The Ming Dynasty: Starting with the Carpenter Prince!

I didn't sleep much last night.

I tossed and turned, and when I closed my eyes, all I could see was the Hun River; when I opened them, all I could see were the dark roof beams.

He tossed and turned in bed a few times, but his fifteen-year-old body couldn't withstand a night of tossing and turning. In the middle of the night, he simply sat up and leaned against the bedpost, staring blankly into the distance.

When dawn broke, my head felt as heavy as if it were filled with lead.

Liu Shun brought in the porridge, but Zhu Youxiao only took two sips before pushing it away. The porridge was still the same downgraded porridge; the rice was thicker, and there was half the amount of osmanthus. The debt owed to Madam Ke was still outstanding.

After changing my clothes, I went to the warm pavilion. A cool breeze blew in through the corridor, which made me feel a little more awake.

Being awake only made me feel worse, and a flood of thoughts came to mind.

…………

The warm room smelled strongly of medicine, and the windows were closed.

Emperor Taichang leaned back on the couch, his complexion was better than yesterday, at least his lips weren't so dry.

Zhu Youxiao sat down beside him and, as usual, helped stack the test paper books and handed him a teacup.

While working, my mind was racing with thoughts of yesterday, and I couldn't show it on my face.

I've been installing it for almost half a month now, and I've never felt so tired before.

Pretend to be anxious when blocking the red pill, pretend to be clueless at the investiture ceremony, pretend not to understand in the warm pavilion, you can pretend to do anything, but pretending "this has nothing to do with me" is the most agonizing.

Because he was the one who started this whole thing.

Emperor Taichang flipped through two books of questions and suddenly looked up.

"Aren't you going to ask about the Liaodong military pay?"

His tone was casual, as if he were just mentioning it offhand.

Zhu Youxiao felt a tightness on the back of his neck.

His father had a habit of judging people; the less he said, the more he weighed things in his mind. Having been the crown prince for thirty years, he had developed a keen eye and could tell a lot about a person just by weighing them.

"Father said to put it aside for now, so I put it aside."

"Hmm." Emperor Taichang didn't ask any further questions, but instead looked down and turned to a page of the question book.

After a while, he looked up again.

"What did you find in your workbook yesterday?"

Zhu Youxiao paused for a moment while holding the test booklet.

Yesterday I went through the reports on the troop strength in Liaodong, the reports on the losses in the supply lines, and the two reports on the discrepancies between allocated and actual silver receipts.

He knew exactly what Emperor Taichang had found, because it was Emperor Taichang who had Wang An deliver the memorials. He knew which ones were delivered and which ones the Crown Prince had read, so Wang An couldn't possibly not reply.

This isn't asking what he found.

It was a test to see how he would answer.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, I flipped through several memorials from Liaodong, but I couldn't understand many of the characters, so I circled them."

Emperor Taichang glanced at him.

His gaze lingered for three breaths.

Three breaths is not long, but being stared at by one's own father for three breaths feels like someone is pressing his head into ice water, preventing him from surfacing.

Fang Congzhe was watching you to weigh whether you were friend or foe; Emperor Taichang was watching you to weigh whether you were close or distant.

Enemies and allies can be dealt with, but those who are close or distant are the truly troublesome.

Zhu Youxiao lowered his eyes and helped him stack the question books. His fingers were as steady as if he were carving wood. Sweat soaked his undergarment, which was cold and stuck to his spine.

Having weighed the matter, Emperor Taichang's tone softened.

"What Grand Secretary Fang said makes sense. The new dynasty's foundation is unstable, and it is not advisable to act rashly."

Emperor Taichang paused for a moment.

"However, you can take a look at the examination papers from Liaodong to broaden your horizons. I have Wang An put the examination papers related to Liaodong in a separate stack, so you can take a look when you have time."

Look, but don't touch.

I wanted a knife, but I got a ruler instead. It measures energy, but it can't cut a person.

"Your son thanks Your Majesty."

Emperor Taichang hummed in agreement.

"You can look at it, but don't share it with others."

"Your subject understands."

Emperor Taichang lowered his head and continued flipping through the examination papers.

I got 30 out of 100 on the test, and I'm grateful that Teacher Xie didn't give me a zero.

Emperor Taichang flipped through a few more pages and casually remarked.

