Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 701 "Interpretations" and "Praise and Criticism"

The air was stuffy and hot, and the cicadas were chirping incessantly.

Ming soldiers, clad in light armor and with swords at their waists, lazily patrolled the stone-paved road in front of Da'an Gate. Only when the sound of horses' hooves approached from afar did they straighten up at the command of their officers, deliberately adopting a steady and dutiful demeanor.

Luo Yangxing leaped off his horse, threw down the reins, and headed towards Qingyun Palace. A junior officer leaning against the door, adjusting his clothes to create a breeze, saw him approaching and quickly bowed, saying, "Greetings, Vice Commissioner Luo."

"Are Prime Minister Yuan and General Shen in the palace?" Luo Yangxing looked back, but did not stop walking.

"Reporting to Vice Commissioner Luo," the junior officer replied respectfully, "Lord Yuan went to the government council early this morning and has not yet returned."

Luo Yangxing nodded slightly and slowed his pace: "What about General Shen?"

"General Shen just returned; he should be having dinner in the side hall right now." The junior officer followed a couple of steps behind.

"Okay, I understand." Luo Yangxing said no more and walked straight to the side hall where Shen Yourong was.

The side hall overlooked the water, with half a pond of withered lotus leaves visible through the window. Shen Yourong sat alone at a square table covered with a plain tablecloth, a bowl of rice, several plates of refreshing Korean side dishes, and a large bowl of steaming mutton soup in front of him. Just as he picked up the soup bowl, he looked up and saw Luo Yangxing appear in the doorway, a hint of surprise flashing across his face.

"Commander Luo? Don't you usually have lunch at the Yijin Prefecture? Why are you back today?" Shen Yourong held the soup bowl, a gentle smile on her face.

Luo Yangxing strode in, clasped his hands in a salute, and said, "General Commander."

"It's not like we're in court. Why are you being so polite?" Shen Yourong didn't return the courtesy, only nodded to Luo Yangxing, and continued to gulp down the mutton soup in front of her. "Have you eaten yet?"

"Not yet," Luo Yangxing said.

"Then add another set of chopsticks and a bowl," Shen Yourong instructed the guards standing by the door. "And have the kitchen prepare an extra dish."

"Yes." The guard clasped his hands in acceptance and turned to leave.

"General Shen." Luo Yangxing sat down opposite Shen Yourong. "This humble official has something to report."

Shen Yourong raised an eyebrow and leaned back slightly without realizing it. "You should report this to Minister Yuan. I'm heading north to Pyongyang in a few days, so even if I hear your report, it won't be of much help to you."

"Isn't Prime Minister Yuan in Qingyun Palace right now?" Luo Yangxing said.

Shen Yourong paused for a moment, a barely perceptible hint of seriousness flashing in her eyes. "So, Vice Commissioner Luo came here specifically to see me?"

"This humble official has come." Shen Yourong's personal guard quickly returned, and Luo Yangxing took a clean bowl and chopsticks from his hands. "Since you are looking for Minister Yuan, you are also looking for General Shen."

Shen Yourong put down her soup bowl, picked up her chopsticks, and gestured to Luo Yangxing to make himself at home. "Is this a matter for North Korea, or for us?" As she spoke, Shen Yourong picked up a few more cold bean sprouts and put them in her mouth.

“It’s a matter for North Korea, but it’s also a matter for ‘you and me.’” Luo Yangxing picked up his chopsticks and used the ends of the chopsticks to poke two loud, overlapping sounds on the table.

"What does North Korea have to do with you and me?" Shen Yourong frowned deeply.

“I know you don’t want to get involved in those messy things, and of course I don’t want to bother you with them either. But some misfortunes are unavoidable.” Luo Yangxing stared intently at Shen Yourong. “They are things you can’t escape even if you want to.”

"What undeserved disaster?" Shen Yourong swallowed the bean sprout and picked up another bean.

Luo Yangxing leaned forward slightly and lowered his voice: "Hidden Spring Pavilion, do you know about it?"

"I know. It's a place of extravagance and debauchery, a den of iniquity. What happened there?" Shen Yourong reacted quickly. "Did one of my rascals cause trouble there?"

Luo Yangxing didn't respond, but instead said, "Last night in the early hours of the morning, a fire broke out at the top brothel in Yinchunfang called 'Zuiyuelou,' and the fire was raging and spread far and wide."

With a "thud," the beans Shen Yourong had just picked up fell back into the dish. He looked up abruptly, his eyes filled with shock and disbelief: "A fire? When did it happen? What about the casualties?"

"Around 2 or 3 a.m. last night, the losses were extremely heavy." Luo Yangxing said in a somber tone, "According to preliminary counts, no fewer than 30 houses were burned down, and half of Yinchunfang was reduced to ashes. No fewer than 60 or 70 people perished in the fire, and more than 100 were injured."

