Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 732 Familiarizing Yourself with Departmental Affairs
"Superintendent of Granaries" was an important post held by a high-ranking official in the Ministry of Revenue during the Ming Dynasty. "Superintendent" is a verb, while "granary" and "field" are two separate nouns.

The granary refers to the Jingtong Granary, which was the central government granary located in Beijing and Tongzhou. These granaries were the lifeblood of the country, storing millions of shi (a unit of dry measure) of grain transported from the Jiangnan region via the Grand Canal.

The term "chang" refers to the grain transfer yard and drying area located in Tongzhou. After the grain ships arrived in Tongzhou, they needed to be inspected, temporarily stored, and dried there before being transferred in batches to various warehouses in Beijing for later use.

In other words, the core responsibility of the "Granary Governor" was to oversee the receipt, storage, safekeeping, and distribution of grain transported to the capital and Tongzhou areas in order to ensure the food security of the capital.

This system was established after the Yongle Emperor moved the capital. The Chengzu Emperor set up separate granaries in the capital and Tongzhou, which were managed by officials from the Ministry of Revenue. In the fifth year of the Xuande Emperor's reign, the Xuande Emperor appointed Li Chang as Minister of Revenue to oversee the affairs. The title of "General Supervisor of the Granaries" became the norm, and the officials in charge were thus called the General Supervisor of the Granaries, or, based on their titles, the Minister of the Granaries or the Vice Minister of the Granaries.

In normal years, the Grand Coordinator of the Granaries was usually stationed at the Grand Coordinator's Office in Tongzhou, responsible for managing the granaries but not for departmental affairs. However, the Wanli reign, especially the mid-to-late Wanli period, was clearly not a normal year. It was very common for the position of Grand Coordinator to be filled by the Minister of the same department, or by a Minister of another department who was reassigned or concurrently held the position.

In the 41st year of the Wanli reign, Sun Wei, the Minister of Granaries, was appointed Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate. Subsequently, Li Ruhua, the Vice Minister of Revenue who was acting as Minister of Revenue, was appointed to concurrently supervise the granaries.

In the 46th year of the Wanli reign, Zhang Wenda, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, was promoted to Minister of Revenue and Superintendent of the Granaries.

In November of the 47th year of the Wanli reign, Zhang Wenda, the Minister of Granaries, was appointed to temporarily take charge of the seals of the Censorate.

In early 1619, Zhang Wenda, acting as Minister of Justice, Governor-General of Granaries and Minister of Revenue, resigned from his post as Director of the Imperial Censorate, but was refused.

When Emperor Shenzong passed away and the Crown Prince ascended the throne, Zhang Wenda was finally freed from his duties as Minister of Justice and Minister of Grain Storage and was appointed to head the Censorate. It was also at that time that Wang Ji was transferred to the capital to oversee the grain storage.

If things had gone as planned, Wang Ji should have been stationed in Tongzhou after officially taking office. However, Li Ruhua kept him in Beijing, tasking him with handling the backlog of departmental affairs and new assignments given by the emperor. Once these old and new tasks were mostly completed, Li Ruhua feigned illness and requested to return home, handing over the seal of the Ministry of Revenue to Wang Ji. Thus began Wang Ji's arduous life of single-handedly managing both departmental affairs and the granary.

“Since you, Weili, are usually stationed in the capital,” Wang Yingjiao said slowly as he walked to the separate shelf where the general ledgers of the granaries were kept, casually fiddling with the spine of one of the ledgers. “What about the Tongzhou granaries?”

"Of course, as before, this is a temporary expedient," Wang Ji said helplessly.

"A stopgap measure?"

"That is, a junior official and a censor from the Ministry of Revenue will be temporarily stationed in Tongzhou to oversee the daily acceptance, drying, warehousing, and transportation matters," Wang Ji explained. "If they encounter any major or difficult issues, they will send a letter to the capital to request instructions from the Ministry."

"Will this work?" Wang Yingjiao frowned slightly.

“That’s the only way. I heard from Minister Li and Chief Censor Zhang that this has been the practice for almost ten years.” He paused, then continued, “Speaking of which, when Minister Li was in office, he not only had to oversee the granaries and directly manage the various bureaus within the ministry, but he also occasionally had to manage the affairs of the Ministry of Personnel or the Ministry of Works. Chief Censor Zhang was the same; when I went to him to hand over the reins last year, his desk also had the seals of both the Censorate and the granaries on it at the same time.”

"Won't doing this cause any problems?" Wang Yingjiao asked.

“How could there be no mistakes!” Wang Ji sighed and laughed. He turned and took out a general ledger, turned to the page on arrears, and showed it to Wang Yingjiao: “The capital granary and the general granary have been in arrears and empty for years. If it weren’t for this, why would the Liaodong tax be increased as soon as the Liaodong affair started? When the southwest, northwest, and Korea were in trouble, did you ever impose heavy taxes on the whole country?”

“Given the severity of the arrears and the long-standing staff shortage in the Ministry of Revenue,” Wang Yingjiao said, his tone unconsciously growing heavier as he looked at the records in the register, “why hasn’t His Majesty appointed officials to fill vacancies in the Ministry of Revenue?”

