Chapter 59#

In the fourth month of the year, the Crown Prince proposed the construction of official roads during court.#

As soon as the proposal for official roads was made, a host of civil officials in court submitted memorials in support of the Crown Prince’s suggestion.

At present, the Great Yuan was in dire need of civil governance to stabilize the people’s livelihood.

Last year’s snow disaster had caused damage to the official roads, blocking disaster relief grain shipments. The Crown Prince’s impassioned speech at court, which considered the people’s welfare and sought to prevent a recurrence of the snow disaster this year, led to the matter of road construction being raised. Not only that, the Crown Prince also proposed building alternative official roads to meet unforeseen needs.

Thus, the Crown Prince made a promise at court to open up the Heshui Slope official road. This announcement shocked the court. Given the unique terrain of Heshui Slope, if the road could be completed, the journey to Jiangnan would be shortened by three days!

The timing of this proposal was appropriate. It was submitted by the Ministry of Works, approved by the Emperor, who immediately authorized the Ministry of Revenue to allocate funds and ordered the Ministry of Works to gather craftsmen to begin construction.

Within the Xu residence, Grand Secretary Xu sat quietly, listening to reports on the movements of the Eastern Palace and Kunming Palace. Since the Emperor bestowed the Wanchun Hall, the balance of power at court had subtly shifted. Consort Yun was on the verge of taking control of the harem, and the faction supporting the First Prince had reversed its decline, showing increasing assertiveness at court. The civil officials led by the Xu family had been forced to retreat step by step to avoid the sharp edge of this momentum.

The Emperor’s anger had come abruptly, and only after the Xu family expended considerable resources to investigate did they learn that the assassin within the palace was connected to the previous dynasty.

“Since Qi Hanzhou took over the Embroidered Uniform Guard, he has dismissed and replaced many people. This matter is under his jurisdiction, and it’s impossible for us to probe his subordinates,” an official reported. “At this point, we have no idea how far the Embroidered Uniform Guard’s investigation has progressed, or whether they will discover a link to us…”

Upon hearing this, Grand Secretary Xu glanced at him, a cold glint flickering in his murky eyes. “The matter of the previous dynasty is the Emperor’s reverse scale. You must understand that the Xu family has no connection to the previous dynasty.”

The official had no choice but to fall silent, then asked, “But the Crown Prince made a public commitment in court to the Heshui Slope project. In the short term, I’m afraid…”

Hearing this, Grand Secretary Xu frowned slightly. After some thought, he looked at the chessboard. “If the Crown Prince wants to accomplish something tangible, let him do it. For now, we must retreat in order to advance. Do not clash with the First Prince, and do not act rashly against the other princes.”

“As for the Heshui Slope official road matter, we can only ensure that the Emperor sees it completed.”

If it were not completed, it would have nothing to do with the Xu family.

The official’s expression tightened slightly, as if he understood something. “Grand Secretary intends to…”

Grand Secretary Xu glanced at him again. The official had already grasped the implications and soon departed.

He turned his gaze back to the chessboard.

Shuangyue’s dealings with people from the previous dynasty had truly exceeded his expectations. The assassination attempt on the Crown Prince had made the Emperor suspicious of the Xu family. Now, the most important thing was to regain His Majesty’s trust… But the current network of civil officials at court was no longer something the Emperor could easily shake. If the Emperor wanted to strip the Xu family of their power, he would have to see if he could actually succeed.

When necessary, give a push.

…

The Heshui Slope official courier station was crowded with craftsmen gathered nearby. In the distance, high mountains and rushing torrents stretched out.

The craftsmen who had traveled here looked exhausted. Behind them, the government runners urged them forward impatiently. The construction blueprints sent by the Ministry of Works were already soaked. As the water level of Heshui Slope rose and a storm approached, the deadline loomed over them. The craftsmen could only grit their teeth and press on.

Just when they thought their work was about to be completed, a deafening roar sounded, followed by a massive surge of floodwater. Someone shouted, “The embankment has burst!!!”

The mountain torrents rushed down, washing away the soil. Mudslides cascaded from the mountaintop, and the river blocked their escape. Before the craftsmen could even comprehend what was happening, the disaster had already struck.

The construction of the Heshui Slope official road encountered a nearby dike breach, triggering floods and landslides. The craftsmen working on the road died tragically, and nearby villages were destroyed.

The urgent report was sent through the courier stations and reached the court within hours. The news threw the entire court into shock.

