I was compiling the daily records during the Wanli reign

Chapter 266 Plucking feathers from a passing goose, snatching the best pieces for profit! From 100,000 taels of silver to 3,000 taels of silver
July 30th, afternoon.

A memorial submitted jointly by Xu Bangrui, the garrison commander of Nanjing and Duke of Wei, along with the prefects of Yingtian Prefecture, Songjiang Prefecture, and Suzhou Prefecture, requesting the court to allocate disaster relief funds, was sent to the capital.

The memorial stated—

The grain reserves in the three prefectures' granaries were flooded, resulting in a loss of up to 90%. Nearly 70% of the farmland in the three prefectures was submerged, and the disaster victims now make up half of the local population. The local granaries are no longer able to provide relief to the disaster victims, so they have applied to the imperial court for disaster relief funds.

In addition to their memorials, they also submitted a register of the disaster situation in the three prefectures and a register of the destroyed grain reserves. Based on these two registers, they requested 100,000 taels of silver for disaster relief.

Soon, this data was copied and transmitted to the Ministry of Revenue.

The Ministry of Revenue will determine the amount and purpose of the disaster relief funds based on the disaster report and the inventory list of warehouses, and then report to the Cabinet.

The disaster situation is quite urgent.

Liu Sijie, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, and Shen Nian, the Right Vice Minister, worked together at the Ministry of Revenue to urge the relief efforts. In less than half a day, they determined that the floods in the three prefectures indeed required 100,000 taels of silver to relieve the crisis and bring peace to the people. Of this, 60,000 taels were allocated for emergency relief and grain purchases, and 40,000 taels were used for water conservancy repairs and resettling displaced people.

After receiving the document from the Ministry of Revenue, Zhang Juzheng immediately agreed to allocate 100,000 taels of silver for disaster relief.

The next morning.

Emperor Wanli nodded, and after the Directorate of Ceremonial approved the decree, the imperial edict approving the allocation of 100,000 taels of silver from the Imperial Treasury was sent to the Ministry of Revenue.

Minister of Revenue Yin Zhengmao quickly signed the order, and before noon, he had organized a team to transport the disaster relief funds and sent them to Nanjing.

This is the efficiency that the court achieved after the implementation of the performance evaluation system.

In the later years of the Jiajing reign, it would have taken at least seven days for this 100,000 taels of disaster relief silver to be disbursed. Moreover, even if the declared amount was 100,000 taels, the Taicang Treasury would most likely only be able to provide 60,000 or 80,000 taels, because the national treasury had no money and it was impossible to obtain the full amount.

……

The first day of the eighth lunar month, in the morning.

Gu Jiusi, a supervising secretary of the Ministry of Rites, and Wang Daocheng, a supervising secretary of the Ministry of Works, simultaneously submitted a memorial stating that the floods in Jiangnan were severe and suggested that the court temporarily suspend the textile production in Suzhou, Songjiang and Yingtian and order the textile officials to return to the capital.

Upon learning the contents of the memorial, Shen Nian couldn't help but admire the courage of the two officials.

Censors should submit more memorials of this kind.

Suzhou Prefecture, Songjiang Prefecture, and Yingtian Prefecture were responsible for all the royal textile production tasks, which consumed a lot of manpower and were far more taxed and corvée-bearing than other places.

Now that the three regions are suffering from floods and the people's strength has been greatly depleted, if the eunuchs still urge the people to complete the weaving task, it is very likely to cause a civil unrest.

After the flood, the people need at least six months to recover and rebuild. Temporarily suspending weaving is a good measure to keep the people at ease.

Since the imperial weaving was a matter for the inner court, the two officials directly submitted their memorials within the palace.

After reviewing the document, the young Wanli Emperor wrote in his reply: "The weaving work is funded entirely by the inner court and has nothing to do with the common people. In addition, the weaving quota is fixed every year and should not be suspended."

The reason why the young Wanli Emperor resolutely refused.

This was because the winter clothes for the royal family and the brocades bestowed upon officials were all woven by the three ministries. If the weaving were to stop, it would affect the expenses of the inner court. In addition, if no gifts were given, it would make it seem as if the emperor had no favors for his officials.

In his eyes, royal affairs were far more important than solving local flood problems.

The next day.

