I am a temporary worker in Jinyiwei, how did I become a powerful official?

Chapter 186 Returning to Beijing to Earn a Small Profit of Taels

In early May of the 38th year of Jiajing, Lin Shisan returned to the capital.

He first sent the black bear to the bear house in the West Garden, and then went to the Jinyiwei headquarters to report.

Lu Bing flipped through the account books he brought back and praised him, "You have never failed in your work. I won't say anything polite like you have a promising future."

"Zhu Xixiao, Lu Yi, and Liu Shouyou have also returned to Beijing. They have all investigated the food and salary problems in the areas they are responsible for."

"With these account books you have handed over, the Jinyiwei can report to the emperor."

Lin Shisan knelt down and kowtowed: "Report to Commander Lu. In order to investigate the corruption case, I had no choice but to befriend the corrupt officials Liang Wude and Lu Xingxu. I have adopted them as my adopted sons."

"I have no connection with them. I just want to paralyze them."

Lu Bing said, "It's okay. Oh, you've really become something. The third-rank officials and fifth-rank officials are all eager to acknowledge you as their godfather."

"Forget it. Didn't you get two jars of good wine for Zhao Wenhua? Send them to him and let him accept your favor."

Lin Shisan obeyed the order, left the Jinyiwei, and came to Zhao Wenhua's mansion with two jars of Hundred Flowers Fairy Wine.

When Zhao Wenhua saw Lin Shisan, he called out affectionately, "Brother Lin, you're finally back. Did you bring back the Hundred Flowers Fairy Wine I asked you to find?"

Lin Shisan said, "Ahem. Don't mention it. I almost got eaten by the black bear demon in the dangerous mountain to find these two jars of wine for Zhao Butang. This job is too dangerous."

"I hired thirty-two Jurchen hunters to help me find wine, and seventeen of them died. That black bear demon is simply a bloodthirsty evil spirit!"

In fact, no one among the Jurchen hunters was killed or injured. Lin Shisan said this on purpose to curry favor with Zhao Wenhua and take credit for it.

Zhao Wenhua nodded repeatedly: "Ah, you have worked so hard, Brother Lin. Where is the wine?"

Lin Shisan clapped his hands, and his men brought up two jars of Hundred Flowers Fairy Wine.

Lin Shisan said: "Zhao Butang, the fifty thousand taels of silver you promised before."

Zhao Wenhua smiled and said, "Brother Lin, brothers should be clear about accounts. I promised you 50,000 taels of silver."

"But even if you spend a few hundred taels to buy an antique painting, you still need to ask an expert to help you check the goods, right? Not to mention fifty thousand taels."

"I need to find someone to test the goods to see if it is the real Hundred Flowers Fairy Wine."

Lin Shisan nodded: "Yes, it should be."

Zhao Wenhua ordered the housekeeper: "Go and invite Zhang, the shopkeeper from Zhangyu Liquor Store."

The butler took the order and left.

Lin Shisan said, "This trip to Liaodong was made possible thanks to Liang Wude, the Shandong Provincial Government's deputy governor in Liaodong, and Lü Xing, the Liaodong grain officer."

"These two are really nice. They helped me a lot and even became my godparents."

Zhao Wenhua smiled and said, "They wrote to me about this. A man in his 50s recognized a young man of 24 as his godfather. These two are risking their lives for promotion."

The two drank tea and chatted while waiting for someone to come and test the wine.

Zhao Wenhua casually said, "The former governor of Ji and Liao, Wang Rong, was handed over to the three judicial departments for trial and conviction. His son, Wang Shizhen, deputy military envoy of Qingzhou, came to the capital and begged for help everywhere. He kowtowed so much that his forehead was swollen."

"But it's useless! Who asked his son to write a book to mock Lord Yan and Lord Xiao? The three judicial departments have already determined the sentence. The chief generals who were defeated at Luanhe were executed immediately. Wang Rong will be executed in prison."

Lin Shisan was surprised: "Isn't Wang Rong a member of Yang Bo's army? Didn't Yang Bo protect him?"

Zhao Wenhua said, "So what if it's for protection? Since Zhao Zhenji, the Three Untouched, was transferred from the Dali Temple to Nanzhili, the Three Judicial Departments have become the Three Judicial Departments of our Yan family."

