Dugong

Chapter 133 Unparalleled in the Harem
Qiluan Palace.

As soon as Li Ping'an entered, he bent his knees and slid down to Emperor Yongning, bowing three times and nine times. Even though he hadn't knelt for more than a year since leaving the palace, he had never forgotten his skills for making a living.

"This servant greets Your Majesty."

Emperor Yongning, dressed in a bright yellow robe, teased the chubby child in his arms without looking up until the child giggled, at which point he finally looked up.

"Xiao Anzi, you did a good job."

"It is only right and proper for this servant to perform his duties well for His Majesty."

Li Ping'an raised his head slightly, letting His Majesty see that his eyes were slightly red and his voice was choked with emotion.

"Your Majesty has been working hard on state affairs, and a few strands of hair have grown out. This is because I have not taken good care of you and have not done a good enough job. I deserve to be punished."

For years, Emperor Yongning worked tirelessly day and night, managing all affairs of the court, often not resting until the hour of Chou (1-3 AM) and then holding court again at the hour of Mao (5-7 AM).

Even with royal secret techniques and rare elixirs to nourish him, a few strands of gray hair still appeared at his temples.

Emperor Yongning tossed his hair, sighing inwardly at the fleeting nature of youth. Looking at Xiao Anzi, whose eyes were brimming with tears, he felt a surge of emotion.

He was greedy, but he was loyal and filial.

"Get up and speak."

Emperor Yongning praised, "The new Salt Transport Office is doing a great job. By replacing salt permits with salt tickets, salt tax revenue has doubled."

"Everything is done in accordance with His Majesty's orders; this servant is merely following the instructions."

Li Ping'an wiped his eyes and said in a deep voice, "According to the rules of the dynasty, the Ministry of Revenue should send officials to supervise the salt transport eunuchs to prevent embezzlement by their subordinates."

Emperor Yongning nodded in satisfaction. Xiao Anzi was indeed sensible, willing to relinquish power without needing any prompting. He then gave his instructions.

"The new policy has only been implemented for a short time, so no official positions will be appointed for the time being. Instead, the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs will send supervising eunuchs to oversee it."

Upon hearing this, Eunuch Hai, who was bowing and serving nearby, immediately showed joy and hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed.

"The slaves obey the order."

Emperor Yongning asked about the details of the salt certificates, and Li Ping'an answered carefully, including many matters that were inconvenient to include in his memorials.

For example, they indirectly confiscated property through heavy taxes on salt permits, or they controlled businesses through salt tickets.

Everything they did was to make money for the imperial treasury.

Hearing about the enormous sums of hundreds of thousands or even millions of taels of silver, Eunuch Hai's eyes flashed with greed, and he thought to himself, "No wonder he's a salt merchant."

I'll send a few of my trusted men to work in the government office later, and I'm sure I'll make a killing.

Emperor Yongning nodded slightly. Salt taxes should be deposited into the national treasury. No matter how much the taxes increase, they cannot be spent arbitrarily. The imperial treasury's silver belongs to the royal family.

Upon hearing Li Ping'an's account of the rebels besieging the government office, Emperor Yongning handed the child to Consort Hui and coldly rebuked her.

"The traitorous Li family assassinated the imperial envoy and instigated a rebellion; their entire clan should be executed!"

Li Ping'an said, "Your Majesty, this servant has captured and executed all the relevant criminals. Even if there are any omissions, they are unlikely to cause any trouble."

Emperor Yongning asked, "How many traitors did Xiao Anzi kill?"

Li Ping'an replied, "According to the Li family genealogy, more than 3,500 people were arrested and reported to the Ministry of Justice."

"What about in reality?"

"More than 13,000 people, including wives, servants, and accomplices, were implicated."

Li Ping'an didn't know how many people he had killed in Jiangnan. Fifteen thousand were just those whose names were known; there were also countless servants and commoners who were willing to die for the Li family.

Emperor Yongning frowned and said, "It's too ruthless."

Li Ping'an immediately kowtowed and begged for forgiveness: "This servant was implicated innocently, please punish me, Your Majesty."

Emperor Yongning waved his hand and said, "Merits and demerits cancel each other out, so let it go this time. Remember to be kind and lenient when handling affairs in the future."

Li Ping'an said gratefully, "Thank you for your forgiveness, Your Majesty."

Consort Hui hugged her son tightly and said with a smile, "Your Majesty, you are too harsh on Xiao Anzi. If it weren't for his ruthless and decisive nature, the new policies would not have been easy to implement."

“My beloved concubine is right.”

Emperor Yongning nodded in agreement: "I will reward those who have rendered meritorious service. Xiao Anzi has made meritorious contributions in investigating the rebellion in Jiangnan. I hereby approve the establishment of an Investigation Bureau to monitor the rebels in various prefectures."

These two short sentences shocked Li Ping'an.

Since Consort Hui gave birth to the emperor's son last year, His Majesty has often stayed overnight at Qiluan Palace. Unexpectedly, Consort Hui has been able to discuss and interfere in politics.

His favor with the emperor was unparalleled in the harem.

