Daming Yuanfu

Chapter 2343: Lucky Nanjing (X) Undercurrent

The first ray of sunlight in the early morning penetrated the gaps in the thick clouds and shone obliquely over the Chunhe Palace, covering this somewhat solemn building with a layer of light golden gauze, adding a bit of dreamy splendor.

After a night of heavy rain, Chunhe Palace seemed to have a different kind of life. The air was filled with a fresh scent mixed with soil and grass, as if nature had also washed away the dust of the past and was full of vitality, which was exactly in line with the name "Chunhe".

On both sides of the white stone road, the green old trees dripped crystal clear water droplets, like pearls scattered on the emerald green. The breeze blew, the leaves swayed gently, and occasionally a few birds chirped from the branches, melodious and pleasant, as if they were also praising the fresh world brought by the rain.

In the small pond beside the side hall of Chunhe Palace, the water drops on the lotus leaves sparkled brightly, like gems inlaid in the sun. Looking northeast from Chunhe Palace, you can see Zhongshan Mountain where the Xiaoling Mausoleum is located. At this moment, the mountains in the distance are gently shrouded in a layer of mist, looming, adding a hazy fairyland-like charm.

Although it was early, a tall man in a red silk dragon robe had already walked into the picture slowly. He was the Prime Minister of the current cabinet, Duke Jingguo Gao Youshi. His steps were calm and firm, and his eyes were deep and calm, as if all the noise from the outside world could not shake his inner peace.

Gao Fusi walked calmly and leisurely by the pond, which seemed particularly fitting in this quiet environment, just like the most eye-catching ink stain in an exquisite painting.

Just as he was passing by an exquisite pavilion, a servant of the Gao family in brown clothes appeared silently at the edge of his sight. The servant bowed respectfully and handed a tightly sealed letter to Gao Youshi.

Gao Youshi took the letter, his eyes did not show any fluctuation, he just nodded slightly, and then continued to walk forward. He did not rush to open the envelope, but chose to stop in a relatively secluded place for a moment, and then slowly opened the letter in his hand.

At this moment, the surrounding scenery seemed to be quietly witnessing this scene, and even the wind slowed down its pace, unwilling to disturb this rare tranquility. After Gao Youshi finished reading the contents of the letter, his face remained calm and composed, without any emotional ups and downs. He carefully folded the letter, put it back into his sleeve, and then turned and left, leaving behind a back figure that gradually walked away and disappeared into the depths of the Chunhe Palace, which was full of historical charm.

Returning to the study in the side hall of Chunhe Palace, Gao Youshi took out the letter he had just written and burned it with a calm expression under the still lit oil lamp. He then carefully placed the ashes into the gilded coiled dragon incense burner in the corner of the study. Then he walked leisurely to the desk and ordered the servants to wash his brush and prepare ink for him.

Soon, the servant bowed and left, and Gao Fusi picked up an exquisite Hu brush, and after a little hesitation, he began to write on the rice paper. When he was young, he studied for the exam, so he was very good at writing in the official style. However, this time he did not use the official style, but used running script instead. The strokes were euphemistic, subtle, beautiful and vigorous, and vaguely had the charm of the two Wangs.

  "Liu Gong holds the seal of the court:

It has been two months since I left Beijing. I haven't visited you for a long time. I miss you very much. I am writing this letter today not for the sake of greeting, but to discuss important matters with you. I hope you will read it carefully.

Recently, the internal garrison commander Tian Yi wanted to discuss something with me and Liu Gong. Tian Yi has been in Ning for many years, has a deep foundation, and is quite far-sighted. He is really an extraordinary person. He wants to make further progress, and I am also willing to help.

I know that Mr. Liu has always been ambitious to assist the emperor, but he has missed the position of factory supervisor several times. This is a pity, and I often sigh about it. After Wang An left, the factory supervisor position has been vacant for a long time, which is not a blessing for the court. Although I am a minister of the outer court, I can't help but worry about it, let alone Mr. Liu? Now I meet a wise man, I am very happy, and I am willing to act as a bridge between Mr. Liu and Tian Yi, and work together to find a way to stabilize the inner court.

Tian Yi has promised that if he is recommended by Mr. Liu, he will help him when he is promoted to factory supervisor. I will also fully support Mr. Liu to ensure everything goes smoothly. No matter if it is summoned by the emperor or discussed by the cabinet, there will be no words that are unfavorable to Mr. Liu.

In addition, the court intends to promote the establishment of a pasture in the Hetao area by the Imperial Horse Administration for horse breeding, which can also expand trade and benefit both the public and private sectors. If Mr. Liu also has this intention, I will take care of it.

The letter does not contain all the words, so Yin Qi Liu Gong wrote back.

Best regards, Taiwan.

Gao Youshi's handwriting

  From the perspective of later generations, Gao Guoshi's letter seems a bit too humble. After all, when Liu Ping visited him in the past, he would at least smile at him, if not bow and scrape. How could he deserve to be called "Mr. Liu" and to be written "Tai Jian" and "Tai An"?

