Top Scholar

Chapter 577 This High-Level Game
In the study of the Prime Minister's residence.

Li Dongyang coughed again, and although he was still weak from the cold, he said with a loving expression, "Of course, you are my grand-disciple, who else would I care for if not you?"

However, his voice was hoarse, and the last sentence sounded like, "If I don't cheat you, who will I cheat?"

He then gently instructed Su Lu: "Liu Jin is ambitious but incompetent, stubborn and ruthless, but he has one redeeming quality—he still wants to get things done. You can use this to fight for more power for yourself."

Su Lu was moved upon hearing this and said softly, "I have some concerns, fearing that I might be labeled as a member of the eunuch faction... In fact, when the monastic community was being reformed, it was because of this concern that I asked the Emperor not to include me in the special task force."

"Hehe, you're overthinking it..." Li Dongyang chuckled. "Now Liu Jin wields immense power, and even the Six Ministries of the Cabinet have to obey him. Are we all part of the eunuch faction?"

"Public opinion will judge right and wrong. As long as you haven't sided with Liu Jin and have acted with a clear conscience, no one will throw such mud at you." He reassured Su Lu, "Besides, you are the first person in the Ming Dynasty to achieve the highest rank in the imperial examinations six times. The literati will still cherish you."

Su Lu hurriedly and respectfully replied, "Yes, Master."

Li Dongyang coughed lightly twice, beckoned him closer, and asked softly, "Approximately how much did you gain from the raid on the temples?"

Su Lu sneered inwardly; the fox's tail had finally been revealed.

He replied, "The exact number hasn't been tallied yet, but it should be several million taels."

"More than that, right?" Li Dongyang shook his head slightly and said with certainty, "In my opinion, it's probably worth tens of millions of taels."

"Thank you for your kind words. However, as you know, the Imperial Guards and the secret police confiscate property at every turn, and it's really hard to say how much will be left in the end," Su Lu said with a wry smile.

"Moreover, the amount of grain confiscated was much less than expected. We thought we could at least confiscate five or six million shi, but it turned out to be less than two million shi."

“That’s normal. Silver will never depreciate no matter how long it’s stored, but grain becomes stale and worthless the longer it’s stored,” Li Dongyang said calmly. “Besides, these temples are all in the capital. What’s the point of storing so much grain? Storing tens of thousands of shi is already a lot.”

“That’s true.” Su Lu nodded. “This amount of grain can be used to tide us over in an emergency, but it’s impossible to fill the granary.”

“Something is better than nothing.” Li Dongyang wouldn’t let him change the subject, so he brought it back: “The key is that sum of money. It absolutely cannot all fall into Liu Jin’s hands. You must think of a way to get the Emperor to allocate at least half to the Ministry of Revenue, so that it doesn’t all go into the Imperial Treasury.”

As he spoke, he raised his hand and gently patted Su Lu's hand; his palm was slightly cool. His voice was weak, but every word was earnest: "The country desperately needs money..."

“My grand-disciple has an unspoken agreement with Zhu Shou, so we can’t ask him for anything.” Su Lu couldn’t help but look troubled, and Li Dongyang coughed violently again.

His face turned bright red, and his neck stretched so wide it seemed thicker than his face. A maidservant outside heard the commotion and tried to enter, but he gently stopped her with a raised hand.

Su Lu hurriedly stepped forward to support Li Dongyang's shoulder and gently patted and rubbed his back. After Li Dongyang's cough subsided, Su Lu said helplessly, "Alright, no matter what, I'll try to plead with the Emperor."

But then he asked, somewhat puzzled, "But Master, isn't Minister Gu of the Ministry of Revenue also one of Eunuch Liu's men? Even if the money is allocated to the Ministry of Revenue, how that money is spent is ultimately up to Eunuch Liu, isn't it?"

“Ah, that’s ultimately different.” Li Dongyang sighed softly, his breathing becoming a little faster. “Once the money goes into the inner treasury, we can no longer see or touch it; but once it reaches the Ministry of Revenue, even if we still can’t control it, it will still be spent on the country.”

"Alright, I will do my best." Su Lu nodded, but thought to himself: Doing one's best doesn't necessarily mean it has to be done. If I allocate one or two million taels to the Ministry of Revenue, that will be enough.

Just as he thought the important matter was over and was preparing to get up and take his leave so as not to disturb his master's rest, he heard Li Dongyang say leisurely:
"By the way, Master has already submitted a memorial to the Emperor today, requesting to retire."

Su Lu was shocked upon hearing this and hurriedly said, "Ah? Master, you mustn't!"

This time he wasn't faking it; he was genuinely startled...

“Alas, my master is in such a state, let me go.” Li Dongyang said with a dejected look, “Staying here will do no good, it will only make us a laughingstock… You weren’t there when the letter was hidden at Fengtian Gate, so you didn’t see how Liu Jin humiliated me. If I don’t resign, people will laugh at me even more, saying that I’ve lost all face for the position of Grand Secretary—even though I’m just a figurehead.”

Su Lu's voice trembled with anxiety as he blurted out, "Master, if you leave, Jiao Fang will become the Grand Secretary! Won't the court be in complete chaos?"

Li Dongyang sighed softly: "Alas, those two have always been in cahoots, and I, as the chief minister, am of no use in this matter..."

"But he still has to hold this position!" Su Lu was even more anxious, cursing inwardly, but hurriedly advised, "Besides, once Jiao Fang becomes the Grand Secretary, my mentor will resign immediately and will never stay to suffer his humiliation!"

“Indeed.” Li Dongyang nodded.

"Which two will Hui Ting recommend for the cabinet?" Su Lu asked.

