Chaos of Ming 1628

Originally, Sun Qing was the prefect of Hejian Prefecture, and everyone in Hejian Prefecture obeyed his orders.

Only after Sun Qing personally appointed Wei Zhongxian as the person in charge was Wei Zhongxian finally able to restore the glory he had enjoyed when the Tianqi Emperor was still alive.

An old saying goes that a man should not use a woman's dowry; if he does, he will surely be discriminated against and despised.

But when Hejian Prefecture became Wei Zhongxian's territory, everything changed.

Others can't interfere, but excessive interference is a different story. After all, all of this originally belonged to him.

They immediately began to mobilize a large amount of financial and human resources to fully invest in the construction of Hejian Prefecture.

In just a few months, Hejian Prefecture has undergone a complete transformation.

The city wall was raised by three feet, and a newly built arrow tower was erected every hundred paces, with banners fluttering in the wind.

More than twenty refugee camps were set up outside the city, with brick and tile houses built for them. Smoke from cooking fires rose and fell every day, and the sounds of roosters crowing and dogs barking echoed throughout the city.

Men worked in brick kilns and workshops, women spun cloth at looms, and even half-grown children helped with weaving straw sandals and twisting hemp ropes. Everyone had something to do and everyone had food to eat.

Wei Zhongxian now travels in a sedan chair carried by four men, followed by his twenty imperial guards; his entourage is even grander than that of a provincial governor.

He converted the main hall of the government office into a council hall, where he would sit in court every morning to handle affairs, including grain tax, construction, and civil defense.

With all this now, Wei Zhongxian no longer feels any of the pressure he felt when he left the capital.

In Hejian Prefecture, he remained a thousand-year-old official.

Wei Zhongxian returned to the backyard of the government office in a grand and imposing manner.

He lifted the curtain and stepped into the inner courtyard, about to call for someone to make tea, when his steps suddenly faltered.

Yang Qingqing was facing away from him, bending down to fold clothes into an old trunk.

The cabinet doors were wide open, and the shelves were mostly empty. Several of her everyday jackets and skirts were neatly stacked at the bottom of the chest, with an old blue shirt by Ma Yu on top of them.

Wei Zhongxian's cheerful expression froze instantly: "Qing'er, what are you doing?"

Yang Qingqing turned around, holding a half-folded plain cotton jacket in her hand, her expression calm: "Grandpa, I'm packing my things."

"Tomorrow, I will return to Gaoyang with my husband."

Yang Qingqing was newly pregnant, but it wasn't obvious yet.

After what happened before, their attitude towards Wei Zhongxian has become slightly colder.

After all, everything Wei Zhongxian had done these past few days had been nothing more than dreaming of being a local tyrant. He had never truly cared about Yang Qingqing at all.

Wei Zhongxian stood frozen by the door. He opened his mouth, but after a long while, he managed to squeeze out two words: "Nonsense."

"Why go to Gaoyang?"

Mentioning this, Wei Zhongxian's face was filled with displeasure: "Do you think I don't know that old scoundrel Sun Chengzong well?"

"That self-righteous fellow comes from a very poor family. Even if you go, you'll only be going to suffer."

The outsiders were still present, and Wei Zhongxian did not say what followed.

Sun Qing's identity might be unknown to others, but surely they knew it too?

Go back to Gaoyang together?

"You've seen it yourself. In just a few more days, our lives will definitely be better than before." Wei Zhongxian's tone softened. "Even for the sake of the child in your womb, you must not leave."

Sun Qing stepped out from under the eaves, his steps unhurried. He listened to the conversation outside and let out a cold laugh.

"Master, I'm afraid that in a few more days, everyone in this courtyard will be waiting to be beheaded."

Wei Zhongxian frowned: "What do you mean by that?"

During this period, Sun Qing kept his word and stopped interfering in anything.

This gradually reassured Wei Zhongxian, letting him know that his power was still intact.

Sun Qing stood there gazing at the hazy sky beyond the courtyard wall: "Grand Eunuch, all land under heaven belongs to the king, and all people within the realm are his subjects. No matter how impregnable Hejian Prefecture may be, it is still Hejian Prefecture of the Ming Dynasty."

