Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 752 The Upstart
The Embroidered Uniform Guard secretly kept Liu Ji under guard.

For two days in a row, Liu Ji wrote furiously, venting all his pent-up anger.

He had never experienced such a situation before and did not realize that his current predicament was actually a trap set by Li Rong and Zhu Ji to wear down his spirit. At this moment, he was only concerned with reporting others in order to show how right and fearless he was.

Just as he was pondering who to drag into this mess, two uninvited guests arrived at the door.

The leader was Qin Ji, and behind Qin Ji was Zhang Yanling.

Qin Ji stood at the door and whispered to Zhang Yanling, "I'll leave the rest to you."

After saying this, Qin Ji turned and left without saying goodbye to Liu Ji.

Liu Ji rarely saw someone of higher status than the Grand Eunuch Li Rong, and was about to go up and ask what was going on, especially to find out when he would be released. But when he walked around the desk and quickly came to the door, the door was wide open and no one stopped him from going out. But at this time, Qin Ji had already walked around the corridor and his figure disappeared outside the moon gate.

"Lord Liu, I extend my greetings to you."

Zhang Yanling asked with a smile, "Do you still recognize me, sir?"

"The Zhang family boy?"

Liu Ji frowned and looked him over.

At this moment, he still carried an arrogant and domineering air about him. As the head of the civil service, it seemed that no one was worth mentioning in his eyes.

Zhang Yanling said, "It is indeed I, your humble servant. I have come on my brother-in-law's orders to have a proper talk with Mr. Liu... Would you mind coming inside to discuss this?"

"Did His Majesty send you?"

Liu Ji was furious.

Why didn't the Minister of the Interior, Qin Jidu, speak to me? Instead, he had Zhang Laizhan's son, whom I hate the most, come and talk to me.

Who do you look down on?
Even if Zhang Laizhan came, I wouldn't bother with him, let alone his son.

Does the emperor think I'm only fit to talk to such a young upstart?
He could have refused outright, but when he heard Zhang Yanling say that he had come on the emperor's orders, and Liu Ji was very concerned about when he could leave, he could only patiently make way and "call" Zhang Yanling into the room.

……

……

Ignoring Liu Jina's murderous glare, Zhang Yanling sat down first.

Liu Ji was about to reprimand him, but then he thought of the child opposite him, who was probably not even a scholar. He was just a brat from a maternal relative's family, so it was only natural for him to be arrogant.

It would be beneath my dignity to argue with such a child, so I sat down as well.

"What do you want to say? Just say it!"

Seeing that Zhang Yanling was reluctant to speak, Liu Ji had no choice but to ask with a gloomy expression.

Zhang Yanling glanced at Liu Ji with a smile and asked, "Mr. Liu, you should have figured out why you came here, right?"

Liu Ji said, "What, are you here to deliver a message on behalf of Qin Ji?"

"of course not!"

Zhang Yanling said solemnly, "I am here on behalf of His Majesty."

"Huh, just you?"

Liu Ji looked disdainful.

Zhang Yanling smiled meaningfully and said, "Yes, based on me... because before I came, my brother-in-law gave me some advice, telling me to communicate well with Grand Secretary Liu... If Grand Secretary Liu is sensible, then everything can be discussed. If it has to come to the point of completely breaking off relations, then we can only handle it officially."

"nonsense!"

Liu Ji retorted angrily, "How could His Majesty discuss such matters with a mere brat like you?"

"If you don't believe me, there's nothing I can do."

Zhang Yanling wasn't in a hurry at all.

After all, the initiative was now entirely in his hands, and his purpose in coming here was, as he had said before, that Zhu Youcheng hoped Liu Ji would be sensible and take the initiative to withdraw, so that at least they could maintain a semblance of harmony.

Zhu Youcheng originally intended to take a hard line against Liu Ji, following the precedent set by Wan An's resignation last year, and simply dismiss him to avoid trouble.

But perhaps he thought that the two previous Grand Secretaries had both ended up in dismal failures, which would make him, the emperor, seem heartless. That's why he sent Zhang Yanling over to see what was going on.

If the shameless Liu Ji insists on not compromising and refuses to back down, then we should stick to the original plan and simply kick Liu Ji out of the court. Anyway, no one sympathizes with Liu Ji, just like the former Grand Secretary Wan An.

Liu Ji's face was unusually pale.

He held back for a long time, but finally couldn't help asking, "What does it mean to be knowledgeable and tactful?"

