Ming Dynasty Detective 1546

Chapter 289 The Power of Thunder
The clapper was struck twice at midnight.

Huo Tao was still pacing back and forth in the study.

The candlesticks on the table were covered with a few inches of wax dripping from the candles, which made the wrinkles on his face appear even deeper.

The three sons were ordered to search for their subordinates in the imperial court. Yesterday they went smoothly, but today none of them have returned.

A deep sense of unease settled over him.

Has Yan Song already made his move?
Is it really that fast?

So brazenly?

"Master! Master!"

Just as I was wondering if there was any other way, the loyal servant, who had been temporarily promoted to steward, stumbled through the doorway, his hat askew, and roared, "Young Master... Young Master, he..."

"Say!"

"The eldest young master has been captured by the Imperial Guards!"

The book in Huo Tao's hand fell to the ground with a thud, but his pupils reflected the red glow of the flickering torches outside the window.

With a loud crash, the front gate of the mansion was kicked open.

The clanging of chains mingled with the thud of boots on the ground, washing over the screen wall like a tide.

Tan Jing, the commander of a thousand households, took the lead and went straight into the inner courtyard: "By imperial decree, please speak with Grand Secretary Huo of the Northern Garrison!"

The old steward slammed his knees to the ground, trembling violently, but Huo Tao flicked his sleeve and sneered: "By imperial decree? His Majesty is currently fasting and praying for the Empress Dowager's well-being. What decree are you following?"

Tan Jing flicked his waist token, his robes fluttering in the night wind: "The case is being handled by Grand Secretary Yan, the Assistant Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, as ordered by His Majesty himself! Does Grand Secretary Huo intend to defy the imperial decree?"

"Good! What a fine 'assistant manager'!"

Huo Tao let out a chilling sneer, but he stopped arguing, bent down to pick up the book, and slowly dusted off the cover.

The servants who were initially panicked calmed down a bit when they saw their master's demeanor.

Tan Jing's gaze was originally sweeping over the Huo residence, calculating how many treasures he could find during the subsequent raid.

But seeing this scene, they couldn't help but restrain their arrogance.

This person may not be able to defeat Yan Song.

However, they are not easy to deal with.

"lead the way!"

Sure enough, as the old minister stepped proudly across the threshold, Tan Jing heard his words, each one as firm as iron: "Even if my bones are reduced to ashes in the imperial prison—"

"I also want His Majesty to see the true face of that old traitor Yan Song!"

"We must teach the world to see clearly what a treacherous official is!"

Huo Tao's words were filled with intense resentment.

He knew he had lost this round.

Yan Song was by no means as weak and easily bullied as originally thought.

On the contrary, this old thief's methods are even more formidable than Zhang Gong's.

Zhang Cong was ruthless, devoted to public service, and unafraid of offending the imperial court;

Yan Song was cunning and treacherous, using his position for personal gain and winning over the hearts and minds of his superiors and subordinates.
But when it came to actually drawing his sword, Yan Song proved to be far more ruthless than Zhang Cong!
"It doesn't matter!"

"Back then, we fought with blood and tears for the 'Great Ceremony' in the imperial court, which is why Emperor Ruizong's spirit tablet is enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple today. How could Your Majesty forget this contribution that secured the dynasty?"

"Does the old villain Yan Song want to use the imperial prison to eliminate all the old officials of the Dali era?"

"wishful thinking!!"

This idea is not wrong.

Historically, Huo Tao fought with Xia Yan and was imprisoned, which was how he returned to the imperial court.

Emperor Jiajing's feelings for the Great Rites Controversy Group were indeed different from those for his other ministers; he had a deep affection for them.

But soon.

Huo Tao then discovered that the situation was developing in a way that was very different from what he had expected.

Before the black iron gate of the Northern Garrison Command, torches tore a blood-red gap in the night.

Huo Tao was, after all, a Grand Secretary, and it wasn't necessary for him to be shackled and imprisoned.

But when he squinted his eyes, stung by the firelight, and looked at the stone path ahead, he found more than twenty disheveled officials kneeling there, each with a deathly pale face.

"Lord Huo...Lord Huo!"

Zheng Xiaosi, a senior official in the Military Selection Department of the Ministry of War, suddenly rushed forward, but was pulled to the ground by the iron chains: "I'm innocent! I'm innocent!"

His official robe was torn, revealing fresh whip marks on his back, clearly from when he was whipped for resisting the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Huo Tao's heart sank.

His gaze was fixed on those familiar faces.

Zhou Maolan, Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Personnel; Chen Jiude, Censor; Xu Zichen, Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Stud...

They were all his former students and friends!

But none of the comrades who stood shoulder to shoulder with him to remonstrate during the Great Rites Controversy are here.

"What's going on? How could this happen?"

Huo Tao's heart sank.

He originally thought that Yan Song would take this opportunity to wipe out the entire Daliyi Group.

After all, these old men all held considerable prestige in the court and posed a significant obstacle to Yan Song's rule. Given this opportunity, how could the other side possibly tolerate it?

But now, of all the high-ranking officials from the Grand Edicts Group, only he himself is present at the Northern Garrison Command.
Apart from him, the rest were his trusted subordinates who steadfastly followed him.

Huo Tao felt a chill creep up his spine from the soles of his feet—

Even if His Majesty were to consider past relationships, he could at most spare his life.

But those disciples and old friends who had followed him for many years were destined to become sacrifices in this power struggle.

A bloodied and mangled back, and a vacant gaze flashed before his eyes...

Once these trusted confidants are all gone, let alone vying for the position of Grand Secretary, even the current honor of being a Grand Secretary will become a laughing stock in the court and among the people.

Having spent decades navigating the ups and downs of officialdom, Huo Tao knew all too well.

