Chapter 10: The Capital's Top Dog

The Duke of Cheng has embezzled so much silver—how could we let that old bastard off easy? We can't touch him yet, but we can't let him have a good time either. We need to squeeze him hard!

Zhu Cilang thought it over carefully and came up with an idea. He wrote a letter to Zhu Chunchen, roughly as follows:

To His Grace the Duke of Cheng, Zhu Chunchen:

I am the boss of the capital, known as Brother Haonan. I heard you've been throwing your weight around, forcing young concubines, bullying young ladies, and seizing people's estates. I found it curious, so I've been keeping a special eye on you.

Little did I expect that after days of investigation, I'd discover that you old bastard have been up to plenty of shady dealings—taking bribes, collecting pay for phantom soldiers, cooking the books, colluding with eunuchs, and so on.

Though I'm the boss of the capital and have seen plenty of big scenes, someone as cocky as you is a rare sight indeed. I truly admire your skill at raking in silver.

By accident, I came across something Your Grace left behind—a little notebook. Reading it gave me quite a shock. I don't want any unpleasantness with you, and I don't plan to expose you.

But times are hard these days, and silver and gold don't come easy. My purse is feeling light, so I'd like to ask His Grace for a small contribution. I'm not greedy—a hundred thousand taels of silver from Your Grace will do.

Once I get the silver, I'll return the ledger full of things I don't understand, and we'll be square from then on.

If Your Grace tries to make this public, I won't mind finding a way to deliver this little ledger to the palace for the Son of Heaven to see.

Three days from now, bring the banknotes to the south end of Chessboard Street outside the Gate of Great Ming. Make the exchange promptly. Remember this well.

Zhu Cilang then summoned Xu Sheng and showed him the letter.

After reading it, Xu Sheng wanted to laugh but didn't dare, because Zhu Cilang was watching him with a completely serious expression. Xu Sheng suppressed his laughter, his face a riot of conflicting emotions.

Zhu Cilang said with utter gravity: "Xu Sheng, what do you think? If you can't hold it in, just laugh!" Zhu Cilang started laughing himself.

Xu Sheng really couldn't hold it in any longer. He laughed until he was doubled over, and it took him a good while to recover. Still chuckling, he said: "Your Highness is extorting the Duke of Cheng. Fine, extortion is extortion—but writing a letter like this, won't it just enrage the Duke to death?"

Zhu Cilang laughed too and said: "If I only took some silver from him, wouldn't that be letting him off too easy? How else could I vent this anger of mine?"

Zhu Cilang had Xu Sheng put the letter away carefully and said: "Leave this matter to Li Tingbiao. Have him find a beggar near the Duke of Cheng's residence to deliver it. Make sure they never find out who did this, or we'll have endless trouble."

Xu Sheng said: "This subordinate understands. But are we really just going to hand the ledger over to them? Wouldn't that be letting them off too cheaply?"

Zhu Cilang smiled and said: "Do I look like a man who takes a loss? Have Li Tingbiao copy the ledger and give the copy to Zhu Chunchen. We'll keep the original—we'll still need to settle the full account with that old bastard later. How could we let him off so easily?"

When Li Tingbiao received Xu Sheng's message and read the letter, his jaw nearly dropped. This was written by His Highness the Crown Prince? He wouldn't believe it if you beat him to death!

Li Tingbiao dared not delay. Following the Crown Prince's instructions, he quickly had the letter delivered to the Duke of Cheng's residence.

In the Duke of Cheng Zhu Chunchen's study.

Zhu Chunchen held the letter, his hands trembling with rage, while fear gripped his heart. If the Emperor truly saw that ledger, given Chongzhen's temperament, would he have any chance of survival?

Chongzhen harbored a deep hatred for those who deceived him. The scenes from a few years ago of several ministers being beheaded in the Western Market were still vivid in his memory.

"Who the hell is setting me up? How did they get their hands on my ledger?"

Zhu Chunchen was certain his ledger had been lost. Filled with terror, he paced ceaselessly around his study.

Zhu Chunchen spent the whole night analyzing in his study, listing all his political enemies in court, analyzing and screening each one, toiling away through the night.

He finally reached his conclusion: it must be this 'Haonan,' some small-time thug in the capital. If a political enemy had gotten the ledger, they would have immediately placed it on Chongzhen's dragon desk and used the Emperor's hand to destroy him—why would they resort to extortion?

A thug is a thug—old habits die hard. At least he doesn't have much brains.

Zhu Chunchen let out a long sigh, then hurriedly sent people to investigate this thug called 'Haonan,' intending to have him killed.

As luck would have it, there really was a small-time thug named 'Haonan' in the capital. Completely bewildered, he was seized by the Duke of Cheng's men and beaten until he couldn't take care of himself.