Zhang Yanling said, "His Majesty feels that Grand Secretary Liu is no longer able to share the burden of state affairs, and often even hinders them..."

"nonsense!"

Liu Ji, his face full of anger, rebuked, "I have been in officialdom for decades and have handled tens of thousands of matters of state, large and small. How dare you say that I cannot share the burden?"
"Hmph! Such a childish view."

Zhang Yanling asked curiously, "Then, Grand Secretary Liu, could you tell me about the most important court matter you've dealt with recently? And what exactly was the draft resolution?"

A simple question stumped Liu Ji.

recent……

It seems like it was several months ago that he drafted the memorial, and he has completely forgotten how it was drafted.

Seeing Liu Ji hesitate, Zhang Yanling pressed further: "Grand Secretary Liu, or may I ask again... what policies and regulations have you recently participated in formulating, or what matters have you personally spearheaded or personally orchestrated, where the cabinet has a high degree of involvement?"

Liu Ji closed his eyes and said in a cold tone, "I will not stoop to the level of a mere brat."

Zhang Yanling chuckled to himself.

You can't reason with me, so you resort to using my status as a child as an excuse?

If you can't win an argument, do you resort to using your position as an excuse?

Zhang Yanling said, "Then I, this humble servant, will help you recall. Since last winter, three major events have occurred in the court, one of which was the burial of the late emperor, and it seems that Grand Secretary Liu was very involved."

"Humph!"

Liu Ji looked smug, as if to say, "Now you know how powerful I am, don't you?"

However, Liu Ji was also wondering, what exactly did I do for the late emperor's burial? I can't remember at all.
Zhang Yanling continued, "Then came the salt administration reform, in which the cabinet also put in a lot of effort... As for whether it was positive or negative, we don't know."

"Humph!"

Liu Ji remained dismissive.

"Finally, there was the military campaign in the Northwest."

Zhang Yanling said, "Grand Secretary Liu has made great contributions to the war in the Northwest by strategizing in the capital. That's all I can think of for now. Grand Secretary Liu, would you like to add something more?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Ji flew into a rage, stood up, pointed at Zhang Yanling, and said, "You brat, how dare you spout such nonsense in front of me? Guards! Get this boy out of here, I don't want to talk to him!"

Upon hearing the noise, someone immediately opened the door.

It was Zhu Ji.

However, after seeing the situation inside, Zhu Ji seemed to understand something and actually closed the door again.

Liu Ji's face was filled with disbelief when he saw this.

Even a mere commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard doesn't stand up for me, the Grand Secretary of the Ming Dynasty? How dare this brat from the imperial family flaunt his power in front of me?
Oh no!
The current emperor is clearly a foolish ruler!
How could they be so biased and gullible, showing such favoritism towards a child from an outsider's family?

Even the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard dared not offend him!
Zhang Yanling's smile gradually faded, his expression turning slightly sinister. He said, "Grand Secretary Liu, regarding Minister Li's impeachment against you for unjustly participating in the succession dispute during the late Emperor's reign, secretly plotting and scheming for the imperial succession, your crimes are truly heinous. Furthermore, you have colluded with many officials in the court to commit numerous acts of corruption and bribery. His Majesty has seen the relevant evidence and is furious!"

"It's all a frame-up."

Liu Ji was devastated.

Before he entered this place, he would never have argued with Zhang Yanling about such a thing. But now he was like a frightened bird, overreacting to the slightest disturbance.

Zhang Yanling said, "Your Majesty means that if Grand Secretary Liu is willing to back down, then past events can be forgiven."

"Didn't you hear what I said? What change of heir, what corruption and bribery, it's all a frame-up," Liu Ji retorted, his face flushed.

Zhang Yanling frowned: "Why do some people never learn from their mistakes? Grand Secretary Liu, you should know very well that once something has happened, it's impossible for it to go unresolved."

"Who is Li Zisheng? Would he make it impossible to verify anything when accusing someone? He would list out everything clearly, from witness testimonies to physical evidence, and even the specific details of the crime. He even calculated the approximate amount of silver that Grand Secretary Liu embezzled. You should save your breath."

"Humph!"

Liu Ji was filled with fear, but his face was full of shame and anger. He roared, "You can listen to the words of a treacherous minister? How much has Li Zisheng embezzled? When the late emperor was alive, he was the biggest treacherous minister in the Ming Dynasty."

"There's nothing wrong with that."

