Without money, what is the point of being a traitor?

Chapter 675 The Strategy Has Been Decided
During the subsequent court discussion, neither Yang Tinghe nor Yang Yiqing spoke, and the entire process was led by Lu Wan, the Minister of War.

Yang Yiqing remained silent, naturally because Bian Xian, whom he had recommended, had been implicated in a scandal.

Even if Bian Xian is caught in a trap, it doesn't matter. He's not even wet his shoes yet; he's not deeply involved.

Instead of foolishly trying to fix things and getting yourself into a deeper mess, it's better to observe first.

As for Yang Tinghe, he had already seen the next level and knew that whether he intervened or not, the result would be the same.

The only person who could go to Shandong to clean up the mess was Wang Chang, the Shandong governor who was full of suspicion.

Before the "Zhang Feng case," the "assassination of the Imperial Censorate," and many other recent major cases, Wang Chang had already been summoned back to the Censorate by the court for indiscriminate attacks.

He was like a perfectly chosen person who had been pre-programmed to be the one to end things.

Not only was he completely clean and untainted, but he also distanced himself from most of the officials in Shandong by impeaching them.

If this series of cases were false accusations or frame-ups, then the imperial court could certainly question Wang Chang's motives.

But when everything has happened and it's all true, is there anything wrong with Wang Chang's actions?
Regarding the doubts surrounding Wang Chang, the easiest conclusion has been reached.

As an experienced bureaucrat, he sensed something was wrong and immediately reported it to the court, thus extricating himself from the situation. This was the most reasonable course of action.

Therefore, given the possibility that the vassal kings might rebel and that local officials might become their henchmen, Wang Chang, who was the first to become aware of the situation and alert the court, was naturally the most suitable candidate.

Moreover, Yang Tinghe glanced at Yang Yiqing without saying a word.

If Yang Yiqing chooses to cut his losses and Yang Tinghe doesn't get involved, then the initiative will automatically fall to Lu Wan, the Minister of War, who is most closely related to this matter.

Since Lu Wan became Minister of War, he has been subjected to all sorts of underhanded tactics and conspiracies.

In this situation, Lu Wan urgently needs to find a political solution.

Wang Chang was the one who fared best among Liu Jin's remnants.

Wang Chang wisely relinquished his position as Grand Minister of the Seven Ministries and retreated to Nanjing. He then relinquished his position as Minister of War in Nanjing and went to Shandong to serve as Governor.

Everyone could see that Wang Chang was seeking a smooth landing, so they didn't make things too difficult for him.

However, Wang Chang only chickened out, he didn't die.

As long as Lu Wan is willing to come out and support him, Wang Chang is an excellent person to win over.

Therefore, whether Yang Tinghe participated or not, the outcome was already predetermined.

Why bother participating?
As Yang Tinghe was pondering this, he heard Lu Wan loudly proclaim to the crowd, "The matter in Shandong is far-reaching and of great importance. In this selection of candidates, I intend to recommend Wang Chang, the governor of Shandong, to preside over this matter."

"Firstly, Wang Chang is the governor of Shandong, so his position is legitimate. Secondly, Wang Chang had already noticed something amiss and actively sided with the court, so his stance is reliable."

Lu Wan spoke slowly, observing the other people's attitudes as he spoke.

Seeing that no one objected, he boldly pushed his luck and said, "I think we should settle on this?"

After finishing speaking, he added, as if to make amends, "Do you guys think we still need to know how to promote?"

The other eight members of the Standing Committee glanced at him sideways upon hearing this, but remained silent.

Wang Chang is indeed a very good candidate.

The rank of Right Vice Censor-in-Chief, a second-rank official, is already quite high. If this position is not enough, then only one person can be selected from the "Nine Officials" or the "Three Academicians of the Inner Cabinet" to handle this case.

Who among those present would want to get involved in a mess related to the prince? Moreover, if things weren't handled properly, they could easily offend a large number of Shandong officials.

They have little room for improvement, and the potential gains from taking risks are almost zero, making it a completely unprofitable endeavor.

However, even so, Lu Wan, you're very arrogant.

In the end, it was Li Shishi, the Left Censor-in-Chief, who stepped in to smooth things over, saying, "We have no objections, so let Wang Chang go to Shandong as soon as possible to take over Bian Xian's post."

After saying that, he asked again, "What about Xian over there? Should we go back to Beijing to inquire first, or stay in Shandong to wait for the progress of the trial?"

Upon hearing this, everyone tacitly looked at Yang Yiqing.

Yang Yiqing was quite responsible. Even though he knew it was wrong to get involved, he still protected Bian Xian, saying, "Bian Xian has just been appointed Right Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, a second-rank official. How can he be tried in a local area?"

"Let him return to the capital immediately to face questioning from the Ministry of Justice. The Court of Judicial Review can also participate in the trial."

