Transmigrating to the Ming Dynasty’s Imperial Examination Ch. 154

Chapter 154

Outside, political storms were brewing, with censors filing countless memorials targeting the Northern Administrative Office, the Northern Depot, like snowflakes. Memorials even reached the level of a Secondary Grand Secretary, but at the center of this snowy tempest, Xie Ying remained steady, calmly going about his duties, unaffected in the slightest.

Xie Ying had only just started his new role at the Northern Administrative Office, and with the senior  Pacification Commissioner, Zhu Yuan still in charge, it was not appropriate for him to immediately make sweeping changes. So he began by reviewing case files and working to improve the conditions in the Imperial Prison.

He even remembered what Cui Xie had told him about strong liquor having the ability to neutralize the toxins from wounds inflicted by weapons. After inspecting the state of the prisoners, he brought in several jars of extremely potent liquor—so strong that even he dared not drink it—to clean the wounds of those with festering injuries. He also instructed the guards to use clean cloth strips to dress the prisoners’ wounds.

The jailers, smelling the heavy alcohol fumes in the air, could not help but grieve for the wasted liquor. “Such fine liquor,” they lamented, “Why waste it on the wounds of criminals and villains? If you really need to treat them, wouldn’t a strong salt water rinse do the trick?”

Even the senior officials, seeing the strong liquor being used this way, felt a pang of loss. They tried to persuade Xie Ying to save it for drinking instead of wasting it on prisoners.

In response, Xie Ying had freshly distilled sorghum wine sent from his own household as a gift to his superiors. He then poured two different types of liquor for comparison and explained, “This fine liquor is brewed at my home—fragrant and mellow, and it doesn’t harm the body. The stronger liquor, however, is distilled from cheap wine. I’ve often heard that applying strong liquor to wounds can neutralize toxins from metal weapons, so I distilled two jars of it. If it truly prevents infections and helps heal wounds, we could keep some on hand in the garrison—it might prove useful.”

Assistant Commissioner Zhu Ji took a sip of the homemade alcohol, finding it harsh on the tongue and lacking in any enjoyable flavor or aroma. He pushed the cup away and, smacked his tingling tongue, said, “Try it. If this strong liquor really works, we can shift funds from the medicine budget to buy liquor. No need for you to keep pouring your own money into this.”

Senior Pacification Commissioner Zhu Yuan, having a broader tolerance for alcohol than the others, stubbornly finished the cup of potent liquor. With his face turning red, he summoned the jailers and sternly ordered them to follow Xie Ying’s procedures strictly—under no circumstances were they to sneak any of the liquor to drink.

With Xie Ying reorganizing the Imperial Prison, all the prisoners received washes with strong liquor and had their wounds bandaged with fresh cloth. For two or three days, although the prisoners’ groans were louder after their wounds were treated with alcohol, the smell in the prison improved noticeably. The stench of rotting flesh was masked by the scent of alcohol, and even the number of bodies carried out through the back gate of the prison decreased. Only two or three were carried out in several days, which astonished veterans like Zhu Yuan and Lu Xi, who had long worked in the prison. “How is this still the Jinyiwei prison?” they exclaimed. “It seems like fewer people are dying here than in the Ministry of Justice’s jails?”

Senior Pacification Commissioner Zhu Yuan, who had long prided himself on outdoing the Ministry of Justice in solving cases, and was now even more pleased that fewer people were dying in his prison than theirs, “We should write a memorial to inform His Majesty and those censors—our Jinyiwei may have a bad reputation, but when it comes to real work, are we not leagues ahead of those scholars? They can’t solve cases or capture criminals, yet they dare criticize us!”

But before he could persuade the Assistant Commissioner da-ren¹ to submit a memorial, Secondary Grand Secretary Liu resigned. The flood of memorials that had swept into the Grand Secretariat like snowflakes, imploring the Emperor to avoid promoting Xie Ying based on a mere play also began to dwindle.

Commander Gao, always well-informed within the palace, was the first to hear that Secondary Grand Secretary Liu’s memorial had backfired. He rushed to the Northern Administrative Office to share the news with Xie Ying and the others, relishing the opportunity to discuss the matter thoroughly. He also reminded Xie Ying to make sure the prison was in top shape, as Gao taijian would soon be coming for an inspection.

