Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 742 The Best Way

Fengtian Temple.

The court meeting is in progress.

Zhang Luan is still not here, but the discussion about making Li Zisheng return the stolen goods continues to ferment.

According to the plan, Li Zisheng was to return to the city that day. Therefore, in the eyes of the court officials, the case of Li Zisheng had reached a point where it had to be brought up. So even though Zhu Youcheng tried to avoid the topic of Li Zisheng, he was still constantly mentioned, and people even named him and refused to compromise.

"...Your Majesty, the previous case concerning Li Zisheng's sale of official positions has been substantiated. No fewer than three hundred people in the court have reported and exposed him, and his alleged treasonous plots, including those related to changing the heir apparent, have been uncovered! Li Zisheng's audacity is outrageous; he even conspired with Liang Fang and others to depose the emperor. His actions are truly audacious and his crimes are heinous..."

The person who put forward this view was none other than the Grand Secretary Liu Ji.

At this point, Liu Ji probably realized that he had not cooperated with the emperor to carry the sedan chair for the Zhang family father and son... He had neither helped the Zhang family father and son obtain a title nor helped Zhang Luan enter the cabinet. If the emperor held a grudge and punished him, he would need to have enough prestige to suppress the emperor's intentions. In this way, he would have to make the court feel that he was a righteous minister and that everyone should do their best to protect him.

When he stepped forward to expose Li Zisheng's numerous crimes, Zhu Youcheng remained indifferent, his expression unchanged.

Many ministers present were puzzled.

Liu Ji, you say that Li Zisheng is corrupt and lawless, and we all believe it because many of us have given him gifts, been coerced by him, and been repeatedly suppressed by him in terms of official positions.

But you say he plotted to depose the emperor...

Involving the crown prince is just too absurd.
Everyone knows that when the current emperor was still the Crown Prince, he only managed to retain his position thanks to the strong support of Zhang Luan and Li Zisheng. Who would believe you if you rashly overturned this established understanding?
Li Rong, who was standing to the side, noticed the emperor's impatience and stepped forward to ask, "Grand Secretary Liu, do you have conclusive evidence that Li Zisheng is plotting a rebellion? This is a matter of life and death, and cannot be based on mere conjecture. If you have evidence, why not report it to the Ministry of Justice? The Embroidered Uniform Guard will also investigate the reasons behind it."

Liu Ji said, "I have compiled the conclusive evidence, along with some evidence of his collusion with Liang Fang, and present it here for Your Majesty's perusal."

At this moment, Li Rong could only turn to look at Zhu Youcheng, as if seeking instructions.

Although we all know that Your Majesty is reluctant to punish Li Zisheng, after all, Li Zisheng is a trusted man of your father-in-law Zhang, sometimes we still have to listen to the opinions of our subordinates, especially when they say that the evidence is conclusive.

This involves a major case of treason; there's no reason not to investigate it.

Zhu Youcheng gestured, and Li Rong then stepped down the jade steps and brought back to the throne a memorial that Liu Ji had taken out of his bosom.

He was about to present it to Zhu Youcheng, but Zhu Youcheng waved his hand and pointed to the side, meaning to put it aside for now and look at it later.

Liu Ji, with his neck stiff, said, "Your Majesty, Li Zisheng harbors wolfish ambitions and must be guarded against. Today, he has returned to the capital, and we should arrest and thoroughly investigate him."

"Your Majesty, what do you think...?"

Li Rong continued to seek instructions.

Zhu Youcheng nodded: "Then go and investigate. After Li Zisheng enters the city, you will personally lead a team to investigate and make sure to produce a convincing result."

"Yes."

Li Rong bowed his head and accepted the order.

Although the retirement of Inner Chancellor Huai En has not yet been formally confirmed, the duties of Li Rong and Qin Ji have been redistributed.

Qin Ji was originally appointed as the temporary supervisor of the Eastern Depot, succeeding Qin Chang. He was simply handing the job over to Li Rong, while Qin Ji himself was responsible for the daily affairs of the Directorate of Ceremonial.

……

……

The meeting is over.

