Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 260 Impeachment of Luo Sigong

Zhu Changluo lowered his head and propped it up with his knuckles. His eyes had changed, but no one could see it.

After pondering for a moment, Zhu Changluo asked Wang Chengen, "Who knows about this?"

"The news has not spread out yet. Currently, only people from the Western Factory, the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Military Department know about it." Wang Chengen deliberately blurred the fact that he had visited Mi Mengshang not long ago.

"What does the Jinyiwei say?" Zhu Changluo tapped the memorial he had just taken down from the pile with his fingertips, but he had no intention of opening it immediately.

"Captain Luo said," Wang Chengen paused to think for a moment before continuing, "that the Jinyiwei were having trouble handling the situation on their own, and requested an imperial judgment."

"Asking for an imperial judgment means there's no explanation." Zhu Changluo stroked his beard. "Wang Chengen, do you have any explanation?"

"this."

Snapped!
Just as Wang Cheng'en was about to speak, he heard a rather abrupt slapping sound to his right. He looked in the direction of the sound and saw Wang An shaking his head anxiously. Wang Cheng'en focused his attention and realized that Wang An wasn't just shaking his head; his lips were repeatedly moving a silent word: "Don't, don't."
Wang Chengen turned his head and closed his eyes, as if he had made up his mind. "I think... I think we should thoroughly investigate this case."

Wang An's mind went blank as soon as he heard this. He wanted to say something, but he didn't know how to get in the conversation.

"A thorough investigation." Zhu Changluo's face lit up with a meaningful smile. "That's easy to say." After a moment, he added, "Well, go back and sort out the whole story. Write a detailed report for me to see."

"Yes!" A gleam of light suddenly appeared in Wang Chengen's dull eyes.

"Go down." Zhu Changluo moved the memorial in front of him. Seeing the first word "impeachment" in the title, he knew that this was another impeachment.

"I'll take my leave." Wang Chengen kowtowed three times before getting up and leaving.

After Wang Chengen left, Zhu Changluo acted as if nothing had happened. He read the impeachment letter in one breath, and saw that it read:
"Jinyi Luo Sigong is a corrupt official. Your Highness and I have no time to bother with him, so I list him and humiliate him. Only Bai Jian is different."

"Si Gong rose to power and was elected, but he was nothing but a poor and cunning man. From then on, he held high positions and became extremely powerful. His concubines and ministers sang and danced day and night, and his intentions were unknown. The north and the south were at war. The holy ruler had no money and no clothes, and the people were poor and had to work hard. He no longer respected his subjects."

"Furthermore, those who have always selected armored soldiers must have been strong and powerful. Age and illness are the reasons for their appointment. Si Gong, despite his white hair and old age, refused to follow the example. Does he still understand the meaning of restraint? Moreover, he even used illness as an excuse to request it. How can a frail and sick body like him be able to approach the emperor?"

"I still think of the guards as a joke, the Jinwu as an unyielding force, and the wagging of the tail as a convenient strategy. I cannot bear to change my ears for the rest of my life. As old age and illness come together, I sincerely hope that I will never again join the ranks."

"Moreover, he has been greedy, violent, and licentious for so long that he has escaped punishment. He should be awakened by public opinion. He is a dying chicken rib, so why not try to stop him? Let's test his remaining strength."

Signed: Zhao Yanqing, Censor of Huguang Province, Censorate.

"What a stalemate. Humph." Zhu Changluo sneered, frowning and asking, "Where did this Zhao Yanqing come from? What's his background?"

Zhao Yanqing

Wang An instinctively stood up and walked to the bookshelf behind him. However, because all the memorials from the outer court regarding the imperial guards were reviewed by the emperor himself, Wang An had never seen them, so he didn't know which government office to look for this person named Zhao Yanqing.

Seeing Wang An standing in front of the shelf in a daze, Zhu Changluo reminded him, "The Censorate."

"Oh!" Wang An took a half step to the left, flicked lightly in the box that was convenient for him, and the roster of the Censorate was in his hand.

Wang An quickly tracked down Zhao Yanqing. "Zhao Yanqing, a military officer from Yu County, Taiyuan Prefecture, Shanxi Province. He passed the imperial examination in the 43rd year of the Wanli reign (1644-1684), and was a Jinshi the following year. He was initially appointed magistrate of Leting County in Northern Zhili, and later transferred to Juye County. On the second day of August in the 48th year of the Wanli reign, he was appointed Censor of the Huguang Circuit."

On the second day of August, the new emperor, who had been on the throne for only one day, appointed some supervisory officials.

"Has he had any contact with anyone recently?" Zhu Changluo asked again.

"Master, wait a moment." Wang An approached the shelf containing the Jinyiwei's reports and began to quickly search through them. In a short while, he had reviewed all the reports since the change of reign. He said, "This man hasn't interacted with anyone recently." Unless specifically ordered, the Jinyiwei wouldn't waste manpower monitoring low-ranking officials. So, the "people" Wang An referred to were high-ranking civil and military officials.

