Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 399 Shipwreck
Shi Jixie was stunned for a moment, then his eyes widened and he looked at Shen in surprise.

Shen recommended Wang Yingjiao? Shi Jixie almost started to wonder if there was something wrong with his ears.

However, Shen seemed quite calm. He met Shi Jikai's gaze, raised the corner of his mouth, and nodded slightly.

Something must be wrong when things are out of the ordinary! Shi Jixie instinctively wanted to find out what was going on. He looked here and there, but neither Liu Yirong nor Ye Xianggao were willing to answer his questions.

"Shicheng," Fang Congzhe called softly, instantly capturing Shi Jijie's full attention. But when he returned his gaze to Fang Congzhe, he was met with a naturally charged question: "Do you have a candidate in mind?" Fang Congzhe pulled out a sheet of paper bearing the chronological names of Li Sancai, Wang Ji, Li Changgeng, Wang Yingjiao, and others. He then picked up his brush and gently dotted the ink, poised to record.

Shi Jikai knew that Fang Congzhe was trying to change the subject. So, he withdrew his gaze from the eunuchs' tea and snacks and asked, "Have the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Personnel known about this?"

The officials participating in the nomination process were designated by the emperor, but regardless of who participated, any personnel-related matter would inevitably go through the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Personnel. Of the two, the Ministry of Personnel played a relatively more important role. This was because, in a nomination process without the Ministry of Personnel, it had no authority to recommend, serving only as a recorder and archiving agent. The Ministry of Personnel, on the other hand, had the power to refute or criticize the nominees at any time, effectively finding fault with them.

"They've already been informed. However, the Emperor's decree is for the cabinet to make a decision. Since you haven't returned, it can only be considered a draft." Fang Congzhe said, "This matter has already been reported at the last court meeting. So it's best to propose the official candidate at the next court meeting."

Shi Jixie picked up the teacup and opened the lid. Steam immediately rose up, and Shi Jixie couldn't count the tea leaves floating on the water. "What about you? Who do you have your eye on?"

"Haha." Fang Congzhe smiled, looked around at everyone and said, "I'll listen to you all."

"Prime Minister," Shi Jikai blew away the mist. But the tea was still hot, and the moment Shi Jikai stopped blowing, the mist returned. "Can you please show me the list you gave to the Ministry of Personnel and the Civil Service Bureau?"

It wasn't as if Shi Jikai couldn't even remember the names of four people. He wanted the list to see the ranking, or to see who was at the top.

Generally speaking, the person ranked first in line is the unanimous choice of all those involved in the nomination, or the preferred choice of a powerful and favored member. Often, the emperor will follow suit and move the first-place candidate into the vacancy. In other words, anyone outside of the first place is a runner-up, regardless of priority.

However, it's important to note that even though "listing first and using the first person" has become a tacit understanding and convention, the list cannot consist of only one person. This is because the emperor's supreme veto and decision-making power over personnel matters may not be used, but it always exists. This power is demonstrated by listing the runners-up. If there is only one candidate, the decision is not made by the emperor, but by the "recommender."

"Let me write one for you." Fang Congzhe smiled gently at Shi Jikai. Then he took out a piece of white paper and listed Wang Yingjiao, Li Sancai, Wang Ji, and Li Changgeng on it one by one.

After finishing, Fang Congzhe stood up and wanted to hand the list to Shi Jikai himself. However, Shi Jikai walked to Fang Congzhe's desk first. "Prime Minister, I will just read it myself. Why would I bother you to bring it to me?"

Fang Congzhe handed the list to Shi Jikai and sat down again. "Shicheng, take your time to think about it. Just tell everyone before the court ends this afternoon."

"Yes." Actually, there was no need to wait until the afternoon court session was over. From the moment he saw the list of names, Shi Jixie understood.

He believed that Fang Congzhe had deliberately instructed Shen to recommend Wang Yingjiao in order to bridge the differences and rifts between the cabinet and the court. Shi Jixie returned to his seat with the list, nodding continuously.

In his view, this move was truly brilliant. First, Wang Yingjiao was a truly suitable talent, with outstanding political achievements, and unlike the "treacherous hero" Li Sancai, who was mired in controversy. Second, Wang Yingjiao was a recognized member of the Donglin Party, but he was not a stubborn "gentleman." He rarely argued with others and did not form cliques to suppress dissidents, earning him a good reputation among non-Donglin members. Finally, Wang Yingjiao had served as the governor of Tianjin and was well-versed in the affairs of Tianjin and Liaodong. Putting him in charge of the Ministry of Revenue would not only facilitate major plans but also avoid unnecessary disputes.

