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Winter came exceptionally early in the 43rd year of the Jiajing reign; it was only past October when light snow began to fall in Beijing.

No matter how brightly the charcoal fire burned in the archives in the backyard of the Hanlin Academy, it could not dispel the bone-chilling cold.

Although Su Ning had already started working at the Prince Yu's residence, he did not give up his job at the Hanlin Academy.

A full year has passed since Xu Jie recommended Su Ning to participate in the compilation of the "Jiajing Accounting Records".

That appointment, which caused such a stir in the court and among the people back then, is now long forgotten...

This comprehensive financial record, commissioned by Emperor Jiajing, had seen three chief editors die in the past eight years, either from sudden death or exile, becoming a curse that court officials feared to mention.

"Sir Su, the dust in this storeroom is three feet thick." The old clerk, carrying a lantern, illuminated the shelves full of account books for Su Ning. "As for Grand Secretary Yan... alas, the military pay for the anti-Japanese pirates in the southeast, the provisions for the soldiers on the nine borders, all depend on this book, but..."

Su Ning remained silent, only reaching out to brush the dusty ledgers on the shelf.

Over the past year, he has discovered too many oddities in this sea of ​​numbers: the accounts of the Lianghuai Salt Transport Office were written in two different colors of ink, clearly indicating that the 300,000 taels of salt tax had been altered to 30,000; in the expenditure records of the Imperial Warehouse, the same number would appear every few pages, like some kind of code.

The most thrilling moment was that rainy night three months ago.

He pretended to be off duty, but secretly led the Imperial Guards dispatched by Xu Jie to ambush in the hidden corner of the library.

Sure enough, around midnight, a masked man broke in and was captured on the spot just as he was about to burn the salt tax ledgers.

The man who pulled off his mask was actually the second steward of the Yan family, and he was carrying a secret order written by Yan Shifan himself: "Destroy all salt and iron accounts from the thirtieth year of Jiajing's reign."

This matter reached the ears of the Emperor.

After listening to Lü Fang's report in the alchemy room, Emperor Jiajing remained silent for a long time before bestowing upon Su Ning a purple-gold fish-shaped pouch, granting him permission to access the archives of the Six Ministries at any time...

This is the first time since the founding of the Ming Dynasty.

With this protective shield, Suning began sweeping reforms.

He created the "Four-Column Register" accounting method, which divided the income and expenditure of the Imperial Warehouse into four categories: "Old Management, New Income, Disbursements, and Actual Amounts," and ordered clerks to mark any abnormal data with red ink.

While reviewing the Ministry of War's accounts that day, his finger suddenly stopped on a certain page: "Why are the military pay and the amount of arms purchases for Jizhou Garrison completely consistent?"

The clerks in the room looked at each other in bewilderment.

Su Ning immediately ordered his men to bring over an abacus, and led two Imperial Guards straight into the Ministry of War's office.

"What does Su Xiuzhuan mean by this?" The Vice Minister of War greeted him, wiping his sweat.

"May I ask you, sir?" Su Ning spread the account books on the table, the abacus beads clattering, "The Jizhou garrison has a quota of eight thousand soldiers, each with an annual salary of eighteen taels, totaling one hundred and forty-four thousand taels. And the procurement of military equipment also happens to be one hundred and forty-four thousand taels. Is there really such a coincidence in the world?"

The vice minister broke out in a cold sweat.

Amidst the crisp sound of the abacus, a scheme by Yan Dang's generals to falsify troop numbers and embezzle funds was gradually brought to light...

The amount embezzled was exactly equal to the deficit in military equipment.

When the compilation entered its most critical stage, Su Ning discovered a shocking secret in the Tongzhou grain transport accounts: of the two million shi of grain transported each year, four hundred thousand shi had vanished into thin air in the accounts, all marked as "disappeared".

He immediately asked Xu Jie for permission to disguise himself as a grain merchant and travel south along the Grand Canal to investigate.

