Di Ming

Chapter 45 Who is it?

"The Kong family mansion...collecting debts..."

Zhu Yin's face darkened when he saw the extremely rude note.

He had once read a Ming Dynasty biography about Qi Jiguang, which said that the Qi Family Army was actually Qi Jiguang's private army.

However, Qi Jiguang was wholeheartedly devoted to the country and extremely loyal, which gave people the misconception that the Qi Family Army was the official army of the Ming Dynasty.

Qi Jiguang commanded not only the Qi Family Army, but also, and more importantly, the regular Ming army. The Qi Family Army was used as the main force, essentially Qi Jiguang's personal guards.

Just like Li Chengliang also kept several thousand retainers, but they were not registered as soldiers, nor were they on the rosters of the Ministry of War and the Governor's Office, and were not part of the regular Ming army in terms of organizational affiliation.

They were Li Chengliang's private soldiers.

The Qi Family Army was the same; in essence, it was also a private army.

The difference is that Li Chengliang had selfish motives; a private army is a private army.

Qi Jiguang was selfless, and the private army he painstakingly trained actually resembled the imperial army.

This explains why Emperor Wanli and his ministers deliberately cut off the Qi Family Army's pay and tacitly allowed the Northern Army generals to annihilate the Qi Family Army.

Because the Qi Family Army was not a true imperial army; it was an anomaly.

Unlike Li Chengliang, who embezzled military funds and monopolized trade to support his private army, Qi Jiguang raised most of the money and supplies for his private army himself, with a small portion coming from government subsidies.

In other words, he has a powerful backer.

Qi Jiguang was a weapon coveted by large landowners, high-ranking officials, and wealthy merchants along the southeast coast.

In order to protect their wealth, they lent money to Qi Jiguang.

Qi Jiguang raised a large sum of money and grain, recruited thousands of miners and farmers from Yiwu, trained them arduously and paid them generously, thus turning them into the elite of the nation.

Some of this money was borrowed, and some was given as gifts. Qi Jiguang used the money not only to support his Qi Family Army, but also to bribe powerful officials in the court.

Qi Jiguang repeatedly defeated the Japanese pirates and seized their loot, a large portion of which was used to pay off his debts.

But there are still holes.

When Qi Jiguang still held military power, of course he didn't have to repay the debt. Those patrons didn't dare to come demanding payment either.

After Qi Jiguang was dismissed from his post and stripped of his salary, most of his patrons were reluctant to ask for it back.

After all, Qi Shaobao did not disappoint them, and they knew that the world needed someone like Qi Shaobao.

However, a very small number of shameless individuals are not so easy to deal with.

The money these people received was initially ostensibly a loan, not a gift.

They took advantage of the situation, knowing full well that the Qi family was already in dire straits, yet they still came to their door to demand repayment, squeezing the Qi family dry.

Even after the Qi family pawned all their land and belongings, it wasn't enough to pay off their debts.

Among them is the Confucius Mansion in Qufu!

When the Kong family came to demand repayment, it wasn't just about getting money; it was also a gesture.

This was meant to show the civil service that military figures like the Confucius family and Qi Jiguang were enemies, not friends, and represented the attitude of scholars to suppress military generals.

Their intentions are extremely sinister.

It turns out that the events described in that biography were true.

The biography states that the Kong family once lent Qi Jiguang 10,000 taels of silver at an interest rate of 5%.

They will repay with the spoils of war from the suppression of the Japanese pirates.

Although ten thousand taels is a large sum, it is just a drop in the ocean for the Kong family.

The Confucius Mansion was practically a fiefdom within Shandong Province.

The imperial court alone granted 200,000 mu of sacrificial land for the five villages, and when you add the school land and the land that was annexed, the total exceeds one million mu.

The surrounding counties of Qufu are dotted with large estates belonging to the Confucius Family Mansion, all of which are fertile lands.

There were over 30,000 households, including those granted by imperial decree, those on temporary estates, those employed as servants, and those under the jurisdiction of the authorities, with a total dependent population of over 100,000.

Its industries are spread throughout Shandong, Beijing, Jiangnan, and Hubei.

Maritime smuggling, salt, grain, tea, silk, restaurants, brothels, book publishing... the Confucius Mansion engaged in every kind of lucrative business, whether overt or covert, dirty or smelly.

It's unknown who was the richest man in the Ming Dynasty, but even if the Kong family wasn't the richest, they would certainly be among the top five.

The Kong family's fortune, valued in silver, was at least thirty million taels. They were truly wealthy enough to rival a nation. What were ten thousand taels of silver to them?
Zhu Yin did not go to find Qi Jiguang that night, so as not to disturb the old man's rest.

