idlers were not allowed to enter, and he was secretly hidden there under the cover of night. Very, very few people knew about it.

"Just let Shuntian Prefecture strictly investigate the spies." Zhang Zhang Juzheng ordered a strict investigation. Even if he knew that no results could be found, he still had to investigate strictly, because he had to find the Northern Barbarian spies. Zhang Zhang Juzheng finished writing the floating slip, ordering Tuman Khan's son, Buyan (Buyan, Tuman Khan's eldest son, renamed Baoyan), to go to Kaiping Guard to stabilize people's hearts.

Wang Wang Guoguang wanted to say something but stopped. Wang Yi'e said in the memorial that no one lived in the mansion, so there were no casualties. Wang Wang Guoguang had originally intended to ask where the Prince Huaiyi Prince Tuman Khan was, but after thinking about it a little, it had nothing to do with him, so why know so much? He simply didn't ask.

"Is there anything else?" Zhang Zhang Juzheng looked at Wang Wang Guoguang and asked.

Wang Wang Guoguang took a deep breath, looked around at the busy secretaries and transmitting officials in the Zhang Wenyuan Pavilion, and said, "This is my memorial to resign."

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire Zhang Wenyuan Pavilion suddenly became quiet. After Lu Lu Diaoyang fell seriously ill and resigned to live in Xitucheng, Wang Wang Chonggu became the Second Grand Secretary. This Second Grand Secretary Wang Wang Chonggu did not work in the Zhang Wenyuan Pavilion, so the actual Second Grand Secretary was Wang Wang Guoguang.

Now, Wang Wang Guoguang was leaving.

Recently, Wang Wang Guoguang had been suffering from constant impeachment, but this Second Grand Secretary of the Empire had not submitted a memorial to explain his grievances. Now, Wang Wang Guoguang had made his choice.

Zhang Zhang Juzheng took the memorial and said quite calmly, "The expenses for the war are quite heavy. In times when state affairs are busy, the Minister of Revenue should consider the country."

"It's not that I'm tired. The censors' impeachment makes me truly ashamed." Wang Wang Guoguang shook his head. This was a position he had struggled his whole life to climb to. The "Emperor Wanli Accounting Record" had not been finished yet; how could he be willing!

State affairs were at their busiest, and he didn't say he was sick, nor did he lack energy, but a person must be responsible for what they have done. Wang Wang Guoguang had been under great pressure during this period.

Chen Qiao Chen Qiao Bixing, the Surveillance Commissioner of Shanxi, had impeached Wang Wang Guoguang for an old matter from years ago: forcibly seizing a woman from the people.

In the 23rd year of Emperor Jiajing, Wang Wang Guoguang passed the imperial examination. That year, his stepmother, Lady Cao, passed away, and Wang Wang Guoguang had to rush back to his hometown to observe mourning. During the 27 months of mourning, his wife, Lady Zhang, had already passed away for several years. After the mourning ended, he wanted to find a successor wife to cultivate himself, regulate his family, govern the state, and bring peace to the world. Not having a regulated family was a disadvantage and meant he couldn't advance. Wang Wang Guoguang wanted to advance.

Bai Xiangli in Yangcheng County was Wang Wang Guoguang's hometown. During his mourning period, he met a beauty named Lady Li. This Lady Li was beautiful, and the whole of Yangcheng knew it. Her father was a local big merchant. For Wang Wang Guoguang, who had passed the imperial examination, seeking to marry Lady Li was Lady Li's good fortune.

"There is a beautiful woman, clear and bright." "Meeting by chance, fulfilling my wish."

The only trouble was that Lady Li, Li Li Qingwan, was a widow.

Li Li Qingwan had first married Bai Bai Haoli of Bai Xiangli. Bai Bai Haoli unfortunately died of illness, and this Li Li Qingwan became a widow. They lived very close by, and after coming and going, under the melon patch and plum tree, they developed mutual feelings. Wang Wang Guoguang entrusted local gentry like Tian Dajun to act as matchmakers and went to the Bai Mansion to seek to marry Li Li Qingwan.