The ministers said nothing more.

Perhaps Liu Ji's accusations against Li Zisheng were too serious, making it difficult for others to even ask him to return the ill-gotten gains.

No crime is more serious than treason.
After watching the ministers leave, Li Rong composed himself, led his men out of the palace, went to the Northern Garrison Office, found Zhu Ji, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and informed him about the matter of arresting Li Zisheng and bringing him to justice.

"Is it before or after entering the city?"

Zhu Ji was quite surprised.

On the one hand, they wanted to create momentum for Li Zisheng's entry into the city, making people feel that Li Zisheng was a meritorious official of the court, and even mobilized the people to go and watch.

On the one hand, he was leading men to capture Li Zisheng?
Li Rong said, "To prevent them from suddenly causing trouble after entering the city with their men, you will take some men and accompany us out of the city to help them enter. If anything unexpected happens along the way..."

There's no need to be too explicit.

The message was to tell Zhu Ji that their mission was to escort Li Zisheng into the city.

Zhu Ji asked, "After the arrest, will they be sent to the Ministry of Justice prison or the Northern Garrison Prison?"

"This one……"

Li Rong suddenly realized that the emperor was very impatient at the time and only gave brief instructions. No one with the authority to speak, like Huai En, had given him clear instructions.

This was Li Rong's first time handling a case as the head of the Eastern Depot's eunuch department.

The person arrested was Li Zisheng, a figure of great importance in the court and at the forefront of the power struggle among various factions.

One wrong move and you could fall from grace as soon as you've taken office.

Li Rong said, "First, take the man to a private place and put him under house arrest. Don't let him enter the Northern Garrison Command's office..."

At this moment, Li Rong also realized that if he imprisoned someone as resilient as Li Zisheng, it would be tantamount to offending Zhang Luan and possibly the emperor.

The best course of action would be to give Li Zi Province some preferential treatment first, conduct a brief investigation, and then wait and see how the political winds blow in the court. After all, the charge of treason is too far-fetched, and he will probably be sentenced to return the stolen goods in the end.

Zhu Ji bowed and said, "This humble servant will prepare the manpower immediately."

Li Rong advised: "In front of outsiders, do not make any overly aggressive moves, especially in front of ordinary people. Treat us as if we are there to welcome and escort him along the way... Once we have gone through the streets and alleys to a deserted place, then detain him and escort him to a temporary detention facility."

"Yes."

Zhu Ji was very familiar with this method of secret detention, so he quickly went to arrange for his men and prepare a place to hold the prisoners.

……

……

At noon that day.

Li Zisheng and his entourage slowly approached Xizhimen, the capital city.

In fact, if Li Zisheng really wanted to rush into the city, he could have done so a few days earlier. The journey from Juyong Pass to the capital, which should have taken a day, took him five or six days. Along the way, he had to meet with Zhang Yanling, wait for Zhu Hui to escort the Tatar prisoners and their heads to arrive, and wait for the imperial decree to arrange when he could enter the city...

In short, Li Zisheng did not need to rush back to the capital to report. Instead, he waited patiently outside the capital, waiting for the emperor to tell him when to enter the city.

When he saw the magnificent city gate tower of Xizhimen, he was still somewhat bewildered.

Just then, Duke Zhang Mao of England arrived with a portion of the Beijing garrison to receive the Tatar prisoners and their heads, along with a large contingent of the Imperial Guards.

Li Zisheng had initially thought that the emperor himself had come to the city gate to welcome him into the city, and he was excited about it for a long time. However, when he discovered that only Li Rong and Zhu Ji had come, he immediately realized that this group of Imperial Guards had not come with the emperor, but were specifically targeting him.

"Eunuch Li, Commander Zhu, may I ask who you two are...?"

Li Zisheng did not greet Zhang Mao first.

Perhaps in his view, no matter how high the status of the Duke of England was, it was still just a military achievement.

In the Ming Dynasty today, no matter how glorious one's military achievements are, they are incomparable to those of civil officials at the ministerial level, or even those who are merely holding temporary posts.

But Li Rong and Zhu Ji in front of him were a matter of life and death for him.

