The Soldier of the Red Mansion

Chapter 215 Come to the door

Many people are waiting for news from the cabinet.

The Inspectorate.

Many people came to Li Chengxian's prison cell; they were all censors among the inspectors, there was a matter concerning Zhang Wenjin, the censor who was the governor of Datong.

"Zhang Wenjin is not wrong."

"He did all good things in Datong, and he deserves praise both publicly and privately." A young censor said excitedly, "He has an excellent reputation, is an honest official, and is deeply loved by the local people."

Everyone knew that the young censor was from the same hometown as Zhang Wenjin, and many people showed their approval for the young censor's willingness to stand up for justice.

“Indeed, Zhang Wenjin is not to blame. The fault lies with Feng Yong. He has been a local tyrant in Datong for years, and the accumulated problems are hard to change, which is why things have turned out this way.” Then someone else also offered their opinion.

“Feng Yong has considerable influence in the capital, and he will definitely contact some people to speak on his behalf and exonerate him.”

"There's another person named Wang Xin. He's just a guerrilla fighter, so we can push the blame onto him. With him helping to share the responsibility, Feng Yong won't dare to offend us too much. If he's smart, he'll put his efforts in Wang Xin's favor."

"That makes sense."

Everyone nodded.

They are shifting the blame onto Feng Yong. If Feng Yong has no way out, he will inevitably rebel against them. Now they have found another scapegoat for Feng Yong. Moreover, Wang Xin and Feng Yong have a grudge, so Feng Yong's choice is obvious.

At that time, Zhang Wenjin was absolved of responsibility, and Feng Yong was busy shifting the blame onto Wang Xin, thus resolving the matter perfectly.

As for what happened to Wang Xin, or how far Feng Yong and Wang Xin had fallen out, they didn't care. Moreover, they were imperial censors, of noble status, and it was possible that Feng Yong was asking them for help to speak on his behalf.

Li Chengxian shook his head. "Grand Secretary Zhang has already gone to see Wang Xin. Let's wait for Grand Secretary Zhang's letter."

Because of the cooperation of civil officials to control the military, most of the censors in the Censorate chose to support Zhang Jifu. Although Zhang Jifu had only been in the capital for a short time, his prestige rose very quickly, and coupled with his power, he was already no less powerful than the Grand Secretary Zhou Daofeng.

"What is Grand Secretary Zhang doing meeting with Wang Xin?"

No one could guess.
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Dressed in casual clothes, Wang Xin arrived at Zhang Jifu's living room under the guidance of the Zhang family's steward. Zhang Jifu smiled and looked at Wang Xin as he entered the room, as if nothing had happened recently and their relationship remained the same as before.

Wang Xin smiled, cupped his hands in greeting, and said with a smile, "Grand Secretary, it's been a long time."

Zhang Jifu gestured for Wang Xin to sit down. The steward and his men served tea and then left with the servants. This time, there was no fanfare, and Zhang Jifu wasn't in the mood for anything else; only the two of them remained in the living room.

"Ignore those impeachments from the censors," Zhang Jifu said bluntly.

"Does the Grand Secretary mean I should admit it?"

The events that occurred outside Datong were very important. Anyone with eyes could see that Datong was facing a huge crisis. So, whose responsibility was it? That's where the officials' mouths started to say.

"Yes," Zhang Jifu admitted calmly, seemingly unconcerned about Wang Xin's anger and opposition, as if he were fully confident.

Wang Xin wasn't angry; he just found it amusing and remarked, "The censors believe that Zhang Wenjin is not only without fault but also meritorious. I believe that with Grand Secretary Zhang's insight, he must be able to see the truth clearly."

The prevailing opinion in the court now is that Feng Yong and Wang Xin were the ones who truly made mistakes, and Zhang Wenjin was merely covering for them. If it weren't for Zhang Wenjin's sense of responsibility, the situation would have been even more dangerous, so the court should reward Zhang Wenjin.