"I have ordered Han Kuang to review the inflow and outflow of military funds in Liaodong over the past few years and prepare a list. It's not an investigation, just a review."

Zhu Youxiao almost dropped the question book in his hand.

Emperor Taichang didn't look at him; he turned to the next page.

"Han Kuang is a steady and reliable person."

These four words, when placed here, seem to be a comment on Han Kuang's character, but the underlying meaning is "You should also be careful."

"Your subject understands."

Emperor Taichang fell silent.

Zhu Youxiao bent down to help stack the question books, his fingertips slightly cool.

Emperor Taichang took a different approach, having Han Kuang compile the register. This was not arranged by the Crown Prince, but rather Emperor Taichang's own idea.

Fang Congzhe suggested yesterday that the investigation be postponed, and today Emperor Taichang agreed, but then immediately ordered Han Kuang to dig up old grievances.

You won't let me check? Fine, I can take a look, okay?

Zhu Youxiao should have been happy, but he couldn't be.

He couldn't even say how many people were making moves in this game.

He thought he was a chess player, but he might just be the fastest piece on the board.

…………

Before he even reached the corner of the passageway after leaving the warm pavilion, Wang An jogged up to catch up.

"Your Highness, the Duke of England's residence has sent a letter saying that the Duke of England wishes to pay his respects to Your Highness."

Zhang Weixian performed a flawless ceremony at the investiture ceremony, and after the silver reward controversy, he sent two bolts of cloth. After that, he remained inactive for about twenty days.

Why did you suddenly decide to come?

"When was the invitation sent?"

"Yesterday afternoon."

Yesterday afternoon, news spread quickly that Fang Congzhe had suggested temporarily suspending the Liaodong military pay.

"Come, arrange to stay in the East Palace. The tea will be fine as usual."

…………

Zhang Weixian brought a box of pine nut pastries with him when he came.

He was in his fifties, with an upright posture, and the demeanor of someone who had inherited a noble family for ten generations. Even sitting there without saying a word, he commanded respect.

He held the teacup to his lips but didn't drink; instead, he glanced at the tea first.

Once inside the East Palace, every move he made was subtle and unnoticed, yet he was being watched every single time.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Zhu Youxiao feigned ignorance, saying that there were too many questions and he didn't recognize many of the characters.

Zhang Weixian smiled and agreed, saying that the court officials all privately praised His Highness for his diligence in studying.

The phrase "everyone praises him in private" is itself a piece of information; this Duke has been paying close attention to what others are saying about the Crown Prince.

After exchanging pleasantries, Zhang Weixian changed the subject.

"Your Highness, I recently heard something, but I'm not sure if I should mention it."

"Please speak, Duke."

"Recently, some people in the Beijing garrison have been privately discussing the Liaodong military pay."

Zhang Weixian's gaze did not waver, and his tone remained calm, as if he were simply saying that the sun was shining brightly today.

"I don't know who is spreading the word, but it's spreading quite quickly."

Zhu Youxiao did not move his hand holding the teacup.

My heart skipped a beat, and it felt like someone had squeezed my stomach and then released it.

He only told Sun Chengzong and Emperor Taichang about the discrepancy in the Liaodong military pay data.

Emperor Taichang would not tell outsiders, and Fang Congzhe would not expose his family's dirty laundry.

Who spread that message?

That leaves Sun Chengzong.

The matter of going to see Fang Congzhe was most likely well-intentioned, but the problem with upright people is their uprightness. They can ask the prime minister a question, but they can also mention it to their colleagues.

It wasn't an intentional leak; it's just my nature. The phrase "keep your mouth shut" is inherently incompatible with this kind of person.

Data on Liaodong military pay was leaked, and it even leaked to the Beijing garrison.

His cards are being revealed one by one, and the people revealing them don't even realize they're doing it.

The most critical issue is that he can't even block the road, because he's unsure which side Sun Chengzong is on.

What happened to the Liaoning military pay?

Zhu Youxiao scratched his head nonchalantly, looking curious.

"I don't understand these things either. I just saw that two numbers didn't match when I was flipping through the problem book, so I mentioned it to my father. He said to put it aside for now, so I did."

I've been pretending to be innocent all morning, and my cheeks are aching.

Zhang Weixian glanced at him but didn't ask any further questions.

"Your Highness is right. With the new dynasty just established, stability is the top priority."

