Di Ming

Chapter 257 The Great Dynasty of Shuori!

When Ning Qingchen cried like that, she looked soft, helpless, and pitiful, like a kitten that had been abandoned.

Sobbing, she looked at Zhu Yin with teary eyes, "Little tiger... boohoo..."

When Ning Caiwei saw her younger sister cry, her heart softened again. She was helpless against her sister's usual willful and unruly behavior.

She could only bite the bullet and say, "Sis, we're not separating, and we're not abandoning you. We're just sleeping in separate rooms, is that not even allowed? Little Tiger and I are getting married, and it's really...sigh, you know that..."

In the next life, her younger sister slept with her since she was a child until she went to medical school and lived on campus. Her younger sister was always afraid of being alone.

But even if I'm afraid of being alone, I'm getting married soon, so I can't just stay the same as before, can I?

Ning Caiwei couldn't continue speaking at this point, so she poured herself a cup of tea and took a sip. Because she was having trouble breathing, she choked on it.

"Cough cough..." Ning Caiwei covered her chest, coughing until her face was flushed.

Zhu Yin quickly put down his book and patted her back, "How did you choke? Poor thing..."

Ning Caiwei coughed until tears streamed down her face. She waved her hand and pointed at her younger sister, signaling Zhu Yin to persuade her.

Zhu Yin was also in a dilemma. He could only carefully consider his words before speaking:

"Qingchen, your sister is only doing this for your own good. Look, you're six years old now, not a three-year-old, much less a baby. And I'm fifteen, not a boy anymore. If you accidentally see me sleeping tonight, it'll be embarrassing for you..."

Ning Qingchen suddenly stopped crying, widened her dark, gem-like eyes, and said earnestly:

"What's the big deal? I'm a doctor, I know the human body best, what haven't I seen? In the end, it's just organs and tissues, I don't feel embarrassed at all."

"My God..." Ning Caiwei couldn't help but let out a soft "woof" when she heard her sister's lewd words; she was about to go crazy.

Studying medicine is a valid reason? You're amazing.

Zhu Yin was completely dumbfounded, utterly bewildered by the little girl.

After a long while, the little tiger finally managed to say, "Okay, Dr. Ning, even if you're not embarrassed, I am."

To everyone's surprise, Ning Qingchen's words were even more venomous: "I'm not embarrassed, so why are you? How strange."

"As a doctor, I'm telling you both responsibly that you're only fifteen, your bodies aren't fully developed, and you shouldn't be having sex. Besides, there were no contraceptive methods in ancient times, and you know the consequences. If you get pregnant, the quality of the fetus can't be guaranteed. Playing cards too early isn't good for your health either. Do you understand?"

"Besides, you both said before that even if you get married, you should wait until you are eighteen to consummate the marriage. That's your consensus, right? As long as you don't play cards at night, we can still sleep in the same room as before."

"With me here, I'm there to keep an eye on you and prevent you from breaking the rules prematurely under the influence of impulse. I have a purpose. If I'm not here, and you two are alone together every night, can you really refrain from touching each other for three years? Can you guarantee that? I really don't believe it."

"Sister, girls your age have a high probability of difficult childbirth, and the risks are very high. And Little Tiger, you're only fifteen, and your body's energy and blood are insufficient. Getting pregnant too early will affect your development and damage your foundation. I'm here to help you get through the three-year period of restraint. This is a doctor's advice, and I hope you will respect professional opinions."

"When you're eighteen in three years, you can play cards without hurting your health, and I'll be at ease. By then I'll be nine, and it won't be too late for me to sleep alone."

He's clearly only six years old, and he still speaks in a childish voice, but his little face is full of seriousness as he lectures with an air of importance.

Zhu Yin: “…”

Ning Caiwei: "..."

After saying this, Ning Qingchen lowered her head and looked at her toes. Her little hands twisted and turned on her clothes sash.

Zhu Yin and Ning Caiwei found it both amusing and infuriating. But upon reflection, they realized it actually made some sense; she really was a supervisor.

