Daming: Internship also counts as work experience

Chapter 181 Only Two Thousand Households Arrived
It had to be the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Commander Lu was the first to receive the news and rushed into the courtyard, shouting loudly.

Just then, everyone in the courtyard was sunbathing, and Chen Mo immediately stood up and asked Jia Chuan, "Shouldn't you go out of the city to greet them?"

Jia Chuan thought for a moment and said, "You go ahead, I won't go. Those people might still have people left in Kaifeng. If I go out, I'll easily get killed. I think the people from the capital will understand. Just make it sound more serious."

Chen Mo and Gao Yuntian quickly went back inside to change into work clothes, and then hurriedly left the courtyard with Lu Baihu.

Gao Yunduo slowly moved her feet in the courtyard, letting her back face the warm sun, and then asked, "Didn't you deduce that they had more powerful people? How come they are so calm? Shouldn't they have tried to come in again to see if they could kill you? They must know which courtyard you live in."

Jia Chuan swayed back and forth in his recliner and said, "We've left the old man and the bald man behind. I think the rest of them are probably there to protect these important figures in Kaifeng. They won't be sent out easily."

"How many?" Gao Yunduo waved her hand lightly and said, "Never mind that, you haven't said why they used the dismembered corpses to lure you to the secret passage?"

Jia Chuan sat up, then stood up, leaving the recliner to sway alone.

"Sometimes, being too confident is really not a good thing. I can almost picture an old man stroking his beard in a study, saying in the dim candlelight, 'Hmph, let's see if he'll be scared to death.'"

Dong Yuanyuan stroked Hanguang's fur, looked up and asked, "Does he think that because he finds it scary, others should also be scared?"

"It was indeed terrifying. Your Uncle Zheng was so scared that he threw up all the good food he ate during the New Year. But in my opinion, it was completely unnecessary. What he wanted was for me to go down into the tunnel, panic, and be attacked from both sides. They didn't expect us to go looking for us ourselves. Originally, they were waiting for the vultures to fly out and deliver the message after they had eaten their fill. The way they would deliver the message was probably by scattering blood and flesh along the way. I don't know, that's my guess. Anyway, they felt that they had the time in their hands, but..."

"If our eldest brother was really scared as they think, and fainted from vomiting, wouldn't all their efforts have been in vain?"

"That's right. On one hand, they thought I would be scared, and on the other hand, they thought I could find the secret door. It's a dilemma. But because we found it ourselves, we were ahead of schedule. That's why Chen Mo and the others didn't come face to face with the bald man when they went down. Instead, the bald man chased after them from behind when they were walking back. And the old man didn't have time to go down the tunnel. So here's the question: they just entered the city, how could they know so much about the herb gathering bureau?"

“There will definitely be someone to guide us!” Dong Yuanyuan said.

Jia Chuan nodded and said, "It's a pity it was too dark that night; we could only see it when we got closer."

"Is the person who led the way still at the herb-gathering bureau?" Mu Lian asked.

Jia Chuan shook his head and said, "They know the Bureau of Herb Collection better than we do, and I don't have enough manpower. Let them investigate these matters. I'm already doing well to have investigated this far. I was just saying that one shouldn't be too confident. It's difficult for me to do this, but easy for others. Naturally, I should leave the opportunities to them. It's not the way of an official to take all the credit."

"You still want a promotion?"

"No, no! What I mean is, don't annoy people. Even if we don't work together anymore, we should still leave a good reputation, right?"

……

Jia Chuan had considered which officials Zhu Zhanji would send. He hoped it would be Zhang Zheng, but he also knew that Zhang Zheng and Xu Gong were probably still digging and digging on that small hill in Xian County. He didn't know many of the other officials, but he was worried that someone who wasn't very bright would come and wouldn't be able to explain his work clearly, which would be troublesome.

And right now he really doesn't dare to leave the herb-gathering bureau. Although he feels that since he has deduced to this point, killing him is meaningless, if those people are stubborn and think that as long as he dies, this matter will be inseparable from the Prince of Han in the eyes of the emperor, and his death will have a great significance in turning the tide.

These people probably felt they had a good grasp of the situation. At this time, the emperor would definitely want some evidence of the Prince of Han's crimes, even if it was just the slightest connection, he would pin it on the Prince of Han.

Jia Chuan thought that if it were another emperor, he might have really done so, but Zhu Zhanji should have been able to think about the harm this matter would cause, and it was impossible for him not to consider their true intentions.

So Jia Chuan thought that there would definitely be a lot of officials coming this time, and their rank would not be low. But to his surprise, only two Jinyiwei commanders, Hai Feng and Meng Jun, came with their men.

……

Zhu Zhanji was shocked by the case, especially when Jia Chuan proposed in his letter to exhume Zhu Su's body for an autopsy. This was tantamount to telling Zhu Zhanji that Jia Chuan suspected Zhu Su might have been poisoned.

