Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 243 Imperial Financial Meeting
"I hope you're all right, Commander Luo." Zhang Weixian immediately returned the greeting, took Luo Sigong's arm, and led him back to his previous position. "Sit down and talk."

It was hard to tell the generational difference between Zhang Weixian and Luo Sigong, but they were roughly the same age and had a good personal relationship. Therefore, after the formalities were completed, the atmosphere became as harmonious as usual.

After sitting down, Zhang Weixian didn't ask Luo Sigong what he was doing in the mansion. Instead, he brought the teacup and casually found a conversation. "The turmoil in the palace seems to be gradually coming to an end," Zhang Weixian said.

Luo Sigong nodded and continued, following Zhang Weixian's lead, "A notice was posted in the palace, saying that as long as one confesses their crimes, repents, and returns the stolen money, the Imperial Household Department and the Eastern Depot will no longer pursue the case. In reality, they didn't arrest that many people; only a few hundred, if you count the families' trusted servants." Luo Sigong paused, as if to throw the conversation back to Zhang Weixian. But before Zhang Weixian could continue, Luo Sigong added, "So many people have been arrested in the inner court, yet the outer court hasn't been implicated. How virtuous of the current emperor."

"Your Majesty is holy and virtuous." Zhang Weixian raised an eyebrow, then bowed to him from afar and asked, "I heard that only the Guanglu Temple and the Ministry of Works arrested a few people?"

"It should be, but I don't know the specific circumstances." Luo Sigong sighed slightly: "This task was not assigned to the Jinyiwei at all."

"Tian Ergeng didn't get an assignment either?" Zhang Weixian laughed contemptuously. "Didn't they say he became Wei Zhongxian's son?"

Zhang Weixian actually had a good impression of Wei Zhongxian, but due to the rift between Tian Ergeng and Luo Sigong, he never showed any affection towards Wei Zhongxian. However, during the New Year holidays, in accordance with the custom of "not offending others," he sent him a modest gift. Similar gifts were also given to the other two eunuchs who attended the emperor in the Southern Study, and he personally delivered the one to Wang An.

"No. It was all handled by the East Factory from beginning to end." Luo Sigong said meaningfully: "Even though he made some mistakes, Cui Bingbi still seems to be favored by the emperor."

"Cui Wensheng is a treacherous villain who used aphrodisiacs for the Emperor. He even dared to openly retaliate against the officials in the magnificent Forbidden City! I really don't know what the Emperor would do with such a man!" Zhang Weixian made no secret of his disgust for Cui Wensheng. He was the only one of the four great eunuchs who had not received a congratulatory card or New Year's gift from Zhang Weixian. In his opinion, people like Cui Wensheng should be dragged out and beheaded, or even tortured to death by slicing.

Luo Sigong followed up on this topic and added, "Even a concubine and eunuch like Cui Bingbi who had committed a serious mistake could be tolerated and reused. The emperor is indeed tolerant."

Zhang Weixian seemed to understand something after hearing this. "Master Luo seems to have a hidden agenda. You definitely didn't come here just for tea." He chuckled softly and said, "Haha, then let's not beat around the bush. Master Luo, just speak frankly."

"Well, since the Duke has heard it, I won't try to hide it anymore." Luo Sigong put away his smile and said seriously, "Shen Caiyu has fled for fear of punishment."

"Shen Caiyu?" Zhang Weixian was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized, "Is he the official in charge of the seals of the Tianjin Guard?"

"That's right. It's him." Luo Sigong turned around, faced Zhang Weixian, and stared into his eyes.

The smile on Zhang Weixian's face suddenly disappeared, and then a strange blood color appeared on his face. But the next moment, he adjusted his mood, stared back at Luo Sigong without giving in, and said, "Shen Caiyu ran away, and you came to find me?"

"It's hard for me not to look for you," Luo Sigong said solemnly, "The Commander-in-Chief has received the imperial order. Tomorrow, the Imperial Guard will officially begin their investigation into this case, and the Western Depot will also send personnel to follow."

"Since you have received the imperial mission, then go and investigate. Why are you looking for me?" Zhang Weixian frowned, his heart beat faster, and the color on his face became even darker.

"If it's you," Luo Sigong paused, then continued, "or if it was done by someone in your family. I hope you can take the initiative to submit a petition and apologize to the Emperor. The Emperor has always been very tolerant, and you are a minister who has served the Emperor well. If you confess and repent in time, the Emperor will..."

boom!
Zhang Weixian rarely slams the table at customers. Usually, when he does, it's because he's genuinely angry.

"Why do you doubt me!" Zhang Weixian's voice suddenly rose eight degrees.

"Ha!" Luo Sigong let out a long breath, then said calmly, "Tianjin Guard is under the jurisdiction of the Rear Military Governor's Office. And you, Duke Ying, have held the seal of the Rear Military Governor's Office since the 37th year of the Wanli reign. Some things are clear to everyone. Before, the late emperor didn't ask, so we didn't intervene. But now the emperor has ordered the Jinyiwei to thoroughly investigate this case, so we must intervene."

