Chapter 95 - The Vulnerability of Being Alone in the Capital

“He won’t be asking for another ‘gift,’ will he?” Leng Ningyun was still bothered by this.

Wu Kaidi chuckled. “The price has already been set. There will probably be some minor requests from time to time—that’s small money, Master, no need to worry. But there are some things you’ll need to be mindful of in your daily affairs; you can’t wait for them to ask for everything.”

He gave an example: although the major payments for the three festivals and two birthdays were agreed upon, they needed to pay constant attention to the goings-on in the Yang residence. Every so often, they should send some simple gifts to show their sincerity—fruit in the winter, ice in the summer. When Eunuch Yang’s concubine celebrated her birthday, a gift was an absolute must.

“Eunuch Yang is a eunuch, but he has concubines?” Leng Ningyun frowned.

“Many eunuchs have concubines,” Wu Kaidi said. “Eunuch Yang has several, and Concubine Bian is his current favorite. The gift for her needs to be especially generous.”

How a eunuch ‘used’ a wife became a lingering question for Leng Ningyun, but there were far more pressing matters at hand.

Three days later, Leng Ningyun prepared four modest gifts and went to pay his respects at Eunuch Yang’s residence. This time, Eunuch Yang was very courteous, carrying himself with the air of a respected elder. Any eunuch from the palace who managed to make a name for himself was a master of manipulation, a seasoned old fox with a captivating way of dealing with people. If Leng Ningyun hadn’t been a modern man, thoroughly educated at the academy with a full understanding of what eunuchs were, he might have been taken in.

At the banquet, Eunuch Yang introduced him to his adopted son, Yang Tianliang. Leng Ningyun didn’t dare to be neglectful and offered the young eunuch plenty of flattery.

They drank and talked cheerfully. When the mood was merry, Eunuch Yang finally spoke.

“I am getting old and must always be on duty in the palace, so I am rarely free. In the future, if there are matters to discuss, my adopted son’s word is as good as mine. You should not come to my residence unless necessary. If there’s something you need to know, I will send someone to tell you.”

“Yes, I will follow all of Eunuch Yang’s instructions,” Leng Ningyun said respectfully. Eunuch Yang was only in his fifties, but he looked much older. His hair was white, and his face was deeply wrinkled.

“Haha, after this cup of wine, I will no longer consider you an outsider,” Eunuch Yang said, leaning back lazily in his chair. Two young eunuchs stood by with bowed heads, one massaging his legs, the other his shoulders. He grunted in comfort before continuing, “What your group is doing in Qiongzhou Prefecture, I don’t know, and I don’t want to know. But you must understand: this is Beijing, the capital, the land at the feet of the Son of Heaven. Even a stray dog on the street might be on a government stipend. It’s not like that southern barbarian land of Guangzhou, where the sky is high and the emperor is far away, letting you do as you please. Here, even a few wrong words can get you skinned alive!”

“Yes, this humble one understands.” Leng Ningyun was committed to playing the part of the subordinate. He quickly stood up and bowed. “Thank you for your guidance, Eunuch Yang.”

“It’s good that you understand.” Eunuch Yang nodded. “I’m old, and there are many things I can no longer attend to. You all must be careful.” He gave a signal, and a young eunuch brought over a calling card box.

“Inside is a calling card,” Eunuch Yang said, pointing at the box. “For an ordinary person, I wouldn’t give this even for a thousand taels of silver. But you are one of Official Gao’s men, not just anyone. Take it and conduct your business well.”

“Yes, thank you, Eunuch Yang.” Leng Ningyun quickly stood, bowed, and accepted the box. Wu Kaidi shot him a look, and Leng Ningyun immediately knelt and kowtowed. He was deeply unhappy, thinking what a miserable life this was. He regretted ever pushing for an overseas assignment. This life of constant kowtowing was unbearable.

“Hehe, from now on, I’ll be watching your business flourish,” Eunuch Yang said with a smile, his eyes narrowed.

Leng Ningyun responded with humble agreement. After the banquet, he rushed back to his lodgings by sedan chair and immediately summoned Wu Kaidi for consultation.

“We must also give a gift to the young eunuch. At least a thousand taels,” said Wu Kaidi, who had been standing by his side throughout the banquet.

“What? More money?” Leng Ningyun nearly jumped. The Beijing branch hadn’t even opened its doors, yet money was flowing out endlessly. “Didn’t you say the price was set and we wouldn’t have to spend more?”

“That was for Eunuch Yang. This is for the young Eunuch Yang,” Wu Kaidi reminded him. “How could they be the same? Didn’t you understand the old master’s meaning?”

As a former servant, Wu Kaidi referred to anyone of higher status as “old master.”

“Of course I understood his meaning. From now on, the young eunuch is our contact.”

“Exactly. And you can’t afford to slight the middleman, can you? Whether a matter is presented favorably or not depends entirely on his words,” Wu Kaidi said. “Besides, he’s Eunuch Yang’s adopted son! The eunuch made a point of introducing him at the banquet today; his importance is obvious.”

