Huangming

Chapter 337 Sacrificing Family for the Righteous, the Qi Party and the Imperial Party

Time slipped by quietly in the autumn wind, and in the blink of an eye it was September of the first year of the Tianqi reign.

According to the traditional lunar calendar, autumn is divided into early autumn, mid-autumn, and late autumn, and this moment is the late autumn season.

The summer heat has long since faded away, and even the canal waters have a refreshing coolness. In the mornings and evenings, the river breeze sweeps across the boats, carrying a bone-chilling cold.

The boatmen had already changed out of their shorts and put on coarse cloth coats, otherwise they would easily catch a cold.

The scenery along the coast has also changed.

Along the banks of the Grand Canal in Hebei Province, the vegetation has visibly turned yellow and withered, and the wild grass on the field ridges is covered with white frost, creating a desolate scene at a glance.

But the fields exuded a sense of vitality.

Most of the crops have already been harvested, revealing the brownish-yellow soil. Many farmers are not leaving the land fallow and are busy sowing bean seeds.

These beans grow quickly, and we can harvest another crop before the ground freezes at the end of the year.

After paying their taxes, the farmers didn't have much grain left in the fields. This last crop of beans was their lifeline to get through the next spring, and they valued every single grain.

but.

After the ship passed Dezhou and entered Shandong province, the scenery changed abruptly.

Many fields along the canal were still left unharvested, with heavy ears of grain lying in the mud and sprouting from the rain.

Even the harvested plots looked like they had been looted; the straw was lying haphazardly, and scattered grains of rice were everywhere, clearly indicating that the land had been haphazardly cleared.

Even worse, large tracts of field ridges were trampled flat, revealing rumpled soil, as if they had been through war.

Qi Shijiao, standing at the bow of the boat, frowned deeply as he looked at the scene.

Although he had heard of the devastation of the Shandong civil unrest, he never imagined it would deteriorate to this extent.

Even such a major event as the autumn harvest has turned out like this, which shows that the corruption and inaction of local officials have reached an alarming level.

The aftermath of the civil unrest had not yet subsided, and the officials were incompetent and irresponsible; the combination of these two factors led to the current state of affairs on this land.

Thinking of this, his heart sank.

Since leaving Beijing to take up his post as governor of Shandong, he has never had a moment of peace.

When the ship passed Cangzhou, a Shandong official in Beijing sent a letter through a messenger. The letter was full of "friendship between fellow townsmen" and subtly mentioned that his nephews and nieces were serving in Shandong and hoped that the official would "take care of them".

Upon reaching Linqing, local gentry sneaked aboard the ship, using the pretext of "welcoming guests" to stuff heavy gift boxes into the cabin. Upon opening them, one would find either gold and silver or silk.

Qi Shijiao knew all too well what these people were up to.

Who made him the leader of the Qi faction?

Shandong was the stronghold of the Qi faction, and most of the officials, both big and small, were fellow townsmen or former protégés. Now that he had come to be the governor, ostensibly to rectify officialdom, these people saw it as an opportunity for "family members to protect family members," and everyone wanted him to be lenient and let them off the hook.

"Your Excellency, Yanzhou City is just ahead."

The voice of the attendant rang out from the bow of the ship, waking Qi Shijiao from his reverie.

He looked in the direction his attendant was pointing, and on the horizon at the end of the canal, he could already see the outline of Yanzhou City.

The gray-brown city walls were faintly visible in the twilight, and one could almost see the figures of people coming and going at the city gate.

Qi Shijiao withdrew his gaze and said in a deep voice, "Give the order to enter the city again late tonight. Just inform Minister Yuan of my arrival; there's no need to make a fuss."

The attendant paused for a moment, then replied, somewhat puzzled, "Sir, it's still quite some time before midnight. We can reach the city walls in half an hour at most by sailing downstream along the canal. Why wait until midnight?"

"Do as I say!"

Qi Shijiao's tone was cold, and his eyes revealed a sharp edge.

The attendant dared not ask any more questions and quickly bowed, replying, "Yes, Your subordinate will make the arrangements immediately."

After his attendants withdrew, Qi Shijiao looked back towards Yanzhou City, his brows furrowed slightly.

He knew that if he were to enter the city in a grand manner at this moment, the Shandong officials in Yanzhou would probably have already received the news and would swarm up to him.

He'll be surrounded by people throwing welcome banquets, giving gifts, and sharing their hometown sentiments.

By then, how could he possibly calm down and investigate the truth?
Yanzhou City is an important town in Shandong and one of the hardest-hit areas in this civil unrest, so there must be many filthy and corrupt things going on there.

