Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 1265 Taking office
"The River Conservancy Governor?"

Yan Yingyuan rushed back to the yamen from the dock, received the imperial edict, and after arranging for the envoy to go and rest, Yan Yingyuan held the imperial edict in his hand, deep in thought.

He never expected that he would suddenly be promoted, and in such a rapid and dramatic way.

Not only was he promoted from Prefect of Fuzhou to Vice Minister of Works and concurrently Right Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, but he also temporarily served as the Director-General of the Yellow River Conservancy of the Ming Dynasty, a position of the second rank! He was definitely a powerful regional official.

Yan Yingyuan, who was born into a family of scholars, never imagined that he could become such a high-ranking official. In his opinion, it was already an exception that he could become the prefect of Fuzhou. You should know that the position of prefect, a fourth-rank official, is the ceiling that most scholars who have passed the imperial examination can never reach in their lifetime. But he got the position by chance.

In Yan Yingyuan's view, he would probably only be a prefect in his life, and the possibility of being promoted again was very small. At most, he could wait to serve a few terms as a prefect, accumulate merits, and then be promoted one level, becoming a provincial inspector of the third rank, or being transferred to one of the six ministries.

But unexpectedly, the emperor suddenly issued an imperial edict, promoting him to the rank of third grade official and temporarily appointing him as the second grade river governor. If this had happened to someone else, they would probably have been overjoyed, but Yan Yingyuan remained calm, knowing that this promotion was not as simple as he had imagined.

"Congratulations, sir! Congratulations, sir!" Seeing Yan Yingyuan standing there in a daze, the others thought he had gone crazy with joy and hurriedly stepped forward to congratulate him.

After all, there were countless prefects of the fourth rank throughout the Ming Dynasty, but there was only one position as the Grand Canal Commissioner, and it was a second-rank official post. Yan Yingyuan's meteoric rise shows he is favored by the Emperor! At this rate of promotion, he might even enter the central cabinet in ten years. Shouldn't we curry favor with such a superior now, or wait until he leaves Fuzhou?

Coming to his senses, Yan Yingyuan smiled faintly, bowed to his colleagues in thanks, exchanged a few polite words, and then excused himself, saying he needed to hand over his official duties as soon as possible and head north to take up his new post. His colleagues didn't mind; they had clearly heard the imperial decree being read aloud. The court required Yan Yingyuan to travel north immediately after receiving the decree, so he couldn't hand over his duties as usual. He had to transfer all official matters to the assistant prefect before departing.

After everyone else left, Yan Yingyuan summoned his subordinates and gave them instructions before beginning the handover process. Meanwhile, Yan Yingyuan was also pondering the implications of this appointment. Although he was in Fuzhou, he knew about the Yellow River breach in Huaibei. The imperial reports clearly stated that the Yellow River had breached its banks in many places in Huaibei not long ago, causing heavy losses. It seemed that the court was determined to vigorously manage the floods this time, which was why they re-established the position of River Conservancy Governor and appointed him, Yan Yingyuan, to this post.

But these are just the surface; there is some deeper, unknown information. Don't forget that Yan Yingyuan once served as a clerk in Jiangyin. Although Jiangyin is on the Yangtze River, it is not far from Huaibei, and both places belong to Southern Zhili. When Yan Yingyuan was serving in Jiangyin, he vaguely mentioned some things concerning the Yellow River in the north to people traveling between the north and south. Of course, at that time, he only heard it briefly and did not pay attention to it, but now, thinking back, he feels that it is not so simple.

This sudden promotion by the imperial court, placing him in such an important position, suggests that the role of River Conservancy Governor-General will not be easy. However, Yan Yingyuan showed no sign of backing down; on the contrary, he was quite eager to try. In his view, the more challenging the work, the more interested he became. Moreover, the main responsibility of the River Conservancy Governor-General was river management, a beneficial undertaking for the country and its people. How could a mere scholar like himself be worthy of such a great responsibility? Regardless, he had to give it a try. If he could manage the Yellow River well and eliminate its troubles, then his lifelong ambition would not have been in vain.

After spending several days handing over all his work to the assistant magistrate, Yan Yingyuan did not leave office in a grand manner as everyone had expected. Instead, he quietly left half a day early. The reason for this was that Yan Yingyuan did not intend to be too ostentatious or cause more trouble for the local people. During his years in Fuzhou, he had done practical things and achieved remarkable political results without ever disturbing the people. Now that he was leaving, it was even less likely that he would go against his original intention of becoming an official.

And so, before anyone could react, and before some were even preparing to send off Yan Yingyuan on his journey north, Yan Yingyuan had already departed. He carried very little with him, only two old servants, some ordinary luggage and books. Moreover, he did not travel by land; he quietly left from the dock on a merchant ship heading north. By the time everyone learned that Yan Yingyuan had left, it was too late. As soon as the ship carrying Yan Yingyuan left the dock, countless people rushed over, their expressions filled with emotion as they knelt in the direction the ship had gone. Many were moved to tears, sincerely grateful for Lord Yan's achievements and hard work in Fuzhou over the years.

Yan Yingyuan witnessed the scene at the dock clearly from the ship, and his heart was filled with the same emotions. He waved goodbye to the elders in silence, and only after the ship left the harbor, set sail northward, and the dock grew farther and farther away, and the figures on the shore gradually disappeared, did Yan Yingyuan turn his gaze to the north.

