Late Ming Dynasty: So what if Emperor Chongzhen was inactive?!

Chapter 20 He asked for it and you gave it to him?! She insisted on having it and you gave it to her?!

"Your Majesty, the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard requests an audience."

"Xuan!"

Zhu Youjian looked up from his desk and saw a rather plump middle-aged man walking in with a graceful gait.

"Your subject, Tian Ergeng, Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, pays his respects to Your Majesty!"

"Flat body."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

After this formality of meeting between the emperor and his subject was completed, the two began to sized each other up.

Tian Ergeng lowered his head slightly, glancing at the emperor out of the corner of his eye. It must be said, the emperor did indeed look very much like an emperor; one could almost feel a sense of déjà vu upon seeing his face.

However, Zhu Youjian did not have a good impression of Tian Ergeng. The initial selection criteria for the Embroidered Uniform Guard were broad shoulders, a wasp waist, and mantis legs, which had nothing to do with Tian Ergeng.

"Oh my god, look at him, he looks just like a groundhog," Zhu Youjian muttered to himself. He felt that Tian Ergeng didn't seem like a Jinyiwei (Imperial Guard) or a military general, but rather like a wealthy old man.

Zhu Youjian has been on the throne for several days now, and in principle, he should have summoned the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard long ago. Executing first and reporting later is a privilege granted by imperial authority; the Embroidered Uniform Guard was one of the most crucial "armor" in the hands of the Ming emperor, yet he did not.

This is because Zhu Youjian felt that the Embroidered Uniform Guard had long been rotten to the core, and this rot was a structural rot from top to bottom, which could not be reversed by simply changing a certain leader.

This story begins after the Tumu Crisis, when Ma Shun, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, was beaten to death in court in front of the emperor and a group of officials. From then on, the Embroidered Uniform Guard's authority was greatly reduced, leaving it only with guard duties and ceremonial responsibilities. It experienced a brief revival during the reign of Emperor Daojun, as the commander at that time was Lu Bing, Zhu Houcong's wet nurse. However, compared to the Hongwu and Yongle eras, the Embroidered Uniform Guard ultimately declined inevitably.

If a leader can't even protect his own subordinates, why should others risk their lives for him? Nowadays, the Embroidered Uniform Guard has long been infiltrated by various forces, and the quality of its members has also dropped significantly, because the ranks of Embroidered Uniform Guard officers above the rank of centurion are basically hereditary.

Tian Ergeng's story is even more outrageous. His grandfather, Tian Le, was the Minister of War during the Wanli Emperor's reign, and his father served as the Governor of Gansu. This is clearly a family of upright and influential civil officials. It goes without saying who he favored when he became the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Could such a person possibly have any deterrent effect on civil officials?

Tian Ergeng felt the emperor was quite imposing, seemingly not as young and easily bullied as the rumors suggested. Zhu Youjian simply sat in his chair, neither asking questions nor telling Tian Ergeng to leave, leaving him standing there helplessly. Tian Ergeng had no choice but to stand there and wait.

After an unknown amount of time, Tian Ergeng felt his feet were numb from standing. Zhu Youjian then pretended to say, "Ah, I was so engrossed in thinking about something that I neglected Commander Tian. I hope you won't take it to heart."

"Your Majesty, I dare not! Your Majesty's dedication to the affairs of the state is truly a blessing for the world and for the Ming Dynasty," Tian Ergeng hurriedly replied.

"What brings you to see me?!" Zhu Youjian said in a low voice.

"Your Majesty, I have led the Embroidered Uniform Guard to confiscate the property of the disgraced official Li Chunye, and we have obtained 50,000 taels of silver. I have come to ask Your Majesty whether we should deposit the stolen silver into the Imperial Treasury as is customary," Tian Ergeng said.

"Since it's a routine, why are you asking me?" Zhu Youjian said irritably.

"Uh, the Ministry of Revenue is vying with us for this money," Tian Ergeng stammered.

"He asked for it and you gave it to him?!" Zhu Youjian said incredulously.

"But they insist on..."

"You'll give it to me just because I insist?! Are you my personal bodyguard, or the Ministry of Revenue's bodyguard?!"

"Your Majesty, please forgive me. I will immediately go and apprehend these Ministry of Revenue officials who are blocking my Northern Garrison and bring the silver here!" Tian Ergeng said, bowing deeply.

"Go ahead," Zhu Youjian waved his hand.

Tian Ergeng bent over and took two steps back, about to turn and leave, but then seemed to suddenly remember something, and pulled out a stack of account books from his robes, saying, "Your Majesty, this is the evidence of Li Chunye's crimes that we have copied." "Didn't I say to have the three judicial departments conduct a joint trial? You should have given this to the Ministry of Justice, why are you giving it to me?" Zhu Youjian said displeased.