Gu Jiusi, a supervising secretary of the Ministry of Rites, submitted another memorial, stating that half a month ago, the court had assigned additional tasks to the Suzhou and Hangzhou textile bureaus, ordering them to complete the winter clothing for all the instructors and students of the Jingwu Academy before the winter month. This additional task would increase the burden on the people of the three prefectures. He suggested that this task be cancelled for the sake of the disaster victims, and that the students of the Jingwu Academy could simply wear the same winter clothing as the soldiers of the Beijing Garrison, without any special treatment.

After Gu Jiusi submitted this memorial.

Zhang Juzheng, Yin Zhengmao, Shen Shixing, Shen Nian, and others only then learned that the young Wanli Emperor had actually ordered the production of winter clothing for the instructors and students of the Jingwu Academy.

The weaving industry was an internal affair of the imperial court.

The young Wanli Emperor did not consult the Grand Secretariat; he directly ordered Sun Long, the eunuch in charge of textile production in Suzhou and Hangzhou, to do it.

This is completely unnecessary.

Products from Suzhou and Hangzhou textile factories are all of the finest quality, and they are used to make royal clothing and official robes.

Students of Jingwu Academy are not qualified to enjoy such royal treatment at present.

Emperor Wanli's move was clearly intended to make him appear impressive and prestigious when he inspected the students of the Jingwu Academy at the end of the year, thus enhancing the emperor's majesty.

Yin Zhengmao has a bad temper.

He immediately submitted a memorial to the throne, seconding the memorial of Gu Jiusi, a supervising secretary of the Ministry of Rites, stating frankly that the students of the Jingwu Academy were not yet qualified to enjoy such gifts, and hoped that the young Wanli Emperor would stop this behavior.

Subsequently.

Zhang Juzheng also submitted a memorial stating, "Every additional matter in a region brings its own disturbance; every bit of leniency brings its own benefit. The extra textile production is too much for the people in the disaster-stricken areas to bear," and earnestly requested Emperor Wanli to recall Sun Long, the eunuch in charge of textile production in Suzhou and Hangzhou, and suspend textile production.

Following this, Li Youzi, Minister of Works, Chen Kai, Left Censor-in-Chief, Wang Xijue, Academician of the Hanlin Academy, and Shen Nian, Right Vice Minister of Revenue, also submitted memorials opposing the increase of forced labor for the people of Jiangnan during the floods.

Emperor Wanli did not compromise on this issue.

He stated that the Jingwu Academy had only nine hundred students, and the design for the winter uniforms had already been completed and was being rushed to completion. It was not advisable to abandon the project halfway through. The remaining weaving tasks could be suspended. Once the winter uniforms for the Jingwu Academy were completed, he would order the Suzhou and Hangzhou textile eunuch Sun Long to return to the capital and completely halt all weaving activities.

The young Wanli Emperor also stated that the entire textile production would be funded by the imperial court, and that the people of Jiangnan would not be charged a single penny.

Officials all knew that Emperor Wanli regarded the Jingwu Academy as very important. He wanted the students to make a grand appearance at the end of the year, which would impress the entire court and demonstrate his abilities. Therefore, he wanted to design winter uniforms for the instructors and students of the Jingwu Academy to showcase the grandeur of the emperor's personal guard.

Therefore, the court officials had no choice but to agree with the young Wanli Emperor's decision and cease submitting memorials regarding the textile manufacturing matter.

……

August 3rd, afternoon.

Shen Nianben was busy in the Hanlin Academy's lecture hall when a clerk from the Ministry of Revenue suddenly said that Yin Zhengmao wanted to discuss something urgent with him, so he quickly returned to the Ministry of Revenue.

The front hall of the Ministry of Revenue's Minister's Office.

As soon as Shen Nian entered the room, Yin Zhengmao dismissed the two clerks in the hall and ordered them to close the door.

Seeing Yin Zhengmao's serious expression, Shen Nian asked in confusion, "Elder Yin, what has happened?"

"Ugh!"

Yin Zhengmao sighed and then slowly said, "Half an hour ago, I found out about the winter clothes for the students and instructors of the Jingwu Academy."

"Each instructor has three sets of winter clothes: one set for daily use, one set for instructors, and one set for ceremonial purposes; each student has two sets of winter clothes: one set for daily training and one set for ceremonial purposes. Judging from the patterns of the winter clothes made by the inner court, each set will use materials such as brocade and floral patterns. I have calculated that the total cost of the winter clothes for instructors and students is no less than 50,000 taels of silver."

