Dugong

Chapter 91 Severely Punish the Adopted Son
After Li Ping'an realized the importance of "forbearance for the sake of the country," he occasionally captured a Zhang faction general in the past six months, but otherwise remained at peace.

Whenever I have free time, I collect a dried fruit; I'm only three away from reaching eighteen.

There were plenty of eunuchs in the palace willing to join his ranks, and many of them were clever and quick-witted enough to catch Eunuch An's eye. However, he could not take in all the adopted sons.

Leave two or three loopholes, so that the eunuchs below can have a chance to advance.

Li Ping'an sat at the head of the banquet, looking around at his godsons standing bowing to him. The older ones were in their fifties or sixties, while the younger ones were thirteen or fourteen.

The status of a godchild is not determined by age, but by who can gain the godfather's favor and trust.

At present, Xiao Yuzi is a big shot. He was the first to be adopted by his godfather and is the most dedicated to his work, but his position is not stable. For example, there is Eunuch Fei, who was transferred to the Imperial Horse Administration not long ago.

Back then, Eunuch Fei was the head of the Imperial Palace Administration and one of Eunuch Chu's many adopted sons. After Eunuch Zhao, the supervising official, successfully overthrew Chu, he was demoted to the Imperial Mausoleum and spent several years digging soil.

Li Ping'an left the Cold Palace, gathered his godfather's old subordinates, and transferred Eunuch Fei to Cining Palace as the head of the jewelry department, responsible for looking after the Empress Dowager's jewelry and clothing.

Not long after taking up his post, Eunuch Fei discovered that several old women were stealing jewelry and helped Eunuch Rong catch them red-handed.

Empress Dowager Zhou ordered severe punishment. Apart from Lingxuan, the other old nannies of Kunning Palace were either expelled from the palace or dragged away and beaten to death.

After Fei Gonggong made a meritorious contribution, he caught Li Ping'an's eye.

Not long ago, Eunuch Fei was promoted to head of the Imperial Horse Administration. He seized the opportunity to report to Eunuch An and swore an oath to become his godfather.

Because the generational order was a bit messy, Li Ping'an reluctantly accepted the offer, saying, "At worst, we'll call you godfather, and you can call us godfather!"

Eunuch Fei was experienced in handling affairs and quickly became a formidable rival to Xiao Yuzi.

"Please take a seat. We are all father and son, brothers, so don't be shy!"

Li Ping'an waved for his godson to take his seat, then asked Eunuch Xia to his left, "Has the matter of Xiao Dezi been investigated?"

Although Eunuch Xia was not a godson, he held a very high position in the Imperial Horse Administration, similar to Li Ping'an's strategist and advisor.

"My lord, Xiao Dezi colluded with horse dealers in the East Market, selling sick horses to the outer stables, resulting in the loss of four warhorses. I sent men to investigate the horse dealer, and there was no one behind it, just a cunning merchant who sold inferior goods as superior ones!"

Li Ping'an said coldly, "A mere unscrupulous merchant dares to cause trouble for the Imperial Horse Administration. Inform Prefect Qian and have that horse trader's property confiscated and him exiled. We only need to compensate with four warhorses."

"I have already spoken to Prefect Qian."

Eunuch Xia pondered for a moment and then asked, "Sir, what should be done with Xiao Dezi?"

Upon hearing this, all the godsons immediately pricked up their ears to listen. Xiao Dezi was one of the godsons their godfather had taken in years ago. He was quite capable, but he was also a bit greedy and stingy.

Li Ping'an knew exactly what his godsons were thinking. If this matter was handled lightly, they would all scramble for money in the future.

"Our family likes money, and we allow those below to make money from it!"

But there are limits to making money; things have to be done right, otherwise, no matter what kind of adopted sons or old friends we have…

Li Ping'an asked, "Eunuch Xia, how much profit do the businesses have this year?"

The suppliers under the Imperial Horse Administration were all owned by eunuchs with official positions. The higher-ranking officials ran large businesses, while the lower-ranking officials handled scraps.

Their methods of embezzling silver were no different from those of the Qing Si Trading Company, only more decentralized, making their accounts more difficult to audit.

At the same time, learning from the lessons of the Qing Si Trading Company, each trading company was required to allocate half of its profits to the Imperial Horse Administration, with a small portion distributed among junior eunuchs, and the majority reserved for the Emperor's private treasury.

Li Ping'an will not send anyone to audit the accounts. He will rely entirely on the self-discipline of his fathers-in-law and godsons. It is fine if they only contribute 10% of the profits, as long as their families are lucky.

Eunuch Xia estimated: "The profit will be around 50,000 taels. Originally, it could have been 60,000 to 70,000, but the price of warhorses from the northern frontier skyrocketed in the second half of the year."

