Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 759 "Memorial Impeaching the Treacherous Relatives of the Empress Dowager"

758. Memorial Impeaching the Treacherous Relatives of the Empress Dowager

Upon entering the inner courtyard, Shen Guangzuo immediately noticed that the main room was still lit. The shadow of Madam Wang was projected onto the window paper. She was clearly still awake, waiting.

Shen Guangzuo's brows furrowed involuntarily, a surge of indescribable irritation welling up inside him. He paused, wanting to turn away and spend the night in the study or any other room.

But before he could turn around, the door to the main room creaked open from the inside. Wang Anhui stood in the lamplight, wearing a casual outer garment, her hair slightly loose, her expression showing a hint of worry. She looked at Shen Guangzu, who was standing there stunned in the courtyard, and asked cautiously, "Master, you're back?"

Shen Guangzuo stood frozen in place, forcing out a stiff "hmm" from his nose as a response.

Seeing his unfriendly expression, Wang Anhui didn't dare to say anything more. She simply stepped aside to make way and then turned to instruct the young servant following behind Shen Guangzuo: "You're done here. Go to the kitchen and fetch some hot water to help the master wash and change his clothes."

"Yes, Madam." The servant quickly responded and withdrew, then hurriedly went with the other servants who had come upon hearing the commotion to prepare hot water.

Shen Guangzuo seemed to reluctantly accept this subtle gesture of goodwill, but he still kept a cold face, turned his head to the side, and almost brushed against Wang Anhui's shoulder as he silently entered the house.

Wang Anhui followed him into the room, gently closing the door behind her. She went to the bedside and habitually reached out to undress him. Shen Guangzuo stiffened, that unease returning to him; he instinctively wanted to push her hand away and do it himself. But before he could speak, Wang spoke first: "Master, did things go smoothly? Did Mr. Shen agree to help Wenlong secure that future?"

"Heh?" Upon hearing this, Shen Guangzuo's lips curled into a mocking sneer: "You still care about this? Didn't you resent me for treating Wenlong more well than your own son during the day?"

Wang Anhui was taken aback, a wronged look on her face. She scolded, "What are you saying, sir! Wenlong is your own nephew, so naturally he is also my nephew. How could I not care about his future?" As she spoke, she continued to untie the sash of Shen Guangzuo's outer robe.

“That’s a deputy general in charge of military affairs in a region. How can you settle this with just one gift?” Shen Guangzuo was too lazy to argue with her anymore. With a hint of impatience, he unfurled his sleeves and let her help him undress. “Go prepare again. Next time, double the amount.”

"Double it?!" Wang Anhui's hand suddenly stopped, and her voice rose sharply: "Master! The Longjing tea, jade brush, ancient paintings, gold, silver and silk that were sent out today, amount to nearly four hundred taels! And you want to double it?"

"Is four hundred taels a lot?" Shen Guangzu rolled his eyes at her and said irritably, "That's a Grand Secretary of the Cabinet. Even if I'm willing to give it to him, Prime Minister Shen might not be willing to accept it!"

"You won't accept it?" Wang asked, puzzled. "Why not? Is it because you think the gift is too meager?"

"I'm too lazy to argue with you about this!" Shen Guangzu was annoyed and didn't want to go into the complicated official matters with her. "Just do as I tell you to prepare the gifts! Why all the nonsense?"

Wang Anhui frowned and calculated, "Four hundred taels plus eight hundred taels, that's about twelve hundred taels in total. Wenlong only sent one thousand taels over. I'm afraid we'll have to use our own money."

"What do you mean by using your own money?" Shen Guangzu suddenly flared up as if he had been ignited, exploding in anger: "Is that all you've got? You're so short-sighted! Let me tell you, I won't touch a single tael of the thousand taels that Wenlong sent from Liaodong to bribe officials!"

Wang Anhui flinched at his shout, but then raised her eyebrows and said in a slightly louder voice, "Don't touch his money? The master wants to use it."

"Look! Look!" Shen Guangzuo suddenly ripped off his outer garment, which he had just taken off, and threw it hard on the bed. He walked a few steps to the center of the room, pointed at Wang Shi's nose, and scolded, "You're here again! You've really wasted these decades of your life! You're almost fifty, and your knowledge and mind are still inferior." He stopped abruptly halfway through his sentence, swallowing the name back down.

