Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 742 Worldly Wisdom and Human Relationships
“Oh dear,” Li Fengxiang caught Gao Shiming’s shoulder just before his knees touched the ground, and said gently, “Why bother with these formalities, Eunuch Gao? Come, come, sit here.”

Gao Shiming feigned surprise and said repeatedly, "There is a distinction between superiors and subordinates. How could I dare to sit with General Manager Li?"

“If Eunuch Gao is willing to humble himself, I dare not be presumptuous,” Li Fengxiang said with a smile and shook his head. “Please sit down.” With that, Li Fengxiang insisted on leading Gao Shiming to a guest seat by the window.

Li Fengxiang was about to sit down next to Gao Shiming when he suddenly remembered something. He walked to the door and called out, "Someone come here."

"They're here!" A young voice immediately came from the next room. Then, a young eunuch in his early twenties respectfully greeted Li Fengxiang: "What are your orders, Godfather?"

"Manager Gao from Zhengyangmen is here," Li Fengxiang said, turning his head slightly. "Quickly, have someone serve tea."

The young eunuch followed the direction and looked into the room, his eyes meeting those of the smiling Gao Shiming. "Yes, son will go right away." The young eunuch nodded amicably to Gao Shiming, then turned and quickly left.

Li Fengxiang returned to Gao Shiming's side and sat down next to him across a tea table: "It's better to arrive at the right time than early. I was just about to send someone to Zhengyangmen to look for Eunuch Gao when you arrived."

"Oh? You were looking for me?" Gao Shiming's eyes flashed with surprise, and he quickly asked, "What are your instructions, General Manager Li?"

"Yes," Li Fengxiang opened his mouth, then suddenly stopped. He was getting old and occasionally forgetful; sometimes he could even get stuck on things he was doing, just like now. Li Fengxiang pondered for a moment, and was about to stand up when he suddenly remembered something and asked, "Does Eunuch Gao know the second son of Lord Zhang Wenzhong?"

"The second son of Zhang Wenzhong." Gao Shiming was taken aback and asked, "Are you talking about Zhang Sixiu?"

“That’s right, it’s Zhang Sixiu.” Li Fengxiang nodded.

"What's wrong with him?" Gao Shiming was somewhat bewildered, completely unaware of why Li Fengxiang had suddenly brought him up.

“The day before yesterday, His Majesty summoned him to the Wenhua Hall,” Li Fengxiang said. “Yesterday, he was sent to the Court of Imperial Sacrifices to serve as a lecturer for the two princes.”

“Go to work at the Court of Imperial Sacrifices.” Gao Shiming suddenly thought of his previous job: “So this means that Mr. Zhang is to take on the additional job of being an instructor at the Inner Academy as usual?”

Gao Shiming was even more puzzled by his own instinctive reaction. Although it was normal for officials of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices and even tutors to the princes to concurrently serve as instructors in the Inner Academy and teach eunuchs, that was the responsibility of the Directorate of Ceremonial. Now that Gao Shiming had voluntarily transferred to the Banking Department and the head of the Inner Academy had been replaced, why would he need to tell him?
"I don't know about that. Maybe." Li Fengxiang was also taken aback by Gao Shiming's guess. "But that's not what I wanted to talk about."

"That is?"

"Forty years ago, wasn't Zhang Wenzhong wronged and his family property confiscated by treacherous villains? Now that he has been exonerated, His Majesty has ordered the Directorate of Ceremonial to return the confiscated property of the Zhang family, along with their former residence, to the Zhang family," said Li Fengxiang.

"Oh. I see," Gao Shiming said suddenly, "The Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs has handed over the job to our bank?"

“That’s right, the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs asked us to buy back Zhang Wenzhong’s old residence and return it to Mr. Zhang Er,” Li Fengxiang said, standing up. He walked to his desk, picked up an envelope containing a document, and handed it to Gao Shiming. “This is the document and authorization for the use of funds. I had just put it in when you arrived. It’s unfortunate that you came so early.”

"The Zhang family's old residence is within our jurisdiction?" Gao Shiming took the envelope and found that the seal was not yet glued shut, so he shook out the letter inside.

"It's not certain yet, but it should be correct." Li Fengxiang gripped the armrest and sat back down.

Gao Shiming was somewhat surprised. He unfolded the document containing the order and quickly scanned it, but only found four words displaying the address: "Xiaoshi Yongfang? And then?"

"The Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs has consulted the daily records from the early Wanli period," Li Fengxiang explained. "We discovered that the late Emperor once sent someone to Xiaoyongfang to deliver a reward to Zhang Wenzhong, so his old residence should be nearby. However, the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs can't find the exact location right now. The Ministry of Justice has also no information. You may have to send someone to search carefully."

“Okay,” Gao Shiming agreed immediately without asking any further questions. “I’ll take care of it when I get back.”