The only problem was that if a faction leader didn't recommend someone "in their own party," it would affect their own reputation within the faction. Shi Jikai was curious about how Fang Congzhe had persuaded Shen to step forward. According to Shi Jikai, Lord Shen wasn't someone willing to sacrifice himself for the sake of court harmony. When faced with a major event, if Shen didn't say a few incendiary words, Shi Jikai would start to suspect he was ill.

Shi Jikai gulped down his tea. "Prime Minister, has anything happened in the Ministry of Rites recently?" Shi Jikai noticed from the corner of his eye that the moment he asked this question, the Deputy Prime Minister Ye Xianggao, who was sitting across from him, suddenly trembled.

Fang Congzhe actually stopped smiling. "Why do you ask?"

Shi Jixie said, "Before I got on the sedan chair and returned to the pavilion, the carriage of the Imperial Household Department picked up Xu Zixian at the gate of the Imperial Examination Hall."

When these words were spoken, all the cabinet members were shocked.

"Where did the Imperial Household Department take the person?" Ye Xianggao interrupted hurriedly.

"It seems like a summons." The cabinet members' reactions made Shi Jikai a little uneasy. "What happened?"

"Alas!" Ye Xianggao tilted his head slightly, his lips slowly parted, and a thoughtful look appeared on his face. "This matter has some twists and turns. Let's start from the beginning..."

clang!
Ye Xianggao had just opened his mouth when the clock in the duty room rang. Immediately afterwards, the sound of the bells from the clock tower began to echo.

It's time to take a break.

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Amid the roaring noise with nowhere to hide or escape, Xu Guangqi slowly knelt down.

"Your Majesty, I bow to you in gratitude for your grace!" Xu Guangqi gently pressed his head against the floor. At this moment, a second wave of sound struck, first passing over his raised hands and then rolling over his hunched back. It felt as if this gentle push had actually triggered a loud bang.

"Go ahead," the emperor said, his face not only smiling, but also smiling between his eyebrows. "I haven't prepared any food for you today, so I won't keep you here."

"I'll take my leave." Xu Guangqi's eyes flashed, and he slowly stood up and walked backward out of the hall. He hunched over, his head bowed so low that it seemed as if his forehead was still pressed against the floor.

Xu Guangqi's thoughts were in a mess. When he walked to the door, he even forgot that he needed to lift his legs to avoid the threshold.

The threshold of the Southern Study wasn't very high, but it was enough to trip someone if one wasn't careful. But how could he fall in front of the emperor without permission?

Xu Guangqi fell backward, and the eunuch on duty at the door immediately reached out and firmly grasped his waist. After straightening Xu Guangqi, the eunuch returned to his original position, as if none of this had happened.

Xu Guangqi was about to thank the eunuch when a voice drifted from the hall. "Xu Bu Tang, please be careful. It would be disgraceful if you behave in front of the emperor."

In a trance, Xu Guangqi didn't hear clearly what was said, but he felt that the eunuchs in the palace seemed to have said the same thing. "Yes, I understand, I understand."

Xu Guangqi managed to steady himself, but the object he was holding fell to the ground. It fell outside the palace, on the edge of the threshold. It was the memorial that Wang An had drafted for him. Xu Guangqi reached out to pick it up, and when his fingers touched the cover, he seemed to see a red hue in the blank space at the end of the document. If it was quick, this memorial would be back in the Forbidden City before the end of the day, back to the other side of the threshold. If it came out again, the memorial would become a death warrant. But Xu Guangqi understood, he really understood, that this death warrant was actually a reward from the emperor. Just like the unprepared meal.

Xu Guangqi took the gift into his arms, followed the eaves, and walked to the Qianqing Gate with heavy steps, avoiding the sun. As soon as he entered the hall, he saw a eunuch in a bright red dragon robe hurriedly crossing the threshold of the Qianqing Gate and walking towards him.

The man had obviously noticed him, so he quickened his pace a little, came up to Xu Guangqi, and bowed. "Greetings, Grand Master of the Imperial Clan."

"Greetings, Admiral Cui," Xu Guangqi returned the greeting with a bow. According to common etiquette, a few words would have been necessary after not seeing each other for so long, but Xu Guangqi simply couldn't muster the energy to exchange pleasantries with Cui Wensheng. Unexpectedly, Cui Wensheng was even more anxious than he was. As soon as the greetings were over, he walked past Xu Guangqi and headed towards the courtyard.

