Chapter 79 – Difficulties

It was already deep into autumn, the sky high and the wind cool.

Sheng Changzhou returned to his residence, shedding his heavy outer garments along the way, wiping away beads of sweat with a hint of irritation. He still made his way to the inner chambers first to see his grandfather, Sheng Jingyuan.

Sheng Jingyuan was discussing business matters with Sheng Tongyu when he saw him and asked, “How did things go?”

Sheng Changzhou shook his head. “They’re all stubborn, refusing both soft and hard approaches. Some say they’re struggling right now and can only donate a thousand taels, while others sneer and mock us, saying that since the court has tasked our family with organizing this, we’re the ones in charge, who are they to steal our glory.”

Sheng Tongyu said, “As for this naval academy, since His Majesty decreed that our family should lead in cooperation with the court’s planning, what if we put our money on the line and sell some assets, using the full strength of our clan to serve the Emperor?”

Sheng Jingyuan shook his head. “You’re oversimplifying things. Raising the initial funds is easy. But for this naval academy, there must be a steady flow of silver to support it. Look at the plans for the naval academy drawn up by Minister Zhao Yu. According to the court’s plan, besides school buildings, classrooms, martial arts halls, libraries, dormitories, and so forth that need to be built, there also needs to be ample space for horseback riding training, maritime exercises, and seaside barracks. When you add everything up, you’re looking at millions of taels. How could we manage?”

“That’s just the visible costs. There are unseen expenses like uniforms, books, food, accommodation, horses for land drills, fodder, and the costs of weapons training during sea exercises such as cannons, muskets, heavy crossbows, strong bows, swords, spears, and so on. Once this place opens, it’ll be a bottomless pit for money!”

“If it were that simple, the court would have done it long ago. No single family could handle it alone. Think about what happened to Shen Wansan when he tried to lavish gifts on the army. This naval academy is an official school. As mere merchants, taking it on ourselves is a path to death. We can’t be greedy, but we can’t shirk responsibility either. We need to find the right balance.”

Sheng Tongyu said, “The court named our Sheng family as the leading advocates, but there are other merchants in Minzhou with higher prestige than us. In my view, they’re envious of us and deliberately causing us trouble behind the scenes.”

“It’s probably the Bao family leading the charge. They’ve known since we took over the imperial trade of overseas goods, and they’re very unhappy, thinking we stole their business. They were responsible for the exclusive supply of marine products, and now they just copy whatever we buy, even going so far as to undercut our prices by a few points and spreading rumors that we overpay, all to spite us.”

Sheng Jingyuan ordered someone to bring hot tea for his grandson. “Drink some tea and rest for a bit. We won’t be able to resolve this quickly. It’s just Fan, Zhang, and Bao families teaming up to show us their power. Among them, the Fan family has always wanted to marry into ours. Now that we’re seeking their help, they’re putting on airs even more and keeping their eyes on Changzhou.”

Sheng Tongyu frowned. “The Fan family has poor morals. When Changzhou’s mother was still alive, she specifically looked into them. She said their daughter was spoiled rotten, living a life of luxury with her extravagant clothing, food, and accommodation. Her handkerchiefs, clothes, shoes, everything was made from the finest silk, and she’d discard them after wearing them once. That’s not the kind of wife to run a household. We need to carefully choose Changzhou’s wife. This is the position of the eldest grandson’s wife, someone who will manage the household.”

Sheng Jingyuan asked, “Didn’t the court originally say they’d provide fifty thousand taels each from the provincial governor’s office and the maritime trade office?”

Sheng Changzhou shook his head. “The maritime trade office is under Eunuch Xia’s control, and he was relatively straightforward, but he told me that this year’s revenue was only thirty-five thousand taels that could be allocated, and it was indeed stretched thin.”

“The provincial governor’s office isn’t worth mentioning. Over a month since the imperial decree, not a single tael has been given.”

“Minister Zhao Yu personally met with the Minzhou Governor, Lei Yingming, who agreed immediately, saying the funds would come from this year’s tax revenues.”

