Top Scholar

Chapter 646 The Show Begins!
"Shi Zhai, quickly say you're joking," Yang Yiqing laughed.

“Alright,” Yang Tinghe replied with a smile.

"Hahaha!" The two looked at each other and burst into laughter.

"Oh, it was just a joke. You scared me half to death." Yang Yiqing touched his chest and said, "I'm like a frightened bird that's always hiding and running away. I can't take a fright."

Yang Tinghe suddenly stopped laughing and asked in a deep voice, "Seriously, what is the purpose of your trip to the capital?"

"Do you still remember what I told you before?" Yang Yiqing's smile faded, and he spoke softly.

"The time has come?" Yang Tinghe's breath hitched, and excitement instantly welled up in his eyes.

"That's right, the time has come!" Yang Yiqing nodded emphatically, indignantly saying, "In the past few months, I have traveled all over Henan, Shandong, and Beizhili, and what I have personally witnessed is ten times more serious than what the imperial edict describes! Due to years of severe drought, farmland has been abandoned, and people have even resorted to cannibalism, leaving their homes and becoming refugees. As a result, the power of rebels in various places has also expanded rapidly. I dare to assert that there will be a major upheaval in Shandong and Hebei, and it will involve hundreds of thousands of people!"

"That serious?" Yang Tinghe felt a chill run down his spine. Despite being a cardinal in the cabinet, his information was filtered through multiple layers. So he knew that chaos was brewing in the provinces, but he never imagined it would reach the point of national subjugation.

"Trust my judgment," Yang Yiqing said firmly.

“This time, even a god can’t save Liu Jin.” Yang Tinghe slammed his hand on the chair and said in a low voice, “No one can bear such a huge responsibility; only he can shoulder it!”

“That’s right, but we must take the initiative, slowly putting the noose around his neck and tightening it little by little. By the time he realizes it, he’ll be doomed!” A cold glint flashed in Yang Yiqing’s eyes.

“That’s right, only through repeated destruction can one truly destroy someone.” Yang Tinghe nodded knowingly. “His indispensable position in the Emperor’s heart cannot be shaken overnight.”

As he spoke, he chuckled and shook his head: "Actually, he had already shown signs of decline last year, and the Emperor's favor with him was not as great as before. But I didn't expect this fellow to be so resilient. After listening to Zhang Cai's advice, he actually began to turn over a new leaf, stopped accepting bribes and corruption, and instead focused on trying to salvage the current crisis. As a result, the Emperor's attitude towards him has obviously changed."

“If he behaves himself and does nothing, he might last a few more years.” Yang Yiqing sneered, “Doing reckless things will only hasten his demise!”

As he spoke, he said in a deep voice, "My last stop before I went to the capital was Liaodong. Something big happened there. Are you aware of it?"

"Huh? I didn't hear a thing!" Yang Tinghe exclaimed in surprise, urging, "Tell me in detail!"

“This year, isn’t Eunuch Liu focusing on inspecting military settlements in various places? Liaodong is no exception,” Yang Yiqing said.

"Yes. He sent Han Fu, the Minister of Works, to supervise the land reclamation in Liaodong." Yang Tinghe nodded and asked, "What happened? Did Minister Han cause a mess?"

"Yes, this Han Fu is adept at extorting and levying taxes. Wherever he goes, he disturbs the local people, abuses soldiers and civilians, and forces garrison soldiers like Gao Zhen to lead the people of Yizhou and Jinzhou in mutiny. They burn down government offices and civilian houses, expel government officials, and even claim that they want to govern themselves!"

"How could they dare to cover up such a big thing?" Yang Tinghe said incredulously.

"Firstly, Han Fu was a pillar of the eunuch faction, and Liu Jin would definitely protect him. Secondly, Han Fu was also a seasoned veteran; instead of resorting to harsh suppression, he raised 100,000 taels of silver and sent garrison officers to appease him. He promised to forgive their past transgressions, give them all the silver, and he would no longer investigate the military farms," ​​Yang Yiqing continued.
"They were threatened that if they resisted to the end, the 100,000 taels of silver would be the military funds for suppressing the rebellion. Under coercion and inducement, the riot was barely quelled."

"What a pity," Yang Tinghe sighed. "They just suppressed it like that. Otherwise, Eunuch Liu would definitely be in deep trouble. The Emperor cares most about the army."

Still unwilling, he said, "I'll find someone to submit a memorial impeaching him and bring this matter to the Emperor's attention!"

Yang Yiqing, however, was not interested and said: "This matter is already over. Even if you expose it, at most it will cause Han Fu to lose his official position, and it will not affect Liu Jin at all."

"Then why are you making such a fuss?" Yang Tinghe said irritably.

"So we can prepare in advance for next time," Yang Yiqing said with a smile.
"I learned that along with Han Fu, Hu Ruli, Zhou Dong, and others were also sent down to investigate the military farms. They all dug up a large number of hidden fields in order to curry favor with Liu Jin, and ordered that all these fields pay rent according to the amount, and also make up for past arrears, which made the people in the border areas suffer."

"Sigh, Eunuch Liu is making the same old mistakes again, always oversimplifying things. Ultimately, it's his lack of education that's to blame," Yang Tinghe teased.
"The idea of ​​reorganizing military settlements could increase tax revenue and allow soldiers to regain land, but in reality, it's simply not feasible."

“That’s right, that’s the situation in Liaodong. Those who forcibly seize land are all military leaders with troops and provisions. Even if the officials had the guts to do something, they wouldn’t dare to collect taxes from them, let alone recover outstanding taxes.” Yang Yiqing agreed.

