Chapter 125 – Within the Sea

Xu Chun returned to the Customs Office and first entered the main hall, where both Deputy Prefects came over to report their work.

Xu Chun simply had Jiang Mei collect everything. He invited all the officials to sit down and then idly flipped through the tax items and receipts while asking Xu Tingjie, “For this rough cargo, two parts out of fifteen are taxed, and for fine cargo, two parts out of ten. But with so many goods, what counts as rough and what as fine?”

Xu Tingjie smiled and said, “Fine cargo refers to particularly precious or finely processed goods, such as ivory carvings, gold, jade, pearls, ginseng, musk, porcelain antiques, tea leaves, etc. Rough cargo includes more common items, such as ordinary spices, medicinal herbs, fabrics, timber, furs, and so on.”

Xu Chun nonchalantly asked, “I can’t tell from this. Is there a detailed list to refer to?” Xu Tingjie hurriedly smiled and said, “My subordinate will have someone prepare it immediately.”

Xu Chun flipped through the documents again and said, “Is there a detailed list that shows what each tax is called, how much is levied? This is giving me a headache. Why is there vehicle and vessel tax, and then also cargo tax?”

As Xu Tingjie opened his mouth to answer, Xu Chun continued, “Also, how much tax was collected in total this year, how much each month, which goods were most collected in each month, from which country’s merchants, how many times do the same merchants come each year. What goods do they mostly bring each time, and what goods do they take away from us. Give me lists of this for the last three years.”

After Xu Chun asked this series of questions, Xu Tingjie couldn’t smile anymore. He turned to look at the Registrar and the Chief Clerk who were standing with their hands behind their backs, then looked at Dong Xian. His face was full of difficulty, but Dong Xian only slowly sipped his tea, saying nothing.

Xu Tingjie braced himself and said, “If Sir wants to see it, I’ll have them prepare it right away. However, there are still many goods to be reviewed every day. If we focus on organizing the tables, it will take some time. We only have one Chief Clerk Liu responsible for bookkeeping. Even if he works day and night, together with the Registrar and the Recorder, it will still take too much time to organize.”

Xu Chun was surprised. “Shouldn’t these things be checked annually? Even larger merchant families need to do this to know what to do next year to make money. Our Customs Office, which ostensibly serves the imperial court and collects taxes for the government, is essentially a business. How can it be so poorly managed?”

Dong Xian and Xu Tingjie fell silent. Xu Tingjie could only force a smile and say, “It was our oversight. We will sort it out as soon as possible. I’ll have Chief Clerk Liu, Registrar Zhang, and Recorder Liu prepare it as quickly as possible.”

Xu Chun glanced at Liu Bin, who had been silent the whole time. The Registrar Zhang Hao and the Recorder Liu Su, sitting below him, already showed signs of dissatisfaction but dared not speak. Only Liu Bin remained indifferent, his face showing neither joy nor sorrow.

Xu Chun said, “Well, we can’t delay official business. Let Mr. Jiang handle this. I’ll find a few girls who are good at arithmetic to help him. Have two rooms prepared in the west wing for Mr. Jiang to use.”

Xu Tingjie was puzzled. “Girls?”

Xu Chun casually explained, “This accounting is just meticulous work. The maidservants by my side are pretty fast at calculating. Let them assist for a few days.”

Everyone was speechless for a moment.

It wasn’t strange for wealthy households to have literate maidservants, but accounting wasn’t easy. Everyone looked at Jiang Mei, who hastily bowed and said, “Your subordinate will not fail the mission.”

The subordinates exchanged glances. Xu Chun got up. “Let’s go see the port.”

Everyone hurriedly stood up and went outside to prepare the sedan chair, but Xu Chun waved his hand. “I’ll ride a horse. It’s hot, and the sedan chair is stuffy.”

A young scholar by his side had already led a horse over, and several guards had also led horses out. They were all tall and imposing, surrounding Xu Chun like stars around the moon, serving him onto the horse before mounting their own.

Dong Xian and Xu Tingjie and the other officials could only follow behind. Xu Chun considerately told them, “You take the carriages. I’ve had them prepare carriages for the gentlemen.” After finishing, he flicked his whip and rode out.