Entering the city late at night allows one to avoid these social engagements and catch those with ulterior motives off guard.

He needed to use this time to secretly find out who in the city should be arrested, who should be demoted, and who should be killed.

There is no room for personal feelings before the law.

Even if he was the leader of the Qi faction, and even if more than half of the officials in Shandong were protégés and former subordinates of the Qi faction, he was no exception.

Teacher Fang Congzhe put him in this position to clean up the long-standing problems, not to protect his cronies.

Moreover, even if he wanted to cover it up, he wouldn't have the guts.

He had long heard of His Majesty's methods; the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the Eastern Depot, and the Western Depot had spies all over Shandong, and his every move was probably under surveillance.

If he dares to bend the law for personal gain, he will be the first to lose his head.

"Boatman, let's dock and rest for a bit," Qi Shijiao called out to the stern of the boat.

The boat slowly approached the reeds on the shore and put away its oars.

Qi Shijiao turned around and went back to the cabin, taking out a seal and several booklets from his bag.

That was the official seal of the governor bestowed by His Majesty, along with the list of Shandong officials given to him by Fang Congzhe.

As time passed, night fell quickly.

A thin layer of mist rose from the surface of the canal, blurring the lights on both banks into indistinct patches of light.

The boat rested quietly by the reeds, with only the lantern at the bow swaying gently in the wind, casting a halo of dim yellow light.

Just then, three dark figures emerged from the reeds on the shore like ghosts and silently stepped onto the boat.

The leader was dressed in a flying fish robe, with an embroidered spring knife hanging at his waist. He held up a waist token in his left hand, which flashed a silver light under the lantern.

It was indeed the token of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Seeing this, the attendants wisely stepped aside.

The three men moved nimbly, clearly skilled in martial arts, and soon they were outside the cabin.

The leader, Lu Wenzhao, a commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, had a calm expression on his face, but a sharp glint was hidden in his eyes.

He had rendered great service in suppressing the Wenxiang Sect rebellion, and the position of Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard was already in his grasp; he only needed to go through the formalities to obtain it. But he knew in his heart that this was just the beginning.

Above the garrison commander are the assistant commanders, deputy commanders, and even the commander in charge of the seal. He has a long way to go.

To climb the ranks, one must accumulate more tangible achievements, and this opportunity to assist Qi Shijiao in reforming the Shandong officialdom is an excellent one.

"Your Excellency, Lu Wenzhao, Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, requests an audience!"

Lu Wenzhao's voice was not loud, but it clearly entered the cabin, carrying the unique competence of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

After a moment of silence in the cabin, Qi Shijiao's slightly hoarse voice came through: "Please come in."

Lu Wenzhao gave a look to the two men behind him, and they immediately understood. One guarded the left side of the cabin door, while the other went around to the stern of the ship, scanning the surroundings warily, sealing off the entire cabin area so that not even a fly could get close to eavesdrop.

After doing all this, Lu Wenzhao lifted the cabin curtain and stepped inside.

An oil lamp was lit inside the cabin. The light was not bright, but it just illuminated Qi Shijiao's furrowed brows.

He was looking down at a stack of papers in his hand, covered with names written on them, which were presumably a list of officials from various prefectures and counties in Shandong.

Hearing the noise, Qi Shijiao raised his head, his gaze falling on Lu Wenzhao. Without any further pleasantries, he simply asked, "Did Minister Yuan send you?"

Lu Wenzhao bowed and said succinctly, "Yes. The Embroidered Uniform Guard has been investigating in Shandong for many days and has collected some information. Minister Yuan ordered his subordinates to send it over overnight for the Governor to review."

Having said that, he didn't delay any longer, took two steps to the table, and handed over a thick booklet he had been carrying in his arms.

The booklet was sealed with kraft paper, and the edges were worn rough, indicating that it had been read many times. Its heavy weight suggested that it was not to be underestimated.

Qi Shijiao put down the list in his hand, reached out and took the booklet. The moment his fingertips touched the pages, he knew that what was inside was probably the root cause of the corruption in Shandong's officialdom.

He didn't open it immediately, but instead looked up at Lu Wenzhao with a scrutinizing gaze: "Have you investigated everything?"

"I wouldn't say it's perfect, but my subordinates didn't let any of the leads go unnoticed."

Lu Wenzhao spoke with certainty.

"Especially in Yanzhou and Dongchang prefectures, those who colluded with the Wenxiang Sect or used the pretext of suppressing the rebellion to line their own pockets are basically all on the list."

Qi Shijiao nodded, asked no more questions, and slowly opened the booklet.