He stood up, bowed, stopped at the door, and turned back.

"By the way, I had someone look through the grain and pay ledgers of the capital garrison these past few days. We've only gone through half of them, and the old ledgers are already brittle. But while we were looking through them, we came across a few interesting entries. I'll come back to ask Your Highness about them when I have some free time."

After saying this, he cupped his hands in greeting and left.

Zhu Youxiao saw him to the door, his smile lasting until Zhang Weixian's figure turned the corner.

The door closed.

He stopped laughing; his hands were cold.

"I found a few interesting ones."

The Crown Prince spent half a month sifting through the imperial examination papers in the palace before finally finding one worth 670,000 taels of silver. Before he could even make a move, Fang Congzhe stopped him.

The Duke of England returned home and spent a few days going through the accounts of the Beijing garrison, and he found something "interesting".

Moreover, he brought it up on his own initiative.

Xun Gui was also holding cards in his hand. He thought he was making a move, but others had been watching him for a long time.

…………

I didn't go to the warm pavilion in the afternoon.

Emperor Taichang has retired for the night, and Wang An has sent word that he is not seeing anyone today.

Zhu Youxiao sat in the East Palace, flipping through memorials from Liaodong.

The first document is Xiong Tingbi's report, which states, "My troops actually number over 23,000, but the official register states 41,000..."

The book lists 41,000, but there are actually 23,000.

Just like what Sun Chengzong said at the lecture about the number of soldiers in Shenyang, the number of soldiers was increased rather than decreased, falsely reported and fraudulently claimed, and those who fled were not removed from the count, and those who grew old were not deleted.

The second book is a summary of the military strength of various towns in Liaodong, transferred from the Ministry of War.

The price marked as "30,000" in Shenyang was said by Sun Chengzong to be less than 15,000.

He drew a question mark next to the sign for Liaoyang that read "45,000".

Guangning bid "28,000" and Kaiyuan bid "12,000"—there's a huge gap between each bid and each actual price.

The third book is the military supplies inventory of the military governor's office, which lists the supply of cotton-padded clothing last winter.

"40,000 cotton-padded coats were allocated, but only 19,000 actually arrived. 3,000 were damaged by rain and mold along the way."

Three thousand of his letters were lost.

No one mentioned the 18,000 items that were embezzled along the way.

Of the 40,000 cotton-padded coats sent to Liaodong, less than 20,000 reached the front lines. Nearly half of the soldiers were left without proper clothing, wearing only a single layer of clothing in the dead of winter.

Winters in Liaodong can drop to minus twenty degrees Celsius, where your breath freezes into ice crystals. You can stand on the city wall wearing only a thin shirt and carrying a sword.

In those places where the payroll lists "30,000 people," there were actually 15,000 living people huddled behind the city walls, shivering, their hands frozen so stiff they couldn't grip their sword hilts.

He also found a sentence in the notebook, a report from the garrison commander of Liaoyang: "Last winter, seventeen people froze to death and more than a hundred suffered frostbite, all because they were not dressed warmly enough."

Seventeen people froze to death.

Because my cotton-padded coat was intercepted on the road.

Then they had to face the Eight Banners cavalry.

Zhu Youxiao closed the test booklet, pressed his fingers on the cover for a while until his knuckles turned white.

The numbers are shocking; 670,000 taels is not just a number.

It was 18,000 cotton-padded coats, 15,000 embezzled military pay quotas, and the hole that the soldiers defending the city on the front lines risked their lives to fill.

Those seventeen people who froze to death probably didn't even leave their names; they were still alive on the military register and receiving their pay.

He can't plug this hole.

The investigation into the Liaodong military expenditure was stopped by Fang Congzhe; his limited authority prevented him from taking action for the time being, and the matter with Sun Chengzong had not yet been resolved.

He knew where the illness was, he knew what the prescription was, and although the knife was temporarily held back, he couldn't swallow this anger.

Liu Shun peeked in.

"Your Highness, it's time for dinner."

"I'm not hungry, just leave it."

…………

Zhu Youjian has arrived.

The nine-year-old brother came in and saw the unfinished wooden horse on the table. He rushed over, picked it up, and examined it closely.

"Brother, where are your ears? Why are you still missing your ears?"

"I've been busy these past few days and haven't had time to think about it."

"You're always busy, always busy, what are you busy with?"

