My Portable Ming Dynasty

Chapter 202 The Most Deserved Choice

Yang Sizhong also took advantage of the fact that the Office of Transmission had no chief envoy.

The Ming Dynasty had strict regulations on the use of official seals. Memorials without the seal of the Office of Transmission could not be sent to the Grand Secretariat for drafting.

However, the Office of Transmission has a chief envoy and a deputy envoy, and theoretically, one of them must remain in the office to maintain the operation of the Office of Transmission.

However, since Li Yiyuan left office, the position of Chief Envoy of the Court of Jurisdiction has not been filled, so only Yang Sizhong, the Deputy Envoy, is in office.

The reason why the Office of Transmission has been unable to fill the vacancy for so long is that the Ministry of Personnel has proposed it several times, but it has been rejected by the Six Ministries.

Former Director of the Court of Judicial Review, Li Yiyuan, helped Su Ze on several occasions. Yang Sizhong was a fellow "friend" of Li Yiyuan, and the Six Ministries were unwilling to promote Yang Sizhong to a higher position.

The Nine Ministers recommended officials to the court, and the Six Ministries had the power to appoint officials, which was also an important power for the Six Ministries to exert influence over the larger ones.

Of course, it doesn't mean that the Six Ministries could decide the appointment of the Nine Ministers and other important officials. In theory, the Six Ministries only had the "right to make suggestions" on the candidates recommended by the court. If the cabinet and the Ministry of Personnel forcibly recommended someone, the Six Ministries had no way to stop them.

However, the position of Commissioner of the Court of State Affairs was not so important. The Court of State Affairs could function without a chief commissioner, even under Yang Sizhong's leadership.

Therefore, the cabinet and the Ministry of Personnel simply stopped recommending officials for the position of Tongzhengshi.

Unexpectedly, Yang Sizhong took advantage of the situation.

Yang Sizhong requested sick leave, so the Office of Transmission naturally had to return the official seal.

After submitting Su Ze's memorial, Yang Sizhong promptly wrote a letter requesting sick leave.

The following day, Emperor Longqing, having already heard the reports from Chen Hong and Feng Bao the day before, received Su Ze's memorial after it had been drafted by the cabinet.

After reading Su Ze's memorial, the Longqing Emperor looked at Li Fang and said:

"Let's keep the memorial for now and see what the censors have to say."

Li Fang took Su Ze's memorial to the Secretariat, where it was copied by the Secretariat scribes and then sent to the Six Ministries and the Censorate.

When the Six Departments received Su Ze's memorial, the officials were in an uproar.

Shen Shu, a supervising secretary of the Ministry of Justice, held Su Ze's memorial and said loudly:

"Such disastrous and harmful remarks were unanimously agreed upon by the cabinet!"

The six officials in charge of the censorate were indignant, and they shouted:
"Petition! Petition!"

Shen Shu returned to his seat and began to write furiously. The same thing happened in the Censorate.

The next day, memorials from the Six Ministries and the Censorate piled up in the Office of Transmission. However, when faced with these memorials, the officials of the Office of Transmission looked at each other. Yang Sizhong was ill and at home, the position of Director of the Office of Transmission was vacant, and the official seal of the office had been sealed.

The officials of the Office of Transmission all surrounded Pei Qing, the Right Vice Director of the Office of Transmission.

"Lord Pei, what should we do with the memorials from the Six Ministries and the Censorate?"

Pei Qing gritted his teeth and said:
"What else can we do? Lord Yang has already sealed it. Do you dare to send a memorial to the cabinet without the official seal?"

The officials of the Office of Transmission all stepped back. Using the wrong official seal was no joke; the blank seal case in the early Ming Dynasty had resulted in the execution of many people.

"Let's seal these memorials away for now and deal with them when Lord Yang returns!"
-
On July 24th, the Longqing Emperor summoned Li Fang and said:

"Has the outer court issued any comments on Su Ze's memorial?"

Li Fang already knew about Yang Sizhong's claim of illness, but when questioned by the emperor, he chose to pretend to be oblivious.

He said, "To be honest":

"Your Majesty, no memorials have been submitted these days."

