Di Ming

Chapter 162 Imperial Rewards
Before the Ding sacrifice ceremony at the Confucius Temple had even ended, news of the Wang family and the Chrysanthemum Society spread like wildfire.

The incident that occurred early in the morning was reported to have spread by evening: Wang Ruifang, the grandson of Wang Shizhen and the leader of the Chrysanthemum Society, who was known as a child prodigy, was found guilty of internal strife and had been imprisoned.

Xu Jinyuan, Dong Shi, and other leaders of the Chrysanthemum Society were all expelled from the Imperial Academy and barred from taking the imperial examinations for five years.

The next day, the plaque of the Chrysanthemum Society in the Imperial College was removed. All of the Chrysanthemum Society's woodblocks, manuscripts, account books, rosters, and collections of writings were confiscated.

An investigation revealed that the Chrysanthemum Society, established less than a year ago, already has over two thousand members, making it the largest society in the world!

The Chrysanthemum Society included not only students from the Imperial Academy of Nanjing, but also students from prefectural and county schools, sons of gentry from Suzhou, Songjiang, Changzhou, Hangzhou, and other places, as well as sons of merchants from Huizhou and Ningbo.

The Chrysanthemum Society was a joint organization of young men from the Jiangnan region, including officials, gentry, and wealthy merchants.

The members were all young, but all came from wealthy and noble families. This demonstrates the immense power of the powerful gentry and aristocratic clans of Jiangnan.

If the Chrysanthemum Society is allowed to continue growing like this, it will become a powerful force in three to five years, enough to influence the general trend in Jiangnan and even affect the overall situation of the imperial court.

Qiao Bixing was from the north, and Shanxi natives are known for their meticulousness. He used the Wang Ruifang case to carefully investigate the Chrysanthemum Society, and the more he investigated, the more alarmed he became.

He was certain that if the Chrysanthemum Society had existed for another year, it wouldn't have been able to be disbanded with just a word from him.

Fortunately, the Chrysanthemum Society had not yet become a force to be reckoned with and its influence was just beginning to rise. As the imperial inspector on behalf of the emperor, he could use Wang Ruifang's crime to forcefully disband the society with a single order.

In fact, Qiao Bixing's worries were also Zhu Yin's worries.

Zhu Yin knew very well that even the Donglin Society and Fushe, which would become powerful decades later, would only have a few thousand members, and would never exceed ten thousand.

However, these two major societies were enough to influence the political situation of the Ming Dynasty and undermine the government's decrees.

The Chrysanthemum Society has grown to over two thousand people in less than a year. What will become of them once they've achieved such influence?

Of course, it should be eliminated as soon as possible.

Students from the Imperial Academy, including Shang Yang, Gu Qiyuan, and Han Shang, who were also participating in the Ding sacrifice ceremony, suddenly recalled a remark made by Zhu Yin earlier:

"Don't be fooled by the Chrysanthemum Society's current arrogance and its suppression of the Propaganda Society. The nine leaders of the Chrysanthemum Society are spoiled brats with despicable behavior, and they will soon fall. Just wait and see, we will see them build a tall building, we will see them entertain guests, and we will see their building collapse."

Now, when they recall Zhu Yin's words, they greatly admire his foresight.

No wonder the Xuan Society is in a difficult situation due to the suppression and targeting by the Chrysanthemum Society, but the leader firmly believes that the Xuan Society will surely prosper.

A few days after the Confucius Temple sacrificial ceremony, more and more people signed up to join the Xuanshe (a type of religious organization).

All of this was within Zhu Yin's expectations. With the fall of the Chrysanthemum Society, a behemoth, the Propaganda Society, which had always been its adversary, was bound to attract many people.

However, Zhu Yin demanded strict vetting, and anyone who did not conform to the Xuanshe's principles or agree with its spirit was not to be accepted.

Even with strict screening, in less than ten days, the number of members of the Propaganda Society increased from more than seventy to more than two hundred, many of whom were members of the Mind School.

Although the Xuan Society was mostly composed of people from poor families, it quickly became the most distinctive, tightly organized, and influential society in Nanyong.

The Xuan Society's mission combined the ideas of Neo-Confucianism, the investigation of things, and martial arts, and quickly became a popular trend in Nanyong.

Zhu Yin was very pleased because although the Xuan Society now only had more than two hundred people, almost everyone was like-minded and had commendable talents and virtues.

That day, after returning home, Zhu Yin couldn't help but say to his wife, "Caiwei, all the talented people of Nanyong are now under my control."

