Chapter 862 - The Grand Eunuch

In April of 1631, even in the grip of the Little Ice Age, spring had finally arrived outside the walls of the capital. Along the earthen riverbanks, willows unfurled fresh green fronds, and peach and apricot trees bloomed in succession. Delicate blossoms swayed in the still-chilly breeze. The earth was turning green once more. Farmers who had survived the chaos of war and famine—gaunt-faced, dressed in rags—were busy again in their fields.

The first breach of the Qing army—also known as the "Jisi Incident"—had ended the previous year. In the tenth month of the third year of Chongzhen, the invading Later Jin forces had all returned to Shenyang. The four cities including Zunhua, which had been garrisoned by remaining enemy forces, were subsequently recovered by Ming troops. Burned houses had yet to be rebuilt, and along roads and field edges, bones left by the chaos could still be glimpsed. But the people of Northern Zhili's various prefectures and counties—who had been on edge and seeing enemies everywhere since the Later Jin invasion—had finally exhaled a collective sigh of relief. The Great Ming seemed about to welcome a new spring, just like this awakening land.

Yet many officials in the capital—regardless of their political leanings—anyone with even a modicum of sense and foresight knew that the Great Ming was ill, and gravely so. But at this moment, no one could yet foresee that the Ming's days were numbered.

What officials and scholars in the capital discussed most was the Later Jin, which had gradually become a major threat to the court. As for the bandits in Shaanxi, the She'an Rebellion in Guizhou, and the Huinu bandits in Qiongzhou... these were mentioned in passing, but no one paid much attention. Although He Rubin's army had been completely annihilated in Qiongzhou with heavy losses, the disaster hadn't caused much of a stir. Compared to the She'an Rebellion, where the court had lost a Provincial Governor and Commander-General—senior officials of regional importance—the highest-ranking officer killed in the Qiongzhou campaign was merely a brigade commander. And to date, no prefectures or counties had fallen.

Beijing's spring was windy. Gusts from the Mongolian plateau carried sand, chapping faces, and yellow dust filled the streets. It had just rained, and the roads were extremely muddy. Through this muck, a small two-bearer sedan chair made its way, both bearers splattered with yellow mud.

Behind the sedan followed a dozen or so porters carrying loads wrapped tightly in rush matting.

The sedan curtain was quietly lifted a crack. Someone inside surveyed the street through the gap. Had anyone gotten close enough, they might have heard a barely perceptible, contemptuous snort.

The person in the sedan was none other than Leng Ningyun, dispatched to the capital to carry out work.

Leng Ningyun had worked in finance and trust services in the old time-space, familiar with financial history, IPOs, and derivatives. He held a bachelor's degree in management. He was fluent in English, could conduct simple conversations in Japanese, and knew a few phrases of French. The transmigrator collective's finance department was well-staffed, but the work available to finance professionals was simply too rudimentary—many specialists could only work as accountants.

Bored to death, Leng Ningyun had gotten the idea to work abroad. After applying and training with the External Intelligence Bureau, his financial background caught the attention of Jiang Shan and others. Ultimately, he was assigned to Beijing as station chief and branch manager of Delong Bank's Beijing office.

The Beijing Station was different from other overseas stations. It wasn't required to conduct commercial or industrial activities locally. Its main tasks were intelligence collection and absorbing the wealth of capital officials. So the Beijing Station focused primarily on financial operations. Having a finance professional in charge was most appropriate.

Entering Beijing was easy; conducting operations in Beijing was not. Especially since Leng Ningyun's main task was to attract deposits—how could Delong, with no foundation whatsoever in Beijing, earn the trust of corrupt officials enough for them to confidently deposit their silver? This was where Leng Ningyun would be truly tested.

The person he was going to visit was a key figure for his work in Beijing—Eunuch Yang.

Eunuch Yang was Gao Ju's major backer in the capital. When Wei Zhongxian was in power, there had once been a plan to build an ancestral shrine in Guangzhou to curry favor with the "Nine Thousand Years"—but this never materialized, and Eunuch Yang had escaped disaster. After Wei Zhongxian's downfall, Eunuch Yang's misfortune became good fortune; he was not implicated. He quickly ingratiated himself with Wang Dehua, spending tens of thousands of taels plus many "Australian goods" sent by Gao Ju, and was assigned to head the Bell and Drum Bureau. Something of a comeback.

Having returned to power, Eunuch Yang was far more cautious than before. After all, he hadn't been one of the Prince of Xin's original retainers. During the Nine Thousand Years' reign, he hadn't been "firm in attitude, clear in stance"—at most a fence-sitter. So now he rarely meddled in palace affairs beyond his proper duties, never saying an extra word.

Though it was spring, the weather remained quite cold. Leng Ningyun hunched his neck inside the sedan, pondering how to speak with this Grand Eunuch when they met.

