Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 241 Qin Liangyu's Audience

After Wei Zhongxian left, the Southern Study returned to its state of silence. No one discussed the matter anymore, as if it were just a minor incident that didn't matter.

After a while, Zhu Changluo suddenly looked at Wang An and asked, "Has Qin Liangyu arrived in Beijing?"

"Qin Liangyu and her brothers, Qin Bangping and Qin Minping, have been staying in Beijing for several days, awaiting an audience with the Emperor." Wang An pulled out a memorandum and quickly found the relevant record. "The day after she left Tongzhou, her son, Ma Xianglin, responded to the call of General Tong Zhongkui and led his White-Pole Soldiers north."

"So they've arrived." Zhu Changluo nodded and ordered, "Give them a banquet and summon them to the palace in the afternoon."

"Or should we follow the old custom of meeting a missionary and bring him to the study?" Wang An asked.

"Let's take them to Huangji Gate." Zhu Changluo thought for a moment and said, "Call Cui Wensheng as well."

"Cui Wensheng?" Wang An was puzzled.

"Yes. It's Cui Wensheng." Zhu Changluo nodded.

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The Inner Golden Water River flows from the northwest corner of the Forbidden City to its southeast corner. The river meanders through the city, its channel varying in width and narrowness, appearing and disappearing at times. The most magnificent section is the arched channel between the Meridian Gate and the Huangji Gate. The riverbed and banks in this section are paved with white stone, and both sides of the river are lined with white marble balusters and railings.

Between the two gates stand five stone bridges known as the Inner Golden Water Bridges. This group of bridges is the largest and most magnificent in the Forbidden City. Of the five Inner Golden Water Bridges, the central main bridge is the longest and widest, allowing only the emperor to cross it. The four bridges to the left and right are guest bridges, used by members of the imperial family, princes, and civil and military officials.

Led by the eunuchs, Qin Liangyu crossed the Inner Golden Water Bridge on the far left, near Guiji Gate. Her eyesight was excellent, and from a distance she spotted the "Huangji Gate" plaque hanging beneath the double-eaves of the hip roof. At this moment, the tension and uneasiness she had so desperately suppressed since receiving the imperial edict began to surge unnaturally.

"Shiqu Xuanfu Division's acting envoy Qin Liangyu, deputy envoy Qin Bangping, and assistant envoy Qin Minping have arrived." Although this summons was not a grand reception, it was held at the Huangji Gate instead of the Nanshufang, so the basic summons process still followed.

"Announce." The emperor's decree was passed on by eunuchs and Han generals, spreading from the dragon throne to the base made of white marble.

Qin Liangyu and the other two followed the sound and entered the Huangji Gate Hall. Once inside, they lifted their robes and kowtowed according to the rules that the eunuchs had instructed them in advance.

"Your servants, acting as envoys of the Shiqu Xuanfu Division, Qin Liangyu, the deputy envoy Qin Bangping, and Qin Minping, come to pay their respects to the emperor, wishing him long live his life." Although the eunuchs had taught them how to worship and kowtow before they entered the palace, when they really arrived before the emperor, the three of them were so nervous that they knelt and kowtowed randomly.

Qin Liangyu knew she had screwed up. But fortunately, the emperor was very tolerant. He neither scolded nor corrected her. Instead, he said calmly, "Please stand up."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." The three of them stood up at the same time, but still kept their heads down.

"Don't bow your heads." The solemn and lofty voice seemed to suddenly warm up. "Since you have come to the palace, at least let me see what you look like."

"Yes." Qin Liangyu raised her head and found the emperor looking at her with a smile. Her eyes met the emperor's, but the next moment, she consciously looked away.

As their eyes crossed, Qin Liangyu noticed that beside the seated emperor stood two eunuchs in crimson dragon robes. Both eunuchs had white hair at their temples, clearly indicating their age. She suspected one of them must be Wang An, the emperor's most trusted eunuch, but she couldn't guess the other.

"You are the first woman to call herself 'minister' in front of me. Haha." Zhu Changluo laughed and said kindly: "That's very good, that's very good."

"." Qin Liangyu didn't know how to respond, so she just stood there blankly, laughing foolishly twice.

"You are from Sichuan. Are you used to living in the north?" Zhu Changluo said again, as if to relieve Qin Liangyu's embarrassment.

"I'm grateful for your concern, Your Majesty. I'm quite used to it. It was not when I first came to the north to fight against the Japanese invaders that I was really uncomfortable with it," Qin Liangyu replied.

In the first month of the 25th year of the Wanli reign, Japanese pirates invaded Korea for the second time. That same month, the Korean authorities sent envoys to the suzerain state requesting aid. In February, the Ming Dynasty reconsidered the campaign against the Japanese. In July, Ma Qiancheng, then serving as envoy to the Shiqu Xuanfu Division, and his wife, Qin Liangyu, were ordered to aid Korea in its fight against the Japanese. After the Japanese were pacified in the 27th year of the Wanli reign, Ma Qiancheng was again ordered to lead 3,000 white-pole soldiers to the campaign against Bozhou, while Qin Liangyu accompanied him with 500 elite soldiers and provisions.

