Chapter Seventy-Two: The ICAC’s First Strike

Wang Chengen smiled and said, “There is no need for that. Man Gui, attend to the imperial decree.” With that, he took the edict from the little eunuch beside him and read aloud: “We have heard that Man Gui is loyal, righteous, and valiant in battle, and hereby promote him to steward of the Imperial Guard. Let this be known.”

Man Gui, however, looked utterly hesitant and said, “My service already offsets Chen Conghuan’s crime. I do not dare accept such an edict.”

Wang Chengen secretly admired him and said, “His Majesty says that if you capture one Jurchen spy, that alone will offset Chen Conghuan’s offense. Your remaining merits will be taken into account as well, and you may be promoted to steward. Will Steward Man still refuse the decree?”

Man Gui knocked his head to the ground and said, “This subject accepts the edict. I thank Your Majesty for his great grace.” Then he rose and took the imperial edict, turning to Chen Conghuan. “Xiao Huan, would you be willing to come to the capital with me?”

Chen Conghuan said, “From this day on, Brother Man, you are my own elder brother. Wherever you go, I will go.”

Man Gui said, “I am not your blood brother. I am your brother-in-law. I naturally must have sons, but your sister is my principal wife.”

So Man Gui brought Chen Conghuan with him and returned to the capital with Wang Chengen. At last, Zhu Youxiao saw the Man Gui who would rather have money than office.

After the formal greetings, Man Gui knelt on the ground and refused to rise, asking the emperor to allow him to become a household retainer. Zhu Youxiao laughed and cursed, “We are not the Jurchens; there is no such thing as becoming a house slave. Get up.”

Man Gui bowed his head and said, “Your Majesty’s great kindness cannot be repaid by this humble subject. I have only this worthless life, and I wish to offer it to Your Majesty. In the future, whenever Your Majesty says to kill someone, I will kill them. Please grant your servant a personal name.”

Zhu Youxiao thought for a moment and said, “It is rare to find such wholehearted loyalty. Since that is so, I will grant you a courtesy name. Qianyi. There is a saying: arrogance brings loss, humility brings gain. I hope you will remain modest and cautious, cherish your own life, and win merit for Great Ming.”

Man Gui was overjoyed. “Thank you for granting me a courtesy name, Your Majesty. I, An Ji, will remember the imperial instruction and never grow complacent. I will serve Your Majesty with utter loyalty.”

Zhu Youxiao said, “Your martial skill is proficient, and you are fierce in battle. That makes you a brave general. But in the Imperial Guard, valor is indeed important; still, you must remember that a commander is not always meant to rush forward personally to kill the enemy. You must also be able to lead your men to do so together. Spend some time first learning the basics of the Imperial Guard and fitting in quickly. I still have many tasks to entrust to you all.”

Man Gui agreed without hesitation. Zhu Youxiao then said, “You are already of age, yet still unmarried. This must be settled at once. Would you like me to arrange a marriage for you?”

Man Gui shook his head. “Your Majesty, I do not wish to take a wife. I have decided that only Chen Wei may be my lawful wife, so I only wish to buy a concubine to continue the family line.”

Zhu Youxiao said, “You have made Chen Wei your principal wife, which shows your deep affection for her. But once you have built a home and established a family, someone will still need to oversee domestic affairs. You could take another wife. If you buy a concubine merely to produce a son, that would also be unfair to the child. Must a child be born a secondary son from the very beginning?”

Man Gui had only thought of honoring Chen Wei as his principal wife and had not considered the matter of the child’s future status, much less that the problem could be solved by remarrying. Hearing Zhu Youxiao’s words, he suddenly understood and said, “Thank you for Your Majesty’s guidance. I would not dare ask Your Majesty to arrange a marriage. I will seek a matchmaker myself and settle my household as soon as possible, so that I may devote myself wholeheartedly to serving Your Majesty.”

The household searches were under the charge of Luo Sigong of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, with the Eastern Depot providing supervision. Zhu Youxiao sent Zhang Cheng and Liu Jingwen’s Anti-Corruption Office out as well, as their first assignment, to see what kind of results they could achieve.

