Top Scholar

Chapter 409 Certificate of Surrender

"You two Yangs, I curse your ancestors!"

Suddenly, Yangming's angry curses erupted over Longchang Post Station.

The area around the post station is now home to many Miao people, all of whom were attracted by Mr. Yangming and moved here to live with him.

There had been previous incidents where the Imperial Guards had attempted to attack Mr. Yangming, so the Miao people were on high alert. Upon hearing of Yangming's unprecedented rage, they quickly grabbed their Miao knives and rushed over to protect him, their faces filled with murderous intent.

"It's nothing, it's nothing." Xu Ai quickly stopped the crowd and explained gently, "The gentleman only got angry and cursed a few words after hearing some unpleasant news from afar..."

After much persuasion, the Miao people were finally convinced to disperse.

At this moment, Su Youjin saw that Master Yangming had calmed down a bit and asked in a low voice, "Who exactly are these 'Two Yangs' that you mentioned?"

"Who else could it be?" Wang Shouren sneered. "It's those two heartless old dogs, Yang Shizong and Yang Shizhai!"

Seeing that Su Youjin's eyes were still fixed on the screen, Wang Shoujian explained, "The former is Yang Yiqing's pen name, and the latter is Yang Tinghe's pen name."

The eldest uncle understood immediately, his face changing drastically in shock: "Ah?! Does the gentleman mean that Hongzhi's ordeal was orchestrated by those two high-ranking officials in the imperial court?"

“It must be them!” Wang Shouren said coldly. “Because Yang Yiqing refused to submit, Liu Jin ordered people to fabricate charges against him, forcing him to resign on the pretext of illness. Later, he falsely accused Yang Yiqing of embezzling border funds and imprisoned him. If it weren’t for the efforts of Grand Secretaries Li Chaling and Wang Wuxian, he would probably have lost his life long ago. Therefore, he hates Liu Jin to the bone.”

Master Yangming was clearly still very angry, and even addressed the senior scholar by his given name...

"Although Yang Yiqing survived, he was still forced to retire and fined until he was bankrupt. He is now living in seclusion in Nanjing," Wang Shouren continued.
"Yang Tinghe was also demoted to Nanjing by Liu Jin between April and August this year. The two were in the same city for several months, so they had plenty of time to get together and set up this scheme!"

“Okay, even if the two of them had the time and motive to commit the crime,” Xu Ai retorted, “that doesn’t necessarily mean it was them. Back then… the eldest brother hadn’t passed the imperial examination yet. How would they know that there was a minor scholar named Su Hongzhi in Luzhou?”

“Yang Yiqing doesn’t know, but Yang Tinghe definitely does,” Wang Shouren said calmly. “As for the reason, I can only say that those who know, know; those who don’t, forget it.”

Xu Ai then looked at Su Youjin, only to find that he also looked blank, clearly not understanding either.

"In short, it would be absolutely impossible to make a name for oneself in Sichuan without Yang Tinghe's approval." Wang Shouren continued, "As for Yang Yiqing, although he has served as a border official for a long time, he is well-versed in domestic and foreign affairs, learned and adept at adapting to changing circumstances, and his wisdom and strategy are unmatched. He is a born strategist."

"There was already a chief strategist in the court, so it wasn't his turn to offer advice. But now that chief strategist has become the Grand Secretary and has ruined his reputation, so the civil officials no longer listen to him. Therefore, it's his turn to take the stage." He paused, then offered his insightful analysis:

"From publishing Hongzhi's articles and attracting the Embroidered Uniform Guard, to building momentum along the way and fermenting layer by layer, Hongzhi will surely become famous throughout the country even before he arrives in the capital. When Liu Jin has no choice but to personally interrogate him, that will be the start of the real show... This kind of delicate writing that starts from the tip of a ripple is exactly Yang Yiqing's style."

"Huh? Even Hongzhi's article was part of the plan?" Su Youjin's hair stood on end. These high-ranking civil officials are terrifying!
"Of course! With the mere incompetence of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, they'd struggle to even understand Hongzhi's writings, let alone misinterpret them? They simply don't have that ability, do they?" Wang Shouren said with absolute certainty.
"The people around Liu Jin with such abilities are all in the capital. If the eunuch faction discovered the problem, it would have started to cause trouble in the capital first, and then people would have been arrested. It wouldn't have been the other way around, with people being arrested before anything was done above. So they were definitely being used as pawns."

"Could it be that some scholar is jealous of... Senior Brother, and deliberately framed him?" Xu Ai asked.

"No way, do you know who the prefect of Chongqing is?" Wang Shouren shook his head decisively and said, "His name is Wen Shu, and his courtesy name is Ju'an. He was a Jinshi in the second year of Chenghua! Would such a rare and distinguished senior figure take a new candidate seriously and personally lead the entire city's officials and people to welcome him?"

“Indeed, these old men can’t stand young newcomers,” Xu Aishen agreed. “It should be the top scholar who comes to pay his respects, why would he fawn over a young scholar for no reason?”

"Moreover, from the time Hongzhi was arrested and left Hejiang to Chongqing, only a day had passed. Even if Prefect Wen was well-informed, he wouldn't have had time to prepare," Wang Shouren said, exhaling a breath of stale air.

"So someone must have informed him in advance, asking him to give Hongzhi and his entourage a grand welcome. Looking across the world, besides the two Yangs, there is no one else who can make this highly respected old minister obey orders!"

"Now that you mention it, it seems to make sense." Xu Ai and the other two were finally convinced.

"But sir, why would such important figures as the two Yangs scheme against a mere scholar like Hongzhi?" Su Youjin still didn't understand.

“What else can we do these days? Of course, we have to deal with Liu Jin,” Xu Ai said.

