Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 451: Palace Bans Cannot Block the Wind from Heaven

"Why would the Duke think so?" Zhu Jiazhen was shocked by Zhu Chunchen's assertion. "Is there any news from Beitang?" Zhu Jiazhen looked at Zhu Jiaqi again.

Ever since Zhu Jiazhen handed over intelligence work for the Duke of Cheng's mansion to Zhu Jiaqi, he rarely directly inquired about the details. Even when the Censors of the Censorate filed a petition impeaching Marquis Wuqing, Marquis Yangwu, and Earl Pingjiang, Zhu Jiaqi was the first to know about it.

Zhu Jiaqi glanced at Zhu Chunchen and, seeing that the Duke was silent and seemed to be thinking, he spoke up, picking up Zhu Jiazhen's question. "Grandfather, there's no direct information, but there is indirect information. People who came back from Tianjin said that Governor Sun hasn't shown his face since the day the battalion left. The yamen's affairs are now handled by a man named Lu who manages the finances. I suspect that Zhongcheng Sun may have taken his troops to Beitang to arrest someone."

"Governor Sun, Sun Chengzong? Why would he arrest someone?" Zhu Jiazhen was shocked again. "Logically, he shouldn't even know about it."

"I don't know about that." Zhu Jiaqi shook his head and continued to speculate, "It's possible that Li Weidong of the Coastal Defense Battalion sent someone to inform on the matter. Ever since the acting seal-holders of the Left and Right Guards were summoned to the Central Guard by Governor Sun and reprimanded, this guy has been investigating himself and writing articles to cover up the truth. My grandson suspects that Li Weidong may have used the fact that the Li, Chen, and Guo families were trying to bribe him as a token of his loyalty."

"Does the Duke think so too?" Zhu Jiazhen looked at Zhu Chunchen again.

"That's a theory," Zhu Chunchen nodded and then shook his head. "I just think that the Jinyiwei had the audacity to suddenly turn over the Tianjin Zhongwei case and expose it so firmly when it was almost closed. They must have had the Emperor's approval."

"Could it be that General Luo is just afraid someone will use the Guangning case to sway public opinion against him, so he's exposing it?" Zhu Jiazhen said bluntly, "Tian Tongzhi has already broken with General Luo, and he still has the Weixichang behind him. If Tian Tongzhi bribes the censors and brings up the Tianjin Zhongwei case before General Luo, he'll be in trouble."

Zhu Chunchen waved his hand. "No, Luo Sigong was able to suppress the Zhongwei case, so he's not afraid of it being brought up again. He's just trying to suppress it again. Tian Ergeng was able to bribe the censors, and so can Luo Sigong. The key is whether the emperor wants to protect Li Mingcheng." Zhu Chunchen took a deep breath and said slowly:
"If the emperor is still willing to protect Li Mingcheng, then the Guangning case is unimportant, and the public opinion outside is even more bullshit. There are so many ways to make a big thing small and a small thing nothing. For example, let the Jinyiwei go to Guangning to arrest people, then exclude the judicial department from the case, and finally define smuggling as an independent behavior of the caravan, and the Wuqing Marquis Mansion will never know about it. Find a few people to be sentenced to death as soon as possible, or simply execute them in prison. As long as there is no evidence, won't the matter be suppressed?" At this point, Zhu Chunchen suddenly thought of the case of Zou Yuanbiao and Zhao Nanxing.

"And don't be fooled by Luo Sigong's robust build, like an old buffalo. He's always been cautious, or even timid. Now, for the sake of his son's future, he's become a pathetic yes-man, absolutely daring not to disobey the Emperor." Zhu Chunchen made no secret of his disdain for Luo Sigong. "To pave the way for his son, Tian Ergeng rebelled, and Luo Sigong jumped up and down to support Hai Zhentao. As long as he follows the Emperor's wishes, Tian Ergeng's tantrums won't bring him down. Believe it or not, even if Luo Sigong were to step down, Hai Zhentao, not Tian Ergeng, would definitely be the one to take over."

"On the other hand, if Luo Sigong dared to impeach Li Mingcheng without the Emperor's permission, Tian Ergeng would be the next in line. Taking advantage of the turmoil caused by the Jinyiwei internal layoffs, Luo Sigong's family would be trampled to death! But why is the Emperor no longer willing to protect Li Mingcheng?"

Without waiting for a response, Zhu Chunchen reasoned, "If the Imperial Guard hadn't exposed the case until tomorrow or the day after, I'd have assumed the Guangning smuggling case had infuriated the Emperor, prompting him to instruct Luo Sigong to overturn the verdict and revoke his favor. But it's only been this morning since the Censorate opened the case." Zhu Chunchen slammed the table in excitement. "Luo Sigong's impatience to overturn the case suggests the Emperor had been blowing the dog whistle long ago! It's even possible the Guangning case was just an accident. Luo Sigong simply added fuel to the fire!"

