Chapter 66: The feather is light, but many hands make it easy to lift

November 10th.

Near noon.

Zhu Yijun finished the Classics Lecture and returned to the West Garden.

He wandered aimlessly through the West Garden, looking around.

He had not seen this familiar yet strange West Garden for far too long.

Regrettably, the current landscape and scenery were vastly different from those of later generations.

Zhu Yijun plucked a leaf, unconsciously tearing it to shreds in his hand, letting his mind go blank.

The imperial court was certainly not calm right now; after all, a major case involving three clans had just occurred, with various censors pleading for mercy and supervising secretaries expounding on the pros and cons.

But since Zhu Yijun had thrown all government affairs to the Grand Secretariat and moved to the West Garden, these voices no longer reached his ears.

He strolled through the West Garden for about half an hour, and it was nearly time for the midday meal.

When the time came, they naturally had to return to dine, so the group turned back toward Wan Shougong.

Halfway there, they ran into Li Jin, who was hurrying toward them.

At a glance, Zhu Yijun knew that Empress Dowager Li had something to discuss with him—ever since the fire at Ciqing Palace, Zhu Yijun had left Zhang Hong with Empress Dowager Chen and sent Li Jin to Empress Dowager Li, ordering them to clear out everyone around the two empress dowagers before returning to Wan Shougong.

Li Jin approached and said, "Your Majesty, the Father-in-law of the Emperor has come to the West Garden. The Empress Dowager invites you to dine with them."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yijun waved his hand indifferently, indicating he understood.

With the status of the Earl of Wuqing, dealing with him would not be mentally taxing; he would treat it as a rest.

He asked about the serious matter: "How is the dismissal of the palace maids and eunuchs going?"

Li Jin followed respectfully behind him.

Hearing this, he replied, "Your Majesty, most of the female officials in the Six Palaces, the Bureau of Food and the Bureau of Bedchamber, have been dismissed from the palace, leaving only the trusted ones."

"As for the other four bureaus, those who wished to leave, those whose backgrounds were not clear enough, and those who had received favors from the outer court have all been dismissed."

Zhu Yijun nodded.

The Bureau of Food and the Bureau of Bedchamber concerned his life and safety, so being cautious was appropriate; checking the other four bureaus one by one was also reasonable.

Of course, this was only the first round; there would have to be several more screenings in the future.

Zhu Yijun gave an 'en' and waited for him to continue.

Li Jin spoke again about the eunuchs: "Your Majesty, eunuchs are not like palace maids who can be dismissed from the palace with some silver."

"Currently, those with poor backgrounds are being sent to guard the tombs, and those who received favors from the outer court are being sent to Nanzhili to retire."

"Most of the others are being placed in unimportant places like the Divine Palace Surveillance, and are not allowed to set foot in the West Garden."

Zhu Yijun added, "Take this opportunity to re-check the number of people in each surveillance and bureau; those collecting empty pay must be removed."

"Within ten years, for every five eunuchs who retire, only three shall be admitted."

The number of people in the Inner Court was truly too high; in the tenth year of Jiajing, just by checking the craftsmen of the Inner Court, 15,167 people were found to be old, weak, disabled, or non-existent, with only 12,255 actually remaining.

A high quota meant collecting empty pay, and it also meant there were loopholes to exploit.

These non-existent people were the perfect way for those with ulterior motives to plant their own people.

Do not be fooled by the Forbidden City being the Imperial City; in reality, it was a sieve leaking from all sides.

It was fortunate that he took this opportunity to investigate thoroughly; he would not have known until he checked, and the investigation was shocking. Nowadays, if outsiders wanted to enter the Forbidden City, there were plenty of ways.

The eunuchs were actually selling tickets openly!

It was fortunate that the fire at Ciqing Palace gave him the chance to move to the West Garden; otherwise, if something happened later, it would be too late to regret.

Li Jin bowed and agreed.

Zhu Yijun looked at Li Jin and suddenly said, "For the personnel cleared out, the pay for their quotas can be left for you to collect for another half year."

"But if you do not cooperate in this matter, do not blame me for being heartless."

Li Jin's eyelids twitched, and he quickly said, "This servant..."

Zhu Yijun interrupted him: "That is all. I will have Zhang Hong and Jiang Keqian work on this together. I grant you the half-year's pay; share it with the people below and get this done well."

After being in deficit for so long, this half-year did not matter.

Instead, it was appropriate to let the money go out for another half-year to be shared among these eunuchs—after all, they had just experienced the turmoil of the palace cleaning, so they needed to be appeased.

Li Jin was convinced and satisfied.

