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During today's court meeting, Emperor Deqing announced that he had taken back the power of the West Factory and the Inner Transport Depot from Zhao Junchen, and returned these two yamen to the inner court.
In this way, when the inner court got the news, they naturally cheered.
Both the West Factory and the inner transport warehouse are yamen with great power and richness. The inner court should have been responsible for it originally. However, Emperor Deqing did not trust the ability of the eunuchs in the inner court, so he actually left everything to Zhao Junchen. Foreign ministers are responsible.
However, Zhao Junchen is indeed very capable. After he took over the internal transportation warehouse, the internal funds that were originally underperforming soon became surplus, and he also added a lot of financial resources, such as the pancake business, which is making a lot of money every day. Now, The inner shipping warehouse is the monopoly. Except for Zhao Junchen's "Yue Rongfang", if merchants in the Ming Dynasty want to get involved in the spice business, they must buy goods from the inner shipping warehouse; and after Zhao Junchen established the West Factory , has made great achievements many times, and many times even defeated the old Dongchang.
As a result, the eunuchs in the inner court felt that their faces were dull, but they could only praise Emperor Deqing's "discernment of people" against their will. They did not dare to mention to Emperor Deqing the return of these two yamen to the inner court. matter.
Therefore, the great eunuchs of the inner court had originally given up their thoughts on the West Factory and the Inner Transport Warehouse, but unexpectedly, due to the change in the situation, they actually got lucky and the West Factory and the Inner Transport Warehouse suddenly returned to their hands. .
Regarding this situation, the eunuchs in the inner court were naturally overjoyed.
Among them, although Xichang has the power of investigation and is a trusted minion of the emperor, commanding the awe of all officials in the outer court, in the eyes of the eunuchs in the inner court, the importance of Xichang is far less than that of the inner transport warehouse!
Without him, the inner transport warehouse is the emperor's internal money, which contains huge amounts of gold and silver, and the most abundant oil and water. Moreover, after Zhao Junchen's painstaking management, the inner transport warehouse now has a considerable surplus. It also opened up many ways to make money. After the great eunuchs of the inner court obtained the authority of the inner transport warehouse, they could get endless benefits with just a little manipulation.
At any time, seeking benefits for oneself is the most important thing, especially for the eunuchs in the inner court.
so. After getting the news, the eunuchs in the inner court quickly gathered together.
After taking over the west factory and inner shipping warehouse. There are many things that need to be dealt with, but the most important thing is that they need to carefully study how the many interests of the West Factory and the inner shipping warehouse should be distributed.
*****
At this time, in the lobby of the Inner Palace Supervisor of Ceremonies, the eunuchs from the Twelfth, Fourth, and Eighth Bureaus gathered together, all looking happy. They discussed their bright future with great interest.
The Si Li Jian is the head of the twelve imperial eunuchs. He is fully responsible for all matters in the imperial city. He manages tens of thousands of eunuchs. He is responsible for secret memorials and has the power to draw up votes and approve red papers. The East Factory is also under his jurisdiction. The most powerful.
The current eunuch of the ceremonial department. A new person has just been hired. His name is Wu Xinquan. He is about fifty years old. This person is slender, white and beardless, elegant in appearance, and calm in expression. If someone who is not aware of it sees him, they may mistakenly think that he is an academically accomplished person. Confucian scholar. But it is hard to believe that he was a eunuch and the leader of tens of thousands of eunuchs in the Ming Dynasty.
In fact, this seemingly elegant and gentle old eunuch had very unusual methods. At this time, all the eunuchs in the inner court looked respectful in front of him. Obviously, although Wu Xinquan had not been in charge of the ceremonial eunuch for a long time, But it has already established prestige in the inner court.
at this time. In the lobby, Wu Xinquan sat on the right side of the main seat, smiled and said to the eunuchs: "Everyone must have heard the news. In today's morning meeting, His Majesty has transported the west factory to the interior. The two major Yamen of Ku and Ku were taken back from Zhao Junchen and returned to the hands of our inner court. This is a great joy."
