Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 31 Impeachment and Debate

October 6, the 48th year of the Wanli reign.

Zuo Guangdou, a member of the Donglin Party and censor, submitted a memorial to impeach Cui Wensheng, the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department and the commander-in-chief of the Eastern Depot.

Zuo Guangdou wrote in his memorial: "Cui Wensheng was originally a favored eunuch of the late Emperor's Imperial Noble Consort Zheng. Fortunately, he was favored by the Emperor and promoted to the position of Chief Eunuch of the Imperial Household Department. Later, he was recommended by the Eunuch Wang An, who held the seal, and was appointed to the Eastern Depot."

"After Cui Wensheng took office, he failed to show loyalty to the emperor and the country. Instead, he allowed his subordinates to embezzle the treasury, leaving the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War with monthly payments exceeding their normal levels! The Emperor established the East Factory to apprehend corrupt officials. However, after Cui Wensheng took power, he fabricated cases, forcing anyone suspected of anything to confess through torture, and refusing to release them unless they paid a huge sum of money."

A single stone stirred up a thousand ripples. As soon as Zuo Guangdou's impeachment letter arrived at the Ministry of Public Administration, it spread throughout the capital. Soon, all officials, big and small, in Beijing were discussing Cui Wensheng's case.

Then, dozens of censors from the six departments (corresponding to the six ministries) and thirteen provincial governments (corresponding to the thirteen provinces) in Beijing launched a wave of impeachment against the East Factory Governor Cui Wensheng, the Chief of Criminal Affairs Zou Kaiyun, the Chief of Criminal Affairs Yan Guo, and over forty other officials, including servants and detectives. Any minor official with a rank or a few subordinates to command was inevitably attacked by at least one impeachment.

In just one afternoon, Zhu Changluo's desk was piled with memorials impeaching the East Factory.

Zhu Changluo ignored the impeachment and only ordered the Imperial Household Department to categorize and sort out the main contents of the impeachment and the frequency of their occurrence. He had already thought of a solution for Cui Wensheng and the East Factory, and everything was ready. The purpose of the impeachment was only to provide material for the imperial edict.

However, his hands-off behavior exhausted Wang An, the assistant in charge of government affairs. As a last resort, Wang An asked Wei Zhongxian, who had just finished his illiteracy but still needed to learn, and Wei Chao, the third newly promoted eunuch in the Imperial Household Department, to help him sort and compile the documents.

The most frequently appearing charge in the hundreds of impeachment letters was naturally the embezzlement of the money seized from the Zheng Mansion.

However, as if by prior agreement, the censors, when referring to this article, all described the confiscated funds as the emperor's treasury. They claimed that the East Factory's misappropriation not only violated the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War's right to use the funds, but also undermined the emperor's ownership of the money. They also implied that Cui Wensheng and the others involved had gone far beyond corruption and bribery, entering the realm of heinous treason and contempt for the emperor.

Compared to this, even the charge that the Dongchang thugs used account books to extort money and eventually caused a death can only be a supporting role.

The East Factory was run by eunuchs, and generally speaking, the emperor would not consult the cabinet on the issue of rewards and punishments for eunuchs. But this time, Zhu Changluo took the unprecedented step of asking the Grand Secretaries for their opinions on the matter.

"How do you think we should respond to the emperor?" Fang Congzhe asked his colleagues with a wry smile.

Although Fang Congzhe is the number one person in the outer court, the duality of the position of chief minister of the cabinet makes Fang Congzhe very embarrassed when facing questions about the emperor.

On the one hand, the chief minister is the natural leader of the civil servants and cannot go against the consensus of the civil servants (most of the time the civil servants cannot reach a consensus). If the civil servants collectively do not buy into his account, then he will not be able to move forward; on the other hand, as the highest administrative chief, the chief minister of the cabinet is only the executor of the emperor's will. If he disobeys the emperor, then his existence will become meaningless.

Only when the consensus of the civil service group was consistent with the emperor's will could the prime minister avoid being caught between two extremes. However, every time the civil service group reached a consensus, it was almost always to oppose the emperor's decision.

"Why does the emperor want the cabinet to give opinions?" Shi Jixie was puzzled.

