Chapter 49 We Need Our People

Chapter 49: We Need Our Own Men

"Temporarily withhold all memorials and official documents concerning the Ministry of Revenue. Just say that the incident happened too suddenly to verify the details in time, and it is inappropriate to disrupt the imperial court. Resubmit them after a few days."

Xu Jingchang, draped in his scarlet official robes, sat in the main hall of the Office of Transmission, speaking in a calm and measured voice.

Hu Yan paused for a moment, then lowered his voice and said, "Our Office of Transmission has never had the power to withhold memorials. Furthermore, this matter involves the Censorate, the Six Offices, and even the pure scholars of the Hanlin Academy and the Imperial Academy have submitted petitions. What if..."

"Pay no attention to them. Go tell Wu Shan to pass a word to Ji Gang of the Brocade-Clad Guard, and you won't need to worry about the rest."

Hu Yan was stunned once more, then nodded firmly and hurried away. Wu Shan understood the inner workings of this place much better than he did. When faced with major events, the first rule was never to keep things hidden from the Emperor.

Yet, one could not simply dump everything onto the Emperor either. If that were the case, what use would it be to have officials stationed at court?

Did they really take the Office of Transmission for a mere post office? Even if it were a post office, one had to consider things from the leadership's perspective; what should not be let through must absolutely be kept out.

Notifying the Brocade-Clad Guard was equivalent to informing Zhu Di, for although the Brocade-Clad Guard monitored all officials, they operated independently and answered solely to the Son of Heaven.

Whatever they investigated in private could bypass the Three Judicial Offices.

This left room for maneuver for everyone involved.

Otherwise, had the Office of Transmission forwarded the memorials of so many court ministers all at once without Zhu Di making a stance, the officials would certainly not let the matter rest. They would either continue submitting petitions, go to the Left Smooth Gate to request an audience with the Emperor, or even worse, beat the Grieving Drum to summon Zhu Di out directly.

Each of these scenarios was worse than the last. Therefore, as soon as Xu Jingchang learned of the matter, his first step was to take charge at the Office of Transmission and suppress the situation.

At that very moment, Yao Guangxiao arrived.

Xu Jingchang noticed a trace of worry on the old monk's face, for just a short while ago, Zhu Di had summoned him and mentioned the matter of tutoring the imperial princes.

At this time, Yao Guangxiao was practically Zhu Gaozhi's master. With his pupil having gotten into trouble, the teacher could not simply stand aloof and remain uninvolved.

"Office Administrator Xu, His Majesty has also appointed you as the Administrator of the Crown Prince's Household. This time, Marquis of Jing'an Wang Zhong is arrogant and audacious, showing no regard for the court, evading taxes first and charging into an official office second. No matter what, he cannot be spared. We might as well use him as a sacrifice to the flag to establish the Crown Prince's prestige. Submit the memorial impeaching Wang Zhong right away."

Xu Jingchang smiled faintly. "Preceptor, please forgive me for refusing."

Yao Guangxiao was taken aback. "What do you mean? Are you intimidated by Wang Zhong's influence and unwilling to make a move? How rare that you, Office Administrator Xu, should find someone you fear."

Xu Jingchang's smile remained unchanged. "Preceptor, your reverse psychology won't work on me. Wang Zhong is indeed hateful, but behind this matter lie even more detestable and venomous scoundrels. You wouldn't want the Grand Prince to be framed, would you?"

Yao Guangxiao frowned slightly, falling silent for a long moment. His political acumen was top-tier. Zhu Gaozhi had only been observing state affairs for a single day when such a huge disturbance broke out; someone must have orchestrated it in the dark.

It was just that since Wang Zhong had jumped out into the open, they had to deal with him first. As for the rest, accounts could be settled slowly later on.

This was the experience Yao Guangxiao had accumulated through four years of advising on military affairs during the Jianwen campaigns: solve the most thorny problem first.

However, Xu Jingchang did not see it that way.

"Preceptor, I've been in the Office of Transmission for several months now and have accumulated some experience. If you ask me, this ship of the imperial court is springing leaks from the top down. Keep an eye on the Office of Transmission for me; I'm going to help His Highness sort this out."

Yao Guangxiao frowned slightly. He did not doubt Xu Jingchang's ability, but the young man taking the initiative to this extent was still somewhat unexpected.

"Then I shall trouble Office Administrator Xu."

With Yao Guangxiao watching over the Office of Transmission, Xu Jingchang freed up his schedule, sauntered leisurely, and headed straight for the Ministry of Revenue, turning over in his mind how he would present his case along the way.

He successfully found Minister Xia Yuanji in the signing room.

"Xia Yuanji, go to hell!"

As soon as they met, Xu Jingchang launched into a fierce tirade.

These words left Xia Yuanji completely dumbfounded. Who am I? Where am I? Is my name even Xia Yuanji?

Wang Zhong had cursed him, and now this brat was cursing him too!

Xia Yuanji sprang abruptly to his feet, eyes blazing with anger, preparing to hurl insults right back.

Before he could, Xu Jingchang reacted much faster than him. "You goddamn schemer trying to entrap His Highness, if you've got the guts, come at me! Let's go see Her Majesty the Empress and let her judge this!"

Hearing the mention of the Empress, Xia Yuanji was rendered speechless. She was Xu Jingchang's aunt; even if he were in the right, he wouldn't be able to argue his case.

