Chapter 125: Skinning

Fu Changzong also knew they couldn't be too hasty. After a moment of thought, he looked at Zhu Xu and said, "Regarding the grain transport, I've already discussed it with Zhou Yingqiu, Luo Yangxing, and Zhao Han. We'll set up checkpoints at every level. From now on, all cargo ships traveling north and south will be strictly inspected. The three offices will cross-check each other, and at the end there's still the Shuntian Prefecture. If necessary, I can also arrange people on my end at Yingtian Prefecture."

Zhu Xu listened and nodded slightly, saying, "Personnel should be rotated at irregular intervals, and internal audits should be conducted at unscheduled times. We absolutely cannot let our own ranks be corrupted without knowing it."

Fu Changzong said, "Mm, I'll make the arrangements."

Zhu Xu conversed with Fu Changzong for a full two hours. Fu Changzong was now his chief steward for external affairs — every business venture had his assistance and participation. Moreover, his son Fu Tao managed all the accounting ledgers. It could be said that this father-and-son pair was absolutely vital to him!

At the very end, Fu Changzong added one more remark: "Xu'er, you don't have to participate in court affairs, but you cannot ignore them entirely either."

Zhu Xu sighed inwardly again, feeling deeply helpless. Even Fu Changzong, who was always telling him to be cautious, had taken the initiative to speak up — this showed just how immense the pressure from the court was.

By the end of the Ming, the court had rotted to its very roots. There were no bottom lines, no limits. As long as they could strike at their political opponents, they would collude with the Jin people, fund them, even leak military deployment maps at will — selling out the nation's territory was of no consequence!

Such a state of affairs naturally hadn't formed in just a few days. Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di had both been forceful emperors, so naturally no one dared form cliques right under their noses. But after Emperor Xuanzong, the mature literati-official class began contending with the Son of Heaven for power, trying to restrict imperial authority. All sorts of rules and regulations sprang up in an attempt to hem the emperor in and trap him deep within the palace.

The Ming emperors were many oddities, yet also many talents. Among them was one who loved to argue with his ministers over ceremonial protocols and ancestral regulations — but when all was said and done, it was still about contending for power.

By the Wanli era, the Wanli Emperor, because of the childhood shadow cast by Zhang Juzheng, harbored a particular hatred for that pack of court ministers. Not content with having Zhang Juzheng's bones ground to dust, this emperor even outright stopped attending court — for over twenty years!

During that period, court officials naturally seized the golden opportunity to form factions and crush those who disagreed with them. Especially in the final years, he rarely even met with his ministers, allowing the factional strife that had been growing with the wind to intensify until it became impossible to suppress and impossible to control.

During this period, the Wanli Emperor also offended one man — the founding patriarch of the Donglin Faction, Gu Xiancheng!

Once the Donglin Academy opened, within just a few years the Donglin Faction had grown into a formidable force, quickly seizing control of most of the court and forming the largest clique of the Tianqi era!

This clique was still quite immature now, but by the Chongzhen era, with all the righteous men filling the court — even though the Chongzhen Emperor cycled through over thirty chief grand secretaries and more than a hundred ministers, no matter how he shuffled them, one glance showed they were all still Donglin!

Such a prospect — even Zhu Xu felt a chill run down his spine just thinking about it!

Zhu Xu sprawled lazily across the table, one hand propping up his chin, his gaze vacant.

The Donglin Faction was terrifying, but the Chongzhen who came after was even more so — that man killed without batting an eye. If he waded into court affairs at this time, a few years from now Wei Zhongxian's fate might well be swapped for his own, Zhu Xu's.

After thinking it over, Zhu Xu roused himself and gave Fu Changzong a preemptive warning: "Uncle, we're drawing more and more attention now. Several of our trading houses are bound to show flaws that sharp-eyed people might notice. So everything must stay low-key. You and Zhou Yingqiu and the others need to keep a low profile at court, and even lower in business. In two more months my imperial sister-in-law will be giving birth — this is no time for us to cause any trouble."

Seeing that Zhu Xu remained so resolute, Fu Changzong dropped the subject: "Very well then. Try to visit Her Majesty the Empress less from now on, so as not to stir up painful memories."