Calling a deer a horse—how shameless are so many people in the court! "To achieve the goal of controlling the military with civil officials, some grievances can be endured," Zhang Jifu said calmly. "However, I believe that with your talent, you are useful to the court, and you are a loyal and virtuous general. It would be a great pity to abandon you. Therefore, I invited you instead of Feng Yong."

Wang Xin didn't say anything more.

Zhang Jifu knew that Wang Xin was a smart man, not just a simple warrior, so he patiently said, "Whether it is right or wrong is not important, and whose responsibility it is is not important. What is important is to control the military with civil means, and to achieve harmony and stability."

"What plans does the Grand Secretary have for me?" Wang Xin asked.

"Go back to Datong and assist Zhang Wenjin in pacifying the Hetao region and suppressing the Hetao rebellion."

Well, the shamelessness of some civil servants is truly something to learn from.

I have to take the blame, do the work myself, and handle the troubles myself. The credit still belongs to them. I've been through a lot, and now I even want to become a civil servant.

Wang Xin wasn't surprised; Zhang Jifu was a man who only looked at reality, not right or wrong, and he had always been like that.

"What benefits would I get?" Wang Xin asked, and to make his stance clear, he said directly, "Feng Yong can't possibly return to Datong. The court can only rely on me right now; they can't rely on the Eastern Army Commander."

The court doesn't only have one general like me, but for now, I'm the most suitable one.

Feng Yong definitely can't go back. If he does, Datong will fall back into his hands, and Zhang Wenjin won't be able to handle it. The only truly capable fighting force in the capital garrison is the Eastern Army, but a portion of the Eastern Army has already been deployed to the Nine Garrisons. Furthermore, the court is suppressing Zhu Wei. If Zhu Wei is allowed to take command of Datong, all previous efforts will be wasted.

As for other border troops, they could also be transferred, but Zhang Jifu's strategy of using civilian officials to control military forces also failed, and it would take at least a few years to resolve the issue.

Zhang Jifu was naturally unwilling. Looking around for his own purposes, he was the only one left. He had two or three thousand men, but he was only a guerrilla general and could still fight. Therefore, sending him back to Datong to resolve the crisis outside the Great Wall would be most beneficial to the court and best suited Zhang Jifu's needs.

Zhang Jifu knew that Wang Xin was a smart man and that he couldn't be fooled by words, nor did he intend to.

"If you quell the rebellion outside Datong and make amends for your past mistakes, the court will agree to establish a separate circuit in Datong and appoint you as a deputy general to lead this circuit." Zhang Jifu explained, "You are too young; you cannot be appointed as a general."

Although he was not a general, he was in fact a general, just without the title.

Zhang Jifu's arrangement was a prudent move, preventing meritorious individuals from having no way to be promoted in the future. Wang Xin was not dissatisfied, but he valued something else more: "What does the Grand Secretary say about the Ministry of War suppressing the merits of my subordinates?"

Zhang Jifu readily promised: "They will all be promoted."

Wang Xin smiled.

Wherever there are people, there is a world of its own; and within that world, there are conflicts. As the saying goes, "Heroes are made by the times," and it is all thanks to the contrast provided by their peers.

The rise of the eunuch faction was due to the Donglin Party's incompetence against the Later Jin in Liaodong.

The success of the Qing Dynasty was the failure of the late Ming Dynasty.

Similarly, if civil officials are truly capable of governing Datong well, then what role will I play? Of course, I can simply lay low, put away my weapons, and obediently accept the policy of civil control over the military.

Wang Xin sighed inwardly, thinking that his competitors were indeed idiots. He was able to remain as stable as Mount Tai only because of the contrast with his peers, not because he was really better than anyone else.

Seeing that Wang Xin did not object and readily agreed, Zhang Jifu was not happy at all. He picked up his teacup and silently drank his tea, thinking to himself, "This boy is really good at keeping his composure."

(End of this chapter)