The Ming Dynasty: Starting with the Carpenter Prince!

Two days later, the lecture ended.

Zhu Youxiao did not leave immediately.

After waiting in a side hall of the Wenhua Hall until most of the lecturers had left, he asked Liu Shun to invite Sun Chengzong to stay.

When Sun Chengzong returned, only the Crown Prince remained in the side hall, with two books of questions spread out on the table.

"Sir, I have a stupid question."

Stupid question.

Sun Chengzong had heard these three words twice before. The last time, the "stupid question" was about how far Shenyang was from Liaoyang. After asking the question, he surpassed everyone else at the lecture on Liaodong knowledge.

He bowed, knowing full well that this "stupid question" probably wouldn't be too stupid either.

"Your Highness, please speak."

"The Ministry of Revenue reported that 1.2 million taels of silver were allocated to the Liaodong Military Governor's Office last year."

Zhu Youxiao opened a notebook and pointed to the numbers.

"The receipt from the Ministry of War, forwarded by the Military Commissioner's Office, indicates that 534,000 taels were actually received."

The finger moved to the second workbook.

"There is a shortfall of 670,000 taels."

Sun Chengzong remained silent for a moment.

I wasn't thinking about how to answer, but rather how many sets of documents this crown prince had flipped through to finally put two completely unrelated documents from the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War on the same table.

"Your Highness is right; there is indeed a discrepancy between the figures allocated in the register and the actual amount received."

"Are you aware of the extent of the discrepancy, sir?"

"According to the historical documents submitted by the Military Commissioner's Office, the difference between the allocated funds and the actual amount received is approximately 40%."

Forty percent.

Of the 1.2 million allocated, only 60% reached the front lines.

The middle 40% is subject to layers of exploitation and ruthless skimming, a fact kept secret and no one dares to touch.

Zhu Youxiao closed the question booklet.

"Sir, I was just curious, that's all."

His tone was nonchalant, as if he were just saying that the weather was nice today.

Sun Chengzong nodded, bowed, and left.

As he reached the palace gate, he turned back and glanced at the Crown Prince.

Curiosity, nothing more?

Who would believe that?

…………

Warm room.

Emperor Taichang leaned back on the couch, rubbing his temples. The warm room had been opened half an hour earlier than usual today, and his health was even worse.

His complexion was worse than yesterday; his face was sallow, his eyes were sunken, and his lips were chapped. The teacup sat untouched beside him.

Zhu Youxiao did not speak immediately.

I sat down by the couch, neatly stacked the petitions scattered on the corner of the table for Emperor Taichang, and placed the teacup in a convenient position.

Emperor Taichang closed his eyes and rested for a while until he recovered.

"How was your prayer service today?"

"The speakers talked about the troop deployment in Liaodong, but I couldn't remember many of the names."

"If you can't remember it, you'll have to learn it gradually."

Emperor Taichang chatted casually, making small talk.

Zhu Youxiao responded twice, then paused.

"Father, I came across something in the imperial examination papers that I find quite strange."

"What is it?"

"The Ministry of Revenue said that it allocated 1.2 million taels to Liaodong last year, but the receipt from the Military Commissioner's Office stated that it was 534,000 taels."

Emperor Taichang remained silent.

There was no surprise, no questions were asked, and no one uttered a sound.

Having been the crown prince for thirty years, how could he not know how deep the waters of the Liaodong military tax were?

"These two numbers don't match; there's a difference of 670,000 taels."

Zhu Youxiao stopped there after saying that.

Emperor Taichang took the two petitions, flipped through them, closed them, and held them under his hand.

"Has anyone still looked at these two practice books?"

"No one's here. I found it myself."

Emperor Taichang glanced at him.

"Don't mention it to anyone else yet."

"Your subject understands."

Silence speaks louder than any answer; he was well aware of the financial hole in the Liaodong military fund and didn't want to touch it.

Zhu Youxiao did not ask further questions.

…………

It wasn't mentioned the next day.

It wasn't mentioned on the third day either.

For two consecutive days, he accompanied Emperor Taichang in the warm pavilion as he flipped through the examination papers. He had a lot to say but could not speak, and he had to pretend to be completely unaware.

My cheeks are sore from holding it in.

I've had proposals rejected by my superiors before, and I've gotten angry while waiting for approval, but that's all in the past. At least while waiting for approval, I don't have to act like a fifteen-year-old at the same time.

On the afternoon of the fourth day, Emperor Taichang finished reading several books of questions and suddenly put down his pen.

