Ming Dynasty: My Father Zhang Juzheng

Chapter 103 The Essence of Politics is Compromise
The two of them walked back to the cabin quickly, closed the door and sat down. Zhang Yunxiu instructed, "Don't be in a hurry. Talk slowly."

Zhang Fu nodded, dragged the stool towards Zhang Yunxiu, and then told the whole story: "Zhao Yong beat someone to a pulp and is now being held in the Jinyiwei prison."

"Ah? Who did he beat? How is the person? And didn't he go back to Nanyang? How come he was thrown into the Jinyiwei prison?" Zhang Yunxiu stood up suddenly and asked three questions in a row.

Zhang Fu paused and replied, "This kid sneaked into the capital again. Seeing that Han San'er was not around, he started wandering around the capital. Ten days ago, he went to Zhaoning Temple and beat a monk to a pulp."

"Originally, the officers under the command of the Shuntian prefect were going to arrest him and punish him, but this kid was smart enough to give out the young master's name."

At this point, Zhang Fu looked strange and glanced at Zhang Yunxiu secretly.

Zhang Yunxiu's eyes were wide open, and the rage in his chest was about to cook a cow. He thought for a while and cursed: "Damn it, he didn't think of me when he had good things, but now he is the first to report my name after doing something bad!"

Zhang Fu, who was standing by, shuddered and continued, "It's not a trivial matter. It is said that the monk first molested the female donor who came to make a wish, and Zhao Yong got angry and attacked."

"He said that?"

"Yes, but I don't think he is lying."

Zhang Yunxiu calmed down. Although he had only spent a short time with Zhao Yong, he knew that this guy was definitely not the kind of person who would bully others by taking advantage of his power.

After a few seconds of silence, Zhang Yunxiu asked about the monk's injuries: "How is the man who was beaten?"

"Not dead yet."

"What do you mean by not dead yet?"

"Several ribs were broken, one eye was blinded, and the thing that did the job was crushed by Zhao Yong's foot. I'm afraid I won't be able to have evil thoughts for the rest of my life."

Zhang Fu hesitated and spoke in a low voice.

hiss.
This little beast was really cruel.

A chill ran down Zhang Yunxiu's spine. He looked up at Zhang Fu, stared into his eyes and asked, "Since you want to punish evil and promote good, why did you arrest Zhao Yong?"

"It's fine. Since the person is alive and the monk is in the wrong, we'll just spend money to settle the matter." Zhang Fu tilted his head and said in embarrassment, "I don't know which beast reported this to the Queen Mother."

"My lord, you also know that the Queen Mother goes to Zhaoning Temple to pay homage every year. The abbot there, Monk Yiru, is the Queen Mother's guest of honor. When the Queen Mother learned about this, she was furious and ordered that Zhao Yong be severely punished."

"If this kid wasn't under the watchful eyes of the Imperial Guards, he would have been sentenced to death long ago."

"He's not dead yet? Why is he sentenced to death?" Zhang Yunxiu was dissatisfied. "He's a playboy monk who flirted with a female donor. He deserves to be beaten to death. And he still has the nerve to complain!"

"Except you and me, no one can prove that the monk molested me first."

"Where's the witness?"

"I don't know. It seemed to have disappeared overnight."

Zhang Yunxiu felt a chill in his heart. He felt as if there was a big net around him, gradually closing in and intercepting him in the center.

But he had to crawl into this chimney, and for a moment he was in a dilemma.

"Let's go to the Jinyiwei prison first and take a look at this beast."

"Okay, I'll get ready right now."

The two of them packed up and headed straight for the Jinyiwei Northern Pacification Division.

Logically speaking, crimes committed by common people like Zhao Yong can usually be handled by the Wucheng Bingmasi.

If the nature of the case is particularly bad, it should be under the custody of the Ministry of Justice.

The Jinyiwei were usually dispatched to deal with ministers who committed crimes. However, the Jinyiwei, the Dongchang, and the Ministry of Justice all had the power to manage the imperial prisons, and the Jinyiwei were the emperor's personal army.

Therefore, their power is much greater than that of the officials from the Ministry of Justice.

After Zhao Yong was transferred to the Jinyiwei, he hardly suffered any trouble.

Walking quickly into the cell, Zhang Yunxiu saw from afar that Han San was jumping back and forth in front of the cell like a cat.

He knew that Han San also came for the young man Zhao Yong.

Zhang Yunxiu walked up quickly. Han San saw Zhang Yunxiu and shouted, "Sir, something happened."

"Is it that beast Zhao Yong?"

"Master, you know everything?"

Han San was startled, then nodded.

"Go and bring him to the interrogation room. I want to interrogate that beast myself." Zhang Yunxiu shouted with a cold face. Han San knew the situation was urgent, and he rushed to pull Zhao Yong out.

The group sat down in the interrogation room.

Zhang Yunxiu was seen sitting on a recliner, with Han San standing behind him. Zhao Yong, with a bruised face and nose, and wearing a prison uniform that had been washed so white, was sitting on a bench opposite the two of them.