"Perhaps the emperor is hesitating?" Ye Xianggao, who was reinstated and appointed as the second assistant, had just arrived in Beijing a few days ago. He was neither a member of the Donglin Party nor a member of the "Three-Party Alliance", so he was not yet fully familiar with the situation in the capital.

"Hesitation is not opposition. So we will submit it according to the opinions of all officials." Liu Yirong chuckled.

"Are you suggesting that the Emperor execute Cui Wensheng?" Han Yu hesitated. "Just dismiss him from his post and send him into exile." "Strike the snake where it's weakest," Liu Yirong insisted.

"What if the Emperor doesn't approve?" Shen, the instigator of the Nanjing Incident, was also an official summoned to Beijing to join the cabinet at the beginning of Emperor Zhu Changluo's reign. However, since Xu Guangqi was appointed Minister of Rites and Minister of the Honglu Temple, he began to become cautious.

"Even if the emperor doesn't agree, we won't suffer any loss." Liu Yirong knew the emperor's thoughts through Wang An, so he was naturally fearless.

"No, I think we'd better be cautious. The best strategy is to confirm the case as soon as possible and crack down on the arrogance of the East Factory." Han Yu and Cui Wensheng had no personal grudges. He was only thinking about the public resentment of civil officials against eunuchs.

"Prime Minister Fang, what do you think?" Liu Yirong passed the words back to Fang Congzhe.

What do you think? I don't want to see it. Fang Congzhe sighed inwardly and said, "Let's do as Lord Liu wishes." Sentencing Cui Wensheng to death wouldn't necessarily be disobedient to the emperor, but if he went against the "unanimous opinion," he would surely be driven out of power by the Donglin Party.

"Lord Fang, I think there is another way." During the reign of Emperor Shenzong, Ye Xianggao had served as the sole minister for seven years (he was the only one in the cabinet). Naturally, he understood Fang Congzhe's difficulties.

"Oh! Jinqing, tell me quickly. (Jinqing is Ye Xianggao's pen name)" Fang Congzhe's eyes lit up.

Ye Xianggao didn't keep the secret and nodded, saying, "Although the East Factory is responsible for hunting down evildoers, it is still an internal affairs agency composed of the emperor's servants. As servants, they should naturally be dealt with according to family rules and precedents."

At first glance, Ye Xianggao was just suggesting that Fang Congzhe kick the ball back that the emperor had kicked, but this actually contained a very bloody and cruel suggestion for how to deal with the situation.

Family rules are set by ancestors, and the ancestor of the Ming Dynasty is naturally Zhu Yuanzhang, the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty. Although many of the rules set by Zhu Yuanzhang were abandoned by later emperors, no one dared to say that these rules had been officially abolished.

If this matter is really handled according to the so-called family rules and precedents, the best outcome for Cui Wensheng and all the people involved in the case is to be beheaded.

"Your Excellency!" Fang Congzhe nodded repeatedly. With just one simple sentence, Deputy Minister Ye Xianggao had rescued Fang Congzhe from this dilemma. He didn't have to disobey the Emperor, nor did he have to contradict the "unanimous opinion."

Liu Yirong thought for a moment and immediately understood what Ye Xianggao meant, nodding with satisfaction.

Shi Jixie didn't care, Shen felt it was very stable, and neither of them objected.

Only Han Yu still had concerns. "If the emperor doesn't agree, I don't know how many days it will take to go back and forth. I'm afraid something unexpected will happen. Have you all forgotten about Liu Jian and Xie Qian?"

When Emperor Wuzong Zhu Houzhao first ascended the throne, the Eight Tigers were rampant, and the cabinet, along with the six ministries and nine officials, fiercely petitioned to execute Liu Jin and others. Emperor Wuzong hesitated, and Liu Jin begged him tearfully. In the end, cabinet ministers Liu Jian and Xie Qian were dismissed and expelled.

"Everyone! What the cabinet should do now is not to kill Cui Wensheng, but to strike back at the East Factory! The emperor must be thinking the same." Han Yu paused and changed his affirmative tone to speculation.

(End of this chapter)