Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 716: Snatching Food from the Tiger's Mouth
The emperor's original purpose seemed inappropriate because Zhu Ying, an important target person, actually came back on his own. But fortunately, it was not in vain because Zhang Shou proposed a highly feasible candidate and solution, and the third prince further solved the problem of the visitor based on the candidate proposed by Zhang Shou.
However, he was watching Zhang Shou teasing Zhu Ying with great interest, but the next moment Zhang Shou suddenly changed his tone: "Your Majesty, originally I was going to ask for leave today and not go to Jiuzhang Hall. I was also planning to write a memorial to the emperor about what happened last night, but the palace suddenly summoned me to attend the morning court, so naturally I don't have to write the memorial anymore."
"However, just as there are some things that cannot be written in memorials, there are also some things that I cannot say in court."
Seeing the emperor showing a rather curious expression, and the Third Prince, the Crown Prince, was also curious, Zhang Shou briefly mentioned the merits of the Seventh Prince's organs. Seeing that the emperor was not surprised, he just said that some of the thieves who sneaked in were directly from the Jimin Charity Hall of the Ministry of Rites at the exit of the secret passage. At this moment, the emperor, who had been nonchalant before, had a face that instantly changed from sunny to rainy.
"This is outrageous! It's simply lawless!"
The emperor glared at Chu Kuan without thinking, but after glaring, seeing Chu Kuan's innocent face, he suddenly realized that it was not Chu Kuan's fault at all, because he was not the seal of the Imperial Household Department at all!
Even when Chu Kuan was the seal holder of the Imperial Household Department, he could not be said to know all about those charities... and Chu Kuan repeatedly told him that since Taizu's rule was to use as few eunuchs as possible in the palace, then even if they were abandoned children, they would be carefully trained, castrated and sent to the palace as slaves, which would go against Taizu's original intention.
It is better to follow the old system, castrate foreign children and raise them from a young age, and severely punish those who abandon their children. This is the way to rule the country in a peaceful and prosperous era. Therefore, if the Silijian wants to open charity halls, they should be pure charity halls, not just to select the best people to join the Silijian.
When the emperor finally suppressed his anger and calmed down, Zhu Ying couldn't help herself: "Such a horrifying thing is enough to show that the charity hall is selling dog meat under the guise of sheep. Your Majesty should just close this filthy place. Otherwise, if the secret passage of Zhang Garden is dug once, it will be dug a second time. Wouldn't Ah Shou be unable to defend himself in the future? His workshop is so important, how can he leave such a trouble!"
Chu Kuan hesitated for a moment. However, before he could open his mouth, Zhang Shou said with a smile: "If a charity is run by a person with good intentions, it will benefit the people and the poor. But if it is run by a person with bad intentions, it will be a place of corruption and illegality. I dare to ask the emperor to hand over this charity to me to run."
Seeing Zhu Ying's eyes widened and the emperor was also greatly shocked, he said frankly: "To be honest, although there are many craftsmen in the workshop today, there are also many strange ideas, so the manpower will only become more and more scarce. And since things like clock glass have been continuously launched, more and more people have come to me to poach people, even the most important people may not be tempted..."
"But the other people in Tiangongfang may not be able to withstand the temptation, even if they have taken precautions in advance. Moreover, it is difficult to recruit suitable personnel in the capital now, and if we recruit apprentices, we will inevitably worry about recruiting spies. If the emperor allows, I hope to train the children in the charity as apprentices."
Zhu Ying suddenly realized what was going on, but then she asked worriedly, "Ah Shou, aren't you worried that those kids have been taught bad habits since they were young, and that they will not only not be grateful for your kindness, but will instead feel resentful? Or that they will be sent by someone to spy on the secrets of your workshop that day?"
"Of course I'm worried." Zhang Shou laughed and said to Chu Kuan, "So I hope that Eunuch Chu can help to identify them. If there are children who regard entering the palace as their life goal, then I would like to trouble Eunuch Chu to transfer them to other places in the Imperial Household Department. It would be meaningless to ruin someone's lifelong wish."
"For the remaining children, I will let Ah Liu and others slowly select them during their daily time. To be honest, there is nothing else I can spy on except those research projects. And those research projects still have a long way to go from being fantastic ideas to becoming real. Even if they become reality, the craftsmen will only know the part they are responsible for."
“The drawings of those finished products are not accessible to ordinary craftsmen.”