Ning Caiwei caught her breath and shook her head, saying, "Forget it, let's put this aside for now."

She was defeated by her younger sister. She didn't want to continue the conversation; she still had some pride. Dr. Ning dared to say anything, no matter how blunt or unrestrained, but she couldn't.

Zhu Yin breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't want to continue this topic either; it was too awkward.

Oh well, I'll just be more careful when I sleep at night from now on, and wear my pajamas more securely.

Ning Caiwei changed the subject, saying, "Mr. Xu also came back with me this time, but he went back to his hometown of Shaoxing first and will arrive in Beijing in a few days to attend our wedding."

Zhu Yin said, "With Xu Wei's return, the position of Prefect of Jingzhou will be vacant. We should quickly send Shang Yang to take over the post."

"Whether or not I have the opportunity to lead troops to fight against the Japanese, the Eight Banners overseas will all be mobilized against Japan, as will your merchant guild."

Ning Caiwei nodded and said, "In October, I will find an excuse to gather armed merchant groups from all over the country, go to sea for training on an island, and attack Kyushu Island under the guise of pirates."

Zhu Yin said, "I'll say it again: we must fight when the Japanese army is weakened. Your few thousand merchant guilds can't fight the regular Japanese army head-on. I'll give you the red tassel then."

Ning Caiwei said, "Ding Liyang leads 10,000 Eight Banner troops, and I lead 5,000 armed merchant troops, which adds up to 15,000. The imperial army is still the main force. It all depends on whether you can take charge of the Korean war. If you can hold back the main Japanese force, Ding Liyang and I can take advantage of the situation. If you don't lead the troops, we can only plunder a few times and then leave."

Zhu Yin thought for a moment, then held up a hand and flipped it over. “One hundred thousand! The imperial court needs to mobilize at least one hundred thousand elite troops and the most capable soldiers to have any chance of counterattacking the Japanese mainland. I have already expressed my stance to Commander Shen. He will fully support my trip to Korea, but not now, probably early next year.”

Ning Caiwei frowned slightly: "The Japanese pirates aren't that weak, are they? A hundred thousand elite troops can destroy Japan?"

"Of course not," Zhu Yin shook his head. "Japan is not weak at all now. Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu, which one is easy to deal with? 100,000 elite troops can only launch a counterattack against Japan and bring the war to the Japanese mainland. To destroy the country..."

Zhu Yin's expression was solemn as he held up two fingers. "No less than two hundred thousand elite troops!"

Ning Caiwei stuck out her tongue. "So many people? Let's forget about it. Will Godfather even have a chance to participate in this battle?"

Zhu Yin said, "My godfather will no longer serve as the commander-in-chief, but will instead be appointed as the nominal Left Commander-in-Chief. There is no hope of being granted a title; he will only be promoted from Junior Guardian to Grand Guardian, and his son will be granted the position of commander of a thousand households. He will still have a chance to go on a campaign."

Ning Caiwei felt deeply indignant on behalf of Qi Jiguang, "The emperor is really going too far. Li Chengliang has made such great contributions, yet he was only granted a title. My adoptive father has so many military achievements that he could easily be made a marquis, but the court won't even give him a count's title. Aren't they afraid of demoralizing their soldiers by treating meritorious officials so harshly?"

Zhu Yin sneered, "When has the Ming Dynasty ever been afraid of its soldiers losing heart? Where did the military man He Shu get that saying? They thought that since my adoptive father was a henchman of Zhang Juzheng, being reinstated and given his original position was already a great favor from the emperor, let alone being granted a title? My adoptive father didn't expect that either; getting the title of Grand Tutor was already quite good."

"Although he lost his military power in Jizhou and the Qi Family Army, which he had painstakingly trained for several years, was about to fall into the hands of his successor, his three thousand personal guards would continue to follow him."

"Whether he is the Left Vice-Governor in Beijing or not, at least he is in Beijing, so I can see him often."

