Top Scholar

Chapter 573 Grand Secretary Yang: Old Wang, don't be so protective!

[It should have been the Grand Princess, not the Princess, because I was so familiar with her that I didn't check the records. I was wrong...]

Watching the Grand Secretaries leave the Directorate of Ceremonial with heavy steps and dejected expressions, Eunuch Liu felt an overwhelming sense of satisfaction.

The gloating that had been there for the past six months was replaced by deep respect in the eyes of Ma Yongcheng, Wei Bin, Gao Feng, and the others.

Only then did Eunuch Liu fully realize that no matter how high one's position, only by constantly winning could one keep everyone in check.

"Hahaha!" He finally couldn't help but burst into laughter, feeling wonderfully comfortable all over.

Seeing Liu Jin unusually cheerful, Ma Yongcheng brought him a cup of tea and pleaded with a smile:

"Brother, please make an exception. Could my Dagongde Temple be lenient? It's the family temple of the Duke of Yingguo. Even if we don't care about the monks, we should at least give him some face. He even went to your residence to ask for help."

"When I came out of the Leopard Chamber, I saw the three princesses crying at the door. Upon inquiring, I learned that their entreaties had pleaded with the Empress Dowager to no avail, and their appeals to the Emperor had also been rejected." Liu Jin gently blew on the steam from his teacup and said slowly.
"What they all want is the same thing as you. So brother, it's not that I don't want to help you, but if I open a door for you today, what will happen to them? How will the Emperor face the world then!"

"Yes, yes, yes." Ma Yongcheng nodded hurriedly and said, "The situation is tense right now, so of course you have to treat everyone equally. Once things have calmed down, you can return the money to us."

Although Wei Bin and Gao Feng didn't say anything, they were all hoping for Liu Jin's approval, clearly thinking it was a good idea.

"Keep dreaming! The money already reported to the Emperor is not to be shortchanged!" Liu Jin waved his hand impatiently.
"Alright, stop thinking about taking advantage without ever wanting to suffer losses. Do you think you're lacking in ways to make money? You can make up for the losses inside the temple with other means, why are you fixated on that little bit of money inside the temple?!"

"Fine, fine, we admit defeat." Seeing that Boss Liu was not going to listen, Ma Yongcheng and the others had no choice but to accept their bad luck.

Fortunately, their losses weren't too great. The eunuchs had no interest in the hard-earned money of loan sharking… when they needed cash, they'd just rob or steal; why bother with all that trouble?

They stored silver in the temple mainly as a precaution, so naturally they didn't need too much, just a few tens of thousands of taels...

~~
That night, the candlelight flickered in the Grand Secretariat, and the atmosphere was even more somber than when the three Grand Secretaries returned.

The servant sent out to gather information quietly reported back to the three Grand Secretaries the details of the raid on the temple by the Three Factories and One Guard with the cooperation of the Imperial Guard.

The three men frowned even more deeply, their expressions growing increasingly serious. These past few days, Liu Jin had been keeping them in meetings during the day and brainstorming solutions at night; they hadn't been home for several days.

Therefore, even though they heard that the Imperial Guards and the Imperial Household Department had sealed off the temples in the capital, they only thought it was a follow-up to the Baolian and Guanghui Temple incidents—most likely, it was the eunuchs who instigated the emperor to take the opportunity to make a quick buck.

The Grand Secretaries guessed that the Emperor wanted to make a quick buck, but none of them expected that this buck would be big enough to solve the financial crisis... As a result, Eunuch Liu successfully pulled off a big surprise at the financial meeting.

This was a greater blow to the morale of the Grand Secretaries than the "Fengtian Gate Hidden Book Case"!
Because they sensed something on an intellectual level, something that Eunuch Liu had previously lacked. Now, all six ministers were Liu Jin's men. If they were to further compensate for Eunuch Liu's intellectual deficiencies, how could they possibly contend with him?!
So after they returned, they immediately sent people to find out the details and see what had happened.

"You've all worked hard. I've asked the canteen to save some food for you. Go and have a bite at the back." After finishing, Li Dongyang gently dismissed the servants.

"First, the three judicial departments will issue a verdict in the name of the two major cases involving the two temples, setting the overall tone that the court is punishing evil monks. Then, a collective execution will be carried out to establish authority and create momentum. Next, the people will be encouraged to file lawsuits together, thus providing a pretext for the confiscation of property!" With no one else around, Wang Ao asked, his face full of confusion:
"Then, a layered defense was deployed from the outside in, and fifty-six temples were simultaneously surrounded, capturing all the monks. Immediately afterwards, a sudden interrogation was conducted overnight to secure their testimonies, and by dawn, their crimes were confirmed, blocking all avenues for the nobles to plead for leniency—what's even more remarkable is that the common people applauded and cheered, calling it a victory for the people! Could such a meticulously planned and cunning scheme really have been orchestrated by Eunuch Liu and his gang?"

First, we can rule out Liu Jin and Jiao Fang, this treacherous duo. Their biggest characteristics are their crudeness and impulsiveness; they act on a whim. If they were in charge, it would definitely be a spur-of-the-moment decision, arbitrarily arresting people. They might have raided temples yesterday, and today the entire capital would be in chaos, perhaps even driving the monks to desperation…

Wang Ao then guessed, "Could it be Zhang Cai's doing? Hasn't he become Eunuch Liu's new favorite?"

“No way.” Yang Tinghe shook his head decisively. “I know Zhang Cai. He’s like a scholar-official from the Wei and Jin dynasties. He only likes to talk big and show off, and he hates tedious and meticulous work. Such a meticulous and interconnected operation would be impossible without months of careful planning.”