Fortunately, Emperor Shizong had built many halls and pavilions in the West Garden, so there were plenty of them now—accommodating the Empress Dowager and several princesses was naturally more than enough.

Among them, Empress Dowager Chen chose to live in the Ganguang Hall, while Empress Dowager Li chose the Yuanxi Yannian Hall.

When Zhu Yijun arrived outside the Yuanxi Yannian Hall, he heard the voices of a large group of people inside.

There were children, female relatives, and middle-aged voices.

The Emperor's group was large, and those inside seemed to have heard the movement outside, as all kinds of sounds stopped abruptly.

Zhu Yijun rubbed his face, put on a gentle expression, and walked in slowly.

"Your Majesty."

"Paying respects to the Great Brother Emperor Majesty."

"Your Majesty."

Everyone bowed one after another.

Zhu Yijun scanned the room roughly; many of Li Wei's family had come, including his eldest son Li Wenquan, his second daughter Li Caiyun who had married into the Pingjiang Earl's mansion, and his grandson Li Chengming.

In addition, there were his own younger siblings born of the same mother: Princess Shouyang Zhu Yaoe, Princess Yongning Zhu Yaoying, Princess Rui'an Zhu Yaoyuan, and his younger brother Zhu Yiliu.

He reached out to let everyone rise: "We are all family, why be so formal?"

Li Caiyun could not help but glance at this nephew.

Before she came, her husband's family had repeatedly warned her that the Emperor was ruthless and that she must not be arrogant because of favor, lest she offend the Emperor's heart, or she would be doomed forever.

But looking at him now, she felt nothing of the sort.

He was clearly just an eleven-year-old child; how ruthless could he be?

Zhu Yijun took the small hand of his younger sister Zhu Yaoying, walked to Empress Dowager Li, and smiled: "Mother's clansmen have entered the palace, yet Mother did not inform me."

After speaking, he paid his respects to Empress Dowager Li.

Empress Dowager Li rolled her eyes at the Emperor: "Last time my father entered the palace to see you, you said you were busy."

Zhu Yijun automatically skipped the words of blame and asked Li Wei: "Oh? Father-in-law of the Emperor, what was the reason for your visit to the palace last time?"

Li Wei had seen the Emperor more than once or twice, so he no longer had his original restraint.

He said somewhat embarrassedly: "Your Majesty, regarding the sea transport you mentioned last time, I sent people to look into it, and it is indeed a way to generate wealth."

Empress Dowager Li looked at the two of them strangely.

She asked curiously: "What sea transport? Why don't I know about it?"

Zhu Yijun handed Zhu Yaoying to Empress Dowager Li and explained: "Mother, it is like this."

"Do you know Hai Rui?"

Empress Dowager Li nodded; she knew of Hai Rui's reputation.

The noble ladies often spoke to her about this person, saying he was stubborn and always at odds with the ministers.

Zhu Yijun continued: "In June, in order to drive away Gao Gong, I was forced to agree to let Hai Rui return to the capital."

"But every time I think about how this person is too fierce and does not know how to be kind to others, I fear a repeat of the Bao Zheng affair, which is why I wanted to find a proper way to make money for the Father-in-law of the Emperor."

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Wei was still unaware, but his eldest son Li Wenquan and eldest grandson Li Chengming exchanged glances, both feeling that something was wrong.

Sure enough, Empress Dowager Li could grasp some of her son's train of thought.

She looked at the Emperor suspiciously: "The Bao Zheng affair? A proper way to make money?"

The implication was, was there some improper way to make money!?

Zhu Yijun nodded, smoothed Zhu Yaoying's knotted hair, and said casually: "I once heard that during the reign of Emperor Renzong of Song, there was a royal relative named Zhao Qing."

"This person committed crimes and fell into the hands of Bao Zheng, and was actually executed according to the law."

"I don't know what Emperor Renzong of Song thought, but in any case, I don't want the Father-in-law of the Emperor to follow in his footsteps."

Li Wei still had not reacted.

Li Wenquan and Li Chengming immediately knelt down: "We are guilty!"

Seeing that they could not pull Li Wei up, the father and son were even more anxious.

Zhu Yijun quickly helped them up and comforted them: "I cannot ignore the national law and indulge the Father-in-law of the Emperor; it is my lack of ability, so how could I let the Brother-in-law of the Emperor plead guilty?"

Li Caiyun finally realized something and quickly knelt down to plead guilty as well.

Empress Dowager Li's face turned cold; she looked at her sincere-looking son, and then at her father who was completely out of the loop.

She said to the Emperor angrily: "Stop beating around the bush. With Father's aptitude, you have to scold him directly! Tell me, what exactly did he do wrong?"

