Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 450: Fortune and misfortune depend on each other
Li Guochen was silent for a moment. "Is there any new news from Tianjin?"

"No," Li Laifu shook his head. "I haven't received any new news for several days."

"Hmm," Li Guochen frowned and thought for a moment before saying, "It's better not to add fuel to the fire with the Ministry of Revenue. If we add fuel to the fire, it might not only be adding insult to injury, but also drawing fire upon ourselves."

Li Laifu persuaded him, "How can it be superfluous? I think this is a perfect opportunity. A smuggling case like this alone may not be enough to bring down the young marquis. But if we add to this the case of interfering with the Ministry of Revenue and affecting national policy, the young marquis will surely be doomed. Besides, aren't we planning to use the Ministry of Revenue's affairs to push the factory guards to follow the clues and find the young marquis? What's more, at this time, there is no need to worry about being exposed. We don't even need to bribe anyone. As long as we spread the news to the market, there are many censors who are willing to report it."

"You're right." Li Guochen nodded, then shook his head. "But after all this time, with the skills of the factory guards, they should have found some clues."

"What did you hear?" Li Lai Fu was stunned.

"If I had heard, why would I ask you?" Li Guochen strolled over to a cluster of rose buds. "I still remember the last news we received was that the left wing of the Tianjin Governor's Battalion had withdrawn."

"You mean, Governor Sun is leading his battalion to Beitang to arrest someone?" Li Laifu's eyes lit up, and he hurried to follow. "But why shouldn't he be from the East Factory?"

Li Guochen hesitated for a moment, then expressed his guess: "If I were Cui Tixing, and I wanted to arrest someone but was short of manpower, I would go to Governor Sun. Governor Sun is a member of the Donglin Party and will not refuse. Moreover, Governor Sun came from the Zhanshi Mansion, and I heard that even the emperor calls him Master. If I ask him for help, not only can I get things done, but I can also do him a favor. If the left wing of the battalion is indeed going to arrest someone, then there is no need for us to 'add unnecessary details' to interfere with the Ministry of Finance." Li Guochen also added emphasis on the four words "adding unnecessary details".

"As expected of the young master!" Li Laifu's eyes once again gleamed with admiration. "So what should we do next?"

"Nothing," Li Guochen shook his head. "Or rather, nothing at all except continuing to gather information."

"Young Master, are you just going to let go of this great opportunity?" Li Lai Fu's face showed regret.

"Chance? I don't think so." Li Guochen casually plucked a bud about to bloom and showed it to Li Laifu. "Although flowers bloom and wither in a moment's thought, digging the soil to plant flowers requires effort and time."

"I am stupid and don't understand what the young master means." Li Lai Fu still couldn't understand Li Guochen's metaphor as usual.

Li Guochen was not shy about explaining. "The smuggling of salt, iron, tea, and horses has certainly been going on for a long time. Why was it uncovered by the Liaodong authorities at this very moment, not just earlier? Is there someone else behind Yang Lian? If so, who is it? What is he trying to do? I dare not act rashly until I understand these things."

"This"

"And more!" Li Guochen raised his hand to interrupt him. "Was the smuggling of salt, iron, tea, and horses the caravan's own initiative, or was it orchestrated by Li Guorui? If it was Li Guorui's doing, then it's certainly a 'possible' opportunity. But if it was the caravan's slaves who did it, then it's just a minor incident. No matter how much of a fuss it makes outside, it's useless."

"We can find a way to put the blame of the smuggling on the young marquis!" Li Lai Fu suggested.

"How?" Li Guochen immediately threw out two options. "Bribe off the censors? Or fabricate evidence and bribe the investigating officer?"

"Isn't it possible?" Li Lai Fu was thinking of a similar method.

"How long has it been since you last said that?" Li Guochen asked back.

"What did the little one say?" Li Lai Fu was confused.

"It will be 'exposed'! When a concubine's son fights for the throne, the most taboo is conspiracy. Are all those censors in the factory dead? When Li Guorui made a fool of himself, finding the right opportunity to add fuel to the fire was already the limit. Taking one more step would be courting death. Haha." Li Guochen suddenly started laughing, and laughed until tears welled up in the corners of his eyes, and then he let out a long sigh. "Alas!"

Li Lai Fu couldn't understand the smile, and thought that the young master was sighing with resentment.

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Luo Sigong swept into the East Office Hall like a gust of wind. At his side was his son, Luo Yangxing, an officer of the Experience Office who held the title of Chief Thousand Household Officer.

