Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 381 It’s imminent
Xu Xiancheng's judgment was correct. Zhou Yingqiu's attempt to win him over was just the beginning. After Xu Xiancheng officially took office, people from all sides came to him one after another. They had only one purpose, which was to win Xu Xiancheng over to their own camp.

This gave Xu Xiancheng a headache. Xu Xiancheng, who had never intended to join any faction, now encountered such a thing. The attempts to win over the Donglin Party and the Eunuch Party put him in a very embarrassing position. What's more, there were clear signs of taking sides in the court now, that is to say, the Donglin Party and the Eunuch Party were incompatible, and the two sides were fighting to the most intense degree. As the struggle became more intense, officials had to choose sides, either standing on the side of the Donglin Party or the side of the Eunuch Party, and the centrists often did not have a good end. If both sides could not be won over, the next step would be suppression, and at that time both parties would take action.

Xu Xiancheng saw this clearly. He was very clear that a short delay was not a solution to the problem. If he did not make a clear statement and still intended to be a centrist, both the Donglin Party and the Eunuch Party would turn against him, and Xu Xiancheng would then become the target of suppression by both sides.

But the problem is that it would not be a good thing for Xu Xiancheng to join anyone. He would definitely not join the eunuch party. The reason has been mentioned before. Xu Xiancheng determined that Wei Zhongxian would not have a good ending in the future. Once Wei Zhongxian fell, the eunuch party members around him would be as miserable as they were today.

But if he did not join the eunuch party, it would be even more impossible for Xu Xiancheng to join the Donglin Party. Not to mention that Xu Xiancheng has always looked down on these boastful hypocrites, and joining the Donglin Party at this time would be courting death.

The struggle between the two parties reached a fever pitch. After the Wanggongchang explosion, although Emperor Tianqi had to hold his nose and issue an edict of remorse, the Donglin Party in the court was able to temporarily get rid of the situation where it was suppressed by the eunuch party and regained its previous momentum.

But the fact is not so. Xu Xiancheng in the capital has felt that the eunuch party is accumulating strength. The Donglin Party is just a last gasp. Once the Wanggongchang incident fades away with time, the eunuch party will counterattack. How could the resentful Emperor Tianqi and Wei Zhongxian let the Donglin Party go? Their failure is doomed. It is a broken ship that is about to capsize. Xu Xiancheng must be crazy to get on board at this time.

For a moment, Xu Xiancheng was in a dilemma, but reality did not give him much time to choose. In desperation, Xu Xiancheng suddenly remembered what his brother-in-law Zhu Shenzhui had said before. After thinking for a long time, he finally went to find Zhang Xijun and told him about his situation.

After Zhang Xijun understood the situation, he didn't say anything, but just asked Xu Xiancheng to go back and wait for news, and he would find a way to deal with this matter. As for what method he would find, Zhang Xijun didn't say, and Xu Xiancheng didn't ask too much. Although he had some doubts in his heart, out of trust in Zhu Shenzhui, Xu Xiancheng still patiently waited for news from Zhang Xijun.

A few days later, the Ministry of Industry suddenly issued an order. In view of the previous explosion at Wanggongchang, the Firearms Bureau and warehouses had to be rebuilt, and the new site was chosen near the new factory outside the Imperial Horse Administration. But at the same time, considering other factors, the court planned to select another site in Fengtai to set up a backup warehouse. In addition to the factors of the Liaodong war, the Ministry of Industry also planned to set up a new equipment workshop and transit warehouse in Tianjin Wei to solve the reconstruction of the Juehua Island base and the transportation of materials by sea transportation.

Somehow this assignment suddenly fell on Xu Xiancheng's head, which meant that for a long time in the future, Xu Xiancheng would be responsible for the work of the Xixinchang, Fengtai and Tianjin offices outside the Imperial Stables. This work was very heavy and he would have to leave Beijing many times and even travel back and forth between the three places for a long time. He would spend very little time in the capital and the Ministry of Works.

After receiving the order from above, Xu Xiancheng was surprised but secretly happy. This job seemed to be a tough job to others, but it was a blessing in disguise for Xu Xiancheng. He was now troubled by the solicitation of the Donglin Party and the Eunuch Party, and he was eager to get out of it as soon as possible with this job. Now, with a legitimate official business, Xu Xiancheng no longer had to face the choice of standing in the capital. He never thought that Zhang Xijun would be so capable. It had only been a few days since he came to the door, and such an order came down, allowing Xu Xiancheng to jump out of the whirlpool directly.

After receiving the order, Xu Xiancheng went to Fengtai without delay. After staying in Fengtai for a few days, he rushed to Tianjin. In the following days, Xu Xiancheng ran back and forth between the three places and rarely returned to the Ministry of Industry. Even if he did, he would only show up and disappear after reporting the work progress to his superiors.

As Xu Xiancheng's presence in the Ministry of Works gradually declined, and with the manipulation of Zhang Xijun, the Donglin Party and the Eunuch Party gradually gave up on further trying to win over Xu Xiancheng.

Moreover, the impact of the Wanggongchang explosion gradually faded at this time. Wei Zhongxian's eunuch party once again attacked the Donglin Party. The Donglin Party, which had just gained public support through the so-called "divine punishment", was finally able to gain a slight advantage but was overwhelmed by the fierce counterattack of the eunuch party. They were in a panic and fought desperately. The two sides fought to the death. How could they still remember a small figure like Xu Xiancheng?

It’s still the same house as before.

The bearded man and the slightly plump man sat opposite each other with sad faces, which was completely different from how they looked a few days ago. You know, in the days after the Wanggongchang explosion, both of them were smiling every day, and even walked with a brisk pace, looking full of energy and vigor.