“It’s already been updated,” Wang Ji said, closing the booklet and putting it back in its place as he saw Wang Yingjiao look away. “I’m the one who was appointed as the new warehouse supervisor, but for various reasons I couldn’t go to Tongzhou to oversee things.”

“No,” Wang Yingjiao shook his head. “What I mean is, why doesn’t His Majesty fill the vacancies for the Left and Right Vice Ministers who should be in office? Has no one suggested it?”

“Last year, the Ministry of Personnel did mention it, but…” Wang Ji’s tone was somewhat hesitant. “It was rejected.”

"Why?" Wang Yingjiao asked instinctively.

“His Majesty is wise and has his own plans.” Wang Jiwei gently pulled back, “And he is slowly filling the vacancies. Don’t be fooled by the fact that the staff seemed complete when we met earlier; there were only a few clerks who were absent due to the capital inspection. At this time last year, the entire Ministry of Revenue had just over twenty officials and clerks combined. Everyone was juggling multiple positions and running around like crazy. I was the same for the first two months after I arrived; I hardly got a full night’s sleep.”

Wang Yingjiao immediately realized that something must have happened, but he didn't press the matter. Instead, he changed his expression and said in a deep voice, "The affairs of the nation are difficult; you have truly worked hard."

“Minister Wang, you flatter me. It’s just my job, nothing particularly hard or fruitful. I’m just keeping things in order.” Wang Ji quickly cupped his hands in humility, not only declining the offer but also giving Wang Yingjiao a hand: “Now that you, a veteran with a long history of governing and an outstanding reputation, have taken up the post, the Ministry of Revenue will surely see the light at the end of the tunnel and be completely renewed.”

“Wei Li, you overestimate me.” Wang Yingjiao shook his head slightly, a humble smile also appearing on his face. “I am but a frail and incompetent old man, undeserving of His Majesty’s favor in bestowing upon me this important responsibility. If I can do my best to maintain it and live up to His Majesty’s grace and expectations, I will be thanking Heaven for its bounty.” As he spoke, Wang Yingjiao looked around the hall again, confirming that he had a better understanding of the situation, and then turned to the main matter: “The affairs of the world are numerous, and the department’s responsibilities are piling up. In your opinion, what is the most urgent matter at present?”

Having just spoken so much, Wang Ji felt his throat was incredibly dry. He apologized, returned to his side table, picked up the cup of tea that had long since gone cold, took a large gulp, and then said in a deep voice, "If we're talking about what's most important, the Liaodong affair is undoubtedly the top priority. After a year and a half of all-out efforts in transporting supplies, the grain and provisions for the Liaodong front have barely enough for three to four months' worth of surplus. But the consumption there is simply too great; the annual grain consumption alone exceeds 1.2 million shi!" Wang Ji paused, his tone noticeably more serious, "1.2 million shi! That means at least 10,000 shi of grain have to be transported every three days. The Ministry of Revenue is under immense pressure, and even the Ministry of Finance is on edge. If the quota isn't met any month, everyone from top to bottom will be unable to sleep soundly."

"Ministry of Finance," Wang Yingjiao pondered, "I heard on my way to the capital that the Vice Minister of Finance has been replaced?"

Wang Ji was taken aback, his expression instantly darkening further: "Yes. It's changed to Bi Ziyan, a native of Zichuan County, Jinan Prefecture. I wonder if Minister Wang has ever heard of him?"

Wang Yingjiao pondered for a moment: "I've heard of him, but only heard of him. If I remember correctly, he was only summoned to the capital last year, right?" "That's right," Wang Ji said. "For the previous ten years or so, this Vice Minister Bi had been in charge of border defenses in Shanxi and Shaanxi, and he has considerable experience in finance, military affairs, and other matters. It is said that he was personally recommended to the Emperor by Grand Secretary Fang. His abilities must be quite good."

"Hmm," Wang Yingjiao hesitated, seemingly unsure. But in the end, he decided to ask for clarification: "Why exactly was Wei Li Changgeng imprisoned? What went wrong with the Ministry of Finance?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Ji first clicked his tongue softly, a look of concern flashing in his eyes, clearly unwilling to discuss the matter in detail in court. After hesitating for a moment, seeing that Wang Yingjiao had no intention of retracting his question, he took half a step forward and whispered, "Have you heard about the case at the Marquis of Wuqing's residence, Minister?"

"I have heard some rumors, but I haven't had time to inquire about them in detail yet." Wang Yingjiao's gaze narrowed slightly, and he replied in a low voice, "It is said that the powerful servants of the Marquis of Wuqing, the Earl of Boping, and the Earl of Pingjiang are colluding with river bandits in Tianjin and conspiring with clerks in the Ministry of Finance to fabricate smuggling and embezzle grain and salaries?"

Seeing that Wang Yingjiao had so clearly stated the key points of the case, Wang Ji felt somewhat relieved and explained in more detail: "That's roughly the situation. But as far as I know, their embezzlement of those few ships' worth of grain and provisions is secondary. Their deeper scheme is probably to fabricate serious 'drifting' losses to mislead the court into believing that the new shipping route from Tianjin directly to Gaizhou in Liaodong is extremely risky, thereby forcing the court to follow the old practice and send the grain and provisions to Lushun and Jinzhou."

