Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 695 Li Erzhan's Bargaining Chips
Li Erzhan's body tensed up instantly, and the hairs on his body stood on end.

In fact, as early as when the Crown Prince Regent publicly invited Yuan Ke-li and his two companions to meet Queen Dowager Kim at the Daejojeon Hall, Yi Er-chan had already suspected that Queen Dowager Kim might file a complaint with the Emperor. His hasty order to send a visiting card to Gyeongun Palace after leaving Changdeok Palace was partly due to this.

However, mental preparation and actual response are two completely different things. Moreover, Li Erzhan simply couldn't think of a way to deal with it.

"I...no, this."

"Are you saying that these things have nothing to do with you?" Yuan Keli's tone seemed to have turned colder.

"No! I... I did it. I did instigate the deposition of the mother, but... but..." Li Erzhan's body temperature rose higher and higher, and sweat poured down his forehead. "...But I was just following orders! If His Highness the Deposed King hadn't given instructions, why would I have instigated the court officials to bully a widow?"

"Follow orders?" Yuan Keli said. "Is Judge Li trying to shift the blame to the former emperor and place all the responsibility on the deposed king?"

“I’m not, I’m not shirking responsibility! Since I did these things, I can’t escape or shirk responsibility, but,” Li Erzhan said through gritted teeth, adopting the posture of a blindly loyal subject, “...but as a subject, one should be loyal to the emperor’s orders. Since His Highness the Deposed Prince secretly issued the decree, how can I disobey it?”

"But why didn't you advise against it?" Yuan Keli paused for a moment, "just like when you insisted on helping to suppress the rebellion."

Li Erzhan was taken aback at first, then a surge of joy welled up inside him. Yuan Keli's initiative to offer assistance in the suppression at this moment was clearly a deliberate message!

Li Erzhan felt he had probably passed the test, but he remained tense and dared not relax even slightly. "These two things are completely different! When China is in trouble, the feudal lords come to its aid; this is the great principle of the Spring and Autumn Annals and the duty of the vassal states. Moreover, our country has been rebuilt to this day, all thanks to the Celestial Empire."

"His Highness the Deposed King's refusal to assist in the suppression is unrighteous and immoral. As a subject, it is my duty to remonstrate and uphold justice for the monarch. If I had known back then that His Highness the Deposed King had given those two beasts, Kang Hong-rip and Kim Kyung-seo, such a secret instruction, I would have done everything in my power to urge the other ministers to speak out and stop him!"

Li Erzhan spoke these words with a loud and forceful tone, as if he were eloquent. But the next moment, Li Erzhan's tone turned somber:
"The reason I did not strongly advocate for the suppression of the rebellion was not only because of the secret teachings of the deposed king, but also because Queen Dowager Kim's intentions were not pure. When Grand Prince Yeongchang was still healthy, the Queen Dowager doted on him excessively. At that time, the country was in dire need of reconstruction, but Grand Prince Yeongchang's clothes, residence, and seasonal prayers exceeded the usual standards, even more than the king's."

"Furthermore, Queen Dowager Kim also instructed her father, the deposed Prince Yeonheung Kim Ti-nam, to amass wealth and recruit followers in the name of Grand Prince Yeongchang. In fact, Queen Dowager Kim even used witchcraft to curse the deposed King and the late Queen Dowager Ui-in. It can be said that she was engaging in witchcraft within the palace and plotting a rebellion without."

"After discovering these matters, I even tried several times to organize public discussions and request that the matter be reported to the imperial court, asking for an imperial decree to depose the concubine. Unfortunately, some pedantic scholars who were unaware of the truth, and those who were only concerned with factional struggles, repeatedly obstructed me, so I had no choice but to expel them from the capital."

"Hahaha!" Hearing this, Yuan Keli couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Stop talking, stop talking. If you keep going, you'll interpret this factionalism as loyalty to the king."

Yuan Keli's laughter seemed to possess a certain magic; soon, Luo Yangxing and Shen Yourong also joined in. The laughter of the three echoed in Junming Hall, temporarily dispelling the suffocating silence, but also bringing a new sense of eeriness.

The thunderous laughter sent chills down Li Erzhan's spine. But he couldn't reply, nor dared to stop it; he could only lower his head sheepishly and listen intently.

"Alright." After laughing heartily for a while, Yuan Keli slowly straightened his face again. "It's time to get down to business."

Important business? What important business? Weren't those important things just now?
For the first few breaths after hearing this, Li Erzhan's mind was still in a daze. He blinked heavily and tried to think for a while before recalling that he had come here because of the new policies that Yuan Keli had announced in the Xuanzheng Hall.

