Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 413 Borrowing Troops
"This..." Sun Yuerong suddenly became nervous. "Then just torture them and force them to confess!"

"If only it were that easy," Cui Yuan sighed. "Other cases might work this way, but this involves a noble relative. In other words, it's bound to come to light, so it's hard to resort to underhanded tactics. What if Marquis Wuqing bribes those despicable censors and accuses us of torture? By then, even if there's irrefutable circumstantial evidence, it'll be hard to conclude the case."

Sun Yuerong swallowed. "But the Second Ancestor has already issued the military order."

Cui Yuan sighed silently inwardly. In his opinion, his godfather, Cui Wensheng, was far too impatient. When he was in charge of the Eastern Depot, he was so eager to win over the people and secure his position that he was whipped in front of the entire Beijing. Within months, the story would have spread throughout the country. The same thing happened the other time, when he'd killed dozens of people like a laundry list, leaving Cui Yuan in a state of panic, fearing that someone from the Western Depot would come and arrest him.

This time, I had only submitted a summary report to him, without even asking for permission, yet he went straight to the Emperor to ask for an arrest warrant, even going so far as to issue a military order. He seemed to be walking on the edge of a knife.

But what could Cui Yuan do? For someone like him, once he found a godfather, his position and inclinations for life were essentially set, and his fate would essentially depend on him. Unless his godfather passed away, he couldn't even think of changing his position. But then again, if he couldn't even find a godfather to make a living in the palace, then he would be content to serve others for the rest of his life.

Cui Yuan shook his head, putting aside the distracting thoughts in his mind, and asked, "Besides asking me to arrest someone, does Godfather have any other message?"

"Yes." Sun Yuerong nodded immediately and said, "Second Ancestor asked me to bring you a passage from the master, His Majesty."

"The Lord's exact words?" Cui Yuan's expression grew more solemn. "Is this a verbal order from the Lord?" If it was a verbal order, he would have to kneel down to receive it.

"It's not an oral order, it's what His Majesty said to the Second Ancestor." Sun Yuerong shook her head. "He asked me to relay this message to you."

"Then go ahead." Cui Yuan sat up straight.

Sun Yuerong thought for a moment and recited as much as he could: "'If they want to prevent the sea transport from being diverted, no matter what they do, the ultimate goal is to prove to the court that the loss of going from Tianjin to Gaizhou is greater than the cost of going from Lushun to Gaizhou. This is not enough to just sink one or two ships. Those who drifted may not have drifted, and those who died may not have died. As long as these things and these people can be found, it will be irrefutable evidence.'"

"This..." Cui Yuan felt puzzled, and a puzzled look unconsciously appeared on his face.

"Is there any problem?" Sun Yuerong asked cautiously.

"Of course there's no problem, Your Majesty is wise and enlightened." Cui Yuan could imagine that Cui Wensheng had asked Sun Yuerong to bring him the emperor's original words simply to convey his divine will. But these words conveyed nothing. The emperor's words merely provided a way to handle the case. But Cui Yuan had already been following this path. "But why did Godfather ask you to bring me such a message?"

"I don't know," Sun Yuerong shook her head. Compared to Cui Yuan, he had even less information. He hadn't handled the case, nor had he seen Cui Yuan's report. He had no idea what Cui Wensheng had said or heard in the Southern Study. To put it bluntly, he was just a human mouthpiece.

Cui Yuan smacked his lips, savoring the emperor's words. After repeated reflection, he sensed a subtle hint. But he wasn't sure if his guess was right. "Anything else?"

"Probably not." Sun Yuerong was about to shake her head, but then she held up a finger. "One more sentence, one last one."

"What?" Cui Yuan asked quickly.

"The Second Ancestor told me to tell you to do whatever you want." To Sun Yuerong, this was just nonsense. He had already ordered Cui Yuan to arrest and interrogate the person, so how could he do whatever he wanted?

Cui Yuan's eyes flashed with understanding, and the corners of his mouth twitched slightly. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, "Anything else?"

"That's all. These are the messages that the Second Ancestor asked me to pass on." Sun Yuerong said.

Cui Yuan nodded. Just as he was about to speak about his plan, Sun Yuerong spoke again: "But there is something else going on in Tianjin."

"Tianjin." Cui Yuan didn't react for a moment.

Sun Yuerong quickly explained, "It's the idle piece you left behind in Zhongwei. Last night, I was resting there and heard something that might be quite significant."