But not long after, the joy disappeared from their faces. They never thought that they had thought that once Wanggongchang was blown up, all the evidence would be destroyed and the butcher knife would be gone. Moreover, taking advantage of this incident, the Donglin Party tacitly created public opinion and used the means they were good at to directly put the blame on Emperor Tianqi and Wei Zhongxian, intending to reverse the situation and gain the upper hand. This is indeed the case. Under the propaganda of the Donglin Party, the Wanggongchang explosion became the so-called divine punishment and heavenly punishment, and forced Emperor Tianqi to issue an edict of guilt. In terms of public opinion, the Donglin Party won an unprecedented victory in recent years. Unfortunately, they wanted to take this opportunity to bring down Wei Zhongxian. It would have been even better if they could kill Wei Zhongxian directly, but they did not expect that Emperor Tianqi did not punish Wei Zhongxian even after issuing an edict of guilt, and even protected Wei Zhongxian to death. After the Wanggongchang explosion, Wei Zhongxian was not only unscathed, but also attacked the Donglin Party again not long after the incident.

The brief advantage was short-lived, and as Wei Zhongxian continued to attack the Donglin Party, the Donglin Party soon suffered losses.

In the past few days, several members of the Donglin Party were accused by the Eunuch Party and arrested and imprisoned by the East Factory and the Embroidered Uniform Guard. These members were important figures in the Donglin Party and officials who currently had influence in the court. Their downfall made the Donglin Party feel extremely threatened. If Wei Zhongxian continued like this, no one would be able to escape and would probably die without a burial place.

"I thought that after the Wang Gongchang incident, Wei Yan would be badly hurt even if he didn't die. But who could have imagined that Wei Yan was unscathed and now he is even more arrogant than before..." The bearded man's face looked extremely ugly. He held a high position in the court. With the eunuch party's unscrupulous actions against the Donglin party, it would not be long before the fire would burn onto him.

When the bearded man thought of the ferocious Dongchang guards and Jinyiwei breaking in, he couldn't help but tremble, and he subconsciously shrank back.

Compared to the bearded man, the slightly fat man also had an unpleasant expression. He sighed and shook his head, saying, "The emperor is protecting Wei Yan. Even though he issued an edict of guilt, he did not put the blame on Wei Yan. His intention is very obvious. Moreover, I also heard from the palace that the emperor seemed to have realized the cause of the incident the day after the incident at Wang Gongchang, and even summoned Wei Yan to the palace for discussion. I'm afraid that Wei Yan's actions against us are the emperor's instructions..."

"This...is this okay?" The bearded man was horrified and stood up, running around like an ant on hot pan.

Suddenly, he turned around and looked at the slightly fat man, complaining: "What did I say before? I told you to be more restrained. It would be fine if you wanted to deal with Wei Yan, but why did you drag the emperor into it? Now the emperor is so protective of Wei Yan, and Wei Yan is pressing us step by step. If this continues, none of us will be able to escape, and we will all die without a burial place!"

"What? Brother, are you going to blame me?" The slightly fat man asked back with an unhappy look: "Brother, have you forgotten? The matter at the beginning was discussed by my brother and I, and I took a great risk. After the matter was accomplished, didn't you smile and applaud? As for the things that happened later, brother also did not raise any objections, and even brother's disciples participated in it. Now that you see that Wei Yan is powerful, brother feels that it is not right? Haha, I didn't expect brother to be so timid. Since brother is afraid of Wei Yan, why don't you turn to Wei Yan's sect and report me? With brother's talent, I am afraid that the Five Tigers and Five Beasts cannot be done, and Ten Dogs and Ten Children may be possible. At worst, it is enough to get a position among the forty grandchildren. What do you think?"

"Asshole!" The long-bearded man blew his beard and glared, cursing immediately: "A real man born between heaven and earth, how can he be so shameless as to submit to the eunuch Wei? We Donglin Party members set up our hearts for heaven and earth, set up the way for the people, carry on the lost knowledge of the past sages, and bring peace to the world for all eternity! Since we are irreconcilable with the eunuch Wei, how can you say such a thing?"

After hearing this, the slightly plump man looked ashamed and quickly stood up and bowed to the bearded man to apologize, saying that he had said the wrong thing just now and asked for forgiveness, brother.

"It's not your fault. I was too impatient." The bearded man waved his hand, sat back in his chair and sighed, "I thought I could turn the tide by relying on what happened before, but now I didn't expect to suffer such a blow. Now Wei Yan is like a mad dog, chasing after my party members relentlessly. What will happen if this continues?"

What the bearded man said was also what the slightly plump man was thinking. Wei Zhongxian had already made it clear that he would never give up and was determined to completely destroy the Donglin Party in one fell swoop. Now the Donglin Party was defending itself left and right, but had no power to fight back. If it were not for the stability of the court, Wei Zhongxian, who wanted to save face, would need some time to fabricate evidence to hold the Donglin Party accountable. Otherwise, how could they have the opportunity to sit down and talk today?
Compared with the previous problems, the current situation is more serious. We must find a way out as soon as possible, otherwise it won't be long before the fire burns on our heads. Moreover, the bearded man and the slightly fat man both know that they can't stand the torture. Once they are imprisoned and tortured, they might confess the incident of Wanggongchang. If it comes to this, the Donglin Party will have no chance to turn things around, and even if they die, there will be nothing good about them in the history books in the future.

As a scholar, this is what they fear the most. Long-bearded men and slightly fat men would rather commit suicide by taking poison than fall into the hands of the eunuch party. But then again, a good death is worse than a miserable life. If they can survive, or even turn the current crisis around and win, that would be even better.

(End of this chapter)