Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 349: Insidious Means
Emperor Chenghua Zhu Jianshen went to Izumo Monastery for retreat.

In fact, whether the emperor was in seclusion or not had little impact on the affairs of the court, because Zhu Jianshen himself did not attend court. He had been negligent in state affairs for a long time and did not attend court once in the 23rd year of Chenghua. He basically played the role of a hands-off boss.

However, because the former prime minister Tan Chang, who served as the emperor's spokesperson, was laid off, Zhu Jianshen's absence from court affairs this time was equivalent to a redistribution of power in the court.

Deng Chang'en had been depressed for half a year, and suddenly he became the target of public criticism. He was able to enter and leave Chuyun Temple freely, and immediately became a hot commodity in the officialdom of the capital. Many people went to curry favor with him.

Li Zisheng had no chance to enter the palace, but he still used his connections to inform Wei Tai that he was willing to join forces with him to deal with Deng Changen.

However, Wei Tai, who had just been promoted to the position of the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department, had no confidence in competing with the civil servants led by Wan An, so he actually backed down at the critical moment and wrote a letter to express his refusal in a tactful way.

This means that Li Zisheng will have to face the aggressive Deng Changen alone.

The second day of Zhu Jianshen’s retreat.

Liu Ji took Wan'an's instructions and went to the outside of Chuyun Temple to wait for Deng Changen.

After Deng Chang'en came out of the temple, Liu Ji immediately invited him to a teahouse not far away.

"Master Liu, do you have any important matters to tell me?"

Deng Chang'en was in great glory at this time, and his tone of voice was extremely arrogant.

Liu Ji was unhappy in his heart, but his expression did not change at all. He smiled and said, "Someone in the court was making trouble out of nothing and proposed to thoroughly investigate the Tongzhou granary. Your Majesty has never agreed to this. Now it would be best to... ask Immortal Deng to help... reject this idea."

"Do I have this power?"

Deng Chang'en looked as if it was none of his business, but there was a smile in the corner of his eyes, as if asking, "If I help you, what benefits will you give me?"
Obviously, Deng Chang'en is the kind of person who easily loses his composure once he gains power, and it is not certain how deep the alliance between him and the cabinet ministers is.

Liu Ji whispered, "If this can be accomplished, I am willing to give your family three thousand taels of silver."

"Only three thousand taels?"

Deng Chang'en seemed to think that the price was a bit low and was not very satisfied.

Liu Ji smiled bitterly and said, "I really can't give you more. This matter concerns the stability of the Ministry of Revenue of the Ming Dynasty. After the autumn harvest, everything will be smooth. I also ask Master Deng to make sure this matter is handled properly. After all... you yourself are also involved in this matter."

"Lord Liu, are you trying to scare me? I have never taken a single grain from the Tongzhou warehouse."

Deng Changen seemed very conceited.

Liu Ji reminded him, "But a lot of the expenses of the Taichang Temple in the past few years came from this. Could it be that Immortal Deng really doesn't know? The court colleagues should be of the same mind... Admittedly, there are people in the court who did not participate in it, but more or less, they all shared the benefits.

"Besides, this was not done by me alone. Many people also took part, even the exiled eunuch Liang took a lot. The root cause is that most of the grain money went into the inner treasury, otherwise how could there be such a big deficit?"

Deng Changen frowned and asked, "What do you mean?"

Liu Ji said: "Why did your Majesty keep the impeachment memorial? It is probably because your Majesty also knows that the deficit of Tongzhou warehouse is the result of the joint efforts of many officials...

"In recent years, the salaries of officials in the court have been smoothly distributed, and the situation is relatively harmonious. Why is that? Isn't it because... the grain in Tongzhou Warehouse was withdrawn in advance, satisfying the greed of everyone from top to bottom. Who do you think is clean?"

Deng Changen seemed uncomfortable, after all, he was a little different from Li Zisheng in handling state affairs. Or, Deng Changen had never had the opportunity to come into contact with real power before, and at most he was a flatterer who fooled the emperor.

Although Li Zisheng was also born a Taoist priest, he had truly held power and accomplished great things.

Deng Changen said: "Even so, with the current situation in the court, what can I do?"

"As long as Immortal Deng mentions this to His Majesty, and then His Majesty's words are slightly modified and brought out of the Taoist temple, then this matter can be smoothly resolved."

Liu Ji said, "Our emperor is very considerate. As long as a matter has been decided, he will not bring it upside down or bring up the old matter again."

"In that case, I will give it a try, but I cannot guarantee that it will succeed."

Deng Changen said greedily, "It's only three thousand taels of silver. When you're done, remember to send it to my house."