"You'll get used to it." Zhu Changluo smiled and nodded.

Qin Liangyu felt that now was the time to express her gratitude and praise to the emperor, so she knelt down again. "I kowtow to thank the emperor for generously releasing the treasury and awarding silver to reward the army." Seeing Qin Liangyu kneel, her brothers also knelt down and repeated their words of gratitude.

"Huh?" Zhu Changluo was stunned for a moment. It took him several breaths to remember that years ago, Li Ruhua had asked for a sum of money from him, claiming it was to reward the foreign troops heading north to aid Liao. Even now, he couldn't recall how much he had given. He only remembered this incident.

"There's no need for you to be so polite. The local soldiers from Sichuan and Guizhou, like the foreign soldiers from the Nine Borders, Zhejiang, Huguang and other places, are all loyal and righteous troops protecting our Ming Dynasty. What's more, they are far away and have worked hard, so it's natural to give them some rewards. You'd better stand up and speak." Zhu Changluo was quite satisfied with their proactive thanks.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Qin Liangyu led the Qin brothers in kowtow again.

After the three stood up, Zhu Changluo turned his gaze to Qin Bangping, the eldest son of the Qin family, and said, "I heard that your father, Qin Kui, was a Mingjing scholar?"

"In reply to the emperor's words, my father was indeed a scholar from Zhongzhou, Chongqing Prefecture." The emperor's smile dispelled Qin Bangping's panic and uneasiness of "suddenly ascending to the emperor's hall", but he still spoke haltingly.

"Studying at the Imperial College in Beijing?" Zhu Changluo asked. According to national law, scholars with outstanding academic performance could study at the Imperial College, becoming known as "gongsheng" (tribute students) or, more elegantly, "mingjing" (literati).

"My father was fortunate enough to study at the Imperial College in Nanjing. He never made it to the capital to enjoy the royal influence, which was a lifelong regret for him." Qin Bangping shook his head slightly.

In the Ming Dynasty, there were four ways for scholars to enter the Imperial Academy as tribute students: annual tribute, selected tribute, grace tribute, and tribute. Annual tribute was the norm, meaning that every year or every two or three years, the provincial education officials would select outstanding students from prefecture, state, and county schools to study at the Imperial Academy. Grace tribute, like the special examination, was an additional selection made under the emperor's "enlightenment decree."

"Since he was able to raise such outstanding children, he must be a shining pearl among the dust." Zhu Changluo suddenly called out, "Wang An."

"Your servant is here." Wang An trotted down the steps and knelt beside the three men, assuming the posture of awaiting an imperial decree. "Confer the title of Jinshi on Qin Kui, a tribute student from Zhongzhou," Zhu Changluo ordered.

"I obey your order." Wang An kowtowed to the leader.

The three Qin siblings also kowtowed in gratitude. "We bow to thank the Emperor for His Majesty's grace."

After expressing his gratitude, Qin Bangping, the brother who was over fifty years old with gray hair, suddenly couldn't suppress the gratitude in his heart and began to sob.

"Why are you crying?" Zhu Changluo asked gently.

"Your Majesty, please forgive me for my rudeness. I suddenly remembered my father's teachings and was overwhelmed with emotion." Qin Bangping raised his hand to wipe away the slight moisture from the corners of his eyes.

"It's okay. Li Kaixian, a poet of our dynasty, once wrote, 'A man doesn't shed tears easily, only because he hasn't felt the pain yet.'" Zhu Changluo said graciously. "Since this has brought up your sorrow, then go ahead and shed your tears."

"I thank the emperor for his grace." Even if the emperor allowed him to shed tears, Qin Bangping could not really cry out loud in the hall.

I'd better tell my ancestors during the family sacrifice, Qin Bangping thought.

"Gentlemen, please stand up and speak." Zhu Changluo gestured for the three to stand up for the third time. However, this time, before they could fully stand up, he called out, "Cui Wensheng!"

Only then did Qin Liangyu realize that this thin eunuch with gloomy eyes was actually Cui Wensheng, the eunuch commander of the East Factory, whose reputation for cruelty and greed spread throughout the capital and even as far as Tongzhou.

"I'm here." Cui Wensheng's posture was a little hunched, but his hunchback didn't affect his agility. Cui Wensheng came to Qin Minping's side and stood with his head bowed. Together with Wang An, they sandwiched the three of them in the middle.

"Tell me about your job." Zhu Changluo put away the smile between his eyebrows, and a serious look appeared at the corners of his mouth.

"Yes." Cui Wensheng was prepared. Without a second thought, he said, "In the past few days, the Ministry of Justice has completed the investigation and interrogation of Ma Tang, Wang Hu, Chen Zeng, and other slaves. Now, the Ministry of Justice is conducting a comprehensive review of the illegal activities of the criminal slave Qiu Chengyun."

Qiu Chengyun, like Ma Tang, Zhang Yu, Hu Bin, and Pan Xiang, was one of the last batch of mining supervisors and tax collectors recalled from various regions in the name of the late emperor's will when the successor ascended to the throne. These individuals were scattered across the country, and every one of them exploited the local population by relying on the late emperor's protection. Qiu Chengyun's post was in Sichuan.