"Oh, how's your contracted project in the Hetao region going?"

Ning Caiwei said, "In the name of the Helan Trading Company and the Datong Trading Company, I gave the Ministry of Revenue 200,000 taels of silver to secure 70% of the grassland contracting rights in the Hetao Grassland, with the terms remaining unchanged for 20 years."

“Starting next year, we will have to pay 150,000 taels to the Ministry of Revenue and 50,000 taels to the palace every year, and also provide military rations and horse feed for the troops stationed in the Hetao region in order to fulfill the requirements of the agreement.”

"With the contributions from other merchants, the imperial court can earn more than 400,000 taels of silver in grain and money in the Hetao region every year."

"So much!" Zhu Yin couldn't help but frown and say, "The Ministry of Revenue and the palace have too big an appetite. They pay so much money and grain every year, yet they shift the entire burden onto the merchants. The court is so irresponsible."

Contracting the Hetao region to Ming merchants for cooperation and opening up, thus consolidating the Hetao region, was originally Zhu Yin's idea.

It should be a win-win situation. The imperial court sets out policies and stations troops, while businesses invest in operations.

But he hadn't expected the imperial court to have such a huge appetite when awarding contracts—they wanted so much! Doing this was tantamount to killing the goose that lays the golden eggs; merchants would lose money, so who would do it?

Is this just the money and grain that needs to be handed over on the surface, but also the money and grain that needs to be bribed in secret?

The total tax revenue of Ningxia was only 70,000 taels of silver. Yet the imperial court collected over 400,000 taels of silver annually from merchants who contracted the Hetao grasslands, equivalent to the tax revenue of Fujian province. Is this reasonable?

Since the Hetao region can generate so much wealth, why was the imperial court unwilling to reclaim it before, and why did it need to spend money to create momentum for its reclaiming?

Now they've finally reverted to their old ways, and they're going to drain the pond to catch all the fish again!

Ning Caiwei shook her head and said, "So from a business perspective, contracting the Hetao region is a useless project. After I hand over the profits from selling livestock, furs, and cheese each year, there will be very little left. It's just breaking even. The imperial court wants too much."

"Officials in the Ministry of Revenue lacked the ability to estimate project costs. Their pricing decisions were made on a whim, with no basis for negotiation. Initially, the Ministry of Revenue asked for more, but seeing that no one was willing to take on the project, they lowered their demands."

"The emperor and those officials don't even consider that Yunnan's annual tax revenue isn't this much. The Hetao region is just a grassland, so why should they demand so much? It's outrageous."

Zhu Yin rubbed his temples. "It's outrageous. The Ming Dynasty's economic policies are toxic, they're all a mess, and the taxes are a complete disaster. I need to find a way to intervene. We must lower the Ministry of Revenue's asking prices and reduce the burden on merchants."

Ning Caiwei smiled and said, "It would be best if we could lower the price, but we can continue operating even if we can't. The economic calculations are hard to make, but the political and military calculations are easy. Our trading company secretly controls 70% of the grasslands and estates in the Hetao region, which allows us to accumulate a lot of warhorses and recruit a lot of manpower. In a few years, the Hetao region will be ours."

Zhu Yin smiled too, a smug look on his face under the lamplight.

Leveraging Ning Caiwei's business empire, he established numerous private armed forces across the country, similar to modern-day armed security agencies. Now, with the Hetao Grassland under his control, it serves as a natural training ground, offering ample opportunities for development.

...

The two discussed it until 3:45 PM, then turned off the lights and rested. Tomorrow was the first day of the ninth lunar month, the day of the grand court assembly.

Although the emperor had been absent from court for several years due to his laziness, the court officials still had to attend the grand court assembly and line up to pay homage as usual. The Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs accepted the congratulations on behalf of the emperor.

Therefore, Zhu Yin still has to attend the grand court session tomorrow morning. He just returned to the capital today, and he has to attend the morning court session tomorrow morning; it's really tough.