Li Wei suddenly came to his senses; it turned out the Emperor was holding him accountable!

He quickly knelt down.

Zhu Yijun helped him up and said earnestly: "Mother, today our family is eating together, there is no need for this."

"It is not a big deal."

"When Gao Gong secretly harmed Feng Bao, I thought that since Feng Daban had no heirs, it would be better to confiscate his assets to hold a funeral for him."

"As a result, Sun Yizheng of Shuntian Prefecture was ordered to raid the house; out of 200,000 taels, only 20,000 were reported, and the rest were divided up completely."

"The Embroidered Uniform Guard said that Sun Yizheng was insane and deliberately sent a lot to the Father-in-law of the Emperor, wanting to drag him into the water."

He finished the story with a gentle expression and helped the family members up one by one.

Seeing that Empress Dowager Li was about to scold Li Wei, he quickly smoothed things over: "Mother, there is no need to be too harsh on the Father-in-law of the Emperor."

"I thought about it earlier; the Father-in-law of the Emperor has no way to make money, so sooner or later he would be seduced by the outer court."

"Bringing this up today is truly not to hold him accountable, but from the bottom of my heart, I want to protect him."

"Mother, you don't know, that Hai Rui is bold enough to defy heaven; I heard he actually scolded the World Temple until it bled from the nose! I'm just afraid he will target the Father-in-law of the Emperor and imitate Bao Zheng!"

Li Wei knelt down again with a thud: "Your Majesty, Empress Dowager, Sun Yizheng only sent me 8,000 taels of silver!"

"I will return it immediately! I will return it immediately!"

Zhu Yijun acted as if he didn't see it and flicked Zhu Yaoying's nose—this little girl was truly likable.

Empress Dowager Li's face was livid: "Go! Go and return it to me immediately!"

Zhu Yijun had long anticipated Empress Dowager Li's reaction.

In history, Li Wei did business with Zhang Siwei and was exposed by Zhang Juzheng; Li Wei also rushed into the palace like this and was scolded by his daughter.

Li Wei was scolded and was about to leave, not daring to stay for the midday meal.

Zhu Yijun quickly held him back and pleaded with Empress Dowager Li: "Mother, this is just a small matter, don't hurt the harmony."

"Moreover, this is only treating the symptoms; if Mother wants the Father-in-law of the Emperor to live the kind of life Hai Rui lives, I cannot bear it either."

He kept Li Wei and said kindly: "Father-in-law of the Emperor, no rush, return it when you go back. Let's eat first, and we still have to talk about the sea transport."

Empress Dowager Li followed the slope and gave an 'en', considering the matter settled.

After all, it was her father, and it was not easy for him to enter the palace, so she didn't want to part on bad terms.

She glanced at Li Jin and ordered: "Serve the midday meal."

Zhu Yijun interjected: "Mother, let Li Daban eat with us too; consider it a family banquet."

Empress Dowager Li hesitated for a moment but nodded.

Li Jin was at a loss for what to do.

It was Li Chengming who pulled him to the table, and he sat down feeling completely uncomfortable.

Everyone sat down one after another. Li Caiyun lowered her head silently, not daring to look at the Emperor—she finally understood why her husband's family described the Emperor that way! He was indeed red-faced and black-hearted!

After Zhu Yijun sat down, he looked at Li Chengming: "Xiang Zhi does not have an official position yet, right?"

Xiang Zhi was Li Chengming's courtesy name. Suddenly being addressed, he quickly replied: "Your Majesty, the student has been granted the status of a student at the Imperial Academy."

Zhu Yijun gave an 'oh'.

He looked at Li Wei: "Father-in-law of the Emperor, how about this, don't return Sun Yizheng's money; it won't look good on the surface."

"Just have Xiang Zhi send the money to the New Academy and tell the headmaster Ma Ziqiang that it is a benevolent donation from the Father-in-law of the Emperor, and use this to get a position at the New Academy."

"The New Academy will also list official ranks in the future; perhaps Xiang Zhi has talent."

Without waiting for Li Wei to answer, Li Chengming immediately stood up to thank him.

Zhu Yijun had begun to like this somewhat clever cousin.

He asked Li Wei again: "Father-in-law of the Emperor, is there any progress on the sea transport?"

The Brother-in-law of the Emperor, Li Wenquan, carefully arched his hands, indicating that he was responsible for this matter.

Zhu Yijun looked at him and nodded, signaling him to speak.

Li Wenquan weighed his words and replied somewhat nervously: "Your Majesty, in June, I examined many case files and also asked many salt merchants with whom I have friendly relations."