"Yes, that's right. It's the new policy! I fully support it, I completely support it!" Li Erzhan stammered, gradually regaining his senses. "It's time to measure the land and adjust the taxes long ago! It should have been done long ago! Your Excellency is wise!"

"So how are you going to support me?" Yuan Keli asked quietly.

“I am willing to offer all the property and land under the name of the Li family of Guangzhou to the imperial court for military use.” Li Erzhan immediately pledged all the property of himself and his entire clan.

"How many?" Yuan Keli's voice was flat and indifferent, without any inflection.

"It's probably around thirty or forty thousand taels of silver, and over four thousand seven hundred acres of land," Li Erzhan said.

“Thirty or forty thousand, huh?” Yuan Keli picked up his teacup and took a sip of tea. “Do you know how much silver the Emperor allocated to us when we came to Korea this time?”

"How much?" Li Erzhan's heart tightened.

"One million and a half taels."

“One and a half million taels!?” Li Erzhan’s pupils dilated in shock.

Yuan Keli nodded and said, "We have no interest in your family's property and land, nor do we need you to offer these things to the court."

"Then what do you need?" Li Erzhan asked proactively.

“It’s not that I need anything, it’s that your North Korea needs me,” Yuan Keli put down his teacup. “...collect the taxes that are due.”

“Then you must need the Minister of Revenue!” Li Erzhan hurriedly said, “The Minister of Revenue, Jin Jinguo, is a close friend of mine. I can definitely persuade them to fully assist you, and of course, I can too!”

“While the new policies benefit the country and its people, they also harm others and oneself. Friendship alone is probably not enough,” Yuan Keli said.

“I have leverage over them!” Li Erzhan said. “Even if they don’t want to do it, I can force them to! If that doesn’t work, we can use that leverage to remove them legitimately and replace them with people who are willing to do it.”

"What kind of leverage?" Luo Yangxing interjected. "Could it be those files in the Yijinfu?"

“The items in the Uijinfu are all non-lethal open files,” Li Erzhan quickly looked over. “And most of them have already been used.”

"So, you still have secret files?" Luo Yangxing wasn't surprised. "That's right!" Li Erzhan went all out. "I have three large trunks at home, filled with evidence of illegal activities by officials at all levels and even members of the imperial family! If Guardian Yuan doesn't mind, I can drag all these things to Qingyun Palace today."

Yuan Keli ignored this comment, but subconsciously glanced at Luo Yangxing. "You usually control them with these things?"

“Of course not. Using power to oppress people or threatening them with crimes are not sustainable methods.” Li Erzhan raised his sleeve to wipe the sweat from his forehead. “I usually use people by establishing connections and sharing benefits. I only use these things when they become too powerful or have the intention to betray me. So many people don’t know that I have these things.”

"Remove it and replace it directly?" Yuan Keli immediately remembered what Li Erzhan had just said.

“That’s right. To be honest, I’m ashamed to say that during my most powerful years, it was only two or three years ago. I had people in the Uijinbu, Sixianbu, Sijianyuan, Chengzhengyuan, and even the Yizhengbu. Unless His Highness the Deposed Prince wants to protect someone, it would be a piece of cake for me to remove someone.” Li Erzhan showed no shame whatsoever, and even genuinely smiled as he flipped his palm. “As for replacing people, hehe, three-legged toads are hard to find in this world, but two-legged officials are everywhere.”

"Hehe." Yuan Keli interlaced his fingers, resting his head on his two thumbs. "Does Judge Li think that the evidence he has is more useful than the royal decree?"

Li Erzhan's smile froze on his face.

Yes, Yuan Keli was authorized by the emperor's edict, held the royal command flag, and carried the imperial sword. It can be said that, apart from a small number of members of the royal family and high-ranking Ming officials, Yuan Keli could kill or use whomever he wanted in Joseon, and had no need for the dirty tricks in Li Erzhan's hands.

But besides those filthy things, Li Erzhan had no other bargaining chips!

Think quickly, think quickly, think quickly about what else you can offer to impress this imperial envoy!

Li Erzhan sat there, deep in thought, his expression growing increasingly grim. But this time, Yuan Keli didn't give him much time: "If Judge Li really has nothing more to say, please go back first."

“Yes! I have something else to say!” Li Erzhan immediately chimed in.

"Then hurry up and tell us," Luo Yangxing urged, "It's almost lunchtime!"