Hearing the words "Qiu Chengyun", Qin Liangyu's body trembled uncontrollably. A flame of frustration and hatred suddenly ignited in her eyes.

In the 41st year of the Wanli reign, Qin Liangyu's husband, Ma Qiancheng, fell ill and was unable to personally receive the mining tax eunuch Qiu Chengyun, who was inspecting his jurisdiction. Qiu Chengyun, a narrow-minded man, actually blamed Ma Qiancheng for his disrespectful reception.

Qiu Chengyun exploited the conflicts among the local Yi people and instigated Tan Liangzuo and others from Fengdu County, Zhongzhou, to once again accuse Ma Qiancheng of leading his troops to rob and kill many captives. This was a second accusation because such an accusation had already occurred in the 38th year of the Wanli reign.

Upon receiving the accusation, Qiu Chengyun, without waiting for the emperor's order, immediately ordered his men to arrest Ma Qiancheng and imprison him. Ma Qiancheng offered no resistance and surrendered. However, he died in prison shortly thereafter due to lack of medical care.

"How did the interrogation go?" Zhu Changluo asked Cui Wensheng.

"In reply to the emperor," Cui Wensheng said, raising his voice slightly, "The East Depot has confirmed that the criminal servant Qiu Chengyun is corrupt, arrogant, and lawless, soliciting and accepting bribes with impunity. He has beaten, killed, and framed anyone who disobeyed him."

Zhu Changluo adjusted his gaze, looked at Qin Liangyu, and asked, "Qin Liangyu, I remember that you are the acting envoy to Shiqu, right?"

"Yes. My late husband died of illness in prison. The court found out that Shiqusi was innocent, so they did not abolish the hereditary succession of the Ma family. But at that time, my subject Xianglin was still young, so I followed the tradition of the chieftains and took over my husband's position. After my subject Xianglin came of age, I submitted a petition requesting that Xianglin be officially appointed as the envoy of Shiqusi, but I never received a response." Qin Liangyu was not greedy for the title and status of a female chieftain. Whenever she wrote or referred to herself as such, she would insist on adding the word "taking over" in her writings.

In fact, she had already transferred the power of the envoy to her son Ma Xianglin, but the court had been dragging its feet and not approving it, so she could only continue to contact various parties under the title of envoy.

"Ma Qiancheng died of illness? That's not right." Cui Wensheng suddenly said.

"What's going on?" Zhu Changluo asked immediately.

"Your Majesty. The Ministry of Justice has confirmed that the criminal slave Qiu Chengyun has repeatedly framed the chieftains in Sichuan, Guizhou and other places, and demanded bribes of hundreds of thousands. Among them, the chieftains in Yongning, Youyang, Shiqu and other places suffered the most. According to Qiu Chengyun's own account, he had instigated the barbarians who had a feud with Shiqu Xuanfu Envoy Ma Qiancheng to falsely accuse Ma Qiancheng. Later, because Ma Qiancheng refused to accept his extortion, he ordered people to poison him to death in the Yunyang County Prison of Kuizhou Prefecture, Sichuan Provincial Administration Commission." After saying this, Cui Wensheng put on a look of sympathy and grief.

"!" Qin Liangyu was startled and turned to look at Cui Wensheng. She instinctively wanted to ask, but she had not forgotten that she was in the presence of the emperor and could not speak to herself.

"Did he instruct on all this himself?" Zhu Changluo asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes. Through cross-checking the confessions, the East Factory can confirm that this is the truth." The Eastern Factory's Criminal Division also employs the same tactics used by the Jinyiwei's Northern Pacification Division. Under these various tactics, the prisoner will confess everything he knows, begging for a quick death.

"You've done a good job." Zhu Changluo nodded slightly in affirmation of Cui Wensheng, then frowned and asked Qin Liangyu, "It seems the court owes the Shiqu Division an explanation. Qin Liangyu, do you have blood for blood in your place? If so, I can have Cui Wensheng hand Qiu Chengyun over to you."

"Killing enemies with one's own hands, repaying blood with blood, is the old law of the chieftains. Now that the Shiqusi has been governed by the king, they should obey the king's laws. Moreover, the eunuchs are also officials of the imperial court. They cannot be overstepped by the Shiqusi and must be dealt with according to national law and the imperial decree." Qin Liangyu knelt and kowtowed. She was extremely sad, but her eyes were bloodshot, not tears. She held them back.

Zhu Changluo was somewhat surprised. He had originally intended to hand Qiu Chengyun over to the Shiqu Division for personal punishment, much like they had dismissed the men who had falsely accused Xiong Tingbi and sent them to Liaodong as soldiers. He was silent for a moment, then said coldly, "Very well. Cui Wensheng, listen to your orders."

Upon hearing this, Cui Wensheng knelt down and pretended to listen attentively to the Hadith.

"After the trial, those who committed serious crimes like Qiu Chengyun will be taken to Xisi Pailou for execution." Zhu Changluo gave the order.

"Yes. I obey your command." Cui Wensheng accepted the order solemnly.

(End of this chapter)