“It should be Minister Liu of the Ministry of War,” Li Dongyang said, “and Minister Cao of the Ministry of Revenue.” “Both of them are eunuchs! Now the cabinet will be completely their domain!” Su Lu said gravely, “When that happens, if Eunuch Liu controls the cabinet and the Directorate of Ceremonial, then they’ll truly be on a roll!”

Originally, he insisted on keeping Jiao Fang to cause trouble for the eunuch faction. But Li Dongyang's departure has turned things around; the troublemaker has become a pillar of support, and the young members of the Imperial Household Department are completely overwhelmed!

He knew perfectly well what Li Dongyang wanted, so he had no choice but to agree, saying, "Please don't leave, sir! The Ming Dynasty can't be without Master for even a day! How much money do you want? I'll go and get it for you, okay?"

"It's not about the money, it's that Master is truly exhausted and can't hold on any longer." Li Dongyang shook his head, coughing violently.

"Three million taels!" Su Lu said through gritted teeth.

“Five million…” Li Dongyang said, holding his hand, “If you can get five million, your master’s life is yours.”

"Four million at most." Su Lu calculated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said, "That's already twice the amount of the Taicang silver this year. The Emperor will never agree to any more!"

“Sigh, why would your master make things difficult for you?” Li Dongyang nodded slowly, his face resolute, and said, “If you only need four and a half million, your master will not leave.”

"Master, why do we look like we're selling vegetables?" Su Lu said helplessly.

“There’s nothing I can do, child. Five hundred thousand taels could save the people of two prefectures from their suffering…” Li Dongyang sighed.

"Alright, Master, focus on recovering!" Su Lu stopped haggling and said, "Your grandson will do everything in his power to get it!"

Upon hearing this, Li Dongyang breathed a long sigh of relief, squeezed his hand tightly, and said sincerely, "Child, it's not that your master is making things difficult for you. Now the entire scholarly community is watching you. It's not enough for just your teacher and me to speak on your behalf. You also need to show your actions that your heart is with the civil officials."

Su Lu was taken aback and said, "Didn't Grandmaster say that I don't need to worry about being labeled as a member of the eunuch faction?"

“Not being categorized as part of the eunuch faction is far from enough.” Li Dongyang shook his head, gazing at the waning moon outside the window, and said meaningfully, “Only when civil officials themselves have fought for civil officials and made great contributions will it be enough!”

“…” Su Lu remained silent. His master had already said so, how could he not understand?

Shilin demanded that he neither join the eunuch faction nor the emperor's faction, but had to side with the civil officials.

Seeing Su Lu fall silent after his words, Li Dongyang patted his hand understandingly and said, "I know the Emperor saved your life, named you the top scholar, and has always favored you. You're bound to be biased towards the Emperor. Now that Liu Jin is there to protect you, you can easily become a member of the Emperor's faction who opposes Liu Jin. But—"

Li Dongyang changed the subject, lowering his voice, and said, "Son, you need to think long-term. Liu Jin won't be able to keep up this for much longer. You need to think carefully about how you'll handle things after Liu Jin falls from power."

Su Lu's heart skipped a beat, and he asked urgently, "Grandmaster, are you saying that Liu Jin is about to be finished?"

Li Dongyang nodded slightly, his eyes revealing a wisdom that seemed to see through the ways of the world: "Yes. Don't be fooled by Liu Jin's current immense power and the fact that the court is full of his cronies. The greater the power, the heavier the responsibility—especially since the world is in such chaos, everyone is already blaming him!"

He paused, coughed twice, and then asked, "Have you read the recent reports? The famine in Fengyang, Huai'an, and Yangzhou is severe, and Huguang and Henan have also reported serious disasters."

Speaking of his homeland, his tone became somewhat melancholy: "My hometown is Huguang. Do you know what that is? The old saying 'When Suzhou and Huguang are prosperous, the whole country is well-fed' has long been replaced by 'When Huguang is prosperous, the whole country is well-fed.' Even Huguang, such a granary, is suffering from this severe drought. The Jianghuai region is in ruins, and the situation in Jiangnan is probably not much better. At this rate, the whole country will surely be in chaos next year!"

Su Lu nodded heavily. The secret reports from his fellow graduates in various regions, bearing silver medals, were also frequently issuing warnings...

"This year, the imperial court has remained indifferent to small-scale banditry, only ordering local authorities to suppress and pacify them on their own. But what if next year these small bandit groups suddenly grow stronger, merge into a powerful force, capture prefectures and counties, and even threaten the provincial capital? Will the imperial court still be able to turn a blind eye then?"

He emphasized sharply, "When the pressure increases dramatically and the emperor is unable to quell the rebellion, a scapegoat must be found to shift all the blame onto him. Tell me, besides Liu Jin, who else can take the blame?"

"No way," Su Lu said. Eunuch Liu was practically a celestial being descended from the planet of scapegoats, a born scapegoat...

“Even if the Emperor spares his life out of consideration for past relations, if the rebellion intensifies and spreads to the capital or the financially important areas of Jiangnan, shaking the foundations of the nation, will the Emperor still tolerate him?” Li Dongyang’s voice was calm and devoid of any emotion, as if stating an unchangeable fact.

“With bad news piling up day after day, the Emperor’s old affection for him will eventually wear off, and he will finally be disgusted with him—that will be Liu Jin’s death day! This is the inevitable trend, and no human power can change it…”

Su Lu's heart sank, and he asked softly, "Would killing Liu Jin solve the problem?"

“No.” Li Dongyang shook his head, his voice as chilling as the autumn wind outside the window. “But everyone in the court and the public wants Liu Jin dead…”

(End of this chapter)