"The Liaodong military pay you mentioned a few days ago."

Zhu Youxiao looked up.

"Six hundred and seventy thousand taels is indeed unreasonable."

Emperor Taichang's tone turned somber.

"But this matter is far-reaching to investigate. It's over a thousand miles from the capital to Liaoyang, and involves at least seven or eight government offices along the way. Who should we investigate? And at what level should we stop?"

He was afraid of being found out.

Despite his fear, he finally spoke up after holding it in for four days. The 670,000 taels of silver felt like a fishbone stuck in his throat, and he couldn't swallow it down.

You can persuade those who want to investigate but are afraid, but there's really nothing you can do about those who don't want to investigate.

"I heard a story from Madam Ke a couple of days ago."

Zhu Youxiao replied as if it were just a casual remark.

"They say there was a wealthy man in her hometown who sent his steward to the county to buy grain. Every time, the steward quoted a price that was 30% higher than the market price. The wealthy man became suspicious and sent his son with a scale to accompany him. After each purchase, the grain was weighed. After two purchases, the steward's price was correct."

Emperor Taichang looked at him.

"The silver is weighed once when it leaves the capital, and again when it reaches Liaodong. By comparing the two weighings, we can know how much is missing in the middle. There's no need to check the people involved, just the numbers."

The phrase "only check the numbers" hit him right where he was most afraid.

Don't touch people, only touch numbers.

The numbers that don't match will speak for themselves.

Emperor Taichang did not reply, but lowered his head and took a sip of tea.

This time he really drank it, not just pretending.

Zhu Youxiao did not speak again.

…………

Another day has passed.

After listening to the affairs of state in the warm pavilion, Emperor Taichang waited for the ministers to leave before keeping the crown prince behind.

"Could we use the same weighing method for the Liaodong military supplies?"

coming.

Five days.

Two notebooks, a number, a story, five days of waiting, five days of pretending not to know.

Emperor Taichang himself made this request.

Zhu Youxiao relaxed a little, the tension that had been building up for five days, but only for a moment; he couldn't show a hint of smugness on his face.

"I think it's worth a try."

He was honest and obedient, like a good son who had listened to his father's instructions.

Emperor Taichang hummed in agreement, his tone much more fluent than a few days ago.

"I've been pondering this for two days. When the silver leaves the treasury, it's sealed with a record of the amount. At the next stop, the seal is opened and the record is made again. This way, the discrepancy will be clear at a glance. I've instructed Han Kuang to first compile a list of Liaodong military expenditures, bringing together the figures for the past three years."

He thought about it for two days, analyzing it meticulously, and the method he came up with was even more advanced than the Crown Prince had anticipated.

The sealing and counting are like weighing; Han Kuang's sorting out of the register is like establishing a bottom account.

Move both hands together.

Emperor Taichang managed to come up with these two tricks after flipping through his study materials for several days while on his sickbed. It's no wonder he was crown prince for thirty years.

"Thank you, Father Emperor."

…………

That afternoon, after the lecture ended, Zhu Youxiao kept Sun Chengzong in a side hall.

The conversation continued about Liaodong, starting with the topic of Liaodong military pay and moving on to the losses along the supply lines, the actual number of troops in each fortress, and the proportion of deserters and those who were not actually paying their salaries.

Sun Chengzong spread out a copy of the Liaodong map, pointing his finger from Shanhaiguan along Jinzhou to Liaoyang, and then northward from Liaoyang to Shenyang.

"North of Shenyang, Fushun has been lost. If the Later Jin were to advance south again, they would most likely go along the Hun River line."

Zhu Youxiao stared at the course of the Hun River on the map.

He knew what color the Hun River would be in six months.

In March of the first year of the Tianqi reign, three thousand Sichuan soldiers crossed the river to launch a counterattack. The river water, carrying ice shards, was waist-deep. On the opposite bank were Eight Banner cavalry. The battle lasted from morning until afternoon, and the entire army was wiped out, with more than one hundred and twenty officers and soldiers none of them surviving.

"If the Later Jin were to cross the Hun River at the outskirts of Shenyang and advance south, Liaoyang would be impossible to defend."

The words were spoken.

The side hall fell silent for a moment.

It felt like someone was squeezing my stomach.

He heard himself say what he had just said.

The tactical value of the Hunhe River crossing is a matter of expert judgment; it cannot be determined through mere theoretical discussion.

