Ming Dynasty: I, Yan Maoqing, am truly radiating auspicious energy!

Chapter 194 Who really lost? [Seeking monthly votes]

Watching Yan Maoqing's joyful departing figure, Zhu Houcong's heart was filled with an indescribable anticipation:

"Four hundred thousand taels it is."

"If we can accomplish the great task, with the smooth opening of the coal trade between the Ming Dynasty and the Tatars, a steady stream of taxes will flow into my hands. This 400,000 taels is a small amount of money to accomplish a great thing."

"Moreover, this time I sent Minister Yan Mao."

"Given Yan Maoqing's wicked character, he certainly won't just set up a carbon tax office for me."

"By the time he returns, I will likely have a comprehensive customs office covering all trade."

"Not only will I control the taxes from the coal trade, but I will also bring back the taxes from other trades such as textiles, ironware, gunpowder, and porcelain. This smoking thing is no saint; he'll take more than one bite of meat if he can get a piece of it!"

"As for that 10% share..."

"Heh, it's nothing more than investigating a few White Lotus Sect leaders, and maybe taking care of a few officials who make things difficult for him. How much money can they possibly seize?"

"I didn't use his money this time, and even gave him 400,000 taels of silver. It's just because I pity him for spending money to do things for me this time. Afterwards, he complained that I only told the horse to run but didn't give it any grass. He said he wouldn't put in any more effort in the future. Does he really think I care about that little bit of money that was confiscated?"

"This thing that emits blue smoke is still a bit too young in front of me."

"You were outmaneuvered by me and didn't even realize it. Haven't you heard that the devil is one foot tall, but the righteous are ten feet tall?"

"Hehehehe..."

Just as Huang Jin was thinking about these things, he saw Yan Maoqing leave the Hall of Mental Cultivation and took the opportunity to go inside to serve him.

"Huang Jin, go to the Ministry of Personnel and look up a man named Li Fuda, who may now be called Zhang Yin."

Zhu Houcong slightly suppressed the upward curve of his lips and began to speak.
"Check where this person is currently employed. If he is still in Shanxi, copy down the information and send it to Yan Maoqing. If he has been transferred elsewhere, copy down the information and send it to Lu Bing."

"The slaves obey the order."

Huang Jin bowed and replied, but he was extremely puzzled.

This is very unusual!
Today is so unusual!
He remembered clearly that the Emperor and Yan Maoqing had never been in such a harmonious situation before when they were alone.

Either the emperor was so angry that he couldn't catch his breath for a long time, and even his dragon claws would tremble for half an hour.
Or Yan Maoqing was kicked out of the palace, or even beaten black and blue by the emperor, and indignantly kicked over the emperor's medicine pot.

In his memory, the two of them would always get along well together.

But today's situation is very different from the past.

When he saw Yan Maoqing outside, Yan Maoqing looked completely smug and even rubbed his hands together gleefully like a fly as he walked.

This immediately made his heart jump into his throat.

He was very worried about the Emperor's current state, wondering if he had been angered by the thing emitting blue smoke again, so he hurriedly went into the palace to check.

Upon entering the hall, they found the emperor's lips were almost curved into a smile that reached his ears; he was laughing absentmindedly, his eyes nearly invisible...

Huang Jin was genuinely confused.

The Emperor must think he is winning, and Yan Maoqing must also think he is winning.

Both of them were winning, so much so that they were almost laughing out loud...

So who exactly lost?
……

He came out of the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

On his way back to the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, Yan Maoqing was indeed rubbing his hands together with obvious delight.

He was a little confused as to why Zhu Houcong was being so generous today. Was it really just a change of heart, remembering his hard work?

Could it be that Zhu Houcong, the chief accountant of the Ming Dynasty, was incapable of doing accounting?
Even if the profits are split 90/10, that 10% is still an unimaginable sum of money, so much so that Yan Maoqing couldn't estimate it at the moment and could only tentatively define it as "a lot".

after all……

Yan Maoqing rubbed his hands together and started counting on his fingers, grinning from ear to ear:
"The powerful families, Shanxi merchants, border generals, and the Prince of Dai whose fief is in Datong... Compared to these big tigers who have been operating in Shanxi for many years and have profited from both the Ming Dynasty and the Tatars, the money in the hands of the White Lotus leader is probably not even worth a dish, okay?"

"Even just one tenth could amount to over a million taels of silver. Perhaps I'm underestimating them!"

"The White Lotus Cult! They're all members of the White Lotus Cult! The White Lotus Cult with huge sums of money!"

"The only problem is dealing with the Prince of Dai's lineage. The biggest obstacle Guo Xun and Yan Song have encountered this time is probably them. After all, they are genuine members of the imperial family, and the powerful families, merchants, and border generals in Shanxi all follow their lead."

