I was compiling the daily records during the Wanli reign

Chapter 265 Imperial Edicts Are Heavy, Disaster Relief Is Light! The Sly Eunuch Wang Yue
July 23rd.

The Imperial Inspector of Southern Zhili, Cao Zheng, along with the prefects of Suzhou, Songjiang, and Yingtian, submitted urgent memorials one after another, reporting that the three prefectures had suffered a massive flood, with countless fields and houses submerged and people displaced. Local authorities were urgently carrying out disaster relief efforts.

Upon learning of this, Emperor Wanli, on the advice of Zhang Juzheng, immediately issued an edict to Xu Bangrui, the Duke of Wei, who was in charge of the Nanjing Garrison and concurrently the Commander-in-Chief of the Central Military Commission, and Wang Yue, the eunuch in charge of the Nanjing Garrison, ordering them to immediately organize manpower and resources for disaster relief, to activate the Ever-Normal Granary in Southern Zhili to prepare grain, to provide relief to the disaster victims, and to prevent the displaced people from turning into bandits and the outbreak of plague.

Suzhou, Songjiang, and Yingtian were all directly under the jurisdiction of Southern Zhili.

Although the Southern Zhili region also had six ministries, the one in charge of everything was actually the Nanjing garrison commander and the garrison eunuch. All officials in the Southern Zhili region were under their supervision.

Shen Nian was deeply distressed upon hearing this.

Currently, the early rice in Suzhou, Songjiang, and Yingtian is awaiting harvest, while the mid-season rice has just begun to grow. Flooding at this time will undoubtedly result in a complete loss of harvest for the affected people in these three areas.

For ordinary people, floods are more terrible than droughts.

Where floods pass, fields and houses are submerged, and almost everything is destroyed.

Many ordinary people may have to work hard for years to build three mud houses, buy an ox, and acquire a decent set of farm tools.

But once the floodwaters wash them away, they will lose everything, and in even more tragic cases, their families will be destroyed.

Many of the people who were lucky enough to survive would likely become refugees and bandits if they did not receive relief from the imperial court, while the elderly and weak, even if they managed to beg for food, would most likely not survive the winter.

Furthermore, the problem would be even more serious if an epidemic were to occur.

……

For the past few days, Shen Nian has been staying at the Ministry of Revenue.

After the disaster reports from officials in Southern Zhili arrived in Beijing, the Office of Transmission would make a copy and send it to the Ministry of Revenue. The Ministry of Revenue would then determine the level of tax reduction or exemption based on the reports from local officials, namely, full exemption, partial exemption, or one-third exemption.

In addition, if local grain reserves are insufficient, the Ministry of Revenue will need to allocate disaster relief funds, and the amount and purpose of the disaster relief funds will be determined based on the disaster situation records and warehouse inventory records provided by the local authorities.

In the following days, memorials from officials in Southern Zhili regarding the disaster situation were continuously submitted to the capital.

It was still raining in the Sanfu area.

The damage is much more severe than when it was first reported, and the damage is increasing due to the excessive rainfall causing the dikes to breach.

In addition to the report on the actual situation of the disaster, the report also covered some measures implemented by local officials.

For example, work-for-relief programs were implemented, and disaster victims were mobilized for flood relief and rescue. Local merchants were also mobilized to donate grain to aid disaster victims.

Among them, Zhang Siwei, the Minister of Rites in Nanjing, stood out.

He personally funded the construction of soup kitchens outside the city to provide relief to disaster victims. He also ordered the clerks and soldiers of the Ministry of Rites in Nanjing to build several shelters for displaced people.

Although there was an element of showmanship involved, it was ultimately doing something practical for the disaster victims.

……

That day, night fell.

The Central Military Governor's Office (i.e., the Nanjing Garrison Command) in Nanjing.

Xu Bangrui, the Duke of Wei who was in charge of the Nanjing Garrison and concurrently the Commander-in-Chief of the Central Military Commission, Wang Yue, the eunuch in charge of the Nanjing Garrison, and Sun Long, the eunuch in charge of textile production in Suzhou and Hangzhou, sat in the front hall, all with dark faces.

Of these three, Xu Bangrui, the Duke of Wei, appears to be the most respected, but in reality, he is the one with the lowest status.

