Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 269 Dirt and Cleansing

"Why are you looking at me?" Wang Gui couldn't eat anymore after just putting a mouthful of food in his mouth.

"Shen Zhenfu is already a loyal minister who has exposed the dark side of Tianjin. If you stay here, you will only destroy his great image and Tianjin's grand plan." Lu Wenzhao looked calm.

Wang Gui was in disbelief. "Shen Zhengping protected a murderous and rapist slave. He couldn't torture me, so he didn't give me food. He wanted me to starve to death." He became increasingly agitated, but at least he didn't yell. "He even sent someone to the provincial education commissioner to revoke my academic title. How can such a person be loyal and honest?"

"It's not him who wants to strip you of your honor, it's Shen Caiyu." Lu Wenzhao remained calm.

After all, the Tianjin Guard was not the Imperial Uniform Guard, and they could not torture someone with a high academic record. Therefore, in order to torture Wang Gui and extract a confession, the Shen family, while instructing the Pacification Division to arrest him, also went through the necessary procedures. That is, they asked the local education official to revoke his academic record. However, just as the procedure was completed and the paperwork hadn't returned, the Imperial Uniform Guard's angels arrived.

"In fact, Shen Zhengping never intended to kill you. If you hadn't left the garrison, he wouldn't have arrested you as a fugitive." At this point, Lu Wenzhao couldn't help but laughed at himself.

"You want me to forgive him?!" Sadness crept back onto Wang Gui's face. Then, in a very short time, the sadness turned into suppressed anger.

Lu Wenzhao waved his hand and said, "No. Whether you forgive him or not is up to you. It's your business, not my business. I just want to make sure my job is done well. Shen Zhenfu filed a memorial to the court, bringing down every official in Tianjin. Therefore, he cannot have a stain that can bring him down." At this time, Lu Wenzhao looked up at Wang Gui and said, "And you, that stain."

Wang Gui was stunned. His eyes were wide and bloodshot, but not a single tear formed. He could no longer cry.

"I don't know if you understand." Wang Gui's bowl of rice had barely been touched, but Lu Wenzhao's bowl was already empty. While he was refilling his own rice, he said to Wang Gui, "It doesn't matter if you don't understand. I'm not here to discuss this with you. You must accept it."

"I'm a man who's shrunk back from hell. For the Emperor, for the greater good, for myself. I'm willing to do anything. The Tianjin Guards tortured you and had to ask the Education Commissioner to revoke your academic title, but the Imperial Guards don't." Lu Wenzhao suddenly grew irritated, his speech accelerating. "Actually, when we made the deal, I considered killing you. Killing you would be as easy as wiping grease off a table with my sleeve."

"But you didn't do that, did you?" Wang Gui suddenly interrupted Lu Wenzhao, flashing an unpleasant smile that was a mixture of pain and gratitude. "A gentleman judges actions, not intentions. Since you didn't kill me, then you didn't kill me. No matter what you think."

"Tsk!" Lu Wenzhao pursed his lips and made a "tsk" sound, frowning as he said, "I'm not a gentleman. Those who have birds on their chests call themselves gentlemen, but I have animals on my chest. I don't use my sleeves to wipe oil because I'm afraid my clothes won't be clean if they get dirty. The case in Tianjin is closed, and your case is closed too. I won't make you any promises, nor will I believe your promises. In order not to dirty my clothes, you must come with me."

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Before Sun Chengzong arrived in Tianjin, Lu Wenzhao had been living in the Commandery. But with Master Sun's arrival, the Commandery became the Governor's Office. He moved out on his own initiative and found a nearby inn to stay the night.

"Sir, are you going to the yamen today?" Lu Jianxing asked.

"Of course. There are still some things I haven't discussed with Sun Youchen." Lu Wenzhao placed a small silver nugget weighing about a coin on the table. This was breakfast money for him and the other Jinyiwei staying here.

"Then when will we return to Beijing?" Lu Jianxing stood up and put a gray-black cloak on Lu Wenzhao's back.

"We'll go back when we get the order from above." Lu Wenzhao looked at the heavy spring rain outside the inn, feeling a little emotional. "It's already raining."

"Do you want to wear a hat?" Lu Jianxing asked.

"No need." Lu Wenzhao shook his head slightly. "Just think of it as a welcome ceremony."

Not long after, Lu Wenzhao arrived at the headquarters. He found Sun Chengzong and the people he had brought with him already sitting in the hall, working. He untied his cloak and handed it to Lu Jianxing. Then, with a smile on his face, he quickly walked to the main desk and bowed to Sun Chengzong. "This subordinate greets Sun Youchen."