"We need to hurry, His Majesty urged us yesterday." Li Fengxiang suppressed his smile and solemnly instructed, "So no matter what, we must find the house and return it to Mr. Zhang as soon as possible. If he happens to mention that he's still staying at the inn when he comes to the palace to teach the young master, we'll be in trouble."

Gao Shiming nodded and then smiled, "Why don't we just ask him directly? Do you know where he lives?"

“Ask him directly.” Li Fengxiang thought for a moment, “That’s a good idea. If I remember correctly, he should be staying at an inn in Da Shi Yong Fang, I think it’s called something like Yun.”

"Da Shi Yong Fang." Gao Shiming was taken aback: "Could it be Yun Lai Inn?"

“Yes, yes, yes,” Li Fengxiang nodded repeatedly, “It’s Yunlai Inn. How did you know?”

“Hehe,” Gao Shiming chuckled dryly, his expression subtle. “Minister Wang from the Ministry of Revenue is also staying there. I really didn’t expect that the two of them would happen to be staying at the same inn.”

“They came to Beijing together,” Li Fengxiang said calmly, “so of course they had to stay together.”

Gao Shiming asked in astonishment, "Nanjing and Xuwen are five thousand miles apart, and you have to take a boat to get there. How could they be traveling to the capital together?"

“What’s so strange about that? We just bumped into each other on the road.” Li Fengxiang chuckled. “The edict recalling Mr. Zhang was issued last year, but the edict appointing Minister Wang to take over the Ministry of Revenue was issued this February. One is far away, one is near; one is early, one is late; one is fast, one is slow.” Li Fengxiang stretched out his hands, making a crisscrossing chasing motion, then clapped his hands together, making a “smack” sound. “…That’s how we met.”

"Hmm," Gao Shiming nodded thoughtfully.

At this moment, Li Fengxiang's godson, Li Feng'en, entered with two eunuchs. One eunuch carried a copper kettle with its handle wrapped in cloth, while the other carried two empty porcelain cups on a tray. Li Feng'en himself carried a can of tea and a dish of osmanthus cake on another tray, and came before Li Fengxiang and Gao Shiming.

Li Feng'en first put down the osmanthus cake, then stepped aside to let the eunuch carrying the tray put down the teacup. Next, Li Feng'en opened the tea canister, picked up the wooden tea spoon from the tray, and added two teaspoons of jasmine tea to Li Fengxiang's cup. Then he turned to Gao Shiming: "Does Eunuch Gao prefer it strong or weak?"

"Thank you for your trouble," Gao Shiming smiled and nodded, "Two spoonfuls, please."

"You're too kind, sir." The young eunuch said with a smile, adding two spoonfuls of tea leaves to Gao Shiming's teacup. Then, the young eunuch carrying the teapot carefully came up and filled both teacups with hot water.

After the three left, Li Fengxiang rolled up his sleeves, picked up a piece of osmanthus cake, and handed it to Gao Shiming: "This new pastry chef is very good at making osmanthus cake. He uses just the right amount of oil and sugar, making it sweet but not greasy. Please try it."

"General Manager Li, you're too kind," Gao Shiming said, taking the pastries. "I can do it myself."

“No, you wouldn’t come by yourself.” Li Fengxiang shook his head with a smile: “Last time I came, you didn’t touch any of the pastries I served you. It was so formal.” Gao Shiming was taken aback and chuckled awkwardly: “I had important business to attend to and forgot about it.”

"Official business, humph." Li Fengxiang feigned annoyance and said, "What is this official business, Eunuch Gao, this time?"

“Minister Wang,” Gao Shiming said, taking a bite of the pastry with gratitude and finding it quite delicious. “Minister Wang has come to my Zhengyangmen branch.”

"Oh?" Li Fengxiang paused slightly in the hand holding the pastry, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes: "So he was the one who found us first?"

Gao Shiming immediately understood the deeper meaning behind Li Fengxiang's words and hurriedly asked, "Has the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs given any instructions?"

Li Fengxiang nodded and said, "The Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs sent someone over to ask us to find a time to meet with Minister Wang. We'll talk to him about the tax system and sound him out."

"When?" Gao Shiming pressed.

“Just now,” Li Fengxiang pointed to the envelope containing the ticket, “it was delivered along with the order.”

"Then," Gao Shiming exhaled, and then asked, "who do you plan to have do this?"

“Of course, it’s An,” Li Fengxiang paused noticeably, then picked up the osmanthus cake and took a bite, as if trying to hide something. “...It’s you who should go. The Zhengyangmen branch is the closest to the Ministry of Revenue. For the past two months, you’ve been the ones delivering silver notes to the Ministry of Revenue. It’s the most appropriate thing to hand the job over to the Zhengyangmen branch.”

Li Fengxiang's words were not entirely sincere. He had originally intended for the Andingmen branch to contact Wang Yingjiao. After all, the pilot program of collecting ration coupons in the capital would inevitably be implemented by the Shuntian Prefecture Office, and the Andingmen branch was located near the Shuntian Prefecture Office. Once the policy was implemented, when the Shuntian Prefecture Office received the ration coupons and needed to cash them, they would naturally go to the nearby Andingmen branch, rather than crossing the entire inner city to Zhengyangmen.