Luo Sigong assigned Tian Ergeng to inspect and confiscate the merchants’ properties in Zhangjiakou Fort, while Wei Zhongxian sent Tu Wenfu to supervise the work.

Tian Ergeng and Tu Wenfu traveled together to Zhangjiakou Fort, and along the way Tian Ergeng bent over backward to flatter Tu Wenfu, attending to him so well that Tu Wenfu was thoroughly pleased. Once they reached Zhangjiakou Fort, the first household searched was Fan Yongdou’s. The Fan family had been in trade since the founding of Great Ming, already for seven generations, and the wealth accumulated over the years was an astonishing sum.

Fan Yongdou had already disclosed the location of all the secret rooms, so Tian Ergeng began the search there. Tian Ergeng and Tu Wenfu sat outside the exit of the secret chambers, where a large table had been set up. Whenever a strongman from the Embroidered Uniform Guard brought out a treasure from the hidden rooms, it would be placed on the table. If Tu Wenfu showed no interest, Tian Ergeng would signal for it to be taken away, and the clerk responsible for the ledger would record it. If Tu Wenfu took a liking to it, then it would not be entered into the record.

By the end of half a day, Tu Wenfu had already selected twenty eastern pearls, ten sets of coral, two sets of huanghuali furniture, thirty ingots of gold, and a great many other trinkets. And this was only a little more than one-tenth of the secret chambers’ contents.

They ate lunch at the exit of the secret room, then continued the inventory. Tu Wenfu chose a few more items, and altogether they loaded eight large wagons. Satisfied, he said to Tian Ergeng, “Seven of these wagons are for the Chief Eunuch. The remaining one is my labor fee. You’ve worked hard as well, so choose two wagons for yourself.”

Tian Ergeng said respectfully, “Since the Chief Eunuch has only taken one wagon, how would I dare take two? Half a wagon would be enough.”

Tu Wenfu said, “You still have so many men under you. Everyone has come out to serve the emperor, and naturally you should each get some benefit. Take two wagons and let everyone share them together.”

Tian Ergeng bowed his head. “Thank you, Chief Eunuch, for looking after the men beneath you.”

Merely by confiscating the property of the Fan family in Zhangjiakou Fort, they obtained assorted treasures and silver totaling about eighteen million taels. The estates of the other seven families were a little smaller than the Fan family’s, but together they still yielded another forty-six million taels. Altogether, the sum came to sixty-four million taels.

When Zhu Youxiao saw the figure, he was stunned. So this was where the real money was. He had been making glass and producing mirrors, even silver-backed mirrors far beyond the standards of this age, and in a whole year he might still only earn ten million taels of silver. But one household search alone had brought in more than six years’ worth combined. Though much of it was jewelry and might take time to convert into cash, it was all money. Now he had funds for schools, and funds to train troops.

But when Zhang Cheng brought the Anti-Corruption Office’s report that night, Zhu Youxiao immediately felt terrible. According to the investigation, among the confiscation wagons that entered the capital, fifty had been diverted to Tu Wenfu’s private residence and thirty to Tian Ergeng’s house.

Zhang Cheng and Liu Jingwen had been ordered to establish the Anti-Corruption Office, and they first recruited licentiates and examination candidates from the Imperial Academy. At that time, the government was rotten to the core, and many of the academy’s students were young men who hated such corruption with a passion, so there were plenty who were willing to join the ranks of those striking at venal officials. Liu Jingwen, being the more seasoned hand, based on the students’ family backgrounds and their conduct in daily life, recruited fifty students with no official connections whatsoever.

Full of zeal, these students followed Zhu Youxiao’s instructions to begin building the Anti-Corruption Office’s systems and structure, and before long they had laid the framework for the Statistics Bureau and the Operations Bureau.

The Statistics Bureau was directly headed by Zhang Cheng and made up of twenty students, along with a number of shopkeepers skilled in checking accounts who had been brought in from outside. The Operations Bureau was made up of thirty students and directly headed by Liu Jingwen; each member also recruited five street toughs who were adept at gathering information. So the moment the confiscation convoy left Zhangjiakou Fort, they were already under surveillance. The Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot had never imagined that anyone would dare keep watch over them, and so their actions were careless. In the end, they were caught red-handed by the Anti-Corruption Office.