The map shows where the Hun River is, but it doesn't show which ferry crossing is deadly.

Those who have never been stationed in Liaodong cannot say things like "Liaoyang cannot be defended if we cross the river from there".

At fifteen years old, he had never left the Forbidden City, and had been lecturing outside the palace for less than a month.

To say "Liaoyang cannot be defended by crossing the Hunhe River" based on this is like a non-swimmer describing underwater currents.

He said things he shouldn't have said.

Sun Chengzong looked up at the Crown Prince.

"Your Highness, you mentioned the Hunhe River ferry crossing earlier?"

"Ah, I figured it out by looking at maps."

His voice was steady, and his expression was composed.

No one saw the sweat on his back.

"Last time you said that there was no natural defense between Shenyang and Liaodong, I wondered which route the enemy would take from the north. I looked at the map and saw the Hun River, and I felt that this place was important."

Sun Chengzong nodded. "Your Highness is right."

Then he continued talking about the grain transport route for a few more minutes, his tone no different from usual.

The composure honed over twenty years of hard work allowed him to swallow the words "Hunhe Ferry" that were stuck in his throat.

But Zhu Youxiao knew he hadn't believed him.

The map shows where the Hun River is, but it doesn't show which ferry crossings can accommodate a large army, or whether Liaoyang can hold them off once they cross.

Sun Chengzong's judgment, which he had painstakingly accumulated over more than a decade of experience with veteran soldiers on the frontier, could be readily interpreted by the Crown Prince simply by flipping through a map.

They chatted for a few more minutes in the side hall, then the topic shifted to something else.

When Sun Chengzong took his leave, his steps were as composed as ever.

Zhu Youxiao sat alone in the side hall for a long time.

The sweat on my back cooled down and clung to my undershirt, feeling both cold and sticky.

Having traveled through these past few days, this is the first irreversible mistake I've made.

…………

Sun Chengzong did not go home that night.

He sat in his duty room at the Hanlin Academy until dusk, going over the Crown Prince's words from the past few days three times.

From "Shenyang is only a hundred miles away from Liaoyang" to "If something happens in Shenyang, there won't be enough time to evacuate", and then to today's "Hunhe Ferry".

Each time it became more incisive and insightful, something unlike anything one could find by flipping through maps in the Forbidden City.

There is only one possibility.

Someone is teaching.

There is no such person in the Hanlin Academy, nor in the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. Wang An is ignorant of military affairs, and it is even less likely that Madam Ke would be involved.

Who is secretly teaching the Crown Prince military affairs in Liaodong? And why is the instruction so detailed? Is it out of ulterior motives or good intentions?

The more he thought about it, the more uneasy he became.

Sun Chengzong made a decision.

We have to report it.

…………

The next morning, Sun Chengzong went to the cabinet.

Fang Congzhe was drinking tea in his duty room when he saw him and was somewhat surprised.

The Left Vice Minister took the initiative to come to the cabinet to see the Grand Secretary, something that hadn't happened in twenty years.

"Your Excellency, is His Highness the Crown Prince being instructed on military affairs in Liaodong?"

Fang Congzhe paused for a moment while holding the teacup at his lips.

"Why does Lord Sun say such a thing?"

"His Highness the Crown Prince has recently asked about the situation in Liaodong on several occasions during the lectures, and the accuracy of his questions far exceeds what I could have achieved in just a few days of lectures."

Sun Chengzong paused for a moment.

"Yesterday, the tactical value of the Hunhe River crossing was mentioned. This is not a judgment that can be made by simply looking at a map. I have come to this knowledge through many years of dealing with the border troops in Datong. I fear that someone is secretly guiding Your Highness to get involved in military affairs. If their intentions are impure, the consequences will be unimaginable."

The duty room was quiet for a couple of breaths.

Fang Congzhe put down his teacup.

"I understand that Sun Shuzi is loyal and commendable."

Four words, not a single word.

Sun Chengzong bowed and withdrew.

The door to the duty room was closed, and Fang Congzhe sat alone.

He didn't care who was teaching the crown prince.

He was concerned about something else.

After the warm reception ended yesterday, Wang An, being careless, let slip a sentence, which reached the cabinet that afternoon.

Emperor Taichang asked, "Can we use that method of weighing the Liaodong troops?"

He didn't take it seriously at the time.

Now that Sun Chengzong has come, the two things are put together, and the whole situation has changed.