Seeing his smugness, Ning Caiwei couldn't help but remind him:

"Little Tiger, joining the Propaganda Society is so strict, you're bound to offend a lot of people. If among those who are rejected you are narrow-minded and vindictive, you'd better be careful."

Zhu Yin smiled and said, "Now that you mention it, I'm reminded of a student named Hao Yunlai. He was very talented and intelligent, and his grades were excellent. He always scored at least nine points in the monthly exams, making him a true talent from a poor family."

"However, I refused his request to join the Propaganda Society. I guess he'll hate me for it."

"Hao Yunlai? That name is really..." Ning Caiwei laughed, "Why did you reject him? Does he not agree with the mission of the Propaganda Society?"

Zhu Yin shook his head. "That's not it. Rather, this person is two-faced and opportunistic. He comes from a poor family but is arrogant and proud. He applied to join the Chrysanthemum Society twice before, but was rejected by Wang Ruifang and others because of his poor background."

“How could someone who tried to join the Chrysanthemum Society twice be someone who truly identified with the Propaganda Society? His so-called identification was obviously fake. The Propaganda Society doesn’t want such selfish political opportunists, so I rejected him.”

"This person is the one you described as vindictive; he'll probably hate me."

"This Hao Yunlai is indeed a smart man, but his smartness doesn't seem to be about getting things done; it seems more like about scheming and speculation."

……

"Ah!"

Inside a tavern on Jixian Road outside the Imperial College, a drunken scholar suddenly sneezed.

"Who is mocking me behind my back?" The scholar looked dejected. "Heh, I don't believe that I, Hao Yunlai, won't have my luck turn around. I just haven't met a benefactor yet."

"Wang Ruifang, oh Wang Ruifang, you rejected me twice, and as a result, you were ruined. What have you done now?"

"Zhu Yin, Zhu Yin, you rejected me too. You look down on me too? What's so great about your Propaganda Society? Are child prodigies so great?"

"If you fail the provincial examination, you're nothing but a piece of trash, no matter what kind of prodigy you are. Once I pass, I'll treat you to drinks, hahaha! You'll definitely regret it then, won't you?"

"You look down on me today, but one day you'll be begging for my attention!"

"I, Hao Yunlai, swear that from now on I'll do the exact opposite of what you do. You said the first question would be about the Analects, but I'll insist on answering with the Doctrine of the Mean... Even in my future official career, I'll do the opposite of what you do..."

"You're betting on the Analects? I'll bet on the Doctrine of the Mean! Hahaha!"

What he didn't know was that although Zhu Yin didn't know the question of the first question in the Southern Zhili provincial examination in the sixteenth year of the Wanli reign, he knew that it came from the Doctrine of the Mean.

The first question was about the meaning of the Four Books, which was not only the first question tested, but also the one with the highest weight.

If you do well on the first question, your chances of passing the provincial examination will greatly increase. If you only do moderately well on the remaining questions, you'll most likely be admitted.

Zhu Yin publicly stated that he predicted the first question of the provincial examination would be the Analects, which was obviously a deliberate smokescreen.

The aim is to confuse the public and reduce competitors.

As for Zhu Yin himself, he had been studying the Doctrine of the Mean in private for a long time.

This scholar was at most twenty years old, and quite handsome, especially his large "Buddha ears," which were very eye-catching.

This person was none other than Hao Yunlai.

He came from a poor family and had only two younger brothers and sisters who depended on him for support.

While studying, he supported his younger siblings with the subsidies provided by the imperial court to tribute students, as well as by selling his calligraphy and paintings.

The hotel owner looked at him with disdain upon hearing his words.

With your poor and shabby appearance, how could you possibly pass the imperial examination? You dare to compare yourself to the prodigy Zhu Xiaotong?
Overthinking.

You can't even afford to pay for your drinks today, can you?
"Master Hao," the shopkeeper said politely, "our shop is a small business. Master Hao owes us a total of four taels and five mace of silver over the past six months. Please settle the debt today."

"Four taels and five mace, please." The shopkeeper held out his hand with a smile.

"Huh?" Hao Yunlai shook his head. "I'm short of money and have no money to pay you right now. I'm a scholar who passed the imperial examinations and am a gentleman from Nanyong. Would I possibly renege on my debt?"

"Master Hao," the shopkeeper shook his head, "that's not right of you. It's already been half a year in arrears; how can we continue to delay? Delaying settlement today isn't impossible, unless our shop suddenly receives a large order of several taels of silver..."