However, Li Fengxiang sensed the urgency in Gao Shiming's tone. He didn't need to think too much to guess that Gao Shiming wanted to take the lead in this matter. Li Fengxiang didn't mind going along with it and doing Gao Shiming a favor, especially since Wang Yingjiao had already taken the initiative to contact the Zhengyangmen branch. If he were to hand over the task to the Andingmen branch, it might offend Gao Shiming.

Li Fengxiang was clearly unwilling to do so. Although Gao Shiming was now his subordinate, he had voluntarily been demoted and transferred. Far from being a fallen tiger, Gao was ambitious and had a promising future.

Moreover, Gao Shiming had been working in the Directorate of Ceremonial for over a decade, spending most of his time teaching at the Inner Study. While not necessarily deeply entrenched, he certainly had a wide network of connections and students within the inner court. It was far wiser to cultivate good relations with him than to offend him.

Gao Shiming clearly saw the lips that said "An," but since Li Fengxiang had changed his mind, he wouldn't refuse the other party's good intentions. He pretended not to notice anything and respectfully replied with a smile, "Don't worry, General Manager Li, I will definitely handle this matter well."

"With you in charge of Zhengyang Gate, I'm naturally at ease," Li Fengxiang said with a smile. "Eunuch Gao, when did Minister Wang go to your place?"

“It was noon today,” Gao Shiming replied. “As soon as he left, my subordinates rushed over.”

"Heh. You're really in a hurry," Li Fengxiang paused, then added, "that old man, Minister Wang."

Gao Shiming keenly caught the pause that seemed to be an attempt to cover up the truth, but still continued the conversation: "Yes, Minister Wang himself said that he heard about the silver notes from Vice Minister Wang this morning and came here specifically to inquire about them."

“That Minister Wang…” Crumbs of osmanthus cake stuck to Li Fengxiang’s throat, making his voice sound a little hoarse: “…cough cough, what kind of attitude does he always have?”

Gao Shiming pondered for a moment, then cautiously replied, "He said that implementing banknotes and streamlining the monetary system are excellent policies. But..."

Li Fengxiang's smile froze again: "But what?"

“But silver notes cannot be issued indiscriminately,” Gao Shiming said in a low voice, “otherwise we will follow in the footsteps of paper money.”

Li Fengxiang picked up the teacup, took a small sip of the still-scalding tea, and swallowed the crumbs of cake in his throat with the tea: "Then what did you say, Eunuch Gao?"

“What can I say?” Gao Shiming shook his head: “Minister Wang didn’t mean to say that to me.”

Li Fengxiang's brows furrowed slightly: "You mean, Minister Wang wants to use your ear to pass a message to the Emperor?"

Gao Shiming nodded, but when he opened his mouth, his tone carried a hint of uncertainty: "Minister Wang didn't say it explicitly, but I think that's what he meant."

“Really,” Li Fengxiang put down his teacup and smiled, “Why go through all this trouble? Why not just submit a memorial directly?”

"General Affairs Officer Li," Gao Shiming asked tentatively, "Do you think we should help him pass on this message?"

Li Fengxiang shook his head slightly. "Your Majesty is wise. There is no need to send a message abruptly and make a fool of yourself." He paused, then added, "Let's wait until the printed banknotes exceed the amount of silver in the treasury before making any further statements."

Gao Shiming nodded in agreement: "Your subordinate will listen to you."

Gao Shiming adopted a compliant demeanor, but he genuinely didn't want to unwittingly act as a mouthpiece for Wang Yingjiao. Those words, coming from the mouth of the Minister of Revenue, were considered remonstrance; but coming from the mouths of these eunuchs responsible for carrying them out, they were simply overthinking and having too much to do. As Li Fengxiang said, it would be better to invite trouble; if one were to incur misfortune and suffer consequences, that would be truly asking for trouble.

Li Fengxiang picked up the teacup and gently blew on it. The jasmine flowers floating on the surface of the water drifted to the other side of the cup as he blew: "Did Minister Wang say anything else?"

Gao Shiming thought for a moment and said, "Minister Wang also asked about things in Liaodong."

"Liaodong." Li Fengxiang raised his head, a knowing glint in his eyes: "He keeps asking about the Shandong branch, doesn't he?"

“That’s right,” Gao Shiming nodded. “He just wanted to know why the palace was setting up a branch in Liaodong.”

Li Fengxiang continued blowing on the tea, his tone indifferent: "You answered?"

Gao Shiming shook his head again: "I know nothing about what's going on over there, and even if I wanted to, I wouldn't know where to begin."

“How could you know nothing about this?” Li Fengxiang suddenly chuckled. “Eunuch Ma from the Haizhou branch is your student.”

(End of this chapter)