As soon as Wu Xinquan finished speaking, he saw Zhu Jinrong, the eunuch in charge of the inner government prison, nodded repeatedly and said loudly: "Yes, especially the inner transport warehouse is in charge of the income and expenditure of internal funds. It has always been the lifeblood of our inner court. This yamen is back in our hands." After that, we people will no longer have to be constrained by Zhao Junchen, which is indeed a great joy."
Zhu Jinrong is a short and fat eunuch who has always been Wu Xinquan's yes-man, but his current attitude is not just about echoing Wu Xinquan.
The Inner Supervisor has always been responsible for the procurement and construction of the palace. In the past years, when the transportation warehouse was still in the hands of the inner court, the Inner Supervisor could make a lot of benefits every year by falsely reporting accounts, fabricating losses, etc., but since two years After the former Emperor Deqing handed over the management of the inner transport warehouse to Zhao Junchen, the good days of the inner official prison came to an end. Whether purchasing or constructing, the required expenses were strictly reviewed, so the oil and water of the inner official prison was also reduced. For the better part of a year, life has been a lot easier - but on the other hand, the turnover situation in the internal transportation warehouse has suddenly improved a lot.
Now, after the inner court took back the power of the inner transport warehouse, the happiest person is Zhu Jinrong, the eunuch in charge of the inner official prison.
After Wu Xinquan glanced at Zhu Jinrong, he didn't say anything, but continued with a calm expression: "This is certainly a good thing, but we can't just be happy and neglect the business. The top priority now is to organize people to take care of this as soon as possible. The two yamen will be handed over and allowed to run smoothly. There must not be any trouble. Otherwise, we will lose face and it will be difficult to explain to His Majesty... Among them, the West Factory is okay, and we can get it from the East Factory. We will dispatch some eunuchs who are familiar with relevant matters and believe that the situation will be under control soon, but the key is the internal transportation warehouse. After Zhao Junchen has been running it for two years, the internal transportation warehouse is completely out of our control. As for the internal transportation warehouse, We don’t know much about the current situation, but we need to put some thought into it.”
After a pause, Wu Xinquan continued: "My idea is that our 12th Supervisor, 4th Division, and 8th Bureau will all send their eunuchs who are best at financial management and accounting to the inner transportation warehouse to familiarize themselves with the inner transportation warehouse as soon as possible. situation and stabilized the situation in the internal transportation warehouse. At the same time, although we took over the West Factory and the internal transportation warehouse from Zhao Junchen, we cannot just leave Zhao Junchen aside. Instead, we must further deepen our relationship with him... Let's do this, let's also prepare a batch of valuable gifts and send them to Zhao Junchen's house tonight to express our sincerity to Zhao Junchen."
After hearing Wu Xinquan's thoughts, all the eunuchs present nodded in succession at first, but after hearing Wu Xinquan's final instructions, they were all stunned.
Although, there is a cooperative relationship between the inner court and Zhao Junchen. Zhao Junchen often gave these great eunuchs some benefits, but all the great eunuchs generally had a bad impression of Zhao Junchen, not only because Zhao Junchen once took away the two yamen of Xichang and Neichangku from them. It was also because Zhao Junchen had a very strong attitude towards them and would beat them up from time to time.
At the beginning of the year, shortly after Emperor Deqing's birthday, just because the eunuchs in the inner court slightly violated Zhao Junchen's wishes. Zhao Junchen seized the opportunity of corruption in the inner court and pursued him fiercely, almost causing a major purge in the inner court. In the end, it was Liu Qing, the eunuch of the inner study, who personally came forward to sue Zhao Junchen for peace, and only after promising not to do anything like this again did Zhao Junchen let the inner court go.
Therefore, the great eunuchs present did not like Zhao Junchen very much, and were even slightly hostile - although they would still accept Zhao Junchen's benefits.
In fact, it was precisely because Zhao Junchen saw through the white-eyed wolf nature of these eunuchs that he formulated a plan to infiltrate the inner court.
So, after hearing Wu Xinquan's instructions. Xu Sheng, the eunuch in charge of the imperial horse supervisor, immediately questioned: "It is His Majesty's will that we take over the affairs of the West Factory and the inner transport warehouse. Zhao Junchen will never dare to violate it. In this case, why should we please Zhao Junchen? In the past, , then Zhao Junchen took advantage of himself to be in charge of the internal transportation warehouse, and often threatened us. Now that we have taken back the internal transportation warehouse, we are no longer restricted by him, and we can completely throw Zhao Junchen aside..."