"Heh heh heh, it seems the prince isn't so loyal to the emperor and the country after all!"

Li Ping'an chuckled a few times. He was eager for warhorses to become more expensive. In the past six months, he had reduced the number of border troops in all directions, and the court had praised the Prince of Zhenbei for his loyalty.

Correspondingly, there was no shortage of criticism against eunuchs for persecuting loyal officials.

Whenever a high-ranking official in the court submitted a memorial praising the Prince of Zhenbei and criticizing Li Ping'an, a few days later a military officer from Zhang's faction would be dismissed from his post, and the harsher the criticism, the heavier the crime.

Li Ping'an instructed, "Include this 50,000 taels in the proceeds from the confiscation of Xiao Dezi and the horse traders, and I'll take a portion of that as well, to make it a total of five nines to congratulate His Majesty on the New Year!"

"As ordered."

As Eunuch Xia was pondering where to divert funds if the amount was insufficient, he heard his thirteen adopted sons vying to donate silver. One donated five thousand taels, another three thousand taels; the amount was not small, but not enough to cripple them.

Everyone was truly terrified by the godfather's ruthlessness. He had to hand over tens of thousands of taels of stolen silver to Xiao Dezi, and the best outcome for him would be the exile of his entire family.

Given my godfather's temperament, whether he's exiled to Lingnan or the Northwest, he'll inevitably encounter bandits along the way.

"very good!"

Li Ping'an squinted and nodded in satisfaction. It's hard to say whether the eunuchs in the palace are loyal or not, but they definitely know how to protect themselves and know what's important.

At this time.

A melodious and powerful bell rang out from outside, and as midnight passed, it marked the beginning of the second year of Yongning.

Li Ping'an raised his wine cup and bowed in the direction of Xingqing Palace: "The first cup of wine in the new year, let us wish His Majesty a long life!"

After everyone was seated again, the banquet officially began.

Li Ping'an smiled and toasted with everyone, seemingly forgetting the unpleasantness caused by Xiao Dezi.

The godsons were all shrewd people, so they naturally wouldn't say anything discouraging; instead, they took turns using various flattering methods.

Several jars of imperial wine were quickly finished, and then the godson brought over more tribute wine.

The flavors are slightly different, but both are excellent wines.

Li Ping'an's true energy was extremely profound. He allowed himself to drink cup after cup of strong liquor, which was then refined and dissipated in an instant, leaving no trace of drunkenness on his face.

Even when drinking with my godsons during the New Year, I mustn't get drunk, lest I say something wrong.

"Our family has survived in the palace until now only because we've been careful and cautious. Even our own parents... don't believe us!"

……

The fifteenth day of the first lunar month.

The memorial regarding Xiao Dezi's embezzlement case was sent to the Imperial Study, and 100,000 taels of embezzled silver were deposited into the Imperial Treasury.

The Imperial Horse Stable had spies of Emperor Yongning, as well as undercover agents from the Zhenfu Division, who were well aware of the connections between the merchants and their adopted sons.

"Xiao Anzi is a bit greedy, but he knows his limits and respects!"

Emperor Yongning surveyed the court officials and found that among the many who truly cared for the country and its people, only a handful were genuinely loyal to him.

Or rather, many people knew of the Prince of Zhenbei's ambitions, but very few dared to openly fight him.

Eunuch An is one of them!

Emperor Yongning could not promote Xiao Anzi for the time being. Firstly, he wanted to stabilize the northern border, and secondly, Xiao Anzi already held a high enough position and needed to consider the long-term consequences.

The newly appointed commander of the Zhenfu Division, Gong Jing, was summoned and ordered to bring the registers of Xiao Anzi's parents and relatives.

"Father Li Mancang, forty-six years old, currently the owner of Hengchang Trading Company...Mother Li Wangshi, forty-two years old..."

Now that Li Ping'an holds an important position, the Zhenfu Division has thoroughly investigated his relatives, including their ages, temperaments, and occupations, and even the matter of Sun Bapi killing his elder sister and younger brother.

Nowadays, Sun Bapi's whole family farms for the Li family.

One coarse flour bun a day, until they starve or die from exhaustion.

Emperor Yongning, after careful selection, found that none of the members of the Li family were suitable, which was quite unbelievable, and he sighed.

"Xiao Anzi is truly an anomaly born in a lowly alley!"

Gong Jing had been Emperor Yongning's study companion since childhood. He wasn't particularly capable, but he was good at understanding the emperor's intentions. He bowed and offered his advice.

"The East Market happens to be short of a clerk, who is an official outside the regular system who does not need to take the imperial examination. With the strong support of the Imperial Horse Administration, he will soon be able to make contributions."

Then, when the time comes, promote him to a formal official position, and no one will be able to find fault with it!

(End of this chapter)