Chapter Eleven: Offending Everyone

“Brother Qin, have you truly made up your mind? Indeed, when our paths diverge, we cannot scheme together. I accept this silver most unwillingly!” Lin Guzhong’s voice was dark and heavy as he slammed the silver onto the table, attracting the attention of many nearby.

Seeing Lin Guzhong return the silver, Zhu Cilang continued to smile, “No need. I imagine you gentlemen occasionally lay wagers in your spare time. Let this silver be my stake!”

“Fine!” The smiles vanished instantly from Lin Guzhong and Wang Rui’s faces. They gritted their teeth and, after a long pause, managed to spit out that single word. Clutching the silver, they left without so much as a backward glance.

Zhu Cilang watched their retreating figures, his gaze flickering.

After leaving the official chamber and arriving in a deserted courtyard, Wang Rui could no longer contain his anger. “That wretch surnamed Qin doesn’t know what’s good for him! He refuses our goodwill! There isn’t a corner in the capital’s administration without our people. We offered him a chance for wealth and survival, and he dares refuse us? I’ll go straight to the Operations Office and tell them to give him a proper thrashing in ten days!”

Zhu Cilang’s cold turn made Lin Guzhong’s earlier triumph double into malice. The more he thought about it, the more his face burned, and he joined Wang Rui in muttering venomously, “Just wait. Perhaps this fool really is one of the big wigs. Otherwise, how could he speak so confidently and righteously? I’d like to see if, when the rod lands on his back, he’ll still have the spirit to stand tall! Hmph, if he thinks the Ministry of Revenue is so easy to navigate, let him try the pit that old scoundrel Chen Gaowen tosses over from the Capital Garrison! Chen Gaowen is a sly old fox who’s devoured many before. Just wait—when the time comes, we’ll see if he still dares to act so upright after falling in with those big wigs!”

“Exactly! Let’s see how he brings about his own demise! I’ll bet right now that he loses!”

…

Ministry of Revenue, official chamber.

The departure of Lin Guzhong and Wang Rui finally drew the attention of the other colleagues to Zhu Cilang. Yet their notice quickly turned to mockery; those well-informed understood Zhu Cilang had once again crossed swords with the capital’s clerks. The outcome left everyone shaking their heads, thinking Zhu Cilang’s skull must be granite—offending people upon arrival, a true oddity.

As a result, no one tried to approach Zhu Cilang anymore.

Undisturbed, Zhu Cilang was happy to focus solely on his work and began to leaf through the account books.

With his eyes scanning the pages, his expression subtly shifted, unnoticed in a corner, revealing a hint of imperiousness. He was not merely a minor clerk, but the heir to the throne. Reviewing the accounts was not only to audit them, but to gain a true understanding of the affairs of the realm.

Of course, since he had resolved to pick up the shattered remnants of Ming, military organization was paramount.

In the early years of the dynasty, the Guard and Garrison system was predominant. But when Emperor Chengzu moved north to establish the capital in Beijing, the system was divided into Beijing Garrison and Nanjing Garrison, gradually becoming the main force of the Ming.

The Beijing Garrison, also known as the Three Main Camps, consisted of the Five Army Camp, the Three Thousand Camp, and the Divine Machine Camp. The Five Army Camp was divided into Central Army, Left and Right Flank, and Left and Right Vanguard. The Three Thousand Camp comprised three thousand cavalry divided into five departments, responsible for the emperor’s banners, carriages, armaments, drums, and imperial treasures. The Divine Machine Camp, specializing in firearms and artillery, was similarly divided into Central Army, Left and Right Flank, and Left and Right Vanguard, with sub-departments overseeing guns and cannons. When the emperor personally led a campaign, the Three Main Camps formed a protective ring around his camp: Divine Machine Camp on the outermost, cavalry in the middle, infantry within.

When first established, the Three Main Camps were formidable. After the disaster at Tumu, the main force was nearly wiped out, and subsequent reforms during the reigns of Jingtai, Zhengde, and Jiajing saw repeated changes, eventually stabilizing as they had been when Chengzu first built the garrison.

The difference was that the Three Thousand Camp had been renamed the Divine Pivot Camp, with its various departments and eunuch overseers abolished. Instead, a single general commanded, titled the Chief Supervisor of the Capital Garrison, assisted by a civil official, the Assistant Supervisor. Subordinate officers included deputy supervisors. All soldiers from the two main offices were assigned to the Five Army Camp, while banners and flags remained with the Divine Pivot Camp. By now, eunuch overseers had been added to the camps, and camp affairs were dominated by court eunuchs.

Whenever eunuchs became involved, matters turned exceedingly complicated. These were the emperor’s household servants; even if a minister detected wrongdoing, it was hard to act. Fortunately, Zhu Cilang found upon reviewing the accounts that these were matters preceding the eunuchs’ entry into the garrison.

The Capital Garrison comprised the Three Main Camps: Five Army, Divine Pivot, and Divine Machine. The accounts for the Divine Machine and Divine Pivot Camps had been allocated to other bureaus among the Thirteen Clean Clerks. This time, the Yunnan Bureau had received part of the Five Army Camp.

The Five Army Camp itself was divided into Central Army, Left and Right Flank, and Left and Right Vanguard. In the Ministry of Revenue’s military organization, apart from the Central Army being assigned to the Guangxi Bureau, the other four units fell to the Yunnan Bureau.

In fact, the Yunnan Bureau was routinely responsible for interfacing with the Capital Garrison’s accounts; by custom, it handled most of the camp’s accounting.

Thus, Zhu Cilang had the misfortune to be handed the military supply accounts for the Left and Right Vanguard.

The Ministry of Revenue’s procedure for military expenses was as follows. First, commanders or chief civil officials calculated the needed funds and submitted them to the capital. Then Ministry officials, mainly assistant directors or directors, reviewed them. If the matter was especially significant, the Vice Minister or even the Minister would be dispatched to supervise the funds, responsible for gathering resources from all channels. The Ministry of Revenue was the only one among the Six Ministries with both left and right vice ministers.

Once the supervising officials allocated provisions to each unit, the next step began: auditing the accounts.

The auditing process was mainly overseen by the Ministry. At this stage, the Thirteen Clean Clerks responsible for each unit would demand the relevant accounts from the recipients for inspection.

The account books in Zhu Cilang’s hands were those submitted by the Left and Right Vanguard of the Five Army Camp—evidence of the Ministry’s authority as one of the empire’s most important departments. Otherwise, these accounts would remain in the hands of the Capital Garrison, and any attempt by outsiders to view them would arouse endless suspicion.

When Zhu Cilang finished auditing these accounts, the entire process was complete.

As the actual executor of the final stage of auditing, if Zhu Cilang discovered problems but failed to report them, he would be guilty of a grave crime, an evil parasite in the embezzlement of military funds.

Of course, such parasites would be warmly welcomed and sincerely protected by others in the same corrupt alliance.

But this was also a handle, a point of leverage. Few knew the inner workings here. Those who could seize such leverage over Zhu Cilang were limited: Zhu Cilang himself, and the overseer Chen Gaowen. Anyone else?

Zhu Cilang thought of a few others...

These individuals clearly knew as well. Judging by their deep understanding of the Capital Garrison, they were subtly hinting that Zhu Cilang could use this matter to strike at Chen Gaowen. Presumably, they too had evidence and leverage.

If the enemy held such leverage, how could Zhu Cilang survive in the Ministry of Revenue? At any moment, he might be brought down by righteous judgment!

But could these people be trusted?