"If these children learn to read and write, learn various skills to make a decent living, and get a job in Tiangong Workshop, but are still held hostage by their so-called parents or elders, or their former masters who have not shown much kindness to them, and forced to do spying or other dirty things, then I will have no choice but to kidnap any of them I find and send them to the government office for trial."
"Of course, if they become leaders who can lead a project, I believe that they will be able to compete with any elite of this era. At that time, their horizons should not be limited to the field of open and secret struggles. As the saying goes, how can a sparrow understand the ambition of a swan?"
Chu Kuan understood immediately that Zhang Shou was actually referring to his decision after his brother threatened him to do something! He secretly sighed why such a person who was obviously very compatible with him in all aspects could not become his confidant, and at the same time he was thinking in his heart whether he should lobby the emperor again to allow Zhang Shou to enter the Gujin Tongji Library where more of Taizu's manuscripts were stored.
When the emperor heard Zhang Shou elaborate on his future plans for the charity hall, his frown finally relaxed. Although Zhang Shou was snatching food from the Imperial Household Department, it was not disadvantageous to him. At most, the Imperial Household Department would lose a foundation, but that was originally caused by some people themselves!
Moreover, if the charity hall is not doing good deeds, and the news gets out, the stain will not be on the Imperial Household Department, but on him, the emperor!
Even so, he still looked at the Third Prince beside him calmly: "Sanlang, what do you think?"
When the Third Prince heard Zhang Shou say this, he felt very much in favor of it. But when his father suddenly asked him about it, he realized that his father probably didn't want him to agree blindly, but wanted to use him to find fault. Therefore, he racked his brains and thought about it, and finally said, "Father, the Imperial Household Department is certainly responsible for the incident at the Jimin Charity Hall, but the fault lies only with a small group of people."
"But the most important thing is that a charity hall , a place for doing good, will become a place of filth if it is not supervised. The teacher's idea is certainly very good, but I think, should we send someone to supervise it? Moreover, the supervisor cannot be fixed, but should be rotated for a certain period of time. Only in this way can the supervision be effective, just like the imperial censors in the court."
Zhu Ying didn't expect the Third Prince to say that. Her brows furrowed for a moment. "The so-called supervisors are not without selfish motives. Just look at the imperial censors in the court. Aren't there many dishonest people? His Royal Highness the Crown Prince said that he would rotate supervisors... Where will these supervisors be selected? How can we ensure that they are impartial?"
When the emperor saw that the Third Prince's face turned red due to Zhu Ying's questioning, he said unhappily, "Yingying, you are bullying Sanlang again!"
"How dare I bully him!" Zhu Ying immediately cried out, "I am only discussing the matter at hand! It is difficult to do things, and supervision is even more difficult. Ah Shou, don't you think so?"
Zhang Shou was both angry and amused when he saw Zhu Ying arguing with the Third Prince. Especially when he saw that both of them looked aggrieved, he had to act as a peacemaker and proposed an ultimate solution with a smile.
"It's actually very simple. Just pick someone who will definitely supervise the work seriously. For example, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince himself, or the Fourth Prince."
"At least, the emperor should be able to be sure that with the consistent sense of justice of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and the Fourth Prince, they will never condone any filthiness in the charity hall. Of course, there are other suitable people among the royal family. Zheng Yao, the nephew of King Jiangdu who studied with the Fourth Prince in Ciqing Palace, is also a good choice. It is also feasible for the Grand Master of the Imperial Clan to recommend other upright royal family members."
Is this possible?
The Third Prince's eyes widened for a moment, but then he nodded repeatedly and said, "Teacher is right. Although Fourth Brother has many problems, he has always been a man who doesn't tolerate any injustice and will never indulge anyone! Zheng Yao is also a good boy. It would be even better if the royal family has something to do."
The emperor originally thought that the third prince had finally grown up, but when he saw Zhang Shou so easily turn the tables, he couldn't help but feel a toothache. Although he had decided to agree to Zhang Shou in principle, he still wanted to embarrass him.
"Who are you going to hand over this charity to? If I remember correctly, your Ah Liu is your most capable bodyguard and also serves as the housekeeper. Do you want him to take care of more than 200 children in the charity? Even if he is very capable, he shouldn't be treated like an animal by you, right ?"
"Your Majesty, you are joking. If Ah Liu were an animal, he would be a good horse. However, if he were to manage the charity, then in less than a year, all the children in the charity would become gourds with saw-mouths. They would be good material for soldiers, but what I want is an apprentice craftsman with active thinking, not a dumb person who can't even fart after being beaten with three sticks."
