My eunuch godfather

Chapter 1 I Became a Dung King in the Capital

If your soul is transported to the Ming Dynasty and you want to make a name for yourself, what should you do?

Imperial examination?

Do you know the Four Books and Five Classics? Do you know the Eight-Legged Essay? Do you know the formal, official script calligraphy?

Join the army?

How many lives do you have?

Do business?

Does he have capital or powerful backers? What does his cheap father do?

After Zhang Kun's soul transmigrated, his adoptive father was just a farmer who had died of illness, so Zhang Kun found another godfather:

Zhang Ye, a eunuch, was born in the first year of the Wanli reign and is forty-four years old this year.

Our Ming Dynasty's Hongwu Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang was virtuous and prohibited officials below the third rank from keeping slaves.

To circumvent the ban, officials below the third rank and wealthy gentry adopted "adopted sons and grandsons" and used their families as slaves.

Among eunuchs, the highest-ranking eunuch was only fourth-rank, and since they were childless and had no descendants, they preferred to adopt sons and grandsons.

Zhang Ye's private residence in Zhangjiawan, Tongzhou.

"Mr. Zhang,"

Zhang Kun walked quickly into the hall, knelt down in front of his godfather, the eunuch, with his buttocks sticking out high.

Why not call him "Dad"?

Zhang Ye came from the Imperial Academy, making him a eunuch version of the "Hanlin Scholars".

In the palace, Grand Secretaries of the Inner Cabinet were often respectfully addressed as "Old Master," and Ministers of the Ministry of Personnel were respectfully addressed as "Master." Zhang Ye greatly admired this.

"Old Sixty-Six, I have a errand for you."

Looking at his sixty-sixth adopted son, Zhang Kun, Zhang Ye used the cup lid to skim off the tea foam and instructed:

"Go to Xuanbei Ward in the South City and take control of the fat gangs in that area."

Become a dung lord?

Zhang Kun was stunned for a moment, then quickly kowtowed to his eunuch godfather to express his gratitude.

"Tomorrow you will go with the nineteenth prince to Xijiangmi Lane to register as a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard."

Compared to major cities like Nanjing and Suzhou, Beijing lacked major rivers like the Yangtze and Pearl Rivers, resulting in water shortages and frequent blockages in ditches.

The Street Office, one of the three offices of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, was in charge of the streets and ditches of the capital.

The eunuch godfather arranged for Zhang Kun to be a captain in the street office, giving him an official title so that he could easily become a latrine bully.

The ditches were frequently clogged, making sewage disposal difficult. Therefore, in the capital, instead of paying for fertilizer, people actually had to pay!

You're not going to pay? Well, then you can just rot and become compost!

The southern part of the capital, built during the Jiajing era, had a much sparser population than the northern part, making it even more difficult to collect money.

Zhang Ye thought Zhang Kun was quick-witted and full of ideas, and that he might be able to earn more money.

......

"Master Sixty-Six, we've already pushed the price of fertilizer down to five copper coins per shi!"

The head of the Feiduan gang in Xuanbeifang complained to Zhang Kun:

"Nowadays, hiring a laborer costs at least thirty coins a day for carrying six or seven shi (a unit of dry measure).

If we push the price of fertilizer down any further, we'll lose money!

Zhang Kun sneered inwardly, "The fertilizer you received can be sold for money, but you don't mention it at all."

With no room for price reductions, Zhang Kun suggested to the comic book editors:

"I have an idea. You guys pool your money and take over a few paper mills in Baizhifang."

From now on, we'll collect fertilizer without charging money, but you'll have to buy our bean paper.

The paper is a bit more expensive than the market price. If you factor in that extra money, what do you think?

Bean paper is an extremely crude type of paper, mostly used for wiping bottoms.

"I think Master Sixty-Six's idea is excellent!"

The clowns looked at each other, and one of them stood up first and loudly agreed.

I've heard of Zhang Kun before, and I know that Zhang Kun is highly trusted by Zhang Ye because of his quick wit.

Regardless of whether the idea will succeed, it's the first thing a new official does when he takes office—follow his lead, and you can't go wrong.

"Great idea!" "Let's listen to Master Sixty-Six!" "I agree!"

The other paragraph leaders quickly realized what was happening and voiced their agreement.

"Then let's do it that way."

Zhang Kun nodded in satisfaction and instructed the foremen:

"Check how many paper shops in Xuanbeifang sell bean paper, and which ones you shouldn't mess with."

Those you can't afford to offend, go to a brothel for drinks; the rest, have tea, and tell them to get rid of their bean-paper goods.

Those peddlers who roam the streets and alleys must also be regulated. I want Xuanbeifang to be the only place where we can sell bean paper!

"If any troublemakers cause problems, you're all seasoned veterans; I don't need to teach you, do I?"

If monopolizing just one link in an industry isn't enough to make money, then monopolize related links as well!

"Rest assured, Sixty-Sixth Master."

The first person to agree with Zhang Kun's joke grinned mischievously and said:

"Anyone who dares not buy our bean paper will be 'made to smell'!"