The crowd urged Commander Gao to recount several times the story of Secondary Grand Secretary Liu’s memorial to the Emperor requesting that Xie Ying be dismissed and urging the Emperor to distance himself from unsavory characters. As soon as Liu Xu submitted his memorial, the Emperor was presented with an amorous play depicting Liu Xu’s son gallivanting with prostitutes, leading to much delight and a heavy reprimand of Liu: Xu: “Serves him right!”

The Jinyiwei were the Emperor’s close subordinates, and their appointments and dismissals were naturally at the Emperor’s discretion. Those court officials actually stretched out their hands to intervene, even trying to cut off their legitimate path to fame and promotion? Where was the justice in that! If the scholars could gain offices by ‘nurturing their reputation’ over twenty years and then expect to return to court as senior officials, why shouldn’t the Jinyiwei be allowed to gain office through their own merits?

Why should only the civil officials be allowed to play with fire, while the Jinyiwei were forbidden even to light a candle!

Commander Gao recounted this story with an extra layer of fury and satisfaction—after all, Secondary Grand Secretary Liu had gone so far as to portray him, Gao Su, as a conniving lackey who sought to gain favor through theater, colluding with the Jinyiwei to curry favor with the Emperor!

Fortunately, the heavens had exposed the scandal of Liu Xu’s son to the Emperor, forcing Liu Xu to withdraw his slanderous accusations in shame. Otherwise, wouldn’t a loyal servant like himself—devoted to serving the Emperor with no ulterior motives—be forced to resign under a barrage of memorials as well?

And without him, who would present such delightful plays for the Emperor’s enjoyment?

Meanwhile, the other Jinyiwei officers who were preparing to stage their own versions of 《Judge X’s Case》 or to play the role of a dashing, heroic young Jinyiwei marrying a beautiful lady in a 《A Certain Case》 gathered together to vent their frustrations. As they cursed, one of them suddenly had an idea: “Aren’t we talking about censors filing memorials! Who doesn’t have connections to a censor? Why don’t we rally a censor to file a memorial scolding them instead?”

When this was suggested, everyone immediately thought of Ni Zan.

Imperial Censor Ni had risen to his post by offering bird-washing powder² to Senior Grand Secretary Wan An, and he had always been eager to curry favor with the Depot officials and Jinyiwei. As long as a bit of silver was offered, he could be put to use. However, his reputation was so poor that everyone knew he was easily bought off, and using him might only tarnish their cause. They needed someone with a clean reputation, someone who had already submitted a memorial advising against Xie Ying’s promotion.

How could they make these court officials understand the popular sentiment and recognize the need to change their ways before obstructing their rise to power? Should they gather dirt to blackmail them, bribe them with gold and silver, or show them great kindness and move them with genuine goodwill? If anyone knew how to rescue people, it was Xie Ying. After all, he had once saved a young scholar, who had since risen to the position of the Crown Prince’s attendant. Once that scholar entered the court and became a senior official, wouldn’t he naturally offer his protection?

Xie Ying laughed, “Scholars have a certain naivety. Those who receive kindness often feel obliged to repay it. If we save a few more of them, it will surely be useful in the future. And if they don’t repay us, we can always turn our righteous deeds into plays and compile them into stories. Won’t the common people, the Emperor, and even the harem in the palace all love to hear them? If someone fails to repay our kindness, we can simply have it sung about in the theaters, and soon everyone will know how treacherous their hearts are. Who would ever want to help them after that?”

Exactly! They were not saving people to demand repayment. They were doing it to please the Emperor right?

Zhu da-ren called for the Commandants to bring tea and snacks, and everyone gathered around the table to continue their discussion. As the conversation turned, someone remarked that the tea served at the Office wasn’t as good as the tea they had enjoyed at the Clear Tea stand during their patrols—it was clear and refreshing, with a light jasmine fragrance, without the addition of dried fruit or salty milk. It left one feeling light on their feet and was nothing like the bland teas they were used to.

Its pure flavor was reminiscent of the jasmine dew sold by the Hall of Glorious Brocade.

The owner of that tea stand charged them only a few taels of silver per month, yet still dared to add fragrant jasmine flowers to the brew—truly a man of integrity. Even the occasional milk tea on the menu was richer and creamier than what was served elsewhere, tasting just like the tea served at the Five Beauties’ Contest.