"Your Majesty, this account book... I think Your Majesty should review it personally." As he spoke, he winked at Zhu Youjian.

"Are we that close? If your eyesight is bad, ask your wife to blow on them for you," Zhu Youjian thought to himself.

Tian Ergeng held the account book high above his head, Zhu Youjian waved his hand, and Wang Chengen stepped forward to take the account book and hand it to Zhu Youjian.

Zhu Youjian quickly flipped through the pages, then suddenly chuckled, realizing he understood Tian Ergeng's intention.

Wei Zhongxian was truly pitiful; when he fell from grace, everyone turned against him. Tian Ergeng was known as the leader of the "Five Tigers" of the eunuch faction, a core member of the faction, yet even he turned against them.

The ledgers clearly record how much money Wei Zhongxian transferred from the Beijing Garrison in a certain year and month, and how he accepted bribes in a certain year and month to arrange for someone to become an official in the Beijing Garrison.

After reviewing a few entries, Zhu Youjian turned the ledger face down on the table and then dismissed Tian Ergeng.

It's time for the multiple-choice question again. Zhu Youjian now has three choices:

One option was to use this ledger to eliminate Wei Zhongxian on charges of embezzlement and abuse of power. The advantage was that it would generate a windfall, but the disadvantage was that it would easily cause other eunuchs to feel a sense of unease. Another option was to put the ledger away and pretend nothing had happened. Yet another option was to show it directly to Wei Zhongxian. This would greatly increase the variables and could have a warning effect on Wei Zhongxian, but it would also be tantamount to betraying Tian Ergeng, which would be quite unethical.

"Fifty thousand taels?! Hmph, that's like giving alms to beggars. They've stopped pretending!" Zhu Youjian muttered to himself.

"Fifty thousand taels?! Your Majesty, Commander Xu Xianchun told me that he had embezzled one hundred thousand taels of silver. He even tried to bribe me with ten thousand taels, but I refused." Wei Zhongxian was just worried about not having a chance to slander someone, and now the opportunity had come.

"Good heavens, they've started fighting! Brilliant, truly brilliant!" Zhu Youjian said with a strange expression, then waved to Wei Zhongxian.

Wei Zhongxian, puzzled, nervously approached Zhu Youjian. "Take a look for yourself," Zhu Youjian said, tossing the account book in front of Wei Zhongxian.

A sense of foreboding arose in Wei Zhongxian's heart. After reading only a few pages, he slammed the account book shut and knelt down on the ground with a thud. Regardless, his attitude was still quite good.

"Your Majesty, I deserve to die!" Wei Zhongxian said, trembling.

Zhu Youjian frowned, feeling that he was overacting. He was shaking like a sieve. Was it really necessary to be so exaggerated?

"So, everything written in this ledger is true? They didn't falsify accounts to frame you, did they?"

“The things recorded in the ledger are indeed what I did. However, Your Majesty is unaware that I sold official positions and titles with the permission of the late Emperor, in order to raise funds for the Xiong barbarians’ army.”

"As expected of you, Wei Zhongxian, you even managed to overturn this case!" Zhu Youjian was somewhat impressed by Wei Zhongxian. Since he couldn't wake the late emperor to check the accounts, he naturally had to accept whatever Wei Zhongxian said.

However, compared to this, Zhu Youjian was more curious: "Wei Zhongxian, I heard that Xiong Tingbi was executed because he offended you?"

"Your Majesty, you are wronged! Although I am at odds with Xiong Tingbi, he is an official outside the capital. Why should I make things difficult for him?"
Initially, it was Feng Congwu, Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, Dong Yingju, Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, and He Qiaoyuan, Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Stud, who jointly submitted a memorial requesting the late emperor to arrest and imprison Xiong Tingbi and Wang Huazhen. Yao Zongwen said that Xiong Tingbi was "dictatorial and autocratic, neglecting military training, failing to deploy generals, alienating the people, and his punishments were sometimes ineffective, while his work was never-ending..."

Xiong Manzi was known for his foul temper, and when he offended the court officials, very few pleaded for him. The late emperor, having reached his limit of tolerance, finally had him executed.

"Alright, I want to exonerate Xiong Tingbi. What do you think?" Zhu Youjian asked.

As expected, the emperor wouldn't do anything to him. Seeing Zhu Youjian asking for advice, Wei Zhongxian felt somewhat relieved. Everyone has their own perspective, and as a eunuch, Wei Zhongxian naturally wouldn't speak well of the civil officials. So he told Zhu Youjian that if he wanted to exonerate Xiong Tingbi, he would definitely be stopped by the court officials. Those civil officials would certainly not admit their mistakes.

Zhu Youjian sighed inwardly; he too found it quite difficult. Redressing injustices was a difficult task throughout history, unless the person involved was nearly dead.

(End of this chapter)