The garrison eunuch Wang Yue was a close attendant of the emperor and represented the emperor's authority. Although Xu Bangrui had a noble title, he could only bow down and submit to him.

As for Sun Long, the eunuch in charge of textile production in Suzhou and Hangzhou, he was originally a eunuch in the Imperial Library.

Currently holding the lucrative position of Suzhou and Hangzhou Textile Commissioner, his status is no less than that of the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial.

Wang Yue has less seniority than Sun Long, and Emperor Wanli valued Sun Long more. Therefore, the current ranking of the three is Sun Long first, Wang Yue second, and Xu Bangrui last.

The reason why all three of them looked unwell was because...

This is because at present, there is practically no grain stored in the granaries of Suzhou, Songjiang, and Yingtian prefectures.

According to the grain reserve ledgers of the Ever-Normal Granary that they submitted to the court three months ago, there were still 50,000 shi of grain in the granary, but now there are not even 5,000 shi left, which is far from enough to help with the disaster.

There are two main reasons why there is no grain in the granary.

First, they misappropriated reserve grain to make up for the shortfall in tax revenue last year.

Last year, the tax revenue from Southern Zhili was insufficient. To improve their performance and save face, Duke Wei, Xu Bangrui, and Wang Yue, the eunuch in charge of Nanjing, bought grain from other places to make up the shortfall. This year, they sold some of the spring grain stored in the Ever-Normal Granary to recoup their losses and even made a small profit. If there had been no disaster, they could have manipulated the tax collection this year and next year and made up for the shortfall in grain reserves in two years. Unfortunately, a flood occurred.

Secondly, in order to complete the imperial mission on time, the eunuch Sun Long, who was in charge of textile production in Jiangnan, misappropriated reserve grain to purchase raw silk and textile machines.

Because imperial orders were paramount, and the opportunity to gain some merit was also a given, Duke Xu Bangrui of Wei and the garrison eunuch Wang Yue tacitly allowed Sun Long to misappropriate reserve grain.

in short.

Currently, the grain reserves in the three prefectures' granaries have been misappropriated for tax payments and royal assignments. Now, there is no grain to relieve the disaster victims, and they cannot ask the court for grain or money.

All three are guilty of causing this situation.

Sun Long, the eunuch in charge of textile production in Suzhou and Hangzhou, glared at them and said, "You are really outrageous. If you don't collect enough taxes, at most you will be demoted one rank. But if you embezzle grain reserves from the Ever-Normal Granary, how will you explain this to the court if it causes widespread public resentment?"

Duke Xu Bangrui of Wei said with a wronged expression, "Eunuch Sun, don't make a fuss about the pot calling the kettle black. Aren't we the same?"

“Outrageous! I…I…I misappropriated the funds for a royal mission, which is completely different from your actions of using them to get promoted and make money!” Sun Long said sternly.

Duke Xu Bangrui of Wei and the garrison eunuch Wang Yue dared not utter a sound, but they wished they could grind Sun Long to dust.

They were in Nanjing, intending to enjoy a leisurely life.

Barring any major unforeseen events such as mutiny or rebellion, they will live a very comfortable life.

Even though the misappropriation of reserve grain coincided with a flood, they could have gotten away with it if it weren't for the portion misappropriated by Sun Long.

On the contrary, after Sun Long arrived, he caused considerable trouble for the officials and people of Southern Zhili in order to complete various tasks related to imperial and official textiles.

But the emperor's orders were paramount, and they dared not speak out against it.

Sun Long paused for a moment, then continued, “Due to the flood, a large number of weavers have fled, and many machines have been damaged. Within half a month, you must find another five thousand female weavers for me. In addition, His Majesty also needs to make a set of winter robes for the instructors and nine hundred students of the Jingwu Academy. The robes must be completed before the winter month. The imperial treasury has only allocated five thousand taels of silver, and we are currently short fifty thousand taels. You can think of ways to make up the difference.”

Upon hearing this, Duke Xu Bangrui of Wei curled his lip and his face darkened.

“Eunuch Sun, as things stand right now, let alone five thousand female weavers, we can’t even find five hundred. Let alone fifty thousand taels of silver, we don’t even have five thousand. At present, Southern Zhili must prioritize disaster relief, at least to save face. Let’s put the robes from the Jingwu Academy aside for now. You should report this to His Majesty; he will surely understand our difficulties!”