"Is it related to the case of the Ministry of Finance?" Cui Yuan asked.

"It may be involved. But it should be considered an independent case," said Sun Yuerong.

"Could something have gone wrong with Sun Zhongcheng?" Cui Yuan frowned.

"That's not the case," Sun Yuerong shook his head. "It's mainly a problem with the river. Sun Zhongcheng has only just arrived in Tianjin, so it's unlikely he's involved."

Cui Yuan breathed a sigh of relief. "Tell me in detail."

"You placed a man named Chen Weiye in Zhongwei. He investigated and found that there has long been a phenomenon of using official ships for private purposes along the canal routes. That is, they used canal ships to transport private goods, avoiding inspections at the customs and evading taxation by the court." Sun Yuerong said.

"It's just smuggling by government ships." Cui Yuan summed it up immediately.

"You already know?" Sun Yuerong asked in surprise.

"You've been in the capital for too long." Cui Yuan chuckled and said, "In these thousands of miles of waterways, the bodies fished out every year could pile up into mountains. How many of them do you think were accidental drownings?"

"I am stupid." Sun Yuerong didn't understand.

"Many of the people I brought here once made a living on the docks. If you're willing to talk to them, you'll learn about the filthiness of life both above and below the surface." Cui Yuan grabbed a teacup from a nearby spot and drank the lukewarm, half-cold tea in it. He didn't put the teacup down until the tea leaves floated to the surface, then he slowly said,
"Where there's taxation, there's tax evasion. Using government ships to transport smuggled goods to avoid national taxes is neither new nor rare. If you look closely, how many of the governors, prefects, and provincial governors along the Grand Canal, and their minions, are honest? Even the Nanjing Jinyiwei often helped others transport smuggled goods behind the backs of the imperial court."

"Then just forget about it?" Sun Yuerong quickly adjusted his position. If Cui Yuan didn't intend to report this matter, he would forget about it.

"Whether we intervene or not depends entirely on His Majesty. If His Majesty wants me to, then I will. If His Majesty doesn't want me to, or wants someone else to do it, then I won't. But regardless, since Chen Weiye has uncovered the matter, we should report it." Cui Yuan instructed, "When you return, bring this news to Godfather and tell him that Chen Weiye discovered the matter. Don't mention me, and don't mention yourself either. He will decide what to do next."

Thinking about it now, Cui Yuan felt that although his godfather was a bit radical, his guess about the emperor's intentions and his grasp of opportunities were still very accurate. He survived the beating and continued to hold power. He killed people without any problem and was rewarded. Now he took the risk of cleaning the toilet for his enemy and asked for the emperor's edict.
Sun Yuerong nodded immediately and said, "I understand. I'll return and pass on the message." If this job could fall from the sky, Sun Yuerong would still hope to get a piece of the pie. "No rush." ​​Cui Yuan brought the subject back: "The most important thing right now is the case of the Ministry of Finance."

"Yes, yes." Sun Yuerong said hurriedly, "If there's anything I can do for you, Cui Tixing will let me know."

"I want you to go to Tianjin." Cui Yuan said.

"Do you want me to go back to Zhongwei?" Sun Yuerong asked.

"Yes, I want you to go to the governor's office to find Sun Zhongcheng." Cui Yuan nodded.

Sun Yuerong was stunned. "What do you want to see him for?"

"Of course, we should let him help us investigate the case." Cui Yuan stood up and took two steps to a wooden cabinet.

"Why do you want to ask him to come out of retirement?" When Sun Yuerong saw Cui stand up, he also stood up.

Cui Yuan opened a drawer and pulled out a stack of letter paper and two envelopes. "I only have so many men under my command. I don't have enough to hold them, let alone maintain order. I need to borrow his standard-bearing soldiers."

Although Cui Yuan had been acting in secret, he was also considered an imperial eunuch sent to the local area by the emperor. With this status, he could request assistance from local officials.

Cui Yuan returned to his seat, envelope and letter in hand. Only after he sat down did he realize the paperweight was placed so high that he had to stand up again to reach it. Sun Yuerong was perceptive. He didn't wait for Cui Yuan's instructions or reach out on his own. Instead, he took the initiative, stepped forward, and handed the paperweight to Cui Yuan. "Then why not just ask the Coast Guard Battalion to assist?"