Such good things, sold at a mere roadside tea stand, seemed like a waste. If that tea were properly served in fine teacups, poured from elegant teapots, it could fetch several taels of silver per pot.

Colonel An coughed lightly and said, “We take the boys out on patrols early and late, and we all rely on that tea stall for food and drink. If they start selling in a proper shop, the prices will definitely go up, and it won’t be as convenient for us to stop for tea. That stall seems tailor-made for us—convenient and cheap. I wonder how Xie da-ren found such a place.”

Xie da-ren… didn’t need to find it; the owner came to him himself.

Xie Ying sipped his tea, using the cup to hide the slight smirk on his lips. In a calm voice, he said, “That tea stall was set up for travelers to rest, not to make much money. They offer us discounts because we, the Jinyiwei, patrol the capital and fight against wrongdoers. We do work that benefits the country and the people, and good citizens are more than willing to give us a discount.”

Senior Pacification Commissioner Zhu Yuan of the Northern Administration Office, the Northern Depot, sighed, “The common people know we serve the country and the people, but the officials in the court seem blind to it.”

Xie Ying shook his head slightly and said in a low voice, “Not necessarily.” It wouldn’t be long before Cui Xie himself became a high-ranking court official, and at least then there would be someone in the court who understood the ambition of the Jinyiwei.

While the entire Northern Administrative Office was burdened with worries and had to send someone to buy some jasmine tea to help calm their stomachs, Xie Ying, the real target of the memorials, remained calm and composed. He didn’t need to sip tea to calm his nerves—he simply returned to reviewing his case files.

When Gao taijian came down to inspect the Northern Administrative Office on Imperial orders, he witnessed the upright and incorruptible nature of the Jinyiwei firsthand:

The commissioners were drinking tea so clear that nothing but the leaves floated in it. The Colonels were discussing how to patrol the streets more efficiently to save scholars from harassment. And the Commandants and enforcers were diligently training without needing supervision, sweating profusely, their hard work giving them slim waists from the constant exercise…

Pleased, Gao taijian gave a subtle nod to his nephew and then conveyed the Emperor’s message, instructing Xie Ying to show him the results of his work since taking office.

Assistant Commissioner Zhu Ji, still somewhat worried, offered to accompany them. But Gao taijian laughed and said, “The Emperor is merciful. His Majesty will not punish us just because of a few baseless accusations in the memorials. If Xie da-ren truly has talent and is diligent in his duties, no memorial, not even from the grand secretaries, can harm him. Besides, Secondary Grand Secretary Liu has already submitted his request for resignation…”

He glanced at his adopted son standing nearby and squinted. “As long as we loyally serve the enlightened Emperor, perform our duties faithfully, and keep our households in order, why should we fear these officials’ memorials?”

His words reassured everyone, and Xie Ying led him into his office. Gao taijian lowered his voice and said, “There’s no need to show me everything—just what you can present as your best work. That way, I can report back to the Emperor and make him happy.”

Although Xie Ying had only been in office for a short time, he had already achieved some results. He spoke of how he used strong liquor to disinfect the wounds of prisoners, which helped prevent deaths from festering injuries. He also showed Gao taijian the case files he had been working on.

There was a pile of case files from the past month, which Xie Ying had sorted according to the severity of the crimes. Each file had slips of paper attached with his short and long notes, detailing his thoughts. Some files, where the case was still unresolved, had even more notes attached, highlighting points of suspicion, grounds for clemency, and steps for further investigation, waiting to be dealt with later.

Those notes were written with a graphite pencil, so the characters could be written smaller and did not take up too much space. Although the handwriting looked a little out of practice, it was clearly outlined. Gao taijian could see that Xie Ying had put a lot of effort into his work and was willing to take a few more glances.

Among the unresolved case files, Gao taijian selected one and opened it to read carefully. It detailed a case where Yu Xiu, the manager of the Yi Prefecture Mountain Factory, accused Tan Lun, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works, of soliciting bribes.

Yu Xiu’s deposition stated that after taking over management of the mountain factory, Tan Lun altered its operations, no longer sending charcoal to the northern provinces of Zhili, Shandong, and Shanxi. Instead, he allowed merchants to purchase the firewood and charcoal directly from the factory and sell it to these provinces, using this arrangement to extort bribes from the merchants.

