[English subtitles are available.]
The Sleuth of Ming Dynasty
Episode 21
I have thought of several euphemistic ways to ask you.
But when I saw you,
I decided to ask you directly.
General Chen,
why would you do that?
I am going to tell you the truth.
Every time the official silver was out of the treasury,
they would be the right amount like we asked for.
But after they were melted,
the silver we actually got in the end would be just 60 to 80% of the original weight.
I asked the Ministry of Revenue.
They just said this is fair tear and wear during the melting process,
or as they call it, "loss in heat treatment".
It happened every time.
The loss added up to be a huge number!
Mr. Wang,
now we Liaodong garrison has already become debt-ridden.
In order to prepare for army provisions,
I had to make a false claim of the soldiers' pay
because I had no other way.
I didn't expect the loss in heat treatment
can be as much as 40% of the total number.
Loss in heat treatment
has been a common practice since ancient time.
Originally it was a fair tear and wear where big chunks of official silver
were melted and cast into smaller pieces for soldiers' pay.
It would be 2% of the total, max.
But later when some officials embezzled the money
and caused a deficit on the books,
they would cover it up with the name of loss in heat treatment.
Hence the tear and wear
was increased to 10% or even up to 20% of the total.
In recent years the ratio has been increasing
to a startling 40%.
We need 30,000 taels of silver
for Guangning garrison's provision reserve to winter.
If I didn't make a false claim,
the silver I got in the end would be only 18,000 taels.
Did they weight all the official silver ingots when they were out of the treasury?
Yes, every ingot
without any exception.
So it seems that
the official silver must be mixed with lead
and caused the uncommonly high loss in heat treatment.
Do you believe me?
I do.
I am willing to die for my deception.
But the soldiers' pay and provisions are the foundation of the border defense.
If you want to guard our country's gate,
you need to keep the soldiers fed and clothed.
Mr. Wang,
there has been serious tension in the boundary regions.
I don't care if I die,
but the frontier defense of our Ming Dynasty mustn't be sabotaged because of it!
General Chen, you can go back.
Commander Wang...
What about the military pay thing?
Let me worry about it.
Ma Yuancong?
Go after him.
Don't let him run away.
To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?
Mr. Li.
Yuancong's letter before he left his home
was inspired from your theory, right?
You can ask Yuancong.
But,
why did you...
Do you think
my theory make sense?
It does make some sense.
Let's go.
You guys just came at the right time.
It's lunch time.
I think Mr. Tang had too many delicacies recently.
I didn't mean to blame you.
But do you know
your dad was worried sick after you pretended to be kidnapped?
Your dad saw your letter and thought
you were kidnapped by the silver workers.
He brought his retainers with weapons to fight with them
and someone almost got killed in the fight.
Is my dad alright?
Your dad is alright.
But he didn't feel like eating or sleeping for days.
And he said
he would get you back even if it cost him every penny he has.
I'm fine.
I'm fine here.
Anyway, I don't think my father is a good person.
Mr. Li, I don't think it's right to
alienate someone from his father.
It has nothing to do with Mr. Li!
Mr. Li is a man of great erudition.
I came on my own because I admired him.
Let's put aside whether your dad is a good person or not.
Let me ask you,
is he a good father to you?
Yes, he is.
But I will never go back
unless he releases those innocent silver workers.
Wait.
We can give the silver workers' issue a further thought and discuss it later.
But what we're facing right now is
your father is having a war against these silver workers.
No matter which side has a casualty,
I believe that's not what you want to see.
Mr. Li, what do you think?
It's up to Yuancong to decide whether he wants to stay or leave.
My community is an open door.
Nobody will force him to do anything.
I can go back with you.
But you have to help me
convince my dad
to release those silver workers.
I promise you.
Sir.
You are back.
How did it go?
Did you find any information?
We found Yuancong.
Really?
Did you rescue
him from those silver workers?
I am gonna...
Mr. Ma.
If you want to have Yuancong back,
you need to release the silver workers you arrested.
Can you do that?
Sure!
Improve working environment in both the silver mint and the mines.
Increase their wages,
an reduce working hours.
Can you do that?
No problem!
When a gentleman makes a promise...
He will never break the promise!
Yuancong, come out.
Son!
Dad.
You are back.
I was so worried about you.
Why are you...
You look a bit emaciated.
Did they give you a hard time?
No.
I actually got stronger by working in the fields.
They forced you to work in the fields?
These rascals.
Someone!
Ma Fu, Ma Fu!
Hurry up to
take Yuancong to freshen up
and eat something.