"I am 90% sure about this guess. But to be on the safe side, you should find a way to check it out," Zhu Chunchen said to Zhu Jiaqi, "see if Luo Sigong has received any notes from the palace recently." The Zhu family originally had several secret channels to gather intelligence from the Imperial Palace, but after the Imperial Palace laid off staff and tightened its restrictions, all these channels were cut off.

"My Lord," Zhu Jiaqi said, "I have already sent someone to the Command Headquarters to inquire about the news."

"Very good." Zhu Chunchen nodded with satisfaction.

"Duke," Zhu Jiazhen asked worriedly, "If this is true, what should we do?"

"What can we do? We haven't sent anyone to Beitang to do anything." Zhu Chunchen shrugged.

"What if Wuqing Hou is arrested and all matters concerning Tsinghua University are abandoned?" Zhu Jiazhen did not relax.

"I'm not afraid. There are many people going to Tsinghua Garden to drink Li's wine. The emperor can't punish them all." Zhu Chunchen said.

"The Zhu family paid for it." Zhu Jiazhen said.

"So what if we pay money? It's only one thousand two taels of silver. We don't know what Li Mingcheng is going to do, but we paid money to participate because we can't refuse the favor." Zhu Chunchen supported his head, squinted his eyes, and seemed to be thinking.

"The Emperor won't believe such talk. If they investigate, someone will have to take the blame," Zhu Jiazhen said. "This way, if they do investigate, the Duke will push me out. Although you went to Tsinghua Garden and knew what Marquis Wuqing was going to do, you never thought of following suit. I was the one who sent the 1,000 taels to the Li family without your knowledge."

"No, no, no." Zhu Chunchen shook his head and said, "Things haven't reached that point yet."

"It's always good to plan early." Zhu Jiazhen insisted.

"You don't understand. This isn't a matter of conspiracy." Zhu Chunchen saw it clearly. "Your life is only worth a little in my Chengguo Mansion. My excuses and yours are no different to the Emperor. If the Emperor doesn't believe me, he won't believe you either. If the Emperor insists on persecuting everyone involved, no one can handle it. If you can handle it, you don't need to shoulder the responsibility with so many people in your family. If we must talk about conspiracy, it's best to point it out to the Emperor with a blunt finger."

"Who are you going to see?" Zhu Jiazhen thought that Zhu Chunchen was going to bribe close ministers or important officials to whisper in the emperor's ear.

"I won't look for anyone. At times like this, the more you do, the more mistakes you make." Zhu Chunchen frowned, but the corners of his mouth rose slightly.

"If we don't find someone, how can we spread the news to the emperor's ears?" Zhu Jiazhen asked.

"No matter how strict the palace guards in the Forbidden City are, they cannot block the wind blowing from the sky." Zhu Chunchen pointed his index finger to the sky.

"The wind in the sky?" Zhu Jiazhen couldn't figure it out. "How does it blow?"

"Wait." Zhu Jiazhen actually looked at Zhu Jiaqi.

"What are you waiting for?" Zhu Jiazhen was startled and cast his gaze on Zhu Jiaqi's face. However, Zhu Jiaqi had a bewildered look on his face. He had no idea what Zhu Chunchen was talking about.

"When the time comes, you will know." Zhu Chunchen leaned back and waved his hand lazily.

"Yes." Zhu Jiazhen stopped asking.

One of the four corners of the imperial city is missing, and the Xiaoshiyongfang, which houses the Imperial Stables Temple, is stuck in this missing southwest corner.

The Imperial Stables (Taipusi) was responsible for horse herding and was under the Ministry of War. The Imperial Stables (Taipusi) in Beijing was formerly the Beijing Imperial Stables (Taipusi). In the 30th year of the Hongwu reign, Emperor Taizu established the Beijing Imperial Stables (Taipusi) as well as the Liaodong, Shanxi, and Shaanxi provinces, all under the overall jurisdiction of the Ministry of War. In the 18th year of the Yongle reign, Emperor Chengzu established Beijing as the capital, and the Beijing Imperial Stables (Taipusi) dropped its prefix and became the Imperial Stables (Taipusi). The original Imperial Stables (Taipusi) in Chuzhou was renamed the Nanjing Imperial Stables (Taipusi) by adding the character "Nanjing."

In the evening, the bell rang, signaling the end of the court session. Bi Ziyan, the current Junior Secretary of the Imperial Household Department, immediately stood up and walked across to Ding Maoxun, another Junior Secretary of the Imperial Household Department, who was sitting across from him. He bowed respectfully and said, "Lord Yunjie, I'm leaving now."

According to official system, the Imperial Equipage Department was supposed to have a third-rank official in charge, with three fourth-rank junior officials assisting. However, since the former Imperial Equipage Department official Wu Mo resigned due to illness last year, and Junior Official Fan Jishi was transferred to the position of Junior Official of the Imperial Rites and concurrently Superintendent of the Four Barbarians Hall, only Ding Maoxun and Bi Ziyan remained in the Imperial Equipage Department.