Before the shopkeeper could finish speaking, a scholar rushed into the inn and loudly proclaimed:

"Shopkeeper! My saga leader, Zhu Xiaoshe, is treating us to a meal tomorrow at your restaurant! Here's five taels of silver! That'll cover the cost of the food and drinks..."

The shopkeeper's expression brightened, but before he could say anything, Hao Yunlai burst into laughter.

"Hahaha!" Hao Yunlai stood up. "Shopkeeper, your big business has arrived so suddenly, and it's even Zhu Xiaoshentong's business. Can I delay payment now?"

After saying that, he swaggered out of the hotel to go home and see his younger siblings.

"This..." The shopkeeper looked at Hao Yunlai's retreating figure, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

.........

On May 20th, the sun was blazing.

Zhu Yin did not go to the Imperial Academy, but instead went to Tian Yi's residence.

The weather was getting hotter and hotter; today seemed even hotter than the New Year. He wanted to go to the Tian residence for some ice cream. Coincidentally, Ning Caiwei and her sister were also at the Tian family home today.

But after the carriage had only gone a few streets, Zhu Yin discovered a problem.

Zhu Yin has a fatal professional habit: even when passing by a familiar place, he will subconsciously observe whether there is any difference from before.

He quickly discovered that some changes had occurred on the bustling streets that were difficult for others to notice.

That means there have been many more beggars and vagrants than before.

The Ming Dynasty had a very humane design: it allowed beggars and refugees to beg for food in any city, and even Beijing could not prevent beggars from entering the city to beg.

But it's only late May, why has the number of refugees increased?
Last year was a bumper harvest year, so there shouldn't be an increase in beggars and vagrants this May, especially in a prosperous place like Jiangnan.

Zhu Yin thought for a while, then his expression suddenly changed.

He recalled the records in the History of Ming regarding the sixteenth year of the Wanli Emperor's reign: a great plague in Jiangnan!

In the spring and summer of the sixteenth year of the Wanli reign (1581), Suzhou experienced drought and little rain, and plague began to appear in various parts of Jiangnan.

That autumn, Changshu suffered a severe famine. The government cooked porridge at Buddhist temples and Taoist monasteries to provide relief, which led to the gathering of starving people, resulting in tens of thousands of people falling ill. The plague eventually broke out and quickly spread throughout the Jiangnan region.

By the seventeenth year of the Wanli reign, the drought had worsened, and the plague had become even more severe. Historical records state that "a great plague broke out, the disease spread everywhere, famine was seen everywhere along the roads, and almost no one lived in isolated villages."

The great plague that struck Jiangnan in the sixteenth and seventeenth years of the Wanli reign was one of the more famous disasters in Ming history.

If Zhu Yin hadn't been observant and suddenly noticed the significant increase in the number of refugees, he wouldn't have realized so quickly what would happen this year.

So these suddenly increasing number of refugees are people from other places fleeing the plague?

In ancient times, many refugees fled to escape plagues.

However, China is a vast country, and ancient medical care was backward, so there were almost no years without epidemics, which officials and the people had become accustomed to.

Local officials are reluctant to report cases unless a major epidemic breaks out, preferring to report good news rather than bad news to avoid affecting their performance record.

After all, it was an unavoidable natural disaster. As long as it wasn't serious, it was basically dealt with superficially or concealed if possible. Besides, given the medical and health methods and productivity levels of ancient times, there weren't any better solutions.

In the event of a major epidemic, how many people die ultimately depends on fate.

However, if we take it seriously in advance and prepare various measures, the disaster can certainly be controlled to a great extent, and it will not turn into a major epidemic that kills countless people.

Zhu Yin frowned as he thought of this.

Sigh, I'm destined to worry a lot.

It would be a waste if he didn't become emperor.

In terms of administrative orders, he could persuade Tian Yi, Qiao Bixing, Zhuang Tingjian, and others to prepare measures to prevent the plague in advance in the name of the imperial court.

If successful, it would not only save many lives, but also be a great achievement.

However, he had no other medical options and could only rely on his sister-in-law, Dr. Ning.

I'm sure Dr. Ning will have a solution.

Zhu Yin ordered the carriage to stop, and then listened to the conversation of the vagrants on the street. Sure enough, it was the soft Wu dialect of the Suzhou area.

That should be right, they are indeed refugees from Suzhou.

Suzhou has always been wealthy, and there have been very few refugees fleeing famine. So most of them were probably fleeing plague.

He listened for a while and roughly understood the situation.

The plague is still in its early stages and on a small scale, so the government is not paying much attention to it. Moreover, the sick suffer from a variety of diseases, including smallpox and malaria.