The boy must suffer a lot.
Hurry up!
Yes.
Young master.
Mr. Tang,
Yuancong was rescued from Li Mao's place, right?
Yes.
But Yuancong went up to the mountain on his own.
Li Mao's community is an open door.
Open door my ass!
Yuancong was instigated by Li Mao.
Do you know him?
I know him all too well.
I invited him home to be our private tutor.
I didn't expect
what he did was driving a wedge between us.
He taught Yuancong
and some other children in our clan
wicked theories.
He tried to turn Yuancong to go against his old man.
What kind of wicked person is he?
He also bewitched
those silver workers to protest.
This person is just...
a cult leader.
Don't get mad.
But I'd say,
the so-called bullshit
Li Mao talked about...
I know what he said.
When you just heard it,
you felt like
it did make sense.
But if you really think about it carefully,
it's bullshit!
His theories are either for a saint
or for those who are extremely poor.
If you really do what he said,
okay,
let's shut down the silver mines.
Sure, we can do that
which might make Yunhe's overall environment look
a little prettier.
But if so, at least
more than 90% of the people will lose their livelihood.
Mr. Ma, 90% might be exaggerated.
They can make a living by farming.
Farming?
Yunhe has been a woodland since ancient times
because its highly acid water
makes it not suitable for farming.
If you have to plant crops,
you will only gain little harvest,
not to mention the droughts and floods every now and then.
If today Yunhe's people turn to farming,
Yunhe won't be the prosperous place it is today.
Mr. Ma is right.
As far as I saw,
Li Mao's community
leads a very hard life there.
Those people living in the mountain
ran away into the mountain because they owed people money,
or would never be able to pay taxes,
or just be lazy and gluttonous.
If you ask me,
all of them should be put in jail,
no, that will be just a waste of taxpayers' money.
Yes, yes, Mr. Ma is quite right.
If we don't punish them,
someday
they will become bandits.
That's not what you said on the mountain.
That's because we were in their territory.
These people are beyond discipline.
If they had killed us because of something we said,
that would have been so not worth it, right?
Yes. Mr. Tang is right.
I can't agree more.
We should just put those troublesome silver workers
in jail under
strict supervision.
They could have lived a peaceful life,
but instead they made troubles everyday like that was their job.
Mr. Ma has a point.
I will go up the mountain tomorrow
to suppress the crowd.
Why was he glaring at you?
I dare not ask him.
Are you guys looking for me?
Yes.
Over here.
Here I am.
Where are you guys?
Come, come on.
Where are you?
Right here.
Where?
Where are you?
Got you!
Don't run!
Where are you?
Where?
Where are you?
Where?
You are...Xiaolan?
No.
This hand is a bit too big.
It's Xiaomei!
Right?
Don't ruin our game.
Or do you want to join us?
Why do you want to arrest Li Mao?
In or out?
If you don't play, don't be a buzzkill.
Don't forget who you are.
I am the one who should say that.
Sui Zhou, let me tell you,
you need to know your position.
Do you still want to work for me or not?
Leave if you don't want to do it anymore.
Think very carefully.
Don't bother to come back after you leave.
Shall we continue?
What are you doing?
I'm going with you.
What are you doing?
If you are angry, come after me.
Why are you dragging her down with you?
I...
Why did you kick me?
I didn't do anything to upset you.
Mr. Tang, do you have anything else you want to tell me?
You and my were colleagues.
Let me see you off.
If you have something to say, say it.
Don't hold back.
I thought you were different from other officials.
I didn't expect when you saw money and women,
you changed, too.
The way of the world is,
change is the only constant thing.
It is impossible to stay the same all the time.
In this case,
I really misjudged you.
That might be as well.
We are going separate ways so I guess we can't work together anymore.
I wish Mr. Tang
a bright and promising career.
Go.
You just left like this?
Mr. Tang, do you have any orders for me?
-What? -I know you are stupid,
but I didn't expect you to be so stupid.
What does that mean?
If I don't become like one of them,
how could they trust me?
If I don't help them do a few things,
how would they treat me like one of their own?
If they don't trust me, and treat me like one of their own,
how would I know
what they did?
What about you want to arrest Li Mao?
If Ma Lin really wants Li Mao die,
it'll be like crushing an ant to him.
He did this to test me.
That being the case,
I used his plan to go against him.
On one hand, he would trust me;
on the other hand,
Li Mao is at the safest place
in our own hands.
What about playing with those pretty maids?
They are Ma Lin's spies.
They keep watch on my movements from morning till night.