Zhu Xu fell silent. Empress Zhang's pregnancy had in fact already been condemned by the imperial physicians — most likely she could not carry it to term. But the Empress insisted, and how it would ultimately end, no one could predict.

After staying a while longer, Zhu Xu left the Fu residence and sat in his carriage, preparing to return to the palace.

They hadn't gone far when suddenly the carriage curtain was lifted and a pale-faced young man stepped inside.

"Greetings, Your Highness." Zhu Zonghan bowed as he spoke.

Zhu Xu was startled for a moment, then quickly waved his hand: "Have a seat."

Zhu Zonghan sat down beside Zhu Xu and reported directly: "Your subordinate spent the past few days in Liaodong. Everything you instructed has been handled. I've arranged all the tea relay stations along the routes — the staff are all Han Chinese who were plundered and then cast out by their masters. They have legitimate identities and won't draw attention."

Zhu Xu nodded with satisfaction and said, "Mm, I've also mostly finished handling the grain transport matter. In a moment I'll have someone take you to take over the salt fields. As for how to sell — you should understand that better than I do."

Zhu Zonghan bowed slightly and said, "Rest assured, Your Highness. As long as no one else competes for the business, Liaodong alone can earn ten million taels a year!"

Ten million taels?

Zhu Xu's expression didn't change, but inwardly he was startled. He then silently calculated — Liaodong's population was roughly three to four million now? If so, then Zhu Zonghan was probably planning to hoard goods as rare commodities and jack up prices.

But this was also a means of weakening the Later Jin. He nodded slightly and said, "Mm, that works. We'll use the private salt to spread out the distribution channels, and various luxury goods can also enter Liaodong along with it. Hmph — they can plunder things over with barbarism, and I can plunder them back twice over with civilization!"

Zhu Zonghan listened in silence. After Zhu Xu gave further instructions, he quietly lifted the curtain and vanished without a sound into an alley nearby.

After they had traveled a while, Cao Wenzhao turned his head and said, "Your Highness, this man is well suited for working in the shadows."

Zhu Xu nodded and said, "Have someone take him to take over the salt fields. Aside from the accounting staff, he may arrange everyone else as he sees fit."

"Yes, Your Highness." Cao Wenzhao acknowledged and spurred his horse straight toward the palace gates.

In such wretched weather, with his increasingly indolent temperament, Zhu Xu wouldn't have wanted to go out at all. As soon as he returned to Jinghuan Palace, he retreated into a pile of ice. Though the heat was still stifling and unbearable, rubbing the ice across his face and neck did give him a measure of relief.

In the study, Zhu Xu sat in his chair, looking up at the top of the wall across from him, and sighed: "Ah, if only there were something that could blow some cool air down."

Naturally, no one could understand why Zhu Xu couldn't endure the summer that everyone else had grown accustomed to. Cao Huachun stood not far from him, waiting until His Highness the Prince of Hui had caught his breath before saying, "Your Highness, that Yang Huaizhong has come to the capital."

Zhu Xu raised an eyebrow at this, and after a moment's recollection said, "You mean that Shanxi merchant?"

"Yes," Cao Huachun said. "He went to the shipping company, wanting us to depart port immediately, or find some way to keep a northbound batch of ships from being seized."

Zhu Xu laughed with a strange expression. Many ships were now forced to stop in Shandong — they could neither go up nor turn back, nor switch to land routes, because rebellions were breaking out all over Shandong with beacons of war everywhere. All the grain transport ships could only wait for the situation in the capital to settle before daring to continue north.

Clearly, this Yang Huaizhong hadn't come for himself alone — most likely he'd been pushed forward by the Shanxi merchants to test the waters.

Zhu Xu tapped his fingers on the table, a smile gradually curling at the corners of his mouth. He waved his hand, beckoning Cao Huachun closer, and said in a low voice: "Here's what we'll do. Have Zhou Jianyu raise the price first — make them bleed once before agreeing. Then, whether their ships go south or north, inspect them strictly. If contraband is found, seize the entire fleet. As for everything except the contraband, make them pay a hefty sum to redeem it. Run this cycle a few times, and then have someone step forward to demand at least thirty percent of their profits per trip!"

Listening to Zhu Xu's words, Cao Huachun's heart trembled. Just how detestable must this Yang Huaizhong be to make His Highness the Prince of Hui devise such a "vicious" scheme against him?