Logically speaking, Ding Maoxun and Bi Ziyan were both fourth-rank junior officials, and the emperor hadn't issued a direct decree appointing one to temporarily manage the temple's seals, so there shouldn't be a distinction between the two. However, since it was a government office, there had to be a hierarchy. Otherwise, with multiple departments issuing orders, the officials would be at a loss.

Ding Maoxun was a Jinshi in the Gengchen year of the Wanli reign, while Bi Ziyan was a Jinshi in the Renchen year of the Wanli reign. The two men were distinguished by the distinction of advanced and junior, teacher and student. Therefore, ever since Wu Mo's departure and Fan Jishi's appointment, Bi Ziyan had consciously considered Ding Maoxun his "mentor." He would consult with him before implementing anything, and even when there was nothing to do, he would still bow and ask before departing. Although Ding Maoxun accepted his advice, he never acted as if he were a teacher or a superior.

When Bi Ziyan came over, Ding Maoxun had already stood up. He returned the greeting and said, "Jing Zeng, are you in such a hurry to leave?"

"Does Lord Yunjie have any other instructions?" Bi Ziyan asked with a smile.

"No instructions, but there is a problem." Ding Maoxun smiled.

"Mr. Yunjie, please feel free to ask any questions. I will tell you everything I know." Bi Ziyan replied.

"Is Jing Zeng free tonight?" Ding Maoxun asked.

"Yes." It wasn't the month for the horse labor service, and the Imperial Household Department had no urgent errands, just routine chores. These tasks weren't strenuous for Bi Ziyan, a veteran of the officialdom. Therefore, he had plenty of free time each day; otherwise, he wouldn't have come to take his leave as soon as the court was dismissed. But as soon as he said this, he regretted it immediately.

Sure enough, Ding Maoxun took over and said, "Since you have some free time, let's go have a drink."

Ding Maoxun and Bi Ziyan, both from Shandong, got along very well. After Fan Jishi, who was from Henan, was transferred to the Taichang Temple, the two even began speaking their dialect in the classroom.

"Let's forget it." Bi Ziyan didn't really want to drink with Ding Maoxun. Ding Maoxun's alcohol tolerance was average, but he insisted on drinking. Bi Ziyan was really worried that the old man would accidentally drink himself to death. If that happened, he would be guilty of a serious crime.

"Do you doubt my alcohol tolerance, or do you not want to drink with me?" The smile on Ding Maoxun's face suddenly faded a little.

"Oh, you really misunderstood me," Bi Ziyan wanted to just nod and agree to both questions, but he had to consider the relationship. So, Bi Ziyan used his time-tested evasion method, "The imperial examination is a big deal, and I'm worried about how to write this self-introduction! Aren't you worried?"

"Why should I worry? I just resumed my job last year!" Ding Maoxun was quite proud.

Ding Maoxun was one of the first censors to be exiled from the capital due to the dispute over the imperial throne. His exile lasted nearly thirty years, rendering his imperial examinations a forlorn success. As the saying goes, fortune and misfortune go hand in hand. Ding Maoxun's "disobedience to the emperor by protecting the crown prince and his thirty years of retreat to the countryside" earned him nothing but a remarkably high reputation and a paper-thin resume.

Under normal circumstances, Ding Maoxun could have easily delegated most of the complex details to Bi Ziyan, a young man who had diligently worked at both the central and local levels for over twenty years, while he himself only needed the general manager's approval. However, during the imperial examination, he wouldn't have to bother devaluing himself; he could simply write "I am too old and frail to handle this."

"Since you are not worried, please give me some advice." Bi Ziyan made a bitter face.

"I can't give you any advice." Ding Maoxun shook his head and said, "This is my first time writing too."

"Then I'll have to go home and figure it out on my own. The Censorate and the Civil Service have both submitted their opinions, and soon it'll be the Cabinet's turn. After the Cabinet passes, it'll be our turn. I have to write an article." Bi Ziyan said, "How about this? After this is over, I'll set up a plan and treat you to a good drink."

"Hmph." Ding Maoxun rolled his eyes at him, but he also took the opportunity to back down. "When the time comes, I'll have the final say on which brand of wine we drink!"

"Okay, then even if you want to go to Huanghuafang for a drink, I will definitely not hesitate." Bi Ziyan breathed a sigh of relief.

Ding Maoxun pretended to be angry and said, "You are going to ruin my reputation in my old age." At his age, he no longer had any interest in that kind of things.

"What are you thinking about?" Bi Ziyan teased, "A talented man and a beautiful woman, reciting poems and composing couplets, how can you say that they can lose their integrity in their later years?"

"You..." Ding Maoxun's old face flushed. "Aren't you going to go back and confess? No need to hold it back?"

"Oh! Then I'll take my leave!" Bi Ziyan bowed again and turned to leave.

At this time, Bi Ziyan didn't know that the drink he and Ding Maoxun had agreed to have would not happen after all.

(End of this chapter)