I seem to blame you unjustly.
I know
that's only because you are a man of integrity.
By the way,
since we started a play, we have to go through with it.
If I offend you later,
don't take it personally.
What do you mean?
Sir,
I know I did it wrong.
Please forgive me.
Is this how you apologize?
I was too kind to you
and never treated you as a subordinate.
So you got cocky just because you did some job.
You get above yourself
and become less and less mature.
You have no vision and can't look at the bigger picture.
You are an incompetent bungler!
Don't push him too far.
I can forget about what happened today
but you need to really reflect on it.
Sui.
You are not leaving, right?
Still eight thousand taels of silver short?
We handed in all the money others tried to bribe you.
Otherwise...
If only we kept a little bit of it,
we could make up for the eight thousand taels.
Don't say things that don't help.
Our Western Deport does have some unused funds...
Maybe we can...
No way.
Wan An is keeping a close watch on me.
He's just waiting for me to tread one step without caution
so that he can impeach me again.
Sir, you can't do that!
They are Her Highness's gift to you.
Find a trustworthy person to pawn them
to get the eight thousand taels.
Hit him, hit him!
What are you guys doing?
Stop, stop!
Run!
Why did you do that?
Who are your parents?
Did you get hurt?
They ran too fast
or I would definitely spank them.
It's okay.
Why didn't you fight back?
You can't win them?
I can! I am good.
I can fight with several of them at the same time.
As the saying goes, like nephew, like uncle.
The way you brag
does sound like Tang Fan.
Tell me the truth. Why didn't you fight back?
Mother has to raise me on her own.
I don't want to bring her troubles.
You're taking care of your mom at such a young age.
You're a good boy.
Since you are also aware that
it's not easy for your mother to be a single mother,
when you grow up
I'm sure you're going to take good care of her
and protect your mother, right?
Of course!
But you can't even protect yourself now.
How can you protect your mother in case you guys meet a bad guy?
As a man, we don't bully others,
but we also can't be bullied by others.
This is the fundamental rule.
But what if I accidentally hurt him?
Do you know what an acupoint is?
Mr. Li.
How did you get arrested, too?
These royal court's pet!
Those evil officials!
Be quiet!
Why would you,
a scholar,
gang up with these silver workers to make trouble
instead of being a nice teacher?
Why am I arrested?
What is the charge?
We arrested you for no reason,
just Mr. Ma's order.
What charge do we need?
No charge?
Then you're framing me!
When I said there is collusion between government and businessman, I just pointed out the truth.
Collusion between government and businessman?
Then I will show you
what the real collusion is like!
What are you doing?
Don't hurt Mr. Li!
Get back!
What are you doing?
Go back! What are you want to do?
Calm down, calm down!
Get back there!
Don't start troubles!
It's ok.
What are you looking at?
Let's move!
Go!
You think no one would dare to touch you
because you are a scholar?
You annoyed Mr. Ma.
Today, I will teach you a lesson for Mr. Ma!
I
Sir...
I was afraid he might fake his testimony with those silver workers.
Get lost!
Sir
I am sorry for what they did to you.
Thank you, sir.
If you need anything,
tell me anytime.
To tell you the truth,
I need to ask you for a favor now.
Sure.
Please find some books for me. Any book will do.
Li can live without food for ten days,
but I can't live without books for just a day.
Books?
No problem.
Thank you.
I have to rely on you on this.
Rest assured.
Since this is your business,
I will deal with it properly.
Let me seal it.
You don't have to. I trust you.
My brother,
when it comes to money,
you can't be too more careful.
My brother.
Goodbye!
Goodbye.
Hurry up.
Mr. Wan.
We have calculated and exchanged them
according to the exchange rate of silver for gold in the market.
Please check them.
My precious.
In a while,
I'll give you a bath.
I can't bear to throw you guys in the water.
Sorry.
It feels comfortable just by looking at them.
Good tea?
I have no idea.
I think so.
Then why did you go "awww"?
You know nothing!
This is called artistic conception.
You have destroyed the beauty of this fragrant tea served by beautiful lady.
Artistic conception?
Then why don't you find your
new best friend to have tea together?
I think Mr. Ma is
definitely willing to enjoy tea with you.
Mei.
You can go to sleep now.
Your eyes fell into the teacup.
I...
It was for a serious reason.
Hurry up.
What do you want from me?
Give me your recipe of mutton soup.
No way.
Why not?
No reason.
Just because you don't like Oirat people?
They have good people, and bad people.
And we have known each other for a long time.
Not to mention they saved your life.
