Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 495: Unintentional Judgment
Wang An was rather dull in military matters; he couldn't articulate a single point, and didn't even fully grasp the emperor's strategic plans. He could only resort to auspicious phrases to force comfort: "Long live our master, who has inherited the throne from Heaven, working tirelessly day and night. Our civil and military officials are loyal and valiant, and our soldiers on the front lines are fighting bravely. Our ancestors have supported us from afar. And Nurhaci is just a jerk, how can he defy Heaven's will? Please be at ease, and don't worry too much."

"Wang An. Tell me, am I too cold-blooded?" Zhu Changluo stared at the sealed newspaper, but his mind drifted far away to Liaodong.

"The emperor cares about the whole country and has frequently issued beneficial policies that benefit all people in the world! He is like Yao and Shun in the distant past and emulates Gao Wen in the recent past. How can he be called cold-blooded?" Wang An said without hesitation.

"Is it really okay to abandon the people of one place for the sake of the whole country?" Zhu Changluo said.

"Haven't the military and civilians in those places retreated to Shenyang?" Wang An thought the emperor was talking about the temporarily abandoned strategic buffer zones, namely Puhe and Yilu.

"What after Shenyang?" Zhu Changluo's most pessimistic secret instructions to Xiong Tingbi did not include the complete evacuation of the Liaodong civilians. As long as the majority of the elite troops transferred to Liaodong could be preserved and retreated to strategic locations such as Guangning, Gaizhou, and Zhenjiang and held on to them, it would be enough.

"Shenyang has tens of thousands of soldiers and loyal ministers and capable generals stationed there. It will not be lost!" Wang An said firmly.

"If only war were a simple matter of addition and subtraction. Forget it, I won't talk about it anymore. It's just groundless worry." Zhu Changluo closed the newspaper and pointed to Wang An's seat. "Sit down."

"Yes."

"Have you been to the East Factory?" The emperor's voice came as soon as he sat down.

"My Lord," Wang An said solemnly, facing the Emperor, "I have been there."

Wei Chao still lowered his head, but his ears stood up silently.

"How's the progress?" Zhu Changluo took a memorial and began to read it with two minds focused.

"Cui Wensheng has done an excellent job," Wang An summarized succinctly. "Not a single criminal ordered by the imperial decree escaped. Moreover, in just one night, he obtained a wealth of circumstantial evidence supporting the three cases. As long as he can find enough physical evidence, even if those nobles refuse to confess, he will be able to convict them."

"Okay, then," Zhu Changluo nodded slightly, paused, and deliberately lowered his voice by two degrees. "What about that case?"

Wang An tried to keep his voice as steady as before. "Based on the confessions the East Depot has received so far, the case may have little to do with Marquis Yangwu, Earl Pingjiang, or Earl Boping. Instead, it has a strong connection to Li Guochen, who is still imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice's Sky Prison. I, your servant, have taken the initiative and agreed to let Cui Wensheng go to the Ministry of Justice to retrieve him." Wang An naturally hoped to find the murderer directly, but neither the Pacification Office nor the East Depot could find any clues to lead him down, so Wang An could only proceed with his original plan—to quickly find a scapegoat for the emperor to kill and appease his anger.

Wang An had originally planned to risk his own life again, to pressure Cui Wensheng into following his wishes, but Cui Wensheng was more proactive than him, ready to close the case with the confessions of the Li family father and son. So Wang An followed Cui Wensheng's lead and concealed himself. As long as Huang Kezan stopped being overly complacent and took the initiative to reveal the tacit agreement between him and Wang An, Wang An would be able to escape unscathed.

"In other words, the case was framed by Li Guochen?" Zhu Changluo's expression changed slightly, but he didn't look up.

"At least that's what Marquis Wuqing and the young marquis accused the eldest young master of the Li family," said Wang An.

"What do you mean?" After reading the boring memorial, Zhu Changluo simply wrote "I know". Then he took another memorial and continued reading.

"What Marquis Wuqing and the young marquis are trying to do," Wang An said, combining Cui Wensheng's speculation with his own. "This Li Guochen is a cunning and treacherous man obsessed with seizing the throne. He's orchestrating this to provoke his master, so he can unleash his wrath upon Marquis Wuqing and his son. As long as Marquis Wuqing's title is abolished and the young marquis's heir is deposed, he can transform himself and become the next Marquis Wuqing. Even if the hereditary lineage of Marquis Wuqing is abolished, he won't lose anything, as he won't inherit this rich and prestigious title anyway."

