The struggle for the throne during the Jiajing reign

Chapter 159 Feng Bao

Zhu Zaizhen returned to his bedchamber, changed his clothes, and lay down. He missed Zhang Juzheng and Xu Wei somewhat. It wasn't easy to plunder silver in the south; everyone's silver was their lifeline, and there was no reason to give it away for nothing.

In the capital, the emperor could manipulate anyone at will because it was where imperial power was strongest, but he had less control over the south.

Ma Dezhao stepped forward with mixed feelings and said softly, "Your Highness."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Zaizhen looked at him and asked, "Is the eldest son worried?"

"Yes, leaving the capital is dangerous. His Majesty was so powerful back then, ruling the world for eighteen years. His imperial procession on the southern tour was always heavily guarded."

The emperor was accompanied by imperial guards, officials, and nobles.

They reached the Weihui Imperial Palace, but it was still engulfed in flames. If it weren't for Commander Lu risking his life to break through the burning tent and carry His Majesty out of the inferno through the thick smoke, he would likely have perished.

Zhu Zaizhen was not afraid upon hearing this, and said calmly, "Fires are common occurrences. We cannot throw the baby out with the bathwater. All we can do is be careful."

Given my father's temperament, if it weren't for an accident, he would have already started a large-scale purge. Even if he couldn't find anything for a while, he wouldn't give up. He would have ordered the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot to investigate desperately and then raise the butcher's knife. It's impossible for things to be peaceful for ten years.

Ma Dezhao's face remained solemn: "But His Majesty's southern tour that time was merely to survey the underground palace of Xianling, intending to expand and renovate the Xuan Palace to build drainage, change Xianling to a standard that would allow the emperor and empress to be buried together, and then move the empress dowager's coffin here for burial."

"Your Highness is going to pursue the stolen silver this time. The Lianghuai salt fields have been entrenched for centuries, with officials and merchants sharing a common destiny, and have long been a tool for various parties to amass wealth. Your Highness's journey will likely be far more dangerous than His Majesty's southern tour."

"I understand what Otomo is saying, but things still need to be done. I can't waste my time in the capital. Besides, the Ministry of Revenue is completely out of money. We can't just leave Gubeikou after only repairing a small section."

Zhu Zaizhen put his hands under his head and crossed his legs, stretching them upwards.

Thus, after the tomb ceremony, they went straight to the salt fields, not giving them much time to deal with the situation. If there were any accounts, they would investigate them, and whoever was investigated would be considered unlucky. If anyone dared to destroy the account books, they would be imprisoned and the richest families would be arrested.

I want to see if anyone dares to rebel and assassinate a prince.

Seeing that His Highness had made up his mind, Ma Dezhao stopped trying to persuade him and instead offered his help, saying, "According to Your Highness, there are officials from the Prince's Palace who can be used, but there are still too few people."

"Before I leave, I will go to my father to ask for people. Those scheming people in the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs are no worse than those old accountants in the Ministry of Revenue. I will take them all with me. In addition, I will take the elite of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Imperial Guard. If we can transfer border troops from the north, that would be even better."

Zhu Zaizhen is undoubtedly asking for an exorbitant amount. It's not like I'm helping you make money and then not even providing a supporting team. It's not like I really want it; I'm just borrowing it.

For some time afterward, the Hanlin Academy assigned Zhu Zaizhen a new lecturer, an old scholar with great knowledge, but who was rigid in his thinking.

That's impressive.

The Emperor went into seclusion again, but before he did so, he had Huang Jin give him the pass to enter and leave the palace.

That day, Zhu Zaizhen hosted a banquet at Wenyuan for his maternal relatives who were still in Beijing. The Lü and Lu families were the main ones, and there were also several other families, which were the maternal relatives of Zhu Zaizhen's uncles' wives.

The official positions aren't high, but that doesn't matter; the key is that they're our own people.

After the meal, Zhu Zaizhen summoned his fifth uncle Lu Jiong and his uncle-in-law Lü Fu to his study.

The two bowed respectfully, not showing any disrespect despite being elders. The imperial family has its own rules, and they were merely relatives of the Imperial Concubine, far from being considered imperial relatives, and therefore not proper elders.

Lü Fu proactively reported, "Your Highness, this is information about those two people. I wonder if it matches this time."

Ma Dezhao took the document and handed it to His Highness. The first one was Ma Fang's. When he was young, he was captured by the Tatar cavalry who invaded from the south and was used to herd horses for Altan Khan. When he was young, he went hunting with Altan Khan and suddenly a striped tiger appeared and pounced on Altan Khan.

Everyone panicked and fled, but Ma Fang remained calm, drew his bow and shot the tiger dead on the spot.

Anda Khan greatly admired Ma Fang and ordered him to serve by his side. However, in the sixteenth year of the Jiajing reign, he stole a horse and fled back to Datong. He was appreciated and promoted to captain of the personal guard by Zhou Shangwen, the general of Datong, and is now a centurion.

Zhu Zaizhen smiled. It was him, and judging by his age, he was just over thirty.

Next is Li Chengliang, the eldest son of the late Li Jing, the deputy commander of Tieling Guard. Because his family was poor, he could not afford the travel expenses to go to Beijing to apply for the succession of his post, so he was still working hard to earn money in the local area.

"General Zhou passed away last year, didn't he?"

Seeing His Highness's attitude, Lü Fu breathed a sigh of relief. At least all the servants had been found; these two had been truly difficult to find.

"Yes."

Zhu Zaizhen said to Lu Jiong, "I would like to trouble my fifth uncle to bring Li Chengliang to the capital."

This person is still young, so he should keep him by his side and train him for a few years. As for Ma Fang, he can directly ask his father for someone, saying that he doesn't trust the guards in Lianghuai and wants to transfer a team of guards from Datong.