Leng Ningyun realized he was right, though he felt resentful. He paced his study for a few moments before saying angrily, “Fine. We’ll send him a generous gift as well.”

Wu Kaidi added a reminder: “For the regular gifts on the three festivals and two birthdays, when you prepare one for Eunuch Yang, you must also prepare one for his son. Half the value will do.”

“Does he also get a half-share of the profits?” Leng Ningyun worried this would disrupt their original plan.

“That won’t be necessary. Eunuch Yang did not imply that,” Wu Kaidi said. “You must satisfy Eunuch Yang, but you can’t overdo it. If he thinks you are weak and easily bullied, he will take advantage. Eunuchs are cunning; you must be on your guard.”

“I understand. I’ll add it to the gift ledger later.” Leng Ningyun nodded. He suddenly felt a wave of irritation. It seemed he couldn’t do anything without Wu Kaidi. Since arriving in Beijing, he had followed his Guihua assistant’s advice on almost everything. The most frustrating part was that Wu Kaidi was almost never wrong.

Over the next few days, accompanied by a manager from Li Luoyou, Leng Ningyun searched the city for a suitable building to house the bank.

In the old world, Leng Ningyun had visited the “great capital” more than once. Now he was in its predecessor—the same place, but it looked completely different. Even standing outside the Forbidden City of this era, he found it was vastly different from the one he had seen before.

The exterior of the Forbidden City was old and dirty. The streets, though wide, were mostly dirt roads. After a few spring rains, the city was a sea of mud. Without a sedan chair or a cart, one’s legs would be splattered. On the main streets, he often saw “strings” of camels walking leisurely, carrying heavy loads, mostly coal from the Mentougou area, which kept Beijing warm through its harsh winters.

Only the sweet and sour bingtanghulu (candied hawthorns on a stick) looked the same as in his time—though Leng Ningyun didn’t dare to eat one, not only for sanitary reasons but also because they were often coated in sand carried by the spring winds.

Yet, despite the dirt and mud, from the day he entered Beijing, he could feel the extraordinary scale and grandeur of the nation’s largest city, its political and economic heart. The feeling was even stronger as he rode in his sedan chair, looking at the flying eaves of a distant gate tower.

This imperial capital will one day fall into our hands, he thought silently from his chair. Conquering this ancient city would be a powerful political symbol, but most of the Elders had no intention of making it their capital. Its natural conditions and geography were not ideal. Furthermore, many Elders saw Beijing as the stronghold of “feudal remnants.”

“Too much filth and mire,” Leng Ningyun muttered. His recent dealings with Eunuch Yang had only deepened his resentment for the Ming Dynasty and the city of Beijing.

The aftershocks of the Jurchen invasion had gradually faded, and there was no sign of further action from the Later Jin in the northeast. The “rebels” in Shaanxi had not yet gained momentum and were confined to the western regions. While “civil unrest” was frequent elsewhere, most uprisings were quickly suppressed and caused little stir. The She-An Rebellion, though it once shook the southwest, was no longer a major threat since She Chongming’s defeat and flight to Shuixi; its final suppression was only a matter of a few years. On the southeast coast, Zheng Zhilong had also accepted the court’s offer of amnesty. As a result, the situation in Beijing had been relatively calm for the past few months.

Accompanied by Wu Kaidi and Li’s manager, Leng Ningyun visited the Forbidden City and strolled through Qipan Street—he remembered that Li Zicheng had met some resistance here when he entered Beijing. He also went to the famous and bustling areas like the East and West Four-Arch Pailous, the City God Temple, and Dengshikou to scout for a suitable location for the bank.

A bank didn’t need a location that was overly bustling or crowded; it wasn’t a retail business. However, to make it convenient for merchants to issue and redeem notes, it couldn’t be too far from the commercial district. They finally settled on a place outside the Front Gate (Qianmen), in a lane off the main street that was easy to find. It was formerly a pawnshop, a property of one of Wei Zhongxian’s cronies. After the eunuch’s downfall, the pawnshop had been confiscated. The valuables were seized, the worthless items were stolen, and only the empty building remained.

Leng Ningyun inspected the property. Including the backyard, it had three courtyards and four side-yards. Because it had been a pawnshop, the construction was extremely solid. The surrounding walls and the foundations of the buildings were all made of stone blocks. In the back, there were specialized warehouses for storing pawned goods, which were both tall and sturdy. The backyard even had its own well—though the water was “bitter.”

Most of the groundwater in Beijing was bitter, with a high mineral content that made it unsuitable for drinking. Potable water—also called “sweet water”—had to be purchased from special “sweet water wells” and delivered daily by water carriers. For the residents of Beijing, buying water was a significant expense.

Leng Ningyun was very satisfied with the building—a bank had high-security requirements. A typical building would require a large sum for renovations, but this one would need little work. He made the decision on the spot and, through Li Luoyou’s manager, bought the property for four hundred taels of silver.