My Portable Ming Dynasty

Chapter 184 "Memorial on the Reform of the Elephant Breeding Office and the Duties of the Garrison Command"

Wang San was so frightened by Li Wenquan's rebuke that his knees buckled and he knelt on the ground.

He was impulsive and irritable, but at this moment he came to his senses and realized that he had been used as a pawn.

Even without Li Wenquan, Wang San knew he had run into a tough nut to crack when he saw the soldiers rushing out of the Ministry of Revenue.

Su Ze stopped Li Guojiu and asked Wang San:

"Are you a member of the Imperial Guard at the elephant pens?"

Once Wang San calmed down, he realized that whether he could keep his flying fish robe depended on the attitude of the young official in front of him.

Wang San hurriedly said, "Grand Master of the Ministry of Revenue, please spare my life! I am Wang Dequan, the hereditary centurion of the Elephant Breeding Household, the third son in my clan. I was blinded by greed and offended you, Grand Master."

Wang San emphasized the word "hereditary" and quickly admitted his mistake. Su Ze judged that although this guy was reckless and impulsive, he was still somewhat clever.

Thinking of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Su Ze said to Wang San, "You came to the Ministry of Revenue about your salary, right? Come in and have a good talk with me."

Hearing Su Ze say that, Wang San dared not move even more.

Li Wenquan rebuked, "Just come in because Su Hanlin told you to! If you displease Su Hanlin, this commander will make your life difficult!"

Hearing Li Wenquan say this, Wang San had no choice but to stand up and follow Su Ze into the Ministry of Revenue.

Su Ze did not make things difficult for Wang San, but instead inquired about the situation at the elephant breeding center.

“I was a centurion at the elephant stable. My father told me that our ancestors raised horses for His Majesty. They were granted the title of centurion because they raised horses well and were then transferred to the elephant stable to raise elephants.”

Su Ze had a minor official bring him tea and asked in a friendly manner, "How many centurions like you are there in the elephant stable?"

Wang San honestly replied, "I don't know the exact number of the smaller ones, but like me, there are more than fifty centurions who serve the imperial elephants."

More than fifty people—Su Ze was taken aback by this number.

"Besides the centurions?"

Wang San said, "Besides the centurions, there are also the captains. I have thirty captains under my command."

Su Ze then asked, "How many elephants are there in the entire elephant stable?"

"Twelve heads."

"How many?"

"Su Hanlin, twelve heads."

Upon hearing this figure, Su Ze finally understood why Zhang Shouzhi, the Vice Minister of Revenue, refused to approve the budget for the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

No civil servant would be willing to approve it!

After spending a long time in the Ming Dynasty, Su Ze discovered that the Ming Dynasty was not as lacking in officials as the historical records described.

Or rather, while there is a shortage of officials, there are also quite a few people who are just freeloaders.

The imperial clans, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and the military garrisons were all areas heavily involved in embezzlement of public funds.

Su Ze originally thought that since the capital was under the emperor's nose, the situation of the Embroidered Uniform Guard in the capital shouldn't be that serious. However, he didn't expect that a mere elephant breeding station would gather so many people who were drawing salaries without working.

A centurion is a sixth-rank military officer. Although a colonel has no rank, he has the privilege of being exempt from corvée labor and, like the soldiers of the capital garrison, receives a grain supply.

Su Ze then looked at Li Wenquan, the emperor's brother-in-law, who was also a commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. He asked, "Uncle Li, how many other government offices like the Elephant Breeding Station are there in the Embroidered Uniform Guard?"

Li Wenquan counted on his fingers and said, "The largest number of Jinyiwei in the capital is the Yiluan Division, which is in charge of the imperial palace's ceremonial guards and has 1,500 captains."

"There is also the artisan army, which consists of three hundred gunpowder makers and blacksmiths, and is also managed by one person in charge of a thousand households."

"If we're talking about the most officials, then it's the Zhenfu Division. The Northern Zhenfu Division has the most thousand-household commanders and hundred-household commanders. Moreover, since the current emperor ascended the throne, he has been very reluctant to use the imperial prison to handle cases. Judicial matters have been transferred to the Ministry of Justice, and the imperial prisons of the Northern Zhenfu Division are now empty. However, the number of personnel is even greater than during the reign of the previous emperor."

Su Ze asked in confusion, "Why are there more people in the imperial prison than in the imperial prison?"

After drinking Su Ze's tea and seeing that Su Ze was young and easy to talk to, Wang San gradually became bolder.

He was a rough-and-tumble street urchin by nature, so he chimed in, "Isn't that because the Northern Garrison Commander has less work and more accusations these days? Isn't that why everyone wants to go?"

"Shut up!"

Li Wenquan glared at Wang San, but he also said helplessly to Su Ze, "Su Hanlin, as you can see, this elephant breeding institute is full of scoundrels. Those with real skills should go to the Northern Garrison."

Su Ze now understood: Emperor Longqing did not like to use the Embroidered Uniform Guard to handle cases, so the Northern Garrison Command became a leisurely department with few tasks and high status, naturally becoming a place that the Embroidered Uniform Guard all longed for.