Actually, this is not the case. Chinese people have always been "overly modest", and letter etiquette is a typical example of this moderation. Since Confucian culture emphasizes the importance of "propriety" and "benevolence", "propriety means respecting others", so it is fully reflected in letter exchanges.

The ancients believed that when writing letters, one should fully respect the other party and avoid direct and harsh expressions to avoid causing discomfort or offense to the recipient. Therefore, when writing letters, a lot of polite words and honorifics are often used to express respect and politeness, such as "Your Excellency" and "High Opinion", as well as the opening "Your Excellency" and "Respectfully", and the closing "Respectfully" and "Respectfully Worship", all of which reflect the respect for humility in Chinese culture.

In addition, the humility in ancient Chinese letter writing etiquette is also reflected in the devaluation of self-evaluation and high praise of others. People often call themselves "foolish brother" or "humble person" in letters to show that they are of low status and shallow knowledge.

If we take official interactions as an example, colleagues in the Tang Dynasty often referred to themselves as "servant" or "servant" in letters, while colleagues in the Ming Dynasty often referred to themselves as "student" or "distinguished young scholar"... This all has historical background and social reasons.

During the Tang Dynasty, the imperial examination system had emerged but was not perfect, and the aristocratic families could still stir up the final waves of family politics, so the social status was emphasized. Then, in turn, when a person needs to be humble, he will naturally belittle himself from this status, so he calls himself "servant" or "servant, etc."

It was different in the Ming Dynasty. The officialdom of the Ming Dynasty was dominated by academic elites, so everyone had to be humble and had to belittle themselves in the area of ​​studying. Not only did colleagues call each other students, but even teachers called themselves students in letters to their disciples - of course, the "student" here does not mean "I am your student", after all, the relationship between teacher and student is there.

This self-proclaimed title is actually to emphasize that one is always a "student", that is, to emphasize that one insists on learning endlessly and is always in the process of humble learning. As for those who call themselves "latecomers", the same is true - you are the predecessors in knowledge and the object of study for me.

Since one is degrading himself, he has to be extra respectful to the recipient. For example, he may use words like "my dear brother" or "my dear teacher" to show that the recipient has a high status and profound knowledge.

Actually, the letter that Gao Youshi wrote to Liu Ping was not that exaggerated. After all, Gao Youshi and Huang Mengyu were of the same generation back then, and Liu Ping, as Huang Mengyu's nephew, had always regarded himself as a junior in front of Gao Youshi in his early years.

Gao Youshi sealed the letter, called a servant and gave him some instructions. The servant then left the palace to find Jinghua Trading Company by carrier pigeon without mentioning anything.

Two flowers bloom, each with its own beauty. At the same time, at the Nanjing branch of Jinghua Commercial Society, Gao Qi occupied Gao Yu's signing room temporarily. At this time, he was sitting behind a large mahogany desk, frowning, and looking sharply at the piles of account books and documents on the table. These documents recorded almost every transaction of more than ten taels of silver in the renovation project of the Nanjing Imperial Palace, and he now needed to find the hidden illegal activities from these complicated numbers and words.

  Of course, it was impossible for him to review all these things alone, and there was no need for that - so many financial personnel had graduated from the Jinghua Craftsmen School over the years, and Nanjing was such an important place, was he afraid that he would not be able to find a professional accountant trained by himself?

"Gao Qi!" Gao Qi's voice was calm and firm. He looked up at the accountant standing across from the desk and instructed Gao Qi: "Check these accounts again, especially the purchase records of cement and wood. Don't miss any transaction and don't let go of any clues."

"Yes, Master." Gao Yu answered respectfully, with a hint of nervousness in his eyes. Although he didn't know what the Master wanted to investigate specifically, or what the Master's ultimate goal was, he knew that this mission was absolutely extraordinary, and any small negligence could lead to serious consequences.

After all, the eldest young master was ordered by the eldest master of the Dong family to leave the palace in the middle of the night to handle this matter. Think about it, he couldn't even wait until dawn, and a relative of the eldest young master's status was personally responsible for it. The eldest master of the Dong family was obviously serious about it.

Who is the master of the Dong family? The Prime Minister of the dynasty! Lord Jingguo! If he takes this matter so seriously, then for a servant like me, wouldn't it be more urgent than Mount Tai?

Time passed quickly. Several teams of temporarily arranged spies came to report the situation to Gao Qi every now and then. Until night fell and the trading company was brightly lit, Gao Qi had received twenty-seven different reports that day.

Gao Qi's confidant Gao Wei, who was brought from the Ministry of Internal Affairs by Gao Qi, quietly walked into the signing room. He was a burly middle-aged man with traces of time on his face and a subtle sharpness in his eyes.

"Chief of Justice, I have already followed your instructions and gone to several craftsmen villages to make inquiries." Gao Xu's voice was low, and his eyes flashed with a shrewd light.

There are two words that need to be explained briefly here. The "Zhang Xing" mentioned by Gao Shuo refers to Gao Qi, but "Zhang Xing" is not a specific position of Gao Qi, but a term created by the Ministry of Internal Affairs to benchmark the East Factory, specifically the "Zhang Xing Qian Hu" of the East Factory.