They helped you so much,
how can you be so petty?
You are here making friends with Mr. Ma,
living a luxurious life
with beautiful ladies surrounding you.
I didn't know
you
still care about Dora's small restaurant business.
Buddy,
your tone sounds like..
like what?
Like you're a jealous woman.
A jealous woman, right?
The jealous woman has to go now.
Go figure it out yourself.
Sui Zhou!
Mr. Sui!
Dong,
do you like Sister Dora?
Of course.
Dora always stays real.
She is much more adorable than
the ladies who have a fake smile on their face every day.
Yes.
So if she has trouble,
you will help her, right?
How can I help her?
Go find Sui
and say you want to have mutton soup.
Let him cook it for you.
Sui is so busy now.
I can't make him ever busier.
No.
You just said you wanted to help!
You told me
one should keep their business to themselves.
Don't cause trouble to others.
A pack of osmanthus candy.
Two packs.
Deal!
I feel much better now.
It turns out Sui is worth only two packs of osmanthus candy.
Sui.
Here's some osmanthus candy.
It's delicious.
Don't eat so much candy.
Dinner is almost ready.
Got it.
Sui
Tang asked me to tell you that I want to drink mutton soup.
What else did he say?
He also said that Sui is worth two packs of osmanthus candy
which made him very happy.
Do you really want to drink mutton soup?
I do!
It's so good.
Finished.
One final touch.
You're so clever.
Say something nice again.
Say it.
It seems that the world peace is realized,
so you don't need to keep a watch on those dukes, ministers
and officials.
So you finally have the time to visit an old lady.
Your Majesty, that's not true.
You wouldn't come to me if you don't need anything from me.
Say it.
What is it?
Your Majesty.
A few days ago I
found something outside the palace.
I don't think it's appropriate to give it to anyone.
After I thought for a long time,
I decided Your Majesty should decide for me.
What is it that
you make it such a big deal?
Her Majesty is here!
What does she want?
Your Majesty.
As you were.
Noble Consort Wan,
I brought you some Xishan pears.
They are juicy and delicious.
You have to try it.
Thank you.
Tuanjin.
Get some pear syrup to make honey tea.
And bring some snacks.
Yes, Your Highness.
Mother, please take a seat.
OK.
Mother, why would you want to come here today?
What?
You don't welcome me to come for a casual chat?
Of course I do!
Why is it not welcome?
You and I are about the same age.
Are we are both the closest people to His Majesty.
We should have more contact.
You are quite right.
Speaking of which,
you and I were born in the same year of
the dog.
The next year is also the year of the dog.
Yes.
It's your birthday in about two weeks.
When someone gets old, she enjoys liveliness and people's company.
This time
I want to throw a proper birthday party.
We shall do as you wish.
But
I don't want to be extravagant either.
It'll be a casual gathering
of our family members.
Sure.
I will tell them to
find some interesting and exquisite dishes.
Speaking of exquisite,
cutlery is also an important part of the feast.
I remember the Imperial Pottery Factory
made a set of chicken cups.
Mother has a really good memory.
I want to use this set of chicken cups for my birthday feast.
So I was wondering if I can borrow them.
As long as Mother is happy, of course.
You shall not sound like strangers.
I will tell them to find them out
and send to your palace later.
I have nothing better to do today.
I can wait here for you to find them.
I will go back with the cups.
So I can save your people a trip.
Yes.
How is Tang Pan doing in Yunhe?
Did he make any progress?
There is no news yet.
Corruption has been a common phenomenon in silver mine area since ancient times.
Now the situations are complicated in Yunhe.
Tang Fan is too young.
I do worry if he can pull the job off.
Tang Fan is really talented.
But there are some mistakes
which are precisely only smart people will make.
About this,
I cannot say I am 100% sure.
Your Majesty.
Her Majesty just went to the palace of Noble Consort Wan.
How many times did I tell you?
You need to ask them to
take care and organize things in your palace.
Look.
You can't find them when you need them.
Your Majesty is right.
They are too precious so
I never took them out to use them.
After a long time
I can't remember where I put them.
It's all my fault.
Please forgive me.
Zhen'er, you don't have to apologize.
Since I gave them to you, they're yours.
Why did you blame yourself for that?
Thank you, Your Majesty.
In the future
I will take good care of things in my palace.
Ok.
In this case, I will go back first.
Mother, please don't get angry.
I will send them to you immediately after I find them.
They'll be on time for your birthday feast.
OK.
Mother, goodbye.
I thought it was something serious.
So all this is just about a set of cups?