His Majesty's permission to establish an office and bureau clearly indicates that there are spies within the Imperial Horse Administration who are aware of the actions of Eunuch Peng and Xiao Yuzi. Now that Xiao Yuzi has died, the task of overseeing the northern frontier has fallen into the hands of his adopted son, Xiao Jinzi.

Li Ping'an's mind raced. In the end, taking charge of a new government office was more beneficial than harmful, a truly boundless act of divine grace. He kowtowed repeatedly in gratitude.

"This servant thanks Your Majesty. I will carefully monitor the southeast, northwest, and all directions. No traitor will escape Your Majesty's notice."

Southeast, west, and north are all fine; only north truly reflects His Majesty's will.

"Very well, let's get down."

Emperor Yongning was dissatisfied with the work of the Zhenfu Division, and fearful of the Prince of Zhenbei's rebellious intentions. He took the opportunity to establish the Anti-Rebel Division and rewarded him, which can be described as killing three birds with one stone.

"The slaves retire."

Li Ping'an bowed and left Qiluan Palace, giving a wink to the eunuch on duty at the gate.

The young eunuch clutched his stomach, made an excuse to leave his post, and quietly followed Eunuch An and his entourage, kowtowing and kneeling.

"Grandson pays respects to his great-grandfather."

The young eunuch was working in the palace duty office when he became an adopted son of Eunuch Jin, who in turn was an adopted son of Eunuch Peng.

Li Ping'an asked, "Does His Majesty often hold meetings at Qiluan Palace?"

The young eunuch reported, "Ever since His Majesty bestowed a name upon the prince at his full moon celebration, he has been handling matters of the inner palace at Qiluan Palace, with Consort Hui often observing and intervening."

Li Ping'an took out a stack of silver notes from his sleeve and stuffed them into the little eunuch's arms: "Do your job well, and when we have time, we'll promote you in seniority."

The young eunuch was immediately moved to tears and kowtowed repeatedly.

Li Ping'an offered a few more words of encouragement and painted a rosy picture for the young eunuch, which aroused envy and jealousy among the other eunuchs in the entourage.

One pancake, eaten by many people!
A moment later, they returned to the Imperial Stables.

Li Ping'an summoned all his adopted sons, grandsons, and old eunuchs to discuss matters related to investigating the traitors.

"Eunuch Peng, this matter was originally in your hands. How is it going?"

Eunuch Peng was always prepared, and he pulled out two scrolls from his sleeve.

"Your Excellency, I have served as the envoy investigating traitors for over a year, recruiting about a hundred men, mainly scattered in the capital region and surrounding prefectures and counties, during which time I have collected over a thousand pieces of information."

Li Ping'an took the books and flipped through them. One volume contained a list of personnel, and the other contained news and secrets.

The group was mainly composed of palace eunuchs, with subordinates including hooligans, idlers, and people from all walks of life. Their information extended to officials and the underworld, and included many outrageous and unfounded claims.

“Eunuch Peng has done a great job. My family has been granted the position of commander by His Majesty, and you have been promoted from envoy to deputy commander.”

"Your humble servant thanks you, sir."

Eunuch Peng looked pleasantly surprised. He didn't know what rank the deputy commander was, but it was much better than his current eighth-rank patrol inspector position.

"The official positions of the Investigation and Rebellion Division correspond to those of the Garrison Command, with the Deputy Commander having subordinate officials such as Assistant Commander and Vice Commander..."

Li Ping'an pondered for a moment and then instructed, "Eunuch You and Xiao Quzi have rendered meritorious service in the south of the Yangtze River, so you two will be appointed to the post."

The two men immediately stepped forward, kowtowed, and said, "Thank you, sir and godfather."

"Below this is the position of Investigating Rebels Commissioner, similar to the Garrison Commissioner, who is responsible for supervising local prefectures, counties, and gangs, and recruiting their own guards and strongmen to carry out their duties."

Li Ping'an looked around and asked, "Who is willing to serve in the various prefectures?"

The eunuchs looked at each other, most of them unwilling to take up local posts, because if they stayed away from the palace for too long, they would basically lose their chance for promotion.

The godson, Eunuch Jiang, stepped forward first, bowed, and said, "Godfather, I am willing to go to Xuanfu."

Li Ping'an praised, "My good son is indeed loyal to the nation. I will inform His Majesty."

Eunuch Jiang kowtowed and said, "Your son thanks you for your guidance, godfather."

Li Ping'an said, "Once we reach Xuanfu, take our family's token to the Salt Transport Office to get reimbursed for our stipend expenses."

He was sent down to the prefecture to become a local tyrant, and there was money to be made. Immediately, several eunuchs stepped forward and invited him to become an official in the local area.

Li Ping'an agreed to all of them, and soon each of the thirty-six prefectures was assigned a task, with about five eunuchs of different ages.

The older, steady, and shrewd ones were assigned to inland prefectures and counties, while the younger ones, daring and adventurous, were assigned to frontier regions.

Half of the elite troops from the Imperial Horse Stables were transferred out, but the majority of those remaining in the palace were eunuchs.

With official positions available, naturally some people will want to advance their careers.

(End of this chapter)