Ming Jiajing: Starting from Immortality

Chapter 51: The end of all officials, blood-stained brocade clothes!
"How many officials are involved in corruption?" Zhu Houcong's voice was heard from Yuxi Palace.

Lu Bing recalled the records found in the brocade boxes in Lu Fang's private residence and said slowly, "Shuntian Prefecture, 899 officials.

Yingtian Prefecture, one thousand and two officials.

Zhejiang, 1,672 officials.

……

There were a total of 10,860 officials in the two capitals and thirteen provinces.

Among them, 3,600 officials returned to their hometowns due to illness or retirement.

Two hundred and thirty-six officials from the capital were executed at the West Market Archway a few days ago.

There are still 6,250 officials in office.”

From the 16th year of Zhengde to the beginning of the 40th year of Jiajing, Lü Fang was in charge of the inner court for a full 40 years. At that time, the Jinyiwei, Dongchang, Tixingsi, Shenxingsi and other supervisory offices were all under the jurisdiction of Lü Fang.

It can be said that Lu Fang knew about the corruption of officials throughout the Ming Dynasty in countless ways.

Lu Fang was a meticulous person. He classified all the embezzled money and hid them in a brocade box.

When Lu Bing saw the detailed information of corruption by nearly 10,000 officials, the feeling of fear he felt has not completely disappeared.

During the 200-year Ming Dynasty, by the Jiajing period, it was no secret that civil and military officials were rampant and corruption was endemic.

However, there were only 120,000 registered officials in the two capitals and 13 provinces of the Ming Dynasty. Lu Fang alone had evidence of corruption against nearly 10,000 officials, and he kept the evidence to himself without reporting it. It was truly terrifying.

Fortunately, Lu Fang was not an ambitious person, otherwise the corruption network in the Ming Dynasty would have been huge.

"By following the map, are the Jinyiwei sure they can catch them all in one fell swoop?" Zhu Houcong's voice was heard again.

Jinyiwei had previously investigated corrupt officials in Beijing and was rewarded with three million taels of silver by the emperor. Their strength had already undergone earth-shaking changes, but how far they had reached was a test that needed a "bloody battle". Upon hearing the emperor's iron-blooded question, Lu Bing was immediately excited and knelt down and said, "Your Majesty and the Jinyiwei are willing to give it a try!"

Capturing nearly 10,000 officials in office or on leave in the two capitals and 13 provinces at the same time is extremely challenging, but the Jinyiwei are confident that they can accomplish it.

Although Lu Bing lowered his head, his excitement could be seen just by looking at his back.

"Then do it."

Zhu Houcong's voice hovered in the hall, neither too loud nor too soft, "Lü Fangna, after the Jinyiwei has captured all the people, send them to Nanjing to guard the mausoleum."

Through repeated investigations by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, it was found that Lu Fang had nothing to do with the breach of the Xin'an River dike in nine counties.

Lu Fang's money, private residence and other belongings all came from the gifts given by countless eunuchs in the inner court over the past forty years.

As the ancestor of the inner court, Lu Fang certainly could not be a kind-hearted person. His hands were stained with blood, and the blood of many people. However, most of the time, he killed people according to the orders of the emperor.

As a childhood companion and the surrender of tens of thousands of corrupt officials, Lu Fang was forgiven for his poor judgment of people.

Live out your life in Nanjing.

"I obey your order." Lu Bing accepted the order respectfully.

……

Unconsciously.

Hu Zongxian walked from the Temple of Virtuous and Good to the outside of Yan's Mansion, stopped, and looked from afar at the mansion he had visited many times. On the four big red lanterns under the eaves of the mansion's porch, the two large characters "Yan Mansion" in Yan style were still the same.

The world has changed. It seems like just yesterday when my mentor Yan Song summoned me here 20 years ago, just as I passed the imperial examination.

But this time, although the distance ahead was only a few steps, he felt it was so far away.

His mentor was not in the palace but in the imperial prison. Hu Zongxian walked here alone to make final mental preparations for the impending accusations and unpredictable plots.

Hu Zongxian climbed the stairs and knocked on the door, which immediately alarmed the doorman. He heard the hurried sound of the door opening. It was obvious that he did not expect that someone would dare to visit at this time.

Opposite the prime minister's residence is the famous "Riyuexing" restaurant in the capital.

It takes advantage of its geographical location, being located on the street opposite the Yan residence. In a year, countless officials who came to pay a visit to the Yan residence waited for an audience and rested here, and countless officials invited various people from the Yan residence to have a drink and discuss matters here.

They were all very generous. It was said that even without ordering any food or wine, just a pot of good tea would cost ten taels of silver.

With this kind of money earned from this business, my descendants will never be able to live off it all in several lifetimes.

The owner of this restaurant naturally understood that this was a blessing from the Ming Dynasty, so he split the Chinese character "Ming" into two parts and took "Riyuexing". After making money, he decorated the restaurant elaborately and built many luxurious private rooms by the windows on the second floor for officials and guests to drink and talk.

But after the Yan Mansion became deserted, the bustling crowd on the busy street disappeared. People passing by tried to avoid it as much as possible, and those who could not avoid it did not dare to look at the plaque of the Yan Mansion or the Riyuexing Restaurant.

However deserted it was, the owner of the Riyuexing Restaurant did not dare to close the door. In the private room on the second floor facing the street, several pairs of eagle-like eyes were cast at the back of Hu Zongxian under the plaque of the Yan Mansion.

Although these men were wearing casual long gowns, they all had broad shoulders, long legs, cold faces and eyes, and could be identified as members of the Embroidered Uniform Guard at a glance.

The door of Yan's house opened from the inside. The doorman stuck his head out and said subconsciously, "Ah, it's Lord Hu."

The word "ah" revealed that it was an old acquaintance. In the warmth that was beyond words, this time there was a hint of strangeness.

Hu Zongxian could sense a long-lost and unspeakable meaning in that look, and asked with a smile: "Are you okay?"

"Thank you for your concern, Lord Hu. Everything is fine." The doorman nodded, and after a while he said, "The Lord is not here."

"I know." Hu Zongxian hummed.

An awkward and embarrassing atmosphere emerged between the two of them.

Hu Zongxian suddenly felt an indescribable sadness in his heart. He was silent for a long time, looked deeply at the doorman and said, "Can I go to my teacher's study for a while?"

Upon hearing this, the concierge looked towards the Riyuexing Restaurant across the street. Without receiving any instructions, he said hesitantly, "Master Hu, please come in."

After Yan Song and Yan Shifan were thrown into the imperial prison, the door of the mansion was fully opened again, and Hu Zongxian stepped over the threshold and walked in.

At this point, and with no outsiders around, the gatekeeper, who had been feeling depressed for days, couldn't help but start talking when he saw his old friend, "Master Hu, you've been away from home for so long these years, and you don't know what's happening in the mansion.

The cabinet minister is old and weak, and he lost the energy to control the situation a long time ago.

Even in the cabinet, the actual power of the cabinet chief has been replaced by the young cabinet elder, and this is even more true in the government. Everyone in the government, from top to bottom, has to listen to the young cabinet elder’s arrangements before they dare to do anything. "

Hu Zongxian walked to his mentor's study, lay on the recliner where his mentor often lay, listened to the doorman's words, and seemed to think of the scenes when his mentor usually listened to his reading. He couldn't help but closed his eyes.

Seeing this, the doorman tiptoed out, leaving the study door wide open. Hu Zongxian sighed softly.

Without his mentor, he wouldn't be where he is today.

(End of this chapter)