Sun Chengzong stood up and returned the greeting. "Deputy Captain Lu, you're here early." Sun Chengzong's state was a mixture of fatigue and excitement. He looked like he hadn't rested at all, but also like he had rested too much.

"Compared to you, I can only feel ashamed of myself." Lu Wenzhao half asked, half complimented, "Do you usually get up this early?"

"Not entirely." Sun Chengzong said, "After all, the Zhanshi Mansion is quite quiet. If there were no morning classes, I wouldn't normally get up so early. But I have a lot of things to do."

"If there's anything I can help you with, please let me know." Lu Wenzhao said sternly. He knew exactly where the "morning class" that Master Sun mentioned was held.

"Deputy Captain Lu has already helped me a lot and saved me a lot of trouble. If it weren't for your good management, proper handling, and keeping a close watch on them, I'm afraid I'd still be busy arresting people right now." Sun Chengzong walked up to Lu Wenzhao and shook his hand. "If possible, I'd like to trouble you to continue to help maintain order."

Sun Chengzong was very short of manpower.

Although the imperial edict, drafted by the cabinet and sealed by the emperor, clearly granted Sun Chengzong numerous powers, including verifying military farms, re-registering households, approving the allocation of rations and salaries, approving the allocation of customs duties, and organizing the establishment of a standard-bearing garrison for the governor, he had nothing more substantial to offer when he left the capital, save for a modest travel allowance from the Ministry of Revenue. Even the troops loaned to him by the Ministry of War to escort him to his new post numbered only about a hundred.

Therefore, until he could sort out all the important matters in Tianjin Garrison and build a battalion of model soldiers who could be used by the governor at his will, he could only hide in Tianjin Garrison for the time being. If these Jinyiwei could stay away for a few days and help him maintain order, then his work would be much smoother.

"Of course no problem. It is my honor that you are willing to entrust the matter to me." Lu Wenzhao acted flattered.

"Okay. Okay." Sun Chengzong held Lu Wenzhao's hand and shook it slightly.

"If you don't mind, we can also help you interrogate the prisoner in prison." Lu Wenzhao said again.

"I'm afraid this isn't a good idea," Sun Chengzong instinctively warned. "I remember the Jinyiwei's mission was to arrest Shen Caiyu, the commander of the guards. You shouldn't have seized anyone else's imperial edict, right?" His smile remained unchanged, a hint of joking even playing across his face.

Although Sun Chengzong did not give the case a high priority, it did not mean that he would hand it over to Jinyiwei for trial, even though the young man seemed to be quite upright.

"Can I have a moment with you?" Lu Wenzhao asked. "Oh?" Sun Chengzong's eyes suddenly changed, his scrutiny undisguised. "Is there anything that can't be said here?"

"There are indeed some things that have been reported, which are not suitable to be made public at this time." Lu Wenzhao's words were very clever.

"Okay then." Sun Chengzong nodded in agreement.

Lu Wenzhao brought Sun Chengzong to his usual room. "Before you came, I was just killing time here." He walked to the only chair with a backrest, gently pulled it out, and said, "Please sit down."

Sun Chengzong didn't hesitate. He sat down, looked straight ahead, and asked directly, "Deputy Captain Lu, what has been reported that can't be said in public?"

"The Jinyiwei are the emperor's servants, and you are his master. We are one family, and we should not have different opinions." Lu Wenzhao walked back to Sun Chengzong and dragged a square stool to him. The stool was higher than the chair, but after he sat down straight, his eye level with Sun Chengzong was only at eye level.

"What family matter is Deputy Captain Lu trying to discuss?" Sun Chengzong's lips curled up slightly, but there was no trace of a smile. Too many cases of the Imperial Guards using the Emperor's name to presume on their own authority and exploit their own interests were rampant.

"I demanded bribes from those people in prison." Even though Sun Chengzong was prepared, Lu Wenzhao's straightforwardness still made his eyelids jump.

"You mean to say you extorted bribes from corrupt officials in Tianjin for the Emperor?" Sun Chengzong lowered his head and raised his eyebrows, then asked coldly, "Why? Are you going to protect them, or kill them?"

"Neither. I'm not asking for bribes from corrupt officials for the emperor. It's for you." Lu Wenzhao paused, and seeing that Sun Chengzong had no intention of responding, he continued. "Or perhaps it's because of the current situation that I have to ask for bribes from corrupt officials."

"I don't understand what you mean." Sun Chengzong said.