But Madam Wang had already discerned the unspoken meaning. As if pricked by a needle, her voice instantly trembled with grievance, and her eyes reddened: "Not as good as... not as good as my sister, is that it? Master, are you saying that my knowledge will never be as good as my sister's, is that it?"

"Yes! You're no match for her! Not even close!" Shen Guangzuo had initially wanted to save face, but now that she had directly pointed it out, he simply stopped holding back. His pent-up disappointment and frustration erupted in a fit of rage: "Back then, my brother-in-law passed away early, and the Mao family fell into decline. I took my sister and her three orphaned sons into my home to support them. Did she ever utter a single complaint or say a single 'no'? Unlike you, who's always calculating every penny. You complain the moment you spend a little money! Aren't you just afraid I'll use the money I left for your sons? I'm not trying to be mean..."

Shen Guangzuo became more and more agitated as he spoke, his finger pointing at her trembling slightly: "With your narrow-mindedness and limited vision, if I were to kick the bucket one day, would your good-for-nothing son be able to protect this family business? Sooner or later, it would be swallowed up whole! My kindness to Wenlong today is my kindness to your son!"

These words were like a sharp knife, piercing Wang's deepest pain. Her face turned deathly pale, her lips trembled, and tears welled up in her eyes.

Shen Guangzuo grew angrier as he spoke, and seeing her crying and sobbing only fueled his anger. He angrily grabbed the robe he had just thrown on the bed, turned around, and left.

He flung open the door. Outside, several servants stood trembling, carrying copper basins and kettles of hot water, clearly having heard the commotion inside. Shen Guangzu was already furious, and seeing them only fueled his anger. He roared, "Get out of here! Don't get in my way!"

The servants were terrified and hurriedly staggered back into the corridor, clearing a path for them. Shen Guangzu didn't even glance at them, and strode angrily toward the study in the west wing. His figure quickly disappeared into the dark corridor.

After the heavy footsteps faded into the distance, Wang Shi's sobbing, which she could no longer suppress, finally came from the main room.

Outside the door, the servants looked at each other, frozen in place with their cups of cooling hot water, unsure of what to do.

--------

As dawn broke, dewdrops from the previous night still clung to the glazed tiles of the Forbidden City. The sedan chair carrying Fang Congzhe passed through the Dong'an Gate and the Donghua Gate, and came to a steady stop in front of the Cabinet Office.

Fang Congzhe climbed out of the sedan chair, straightened the wrinkles on his scarlet robe, took a deep breath, and then stepped into the duty room. Inside, the candlelight was bright, casting indistinct shadows.

As Fang Congzhe stepped into the duty room, Shen greeted him with his usual smile. Liu Yizhu and Han Kuang were talking in hushed tones when they saw Fang Congzhe enter, and they immediately stopped talking and looked at him. Ye Xianggao and Shi Jixie also looked up from their documents, and together with Liu Yizhu and Han Kuang, they stood up and bowed to Fang Congzhe. "Grand Secretary."

"Good morning, everyone." Fang Congzhe smiled and returned the greetings to everyone, then walked straight to his seat.

"Serve tea!" Shen called out as he walked to the door. Fang Congzhe sat down behind the main desk, his gaze sweeping over the stack of memorials on the table, which had clearly been sorted. The ink on the title page of the top book was still fresh. He habitually picked it up and unfolded it.

After reading only a few lines, Fang Congzhe's already furrowed brows suddenly tightened, as if they were being tightly bound by invisible threads.

That was a memorial submitted by Hui Shiyang, a supervising secretary specializing in engineering—"A Memorial Impeaching the Treacherous Relatives of the Empress."

Your Majesty, Hui Shiyang, Supervising Secretary of the Ministry of Works, respectfully submits this memorial: We impeach Marquis Li Mingcheng of Wuqing and his successor Li Guorui for heinous crimes, and earnestly request Your Majesty to make a swift and just judgment to uphold justice and discipline.