“Indeed.” Wang Shouren nodded. “The last time Liu and Xie tried to take down the tiger, they failed because they dragged the Emperor into it and went too far, pushing the Emperor to his limit. This time, the Yangs have learned from the lessons of Liu and Xie and will not start from a major point, lest the Eight Tigers repeat their old tricks. This time, they will only use a minor scholar as a pretext to let the Emperor see whether the people’s hearts are with him or not.”

He paused for a moment and said in a deep voice, "In this way, the will of all scholars will be focused on Hongzhi, and Liu Jin's anger will only be directed at Hongzhi. If the civil officials can work together to protect Hongzhi, it will be a great victory that completely reverses morale and unites people's hearts! If Liu Jin can't even kill a minor scholar, the deterrent he has worked so hard to build will collapse!"

"If we fail to protect Hongzhi, it's just the sacrifice of a minor scholar. What loss would it cause the important figures?" Master Yangming said coldly. "Even the minor figures won't be in trouble. All the scholars in the land have rallied to Hongzhi's cause. Who will Liu Jin punish? He can only say that the law doesn't punish the masses." "How about it? Isn't Master Shizong's plan brilliant?" He asked the three men with a mocking smile.

"Others have taken everything into consideration, but what about Hongzhi?" Su Youjin asked with difficulty.

“He’s definitely not going to have a good ending,” Xu Ai said. “It goes without saying that the scholars couldn’t protect him, but even if they managed to get him out of prison safely, he would become a symbol of the scholars’ resistance against Liu Jin, and Liu Jin would see him as a thorn in his side. Given Liu Jin’s vindictive nature, his worst days are yet to come.”

“That’s right!” Wang Shouren nodded emphatically. “The nail that sticks out gets hammered down first. Once Hongzhi is pushed to the forefront of the rebellion against the eunuch faction, facing wave after wave of attacks from Liu Jin, he can only rely on the protection of powerful figures in the court, such as the Yang brothers. Even if they protect him until Liu Jin falls, or even give him the top scholar title as compensation, what good will it do? He will owe them a debt of gratitude that he can never repay in eight lifetimes!”

"That's true." Xu Ai said with sympathy, "Even if he becomes the Grand Secretary in the future, everyone will say that they have been kind to him and saved him from danger. How can he repay them? He will be trapped in that debt of gratitude he can never repay for the rest of his life!"

"This sounds like a pledge of allegiance to bandits!" Su Youjin was starting to understand what was going on.

"Well said, it's a pledge of allegiance!" Wang Shouren's eyes blazed with fury again. "Hongzhi has neither a Grand Secretary as a father nor is he a child prodigy who entered the Hanlin Academy at a young age. If he wants to become one of them, he must first submit such a pledge of allegiance! Only then will they feel comfortable nurturing him..."

"So the imperial court isn't much different from a bandit's den after all," Su Youjin exclaimed in astonishment.

"What do you think?" Xu Ai sneered, "As long as they're gangs, there's no real difference."

“But the problem is that the bandits would make it clear beforehand, letting you choose whether or not to hand over the goods,” Su Youjin said indignantly. “But they didn’t give Hongzhi a choice either; they just suddenly tied him to the boat. He’s only been married for a few days! Even bandits wouldn’t do that!”

“Because they are not bandits after all,” Wang Shoujian said leisurely. “How could bandits be as shameless as them? When your nephew passes the exam and becomes a Jinshi, he will have to thank them for the rest of his life.”

"This is outrageous! How dare they treat my disciple, Wang Shouren, like this?!" Wang Shouren paced back and forth for a moment, then suddenly stopped and ordered Xu Ai in a deep voice:

“You two should head back today! Ren, I’ll write you a letter to take back to the old man in Nanjing, asking him to do everything he can to keep Hongzhi here, to let him stay in Nanjing for at least a month.”

“Yes, sir,” Xu Ai replied without hesitation.

"Zhongxuan," Wang Shouren then instructed Wang Shoujian, "You'll have to go through a lot. I'll write a letter to the Grand Secretary, and you can deliver it to the capital for me, asking him to make sure Hongzhi gets out of this predicament. If we have to owe someone a favor, I'd rather Hongzhi only owe him one!"

"Yes," Wang Shoujian simply replied.

Master Yangming acted swiftly and decisively, immediately picking up his pen and writing two long letters, sealing one of them while giving instructions:

"You must be quick. The Imperial Guard ships are supposed to travel 100 li a day, and will arrive in Nanjing in a month. So, Ren, you must return to Nanjing within a month to keep Hongzhi here in time. Zhongxuan, you also need to give the Grand Secretary time to resolve the issue, so you must get to Beijing within a month and a half."

"Understood!" The two had already packed their belongings, took the letter, wished each other well, and hurriedly rode off.

"Sir, is there anything I can do for you?" Su Youjin asked Wang Shouren after seeing the two off.

"Brother Su, go and catch a panda..." Wang Shouren instructed.

"Huh?" Su Youjin exclaimed in shock, "You mean that kind of black and white bear?"

"As expected of a knowledgeable Sichuanese," Wang Shouren praised. "That's it. I've seen it in the mountains around here before, and I still remember it vividly. How could there be such a lovely creature in the world?"

“That thing is actually quite fierce; it could slap me to the ground with one blow,” Su Youjin said.

“Then try to catch the smaller ones,” Wang Shouren said. “I’ll have hunters from the Miao village accompany you. Make sure they’re alive, and they can’t get hurt! I mean, the pandas can’t get hurt…”

"Sir, what's the point of grabbing that thing?" Su Youjin asked, puzzled.

“What else can we do? Save Hongzhi!” Wang Shouren said.

"Okay!" Upon hearing that it was to save his nephew, Su Youjin immediately agreed without further ado.

(End of this chapter)