Like Wu Xinquan, the appearance and temperament of Xu Sheng, the eunuch of the Royal Horse Eunuch, did not look like a eunuch. He was tall, with a sinister face and a arrogant attitude. Instead, he looks like a butcher.
However, before Xu Sheng finished speaking, Wu Xinquan interrupted: "Leave Zhao Junchen behind? Short-sighted! What a stupid move!"
As he spoke, Wu Xinquan's expression turned cold, and he finally showed his power as the eunuch in charge of etiquette.
After hearing Wu Xinquan's evaluation, Xu Sheng couldn't help but suffocated, and a trace of anger flashed in his eyes. But after hesitating for a moment, he still said: "Please give me some advice from Governor Wu."
When Wu Xinquan saw that Xu Sheng had relented, his expression softened slightly and he explained: "It is true that His Majesty issued an imperial edict and ordered Zhao Junchen to transfer the West Factory and the inner transport warehouse to our inner court. Although Zhao Junchen did not dare to violate the imperial edict, but Do you think we just need to take over these two yamen and be done with it? Huh! Without Zhao Junchen’s cooperation, even if we take over these two yamen, we will just take over an empty shell!"
"Empty shell?" After hearing Wu Xinquan's explanation, Xu Sheng became more confused and asked: "Is it possible that Zhao Junchen still dares to embezzle all the accumulated gold and silver in the internal funds? If so, we only need to tell the truth to His Majesty , Your Majesty will never let him go lightly! The internal funds are different from the Ministry of Household Treasury. The money in it is your Majesty’s private money. No matter how greedy Zhao Junchen is, how can he dare to touch your Majesty’s private money?”
Wu Xinquan snorted coldly: "Why don't you dare? Then Zhao Junchen is best at financial management and accounting. He has been in charge of the internal transportation warehouse for more than two years. No one except him knows the income and expenditure of the internal funds in the past two years. As long as If he tampered with the accounts a little bit, we would lose a lot of money in the money we took over, and no one can find fault..."
After hearing Wu Xinquan's explanation, all the eunuchs frowned.
When the eunuchs think about it, what Wu Xinquan said is indeed very likely to happen. If they want to hand over the oil and water yamen in their hands to others, they will also do some tricks in the accounts in advance and embezzle some benefits before leaving. Their accounting techniques cannot be as good as Zhao Junchen's.
The great eunuchs present judged others by themselves, so they naturally thought that Zhao Junchen would do the same - in fact, these great eunuchs were indeed right, and Zhao Junchen did have thoughts and preparations in this regard.
After a pause, Wu Xinquan continued: "If that's all, it's okay. Although we lost a lot of money today, as long as we control the internal funds, the money will be recovered sooner or later. But do you still remember that just two years ago? Before, before Zhao Junchen took over the internal transport warehouse, what was the situation like at the internal transport warehouse? What is the situation of the internal transport warehouse now?"
As Wu Xinquan finished speaking, the eunuchs were stunned for a moment, then their brows furrowed and their expressions became serious.
Two years ago, all the great eunuchs knew the situation in the inner transport warehouse. They were unable to make ends meet, suffered serious losses, had difficulty in turnover, and were unsustainable. They could not even pay for the expenses of the empresses in the palace. It was precisely because of this. In this way, Emperor Deqing handed over the internal transportation warehouse to Zhao Junchen, who was good at financial management.
After Zhao Junchen took over the internal transportation warehouse, the situation immediately improved greatly, although the expenses of Emperor Deqing and the harem gradually increased. However, the internal funds became increasingly abundant, and Emperor Deqing no longer had to worry about not having enough money.
Comparing the two, it is natural that heaven and earth are superior, but it also seems that the eunuchs in the inner court are too incompetent.
