Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 235: Taking Charge of Printing Affairs
"Mobilize the troops and surround the Shen residence." Lu Wenzhao didn't want to waste any more time arguing with the housekeeper. Since the person had escaped, he would follow the common practice within the Jinyiwei and arrest the entire family. "Han Tongzhi, this is a letter to Shen Caiyu."

"Yes." Han Chengkui wanted to take the imperial edict and read the reason for arresting Shen Caiyu, so as to see if he would be implicated. Han Chengkui leaned forward instinctively, but after meeting Lu Wenzhao's eyes, he shrank back.

"Don't you want to take a look?" Lu Wenzhao gently raised the imperial edict in his hand.

"Since my superior has given me the order, I will just wait for your orders." Han Chengkui finally held back.

Han Chengkui had guessed the Imperial Guards were coming to arrest Shen Caiyu before Lu Wenzhao produced the imperial edict, but he wasn't sure if they were planning to arrest anyone else. So Han Chengkui probed again, "Are you planning to arrest anyone else? I'll take the troops and capture him as well." Knowing who was going to be arrested gave him a rough idea of ​​the reason.

Lu Wenzhao was startled, then smiled and asked, "Han Tongzhi, who else do you want to arrest?"

"I apologize for being rude. I'll go right away." Han Chengkui finally felt relieved. He thought to himself: It seems that the Jinyiwei only want to arrest Shen Caiyu. At least that's the case for now.

Han Chengkui turned and ran towards the gate of the Shen Mansion, but he was stopped by Lu Wenzhao after just two steps. "Han Tongzhi, wait a minute, don't be impatient."

"Do you have any other instructions, sir?" Han Chengkui asked respectfully.

"Let's go together and go back to the yamen first." Lu Wenzhao said.

"Go to the government office!" Han Chengkui was baffled. Of course, they had to go to the government office to mobilize troops, otherwise they couldn't just appear out of thin air.

But no matter what he thought, Han Chengkui could only ask, "What should we do here?"

"Five of us can't keep them under guard." Lu Wenzhao said to the captain with the small flag, "Sun Xiaoqi, gather all the Shen family members in the courtyard and keep an eye on them. Keep them on guard with swords drawn. If anyone moves or disobeys orders, they can be killed on the spot. No matter if they are male or female, old or young."

"Yes." Sun Xiaoqi replied.

"Captain, sir. I'm on duty! Please listen to my explanation, I..." The nephew's housekeeper wanted to get closer to Lu Wenzhao, but just after he took two steps, he was kicked over by the Jinyi captain closest to him.

"If you want an explanation, go to the prison. I don't have time to listen right now." Lu Wenzhao was in a bad mood. Whatever the reason, the most important culprit, Shen Caiyu, had escaped, and the operation had failed. He couldn't easily get away with it.

Lu Wenzhao was still thinking about wrapping up things here as quickly as possible and returning to Beijing to help his two fathers-in-law, Taishan, clean up their own guards. This was the most important thing to do, which would make him stand out and win merit. "Don't let this fat pig get away with it anymore." Lu Wenzhao's face was gloomy, and his tone became two degrees heavier.

"Yes," Sun Xiaoqi replied, then walked to the door and took the wooden bolt from the officer who opened it. He took two steps back, and by then, the butler who had been kicked down had been held up by two officers. "It might hurt a little, just bear with it," Sun Xiaoqi muttered, and without caring whether the butler heard clearly, he raised the solid wooden stick and hit the butler's popliteal fossa twice.

These veteran Jinyiwei would not hesitate to beat people like the new recruits of the East Depot. Moreover, even if the servants of these criminal officials were beaten to death, no one would care.

"Ah!" The screams, like those of a butchered pig, immediately chilled the hearts and livers of the Shen family servants present. These wicked servants usually had to justify their bullying, taking advantage of others by force. They had never seen such a broad daylight act, where they would break someone's legs with a stick just because of a disagreement.

"Let's go." Lu Wenzhao seemed not to hear the endless screams and wails, and said to Han Chengkui indifferently.

"Okay, okay." Han Chengkui was frightened, as if the sticks were hitting his legs.