"Fifty thousand taels of silver!" Shen Nian was taken aback.

This standard is equivalent to the cost of court robes made for a fifth-rank military officer, and the current students of the Jingwu Academy are not worthy of wearing winter clothes of this standard.

Shen Nian sighed, "It seems the imperial treasury is still quite wealthy!"

None of the officials knew how much money was in the imperial treasury.

Such extravagant spending is enough to demonstrate the wealth of the imperial treasury and the extravagance of the young Wanli Emperor.

Yin Zhengmao shook his head slightly and said, "If the Imperial Treasury provides 50,000 taels of silver, I will not bring up this matter and will let His Majesty indulge himself this once. I have already determined that the Imperial Treasury has allocated a total of 5,000 taels of silver for the winter clothes of the students and instructors of the Jingwu Academy."

"Huh?" Shen Nian looked surprised.

It requires 50,000 taels of silver, with 5,000 taels allocated from the imperial treasury. That means the missing money will either be diverted from elsewhere or the people will be forced to bleed money by some means.

The reason why the eunuchs in the inner court dared to be corrupt was that, in many cases, they simply could not complete the imperial mission without being corrupt and misappropriating funds.

In their eyes, completing the imperial mission was a merit, while failing to do so was a fault.

To curry favor, they could use their privileges within the inner court, under the emperor's name, and employ any means necessary.

Local officials couldn't control them, nor could the imperial inspectors.

Shen Nian raised an eyebrow and looked at Yin Zhengmao.

"You mean the 100,000 taels of disaster relief funds will be misappropriated?"

Yin Zhengmao nodded.

"I feel that if 50,000 taels of this 100,000 taels of disaster relief funds can be used for the disaster victims, that would be considered quite good!"

"If the textile eunuch does this, would the officials in Southern Zhili really dare to collude with him and disregard the lives of the disaster victims?" Shen Nian felt somewhat incredulous.

"There's nothing they wouldn't dare to do. Sun Long, the eunuch in charge of textile production in Suzhou and Hangzhou, and Wang Yue, the eunuch in charge of garrisoning Nanjing, only have His Majesty in their eyes and no regard for the people. The entire Southern Zhili region is actually under their control. They know that even 100,000 taels of silver for disaster relief might not be effective, so they will definitely prioritize the imperial envoy!"

"However, Cao Zheng, the Imperial Inspector of Southern Zhili, is still quite upright. Hopefully, he hasn't been assimilated and can submit a memorial to expose some things!"

Yin Zhengmao looked at Shen Nian.

“Ziheng, if I were to question His Majesty with this information, I would be suspected of spying on the inner court, and His Majesty would not believe me at all. Only after they have misappropriated the disaster relief funds can we find evidence to expose them!”

"I summoned you here to tell you that if those two eunuchs really embezzled disaster relief funds for textile production, once I find the evidence, I will fight them to the bitter end, even at the cost of losing my job and my life, to bring down Feng Bao. Grand Secretary Zhang is too busy with state affairs and too tired to attend to this matter. You must help me. At present, His Majesty listens to you more!"

Yin Zhengmao despised eunuchs the most.

He had no intention of becoming the Grand Secretary; his greatest wish at the moment was to prevent eunuchs from interfering in politics.

If eunuchs were not allowed to interfere in politics, the emperor would not have been able to act so capriciously.

If the disaster relief funds are indeed misappropriated by the two eunuchs for textile production, he will fight to the bitter end, no matter what.

“No problem!” Shen Nian replied firmly.

……

On the fifth day of the eighth lunar month, all 100,000 taels of relief funds were transported to Nanjing.

Fifteen minutes after the silver arrived at the Central Military Governor's Mansion, Sun Long, the eunuch in charge of textile production in Suzhou and Hangzhou, ordered his men to take away 80,000 taels.

Subsequently, Wang Yue, the eunuch in charge of Nanjing, and Xu Bangrui, the Duke of Wei and the garrison commander of Nanjing, following Zhang Siwei's plan, used 10,000 taels of silver to build dikes and 10,000 taels of silver to buy grain to relieve disaster victims.