While the eunuchs were silent, Wu Xinquan continued: "However, in just two years, why has the situation of internal funds changed so drastically? In my opinion, Zhao Junchen's method is actually simple to put it bluntly. It’s nothing more than increasing revenue and reducing expenditure. On the one hand, it opens up new financial resources for the internal transportation warehouse, and on the other hand, it reduces the private benefits of those of us..."
Having said this, Wu Xinquan's expression turned cold again - after Zhao Junchen took charge of the internal funds, although he, Wu Xinquan, was the head of the inner court, the benefits he received in daily life were also reduced a lot.
However, in the blink of an eye, Wu Xinquan had collected his thoughts and continued: "Zhao Junchen's method is indeed effective. After we take over the internal transportation warehouse, we must continue to copy it. If the money situation becomes corrupt again within two years, , we are probably about to welcome His Majesty’s wrath... However, it’s just about reducing expenditures, but how can we bypass Zhao Junchen in terms of revenue generation? Don’t forget, although Zhao Junchen has opened up several channels for internal funds However, these financial routes have always been in Zhao Junchen's hands. If Zhao Junchen only handed over the internal transportation warehouse to us but kept those financial routes in his own hands, then the internal transportation warehouse we took over would only be It’s just an empty shell and a mess. Sooner or later, it will return to the situation two years ago! Therefore, although we have to take over the internal transportation warehouse, we must not offend Zhao Junchen. On the contrary, we must become even more friendly. If we want to go smoothly The successful management of internal funds will still be inseparable from Zhao Junchen’s ability to open up financial avenues.”
After hearing these explanations from Wu Xinquan, the eunuchs felt a little helpless, but they still nodded in agreement.
After all, everything Wu Xinquan said is true. Take the spice business monopolized by the inner shipping warehouse as an example. This business seems to be monopolized by the inner shipping warehouse. Businessmen all over the world are looking for the inner shipping warehouse to buy goods, but those craftsmen who are responsible for making the spicy pancakes , but they are all from "Yue Rong Fang" from beginning to end. In other words, the inner shipping warehouse actually only has the management rights of the fragrant pancreas business, but the production rights are still in the hands of Zhao Junchen. As long as Zhao Junchen is willing, Then he can drastically reduce the financial resources of the inner transport warehouse at any time.
Therefore, as Wu Xinquan said, although the inner court took over the two major yamen of Xichang and Neiyunku, it still couldn't do without Zhao Junchen's help. On the contrary, it had to rely on Zhao Junchen even more.
On the other side, seeing that all the great eunuchs agreed with his statement, Wu Xinquan nodded with satisfaction, then turned to the eunuch Zhu Jinrong and said: "Zhu Zhangyin, you have had the most contact with Zhao Junchen in these years. You are also the most familiar with it. When the gifts are ready, you will deliver them to the Zhao Mansion in person. Then you must be more humble towards Zhao Junchen. If Zhao Junchen makes any request, you must try your best to agree to it, even if it is If you feel embarrassed, don’t reject it right away, you can come back to me to discuss it.”
Zhu Jinrong's expression was still a little embarrassed, but he still nodded in agreement.
Next, Wu Xinquan gave a few instructions to the great eunuchs, and then carefully distributed the various interests between the West Factory and the inner transport warehouse, so that all the great eunuchs present gained something.
After everything was over, Wu Xinquan's expression suddenly became more respectful. He turned to an old eunuch sitting on the left side of the main seat and asked: "Master Liu, are you satisfied with all my decisions? If they are not appropriate, Please ask Master Liu for advice."
This old eunuch is old, with a stooped and skinny figure. He looks to be in his seventies. His white hair is sparse, and his face is covered with wrinkles and age spots. He is already aging, as if one of his legs has been put into a coffin. During the discussion among the great eunuchs, the old eunuch said nothing, but looked low on energy and drowsy.
In addition, judging from the clothes of this old eunuch, his rank is not high, and he is lower than the other great eunuchs present.
However, when Wu Xinquan asked him, his attitude was quite respectful. As Wu Xinquan asked, all the eunuchs present looked down and listened. No one dared to neglect the old eunuch who was not very tall.
This old eunuch is Liu Qing, the eunuch in charge of the inner study!