The Longqing Emperor then looked at Chen Hong and asked:
"Does the imperial treasury have the funds for another voyage to the West? Wouldn't that affect the palace's expenses?"

Chen Hong honestly replied, "Your servant has already led the Imperial Treasury to calculate the accounts. According to Hanlin Su's plan, the first voyage to the Western Ocean can be carried out with ten ships, with the target being the South Seas. The Imperial Treasury can still afford it, and it will not affect the palace's expenses."

The Longqing Emperor asked in surprise:
"Didn't the imperial treasury cover all the expenses for the Lantern Festival and the Lingji Palace Assembly, and there was still a surplus?"

Chen Hong quickly said:

"Everything I have said is exactly what is recorded in the accounts, and I would never dare to utter a single falsehood!"

After saying this, Chen Hong had the eunuch behind him bring out the account book and present it to the emperor.

"The maritime tax revenue from Yuegang and Denglai has reached this level?"

"The mint also turned in so many silver dollars?"

Emperor Longqing hadn't looked at the imperial treasury's accounts for a while, and he hadn't expected that the maritime trade offices in Dengzhou and Laizhou, as well as the mint in Dengzhou and Laizhou, would have turned in so many silver dollars in the past two months.

Chen Hong, who was in charge of the imperial treasury, understood just how terrifying these increases were.

As news of the opening of ports in Dengzhou and Laizhou spread, a large number of merchant ships flocked to the area. Especially after the abolition of the ship license system, as long as the merchant ships paid taxes in accordance with the regulations, they could dock at the ports of the Ming Dynasty to do business.

In addition to silk and porcelain, black tea has also become a rapidly growing export commodity.

To Suze's surprise, the black tea had not yet been shipped to Europe, but it had already made a name for itself in Central Asia.

The earliest merchant ship to transport black tea was the Dutch captain Sir De Vries, who delivered potatoes to Tu Zemin.

At Tu Zemin's urging, the Dutch captain purchased a batch of black tea, intending to transport it back to Europe.

However, Sir Defried was unlucky; on his return voyage, he encountered the Ottoman fleet.

Europeans initially began actively exploring sea routes to the East in order to break the Ottoman monopoly on the spice trade.

After the Portuguese opened up the sea route to the East, the profits from transporting spices by land decreased significantly. As a result, the Ottoman Empire also dispatched a fleet to intercept these European ships returning home.

Sir Defried's ship surrendered after being intercepted, and the goods on board were confiscated by the Ottomans under the pretext of "pagan tax".

The batch of black tea on the ship was also presented to the Ottoman court.

The current Ottoman Sultan is named Selim II. He is addicted to wine and women and is therefore known as "Selim the Drunkard".

Selim II quickly became fascinated with black tea, a new commodity from the East.

Compared to the bitterness of green tea, black tea is more mellow and can be paired with milk and sugar.

This suited the dietary habits of the Ottoman Empire, and tea, as a refreshing beverage, quickly became popular in the Ottoman court.

So the Ottoman Sultan pardoned Sir Defried and summoned him personally to inquire about the origin of this magical oriental drink.

Upon hearing that this wondrous oriental beverage had just appeared in the ports of the Ming Dynasty, and that the Ottoman Sultan had also heard that the Ming Dynasty had opened its ports to allow merchant ships from various countries to trade, the Ottoman Sultan was deeply impressed.

Selim II immediately spent a large sum of money to hire Sir Defrieds to lead Ottoman merchant ships to the Ming Dynasty.

Although Sir Defried was a devout Christian, Selim II gave him far too much.

Of course, in such a short time, Sir Defrieds was not able to travel back and forth between the Ming Dynasty and the Ottoman Empire even once.

Sir Defrieds was delighted to hear, after only bringing the fleet to Sumatra, that black tea had already appeared as a commodity in the trading post in Malacca.

However, these Portuguese who sold black tea were like ship owners who transported black sugar from Vietnam to the Ming Dynasty. They did not realize the value of black tea and simply treated it as ballast, taking a gamble with it.

Sir Defrieds led two disguised Ottoman cargo ships to Malacca, emptied the city of its black tea, and then set off on his return journey to the Ottoman Empire.