"besides,"

Thinking of something, Zhang Kun continued to instruct the leaders:

"Let's check how many public toilets there are in Xuanbeifang. We can even become a stall vendor and collect toilet fees."

Public health awareness in our time was far less advanced than in later generations.

The imperial court only had the Embroidered Uniform Guards routinely clean the ditches in February each year; they wouldn't build any public toilets.

Public toilets are all privately built, and most of them charge a fee.

Taking money is also considered doing good deeds, because land prices are high, and it would be a loss to use the land to build public toilets.

Fortunately, land prices in the southern part of the city are relatively low, so if a monopoly can be achieved, there is still some profit to be made.

......

Back at the inn where he was staying, Zhang Kun began to ponder his future direction:

Feiduan isn't a huge industry, but it's still quite a force to be reckoned with.

The officer in charge of the street office of the Embroidered Uniform Guard was originally a captain in the former Thousand-Household Office of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. He was not a high-ranking official, but he was still considered an official.

He has businesses and an official position, yet he can't produce any useful results. Does he deserve the title of a time-traveling god?!

"The street management offices were responsible for managing the street drains, similar to the urban management and municipal administration systems of later generations."

Zhang Kun began to recall the tidbits of knowledge about the Embroidered Uniform Guard that he had learned from the 19th Brother, muttering to himself:

"In recent years, they have also seized the headquarters of the Five Cities Military Command and expanded into fire prevention..."

Vendors encroaching on the streets, shopkeepers illegally constructing structures, and the water buckets and fire hooks belonging to the head of the household.

It's all money!

Unfortunately, these businesses were all taken by others, and Zhang Kun couldn't get involved.

"How about starting a night market?"

His stomach growled, and Zhang Kun had a sudden inspiration:

There is a curfew in the capital, from 8:12 p.m. to 4:12 a.m. the next day.

During this period, the Imperial Guard's patrol captains and the Beijing Garrison's patrol battalion soldiers were responsible for maintaining order in the capital.

Working in the police station meant you could skip work to go home and sleep, and you could also use many stallions for personal purposes; the number of stallions registered under your name was increasing.

During the Xuande era, the newly established patrol battalion had only 500 men. Now it has over 10,000, but only 3,000 or 4,000 are actually doing the work.

It's illegal for captains and soldiers to go to those taverns and brothels that never sleep!

Is it illegal to rest at a warm place?

In addition to the head of the main household and the cooks, there should also be a "small household" who is responsible for guarding the heating shops, with one person for every ten households.

Is it illegal for Xiao Jia to bring some food from home and heat it up on the stove in the heated room?

The captain and soldiers bought some food from Xiao Jia, a sign of their close relationship!

Zhang Kun acted immediately, and the next day he had his servants, assigned by the Zhang family, invite all the shopkeepers from the forty-five shops in Xuanbei Ward.

"...The Southwest Patrol Office of the Patrol Battalion is located in our Xuanbei Ward, with at least five hundred soldiers on duty every night!"

After explaining his idea for the night market, Zhang Kun grabbed the teapot, drank it all in one gulp, and smiled at the shopkeepers:

What do you think of this idea?

The shopkeepers fell silent. After a moment, one of them mustered his courage and spoke:

"Sir, if I may be so bold as to ask, what should be done if those soldiers refuse to pay?"

Oh no, I forgot about that!

Zhang Kun touched his nose, chuckled twice, and then added after a moment:

"Then let those who want to have a late-night snack place their orders first and collect the deposit."

The shopkeepers all nodded in agreement, saying that as long as Zhang Kun received the deposit, they would take care of the rest.

......

The new broom sweeps clean with his first major initiative, but he has no choice but to press on despite the difficulties.

Zhang Kun had a scribe write a visiting card and prepared gifts before heading to the Southwest Police Station to pay his respects to Chief Chen, the station chief.

Chen Bazong's original rank was Vice Commander of the Imperial Guard, a fourth-rank official.

Upon learning that Zhang Kun was merely a lowly captain, Captain Chen did not show contempt; instead, he became more respectful and said in a gentle voice:

"Captain Zhang, may I ask which position your father held in the palace?"

Zhang Kun paused for a moment, then realized what was happening and replied to Commander Chen:

"My adoptive father was Zhang Hejian, who served as a court attendant in the Directorate of Ceremonial and concurrently as the head of the Imperial Horse Administration. He was also an imperial commissioner who supervised the tax collection in Tongwan, Zhili, Xuanda, and Dali."

"Disrespect, disrespect!"

Commander Chen quickly stood up, walked over to Zhang Kun, grabbed Zhang Kun's arm, and said with a beaming smile:

"Don't worry, Captain Zhang, I'll definitely get the night market business done for you!"

"Thank you, Commander!"

"Oh, Captain Zhang, you're too kind."

General Chen helped Zhang Kun, who was about to bow, and said with a smile:

"If Commandant Zhang is willing, how about we address each other as brothers?"

Unexpectedly, even a high-ranking official of the fourth rank longed to have a eunuch as his godfather.