Lu Wan immediately looked at Zhang Zilin, the Minister of Justice, and asked, "What did the Ministry of Justice say?"

Zhang Zilin proactively stated, "The Ministry of Justice will naturally handle this impartially."

Yang Yiqing had no objection to this.

Although Zhang Zilin had received guidance from Yang Tinghe, he also had a decent relationship with Yang Yiqing. When Zhang Zilin's father died, Yang Yiqing helped write the epitaph.

Being impartial does not necessarily mean being selfless.

It's simply a way to strike a balance and avoid offending either side.

Lu Wan added, "As for other aspects, we can send more personnel from the Xuzhou and Yingzhou military command posts. With three military command posts in the north and two in the south, even if something unexpected happens in Shandong, we can control the trouble in time."

After everyone finished discussing, Fei Hong stepped forward to draft the proposal.

Lu Yin, who had been listening in, did not use his seal directly. Instead, he smiled and said, "Since we are about to resort to force, it would be best to inform His Majesty first."

These words were spoken by Eunuch Lu, who had rendered meritorious service in suppressing the rebellion and whose battle record was verifiable.

So despite the urgency of the situation, everyone had no choice but to accept this course of action.

Lu Yin then took the memorials from Shandong, along with the draft proposals from the cabinet, and went to the Yongshou Earl's residence to find Zhu Houzhao, who was actively training troops.

Zhu Houzhao was putting on his armor and riding his horse when he saw Lu Yin coming over. He knew that the matter in Shandong had been resolved.

He gestured for his men to stay at a distance, and then rode over on horseback.

Lu Yin immediately bowed, and Zhu Houzhao waved away the others before asking Lu Yin indifferently, "How is it?"

Lu Yin hurriedly handed the following memorials to Zhu Houzhao, saying, "Your Majesty, these are memorials from Shandong. They detail what they have found this month. Every single one of them is shocking."

Zhu Houzhao took it from his horse and casually flipped through it.

Lu Yin continued at the opportune moment, "Today, the officials discussed the matter in court and largely adopted the view from Shandong. We have already sent Wang Chang, the governor of Shandong, south to investigate the matter, and we have also ordered the military commissioners of Xuzhou and Yingzhou to send additional personnel."

Zhu Houzhao was looking at the contents of the memorials when he smiled enigmatically and said, "You've largely accepted it? Then it seems to be true?"

Zhu Houzhao's gaze swept past the matters concerning Prince De and the Shandong officials' cover-up of him, focusing instead on the glaring phrase "Purge the Emperor's inner circle, support the virtuous prince," followed by the reports of Shandong officials protecting the powerful and accomplices of the Bazhou bandits, and the previous incident where local officials like Bian Xian stood idly by while the Bazhou bandits attacked various prefectures and counties. He also read about Prince De's order for his men to collude with the Bazhou bandits to attack Dongchang Prefecture and seize the horse-breeding land of the Han commoners. Zhu Houzhao's expression remained indifferent.

When they turned to the last document, it contained the very thing that Zhu Houzhao was most concerned about: the matter of the Prince of De's heir spreading Zheng Wang's seditious rumors in Shandong.

Zhu Houzhao clenched his teeth after reading the first page. Then, he continued to turn the pages and saw something different from Zheng Wang's previous seditious words in this more complete version.

Besides stating that Zhu Houzhao was the son of a palace maid named Zheng and had no blood relation with the Empress Dowager, the text also deliberately mentions that the Empress Dowager cherished her younger brother far more than her adopted son, which can be seen as evidence.

The rumors even detailed how the Empress Dowager had repeatedly pressured the Emperor over the years in order to exonerate the two marquises of the Zhang family.

Zhu Houzhao's forehead veins throbbed as he read this; only he knew the true feelings he was experiencing.

After a long while, he stuffed the memorial into his bosom and threw the rest of the memorials back to Lu Yin.

Lu Yin hurriedly bent down and collected the memorials.

Just as he was about to get up, Zhu Houzhao said calmly, "What do you think of the situation in Shandong?"

Lu Yin hesitated for a moment before saying, "The officials have already reached a conclusion. This old servant has another copy in hand, which is the draft of the cabinet."

Zhu Houzhao said impatiently, "I'm asking you!"

Lu Yin hurriedly knelt down to beg for forgiveness.

Zhu Houzhao asked casually, "Do you think my great-uncle really wants to rebel, or is it that the officials are deliberately framing him to cut off the wings of my Zhu family?"

Lu Yin's answer this time was straightforward: "Since the Yongle reign, there has never been a saying that the imperial family uses vassal kings as their wings."

Zhu Yuanzhang was naturally very good to his own sons, and when he enfeoffed them in various places, he did indeed have the idea of ​​using these princes as wings of the Ming Dynasty.

