Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 323 Abnormal Demon
At four quarters in the morning, the second batch of drafted memorials were presented to the Nanshufang by the eunuchs stationed at Huiji Gate.

Liu Ruoyu immediately began to sort and sort the leaves, but soon stopped. He closed the leaflet in his hand, walked straight to the emperor's desk, and handed it over. "Your Majesty. This is a notice from the inner court."

Jietie, also known as secret Jietie, was a Ming Dynasty cabinet document used by those who had secret reports or requests for answers to imperial edicts to submit them directly to the emperor, without having to go through the imperial court. Therefore, the outside court would not know about it. It had the same effect as if the emperor had written a note and had the eunuchs deliver it directly to the cabinet, rather than issuing an imperial edict. Wang Xijue, in his attempt to emulate the Zhang Liang and Li Mi expedients and cooperate with Emperor Shenzong in enfeoffing three princes, resorted to Jietie to indirectly establish the eldest son. However, the enfeoffment failed, and ultimately led to his own downfall. Fortunately, during his tenure, Wang Xijue was able to arrange for the eldest son to study in the imperial court, a major step forward for the country.

"What do you mean?" Zhu Changluo knew without even looking that this notice was written for the note that was submitted to the cabinet not long ago.

"My lord. The cabinet pleaded in the letter to calm the wrath of heaven. I, the censor, was only concerned about the expenditure of the national treasury and the training of the border troops, so I reported the matter based on rumors. It is true that Ministers Kuang Wen and Xiong did have a dispute, and this is a fact known to all in the court and the country. They had no selfish thoughts." Liu Ruoyu spread out the secret letter and placed it in front of Zhu Changluo carefully.

"No selfish thoughts. Humph." Zhu Changluo was resting his mind with his eyes closed. These few unpleasant things had completely ruined his good mood that morning. "Is this the Cabinet's intention, or the Prime Minister's?"

Liu Ruoyu was stunned. He subconsciously glanced at Wang An, hoping he could give him some clues, but Wang An was propping up his head and lowering his head, staring at his desk intently, as if a lifelike flower had been planted on the wood.

Liu Ruoyu had no choice but to answer for himself. "Since it's signed by all the cabinet members, it must be the cabinet's intention." Liu Ruoyu was slightly dissatisfied with Cui Wensheng's presumptuous discussion of inner court reform and his embarrassing behavior in front of the emperor, but he was not the vindictive person like Cui Wensheng, so he would not take advantage of the opportunity to add insult to injury.

"Are you confused? Shi Jixie is in the Imperial Examination Hall right now. How did he get to the Cabinet to sign his name? Did he fly there?" Zhu Changluo opened his eyes and tapped his knuckles hard on the place where he would sign his name. "I clearly told the Prime Minister to rein in his subordinates and not to cause trouble for the Ji and Liao towns at this time. I even treated this old man to dinner, sharing a table, and then I picked up the food and stuffed it into his mouth. And he turned a deaf ear to my words, right? Now he's asking the party to save these people. Ha!"

The emperor's voice was soft, but to Liu Ruoyu it sounded like thunder. He quickly knelt and stepped aside.

"Master." Wei Chao knelt before the imperial desk and spoke on Liu Ruoyu's behalf. "It's customary for the cabinet to sign the document jointly. Given Lord Shi's personality, he probably wouldn't refuse even if he were present."

"Is it the joint signature issue that I am upset about?" Zhu Changluo gestured to Liu Ruoyu, indicating that he should continue to sort the memorials into piles.

"Your Majesty, Prime Minister Fang is a man of the greater good and sensible mind. He wouldn't instruct a minor official to frame a high-ranking official on the frontier simply for the sake of a local clique." Wang An had been about to kneel, but since Liu Ruoyu had stood up, he stood and spoke. "During last year's 'Zou Zhao Rebellion Case,' wasn't the Prime Minister also mediating?"

"That's right, old ancestor." Wei Chao echoed, "I remember that the day after the Prime Minister had the honor of accompanying me, he asked the cabinet to draft a decree to retain Governor Wen."

"What do you mean by 'lucky companion'? If you can't speak, just shut up. His old face isn't even as pretty as yours." Zhu Changluo cursed, his expression softening slightly. "If he didn't turn a deaf ear to my words, then someone else did. Otherwise, why did those petty officials impeach me, and why did Wen Qiu write a resignation? That resignation was written as if he were about to die."

"Hehe." Wei Chao lowered his head and actually touched his face.

Wang An opened his mouth, but immediately swallowed the words that hadn't crossed his mind, and changed his words to say, "As for the censors, this is how it is."