------

Back at the Guard Commandery, Han Chengkui, the deputy commander, did not immediately issue the order to mobilize troops as a deputy secretary. He did not even cross the threshold first, but waited until Lu Wenzhao entered before following him in, hunched over and with his head lowered, like a lackey.

Lu Wenzhao didn't immediately ask Han Chengkui to mobilize troops to arrest people. Instead, he waved to a young captain who was responsible for keeping his official uniform. "Give me my uniform."

"Yes."

After changing into his official uniform, Lu Wenzhao walked into the main hall and then sat down in the main seat that originally belonged to Shen Caiyu in full view of everyone.

"Shen Caiyu, the commander of Tianjin Garrison and in charge of the Garrison's seal, has been soliciting prostitutes in the yamen, openly flouting the laws and disciplines of the country. The Jinyiwei, acting on the imperial edict, have arrested him and brought him to the capital." Lu Wenzhao pulled out the imperial edict and placed it on the table. "This is the imperial edict."

"But now Shen Caiyu has run away. Does anyone know where he went?" Lu Wenzhao looked around, but no one responded to him.

Han Chengkui was stunned. Soliciting a prostitute in the government office? What kind of a bullshit charge was that? Was it even worth asking? Even if they had to, they could have just had the Ministry of War dismiss Shen Caiyu. Was it worth alerting the Thousand Households of Beijing to investigate?
"Who is the pacification envoy of this guard?" Lu Wenzhao named him and added, "From the Northern Pacification Division."

The Northern and Southern Pacification Offices were not unique to the Jinyiwei, but rather the core organization of the Ming Dynasty's military garrisons, responsible for managing criminal cases and also managing military artisans. More precisely, the Jinyiwei's Northern Pacification Office, operating independently of the judicial system and solely responsible for the imperial prison, was the truly unique entity.

"It's me." A middle-aged man wearing the same official uniform as Lu Wenzhao stepped out with his head held high.

Under the Hongwu official system, the Jinyiwei were no different from other guards. The Zhenfushi (pacification envoys) of the Zhenfusi (pacification divisions) all held the rank of fifth rank. However, after the Yongle reign, the rank of the Zhenfushi (pacification envoys) of the Jinyiwei's northern and southern Zhenfusi (pacification divisions) was raised two notches to fourth rank. However, in practice, these officials often served as Tongzhitang (Tongzhitang) officials concurrently.

Seeing the middle-aged man's official uniform, Lu Wenzhao was stunned for a moment, then said rudely, "Sign up."

"My humble name is Shen Zhengping." The pacification envoy replied.

"Your surname is Shen, huh. Your surname is really rare." This was the first time in Lu Wenzhao's life that he had met someone with the surname Shen.

"Haha, it's indeed rare." Shen Zhengping smiled dryly.

"Shen Zhenfu. I order you to immediately bring the people from the Northern Zhenfu Division to arrest all the family members and servants of the fugitive Shen Caiyu and throw them into the Zhao. Prison. And seal off Shen Caiyu's mansion." Lu Wenzhao didn't waste any more words, but gave the order directly.

The strong word "order" startled Shen Zhengping. He didn't immediately accept the order, but instead glanced at Han Chengkui, the current highest-ranking officer of the Jinyiwei. According to official rules, even if the Jinyiwei were sent by an angel, they couldn't mobilize troops from other garrisons without explicit authorization.

But Han Chengkui didn't care about the rules; he was completely frightened by the Jinyiwei's tactics. He just wanted to distance himself from the matter and avoid any trouble. After all, he wasn't sending troops to Beijing to rebel, so why bother?

However, Han Chengkui didn't want to give himself an excuse. If something went wrong within the Beijing Jinyiwei someday, and this arrogant and domineering officer fell, and was taken into custody by the Western Factory, and finally couldn't stand the torture and confessed that he had violated the rules, that would be really bad luck. Since the officer didn't call on him at this moment, but called on the pacification envoy Shen Zhengping, he kept silent and pretended not to see it.

Shen Zhengping cursed in his heart, then gritted his teeth and pushed forward: "Go to work. Do you have any orders from the Ministry of War and the Imperial Household?"