Zhang Yanling actually chimed in, "When I met His Majesty before, His Majesty also said that Li Zisheng is very greedy and has indeed engaged in embezzlement. However, fortunately, most of the embezzled funds were handed over to the Imperial Treasury. Although he is guilty, he is not unforgivable."

"His Majesty then affirmed Li Zisheng's abilities, saying that the Empress Dowager Yan had mentioned that if this person could be controlled, then he could continue to be used; otherwise... he should be decisively discarded. I wonder what you think, Grand Secretary Liu?"

Liu Ji gritted his teeth and remained silent.

Zhang Yanling continued, "His Majesty has decided to entrust the river management to Li Zi Province. The court will not contribute a single penny, and all expenses related to the diversion of the Yellow River will be borne by Li Zi Province."

Liu Ji's eyes widened in disbelief: "Let Li Zisheng manage the Yellow River? And the expenses... he'll be fully responsible for them?"

"Yes."

Zhang Yanling said, "This is His Majesty's punishment for a treacherous minister, or rather, a corrupt official. Since Li Zisheng is guilty, he should atone for his past wrongdoings."

"May I ask, Grand Secretary Liu, how much benefit can you bring to the court? Or should your family property be confiscated to see if it matches your annual salary, and to see if there is any hidden income unknown to the world?"

"Bastard thing!"

Liu Ji was furious. "A cabinet minister like you can't just be investigated like that!"

Zhang Yanling laughed and said, "Grand Secretary Liu, I wonder if your ability to transfer assets is as impressive as the charisma you're currently displaying?"

"..."

Although Liu Ji didn't quite understand what Zhang Yanling was saying, he could tell that Zhang Yanling had clearly come prepared.

"Hey, the Embroidered Uniform Guard is ready to raid your residence, and they'll also be sending people to your hometown to confiscate your assets at any time," Zhang Yanling laughed. "You haven't been communicating with the outside world lately, so I wonder if your people have already prepared to transfer all your assets?"

Liu Ji was furious: "You brat, how dare you!"

Zhang Yanling looked quite at ease: "His Majesty has already been very merciful. He wanted to have a peaceful ending with you, so that we could each take a step back and things would be much better, and it would save face for both of us, wouldn't it?"

Liu Ji remained silent.

Zhang Yanling continued, "Regarding the accusations and denunciations made by Li Zi Province concerning your case, many of those involved have already been imprisoned. I believe they will confess truthfully within a few days. Furthermore, your cronies in the court and your relatives, who have been abusing their power outside the court, will certainly not escape legal punishment..."

"Speaking of which, how many of the friends you made when you were at the height of your power were truly sincere? Once your case comes to light, many people in the court will step forward to denounce you, including your once most steadfast allies. You should know that the world has never been a place where people's hearts are as fickle as they used to be."

"If these aren't enough to convict you, then... we can use some special methods, like coercion to extract a confession. Of course, it's not aimed at you personally, but at those closely related to you. With their testimonies, who in the world would still believe that you, the Grand Secretary, are upright and selfless?"

Even though Liu Ji looked down on Zhang Yanling from the bottom of his heart, these words still stirred up a huge storm in his heart.

……

……

Seeing that Liu Ji was moved, Zhang Yanling got up and went out to call Qin Ji over for a face-to-face talk with Liu Ji.

When Qin Ji arrived at the half-closed door, he was surprised to see Liu Ji sitting there blankly inside, looking completely lost.

Zhu Ji came with Qin Ji this time. Seeing this situation, he waved to Qin Ji, roughly meaning, don't provoke this guy, let him calm down first.

"what happened?"

Qin Ji asked Zhu Ji in a low voice.

Zhu Ji explained, "The Second Young Master just made a lot of threats to Grand Secretary Liu, and Grand Secretary Liu is still processing the information... His tough stance might soften a bit."

"threaten?"

Qin Ji was puzzled.

Even though he was a mere child and a relative of the emperor, he was quite capable. But could he really threaten a Grand Secretary of the court?
Zhu Ji was also somewhat incredulous, saying, "I think it's precisely because the Second Young Master is not in officialdom that the methods he uses do not need to follow common sense, which is why his words have made Grand Secretary Liu so concerned."

"This……"

Qin Ji's eyes widened in surprise. He wondered, "Is this even possible?"