A high-ranking official who can't even protect his own interests can quickly become a plague that everyone avoids.

Those officials who were fawning and flattering yesterday will be scrambling to distance themselves from each other tomorrow.

A chilling wind from the Northern Garrison swept past his graying temples.

In a daze, I seemed to hear Yan Song's soft laughter.

"Wait a minute!"

"Something's wrong!"

Huo Tao was both alarmed by Yan Song's cold and restrained methods and suddenly realized something was amiss.

The more than twenty people arrested at the scene were indeed his close associates. But it was inappropriate to arrest so many of them.

Some were his students, some were his former subordinates, and these were all clearly his confidants.

However, some people did not appear to be very close to him.

For example, the thin figure at the end of the list is Zhou Youren, a second-class Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) in the eleventh year of the Jiajing reign.

This person never openly set foot in the Huo residence; even New Year's greetings were delivered through intermediaries.

The act of seeking refuge was done secretly, and the relationship was unknown to outsiders.

How did Yan Song find out?
"Someone has betrayed me!"

"who!"

"who is it?"

Huo Tao was furious.

In his struggle against Yan Song, he was always on the defensive and suffered setbacks at every turn.

That's all.

But if you are betrayed, that's a completely different story.

Those who know his close associates must be extremely close to him.

Huo Tao could only think of three or four people.

They support and help each other in the imperial court, maintain close contact during festivals, and may even become in-laws through their children's marriage!
There's a ghost among these people!

"Lord Huo, please!"

These thoughts swirled in his mind, and Tan Jing's urging voice reached his ears again. Huo Tao took a deep breath and walked towards the courtyard of the Northern Garrison Command.

He ignored the piercing cries behind him.

It's not that he's cold-blooded or heartless.

If one lingers with confidants at this moment, it would only confirm the charge of forming cliques for personal gain.

Only by keeping our distance can we minimize their suffering.

Upon arriving at a courtyard, Huo Tao was led inside. Steam rose from the tea on the table. Tan Jing gave some instructions to his men and then turned and left.

They just left this Grand Secretary there and ignored him.

Given Huo Tao's temperament, the only way to get him to write a confession would be through torture.

If they force a confession and end up killing the old man, no one can bear the responsibility.

Therefore, the statements in this case could only be obtained by people below.

Seeing that the Imperial Guards ignored him, Huo Tao didn't say anything more and drank the tea in his cup in one gulp.

The warm tea slid down my throat, but it couldn't dispel the chill that ran deep into my bones.

He slowly moved to the window.

The view from here is superb, clearly a deliberate arrangement.

Not far away, along the winding corridors, groups of prisoners were being escorted to the imperial prison.

"Injustice!"

"We've been wronged!"

The mournful cries rose and fell.

Huo Tao watched coldly as more and more familiar faces were driven away like ants, disappearing into the deep, dark gates of the imperial prison.

Huo Tao rebelled against Yan Song.

They arrested his close associates and cronies.

But arresting only this group of people is clearly not enough.

Those officials who opposed the new policies, outwardly complied with the performance evaluation system but inwardly defied it, and went to great lengths to denigrate the strategy of taking over the Hetao region, were also implicated in the case.

Huo Tao silently counted.

In one night, forty or fifty officials of various ranks had been imprisoned.

It doesn't seem like that many.

However, it should be noted that the scale of punishment for Zuo Shunmen's tearful remonstrance was as follows: 134 people were arrested and imprisoned, more than 180 people were flogged in court, 17 of whom were flogged to death on the spot, and about 200 people were subsequently exiled or dismissed from their posts.

In the case of Li Fuda, more than 40 central government officials were punished, including five who were exiled to the frontier and never pardoned, seven who were exiled to border garrisons, eleven who were dismissed from their posts and reduced to commoners, and seventeen who were dismissed from their posts and left idle.

In terms of scale, the scope and impact of the Zuo Shunmen Crying Remonstrance were much greater. However, in fact, the Li Fuda case also dealt a heavy blow to the central government departments. Those forty-odd people were all high-ranking central officials and should not be underestimated.

The same principle applies now.

Forty or fifty officials may not seem like many, but it already exceeds the scale of the Li Fuda case.

And this was only half a night.

It's clearly not over yet.

It's just the beginning.

When Yan Song made a move, it was truly a thunderous and overwhelming force.

As for whether such commotion will interfere with government affairs...

No need to worry at all.

The Zuo Shunmen Crying Remonstrance brought misfortune upon more than two hundred officials, yet did it not cause any disruption to the functioning of the imperial court?
Instead, it ended the debate over rites, and the court began new policies, making the country better governed than before.

In this world, there may be many talented people who are not given the opportunity to shine, but there is never a shortage of officials.

"Yan Song..."

"Yan Jiexi! Yan Jiexi!"

Huo Tao stood by the window until the third watch of the night, the chill penetrating to his very bones.

He suddenly gave a bitter laugh.

In terms of using power to eliminate dissidents, Yan Song's methods of promoting Liu Shuxiang to the position of Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture and the subsequent subtle hints he made were child's play compared to Yan Song's.

perhaps……

Should this mantle of Zhang Gong truly be inherited by this person?
The new policy faced numerous obstacles, but only Yan Song was able to overcome them and carry it out resolutely.
What then is the point of one's own struggle?
Just as I was feeling somewhat disheartened and self-deprecating, a familiar figure stepped into the courtyard.

The man was not shackled; instead, his gaze darted around, as if searching for something.

Huo Tao's pupils contracted sharply, and his withered fingers gripped the window frame tightly.

The other person's name, spat out from between his teeth, carried a metallic stench—

"Huang Wan?"

"You betrayed me?"

(End of this chapter)