In this day and age, a married-out woman is like splashed-out water. After Li Li Qingwan's husband died, she still lived in the Bai Mansion. Marriage and funeral matters naturally had to be approved by her father-in-law and mother-in-law. Bai Bai Qishu, the father of Bai Bai Haoli and Li Li Qingwan's father-in-law, did not allow it and sternly told Li Li Qingwan to observe chastity for her husband.

The idea of Li Li Qingwan's father-in-law, Bai Bai Qishu, was not to offend Wang Wang Guoguang by not allowing his daughter-in-law, Lady Li, to marry. Rather, Bai Bai Qishu had another daughter. If Wang Wang Guoguang married the young lady of the Bai Mansion who was waiting in the boudoir, then Li Li Qingwan could be an extra, becoming Wang Wang Guoguang's concubine.

If Wang Wang Guoguang didn't agree, then let Li Li Qingwan set up a chastity archway and observe chastity.

At that time, Wang Wang Guoguang's future was uncertain. He had just passed the imperial examination and returned to his hometown to observe mourning. By the time he returned to the capital, the daylily would have already been changed for a new table.

Wang Wang Guoguang originally didn't want to agree, but seeing that he had to return to the capital, he finally agreed. Things reached this point: the Bai Mansion gained an imperial examination graduate son-in-law, which was rare in Yangcheng County. Wang Wang Guoguang gained a successor wife and a concubine. Although the successor wife was not from a famous family, she was well-read in poetry and books, and the concubine, Li Li Qingwan, was Wang Wang Guoguang's admiration.

Heaven does not follow human wishes. When the Bai Mansion was busily preparing for the marriage, Li Li Qingwan died, committing suicide by slitting her throat.

It was indeed a suicide, but why she committed suicide, no one knew.

Wang Wang Guoguang didn't know what exactly happened; this was a matter inside someone else's house. But Li Li Qingwan died, so the marriage naturally couldn't take place. Although Bai Bai Qishu of the Bai family tried several times to persuade Wang Wang Guoguang to still marry the young lady of the Bai Mansion, Wang Wang Guoguang finally didn't marry her. After the mourning ended, he married a young lady from another family in Yangcheng County and returned to the capital.

So many years have passed in a flash. Wang Wang Guoguang was already a Grand Secretary and Minister of Revenue. He had stood in the court in his prime, having been a court official for 18 years, and a Grand Secretary for 5 years. This matter was dug up again.

The whole event became: Wang Wang Guoguang deceived Lady Li into being a concubine; the Bai Mansion, not to be seduced by wealth, resolutely refused; Wang Wang Guoguang used both kindness and force to coerce and lure; Lady Li observed chastity for her husband and died rather than submit; Wang Wang Guoguang took another path to marry a wife and take a concubine; Lady Li, heart turned to ash, held a knife and committed suicide.

Since Chen Qiao Chen Qiao Bixing, the Surveillance Commissioner of Shanxi, submitted the impeachment, Wang Wang Guoguang had been caught and scolded by the censors. They scolded him so terribly that even Zhang Zhang Xueyan, the Junior Minister of Revenue, looked at Wang Wang Guoguang with some scrutiny. The Empire's Minister of Revenue, whom he had always respected, was actually so arrogant and domineering when he was young? To get this Li Li Qingwan, he actually forced someone to commit suicide!

Wang Wang Guoguang's family could at most be considered local gentry. Lady Li was a prominent family in Yangcheng. At that time, Wang Wang Guoguang had just passed the imperial examination; how could he coerce and lure the Bai family?

The Wang Wang Guoguang in everyone's mind was the current Minister of Revenue of the Empire, holding the economic lifeline of the Great Ming. With one word, he could talk about millions of silver. If the Great Ming Emperor wanted to launch a Northern Expedition, Wang Wang Guoguang could raise military supplies without affecting the court's expenditures.

In Wang Wang Guoguang's hands, the Ministry of Revenue could be said to be at the peak of its status in history, even having the momentum to suppress the Ministry of Personnel. The Minister of Personnel had to find Wang Wang Guoguang to get silver to do things.

