White-robed Minister

Chapter 218 0216 [Wang Zhongzheng is finished]

After Xu Lai and Cai Ting finished discussing, they went to find Zhang Heng together.

Zhang Heng, the deputy transport commissioner of Shaanxi, was in charge of the transportation of money and grain in Qinfeng, Xihe, Jingyuan and other places.

The three discussed the matter in detail for a full half day, but Zhang Heng could not make any guarantees, only promising to try his best to raise more grain.

Xu returned home in the afternoon and played with the children with Pianpian, Yu'er, and Dou Niang.

Before they had even had dinner, Wang Hou came to report: "Just now, Minister Cai sent someone over, saying that the Tuoshuo tribe attacked the Longbo tribe without authorization."

Hou Ke, the prefect of Gongzhou, dispatched Liu Changzuo with troops to suppress the rebellion. Liu Changzuo quelled the rebellion within a day, capturing the leader of the Tuoshuo tribe and escorting him to Qinzhou.

Xu Lai was completely bewildered. He knew these two tribes; they were both small tribes within Gongzhou. Although they had a long-standing feud, the government had already mediated between them. What was this sudden, inexplicable fighting?

Xu Lai, who had just returned home, rushed off to the Military Affairs Office.

When Xu Lai served as the military governor of Tongyuan Army, he advocated that the leaders of various tribes change their surnames to Han surnames. Many Qiang leaders in Gongzhou followed Yu Longke's example and changed their surnames to Bao, while others changed their surnames to Xu (Xu Lai) and Cai (Cai Kang).

The leader of the Tuoshuo tribe in front of them had changed his surname to Li and was named Liwoqiaer.

This may be due to the lingering influence of the Tang Dynasty, as the surname Li is a common surname among the Tibetan Qiang people. For example, Mu Zheng's maternal grandfather's surname was Li, and Mu Zheng's father's two wives both had the surname Li.

Why did you attack the Longbo tribe without authorization?

Xu Lai questioned, "Two years ago, I personally mediated a dispute between you; you both agreed to never kill each other again. Last year, you both performed meritorious service and received rewards of cloth and money; you should be living even better now."

Li Wuqia knelt dejectedly before Xu Lai: "Last winter, a eunuch named Wang Zhongzheng came and demanded money from me, which I refused. He then threatened me, saying that he would have the emperor punish me when I returned to the capital."

Xu Lai frowned and asked, "And then? What does this have to do with your attack on the Longbo tribe?"

Liwoqia continued, "The Longbo tribe gave Wang Zhongzheng money and took the opportunity to speak ill of me. When they heard that Wang Zhongzheng was going back to the capital, they sent people to my tribe to boast that the emperor would definitely arrest me and bring me back to the capital for punishment. I was furious, so I killed the people who came to boast and then sent troops to attack the Longbo tribe."

Xu Lai was speechless.

Cai Ting said, "I'm here to impeach Wang Zhongzheng."

"Let's impeach them together," Xu Lai said, unable to contain his anger. He then turned to Li Woqia'er and said, "The relationship between your two tribes is irreconcilable. I'll record your crimes for now and allow you to serve your sentence. If you fight bravely in the future, how about I relocate your entire clan after the Song Dynasty conquers new territory? It certainly won't be worse than your current territory."

Li Woqia thought for a moment, then kowtowed to Xu Lai and said, "Thank you for your decision, Master Xu!"

Xu Lai said, "The greater your military achievements in the future, the more fertile your new territory will be."

Liwoqia'er quickly declared, "I guarantee to lead my men in a valiant fight against the enemy!"

Xu Lai stayed in Qin Prefecture for three days before returning to Xi Prefecture with his entourage. When passing through Gong Prefecture, he spoke with Hou Ke and then visited Yu Longke's new residence.

Yu Longke's residence was quite large, built on the outskirts of Gongzhou City, and situated on a hillside. Nestled against the mountain and beside the water, it was easy to defend and difficult to attack.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Xu Lai went straight to the point: "Did Wang Zhongzheng ever ask you for money?"

Yu Longke stammered.

Xu Lai said, "To tell you the truth, I will stand up for you."