Since the birthday banquet, the palace had been quiet for a long time. The mastermind behind the scenes had vanished without a trace, and even news from the Eastern Palace had dwindled.

When the news of the Heshui Slope disaster reached Ying Fusheng, his expression shifted uncharacteristically. How could something happen at Heshui Slope?

“Is there any news from Shen Changcun?” Ying Fusheng asked.

Song’an replied, “The news came through the courier stations all the way to the capital. There’s no mistake.”

If the news was correct, then Heshui Slope had indeed met with disaster.

“Since the beginning of this year, the Ministry of Works has been pushing forward the construction of official roads. To prevent a repeat of the official road incidents and ensure timely disaster relief, this project has been steadily advancing,” Song’an said, seeing the Prince’s expression change. “Everything was going smoothly. The project was even ahead of schedule. Just three days ago, we received word that the Heshui Slope official road was about to be completed. No one expected this to happen now.”

“Why Heshui Slope?” Ying Fusheng hesitated inwardly.

In his previous life, the construction of official roads should have taken place several years later. At that time, the capital had endured multiple snow disasters, and the people of Jiangnan had been displaced, with countless dead. In order to ensure timely disaster relief, the Emperor, on the recommendation of the Ministry of Works, had ordered the construction of new official roads. The most difficult section to build was Heshui Slope.

Its terrain spanned both rivers and mountains, and conquering this stretch of road had later become a celebrated achievement.

Why, in this life, had it directly led to a landslide and mudslide at Heshui Slope, burying all the craftsmen alive and causing such heavy casualties?

Moreover, the national treasury in this life was more abundant than in the previous one. If it could be done in the past life, there was no reason it couldn’t be done now.

Ying Fusheng frowned. The official roads were the responsibility of the Ministry of Works. If something went wrong, the first to bear the brunt would be Zhou Bingjun, the Minister of Works. “Has the Minister of Works been summoned?”

“Yes. It is said that the Vice Minister of Works was in charge of this project, and the Minister has been implicated as well. The morning court session is likely to be chaotic.”

When the news of the Heshui Slope disaster reached the capital, the Ministry of Works, which was responsible for the road construction, was immediately held accountable. The Emperor was enraged and ordered a swift investigation. The Court of Judicial Review and the Censorate acted simultaneously. After half a month of investigation, they discovered that the number of craftsmen at Heshui Slope was half of what was recorded in the Ministry of Revenue’s registers of artisan households!

With fewer people and a tight deadline, the construction ended up colliding with the mountain flood.

The Ministry of Works needed to summon craftsmen through the Ministry of Revenue’s registers. The construction of official roads was carried out simultaneously at multiple sites, and the allocation of craftsmen to each location was based on the number of artisan households registered with the Ministry of Revenue. The Ministry of Works insisted that everything had been arranged according to the number of craftsmen, and there was absolutely no error. The project was nearly complete, but some problem with the craftsmen caused the embankment reinforcement at Heshui Slope to be insufficient. When the mountain flood hit and the embankment burst, everything was ruined.

Ying Fusheng left the Imperial Academy and went to the tavern. Weng Yanqing had already prepared the latest information from the half-month since the Heshui Slope disaster. “Someone bribed officials in the Ministry of Revenue to falsify the household registers.”

The Court of Judicial Review and the Censorate were handling this case. The Court of the Imperial Stud, which transmitted information through official courier stations, often exchanged intelligence with them. The information came from the Court of Judicial Review, whose investigations were always reliable. There should be no falsehood.

Additionally, news from Qi Hanzhou indicated that the Embroidered Uniform Guard was also investigating.

The Xu family’s connection to the Ministry of Works involved the forces of the previous dynasty. Since Shuangyue’s death, those people had vanished without a trace. Now that the Ministry of Works was in trouble, the Emperor could not afford not to investigate.

Ying Fusheng took the detailed report from Weng Yanqing:

Someone within the Ministry of Revenue, under the First Prince’s jurisdiction, had accepted bribes to help wealthy families modify their household registrations and transfer them into artisan households to evade taxes. This led to false reporting of the number of artisan households in the official registers.

Out of benevolence, the court had reduced the tax burden on craftsmen to facilitate the road construction.

Because of this, some wealthy families in the private sector paid to have their household registrations changed to artisan households in order to evade other taxes. The disaster at Heshui Slope occurred because the expected number of craftsmen fell short. These wealthy merchants hired ordinary workers or commoners, who were less skilled than craftsmen and worked slowly. The craftsmen, exhausted and afraid of missing the deadline, pushed too hard, leading to the accident.