"It's not a big deal. Marriage is about discussing things well. Look at the trouble you've caused. Forcing things too much and being too eager has left hidden dangers. Leave this matter to me. You don't need to pay attention to the attacks of these censors." Zhang Zhang Juzheng read the memorial, pondered for a while, and decided to stabilize the situation.

Wang Wang Guoguang could not leave at this time. When the cannons roar, gold costs ten thousand taels. At this time, Wang Wang Guoguang was needed to continue raising military supplies. To win, Zhang Zhang Juzheng decided to take this thunderbolt for Wang Wang Guoguang.

"I didn't!" Wang Wang Guoguang was slightly annoyed. This was exactly what he was anxious about. He said that when he was young, he didn't coerce or lure the Bai family at all, because he didn't have that ability. But no one believed him, not even Zhang Zhang Juzheng. Wang Wang Guoguang was the direct line of the Jin Party. Although he was observing mourning at the time, he had people in the court. One letter to Yangcheng, and the small Li family of Yangcheng would immediately be worse off than dead.

It was probably: "Because I am too strong now, no one believes that I once sought something and couldn't get it when I talked about the past."

Yang Bo was very accurate in judging people. He said that Ge Ge Shouli was honest and stubborn, Wang Wang Chonggu was easily angered, Zhang Zhang Siwei was indecisive and not a minister, and Wang Wang Guoguang was a gentleman who was cautious when alone, meaning he was unconventional, had high aspirations and pure conduct, was different from the vulgar, and was only suitable for righteousness, only willing to follow his heart to do things.

At that time, Wang Wang Guoguang had never thought of using his background, nor did he feel he had any background to speak of. For so many years, he didn't even know how Li Li Qingwan died.

"Who doesn't have some absurd things in their youth? It's not a big deal." Zhang Zhang Juzheng took on this headless case for Wang Wang Guoguang. It wasn't a big deal. Wang Wang Guoguang neither killed anyone nor forcibly seized anyone. If hearsay leads to the departure of ministers, then who would still work for the Empire?

Just one hour later, the memorial returned to the Zhang Wenyuan Pavilion. Lin Lin Shizhang, Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, was not dismissed. Wang Yu, Shaanxi Provincial Administration Commissioner, and assistant official Yu Xue Lun, for soliciting bribes and harboring villains, were guilty of unforgivable crimes and were to be summoned to the capital for slow questioning, stripped of their official status and academic honors. An Imperial decree was issued ordering Buyan to go to Kaiping Guard to summon the various barbarian chieftains for a meeting.

As for Wang Wang Guoguang's resignation, besides not granting it, the Emperor also specially added a sentence: "Who has not been young and frivolous? Alas, time slips away, and the past does not return."

It was very clear that the Great Ming Emperor had eaten the melon of Wang Wang Guoguang, the Empire's Minister of Finance.

Zhang Zhang Juzheng's "Five Matters Memorial" requested that the Emperor approve everything that should be approved, and that memorials should not be left in the palace overnight without special circumstances. Zhu Zhu Yijun had been diligent for years and never let memorials stay in the palace overnight. Zhu Zhu Yijun also quite liked this matter. Just like listening to court officials argue and watching the fun at the morning court, these memorials were all big melons.

"Sigh." Wang Wang Guoguang held the memorial, pondered for a while, finally put it aside, and continued to process the memorials. Just as the Emperor said, the past does not return.

Zhu Zhu Yijun, with a long tail of followers, left the Tonghe Palace and headed to the Yanxing Building. Today was the day for the monthly account settlement at the Yanxing Building. Zhu Zhu Yijun wanted to determine the transaction volume of shipping certificates for this month, and then prepare for the subscription quota for three-masted and five-masted ships next month.

The shipping certificate business, which was the opportunity for everyone to be a shipowner, had been launched for a year and a half. Overall, it was still in a state of supply exceeding demand. The transactions at the Yanxing Building Exchange were still "having a price but no market."