"Is there any evidence?"

"Currently, we only have the confessions signed by Marquis Wuqing and the young marquis. However, the East Depot has early records that can corroborate this claim. Cui Wensheng said that while those early records can't directly prove that Li Guochen orchestrated this incident, they are sufficient to prove that Li Guochen's servants spread all kinds of rumors throughout the capital. Some even pretended to be bribed by the East Depot, providing paid testimony that was unfavorable to Marquis Wuqing and his son, in order to guide the East Depot's investigation. It's like having two mouths to feed. Cui Wensheng has already sent thugs to capture these people. They should be able to arrest them soon and obtain a solid confession."

Wang An finished speaking, but the emperor did not respond. Wang An could not help but get nervous.

"Do you agree?" Zhu Changluo put down his red brush and looked up at Wang An. "What is Cui Wensheng's investigation direction?"

"I think this is very likely the truth." Wang An took the initiative to mention that he had been to the Ministry of Justice. "The last time I went to the Ministry of Justice to inquire about the case, Li Guochen insisted that he had done anything disrespectful. He only said that he wanted to get to the bottom of the matter and clear his father of the false accusation. But the Li family has never been a family where the father is kind and the son is filial, and the brothers are friendly and respectful. Many confessions obtained by the East Factory in the early days also show that Li Mingcheng treated this..." At this point, Wang An paused, and hurriedly put away the descriptions that might cause associations. ". He treated Li Guochen very badly. He even didn't take Li Guochen with him to Tsinghua Garden after retreating from work. It is extremely unreasonable for Li Guochen to take the blame. And the confessions of Wuqing Hou and the young marquis also support this point."

"Circumstantial evidence? Ha." Zhu Changluo chuckled. "You believe this kind of nonsense?"

"Master." Wang An was about to stand up, but the emperor stopped him with a wave of his hand.

"Li Guochen is clearly a filial son." Wang An was stunned the moment the emperor spoke. "Li Guochen went to the Dong'an Gate to stop the Prime Minister, but he stopped Wei Chao's carriage. After being taken to the Ministry of Justice, he still took the blame for his father's crimes. He jumped around and caused so many things outside, just to guide public opinion and help Li Mingcheng and Li Guorui escape punishment. The more unkind the father is, the more filial the son is, which further demonstrates his precious sincerity. Why should we think the worst of such clear and obvious filial behavior?" The emperor paused, a look of regret and hatred appearing on his face at the same time. "If he hadn't come up with such a treasonous prophecy, I would even admire him."

"But Li Mingcheng and Li Guorui are different. They are two pure cowards. The reason these two cowards say this now is simply because they feel that the matter can no longer be covered up and they will be beheaded if they continue to do so. So they want to put all the responsibility on Li Guochen alone. For this reason, they even do not hesitate to interpret their risking their lives for good rescue as a struggle for power and profit, so as to get themselves out of the blame completely. What do you call this? This is called shamelessness!" When the emperor said this, Wang An finally understood the implicit meaning of his words.

"Yes, Your Majesty is right." Wang An immediately admitted his mistake. "It was my fault for not asking the right questions and not thinking carefully enough."

"This isn't your or Cui Wensheng's fault. After all, Li Guochen is still in the Ministry of Justice and hasn't appeared in court yet. It's inevitable that you've formed a preconceived notion based on these one-sided accounts. Once Li Guochen appears, try him as soon as possible, and everything will become clear." Even before the trial began, the emperor began to pronounce his verdict:
"Although Li Guochen was neither loyal to me nor filial to the Empress Dowager, he was ultimately filial to his father and cared for his younger brother. However, I cannot turn a blind eye to his disloyalty and injustice simply because of his small acts of filial piety. Those who show grave disrespect for the rites of a minister have always been sentenced to death by hanging. However, considering his great filial piety, I will grant him a little extra leniency and spare his life. Instead, I will exile him to a remote and remote place."

"As for Li Mingcheng and Li Guorui, not only did they violate the law and amass wealth to harm the state, but they also fabricated confessions to clear their names, falsely accused their own son, and slandered their brother. Li Guorui, in particular, is incredibly greedy, disrespectful, and brutal—truly abhorrent! Considering he still has a shred of conscience and hasn't cursed the imperial concubines or slandered the Empress Dowager, I will grant him some leniency."