"Sentencing Wang Rong to be executed in prison, isn't that something that can be done with ease?"

Lin Shisan was stunned. He thought: Among the six ministries, the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Works are all controlled by the Yan Party.

Among the three judicial departments, the Ministry of Justice, the Dali Temple and half of the Censorate were all controlled by the Yan Party.

The Tongzhengsi, which was in charge of officials' memorials, was almost the private office of the Yan Party.

Three of the six governors-general of the two capitals and thirteen provinces were members of the Yan Party. Seven of the fifteen provincial governors were members of the Yan Party.

Almost all the lucrative positions such as salt administration, copper administration, and water transport were in the hands of the Yan Party.

The Yan family is truly worthy of the title of having all the power in the government.

No wonder the Emperor instructed Governor Lu to take action against the Yan Party over the issue of food and wages at the border.

Yan Song was originally a substitute for the emperor, who bullied people, killed people, collected money, and suppressed the power of the old civil servants.

Now the stand-in has become a giant tree with luxuriant branches and leaves. Even if it is not uprooted, the branches and leaves must be trimmed.

Two moments later, Manager Zhang from Zhangyu Liquor Store came up to the two men and bowed to them.

Zhao Wenhua said, "The Baihuaxian wine I told you about last time has been shipped to Beijing. Do you have all the equipment to test the wine?"

Shopkeeper Zhang said, "I have brought everything. Since you told me about this last time, I have prepared the equipment to test the Hundred Flowers Fairy Wine."

Zhao Wenhua pointed to the wine jar and said, "Test it."

Shopkeeper Zhang took out a wine ladle, took out some wine from the two wine jars, and poured it into two pine wood cups.

He rinsed his mouth with salt water and tasted it first. Then he said, "The aroma and taste are consistent with the records in ancient books. After drinking it, I feel my whole body is unobstructed."

Zhao Wenhua asked: "Is this the end of the test?"

Shopkeeper Zhang shook his head: "You still need to urinate to identify the wine."

Lin Shisan was curious: "I've heard of using blood to identify relatives, but I've never heard of using urine to identify alcohol. How does it work?"

Shopkeeper Zhang took out a porcelain bottle and said, "This porcelain bottle contains bear urine that I just collected a few days ago. The Baihuaxian wine is the same color as the bear urine, both are light yellow."

"Put a drop of wine and a drop of bear urine in a bowl of water. If the two are mixed together, it will be the real Hundred Flowers Fairy Wine."

After Manager Zhang finished speaking, he used cotton to take a drop of wine from each jar and dropped it into two bowls of water.

Then he used cotton to take two drops of bear urine and dropped them into the clean water.

In a short while, the wine and urine mixed together.

Shopkeeper Zhang bowed to Zhao Wenhua and said, "Mr. Zhao, these two jars are genuine Baihua Xian wine. It is very rare in the world! It is simply a rare treasure among wines."

Zhao Wenhua nodded: "Thank you for your hard work. Go to the account office and get fifty taels of silver."

Shopkeeper Zhang left, thanking him profusely.

Zhao Wenhua smiled and said, "Brother Lin, please wait a moment. I will go to the inner room to get your reward."

Not long after, Zhao Wenhua came back and handed a stack of silver bills to Lin Shisan.

This stack of silver notes all cost five thousand taels each.

"Ah, ugh!" Lin Shisan spitted heavily on his right thumb and counted the banknotes vigorously. He almost picked up sparks from the banknotes.

After counting the banknotes, Lin Shisan smiled and said, "That's right, fifty thousand taels, not a tael off. Zhao Butang is indeed a man of his word."

"My life has not been lived in vain to be able to make friends with a gentleman like Zhao Butang. It has not been lived in vain!"

Zhao Wenhua began to murmur, "Brother Lin, the way to test the Baihuaxian wine is to use urine to identify the wine. It's the same color as bear urine. Do you think this wine could be..."

Lin Shisan interrupted Zhao Wenhua immediately: "Minister Zhao, stop guessing. If this wine was brewed by the black bear demon with that thing, will you still offer it to Lord Yan?"

"Good fellow, it's Lord Yan's 80th birthday, and you're offering him wine brewed from that thing?"