At Linqing Wharf, Suning witnessed firsthand the hidden compartments at the bottom of the cargo ships...

Those ship holds that were supposed to be carrying rice were actually hiding pig iron and saltpeter, making them a route for smuggling Japanese pirates!

On the night of his return to Beijing, Su Ning's carriage was ambushed and killed by men in black on the banks of the Tonghui River.

In the chaos of the battle, the account books were scattered all over the ground, and it seemed they were about to be taken away when suddenly more than a dozen men from the canal gang emerged from the reeds, drawing their swords to help.

"Lord Su's investigation into the deficit is a relief for us boatmen! We have to make up for all the grain that has been lost over the years, driving countless families to their deaths!"

The following day at court, Yan's faction indeed launched an attack, impeaching Su Ning for "associating with gangsters."

Just as tensions were about to rise, Zhang Juzheng stepped forward and presented a secret memorial...

The document contains detailed records of the canal transport accounts and a list of stolen goods seized during the coastal suppression of Japanese pirates; all the data match perfectly.

The Jiajing Emperor, upon seeing the secret memorial, was so enraged he laughed and threw the paperweight to the ground in court.

"What a terrible 'drift away'! My grain shipments have all drifted into the hands of the Japanese pirates!"

All the civil and military officials knelt down.

Su Ning looked up at the outside of the palace. Snowflakes were falling from the gray sky. This winter was destined to be anything but peaceful.

When Yan Song and his son Yan Shifan realized that Jiajing was going to make a move against them, they couldn't help but feel a sense of desolation, like a rabbit being cooked after its hunt is over.

……

In the early spring of the forty-fourth year of the Jiajing reign, as the last rays of dawn shone through the carved wooden windows of the Wenyuan Pavilion onto the newly copied "Accounting Records of the Jiajing Era," the entire Hanlin Academy fell into an unreal silence.

Seventy-one volumes of account books were neatly stacked on the sandalwood table, exuding the fresh scent of ink.

Suddenly, hurried footsteps sounded outside the door, and the voice of Lü Fang, the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, broke the silence: "His Majesty has arrived..."

All the scholars in the courtyard knelt down.

No one could have imagined that the Jiajing Emperor, who had not set foot in the Wenyuan Pavilion for more than twenty years, would come in person.

Emperor Jiajing, dressed in a black Taoist robe, slowly walked past the kneeling officials and finally stopped in front of the pile of account books.

His aged fingers traced the gold-embossed cover, the movement as gentle as if touching a fragile dream.

"Minister Su," the emperor suddenly spoke, his voice hoarse, "do you know why I haven't revised this record for so many years?"

Before Su Ning could answer, he asked and answered himself: "All the officials say that I am obsessed with alchemy and do not see my ministers."

His finger paused on the title page of the first volume. "Actually, I'm afraid... afraid to see this country already riddled with holes."

These words made Xu Jie, who was kneeling on the ground, tremble slightly.

Zhang Juzheng secretly glanced up and saw a glimmer of unprecedented clarity in the emperor's eyes.

No one present dared to expose Emperor Jiajing's shamelessness; he was responsible for 60% of these deficits.

"These seventy-one volumes of account books," the Jiajing Emperor turned, his gaze sweeping over the crowd, "contain not only numbers, but also the lifeblood of the Ming Dynasty. Minister Su..."

Su Ning bowed and said, "Your subject is here."

"You have finally made me see this empire clearly."

The rewards bestowed the following day shocked the entire court.

Su Ning was specially promoted to the position of Reader in the Hanlin Academy. Although he was only a fifth-rank official, he was granted the privilege of wearing a qilin robe, an honor usually reserved for high-ranking officials of the third rank or above.

But the most shocking thing was yet to come.

The Jiajing Emperor issued an imperial edict in court, allocating 100,000 taels of silver from the confiscated embezzled funds of the Yan faction, and ordering Su Ning to establish the "Accounting Bureau" to audit the nation's finances. This institution, directly responsible to the emperor, became the first independent auditing agency since the founding of the Ming Dynasty.