Yu Longke was also very unhappy with the eunuch: "Last year, I sold Yanchuan Village to the imperial court for a pittance and got 20,000 strings of cash. When Wang Zhongzheng heard the news, he came to me to ask for money. He asked for 2,000 strings of cash right off the bat, but I only gave him 1,000 strings. He was a little unhappy, so I gave him some silk and furs as well."

Xu Lai instructed, "If anyone tries to solicit bribes from you again, write to me secretly."

"Okay." Yu Longke nodded.

Wang Zhongzheng was completely unaware of this and was leisurely returning to the capital.

Perhaps fearing that carrying money would be too conspicuous, he sold all his goods after arriving in Fengxiang Prefecture and exchanged the cash for flying money.

To save time, the goods had to be sold at a low price. Exchanging them for cash also incurred transaction fees. These losses pained Wang Zhongzheng deeply.

By the time he returned to the capital, the emperor had already received the impeachment memorials from Xu Lai and Cai Ting.

Emperor Zhao Xu was already extremely dissatisfied with Wang Zhongzheng.

In the first year of Zhao Xu's reign, he sent Wang Zhongzheng to inspect Shaanxi. At that time, Wang Zhongzheng was even more arrogant, directly soliciting bribes from high-ranking local officials and even falsely accusing officials who refused to pay bribes.

Sima Guang and other officials impeached Wang Zhongzheng as a result. However, Emperor Zhao Xu did not punish him, but instead privately reprimanded him.

Having learned his lesson from the past, Wang Zhongzheng dared not solicit bribes from high-ranking civil and military officials this time, and instead set his sights on lower-ranking military officers.

"Your Majesty, this is a Tao inkstone," Wang Zhongzheng said, presenting the rare item. "The Tang Dynasty scholar Liu Gongquan recorded the rarity of Tao inkstones in his 'Discourse on Inkstones.' I specially selected a top-quality one for Your Majesty during my journey through Taozhou."

Zhao Xu wasn't interested in the treasures. He glanced at them casually, nodded, and said, "They are indeed beautiful. What did you see and hear on your trip to Qin Fengxihe?"

Wang Zhongzheng replied, "The local Han and Qiang people are all blessed by the Emperor. Whether officials, civilians, or soldiers, they are all willing to expand the territory for the Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty."

Zhao Xu asked, "Have any officials committed illegal acts?"

Why did the emperor ask that question?

Wang Zhongzheng's mind raced. Could it be that the emperor was dissatisfied with someone?

Wang Zhongzheng dared not easily report on others: "Minister Cai and Minister Wang are skilled in strategy, and General Gao and other military officers are law-abiding."

"I can't recall anything unusual at the moment."

Zhao Xu called out by name, "Where is Xu Lai?"

Wang Zhongzheng subtly tripped up Xu Lai: "Lord Xu has a very high reputation in Xihe, and even the Qiang people wholeheartedly support him."

The Qiang people in the river valley were registered as commoners by the government and many changed their names to Han surnames. A significant number of Qiang people adopted the surname Xu. Some Tibetan monks even claimed that Master Xu was a reincarnation of an Arhat under the Buddha.

"You didn't have a falling out with him, did you?" Zhao Xu asked.

Wang Zhongzheng said, "Your subject dares not."

The word "dare not" is used very well.

Zhao Xu grew increasingly furious and, no longer wanting to beat around the bush, asked, "Did you solicit a bribe from Yu Longke?"

Wang Zhongzheng was utterly shocked and quickly feigned confusion: "As a mere official, how could I possibly solicit bribes from officials?"

Seeing that he was still trying to argue, Zhao Xu flew into a rage: "How dare you! Last time you went to Shaanxi on business, you solicited bribes from local officials, and I showed leniency by only fining you twenty catties of copper. You dare to do the same again this time. Yu Longke led 120,000 people to surrender to the Song Dynasty and even sold his territory to the court at a bargain price. Such a righteous and loyal Qiang man, and you actually solicited bribes from him? If the other Qiang leaders find out, what will become of my reputation? What will become of the reputation of the Song Dynasty?"

Wang Zhongzheng was so frightened that he immediately knelt down, crying as he said, "Your Majesty, I truly did not solicit any bribes! Please, Your Majesty, be wise!"