Aside from watching movies and television in the old time-space, Leng Ningyun had never seen a real eunuch—and of course, movie and TV eunuchs were fake too. What an actual eunuch looked like, what his temperament was, was hard to fathom. However, Grand Eunuchs who had made something of themselves in the palace were without exception shrewd operators. He would have to be completely on his guard. After all, this Grand Eunuch's attitude would be crucial to the Beijing Station's future development.

He had already inquired about the location of Eunuch Yang's private residence and knew that the master would be returning from the palace to rest tonight. At the gate, his servants handed in his visiting card along with a letter of introduction from Gao Ju. Before long, the gatekeeper—a young eunuch—sent word for him to enter.

To pay court to a eunuch, to flatter him—Leng Ningyun was naturally somewhat reluctant. In his thinking, eunuchs were a pack of cunning, treacherous, greedy people; he harbored a certain disdain and disgust for them.

However, Leng Ningyun clearly understood that in this intelligence and commercial contest within Beijing, this Grand Eunuch's help was indispensable.

When he saw the gatekeeper eunuch emerge brandishing the visiting card, Leng Ningyun gave a signal. His servant immediately produced a tael of silver from his chest and slipped it over, while retrieving the card. Only then did Leng Ningyun compose himself and step inside.

According to court regulations, eunuchs—as the emperor's personal attendants—were required to live inside the palace walls unless dispatched elsewhere on missions. But wealthy, powerful Grand Eunuchs like Eunuch Yang all maintained private residences. It was said that Wei Zhongxian's private residence in Beijing had been so extravagantly magnificent it rivaled the imperial palace. Eunuch Yang's residence naturally couldn't compare to Wei Zhongxian's. But just from the glimpses he caught walking in, Leng Ningyun could already sense that the residence was not only imposing but necessarily quite deep, with architecture and decoration quite refined. Clearly a great deal had been spent on its construction.

As the meeting approached, his mood instinctively tensed. He began to focus more intently on his mission, and a new kind of unease and anticipation arose.

The young eunuch led him into a reception hall. After waiting there for a moment, accompanied by steady, composed footsteps, Eunuch Yang emerged from behind a screen. Leng Ningyun, following proper etiquette, rose to receive him, assuming a respectful posture.

From the corner of his eye, he observed that this Grand Eunuch was a robust man in his fifties. His immaculately combed hair was noticeably graying. His smooth chin, as expected, bore no trace of beard. His well-nourished, broad face had a ruddy glow. Though his large, thick lips wore the customary smile, his half-lidded narrow eyes clearly showed a questioning, probing light.

They exchanged formal greetings. As a protective measure for intelligence agents' personal safety and to facilitate their activities, Li Yan had arranged false Guangdong household registrations for every agent sent to Ming-controlled territory. He had also obtained various academic degrees for them—some were proper government stipend students, some were attached or supplementary students, and some were so-called National University students. All were procured through the Guangdong-Guangxi provincial offices by greasing palms.

Sensing that his purpose couldn't be explained in a few words, and since they were strangers to each other—making message relay troublesome—Leng Ningyun dispensed with pleasantries. He pulled out a prepared secret letter from Gao Ju along with a gift list and presented them with both hands: "This is what Great Merchant Gao commanded this student to present to Your Honor. Please accept it."

"Oh." Eunuch Yang showed no surprise—he had already learned of Leng Ningyun's visit from Gao Ju's letter several days prior. He glanced at his guest, then accepted the letter. "Please, be seated!"

As he made the invitation, he sat down in a chair and began opening the letter.

The secret letter's content was very simple. Gao Ju informed him that Leng Ningyun was Chief Guo's man, coming to the capital to open a bank and facilitate commercial transactions between north and south.

As for Chief Guo's true background, Gao Ju had never explicitly told Eunuch Yang. This wasn't because Gao Ju intended to deceive him, but because Eunuch Yang didn't want to know too clearly. Though he more or less understood that Guo Yi had an unusual relationship with the Huinu bandits—or Australians, as they were called. Possibly even was one of the Huinu. But he had no intention of revealing this—his business with the Huinu brought him handsome profits every year, and he preferred to play deaf and dumb.

If the Huinu ever did something "improper" and the court investigated, he could wash his hands of it entirely.

This Leng Ningyun before him was clearly also one of the Huinu's people, Eunuch Yang thought. He was surprised that the visitor was a young man—for a scholar, he wasn't exactly young, but for a merchant supposed to be in charge of things, the guest was really too young.

He next opened the gift list. The gifts were extremely valuable: all sought-after Australian precious goods currently hard to find on the market. The half-length glass mirror alone was worth a great deal. Clearly the other party was quite sensible.

Out of caution, Gao Ju's letter was written very briefly, touching only on the matter at hand. The specific explanation and plan would be presented by Leng Ningyun himself. So from the very beginning, Leng Ningyun had been watching the host's expressions and reactions, hoping to read his mind as thoroughly as possible before the formal conversation—particularly to understand his basic character.