Ming Jiajing: Starting from Immortality

Chapter 13: Lu Fang’s million, confiscation of property!
Chen Hong stood respectfully in the duty room of the Silijian, while the two eunuchs Meng Chong and Shi Yi stood respectfully at the door. All the eunuchs working in the Silijian, whether on duty or not, gathered in the outer courtyard and knelt on the ground in a large crowd.

There were few eunuchs in the Imperial Household Department who were not greedy, and when their lives were at stake, they all came.

The courtyard of the Imperial Household Department was filled with people and boxes.

Soon, Huang Jin came, led by a lantern, followed by countless sandalwood boxes.

"Godfather, everyone is here." Huang Jin lifted his robe and knelt down, followed by Chen Hong, Meng Chong and Shi Yi.

"Ancestors, everyone is here." The crowd of heads in the yard all bowed their heads at this moment, and the sound echoed throughout the palace, and even the sky above became brighter.

It was past midnight and it was the sixteenth day of the first lunar month.

The bright moon was half covered by dark clouds, and the moonlight spread all over the world. Although it was not bright enough, one could see the road clearly without a lantern to lead the way.

Lü Fang changed into the casual clothes for his duties at Yuxi Palace, and slowly walked through the stone path in the middle of the courtyard where the eunuchs were kneeling. Lü Fang said to Chen Hong, "Those who have duties should go and do their duties, and those who don't should go their own way."

Chen Hong immediately shouted, "Did you hear what the ancestor said? Those who are on duty will stay, and the rest will disperse."

Four eunuchs in charge of writing surrounded Lu Fang and carried him onto the sedan chair.

Lu Fang was carried in front, and four eunuchs holding pens followed behind.

"Yes!"

The response from behind them was sometimes high and sometimes low.

There is only one ancestor of the Silijian, but the eunuchs all have their own backers. Even if Lu Fang is not happy, he can still share some of the power in the inner court.

The kind-hearted Huang Jin has a force under his command, the clique-loving Chen Hong has a force under his command, and the likes of sticking together for warmth Meng Chong and Shi Yi also have a force under their command.

The four eunuchs in charge of the Imperial Household Department actually have three forces.

During this "Great Search in the Inner Court", the four departments, eight bureaus and twelve prisons of the Inner Court compiled a book based on the lost silver found by these three major forces and asked Lu Fang to present it to the emperor on their behalf.

If the emperor is satisfied, that's fine. If he is not satisfied, the inner court may usher in a change.

No one in the Imperial Household Department knew what would happen to them in the future, and they were all very worried.

Several eunuchs on duty today hurriedly got up and followed into the inner courtyard.

The rest of the eunuchs who were kneeling on the ground slowly stood up and looked at each other. Some of them walked out of the courtyard first with their chests puffed out, while some lowered their heads and waited until they all walked out before they walked out of the courtyard listlessly.

……

The door of Yuxi Palace was tightly closed. In the four corners of the hall, there were four white jade copper basins with silver charcoal emitting green flames from inside.

Chen Hong, Huang Jin, Meng Chong and Shi Yi, the four eunuchs in charge of writing, knelt on the steps outside the hall, and the boxes filled with treasures were placed in the hall.

Lu Fang entered the temple, knelt in front of Zhu Houcong's cushion, and held high five accounts papers in his hands.

Zhu Houcong was not interested in the detailed accounts of land deeds, shops, and antiques, and Lu Fang knew this, so each of the five accounts was a simple and clear total.

The first account sheet was undoubtedly the silver presented by Lu Fang.

"Lv Fang, six million taels of silver."

Zhu Houcong opened his eyes and spoke, "I have been in the palace for forty years, and I only make 150,000 taels of silver a year, which is not much."

Zhu Houcong entered the imperial ancestral temple and ascended the throne as emperor. Lu Fang, as his close companion, entered the capital with him.

Since the first year of the Jiajing reign, Lu Fang has been the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department and the ancestor of the 100,000 eunuchs in the palace.

This year is exactly the 40th year of the Jiajing reign, and there are 6 million taels of silver in cash, which is easy to calculate.