"Tell me." Zhang Yunxiu raised his left hand slightly.

"There's nothing much to say. I have a clear conscience. I just regret that I didn't kill that monk back then." Zhao Yong's face was full of indignation.

"Well, you are quite tough." Zhang Yunxiu laughed, but suddenly stopped laughing. When he spoke, his voice was as cold as winter frost. "Then why did you report my name after beating someone up? Do you still want to say that I sent someone to back you up?"

Han San, who was standing by, knew that the young master was really angry.

Of course, he was not angry at Zhao Yong for hitting someone, but he was angry that this guy was about to die but still had such a nonchalant attitude.

Zhao Yong was trembling after being yelled at. He stretched his neck and replied, "At worst, let him beat us up, and we'll be even."

Zhang Yunxiu took a step forward, suddenly raised his leg and kicked out.

Zhao Yong was caught off guard and stumbled backwards to the ground. He quickly struggled to his feet, wiped the blood off his face, and shouted grimly, "Good, good fight."

"You beast, you still don't know how to die when death is imminent. Do you think you are a hero now? You are just a violent thug, and the higher-ups are ready to chop off your head at any time." Zhang Yunxiu was so angry that he was fuming.

Zhao Yong panicked now. His lips trembled as he replied, "No way, it's that monk who flirted with the female donor first, and that's why I attacked him out of anger."

"Can anyone prove it?"

"The female donor who burns incense."

"The person can't be found now, so no one can prove it to you now."

Zhang Yunxiu said it lightly, and Zhao Yong became anxious. He blushed and defended, "How could they not find her? It must be that group of bald asses. They hid the girl for their reputation."

"You guys go and search the temple quickly. If you go too late, the girl will be in trouble."
Zhang Yunxiu was almost laughed out of anger by him.

You can hardly save yourself, and now you are concerned about the life and death of others.

"Tell me, tell us the situation of that man clearly, the clearer the better. Whether you can survive depends entirely on you." Zhang Yunxiu motioned him to sit back in his original seat and instructed.

Zhao Yong didn't dare to delay and told everything one by one.

But in mid-November, seeing that the busy farming season was over, he took some money and rushed to the capital to look for Han San.

After asking the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Han San found out that he followed Zhang Yunxiu to Songjiang Prefecture.

He thought that he still had some money left, so he started to travel around the capital while waiting for Han San. After wandering around for a few days, he thought about going to Zhaoning Temple.

During the Jiajing period, the Zhaoning Temple was severely suppressed because the emperor practiced Taoism. When the Longqing Emperor ascended the throne, the status of Taoists plummeted and the Zhaoning Temple took advantage of the situation to rise.

However, it was during the Wanli period that Zhaoning Temple reached its peak.

In the first year of the Wanli reign, Empress Dowager Li came here in person to burn incense and donated two large Buddha statues to the temple. From then on, the incense of Zhaoning Temple became more and more prosperous, attracting countless believers to come and pay tribute.

Just after noon that day, Zhao Yong walked into Zhaoning Temple with a staggering step. Looking at the surging crowd, he began to back out. But then he thought, since he was already here, if he didn't burn some incense, wouldn't it be a wasted trip?
So, Zhao Yong gritted his teeth and took great pains to squeeze into the main hall.

After quickly lighting a stick of incense, he left the hall as quickly as if he was stepping on a burning iron block.

After turning left and right, Zhao Yong finally turned into a side hall. After taking a look at the surrounding scenery, he couldn't help but let out a long sigh.

Suddenly, a cry for help was heard from inside the hall.

"Master, don't be like this." A female voice trembled and snorted.

"What are you afraid of? The Buddha has already enlightened you. Since you are a Buddhist, after practicing dual cultivation with me, you will be blessed by the Buddha and will ascend to the Buddha's kingdom soon." Another slightly obscene voice rang out.

"No. No, Master."

"Come on, my little beauty, let us ascend to the Buddha's kingdom together."

After listening outside for a while, Zhao Yong, who was standing at the wall, became furious and took a few steps into the hall.

Then he saw a fat, big-eared monk of medium build standing at the side of the hall with his back to him and in disheveled clothes.

In front of him was a woman in her twenties dressed like a young woman. Her clothes were half undressed and her face was red.

The snow-white peaks and the tender white neck were completely exposed to the air.

"No Master, someone is coming in."

"Don't worry, little beauty. Not many people come here. Just obey us."

Zhao Yong saw how bold the monk was and knew that this was definitely not the first time he had done this, so he gritted his teeth and rushed forward angrily.

He grabbed the monk by the collar and shouted angrily: "You are such a frivolous monk, wait and see how I will deal with you, you beast."

At this time, the monk also came to his senses. He looked at the angry Zhao Yong and knew that he was no match for him, so he hurriedly explained: "This... this female donor said that she felt uncomfortable in her heart, so we... Ouch."

"If you don't feel well, I'm going to beat you to death today."

Zhao Yong was full of young blood and was not willing to listen to him. He picked up his fist and hit him.

At the age of fifteen or sixteen, he didn't know the strength of the blow. After a while, the monk was lying on the ground wailing.

