The Ming Dynasty's Five Hundred Years

Chapter 278 Relatives of the Empress Dowager
As dawn broke, the city was bathed in sunlight, and the silence of the night was swept away.

The turbulent situation in the court and the countryside had no effect on Li Xianmu. As he traveled, officials bowed and gave way. Even the princes of the late Emperor Zhu Gaochi, who had not been granted titles and fiefs, had to respectfully greet him. Those with distant relationships would call him "Prime Minister," while those with closer relationships would address him as "Uncle."

In this capital city, only the Emperor, the Empress Dowager, and the Empress could be ranked above him. Even if we include the princes of the outer vassal states, as the head of the imperial clan and the head of the Imperial Clan Court, there were few people with a higher status than him.

Such power and status give him the confidence to do most things. For him now, political struggles are no longer a matter of life and death.

Instead, he only considers whether someone is reasonable, because no minister can reason with him!

Li Xianmu was handling some departmental affairs in the Ministry of Personnel. He was sitting and drinking tea, while the left and right vice ministers and other officials of the Ministry of Personnel were standing and reporting to him.

In the midst of the conversation, a minor official suddenly rushed in, knelt down, and said, "I hereby inform the Grand Chancellor that a Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review requests an audience."

Grand Chancellor is an honorific title for the Minister of Personnel. Li Xianmu is currently in the Ministry of Personnel, hence this title. If he were in the Grand Secretariat, he would be called Grand Secretary; if he were out in the country, he would be called Grand Secretary. One person has three supreme titles, and this is the current Li Xianmu.

Zhou Cheng?

Li Xianmu frowned, looked up at the people in the room, and they all bowed in unison, saying, "We will take our leave now."

"Thank you all for your trouble." Li Xianmu said calmly, then looked at the clerk and said, "Go and bring Zhou Cheng in."

Everyone bowed again and left the room in turn.

Before long, Zhou Cheng, the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, hurriedly entered, a hint of anxiety in his eyes and on his face. Upon entering the room, he immediately bowed and said, "Greetings, Grand Chancellor."

"Sit down." Li Xianmu gestured. "What happened that made you so anxious?"

"Grand Chancellor, the people I sent to investigate the imperial tombs have sent back some information, and it's not good."

Upon hearing that the imperial tombs were mentioned, even Li Xianmu sat up straight and said, "Tell me in detail."

"The person truly in charge of the imperial mausoleum is not a high-ranking official sent by the court."

The first sentence made Li Xianmu's heart sink. Since ancient times, imperial tombs have always been of paramount importance. The slightest carelessness could be a capital offense. Starting with Zhu Di, the imperial tombs of the Ming Dynasty were all built at the foot of Tianshou Mountain in Changping County, about a hundred miles away from the capital.

Various government offices in the capital had branches in Changping County. For example, the Ministry of Rites, which managed rites and sacrifices, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the eunuchs guarding the Eastern Depot, and the Five Military Commissions, all of which were responsible for guarding the imperial tombs. The Imperial Clan Court under Li Xianmu also sent people to Changping.

With so many government agencies involved, Zhou Cheng is now saying that the person in charge is not a high-ranking official. So who is it?
"It's Sun Guangzong, a minor official of the seventh rank in the Court of Imperial Sacrifices!"

Li Xianmu's pupils narrowed, and he stared at Zhou Cheng, asking, "Are they relatives of Consort Sun?"

Zhou Cheng was a little nervous. He pursed his lips and said with a dry throat, "That's right, he is Consort Sun's younger brother. He is the fifth child in his family. Last December, he was appointed as a minor official in the Court of Imperial Sacrifices and then sent to the imperial mausoleum."

With the help of Consort Sun and his own considerable social skills, he gathered a large number of people in Changping, after which he began his well-known embezzlement.

Having investigated this far, I dared not investigate further and immediately came to report to the Grand Chancellor, leaving the matter for his decision.

This matter is complicated because it involves the emperor's maternal relatives, especially Consort Sun, who is the emperor's favorite concubine.

Li Xianmu was also deep in thought. The Sun family was now considered to have risen to prominence because of their daughter. After Zhu Zhanji ascended the throne, he appointed Sun Ruowei's father, Sun Zhong, as the Vice Commander of the Central Military Commission, and her elder brother, Sun Jizong, as the Commander of the Vanguard of the Imperial Guard. They received a salary but did not have to do any work. They rose to become top-level imperial relatives. In some ways, they were even more prominent than the Empress's family.

Zhou Cheng hesitated, "The Sun Consort's family is even more illustrious than the Hu Empress's family. I wonder if we, Grand Chancellor, should continue our investigation?"

If it were Empress Hu's family that were exposed today, Zhou Cheng would not hesitate at all. At the Ming Dynasty's financial conference at the end of last year, the Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices who was angrily rebuked by Li Xianmu was none other than Hu Rong, Empress Hu's father and now the father-in-law of the Ming Dynasty, but Li Xianmu did not give him any face at all.

In terms of power, even if you combined the families of Empress Hu and Empress Sun, they wouldn't be a match for Li Xianmu.

In terms of imperial favor, even the Hu family wasn't worthy of carrying Li's shoes.

In terms of seniority, coincidentally, counting from the emperor and empress, Li Xianmu and the emperor's father-in-law Hu Rong are of the same generation, so there's no need to give him any face.

But now the one who committed the crime is a member of Consort Sun's family, which makes things difficult, since Consort Sun is favored by the Emperor.

After much deliberation, Li Xianmu resolutely declared, "Investigate thoroughly. Find out who's behind this, no matter who is behind it. No one can obstruct the great cause."