Swish!
Sun Long immediately stood up.

"We ask His Majesty to understand our difficulties. Who can understand His Majesty? Do you know what the Jingwu Academy means to His Majesty? It is a new policy initiative personally proposed by His Majesty. At the end of the year, His Majesty will review the students' performance and decide when His Majesty can assume personal rule. If this matter is delayed, even ten heads won't be enough to get you chopped off!"

In Sun Long's eyes, his ability to complete the task with high quality and quantity despite the devastation of the flood was a true skill, which was why the young Wanli Emperor valued him even more.

Swish!
Duke Xu Bangrui of Wei also stood up, made a knife with his hand and placed it against his own neck, saying, "Cut me then, if you have the guts, cut me now, I really can't do this job!"

"Even if we can't do it, we have to do it!"

Just as the two seemed about to fight, the guard eunuch Wang Yue quickly stood up and stepped between them.

"Gentlemen, please calm down. We're not in dire straits yet!"

“I think we should ask Feng Pan Gong; he knows the inside story. Besides, we helped him a lot when he published Gao Gong’s ‘Last Words on His Deathbed’ last time. If we consult him about this matter, maybe there will be a turning point!”

Duke Xu Bangrui of Wei and Sun Long both nodded and then returned to their chairs to sit down.

……

About half an hour later, Zhang Siwei, the Minister of Rites in Nanjing, arrived at the Central Military Command.

He was wearing a cloth shirt with dried rice porridge stains on the collar, indicating that he had gone outside the city to distribute porridge again.

His desire to return to the capital was known to all the officials in Nanjing, and the development of Southern Zhili also affected his ability to return to the capital.

After hearing the whole story, Zhang Siwei began to think about it seriously.

A short while later, a faint smile appeared on Zhang Siwei's face.

The garrison eunuch Wang Yue hurriedly said, "Lord Fengpan, if the disaster can be quelled smoothly this time, your chances of returning to the capital will greatly increase, and we will certainly speak well of you to His Majesty!"

Beside him, Duke Xu Bangrui of Wei and Sun Long, the eunuch in charge of textile production in Suzhou and Hangzhou, also nodded in agreement.

Zhang Siwei stroked his beard and said, "This is easy to handle!"

"Duke of Wei, Eunuch Wang, tomorrow you should go and see the officials in charge of the three affected prefectures and have them immediately compile the disaster report and the inventory of the warehouses in each prefecture and county."

"Remember! The three prefectures' granaries are not without grain reserves, but the grain was damaged by floods and became moldy. Because saving lives was the priority, only 5,000 shi (a unit of dry measure) were salvaged. With this, you can take the disaster report on the destroyed grain reserves and the inventory of the granaries to the court and apply for disaster relief funds on the grounds that the local granaries were destroyed and could not support relief efforts."

"The disaster should be described as more severe. At the very least, more than 70% of the farmland in the three prefectures should be submerged and more than half of the people should be affected. Only then can we apply to the court for 100,000 taels of silver for disaster relief."

"The Ministry of Revenue in the capital, all the officials there are very meticulous in their work. They must make the disaster report and the warehouse inventory report as realistic as possible. Also, make sure all the officials who know the truth shut up. That should be your specialty, right?"

……

Upon hearing this idea, Xu Bangrui, Sun Long, and Wang Yue's eyes lit up immediately.

The original 50,000 shi of grain reserves were supposedly destroyed by God, so God, not them, became the biggest sinner.

As long as they take precautions against being struck by lightning, this plan is an excellent one.

Even if the imperial court punishes them for failing to supervise the Ever-Normal Granary, it is a minor offense, and they can simply find a few scapegoats.

"Feng Pan is truly insightful. Your absence from the cabinet is a real loss to the court!" Wang Yue praised.

These words pleased Zhang Siwei greatly.

At this moment, Duke Xu Bangrui of Wei spoke up: "The 100,000 taels of silver used for disaster relief is still somewhat insufficient, but none of us will be punished for this. However, I'm afraid we cannot give even a single tael of the 50,000 taels of silver that Eunuch Sun just demanded!"