“This matter cannot be handled by ordinary means. Even if Da Sha Zhu were to handle it personally, he would have to make an exception for the sake of being of the same clan and ancestors, otherwise he would probably be criticized.”

"but……"

"If I can get the Prince of Dai's lineage to rebel, the situation will be different, and then we can take advantage of the situation to confiscate their property, right?"

"At that time, it will be much easier for Da Sha Zhu. He can rightfully order the deaths of several key figures in the Prince of Dai's lineage, and also take the opportunity to order other unrelated relatives to move away to prevent future troubles."

"Only by relocating the lineage of the Prince of Dai can the affairs of Datong be accomplished smoothly, and can we ensure that they will not be tainted by corrupt officials for a period of time."

"Anyway!"

"A promise is a promise. When the time comes, Big Fool Zhu won't be able to back out. I took this money with a clear conscience!"

Have you not heard that for every step the righteous take, the evil takes ten?

In fact, Yan Maoqing's statement was not unfounded. He did not make a decision based solely on speculation or for the sake of profit sharing, but rather targeted the lineage of the Prince of Dai who had acted without authorization as the primary target for confiscating property during this trip.

According to historical records.

In the twenty-fourth year of the Jiajing reign, which is about three years from now, the lineage of the Prince of Dai will face a major problem.

The incident began in early 1565 when members of the Prince of Dai's faction openly robbed the prefect of Datong of his property.

After the matter was reported, Zhu Chongzhuo, the General of Fengguo from the Prince of Dai's lineage who was directly involved, was reprimanded by Emperor Zhu Houcong and stripped of his salary.

Zhu Chongzhuo harbored resentment and conspired with his cronies to rebel. He not only appointed a White Lotus sect leader named Luo Tingxi as his strategist, but also ordered people to infiltrate the grasslands to contact the Tatar prince to send troops to help him. He wanted to cooperate with the Tatars from within and without to surrender Datong and betray the country for personal gain.

That night, Zhu Chongzhuo secretly ordered his men to carry fire arrows and burn down the fodder depot of the Datong border troops, intending to demoralize the army and cause Datong to fall in one fell swoop.

Unexpectedly, the envoy who went out to contact the Tatar prince was captured by General Zhou Shangwen's patrolmen by chance, and a letter from Zhu Chongzhuo to the Tatar prince was found on his body.

This disrupted Zhu Chongzhuo's plans, preventing him from communicating with the Tatar prince in time and thus failing to receive reinforcements from the Tatar army.

Therefore, this uprising naturally failed and was quickly suppressed.

Zhu Chongzhuo was also arrested and brought back to the capital, where he was sentenced to death and his body was burned. Officials, including the chief secretary of the Prince of Dai's residence, were also arrested and punished. This incident reveals that the Prince of Dai's lineage had long been closely associated with the White Lotus Sect and also had secret dealings with the Tatars, but these had not been brought to light until the incident occurred.

Even the imperial family of the Ming Dynasty was like this.

So, naturally, most of the prominent families, merchants, and border generals in Shanxi who followed the example of the Prince of Dai would follow suit.

In addition, there are records in historical materials.

The Li Fuda he mentioned earlier, who donated grain to buy an official position, became the commander of the Taiyuan Guard in Shanxi. He also transferred a lot of benefits to officials in Shanxi and even in the imperial court.

This is how they successfully turned Taiyuan into the White Lotus Sect's stronghold, and from Taiyuan as the core, they radiated outwards, making Shanxi the region where the White Lotus Sect was most rampant during that era.

Yan Maoqing would never believe that the local officials, prominent families, and Shanxi merchants were unaware of the existence of the White Lotus Sect.

Even in later years, when pyramid schemes were rampant, this was still a problem.

Even if those pyramid schemes set up their bases right under the noses of certain authorities, with people constantly coming and going every day, and even openly giving lectures and brainwashing people, no one cares even if nearby residents call or relatives come to their door looking for them.

Yan Maoqing had a relative who experienced something similar. When the hat arrived at the stronghold, all they did was bring out the person the relative had come looking for, and that was it...

When Yan Maoqing heard about this, his worldview was truly shattered.

Therefore, Yan Maoqing had reason to suspect that these officials, aristocratic families, and Shanxi merchants were themselves part of the interests of the White Lotus Sect.

Moreover, they likely employed a scheme where "Master Huang's money was returned in full, while the common people's money was split 40/60," which is why the White Lotus sect had fertile ground to survive in Shanxi.

After all, the main economic model in various parts of the Ming Dynasty at that time was the manor economy.

Never underestimate the "intelligence organization" at the entrance of each village. Any outsider or event has no secrets the moment they enter the village.

Without the support and cooperation of these local officials, powerful families, and Shanxi merchants, even the supreme imperial power could not reach the countryside, let alone a mere White Lotus sect...

……

While thinking this, Yan Maoqing had already returned to the Court of Imperial Sacrifices.

