Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 492 The Way of Royalty
Zhu Changluo nodded expressionlessly.

"Why did Master Wang do this?" Zhu Youxiao couldn't help but feel sad for his father. It was unexpected that someone as close as Master Wang would hide it from his father.

"Why do you think he did that?"

"I don't know." Zhu Youxiao looked sad.

Zhu Changluo asked, "Father asks you, if you were the head of the Imperial Household Department, the superior of the two factories and one guard, what would you do after hearing the report from your subordinates?"

"Of course I will report this to the Emperor immediately." Zhu Youxiao was very clever. He understood the situation immediately after putting himself in his shoes. If Wang An wanted to suppress the matter, his response would not be to allow the Imperial Guard to arrest the person without a warrant, but to suppress the Imperial Guard so that they would not arrest the person. Accordingly, the censors of the Metropolitan Censorate would not impeach the Imperial Guard for this reason.

"Does Wang Zhangyin want to thoroughly investigate this case before reporting it?"

"Yes, at the beginning, the emperor was also very confused and sad. He thought, how could this old tutor hide this from me? But after venting his emotions, he calmed down and thought carefully. Who in this world could bribe Wang An with anything?" Zhu Changluo smiled lightly, looking at the young man in front of him with subtle eyes.

Zhu Youxiao couldn't understand his father's expression and nodded thoughtfully. "So, is that why he only punished the East and West Factories and the Imperial Guard?"

"For now, only the Imperial Household Department has been punished," Zhu Changluo explained. "Although the East Factory, West Factory, and Embroidered Uniform Guard report to the Imperial Household Department, they shouldn't be answerable to the Imperial Household Department. They should only be answerable to the Emperor. Essentially, the Imperial Household Department is the Emperor's eyes and ears, and they report to the Imperial Household Department only to reduce the Emperor's workload. To put it more clearly, in managing the Imperial Household Department, the Imperial Household Department's role is only to help the Emperor filter out unimportant information. Now, the Imperial Household Department has intercepted information that is very important to the Emperor, to Father. The Imperial Household Department should have bypassed the Imperial Household Department and reported directly to Father, but they didn't. That's why they are being punished."

"Could it be that they are also out of loyalty and want to investigate the case more thoroughly before reporting it?" Zhu Youxiao asked thoughtfully.

"That's a good question. We need to analyze each person individually. Wang An was the emperor's tutor. He also taught him how to read, so he could even be considered a mentor. Wang An served the emperor for twenty-seven years, which is older than you are. His loyalty is beyond doubt."

"But the others aren't. First, there's Cui Wensheng. He's very obedient and useful. But he came from the Zheng Palace, so he's quite cunning. Next is Wei Zhongxian. He's an extremely sinister and ruthless villain. He can do all the dirty work beautifully, but don't really trust him. And General Wei Luo Sigong, haha, he's very mature."

"Mature?"

"Political maturity." Zhu Changluo explained: "Today, the Jinyiwei has become an office that is neither internal nor external, or in other words, both internal and external. To hold that position firmly, one must take into account both internal and external factors, and adjust the emphasis at any time depending on the situation. Luo Sigong is the kind of person who can take both into account and adjust. After the recent period of training, Luo Sigong has become more and more inward-looking. Adapting to the situation is the embodiment of maturity and sophistication. Such a person will only follow the rules that he believes are the most correct and powerful. Take this incident as an example. The reason why he dared to violate the ancestral rule of arresting people must be because in his heart, this ancestral rule is no longer powerful enough. Or in other words, Luo Sigong was sure that he would not be severely punished for violating this ancestral rule."

"So, father wants to maintain this ancestral system?" Zhu Youxiao vaguely realized that his father seemed to be imparting very important knowledge to him.

"No. Maintaining the ancestral system is just a pretext. The ancestral system that requires a stamp when arresting someone has been turned into a carrot stamp by your father. Your father doesn't care whether Luo Sigong goes through the criminal procedure or not. The key is that he didn't inform your father when he arrested him."

"If Luo Sigong had come to the Southern Study and told us about this before arresting the person, then even if he didn't go to the Criminal Department to get the letter, the emperor wouldn't say anything to him. Of course, he could have thought that the order from the Imperial Household Department came from the Southern Study and therefore not come to the Southern Study to report. But in that case, he should have sent someone to the Criminal Department to report. Because the Criminal Department will report the Jinyiwei's arrest in writing. This would have been considered as informing the emperor, and the emperor wouldn't have said anything to him."