"Short-sighted! Shipping certificates are a pile of waste paper. White silver is exchanged for waste paper. You have to operate short-term to make a fortune! These landlords and wealthy people are all holding onto them! How is this any different from burying silver in a pigsty! How much is the dividend! They can't even harvest leeks properly. A bunch of useless things." Zhu Zhu Yijun looked at the accounts in anger and slapped the table with a bang.

The logic was very clear. These guys were holding positions and refusing to trade, so Zhu Zhu Yijun couldn't collect the tax. Watching white silver flow through his fingertips, this feeling was too uncomfortable.

There were still too few shipping certificates, not enough to support trading. This Yanxing Building Exchange was only bustling during those few days of subscription; on weekdays, it was deserted.

"Isn't this because Your Majesty doesn't allow it?" Feng Bao handed the Emperor a cup of tea and said with a full face of smiles, "The Inner Treasury and the State Treasury don't lack this 0.3% tax."

Zhu Zhu Yijun spat out a turbid breath and said viciously, "Don't lack? My Inner Treasury doesn't have a single cent of silver that is redundant! Not a single cent!"

It was indeed Zhu Zhu Yijun's own fault. He didn't allow the powerful and wealthy to harvest leeks, so the powerful and wealthy could only eat dividends. The base price of this shipping certificate was five taels of silver. For an average family in the Great Ming to enter the market, they would have to save money for several years. The powerful and wealthy had repeatedly made suggestions to divide this five-tael certificate into a hundred parts, five cents of silver each, so that average families, and even poor people, could subscribe.

It sounded like a good idea, but Zhu Zhu Yijun simply didn't allow it. Because of the information gap, if average families and poor people entered the market, they would only have the fate of being leeks.

Therefore, one couldn't blame the powerful and wealthy for only eating dividends. The dividends were already a lot.

Zhu Zhu Yijun closed the accounts and vermilion-approved the subscription for next month: seven five-masted ships, seventy-two three-masted clipper ships.

The Great Ming's business model of opening the seas had changed from the monopoly of government ships during the Yongle and Emperor Xuande years, to the rampant private ships after the During Zhengtong reign, to the current model of combining public and private. And the "private" here was not an individual, but the entirety of regional merchant groups and firms, which was the prototype of the later company.

In the Great Ming shipyards, the current three-masted ships, especially the five-masted ships, could still only be built by four government-run shipyards. And the "Everyone is a Shipowner" plan, the shipowners of the Yanxing Building, provided a steady stream of funds for the shipyards. The huge production capacity was eaten up by the shipowners. With the terrifying production capacity of the current Great Ming shipyards, it was simply not something that a so-called thousand-year family could eat up; it would choke them to death.

The five major ocean-going merchant firms led by the court were responsible for the allocation of goods, the operation of ships, the repair of ships, and so on.

The Great Ming's opening of the seas was rolling forward. Relying solely on the Great Ming court officials was completely impossible. The inherent rigidity and bloatedness of government factories determined that government factories were not omnipotent. Therefore, only when ten thousand people exert their strength can they be invincible. The achievements of opening the seas belonged to the achievements of the entire Great Ming.

"Has our Young Master Wang finished drinking? If he's not drunk yet, let him come over." Zhu Zhu Yijun finished today's work and checked the accounts, then thought of Wang Qian. This guy had returned to the capital and resumed his old ways, lingering in brothels all day long, unable to extricate himself, becoming a dissolute rich young master.

It had to be said that Zhu Zhu Yijun still envied Wang Qian's extravagant life.

"Your subject pays respects to Your Majesty. Long live Your Majesty, long live, long live." Wang Qian arrived quickly and bowed respectfully. There wasn't even a smell of alcohol or rouge on him. He knew this was the day for monthly account settlement, so he didn't drink at all, and didn't even look for girls. If he were to lose decorum in the Imperial presence and those old pedants were to find out, it would be another round of impeachment.

"Exempt from bowing, sit down and speak. My fourth-rank official, what have you been busy with recently?" Zhu Zhu Yijun asked curiously.