"sure!"

Liu Ji put on his smile again and nodded.

……

……

After Liu Ji finished communicating with Deng Changen, he hurried back to the cabinet duty room to meet Wan An.

After listening to Liu Ji's story, Wan An looked a little annoyed: "Deng is really a piece of shit. When we were down and out, we were all running around happily, treating us like ancestors. Now that he is a little more powerful, he starts to look down on us... Is it possible that if we don't give him money, he won't do anything?"

Liu Ji sighed, "There's nothing we can do. This kind of person is born in a humble family. It's really hard to expect him to have a big vision."

Wan An said: "Yes, it is reasonable to accept the money and get things done. But right now, it is better to take things a little deeper..."

"Ah? What does Wan Zhongtang mean by this?"

Liu Ji looked over curiously.

"What can we do to shake the crown prince's position as the heir to the throne?"

Wan'an had a sinister smile on his face.

It seemed that the emperor's half-month retreat was left for them to carry out political conspiracies.

Liu Ji said in embarrassment: "For such a big matter as changing the crown prince, it can only be done after Your Majesty comes out. Or, Your Majesty has had an unexpected incident in Chuyun Temple in the past half month... Oh, these words must not be known to outsiders, just treat them as my nonsense."

Wan An glanced at Liu Ji and said, "You are not wrong. Unless something serious happens, we have no chance to move the prince. Even if something unexpected happens, we will only have a slight chance if Deng Changen helps us."

After this reminder, Liu Ji immediately understood the meaning.

If Zhu Jianshen's condition worsened at Chuyun Temple or even reached the end of his life, even if he wanted to entrust his son to someone else, he would have entrusted the crown prince to a minister, not the fourth prince Zhu Youlang.

There is one exception.

That is, the emperor suddenly issued a will, passing the throne to Zhu Youju instead of the crown prince, and then through the collusion of Wan'an and others, there was a chance to depose the crown prince and help Zhu Youju ascend the throne smoothly.

But this requires Deng Chang'en's assistance... But as a rule, in this situation, even if the emperor is terminally ill, it is unlikely that he will make a fuss before his death.

Liu Ji said: "But we have another plan."

"Say!"

Wanan urged.

"Tang Wan, if the Crown Prince cannot suppress his ambition during this period and does something disloyal, then wouldn't it be..."

Liu Ji began to come up with bad ideas. Wan An frowned and said, "Anyone could have this possibility, even our prince... Well, who would believe you if you said he had ambitions?"

In this matter, Wan'an looked down on Zhu Youtang from beginning to end.

Liu Ji said: "It doesn't matter if he has ambitions. As long as he does something, such as interfering in government affairs, or if there is something that Your Majesty cannot decide in time, he jumps out to interfere, or even secretly communicates with court officials, or interferes in military affairs... there is always a way to make him submit."

"You said there is a way, but why don't you come up with some specific rules?" Wan An said impatiently.

Liu Ji said tentatively: "I heard that Li Zisheng has been jumping up and down these past two days. Do you think we can let Li Zisheng get closer to the crown prince and make something happen for him to see the crown prince, and then let the crown prince make the decision... Even the Tongzhou warehouse incident... Since the crown prince intends to investigate it strictly, then we should give him a chance to show his ability..."

Wan An said dissatisfiedly: "What nonsense are you talking about? We are already on guard against the prince, and you actually let the prince investigate? Are you tired of living?"

Liu Ji was speechless.

In fact, Liu Ji himself also looked down on Wan'an.

In terms of ability, Liu Ji believed that he was much better than Wan'an, but Wan'an had relied on currying favor with Concubine Wan to stay in the position of Prime Minister for so many years. Then he began to play the role of "Long Live the Lord", and apart from shouting "Long Live the Lord", he could do nothing.

"Master Wan, think about it, His Majesty hasn't made the final decision yet, but the Crown Prince dares to take charge. How presumptuous is this? Or is he taking advantage of His Majesty's retreat to take charge of the overall situation? Isn't this obviously a seizure of power? After His Majesty learns of the situation, can he let the Crown Prince have an easy time?"

Liu Ji analyzed, "Originally, His Majesty might have intended to investigate the Tongzhou warehouse, but after what the Crown Prince did, His Majesty will most likely do the opposite and simply not investigate... What do you think?"

Wan An thought about it for a while, nodded and said: "You don't have to say, His Majesty really has such a temper... But, what if His Majesty does not fulfill your wish, but approves of what the prince did?"

Liu Ji couldn't help but roll his eyes after hearing this.

You asked me to give you some advice, and I gave it, but you are here talking to me in a sarcastic tone? You even put forward a hypothetical scenario.

