Chapter 731: Swift Action

The 21st year of the Yongle era was the most transformative period for the Ming Dynasty. Campaigns against Mongolia in the north, pacification of Jiaozhi in the south, envoys traveling through the Western Regions, treasure ships setting sail for the Western Seas, and the construction of the Grand Canal leading to the relocation of the capital to Beijing—Emperor Zhu Di undertook numerous major initiatives, almost on par with the founding emperor Zhu Yuanzhang. At its core, this was because Emperor Zhu Di himself had risen from the status of a prince, possessing a drive for progress; even in times of peace, he never settled contentedly as an emperor in the palace. However, his decision to reopen the three major maritime administrations to welcome envoys from all nations was primarily to fulfill the desire for all countries to submit to him. Thus, he cared little whether the ships were merchant vessels or diplomatic ones—anyone who came to pay homage was generously rewarded.

This emphasis on prestige meant that the Guangzhou Maritime Administration, which had not yet opened its ports, saw little revenue during the Yongle era. Ivory, ambergris, and other goods collected as taxes were sent to the palace, while silk and porcelain from the Jiangnan region were continuously sent out as gifts. In comparison, more gifts were given out than received. As for trade in the markets, a tax rate of 30% was imposed.

Without real power, the maritime administrations could neither collect taxes nor take shares. Although the maritime offices nominally handled the goods sent to the palace, in practice they extorted huge sums from merchant traders. For merchant ships, only 40–50% of the collected taxes reached the court, while at least 10% ended up in the hands of eunuchs in charge of maritime affairs. Sometimes, merchant ships were even falsely declared as diplomatic vessels, turning ships loaded with worthless spices from Western countries into vessels carrying silk back home.

Desiring imperial rewards, ships from foreign nations dared to claim they were merchant vessels. During the Yongle era, especially from May to August when the trade winds were strong, the docks of the three major maritime administrations were filled with ships from various countries, presenting a vivid scene of nations coming to pay homage.

This time, having received advance information, the owners of the three Ceylon ships arrived here early from Huaiyuan Post Station. They were very puzzled by the sudden commotion at the docks and quickly asked the Han Chinese accompanying them. After understanding what was going on, seeing Zhang Qian and Zhang Yue approaching, they immediately showed their brightest smiles and bowed deeply.

Zhang Yue took in the three men. They were all dressed in splendid robes, wearing silk head coverings, with dark brown skin—typical South Asian appearances. After hearing them chatter in a language he didn’t understand, he was about to ask for an interpreter when Zhang Qian suddenly spoke a stream of foreign language. Immediately, the three foreigners across from him looked astonished; one gestured frantically as if explaining something, while the other two exchanged glances. At a critical moment, the gesturing man suddenly spoke broken but fairly fluent Chinese.

“They’re not Ceylonese envoys,” Zhang Qian said, understanding everything without needing an interpreter. He then turned to Zhang Yue and said, “You heard that. His Chinese is quite good—only those who come to the Ming Dynasty frequently can speak so fluently. As far as I know, Ceylon has been at war between the north and south. These two kings don’t even have time for war, so only merchants from the south come here repeatedly. That’s why the silk and porcelain given away by the court in Guangdong every year were sent to the wrong people.”

Zhang Yue saw the man in the middle looking bewildered. Just as he was about to speak, the man quickly put on a smiling face and handed over a bag. Zhang Qian took the bag, untied it, glanced inside, and took out a sapphire the size of a pigeon egg. With a sneer, he said, “When I went to Ceylon, your king once gave me a bag of gems to get an extra hundred pieces of porcelain. Among them were ten sapphires this size, twenty light purple rubies, and many other precious stones. Don’t treat me like some ignorant person from the past. I’ve been to the West, and all these things filled several large chests—just toys for children to play with on the ground.”

Seeing the three Ceylonese men look disappointed, Zhang Yue was glad that the palace had finally sent someone as experienced as Zhang Qian. He nodded and said, “In that case, levy taxes according to merchant ships’ standards. Ten percent on spices, five percent on dyed wood. Elephant ivory is taxed based on size, and other items like gems are taxed at one-tenth. Additionally, each ship must pay a tax of 300 guan.”