The "Chief of Criminals" had great power and was generally regarded as the second-in-command of the East Depot, second only to the "Eunuch who was the Imperial Commissioner of the East Depot". The Ministry of Internal Affairs was in charge of internal security and intelligence, so it was often regarded as the same as the East Depot in Beijing. As a result, the Ministry of Internal Affairs itself was too lazy to bother with it and simply compared itself with the East Depot.

When Gao Mo grew old and gradually entered a semi-retired state, the affairs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs began to be handed over to Gao Qi, the intelligence secretary of the Secretariat. Therefore, the subordinates of the Ministry of Internal Affairs called him "the Chief of Punishment" - even though Gao Qi did not actually handle matters of punishment.

The second word to be explained is "住坐匠". Like the Beijing Ministry of Works, the Nanjing Ministry of Works was responsible for many public works, building maintenance, material supply and other related matters of the court. When implementing specific engineering projects, the two capitals' Ministry of Works had a special construction team. This team had different names and organizational forms in different historical periods, but the most typical organization was the "营修清隶司" and the craftsman team under the craftsman registration system.

The "Yingshan Qinglisi" was an agency under the Ministry of Works in both the capitals, responsible for the construction and maintenance of the royal palaces, temples and other important public facilities. The Yingshan Qinglisi had multiple levels of officials and skilled workers, including architects, carpenters, stonemasons, bricklayers and other professional technicians, who participated in specific engineering projects according to their respective professional skills.

As we all know, the Ming Dynasty implemented a household registration management system called the "Craftsman System", in which professional and technical personnel engaged in handicrafts and construction were registered. These people were called "craftsman households."

The craftsmen of the Ministry of Works were divided into "shift craftsmen" and "resident craftsmen". Shift craftsmen regularly went to Beijing or other places to serve, while resident craftsmen were stationed in Beijing or other designated places. Usually, if there was a project arranged by the Ministry of Works, the craftsmen would be dispatched to the place where they were needed to participate in the construction of the project after receiving the order, forming a temporary or long-term construction team.

These craftsmen played a vital role in the construction projects led by the imperial court and were the main force in the implementation of large-scale engineering projects by the Ministry of Works. The "several villages of craftsmen living in the Ministry of Works" mentioned by Gao Shuo were the villages where the craftsmen living in the Nanjing Ministry of Works concentrated - of course, there may be more than a few villages, he just made a casual statement, which may not be accurate.

"What have you found?" Gao Qi looked up, his eyes sharp.

"The craftsmen have a hard life. We just spent a little money and they complained about everything. They were talking about it privately, saying that a lot of the wood and cement used in the renovation were indeed inferior."

Gao Xi moved closer and whispered, "Also, I heard from a few brave craftsmen that the Director Wang of the Construction Department has suddenly become wealthy recently and bought a large house by Mochou Lake as a villa."

"Wang, the director of the Nanjing Ministry of Works..." Gao Qi's eyes flashed with a sneer, and he snorted, "Is it Wang Lingyu? He is just the great-nephew of Wang Xijue, and he is also a concubine's son. Although Wang Ge Lao's family is rich, they will not give him much allowance. As for his own salary, haha, can that little money afford a big house in Mochou Lake? It seems that the water in Nanjing is really deep."

"Young Master, should we..." Gao Xu stretched out his fingers and pinched them hard, making a grabbing gesture.

"Not appropriate." Gao Qi waved his hand and said, "After all, he is a member of the Wang family and an official appointed by the court. How can we arrest and interrogate him privately? We must first obtain solid evidence. Go and contact a few brave craftsmen, I mean those who have complaints about the materials used in this renovation. Tell them that if they can provide some physical evidence, I will give them enough compensation and transfer them to the Beijing Ministry of Works."

Gao Xiu agreed and left quietly.

The next morning, Gao Qi's desk had a few pieces of wood and a small bag of cement. He carefully examined the evidence and found that the wood was sparse in texture, and the cement was, as Tian Yi said, ordinary cement, not the Jinghua new waterproof cement mentioned in the report. Gao Qi sneered and nodded.

"Okay, Gao Xue, you did a great job. Now, we need to compile this evidence into a report." Gao Qi's eyes were stern: "Once this report is handed over to my uncle, it will be a sharp sword to deter the Nanjing officials."

Under Gao Qi's command, a detailed report was quickly completed, which not only listed all the officials and nobles suspected of corruption and abuse of power, but also attached physical evidence specimens and descriptions.

"Young Master, once this report is delivered to the boss, there will probably be a bloody storm in the Nanjing officialdom." Gao Yu sighed as he looked at the report.

  Gao Qi sneered and said calmly: "A bloody storm? If there really is a bloody storm, it's the fault of those bastards in Nanjing." A trace of disdain flashed in his eyes, and he added: "What's more, whether this bloody storm will really come depends on what my uncle wants."
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(End of this chapter)