Whether an official is high-ranking or low-ranking is one thing; the important thing is that they are doing official business for the emperor.

Who cares about Zhang Mao?
Li Zisheng used to look down on Zhang Mao, and he still looks down on him now, just as he had never taken Duke Zhu Yong seriously before. Li Rong bowed first, then stepped forward and said, "Minister Li, please forgive me... This morning at court, Grand Secretary Liu accused you, saying that you have committed some crimes that need to be investigated. Due to the circumstances, His Majesty sent me here to ask you to go back for questioning."

Li Zisheng asked, "Are we going to the Northern Garrison Command?"

I was thinking to myself, I just got back, and now I have to go to prison again?
Before leaving, he stayed in the imperial prison; now that he's back, he wants to stay there again?

Who did I offend?

Li Rong smiled and said, "I've specially arranged a place for you to stay, quiet and elegant... Isn't this just routine?"

"That doesn't have to be the case."

Li Zisheng quickly declined, saying, "It would be excellent to take a trip to the prison of the Northern Garrison Command."

Secret detention?

It would be better to be imprisoned!
Do you think I'm a newcomer to Lizi Province?
Don't you know that such underhanded operations are even more deadly?
Li Rong quickly said, "Lord Li, please don't misunderstand. This time is different from before. It's really just to make your daily life more convenient. Besides... everyone in the court knows about Grand Secretary Liu's accusations. It's just nonsense. Please believe me."

Li Zisheng said with a sigh, "I don't believe you for a second."

If it were Qin Ji or my brother Lai Zhan who came, would I need to worry so much?
Do you think I don't know who you, Li Rong, are?

And Zhu Ji... he's a fence-sitter too!
This is truly fraught with danger!
Just then, Zhang Mao came over and said, "It's almost time. The streets in the city have been closed for some time. We should go into the city as soon as possible to avoid disturbing the daily lives of the people."

Li Zisheng asked, "Do you want to go into the cage?"

The question is whether I should be paraded through the streets as a public spectacle.

Li Rong quickly said, "Lord Li, please don't think like that. Please mount your horse, and we can enter the city together."

……

……

Li Rong did not expect Li Zisheng's emotions to be so intense, which almost instantly disrupted his plans. He had originally intended to discuss things with Li Zisheng in a good manner and even build a relationship with him.

But he never imagined that someone as shrewd as Li Zisheng would never care what you say, but rather what you do.

Li Zisheng was extremely intelligent. Even though he wasn't very clear about the current situation of the Directorate of Ceremonial, he knew that Li Rong was an enemy, not a friend, and it was impossible for them to establish any deep relationship.

The group entered the city together.

Because they escorted a large number of Tatar prisoners and used more than a dozen carts to carry Tatar heads, it was somewhat of a show of military prowess, which attracted many people from the capital to watch.

Although Li Zisheng, riding a tall horse, was somewhat downcast, he was still warmly welcomed by the crowds along the way.

For ordinary people, anyone who can kill the Tartars is a good person, and anyone who can fight against foreign barbarians and achieve military merits is definitely not bad.

As for corruption and bribery... even the neighborhood magistrate at the street corner isn't a good person. Whether officials are corrupt or not, what does it have to do with us ordinary folks?
At such times, hatred towards foreign enemies is the best way to set aside the people's preconceived notions.

So much so that even those who were discussing how corrupt and despicable Li Zisheng was just a moment ago, joined the cheering crowd when they saw him escorting Tatar prisoners toward them.

Looking at the jubilant crowd before him, Li Zisheng suddenly realized that provoking external conflicts was the best way to resolve internal disputes.

"Li Zhongcheng, look how popular you are!"

Riding on his horse beside him, Li Rong saw the people along the way cheering for Lizi Province and couldn't help but feel a little jealous.

Am I escorting criminals into the city, or am I being interrogated by the people?

I simply can't accept this kind of disappointment!
Why wasn't I the one being cheered for and welcomed with lining the streets?

And I can only exist as a backdrop?
……

……

As Li Zisheng walked, he waved to the crowd, believing that public opinion might be the best way to save himself.