"Bullshit! What do you mean by something? If you have something to say, why not say it clearly? Don't try to be so witty with me." Zhang Weixian stood up, swung his sleeves, and then suddenly turned around, his wide sleeves almost hitting Luo Sigong in the face. "If you want to accuse me, then bring out the solid evidence!"

"." Luo Sigong was silent for a while, but still didn't say anything. "I came to you because I haven't got the evidence yet. If I really found the evidence, I wouldn't be here." Seeing Zhang Weixian stand up, Luo Sigong didn't sit still. He stood up and said:

"The Jinyiwei left the capital on the day of the regular court session. Upon arrival, they immediately locked down the city and arrested people as planned, but in the end, they found nothing. Of course, if that were all, I wouldn't immediately suspect the Rear Military Governor's Office. But Shen Caiyu didn't escape until the seventh day of the first lunar month. On the sixth day, when the copy was being made, he even showed up at the Tianjin Guard office. In other words, Shen Caiyu had already received the news before the New Year, but in order to avoid arousing suspicion, he deliberately waited until after the New Year to leave. Why do you think this happened?"

"How should I know!" Zhang Weixian shouted.

Luo Sigong extended his right hand and curled his thumb. "The Jinyiwei's actions were only reported to four government offices. The first was the Western Depot, the second was the Ministry of War, the third was the Criminal Investigation Department, and the fourth was the Rear Military Governor's Office. The Tianjin Guard couldn't possibly have connections to the Western Depot or the Criminal Investigation Department, so it could only be the Ministry of War or the Rear Military Governor's Office. After careful consideration, I feel that the Rear Military Governor's Office is more likely to be at fault than the Ministry of War."

"Humph! Then I can also say that there's something wrong with you!" Zhang Weixian retorted sarcastically, "It's just about arresting the commander of the Tianjin Guard. Why do you insist on using the orders from the Imperial Household and the Ministry of War to have the Imperial Guard take over the Tianjin Guard? If you don't take over the Tianjin Guard, can't you, the Imperial Guard, arrest this person? Or, if the Imperial Guard doesn't take this order, the Imperial Household and the Ministry of War won't know about it, and the news won't leak out. General Luo, think about it yourself, isn't this the truth?"

"I!" Luo Sigong paused. He couldn't explain the specific reasons to Zhang Weixian yet. What's more, Zhang Weixian was a major suspect in the crime.

"You're speechless, aren't you?" Zhang Weixian raised his head smugly, the color draining from his face. "I thought it was strange at the time, but for your sake, I didn't ask any further questions. But now you're here to accuse me?"

"I'm not here to punish you, but to save you." Luo Sigong lowered his head and chuckled at himself.

"Save me? You made a mistake while doing your job, yet you rushed to my house in a hurry, put the shit pot on my head, and then said you wanted to save me? Ha! Luo Weishai, aren't your words too grandiose?" Zhang Weixian's words were unpleasant, but his tone softened unexpectedly.

"You really didn't do what happened to Shen Caiyu?" Luo Sigong finally advised: "If you did it, please submit a letter of confession immediately, and I will speak for you." "My Zhang family has protected the country and the king for generations. You shouldn't doubt me so much! I tell you clearly that I didn't do it. Even if the news was leaked from the Rear Army Governor's Office, it has nothing to do with the Zhang Mansion. If you want to investigate, just go ahead." Zhang Weixian sat back in his seat with a stern face.

"Okay then. I'll come and apologize once the truth is revealed." Luo Sigong breathed a sigh of relief. Deep down, he really didn't want Zhang Weixian to be the one who did this.

Luo Sigong bowed and clasped his fists in greeting, saying, "Goodbye."

"You should apologize." Zhang Weixian picked up the teacup and pretended to see him off. "Goodbye, Marshal Luo. I won't see you off now." This was the first time he didn't see Luo Sigong off to his doorstep.

"Don't come. I will get to the bottom of this." Luo Sigong turned and left.

After Luo Sigong left, the redness on Zhang Weixian's face faded away. He sat half-slumped in his chair, his chin resting on his elbow, his eyes flickering with some inexplicable emotion.

------

The next day. It was the fifteenth day of the first lunar month in the first year of the Taichang reign of the Ming Dynasty.

"Yuan" means "beginning," and "xiao" means "night." The fifteenth day of the first lunar month is the first full moon night of the new year, hence the name "Lantern Festival." Throughout the dynasties, the Lantern Festival has been celebrated as a major festival for both officials and the public. During the current dynasty, celebrations featuring community fireworks and lanterns have reached new heights, extending the reach of previous dynasties.