Once you go with him, you'll be one of his people.

"Yes, I will set off tomorrow."

Lu Jiong naturally had no objections. He couldn't wait to help His Highness. The Empress had become a Noble Consort, which would be an honor for his family. If he could advance a couple more steps, he would be the Emperor's brother-in-law.

Afterwards, Zhu Zaizhen chatted with them about everyday matters and also met with some of the more outstanding peers for encouragement.

He returned to the palace in the evening and was surprised to find Huang Jin leading four people waiting for him in front of the palace road. They all tried to kneel down as soon as they saw him, but Zhu Zaizhen helped Huang Jin up and asked with a smile, "Didn't you accompany Father Emperor into seclusion?"

Huang Jin explained, "His Majesty is cultivating the Great Circulation this time, and no one else is allowed to be present."

Zhu Zaizhen glanced at the group behind him; they were all well-dressed and looked like they came from the Directorate of Ceremonial.

"This is?"

"Your Highness is busy. Although Eunuch Ma is taking care of you, he is not always available to run errands. I have asked His Majesty for permission and have specially selected these four from the Directorate of Ceremonial to serve Your Highness."

He had thought about this matter for a long time. All four of them were clever and capable, and had clean backgrounds. He had carefully selected them over several months before making his decision.

Zhu Zaizhen was naturally pleased. Firstly, he was in dire need of people, especially those who could write and calculate. Secondly, he trusted Huang Jin, and the two had a tacit understanding. Finally, he couldn't refuse.

"Okay, thank you, Huang Ban."

Seeing that His Highness Prince Jing was satisfied, Huang Jin also smiled broadly and happily pointed to them and introduced them: "They are all from the Inner Study Hall. These two used to serve in the Document Room, and these two are from the Seal Office. They each have their own strengths."

"You are fortunate to be able to follow His Highness. Quickly pay your respects!"

"Your Highness, we servants pay our respects."

The four of them had no choice at all, and only at this point did they realize why Huang Bingbi had brought them here.

Some were happy while others were sad, but on their faces they were all obedient, submissive and even had ingratiating smiles. How could they possibly show any displeasure to King Jing?

One of the square-faced men was genuinely happy. He had been out of the inner study for over ten years, and although he was in the most powerful Directorate of Ceremonial, no one had promoted or cultivated him, and he had ended up without even a rank.

It's not that anyone can bully him, but it's true that nobody treats him like a human being. He wants to climb high, wants to be treated like a patriarch, wants a bunch of godchildren to serve him—

"Feng Bao".

He was startled, and immediately kowtowed, saying, "This servant is here."

"You are the oldest, so lead them to follow the rules and do everything according to Eunuch Ma's arrangements."

"promise."

"Go."

Ma Dezhao waved to them, and the four kowtowed to King Jing before hurrying to follow.

After they had gone some distance, Zhu Zaizhen laughed and said, "Huang Ban is a timely help. I was just worried that I would be short of people to check the accounts when I got there."

Huang Jin understood immediately. He leaned closer and whispered, "The salt tax accounts are difficult to check. Your Highness can ask His Majesty again before you leave. The eunuchs in the Ministry of Revenue are all very capable."

Zhu Zaizhen nodded, and Huang Jin thought for a moment and then said, "Tao Zhongwen's disciple Fang Zheng wants to see you. As far as I know, his alchemy skills have been passed down from Tao Zhongwen."

Zhu Zaizhen simply said, "That Hu Dashun's pills are no good."

Huang Jin also said, "That's what I think too."

"There's no need to meet him; I just hope he's a smart man."

Zhu Zaizhen did not want to have any contact with the group of alchemists to avoid arousing suspicion, but he also did not want Hu Dashun and his group to continue their reckless behavior, as his father could not be harmed.

Therefore, Tao Zhongwen's elixir can indeed be considered safe, at least after so long of testing, it is suitable for the Emperor's body.

Huang Jin quickly took his leave. Although he was in seclusion, he could emerge at any time, so he had to keep watch.

Zhu Zaizhen turned two corners and met Ma Dezhao and the others. His gaze fell on Feng Bao for a moment.

Talented people emerge all over the world; now, Feng Baozhen is nothing special.

No matter how capable a eunuch is, he relies on the trust of the emperor or empress dowager. A servant is a servant; he can't cause any trouble.

Feng Bao was delighted. His Highness had specifically looked at him, perhaps to remember him, so that he could rise in the ranks. Eunuch Huang was truly a compassionate Maitreya Buddha, actually sending him to His Highness's side.

Upon returning to their palace, Zhang Xing and the others were heartbroken to see this. They were just ordinary eunuchs who knew a few words and could draw cats and dogs; how could they compare to the four eunuchs from the Imperial Study?

The four men took turns announcing their names and specialties. Feng Bao was a true all-rounder, skilled in calligraphy, mathematics, and painting. The other three were also good at writing. The two from the Seal Office were mainly in charge of various official seals and salt permits, and could identify seals.

Zhu Zaizhen rewarded each of them with five taels of silver, and then had Zhang Xing lead them down to settle in.

After they left, Ma Dezhao whispered, "That's Feng Bao, the one His Highness was looking for. I didn't expect him to deliver himself to our doorstep."

Zhu Zaizhen laughed and said, "Times have changed. There's no need for special consideration, just use him as usual."

"Yes, Your Highness, we have just received news that Tao Ze has been promoted to Left Assistant Supervisor of the Imperial Horse Administration."

"A fifth-rank official, that's not a small position. Either Gao Zhong is currying favor with me, or he's setting a trap for me."

Ma Dezhao said solemnly, "Ducks are the first to know when the river warms in spring. People in the palace are always more perceptive than those outside the palace about certain things."

"Let's take another look."

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