This extravagant purchase made well-informed merchants realize the value of black tea, which boosted its exports and improved the financial situation of the Maritime Trade Office.

However, the accounts of the Maritime Trade Office were still not as impressive as those of the Mint. "Why were there so many coins minted in June?"

Chen Hong answered honestly:
"Your Majesty, a craftsman at the Dengzhou-Laizhou Mint has improved the minting machine. Now, using the drum method, the machine no longer needs to be stopped to add material, and coins can be smelted and minted day and night."

Chen Hong briefly explained the craftsman's improvements.

Originally, to imprint patterns on coins, the rapidly cooling silver coin had to be placed under a water-powered hammer, and the impact of the hammer would imprint the relief pattern.

However, this method requires placing the silver dollar mold under the punch each time, and sometimes the punch, which is filled with water, has to wait for the mold to be placed.

The craftsman invented a new method: using a roller to rotate the mold under the hammer, and placing the abrasive on the other side of the roller, so that silver coins could be stamped continuously.

This greatly improves the efficiency of the hammer.

The Longqing Emperor said with delight:

Was the craftsman rewarded?

Chen Hong immediately said:

"Your Majesty, the Denglai Mint has already awarded them."

"How much did the Dengzhou-Laizhou Mint reward?"

Chen Hong replied, "Your Majesty, fifty silver dollars."

This time, it was Emperor Longqing who was surprised.

He was worried that the reward offered by the Dengzhou-Laizhou Mint would be insufficient and discourage the craftsmen, so he planned to bestow an additional reward upon the craftsman.

Unexpectedly, the Dengzhou-Laizhou Mint awarded fifty silver dollars to the craftsmen, a gesture that shocked even the emperor.

After the initial shock, the emperor felt he had given too much.

It should be noted that the emperor's rewards to the officials in charge of imperial lectures during festivals were usually only a few silver dollars.

Fifty silver dollars was a huge sum of money even for officials.

But if the mint is so generous, the emperor will become suspicious again. Is the mint embezzling my silver coins?

Chen Hong saw through the emperor's thoughts and quickly said:

"Your Majesty, actually this reward wasn't given by the Mint. The Mint wouldn't have this amount of silver."

"Where did you get it from?"

"It's the Huayang Award."

"Huayang Award?"

Chen Hong recounted to the emperor in detail how Su Ze used the royalties from "Journey to the West" to establish the Huayang Award under the Copyright and Patent Office.

"The Mint applied for the Huayang Award based on the craftsmen's improvements, and unexpectedly, it was awarded immediately. The Copyright and Patent Office personally delivered fifty silver dollars to the Dengzhou-Laizhou Mint, and the news spread throughout the entire Dengzhou-Laizhou region."

"The craftsmen at the mint, the shipbuilders at the Maritime Trade Office, and the salt workers at the saltworks all went crazy researching new technologies."

Upon hearing this, the emperor's brows completely relaxed.

The emperor then remembered that Grand Secretary Li Chunfang seemed to have mentioned the Huayang Award to him.

I never expected the award to be so generous, and the Copyright and Patent Office actually awarded it to an ordinary craftsman.

The Longqing Emperor naturally understood the importance of buying bones with a thousand pieces of gold. The mint had only improved the minting process, yet it had increased efficiency so much.

If the artisans were to think day and night about improving their craftsmanship, how could the Ming Dynasty not be prosperous?
Emperor Longqing then remembered that the Copyright and Patent Bureau and the Mint were both proposed by Su Ze, so he asked Li Fang to bring out Su Ze's memorial.

“What Su Ze said is indeed a suggestion for the country’s future. So let’s do as he suggested and use the imperial treasury this time.”

"Order the shipyards in Dengzhou, Laizhou, and Zhigu to prepare for shipbuilding, so we can sail to the Western Ocean again!"

Li Fang, Feng Bao, and Chen Hong, three high-ranking officials of the Directorate of Ceremonial, knelt before the emperor's desk and proclaimed that the emperor was wise and benevolent.

All three were secretly considering who to choose.

Since the imperial treasury is funding this voyage to Southeast Asia, it must follow the precedent set by Zheng He and appoint a eunuch from the palace as the chief eunuch.