As soon as he finished speaking, eight middle-aged men in green cloth robes stepped forward. After bowing in greeting, they boarded the ship under the guidance of the interpreter. Although only one of them understood Mandarin, the other two also understood the meaning from the Chinese translator and began to shout. Zhang Yue could faintly hear a few Mandarin words, while Zhang Qian frowned. After standing for a while, he pulled Zhang Yue aside and signaled for the interpreter to come over.
“Did they just say that there are pirates at sea again?”
The interpreter had once been a translator at the Office for Managing Foreign Affairs and had accompanied Zhang Qian on missions to the West before. He nodded quickly after a moment of hesitation. “Your Excellency Zhang is right. They said that since the imperial fleet stopped sending treasure ships overseas, there have been more pirates in the Western islands. One of their merchant ships was robbed recently. They can accept the tax taken by the authorities, but they hope the Celestial Empire will ensure their safety at sea. If that’s possible, even if the empire continues to take taxes, they will still come.”
Zheng He’s sixth voyage to the West set out in the 19th year of the Yongle era but was ended early due to a fire in the three main halls. He returned to Liujiagang in the 20th year of Yongle. It had been three years since the empire last sent ships overseas. Zhang Qian glanced at Zhang Yue and said in a low voice, “If the West is indeed in such chaos, keeping sea routes open becomes a problem. Fortunately, Lord Zheng set out to Japan in the East last year. He was supposed to return in December, but his journey was delayed due to weather conditions and instability in Japan. However, he will surely return after winter this year. The Emperor once said that once Lord Zheng returns, he should rest briefly in Liujiagang, then board the repaired ships and set sail immediately for a patrol in the West, stopping at the ports of Guangzhou along the way.”
Zhang Yue, who already had an idea, thought for a moment before nodding. He then took the interpreter back to the three Ceylonese merchants and signaled for the interpreter to translate sentence by sentence: “The imperial treasure ships will soon set sail to the West again. They will surely eliminate those pirates. You can wait here for the trade winds to take you back, and the treasure ships will escort you home.”
Hearing this, the three merchants were overjoyed. The painful expressions caused by the taxes disappeared, and they bowed deeply in gratitude before rushing back to their ship. Assuming they wanted to argue with those eight men about the value of their goods and the amount of taxes to be taken, Zhang Yue ignored them and looked around the harbor.

“If it’s only ships arriving at the port, the current wharf is sufficient. But if we also consider ships departing for various places after setting sail, this place is far from enough. With disasters striking the surrounding areas, many people have lost their livelihoods due to submerged farmland. It’s a good opportunity to raise funds here to improve the port. Using labor as relief is better than feeding them thin porridge every day. Since Lord Zhang said the Maritime Administration can be placed under the jurisdiction of the Provincial Administration, I won’t hold back at all. That 5,000 taels of gold from Qin Huaijin can only last for a while; the rest can be obtained from the Maritime Administration…”

He paused, seeing Zhang Qian deep in thought, and then smiled, saying, “Of course, I’ll make it even more clever. Two-tenths tax on pepper, five-tenths tax on dyes like logwood—these will surely fill the warehouses. Right now, the imperial treasury already has so much logwood and pepper that it can be used to pay officials’ salaries, so there’s no need for these. But among the common people, they remain rare. The Provincial Administration can buy them at appropriate prices and sell them to merchants, using the profit to cover expenses for several months. By the time ships set sail in November and December, a tax can be imposed, and the remaining funds will solve the problem.”

“Additionally, among the three major Maritime Administrations, Ningbo is backed by the Jiangnan region and has an abundance of silk; Quanzhou has been the largest port since the Song and Yuan dynasties and is well-known overseas; porcelain and other goods are produced in the north, with Guangzhou having the longest journey to transport them. Silk and porcelain have inherent disadvantages, and tea is restricted by imperial edicts, making it less convenient compared to places like Jiangnan. After much consideration, I think it’s better to focus on weaving, dyeing, and embroidery skills. Once trade resumes, there will be plenty of dyes like logwood. As for embroidery workers, we can hire skilled ones from places like Suzhou and Hangzhou at high prices, or train apprentices locally. This way, the silk sent overseas can be sold at higher prices. Moreover, the waters near Guangzhou are wide and deep, and it’s closest to Western countries—a favorable wind journey to Champa takes only four days and nights. If Lord Zheng really leads the treasure ships southward, it would be perfect to sell goods to those Western countries…”

Knowing well that the prosperity of Guangzhou in later generations was due to its being one of the few remaining Maritime Administrations, allowing it to thrive during the Ming and Qing dynasties, Zhang Yue naturally understood that Guangzhou had no significant advantage over Ningbo and Quanzhou. Thus, he had thought carefully for a long time and spoke at length. Finally, he smiled at Zhang Qian and said, “Guangdong is only mid-to-low ranking among the Provincial Administrations. If it can improve under my leadership, that would be my greatest wish. Since Lord Zhang has come, don’t blame me for using your protection.”