"What would it be like if word got back to the capital that the eunuch was building city walls, training militia, and opening workshops?"

"You did it, and His Majesty praised it highly. Why can't I do it too?"

Wei Zhongxian sneered, "What we built were city walls to defend against bandits. Our troops were trained to protect the people, and our workshops supported disaster victims. Which one of these actions went too far? Which one warranted execution?"

He paused, took a step closer to Ma Yu, and lowered his voice: "Sun Qing, you yourself said you would come to Hejian Prefecture to build a stable city for our family. We did as you said, and now you want to go back on your word?"

Sun Qing twitched the corners of his mouth, but there was no smile in his eyes. "Eunuch, a place to stay is not a place to rebel."

"You have managed Hejian Prefecture like an impregnable fortress, with higher city walls, self-sufficient finances and provisions, well-trained militia, and the people's hearts are with you. In the eyes of those officials in the capital, this is not called a good governance, but rather separatism."

Wei Zhongxian froze for a moment, then his voice suddenly rose: "Who wants to rebel?! My family has served three emperors; the blood on our hands is more than the books you've read. My family wants to rebel? If our family wanted to rebel, would we have waited until today?"

"You, Sun Qing, have studied the classics for so many years, and all you've learned is to throw this kind of filth at your own ancestors?"

His face trembled with anger: "Explain yourself! What have we done wrong?"

"These are things you were doing from the beginning. Our family just took over and continued to execute your plans."

"Why can't we make what you make?"

Sun Qing remained motionless, but his tone became even more amused: "Eunuch, you are right about everything. Each of these points alone is justifiable."

"Anyone who has nothing to do with you can do this."

"Even you could do these things. Individually, you could. But putting them together—building cities, training troops, stockpiling grain, winning over the people…"

"Don't forget, you are a former official of the previous dynasty who was demoted to Fengyang."

"Do you think the officials in the court believe you're focusing on production, or that you're advocating for regional separatism? Does Emperor Chongzhen believe you in reason, or in the Donglin faction?"

Wei Zhongxian opened his mouth, then froze.

Sun Qing's voice softened considerably: "Eunuch, the place you're staying is meant to be hidden, not for you to flaunt. The more active you are, the more valuable your head will be in the eyes of those powerful figures in the capital."

"If you had entered the city discreetly by yourself and your horse, as I suggested, there would have been no problem at all."

"But now, Hejian Prefecture is impregnable. His Majesty has achieved what he wanted. What use are you and I to His Majesty besides being a threat?"

"I'm afraid that at this moment, the imperial edict that will take our lives is already on its way."

Sun Qing cupped his hands in a respectful gesture, showing no blame, only calmness: "All I've ever wanted is to live. The eunuch is stubborn and refuses to listen to advice. Then I shall take my leave!"

Wei Zhongxian stared at him for a long while, then suddenly sneered.

"Cowardly as a mouse." He looked at Sun Qing and said, word by word, "We thought you were something special. Where's that fierceness you had when you locked us up at the city gate?"

"Nothing has happened yet, and you're already scared?"

"What are you afraid of?"

"Are they afraid of the emperor causing trouble, or are they afraid that our family will completely control Hejian Prefecture?"

Without saying a word, Wei Zhongxian moved closer, his face almost touching Sun Qing's.

Sun Qing laughed heartily: "I'm not afraid of god-like opponents, I'm only afraid of pig-like opponents."

"Master, to tell you the truth, I can't save you. With your heart rate so low, I simply cannot keep you alive!"

"Do whatever you want, I'm not bringing my wife and kids along!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the atmosphere suddenly became strange.

Yang Qingqing stood there, hesitant to speak, but she couldn't persuade either of the people on either side.

Sun Qing gave a cold laugh and said nothing more.

Just then, a fast horse galloped over.

The guards at the door shouted, "Something terrible has happened!"

"They've arrived, the Emperor's men have arrived."

"They say there's an imperial edict ordering that the traitor Wei Zhongxian must be arrested and brought to justice!"