However, ever since the Yongle Emperor's Jingnan Rebellion, not only has the imperial court not had this idea, but even the local princes themselves dare not even think about it.

Zhu Houzhao snorted coldly after hearing Lu Yin's words and said, "You're quite honest."

Upon hearing this, Lu Yin paused for a moment before replying respectfully, "This servant is not a former servant of His Majesty's former residence. His Majesty has placed me in this position solely based on my meager abilities."

"Whatever Your Majesty asks, and whatever this servant has learned, I should naturally tell Your Majesty without reservation."

"This is precisely the meaning of my serving Your Majesty."

Zhu Houzhao's mood improved upon hearing this, and he praised Lu Yin, saying, "Well said."

He added, "I have nothing to hide. Although Liu Jin, Zhang Yong, Gu Dayong and others are close to me, they are more trouble than they are worth."

"The reason I have appointed you, my father's old ministers, is because you have more experience and are more organized in handling various matters."

Zhu Houzhao recalled and said to Lu Yin, "You used to work in the Imperial Horse Administration, and later went to the Northwest to serve as the garrison eunuch. During the restoration of Hami Kingdom, you fought alongside the army, riding across the Gobi Desert, which can be considered meritorious. Afterwards, you went to Xuanfu to oversee the situation for several years. Later, through Xiao Jing's recommendation, you returned to the palace to work in the Directorate of Ceremonial."

"If I had known you had such ability and qualifications, why would I have appointed that useless Gu Dayong to oversee military affairs?"

"Fortunately, you finally showed your talent and stood out from the crowd, and together with Bai Yu, you fought a brilliant battle."

"I noticed you back then and learned about your past. After appointing you as the Eunuch in charge of military affairs, I became even more determined to select a group of talented people from among the palace officials."

"You're right, what I want is your ability."

"You don't need to act like the other palace maids, being obsequious. If you have any good ideas, feel free to speak your mind."

Upon hearing Zhu Houzhao's words, Lu Yin, if he had not already witnessed the man's cunning and the ruthlessness of the imperial family, would probably have been somewhat swayed at this moment.

Lu Yin immediately feigned a state of utmost fear and trepidation.

After Zhu Houzhao reassured him again, Lu Yin said, "In my opinion, Prince De is already old and may not have such rebellious thoughts. It's just that Prince De's heir is young and vigorous, and may have some ambitions that he shouldn't have."

Zhu Houzhao was seen pondering there.

Lu Yin decided to be more direct: "De Fan is very close to the capital. If there is any sudden change, it can be swept over. Regardless of whether De Fan has such ambitions, since he has such capabilities, he is already unacceptable to the court."

Zhu Houzhao chuckled after hearing this, and after a long while, he sighed, "This is what they mean by 'a common man is innocent, but possessing a treasure is a crime.'"

But Lu Yin said unhurriedly, "Your Majesty, this old servant does not believe so."

Zhu Houzhao was not angry upon hearing this, and said, "Then tell me."

Lu Yin said in a deep voice, "This principle is not only understood by His Majesty, but also by this old servant and Prince De."

"If that's the case, why is Prince De still cultivating his power base, winning over officials, colluding with rebels, and raising horses?"

"Your Majesty, please consider this."

"Is this jade disc something that Prince De can tuck into his bosom?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Houzhao's previously relaxed expression turned serious again.

Lu Yin continued unhurriedly, “The Prince of De stuffed the jade that he shouldn’t have touched into his own pocket. How can he be considered innocent? In this old servant’s opinion, there’s no need to wait for the investigation results from Shandong. Your Majesty should deal with the Prince of De decisively now.”

Zhu Houzhao looked at Lu Yin with some surprise.

He thought for a moment and then asked, "What about those Shandong officials? Will they also be dealt with?"

Lu Yin didn't mince words and offered his own perspective: "Even this old servant understands these principles clearly, so how could those officials not?"

"They watched helplessly as Prince De's power expanded step by step under their rule, and he began to harbor inappropriate thoughts. Instead of questioning him, they even helped cover up when Prince De's heir slandered the emperor."

"Can we say they are innocent?"

When Zhu Houzhao heard Lu Yin mention the rumors, he could no longer contain his anger.

Having made up his mind, Zhu Houzhao turned to Lu Yin and said calmly, "What do you think about those rumors?"

Lu Yin, who had been fearless in showing his abilities just moments before, fell silent.

Zhu Houzhao asked curiously, "I'm asking you a question, why won't you answer?"

Lu Yin hesitated for a moment before saying, "Your Majesty, Zheng Wang's nonsense is certainly not worth refuting. But if we consider the specifics of this case..."

Zhu Houzhao frowned and asked, "What?"

Lu Yin slowly said, "Specifically regarding this case, we need to ask His Majesty what he thinks, the Empress Dowager what she thinks, and the two Marquises of Zhang what they think."

(End of this chapter)