Dugong

Chapter 81 Another Official Appointment

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Li Ping'an slowly straightened his legs, clasped his hands in front of his abdomen, and kept his head and upper body in a kneeling position, remembering that he must never face His Majesty directly.

Disrespectful behavior before the emperor can result in a deduction of salary or exile.

Emperor Yongning praised, "I knew I hadn't misjudged you. You've only been in charge of the Imperial Horse Administration for a short time, yet you've already uncovered such a major corruption case and recovered the silver for the court."

As the saying goes, to judge a person, you must look at their heart; to listen to a person, you must listen to their tone. When His Majesty speaks, Li Ping'an not only listens to the content but also discerns the nuances of the tone.

The first four words, "major corruption case," are rather bland, while the last two words, "silver," are clearly emphasized.

Perhaps Emperor Yongning himself did not realize that, after all, a ruler must not show his emotions, but his true intentions can inadvertently affect his tone of voice.

Li Ping'an felt reassured and knelt down again to kowtow and reply.

“This servant toils day and night, fearing only of failing His Majesty’s grace. I have heard that Your Majesty is tightening your belt to alleviate the people’s hardships. I am deeply grateful for His Majesty’s grace and have been fortunate enough to discover a few corrupt officials and recover some silver for the court.”

The credit for the investigation must go to Your Majesty. As a servant, I have only made a small contribution under Your Majesty's wise leadership.

Emperor Yongning nodded slightly: "What exactly is the number?"

"Your Majesty, this is the list of items seized."

Li Ping'an took out an account book from his sleeve and raised it above his head with both hands: "A total of 500,000 taels of silver, of which 300,000 taels are in cash, and the remaining land and houses are being sold off."

Emperor Yongning ordered Eunuch Hai to bring over the account books. He casually flipped through a few pages and found entries indicating when, where, and how much money was embezzled.

The earliest record can be traced back to the 29th year of the Wude era, while the latest record was made last autumn.

Emperor Yongning closed the account book and asked, "Why was there no embezzlement this year?"

Li Ping'an breathed a sigh of relief. The account book he had painstakingly compiled over half a month was flawless. He answered respectfully.

"Thanks to His Majesty's benevolence, none of the imperial horses have fallen ill this year, and the fodder and saddles purchased last year have not yet been used up, so Qing Si Trading Company has no opportunity to embezzle."

Emperor Yongning found Li Ping'an increasingly pleasing to the eye. She not only solved his immediate problems but also knew how to attribute the embezzlement to historical issues. She was truly a good servant.

"I trust Xiao Anzi to handle things well. Do your job well and you will be promoted to Commander-in-Chief in the future!"

A strange light flashed in Hai Gonggong's eyes as he glanced at Li Ping'an kneeling on the ground, a hint of hostility rising within him.

There can only be one position of Grand Admiral. Any eunuch who catches His Majesty's eye is a formidable rival to Eunuch Hai and must be treated with utmost caution.

"I am honored by Your Majesty's promotion and will do my utmost to serve you."

Upon hearing the words "Grand Admiral," Li Ping'an knew that His Majesty was merely offering empty promises, but his heart couldn't help but beat faster, and a greedy thought arose within him. He then took out a memorial from his sleeve.

"Your Majesty, these are confessions in the embezzlement case, involving several officials. This servant dares not act on my own authority, and begs Your Majesty for a wise judgment!"

"Send it up."

Emperor Yongning opened the memorial, which briefly described He Yong's rise to power, including which eunuchs and officials had accepted bribes and detailed the percentage of the business each person received.

The masterminds were three eunuchs, Tao, Liu, and He, with accomplices including eunuch Ji and Xie, a prefectural official in the capital.

Li Ping'an used the embezzlement case to send Eunuch Ji away, and Prefect Qian also used it to attack his colleagues.

After reading the memorial, Emperor Yongning asked in surprise, "How come Xiao Anzi is taking a share of the business?"

Li Ping'an replied with a bitter face, "Your Majesty, after I was promoted to the position of Director of the Imperial Horse Administration, my share of the money automatically went into my name. Those corrupt officials said it was customary."

"What a convenient routine!"

Emperor Yongning sneered, "I heard about these practices when I was still a prince. They include things like ice tribute, charcoal tribute, autumn harvest allowance, and Lantern Festival expenses. How are they any different from embezzlement?"

Li Ping'an immediately kowtowed: "This servant knows his crime, please punish me, Your Majesty."

"What crime has Xiao Anzi committed? He is merely taking the blame for those who came before him." Emperor Yongning glanced at the amount of silver in the account book, and in a good mood, said with a smile, "If Xiao Anzi has any business in the future, he may come to the Imperial Study to see me at any time."