"However, Luo Sigong neither came to the Southern Study nor went to the Criminal Department to report. This is either because he didn't realize that Wang An might have concealed the truth from his father. Or he realized it but didn't care; or he realized it but didn't dare to go beyond the Imperial Household Department. This is not good, very bad. I will punish Luo Sigong in public. In addition to exposing the Imperial Household Department, I also want Luo Sigong to understand this rule! Do you understand?"

Zhu Youxiao nodded blankly and asked, "The Imperial Household Department is clearly in charge of this matter. Why did your Majesty want to single out the Imperial Household Department?"

Zhu Changluo said, "In this matter, the greatest responsibility of Wei Zhongxian, Luo Sigong, and Cui Wensheng was to inform the emperor of matters that were detrimental to him. Their failure to do so is a failure to fulfill their responsibilities. In this respect, they are not even as good as Fang Congzhe, Ye Xianggao, and Cui Jingrong. Moreover, Wei Zhongxian, Luo Sigong, and Cui Wensheng all had their own selfish motives, and at the very least, they were trying to protect themselves. Therefore, Father will punish them."

"Wang An, on the other hand, is pure. Although Wang An hid everything from Father, he never deceived Father from beginning to end. He did not do these things for his own selfish interests. Therefore, Father favors him. After thinking everything through, he is willing to continue to entrust things to him. Moreover, Father is not refraining from punishing him, but he does not punish him in public. Power institutions and powerful people must have prestige to get things done, and punishing them in public will make them lose prestige. Wang An is Father's greatest incarnation. He needs enough prestige to support his dragon robe."

"I understand, son." Zhu Youxiao nodded heavily.

"The people around you are only smart and talented, and they stand out in the internal library. That's why they were assigned to you by the Imperial Household Department. But can they be trusted? Can they handle important tasks? What kind of tasks can they handle? Is there enough hatred between them to maintain a balance between each other? You have to observe and think about these things yourself." Zhu Changluo said with a smile.

Zhu Youxiao frowned slightly, and his eyes suddenly turned red. Zhu Youxiao didn't like this kind of teaching. Zhu Youxiao knew very well that when he could really use this knowledge, his father would not be able to teach him anything more. Compared to his father's position, he preferred to be a small carpenter under his father's wings.

"Yes," Zhu Youxiao lowered his head, suppressing the inexplicable sadness. "I will remember your father's teachings."

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The so-called family rules within the palace were, of course, not the ancestral precepts ordained by Emperor Taizu Gao, but rather a set of disciplinary measures based on the will of the current emperor. Otherwise, given the current state of "eunuch meddling in politics," every single one of the powerful eunuchs in the Imperial Household Department would have been dragged out and beheaded.

As the saying goes, if punishment is unknown, its power is unfathomable. Imperial family law is similarly vague and ambiguous. However, one can vaguely guess at the severity of punishment by observing the instruments used.

The heaviest punishment, of course, was the imperial caning. A few strokes of this weapon could kill a person. The second most severe was the whip. Whipping with a whip was extremely painful, and flogging often served as a public, humiliating punishment to serve as a warning to others. However, flogging generally did not result in a fatality, as whipping a healthy person to death would be too cruel. If someone wanted to kill someone, or make an example of someone, they could simply use the imperial caning to kill them; there was no need for such "performance art." The lightest form of family discipline involved bamboo strips. Similar to the imperial caning, the strips were generally applied to the buttocks. However, compared to the imperial caning and flogging, a slap on the buttocks was like a parent chastising a child; no matter how painful it was, it was no more than physical pain, a more advanced form of verbal discipline.

As the one being punished, the gray-haired Luo Sigong was clearly no longer a child. However, Wang An still chose to whip Luo Sigong with bamboo strips.

This time, Wang An didn't bother anyone else and personally "handled the punishment." The beating was very light, basically just a single hit on Luo Sigong's body and then he was picked up. After twenty strips of bamboo, Luo Sigong's still strong old butt didn't move at all.

In order not to embarrass Luo Sigong, Wang An deliberately did not make too much noise, but the overly mature old man did not appreciate Wang An's kindness at all. He kept "wailing" shamelessly, making the whole Silijian hear it.