"But this Zhao Yanqing is probably from the Donglin Party," Wang An explained. "When the Fengxian official was appointed, all factions made recommendations. This person was nominated by Yang Lian, so he's most likely from the Donglin Party."

"Donglin Party?" Zhu Changluo didn't think Yang Lian, who was far away in Liaodong, would bother to get involved in these matters. "Why are they jumping out now?"

"Master." Wang An asked cautiously, "What happened?"

"Read it yourself." Zhu Changluo pushed the memorial to the edge of the imperial desk.

Wang An approached and picked it up. As soon as he opened the memorial, he heard the emperor say, "The Tianjin Guards, the Embroidered Uniform Guards, the Marquis of Wuqing, the Donglin Party. This water is really getting muddy."

--------

At the stroke of the afternoon bell, the emperor left the Southern Study promptly, accompanied by Wei Chao, to visit a woman who was full-term pregnant and about to give birth.

After the emperor left, Wang An stood up and walked to Liu Ruoyu, ordering him, "You stay here and review all the memorials on our three desks. Then, distribute the ones that the emperor has approved."

"You're leaving now?" Liu Ruoyu was a little surprised. After all, since he entered the Imperial Household Department, Wang An had never left early without serving the emperor.

"The little brat is so inexperienced, he doesn't know the seriousness of the situation." Wang An clenched his fist and gently tapped Liu Ruoyu's desk. "I have to stop him before he jumps!" "Is it that serious?" Liu Ruoyu was shocked.

"Distance does not separate relatives." Wang An said this, and without looking back, he left the Qianqing Palace and headed straight for the Silijian. Before the commotion completely subsided, Liu Ruoyu heard Wang An's last voice from afar. "Go and call that little bastard Wang Chengen to me immediately!"

Soon, Wang An and his entourage arrived at the headquarters of the Imperial Household Department. Before he even arrived, the eunuchs at the gate opened the main hall for him.

Wang An strode across the threshold with a gust of cold wind. The eunuchs inside came forward, ready to kowtow. But before they could kneel firmly, Wang An beckoned to Cao Huachun and said, "Come with me!" Without waiting for anyone to react, he went straight to the quiet room in the back hall.

Seeing this, Cao Huachun's smile froze. He hadn't seen such an expression on his godfather's face for quite some time. The last time was when he suggested imitating Wei Zhongxian's method and getting rid of Concubine Mi.

--------

Cao Huachun dismissed the eunuchs and came to Wang An, who was already seated, and kowtowed quickly. "Godfather, what's wrong? Is there something serious?"

"Wait for your good son to come and tell you in person." Wang An's tone was no longer as steady as before.

"In the end." Cao Huachun, who was about to stand up, knelt straight on the ground again. "Yes."

After kneeling for about a quarter of an hour, Cao Huachun heard hurried footsteps approaching the door from afar.

"Come in!" Without waiting to knock on the door, Wang An raised his voice and asked the person outside to come in.

After leaving the Qianqing Palace, Wang Chengen did not return to the Rear Army Commandery or the Jinyiwei East Office. Instead, he returned to the West Factory and compiled a detailed report according to the emperor's instructions. However, before he could finish the report, he was summoned to the Silijian by eunuchs sent by Wang An.

"Your servant bows to the ancestor." Wang Chengen bowed first to Wang An, then to Cao Huachun. "Your son bows to your godfather."

"What on earth are you thinking?" Although Wang An had calmed down for a while, his tone was still tinged with anger. "You didn't even bother to tell me about such a serious matter, and you just reported it to the Emperor. Are you courting death?!"

Fortunately, there was a grandparent who intervened, otherwise he would have already started beating people with a whip. Wang An's cold expression made Cao Huachun feel a phantom pain on his back. This was how Wang An taught him and Tang Zhong when they were young. "Godfather, what's wrong?" Cao Huachun asked with a stiff face.

"This little bastard's investigation led him all the way to Marquis Wuqing." Wang An had no interest in the case itself. "And he didn't even bother to tell the emperor anything, he just went straight to the emperor."

"What happened to Marquis Wuqing?" Wang Chengen felt very aggrieved. But he did not betray Concubine Mi to protect himself. Instead, he relied on his stubbornness to directly push back against Wang An. "You are the one who told me to investigate thoroughly and show no mercy!"

"Marquis Wuqing is Empress Dowager Li's nephew." Wang An hadn't expected this kid to be so ruthless. His probing had unleashed such a nasty mess. In his opinion, the investigation into Marquis Wuqing had truly reached the Emperor's head. Compared to that, removing the highly respected Duke Ying from the Rear Military Governor's Office was a minor matter.

"Empress Dowager Li is the one who protects the Emperor the most," Wang An said anxiously. "During the time when the palace infighting was at its most intense, Empress Dowager Li always protected the Emperor. How can the Emperor cope with the situation now that you've exposed the matter so bluntly?"

