Chapter 99: Literary Gathering

Zhu Xu sighed, closed the account book, his gaze deep and thoughtful.

Even a peninsula like that was said to have drought-stricken land stretching a thousand li, with crop failures everywhere. Let alone the interior—places like that had already suffered successive years of severe drought.

The current situation was still manageable. According to historical records, in a few more years would come the true peak of disaster. By then, the whole realm would be parched, calamities following one after another—a veritable scene of doomsday, too tragic to behold.

Seeing Zhu Xu had finished reading, Fu Tao stood up and said, "Your Highness, my father said this year will be somewhat difficult, but once we get past next year, things should open up."

Zhu Xu nodded, but shook his head inwardly. None of them knew what was coming, how severe the drought would become—for the Great Ming, such a calamity was unprecedented in history. If they knew, they would probably think Heaven was deliberately trying to destroy the dynasty. His meager efforts were nothing but a drop in the bucket.

Zhu Xu quickly shook off his chaotic thoughts, looked up at Fu Tao, and said, "By the way, you mentioned earlier that Wei Zhongxian came to see my maternal uncle?"

Fu Tao said, "Yes. He had a private talk with my father for nearly half an hour, then left."

Zhu Xu stroked his chin, the corners of his mouth curling up. He very much hoped that this cornered Eunuch Wei would bring him a pleasant surprise.

Fu Tao looked at Zhu Xu, his expression somewhat tense as he said, "Your Highness, are you really not afraid that Wei Zhongxian might go tell the Emperor something?"

Zhu Xu chuckled and said, "No need to worry. What could harm me, he doesn't know; what he knows can't harm me. As for the suspicions in his heart, he wouldn't dare breathe a word of them to my Imperial Brother—otherwise, the first to die would be him!"

Fu Tao felt somewhat relieved upon hearing this. After a pause, he continued, "I've been training the accountants, but it will still be some time before they can take on work. For now, most matters are being handled by the old head accountant. Of the silver collected, part is in the Huitong Trading Company, and part is in the workshop east of the city. Your Highness, do you think we should make other arrangements?"

Zhu Xu narrowed his eyes and nodded. "Mm. A cunning rabbit has three burrows. Find a way to quietly purchase another courtyard near the Huitong Trading Company and the east-city workshop, connect them with an underground passage, secretly move the stored silver over, and post guards there."

Fu Tao indicated he would remember this, then said, "Then, the salt works—shall we hand them over to Wei Zhongxian?"

A strange smile crossed Zhu Xu's face as he said, "We'll give it to him, but we can't let him be too comfortable. We still need to plant our own people where they should be. Also, not all the salt from the works should go to Wei Zhongxian—ship out a small portion and distribute it through the Huimin Chamber of Commerce's channels."

Fu Tao was taken aback and said, "Your Highness, wouldn't this draw the attention of salt merchants everywhere, as well as the yamen and the court?"

Zhu Xu very much wanted to tell Fu Tao: Do you know how drug traffickers of later generations peddle their goods? Do you know how they conduct their transactions? Do you know why all sorts of high technology can't do a thing against them?

I know!

"I'll teach you when the time comes. Just note it down for now." Zhu Xu had a belly full of words, but what came out in the end was this single sentence.

Fu Tao had no choice but to note it down, looking at Zhu Xu with a very strange gaze. How did this young cousin always come up with such unexpected, bizarre ideas?

The two chatted for a while longer, then Fu Tao kept Zhu Xu company in idle banter. Before they knew it, the midday meal time had passed. Fu Tao looked at Zhu Xu with a growling stomach, his eyes constantly conveying the message of when will we eat.

Zhu Xu, however, seemed oblivious. Ice blocks were placed around the room; he fanned himself and, suddenly widening his eyes at Fu Tao, said with great interest, "Elder Brother, have you ever attended a literary gathering?"

Fu Tao was startled. Literary gatherings in the Great Ming had always been lively affairs, especially after that Grand Secretary Gu of the Donglin Faction hung up that couplet and stirred up the fashion of factionalism.

