BSI Chapter 38 New Identity
Chapter 38 New Identity
South of Jinan City lies a rocky hill.
The midday sun was scorching, baking this once barren, rocky beach. Yet, at this moment, it was a scene of bustling activity.
Hundreds of shirtless men, chanting in unison, were tamping the foundation and erecting the wall. The air was thick with the smells of lime, sawdust, and sweat.
At the main entrance of the camp, a special "unveiling ceremony" is underway.
There were no firecrackers, no lion dance with its eyes dotting the eyes.
Only two giant fir logs, freshly felled from the mountain, served as flagpoles, soaring into the clouds. A huge apricot-yellow flag was slowly being raised, embroidered with four large black characters: "[Imperial Timber Procurement Bureau of the Imperial Household Department - Jinan General Warehouse]".
On the pillars on either side of the gate, two heavy black signs with gold lettering are hung: the one on the left reads "Jinan Prefecture Canal Transport Militia," and the one on the right reads "Lu Ji Logistics Headquarters."
One yellow, one black; one official, one businessman.
This peculiar combination left the onlookers, the residents of Jinan, and the passing merchants completely bewildered.
"Good heavens, is this Scholar Lu trying to ascend to heaven?"
Among the crowd, several well-informed brokers whispered among themselves, "Just a few days ago, they were just a few well-connected carriage and horse brokers. How did they end up doing business with the imperial family after this trip to the capital?"
"Shh! Keep your voice down!" another whispered, "Didn't you see that yellow flag? That's the palace flag! It's for Emperor Wanli! From now on, this Luanshigang is going to become Jinan Prefecture's 'Little Forbidden City'."
Inside the gate, Lu Yan, dressed in a brand-new royal blue robe and wearing a square scarf on his head, calmly watched the flag being raised.
He raised his eyes and said to Hu Jingshui beside him:
"Old Hu, this flag is worth thirty thousand taels of silver."
"Thirty...thirty thousand taels?" Hu Jingshui stared at the ordinary-looking flag, somewhat astonished. "Master, this fabric is worth at most two taels of silver."
"The cloth itself is worthless, but the 'power' on it is valuable."
Lu Yan turned around and pointed to the expanding wall surrounding the camp. "With this flag, the 500 acres of land beneath our feet will no longer be civilian land under the jurisdiction of Jinan Prefecture, but rather the 'Imperial Estate' of the inner court. Local officials will have no right to interfere with how high the wall is, how deep the moat is, how much grain is stored, or even... how many soldiers we can hide."
"This is called—the privilege of imperial envoys. With the sign of the inner court hanging up, local officials dare not easily interfere."
Just then, the sound of rapid hoofbeats broke the solemnity of the camp.
Several constables dressed in black robes and carrying iron rulers at their waists escorted a small blue sedan chair and rushed aggressively to the camp gate.
The sedan curtain was lifted, and a middle-aged official with a goatee stepped out. This man was Sun Degong, the head of the household registration office in Jinan Prefecture. He was in charge of money and grain taxes and was notorious for extorting money from the local area.
"Stop! All of you, stop right now!"
As soon as Master Sun stepped out of the sedan chair, his eyes turned red as he looked at the bustling construction site.
In his eyes, this wasn't a construction site; it was a piece of juicy meat! Such a huge project, and they hadn't even registered it with the property owner? Hadn't they paid the "groundbreaking tax"? This was simply outrageous!
"Who's in charge? Get out here!" Steward Sun waved his folding fan, pointing at the servants at the door and shouting, "Unauthorized land grabbing and illegal construction! Do you have any respect for the law? Do you have any respect for Jinan Prefecture?"
Zhao Changying stood at the door, holding a knife, staring at him coldly as if he were a dead man.
Lu Yan dusted off his hands and walked over unhurriedly.
"Lord Sun, what an imposing official air you have!"
"Oh, isn't this Scholar Lu?" Chief Clerk Sun sneered, his tone sarcastic. "I heard you went to the capital. What, you think you can act like you own the place in Jinan just because you met a few big shots? Let me tell you, a local official is more powerful than a distant one! According to the laws of the Ming Dynasty, your camp expansion requires you to pay taxes based on the land area! Five hundred acres, plus the fine for illegal construction, totals one thousand taels! If you're short even a penny, I'll shut down your gates right now!"
