I am a temporary worker in Jinyiwei, how did I become a powerful official?

Chapter 212 Hu Zongxian's Advice: Prioritize Filial Piety over Loyalty
Confucianism emphasizes loyalty and filial piety.

In times of crisis, when loyalty to one's country and filial piety are at odds, prioritizing loyalty or filial piety has always been a difficult philosophical question.

A virtuous person believes that sacrificing filial piety for loyalty is the mark of a truly righteous person.

Some mavericks believe that if a person can disregard even the life of their own father, then they have lost their humanity.

If you've lost your humanity, what's the point of talking about loyalty? You're lucky if you don't become a traitor.

This difficult problem is now facing Lin Shisan.

Luo Longwen took a sip of wine: "Thirteen, let me tell you something from the bottom of my heart. Everything else is fake, only your own parents are real."

"If you can't even protect your own father, then you're not worthy of being called a human being!"

"Court intrigues are a constant ebb and flow, a back and forth. This time you handed over Fang Youshan and lost to me, but you can find another way to beat me next time."

"If your father is gone, he's really gone. What good will it do you even if you have immense power then? You'll regret it when you can no longer care for your parents."

Lin Shisan wanted to refute, but didn't know how.

He had previously resolved to uphold righteousness and fight against the treacherous and wicked party to the end.

But now that his father has been kidnapped by his adversaries, he is caught in a dilemma.

Luo Longwen said, "You are skilled at pigeon racing. Let me ask you, how long would it take for a top-quality blue-spotted homing pigeon to arrive from Nanjing to the capital via four pigeon stations?"

Lin Shisan blurted out, "Three days."

Luo Longwen said, "I don't have a single subordinate with me. You can arrest me as you please. But I'm telling you, if the capital doesn't receive my secret message by pigeon in four days, your father will lose his head."

"In other words, if you arrest me and imprison me until sunset tomorrow, your father will die if the secret message is not sent."

“If you don’t arrest me, and you don’t hand over Fang Youshan and those dozens of Zhenwu Camp officers to me by sunset tomorrow, I still won’t send out the secret message, and your father will still die.”

"Whether it's to be loyal to the Emperor or to be filial to your father, you should decide for yourself."

Lin Shisan remained silent.

Meanwhile, on the banks of the Qinhuai River.

Sun Yue, disguised as a peddler, said to Uncle Zhang, "Why didn't Master blow the whistle? With so many of us, why don't we rush up, arrest Luo Longwen, and then use the Jinyiwei's torture to force him to confess? Wouldn't that settle the matter?"

Uncle Zhang sighed, "Alas, if only things were that simple. So, you can only be Thirteen's apprentice, not his master."

Li Gao said, "With my brother-in-law backing up our master, what is he afraid of? No matter how powerful Yan Song is, is he more powerful than the crown prince?"

On the flower boat.

Lin Shisan said, "Second Brother, we are sworn brothers who kowtowed to the ground. We drank too much chicken blood and ran around in the peach blossom forest together until we were sore."

"My father is your father. Do you want to kill your father?"

Luo Longwen chuckled, "You still remember we're sworn brothers? Sworn brothers stab each other in the back?"

Lin Shisan said solemnly, "It's not me who's stabbing my sworn brothers in the back. It's you who's stabbing the cause of resisting the Japanese pirates in the back."

Luo Longwen said, "That's enough. You're busy, and so am I. If you want to arrest me, do it now. If there's nothing else, we can each go home. You should think quickly about whether to choose your father or loyalty."

"The deadline is tomorrow evening. The power struggles in the imperial court are always this brutal."

Lin Shisan did not sound the whistle, but watched as Luo Longwen instructed four servants to row the pleasure boat to the shore. He then watched as Luo Longwen stepped onto the sampan, disembarked, and disappeared into the night on the Qinhuai River.

Sun Yue, who was on the shore, became anxious when he saw Luo Longwen: "Luo Longwen, I'm going to catch him!"

Uncle Zhang grabbed Sun Yue's shoulder and said, "Your master hasn't given the order yet. Don't make any rash moves."