During the Ming Dynasty, the Five Military Commanderies were established to command all garrisons. The Three Guards of Tianjin, including those in Northern Zhili, were commanded by the Rear Military Commanderies. However, the Five Military Commanderies could not independently mobilize garrison troops; they required the seal of the Ministry of War and the signature of the chief officer.

Lu Wenzhao stared at Shen Zhengping with a serious expression for a while.

Shen Zhengping felt uneasy under the stares. Soon, he began to regret his decision. It was ultimately a matter of word choice; the Jinyiwei were already accustomed to being overbearing. Such verbal statements couldn't be proven; the angels could find a random excuse and issue a letter of impeachment to execute him.

But just when he couldn't hold back any longer and wanted to change his tone to accept the order, Lu Wenzhao suddenly smiled, waved to Luo Zongqi and said, "Give me the thing."

"Yes," Luo Zongqi replied softly, then pulled two documents from his pocket and handed them to Lu Wenzhao. "These are orders issued by the Rear Army Commandery and the Ministry of War." Lu Wenzhao took them and placed them next to the imperial edict. "I will now be temporarily in charge of the seals of this guard. Han Tongzhi, this order should have been sent to you long ago, but if the Divine Guard hadn't reminded me, I would have almost forgotten. Please accept it."

"I accept your order." Han Chengkui was shocked, but without hesitation, he immediately stepped out of line and knelt on one knee to indicate his acceptance. From that moment on, Lu Wenzhao officially became the de facto temporary supreme commander of Tianjin.

"Don't you want to take a look?" Lu Wenzhao asked.

"No need." Han Chengkui, however shocked, didn't think Lu Wenzhao would dare to forge an order to take over the defense. This was a capital crime punishable by extermination of the entire family.

"God calm down. Can you follow my orders and arrest people now?" Lu Wenzhao sneered and glanced at Han Chengkui, then said calmly.

"Yes. I'll go right away." Shen Zhengping was very nervous about this. He didn't know what tricks this officer was playing.

After Shen Zhengping left the main hall, Lu Wenzhao asked again, "Which lord is in charge of the defense of our four gates?"

"Reporting to the superiors. The defense of the four gates will be supervised by this humble official." A hunchbacked old man stepped out and responded.

Lu Wenzhao immediately recognized the old man's attire: it was the official uniform of a fourth-rank official, a scarlet robe with leopard patches. He was as familiar with this style of uniform as he was with his own. Therefore, he immediately determined that this man was one of the Tianjin Garrison's deputy commanders.

"What's your name?" Lu Wenzhao's attitude seemed a little kinder.

"My name is Zhou Yingru, and I'm the Assistant Commander of this guard. I'm also responsible for preparing for defense and garrisoning," Zhou Yingru replied. "This month, the defense of the four gates of the guard city will be led by the Chief of the Middle Thousand Households."

"Well, okay. I now order you to close the city gates and not allow anyone to enter or leave until the case is investigated thoroughly." Lu Wenzhao added procedural requirements to what Lu Jianxing had already done.

"My lord. I'm afraid this isn't a good idea." Zhou Yingru reported.

"What's wrong with that?" Lu Wenzhao asked back.

"This guard is not like the Left and Right Guards. We serve as the last checkpoint on the canal's route north to the capital. The supply of goods to the surrounding areas of the capital also relies on the transit of merchants. Locking the city for a day or two may not be a problem, but if it lasts too long, the various departments will definitely question this matter. Moreover, Shen Caiyu has not returned to the government office for many days. It is likely that he has escaped the city. Locking the city at this time will be futile." Zhou Yingru pleaded, "Therefore, I ask the emperor to think twice before acting."

"That makes sense." Lu Wenzhao had no experience in administration, but after a moment's thought, he understood Zhou Yingru's point. He nodded slightly, raised his voice, and, amidst the horrified gazes of the garrison officers, addressed General Luo, "General Luo, have General Lu remove the city ban and simply guard the four gates."

"Yes."

------

In the evening, the blood-red sunset shone on the waves of the canal, as if creating some sparkling firelight, embellishing the mottled walls of the Han Mansion.