Your Majesty, I believe that the establishment of the system of honoring meritorious officials and their relatives was originally intended to commend their outstanding achievements, not to allow them to abuse their power and influence to corrupt the country and harm the people. Therefore, the families of meritorious officials should be known for their loyalty, diligence, and adherence to the law. How could it be that, under Your Majesty's wise rule, some have dared to act with impunity, corrupting the court, deceiving the emperor for personal gain, and persecuting virtuous people, as exemplified by Marquis Wuqing, Li Mingcheng, and his son, Li Guorui!
I have received great favor from the Emperor and have been entrusted with the responsibility of offering advice. If I were to remain silent out of fear of punishment, I would be betraying my original loyalty and integrity, failing in my duty of upholding discipline, and disgracing His Majesty's special grace. I hereby list ten of my most egregious crimes and present them to His Majesty.

Marquis Li Mingcheng of Wuqing, being a relative of the emperor and enjoying great favor from the state, should have been extremely cautious. Yet, he dared to organize a merchant caravan to smuggle ironware in Guangning, which was a violation of the law and intended to supply the enemy, the Tatars. Ironware is a vital military and national asset; to supply it to the enemy court is to use the enemy's troops to provide them with provisions, thus undermining the court's grand plan for border defense. This is his first crime.

The Liaodong military pay was the lifeblood of the soldiers and the blood and sweat of the common people. Mingcheng and his son, in Tianjin and Shandong, repeatedly embezzled vast sums under the pretext of "drifting," and even attempted to disrupt sea routes to perpetuate the scarcity in Liaodong, artificially inflating prices, causing soldiers at the front to suffer hunger and illness, and shaking the morale of the nine border armies. This was their second crime.

Shen Caiyu, the commander of the Tianjin Central Guard, was guilty of corruption and bribery, and the evidence against him was irrefutable. The Embroidered Uniform Guard was ordered to arrest him, but Mingcheng and his son dared to leak imperial secrets, shielding him and obstructing the arrest, showing utter disregard for the law. This was their third crime.

Recently, rumors have suddenly spread in the capital that the "Nine Lotus Bodhisattva has manifested," falsely claiming divine punishment. In reality, this is the work of Mingcheng and his son, who secretly commissioned wicked monks and sorcerers to deceive His Majesty with supernatural powers and charlatans, hoping to instill fear in the Emperor and protect their treacherous schemes. This is an act of disrespecting the divine and undermining the state. This is their fourth crime.

The Mingcheng father and son, relying on their power, acted tyrannically, seizing thousands of acres of farmland, demolishing houses, causing people to be displaced and filled with resentment. The entire capital region was turned into their private estate. This is their fifth crime.

His clothing, furnishings, and utensils were in a manner that surpassed the emperor's. He built mansions adorned with carved dragons and painted phoenixes, exceeding all regulations in height. His mausoleums were built to conform to the standards of the imperial palace, with gates and halls all modeled after those of the inner palace, revealing his treacherous intentions. This is the sixth of his crimes.

He indulged his servants, disregarding human life. He forcibly abducted women, beat innocent people to death, and the officials, fearing his power, dared not question him. The streets, both inside and outside the capital, were filled with the spirits of the wronged. This was his seventh crime.

He colluded with eunuchs to spy on the inner palace. He always learned of news from within the court in advance and made arrangements to avoid court criticism. This was his eighth crime.

They controlled the canal transport and monopolized market profits. Merchants and travelers were not allowed to pass, and ordinary people were not allowed to sell their goods. They amassed all the profits to line their own pockets. This was their ninth crime.

He formed cliques and secretly cultivated personal favors. Civil and military officials were not promoted unless they were his protégés; the power of reward and punishment almost entirely rested with him. This is his tenth crime.

All ten crimes were confirmed through thorough investigation, not mere speculation. Mingcheng and his son, guilty of these ten crimes, show no remorse, instead using the imperial edict as a shield, believing the Emperor will surely remember their past favors and grant leniency. I have heard of Your Majesty's edict of leniency; this must be due to your close advisors receiving heavy bribes and lobbying on your behalf. Has Your Majesty forgotten the late Emperor's admonitions?