After the court session, Xu Jie stopped Su Ning in front of the Wenyuan Pavilion and said meaningfully, "Anbang, the knife of the Accounting Department is much sharper than the pen of the Accounting Records. You... better watch yourself."

Zhang Juzheng, who was standing nearby, quietly approached Su Ning and warned him: "The Emperor's move is to use you as a sharp knife to cut through all the mess left by Yan's faction."

Su Ning stroked the embroidered patterns on the newly bestowed Qilin robe, her gaze fixed on the outside of the Forbidden City.

He knew that from this day forward, he would no longer be just a scholar compiling books, but a swordsman wielding a sharp blade.

This storm that is sweeping through the Ming Dynasty's officialdom has already taken shape.

……

In the early spring of the forty-fourth year of the Jiajing reign, the victory celebration banquet at Wenyuan Pavilion lasted until the moon was high in the sky.

Xu Jie made an exception and personally poured the wine cup, walking up to Su Ning. The wine cup gleamed warmly in the moonlight.

The usually composed Second Minister of the Cabinet now had a complex mix of emotions in his eyes.

“Does Anbang know,” Xu Jie said in a low voice, only Zhang Juzheng, who was nearby, could hear, “that Yan Song also rose to power with a book called ‘The Accounting Records of the Zhengde Era’. Auditing accounts has always been the sharpest knife, but also the weapon most likely to backfire.”

He raised his cup and drank it all in one gulp, his sleeves fluttering in the night wind: "I hope Anbang will use this knife wisely and not repeat the same mistakes."

After several rounds of drinks, Zhang Juzheng took the opportunity of toasting to slip a note into Su Ning's hand.

Back at his seat, he unfolded the document, which contained only a few words: "Anbang, the Accounting Department should start with the Maritime Trade Department."

As the moonlight deepened, the guests gradually departed.

Su Ning walked towards the newly opened office of the Accounting Department, bathed in the soft glow of the moonlight.

The courtyard, located in the southeast corner of the imperial city, still exudes a faint smell of tung oil from the newly hung plaque in front of its gate.

He pushed open the heavy wooden door and was stunned by what he saw.

Twelve elderly men dressed in faded official robes stood neatly in the courtyard.

Some of them were leaning on canes, some had empty sleeves, and the old man at the head of the group had only one eye left, which was glistening with tears in the moonlight.

"We, your humble servants, respectfully welcome Master Su!" The crowd bowed in unison, their voices echoing in the silent night sky.

The one-eyed old man stepped forward shakily: "This humble servant is Zhao Deming, formerly the Chief Clerk of the Zhejiang Department of the Ministry of Revenue. These are all descendants of colleagues who were persecuted during the audits back then. We have been waiting for this day for a full twenty years!"

He pointed to an old man behind him who had lost both hands: "This is the son of the magistrate of Qiantang County. His father was framed and imprisoned after discovering corruption in the textile bureau, and died in the imperial prison."

He then pointed to a lame old man: "This is the former clerk of the Grand Canal Transport Office. He had his leg broken because he discovered a shortfall in the grain transport."

Tears welled in Zhao Deming's single eye: "We are either blind or crippled, but we all have the abacus etched in our hearts. Hearing that the Emperor has established the Accounting Bureau, we came here spontaneously, willing to use our crippled bodies to lend you a helping hand!"

Looking at the group of elderly men standing tall in the moonlight, Su Ning felt a lump in her throat.

He bowed deeply and said, "Please rise, esteemed seniors. From this day forward, this Accounting Office will be your home."

The sound of the second watch drum came from afar.

In the brand-new duty room, Su Ning unfolded the first set of accounts to be verified, which was the customs records of the Hangzhou Maritime Trade Office under the jurisdiction of Prince Yu's Mansion.

The candlelight flickered, and outside the window, a light snow began to fall.