He paused for a moment and then chuckled, "Besides, with Grand Secretary Jiao around, how could we let him steal the spotlight? He'd ruin everything."

Wang Ao frowned and asked, "Then who exactly is it?"

"Who else could it be?" Yang Tinghe snorted irritably, his tone complicated. "Half a year ago, your prized student, along with your other students, secretly investigated Buddhist temples in the capital. One of the Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) was even arrested and sent to work in an illegal coal mine. Didn't you fly into a rage over this and impeach the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture?"

“Oh, I remember that.” Wang Ao nodded and said, “That boy’s name was Lu Ying, and he was a very honest Shandong man.”

"So the matter couldn't be clearer!" Yang Tinghe said decisively, "This plan was clearly devised by Scholar Su and the Imperial Academy! Moreover, he was secretly supervising its execution—didn't Zhou Sheren say that none of his fellow scholars in the Imperial Academy could be contacted? This shows that they were deeply involved in this case!" "My student is so capable?" Wang Ao said incredulously, proudly, "He's only been an official for half a year!"

Yang Tinghe was speechless for a moment, then turned to look at Li Dongyang, who had been silent all along: "Uncle Yuan, please say something!"

Li Dongyang took out a handkerchief, covered his mouth, coughed twice, and said, "This matter does not seem to be the work of Eunuch Liu, but we don't need to speculate wildly. I will ask Hongzhi directly later, and everything will be clear."

“Indeed, if Hongzhi orchestrated all of this, we should be happy!” Wang Ao immediately agreed, “This shows that the younger generation is very good and powerful!”

“That makes sense.” Yang Tinghe said, his expression still tense. “It’s certainly a good thing that Scholar Su is exceptionally capable, but you two must remind him that he absolutely must not cooperate with Liu Jin!”

He originally wanted to say "colluding with each other," but he figured Li Dongyang and Wang Ao would be angry.

"Cooperation is absolutely impossible!" But Li Dongyang didn't like hearing about 'cooperation' either. He frowned and said solemnly, "Everyone in the world knows how much hatred he has for Liu Jin! He won't cooperate with anyone who does!"

“That’s right, Hongzhi is your fellow townsman and junior, my student, and also Yuan Weng’s grand-disciple, a true member of our own family!” Wang Ao also raised his voice to emphasize.

“Indeed, it was I who instructed him to do his utmost to gain the Emperor’s trust and prevent Liu Jin from monopolizing the Emperor’s favor.” Li Dongyang also chimed in, endorsing Su Lu.

"I never said he wasn't one of us, why are you all so anxious?!" Yang Tinghe said helplessly, "I'm just worried that if he stays in Baoshi for too long, he'll become desensitized to its stench. He might forget his own stance!"

“I still don’t like hearing what you’re saying,” Wang Ao retorted. “Even if Hongzhi really did orchestrate this, it’s still a good thing for the country and the people! He’s pure of heart and has only been in office for a short time; he couldn’t possibly think of something as complicated as Grand Secretary Yang.”

He paused for a moment, then added confidently, "Besides, Hongzhi is just a newcomer to officialdom; these matters certainly don't fall under his control. Don't make it sound like he's the mastermind behind everything."

"I'm not trying to be harsh on him, but it's better to be safe than sorry." Yang Tinghe had to soften his tone and said, "Sigh, if he had informed us beforehand, we wouldn't be in such a passive position this time."

"No, why are you informing us? This has nothing to do with us!" Wang Ao chuckled. "Could it be that Grand Secretary Yang has become some kind of guardian deity?"

"What did you say?!" Yang Tinghe nearly smashed his teacup. "You can defend your disciple, but don't you dare insult me!"

“Alright, alright, Hongzhi told me that his every move is being watched. Why would he specifically inform us about something that seems to have nothing to do with us?” Li Dongyang persuaded the two.

Yang Tinghe put down his teacup, his face tense, and said, "No matter what, he did help Liu Jin this time and ruined our plans."

“We’ve never told him about our plans, so how would he know?” Li Dongyang said.

“Exactly, it was you who insisted on not communicating with him.” Wang Ao said, increasingly displeased, “Besides, considering the ‘generous gift’ you two Yangs gave him back then, it’s understandable that he would become disloyal to you!”

Yang Tinghe looked embarrassed and couldn't help but smile bitterly, "How could I have expected that after he came to the capital, he would be able to climb up to the emperor in the blink of an eye and become the only favored minister among the civil officials?"

"So it's all thanks to your stunt that the Emperor knows about him now?" Wang Ao sneered.

"Alright, stop arguing." Li Dongyang raised his hand to stop the two from arguing and said in a deep voice, "This matter is not Hongzhi's fault at all. We didn't explain the inside story to him. It's perfectly reasonable for him to serve the Emperor."

Wang Ao nodded slowly: "Indeed, there is nothing wrong with it."

“He has to obey the Emperor’s decree. He can’t just oppose it for the sake of opposing it, can he?” Li Dongyang said to Yang Tinghe, “If we communicate with him more often in the future, we can avoid this situation from happening again.”

Yang Tinghe nodded and said, "What Yuan Weng said makes sense. It's a good thing that Hongzhi can demonstrate his abilities, as it can help us to gradually take back power."

"..." Wang Ao chuckled, and seeing Li Dongyang shake his head slightly, he didn't say anything more.

P.S.: My youngest child also got sick after finishing his exam today, which was a real ordeal for his father. The next chapter will be a little later.

(End of this chapter)