White-robed Minister

Chapter 228, Page 0226: [Impeachment Based on the Issue, Not the Person]

The group that accompanied Xu Lai back to Beijing was very large, including officials such as Yu Shanyuan, Ding Zhengchen, and Liao Zhenggu, all of whom chose to travel with him.

They felt that there would be virtually no fighting in Xihe Road. Moreover, having finished the city construction and resettlement work, there wouldn't be much administrative work left, so they simply transferred him to another place to serve as an official.

Zhang Shangying and the others who voluntarily stayed felt that there was still much to be done, and they could also hone their skills in managing the border region.

When they passed through Gongzhou, Hou Ke and Yu Longke warmly received them and even hosted a farewell banquet for them.

Yu Longke was extremely grateful to Xu Lai. He had followed Liu Changzuo on this expedition, but had not fought any major battles. However, his military rank had been promoted by one level.

Moreover, Wang Zhongzheng extorted 1,000 strings of cash and other valuables from him, and Xu Lai secretly helped him report this to the emperor. The emperor not only punished Wang Zhongzheng but also ordered Zhang Anji to reward him with 2,000 strings of cash to appease him.

Yu Longke gifted Xu Lai a fine horse this time.

Xu Lai couldn't refuse, so he reluctantly accepted it.

But after the banquet, he stopped Liu Changzuo and said, "When I sent people to build a fortified village in the north, I wrote letters to encourage the chieftains of the various villages to lead their troops to guard it. Only General Liu volunteered to go, which shows your loyalty and righteousness. Please accept this fine horse as a gift for the brave warrior."

"This—how can this be?" Liu Changzuo was at a loss.

Xu Lai never took Liu Changzuo with him on his many expeditions, leaving him to guard the northern part of Gongzhou. Liu Changzuo was later promoted for his meritorious service in conquering small tribes.

Liu Changzuo thought he was being ignored and even suspected that he had offended Xu Lai at some point.

Now, Xu Lai was gifting him a fine horse. Upon reflection, Liu Changzuo realized that Xu Lai had always considered him one of his own. The fortress he guarded was indeed a primary target for the Western Xia's raids on Qinzhou and Gongzhou, but the Western Xia had never sent a large army to attack.

Xu Lai said, "I don't know martial arts, nor do I fight on the front lines. I can get by on a mediocre horse. This fine horse is a waste of its potential in my hands. It would be more fitting to give it to the general."

Liu Changzuo was deeply moved: "I will certainly live up to your expectations, and from now on I will vow to fight to the death for the country and be loyal to the cause!"

"What a hero, haha!"

Xu Lai patted his shoulder and said in a low voice, "You've been wronged these past two years. You have so much skill but haven't had a chance to fight in any major battles. I've already recommended you to Military Commissioner Zhang and transferred you to the Lanzhou front to lead troops."

Liu Changzuo's eyes suddenly welled up with tears; he felt an urge to weep. Minister Xu had truly done everything in his power and kindness. He couldn't help but kneel and say, "Minister, if you ever need my help again, I will gladly die for you!"

"Why say such things? It's all for the sake of serving the country. Get up quickly." Xu Lai smiled and helped him up.

The next day, Liu Changzuo rode that precious horse and personally led troops to escort Xu Lai to Qin Prefecture.

"Master Xu is back!"

Not long after Xu arrived in the city, some residents went to his house to deliver the news.

Not only that, but many people from both inside and outside the city came to watch and follow. They had heard too much about it in the past two or three years; Xu Lai had been expanding his territory year after year, and he had become a legendary figure in Qin Prefecture.

Many sons of prominent families in Qin Prefecture voluntarily joined the army.

Zhao Long, the first to join Xu Lai's army, has now risen to the rank of "Eastern Head Attendant," the highest title among the junior envoys. One more promotion would make him a Grand Ambassador, one of the three ranks of military officers.

Amid cheers and shouts, young women and wives from all over Qinzhou City rushed to see the spectacle. Those standing on the outskirts couldn't see anything, so they stood on tiptoe and craned their necks, while some even hopped and skipped along the street.

All the people of Qin Prefecture benefited from Xu Lai's expansion of the border. Because the front line was turned into the rear by Xu Lai, Qin Prefecture no longer had to worry about the Western Xia invading, and various war-related corvée labor and levies were greatly reduced.

Not to mention Xu Lai personally returning to Qinzhou, even when Pianpian and Yu'er go out, the people of Qinzhou treat them with great respect.

Officials such as Cai Ting and Gong Dingchen came to greet them upon hearing the news.

Cai Ting's official position and duties remained unchanged, but his post was promoted to "Longtu Pavilion Academician", his honorary title was raised two ranks, and he was awarded a purple-gold fish bag.

Gong Dingchen's official rank remained unchanged, but he was promoted to "Longtu Pavilion Academician" (a minor post). He was about to be transferred back to the central government to serve as Deputy Privy Councilor. However, he had a conflict with Wang Anshi and had opposed Wang Anshi's granting of a seat to a lecturer.

