Chapter 772: The Ones We Call Allies Split Into Two Factions

Pan Yun rolled the letter back up exactly as it was, slipped it into the bamboo tube, carefully sealed the opening with red clay to match the original, then tied the tube to the pigeon's leg and released it.

Cao Jixiang brought the silver back to the Maritime Trade Office; those with even slight connections learned the carts carried silver, quietly counted the number of carts and boxes, and from the wheel tracks could roughly estimate the total silver amount.

Hmm, that's not hard.

Wang Cong is clever—he must have performed well enough to make them think he could be recruited and cultivated.

Then they aren't from the Sun family, after all, since Wang Cong's illicit trade was sulfur.

Pan Yun pinched her fingers. The wolf was probably a sea pirate they'd captured, but who was the rat?

Pan Yun stood in place for a long while, unable to figure it out, and decided to set it aside for now and return to Huicheng.

When she returned to her room, Pan Xiaohei was already back, curled up at the head of the bed. Hearing the noise, it lifted its head and stared at her with dark eyes.

Pan Yun felt its gaze was somewhat forlorn, so she stepped forward, picked it up, and held it close, softly asking: "Finished watching your people? I just finished watching mine—got good results. What about you?"

Pan Xiaohei knew that if it voiced its thoughts, she'd have even more questions waiting.

And reasoning with her? It always lost. So it merely huffed twice in its mind and honestly told her everything it had observed.

Pan Yun stroked it, lost in thought: "Then perhaps we should ask Prefect Lu to investigate that sulfur merchant."

Pan Xiaohei frowned: "Why not ask Cao Jixiang? Aren't you two on the same side?"

Pan Yun looked down at it, flicked its forehead, and smiled lightly: "How could I possibly be on the same side as him?"

Pan Xiaohei widened its eyes, then tilted its head, ears drooping: "Humans are so strange. When I thought you were enemies, you allied. When I thought you were friends, you say you're not on the same side as him."

Pan Yun: "We can be friends, but we can never be on the same side. When we share a goal, we have no objection to allying."

She set Pan Xiaohei on the pillow, stood up, shrugged off her outer robe, and tossed it aside: "Even more—when we share a goal, I have no objection to temporarily allying with my enemies."

"Like Wang Zhen?"

Pan Yun turned back with a faint smile: "Like Wang Zhen."

Wang Zhen was also a seasoned politician—he thought the same way.

So when Cao Jixiang submitted a memorial stating the Maritime Trade Office and Pan Yun had presented two hundred thousand taels of Japanese silver, and had already dispatched guards to escort the silver to the capital, Wang Zhen strongly urged the Emperor to lift the maritime ban.

Half the officials followed suit in urging.

The Emperor fell into thought.

Wang Zhen, understanding instantly, immediately proposed that officials from the Imperial Household and the Ministry of Works jointly travel to Japan to mine silver.

The Emperor was swayed.

The officials stared wide-eyed and protested en masse.

If the Imperial Household got involved in mining the silver mountain, what place would there be for the state treasury? Absolutely unacceptable!

The court session ended in discord.

But the Emperor was not angry—only sneered repeatedly: "They want to use the state treasury to restrain me. Without money, many things simply cannot be done. I've already stepped back on the silver mines in Zhejiang, Fujian, and Jiangxi, only intending to take Japan's silver mountain—and still they obstruct me at every turn."

Wang Zhen, naturally standing with the Emperor, whispered: "Your Majesty, the Quanzhou Embroidered Uniform Guard sent a swift pigeon message: the prison holding sea pirates caught fire, killing several pirates—their leader appears to have perished inside as well."

The Emperor: "Report this matter through the Grand Secretariat."

Wang Zhen bowed and murmured: "Also, the Ryukyu envoy mission has sailed north and reached Tianjin guard battalion."

The Emperor nodded: "Summon them to the capital. The Ryukyu royal family has always shown deep respect; their aid to the envoy mission merits generous reward."

Wang Zhen smiled and agreed.

One piece of news passed through the Grand Secretariat, and all officials learned of it; one imperial order was issued outward through the Inner Court, and all officials became aware.

Officials opposing Imperial Household involvement in Japan's silver mining immediately split into two factions. One, led by Minister of Personnel Cao Nai, held firm: "Pan Yun presented the silver mountain to Great Ming—it belongs to the sovereign, but must be deposited into the state treasury. The precedent of Imperial Household participation in silver mining must not be opened. Otherwise, today it's only Japan's silver mountain, tomorrow who knows which domestic silver mines will be targeted?"

Great Ming already suffers from silver scarcity; the imperial family already holds enough silver.

They'd rather let silver pile up unused in storehouses than release it; the treasure notes are unreliable, and merchants lack silver for large transactions, widening the silver shortage.

They truly feared that silver brought back by Imperial Household involvement would merely gather dust in the Emperor's and various royal nobles' treasuries.

Silver unused is just a pile of stones.

And to mine it wastes labor and resources—harming the common people;

The other faction, led by Minister of Revenue Chen Xun, argued for a step back: "To achieve the lifting of the maritime ban, Quanzhou has already descended into chaos. Today the prison burned—tomorrow who knows what will happen? If we don't reach a resolution, this matter will simply fade away again. Let us temporarily step back: let the Ministry of Works and the Imperial Household jointly mine Japan's silver mountain in exchange for the Emperor lifting the maritime ban."

"The Censor of Jiangnan has reported that overseas maritime trade is thriving—the silver earned is no less than what mining yields. Rather than fixating on that single silver mountain, focus on maritime trade."

"Maritime trade? That Maritime Trade Office that requires annual state treasury subsidies?" said Zhang Yi from behind Cao Nai: "The Ryukyu envoy mission is arriving soon. We give generously in return for meager gifts—how much will the treasury need to prepare this time?"

Cao Nai said sternly: "The Ryukyu king has always shown deep respect to Great Ming, and this time aided the envoy mission—any gift is justified. But Japan, the Wala, and others are cunning. Giving generously in return for their meager offerings is deeply galling."

Li Shimin, Director of the Imperial Academy, said: "Galling? It's infuriating! The Wala delegation alone numbers over two thousand—ten times the two hundred allowed by the court. Look at what they bring: tattered furs, a few horses, a few knives—and they expect to exchange them for our silver, copper coins, and crossbows? Absurd!"

"Oh come on!" the pro-trade faction stamped their feet: "This is the policy established by the founding Emperor Taizu! Can you overturn it? This is the dignity of the Celestial Kingdom—using wealth to assist smaller nations, an act of imperial benevolence toward barbarian peoples. You all know why the Maritime Trade Office needs subsidies—then find a way to make it self-sustaining. Is there a better solution than lifting the maritime ban?"

"Hmph, that's just your wishful thinking. Even if maritime trade thrives, they all trade under the tally permits—won't the Maritime Trade Office lose even more?"

"Then issue new tally permits, strictly regulating the number of envoys and goods allowed…"

Li Shimin exploded: "Does our court not already regulate the number of envoys and goods from Japan and the Wala? When did either of these vassal states ever obey? The Wala are bandits—they simply bring two thousand people. How much grain, meat, and vegetables do they consume daily? And when they leave, how much tribute do they take with them?"

Li Shimin flew into a rage and demanded, "Does our court truly not have regulations on the number of people and the quantity of goods that come from the Japanese and the Oirats? When have these two tributary states ever obeyed them? The Oirat scoundrels simply brought their people straight over—more than two thousand of them. Every day, how much grain, meat, and vegetables do they consume? And when they leave, how many gifts does each of them carry off?"

(End of chapter)