Top Scholar

Chapter 298 (Updated)
Therefore, just because you didn't do something doesn't mean no one will notice your intentions.

As we know it now, many discerning people have guessed that Huang Bingxian originally intended to marry his daughter to the Yang family...

As people get older, they become more protective of their children. The old headmaster regarded Su Lu as a continuation of his political ideals, so naturally he would not allow Xiao Tixue to harm him. He could not even have such thoughts!
Despite being a high-ranking official of the fourth rank and the provincial education commissioner, Xiao Chong dared not provoke the old headmaster who could speak with powerful figures in the imperial court.

~~
After giving Su Lu a brief reminder not to get too close to Xiao Tixue, the old headmaster smiled and said, "Would you like to see the official gazette?"

"Absolutely!" Su Lu immediately rubbed his hands together, eagerly awaiting another update to the exciting court intrigue drama.

The old headmaster then handed him the latest issue of the Imperial Archives, saying, "It was worth the month-long wait; it's absolutely fantastic!"

"Let me see, let me see," Su Lu said excitedly as he took it.

"If the girl wants to watch it, she can watch it too. He'll tell you about it later anyway," the old mountain chief said understandingly.

"Thank you, Grandpa," Huang E said with a sweet smile, then snuggled up to Su Lu and began reading the official gazette...

~~
Su Lu first briefly explained the background to Huang E... Previously, Emperor Zhengde had avoided meeting with the cabinet and even wanted the cabinet to draft a proposal directly according to the imperial edict, but unsurprisingly, it was rejected.

Afterwards, the entire cabinet resigned, but the emperor persuaded them to stay, and the turmoil temporarily subsided.

But everyone knows that neither side will give up easily.

Especially the senior officials in the cabinet, if they don't curb the emperor's arrogance and disregard for the law, the Ming Dynasty will have to change hands in the future!
Su Lu judged at the time that the cabinet would target the "Eight Tigers".

He was absolutely right. After nearly two months of coordination and preparation, the cabinet launched a full-scale attack on the eight tigers last month!

The impeachment was spearheaded by Han Wen, the Minister of Revenue, and jointly submitted by officials from the Cabinet, the Six Ministries and Nine Ministers, and the Censorate. Li Mengyang, the leading figure in the literary world, penned the petition, which opened with a passionate and impassioned statement:
"We, your humble servants, humbly believe that a ruler's wisdom lies in discerning treacherous individuals, and a subject's loyalty lies in defying the emperor's authority. Therefore, the wicked among the wicked, approaching the emperor's side, pose a significant threat to the state and plunge the realm into chaos!"

He then tearfully exposed how Liu Jin and others "created elaborate schemes and indulged in debauchery," leading the emperor to become obsessed with "playing polo and riding horses" and "releasing hawks and chasing dogs."

Liu Jin and his cronies also "recruited rogues, harmed the people for personal gain," forcibly seized land, demolished houses, and abducted children, leading to "impoverishment and banditry throughout the country, and frequent floods and droughts," to the point that "the order of heaven was disrupted and the earth's energy was in turmoil." If the eunuchs were continued to be tolerated, it would endanger the "empire's cause"!
Then, he movingly recalled the arduous founding of the Ming Dynasty and the late emperor's dying instructions. After finishing his farewell address, he relentlessly criticized Emperor Zhengde, accusing him of indulging in pleasure, favoring eunuchs, and alienating loyal ministers. He cited the Ten Attendants of the Han and Tang dynasties and the Ganlu Incident as examples, urging the emperor to pay attention to the dangers of favoring eunuchs!

Finally, he strongly urged the emperor to "act decisively and resolutely, setting aside personal favors," and to "arrest Liu Jin and the other eight tigers and send them to the judicial authorities for public execution," so as to "prevent the seeds of future chaos!"
With his powerful writing skills and burning anger, Leader Li naturally turned this impeachment into a powerful battle cry!

Su Lu was deeply shocked after reading the "Memorial on Impeachment of the Eunuchs" and couldn't help but exclaim: "Indeed, there are always people more capable than you, and there are always mountains beyond mountains. Leader Li's proclamation is comparable to Chen Lin's. After reading it, I feel that the Eight Tigers are simply heinous and outrageous, and if they are not killed, the country will perish."

"Yes, it is said that the emperor was so shocked after reading it that he wept and could not eat or sleep day and night." The old headmaster nodded and said calmly, "But it was probably not because of the proclamation itself, but because of the person who signed it."

“Yes, he’s not fighting alone, but with a group!” Su Lu nodded emphatically. “This group is called the ‘Civil Official Group’!”

"Yes, this time the cabinet, along with all the civil officials, has launched an impeachment. If the Emperor doesn't agree, it will be a complete break with his own court!" the old headmaster said in a deep voice.

"This is clearly the work of Grand Secretary Liu. He doesn't get entangled with the Eight Tigers, but mobilizes all the civil officials to force the Emperor to submit. After all, the Emperor is only sixteen years old and has only been on the throne for a year. It's hard for him to withstand such strong pressure."

"This is treating the Emperor like a child and trying to scare him," Su Lu chuckled.

"Hehe," the old headmaster couldn't help but laugh, "Who says otherwise?"

"..." Huang E listened silently, secretly wondering what the old academy master was talking about with Hongzhi.
Her father never discussed any business matters with her and her siblings...

"Was the Emperor frightened?" Su Lu asked.

"They're completely terrified. If they don't agree, the court will go on strike. The Emperor is too young to bear such serious consequences." The old headmaster nodded.

"Not only the Emperor, but the Eight Tigers were also so frightened that they covered their heads and cried, believing that the end was near."

He paused for a moment and then continued, "After a night of fear and anxiety, the emperor sent the Grand Eunuch Wang Yue to the Wenyuan Pavilion to appease the three Grand Secretaries and ask them to offer terms for reconciliation."