This contradiction is neither too big nor too small.

From the founding of the Song Dynasty to the reign of Emperor Zhenzong, officials who lectured the emperor at imperial lectures were allowed to sit down. Later, when Emperor Renzong was young, his teachers, in order to bridge the gap between them, would stand and explain the books to the young emperor from his desk, pointing to the scrolls with their hands.

After that, he started speaking standing up.

When Wang Anshi first returned to the capital, he didn't have much power and could only start with the minor details of reform. When the emperor asked him to be a lecturer, Wang Anshi said, "Give me a seat and I'll be willing to speak."

Many ministers opposed the idea, and Gong Dingchen was one of them.

Emperor Zhao Xu was quite cunning. Seeing the ministers arguing incessantly, he had Wang Anshi sit down to speak, while the other ministers stood. Wang Anshi, of course, dared not enjoy such special treatment, and the matter was dropped.

However, it had great political significance, as this was Wang Anshi's first reform. It ended in failure.

Meanwhile, Cai Ting and Gong Dingchen welcomed Xu Lai to the Military Commissioner's office, chatted for a while, and invited him to a banquet that evening before sending someone to take Xu Lai home.

Pianpian and her whole family were already standing at the gate waiting for him to come back.

Today, Pianpian is dressed in her finest attire, wearing a Vermilion Bird and Four-Phoenix Crown adorned with pearls and jade. Wide sideburns hang down on either side of her ears. She wears a long, bright red silk robe, over which lies a blue outer garment and a magnificent shawl. Both the outer garment and shawl are decorated with gold-embroidered mandarin duck patterns, and jade pendants are attached to their ends. Other accessories need not be described further.

This entire outfit was a gift from the emperor, and only ladies of the rank of county princess could wear it. Many women who came to watch the spectacle were filled with envy for Pianpian's attire.

"Welcome home, my lord."

She gracefully bowed and secretly winked at Xu Lai.

The rest of the family also bowed.

Xu Lai suppressed a laugh and played along with her act, pulling Pianpian's hand to help her up: "Madam, there's no need for such formalities."

Dingxiang quickly stepped forward and bowed deeply to the wife.

She greatly admired Pianpian's attire and hoped that one day Xu Lai would achieve extraordinary feats, and she and Yu'er would also be granted the title of Lady of the First Rank.

Wang Hou and Chen Xiaoyi stood behind Xu Lai.

Wang Hou, that rascal, was secretly watching the damselfly. The damselfly seemed to notice and subconsciously looked back. Their eyes met, and Wang Hou quickly looked down again.

The damselfly thought: This person is very rude. He stared at me last time.

After a series of formalities, Xu Lai was invited through the gate. The onlookers gradually dispersed, still discussing the matter with lingering interest.

Xu Lai picked up his eldest son, then reached out to tease his second son, chatting and laughing as they walked from the outer courtyard to the inner courtyard.

"Third Uncle," Dou Niang said, sidling up to Xu Lai, "You and Third Aunt both look so impressive today. I want to wear Third Aunt's clothes from now on."

Xu Lai smiled and said, "Then you'll have to marry a good husband in the future."

Upon hearing this, Wang Hou straightened his back and puffed out his chest.

Pianpian said, "After we return to the capital, I will help Dou Niang make a good living."

The damselfly blushed and said, "No way, I'm still too young."

Upon entering the inner courtyard, Xu Lai put down his son and unpacked the gifts he had brought for everyone. Even the ordinary servants received farewell gifts, as Xu Lai was about to leave with his family, and the locally hired servants would also be dismissed.

Dingxiang also prepared gifts for everyone. Since it was in front of Xu Lai, Yu'er could only smile and thank him for accepting them.

Pianpian asked, "Isn't my cousin (Bu Chao) going back to Beijing?"

Xu Lai explained, "He is an artillery commander and needs to stay at the front to lead troops. I have entrusted the civil and military officials along the way to send people to escort his wife and children to Lanzhou."

"Then I have to go say goodbye to my cousin's wife," Pianpian said.

Xu Lai said, "Let's invite her to our house for a farewell dinner tonight. I'm going to a banquet at the government office, so please say goodbye to her for me."

Bu Chao's son was too young to travel to Xizhou. So his wife rented a house in Qinzhou City and often went with Pianpian to visit the wives of officials in Qinzhou.

Now that Pianpian is no longer there to look after him, Bu Chao's wife and children will have to go to Lanzhou to reunite with him.

That evening, Xu Lai went to a banquet hosted by officials.

The next day, Gong Dingchen, having completed the handover, also returned to Beijing with Xu Lai.

Xu Lai was still on his way when two memorials had already arrived in the capital.

Zhang Heng submitted a memorial explaining the financial situation of Xihe Road, but did not impeach Xu Lai. He even took the initiative to exonerate Xu Lai, saying that most of the embezzled funds were used to win over the Qiang leaders.

Xu Lai then submitted a memorial requesting punishment.