"Office Administrator Xu, do not make unreasonable troubles."

Xu Jingchang chuckled. "Unreasonable troubles? Minister Xia, did you know beforehand about Wang Zhong tax evasion?"

Xia Yuanji frowned slightly. "I had heard a little, but..."

"But what? You waited for His Highness to observe state affairs, eagerly dragged it out, and even called His Highness away to investigate taxes with you. You made His Highness your vanguard to deal with the meritorious officials of the Jingnan campaign! You deliberately instigated a conflict between His Highness and the nobility. What on earth is your motive? You dare to manipulate the heir apparent—you are too venomous! How could the Great Ming Dynasty produce a treacherous sycophant like you? I really ought to execute you to keep you from bringing disaster to the state and the people..."

"Hold on a minute!"

Xia Yuanji was bewildered by this barrage of accusations. "Xu Jingchang, do not spit blood and frame people! Your argument is malicious mind-reading, baseless fabrication, far-fetched analogies, and forced incrimination... You, you are the sycophant!"

Xu Jingchang sneered. "Fine! If you say I'm the sycophant, then let us go before His Majesty to argue our case and see whose word His Majesty believes!"

Xia Yuanji's lips turned pale with anger. Throughout the entire court, there was no one as infuriating as Xu Jingchang.

"My collection of state revenues was permitted by His Majesty, and your Office of Transmission is well aware of it. For His Highness to observe state affairs and witness the condition of the state treasury is only natural. Everything I did was entirely correct! Yet Marquis of Jing'an Wang Zhong got drunk, ran into the Ministry of Revenue to cause a massive scene, and insulted me in public with His Highness standing right beside us as a witness. As an important minister of the court, I have been subjected to such humiliation, and yet you come here to throw a tantrum at me! Xu Jingchang, when did you collude with the Jingnan nobility? Has your factionalism reached the point where you abandon all sense of right and wrong?"

Having calmed down, Xia Yuanji was no pushover either; the accusations he hurled back were every bit as weighty as Xu Jingchang's.

Xu Jingchang gave a low chuckle, suddenly slumped down into a chair, and pulled Xia Yuanji down to sit next to him.

"I understand your intentions, Old Xia. You and I are grasshoppers tied to the same rope. The commercial tax has been implemented for several months now, especially nearing the end of the year when growth has slowed down. You can see money everywhere, but you just can't collect it. That's why you wanted to kill a chicken to scare the monkeys, and dragged His Highness into it to use his name to suppress the officials and nobility, so as to push this matter through as quickly as possible."

Hearing this, Xia Yuanji's expression softened considerably, and he let out a long, heavy sigh. He pointed to his temples, where white hairs escaping from beneath his official cap looked particularly glaring.

Xia Yuanji was not very old, not even forty yet, but after managing the state finances for a few months, he was completely overwhelmed and his hair had turned grey prematurely.

The four years of the Jingnan campaign had drained the Great Ming Dynasty dry. The pacified provinces all required appeasement, and some regions were even exempted from farm taxes for a full three years. The areas surrounding Yingtian had also been granted a one-year exemption.

Grain could not be collected, yet money had to flow out like water.

The Jubaomen tax station carried enormous hopes, but too many nobles and court officials evaded taxes. Old Xia's job was genuinely difficult.

"Actually, simply killing a chicken to scare the monkeys isn't very useful. The key is to increase our tax-collection capacity—we need our own men on the ground!" Xu Jingchang said coaxingly.

Xia Yuanji snorted. "You think I don't know that? But increasing manpower costs money. The Ministry of Revenue's storehouses are so empty they can't even feed mice. What do you expect me to do?"

"That's why we need to downsize the military," Xu Jingchang said with a chuckle.

"Downsize the military? What do you mean?" Xia Yuanji lowered his voice. "Are you saying we should weed out the old and weak to cut expenses?"

"No, I mean pulling several well-trained thousand-man units out of the military, assigning them to our command, and turning them into specialized tax-collection troops!"

Xia Yuanji was struck with terror. "Office Administrator Xu, are you suggesting we use soldiers to collect taxes?"

"That's right, and they must be elite troops!" Xu Jingchang said through gritted teeth. "What we're doing is seizing food from the tiger's mouth. If the weapons in our hands aren't sharp, our spines won't be straight! We must use the best soldiers, the fiercest generals, and the sharpest minds. Wang Zhong's life is of little consequence; the key is that we must expand the tax collection agency. Old Xia, do you understand my good intentions now?"

Xia Yuanji's face flushed slightly, and he pondered it over and over again.

This was indeed the best opportunity. Wang Zhong had committed a fault, giving them leverage over the nobility. Taking advantage of the fact that the nobles were in the wrong, they could demand several thousand-man units, specifically selecting the fiercest fighters to reinforce the Ministry of Revenue. In the future, when the tax troops went out in bright armor and with a murderous aura, who would dare to evade taxes?

"Office Administrator Xu, viewed this way, you are truly deep-planning and far-sighted!"

Xu Jingchang smiled. "It's all to replenish the Great Ming state treasury and for the sake of the country."

Xia Yuanji nodded. "Very well. Since that is the case, would Office Administrator Xu be willing to face the Emperor with me?"

"Let's go. No matter what difficulties lie ahead, the two of us will bear them together!"