Xu Guangqi was stunned for a moment, then suddenly turned around. Cui Wensheng was the commander of the East Depot! He was rushing to meet him during lunch break. What was he trying to say?

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"Your servant kowtows to your master, long live the emperor, long live the emperor, long, long live the emperor." When Cui Wensheng entered the hall and paid his respects, the emperor had already stood up.

Zhu Changluo hooked his finger. "Are you coming here at this time to steal work from the Shangshi Bureau?"

"The master asks you to stand up." Cui Wensheng lowered his head and could not see the emperor's gesture. This required Wang An to repeat the emperor's intention in words.

"I bow to you, Master." Cui Wensheng quickly got up from the ground and said, "I really want to serve you dinner, but I'm afraid you'll despise me."

"Let's talk business first." Zhu Changluo sat back down. "Where's the news?"

"My lord, it's Tianjin," Cui Wensheng replied.

"Sit down and talk." Zhu Changluo's face darkened.

"Thank you, Master." Cui Wensheng walked over and slowly sat down. The material of this chair wasn't any better than the one he'd sat on at the East Depot, nor was it any more comfortable. But Cui Wensheng still loved this chair; without it, he wouldn't even have a place to sit. Whenever he sat on it, Cui Wensheng would feel a force rising from his tailbone to his forehead, then spreading throughout his limbs and bones.

Cui Wensheng was silent for a while, then he collected his thoughts and said, "Just now, I received an urgent report from that brat Cui Yuan from Beitang. The report said that a few days ago, a ship carrying grain to Liaodong sank near Changsheng Island." Changsheng Island is a large island in Fuzhou and a must-pass point on the route from Tianjin to Gaizhou.

"Is it man-made?" Zhu Changluo asked coldly.

Cui Wensheng was stunned and quickly flattered him. "Master is truly amazing. I haven't said anything yet."

"Who did it!?" Zhu Changluo waved his hands.

"Uh" Cui Wensheng seemed a little hesitant at this moment.

"Just tell me." Zhu Changluo frowned slightly.

"We don't know who did it yet, but it's very likely related to the rally in Tsinghua University." Cui Wensheng finished this sentence in one breath.

"Go on," Zhu Changluo nodded. "Just say what you want to say, don't try to be vague."

"Yes." Cui Wensheng said seriously, "At first, I didn't think of investigating the matter of the Ministry of Finance and the Tsinghua Garden gathering together."

Cui Wensheng didn't play dumb, but he lied as soon as he opened his mouth.

Before Cui Wensheng was tasked with secretly investigating the Ministry of Revenue, the entire East Depot was idle, with nothing to do and no interference from the news. Therefore, when he received the task of investigating the nobles and their relatives, Cui Wensheng's first reaction was that there was some connection between the two. After all, the two events occurred too close in time.

When Cui Wensheng learned that Li Guorui had called a secret meeting with his relatives to discuss changes in grain prices in Liaodong, he became even more certain of this. He couldn't wait to report the information he had.

At that time, Cui Wensheng had already made arrangements to track down the suspects, which was to send spies from the East Factory to track the caravans of the nobles and relatives.

These deployments did not exceed the scope of the East Factory Commander's authority, so he did not need to lie. Cui Wensheng did this because:

"Fortunately, the Emperor is wise and has ordered me to track down those who left the capital. The spies I sent out discovered that some of the families of the nobles headed towards Beitang after leaving the capital. Therefore, I felt that there might be a connection between the two events, so I paid more attention."

"Which families of nobles?" Zhu Changluo took out a piece of white paper, then picked up the red brush and rolled it around in the empty inkstone.

"Marquis of Wuqing, Earl of Pingjiang, and Earl of Boping." Cui Wensheng replied.

"Just these three?" After Cui Wensheng said this, Zhu Changluo finished memorizing.

"There are only these three at the moment," Cui Wensheng replied.

"And then?" Zhu Changluo put down his pen.

"Then the grain ship sank," said Cui Wensheng.

"So your eldest son found evidence that they were involved in the case?" Zhu Changluo asked.

"Not yet." As soon as these words came out, the other three eunuchs sitting in the hall were shocked at the same time: This is a case involving nobles and relatives, and this guy (he) (Admiral Cui) actually dared to report the matter based on hearsay!

As expected, the emperor frowned and shifted his cold gaze from the red name to Cui Wensheng's face. "Then how can you be sure that these things are related to them?"

(End of this chapter)