"I'm talking about Shen," Zhu Changluo said directly in a deep voice. "One of him and Fang Congzhe is always disobeying orders."

Wang An was reluctant to criticize the ministers by name, fearing that this would lead the Emperor to believe he was extending his influence to the outer court. But since the Emperor had brought it up, he suggested, "Master, why not find a reason to transfer Shen out of Beijing?"

The cabinet ministers can mobilize the censors, and these factory officials can also find lackeys quickly, not to mention that Fu Li, the chief censor of the criminal department, is now almost the emperor's yes-man. The emperor only needs to send someone to say a word, and the impeachment memorial will be here immediately.

"There's no need to rush. Shen is still useful." Zhu Changluo closed the secret letter and handed it to Wang An. "Send it back to the cabinet and ask Fang Congzhe to draft an imperial decree based on the meaning of the note."

"Yes." Wang An took it with both hands and said, "Master. To prevent them from playing tricks again, I'd better go over and watch them."

"That's fine." Zhu Changluo nodded. "This batch of notebooks for Wang An, you two can divide it up."

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In the cabinet duty room, Shen Zheng sat silently at his desk. Before him lay an open leaflet and an inkstone. A brush dipped in ink rested on the inkstone, and next to it, a cup of cold, untouched tea.

After reading the contents of the question book, Shen picked up a pen and wrote his opinions on a piece of paper. After the ink dried, he used paste to stick it on.

After finishing the memorial, Shen picked up the tea and prepared to take a sip, but found that the tea had already gone cold. Without hesitation, he poured out the cold tea in the cup and made a fresh cup of tea.

Returning to his seat, Shen placed the teacup back in its place, preparing to read two more memorials while waiting for the water to cool down to the appropriate temperature before drinking. Just then, Shen suddenly heard a voice from the doorway: "Your servant greets the ancestor."

The eunuch on duty kowtowed quickly to Wang An, then opened the door to the duty room for him. Wang An just glanced at him without even saying "hmm".

The moment he saw Wang An's figure, Fang Congzhe immediately stood up to greet him, and took the initiative to bow and said, "Greetings, Master Wang."

"Greetings, Mr. Wang." The other cabinet ministers also greeted him politely.

"Prime Minister Fang, Second Minister Ye, Minister Liu, and Minister Han." Wang An returned the greetings one by one, pausing at Shen's. "And Minister Shen."

Everyone present was a shrewd person, the only difference being their rank. Wang An's coming to the cabinet personally at this time, and not returning the greetings according to the cabinet members' rank, clearly had a deeper meaning.

Shen's eye twitched, and Fang Congzhe also felt a little nervous. "Master Wang came to my cabinet. He must have an imperial decree to announce, right?"

"Yes." Wang An took out the secret document from his pocket and handed it to Fang Congzhe. "Prime Minister Fang, do you recognize this thing?"

"Of course." Fang Congzhe took it and opened it, but he didn't see the vermilion imperial edict on it. He only saw a few sunken marks and a small hole. So he asked, "Excuse me, Master Wang, what does the emperor mean by this?"

"Prime Minister. I remember that our Lord greeted you in person, right?" Wang An asked back.

"Yes." Cold sweat had already seeped out of Fang Congzhe's forehead.

"It's true." Wang An said sarcastically, "I thought I remembered it wrongly." Fang Congzhe felt a fire burning on his face.

"Have you drafted a letter of consolation to retain him?" Wang An asked again.

"It has been sent out." Shen stepped forward and said.

Wang An squinted at Shen. "I heard that the last decree was drafted by you, Lord Shen, right? Is it the same this time?"

For the eunuchs, there were almost no secrets in the Forbidden City. They knew most of what the emperor knew, and they might also know things that the emperor didn't know.

"Yes. I drafted both decrees." Shen replied.

Wang An withdrew his gaze and looked at Fang Congzhe again. "Is it sent by Lord Fang?"

Fang Congzhe nodded silently.

Wang An's gaze towards Fang Congzhe softened slightly. However, his tone towards Shen became more serious. "Master Shen, have you ever considered why you drafted two imperial edicts in a row?"

"That," Shen evaded. "Perhaps it's because there are so many rotten areas along the border of Jizhen, and Liaozhen is constantly urging troops to fight. So, Wen Shouhuan is probably overworked."

"So that's what Lord Shen thinks." Wang An chuckled and asked, "Then what do you think? Should Governor Wen retire due to illness at this time? Or, who do you think would be a good fit for the post of Governor of Ji and Liao? Please tell me someone's name so I can report back to His Majesty."