Zhu Ji said, "I didn't hear very clearly, but the general idea is that if Grand Secretary Liu refuses to cooperate and doesn't submit a memorial to resign, he will be held accountable. Not only him, but also those who follow him will be in big trouble. Even if Grand Secretary Liu's cronies put up a stubborn resistance, it won't work, because it would be very easy to extract a confession through torture."

Qin Ji shook his head: "The young imperial uncle is very reasonable; he would never do such a thing. Wait..."

Suddenly realizing something, Qin Ji began to understand Zhang Yanling's tactics.

I'm not afraid of doing things endlessly, I'm just afraid you won't believe me!

You, Liu Ji, know better than anyone what kind of person you are.

You yourself are not clean, do you think everyone around you is clean?
Since words won't work, let me show you that even a seemingly benevolent and lenient emperor can have confidants skilled in using cruel torture...

Who says a soft-hearted emperor can't employ "cruel officials" to get things done?
If you randomly pick someone, like Qin Ji, Zhu Ji, or even someone from the Three Judicial Offices, to act as a cruel official, Liu Ji, knowing them as he did, would naturally not believe it, or he might even think that those people wouldn't dare to risk violating the unspoken rules of politics to deal with him and his cronies.

But Zhang Yanling was not afraid.

Our Zhang family rose to power through "opportunistic" means, as you, Liu Ji, have always believed. In your eyes, we are not clean. This is exactly what I meant by my threat. It is very likely true, just as you have predicted. To achieve our goals, we will stop at nothing.

Thinking of this, Qin Ji immediately looked at Zhu Ji and asked, "Does Grand Secretary Liu really believe it?"

Zhu Ji said, "You'll have to ask him yourself."

"clear."

Qin Ji pushed open the door and went in, going straight to Liu Ji's side.

Hearing footsteps, Liu Ji finally came to his senses, looked up and saw that it was Qin Ji. His eyes lit up and he quickly asked, "Eunuch Qin, are you here on behalf of His Majesty to deliver a decree to let me out?"

"of course not!"

Qin Ji replied, "Grand Secretary Liu, I have come here today to inquire about your situation. I believe that the young imperial brother-in-law from the Zhang family has already made things very clear to you, hasn't he?"

Liu Ji said angrily, "Do you know how despicable you are? You actually want to use such low-class means to force me to submit? I have been honest and upright all my life and have a clear conscience."

"Grand Secretary Liu, why are you doing this?"

Qin Ji was speechless.

I thought to myself, "Liu Ji, you've been acting so well that you've even started to believe your own act?"
Or perhaps, as the Grand Secretary, you truly believe that what you did in the past did not violate any of the laws of the court? Or perhaps you feel that you haven't embezzled enough, and that the sins you committed in the court are not worth mentioning?
Do you think everyone else is a fool and making a fool of them?

Liu Ji said, "Eunuch Qin, what exactly do you want?"

Qin Ji said helplessly, "Grand Secretary Liu, if you truly feel you have a clear conscience, then you don't need to say anything. The young imperial brother-in-law of the Zhang family will discuss this with you in detail."

"Your Majesty is simply acting recklessly!"

Seeing Qin Ji turn to leave, Liu Ji hurriedly shouted, "How can matters of state be decided by the words of a mere child? The second young master of the Zhang family is merely a relative of the emperor, not even a court official. If word gets out that he is pressuring the cabinet ministers, what will become of the Ming Dynasty's dignity? Wouldn't that be..."

Qin Ji said, "Grand Secretary Liu, the Zhang family's eldest brother-in-law is a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and the youngest brother-in-law will inevitably join the Embroidered Uniform Guard in the future. His speaking to you on behalf of the Embroidered Uniform Guard is not against any rules."

"If you insist that you are innocent, that's fine too. At least your case will definitely reach the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review, and people in the court will help you clear your name."

"..."

Liu Ji couldn't help but gasp.

I thought to myself, "I've been framed by that brat Zhang Yanling. If this goes to the imperial court, all that evidence will become irrefutable. How am I supposed to defend myself then?"
Is there no one in the imperial guards who can stand up for me?

Liu Ji said, "I implore Your Majesty to appoint someone else to preside over this matter! I have always been cautious and prudent, never making a mistake. Everything I have done is for the sake of the Ming Dynasty. I have nothing to fear from a clear conscience."

Upon hearing this, Qin Ji rolled his eyes, thinking to himself, "Perhaps the Second Young Master is right; we shouldn't have any mercy for this kind of person."

Instead of listening to his nonsense, you'd be better off going back to do something productive than wasting your breath here!
(End of this chapter)