"Li Mingcheng's title of Marquis of Wuqing is stripped, his hereditary succession is abolished, all property is confiscated, and he is placed in a small house of his choice and confined for life. Li Guorui is ordered to commit suicide. Have Cui Wensheng conduct the trial as quickly as possible. Torture is permitted, but not to the point of killing him. Once the confession is obtained, the sentence will be determined as previously stated." "Yes." Wang An stood up immediately. "I will convey the order immediately."

"Don't worry," Zhu Changluo waved to Wang An. "Come here."

"Please give your orders, my lord." Wang An walked quickly to the imperial desk.

"Here." Zhu Changluo picked up a list from the desk and handed it to Wang An, but he didn't mean to give it to him. "Take a look and remember the people on it. Cui Wensheng was implicated by all of them."

When Wang An saw the list, his pupils shrank immediately. It listed a group of nobles and relatives including Duke Chengguo, Marquis Funing, and Earl Xinning. There were more than a dozen people in total.

Wang An quickly glanced at them and nodded, indicating that he had memorized them. "Master, please explain to what extent these people are involved."

Zhu Changluo thought for a moment. "Not too drastic, but not too lenient either. I won't do anything to these people, but they can't know I won't do anything to them right now. That's about it."

Wang An asked again, "Are they all going to be arrested?"

"No. No arrests." Zhu Changluo shook his head. "The East Depot will only deal with the individuals named in that memorial. These individuals should be handled by the Three Judicial Departments. Just tell Cui Wensheng to maintain control and extract confessions from those implicated."

"Yes." Wang An responded and left the South Study.

From the moment he entered the room to the moment he left, Wang An never mentioned the extra set of tables and chairs, as if it had never existed, or perhaps it was always supposed to be there.

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When Wang An once again left the Qianqing Palace and came to the East Factory, the Silijian carriage carrying Liu Ruoyu also arrived at its destination - the southern part of Rizhongfang, near Shichahai.

The residence of Yang Songquan, who was once the chief secretary of the Imperial Stables, is located here.

Beneath, bee, bee.

The carriage stopped and the eunuchs trotted over to knock on the door. Then Liu Ruoyu got out of the carriage.

After a while, an elderly Chinese man who looked quite old came out to answer the door.

The powerful eunuchs in the palace, or the eunuchs who were once powerful and had accumulated a lot of savings with that power, all liked to use the old palace maids who were dismissed from the palace as their own servants. This was because they thought they were more obedient, knowledgeable and good at serving others than ordinary people outside, and of course there was also the consideration of doing good deeds and accumulating merit. Because if there were no eunuchs to take them in, it would be difficult for the old palace maids who were dismissed from the palace to find a job again. If all their savings were spent, they would have to beg for food like beggars. At least in Beijing, those rich and powerful officials and wealthy merchants would never dare to use eunuchs as their servants.

This old eunuch was one of the lucky ones who was taken in by Yang Songquan after the large-scale layoffs in the inner court. Because he was too old to do heavy work, Yang Songquan put him in the gatehouse and asked him to "answer the door exclusively", which was considered as half-supporting this old man.

The old eunuch was indeed well-behaved. His eyesight had deteriorated due to his age, but he could still spot the crimson dragon robe draped over Liu Ruoyu. Instinctively, he knelt and kowtowed to the eunuch, who was in his prime, saying, "Your humble servant pays homage to our ancestors!"

Liu Ruoyu didn't respond, but waved to the eunuch who knocked on the door. The eunuch understood, stepped forward to help the old man up, and asked, "Is Yang Qianshu at home? Let him know if there's any good news."

The old Chinese man stood up and was obviously stunned for a moment before he replied respectfully, "To answer the steward. Mr. Yang is not at home right now."

"Where did he go when he grew old?" Liu Ruoyu asked.

Hearing the "ancestor" start to ask questions, the old man wanted to kneel again, but the eunuch in front of him held him back. "You can stand and talk."

"Thank you, ancestor." The old man thanked him verbally, but a look of regret and sympathy gradually emerged on his face. "Grandfather Shang has passed away! Mr. Yang has gone to his house to carry the coffin and mourn."

Liu Ruoyu was startled and asked anxiously, "When?"

Liu Ruoyu's urgent question frightened the old man, and he quickly replied, "The sixteenth day of this month is the day after the palace examination."

"Let's go!" Liu Ruoyu turned around and walked towards the carriage.

"Fourth Ancestor, are we going back to the palace now?" The eunuch who knocked on the door also followed.

"Why go back to the palace? The order from the Lord hasn't been delivered yet!" Liu Ruoyu stepped on the eunuch's back and got into the carriage. "Turn around and go to the home of our ancestor Shang."

(End of this chapter)