Sun Yue slapped his thigh in frustration: "He's about to mount his horse! If we don't catch him now, it'll be too late!"

Uncle Zhang glared at him: "I'll say it again, don't do anything rash!"

Lin Shisan also slowly stepped off the flower boat.

In an instant, a wicked idea popped into his head: Since the Yan faction can send people to arrest my father, why don't I send someone to Huizhou to arrest Luo Longwen's father?
I threatened Luo Longwen's father to make him send a message by carrier pigeon to save my father's life.

After a moment, Lin Shisan dismissed the idea. Huizhou was too far from Nanjing; there was no way he could make it in time.

Lin Shisan walked dejectedly to Zhang Bo and the others: "Let our comrades and the military commanders withdraw. Let's go back to the town government and make further plans."

Two quarters of an hour later, the group returned to the town's administrative office.

Yang Jinshui came up to him and asked, "How did it go? Have they caught him?"

Lin Shisan shook his head slightly.

Yang Jinshui said, "Just as I expected. Your parents gave you life. How many people in the world could be so heartless?"

"Someone has been waiting for you in the living room for a long time."

Lin Shisan asked, "Who?"

Yang Jinshui replied, "Hu Zongxian."

Lin Shisan asked in surprise, "Minister Hu has come to Hangzhou?"

He hurried into the living room. Hu Zongxian sat upright in a chair, drinking tea.

It had been a long time since I'd seen Hu Zongxian, and he looked much older. He wasn't even fifty, but he looked like an elderly man in his sixties.

Hu Zongxian said, "Thirteen, it's been a long time."

For some reason, Lin Shisan's knees buckled when he saw Hu Zongxian, and he knelt down before him with a "plop".

Lin Shisan knelt down and cupped his hands, saying, "Minister Hu, I have failed you tonight, and I have also failed the soldiers of Qi and Yu's armies."

Hu Zongxian quickly helped Lin Shisan up: "Get up quickly. I already know the gist of the matter. You have your reasons."

Lin Shisan asked, "Minister Hu, what brings you to Nanjing?"

Hu Zongxian said, "Isn't Zhao Zhenji going to retire to his hometown? I've come to discuss with his deputy the matter of supplying military provisions from Yingtian to Zhejiang in the future."

"The other reason is so that you can sit down first."

Lin Shisan sat down. Yang Jinshui said, "You all chat. Men, come with me."

Hu Zongxian said, "Let the eunuchs leave. Eunuch Yang should stay."

Hu Zongxian planned to have a secret meeting with Lin Shisan, leaving Yang Jinshui behind so that he could inform the Jiajing Emperor in the capital about this secret meeting without reservation.

In Nanjing, Yang Jinshui represented the palace.

Yang Jinshui understood immediately, sat down to the side and listened quietly to their conversation.

Hu Zongxian asked, "Young Grand Secretary and Luo Longwen arrested your father, right?"

Lin Shisan keenly noticed that Hu Zongxian only mentioned "the young Grand Secretary, Luo Longwen and the others," but did not say the word "Grand Secretary."

He quickly asked, "Wasn't the Grand Secretary instructing you to arrest my father?"

Hu Zongxian sighed, "Alas. Not only was this matter not authorized by the Grand Secretary, but even the mutiny in Zhenwu Camp was decided on his own by his subordinates."

"The Grand Secretary is eighty-one years old, and he has aged considerably in the last two years. It's tough for him; he has to manage all aspects of the court, deal with political enemies, and rack his brains to please the Emperor. Where does he find the energy to control those below him?"

"Many things were decided on arbitrarily by the young Grand Secretary and his subordinates." "With the Grand Secretary's wisdom, how could he have done such heinous and foolish things as inciting a mutiny and kidnapping the Emperor's father?"

Lin Shisan said, "Since ancient times, fathers and sons have been one. No matter who ordered my father to be captured, he is now in the tiger's den."

“I am not a saint, but just an ordinary servant of the emperor. I cannot choose loyalty over filial piety.”

Hu Zongxian made a startling statement: "You are not wrong. A true sage, when faced with the choice between loyalty and filial piety, will always prioritize filial piety over loyalty."