The bed was large, and as usual, Ning Qingchen climbed into the middle, with Zhu Yin and Ning Caiwei on either side. This habit had been going on for six years.

Zhu Yin was exhausted from traveling during this period and fell asleep quickly, drifting off to sleep in a dreamlike state.

Ning Qingchen, carefree as ever, quickly fell asleep. She would hug her sister for a while, then hug the little tiger.

Ning Caiwei found it difficult to fall asleep.

Having lived two lives, she was finally getting married. Her heart was filled with both anticipation and a touch of trepidation.

At the same time, it's also a bit melancholic.

She was getting married, but her parents and grandfather were no longer there. They were in another world far away, and it felt unreal, as if they were just her own illusory memories, as if they never existed.

Even I myself seem to turn into a bubble, suddenly bursting and disappearing from this world.

She only felt truly alive when she saw the tiger cub and her sister.

Over the years, she has been very successful in business. Her businesses in sugar, pharmaceuticals, jewelry, tea, coal mining, shipping, department stores, transportation, catering, and the sex industry have all flourished and grown in scale.

In the first half of this year, the combined net profit of its various businesses reached 250,000 taels of silver.

This year's net profit will undoubtedly exceed 500,000 taels. After deducting the huge budget for various expenses, the annual surplus will be at least 200,000 taels. The Zhu family's savings have already surpassed the million-tael mark. And this is just pure savings; the silver spent over the past few years has already reached 800,000 taels.

This is only the Zhu family's private property, not including the public property of the overseas Jinghai Army.

Throughout the entire Ming Dynasty, she had more than 50,000 employees.

She wasn't the richest merchant in the Ming Dynasty, but she was definitely the most shrewd at making money. She was just very low-key and good at keeping secrets; the outside world only knew she was incredibly wealthy, but not the extent of her business holdings.

As her business empire expands, her wealth will grow at an accelerated pace.

In three years, the Zhu family will be able to rival the wealth of those established and powerful families. Within ten years, the Zhu family is expected to become the richest family in the Ming Dynasty.

But can the Zhu family keep such a huge fortune?

Last night, she had a nightmare. She dreamt that the little tiger was imprisoned, she and her sister were reduced to slaves in the brothel, and their vast family fortune was confiscated and vanished.

She also dreamed that the Imperial Guards took away the Zhu family's silver, and Emperor Baijin looked at the Zhu family's mountains of gold and silver and danced with joy.

Thinking of this, Ning Caiwei suddenly heard Ning Qingchen mutter incoherently in his sleep beside her:

"It's too dark... I don't want to sleep alone..."

"Sister...Little Tiger...Where are you...?"

As she spoke, she kicked off the blanket covering her. Ning Caiwei covered her with the blanket again, and couldn't help but sigh softly.

Qingchen, you're really giving me a headache.

Ning Caiwei was filled with joy one moment and sorrow the next. Gradually, her expression became dazed, and she drifted off to sleep.

In her dream, she was a bride, sitting on a magnificent flower bridge, adorned with a phoenix coronet and wedding gown. A little tiger rode a white horse, its hair embroidered with fresh flowers, its hooves lightly swaying in front of the bridal sedan chair.

Soon, she returned to the Zhu family home, and the two joyfully exchanged vows. But just as they were drinking the nuptial wine, a sudden commotion erupted outside, and a boisterous voice shouted:

"Zhu Yin is plotting a rebellion! Order his arrest!"

Ning Caiwei was startled and immediately broke free from the dream. Hearing Zhu Yin's breathing, her heart immediately calmed down.

Fortunately, it was just a dream.

"Bang bang bang bang bang—" The faint sound of the night watchman's drum could be heard outside, indicating that it was the fifth watch of the night.

Almost simultaneously, a rooster crowed, "Cock-a-doodle-doo!"

As soon as the rooster crowed, the grand sound of bells echoed from the Bell and Drum Towers, waking the entire city of Beijing.