"Have you got the confession?" Without waiting for Liu Chengxi, the governor of the East Office, to stand up, Luo Sigong threw a question at him as soon as he entered the room.

Liu Chengxi hurried to meet Luo Sigong and bowed respectfully, saying, "Your humble servant greets Chief Guard Luo and greets Officer Luo."

"Have you got the confession?" Luo Sigong didn't waste time talking to him and asked again with a stronger tone.

"Not yet." Liu Chengxi certainly knew what Luo Sigong was asking.

"Why haven't you done it yet?" Luo Sigong questioned, "Does it take so much time to just redraw a seal?"

Liu Chengxi was startled and was about to reply when Luo Yangxing interrupted and handed the draft of the case back to him. "Commander Liu, this is back to you."

Liu Chengxi was stunned, sweat even breaking out on his forehead. The Luo family father and son's "singing the same tune" attitude made Liu Chengxi think that they had come to force him to take the blame.

The higher-ups suddenly changed their tone, wanting to implicate Wuqing Hou. The draft case-closing opinion Liu Chengxi had submitted to the Command Headquarters was completely flawed. If things got worse, it could even be used to convict him.

Liu Chengxi certainly knew where this draft opinion came from, but he could only swallow the information behind it. If he rashly protested, he was afraid that his superiors would try to gag him. He knew all too well what methods the factory guards would use to gag him.

"I'm asking you a question! Are you mute?" Luo Sigong urged.

Liu Chengxi trembled as he took the draft of the case from Luo Yangxing's hands. He said tremblingly, "This humble official failed to supervise, and I am willing to accept the punishment!"

Standing at attention after being beaten, Liu Chengxi chose to take the blame without hesitation.

Logically, if the higher-ups really wanted to assign blame, it would have been Lu Wenzhao, the person directly handling the matter. However, it was Lu Wenzhao who brought the news of the change of direction from the Forbidden City to Liu Chengxi, and since this guy was the son-in-law of Luo Sigong and Hai Zhentao, it would have been difficult to shift the blame onto him.

"Punished?" Luo Sigong was stunned by Liu Chengxi's reaction. However, as the most senior member of the Jinyiwei, he quickly understood the reason behind Liu Chengxi's behavior. "What are you thinking? I don't want you to take the blame. I want a confession! A confession!"

"Commander Liu," Luo Yangxing explained at the right moment, "the Xiantai has uncovered a case alleging that the Li family is smuggling salt, iron, tea, and horses in Guangning for exorbitant profits, and has also bribed provincial officials. The Yintai has already received at least ten impeachment letters, all from reputable members of the Qing Dynasty." "The fire has only just begun. If we take this opportunity to pour fuel on it, the flames will ignite!" Luo Sigong had been puzzled, but now he finally understood the change in tone. The Li family had gone too far, crossing the emperor's line.

However, even though he understood it, Luo Sigong had new worries.

If someone at this time were to first create public opinion that the Eastern Office was shielding Wu Qinghou, and then direct this fire towards Luo Sigong, and then gradually spread the flames to the palace, then even if the Jinyiwei later exposed Wu Qinghou, public opinion could interpret it as having no choice.

Once he was drawn into such a narrative, the emperor would think that Luo Sigong was incompetent and couldn't even handle such a small matter that was set in stone. It was not impossible that unnecessary waves would arise for no reason, and that it would eventually cause Tianxin to change.

On the contrary, if the Jinyiwei threw out the Rutie case now, it would not only be in line with the emperor's will, but might also gain the support of public opinion and the favor of the censors, and further dispel the outside world's suspicion and criticism of him and the Luo family because of Zhao Yanqing's impeachment letters and large-scale layoffs.

Good and bad fortune are interdependent and can change in an instant!
"Father has already written the impeachment memorial," Luo Yangxing continued, pulling out a signed memorial he had written on his behalf. "Admiral Liu, please sign it quickly." Luo Yangxing flipped open the memorial and went straight to the last page, where the signature was.

"Oh!" Liu Chengxi relaxed instantly, a smile on his face. He hurried back to his desk, leaning on the edge and picking up the brush. After returning, he took a quick glance and signed his name behind the three characters "Luo Sigong."

"Where is the prisoner?" Luo Sigong asked Liu Chengxi while waving at Luo Yangxing.