“I was dismissed from my post as magistrate of Tonglu County a few days ago.”

"The Zhejiang Provincial Administration Commission has submitted a list of county magistrates to be recommended by the Ministry of Personnel for outstanding performance evaluation this year, along with their outstanding deeds."

"The remarkable deeds of the magistrate of Tonglu County were: he was busy with official duties, and his father fell seriously ill in the back office. However, he did not see his father for six days because he was busy with official duties, let alone take care of his father at his bedside."

"Nonsense! Who are you trying to fool? How can you expect someone who doesn't even care for his own father to care for the people?"

"He's nothing but a fame-seeker! This kind of pretentious charlatan isn't even qualified to be a minor official, let alone the head of a county!"

Lin Shisan was stunned. Hu Zongxian's words violated orthodox Confucian morality.

In Confucianism, Heaven, Earth, Ruler, Parents, and Teacher are considered to be in order of precedence over Parents.

Lin Shisan said, "Minister Hu, I am truly in a dilemma. I don't want to see my father die because of me, but I also don't want to see the Yan and Xu factions' conspiracy succeed and ruin your great cause of resisting the Japanese pirates."

Hu Zongxian corrected him, saying, "Firstly, I am also a member of Yan's faction. Not everyone in Yan's faction does not want to resist the Japanese pirates or see peace in the southeast."

"Secondly, it is not my great cause of resisting Japanese pirates. Rather, it is the great cause of resisting Japanese pirates of the Ming Dynasty and the great cause of resisting Japanese pirates of the people in the southeast."

"I've come here to tell you a few important things."

Turning to Yang Jinshui, Hu Zongxian said, "Please inform the palace of my words, Eunuch Yang."

Yang Jinshui nodded.

Hu Zongxian said, "Thirteen, listen to this. If Yan's faction doesn't fall, at most they'll cause trouble for the Southeast Anti-Japanese Envoy. I can still find a way to deal with it."

"If Yan's faction falls, I will definitely lose my position as Governor-General of Zhejiang and Zhili. Xu's people will immediately replace me. At that time, all the previous efforts to resist the Japanese pirates will be in vain!"

Lin Shisan said, "Are you saying that I have to cover for Yan's faction in this Zhenwu Camp mutiny?"

"But if I submit to Yan's faction, Qi and Yu's troops will be disbanded. What will you use to fight the Japanese pirates then?"

Hu Zongxian countered, "The Yan faction claims that the Zhenwu Camp mutinied because they were soldiers from a Japanese pirate defense camp, recruited from civilians rather than military households, and that their discipline was lax, right?"

Lin Shisan nodded: "Yes."

Hu Zongxian added, “You concealed the fact that Yan’s party instigated a mutiny from them. This does not prevent you, as the imperial envoy, from finding another reason for the Zhenwu Camp mutiny.”

"This reason has nothing to do with the fact that the soldiers are not from military households or that they are recruited from the civilian population."

"To put it bluntly, I found two scapegoats for the mutiny."

Lin Shisan asked, "Who?"

Hu Zongxian replied: "First, Huang Maoguan, who died. Second, Liu Shiyan, the Earl of Chengyi, who was a meritorious official in suppressing the rebellion."

Lin Shisan was taken aback: "You're making them take the blame? Huang Maoguan is innocent. The mutiny was quelled entirely by the Marquis of Chengyi. Isn't this turning black into white?"

Hu Zongxian clapped his hands: "Come in."

The young hero Liu Shiyan strode in.

Liu Shiyan smiled at Lin Shisan: "Here comes the scapegoat."

Hu Zongxian said, "Thirteen. I've thought of two 'reasons' for the Zhenwu Camp mutiny for you."

"Firstly, Huang Maoguan, as the Left Minister of the Ministry of Revenue in charge of military pay, was stupid, incompetent, harsh, and ungrateful. He first reduced the soldiers' pay by one qian, and then delayed the payment of military pay and the conversion of military pay into paper money. This led to the soldiers and their families being left without a livelihood."