In the past, although my late emperor showed favor to his relatives by marriage, he never allowed them to break the law. Now, the crimes of Mingcheng and his son far surpass those of any meritorious relative in the past. If Your Majesty were to disregard the law for personal favors, how would you win the hearts of the people? How would you face the spirits of our ancestors?
We humbly beseech Your Majesty to act decisively and bring Li Mingcheng and his son Li Guorui to justice. Their embezzlement of Liaodong military funds should be immediately recovered and used to replenish the funds; their collusion with foreign powers should be dealt with according to the law of treason; their transgressions should result in the demolition of their residences; and their spreading of heresies should be severely punished. Then, a proclamation should be issued to the world to demonstrate Your Majesty's impartiality and impartiality, showing that even relatives are not spared.

In this way, the order of the state will be restored, the world will submit, the borders will be fortified, and the treacherous will be eliminated. If Your Majesty condones and tolerates evil, I fear that meritorious officials and relatives will follow suit, the law of the land will be disregarded, and the nation will be in peril. These words will surely incur the deep hatred of Mingcheng and his son, and their cronies. However, I am not afraid of being torn to pieces; I only beg Your Majesty to remember the hardships endured by Emperor Taizu and Emperor Chengzu in establishing the dynasty, and the heavy trust placed in you by the late Emperor, and to act decisively to secure the stability of the dynasty. I eagerly await Your Majesty's command!
Fang Congzhe's heart sank. The emperor's decree to grant leniency and postpone the punishment of Marquis Wuqing had only reached the cabinet two days ago and had been delayed. How could it be that only two nights later, the censors had already submitted a memorial impeaching him?
Fang Congzhe raised his head, his gaze slowly sweeping over his colleagues in the duty room. His colleagues, each with their own emotions, looked at him, clearly having read the contents of the memorial before him.

"Regarding the Marquis of Wuqing," Fang Congzhe put down his memorial and scanned the crowd. "Have any of you discussed this with anyone?"

There was a moment of silence in the duty room.

Ye Xianggao didn't say a word, he just slowly shook his head.

"Your Excellency is wise," Shi Jixie said as Fang Congzhe's gaze swept over him. "I went home after my official duties were over these past two days and haven't received any guests."

“I did meet with guests,” Shen said frankly, “but I never mentioned this matter, not a single word. It must have been leaked from somewhere else, right?” As he spoke, Shen turned his gaze to Liu Yizhu and Han Kuang.

Liu Yiju rolled his eyes. "What is the point of speaking if you don't keep your word? I promised the Grand Secretary I wouldn't spread this around, so I won't."

Han Kuang frowned and hesitated for a moment. "I have heard people talk about this before."

"I heard it from someone?" Shen immediately followed up, "Who?"

Han Kuang ignored him and looked at Fang Congzhe: "Wang Wenyan, a student of the Imperial Academy. If the Grand Secretary wishes to see him, I can bring him to see you this afternoon after the court session."

"Alright. Everyone, please continue with your work." Fang Congzhe waved his hand wearily, lowered his head, picked up the memorial again, and continued to read it. However, the more he read, the heavier his mood became.

It wasn't just Hui Shiyang. Memorials from six or seven officials from the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Revenue, the Henan Circuit, and the Yunnan Circuit were also included, their contents largely the same: all acting on the news, citing classical texts, impeaching Marquis Wuqing, and opposing the pardon. Their tone was either impassioned or sorrowful, as if Li Guorui were an unpardonable traitor, deserving of death to appease public anger.

A sense of powerlessness gripped Fang Congzhe. Deep down, he also believed that the Marquis of Wuqing was guilty of grave crimes and deserved severe punishment. However, the emperor's intention was clear—to protect him, at least for now. Now that the imperial edict had been leaked, the censors were launching a massive attack, and he, the Grand Secretary, was caught between the emperor and the court, in a dilemma. If he obeyed the emperor's will, he would be subjected to public criticism and infamy; if he sided with the censors, he would be going against the emperor's will, and his position as Grand Secretary would be in grave danger. According to the precedents of the previous dynasty, if this stalemate continued, it seemed that he had no other way out but to submit a memorial requesting to retire and return to his hometown.

Fang Congzhe sighed silently and pushed aside the memorials from the officials. He picked up a blank notice book, took a pen, hesitated for a moment, and began to write.

Since yesterday's secret report has gone unanswered, let's submit another one.

(End of this chapter)