Several officials indeed boarded the carriages, seating themselves according to rank, and the carriages headed towards the port. Xu Tingjie sourly commented, “Prince Xu is truly talented at a young age. Our old bones can’t ride horses anymore.”

Registrar Liao Shiming laughed. “Indeed, Prince Xu comes from an aristocratic family. Today’s guards are somewhat different from yesterday’s. How many guards did Prince Xu bring to Jinhaiwei? And he has smart aides and literate maidservants. Truly, he has a different foundation than us commoners. With so many people under his care, even if he doesn’t understand anything, he can still be an official.”

Registrar Zhang Hao remarked, “I heard his maternal family is involved in maritime trade. No wonder he’s so proficient in accounting. He didn’t even look at anything else and went straight for the account books.”

Dong Xian meaningfully added, “He fled Beijing to avoid Li Meiyi. He probably feared being schemed against. Our accounts are straightforward, so we’re not afraid of him investigating. Let him do as he pleases.”

Xu Tingjie was surprised. “Avoid Li Meiyi? Where did you hear this?”

Dong Xian replied, “He mentioned it himself when he paid his respects to the Governor and the Commander this morning. Someone naturally informed me. I wondered why a noble heir with wealth and leisure would travel so far to a small place like ours to become a minor official. Turns out it was due to enmity with Li Meiyi, to the point of irreconcilable differences. That’s why he left.”

Everyone’s ears perked up immediately, even the usually taciturn Liu Bin looked over, clearly curious.

Dong Xian slowly fanned himself. “As previously mentioned, Li Meiyi once directly criticized his extravagance at Minister Xu’s banquet, turning it into a laughingstock in the capital. That’s how the grudge started.”

“A few days ago, wasn’t Minister Li impeached for indecency after drinking and mistreating a courtesan? The Emperor was furious, demoted him, stripped him of his post, and gave him dozens of strokes.”

Xu Tingjie realized, “Could it be…that this was calculated by our Prince Xu? So that’s how the enmity formed?”

Dong Xian said, “He didn’t explicitly say so, only vaguely mentioned some connection. But seeing his young master style, beautiful maidservants, and strong servants, and his money allowing him to act recklessly, it’s probably easy for him to set up schemes. Li Meiyi can’t withstand provocation, so it’s hard to say whether it was due to rivalry. But our young master probably didn’t expect such serious consequences. After being scolded by his elders, he left Beijing in disgrace.”

“Li Meiyi is still highly favored by the Emperor, though. How long has it been since he returned to the Censorate? He even dared to impeach the Empress Dowager. Do you think Duke Jing fears him? Of course, he quickly sent his precious son out.”

Everyone sighed momentarily, gaining some understanding.

==

The sky was clear and blue, merging with the sea. Xu Chun rode his horse at the edge of the Jinhai port, watching the white sails billow in the wind, their masts and ropes weaving together like nets. As far as the eye could see, countless merchant ships stretched for dozens of miles.

Jiang Mei rode beside him, marveling, “The city walls rival the Three Qin regions in grandeur, and the port’s activity equals the bustling Five Ferries. This is the Emperor’s crossing.”

Xu Chun muttered, “Within the sea, there are close friends; even if separated by great distances, they are like neighbors.” What is Ninth Brother doing now?

Jiang Mei was somewhat surprised. Originally, he thought the prince he was following was just a playboy. Seeing the Imperial Guard escort him to his post, he assumed there was some task in the palace, using the title of the Prince of Jing’s heir as a cover, secretly coming to investigate. But over the past few days, he saw that the prince was not only well-versed in worldly affairs but also had experienced tactics. The guards treated him respectfully, obeying his commands, indicating that these guards likely weren’t here for their own tasks but rather were under the command of this twenty-year-old prince.

Following Prince Xu for the past two days, watching him pay respects to his superiors and colleagues, arranging tasks for his subordinates, instructing his guards, he displayed a graceful ease, a noble demeanor that couldn’t be cultivated overnight. Now, just by casually quoting a poem, he was able to demonstrate that he wasn’t like most aristocratic heirs, lacking in talent and knowledge.

Jiang Mei secretly reminded himself that he might have underestimated this young master. He needed to put aside his arrogance, humbly perform a few tasks, and only then could he earn the trust of this prince, who would entrust him with important tasks.