"How could this be?" Shen Yourong gasped, his face instantly turning extremely pale. "Has the cause of the fire been determined? Was it a natural disaster or..." he pressed, subconsciously putting down his chopsticks.

This was exactly the issue Luo Yangxing was waiting for. He showed a perfectly measured degree of caution and slowly said, "The cause of the fire is still under investigation. However... according to some witnesses, before the fire broke out, it seemed that... some of our soldiers had a minor argument with the pimps in the main hall of Zuiyue Tower. During the scuffle, the candles and wine were knocked over, which ignited the curtains."

"Our soldiers? Causing trouble in a brothel?!" Shen Yourong's brows furrowed instantly, his face turning ashen, a surge of anger rising within him. He was most averse to any breach of military discipline, especially in this sensitive place. If it were confirmed that Ming soldiers had indeed caused such a calamity, the consequences would be unimaginable!
"You bastards!" Shen Yourong forced out her voice through gritted teeth, barely suppressing her anger. "This is utterly lawless! That fire wasn't..."

"General, please calm down." Luo Yangxing interjected at the opportune moment, his tone carrying a sense of clarifying the facts: "Upon learning of this news, I also felt the situation was serious, so I immediately sent people to investigate in detail. According to the testimonies of several eyewitnesses, the small fire that started in the front hall due to the conflict seems to have been quickly extinguished by..." Luo Yangxing's eyes unconsciously darted to the side. "...by a guest present."

"It's out?" Shen Yourong's tense nerves immediately relaxed, and he let out a long sigh of relief, as if a huge burden had been lifted. "So, the riot wasn't the main cause of this fire?" "That should be right." Lu Wenzhao nodded slightly, but his brows were still furrowed.

"Then how did this raging fire start?" Shen Yourong asked.

"The cause of the fire is still under investigation. However," Luo Yangxing shook his head slightly, then dropped a bombshell, raising Shen Yourong's anxiety once more: "Our people discovered the remains of officers of our Great Ming Dynasty while clearing the scene, and there was more than one."

Shen Yourong's heart sank, and her slightly relieved expression instantly froze: "More than one. How many? Who are they?"

Luo Yangxing looked directly at Shen Yourong, his tone heavy and clear: "After verifying the identity badges, the bodies of Liang Shi, the battalion commander of the Fourth Battalion of the Divine Machine Army, Li Luosheng, the commander of the Central Army, and Zhang Deyong, the battalion commander of the Guardian Battalion, have been found." Each name he announced felt like a heavy hammer blow to Shen Yourong's heart.

“Besides them, there is one more person,” Luo Yangxing paused, his voice even lower, “who is the captain I brought out, Gao Su.”

"Gao Su? A member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard...!" Shen Yourong was shocked, her chopsticks frozen in mid-air.

He instantly understood the other party's intentions. A Jinyiwei officer who had been granted an imperial envoy died in a fire at a foreign brothel. If this news were to reach the capital and fall into the ears of those officials from the Six Ministries and Thirteen Circuits who always wanted to stir up trouble, what kind of waves would it create?
As the head of the Korean branch, Luo Yangxing would first and foremost bear the blame for "lax management of his subordinates"; while Shen Yourong, as the military commander, would also face accusations of "negligence in military affairs" and "damage to the dignity of the Celestial Empire" for his officers causing trouble in brothels. Luo Yangxing's personal visit at this moment was not merely to deliver bad news, but clearly to seek cooperation in dealing with the likely impending political storm!
Seeing Shen Yourong's expression quickly shift from shock to a complex mix of solemnity and understanding, Luo Yangxing knew that the groundwork laid earlier had been sufficient. With a sense of calm, he slowly revealed the seemingly least important secret: "That's right. Some of my Embroidered Uniform Guards have also suffered this undeserved calamity, dying needlessly in someone else's conspiracy."

"A conspiracy?" Shen Yourong raised an eyebrow.

Luo Yangxing explained: "When the coroner examined the bodies of the other victims, he found fatal stab wounds on the bodies of the madam and pimp of Zuiyuelou. The wounds were located near the heart, with clear edges, and there was not much coal ash in their throats, which clearly indicated that they were stabbed before the fire started."

"A sharp weapon stabbing into the heart?" Shen Yourong picked up the slightly cooled mutton soup, took a small sip, and spoke as calmly as if discussing the weather. "So, this is a case of murder to cover up a crime?"

“It should be.” Luo Yangxing nodded, picked up his chopsticks, took a few slices of mutton from the large bowl, and put them in his mouth. “Witnesses said that there were several fires in the backyard at the time, and they started almost simultaneously. This was no ordinary fire; it must have been someone setting fire to the body to cover up the crime.” He paused, his gaze calmly turning to Shen Yourong. “There’s probably more to this fire at Zuiyue Tower than meets the eye. I just wonder what layer of history it will lead to.”