Lu Fang knew that he had passed this hurdle in front of the emperor and felt relieved.

At this time, Lu Fang would definitely not look at Zhu Houcong's expression. He walked to the imperial desk, pressed the first piece of account paper with a paperweight, and then returned to the futon.

There was no explanation for the source of the six million taels of silver. Lu Fang believed that the Jinyiwei knew it, and he also believed that the emperor knew it.

Unlike other eunuchs who worked hard to dig into the inner treasury, Lü Fang, the ancestor of the inner court, had an easy way to get money. Every month, the 100,000 eunuchs in the inner court would present Lü Fang with one penny of silver.

This is not Lu Fang relying on the status of his ancestors to blackmail 100,000 eunuchs.

But filial piety.

There are many rules in the world, and if you are not careful, you may risk losing your head.

It is easy for people to be careful about one thing, but it is difficult to be careful about everything.

Sometimes when I’m greedy, I steal some tribute fruit or something, and get caught on the spot. How do I solve this problem?

This was not a life-threatening matter, but according to the rules of the inner court, the punishment was eighty slaps on the face. The board was made of the same wood as the court cane, and a slap on the mouth was more severe than a slap on the buttocks.

If you beat someone really hard, you can kill him. Even if you beat him lightly, you can break his mouth.

At this time, because of Lu Fang's kindness to the eunuchs, the internal officials turned a blind eye and let the matter go.

Starting from the first year of the Jiajing reign, the number of deaths of eunuchs in the inner court dropped sharply.

With such a kind ancestor, the 100,000 eunuchs were naturally grateful. They were willing to pay Lu Fang a penny of silver every month, hoping that one day they could save their lives.

Lu Fang didn't have to do anything and could earn 10,000 taels of silver a month, and 120,000 taels of silver a year. After forty years, he would have 4.8 million taels of silver.

As for the extra 1.2 million taels of silver, if it was a minor offense, the matter could be settled with one penny of silver per month. But if it was a serious offense and Lu Fang had to come forward personally to resolve it, after the matter was settled, even if Lu Fang didn't say anything, the eunuch who committed the offense would know to send more silver.

Lu Fangquan presented Zhu Houcong with forty years of filial piety, and there was no reason for Zhu Houcong to be dissatisfied.

"Chen Hong, three million taels of silver."

The amount of embezzlement that Chen Hong handed in on the second account paper made Zhu Houcong frown.

As the chief eunuch of the Imperial Household Department, before Feng Bao gained the favor of Lu Fang, the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard were both under the jurisdiction of Chen Hong.

Everyone knows that "It is a good place to practice in the Six Gates."

From ancient times to the present, most of the yamen runners are greedy for money, and there are many who ignore injustice for money.

This is why there is a saying that goes "The six doors of the government office are open, but if you don't have money, don't come in."

This was the case with ordinary government offices, not to mention the Dongchang private prison and the Jinyiwei prison, which had the power over the life and death of criminals.

If you don't want to die, you have to send money in.

Chen Hong's embezzlement was definitely not limited to this, but Zhu Houcong never thought that the people in the Imperial Household Department would honestly hand over all the stolen money.

They could take 60% of the treasury and they took 40%, so they put up with it. They could take 50% of the treasury and they took 50%, so they put up with it too.

"Huang Jin, three million taels of silver."

Zhu Houcong saw the third piece of account paper and nodded.

Given Huang Jin's personality, this was probably all the money he had, probably even his salary for so many years.

"Meng Chong, one million taels of silver."

"Shi Yi, one million taels of silver."

The stolen silver presented by Meng and Shi was all on a piece of account paper.

"Okay, okay, you spent four million taels of silver to buy a painting of Along the River During the Qingming Festival, embezzled my treasury, and only gave me one million?"

Zhu Houcong's face turned pale and he roared, "My money!

They took two million and gave me one million. Do I still need to thank them?"

"Your Majesty!" Lu Fang quickly got up and wanted to pat Zhu Houcong on the back to calm him down, but Zhu Houcong shook him off and said, "Be beaten to death and have your property confiscated!"

(End of this chapter)