"Dang...dang..."

"Ugh!" Ning Qingchen, who was sleeping with Zhu Yin's arm around her, immediately sat up. "The midnight bells are disturbing my sweet dreams every day!"

After grumbling for a moment, she yawned cutely and lay down again, this time hugging Ning Caiwei's arm once more.

Zhu Yin was too exhausted and still did not wake up.

Ning Caiwei reached out and gently nudged Zhu Yin.

Zhu Yin woke up immediately.

"Is it time?" Zhu Yin asked in a low voice, still half asleep. The long chime of the clock immediately chased away his drowsiness.

Ning Caiwei hummed in agreement, got up from the bed, and lit the lamp with a tinderbox.

As soon as the lights in the room came on, the sound of footsteps could be heard outside the hall, and the surrounding lanterns lit up one by one as if on command.

Immediately, with Hanzhang Hall as the center, the lights of the entire mansion were lit up one by one from the inside out, and soon they were as bright as stars, a magnificent sight.

Someone faintly said, "The master is going to court today, hurry up and serve him, don't delay his official business."

Immediately afterwards, several ordinary-looking maids filed in, carrying copper basins, towels, toothbrushes, and other items, to serve Zhu Yin as he washed up.

Ning Caiwei, wearing only a haphazardly draped garment over herself, revealing only a bodice underneath, and a pair of silk shoes on her feet, personally combed and styled Zhu Yin's hair.

The grand court session cannot be late, otherwise it would be considered a breach of etiquette, and the censors would impeach the official.

Ning Caiwei skillfully styled Zhu Yinwan's hair, ensuring it was perfectly in place. For years, she had always done this herself, rarely entrusting it to others, except occasionally letting Yunniang do it for her.

After tidying up Zhu Yin's hair, she helped him put on his official robes, a black gauze hat with outstretched wings, a rhinoceros horn belt, a ivory plaque, and a court tablet.

Then Zhu Yin went to the dining hall, where several maids had already prepared plates, bowls, chopsticks, and spoons, serving up a delicious breakfast.

Zhu Yin ate a little something, drank a glass of milk, and then hurriedly went out.

Once outside, Lancha and his personal guards had already eaten breakfast and prepared a sedan chair.

That's right. Nowadays, whenever Zhu Yin goes to court, he always rides in a sedan chair. It's not that Zhu Yin likes riding in a sedan chair; he just doesn't like being carried.

However, he didn't ride in a sedan chair, while all the other court officials did. His use of a horse-drawn carriage alone made him stand out. Zhu Yin didn't want to be too different, so he had no choice but to conform and ride in a sedan chair, breaking the rules with everyone else.

In fact, according to the laws of the Ming Dynasty, only civil officials of the third rank or above could ride in sedan chairs, and even then, they were carried by four men. Military officials, regardless of rank, were not allowed to ride in sedan chairs at all.

But nowadays, regardless of rank or whether they are military officers, everyone rides in a sedan chair. Even those who are not yet officials but have passed the imperial examinations can ride in sedan chairs.

Four lifts are the starting point, eight lifts are the standard configuration.

Given this prevailing atmosphere in the imperial court, those who adhered to the rules became the odd ones out.

Zhu Yin had no choice but to follow the crowd.

Today is the first day of the ninth lunar month, the autumn air is crisp, and there was already a light frost in the early morning. Zhu Yin boarded a sedan chair carried by eight men and was immediately taken out.

It was just before dawn, and the road was still dark. Lan Cha and the other guards, carrying lanterns, escorted Zhu Yin toward Chengtian Gate.

Zhu Yin lifted the sedan curtain and looked at the dark sky, his gaze as deep and unfathomable as the night.

Today's grand court session is not merely a matter of etiquette. A struggle will begin with the morning audience and extend into the court discussion at the Wenhua Hall in the morning.

If he fails, he will not only fail to be promoted to Vice Minister of War and Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince, but he may also be demoted!