"General Wei, I'm sorry." Wang An threw away the bamboo strips and sighed at Luo Sigong. Luo Sigong swiftly rolled down from the stool, holding his buttocks and said, "Master Wang, I need to take two days off to recuperate. Could you please prepare a car for me?"

Wang An knew what Luo Sigong was thinking, but seeing Luo Sigong like this, he couldn't help but tease him, "It's true that it's inconvenient for you to walk with your injuries, but you've been busy lately, so I'm afraid you won't be able to take leave, Marshal Wei."

"Staying at home won't hinder my work." Luo Sigong said with a smile, "If I get beaten and then go to the government office as usual, it won't look good."

"Who is General Wei going to send there?" Wang An asked suddenly.

"The Jinyiwei will do whatever the palace orders." Luo Sigong put away his shameless smile.

"All the emperor wants are the witnesses and testimonies. It's up to you to get them back. As for who goes there to get them, the palace doesn't care. You can decide for yourself." Wang An said.

"Can you send my son?" Luo Sigong didn't take Wang An's words seriously.

"Are you talking about Captain Luo?"

Luo Sigong nodded. "By serving the Emperor, I can also earn some merit that will bring honor to my family." The biggest obstacle to Luo Yangxing's ascension to power was his lack of merit. Luo Sigong saw this as a great opportunity.

"That place is bitterly cold, and there might even be a major battle. Are you willing to let Captain Luo wade into this mess?"

"It's better if it's bitter and cold. If it's not bitter and cold and not dangerous, I wouldn't want him to go." Luo Sigong said.

"You can let your good son-in-law go." Wang An said lightly.

"The palace is interested in that kid?" Luo Sigong was still smiling.

"A good son-in-law is half a son-in-law. If he makes a contribution, it can be considered as keeping the wealth within the family. Besides," Wang An paused. "Even if he dies, it won't be a pity."

"Master Wang is right," Luo Sigong said, not feeling offended. Instead, he felt that Wang An's willingness to speak to him like this showed he was one of his own. "Mencius said, 'When Heaven bestows a great responsibility, it will be met with torment and exhaustion.' I believe that if one wishes to achieve great things, how can one be afraid of death? My useless son needs this kind of experience abroad to grow. Even if misfortune befalls him, it's his fate."

"Like father, like son!" Wang An nodded, slightly moved. "The Imperial Household Department only needs a list to facilitate salary calculations and budgeting. Once you've made your decision, have someone bring the list over."

"Thank you." Luo Sigong nodded solemnly.

"Let's go, it's time for dinner." Wang An teased again, "After dinner, I'll send a car to take you home, and you can rest and recuperate at home."

"Okay." Luo Sigong also laughed.

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At the end of the Neidongchang dungeon, Chen Zongqian, the chief steward of Pingjiang Earl Chen Qisi, was being tortured to the point of crushing bones.

Every time the jailer pulled the rope tightly, a scream like the howling of a ghost would be heard in the almost pitch-black dungeon.

The screams lingered back and forth, adding another layer of bone-chilling cold to the already icy dungeon.

"I confess! Stop!" In less than two quarters of an hour, Chen Zongqian, who was always known for his tight-lipped nature, could no longer bear it. However, the East Factory's chief criminal officer showed no intention of stopping.

This is because the suffering Chen Zongqian endured was more of a backdrop, a backdrop used to intimidate others.

Arresting nobles and relatives required the emperor's approval, as did torturing them. But torturing their servants did not require the emperor's approval. Therefore, the imperial guards often tortured the nobles' most important and closest servants in front of them, hoping to force them to speak up.

If these close servants confessed, their confessions could be used as a tool to force the nobles to confess, or simply as evidence to convict them without a confession. If the servants were extremely loyal and refused to betray their masters even under severe torture, then these waves of ghostly howls could break the psychological defenses of most pampered nobles.

Generally speaking, before the nobles' psychological defenses were broken, their servants' loyalty would be shattered by torture. This was because the torture methods of the imperial guards were unconditional. With the emperor's approval, they could torture someone to death without any punishment. If someone chose to endure death, their fate would inevitably be to endure death. Before their death, these stubborn and important figures would witness their ancestors and descendants die one by one before their eyes.

"Take this man away for questioning, and then bring up another one to continue torturing him." After another scream, Cui Wensheng, who was sitting on his back in the torture room listening to the torture, stood up with the help of the armrest.

Having intimidated the person enough, he prepared to go and investigate the case himself.

(End of this chapter)