"If you don't offer it, wouldn't your fifty thousand taels of silver be wasted?" "Anyway, the ancient books don't record what kind of flowers are used to ferment the Hundred Flowers Fairy Wine. No matter who asks, it is brewed with spring water from a thousand-year-old spring in a dangerous mountain!"

Zhao Wenhua nodded: "Yes, yes, yes. Baihuaxian wine is brewed with spring water from a thousand-year-old spring in a dangerous mountain."

"I'll host you tonight to welcome you. I'll send someone to send invitations to the young minister and Lao Luo."

Lin Shisan said, "Okay. I'll go back home first to see my old father, his wife, concubines, and son. I'll come back to bother you in the evening."

That night, Zhao Wenhua's house held a grand banquet. Needless to say, Lin Shisan, Yan Shifan, Luo Longwen, and Zhao Wenhua made a lot of noise.

Prince Yu's residence.

Prince Yu, Xu Jie, Gao Gong, and Zhang Juzheng were sitting around the stove making tea, while Concubine Li was standing by.

Zhu Xixiao was standing opposite the tea table, with four account books beside him.

Prince Yu took a sip of tea and asked, "Did Lu Bing ask you to give me the account books of military corruption in Xuanfu, Datong, Jizhou, and Liaodong?"

Zhu Xixiao bowed and said, "Your Highness, that's right."

Prince Yu turned to look at Xu Jie and said, "Second Assistant, what do you think Lu Bing meant by this?"

Xu Jie pretended to be confused: "Well, I need to think about this carefully."

Concubine Li interrupted, "Your Highness, these four account books were not given to you by Lu Bing. They were given to you by your father."

"Lu Bing is the dagger hidden in the father's sleeve. Everything he does in the court is instructed by the father."

"When Lu Bing and Yan Song joined forces to overthrow Xia Yan, it was not Lu Bing's wish, but the emperor's instruction."

"Today's four account books are a big handle for the Yan Party in the Nine Borders. The Yan Party wants to realize its ambition of controlling the Nine Borders by controlling the food and wages of the border troops."

"Father, your majesty is so wise, how can you let the Yan Party succeed?"

Zhang Juzheng has always been a supporter of Concubine Li: "What Concubine Li said is extremely insightful."

Gao Gong agreed: "That's what happened."

Prince Yu asked: "What does it mean that Father gave me the handle of the Yan Party?"

Concubine Li said, "Everyone knows that Xu Ci Fu is your confidant. Father wants Xu Ci Fu to find a student or old friend among the censors to expose this matter."

"Father, the emperor can also go with the flow and allow the censors to impeach us and eliminate the influence of the Yan Party at the border."

Zhang Juzheng said: "Your Majesty, your opinion is great!"

Gao Gong thought to himself: This woman is not simple. I will never let her become the Wu Zetian of the Ming Dynasty.

The old fox Xu Jie remained silent and did not express his opinion.

Prince Yu said, "In this case, Mr. Xu, please find an old friend of yours to submit a memorial of accusation."

Xu Jie bowed and said, "This old minister will obey the king's order."

Zhu Xixiao said, "Your Highness, in addition to the four account books, Governor Lu also sent another account book."

Prince Yu asked, "Oh? What account book?"

Zhu Xixiao said: "Lin Youniu, the father of Lin Shisan, the deputy captain of the Northern Pacification Division of the Jinyiwei, took over the cotton armor business of the border troops. He made 10,000 pieces of inferior cotton armor with only 3,000 taels."

Prince Yu frowned: "Father, do you intend to use Xu Ci Fu to deal with Lin Shisan?"

Li Fei's brother Li Gao and Lin Shisan were in good company and slept with the same woman. Naturally, Li Fei had to speak for Lin Shisan.

Concubine Li said, "It's not a punishment. I guess that Lin Shisan is a secret agent sent by my father to the Yan Party. But after pretending to be friendly with the Yan Party for a long time, the Yan Party will inevitably become suspicious."

"Instructing the censors to impeach Lin Shisan, I'm afraid that my father is helping Lin Shisan to cover up."

Prince Yu was puzzled: "But the account book is here, which is equivalent to solid evidence. With this report, Lin Shisan is doomed. How could my father dig up a secret stake for himself? This doesn't make sense."

Xu Jie also said: "Your Highness is right, it doesn't make sense."