It turns out that you are not a good political ally. If you were not the Prime Minister and were not appreciated by the civil officials in the court, forcing us to take unconventional measures, would I want to be in the same boat with you?

Let’s not turn this ship into a pirate ship!
Liu Ji said: "Let's not talk about things with a low probability. Anyway, at this time, we must make early plans. His Majesty's condition is getting worse, and he may not be able to hold on for much longer... Seeing that His Majesty is about to confer the title of king on several princes, it is obvious that he has the intention to make arrangements for his funeral.

"If the crown prince ascends the throne, he will definitely resume the court meetings. By then, many of the things that were previously hidden may be exposed. After all, there are people who are always watching us like jackals, specifically looking for our flaws."

Wan An sighed, "As a cabinet minister, are you afraid that this matter will be brought to the court?"

Liu Ji thought, you still have the energy to express your feelings here?

Wan An said, "Tell me, what good plan do you have?"

Liu Ji whispered, "This matter may need to be done by Sun Ren, the Left Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Revenue."

"what?"

Wanan frowned.

Liu Ji said: "Sun Ren started as the right assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue in the past few years. He knows everything about the Tongzhou warehouse. Now he is ill and often stays at home to recuperate. Why don't we... take out some evidence directly and tell Li Zisheng or those censors, and then let the prince know."

Wan An gritted his teeth and said, "You are really brave. You just bring out the evidence without anyone checking?"

"Yes, it is conclusive evidence of guilt."

Liu Ji bared his teeth, as if showing his fangs, and said cruelly, "When Sun Ren becomes the target of public criticism, then let him die violently... You say this... hehe."

"Why did he die so suddenly?"

Wan An was stunned.

Liu Ji said: "He was ill to begin with, and when someone checked him out, he was frightened to death, or he committed suicide out of fear of punishment. Isn't it easy to let a guilty person die?
"If His Majesty knew that during his days of seclusion, a Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue was forced to death, would he let it go?
"And if this matter is related to the Crown Prince, then His Majesty will definitely be very disgusted with the Crown Prince. By then... the day of changing the Crown Prince will not be far away."

Wan'an stared blankly, then waved his hand after a long while, meaning that you can go ahead and do this thing, I only care about the result and not the process, but if things go wrong, it has nothing to do with me.

Liu Ji was furious. Compared to my nickname "Liu Mianhua", you Wan'an are even more slippery and even better at shirking responsibility than me! But he didn't say anything. He stood up, bowed, and left, and began to plan a conspiracy against the East Palace.

Wan'an sat in his original seat, motionless, with a smug look in his eyes.

……

……

Li Zisheng has been in a state of high tension ever since he met Zhang Luan at the Jiaofangsi.

He seemed to be waiting for something to happen in the palace.

In other words, he was waiting for something to happen in Izumo-kō.

What he did most these days was to contact officials in the court and mobilize all the resources that could be mobilized, trying to pull them together so that they could be used at critical moments.

But after Zhu Youtang had been in seclusion in Chuyun Temple for five days, there was still no sign of anything major happening. However, news began to spread in Chuyun Temple from Deng Changen that the emperor's condition was gradually improving, making Li Zisheng even more confused.

After staying out all night for four or five days, Li Zisheng, exhausted both physically and mentally, finally returned home.

Pang Qing received the news early in the morning and personally greeted him at the gate of the mansion.

When helping Li Zisheng down from the carriage, Pang Qing felt that this powerful official who came from a Taoist family looked tired, had dark circles under his eyes, and looked haggard.

He looked as if half of his soul had been sucked out of him, and he could hardly stand steadily when he got off the carriage.

Pang Qing asked in surprise: "Master Dao, is there any problem at Chuyun Temple?"

"not yet."

Li Zisheng looked at Pang Qing and murmured, "Bingkun, tell me, am I wrong?"

Pang Qing consoled him, "You are too nervous... Look at Zhang Hanlin, he has no reaction at all, he just eats and drinks as usual. Why didn't you ask him to predict when the secret would happen?

"For a major event like this, isn't it true that Zhang Hanlin always makes the right guess?"

Li Zisheng woke up as if from a dream. He slapped his forehead and said, "Oh, why didn't you tell me earlier? Let's go and see Lai Zhan."

"You should take a rest first... Look at your physical condition, the wind is about to blow you down... It's not too late to see you tomorrow." Pang Qing reminded quickly.

Li Zisheng shook his head: "No, no. Once something serious happens, it will be too late."

"Yes."

Pang Qing was quite helpless and could only follow Li Zisheng into the carriage. He even drove the coachman down and drove the carriage himself.

(End of this chapter)