Chapter 142: The Miserly Father and the Spendthrift Son

It was clear Tianqi was truly stepping into his role as emperor now…

He really couldn’t execute Luo Sigong over this.

Even though he knew Luo Sigong had been bought off by the Donglin Faction to act as an accomplice, at least in this matter Luo Sigong bore no blame. A tricky old fox like him wouldn’t make a move unless he was sure he faced no real danger; no amount of silver could make him act otherwise…

He wasn’t short on silver anyway.

Forty years as head of the Imperial Guard!

He hadn’t sunk so low that greed had clouded his judgment over just ten thousand taels of silver. No matter how one looked at it, he’d just been tricked by those audacious eunuchs who dared to forge the imperial edict. The worst Tianqi could do, in a fit of rage, was toss him into the Imperial Prison and use the chance to wrest control of the Imperial Guard from him. Replacing him with someone definitely more obedient was possible, but executing him? Impossible.

There were no convincing grounds for it.

As emperor, acting in sudden anger to throw a respected old minister serving three dynasties into prison was acceptable. But killing him without sufficient reason? That was the act of a tyrant.

Tianqi had just ascended the throne.

He didn’t have the privilege to go unrestrained yet.

So, he also needed to offer some comfort to these Imperial Guardsmen who’d previously followed Luo Sigong.

He had to win their hearts as well.

Thus, under escort—or rather, “accompaniment”—by Xu Xianchun, Luo Sigong went of his own accord to the Imperial Prison, a place where he used to be the one interrogating prisoners. Regardless of what fate awaited him next, his era had ended. His forty-year grip on the Imperial Guard truly ended at this moment. The Imperial Guardsmen silently watched him leave. Kneeling under the stern gaze of His Majesty the Emperor on the opposite side, they made no unusual movements. In this quiet way, they fully acknowledged the authority of this fifteen-year-old boy emperor…

“You! You are promoted to Commander! Take charge of the Imperial Guard!”

Tianqi declared to Tian Ergeng.

“This humble servant obeys the imperial decree!” Tian Ergeng responded, his voice thick with emotion.

It seemed Xu Xianchun’s performance had disappointed the young emperor somewhat.

Originally, in the planning within their small circle, the position of seal-bearer for the Imperial Guard was between him and Xu Xianchun.

Tianqi had initially wanted Yang Xin to take over the Imperial Guard. Although this man had never managed Imperial Guard affairs, as Deputy Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, he was qualified to hold the seal. Luo Sigong himself had held charge of the Imperial Guard in the past while serving as Deputy Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

But Yang Xin had refused.

Yang Xin’s suggestion was to let someone familiar with Imperial Guard affairs take the reins.

Of course, this was just an excuse. He knew the Great Ming Dynasty would face a series of conflicts soon. He needed to stay on as the emergency fire brigade. Especially with She Chongming’s rebellion looming, and Wild Boar Skin certain to launch another massive attack next year, he absolutely couldn’t get tied down managing the Imperial Guard. Besides, he still had to secretly build his own small power base. How could he play the game ahead if he was stuck in the Capital City? Even though he had a good relationship with Tianqi, that didn’t mean they were close as family. He had to think about the future. The empire’s problems couldn’t be fixed by just having a clever emperor.

This empire needed a complete overhaul.

And the emperor, the Eunuch Faction, the imperial clan, the nobility – they were all targets for overhaul, or even cleansing. He just needed to use them first to deal with the urgent threats.

But eventually, they would part ways.

Yang Xin had a very clear understanding of this.

He wasn’t the type to happily serve as a subject forever.

Since he refused the position, it came down to Tian Ergeng and Xu Xianchun.

Tian Ergeng himself held a higher official rank than Xu Xianchun. Xu Xianchun’s recent performance had also left Tianqi slightly disappointed. And so, this position coveted by every Imperial Guardsman fell into Tian Ergeng’s hands.

And his first task…

“Arrest the Seal-holding Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial and all the Memorial-Submitting Eunuchs!” Tianqi said, his face grim.

Tian Ergeng bowed in acknowledgment of the decree, then turned towards the Imperial Guardsmen…

“On your feet!” he bellowed.

“Haven’t you heard His Majesty’s decree? Arrest Wang An and all the Memorial-Submitting Eunuchs of the Directorate of Ceremonial immediately!” he roared immediately after.

The Imperial Guardsmen snapped out of it. Hastily scrambling to their feet amidst confusion, they followed their new commander down the city walls to cleanse the Directorate of Ceremonial. They would throw everyone from the Seal-holding Eunuch down to every Memorial-Submitting Eunuch – the most powerful figures within the Imperial Palace – into the Imperial Prison. Then, the harsh interrogations would begin.

“Xu Xianchun shall take charge of the Northern Judicial Bureau! I command him to thoroughly investigate this case before the Coronation Ceremony!” Tianqi added immediately.

A young eunuch attendant at his side immediately went to deliver this decree.

Thus, the structure of Tian Ergeng overseeing the Imperial Guard and Xu Xianchun running the Northern Judicial Bureau formed four years early. This laid the groundwork for the infamous “Faithful Hounds of the Nine Thousand Years Old.”

“Your Majesty!” Yang Xin stepped closer to Tianqi.

Tianqi looked him over. Yang Xin had just taken at least ten bullets. His Flying Fish Robe now looked like a beggar’s rags, the many holes revealing the Forged Steel Armor beneath. Tianqi reached out and pulled aside a rent on Yang Xin’s shoulder to look at a bullet entry point. The bullet had merely penetrated the first layer of forged steel plate, striking the second layer beneath and leaving only a deep dent without piercing through. The protective Silk Armor layer underneath remained completely unaffected.