Zhu Yin's carriage deliberately circled around the city before proceeding along Xi'an Avenue, crossing Xuanjin Bridge, and entering Xi'an Gate.

Upon arriving at the magnificent garrison headquarters, Zhu Yin, though a regular visitor, still bypassed the square and entered through the back gate.

Zhu Yin's espionage habits were hard to change. Every time he came to the Tian family, he was extremely low-key, never making a fuss, and never even showing his face at the door.

Because many officials come and go from the garrison headquarters every day, Zhu Yin did not want people to see his face.

He didn't want anyone to know that he had a close relationship with the garrison minister.

He now needs a dripping ball bearing, not a hidden thread beading.

Politics is ruthless. The risks of revealing your hand and using someone else's power to intimidate are far greater than those of hiding your hand and playing dumb to outmaneuver someone else.

He is now a scholar, but his uncle-in-law is a powerful eunuch. While his relationship with Tian Yi might boost his popularity in the short term, it would also make him vulnerable to attacks in the future.

Failing to conceal one's strength when necessary is a sign of political naiveté.

Therefore, even now, few people know that Tian Yi was Zhu Yin's powerful backer.

Zhu Yin entered the Tian residence and went to the inner courtyard's flower hall as if he were family. The maids and eunuchs greeted him hurriedly.

"Our dancers have arrived." Madam Ning greeted Zhu Yin with a smile as he entered.

"Your son greets Your Highness, Aunt." Zhu Yin quickly bowed and inquired, "How have you been these days, Aunt?"

Ning nodded gently, "Very well. I just miss you all and hope you'll come often."

Three women, young and old, all surnamed Ning, lived in this painted hall.

Ning Caiwei was eating a slice of chilled watermelon. The red copper ice chest on the table was filled with blocks of ice, its cool air wafting out, making the whole room feel much cooler.

The compartments on top of the ice chest hold chilled seasonal fruits and vegetables.

An ice chest was essentially an ancient refrigerator, requiring constant replenishment of ice. Only the heads of extremely wealthy families could afford to use it.

This summer has been very hot, and wealthy families have already opened ice cellars to supply ice.

Ning Qingchen was eating watermelon that wasn't chilled: she never ate anything that was too cold or too hot.

As soon as Zhu Yin sat down, a maidservant presented him with a piece of chilled watermelon.

Zhu Yin took the piece and ate it with relish. He then ate another piece before he felt the sweat on his body subside.

Ning Qingchen glared at him, as if to say, "Eat less cold food."

Zhu Yin, however, didn't care at all. Who wouldn't love ice in this heat? In ancient times, ice was a luxury in summer.

Officials had a so-called "ice tribute," which originally meant a fee for ice in the summer.

In ancient times, ice was stored not only for consumption and cooling, but also for food preservation and for slowing down the decomposition of corpses in summer.

Although the Zhu family is now wealthy and has become a prominent family in Qingqiao, they still do not have an ice cellar, and therefore do not store ice.

The Zhou Dynasty had an ice administration system, with officials appointed to store ice for the Zhou emperor during the summer. Subsequent dynasties continued this system. Wealthy and powerful families often had their own ice cellars.

It sounds like just an ice cellar, so why can't poor people have one?
Ice cellars are not something that ordinary wealthy families can afford.

Because the loss of ice is too great. Even if the ice cut in winter is stored in relatively insulated ice cellars, only a small portion of it will remain unmelted by summer.

Therefore, the underground ice cellar needed to be very large, the soil needed to be very hard, and then stone walls needed to be built. The engineering alone was beyond the reach of ordinary wealthy families.

Moreover, the ice not only needs to be clean, but also very thick, preferably more than two feet thick; thin ice won't work (it will melt too quickly).

Cutting ice in winter is hard work. A group of ice harvesters spend many days collecting tens of thousands of kilograms of ice, but by summer, only a few thousand kilograms are left to use. What can that possibly be?

Moreover, storing ice requires many steps and is not as simple as one might imagine; it is very labor-intensive.

However, in order to cool down in the summer, Zhu Yin still decided to build an ice cellar this year and hire people to harvest ice at the end of the year.

As for making ice with saltpeter, he had never even considered it.

Only a stupid time traveler would use saltpeter to make ice. First of all, saltpeter is a strategic resource for making gunpowder, which is not easy to obtain and is very expensive.

If everyone used this method to make ice, then saltpeter, which is used to make gunpowder, would become scarce.