"This servant thanks Your Majesty for your grace."

Li Ping'an kowtowed repeatedly, his true energy flowing to his forehead, revealing a large patch of crimson, as if he had broken his skin by hitting it too hard.

Being able to meet the emperor at any time shows that Jian is favored by the emperor, and such a reward is far better than a promotion.

"Go back."

Emperor Yongning waved his hand, ignoring Li Ping'an who bowed and left, and began to plan how to make good use of the 500,000 taels of silver.

"Little Haizi, do you think it should be put into the national treasury or the private treasury?"

According to the laws of the dynasty, the silver confiscated from corrupt officials was put into the national treasury and managed and distributed by the Ministry of Revenue for the purpose of paying officials' salaries, soldiers' wages, and so on.

"Of course, it's the imperial treasury."

Knowing His Majesty's thoughts, Eunuch Hai said, "Your Majesty is wise. This silver was originally an extra expense for the Imperial Horse Administration. Once recovered, it should be returned to its rightful owner."

The expenses of the twelve directorates of the Inner Palace have always been paid from the imperial treasury, so what Eunuch Hai said makes a lot of sense.

"Furthermore, His Majesty confiscated the embezzled silver and put it into the imperial treasury, not to squander it, but to pay military salaries. The officials could not find anything wrong with that."

"Xiao Haizi understands my heart perfectly."

Emperor Yongning has been troubled by the issue of military pay in recent days. After discussions within the cabinet, he ordered the Ministry of Revenue to send 500,000 taels of silver to the Zhenbei and Pingxi armies, requesting that half of the military pay be distributed temporarily.

The taxes for Jinghaiwei and Dingnanwei will be delayed for now, and half of them will be distributed after the summer taxes are collected.

Only the Beijing Garrison and the Imperial Guards cannot be delayed any longer. The former are already in disarray, and the latter are related to the safety of the palace, so their pay must not be delayed.

The 500,000 taels of silver sent by Li Ping'an came just in time to solve our immediate crisis!
As for why Emperor Yongning collected the silver into the imperial treasury instead of having it distributed by the Ministry of Revenue, that was because of the importance of "name".

Hai Gonggong's eyes darted around, and he suggested, "Your Majesty uses the imperial treasury to pay military salaries, so why not bypass the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War and have the Imperial Household Department pay them directly?"

Emperor Yongning asked, "What do you mean by that?"

Eunuch Hai bowed and said, "There are some things I don't know whether I should say or not, please forgive me, Your Majesty."

Emperor Yongning nodded and said, "I pardon you."

"Neither the Ministry of Revenue nor the Ministry of War has any money right now, so the Prince of Zhenbei can't possibly use his own money to pay the soldiers' salaries, even if he had it, he wouldn't dare!"

Eunuch Hai gritted his teeth and said, "This is the perfect opportunity for His Majesty to completely seize control of the Beijing Garrison and the Imperial Guards."

"You audacious lackey!"

Emperor Yongning rebuked him, saying, "Your uncle has always been loyal to the emperor and devoted to the country. I regard Consort Zhang as my own mother. How dare you spout nonsense and slander the pillar of the nation?"

Eunuch Hai knelt down with a thud: "This servant deserves to die."

Emperor Yongning changed the subject and asked in a low voice, "Little Hai, tell me, who in the Inner Palace is suitable for this important task?"

Hai Gonggong breathed a sigh of relief. As expected, His Majesty was wary of the Prince of Zhenbei. He would use this as a guiding principle in his future work, and sooner or later the Prince would be favored by the Emperor.

“Your Majesty, this servant recommends Eunuch An from the Imperial Horse Administration. Firstly, the silver was originally collected by the Imperial Horse Administration, so the Ministry of Revenue cannot find any fault with it. Secondly, Eunuch An is a confidant of the Empress Dowager and would never be involved with the Prince of Zhenbei.”

Hai Gonggong's goal is to become the Director of the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs. He will never allow the silver to be allocated by Leng Gonggong. At the same time, he pushes Li Ping'an to fight against the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War. No matter who wins or loses, he will not fare well.

Hai Gonggong devised a plan to kill two birds with one stone in a short time, which is not, as outsiders have speculated, a lucky break by taking advantage of a situation.

Emperor Yongning pondered for a moment. Others in the palace might secretly collude with the Zhang family, but Cining Palace and Xiao Anzi would not, as the two sides were sworn enemies.

"The Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs is ordered to draft an imperial edict praising Xiao Anzi for his meritorious service in investigating corruption, and granting him the title of Deputy Commander of the Beijing Garrison, in charge of military pay..."

(End of this chapter)