“The guardian can indeed dismiss and appoint people at will with the royal decree. But you cannot guarantee that those appointed will be loyal!” Li Erzhan had no more practical bargaining chips and could only rely on abstract theories for one last gamble. “Although Korea is a small country, its evil influence is truly fierce. Both the civil and military officials have their own interests, and there are factions in the southeast, northwest, and southwest. Moreover, there are factions within factions and cliques within cliques. The Northern People's Party alone had distinctions in the early years: Great Northern, Small Northern, Bone Northern, and Flesh Northern.”

“The complexities involved are far too numerous to unravel in a short time. But if these matters aren't clarified, even with your immense power, you can't prevent those below from engaging in backroom deals and feigning compliance!” Li Erzhan’s speech quickened, his expression becoming increasingly distorted. “But if you give me just one chance, I can help you! I can help you clarify all these matters and resolve all those difficult and troublesome issues!”

"Then how can we be sure that you won't just pay lip service while doing something you don't mean?" Yuan Keli's lips twitched slightly.

"I, I..." Li Erzhan suddenly stood up, knelt down with a thud, and crawled on his knees to Yuan Keli and the other two, kowtowing heavily, tears streaming down his face: "I entered officialdom at the age of twenty-two, full of youthful passion! But after nearly forty years in office, I've become more and more like a lackey. No! Not just like, I am a lackey kept by His Highness the Deposed Prince. An old dog! Now, my master is gone, and those I bit before will surely try every means to take revenge on me. I have no way out! Please, everyone, give me a chance, give me a way to live!"

Even someone as composed as Yuan Keli hadn't expected Li Erzhan to suddenly act and say such things. As Li Erzhan knelt towards him, he even instinctively flinched, as if afraid the other would suddenly pounce and grab his legs. But Li Erzhan didn't do that in the end; he simply burst into tears and sobbed on the ground.

Yuan Keli was unsure what expression to make. After silently staring at Li Erzhan for a while, he looked up at Shen Yourong on his left. "What did Admiral Shen say?"

Shen Yourong could tell that Yuan Keli intended to protect Li Erzhan; otherwise, he wouldn't have made this probing and demand. Shen Yourong had no interest in the feuds among the imperial clan, nor did he care much about who was right or wrong. To him, as long as the front lines had supplies, he didn't care what happened in the rear. Shen Yourong's only concern was that Li Erzhan was far too corrupt; if used poorly, he could easily tarnish his own reputation.

“It’s easy to get feathers dirty, but difficult to clean them,” Shen Yourong said, looking at Yuan Keli.

Yuan Keli nodded, then looked at Luo Yangxing. "What about Vice Commissioner Luo? What did you say?"

Luo Yangxing smiled at Yuan Keli, but his words were directed at Li Erzhan: "Judge Li, are you expecting us to help you clean your feathers?"

"No, no!" Li Erzhan quickly looked up and said, "I don't ask you gentlemen to do anything for me, I only ask that you don't believe the rumors fabricated by other party members. As long as... as long as the status quo can be maintained! I can withstand the storms and suppress all kinds of troubles myself!"

The waves may be big or small, but as long as they are not the towering waves coming from the heavens above, Li Erzhan can handle them with ease.

Yuan Keli was about to reply when Luo Yangxing stopped him with a gesture. "Are you saying, Judge Li, that all those things being said about you outside are just rumors?"

Li Erzhan was somewhat puzzled, not understanding why Luo Yangxing was interrupting Yuan Keli. However, he still replied, "If a lackey doesn't bite, then it's not a lackey. But there are some people I haven't bitten, and there are some things I haven't done."

“But Consort Jin’s complaint has been brought before Guardian Yuan by name. How do you plan to explain that?” Luo Yangxing continued.

"What did she complain about?" Although the topic had circled back to the matter of the abandoned mother, Li Erzhan's nerves relaxed instead.

"Just now in the Daejo Hall, in front of the Queen and the Regent, Queen Dowager Kim tearfully accused you, Li Erzhan, Li Tingbiao, and Zheng Hang, of sending men to infiltrate Qingyun Palace to assassinate Princess Zhenming!" Luo Yangxing asked coldly, "How do you intend to explain this?"

"I'm innocent!" Li Erzhan immediately shouted in denial. "I didn't do it, I really didn't do it!"

"Then what about the skeletons buried under the back wall of the former Imperial Hall?" Luo Yangxing continued to ask.

“What skeletons? I don’t know anything about skeletons!” Li Erzhan shook his head frantically, tears streaming down his face.

"The princess's remains are buried under the back wall of Xiyu Hall, and we have already dug them out!" Luo Yangxing raised his hand and pointed in the direction of Xiyu Hall.

(End of this chapter)