In the 21st year of the Chenghua reign, the Chenghua Emperor ordered a grand celebration of the Lantern Festival in the palace, and ordered court painters to accompany him from dawn to dusk, faithfully recording what they saw and heard of the lively scenes, creating the "Lantern Festival Pleasures Picture." However, this year, the monarch, who finally had the right to use the Taichang reign title, not only showed no interest in planning such a grand event, but instead, during the New Year's holiday, he staged a major scandal in the palace.

Although the cases in the palace almost exclusively involved eunuchs, the outer court was also busy. Several government offices, led by the Household Department, the Works Department, and the Military Department, were even busier than before the Lunar New Year. This was because, after the last court meeting of the 48th year of the Wanli reign, the emperor issued an edict ordering all ministries to settle accounts, stating that the first imperial court meeting of the Taichang year would be held on the 15th day of the first lunar month.

The entrances to the Imperial City and the Forbidden City would open precisely at the hour of Mao. Therefore, at the last two quarters of the hour of Yin, the six ministers of the Cabinet would leave their homes in sedan chairs and gather at the Dong'an Gate.

Fang Congzhe lived in Chongjiaofang, farthest from Dong'anmen, and was therefore usually the last to arrive. When the sedan chair stopped, he stepped out. But Fang Congzhe's sedan bearers didn't carry the sedan away like the other cabinet members' bearers did. He had been granted the privilege of riding in a sedan chair in the Forbidden City, and was instead transported to the gate of the cabinet's duty room.

Fang Congzhe could actually have asked the sedan bearers to carry him directly to the door of the cabinet duty room, but he would definitely get off the sedan at Dong'an Gate first, greet his colleagues, and then get back in the sedan.

The imperial court respected nobility, and officials followed a hierarchy of rank. There were strict etiquette rules for bowing, standing in order, walking, and avoiding each other, as well as for distinguishing high from low. Generally speaking, the protocol for greeting was that the superior official sat on the left, the inferior on the right, with the lower right official bowing first and the upper left responding second.

Two hundred and fifty years later, the rules of hierarchy still existed, but the specific classifications were largely no longer based on the ancestral system as recorded in the Collected Statutes, but on actual differences. Otherwise, these six cabinet members were all second-rank ministers of rites and fifth-rank ministers of the Dongge, and there would be no hierarchy at all.

"Prime Minister." The cabinet members and ministers saluted Prime Minister Fang Congzhe.

"Jinqing, Shicheng, Jihui, Yuchen, Mingzhen." Fang Congzhe bowed to Ye Xianggao, Shi Jixie, Liu Yirong, Han Yu, and Shen in turn.

Afterwards, the cabinet members paid each other a visit.

Although Shen, Liu, and Han had already grown to the point of dislike for each other, they still maintained a superficial harmony during the greetings led by Fang Congzhe. They even smiled and exchanged pleasantries.

After paying his respects, Fang Congzhe said, "Gentlemen, a lot of things happened last year, some good and some bad. But no matter good or bad, we all got through it together under the blessing of His Majesty's heavenly grace. During the Lantern Festival in the first month of the year, you must unite as one and stick together through thick and thin, so that we can overcome the difficulties together and assist His Majesty in reviving the Ming Dynasty." Fang Congzhe knew that his words would probably not have much practical effect, but he still had to say it.

"Yes," the cabinet members agreed. But only they themselves knew whether it was true or not.

A short while later, officials from six ministries, including Zhou Jiamo of the Ministry of Personnel, Li Ruhua of the Ministry of Revenue, Xu Guangqi of the Ministry of Rites, Cui Jingrong of the Ministry of War, Huang Kezan of the Ministry of Justice, and Wang Zuo of the Ministry of Works, arrived at the Dong'an Gate. After exchanging greetings with the six cabinet members, they stood silently behind them without saying a word. Only Li Ruhua quietly returned to his sedan chair. Like Fang Congzhe, he had also received a special honor bestowed by the emperor.

At the hour of Mao, the Dong'an Gate and Dong'anli Gate of the Imperial City, as well as the Donghua Gate of the Palace City, opened simultaneously. As the gates opened, the ten civil servants standing there were all startled.

"Prime Minister Wang is here." Ye Xianggao knocked on the window frame of Fang Congzhe's sedan chair and reminded him softly.

Upon hearing this, Fang Congzhe immediately opened the curtain and walked out with a smile on his face.

Wang An, the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department, accompanied by Wei Chao, the chief eunuch in charge of the imperial ceremonies, and the eunuchs in charge of the East and West Factories, were standing on the Yuhe Bridge between Dong'an Gate and Dong'anli Gate. They saluted from a distance, "Prime Minister Fang, Second Minister Ye, all the elders, and all the ministers, please come in."

Since the palace's chief eunuch had come to greet him personally, Fang Congzhe abandoned his sedan chair. He quickly approached Wang An and said, "Everything is going well." This sounded both congratulatory and questioning.

Wang An smiled calmly, a smile that was both sincere and solemn. "We're in this together."

(End of this chapter)