Luo Yangxing nodded silently, bowed to Luo Sigong and Liu Chengxi, and said goodbye. Then he turned and left, running towards the gate.

"The prisoners are all in the prison," Liu Chengxi said, wiping the sweat from his forehead. He waved his hand and led the way, saying, "This humble official will take you there right away."

"You have finally written a new confession, right?" Luo Sigong took a step forward.

"I didn't expect things to be so urgent, so I thought about retrialing it." Liu Chengxi swallowed.

"So you didn't write it down?" Luo Sigong turned his head and glared at Liu Chengxi.

Liu Chengxi was startled and quickly explained, "It's always safer to rewrite the confession according to the confession." Luo Sigong, the old lion, rarely showed his fangs. But when he did, he was still very scary.

In fact, besides considering safety, Liu Chengxi actually wanted to delay a little longer, to find a way to clarify the matter so that he could have a response. It was all because of that damned Lu Wenzhao who knew nothing and was unclear about everything he asked during the meal, which made Liu Chengxi very unhappy.

"That's right." Luo Sigong nodded. "Writing a confession yourself is bound to have flaws. This case might have to be brought to light and go through the legal process." As for the facts of the case itself, a complete confession, omitting the palace details, would be the perfect confession. As for concealing the truth for the palace and omitting those who shouldn't be involved, that's Jinyiwei's instinct. Anyone without that instinct shouldn't even think about coming up. Luo Sigong didn't need to be told.

Liu Chengxi slowed down his pace, moved closer to Luo Sigong, and said, "If we see the light, then the methods used by Deputy Captain Lu will be exposed."

"Are you still worried about him?" Luo Sigong asked back.

"I'm worried that others will follow him and implicate you." Liu Chengxi expressed his loyalty.

"Good boy." Compared to Luo Sigong, Liu Chengxi, with his gray hair on his temples, was just a boy. "So, what do you say we should do?"

"Of course we have to find a way to prevent this case from coming to light," said Liu Chengxi.

"What nonsense." Luo Sigong rolled his eyes at him. "It's no longer up to you or me to decide whether this case should be brought to light."

"Are we really going to let it go?" Liu Chengxi asked.

"This is just a small matter, not much more serious than a tickle. It can't hurt me." Luo Sigong chuckled and said jokingly: "Even if something happens, I won't let you bear it."

"Hehe." Liu Chengxi smiled awkwardly and continued, "I am where I am today because of your support. It's nothing for me to take on a little bit of responsibility!" Just now he had stood at attention as if ready to be beaten, and now he was speaking these nice words with extra confidence.

"I'm really glad that you think so." Luo Sigong continued his words, as if the unpleasantness between Liu Chengxi and Luo Yangxing had never happened.

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In the Zhu Mansion, Duke of Chengguo, Zhu Chunchen was sitting in his study, uncharacteristically. He wasn't a book lover; rather than boring, tedious reading, he preferred watching a play or a woman dance. But today, he wasn't in the mood.

The door to the study was open, and Zhu Chunchen's personal servant and the Zhu family's intelligence chief, Zhu Jiaqi, walked straight in. "Duke! Grandfather!"

"Is there any new news?" asked Zhu Jiazhen, who was called "grandfather" by Zhu Jiaqi.

Zhu Chunchen didn't say anything, but his body leaned forward unconsciously.

"Yes." Zhu Jiaqi said straight to the point: "The Jinyiwei are also gone!"

"So fast?" Zhu Jiazhen hurriedly asked, "Is it praise or criticism?"

"Step on it!" Zhu Jiaqi replied, "The Imperial Guards have uncovered the case against the Tianjin Central Guards! General Luo and Admiral Liu jointly filed a petition impeaching Marquis Wuqing. They claim that Shen Caiyu fled south because Marquis Wuqing leaked the news in advance."

"It's actually this." Zhu Jiazhen was a little surprised, but also a little relieved. "Not bad."

"Not good!" Zhu Chunchen spoke.

"Duke, this matter has nothing to do with us," Zhu Jiazhen said. "Even if we bring that little exchange to light, we can defend ourselves." Tianjin was nearby, and the Zhu family, Duke Cheng, had also accepted favors from Shen Caiyu, but these were not serious matters, just ordinary favors. As long as the emperor didn't use this as an excuse, it wouldn't be a big deal.

"That's not the matter." Zhu Chunchen said coldly, "What the Zhang, Guo, and Chen families did in Beitang has been discovered."

(End of this chapter)