But Fu Tao was only an average scholar, and his temperament favored quiet over clamor—he hadn't attended many. Not knowing why Zhu Xu asked this, he hesitated and said, "I went a few times, but haven't been since."

"Good, then let's go together once." So saying, Zhu Xu rose and headed straight for the bedroom, clearly intending to change clothes.

Fu Tao watched Zhu Xu's retreating figure, a faint light in his eyes. He murmured to himself, "Could it be that His Highness wishes to begin his studies and intends to find a tutor to his liking himself?"

The more Fu Tao thought about it, the more it seemed to fit Zhu Xu's behavior. He nodded to himself, resolving to keep an eye out when they went.

The two soon left the palace, rode in a carriage straight to the west of the city, and stopped before a courtyard of modest size.

Fu Tao and Zhu Xu alighted from the carriage. Looking at the large characters on the courtyard's plaque reading "West Mountain Academy," he was somewhat stunned.

This academy was not famous—not famous because few in the capital knew of it. Yet it was also very famous—famous because those who did know of it were no ordinary people.

The West Mountain Academy might seem unremarkable, but when one associated it with the "Donglin Academy," it became a different matter entirely.

Fu Tao knew this academy. Of the few lectures he had attended, most had been held here.

This academy was indeed no simple place. Gu Xiancheng had lectured here, Qian Yiben had lectured here, Ye Maocai had lectured here. Most importantly, the founder of this West Mountain Academy was also a big shot of the Donglin Faction—Li Sancai, who had overseen the grain transport for over a decade!

Li Sancai had been a close friend of Gu Xiancheng, and he was extremely skilled at winning people over and networking. It could be said that in the early days, more than half of the Donglin Faction had extraordinary friendships with him, and it was he who had built up its momentum.

However, he had just recently passed away from illness—dying of sickness on the road while being transferred to take up the post of Minister of Revenue.

Maritime transport had been halted a few years earlier, making the grain transport all the more important. With Li Sancai's death, the position of Governor-General of Grain Transport became an object of fierce contention among the grandees at court, yet the struggle had dragged on so long that it remained unresolved.

Zhu Xu looked at this plaque, smiled faintly, and said to Fu Tao, "Elder Brother, let's go in and listen to a lecture too."

Just as the two stepped forward, a servant-boy at the door came out to block them. He sized them up and said, "Without an invitation card, you cannot enter."

Zhu Xu took an invitation card from his waist and handed it over with a smile.

The servant took it and looked at it, his expression shifting slightly. He hastily said, "Honored guests, please enter."

Zhu Xu retrieved his card and, with Fu Tao in tow, strolled leisurely inside.

Though its name was West Mountain, naturally it was not situated on a mountain. Zhu Xu walked along, and from a distance he could hear a clear, resonant voice emanating from one of the courtyards.

Zhu Xu shook his head. He had read many books, but literary gatherings of this era were not about competing in poetry or ci—they focused on the meaning of the classics, on the investigation of things. Moreover, there were many schools of thought, sharply demarcated from one another.

Zhu Xu found these empty, impractical discussions most tiresome. Setting aside looking at them, merely listening gave him a headache.

Still, he put on a very pleased expression and waved his hand, saying, "Come, let's go listen to Master Mu Zhai's discourse on the classics."

Before the two had even drawn near, the voice in the courtyard fell silent for a brief moment, then that same voice rang out again, even more full-bodied and forceful.

The corners of Zhu Xu's mouth curled slightly. With his hands clasped behind his back, he walked over at a leisurely, unhurried pace.

In the courtyard, a middle-aged man sat upon a high cushion, while over twenty people below sat either kneeling or cross-legged, all eyes fixed on him. Throughout the entire courtyard, apart from his voice, there was not a single sound of disturbance.

Zhu Xu snapped his fan shut, and his voice rang out abruptly in the courtyard.

"Tsk tsk—the Ministry of Works' Construction and Repairs Department for grain transport, the Ministry of Justice's Adjudication Department, the Ministry of Revenue's Tea and Horse Department..."