Chapter Nine: The Ledgers of the Capital Garrison

Zhu Cilang followed, feeling a faint excitement that soon settled into calm. The first hurdle of the initial show of authority had barely been cleared; it was far too early to be pleased. The office belonged to Chen Gaowen, and though the Ministry of Revenue covered a large area, the Yunnan Division could claim only a modest portion among the thirteen bureaus. Of all the more than twenty clerks in the Yunnan Division, only the chief, Chen Gaowen, had an office to himself. Of course, this was the world of the clerks; the civil officials played by different rules.

Upon reaching the office, Zhu Cilang stood still, his gaze level, fixing on the tip of Chen Gaowen's nose. Chen Gaowen had a long, narrow face, a pointed nose, and hawkish eyes that betrayed no emotion. He looked every inch the sly old fox. Zhu Cilang sighed inwardly, cursing his own bad luck, and silently warned himself to stay alert.

"You were recommended by Master Nan, so for now I’ll assume your record is clean enough for the Ministry. But the Yunnan Division does not keep dead weight. If you can’t handle the work, don’t blame me for kicking you to another bureau. Is that clear?" Chen Gaowen’s gaze drilled into Zhu Cilang.

Unfortunately for him, he found not a trace of nervousness in Zhu Cilang’s expression.

"I understand. I won’t let you down," Zhu Cilang replied, neither humble nor arrogant. With an emperor for a father, he found it difficult to feign fear before a mere clerk. Of course, he made sure not to let the other man see any cracks in his demeanor. Internally, though, he was on high alert: if he failed at his duties and ended up being shunted from bureau to bureau, he’d become a laughingstock—an easy target for everyone, and cut off from the key information he so badly needed.

"Can you read?"

"I’ve studied the Yan style of calligraphy."

"How’s your skill with the abacus?"

"I’m fairly proficient."

"Hmph. I’ll give you a problem. Answer it."

"I await your question."

"If a man borrows one thousand coins at a monthly interest of thirty, and another borrows seven hundred and fifty coins, returning them in nine days, what is the interest owed?"

"For nine days, the interest should be six and three-quarters coins."

"Not bad," Chen Gaowen nodded. "Come with me to see Master Yu."

The Yunnan Division was allotted eight positions for section heads, but not many were present at the Ministry on a daily basis. Master Yu was the official on duty today—a sixth-rank civil official.

Led by Chen Gaowen, Zhu Cilang followed in silence, but a vague sense of unease crept over him. When they arrived at Master Yu’s office, Zhu Cilang waited outside while Chen Gaowen entered.

It wasn’t long before Zhu Cilang was summoned in.

Master Yu glanced at Zhu Cilang, then dismissed him from his mind. "There’s a new hand—arrange him as you see fit. The new Minister of Revenue has taken a particular interest in the accounts, treating them as gospel. I don’t care about other affairs, but the newly audited ledgers must be submitted to me, one by one. If anything goes wrong, you’re the one I’ll hold responsible."

"Yes, sir. I understand," Chen Gaowen replied, nodding repeatedly.

Zhu Cilang followed, expressionless—there was no room for him to speak. On the way back, however, he noticed he now held a small booklet in his hand.

It was palm-sized, about thirty pages—not much to look at, but it was hardly the full extent of his work. Glancing back, Zhu Cilang’s eyes landed on a silent, burly man and the small cart before him. He couldn’t help but twitch at the corners of his mouth. The cart, piled high with ledgers to the height of a man, dwarfed the desk it stood beside. The booklet in his hand was merely a list of contents and instructions.

Back in the office, Chen Gaowen signaled for the burly man to hand over the cart to Zhu Cilang. "These are the ledgers for the Jingying accounts of the thirteenth year of Chongzhen. Tally them all up—I want results in ten days!"

Taking up the ledgers, Zhu Cilang accepted his orders and, scalp prickling, returned to the shared office.

"A new colleague joins us."

"This fellow was lucky to get past the first hurdle, but this next one… hmph."

"Let’s see how he fares. He should have known better than to break the rules."

No sooner had Zhu Cilang entered than the others began to whisper. He caught only fragments—not because his hearing was poor, but because the clerks all spoke in a Zhejiang dialect.

Half the capital’s population hailed from Zhejiang—the reputation was well-earned.

Feigning humility and caution, Zhu Cilang ignored the chatter, found the desk with his name, and placed the ledgers atop it. Staring at the mountain of books, he exhaled slowly.

Just then, a limping man appeared at his side. Catching sight of the ledgers before Zhu Cilang, he drew in a sharp breath. "I thought I was unlucky enough, being caught skipping roll call and getting twenty strokes, but it seems someone’s worse off than me!"

His accent was pure Beijing. Before Zhu Cilang could reply, another man with the same accent arrived, clicking his tongue in sympathy. "Ah, the Jingying accounts! That’s a bottomless pit—untouchable, unmanageable, uncheckable. I thought, after two years without an audit, things would quiet down, but now we’ve got a zealous new Minister. Back to poring over the accounts—what a torment!"

"Untouchable, unmanageable, uncheckable…" Zhu Cilang echoed, glancing at the towering ledgers. His frown deepened.

He managed a bitter smile, clasped his hands, and said, "Gentlemen, I’m Qin Xia, newly assigned to the Yunnan Division. I wonder if you could tell me where to begin with these Jingying accounts?"

The office was spacious, and since Zhu Cilang’s desk had been relegated to a corner, a few quiet words would go unnoticed.

"So you’re the new accountant brought in by Master Nan himself?" The two exchanged looks of sudden understanding. "No wonder Chen Gaowen’s been acting up, doing surprise roll calls when there’s nothing urgent. And don’t call us ‘senior’—I’m Lin Guchong, the one who got caught at roll call, and this is the other unlucky fellow, Wang Rui."

"You really made a splash today—showed up just in time for roll call, tripped up that sly old Zhang Qi, and even got the better of Chen Gaowen. But you’ve made life tough for the two of us—we took a solid beating for it!" Wang Rui bared his teeth and shot Zhu Cilang a rueful look; clearly, the punishment had not been light.

Zhu Cilang bowed in apology. "I may have escaped a beating, but this task is no small ordeal. We’re all in the same boat. Once work is done, how about I buy you both a drink—just to get acquainted and make amends for your troubles?"

"Drinks aren’t necessary—we’re busy these days," Lin Guchong replied, glancing at Zhu Cilang with a flicker of something in his eye. After a pause, he added, "But you’d better be careful with the Jingying accounts. Fail this test and you’ll be joining us for a beating tomorrow!"

When the two kept dodging his questions, Zhu Cilang produced ten taels of silver, offering half to each man. "I can’t bear that my arrival has earned you both a beating. Please accept this small token—otherwise, people might think I lack proper manners."

Wang Rui and Lin Guchong exchanged glances, weighed the silver, and their smiles grew a touch warmer. Five taels was a generous gesture, even for clerks with decent side incomes at the Ministry.

Seeing that Zhu Cilang understood the way of things, they decided it was time to speak plainly.