Even if saltpeter ice-making can be recycled, reducing saltpeter is very troublesome.

Moreover, ice made from saltpeter not only has a pungent taste but is also toxic. It is not suitable for consumption, let alone for chilling food.

Ice made from saltpeter was placed in an ice chest to cool the room. Although the room temperature was lowered, it also emitted a harmful, strange smell.

Would wealthy and powerful families use something like this?

This explains why, even though saltpeter ice-making was invented in the Tang Dynasty, the Qing court still used traditional methods to harvest ice until the late Qing Dynasty.

Therefore, Zhu Yin did not understand why the time traveler's use of the ancient method of making ice with saltpeter, which was already known to the ancients, would still elicit shock and admiration.

Ning Caiwei had the same idea as Zhu Yin and said:

"Summer is tough. This year I'm going to dig a big ice cellar and cut at least 100,000 jin of ice by the end of the year. It's not just for cooling down, but also for stockpiling milk candy."

In summer, milk candies soften easily when exposed to heat for extended periods, affecting their taste and appearance.

Therefore, Ning Caiwei wanted to build a large ice cellar to store milk candy in the summer.

"Amitabha!" Madam Ning touched her prayer beads. "Let the Nanjing Imperial Household Department or the Ministry of Works Water Conservancy Department build the ice cellar. Anyway, the Nanjing staff is quite idle."

Zhu Yin and Ning Caiwei thanked her together, saying, "Thank you, Aunt."

This is an example of abusing public power for private gain, a basic practice of powerful figures in ancient times.

With a single word from the Ning family, they could mobilize official power to build a massive ice cellar for the Zhu family.

In the Ming Dynasty, the institutions responsible for building and managing ice cellars were the Inner Palace Bureau in the imperial palace and the Water Conservancy Department of the Ministry of Works in the outer court. Since Nanjing already had this system, how to use it was entirely up to Tian Yi.

Ning then said, "Caiwei, I love your milk candy. I'm so glad your recipe is so good! I'm sure the Empress Dowager and the masters in the palace would like it too. I mean, you should prepare some next time so your uncle can present it to the palace as tribute."

This was obviously an advertisement for Ning Caiwei, and also an attempt to curry favor with the royal family.

“Great!” Ning Caiwei had this idea for a while. “It’s just that there’s not enough milk candy right now, and we haven’t been able to recruit any workers. We estimate that we won’t be able to send it to the palace until the Mid-Autumn Festival.”

Madam Ning smiled and said, "There's one more thing I need to tell you, and I'm sure you already have an idea. You and I are both women with unbound feet; our Ning family doesn't bind feet."

"Qingchen will be three years old next year. According to current customs, girls start foot binding at the age of three. What do you think?"

Ning Caiwei replied without hesitation, "No. Aunt is right, we Ning family women don't bind our feet, we don't bother with that."

"Amitabha, that's good." Madam Ning patted Ning Qingchen's little head. "We don't bind feet, so we're not afraid of not being able to get married in the future. If any bound-foot women come to solicit business next year, just kick them out."

Zhu Yin asked, "Is Uncle very busy today?"

He wanted to see Tian Yi as soon as possible and also ask about the imperial rewards from last year.

He accomplished two great things last year.

"Uncle is still discussing matters in the front hall, please wait a bit." Ning Caiwei knew that Zhu Yin mainly came to see her uncle. "The magistrate said that we won't go back tonight, we'll stay at the garrison headquarters and go home tomorrow."

Zhu Yin nodded and said, "Alright. But can't I come to see my aunt? Or necessarily to discuss matters with my uncle?"

Madam Ning laughed and said, "You little tiger, when have you ever come to see me? You always come to discuss matters with your uncle. At such a young age, you're always thinking about official business. In my opinion, if you hadn't become an official, you would truly be a hidden gem."

Everyone laughed when she said that.

Zhu Yin drank another bowl of chilled bayberry soup, and Tian Yicai returned from the front hall.

“Uncle-in-law…” Zhu Yin quickly stood up and bowed.

Tian Yi chuckled and said, "Zhihu, you've come at the perfect time. I was just looking for you. Your two rewards from last year have finally arrived. Do you know what they are?"

"What reward?" Zhu Yin's expression immediately lit up with joy.

Ning Caiwei also quickly perked up her ears, her eyes sparkling.

I've been waiting for almost a year, what kind of reward is it?

P.S.: Can anyone guess what the reward is? Thank you, goodnight! I hope I don't get squeezed out of the top 500 on the monthly ticket ranking this month.

(End of this chapter)