“No! How can I answer to His Majesty without 50,000 taels? 50,000 taels is already a very tight budget. Not a single tael can be less. I must have half of it!” Sun Long said with great dissatisfaction.

In fact, Sun Long could have claimed that the imperial treasury was insufficient and asked the court for more money.

But if he does this, Feng Bao will think he is incompetent, and Xiao Wanli will also think he is incompetent. Once he senses that he is incompetent, he will fall out of favor and lose this coveted position!

This time, the imperial treasury only gave him five thousand taels of silver, and he was told to ensure the quality and quantity of the funds. He already felt that this was a way to get him to raise money in Jiangnan.

If a eunuch is unable to accomplish great things with little money while serving the emperor, then his future is over.

Therefore, he must fight for this money.

Zhang Siwei thought for a moment, then looked at Sun Long and said, "Eunuch Sun, is 50,000 taels not enough? Would 80,000 taels be enough?"

Sun Long was taken aback, then nodded like a chicken pecking at rice, saying, "Eighty thousand taels of silver is definitely enough. If it weren't for the flood, we wouldn't actually need eighty thousand taels."

"Huh?" Xu Bangrui and Wang Yue both looked at Zhang Siwei in confusion.

If 80,000 taels were allocated from the disaster relief funds, Sun Long could complete his task, but the disaster relief efforts would be completely ruined.

Zhang Siwei explained, “Disaster relief, especially for floods, is a bottomless pit. Even if you throw in 200,000 or 300,000 taels of silver, there will still be disaster victims who will cause a ruckus and will still be dissatisfied. It’s better to spend the money wisely.”

"Ten thousand taels of silver will be used symbolically to repair the dikes, and one section will be reinforced. Another ten thousand taels will be used to buy food for the disaster victims. This way, we can win over a group of people who will applaud us. As for the other disaster victims, if some of the elderly and weak starve to death, it will actually reduce the pressure on our disaster relief efforts. Besides, what flood doesn't kill people? We just need to keep appearances!"

"Ten thousand taels of silver is not enough to accomplish two things well. Let's do one thing well first, and then just make sure the other thing looks acceptable on the surface. Tell me, is His Majesty's affairs more important, or the lives of the disaster victims?"

Immediately, Xu Bangrui, Sun Long, and Wang Yue all nodded in agreement, finding Zhang Siwei's words to be very reasonable.

Zhang Siwei's desire to prioritize the imperial mission was purely out of personal motives.

He knew that the young Wanli Emperor was preparing the Jingwu Academy in order to assume personal rule, and that the performance of the Jingwu Academy students would affect when the young Wanli Emperor would assume personal rule.

When the emperor assumes personal rule, the chief minister usually requests to retire.

After Zhang Juzheng retired, neither Yin Zhengmao nor Shen Shixing were as capable as him. The young Wanli Emperor might remember him and let him rejoin the cabinet.

Immediately, Zhang Siwei stood up.

"Gentlemen, what I have said today is merely a suggestion, for your reference. The success or failure of this matter is none of my concern. If anything goes wrong and you try to drag me into it, I will certainly not agree!"

"Lord Fengpan is overthinking it! How could we do such a despicable thing? With Lord Fengpan's plan, once it's done, we will definitely put in a good word for Lord Fengpan before His Majesty!" Wang Yue said with a smile.

"gone!"

Zhang Siwei strode out of the hall, humming a tune as he left, feeling he had seized another opportunity to return to the cabinet.

If Shen Nian, Hai Rui, or Yin Zhengmao had heard Zhang Siwei's plan, they would have killed him on the spot.

……

Immediately, Xu Bangrui, Sun Long, and Wang Yue began to discuss the details of this strategy.

After about fifteen minutes of discussion.

Xu Bangrui frowned and said, "Currently, the most uncontrollable person is Cao Zheng, the Imperial Inspector of Southern Zhili. I am not confident that I can silence him completely!"

Wang Yue gave a soft snort.

"Leave this to me! Let him die while doing disaster relief, and he'll have a good reputation!" A smile appeared on Wang Yue's face.

Sun Long, who loved reading poetry and books, glanced at Wang Yue with some disdain.

He looked down on Wang Yue's ruthless and malicious methods, but he also felt that the latter was doing the right thing.

(End of this chapter)