After beating him for a while, Zhu Chunchen realized something was off—this thug seemed to know nothing about the matter at all.

Not long after, Zhu Chunchen received another letter, which read: You deadbeat, you still want to catch me? Get the banknotes ready pronto, or just wait to die! Deadbeat!

After reading the letter, Zhu Chunchen trembled with fury, then his vision went black and he nearly toppled over headfirst.

On the third day, Zhu Chunchen had already arranged a batch of household retainers in advance at Chessboard Street. Dressed in plain clothes, he brought eighteen capable retainers with him to Chessboard Street.

Zhu Chunchen thought to himself: Daring to extort this old man—you're like the God of Longevity eating arsenic, just asking for a shorter life!

This old man has already laid a net that covers heaven and earth. I'm just waiting for you petty crooks to take the bait. Trying to play games with me—you're still too green!

Chessboard Street lay directly south of the imperial city's main gate, the liveliest street in the inner city. At this time, Chessboard Street was lined with shops, crowded with bobbing heads, and thick with foot traffic.

Zhu Chunchen waited on Chessboard Street for half a day with no one approaching him. The rage in his heart was such that his nose twisted with fury.

Just as he was flicking his sleeves and preparing to return to his residence, a beggar suddenly came up to him and handed him a slip of paper, which read: Go quickly to Mingshi Ward in the Eastern City. Delay and you'll be left waiting.

Zhu Chunchen had no choice. He could only trot off with his men, heading straight for Mingshi Ward in the Eastern City.

No sooner had Zhu Chunchen arrived at Mingshi Ward in the Eastern City and caught his breath than another beggar delivered a slip of paper, which read: Go to Xuan'nan Ward in the Southern City.

Zhu Chunchen thought to himself: This fellow is quite shrewd. Very well—spend money to ward off disaster. He then ordered a retainer to go find a horse.

After waiting a while, before the horse could be found, another beggar delivered him a slip of paper, which read: "If you dawdle any more, you might as well go straight to the palace and see His Majesty yourself."

Zhu Chunchen's heart trembled. Not daring to delay, he hurried on foot toward Xuan'nan Ward in the Southern City.

When Zhu Chunchen arrived at Xuan'nan Ward in the Southern City, he still didn't see the extortionist. Instead, another beggar handed him a slip of paper, which read: Go quickly to Mingyu Ward in the Western City.

Zhu Chunchen had no choice but to rush off toward Mingyu Ward in the Western City.

Zhu Chunchen had never walked such a long distance. He was exhausted, panting heavily, sweat pouring down his forehead and temples. He looked utterly bedraggled—but at least he finally reached Mingyu Ward.

The crowd of retainers behind him was also exhausted, panting like dogs. They had no idea what their master had brought them out here for. Weren't they supposed to come beat someone up? Why did it feel like they were the ones being chased all the way?

At this point, Zhu Chunchen received yet another slip of paper from a beggar, which read: Location—the Shiyun Gambling House.

Zhu Chunchen had no choice but to rush off to the Shiyun Gambling House. He had barely stepped through the entrance when he was too exhausted to walk any further. With one hand clutching the bundle stuffed with banknotes and the other gripping the doorframe as he gasped for breath, stars swam before his eyes, and inwardly he cursed up a storm.

At this time, the Shiyun Gambling House was bustling with people coming and going, very lively. Just as Zhu Chunchen was catching his breath, a big man came over from the side, wearing a bamboo hat, head lowered so his face couldn't be seen.

He stepped up to Zhu Chunchen, snatched the bundle away in a flash, and stuffed a letter into Zhu Chunchen's hand. In the blink of an eye, he vanished into the crowd.

Zhu Chunchen hastily ordered his retainers to give chase, then opened the letter and read: Exercise more often—it's good for the bedroom. The ledger has already been sent to your residence. Thanks for the silver, Your Grace. If you want revenge, feel free to come find me. I'm the boss of the capital—known as Brother Haonan!

The dozen or so retainers from the Duke of Cheng's residence had already circled most of the inner city and were utterly exhausted. There was no way they could catch up with that big man in the bamboo hat now—before long, they were left eighteen streets behind.

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Author's note: In the early Ming dynasty, there was a type of banknote called the Great Ming Treasure Note. In the later period, there were no banknotes. In the late Ming, a type of 'huipiao' appeared—the predecessor of the banknote—but its circulation was limited and it couldn't fully serve as currency. For the convenience of the story, I've written 'banknotes' here; I'll try to minimize their appearance later. Please forgive me.

The contract was mailed out last night. Based on past experience, the status should change around four or five this afternoon—at the latest, tomorrow. Big shots who want to invest should hurry—it's free Qidian coins for the taking.