“But when you actually deal with the clerks below, they come up with excuses about taxes being seized by pirates at sea or waiting for certain taxes to come in, dragging things out for ten days or more. Even Minister Zhao Yu grew weary. He has other matters to handle regarding the maritime affairs bureau, which is also under the provincial governor’s jurisdiction. He doesn’t want to bother his superiors every day, despite having the authority of an imperial envoy. His rank is still lower, so he can only bow his head when he sees Governor Lei.”

“I privately bribed someone who told me not to waste my efforts. The bigwigs are fighting amongst themselves, so I should look for other ways instead of relying solely on the provincial governor’s office.”

Sheng Jingyuan said, “If it were an easy task, the court wouldn’t have given it to us. This is the emperor’s deep favor towards the Sheng family. There’s always a way to break through this impasse.”

“For now, let’s start building the main gate and school buildings. Once the facade is up, we might as well seek funding from foreign Western merchants.”

“Changzhou, although the total amount of money for this naval academy seems daunting, find people to break it down. Identify what’s most critical, such as the main gate, school buildings, and accommodations. Determine what can be postponed until next year or the year after, then make a budget for each item and solicit donations accordingly. For example, someone could sponsor a library, a stable, or a dining hall. By breaking it down into smaller pieces, it becomes much simpler.”

Changzhou said, “Yes, I had the same idea. I’m ordering the managers to survey the site as soon as possible, calculating the construction volume piece by piece, and drawing up the blueprints. But with the lack of funds, I’m still quite anxious.”

Sheng Jingyuan thought for a moment. “The Zhang family owed us a favor previously. Perhaps we can break the deadlock with them.”

Changzhou smiled. “I had the same thought, but their patriarch claimed to be sick, and the whole family has been staying indoors. I visited several times but couldn’t get in.”

Sheng Jingyuan and Sheng Tongyu both shook their heads and laughed. “True sly foxes.”

Just as the three were discussing, a steward ran in breathlessly to report, “Second Young Master sent a steward ahead with three ships of cargo and brought back three guests,” He said they’re teachers for the naval academy and requested they be accommodated properly. One of the teachers’ mothers has a chronic illness and hopes the Eldest Young Master will arrange for proper treatment. Two boxes of letters arrived as well, along with several crates of books, all categorized for use in the academy. Please, Eldest Young Master, figure out a way to have them printed.”

The three were overjoyed and hurriedly summoned the steward who had led the ships to ask him detailed questions. The steward indeed provided a thorough account of his journey and arrangements, then presented the boxes. “One box contains letters from Second Young Master, Third Young Master, and Fourth Young Master to the family. The other box, however, Fourth Young Master instructed should be sent back to the capital to Miss Qingqian, to be forwarded to Lord Fang Zixing.”

The three understood that this was Youlin writing again to the person in the capital they couldn’t mention. They hurriedly ordered someone to securely seal the letter, checked that the wax seal was intact, resealed it with red lacquer, and then sent it to the capital as quickly as possible.

Meanwhile, Sheng Changzhou was dispatched to receive Lu Jiugao and Gerwen, who had traveled thousands of miles to arrive.

==

Meanwhile, Xie Yi received the letter several days later. Opening the stack of letters that carried a faint scent of the sea, he found a small stack of flower notes inside, each meticulously painted. The flowers were diverse, unlike those commonly seen in the Central Plains, colorful and delicate yet lush.

Xie Yi didn’t rush to read the letter. Instead, he slowly unrolled another scroll, revealing a magnificent scene of nine rosy clouds, the sky filled with brilliant hues, dazzling and indescribably beautiful. He smiled slightly, his gaze falling on the lines “thinking of you morning and night,” asking, “Have you asked Qingqian if the fleet returned to port safely? It seems they arrived earlier than estimated.”

Su Huan replied, “I asked. The fleet hasn’t returned yet. Only two fast ships brought back two teachers for the academy, one skilled in shipbuilding from the Lu family, and one a Western doctor. There were also several crates of books to be printed for use in the academy. The large ships might return in a month.”

Xie Yi said, “As long as they’re safe.”

When Qingqing returns and sees the difficult problem I’ve set for her, I’ll see how much she’s grown from this experience and whether she can solve it.