"A treaty signed under duress," Su Lu said softly.

"Yes," the old mountain chief sighed, "His Majesty is already preparing to surrender."

"The cabinet will naturally not be polite. The Grand Secretary has stated that those eight lackeys must be killed to appease public anger." He then chuckled and added, "And Liu Jin is also unlucky, because the person who hates him the most is none other than Eunuch Wang." "Two tigers cannot share one mountain," Su Lu commented.

"That's right. Because of his position as the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, Eunuch Wang couldn't fawn over the Emperor like the Eight Tigers, and thus became estranged from him. Naturally, the Emperor wished he could get rid of him as soon as possible," the old headmaster continued.
"So instead of advising the Grand Secretaries as the Emperor had instructed, he went back directly to report to the Emperor that the Grand Secretariat must kill the Eight Tigers!"

"The Eight Tigers wept bitterly and knelt at the Emperor's feet, begging for mercy. The Emperor, reluctant to part with his eight close companions, sent another person to the Grand Secretariat to plead for their lives, hoping that the Grand Secretaries would spare their lives and promising to expel them from the capital."

"But the cabinet's attitude remained extremely firm, indicating that there was absolutely no possibility of negotiation and that they would not rest until the Eight Tigers were killed!" The old mountain chief sighed and said, "At this time, the Eight Tigers were completely terrified and asked someone to send a message to the cabinet, indicating that they would leave the capital for Nanjing and never return to the court."

As he spoke, he asked Su Lu, "If you were a Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, what would you do in this situation?"

“If he’s a student, we can persuade him a little more and he’ll agree,” Su Lu replied. “Everything in excess is bad. Even a rabbit will bite when cornered, let alone a rebellious young emperor.”

Fearing the old headmaster might not understand, he explained further: "At this age, commonly known as the 'rebellious phase,' if you push them too far, they won't care about anything else; they might even commit murder or arson."

"I see..." Headmaster Pang smiled in realization, "Your explanation is particularly convincing."

"Pfft..." Huang E couldn't help but laugh.

"Aren't you worried that the Emperor is just stalling for time, and that he'll recall them once the storm has passed?" Pang Shanchang asked cautiously.

“People might act impulsively and do something with too much cost and too little reward, but over time, they're unlikely to do it again,” Su Lu said confidently.
"Furthermore, the emperor is never short of sycophants. Once they leave, there will be plenty of people who want to take their place. Soon the emperor will have 'forgotten his old love for a new one,' so there's no need to provoke public anger for a few eunuchs."

“Your attitude is the same as Grand Secretary Li’s,” the old mountain elder sighed, “but the Grand Secretary, Grand Secretary Xie, and the Six Ministries and Nine Ministers do not think so. They still insist on executing the Eight Tigers and will never compromise!”

“There’s a limit to how much you can bully your master. If the two Grand Secretaries insist that His Majesty kill the Eight Tigers, people will easily say that they have ulterior motives and want to completely subdue His Majesty!” Su Lu said worriedly.

"Grand Secretary Li also advised the other leaders that as long as the Emperor stays away from the Eight Tigers, that will be enough. If they continue to pressure him, things might change." The old headmaster sighed again, clearly indicating that the problem was so serious that even the most cheerful people couldn't be happy anymore.

"Unfortunately, the Grand Secretary and his allies were too caught up in the moment and considered Grand Secretary Li a capitulationist, so they scoffed at his words."

Su Lu then learned that these seemingly firsthand accounts were from Li Dongyang's letter to the old headmaster...

"To be fair, the cabinet still has the upper hand at this point. As long as they persist without doing anything else, the Emperor will most likely still punish the Eight Tigers and appease public anger," the old headmaster said with a wry smile.

"Unfortunately, some foolish person, thinking they knew best, added something superfluous. Guess who it was?"

Huang E opened her mouth silently, making a "woo" sound, but she held back. A smart woman would not express any political views in front of outsiders.

“Wang Yue, the eunuch in charge of ceremonies.” Su Lu had the same thought as her.

"That's right. Given his status, he should have firmly stood by the Emperor's side at this time, but he was so eager to get rid of Liu Jin that he actually led the Grand Eunuchs of the Directorate of Ceremonial to persuade the Emperor to stop protecting the Eight Tigers, or else... and so on..."

"What idiots! Isn't this just giving them a handle to use against us?!" Su Lu said angrily, "If they don't say anything, no matter how loudly the civil officials protest, they can still have a moral high ground. But now that they've gotten involved, doesn't that make it collusion between insiders and outsiders? Which emperor can tolerate that?!"

"..." Huang E was stunned. She never expected that her future husband had been trained to this extent by the old mountain master.

"Yes, but the Emperor is still young and didn't think of that that night. He was almost at his breaking point, and after being frightened by the palace's chief eunuch, he agreed to let the Eastern Depot arrest the Eight Tigers," the old headmaster said in a deep voice.

"But since the palace gates were already locked, Wang Yue and his men decided to arrest people the next day."

“Then at least we should take them under control first. Can’t the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs handle this kind of thing?” Su Lu asked.

“Of course they could have done it, but they just didn’t, which is why they’re called fools.” The old mountain chief said to Su Lu, “Remember, in the future, it’s better to cooperate with bad people than with fools.”

"Yes, disciple will remember your teachings," Su Lu replied hurriedly in a deep voice.

"Upon learning of this, the Eight Tigers finally seized a glimmer of hope and rushed to the Emperor overnight, using this opportunity to turn the tide!" The old mountain master sighed helplessly for the umpteenth time.

P.S. My eyelids are so swollen I can barely open them today, which greatly affects my writing speed. You can read the next chapter tomorrow morning...

(End of this chapter)