The Depots and the Guard

"A cellar?" Zhang Yixian had expected Zhu Youjian to give him some other instructions, not ask such a strange question.

Wei Zhongxian had originally overseen the Imperial Treasury. After ascending the throne, His Majesty had dealt with him and placed it in Zhang Yixian's hands, but Zhang Yixian had never heard of a cellar beneath it!

Seeing Zhang Yixian's bewildered expression, Zhu Youjian realized that he knew nothing about it and ordered him directly, "Search the Imperial Treasury thoroughly and see whether you can find an entrance to a cellar!"

"Yes, Your Majesty. This servant obeys!"

Zhang Yixian accepted the order, though he remained lost in a fog. He had no idea why His Majesty was so certain there was a cellar beneath the Imperial Treasury, and he wondered what might be inside it. But since His Majesty had given the order, he could only obey.

Even if he had to dig three feet into the ground, he would find that cellar!

Zhu Youjian had read about this in historical records. Rumor had it that Emperor Wanli, who loved hoarding money more than anyone, had hidden four million in gold in a cellar.

Before his death, however, he had not managed to tell his sons and grandsons about it, and in the end, the Jurchen had reaped the windfall.

Zhu Youjian could almost see the glitter of gold already. He could not help rubbing his hands together, his eyes blazing with excitement as a thousand plans for spending it sprang to mind.

Now that I'm here, I'd be letting down the ancestors of the Zhu family if I didn't take those four hundred in gold!

There were, however, two accounts of the cellar's location. One placed it beneath the Imperial Treasury; the other claimed it was somewhere beneath the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

Since Zhang Yixian oversaw the Imperial Treasury, Zhu Youjian would let him search there first. The Hall of Mental Cultivation was where the emperor handled state affairs, rested, and held banquets. Zhu Youjian felt that searching it would have to be entrusted to a confidant.

As for a confidant, there was one right beside him. A man who had accompanied Chongzhen to his hanging could hardly be a thoroughly wicked villain. But the Hall of Mental Cultivation was too large, and as the brush-holding eunuch, Wang Cheng'en already had too much to attend to. That search would have to wait.

Since the gold could not be dug up anytime soon, Zhu Youjian could only think of other ways to raise money. The country was desperately poor. Where else could he scrape together enough money to fight a war?

Even the ministers' salaries were in arrears, though the ministers did not live on those salaries anyway. Otherwise, every last one of them would have been living on the northwest wind.

That's right... the ministers!

Zhu Youjian's eyes darted as he suddenly thought of an excellent source of money. He hurriedly instructed Wang Cheng'en, "Summon Luo Yangxing and Cao Huachun to the palace to see me!"

Luo Yangxing and Cao Huachun headed two extremely important agencies, both among the most iconic institutions of the Ming dynasty. It was fair to say that anyone who heard their names would know what they did, even without having seriously studied history.

Those two institutions were the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot!

The Ming dynasty's Eastern and Western Depots, along with the Northern and Southern Pacification Offices under the Embroidered Uniform Guard, almost always appeared in films, television dramas, and novels in an unfavorable light. The men who headed them were likewise usually portrayed as thoroughly wicked villains.

This was especially true of the late Ming, when corrupt eunuchs held power. The most notorious of them was Wei Zhongxian, so much so that people thereafter had little good to say whenever eunuchs were mentioned.

But Zhu Youjian knew that not everything could be tarred with the same brush. Take Cao Huachun, for instance. Rumor claimed that when Li Zicheng attacked the city, he had opened the gates to welcome the enemy.

According to historical records, however, he had already retired by then. When Li Zicheng stormed Beijing, he had been living in the countryside for six years. No matter how he defended himself afterward, the story that he had opened the gates continued to circulate widely.

Although Cao Huachun had not opened the city gates, that did not necessarily mean he was utterly loyal and devoted to the public good. How could anyone capable of taking charge of the Eastern Depot be a simple man?

As for Luo Yangxing, he came from a family of Embroidered Uniform Guard officers. His father, Luo Sigong, had served as its commander during the Tianqi era, only to be replaced by Tian Ergeng for refusing to attach himself to Wei Zhongxian. Yet the History of Ming recorded that this second-generation officer, with such impeccable roots, had ultimately led his men in surrender.

Still, there had also been men in the Embroidered Uniform Guard who fought to the end. Li Ruolian, the associate commander of the Southern Hall, had killed himself for his country; Battalion Commander Gao Wencai had fought to his death; and Huang Fu, an assistant commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, had withdrawn from the world and become a monk.

But at present, Luo Yangxing had not yet entertained the thought of surrendering to the Jurchen. Zhu Youjian could hardly hold something that had not happened against him.

Besides, there was no telling which direction the butterfly effect caused by his arrival would take. Punishing someone now for a crime that had never happened would be inappropriate!

If a man needed to be put to use, then he had to be put to use!

No man was perfect; no one could be pure gold.

Used well, a man with three parts talent could deliver seven parts' worth of results. Used poorly, even a man with nine parts talent could deliver only one.

During this brief spell of contemplation, Luo Yangxing and Cao Huachun received the summons and arrived at the Palace of Heavenly Purity. Meeting just outside the palace gates, each saw the same confusion on the other's face. Realizing that neither could learn anything from the other, they reined in their speculation and entered the hall.

"This subject pays his respects to Your Majesty!"

Zhu Youjian saw them arrive and heard their greetings, but he simply ignored them. He cast a sidelong glance at the two men standing in the hall, then continued reviewing the memorial in his hands.

As emperor, he needed to win over some ministers, while others had to be made to feel the weight of his authority. News from his immediate circle had leaked outside so quickly. As the heads of his intelligence agencies, they must have had a hand in it; Zhu Youjian would never believe otherwise.

With Cao Huachun's seniority, two-thirds of the eunuchs in the palace had to call him "godfather," including Wang Cheng'en, who stood behind Zhu Youjian.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard, meanwhile, was responsible for guarding the palace. Even when the emperor held court, its senior officers stood beside the imperial throne to relay his decrees!

Zhu Youjian left them standing there, filling both men with an inexplicable unease. Cao Huachun plucked up his courage and glanced at Wang Cheng'en, only to find him with his eyes lowered to his nose and his attention fixed inward. Cao Huachun could only lower his head and continue to fret.

Zhu Youjian calmly dealt with most of the memorials on his desk. Only when the sun was already sinking toward the west did he speak in an indifferent tone. "You're here."