Everyone present focused their attention on Shen. Liu Yirong's mouth twitched slightly, and a barely perceptible glint of joy flashed in his eyes.

Of course, Shen didn't pay attention to Liu Yirong's change of expression at this moment. He mobilized all his facial muscles, forcing a fake smile. "Rumor has it that Wen Shouhuan is an expert in training, and his soldiers are strong and powerful. He can not only defend Jizhen in the north, but also provide support to Liaozhen in the east. Therefore, I believe that there is no one more suitable than Wen Shouhuan to be the governor of Ji and Liao at this time."

"Oh?" Wang An asked, "Then do you think those who slandered Governor Wen without any basis should be severely punished?"

"Of course it should be dealt with." Shen Fu and Wang An omitted the word "seriously".

"I thought so too." Wang An's smile widened. He said to Fang Congzhe, "Minister Fang, there's no need to file a secret report. Just draft an edict according to that note. Those who should be demoted will be demoted, and those who should be exiled will be exiled."

Fang Congzhe didn't respond immediately. Even though he was displeased with this disobedient behavior, objectively speaking, he truly needed these fighting dogs to help him maintain his position within the court. Qi Shijiao, in particular, was one of Fang Congzhe's most trusted students. If these people were exiled, and he were to be harassed by the stubborn Donglin Party, the situation would be completely one-sided.

"Prime Minister, do you have any other opinions?" Wang An urged.

Fang Congzhe tactfully replied, "The last major case didn't involve such a large fine that forced them to leave Beijing."

"Prime Minister. What you mean is..." Wang An narrowed his eyes slightly. "Is this incident, like the 'Zou Zhao Rebellion Case', another case of a faction? Who is the mastermind?" Wang An glanced at Shen.

"Of course that's not what I meant!" Fang Congzhe flatly denied. "I was merely a humble official, grateful for the Emperor's purge, and responding positively. I was simply being reckless. There was no conspiracy, and certainly no mastermind!"

Wang An didn't continue to question the subject, but instead offered Fang Congzhe an outlet. "Blind recklessness has its price. The Prime Minister should accept the order as soon as possible."

At this time, Shen took the initiative to call out: "Wang Zhangyin!"

"I wonder what advice Lord Shen has for you?" Wang An turned sideways and looked directly at Shen.

"I think these two things really can't be generalized." Shen bowed.

"I don't understand what you mean." Wang Andao said.

Shen said solemnly, "I think. Although this matter is indeed spontaneous and without conspiracy as Prime Minister Fang said, its essence is even worse. Now the country is in danger and the various towns are in decline, but this humble official has arbitrarily manipulated public opinion and impeached border officials at will, causing important border officials such as Xiong Feibai and Wen Shouhuan to panic and repeatedly request to resign, just to preserve their reputations. Fortunately, the late emperor was wise and did not be misled by people's words. He did not believe in groundless rumors. He adhered to the principle of trusting people and mobilized the whole country to support Ministers Xiong and Wen to govern Ji and Liao. The country was able to alleviate the crisis a little." Shen finished this hastily written article in one breath, turned to look at Fang Congzhe, "Prime Minister!"

Fang Congzhe was stunned by Shen's move. He opened his mouth slightly and couldn't speak for a long time.

Without waiting for him, Shen bowed deeply and said in a resounding voice, "I believe that the emperor's clear will is the shining sun that can reverse this unhealthy trend. The cabinet should fully support it and not be lenient because of the blind and reckless behavior of the censors and petty officials."

"You! This..." Even someone as experienced as Fang Congzhe didn't know what tricks Shen was playing at this moment.

Wang An was also bewildered. He knew of Shen's previous argument with Liu Yirong and Han Yu in the cabinet over Wenqiu. While he couldn't pinpoint the exact words exchanged, he had a clear idea of ​​the stances held by the six cabinet members. Now Shen had suddenly jumped out to lavish praise on Wenqiu, even dragging Xiong Tingbi, who had repeatedly supported two generations of emperors, into the same discussion as Wenqiu.

Why? This was the first time Wang An had felt such extreme abnormality from someone other than the emperor. His mind raced, but he still had no idea what was going on.

"Master Shen, what exactly do you want to do?" Wang An asked.

"I am a mediocre and incompetent person, but fortunately I was recommended by the Prime Minister and trusted by the emperor to be able to serve in the cabinet. After entering the cabinet, I have been busy all day long, and all I think about is repaying the emperor's grace and revitalizing the country." Shen bowed again in the direction of the Qianqing Palace.

"Okay, okay." Wang An didn't know what to say. "I've got your message. The cabinet will draft it according to your will." With that, Wang An turned and left.

(End of this chapter)