Wang Qian said with a bitter face, "Half a month ago, my old man gave me a difficult task, asking me to investigate an old matter from forty years ago. Forty years! Your Majesty, my old man is really good at setting difficult problems."

"Did you find out clearly?" Zhu Zhu Yijun immediately thought of the pair of mandarin ducks, Wang Wang Guoguang and Li Li Qingwan, who were separated by yin and yang.

"Found out clearly." Wang Qian looked left and right and whispered, "The old matter that the Minister of Revenue has been impeached for recently, I really found out something. The reason for Li Li Qingwan's death back then had another cause. This can be considered a scandal; very few people know about it. I can be considered to have heard about it by chance."

"Oh? Why did she die? Tell me in detail." Zhu Zhu Yijun asked with great interest.

"Li Li Qingwan's husband, Bai Bai Haoli, had a younger brother named Bai Zhili, who was extremely lustful. After his brother died, this Bai Zhili set his sights on his sister-in-law. The sister-in-law wanted to remarry, but this Bai Zhili wouldn't stop at anything and wanted to force himself on her. Li Li Qingwan wouldn't submit, so she committed suicide by slitting her throat." Wang Qian recounted the old matter from back then with a sigh.

Forty years is not long, nor is it short. With heavy rewards, there must be brave men. Wang Qian had nothing else, but he had plenty of silver. He found the old people in the mansion from back then, and only then did he figure out the whole thing. And there was also the matter of that Bai family young lady in it.

According to the Bai family's idea, the successor wife Wang Wang Guoguang wanted to marry was the Bai family young lady, but the one he admired was Li Li Qingwan. Naturally, the Bai family young lady was very unhappy. It just so happened that the younger brother Bai Zhili had evil intentions. This Bai family young lady helped Bai Zhili to set a trap for Li Li Qingwan. Li Li Qingwan was alone and helpless, and in despair, she committed suicide.

Zhu Zhu Yijun said viciously, "This Bai Zhili is really not a thing. The man and woman were in love, and it was the order of the parents and the words of the matchmaker, yet he had to stick his foot in!"

"Isn't that so."

"This Bai family young lady is also stupid. If she didn't want to, she shouldn't have married. Why create trouble? If she married over, she would be the wife, and Li Li Qingwan would be the concubine. Could she have let Li Li Qingwan turn the sky upside down? Anyway, the Minister of Revenue wasn't seeking her. The result was that both sides suffered. Li Li Qingwan died, and she didn't become the Minister of Revenue's wife either. Harming others and not benefiting herself."

"Isn't there an old saying, harming others ends up harming oneself?"

"What happened to this Bai family young lady later?"

"She married into the Wei family of Yangcheng, but her husband was a gambler. In a few years, the family fortune was ruined, and she died in depression."

"And this Bai Zhili? Is he still alive?"

"Alive, trading with foreigners."

"Trading with foreigners?" Zhu Zhu Yijun's eyes became cold and sharp. He looked at Wang Qian and said, "How does this Bai Zhili trade with foreigners? Is it the border trade after the peace negotiations?"

Wang Qian sat up straight and said quite definitely, "Isn't my old man afraid that if the city gate catches fire, the fish in the moat will suffer? He asked me to keep an eye on the movements of the merchants in Zezhou Prefecture. This Bai Zhili prepared 20,000 catties of saltpeter, intending to put it in salt bags and send it outside the pass. I found out about it. These 20,000 catties of saltpeter have already been intercepted. Chen Qiao Chen Qiao Bixing, the Surveillance Commissioner of Shanxi, personally investigated and confiscated it."

"Your Majesty, if this Chen Qiao Chen Qiao Bixing hasn't reported it truthfully, or even allowed this batch of saltpeter to flow into the grassland, then his purpose in impeaching the Minister of Revenue is self-evident."

"Isn't Chen Qiao Chen Qiao Bixing a member of your Jin Party?" Zhu Zhu Yijun said with a strange expression.

Wang Qian bowed and said, "Your Majesty, the Jin Party is first the Jin Party of the Great Ming."

It doesn't matter if they want to die, as long as they don't implicate their old Wang family.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 427 =====