"Murder, arson, and cover-up—that's ruthless of you," Shen Yourong said, turning to look at Luo Yangxing. "What are you planning to do with this case, Vice Commissioner Luo?"

"In my opinion, the most important thing right now is not how many Koreans died in this brothel, or why they were killed. The only important thing is that our people have also perished inside. Once this news reaches the capital and falls into the ears of those upright officials, 'you and I' will be in big trouble!" Luo Yangxing leaned forward slightly and tapped the table twice with the end of his chopsticks.

Shen Yourong put down her soup bowl, picked up her chopsticks, and put some side dishes into her mouth, chewing slowly. The hall fell silent for a moment, with only the soft sound of her chewing and the noisy chirping of cicadas outside the window. Luo Yangxing also picked up his chopsticks, symbolically taking some pickled vegetables, without urging her to hurry.

After a moment, Shen Yourong swallowed her food, wiped her mouth with a cloth, and then looked up at Luo Yangxing with a seasoned caution in her eyes: "This news cannot be suppressed."

“I know,” Luo Yangxing said. “So I was thinking, could we find a way to explain things in a more reasonable way?” The “reason” here does not refer to the truth, but rather to a reason that can be justified in the report, blur the focus, and reduce or even avoid the impeachment by the censors.

Shen Yourong understood immediately. "It's not enough for Vice Commissioner Luo to convince me alone."

“Zhang Deyong is a member of the guard battalion. We definitely need to get an explanation from him.” A barely perceptible, knowing smile appeared on Luo Yangxing’s face.

“Just having a story isn’t enough; we need to get to the bottom of this,” Shen Yourong nodded. “After all, so many people died.”

"Rest assured, General," Luo Yangxing replied solemnly. "Even if this fire spreads all the way to Changde Palace, I will investigate to the very end!"

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Inside the Qingyun Palace, Luo Yangxing and Shen Yourong reached a tacit understanding.

Inside the Uijeongbu (National Assembly Building) building, a major discussion concerning the rise and fall of the North Korean bureaucracy came to an end as Yuan Keli rose to his feet. Yuan Keli walked out of the hall, followed by a stream of high-ranking North Korean officials.

Just now, Yuan Keli finalized his "praise and criticism" plan. He announced that in the upcoming June, a comprehensive assessment would be conducted on all officials in the capital and local officials in Ping'an, Huanghai, and Jingji circuits, in order to pave the way for land surveying, tax increases, and military expansion.

Such important matters naturally fall to him, the Imperial Envoy and Supervisor, who holds the final power of praise, criticism, promotion, and demotion. However, the various tedious details of the process are handled by a committee mainly composed of Korean officials. The committee list has been announced, with six core members: Park Seung-jong, Chief State Councilor of the State Council; Yoo Hee-bun, Minister of Personnel; Lee Er-chan, Minister of Rites; Lee Jung-gu, Advisor to the State Council; Lee Won-ik, Minister of War recently promoted by Yuan Ke-li; and Yoo Eung-won, a seemingly insignificant former Assistant Minister of Rites and newly appointed Chief of the Censorate.

When the list was read aloud, all the officials in the hall felt a chill run down their spines—

Li Yuanyi was recognized for his talent and was promoted in court yesterday, which was not surprising at all.

Liu Yingyuan, despite his low rank, gained this opportunity entirely because of his skillful handling of the situation during his journey south, which caught Yuan Keli's eye. This exceptional promotion clearly demonstrates the imperial envoy's arbitrary use of power and favor.

Last year, Li Tinggui went to Beijing to defend himself against accusations. During his remarks, he repeatedly made veiled criticisms of Xu Guangqi, the current Minister of Rites, who was the key figure in recommending Yuan Keli to oversee Korea. Was Yuan's appointment as overseer a public demonstration? A warning? Or something else entirely?
Most strikingly, Li Erzhan's name was also prominently listed! Yesterday, the Queen Dowager Zhenyi tearfully accused him of plotting to harm the princess at the Daejojeon Hall. This matter has already caused a great uproar. Instead of avoiding the issue, Yuan, the guardian, entrusted him with the important task of praising or criticizing, which has implications.
As Yuan Keli stepped down the hall steps, he heard slightly hurried footsteps behind him. Chief Councilor Park Seung-jong and Clerk of Personnel Yoo Hee-bum quickly followed, one on the left and one on the right, respectfully standing half a step behind Yuan Keli.

Yuan Keli did not turn around, but slowed his pace slightly: "Why have you two come after me together?"

Liu Xifen took a deep breath, stepped forward slightly, and cupped his hands, saying, "Lord Yuan, please allow me to report. I... I heard that yesterday in the Grand Hall, Her Highness the Princess Ci was overcome with grief and lost her composure, even mentioning that Princess Zhenming had met with misfortune, and directly accusing a high-ranking official of committing the crime... This matter has shaken the palace. I wonder how the Guardian will handle this?"

(End of this chapter)