In the inner court, the person with the highest status on the surface is Wu Xinquan, the eunuch in charge of the ceremony, and the person with the most noble family is Zhang De, the eunuch of Emperor Deqing. But in fact, the real decision-makers in the inner court have always been the inner court. Liu Qing, the eunuch in charge of the study.
Although the inner study is a subordinate organization of the ceremonial eunuch, it does not seem to have much power. It only teaches eunuchs to read and read. But because of this, the powerful eunuchs of the 12th eunuch, the 4th division, and the 8th bureau of the inner court are now More than two-thirds of them were born in the inner study room and were Liu Qing's students, and they all got to where they are today because of Liu Qing's recommendation.
In this way, Liu Qing's influence on the inner court can be said to be deep-rooted and extremely far-reaching. Even the successive eunuchs and eunuchs did not dare to go against Liu Qing's attitude.
Speaking of which, when Zhao Junchen attacked the inner court, Liu Qing personally came forward to reach an agreement with Zhao Junchen, so Zhao Junchen let the inner court go. In this way, Liu Qing and Zhao Junchen were considered acquaintances.
Although Liu Qing is getting older and is no longer in charge, his prestige remains unchanged, so Wu Xinquan will still ask Liu Qing for his opinion after making a decision.
After hearing Wu Xinquan's inquiry, Liu Qing coughed twice first, and then said tremblingly: "You have a good idea, just do what you said... However, the internal transportation warehouse is managed by Zhao Junchen After that, the situation is quite good, and it can be said that the treasure is ahead. After you take over, you must not mess it up. You must work hard, otherwise His Majesty may hand it over to Zhao Junchen again. At that time, we people will be in trouble again. It’s going to be controlled.”
As soon as Liu Qing finished speaking, all the eunuchs, including Wu Xinquan, stood up and agreed.
Liu Qing's prestige in the inner court can be seen from this.
*****
However, he said that after the meeting, Xu Sheng, the eunuch of the Royal Horse Supervisor, returned to his yamen, looking quite depressed.
In today's meeting, Xu Sheng forgot to speak appropriately and actually questioned Wu Xinquan's decision. Although Wu Xinquan did not express anything at the time, Xu Sheng still discovered that Wu Xinquan was dissatisfied with him.
Afterwards, when the great eunuchs divided up the benefits of the West Factory and the inner transport warehouse, Xu Sheng's benefits were far from what he expected.
As a result, Xu Sheng was naturally a little depressed.
Speaking of which, the Yumajian is also a powerful yamen in the inner court. It shares the military power with the Ministry of War and local governors. It also manages the pastures and imperial villas and operates the imperial shops. It has twice set up the Xichang Yamen, which works with the ceremonial supervisor and the admiral. Dongchang fought in court.
However, the power of the Yuma Jian was still not as powerful as that of the Si Lijian, and Xu Sheng's scheming methods were not as good as Wu Xinquan's. Therefore, the Yuma Jian was increasingly outclassed by the Si Lijian, and was suppressed by the Si Lijian in every aspect.
When Xu Sheng returned to his yamen, all the eunuchs who served as royal guards saw Xu Sheng's unhappy expression. They all waited on him cautiously, not even daring to express their anger for fear of being offended.
When Xu Sheng came to sit down in the hall of the Royal Horse Prison, in the quiet, a young eunuch suddenly came out and asked Xu Sheng: "Director Xu, you look unhappy, but what difficulties have you encountered?"
This young eunuch had just entered the inner court not long ago, but he was good at talking and knew how to get things done. He had also read poetry and books, and was very talented. Therefore, he quickly gained the attention of the inner court and transferred him to the Royal Horse Supervisor. After this man came to the Royal Horse Prison, he was quickly appreciated by Xu Sheng, and even became Xu Sheng's adopted son, and was quite favored by Xu Sheng.
At this time, only this person dared to ask Xu Sheng the reason.
This young eunuch is named Li Ruan!
On the other side, Xu Sheng was sulking. After hearing Li Ruan's inquiry, he slammed the table and cursed loudly: "That Wu Xinquan has repeatedly humiliated me. He is really bullying me!"
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ps: Well, three chapters in one!
There will be more words in tomorrow’s update!
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…(To be continued.)