Along the way, more and more official sedan chairs gathered, the creaking sounds of the sedan chair bearers rising and falling, and the lanterns around them casting shadows.

The officials in the capital, rushing to court, were all dressed in their official robes. They sat in their sedan chairs, eyes closed, resting, their faces expressionless.

Today is the first day of the lunar month, a grand court assembly, ranking below the New Year's Day and Winter Solstice assemblies, but also higher in rank than regular court assemblies. According to regulations, official robes must be worn.

The official sedan chairs of the officials entered the main street, passed the Imperial Ancestral Temple and the Altar of Earth and Grain, and stopped at the Duanmen Gate near the Meridian Gate.

Once you arrive at this place, you can only walk and can no longer ride in a sedan chair, unless you receive a special imperial decree.

Officials disembarked from their sedan chairs at Duanmen Gate and waited in the waiting room below the gate for the Meridian Gate to open. By this time, there were already more than two hundred court officials waiting at Duanmen Gate.

Besides the court officials, there were also thousands of Han generals and Imperial Guards, who were preparing to stand guard with ceremonial guards.

We were just waiting for the Jingyang Bell on the Meridian Gate to ring before we went inside.

According to regulations, officials of the fourth rank and above, as well as officials of the Censorate and the Imperial Secretariat, were required to attend the grand court ceremonies on the first and fifteenth of each month, and were called "court attendants." Officials below the fourth rank could also participate in the ceremonial procession.

Although some officials would make excuses not to attend, and many "nominal attendance" were registered but not actually present, most officials would still come to participate. By the late Wanli period, only a few officials would come to go through the motions.

Zhu Yin was a fourth-rank Vice Censor-in-Chief, and in principle he should have been in the South Pillar of the Duanmen Gate. However, since he had been a Hanlin official for the previous three years, he still habitually went to the Hanlin Office.

Upon seeing Zhu Yin enter, the Hanlin scholars greeted him warmly. No one could rival Zhu Yin's popularity and connections within the Hanlin Academy.

Although Hanlin scholars were of noble birth, their lives were not affluent. Zhu Yin often found various ways to help them financially.

Most of the court officials who met Zhu Yin were very enthusiastic, but a few were indifferent and unresponsive.

Many people cast kind, cautionary glances at Zhu Yin, reminding him of the current state of the court. The fact that Zhu Yin had been impeached was already known to some.

The grand court assembly on the first day of the lunar month is generally a ceremonial gathering, with little discussion of practical matters. However, it is not forbidden to discuss political affairs, especially as it is a good opportunity to impeach officials in public.

As everyone was talking, a procession of large sedan chairs arrived at Duanmen Gate, carrying the nine high-ranking officials and four cabinet ministers.

Zhu Yin also saw Qi Jiguang, who was on duty as a military officer.

When the censors saw Zhu Yin, their gazes turned slightly cold.

Zhu Yin also sneered.

As dawn broke and the morning mist began to dissipate, the Jingyang Bell on the Meridian Gate finally rang.

“Ding-ding-ding—”

As the bell rang, the two side gates on the left and right sides of the Five Phoenix Tower opened with a bang.

As soon as the bell rang, the Imperial Guards and the Han generals, carrying ceremonial guards, were the first to exit through the Duanmen Gate and enter the Forbidden City through the right side gate of the Meridian Gate.

After the military academy students entered and set up their ceremonial guards, the officials began to enter.

Military officials such as Qi Jiguang entered through the right side gate, while civil officials such as Zhu Yin entered through the left side gate.

The grand court ceremony, held on the first day of the ninth month of the twentieth year of the Wanli reign, finally began!
P.S.: Thank you, goodnight! I'm asking for all sorts of things! Emperor Wanli didn't hold court for several decades, but whenever there was a major court session, the ministers would still attend as usual, only the emperor would be absent. As for the less formal regular court sessions, they were almost completely abolished after the seventeenth year of Wanli's reign.

(End of this chapter)