Tan Lun, on the other hand, denied any bribery. He claimed that Yu Xiu harbored a grudge against him after being punished for a previous mistake, leading to this false accusation. In his defense, Tan Lun explained that the mountain factory had long been plagued by old problems, such as excessively high transport fees and significant losses during transit, which often meant that the silver paid by the provincial governments did not procure enough charcoal. By allowing merchants to buy directly from the factory, Tan Lun claimed to have reduced transport costs, saving the court over twenty thousand taels of silver in a single year.

Both depositions were bound together, with numerous slips of paper attached to the file, bearing finger-length notes like ‘more revenue than previous years, deficit not verified’, ‘certain parts of Yu Xiu’s deposition unsupported’,  ‘Yu Xiu’s figures unverified’, ‘Tan Lun’s testimony consistent’, ‘no witnesses in certain sections’ and ‘figures here seem inaccurate’.

Gao taijian did not examine the file in great detail but, seeing the numerous annotations covering the file, could tell that Xie Ying had put considerable effort into the case. Smiling, he said, “You’ve only been at the Northern Administrative Office a short time, yet you’ve already sorted through so much. It’s a shame those who submitted memorials questioning your appointment cannot see this. I’ll be sure to report back to the Emperor. You just need to wrap up a few more high-profile cases to please His Majesty.”

Xie Ying respectfully responded, “Rest assured, Gao taijian. This case is nearly resolved. All that’s left is to gather testimony from the charcoal merchants, and within a few days, the truth will be clear.”

Gao taijian offered a few more words of encouragement in a gentle voice before returning to the palace, where he reported to the Emperor what he had observed—how the Jinyiwei were upright and incorruptible, and how Xie Ying was diligent in his duties.

Emperor Chenghua, who had recently been reminiscing about Secondary Grand Secretary Liu’s early days as his instructor, was pleased to hear that Xie Ying was performing well in his role as Pacification Commissioner, handling paperwork meticulously, and keeping the prison orderly and clean. His thoughts drifted back to the portrayal of Xie Ying in the recent play and then to the image of Secondary Grand Secretary Liu’s son drunkenly admiring peonies. Comparing the actions of Xie Ying with those of Liu Xu’s son, and recalling Secondary Grand Secretary Liu’s harsh and accusatory memorial, the Emperor sighed inwardly: It seems that Cabinet Elder Liu has indeed grown old and rigid, unable to tolerate others. It was best that he not be recalled to court.

A few days after Liu Xu left the capital, the case file concerning Tan Lun’s alleged bribery reached the Emperor’s desk.

Emperor Chenghua reviewed the detailed evidence in the file. The legal citations were appropriate, and the judgment cleared Tan Lun of all charges, while condemning Yu Xiu for false accusations. Satisfied, the Emperor ordered that Yu Xiu be publicly punished by wearing shackles outside the Jinyiwei headquarters for three months, as an example to the people—

The Emperor’s promotion of officials was never based on a mere farce but on the fact that the individual was a truly capable and upright official!

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Footnotes:

1. Tongzhi: otherwise known as Vice/Assistant-Commissioners (rank 2b) of the five Branch Regional Military Commissions under the bigger institution of the Five Chief Military Commissions that supervised professional military affairs with the Ministry of War. ↩︎
2. Reminder: bird-washing powder is a euphemism for things to be used down there (male genitals) ↩︎

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TN: Hi everyone!! I am back and ready to post again. Apologies for the long hiatus! It’s been a busy summer with traveling, research work and moving. I hope that everyone has had an amazing summer!

Update 12/23/24: I just updated it so that all my advance chapters for TMD are up on patreon (and will be continually updated)! Sorry for being so lazy with it and apologies for taking so long to do so. I had to organize a lot of my random documents after a long hiatus last year.

Announcement: We have set up a kofi and patreon account! If you would like to support us or get early access to advance chapters for Blood-Sucking Empress OR TMD, those options are available for you (in support us page)! I have just added a patreon tier for Transmigrating to the Ming Dynasty’s Imperial Examinations in which patreons can have access to a google document with ALL of my advanced translated chapters for the novel. Since I am a grad student, there should usually be at least 10 advance chapters in the document at a time, but depending on my schedules, there may be fewer or more. I’m currently extremely busy, but I have translated out some new chapters for you all! But, I will still post each week with the same schedule. Thanks!

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