Zhu Youjian pouted and held the wooden horse up to his eyes, looking at it again and again.

"A horse without ears looks awful."

I'll cut it for you later.

Zhu Youjian probably sensed that his brother was acting strangely today, so he carefully put the wooden horse back on the table and moved a low stool to sit next to it.

After sitting quietly for a while, his two short legs dangled from the stool and swung back and forth without asking why.

Nine years old.

Twenty-four years later, when Li Zicheng entered Beijing, this child stood under a crooked tree on Coal Hill, with only a eunuch by his side.

Now he sits next to his brother, swinging his legs, worried about a wooden horse that has no ears.

Zhu Youxiao reached out and rubbed his younger brother's head.

I'll peel it for you tomorrow.

Zhu Youjian grinned, jumped off the stool, and ran away.

The curtain swayed, and the room became quiet again.

When my younger brother was sitting next to me just now, the numbers on those workbooks receded into the distance; the 18,000 cotton-padded coats and the 17 soldiers who froze to death all seemed to fade into the background.

As soon as my brother left, everyone came back.

It's only when it's quiet that I feel uncomfortable.

…………

In the evening, Wang An arrived.

"Your Highness, there is something I need to discuss. Grand Secretary Han went to the Ministry of Revenue today to retrieve the files, specifically the inflows and outflows of military pay in Liaodong over the past three years, copying them off one by one. The clerk at the Ministry of Revenue said that Grand Secretary Han spent the entire afternoon copying them without even having a cup of tea."

Han Kuang made his move.

Emperor Taichang had said in the morning, "Let Han Kuang sort things out," and by the afternoon he had already gone to the Ministry of Revenue to dig up old accounts. The new cabinet minister, who had been in office for less than two months, had taken on a hot potato and did not say a word.

However, once Han Kuang compiles this list, the numbers will definitely not match.

If there are discrepancies, write them down in the register. This written record is tantamount to telling everyone that there's something fishy about the Liaodong military pay.

If he doesn't write it down, the inventory will be a false record, and Han Kuang's reputation will be ruined.

Caught in a dilemma, with thorns on both sides.

"What did Grand Secretary Han say when he received his assignment?"

He only said, "Your subject obeys the decree," and said nothing more.

Han Kuang was a sensible man, so he accepted the offer first.

"understood."

Zhu Youxiao nodded.

"Daban, will Lecturer Sun be attending the lecture tomorrow?"

"Come here. Does Your Highness wish to see Prince Sun?"

"If you don't see him, then proceed as usual."

Wang An responded, then stopped at the door.

"There's one more thing, I don't know if it's important."

"explain."

"Grand Secretary Fang went to the Ministry of War this afternoon and stayed for about half an hour."

Zhu Youxiao raised his eyes.

Fang Congzhe went to the Ministry of War?

For seven years, he served as the Grand Secretary, overseeing the cabinet. When other ministries had matters to discuss, they would send notes to him. He personally visited the Ministry of War very few times.

He had just stopped the investigation into the Liaodong military expenditure, and then immediately ran to the Ministry of War.

What are you going there for?

"How do you look?"

"Old Zhao said that Grand Secretary Fang didn't look too good when he came out."

It's not very good-looking.

Fang Congzhe was known for his ability to keep his emotions hidden, so for Old Zhao, the gatekeeper, to notice that his "face was not looking good" meant that his face was not just unusually unpleasant.

The seven-year-old prime minister was truly enraged, though it's unclear who he was targeting.

"Okay, Otomo, go and rest."

Wang An withdrew.

…………

The room fell silent.

Zhu Youxiao stacked the notebooks he had been working on all afternoon together, with the one with the cotton-padded coat on top.

He didn't know what Fang Congzhe had done at the Ministry of War, but the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, and he felt uneasy all over.

Fang Congzhe was not on defense.

He is attacking, and the direction of his attack is not visible to the prince.

The matter concerning Sun Chengzong remains unresolved; it's neither useful nor worth getting rid of.

Data on Liaodong military pay circulated within the Beijing garrison, but its origin was unclear.

Fang Congzhe was secretly deploying his troops, but the direction was unclear.

Three "unknowns" stacked together are more infuriating than three dead ends.

If you can't think of a solution, then start by flipping through the problem book.

Memorize them one by one; after memorizing enough, you'll eventually figure out the tricks of the trade.