Zhang Juzheng said, "I dare to speculate on the emperor's intention. The emperor believes that if Lin Shisan is unable to help him get rid of this little trouble, then he is not worthy of being a close minister that the emperor uses."

"I have heard about some things about Lin Shisan. On the surface, he seems to be a flatterer, a smooth talker, and a playboy. But in fact, he is a very cautious person, and very shrewd."

"In terms of intelligence, the thousand-year-old golden tortoise in Taiye Lake pales in comparison to him."

"And Lin Shisan is not greedy for money. Or, in other words, he is not greedy for ill-gotten gains."

"He must have a backup plan for the cotton armor issue."

Prince Yu nodded and said, "Okay. Xu Ci Fu, you should immediately find the censors to impeach the followers of the Yan Party at the border, and impeach Lin Shisan at the same time."

Two days later, Xu Jie's student Wei Yuanji, the Imperial Censor of the Ministry of Revenue, submitted a memorial to the emperor, impeaching the grain officials in the nine frontier regions for embezzlement and dereliction of duty.

The list of those impeached included Ma Jiude, the former governor of Jizhou; Ai Xichun, the governor of Baoding; Liang Wude, the councilor of Shandong Provincial Government stationed in Liaoning; Gao Guang, Lu Xing, Liu Chongwen, Ma Lian, Dong Ce, Cao Lin, Wang Shouzhi, Wang Huizheng, Zhang Bangyan, Liu Lusheng and many more.

A total of forty-three Yan Party border grain management officials were impeached.

In addition, Wei Yuanji also impeached Lin Shisan, deputy commander of the Northern Pacification Division, for taking over the cotton armor manufacturing business of the border troops, passing inferior products off as good ones, and harming the border troops, making a huge profit of 29,000 taels.

Emperor Jiajing issued an edict, bypassing the three judicial departments and ordering a dozen censors from the six ministries to try the corrupt officials.

During the trial, Lin Shisan was the first to be interrogated, because the other officials were in the nine border areas and had not yet been escorted to Beijing.

In the eyes of the chief judge Wei Yuanji: Lin Shisan was a complete flatterer, a slanderer, and a jester. The most die-hard member of the Yan Party was a non-eunuch backbone of the eunuch party.

If I can overthrow him, I, Wei Yuanji, will be able to become famous. Not to mention becoming the top official in the Six Departments, at least I will be in the top three.

Lin Shisan was taken to the trial hall.

Wei Yuanji slammed the gavel and said, "Kneel down!"

Lin Shisan rolled up his sleeves and said, "I am a fifth-rank military officer of the imperial court, a close minister in front of the emperor, and have served as an imperial envoy five times. My official position is higher than yours. Why should I kneel down for you? You should kneel down for me."

Wei Yuanji was furious and said, "Just because you are corrupt, you are harming the border troops and plotting evil!"

Lin Shisan sneered: "Wei Geishi is really good at putting accusations on others. These three accusations are enough to kill me, Lin Shisan, ten times."

"But I want to remind Wei Geshi that criminal matters require evidence. Just because you say I am guilty doesn't mean I am guilty."

Wei Yuanji said, "You want evidence! All right! Bring me the detailed account, payment receipt, and receipt for the 10,000 pieces of cotton armor ordered by Lin Youniu, the father of Lin Shisan, from Changlongxiang."

A clerk presented the evidence.

Wei Yuanji said, "Lin Shisan, your father spent only three thousand taels to order ten thousand low-quality cotton armors from Changlongxiang. The evidence is all there, are you still going to deny it?"

Lin Shisan looked confident: "Yes, it happened."

Wei Yuanji said: "Just admit it! According to the Ming Dynasty Law, you should be sentenced."

Lin Shisan interrupted Wei Yuanji: "Wait a minute. My father ordered 10,000 pieces of cotton armor from Changlongxiang. But it does not mean that these 10,000 pieces of cotton armor were sent to the nine borders and worn by the border soldiers!"

"My father didn't know the market, so he only gave them three thousand taels. After they delivered the goods, my father saw that the cotton armor was of very low quality, so he burned it all."

"He spent another 30,000 taels to order 10,000 pieces of genuine, high-quality cotton armor from the Ruifu Ship in Tongzhou City."

"The goods delivered to the Nine Borders are this batch of high-quality cotton armor. If you don't believe me, you can go and ask the Ministry of War."

(End of this chapter)