This is an extremely important position. If the mission is successfully completed and the ship returns safely, the candidate may be directly promoted to the position of Grand Secretary of the Directorate of Ceremonial.

However, if the task was botched, not only would the eunuch who carried it out be punished, but the person who recommended it would also be punished.

The three top officials of the Directorate of Ceremonial were all considering their own candidates.

This is why Li Fang and Chen Hong both spoke up for Su Ze and encouraged the emperor to approve Su Ze's memorial.
-
Department of General Affairs.

Shen Shu, a censor, led a group of officials from the Six Ministries and the Censorate, sitting inside the Office of Transmission and hurling insults at a group of officials from the Office of Transmission.

Shen Shu said, "Why is the Office of Transmission withholding our memorials? How dare you even withhold memorials from the Six Ministries and the Censorate? Are you, the Commissioner of Transmission, trying to stifle free speech?"

Right Vice-Minister Pei Qing dared not offend these censors, so he could only speak honestly:

"Vice Envoy Yang has resigned due to illness, and the position of Director of the Court of State Affairs has become vacant. The Court of State Affairs can only return the official seal."

"Without the seal of the Commissioner of State Affairs, who would dare to send a memorial to the cabinet?"

Upon hearing Pei Qing's reply, the officials of the Six Ministries raised their voices even louder, and began to accuse the Office of Transmission of Crimes.

But even a clay figure can develop a temper after being scolded for a long time.

Pei Qing raised his head and said:
"The Ministry of Justice has been without a chief envoy for so long. Aren't you six ministries the ones who know the reason best?"

"Instead of wasting time cursing here, why don't you hurry up and select the chief envoy for the court!"

Pei Qing flicked his sleeve, and the officials of the Office of Transmission made a gesture of seeing them off, leaving these censors speechless.

If they hadn't repeatedly rejected the list of candidates recommended by the Ministry of Personnel, the position of Chief Minister of the Ministry of Justice would not have remained vacant until now.

Yang Sizhong took sick leave. Can't people be prevented from getting sick?
As for questioning whether Yang Sizhong was really sick, claiming illness was a political norm in the Ming Dynasty's officialdom. Even the most stubborn censor would not touch this. Why don't you go and check if Grand Secretary Li Chunfang is really sick next time?
Back at the Sixth Department, the censors grew increasingly angry. At this time, news of Su Ze's memorial being approved also reached the Sixth Department.

This infuriated everyone even more, and Shen Shu shouted again:

"Yang Sizhong, the Vice Commissioner of the Court of Judicial Review, has blocked the channels of communication. All my colleagues have jointly submitted a memorial to impeach him!"

However, some of the censors thought of a problem: if Yang Sizhong didn't go to work, how could the memorial impeaching him be sent to the cabinet?
Fortunately, Yang Sizhong's illness was short-lived. Upon hearing that the Six Ministries had impeached him, Yang Sizhong quickly returned from leave to the cabinet and then happily presented the impeaching memorial to the cabinet.

This Vice Envoy Yang had even prepared his resignation letter, just waiting for the emperor's wrath to approve it so he could return to his hometown and retire peacefully.

However, Vice Envoy Yang never received a reprimand from the Emperor at the Office of Transmission.

Fortunately, on the last day of July, Yang Sizhong finally received the imperial edict from the officials of the Ministry of Personnel.

Could it be that the emperor was so enraged that he dismissed him from his post?
However, Yang Sizhong received an imperial edict officially appointing him to a permanent post.

After receiving the imperial decree, Yang Sizhong immediately pulled aside an official from the Imperial Household Department and asked:
"Archangel, the Office of Transmission has not received any memorials from the Office of Selection of Candidates for the position. How did I become the Commissioner of Transmission?"

The pedestrian affairs official said:
"Isn't this Lord Yang favored by the Emperor? His Majesty personally issued an edict ordering the Cabinet to directly recommend candidates for the Director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, and then he named you."

"His Majesty and the Grand Secretaries all approve of you. Lord Yang is the one who deserves the title of Commissioner of the Court of Judicial Review."

(End of this chapter)