The Li family and Crown Prince Zhu Changluo had a close relationship. On June 20th, the tenth year of the Wanli reign, Prime Minister Zhang Juzheng passed away. Two months later, on August 11th, the tenth year of the Wanli reign, the eldest son of the Emperor was born. Emperor Shenzong elevated the two Empress Dowagers to their respective titles and promoted Li Wei, the father of Empress Dowager Encisheng, the Earl of Wuqing, to the title of Marquis of Wuqing. He also granted official titles to his three sons. Li Wei's eldest son, Li Wenquan, Deputy Commander-in-Chief, and his second son, Li Wengui, Commander-in-Chief, were both promoted to Left Commander-in-Chief. Li Wei's third son, Li Wensong, Deputy Captain of the Imperial Guard, was promoted to Commander-in-Chief.

In other words, the direct cause of the Li family's first leap forward was the birth of the eldest prince. Before that, the Li family had been suppressed by Zhang Juzheng, and Li Wei himself was even monitored by the Jinyiwei who supported Zhang Juzheng for his illegal behavior.

Later, when Emperor Shenzong's wife, Wang Xijie, lost hope of bearing a child, Empress Dowager Li insisted on appointing the eldest son as crown prince. She even used herself as an example, arguing that Emperor Shenzong and the eldest son were no different: both were sons of palace maids. If Emperor Shenzong viewed the eldest son as a pariah born of a palace maid, then so was he.

This scolding left Emperor Shenzong terrified, so he fell to the ground, kowtowed, and pleaded guilty, not daring to rise for a long time. Afterwards, Zhu Changluo was appointed Crown Prince, and Zhu Changxun was granted the title of Prince of Fu. Prince of Fu refused to return to his fiefdom, and Concubine Zheng argued that he had stayed in Beijing to celebrate Empress Dowager Li's birthday. Empress Dowager Li retorted, saying that if Prince of Fu could stay in Beijing to celebrate her birthday, then Prince of Lu, who lived in Weihui Prefecture, Henan, could also leave his fiefdom and come to Beijing to celebrate her birthday.

These words were meant not only for Concubine Zheng, but also for Emperor Shenzong. If Emperor Shenzong deposed the eldest son and enthroned the youngest because of his favoritism, violating the order of seniority, he would be shaking his own foundation. Furthermore, Prince Lu, Zhu Yiliu, held more legitimacy to Emperor Shenzong, Zhu Yijun, than Crown Prince Zhu Changluo did to Prince Fu, Zhu Changxun. After all, Prince Lu was also the son of Empress Dowager Li, and the Emperor's biological brother.

On the ninth day of the second month of the 42nd year of the Wanli reign, the Empress Dowager passed away. A month later, Chang Xun was enfeoffed in Luoyang. The following year, the worst palace murder in the Ming Dynasty's 250-year history erupted. It was widely believed at court that this was a desperate move by Concubine Zheng after the Empress Dowager's death and Prince Fu's enfeoffment.

"Don't you understand the principle of not alienating relatives?" Thinking of this, Wang An felt a chill running down his spine. Then, with his eyes narrowed, he stared fiercely at Cao Huachun and demanded, "How do you manage to be a godfather?"

"Ah?" Cao Huachun hadn't expected his godfather to transfer his anger to him, but he didn't dare to defend himself. He could only sigh and kowtow, saying, "Godfather taught me right."

"The memorial concludes that Shen Caiyu is dead. We will not investigate further." In Wang An's opinion, the emperor's attitude was very clear. The so-called memorial was actually the emperor's last resort for Wang Chengen. "Show me when you're done writing it, and I'll submit it for you."

"But that person might not be Shen Caiyu!" Wang Chengen's sense of justice was simple. "Everything should be based on the principle that there is a perpetrator for every wrong, right?"

"It doesn't matter. Who cares who he is?" Wang An's concise response echoed Luo Yangxing's. "Give the Imperial Guard a heads-up. Ask them to cooperate in closing the case."

"Case closed? We've only just begun." Wang Chengen didn't want to end it so hastily, and he felt that Wang An seemed to have misunderstood the emperor's intentions. "I'll see the emperor."

"What are you looking at? Did you even look up when you were answering in the palace?" Wang An interrupted Wang Chengen with two rhetorical questions. He said firmly, "That's enough! Anyway, this matter is just a side issue of the opening of Tianjin Port. Although there were some twists and turns, it went smoothly. Master Sun has already left the capital with his mission. There's no need to make any more trouble! Luo Sigong has already been impeached."

"General Wei has been impeached!" Wang Chengen asked hurriedly. "Because of this?"

Wang An smiled bitterly and said, "At this time, the reason for impeachment is not important. What matters is what the emperor thinks."

"What does the emperor think?" Wang Chengen asked again.

"Send it down and let Luo Sigong defend himself."

(End of this chapter)