I'll write a letter to my second brother right away. Take it to the Embroidered Uniform Guard and ask him to send a cavalry officer from a centurion's garrison to assist you.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Cheng became solemn. Although he felt a chill in his heart, since Li Xianmu had said so, he still had the courage to take action and immediately agreed.

"However, try not to involve Consort Sun in this matter. Keep it confined to Sun Guangzong. If Consort Sun asks about it, I will go to the palace to handle it. You don't need to worry."

Furthermore, the actions of Hu Rong, the Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, that day were also unusual. He himself was not clean. Sending someone to investigate might be helpful. If only Consort Sun was in trouble, the Emperor would do his best to protect her. But if the Empress was also in trouble, then the Emperor might not care.

Li Xianmu knew with a moment's thought that if this matter involved Consort Sun, the emperor would definitely suppress it, since the emperor had been thinking about deposing the empress.

The only options were to implicate the Empress or not implicate Consort Sun; any other choice would be met with the Emperor's protection. Zhou Cheng initially looked somewhat distressed when he heard that Consort Sun shouldn't be implicated, but his eyes lit up immediately when he heard that the Empress should be implicated. He readily agreed, saying, "I understand. I'll get on with it right away."

Seeing Zhou Cheng leave, Li Xianmu straightened his clothes, his face indifferent. He also needed to prepare to enter the palace to confront Consort Sun and persuade the emperor.

……

No matter how powerful one is, one is not a complete prime minister.

Li Xianmu truly felt the inconvenience of the current system at this moment.

If he were a full prime minister, a single imperial edict stamped with the seal of the State Council would be enough to order the Court of Judicial Review, the Ministry of Justice, the Censorate, and even the Military Affairs Bureau to jointly investigate a case. But since he is not the prime minister, he cannot issue orders legitimately and can only push things forward through his cronies who occupy key positions.

Li Xianmu lamented his lack of power here, but Changping was already filled with the chill of winter winds.

The central area of ​​Changping County was the central office area for various government agencies and their branches in the capital. There was a joke in the town: "If you were to throw a piece of paper at someone, they would all be government employees."

Ordinary people dared not approach or even enter this place on ordinary days, for fear of offending their superiors and suffering disaster.

But today, people from the capital have stormed out of the silence.

"The Court of Judicial Review, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and the Censorate are jointly investigating this case! All bystanders, disperse!"

The sound of horses' hooves broke the stillness, stirring up clouds of dust on the straight road, which then settled in the hearts of the officials in the government offices, causing ripples of unease.

None of these three government offices are easy to mess with; they all keep a close eye on officials. Among the three judicial departments, the Ministry of Justice is more inclined to handle cases, while the Censorate and the Court of Judicial Review focus more on supervising officials.

When these three government offices arrived in Changping together, everyone immediately knew that something had happened!
However, they didn't know why they had come, or which government office they were targeting. The officials in each government office looked at these people who looked like they had ill intentions with curiosity.

Li Mao, dressed in a flying fish robe and with an embroidered spring knife at his waist, came in person. Sitting on his horse, he said sternly, "I am Li Mao, the commander of the Northern Garrison of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. I have been ordered to investigate the corruption in the construction of the Imperial Mausoleum. Officials of the Ministry of Works, the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, and the Court of the Imperial Clan Court, please put down your duties and follow me to investigate. Where is the Minister in charge of the Imperial Mausoleum dispatched by the Court of the Imperial Clan Court? Come to see me immediately!"

"Where is Sun Guangzong, the official sent by the Court of Imperial Sacrifices? Come out and see me immediately!"

Embezzlement of imperial tombs!

The moment those four words were uttered, all the hushed conversations ceased instantly. Fear filled their faces, and many even turned pale and swayed precariously.

Then someone immediately ran inside, wanting to tip off the culprit.

Li Mao didn't care at all. Since he had come here in person today, it meant that he already had evidence. Arresting people was just a way to get more and more comprehensive confessions.

He knew very well that the real outcome of this matter depended on Li Xianmu's discussion with the emperor in the palace. What he was doing now was simply adding weight to his third brother's position.

In a very short time, the events that occurred in front of the yamen had spread to all the yamens, causing a great uproar.

The Imperial Clan Court dispatched an office.

The Grand Minister in charge of the Imperial Mausoleums was an official in the Imperial Clan Court. Upon hearing that the Embroidered Uniform Guard had come to investigate embezzlement at the Imperial Mausoleums, he immediately turned pale and broke out in a cold sweat. "Quickly, go and ask Young Master Sun to save me!"

Before he could say anything more, two officials dressed in the robes of the Court of Judicial Review walked in and coldly looked at him, saying, "Let's go."

After taking away several of the highest-ranking officials, Li Mao received a report that "Sun Guangzong, the Assistant Director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, is not in the yamen."

Li Mao had anticipated this; how could Sun Guangzong possibly arrive at the yamen on time for roll call?

He's long since disappeared, enjoying himself somewhere. When he mentioned Sun Guangzong's name, it was merely a direct declaration of his resolve.

He had already sent people to arrest Sun Guangzong.

"Have all the other people on the list involved in the case been arrested?"

"Reporting to the chief, the others have all been captured."

Li Mao waved his hand, "Then start the interrogation immediately and make them confess and submit to the law as soon as possible. The Grand Secretary is waiting for their confessions!"

Matters concerning the trial.

Both the Dali Temple and the Embroidered Uniform Guard are professional. The Embroidered Uniform Guard has all sorts of cruel tortures, and the Dali Temple is no less capable. However, today we are dealing with officials, so we cannot use torture indiscriminately. If we accidentally kill someone, then we will lose our reason.

The censors of the Censorate also awaited the results of the interrogation. Once they were released, they would immediately write a memorial, using their supervisory power to impeach these corrupt officials.

Let's expose this to the highest heavens!

(End of this chapter)