He gently stroked the abacus, suddenly recalling what his father had said at the ferry crossing many years ago when he left his hometown to take the imperial examination:
"My son is going to the capital not for fame or fortune, but only to have a clear conscience."

Now, this iron abacus is finally about to be turned for the benefit of the world.

The snow fell heavier and heavier, enveloping the entire capital city in a blanket of white.

The lights in the accounting office remained on until dawn.

……

The lights in the office of the Accounting Department often stayed on all night.

With the assistance of veteran officials like Zhao Deming, Su Ning began to systematically apply accounting and auditing knowledge far ahead of its time.

He introduced methods such as "sampling verification," "cross-validation," and "walkthrough testing" to connect seemingly unrelated and scattered accounts into an irrefutable chain of evidence.

"Your method is brilliant!" Zhao Deming held a newly verified salt certificate account book, his single eye gleaming with excitement. "Comparing the three books on salt certificate issuance, salt tax collection, and border town military pay allocation is like a magic mirror, exposing all the shady dealings."

Soon, a series of shocking pieces of evidence surfaced:
In the records of grain transport, they discovered that hundreds of thousands of bushels of grain disappeared every year under the guise of "loss".

Upon investigation, it was discovered that Yan Shifan had instructed the Grand Canal Transport Commissioner to transport the grain to his private warehouse in Suzhou, where it was then sold at a high price to rice merchants in the Jiangnan region.

In order to curry favor with Yan Song, the Salt Commissioner of Lianghuai altered the salt tax revenue of 300,000 taels to 30,000 taels, and donated the entire difference to Yan's mansion.

To balance the accounts, they even shifted the blame to the retired former transport commissioner.

What's even more appalling is the military pay account.

To cover the deficit caused by Yan Dang's extortion, the garrison commander of Jizhou falsely reported 5,000 soldiers and embezzled 90,000 taels of silver annually.

When the border soldiers mutinied due to lack of pay, they falsely accused the Vice Minister of War of ineffective command.

However, after a thorough investigation, Su Ning astutely discovered that many of these pieces of evidence were actually "offered" by local officials to curry favor with the Yan family, or by other powerful figures using the name of the Yan faction.

However, given the deep-seated resentment towards the Yan faction among both the government and the public, these accusations have been rightfully attributed to Yan Song and his son.

As for the Jiajing Emperor, who was the source of all evil, he could not possibly bear the responsibility, and the Jiajing Emperor also believed that Su Ning would not implicate him.

“My lord,” Zhao Deming said in a low voice, “if all these accounts are verified, the Yan family will be condemned to death. However, some of them…”

Su Ning raised his hand to stop him from continuing, his gaze deep: "Chief Zhao, do you remember what Sun Tzu's Art of War says: 'Aim for the best, and you will get the middle'? The current situation in the court is as precarious as a pile of eggs. If we cannot eliminate the treacherous party in one fell swoop, we will all die without a burial place once they retaliate."

He walked to the window and looked in the direction of the Yan residence: "Whether these accounts are true or false is no longer important. What is important is that they will become a sharp sword to cut down the Yan faction. As for the injustices involved... once the court is cleansed, the day will come when justice is served."

Half a month later, when seven boxes of account books and evidence were placed on Emperor Jiajing's desk, the emperor, who had long lived in the deep palace, was furious.

Especially when he saw that even the cinnabar and mercury he used for alchemy were being embezzled by the Yan faction, he finally issued the decree that shook the court and the country:
"Yan Song is dismissed from his post, and Yan Shifan is imprisoned by imperial decree!"

The news caused a sensation in the capital.

Inside the accounting office, however, Su Ning remained unusually calm.

He knew all too well that this battle was far from over—today's Yan faction might be tomorrow's new elite.

What he needs to do is to ensure that this auditing system truly takes root and becomes a sword hanging over the heads of every corrupt official.

In the darkness of night, he picked up his pen and wrote down the "Regulations of the Accounting Department." The first article was: All income and expenditure of money and grain must be recorded, and those who violate this rule will be severely punished.

...(End of chapter)