When he couldn't lie down, his execution ability was actually quite strong; he immediately summoned Shen Kun and Gao Gong.
"Brother Suqing, Brother Bozai, you've come to do a great job."

"This……"

The two looked at each other, puzzled, and then turned to Yan Maoqing.
"Could you please enlighten us, Minister Yan?"

"The Emperor just summoned me and ordered me to go to Shanxi to eradicate the White Lotus Sect and clear my name of any suspicion of collusion with the White Lotus Sect."

Yan Maoqing smiled and said,
"However, the Emperor did not give me any troops, but only allocated 400,000 taels of silver to us, meaning that the Court of Imperial Sacrifices is to recruit and train troops on its own. Whether it is to go to Shanxi to eradicate the White Lotus Sect this time, or to exercise the power to inspect criminal cases in the future, this army will be exclusively under the control of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices."

"Both of you are from military backgrounds, so you should know how to recruit and train soldiers. Therefore, I would like to entrust this matter to you two."

"Only 400,000 taels of silver were allocated?"

Shen Kun and Gao Gong's eyes widened immediately, but what they said made Yan Maoqing feel a little confused about the main point.

All you heard about what I just said was about money, right?

The corrupt official has come forward on his own!

"What, not enough?"

Yan Maoqing's heart skipped a beat. He really had no concept of the expenses for recruiting and training soldiers, only knowing the saying, "When the cannons roar, gold is worth ten thousand taels."

He thought to himself, "Could this time I've been tricked by Zhu Houcong? This 400,000 taels of silver isn't even enough to recruit 2,000 soldiers. I'll have to put my own money into it."

After all, he had never done anything like this before, and he didn't even know which way the gate to the training ground should face.

But upon further reflection...

It shouldn't be that bad. Four hundred thousand taels of silver, when converted to the equivalent of two thousand soldiers, would amount to two hundred taels of silver for each soldier.

Based on his understanding of current prices, if it were just food and drink, even if he provided them with the best food and drink every day, it should be enough to support these two thousand soldiers for several years...

Even if we add the issues of equipment, horses, and pay to their expenses, etc.

Yan Maoqing thought that they should be able to survive this operation no matter what.

Furthermore, historically, it shouldn't have cost Shen Kun so much money to sell his property to recruit and train over a thousand "top scholar soldiers" to fight against Japanese pirates.
After all, based on Yan Maoqing's understanding of Shen Kun, although this top scholar's family was not short of money, they were certainly not a wealthy and powerful family either. Selling their property should not have yielded more than a few hundred thousand taels of silver...

"Enough! How could it not be enough? It's more than enough!"

Shen Kun also started rubbing his hands together excitedly, saying,

"Minister Yan has entrusted this silver to me for allocation. I can at least raise 5,000 soldiers for you. After two months of training, they can be deployed to Shanxi, ensuring sufficient food and supplies for at least six months!"

"You don't need that much, just two thousand will do."

Yan Maoqing finally felt relieved, and a smile returned to his face.
"However, I want two thousand elite troops, and they must be fully equipped with firearms like the former Shenji Battalion. Their tactics and fighting methods must be completely in accordance with my requirements. I will not interfere with anything else."

According to Yan Maoqing, the Ming Dynasty now has the capability to replicate the arquebuses of the Franks and to mass-produce them.

This type of matchlock gun was quite backward by later generations, but it was very advanced for this period. It was equipped with a sighting device and a curved stock and was called the "foreign bird gun".

This story begins with the Battle of Tuen Mun, which took place in the sixteenth year of the Zhengde reign (or the first year of the Jiajing reign).

At that time, the Ming army defeated the Frankish people who had occupied Tuen Mun and recovered Tuen Mun, while also seizing some matchlock guns from them.

After that, the Ming Dynasty began to imitate this more advanced firearm and tried to equip it with the army. However, due to various reasons and constraints, the progress of its deployment was very slow.

So much so that even now, in the twentieth year of the Jiajing reign, the weapons have not yet been fully deployed, and many of the firearms used by the army are still antiques from the Yongle era...

Yan Maoqing wanted this kind of firearm; as for the more advanced flintlock musket...

He did know some basic principles, but he lacked the creativity to create something from nothing.

At this time, firearms masters like Zhao Shizhen and Bi Maokang had not yet been born, so we could not rely on them for the time being. We could only wait and see if the Jixia Academy could recruit talents in this field later.

It's best not to dwell on things that are too far away to be of immediate help.

"Fully equipped with firearms?"

Shen Kun was taken aback upon hearing this, and Gao Gong also hesitated for a moment before finally speaking.
"I'm afraid that won't work. The Shenji Battalion specializes in firearms and also needs the infantry of the Five Armies Battalion and the cavalry of the Three Thousand Battalion to protect it. A single type of soldier probably can't form a combat force, right?"

(End of this chapter)