After returning home, Han Chengkui immediately summoned his close associates Jiang Guangchun and Wang Guozhen, as well as Li Wenbiao, the governor of the Southern Pacification Office, to his residence to discuss matters.

"Master Tongzhi, what on earth is going on?" Jiang Guangchun was the guard officer in charge of the grain transport. On weekdays, he only needed to report to the yamen at the time of roll call. Therefore, when Lu Wenzhao took over Tianjin Wei with the order from the rear court and the Ministry of War, he was not in the yamen.

Just as Wang Guozhen was about to speak up and explain the situation, Han Chengkui interrupted him and forced the conversation into Li Wenbiao's hand. "You tell him."

"Me?" Li Wenbiao was stunned for a moment before saying, "Commander Shen probably has no chance of success."

"Tell me something I don't know." Even though Jiang Guangchun was not well-informed, he knew that Shen Zhengping had arrested all eighty people who stayed in the Shen Mansion and put them in jail under the surveillance of the Jinyiwei.

"We sent a warrant to arrest someone, but he ran away. What's there to say?" Li Wenbiao felt a little guilty.

"Why do we need to take over the defense just to capture someone?" Jiang Guangchun asked patiently.

"You ask me, who should I ask? If you really want to know, then go to the government office and ask Lu Wenzhao." Li Wenbiao's guilty conscience turned into irritability under Jiang Guangchun's questioning. "You little bastard, you haven't even grown all your hair yet, what are you so proud of?"

"Shut up!" Han Chengkui slammed the table. He held his forehead, his features twisted together. "You're scolding the Imperial Guards, are you tired of living?" The sight of the Imperial Guards treating the courtyard wall like nothing was still vivid in his mind.

"I" Li Wenbiao was immediately discouraged by Han Chengkui.

"What do you mean? Why did Shen Caiyu run away? Where did he run to?" Han Chengkui asked Li Wenbiao sternly.

"I don't know either." Li Wenbiao shook his head repeatedly.

"Don't you love to lick the shit on Shen Caiyu's ass? Can't you follow the smell to find him out?" Han Chengkui stared at Li Wenbiao viciously, as if he wanted to cut a piece of flesh from his face.

"Look at what you're saying." Li Wenbiao finally understood why Han Chengkui had asked him to come. "I don't just lick his asshole, I lick yours too. If you can succeed Commander Shen and take the seal of this guard, I promise to serve you comfortably."

"Haha" Wang Guozhen was amused by Li Wenbiao's fierce look, but he couldn't laugh openly, so he had to hold it in.

"You really don't know?" Although Han Chengkui felt annoyed, he didn't want to correct him.

"I really don't know! Why would he notify me if he got into trouble and ran away?" Li Wenbiao shook his head violently. "You might as well ask Shen Xie."

"If I could have asked Shen Xie, would I have asked you? Fuck!" Han Chengkui immediately thought of Shen Xie's broken legs. His brows furrowed even more. "These guys are too cruel. I've never seen anything like this!"

　Solicitation of opinions:
　　My characters fall into three categories: purely original characters, characters that are deconstructed and reshaped based on historical archetypes, and characters borrowed from The Blade of the Assassin.

　　Someone suggested that I reduce the weight of the seconded characters.

　　I would like to seek the opinions of the public.

　　You should be able to see that, aside from the larger framework (e.g., Lu Wenzhao's overly eagerness to advance, Shen Lian's lack of money due to his womanizing), I've already completed and even reconstructed the personalities of these seconded characters. I originally seconded these characters simply because I felt the backgrounds fit, and I liked some of them individually. My initial intention was to give these tragic characters a fantastical, happy ending, much like revising the fate of the tragic Ming Dynasty and restoring the status China lost during early globalization.

　　However, the fate of the Ming Dynasty cannot be changed, but the seconded characters can gradually reduce their weight and exit, or even change their names.

　　Just like reforming and reusing the Jinyiwei is an established national policy, but it does not necessarily have to be implemented with these methods.

　　I personally don’t care. What do you think?

　　
　
(End of this chapter)