"One thousand taels?"
Lu Yan smiled. He didn't argue, but simply took out a document bearing a bright red seal from his sleeve, gently unfolded it, and handed it to Chief Clerk Sun.
"Lord Sun, are you going to seal the gate?"
Lu Yan pointed to the heading on the document, his voice gentle yet chilling, "This is the 'Construction Plan for the Imperial Timber Transport Warehouse,' personally approved by Eunuch Wang, the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Palace Attendants, and filed with the Directorate of Ceremonial. This land is intended to store the golden nanmu timber used for the construction of Emperor Wanli's mausoleum."
"If you seal the door, and this imperial wood gets damp or is stolen, it will delay the auspicious time for Emperor Wanli's ceremony..."
Lu Yan leaned closer to Steward Sun, lowered his voice, and spoke with a chilling concern:
"At that time, let alone your official hat, wouldn't the heads of your entire family be enough for Eunuch Wang to chop off?"
When Chief Clerk Sun saw the menacing "Directorate of Palace Attendants" seal on the document, cold sweat instantly broke out on his back.
He was a seasoned official, and of course he knew how ruthless those eunuchs in the inner court were. To try and rob them of their money was like a grandfather hanging himself—wanting to die.
"This...this...so it's an imperial envoy!"
The fat on Master Sun's face instantly transformed into a stiff smile; the speed of his change of expression was astonishing. He shakily pushed the document back, even using his sleeve to brush away non-existent dust from Lu Yan.
"Misunderstanding! It's all a misunderstanding! I was blind to your greatness! Since I'm working for His Majesty Wanli, it's naturally tax-free! Tax-free!"
"Not only is it tax-free."
Lu Yan did not retract the document, but instead pressed further, "Lord Sun, the construction of this imperial timber warehouse still requires a large amount of stone and quicklime. I've heard that the Ministry of Revenue controls several quarries? Lu's company is willing to purchase at the 'official price,' I wonder if you could do me a favor?"
The so-called "official price" is often only half the market price.
Sun, the steward, was heartbroken, but at this point, he had to agree to anything, not just a half-price offer, but even if it were given to him for free! If he offended this powerful figure, and a memorial was sent to the palace, he would be finished.
"Alright! Alright! I'll get on it right away!"
Watching Master Sun flee in disarray, Hu Jingshui remarked from the side:
"Master, this 'royal affiliation' title is indeed more effective than real gold and silver. We not only saved a thousand taels of tax, but also made a profit from the price difference in the stone. This deal was definitely worthwhile!"
"This is just the beginning."
Lu Yan put away the documents and turned to look at the camp under construction.
In his plan, this place is much more than just a logistics warehouse.
He pointed to the seemingly ordinary wall and said to Zhao Changying:
"Changying, this wall should be built to the specifications of a 'bastion.' The outer wall should be three feet thick, with rammed earth filling the middle to protect against artillery fire. Every fifty paces, there should be a protruding rampart with firing ports. Listening urns for underground tunnels should be dug under the foundation."
"And those warehouses over there." Lu Yan pointed to several large warehouses in the core area. "Those are the 'inner warehouses.' On the surface, they're for storing timber, but underneath, we need to dig cellars. They need to be deep, large, and well-ventilated. Those are our arsenal and granaries."
"Master, is this house so sturdy to keep out bandits?" Zhao Changying asked, somewhat puzzled. "The bandits around Jinan Prefecture aren't that capable, are they?"
"We're not guarding against bandits."
Lu Yan rubbed his temples and turned his gaze to the distant east.
"What we're guarding against is the impending chaos."
"The Tianqi era is approaching. At that time, Shandong will become a hellish place where people can eat each other. Every drop of sweat we shed now will save us a bowl of blood in the future."
"Pass down the order: speed things up! I want to turn this rocky hill into an impregnable fortress within a month!"
"yes!"
With Lu Yan's command, the entire camp's massive machine began to operate at an unprecedented speed.
Under the guise of imperial power, the prototype of a fortress with modern military defense capabilities is quietly rising in the heart of the Ming Dynasty.