They handed over the 10,000 taels of silver used to build the dikes to Zhou Shi'an, the prefect of Suzhou, instructing him to dredge at least one dike so that the people of the county would praise the government for its success in controlling the floods.

The 10,000 taels of silver used to buy grain to relieve the disaster victims were handed over to Zheng Jia, the prefect of Yingtian Prefecture, who was instructed to at least ensure that the people around Nanjing praised the government for its timely disaster relief.

……

It was the seventh day of the eighth lunar month, around noon.

Outside Nanjing, the rain gradually stopped.

Villagers whose houses and fields were flooded fled to the outskirts of Nanjing.

At this moment, soup kitchens were set up in front of each city gate.

Some were set up by government officials, some by merchants, some by local gentry and celebrities, and some by temple monks...

At the East Gate of Nanjing, there are eight large pots filled with thick rice porridge. The porridge is so thick that chopsticks inserted into it will not fall over, and it is easy to choke if you drink it in big gulps.

The soup kitchen had a sign that read "Yingtian Prefecture" hanging on it.

In front of the eight large cauldrons, a long line of refugees stood.

Not far away, Zheng Jia, the prefect of Yingtian Prefecture, sat in a chair, fanning himself with a palm-leaf fan.

After receiving the 10,000 taels of disaster relief funds, he realized that he was being asked to do something to save face.

Immediately, he took out four thousand taels and stuffed them into his pocket, claiming it was for the preparation of funds for the Yingtian Prefecture in case of emergency.

Afterwards, he took out another four thousand taels and had his subordinates distribute them to some scholars in the city who specialized in writing articles for tabloids, so that they could write articles and poems to praise the achievements of disaster relief in Yingtian Prefecture.

These "written" documents are the real performance evaluations.

Within two days, the talk of the brothels along the Qinhuai River will likely be about how generous the porridge was in Yingtian Prefecture, and how its disaster relief efforts were far more effective than those in Suzhou and Songjiang Prefectures.

He didn't care at all about the reputation of ordinary people.

It's inevitable that some people will criticize us, but all of that criticism will be drowned out by the poems and articles praising us.

This was the experience he had accumulated over many years in officialdom.

Whether one has political achievements depends not on how well one performs, but on how well one publicizes them and whether one listens to those above.

Of the remaining two thousand taels, he planned to give one thousand taels to the local officials and clerks as a reward for their meritorious service in disaster relief, and the last thousand taels would be used to buy grain for disaster relief.

Gentry, merchants, and monks donated porridge at their own expense. His one thousand taels of silver only needed to be spent on eight large pots at the east gate of Nanjing to let many people see his seriousness and hard work in disaster relief.

Once the floodwaters receded to a safe level, he prepared to go to the countryside to offer his condolences.

……

And this moment.

With 10,000 taels of silver in hand, Zhou Shi'an, the prefect of Suzhou in charge of building the dike, was already working in front of a dike, dressed in his official robes and with his trousers rolled up.

He did it himself, naturally so that those above could see it.

He kept three thousand taels of silver for himself and gave one thousand taels of silver each to the magistrate and sub-prefect in charge of river works and water conservancy.

They don't divide the money purely out of greed; rather, anyone who isn't greedy is considered unsociable, and the others don't trust them.

Subsequently, he used another thousand taels of silver to bribe the scholars and literati in the surrounding area to promote Suzhou Prefecture, and another thousand taels of silver to bribe the local ruffians and scoundrels to shut up some talkative people.

Afterwards, he distributed one thousand taels of silver to the officials who arranged for the river workers (disaster victims) to build the dikes. The remaining two thousand taels of silver were the final cost of building the dikes, which also included the wages and food expenses of the river workers.

He knew he couldn't fix it, and he didn't even want to. He was content as long as the "people" he had arranged praised him for fixing it well.

With his superiors backing him up, he wasn't afraid of anyone coming to investigate.

These shoddy construction projects are just for show, making the people feel that the government is trying to save them.

After the flood, when it was time to rebuild the homes of the people, he would have the merchants raise money and the people participate in the construction voluntarily. With his strong organization, he could then gain a political achievement of "meritorious service in building the dikes".

If Yin Zhengmao knew that of the 100,000 taels of silver allocated by the Ministry of Revenue, only 3,000 taels were actually used for disaster relief, he would definitely come charging over with a broadsword.

(End of this chapter)