Su Ze could only lament that the Ming Dynasty's finances were a veritable mountain of garbage.

The Imperial Guards, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and the princes were all financial black holes that cost huge sums of money to maintain every year. The court's meager tax revenue was poured into them, but for hundreds of years no one thought there was anything wrong with it.

It was only after the Longqing Emperor ascended the throne that the number of Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) commanders and centurions increased, which aroused the dissatisfaction of the Ministry of Revenue.

If the emperor had granted fewer titles, the Ministry of Revenue would have approved them.

Once approved, these positions will begin to be paid out of the national budget and become part of the country's fixed expenditures.

The enormous expenses of the Imperial Guard in Beijing were accumulated over generations, resulting in a mountain of rubbish-like code.

After dismissing Wang San, Su Ze turned to Li Wenquan and said, "Li Guojiu, could you visit the elephant shed tomorrow?"

Li Wenquan quickly replied, "This elephant stable smells terrible, but since Hanlin Su is interested in riding elephants, I'll keep him company!"

Li Wenquan also realized that Su Ze was the God of Wealth of the Eastern Palace. His fat nephew's money-making methods were all planned by Su Ze. If he wanted to continue to make money, he had to stick to Su Ze's coattails.
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The next day, Li Wenquan took Su Ze by carriage to the elephant breeding center on the west side of Xuanwu Gate.

Su Zegang had seen these elephants when he traveled through time. During the Ming Dynasty, elephants were used to demonstrate majesty during grand court assemblies.

During the grand court assembly, after the second drumbeat at the Meridian Gate, six elephants adorned with colorful robes stood on either side of the imperial steps outside the Meridian Gate, each pair symmetrical, standing motionless together with the Imperial Guards.

After the three drumbeats, the side gates on both sides of the Meridian Gate opened simultaneously, and the officials went in to work. After the last official went in, the elephants on the left and right would put their trunks together, forbidding anyone else from entering at will.

The Ming Dynasty also stipulated that officials must perform a respectful bow when they see elephants, and must not be disrespectful or make strange noises to intimidate them.

Su Ze also discovered that the elephant pens occupied a large area and had a very good ecological environment, unlike the barren areas near the capital.

The capital city was a large city with a huge population. Even if there was coal for heating, there were still many people who could not afford to burn coal.

These people would collect timber outside the capital city during other seasons, and over time, almost all the trees around the capital were cut down.

In fact, this is not only the capital city, but also the suburbs of most cities in the Ming Dynasty.

The elephant stables not only housed imperial elephants, but also some imperial horses, as well as animals presented as tribute from foreign vassal states. Su Ze even spotted a giraffe!

Wang San approached Su Ze and introduced, "Su Hanlin, this is a Qilin presented as tribute by the Portuguese during the late emperor's reign."

After returning home yesterday, Wang San inquired about Su Ze's background.

When Wang San learned about Su Ze's series of official positions and his amazing achievements after entering officialdom, he became even more determined to curry favor with Su Ze.

The advantage of a nobody like Wang San is that he doesn't engage in internal strife or overthink things. He's also not afraid of upsetting Su Ze. Today, as soon as Su Ze arrived at the elephant breeding center, he sidled up to Su Ze and acted as his guide.

However, although Wang San was somewhat reckless, he had grown up in an elephant sanctuary and knew the animals there like the back of his hand.

Wang San continued, "The Portuguese presented a qilin to the late emperor, who granted them permission to stay in Guangzhou and trade with our Ming Dynasty." "It's just a pity that these qilin were originally a pair, but one of them died last year."

Su Ze was surprised to see a giraffe in the Ming Dynasty. After seeing the other animals in the elephant breeding facility, it seemed that there weren't many Imperial Guards in the facility.

Anyway, all the animals Su Ze saw were well cared for, which shows that the elephant sanctuary took good care of them.

Finally, Su Ze also saw the twelve imperial elephants. Each one was well-cared for, and thanks to the training of the Imperial Guards, the twelve elephants were very obedient.

After reading it, Su Ze said to Wang San, "I will find a way to handle the matter of the elephant shed's salary."

Upon hearing Su Ze's words, Wang Sanqian expressed his deepest gratitude.

However, neither he nor the Imperial Guards at the Elephant Breeding Station knew what method Su Ze planned to use to resolve their salary issues.
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On June 7, Yang Sizhong, who was temporarily acting as the Commissioner of the Court of Judicial Review, received the memorial handed to him by his subordinate with mixed feelings.

He gradually came to understand his predecessor Li Yiyuan's thoughts: if Su Ze's memorials were always this explosive, he really would have to resign and retire.

Yang Sizhong couldn't understand why someone would submit a memorial about the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Yang Sizhong shook his head. The civil officials were well aware of the deep-seated problems within the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

However, the Embroidered Uniform Guard was the emperor's henchman and eyes and ears, and influential ministers dared not request reform of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, because doing so would make the emperor think that they had ulterior motives.

Do you want to reform the Embroidered Uniform Guard in order to limit imperial power?

Ministers without influence dared not submit memorials about the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

They were also afraid of retaliation from the Embroidered Uniform Guard!
The problems of the Embroidered Uniform Guard accumulated over generations, becoming an untouchable minefield.