Zhu Zhanji also had doubts about the death of his fifth grandfather. His father had just given his fifth grandfather a comfortable old age, which could be considered to have completely ended his grandfather's life of constant scapegoating. However, a few days later, news came that his fifth grandfather had contracted a serious illness and died despite medical treatment.

At the time, this incident did not cause much of a stir. Zhu Zhanji was on his way to Nanjing, and the emperor wanted to move the capital, so he needed Zhu Zhanji to guard Nanjing first. The incident caused a much greater uproar in the court than the death of a prince.

But Zhu Zhanji did have an impression of it.

After reading Jia Chuan's first letter, Zhu Zhanji did wait a few more days. He needed Jia Chuan to tell him what these people wanted the poison for. Zhu Su had been dead for almost a year, but they had not stopped. It seemed that Zhu Su was just a big obstacle in their way, not their goal.

Who are likely to be involved? This is very important to Zhu Zhanji, after all, the death of the emperor was too sudden.

Although Zhu Zhanji remained calm, he still ordered Liu Mian to send more Imperial Guards to Kaifeng. He realized that Jia Chuan lacked manpower and felt that Jia Chuan's official rank was too low. If the Prince of Zhou was unwilling to help him, he would likely find it difficult to make any progress. Fortunately, the Prince of Zhou was pragmatic, otherwise...

As for the Duke of Qian's mansion, Zhu Zhanji was well aware that the Mu family would not participate in the struggle for imperial power unless the world was about to change hands and no longer belonged to the Zhu family.

So who else could it be? Who else could it be?
As Jia Chuan deduced, given the existing, somewhat unclear evidence, it would be easy for others to believe that this matter was inextricably linked to the King of Han, and the King of Han would be the most likely person to be involved.

When Zhu Zhanji received Jia Chuan's second letter, he sat there in a daze for almost half an hour.

In this letter, Jia Chuan reported the confessions obtained during the interrogation truthfully, without adding any personal opinions.

Zhu Zhanji originally wanted to lash out. On the one hand, he felt that things were not going in the direction he wanted, and on the other hand, the mastermind behind it all was just a salt merchant. There must also be someone secretly supporting him in the grain transport. And they actually came up with the idea of ​​using poison to blackmail him just because of the relocation of the capital. Whom were they blackmailing? What were they blackmailing him for?
Naturally, this was intended to blackmail those officials who advocated moving the capital. Because Jia Chuan did not include his own deductions in this letter, these conclusions and questions were the causes and effects that Zhu Zhanji himself had thought of. After only a brief moment of consideration, Zhu Zhanji realized that it was not so simple.

Then he thought of moving the capital, which calmed Zhu Zhanji's anger somewhat.

His father advocated moving the capital. His grandfather's slogan, "The emperor guards the nation's gate," was meant to help fight against the remnants of the Northern Yuan. However, after his grandfather's five northern expeditions, his father believed that the pressure on the border had long been reduced. Moreover, Nanjing, as the founding capital, not only demonstrated legitimacy but also had well-developed infrastructure and a prosperous economy. Jiangnan was also a major tax-paying region, and having the capital in Nanjing would facilitate fiscal allocation.

His father was in Nanjing as the crown prince, overseeing the country. Most of the people he trusted were in Nanjing. Moreover, building Beijing into an imperial capital like Nanjing would be a waste of resources and manpower.

Another point is that his father's health seems to be unable to withstand the cold winter in Beijing; Nanjing would be a better fit for him.

However, after Zhu Zhanji ascended the throne, he hesitated to make a decision. Xia Yuanji, the Minister of Revenue, had been imprisoned during the Yongle era for opposing his grandfather's Northern Expedition, which was seen as wasteful of resources and manpower. After his father succeeded to the throne, Xia Yuanji was reinstated and is now the Minister of Revenue. He advocates for recuperation and development. He knows that with the capital in Beijing, the construction of palaces will continue, and the maintenance of the Grand Canal will be a considerable expense. Therefore, Xia Yuanji and Grand Secretary Yang Shiqi both advocate moving the capital back to Nanjing, which would reduce the burden on the people and the amount of money needed for transportation and construction.

However, Grand Secretary Yang Rong and Duke of England Zhang Fu both advocated not moving the capital and keeping it in Beijing. Both of them were acting from a military perspective, adhering to their grandfather's principle of "the emperor guarding the country's gate".

Xia Yuanji had repeatedly suggested that if the capital were moved back to Nanjing, the demand for grain transport could be halved. Moreover, long-distance grain transport resulted in enormous losses, while short-distance transport in Nanjing would have less loss, and the number of laborers and grain transport boats required would be greatly reduced, thus significantly saving the Ministry of Revenue's expenditures. Furthermore, regarding corvée labor, history serves as a warning; there are numerous examples of countries that perished due to excessive corvée labor. Now, let alone Beijing, how many palaces in the Imperial Palace are still waiting to be built and repaired?

At the time, Zhu Zhanji thought that Xia Yuanji's words made sense.

However, Zhu Zhanji was not keen on moving the capital. In his heart, he agreed more with his grandfather's ideas. Moreover, after he ascended the throne, what he was most anxious to deal with was not the matter of moving the capital, but his good second uncle.