This time, Zhang Shou directly made fun of Ah Liu who was not present. Seeing the emperor suddenly laugh, the third prince agreed, Zhu Ying was laughing so hard, but Chu Kuan and Hua Qi reacted calmly. He then said slowly: "Besides, Your Majesty underestimates me too much. I don't have to mobilize Ah Liu for everything. For example, this charity hall..."
"I even plan to keep the same name as before. I just need to change the person in charge. For example... my mother."
No one misunderstood that Zhang Shou was talking about his biological mother, Widow Zhang. After all, she had been dead for many years, and Wu, the adoptive mother, had always had a weak presence and most of the time she depended on Zhang Shou.
So, when the emperor heard such a candidate, he couldn't help but hesitate for a moment.
Zhang Shou did not give the emperor a chance to reject his choice, and immediately gave his reasons: "My mother was born in poverty, and it was she who kindly picked up Ah Liu, so she must be able to put herself in the shoes of those abandoned orphans. Although she has involved in such a big matter, she often visits the Zhaoguo Mansion and respects the Madam and the Ninth Aunt very much."
"With their connections, experience and wisdom, Madam Tai and Aunt Jiu can guide her in many aspects. Most importantly, many wealthy families in the capital often have the custom of doing charity, giving away porridge, medicine and winter clothes in the cold winter. But as the saying goes, it is better to teach a man to fish than to teach him how to fish. Let the poor learn a skill. Moreover, things like charity halls really need to be rectified, otherwise there will be too many hidden dangers."
"I learned from Ah Liu that although the Silijian is behind this charity hall, it doesn't mean that the people in this school just study and don't work. Instead, they work and study part-time. They have been doing work within their ability since they were young. It is said that this is to make them remember their roots. But in fact, they have not taught a group of children to read and write. What more can they do than ordinary people?"
"Besides, because the person in charge is the Imperial Household Department, most of the people in the Charity Hall are boys, and there are only a few girls. Even these girls do not study with the boys on weekdays. They have been doing odd jobs such as cleaning and cooking since they were young, including taking care of younger children. They do the work of maids every day. It can be said that the so-called teachers never let boys treat girls as partners, but treat them as cattle and horses with the same background, and do not allow them to have any contact with each other."
Seeing that Zhu Ying's face was clearly showing anger, Zhang Shou said word by word: "But as we all know, there are more boys than girls among the abandoned children. No, according to the deep-rooted idea of most people that they value sons more than daughters, there must be more boys than girls. Then where are the girls who should have more people in the Jimin Charity Hall?"
"For example, Wang Si from Nancheng is a man who has committed many crimes. How can we be sure that the girls he sold to brothels and even those private dens from his charity hall didn't come from so-called charitable places like the Jimin Charity Hall? Even if we take a step back, the Imperial Household Department raised the children because the palace needed eunuchs, but how many eunuchs did the palace need? Doesn't the palace need palace maids more?"
"So, this charity in the Imperial Household Department is crooked from the root! They didn't even think of buying some spinning wheels to let the girls learn weaving from a young age, so that they can gradually become self-reliant and self-reliant. Instead, they made them work as servants for the rest of their lives, and the servants in the charity were created in this way. This charity has never been kind, and the word "helping the people" cannot even be mentioned!"
Chu Kuan didn't expect Zhang Shou to be so bold. Even though he knew that the man must be relying on the emperor's tolerance for him, the Third Prince would not sit idly by. But even he rarely spoke freely like this nowadays.
Therefore, even though he knew that he and Zhang Shou were still not on the same page, he still said softly: "Your Majesty, the castration of fire-killers is a system that Emperor Taizu hated from the beginning of the rebellion, so the number of eunuchs was strictly limited. The Imperial Household Department could not break through the shackles of quantity, so it had to focus on quality."
"Just like the eunuch I recruited back then... He was excellent in both character and learning, but he was unwilling to enter the palace as a eunuch."
Hearing this, the emperor could no longer hold back. "Okay, that's all. Don't leave this charity hall to the Imperial Household Department anymore. But if it remains the same as before, don't blame me for taking it back! As for the Imperial Household Department... To resist foreign aggression, you must first stabilize the internal situation. Sanlang, think carefully about how to deal with it. This is a lesson I'm giving you! I've already cleaned it up once, and I'm too impatient to do it a second time!"