“According to the fish-scale register, it’s true that the land can be reclaimed, but it’s just a matter of changing the name on the register. Not a single grain of grain can be harvested from the land. The higher-ups are pressing hard, so the officials have to resort to the old tricks. Whoever is easiest to bully, they squeeze them to death. As a result, the lower-level military households bear all the brunt, forgetting that the common soldiers also have weapons. If pushed to the limit, they will naturally rebel…” “This is a typical case of seeing others succeed and thinking that one can succeed too.” Yang Tinghe sneered, “Eunuch Liu saw that last year, the Court of Imperial Sacrifices acquired tens of thousands of hectares of land, giving the Emperor the means to reorganize the three major camps. He got envious and wanted to learn from Scholar Su.”

"What? Wasn't the raid on the temple overseen by Eunuch Liu?" Yang Yiqing's eyes widened.

“He doesn’t have that ability. It’s obvious that he didn’t do that job. It’s not hard to determine from the clues that the real one who did it was Su Jieyuan, whom we had our eye on…” Yang Tinghe sighed with a complicated expression. “He is meticulous and thorough in his actions, plans carefully before acting, and his moves are swift and powerful. He doesn’t seem like a young man who hasn’t even reached adulthood.”

"That's right, I told you long ago that he would achieve great things." Yang Yiqing was first proud, then sighed, "But I didn't expect him to be so fierce right from the start. Doesn't he need to experience and grow first?"

“So you have to admit that geniuses exist,” Yang Tinghe chuckled. “It is precisely because Scholar Su dissects oxen with the ease of a butcher that Eunuch Liu has the illusion that he can do it too.”

Then he steered the conversation back to the main topic, saying, "Let's get back to the important stuff."

“As I just said, other places are the same as Liaodong,” Yang Yiqing nodded and continued:
"Among them, Zhou Dong, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, was particularly harsh and cruel in his actions in Ningxia, far more so than Han Fu, causing widespread resentment and anger!"

Yang Tinghe listened silently, not surprised that Yang Yiqing knew so much about Ningxia. This old man had spent more than a decade in the Northwest, rising from governor to the commander-in-chief of the three border regions, and was adept at winning people's hearts; his connections in the local area were unimaginably deep.

“The situation in Ningxia is different from that in Liaodong.” Yang Yiqing said as if he could read the lines on the palm of his hand, “Liaodong is a bitterly cold place. The soldiers and civilians cannot support themselves and rely entirely on Shandong’s sea transport for sustenance. Therefore, no one, from top to bottom, has the confidence to actually rebel. They are just making a fuss to try to make the court back down.”

“But Ningxia is different. As the saying goes, ‘The Yellow River enriches Yinchuan,’ where the water and grass are abundant, even rice can be grown, so there’s the confidence to cause a big disturbance there. And precisely because Yinchuan is so rich, Liu Jin’s exploitation will only be heavier than in Liaodong.” Yang Yiqing snorted coldly.

“I know Zhou Dong too well. He was known as a cruel official when he was in the Dali Temple. Cases that the Ministry of Justice would not sentence to death would be executed without mercy in his hands. Han Fu’s methods were already considered mild, yet he still caused such a big mutiny. I don’t believe that Ningxia will be peaceful.”

"Yes, these kinds of things are always a case of one place following another. When things got out of hand in Liaodong, the court backed down. Ningxia, seeing this, will surely follow suit." Yang Tinghe nodded in agreement, his gaze sharpening as he said:

"This time, we must plan ahead and absolutely cannot let them down the issue again!"

“That’s right.” Yang Yiqing lowered his voice and said, “I’m an old Northwesterner, I know the situation in Ningxia like the back of my hand. I can guarantee you, Ningxia will be in chaos this time, and it will be a huge mess that absolutely cannot be suppressed!”

Yang Tinghe raised an eyebrow, his interest piqued even more: "What do you mean by that?"

Then Yang Yiqing dipped his cup in the tea and wrote three horizontal lines and one vertical line on the table.

"A king?" Yang Tinghe blurted out, "You mean a vassal king will take advantage of the situation and rebel?"

“That’s right!” Yang Yiqing nodded and said in a deep voice, “There is a Prince of Anhua in Ningxia named Zhu Zhifan, who is the great-grandson of Prince Qingjing. When he was young, he was arrogant and conceited, and harbored ulterior motives. For decades, he deliberately befriended border generals and won over scholars, gathering a large number of treacherous people around him, who openly called him ‘Old Emperor’.”

Yang Tinghe was both shocked and furious: "How dare he! A mere prince dares to usurp the title of emperor?! When you were in charge of the three border regions, why didn't you impeach him?"

Yang Yiqing smiled bitterly and said, "The late emperor was always kind and benevolent. Even if he were impeached, what would be the use? Besides, he has a lot of supporters in the army. What if we push him to the brink and he colludes with the little prince to rebel?"

"Sigh, I'm not blaming you!" Yang Tinghe said anxiously. "Even if we can't alert the enemy, we should at least take precautions, right? If you ignore it, aren't you just raising a tiger that will cause endless trouble? At least the world was peaceful back then, but now the court is too busy to take care of itself. If he takes advantage of the situation to cause chaos, how are we supposed to deal with it?"

"Don't worry, I have my own way of dealing with him." Yang Yiqing smiled mysteriously, "I had already prepared a backup plan before I left office."

"What do you mean?" Yang Tinghe asked hurriedly.

"You'll find out when the time comes. Just trust me." Yang Yiqing kept everyone in suspense, but then instructed in a deep voice, "Just make preparations in advance to avoid being caught off guard when the time comes."

"..." Yang Tinghe looked at him for a long time, then slowly nodded.

The two discussed the matter in hushed tones for a long time. Finally, Yang Tinghe changed the subject, speaking seriously:
"Talk is talk, and laughter is laughter, but you still have to turn yourself in."

"Again?" Yang Yiqing was completely numb.

(End of this chapter)