So along the way, he tried his best to show his approachable side, mingle with the people, and occasionally dismounted to shake hands with the enthusiastic people who were waving, and then exchange a few pleasantries.

Such an unpretentious high-ranking official truly impressed the people along the way.

So much so that the cheers were deafening, and many people cheered and shouted themselves hoarse just to get Li Zisheng to call out to them or nod at them.

Li Zi Province is like a superstar who flaunts his fame in later generations. The current level of excitement is comparable to an emperor's procession, or even more so.

However, after the parade ended, Li Zisheng met his final fate: he was taken to a quiet courtyard by the Imperial Guards and placed under house arrest.

Zhu Ji, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, personally greeted Li Zisheng and acted very politely.

"Minister Li, we are here on orders to invite you to stay for a few days. We will certainly not treat you poorly in any way... If you need anything, just tell your subordinates, and they will take care of everything for you."

Zhu Ji said solicitously, "You may tell me who you want to speak to. Apart from not being allowed to leave this residence, there are no other restrictions on you."

Li Zisheng frowned and asked, "Is it alright if someone comes to visit me?"

“Yes, you can,” Zhu Ji said confidently. “Except for not being able to move back to your own residence, you can absolutely treat this place as your home.”

Li Zisheng was somewhat displeased and asked, "Then why didn't you just let me go home? Why did you have to make me come here?"

Zhu Ji shrugged and said, "There's nothing I can do. This is an order from above. Please bear with it."

"Which one?"

Li Zisheng asked, "Before I returned to the capital, I knew that His Majesty had instructed Zhang Guozhang to assist in the investigation of the case concerning the accusations against me for corruption. Why then did you allow others to get involved?"

Zhu Ji thought to himself, "Of course you want Zhang Guozhang to take charge of your case, so you won't have to worry about being wronged in any way."

But who told you to rely on someone who's always lazy and just takes leave from work whenever you ask them to?
"It was today that Grand Secretary Liu reported to His Majesty that you... have committed numerous crimes and cannot be let off lightly, so this is the only way to do it." Zhu Ji is now emphasizing honesty.

I can't afford to offend anyone right now, and I know I'll be leaving the court soon, so why would I offend someone like Li Zisheng who could bring me endless trouble?

Li Zisheng pressed further: "What crime? Are you accusing me of treason?"

Zhu Ji said, "This humble servant did not say that."

"fart!"

Li Zisheng was furious. "When Liu Ji colluded with Wan An and plotted to establish a new crown prince, did I say anything? He's quite good at framing others."

Zhu Ji was startled and quickly said, "Minister Li, please be careful with your words. How can I explain these words to my superiors?"

Li Zisheng squinted and said, "Governor Zhu, you are a smart man. You know better than I do what Wan An and Liu Ji did back then. How about this? I'll write a denunciation here, telling you everything I know about what happened back then, and you... can take it to earn merit, how about that?"

Zhu Ji was even more terrified.

In his view, Li Zisheng's actions were tantamount to courting death.

You were ordered to be detained by the court, and without even being subjected to torture, they directly impeached Liu Ji and Wan An for plotting to establish a new crown prince.
If Liu Ji's cronies find out about this, do you think you'll survive?

And you should also know that there were many people in the Embroidered Uniform Guard who had contact with the Cabinet back then... Even I, as the commander, had to feign compliance with Wan An and the others...

You're playing with fire!
Seeing that Zhu Ji did not answer, Li Zisheng said with a forced smile, "Governor Zhu, I'm helping you. I'm just a worthless life, who am I afraid of? Anyone who dares to mess with me, I will definitely not let them have a good life. Even if I die, I will make those crooked guys suffer a lot."

Zhu Ji said, "I'm afraid we'll have to ask our superiors about this matter."

"Okay, go and ask Li Rong for instructions."

Li Zisheng answered decisively, "I believe that everyone in the court now understands the principle of self-preservation. Liu Ji is past his prime; it's time to add fuel to the fire and get him out of here as soon as possible!"

(End of this chapter)