Surprisingly, no remonstrating officials in the Censorate seized the opportunity to impeach Xu Lai, as Wang Anshi had replaced them all with reformists. Xu Lai had remained silent on the reforms, so Wang Anshi naturally wouldn't act rashly.

The Censorate is somewhat complicated.

First, Lü Gongzhu was demoted and sent out of the capital, and Wang Anshi promoted Han Wei to head the Censorate.

Even when Zhao Xu was still a prince, Han Wei enthusiastically promoted Wang Anshi, leading Zhao Xu to develop an extreme admiration for Wang Anshi. Moreover, Han Wei's elder brother, Han Jiang, was also Wang Anshi's greatest ally at this time.

As a result, Han Wei and Wang Anshi had a falling out this year.

Han Wei stated that his elder brother was in the Privy Council and that he was unsuitable to be the Censor-in-Chief, openly refusing Wang Anshi's appointment. Moreover, he had objections to both the Green Sprouts Law and the Baojia System, so Wang Anshi appointed him as the acting prefect of Kaifeng.

Immediately afterwards, the position of Imperial Censor was changed to Feng Jing.

Feng Jing submitted a lengthy memorial opposing Wang Anshi's reforms. Wang Anshi wanted to demote him and send him out of the capital, but Emperor Zhao Xu liked Feng Jing and instead appointed him as Deputy Privy Councilor.

The emperor even wanted to make Feng Jing the vice prime minister!

The current Imperial Censor is Chen Jian, who came from Han Qi's staff. He is upright and incorruptible, always adhering to the law and reason, and he also served as Zhao Xu's tutor.

Chen Jian wrote several impeachment memorials in succession, but the emperor kept them all hidden and did not issue them.

Therefore, Chen Jian stepped forward at the court assembly: "Your Majesty, I impeach Xu Lai for embezzlement, having misappropriated over a million strings of cash from the Xihe military funds!"

Zhao Xu certainly knew where the money had gone; Xu Lai had written him a secret letter before his shady dealings.

He had already withheld several impeachment memorials from Chen Jian, but unexpectedly, Chen Jian still refused to give up.

Emperor Zhao Xu was not a puppet emperor, so he couldn't replace all the key departments with Wang Anshi's cronies. Therefore, after Wang Anshi took control of the Censorate, Zhao Xu put his teacher Chen Jian in charge of the Censorate.

Although this teacher did not openly oppose the reform, he often personally impeached the reformists. In fact, Chen Jian only talked about law and morality, and was completely objective, not personal. He also occasionally impeached officials who opposed the reform.

Zhao Xu was quite helpless about this. His attitude was very clear: he wanted to ignore the deficit and protect Xu Lai at all costs. However, Chen Jian seemed to be completely unable to understand anything.

Zhao Xu said, "I am already aware of this matter, there is no need to discuss it further."

Chen Jian said, "Your Majesty, I greatly admire Xu Lai. He went to the border alone and expanded the territory by thousands of miles. He is a great contributor to the country. But merit is merit and demerit is demerit. His merit in opening up the border cannot cover up his demerit of embezzling millions of strings of cash."

Zhao Xu's expression darkened: "How do you know he embezzled?"

Chen Jian said, "Xu Lai submitted a memorial admitting to embezzlement. He himself confessed, so it is not that I have committed any wrongdoing."

"Do you think I don't know whether he embezzled or not?" Zhao Xu roared in fury. "That one million strings of cash came from the sale of pearls from the Imperial Treasury, specifically allocated to him for his own convenience. Even if he embezzled, it was my money!"

Chen Jian said, "For a ruler, the family and the country are one. Your Majesty's money is also the country's money. To embezzle Your Majesty's money is also considered corruption."

Zhao Xu's face turned red with anger. How could his teacher be so stubborn? He was too lazy to reason with him and said directly, "Then I will sell more pearls from the inner treasury to make up for Xihe's deficit. Consider that one million strings of cash a reward for Xu Lai."

Upon hearing this, the courtiers were stunned.

Many officials even began to feel envious and jealous, because the emperor's favor was simply outrageous.

Some officials, based on Zhao Xu's statement, "Doesn't I already know whether he's embezzled or not?", guessed that Xu Lai must have used the money for legitimate purposes. However, these legitimate purposes were not convenient to disclose publicly, so they could only tell the emperor in private.

Chen Jian said, "Your Majesty's actions are a violation of the law. As long as I hold this position, I will impeach Xu Lai to the end. If Xu Lai is not dealt with, I request to be transferred to a post outside the capital. Once I am no longer serving as Censor-in-Chief, I will no longer impeach him."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xu was reluctant to part with Chen Jian. In the past two years, the political struggles had been fierce, and those like Chen Jian, who focused on the issue rather than the person, were now extremely rare in the court.

Seeing that Chen Jian was threatening to resign, several other censors also impeached Xu Lai.

Zhao Xu waved his hand and said, "This matter will be discussed further; I need to think about it some more. Court adjourned!"