The sea route was the fastest; traveling north from Fuzhou to Laideng in Shandong by sea took only six days. Upon landing in Laideng, Yan Yingyuan didn't linger. He borrowed a horse from the post station, leaving his servant behind to wait in Jining, while he rode lightly towards the capital. Two days later, a weary traveler, Yan Yingyuan arrived in the capital and immediately submitted a memorial to the palace. The emperor promptly issued an edict ordering Yan Yingyuan to enter the palace for an audience the next morning. After resting for a night, Yan Yingyuan washed and changed clothes the next day and went to the Forbidden City early. At the palace gate, he presented his official credentials and the waist token given to him by the eunuch the previous day, and entered the palace smoothly. He was then led to a side hall of the Qianqing Palace, where he met Emperor Zhu Shenzhui.

What the emperor and Yan Yingyuan discussed in the side hall, and the specific details of how Yan Yingyuan met with the emperor, are unknown to outsiders. However, it is known that Yan Yingyuan stayed in the Qianqing Palace for more than an hour. It is rare for a foreign official to meet with the emperor for so long, which shows the emperor's high regard for Yan Yingyuan.

When Yan Yingyuan left the Qianqing Palace, his eyes were filled with excitement, yet also with a hint of solemnity, and his steps were even more resolute. As he left the palace, Yan Yingyuan couldn't help but turn back and glance in the direction of the Qianqing Palace, clenching his hands tightly before striding away. He then went to the Ministry of Works and the Censorate, followed by the Ministry of War and the General Staff Office. Half a month later, Yan Yingyuan set off from the capital. However, unlike when he arrived, he left with a large entourage. While the others were unremarkable, a well-trained and fully armed contingent of military officers was particularly conspicuous. Unlike ordinary regional officials who travel by sedan chair, Yan Yingyuan rode on horseback, just as he had arrived. The group hurriedly exited the city gates and headed directly east.

"Your Majesty, Yan Yingyuan has already left the capital." In a side hall of the Qianqing Palace, Lu Jiude came in from outside and reported softly.

"Oh, you left so quickly? I originally thought it would be a few more days," Zhu Shenzhui said unexpectedly.

"Your Majesty, this is a memorial that Yan Yingyuan entrusted to you before he left." Lu Jiude said, handing over a memorial.

Zhu Shenzhui took the document and opened it. Inside was Yan Yingyuan's farewell message to the emperor. Yan explained that he needed to immediately assume his post due to matters concerning the river works, and thanked the emperor, the cabinet, and the six ministries for their support, which enabled him to complete everything in a short time and smoothly take up his post. Furthermore, Yan told the emperor that he would arrive in Jining as soon as possible to establish the river management office, and would personally lead a team south to Huaibei to conduct an on-site inspection to understand the actual situation of the Yellow River breach. He would then meet with the imperial envoy sent by the court to discuss follow-up work, and so on.

As for other matters, Yan Yingyuan didn't say much, only mentioning at the end that he would report all progress to the emperor in a timely manner.

Yan Yingyuan's writing style was ordinary, and his memorial did not contain any flowery language. His sentences were simple and straightforward. Such a memorial would naturally be considered vulgar by a genuine Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations), but Zhu Shenzhui was very satisfied with it.

It seems that employing Yan Yingyuan was the right choice. He is indeed a man of action. Now, he hopes that Yan Yingyuan can achieve results in his position as Governor-General of the Yellow River and solve the Yellow River flood problem. If he can really do this, then Zhu Shenzhui will definitely not treat Yan Yingyuan unfairly. Not to mention a substantive second-rank position in the future, allowing Yan Yingyuan to truly become Governor-General of the Yellow River, it is even possible for him to advance further in the future, enter the Six Ministries as a minister or even join the cabinet.

The Ming Dynasty never lacked officials, but it lacked people who were both capable and courageous in doing things, and Yan Yingyuan was precisely such an official.

On Yan Yingyuan's way to Jining, the three prefectures and seven counties of Huaibei finally launched an operation. That day, the police suddenly began their work across the region, arresting 139 people, from prefects to low-ranking officials. And that wasn't all; nearly 300 local gentry, powerful families, and official households were also apprehended. Furthermore, 74 people from the Nanjing Ministry of Works, the Left and Right Councilors' Offices, the Yingtian Prefectural Government, and even other government offices were summoned for questioning. In total, over 500 people were rounded up. In addition, dozens more in the capital were implicated and imprisoned in the Three Judicial Offices' prison. Panic and fear gripped the people.

So many people were arrested at once, but that wasn't all. As the trial began, many more were implicated. These included officials who had been promoted, transferred to other places, or even retired to their hometowns. Of course, there were also officials who had passed away. The latter could not be dealt with and had to be put on hold. But as long as they were alive, they were arrested one by one. In the blink of an eye, prisons across the country were overflowing with people, and when the news spread, everyone was in a state of fear.

In less than a month, the initial five hundred-plus people drastically increased to over two thousand, an astonishing number. And this wasn't even the final figure. According to the interrogations of those arrested earlier, the case was becoming increasingly complex and far-reaching. If things continued this way, more and more people would be implicated, and no one could predict the final outcome.

(End of this chapter)