During the lectures, the Crown Prince pressed Liaodong step by step, and in the warm pavilion, he used a story to push Emperor Taichang onto the path of "investigating Liaodong's military expenditures".

With a hole of 670,000 taels, who among those who handled it along the way wasn't tainted? After seven years as Grand Secretary, how could Fang Congzhe himself remain completely untainted?

The supply of Liaodong provisions cannot be allowed to be diverted by the Crown Prince; doing so would have far-reaching consequences.

The buried object was much deeper than 670,000 taels of silver.

Fang Congzhe stood up and straightened the hem of his robe.

Go to the warm pavilion. Pull the seeds out before they take root.

…………

Fang Congzhe stayed in the warm pavilion for a quarter of an hour.

It was a solo performance, with no one else present.

When he came out, his steps were neither hurried nor slow, and he did not show his emotions, just like always.

The skin he developed through seven years of solitary training is impervious to cuts and water.

Wang An waited outside the door and only heard Fang Congzhe's last words.

"Your Majesty, the matter of the Liaodong military supplies involves a wide range of issues. The new dynasty has just been established, and it is better to remain calm and not take any action. I believe it is best to postpone the investigation."

A quarter of an hour.

The seeds that Zhu Youxiao planted took five days to grow, Fang Congzhe uprooted in a quarter of an hour.

Five days equals one quarter of an hour.

The difference between the Grand Secretary and the Crown Prince lies not in their intelligence, but in the cards they hold in their hands.

Fang Congzhe had seven years of trust as the Grand Secretary, a large number of protégés and former officials, and the Taichang Emperor's soft spot that "it is not advisable to touch the newly established dynasty."

The prince had only two notebooks and one story in his hands.

…………

That afternoon, Zhu Youxiao went to the warm pavilion.

Emperor Taichang leaned back on the couch, his tone completely different from when he made the decision yesterday.

"Let's put aside the matter of the Liaodong military supplies for now. Grand Secretary Fang is right; it's not advisable to launch a major offensive in the newly established dynasty."

Zhu Youxiao sat on the edge of the couch, his hands on his knees, his knuckles clenched so tightly they turned white.

His face was expressionless.

Five days.

Two notebooks, a number, a story, five days of patience, five days of pretending not to know, and five days of acting with a sore jaw.

Emperor Taichang did indeed speak up himself.

Then Fang Congzhe came over, and after a quarter of an hour, his mouth closed again.

"Your subject will obey Your Majesty."

My mouth was stiff when I said those five words.

Emperor Taichang did not notice.

He had already turned to the next workbook, acting as if the decision he had just made had never happened.

The emperor picked it up and put it down in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, and the crown prince's five days of business were all for nothing.

…………

After leaving the warm pavilion, Zhu Youxiao remained silent the entire way.

Liu Shun followed behind, not daring to utter a sound.

Back in the East Palace, I sat down and left the porridge on the table untouched as it cooled.

Hun River Ferry.

How did those four words come out? Spilled water cannot be gathered up again.

Did you find that on a map? Nobody would believe that.

Sun Chengzong did not believe it.

If Sun Chengzong doesn't believe it, he'll go and tell "the people who should know."

He went to see Fang Congzhe.

Fang Congzhe went to see Emperor Taichang.

Emperor Taichang pulled up the seeds.

From the "Hunhe Ferry Crossing" to the "temporary suspension of Liaodong military pay," only one day passed.

A casual remark, a well-intentioned report from an honest person, a perfect chain of cause and effect.

Zhu Youxiao leaned back in his chair and stared at the roof beams for a long time.

Three thousand people will die in that river in six months.

When crossing the river, the water was up to our waists, and we were covered in ice shards. On the other side were Eight Banners cavalry.

He had a chance to plug the hole in the Liaodong military pay today, but he failed.

If the hole isn't plugged, the front lines will still lack pay, food, and manpower. He can't reach the lives of the three thousand people on the banks of the Hun River.

The porridge has gone completely cold.

He picked it up and drank it all in one gulp. The cold porridge went down his throat, and he shivered.

Three paths lay before us.

Pursuing Sun Chengzong might mean losing the only person who truly understands Liaodong.

If you don't investigate, you won't know how much you've exposed.

The Liaodong military expenditure was halted, but the financial hole continued to leak.

All three roads are dead ends; being unable to move forward or backward is an understatement—it's like being blocked by three walls with no way out.

In the days since he transmigrated, from the Red Pill to the investiture to the lectures, he knew how to proceed with each step.

I don't know about this step.