“These bird guns… they just aren’t good enough!” the Young Emperor frowned.

At a mere thirty meters, such pathetic power was unacceptable.

“A layer of padded cloth armor with iron plates inside, plus layer of scale armor, would be enough to stop it. Even if it pierced through, it wouldn’t cause real harm. The Europeans’ matchlock guns are not like these. They use bigger guns like culverins, mounted on stands, with barrels longer and thicker than bird guns. On the battlefield, they can pierce ordinary wrought-iron plate armor, and easily breach padded armor layered with scale armor too.” Yang Xin explained.

The bird guns simply lacked stopping power.

The Jiannu heavy infantry relied not only on shield carts, but also on wearing mostly suits of padded/iron armor plus a scale armor vest (massively captured in later periods). Unless fired at point-blank range, bird guns struggled to penetrate all that. Heavy Spanish matchlock weapons would punch through it easily. Probably through the shield-carts too – those were just layers of wood planks, iron strips, and cowhide. A proper 20mm caliber heavy matchlock would blow right through them. The official Xu Guangqi tried something like this later in history… Too bad the officers and soldiers didn’t want such heavy cumbersome guns. They preferred lugging light bird guns, or even lighter three-eyed guns. Then they’d fire once against the Jiannu, run away as fast as possible, and if caught, surrender quickly.

“Isn’t Xu Zhanshi drilling soldiers in Tongzhou? Put him in charge of replacing them!” Tianqi ordered.

“Hah, Xu Zhanshi’s troop drilling has almost become a joke,” Yang Xin laughed. “Out of seven thousand old, weak, sick, and crippled men, barely two thousand can even wield weapons. Forget armor – helmets aren’t guaranteed for everyone. They even have to use wooden sticks instead of weapons because it’s all too scarce! He practically ran his legs off but only managed to scrape together eight thousand taels from the Ministry of War. That’s barely enough to feed those soldiers! I hear he’s at home now, drafting a memorial pleading illness!”

Tianqi looked at Fang Congzhe beside him.

The old man gave an awkward smile…

“Hmm, well, the Ministry of Revenue is indeed facing hardship. Xu Zhanshi’s task… isn’t the most pressing… so funds and supplies were delayed somewhat,” he offered.

“But didn’t the Deceased Emperor release several million from the inner treasury?” Tianqi asked.

“Your Majesty,” Fang Congzhe said cautiously, “The inner treasury funds… besides the rewards for the Nine Garrisons… the remaining two million… are earmarked for rebuilding the Hall of Imperial Zenith…”

Zhu Changluo, upon becoming emperor, went on a spending spree like no other. The seven million taels his father had squirreled away? He blew more than half of it in less than a month! Besides the widely known 1.6 million taels used to “reward” troops in the Nine Garrisons – mostly just distributed to officials and officers – he set aside another two million to rebuild the Hall of Imperial Zenith. Just these two enormous expenditures totaled 360 million! Zhu Yijun’s coffin nearly flipped over! Father and son were stark opposites: one a hoarder obsessed with money, the other a reckless spender eager to give it all away. No wonder the Donglin Faction Scholars favored him. Zhu Changluo also recalled all the mine and tax supervisors. So, by the time the legacy money Emperor Wanli left reached Tianqi, the inner treasury held at most three million.

All gone within a single month.

“Rebuilding the Hall of Imperial Zenith costs two million?!”

Tianqi and Yang Xin cried out in unison.

“Your Majesty,” Fang Congzhe explained frankly, “Two million might not even be sufficient! You must understand, those Phoebe zhennan timbers come from deep mountains, felled and dragged out by human labor, then transported all the way via the Yangtze River and the Grand Canal. The workforce, materials, and resources needed for each log en route are staggering!”

“Then don’t use nanmu logs!” Yang Xin retorted.

“What else can support a grand hall like the Hall of Imperial Zenith?” Fang Congzhe asked sharply, his face stony.

“Your Majesty, I have a way to build pillars using no nanmu at all,” Yang Xin declared. “Pillars strong enough not just for the Three Great Halls, but halls even taller! And they’ll be fireproof! You wouldn’t be able to set them aflame even if you tried!”

“There is such a thing?” Tianqi asked, intrigued.

“Your Majesty, as I said before, science solves almost any problem,” Yang Xin asserted. “Science can solve how to support the Three Great Halls too. Entrust me with rebuilding this Hall of Imperial Zenith, and I estimate it will cost less than half. But it requires some time. The material I propose needs testing. If Your Majesty is interested, let’s find a spot within the palace grounds to experiment with it first. Once successfully created, we won’t just rebuild the Hall. We’ll build fortresses truly impregnable. We’ll span bridges across every river and stream in the land. Ultimately, mastering this science will slash the cost of all such major construction projects in the Great Ming Empire by at least half.”

“Well, that sounds worth trying!” Tianqi said.

He loved novel ideas like this.

Especially those proposed by Yang Xin – he never disappointed.

“But… Your Majesty… the rebuilding of the Hall of Imperial Zenith…” Fang Congzhe immediately interrupted, worried they’d gone completely off track.

“Suspend it for now,” Tianqi said dismissively. “Rebuilding isn’t urgent. Take two hundred thousand taels from the allocated two million for Xu Zhanshi instead. He’s always wanted to train a New Army using the Portuguese methods, hasn’t he? Let him handle it his way!” Tianqi continued. “Grand Secretary Fang, I am young. Many matters of government are beyond me. You are a minister of three reigns, deeply familiar with how the court functions. You may handle routine matters according to your judgment. I trust you. Act decisively as required.”

He sounded distinctly impatient.