"I know you. You're very adaptable. And what I'm doing is a form of adaptability. I believe you'll understand." Lu Wenzhao explained, "From the very beginning, the three Tianjin guards were to be completely eliminated without a single one left. Otherwise, we wouldn't have obtained documents from the Imperial Household and the Ministry of War to maintain the basic situation. You should have known this before me."

"I do know." Sun Chengzong said.

"Overall layoffs are always very dangerous, and the intention from above is to convict as many incumbent guards as possible, which is even more dangerous. If these people get carried away and take risks, it is not impossible for them to escape or even instigate civil unrest or instigate a mutiny," Lu Wenzhao continued to explain.

Since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, instigating civil uprisings and military rebellions against imperial envoys was not uncommon. Before the establishment of the "model soldiers for governors and governors-general," there was even an incident where a general instigated a mutiny and assassinated a governor.

On March 14, the 16th year of the Zhengde reign, Emperor Wuzong passed away. On April 21, Emperor Shizong ascended the throne. In May, Xu Ming, the Left Provincial Governor of Shandong, was promoted to Right Vice-Chief Censor of the Censorate and Governor of Gansu. During his tenure, Xu Ming vigorously implemented reforms and eliminated long-standing malpractices, which greatly unnerved Li Long, the Gansu General. To protect himself, Li Long instigated a mutiny, ordering his soldiers to besiege the government office, brutally killing Governor Xu Ming and burning his body. This event is known in history as the Ganzhou Mutiny.

If the Tianjin garrison officers truly united to oppose the Jinyiwei's enforcement, then the limited number of men Lu Wenzhao had brought with him would be completely insufficient. If that situation truly escalated, it would be better for him to die directly in Tianjin.

"Shen Caiyu has escaped, and there's no reason to escalate the situation. And persuading Shen Zhenfu to 'bravely correct the lawlessness' will take time." Lu Wenzhao didn't avoid Sun Chengzong's gaze. "I can only find a way around it."

"What you call a workaround is asking for bribes?" Sun Chengzong asked.

"Yes," Lu Wenzhao nodded solemnly. "I believe the best way to conceal one's true intentions and keep corrupt officials in check is to appear willing to go along with them. This principle, as coined in military texts, would be considered 'leaving a gap in the encirclement.'"

"Can you tell me how you two became accomplices?" Sun Chengzong's expression eased a little, but the scrutiny in his eyes did not disappear.

"It seems so." Lu Wenzhao insisted on inserting those words.

"Okay." Sun Chengzong smiled dumbly. "Please continue."

Lu Wenzhao's expression was solemn. "I asked them for cash. First, I asked for 100,000 taels. Han Chengkui bargained me down to 80,000. In addition, there were 8,600 taels of silver notes. They were all cashable on demand." Lu Wenzhao paused, pulled a stack of notes from his pocket, and placed them on the table in front of Sun Chengzong.

"I underestimated them and shouldn't have agreed to bargain. I thought it would take them at least twenty days to gather so much cash. But the day before yesterday, two days before you came, they had already gathered the 80,000 taels of cash and loaded it onto the ship, waiting for me to sail north on the ship. I had no choice but to accompany them for two days. It was really a happy time. If you had come a few days later, I might have fallen." Lu Wenzhao's face was still so solemn that Sun Chengzong didn't know whether he was joking or serious.

"The total is 88,600 taels. That's the amount I asked them for, and that's what they reported. 80,000 taels are on the ship, and 8,600 taels are here. The ship is at the dock, and the money is here. You can count it." Lu Wenzhao gently tapped the stack of banknotes. "A gentleman loves money and earns it in a proper way. I'll take every penny I deserve, and I won't take a single cent of what I shouldn't. I'm not in cahoots with them, I just look like one."

After Lu Wenzhao finished speaking, Sun Chengzong was silent for a long time before the scrutiny on his face faded. "I understand what you mean. You are sincere, and I believe you."

"Thank you, Mr. Sun."

"No need to thank me." Sun Chengzong asked, "What do you want me to do?"

"I'd like to ask you to submit a petition. Explain that the case is serious and your energy is limited. It would be best if the case were handed over to the Imperial Guard for strict investigation and prosecution." Lu Wenzhao pleaded calmly, "Although I have a clear conscience, if this case were handed over to the court, my career would be over."

"You look as if you are sure that I will help you." Sun Chengzong asked again.

"I'm just pretending." Lu Wenzhao grinned and said, "I only know that you are a person who is willing to make adjustments. But I don't know if you are willing to make adjustments for me."

"I can write this memorial, but I don't know whether it will be of any use."

(End of this chapter)