Zhao Xu angrily rebuked: "Do you know that a Qiang tribe was almost forced into rebellion by you and even launched an attack on an enemy tribe without authorization?"

""

"what?"

Wang Zhongzheng finally broke down, looking at the emperor with a terrified expression. He had solicited bribes from many Qiang leaders and had no idea which tribe was in trouble.

Wang Zhongzheng felt terrified just thinking about how he could force a Qiang tribe to rebel.

Seeing the terrified look on his face, Zhao Xu realized that the bribery allegations were true and said in utter disappointment, "Go and retire in Xia Prefecture."

"Your Majesty, I—I would never stoop to such a level!"

Wang Zhongzheng, unaware of which Qiang tribe had caused the trouble, could only wail and plead incoherently: "I truly did not solicit bribes. Those Qiang people were already plotting a rebellion; it has nothing to do with me—"

Zhao Xu shouted, "Drag him away!"

Two palace guards entered and carried the wailing Wang Zhongzheng away.

Sending someone to Xiazhou to retire means being stripped of all their power and sent there for residential surveillance. It's likely they'll be under house arrest for life.

The Song Dynasty was lenient not only towards civil officials but also towards eunuchs. Even those who committed serious crimes were generally not executed; instead, they were usually sent to local areas for residential surveillance.

Zhao Xu was utterly exhausted.

Looking at the Tao inkstone presented by Wang Zhongzheng, he planned to bestow one upon Wang Anshi and another upon Xu Lai.

The Green Sprouts Act had already begun its pilot phase, but it was met with opposition from countless officials, from the imperial court to local authorities, putting Wang Anshi under immense pressure during this period.

Why can't they all be a worry?

The civil officials were silent, and even the eunuchs around him were silent, which made Zhao Xu extremely anxious.

Especially Wang Zhongzheng, who was impeached by censors for soliciting bribes. Even though he had been forgiven once, he still dared to make the same mistake again.

Yu Longke was a symbol, a symbol of the Song Dynasty emperor's virtue in subduing the barbarians. He voluntarily led 120,000 followers to surrender and even sold his stronghold to the court at a bargain price.

If word got out that the eunuch had solicited bribes from Yu Longke, it would be a slap in the face to Zhao Xu!

Xu Lai was afraid of the negative impact, so he didn't dare to impeach the emperor publicly. Instead, he wrote a secret memorial to the emperor.

A few days later, the eunuch Zhang Anji was ordered to return to the capital. Zhao Xu told him, "Go to Xihe as a traveling official. Do not solicit bribes from officials, and do not get into conflicts with local civil and military officials."

Zhang Anji, having already learned that Wang Zhongzheng had been exiled to Xia Prefecture, quickly replied, "Your subject will respectfully obey Your Majesty's decree."

"Go ahead." Zhao Xu wasn't in a good mood.

Zhang Anji was a close attendant in Zhao Xu's residence before he was born. Due to his lack of seniority, he had been working to build up his resume over the past few years.

He was extremely excited to receive the assignment to go to Xihe.

Who doesn't know that Xihe is a place where one can easily gain merit?

Only a fool like Wang Zhongzheng would be so short-sighted as to take advantage of the situation to solicit bribes. Any eunuch with a modicum of intelligence would know that they should cultivate good relations with the civil and military officials of Xihe and share in the spoils of territorial expansion.

Zhang Anji happily went to the border region, and even brought back gifts for Xu Lai.

When Zhao Xu was still a prince, Zhang Anji contacted Xu Lai many times, secretly helping the prince deliver letters.

Zhang Anji thought to himself: Master Xu doesn't know about this yet. He'll be very surprised when he sees me.

Zhao Xu sent Zhang Anji to Xihe in order to win over Xu Lai and prevent him from being angry with Wang Zhongzheng. As soon as Zhang Anji appeared, the relationship between the emperor and his minister would undergo a subtle change.

What changes?

Old friends from the past!

Before I became emperor and before you became the top scholar in the imperial examination, we were already pen pals.

Our relationship is extraordinary, unlike that of an ordinary ruler and his subject.

(I got the timing of the pilot implementation of the Green Sprouts Law wrong; it was several months late. Let's just consider it a butterfly effect caused by the main character.)