After taking a shower and brushing his teeth, he changed into a cotton undershirt, casually tied his hair into a high ponytail, and dragged his wooden clogs into the living room.

He only entered the bedroom after Galo had finished his bath and come out.

Ning Caiwei finished her bath, changed into a crepe-like strapless dress, and was sitting in front of her dressing table drying her hair.

Her skin was fair with a rosy glow, like mutton fat jade, and flawless in the flickering candlelight.

The girl, not yet ten years old, had a slender waist that could be encircled by one hand. She was still young and innocent, yet her beauty was already beginning to show.

She used scented soap and incense; she was such a fragrant young lady.

"Taking a bath is so comfortable," Ning Caiwei said, her voice carrying a hint of languid coolness. "It's just that the well water is too cold."

"I still need to boil water to wash tomorrow."

She turned her head to look at Zhu Yin, her features exquisite, like a piece of fine Ru porcelain that had just been washed.

Ning Qingchen had also taken a bath. The little one, smelling sweet and soft, was crawling around on the bamboo mat.

The little black creature, like a fluffy ball, squatted at the doorway, sticking out its little tongue and wagging its little tail absentmindedly.

The chirping of summer insects outside the window seemed even louder.

The room was filled with the fragrance of mugwort, and smoke swirled around it.

Zhu Yin handed the letter attached to the arrow to Ning Caiwei, saying, "Take a look at this. Someone shot this in with an arrow."

Ning Caiwei took a look and frowned.

"Isn't the Kong family going too far? Knowing that the Qi family is destitute, they still come to press for debts? Are they trying to drive someone to their death?"

"How much are you estimated to owe?"

Zhu Yin took off his wooden clogs, crawled into the canopy bed with mosquito netting, and looked at the little girl outside through the mosquito netting, her figure blurry and indistinct.

"I don't know, but I estimate it's over ten thousand taels, and there might be interest involved."

Ning Caiwei shook her head, "Then what can we do? We only have a thousand taels left. Even if we give it all away, it will be a drop in the ocean."

"Since the Kong family has come to collect their debt this time, they certainly won't be easy to talk to. They probably have their eyes on the Qi family's ancestral home and collection of books."

As she spoke, she took off her shoes and got onto the bed, placing the crawling Ning Qingchen between the two of them.

Zhu Yin narrowed his eyes. "Go to Hengshuo Hall to learn martial arts tomorrow morning, and then give the letter to my godfather. I reckon he already knows what's going on and has a plan."

Ning Caiwei lay down, using a porcelain pillow as her head, and looked at the little boy from the side. "What's his plan? Is he going to use one loan to pay off another, or sell the ancestral home?"

Zhu Yin laughed and said, "If Godfather were so stubborn, would he still be a famous general of China?"

"He told me tonight that he's going to Zhejiang to find an old friend surnamed Shen to teach me the eight-legged essay style. Is he only going back to Zhejiang to find me a teacher?"

Ning Caiwei sat up, hugging the porcelain pillow. "He wants to go to Zhejiang to escape his debts? That makes sense. Of the thirty-six stratagems, running away is the best. He's a famous general, of course he wouldn't be unaware of this principle."

Zhu Yin said, "He probably hadn't thought about going to Zhejiang before, because he didn't have the money for the trip."

"But with me as his adopted son, he became less polite and had travel expenses, so he simply went to Zhejiang to hide from his debts. Of course, besides finding me a teacher, he probably had a third purpose."

Ning Caiwei tossed her hair and laughed, "Your godfather is quite an interesting old man."

"By the way, you just said he went to Zhejiang to find an old friend surnamed Shen to tutor you in the imperial examinations. Who could it be?"

Zhu Yin shook his head: "I don't know about that. Zhejiang is so big, there are quite a few people with the surname Shen. But judging from his tone, that Mr. Shen was once an official, and his official position should not be low."

"But now, for some unknown reason, he has retired from his official post and is living in retirement in his hometown. It seems there is still a possibility of him being reinstated."

Ning Caiwei, however, perked up. "Taking a teacher is also an investment, and it can't be taken lightly. Connections are very important. With my godfather's vision, the person he chooses must be extraordinary."

"Think about it carefully, were there any famous historical figures with the surname Shen during the Wanli period?"

“There are two most famous ones,” Zhu Yin replied, his expression somewhat strange.

"One is named Shen Yiguan, and the other is named Shen Li. They are both quite famous. But I don't know if they are from Zhejiang."

Ning Caiwei asked, "How high are their official ranks? Are they very high-ranking?"

"How big is it?" Zhu Yin's expression became even more amused. "Well, about the size of the Grand Secretary or the Second Grand Secretary."

PS: I'm begging for your help!

(End of this chapter)