"From behind, several monks rushed in and pressed me to the ground. They sent me to the government office, and I gave your name, and then I was brought here." After Zhao Yong finished speaking, he looked at Zhang Yunxiu pitifully. For the first time, fear and terror flashed in his big black eyes.

"Where is that woman?" Zhang Yunxiu asked.

"I don't know." Zhao Yong shook his head.

"Han San, from now on, you have to go look for her, even if you have to dig deep into the ground to find her." Zhang Yunxiu tilted his head to glance at Han San and ordered, "Remember to hurry up. Only when you find the woman can he be saved."

"Yes." Han San agreed and left.

Zhang Yunxiu asked Zhao Yong some other questions. Before he knew it, more than an hour had passed and Zhang Yunxiu stood up to leave.

When he was about to walk out of the door, Zhao Yong suddenly stood up and asked nervously, "Will I die?"

Zhang Yunxiu paused for a moment, and without even turning his head, he uttered three words through gritted teeth with a cold face, "I don't know," then walked away, closing the door of the interrogation room with a bang.

Zhao Yong felt lost and sat down on the stool with a look of dejection on his face.

On the other side, Zhang Yunxiu came out of the interrogation room, called the prison boss, and ordered: "Don't starve this kid. If he gets into trouble, I will hold you accountable."

"Yes."

The jailer responded respectfully, then bent over and waited for Zhang Xiuxiu to walk away.

At this time, light snow began to fall from the sky. Zhang Yunxiu braved the wind and snow and came to the duty room of his fourth brother Zhang Jianxiu.

The two brothers continued, and Zhang Jianxiu patted the snow off his body and said, "If you are here for that kid Zhao Yong, I advise you to give up this idea."

"Isn't the person still with your Jinyiwei? Could it be that someone dares to take him away by force?" Zhang Yunxiu asked in confusion.

With a wry smile and shaking his head, Zhang Jianxiu took out a white document and said, "Take a look at this first."

Zhang Yunxiu took it and looked at it, his face turned ugly. This turned out to be a transfer document from the Ministry of Justice. This matter would have to be brought to the attention of the three courts for trial.

Moreover, the tone and manner clearly came from his own father.

"Yes, that's what father meant." Zhang Jianxiu met his brother's gaze and sighed, "You also know that father, as the Prime Minister, would not be able to move forward without the support of Empress Dowager Li."

"Empress Dowager Li has issued an order that the perpetrators will be severely punished."

"But there was a reason why Zhao Yong hit someone." Zhang Yunxiu hurriedly defended him.

"Who can prove it?"

Zhang Jianxiu asked coldly. Zhang Yunxiu opened his mouth to speak, but Zhang Jianxiu interrupted rudely, "Okay, even if someone can prove that the monk did something wrong, so what? He can have a thousand reasons to explain it."

"But Zhao Yong was violent and violent, and beat the man to the point of paralysis. This is an ironclad fact!"

"Are you going to just watch the monk rape the mob girl?"

Zhang Yunxiu was angry and roared in an almost hysterical voice.

"He can easily arrest the man and send him to the government to be punished." Zhang Jianxiu's face was cold, and his voice could not help but rise a few degrees: "If everyone is like him, killing anyone who sees something wrong, then what is the use of the government?"

"It is because there are too many people like you that evildoers are able to continue to exist despite repeated bans!" Zhang Yunxiu sneered.

"Heh, that's easy for you to say since you're not in my position."

"Even if I were in your position, I would never treat a young and innocent life like garbage."

"You bastard!" Zhang Jianxiu slammed the table and cursed, "Who do you think you are? If you weren't my father, do you think Feng Bao would look up to you? Do you think the Xu family would marry you? Do you think Wang Zan would be so sincere as to give you the canal boat just because you said a word?"

"I think everything has gone too smoothly for you, and you have become a little overconfident. Do you think you have jumped out of the well? You are just a toad lying on the well. Queen Mother Li can kick you back with one kick."

"Do you have the strength to go against Queen Mother Li?!"

Zhang Jianxiu's voice was deafening, almost like a roar.

This was also the first time that the two brothers blushed. Zhang Yunxiu lowered his head and remained silent.

Zhang Jianxiu felt that his words were a bit too harsh, so he was silent for a while, patted his brother's shoulder, and continued: "Politics has never been a life-and-death struggle, but a compromise. Use small interests to exchange for greater interests."

"As long as Empress Dowager Li can vent her anger, father's position as Prime Minister will be as stable as Mount Tai. By then, how many people in the world will benefit from father's new policies?"

"You're right." Zhang Yunxiu nodded slightly, then stared into Zhang Jianxiu's eyes and asked, "So, what does Queen Mother Li mean to Zhao Yong?"

"I don't know." Zhang Jianxiu shook his head.

"Give it a guess."

Zhang Yunxiu asked with red eyes.

"Don't you have the answer in your heart?" Zhang Jianxiu sighed and walked to the window.

At this time, the snowflakes outside the window grew bigger and bigger, covering up all the filth on the ground.

(End of this chapter)