But then someone like Su Ze appeared.

Su Ze's position was not high enough to arouse the emperor's suspicion.

However, Su Ze had a great reputation and an outstanding record since entering officialdom, so even the Embroidered Uniform Guard dared not offend him.

More importantly, Su Zilin was selfless and devoted to the public good. Whether the court officials opposed Su Ze or supported him, they all recognized his character. Su Ze's memorials were all for the sake of the country's greater good, not for his personal gain.

All of these factors combined allowed Su Ze to confidently submit a memorial to discuss the affairs of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

In addition, Emperor Longqing himself disliked using the Embroidered Uniform Guard, which led to a decline in the Embroidered Uniform Guard's status, giving Su Ze the opportunity to submit a memorial.

Even so, discussions about the Embroidered Uniform Guard will inevitably become a hot potato.

After reading the memorial, Yang Sizhong, the Vice Commissioner of the Court of State Affairs, smiled slightly.

Is this related to the Ministry of Justice?

Yang Sizhong smiled when he thought of Li Yiyuan, the man who had tricked him and was transferred to the position of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice.

Like his predecessor, Yang Sizhong personally brought Su Ze's memorial to the cabinet.
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In the cabinet, Grand Secretary Li Chunfang recently took sick leave again.

Rumors circulated that after experiencing "spring fatigue," this Prime Minister Li suffered from "summer fatigue," and was using illness as an excuse to slack off at home.

However, some say that Li Keqiang kept a whale oil lamp lit at home every night, indicating that he was still working hard for the country even at home.

Since Yang Sizhong didn't get to see Li Chunfang, he handed Su Ze's memorial to Gao Gong, the second-in-command of the cabinet.

After reading the memorial, Gao Gong put it down and rubbed his forehead.

Gao Gong was naturally aware of the problems with the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

However, as the second-in-command of the cabinet, his position was very delicate. Even if he had a close relationship with the emperor, he could not speak casually about the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Gao Gong sighed, "The younger generation is truly formidable."

After saying this, Gao Gong personally left his seat, came to Zhang Juzheng, and handed him Su Ze's memorial.

Zhang Juzheng looked at Gao Gong in surprise, only to hear Gao Gong say:
"Grand Secretary Zhang, our Ministry of Personnel has no say in this matter and needs your strong support."

Zhang Juzheng took the memorial from Gao Gong's hand.

"Memorial on the Reform of the Elephant Breeding Office and the Duties of the Garrison Commander"
What about the Embroidered Uniform Guard?

After carefully reading Su Ze's memorial, Zhang Juzheng closed it and sighed:

"The birth of Su Zilin is truly a blessing for our Great Ming Dynasty. Grand Secretary Gao, I, Zhang Juzheng, will certainly do my utmost to facilitate this matter!"

Upon hearing Zhang Juzheng's promise, Gao Gong bowed to Zhang Juzheng with his hands clasped.

Zhang Juzheng quickly stood up to return the greeting. Although the two had disagreements on many things, they were temporarily united because of Su Ze's memorial.

Supervisor of Ceremonies.

Chen Hong took the memorial, read it, and then immediately went to Feng Bao.

“Feng Bingbi, this is your matter. You should deliver it to the Emperor yourself.”

Chen Hong's words were not wrong. Feng Bao was the supervisor of the Eastern Depot, and the affairs of the Embroidered Uniform Guard were indeed within his jurisdiction.

In fact, Feng Bao had already informed Zhang Juzheng and roughly knew the contents of Su Ze's memorial.

However, after reading Su Ze's memorial, Feng Bao still frowned.

The first half went well; Feng Bao felt that it wouldn't be too difficult to implement.

However, the latter half involved the Northern Garrison Command, and even Feng Bao himself was unsure of the emperor's intentions.

The Longqing Emperor disliked using imperial prisons, but that didn't mean he would agree with Su Ze's memorial.

Feng Bao had figured out Su Ze's strategy: he always liked to combine an easy task with a difficult one to push things forward together.

Things that are easy to implement usually yield obvious benefits.

The two things are linked together; if one prospers, the other prospers, and the difficult task can be accomplished incidentally.

It’s high, really high!
Having served in the palace for many years, Feng Bao was accustomed to intrigue and power struggles.

After joining the Directorate of Ceremonial, I read many memorials from ministers.

But this was the first time Feng Bao had ever seen a minister like Su Ze, who submitted one memorial after another, all aimed at solving problems.

The key thing is that Su Ze's requests are always fulfilled.

This is probably because Su Ze's memorials were never just empty talk; they always put forward effective solutions.

For example, the reform of the Elephant Breeding Office and the Northern Garrison Command may seem far-fetched at first glance, but upon closer inspection, it seems to be feasible and, once completed, would greatly benefit both the emperor and the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Feng Bao, the director of the Eastern Depot, also took charge of the Embroidered Uniform Guard when Zhu Xizhong, the Duke of Chengguo and commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, was seriously ill.

If I can really push this matter forward, I will be able to better control the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

With this in mind, Feng Bao took the memorial and headed towards the Imperial Study.

(End of this chapter)