“So, according to this, it was corruption within the Ministry of Revenue and a rush to meet the deadline by the Ministry of Works that caused the disaster at Heshui Slope?” Shen Yunfei listened for a long time. “I heard that constructing an official road at Heshui Slope was already difficult. It seems like an accident… What a pity. It was almost finished.”

“The Crown Prince’s faction is retreating in order to advance. The First Prince would not allow the Ministry of Works to smoothly complete the road construction. If the Crown Prince succeeded in accomplishing something substantial, it would not benefit the First Prince’s faction.” Weng Yanqing pitied the lives of the craftsmen, but based on the evidence, he concluded, “That must be the case.”

As a Grand Secretary at court, even though Grand Secretary Xu was currently recuperating at home, the civil officials at court and even the responsibilities of the Ministry of Works had not slackened. Grand Secretary Xu was a veteran of two dynasties, and many civil officials and courtiers had been promoted by him. The Emperor clearly wanted to strip the Xu family of their power, but the more stable the Xu family remained, the harder it was to take that power away.

Over the past few months, the Ministry of Works had been diligently advancing the road construction to appease the Emperor’s anger. Whether it was reducing taxes or promoting the project, it all appeared to be good deeds done in the people’s interest.

The First Prince’s faction, watching this, would certainly not want to see the Crown Prince succeed.

Wealthy families evading taxes led to false reporting of the number of craftsmen. The layers of false reporting caused miscalculations in the construction timeline. To meet the deadline, the craftsmen had no choice but to soldier on.

Both sides had pulled in opposite directions, causing the project to fail at such a critical moment.

Ying Fusheng frowned deeply. At first glance, this seemed to be a problem caused by both the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Works. But he knew that, given the Ministry of Works’ capabilities in his previous life, this problem could have been solved. Moreover, in this life, with a well-stocked national treasury, his father had already revised tax policies early… In his previous life, the situation of bribing officials to alter household registrations was even more common!

To everyone else, it seemed like an accident, but in his eyes, it was not.

The disaster at Heshui Slope had never happened in his previous life. This was clearly an unforeseen event, yet it occurred at this particular juncture, which struck Ying Fusheng as strange. If the Crown Prince truly wanted to accomplish something, the early completion of the official road would be far more useful than any other project.

Since the Xu family’s troubles, they had withdrawn from court, but Grand Secretary Xu’s eyes remained on the court. Especially since the Ministry of Works’ projects were closely tied to the Ministry of Revenue’s finances. If someone in the Ministry of Revenue had truly falsified household registrations to evade taxes, the Xu family could not have been unaware of it. There was no need for them to resort to such a risky gambit.

Just then, a commotion arose outside the window. An elderly woman, holding a placard and weeping, was being dragged through the street by several officials. When the surrounding commoners gathered, the officials shoved the old woman aside and turned to disperse the onlookers.

“Ah, how pitiful.”

“Pitiful? What’s so pitiful about her? She just couldn’t afford the standby fees.”

“Yeah, the taxes and levies for craftsmen are already so light.”

The sudden uproar drew Ying Fusheng’s attention. He turned his gaze to the old woman below. “What happened to her?”

“Two months ago, a craftsman went to the Ministry of Works office to cause a scene, demanding to be exempted from standby fees because his elderly mother was gravely ill and he couldn’t report for duty. When he was dragged out, he died suddenly due to a health condition.” Weng Yanqing was well-informed about affairs in the marketplace. “That woman is the craftsman’s mother. She’s still trying to seek justice for him despite her illness. She comes around here every few days to make a scene.”

“Standby fees?” Ying Fusheng was slightly taken aback.

Seeing the rare look of confusion on the Sixth Prince’s face, Weng Yanqing explained, “Standby fees are essentially a rule tacitly approved by the court, passed down since the previous emperor. Craftsmen who pay standby fees are exempted from reporting for duty. The Ministry of Works uses this money to hire laborers who are willing to work, thus reducing the burden on craftsmen.”

When Grand Secretary Xu was young, he served as the Minister of Works. In the early days of the new dynasty, the court had a heavy workload of public works, and the craftsmen were suffering immensely. Gradually, with Grand Secretary Xu’s tacit approval, craftsmen were allowed to pay silver instead of performing labor service, which also reduced their labor obligations. Thanks to this, the Ministry of Works and the Xu family had a good reputation among the people at that time, easing the craftsmen’s plight.