In the dim light of the oil lamp, his face gradually darkened as he turned the pages of the book.

Wang Longde, the prefect of Yanzhou, was his good friend; the circuit inspector of Qining Circuit was once his student; and Xu Congzhi, the deputy envoy of Yandong, even brought Shandong local products to the capital to pay him a visit last year.

Also, Zuo Shijun, the instructor of Dongchang Prefecture, and Zhang Xingmin, the magistrate of Guancheng County...

These names were all familiar; some were people he had toasted with at the village drinking ceremony, and others were people he had personally promoted. But now they were like dull knives, cutting into his heart again and again.

"Are all these people... guilty?"

His voice was a little tight. Even though he had been mentally prepared before coming, when these familiar faces were associated with the word "crime," it still felt like something was blocking his chest, and even his breathing became sluggish.

Lu Wenzhao stood to the side, his face expressionless, but his tone carried a hint of scrutiny:

"It's all clearly written in the booklet: who embezzled disaster relief grain, who released rebels, and who seized farmland under the guise of suppressing the rebellion—every single one is documented. You, the governor, are the leader of the Qi faction, and you probably know the ins and outs of Shandong's officialdom better than anyone else. These people routinely use the Qi faction's banner to form cliques and engage in corrupt practices; are you really completely unaware of this?"

Qi Shijiao remained silent.

do you know?
Perhaps they knew some clues, but they were always blinded by thoughts of "fellow townsmen" and "friends and acquaintances".

Perhaps they deliberately ignored the rumors, thinking that as long as things didn't escalate, they could always turn a blind eye.

But now that Lu Wenzhao has exposed it, all the self-deception has become a joke.

He sighed heavily, his fingertip lingering on the name "Wang Longde" for a moment before finally moving away: "I understand."

Yuan Keli asked Lu Wenzhao to send over this list; it was far from a simple "evidence of handover."
It was clearly a test.

They were testing whether the newly appointed Shandong governor was there to clean up official corruption or to act as a protective umbrella for Qi's cronies.

This list is his pledge of allegiance.

If he were to show even the slightest favoritism at this moment, the secret letter impeaching him would probably already be on its way to the capital before dawn.

Lu Wenzhao was not the only informant of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Qi Shijiao took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, the pent-up anger in his chest dissipating somewhat, and his eyes gradually becoming clear and calm: "Don't worry, these people are guilty of heinous crimes, and this governor will not let them off lightly."

He closed the booklet, his tone resolute: "I, the governor, will personally order their arrest. The Shandong officialdom is deeply entrenched, but they will still give me, Qi Shijiao, some face. Arresting these ringleaders will both deter the petty thieves and prevent the entire officialdom from falling into complete chaos."

This may be why Fang Congzhe strongly recommended him to come to Shandong.

If it were Yuan Keli instead, given his upright and incorruptible nature, he would have investigated thoroughly and thoroughly, leaving no stone unturned. While that would have been satisfying, it would have inevitably provoked a fierce backlash from Qi Party officials, and might even have triggered a mutiny or popular uprising, turning the already turbulent Shandong into complete chaos.

As for Qi Shijiao, as the leader of the Qi faction, there would be much less resistance if he personally cleaned up the house.

Those Qi faction officials who were implicated, even if they were dissatisfied, dared not openly resist because of his status.

While undermining the foundation of the Qi Party, it was also able to stabilize the situation in Shandong.

These two seemingly contradictory things achieved a delicate balance in him.

Looking at the deep night outside the cabin, Qi Shijiao suddenly understood something.

Perhaps this is exactly the situation His Majesty desires?
There were no Qi faction, Zhejiang faction, or eunuch faction; there were only the officials of the Ming Dynasty, or the Emperor's faction.

Those who perform meritorious service will be rewarded, and those who commit crimes will be punished. No matter how powerful a political party you are backed by, you can't escape the sanctions of the law.

He picked up the heavy roster, his eyes filled with complex emotions.

This path was destined to be difficult; he had to sever the entanglements of interests with his own party members and shoulder the heavy responsibility of reforming Shandong, but he had no other choice.

Whether or not one can gain the emperor's favor.

In other words, whether or not Qi's faction—no, Shandong's Ming Dynasty officials—can regain His Majesty's favor depends on his next move.

"Let's sail the boat."

Qi Shijiao stood up, his voice regaining its usual calm and steady tone.

"It's late, time to head into town."

PS:

Please subscribe~
Asking for a monthly ticket~
Just a few more votes and I'll get an extra chapter for the monthly pass!

(End of this chapter)