Zhu Gaochi was in Shandong, and Zhu Zhanji was not at ease even in Beijing. If he were to return to Nanjing, it would be even further away. Therefore, the matter of moving the capital was temporarily shelved. However, Zhu Zhanji had his own ideas. He had just reread Jia Chuan's letter, and the waves in his heart were still surging. His father had repeatedly shown compassion for the people along the canal, especially the boatmen and porters involved in the canal transport. He had come up with a method for exchanging goods for transport, but it was thwarted by the collusion between officials and merchants. Not only did they take away the benefits that the common people deserved, but they also increased their burden, making them wish they were dead. In the end, the court was made to take the blame!
Zhu Zhanji's anger surged to the top of his head. He raised his hand to knock over the teacup on the imperial desk, but his hand froze in mid-air.

He remembered what his grandfather had told him: after the founding emperor conquered the country, the local officials were still those left over from the Yuan Dynasty. It was impossible to replace them all in a short time. Moreover, stability was the priority in the local areas, so how could there be no one in charge?
These officials were used to corruption. They knew in their minds that the dynasty had changed, but their bad habits had not changed. The founding emperor killed them one after another, as if they could never be killed off. It was as if their fear was nothing in the face of greed, and as if everyone felt that they were protected by God and that it was none of their business if others were in trouble.

Emperor Taizu hated corrupt officials. He tried many methods, even peeling off human skin and covering it on a straw effigy to stand in the county government office as a warning, but to no avail. This made Emperor Taizu hate them even more.

"I once went three days without food, fighting with dogs for scraps. You who live in luxury, do you even know that half a grain of rice contains a universe within it?"

"Those who cry for corrupt officials are surely preparing to become corrupt officials themselves!"

"Don't reach out, or you'll get caught!"

"Those who have never experienced hunger and cold talking about benevolent governance are like fish in a pond discussing the vast ocean."

……

His grandfather had told him his great-grandfather's words over and over again. These words flashed through Zhu Zhanji's mind again and again, and he suddenly understood: those who talk about war on paper will ruin the country, while those who get their feet dirty will bring peace to the country.

Without thoroughly understanding the situation from the ground up, new policies that appear benevolent are actually a tool for those in power to dissect and cripple.

However, it's all good. Zhu Zhanji rubbed his throbbing forehead. Jia Chuan is indeed a lucky general. If this matter is investigated and clarified now, and no trouble is caused, then it's not too late.

Such matters, like that small hill in Xian County, should not be known to more people. If they were passed down to future generations, who would know that a local tyrant and a few corrupt officials thought they could change the political situation, wouldn't that be a huge joke?
……

Chen Mo and Gao Yuntian led Hai Feng and Meng Jun into the courtyard, where everyone had already returned to their houses.

As Jia Chuan lay in bed, he wondered if his actions would make the visiting officials think that he was arrogant and disrespectful because of the emperor's favor.
And since the official should have gone to the government office first, shouldn't he have gone to the government office to pay his respects? It's not that he wants to have fewer enemies in his future career, he doesn't want to be an official, it's just that he has to consider human relationships. He doesn't need to do favors, but he also can't let anyone deliberately trip him up.

Just then, Chen Mo called out from outside, "I'm back." After waiting a moment, he pushed open the door and went inside.

Upon hearing Chen Mo's voice, Jia Chuan sprang out of bed and rushed to the door, asking, "Who's here?"

Jia Chuan and Chen Mo both pushed hard at the door at almost the same time. When the door was pushed open, Jia Chuan saw Hai Feng and Meng Jun dressed like Chen Mo. He was stunned for a moment. Gao Yuntian quickly introduced them: "This is Commander Hai, and this is Commander Meng."

Chen Mo added, "Only the Embroidered Uniform Guards came this time."

"How many people came?" Jia Chuan asked the two men.

Hai Feng frowned. He hadn't even stepped inside yet, and he was already asking?

Meng Jun was also not very happy. Although the commander had told him to obey this Jia Chuan before he came, he should at least exchange a few pleasantries and be offered a cup of tea. This time, it was only the Embroidered Uniform Guard who came. If there were other officials, it would be impolite not to come out of the city to greet them. As for saying that there was a danger to his life, Meng Jun felt that he was not a three-year-old child. With the Embroidered Uniform Guard protecting him, how could his life be in danger?

Hai Feng and Meng Jun exchanged a glance, their faces darkening, and neither uttered a sound.

Chen Mo hurriedly said, "Let's go inside first. They brought two hundred Imperial Guards this time. If you feel that's not enough, you can also transfer troops from nearby garrisons. Commander Liu's idea is that some criminals can be escorted back to the capital first."

Chen Mo went inside and arranged for the two to sit down. Gao Yuntian went to get some hot tea.

Jia Chuan noticed their expressions and gave a wry smile. He was indeed anxious, but he didn't intend to explain. He simply looked at Chen Mo and said, "Arrange for them to rest for a while. We'll make our move after dark."

(End of this chapter)