“The soldiers, due to Huang Maoguan’s ruthless exploitation, began to rebel.”

"Secondly, when the troops were about to rebel but had not yet done so, the garrison commander Xu Pengju and the officials of the Six Ministries discussed a proper countermeasure. This could nip the mutiny in the bud."

"However, Liu Shiyan, the Earl of Chengyi, was young and reckless, and ambitious. Before the garrison commander and the officials of the Six Ministries could implement countermeasures, he took it upon himself to negotiate with the soldiers, first making threats and then promising 100,000 taels of silver, which he failed to deliver."

"His threats fueled the soldiers' resentment towards the imperial court. His failure to deliver on his promise of silver thoroughly enraged the soldiers."

"As a result, the soldiers mutinied."

Lin Shisan stood there, stunned, after hearing Hu Zongxian's words.

Hu Zongxian continued, “As the imperial envoy, you should conduct a thorough investigation and report to the court. The mutiny in Zhenwu Camp has nothing to do with the source of its soldiers. It is only related to the harshness, ingratitude, and recklessness of Huang Maoguan and Liu Shiyan.”

"In this way, you can both cover up this matter for the Yan faction and protect the Qi and Yu departments."

Lin Shisan said, "Then wouldn't I become a bastard imperial envoy who turns black into white?"

Hu Zongxian, however, said: "When you're in the imperial court, sometimes turning black into white is also a skill."

"Huang Maoguan is already dead. Let the court pursue a dead man if it wants. I will submit a memorial to protect his family."

"Liu Shiyan is a hereditary earl, a descendant of Mr. Liu Ji. The court has a tradition of judging nobles when punishing them. At most, he will be fined a few years' salary."

Liu Shiyan interjected, "The imperial court has decreed that Shixun is not allowed to go to the front lines against the Japanese pirates. I can't contribute much to the fight against the Japanese pirates."

“I’m taking the blame for the great cause of resisting the Japanese pirates this time. I’m willing to do it! Commander Lin, just submit the memorial as Minister Hu suggested.”

Hu Zongxian added, “He who does not plan for the whole situation cannot plan for the short term. Putting aside the great cause of resisting the Japanese pirates, the Yan faction is a tool used by the Emperor to check and balance the upright officials in the court.”

"Whether those 'pure' individuals are truly pure or merely pretending, you should know perfectly well in your heart."

"Most of the officials in Yan's faction have been acting recklessly and greedily accumulating wealth over the years. The Emperor will definitely bring down Yan, but not now."

"Everything depends on timing."

"If you make Fang Youshan and his confession public, wouldn't that put the Emperor in a dilemma?"

"Do you want to see the powerful families of Jiangnan and their backers in the court go unchecked and lawless?"

"I've explained the methods and reasons to you. The decision is up to you."

Lin Shisan pondered for a long time before speaking, "I will do as Minister Hu says. For the cause of resisting the Japanese pirates, for the balance of the court, and even more so for my father!"

Hu Zongxian stood up, walked to Liu Shiyan, and bowed to him: "Lord Chengyi, I'm sorry you've been wronged."

Liu Shiyan said solemnly, "The people of Nanjing all think I am an arrogant and conceited scion of a noble family. Little do they know that I have a heart full of patriotism."

"What does it matter if I suffer this little grievance in order to contribute to the fight against the Japanese pirates?"

"Many brave warriors who fought against the Japanese invaders sacrificed their lives on the battlefield, without caring about anything else."

"Tell Marshal Yu and General Qi that I am waiting in Nanjing for their good news of quelling the Japanese pirates and achieving lasting glory!"

Liu Shiyan has already expressed his willingness to take the blame, which makes things much easier.

What Lin Shisan needs to do right now is to hand over Fang Youshan, dozens of soldiers and military officers, and that confession to Luo Longwen.

At the same time, he also needed to fabricate a plausible reason to explain why he had been openly opposing Yan's faction these past few days. Lin Shisan, the director, was eloquent; this wouldn't be difficult for him.

Whether Yan Shifan and Luo Longwen believe it or not is unknown.

(End of this chapter)