Artisan households were already better off than other household types—their taxes were not as heavy, and they were only called up for labor when there were government projects. When there was no work, they could earn a living on their own.

Weng Yanqing continued, “In the accounts of the craftsman who died, it’s recorded that he had missed work multiple times and owed standby fees. The government offices handled everything in accordance with the law…”

The more he spoke, the more he sensed something was wrong.

He turned his head and saw Ying Fusheng staring at him.

“If the Ministry of Works could skillfully hire laborers, why did the craftsmen end up overworked this time?” Ying Fusheng asked.

The two exchanged glances. Weng Yanqing went out to give some instructions. Soon, the old woman was brought into the tavern.

She could only sob and wail, her words slurred and unclear. They had no choice but to send two people to investigate. She cried that in the past few months, the court had been pushing for the project to be completed faster and faster, repeatedly demanding the payment of standby fees.

“You don’t understand. If you don’t pay this month, you have to pay double next month,” the old woman said, her voice choked with tears. She was seriously ill, and the only breadwinner in the family had been that craftsman. “They said the court was in a hurry to finish those official roads and couldn’t afford any delay. But how could we afford such fees?”

Hearing this, Shen Yunfei immediately went out to inquire about the daily wages of laborers in the capital and the standby fee situation at the Ministry of Works. Ying Fusheng stopped him and looked toward Ye Xuanjiu, who was behind the screen. “Let Deputy Ye go too. Use the Ministry of Works’ credentials and pretend to be one of their people. Question them separately.”

Ye Xuanjiu: “…”

The Embroidered Uniform Guard often impersonated officials from various ministries during their investigations.

They were far more experienced at this than Shen Yunfei.

When they asked around, they got two different results.

Ye Xuanjiu was skilled at impersonating other officials. The labor broker was wary at first, but later quoted a price half of what Shen Yunfei had been told.

In other words, the cost of hiring laborers for the Ministry of Works was actually lower than the standby fees officially recorded and reported to the court. They hired people at a low price while collecting the standby fees at a high price. The difference in the middle was more than double. So where did that money go?

The expressions of the group shifted slightly. On the surface, standby fees seemed to be for the benefit of the craftsmen. But in the past, when there was a shortage of craftsmen, the Ministry of Revenue would allocate funds to hire replacements on their behalf.

Now that it had become standby fees, the Ministry of Works handled the hiring themselves, and they could set any price they wanted.

“What does this mean? The Ministry of Works’ standby fees are being embezzled?”

The Eastern Palace… Ying Fusheng thought of the mastermind behind the Crown Prince, as well as the Empress Dowager’s birthday banquet that year, with that expensive jade beast statue.

The official road map was spread out before them. The Crown Prince was eager to achieve tangible results, promising to complete the Heshui Slope official road by the end of the year.

But the deadline was too tight. Some craftsmen could afford the standby fees, while others could not… There were only a limited number of laborers available for hire at low prices. With insufficient manpower, they had to resort to hiring second-rate laborers. As a result of the ongoing corruption within the Ministry of Works, it was nearly impossible to complete a difficult project like Heshui Slope on time. Yet the Crown Prince still made that promise.

If it couldn’t be completed, the Crown Prince’s attempt to claim credit would displease the Emperor… But there was a fallback plan: the blame for the delay could be shifted onto the Ministry of Revenue.

Just then, a message from the palace was delivered by falcon.

Ye Xuanjiu received the news and said solemnly, “His Majesty has recalled Grand Secretary Xu to the Grand Secretariat.”

Since this incident occurred, the coordination between the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Revenue had broken down. In the past, when Grand Secretary Xu was in the Grand Secretariat, even though factional struggles existed, such major problems had never arisen. Grand Secretary Xu’s show of weakness was also informing the Emperor that the Grand Secretariat could not yet do without him.

“Sacrificing a Vice Minister of Works has dragged down the First Prince’s favorable momentum.” Ying Fusheng looked at the official road map spread out in the private room. “The Xu family is gambling.”

Weng Yanqing was startled. “Gambling on what?”

“If they can finish in time, the Crown Prince will have a concrete achievement to solidify his position at court.” Ying Fusheng pointed to the impossible road construction. “If not, they’ll directly destroy Heshui Slope and throw the blame onto the First Prince’s faction.”

From the very beginning, the lives of those craftsmen at Heshui Slope had been placed on the scales.

The Xu family was using the lives of these people—and even the people of Jiangnan—to gamble on victory.