“Look what you say. Don’t I also want a good reputation? If I can earn the praise of the people, that will be enough for me!”
The two exchanged smiles, and Zhang Yue then headed to the row of straight buildings at the dock. Since Zhang Qian had dismissed all the staff working there first, the place was now completely empty. With a gesture from Zhang Yue, five or six men in brown short shirts hurried over, knelt down in unison, and then remained silent on their knees. One of them kept sneaking glances at Zhang Qian.
Although he was a legitimate official of the Maritime Administration, since the imperial eunuch in charge of maritime affairs had arrived, they could no longer approach this dock. Yet now, despite breaking this long-standing rule and entering here, he still felt uneasy. Earlier, some people had said that Zhang Qian appeared very gentle and refined when sending envoys abroad from Guangzhou, and he had believed it. But now, with Qin Huaijin dead right after his arrival and Zhang Qian immediately dismissing the long-serving officials at the dock, he realized Zhang Qian was a ruthless man! So why did this new imperial eunuch bring the governor to witness this display of power and include him as well?
“Official Guan Jin of the Maritime Administration, report.”
At that moment, he suddenly heard a harsh voice. Startled, he hurriedly replied, “I am here.”
“From today onward, this dock will be jointly governed by the Maritime Administration and the Maritime Office. It is your responsibility as the Maritime Administration to verify the authenticity of the envoys’ documents. In short, if any fake envoy ships appear here or if trade takes place without proper taxation, it will be your responsibility to deal with it!”
Looking up at Zhang Yue’s stern expression, Official Guan Jin became confused and took some time before hastily responding. But as soon as he did, someone beside him spoke up, “This goes against the rules! This dock has always been under the jurisdiction of the Maritime Office. Since when has it become the Maritime Administration’s responsibility? Even if Lord Zhang is the governor, he cannot overstep his authority to manage matters at this dock. This should be decided by Lord Zhang the Eunuch.”
“Against the rules?” Zhang Yue suddenly turned his head. Seeing that the man did not avoid his gaze, he asked Guan Jin, “Is this man from the Maritime Administration?”
Guan Jin was startled. He glanced at the man and quickly lowered his head, saying, “Your Excellency, he is not from the Maritime Administration. He is the dock master, having held the position for over a decade, in charge of all matters related to ships entering and leaving the dock.”

“The Maritime Trade Office is under the jurisdiction of the Provincial Administration. How could this office overstep its authority? Which article or clause in the Great Ming laws states that the Provincial Administration cannot oversee the Maritime Trade Office, or that the latter cannot manage the local foreigner docks? As for you, so-called supervisor, do you have an imperial appointment or any official document?”
Seeing the supervisor stunned, Guan Jin felt a sense of schadenfreude and quickly interjected, “Your Excellency, this is merely a practice that has been in place at the Huangpu Town docks for over a decade. In truth, he has no official appointment. It’s just that he is familiar with the local merchants and knows a few foreign languages, which is why they can’t do without him at the docks…”
“Can’t do without him? The docks suffer significant losses every year. What exactly has this so-called indispensable supervisor done? Bring him out!”
At Zhang Yue’s command, the officials from the Provincial Administration’s office were momentarily stunned before becoming excited. Two of them immediately stepped forward to drag the man away. At first, the man kept shouting for Lord Zhang, but later, either his mouth was covered or he was beaten unconscious, and no sound came from him anymore. Then, Zhang Yue casually ordered Guan Jin and the others to get back to work before turning his attention elsewhere. On the other side of the dock, a group of well-dressed merchants had appeared at some point. Standing there under the scorching sun, their faces shone brightly.
Zhang Qian waved his hand, and a young eunuch quickly stepped forward and bowed. After thinking for a moment, he calmly ordered, “Go tell them not to bother knocking on the doors of the Maritime Trade Office. In ten days, whether they are sea merchants or land merchants, Lord Zhang and I will be waiting for them at the Caiyun Tower in town. If they still intend to engage in this business, they must not forget to come. I know that the merchants here are not only from Guangdong but also from Anhui and Fujian. But no matter who they are, they must abide by the government’s laws! Don’t think that having some backing will protect them—in this world, no backing is stronger than that of the emperor!”
Hearing Zhang Qian’s firm tone, Zhang Yue couldn’t help but smile slightly. As the saying goes, the emperor is far away. If one judged such a person based on Zhang Qian’s past actions, those people would suffer greatly. After all, during Zhang Fu’s serious illness, it was his first encounter with Zhang Qian, and his strongest impression of him was his sense of responsibility. Such a person certainly wasn’t someone who would idle away his position.