"Only then did I learn that sea transport is impossible without teeth soldiers (private armed guards), which is why I found the Pingjiang Earl's mansion to partner with."

At this time, Li Caiyun bowed slightly, indicating that it was her husband's family.

Zhu Yijun naturally knew this; otherwise, he wouldn't have let the meritorious nobles take the lead.

It was unclear what the composition of the Japanese pirates on the sea was, but if it were a strange merchant group like this, they would inevitably encounter them.

Without soldiers, they would inevitably be eaten clean.

He nodded, signaling Li Wenquan to continue.

Li Wenquan pointed to Li Chengming: "Subsequently, I sent my son to accompany the Pingjiang Earl's mansion to Guangzhou Port, Yue Port in Fujian, Ningbo Port in Zhejiang, and other places to investigate in detail."

"Relying on the connections of the Pingjiang Earl's mansion, we acquired several bankrupt sea merchants in Nanzhili and Guangdong Provincial Administration."

This was the shortcoming of the relatives of the Emperor; suddenly gaining power, they lacked foundation and could only rely on old-school meritorious nobles.

Li Wenquan briefly talked about what they saw locally, the operation of the sea merchants, and the calculations of the shopkeepers, etc.

Then he hesitated for a moment, thought about it, and said truthfully: "Your Majesty, sea transport makes money, but..."

"But... in the places of sea transport, smuggling is serious, outsiders are excluded, powerful local families are colluding, and there is secret support from the Shipping Superintendency; I am afraid it will be difficult for us to squeeze in."

A strong dragon cannot suppress a local snake; that is the principle.

Zhu Yijun nodded; he naturally had anticipated this.

The resistance to opening the seas was no less than moving Nanzhili.

Places like Zhejiang, Guangdong, and Fujian relied on this to eat.

Emperor Shizong once wanted to break ground on this, but the result was a good example.

Zhu Wan, as one of Emperor Shizong's core team members, was entrusted by Shizong to supervise the military affairs of coastal defense in Zhejiang and Fujian to resist Japanese pirates, and was allowed to "act at his discretion."

He campaigned against the bandits in Wen, Pan, and Nanji, and successively won the great victory at Shuangyu in Ningbo, quelled the mining riots in Chuzhou, and won the great victory at Zhao'an in Fujian.

And then... there was an overwhelming impeachment.

As for the reasons for the impeachment, they were also very simple.

Once this person arrived at the place, he plowed through not only the Japanese pirates but also all sea merchants, sea bandits, and powerful local families.

It was called having no regard for the law and killing at will.

As for whether the people killed were Japanese pirates, commoners, or commoners who looked like Japanese pirates, it was unclear.

After being impeached, Zhu Wan said—I am spirited and conceited, and I do not want to go to court. Even if the Emperor does not want to kill me, the people of Fujian and Zhejiang will definitely kill me. I will solve my own death; I do not need others.

He wrote his own epitaph, wrote a death poem, and drank poison to die.

Zhu Wan had a saying that still circulates among the people in the southeast—it is easy to get rid of foreign bandits, but difficult to get rid of the bandits of Great Ming; it is easy to get rid of coastal bandits, but difficult to get rid of the bandits in official robes in the court.

It was precisely because he didn't want another Zhu Wan that Zhu Yijun had to let the meritorious nobles go out to open the seas.

Zhu Yijun did not answer Li Wenquan's words, but looked at Li Wei: "I heard that the Father-in-law of the Emperor has a good relationship with Zhang Siwei?"

"Why not ask Zhang Siwei if he is interested in a joint venture?"

Li Wei, having experienced the previous encounter, was already at a loss and looked at his son for help.

Li Wenquan immediately understood.

He thought about it, but shook his head: "Your Majesty, the Shanxi merchants mostly operate border tea, horses, and mines, and are unlikely to intervene in sea transport."

Zhu Yijun nodded and explained: "I know, I mean, why not organize a larger setup? The Brother-in-law of the Emperor can pull other meritorious nobles to join in."

"Like the family of the Grand Princess, the family of Xu Congcheng, the Duke of England, and the Marquis of Prince Tai Ning can also be asked."

"As for the Minister of Rites Zhang Siwei, why not give him more dry shares and just sit and divide the silver."

"If he is interested, consider it, and memorialize to restore the Fujian Shipping Superintendency, and... let the Ministry of War restore Yu Dayou's position as Right Regional Commander to guard Fujian."

He looked at Li Wenquan with sincere and earnest eyes, which made the Brother-in-law of the Emperor shiver subconsciously.

A little sleepy, I will report the results tomorrow. ===== CHAPTER 67 =====