Wang Yingjiao seemed to be deep in thought, and then asked, "What does this have to do with Li Changgeng? Could he have been involved as well?"

“This…” Wang Ji shook his head. “This humble official dares not make a rash judgment. The Censorate and the Court of Judicial Review are keeping it very secret, and not a single piece of real information has been leaked.” He paused for a moment, then added with his own judgment, “However, in this humble official’s opinion, it is hard to say whether Li Changgeng knew about it or not, but he should not have actively participated or even benefited from it.”

"How do you know?" Wang Yingjiao pressed.

“Du Chengshi.” Wang Ji glanced at the entrance to the lobby out of the corner of his eye. “You know about Du Chengshi’s case, right?”

"The price of silver in Malaysian Ringgit?"

"Yes."

"How could the Ministry of Finance's case be linked to Shanxi?" Wang Yingjiao raised an eyebrow.

“That’s irrelevant. I’m just providing a reference,” Wang Ji judged. “The case of the horse price silver came later, and Du Chengshi himself was only recently arrested and brought to the capital by the Embroidered Uniform Guard. But now, Du Chengshi has been convicted and sentenced to death, and will probably be executed in the autumn. On the other hand, the Ministry of Finance hasn’t heard a word about such a big case. If Li Changgeng really was involved and profited from it, there should have been an imperial edict to deal with him long ago.”

Wang Yingjiao nodded slowly, seemingly accepting the explanation, but in his heart he did not entirely agree. After all, the Marquis of Wuqing was still the emperor's cousin. Although the emperor had ordered the confiscation of the Marquis of Wuqing's property, it was still unknown whether this kinship would lead to favoritism and secretly influence the trial. Just like last year when the emperor confiscated the Zheng family's property, he did not sentence the Zheng family to death, nor did he carry out a thorough extermination of the so-called "Third Master's Party."

Wang Yingjiao subtly changed the subject. "After the shipping routes were changed, what was the actual profit and loss situation?"

Wang Ji breathed a sigh of relief when the topic returned to practical matters. "According to the accounts recently submitted by the Ministry of Revenue, the total amount of grain and provisions transported from Tanggu to Liaodong after the rerouting has not seen any significant gain or loss. The monthly amount remains the same. Losses due to storms will still occur. However, according to Zhang Bingxian, the surcharges on grain and provisions after they arrive in Liaodong should be reduced. Whether this is true or not remains to be seen. If grain prices in Liaodong stabilize in the future, it will prove that the rerouting of sea transport is indeed beneficial."

"Who is Zhang Bingxian?" Wang Yingjiao quipped out a single word.

“Zhang Quan, the military commissioner of Jinfuhai,” Wang Ji said. “He was the one who picked out the case concerning the Ministry of Finance.”

"How did he choose them?" Wang Yingjiao pressed. "By submitting a memorial to the Ministry of Revenue?"

“No, that’s not it,” Wang Ji shook his head. “He just submitted a memorial to the Emperor, claiming that changing the sea route from Lushun and Jinzhou to Gaizhou and Yingkou would save 500 li of land travel and allow the grain and provisions to be delivered to Liaoyang and even Shenyang in one go. The Emperor approved his memorial, summoned Li Changgeng to the capital to report on his duties, and then issued an order to the Ministry of Revenue to change the sea route. Later, the powerful servants of those three households were caught red-handed by the governor of Tianjin and the Eastern Depot. Later still, Bi Ziyan replaced Li Changgeng, and the change of route was finally settled.”

"I see." Only then did Wang Yingjiao truly understand the ins and outs of the matter. He was silent for a moment, then asked solemnly, "When I passed through Shandong, I saw in the official gazette that the Liaodong tax levied this year seems to be reduced by half. With such a reduction, will the eight million taels of Liaodong tax still be paid?"

The so-called eight million taels of silver for Liaodong military supplies was actually the equivalent of 1.08 million shi of rice, 900,000 shi of beans, and 21.6 million bundles of fodder for 180,000 soldiers, plus 3.24 million taels of silver for military supplies, as well as the total cost of transporting these supplies to Liaodong by sea and land.

“Not eight million, but almost ten million.” Wang Ji’s eyes twitched uncontrollably.

"Ten million!" Wang Yingjiao's voice trembled with shock. "How come it's going up?"

"Now that another 30,000 troops are being sent to North Korea, won't the military pay have to go up again?" Wang Ji exhaled, it was hard to tell whether he was laughing or sighing.

"Increase troops in Korea?" Wang Yingjiao blinked, stunned. "What, increase troops in Korea?"

"Didn't the Emperor tell you?" Wang Ji was also taken aback.

"What did you say?" Wang Yingjiao shook his head.

"Hmm," Wang Ji thought for a moment, "to put it simply, the Emperor adopted the suggestion of our Grand Minister Xu. He decided to send 30,000 troops to monitor Korea and provide support to Liaodong."

(End of this chapter)