There has always been a Tianjin Coastal Defense Battalion with a strength of 2,500 people on the coast of Tianjin. After the establishment of the Ministry of Finance, this force was moved to the coast and placed under the command of Li Changgeng.

"Because I also want to arrest the chief officer of the coastal defense camp." Cui Yuan threw aside the report in front of him, then picked up the pen and dipped it in the inkstone.

Cui Yuan's original plan was to start from the bottom and gradually work his way up, avoiding those nobles and relatives who made him wary of the consequences. At most, he could find a way to force them to retreat. After all, his mission was simply to secretly investigate the military supply department, or to ensure the smooth arrival of the grain ships at Yingkou in Gaizhou. Even if he didn't touch the lackeys of the nobles and relatives, it wouldn't affect the completion of his mission.

But now, godfather Cui Wensheng has obtained authority from Cui Yuan, and he has almost grasped the emperor's will. So he can uproot them and catch them all in one fell swoop, regardless of the order.

Sun Yuerong was startled. "What happened to the Coastal Defense Battalion?"

"What else can we do? There's corruption, empty salaries, abandoned training, and no boats or equipment. If the bandits had big ships and could cross the sea to plunder, I'm afraid the coastal defense camp would collapse on the first day, and the bandits would go straight to Zhongwei City along the Haihe River on the second day." Cui Yuan waved his hand to signal Sun Yuerong to sit back.

"So serious?" Sun Yuerong was shocked.

"It's not surprising. As the saying goes, 'Born in hardship, die in comfort.' The coastal defense camp was originally established to guard against the Japanese invasion. After decades of peace, the generals naturally became lax and itchy. Furthermore, those blind men were distracted from their duties and were preoccupied with their anger with the late emperor." Cui Yuan was startled and quickly stopped discussing this sensitive topic. "In short, the lax coastal defense is not surprising. Since my East Factory has discovered this, I'll also share this matter."

Sun Yuerong simply ignored the sensitive topic and suggested, "In that case, it would be better to go back to Beijing and transfer people from the factory."

"No." Cui Yuan shook his head and said, "I just want to use the manpower of the Governor's Office. For a case like this, we have to involve some officials from outside the province."

Sun Yuerong nodded, seeming to understand, and then asked, "But what if Sun Zhongcheng is unwilling to send someone?"

The eunuchs and imperial envoys could request assistance from local authorities, but without an imperial edict, it was not considered an order, so the local authorities could refuse to assist.

Cui Yuan's brushstrokes suddenly faltered. "My godfather told me about Master Sun. He said he's a very good and upright official. He's also very good at training soldiers. And if these cases are handled effectively, it will benefit his career. Sun Zhongcheng is still far from the top, so he shouldn't refuse this opportunity." Even so, Cui Yuan himself wasn't entirely sure.

Sun Yuerong noticed the hesitation in Cui Yuan's eyes and suggested, "There's a man named Jin Zhong in Tianjin. I could go to him first to test Sun Zhongcheng's opinion."

"Jin Zhong." Cui Yuan paused for a moment before remembering this person. "Is he the servant sent by the palace to select a site for the factory?"

"Yes, that's him." Sun Yuerong asked, "Didn't you say hello to him when you came?"

"Why should I greet him?" Cui Yuan thought as he continued writing on the paper. "He and I don't have any personal relationship."

"It doesn't matter if we don't have a relationship. He's just a minor official in the Imperial Household Department. How dare he disrespect our East Factory? Besides, we don't need him for anything, just to gather information. And I don't think he'd dare to go around saying anything," Sun Yuerong said. "That way, even if Sun Zhongcheng isn't willing to help, we don't have to worry about alerting the enemy and leaking the news."

"Hmm." Cui Yuanchen nodded slightly. "That makes sense. It's better to be cautious. If Sun Zhongcheng really doesn't want to help us, then just return to the capital. Ask godfather to send someone over."

"How many people do you need?" Sun Yuerong asked.

"At least five hundred people are needed." Cui Yuan calculated for a moment and added, "It would be best to transfer a big boss over here to serve." The big boss Cui Yuan mentioned were the thousand households under the Dongchang Foreign Affairs Bureau, and the so-called "transferring a big boss" meant transferring one thousand people.

Sun Yuerong was shocked again. "How many people are you planning to arrest?"

Cui Yuan smiled coldly and said, "You'll know when the time comes."

Sun Yuerong nodded solemnly, as if he could hear the bloody storm again.

(End of this chapter)