Ming Dynasty: I, Yan Maoqing, am truly radiating auspicious energy!

Chapter 176 Are Kings and Generals Born with a Special Kindness? [Seeking Monthly Tickets]

"This servant... obeys the decree!"

Huang Jin agreed again, but his heart was immediately filled with turmoil.

The Eastern Depot and the Western Depot, though only one character different, are quite different.

Since its establishment during the Yongle era, the Eastern Depot has been a permanent department and continues to exist to this day.

However, their authority gradually diminished, especially after the corrupt eunuch Liu Jin seized power during the Zhengde era. All the eunuchs' law enforcement powers were severely restricted, and by the Jiajing era, they had become virtually useless.

The Western Depot was established in the thirteenth year of the Chenghua reign (1447), but it was strongly opposed by the officials due to its excessive power, and it had to be abolished after only five months.

Later, during the reign of Emperor Zhengde of the previous dynasty, the system was restored under the impetus of the powerful eunuch Liu Jin. However, due to strong opposition from the court officials, it was only maintained for a few years before it was permanently abolished and became a thing of the past.

The key point is the phrase "excessive power".

Because the corruption of the bureaucracy in the Ming Dynasty did not just begin recently, and it was not just a problem within the civil service; rather, it was a widespread moral decay.

Nobles, civil officials, Directorate of Ceremonial, guards, Embroidered Uniform Guard, Eastern Depot, the Imperial Harem...

Wherever the word "power" is involved, there is no clean place; the only difference is how thoroughly evil it is.

Emperor Chenghua noticed this and therefore established the Western Depot.

The Western Depot, authorized by imperial power, was a secret police force that could monitor officials, soldiers, and civilians, and could arrest and torture them without going through normal legal procedures in order to restore order to the bureaucracy!

In other words.

From the moment it appeared, the Western Depot was placed in opposition to the entire court, and even to the entire Ming Dynasty except for the Emperor himself!

Those who commanded the Western Depot, whether they liked it or not, were forced to become isolated officials.

Even if this loyal minister wholeheartedly tries to blend in with the entire court, it won't work.

Because the Western Depot was always a Damocles' sword hanging over the imperial court.

The position of the Western Depot leader is actually not important.

There was no Western Depot.

For officials at all levels of the imperial court, this is the most important thing!
Therefore, no matter who was in charge of the Western Depot before, there was only one outcome.

That is, in this political gamble initiated by the emperor's mere thought, one becomes a pawn placed on the table by the emperor, resulting in utter disgrace and ruin.

Wang Zhi during the Chenghua era, and Liu Jin during the Zhengde era.

These two were the former leaders of the Western Depot.

One was dismissed from his post, stripped of his salary, and rendered a nobody; the other had his property confiscated, his entire family executed, and was subjected to slow slicing.

What they have in common is that both of them have been burdened with countless infamy.

Fabricating charges, persecuting loyal officials, disrupting the court, embezzling public funds, deceiving the emperor...

Each and every one of these crimes was an unforgivable crime punishable by death. Some even used the pretext of "purging the emperor's inner circle" to launch a rebellion, ensuring that they would never be able to rise again!
Even Huang Jin could tell.

Even if Zhu Houcong intended to use Yan Maoqing to launch such a political gamble, even if he didn't win, he had already left himself a way out.

What does it mean to say, "Don't blame me for being a foolish ruler who listens to Yan Maoqing's 'slander'"?
This was the escape route Zhu Houcong left for himself.

Needless to say, the Crown Prince is not even six years old yet. No one can pin the blame on such a young child; he is still just a child.

Yan Maoqing, on the other hand, could only resign himself to fate.

For him, if he lost this gamble, the best outcome would be to be dismissed from his post and stripped of his salary, becoming a nobody, just like Wang Zhi.

This is all predicated on the premise that Zhu Houcong, even after losing the bet, still tried his best to protect the emperor, even at the cost of solidifying his reputation as a "tyrant"!
But no matter what.

Huang Jin still had to admire the emperor's shrewdness; his move had truly ensured that Yan Maoqing would forever remain a lone minister.

Even if Yan Song is his relative, he probably won't dare to get too close to him in the future, and will always have to leave a way out for the Yan family.

Sometimes he even had to stand on the opposite side of Yan Maoqing.

After all, Yan Song was first and foremost a traditional civil official, a member of the civil service group, and shared the same interests with them...

and so.

Huang Jin was increasingly unable to understand Zhu Houcong's feelings for Yan Maoqing.

It can only be described as extremely complicated.

Zhu Houcong clearly valued Yan Maoqing's talent highly and showed him unprecedented tolerance and affection, something Lu Bing could also see.

Yet he could also harden his heart and, for a worry that was no longer a concern, to achieve a goal that ordinary people could not see through, push Yan Maoqing into an abyss of no return...

Is this the art of imperial rule?

But Huang Jin knew better than anyone else.

If one day Yan Maoqing really dies, he will die in the abyss that Zhu Houcong himself pushed him into.

This emperor will surely cry his heart out, and he will be even more heartbroken than when Zhang Cong and Gui E died... This emperor is clearly a sentimental person at heart, and he cannot be truly heartless.

"Eh--!"

After leaving the Qianqing Palace, Huang Jin shook his head and let out a long sigh.

The only thing Yan Maoqing can be thankful for now.

Perhaps only the Court of Imperial Sacrifices is still called the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, without being explicitly called the Western Depot, and still holding the legitimate title of Crown Prince overseeing the country.

it's a pity!
If it were the Western Depot, Yan Maoqing would have had to be castrated before entering the palace, and from then on, he would refer to himself as "our family" along with Yan Maoqing. Wouldn't that be a wonderful story?
But speaking of it...

The fact that the Court of Imperial Sacrifices has taken over the duties of the Western Depot will likely elicit the strongest reactions from the Directorate of Ceremonial and the palace eunuchs.

After all, the Eastern Depot and the Western Depot have always been supervised by eunuchs. Yan Maoqing's Court of Imperial Sacrifices took over the duties of the Western Depot, which was seen by the eunuchs as overstepping their bounds!
……

Dingguo Gongfu.

"Duke Dingguo, please take a look at these impeachment memorials first."

Zhao Wenhua, the Commissioner of the Court of State Affairs, placed several memorials on the table and pushed them toward Xu Yande, the Duke of Dingguo, who was seated in the main seat.

Xu Yande picked up the memorial and glanced at it briefly. A look of doubt immediately appeared on his face. He then looked up at Zhao Wenhua:

"It's Yan Shifan? How dare he? And how did he suddenly become the Left Director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices?"

"The problem actually lies with Yan Maoqing."

Zhao Wenhua frowned, his expression grim, and said...
"I only found out after making inquiries from various sources that Yan Maoqing and the Yan family are actually related."

"Yan Maoqing is now in charge of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices and has the privilege of selecting officials granted by the Emperor. This time, he is obviously going to use his privilege to help the Yan family."

Today he brought only a few impeachment memorials from Yan Shifan targeting a few insignificant people.

As for Yan Shifan's memorial impeaching himself under Yan Maoqing's coercion, it was not shown to Xu Yande.

Because he came to provoke Xu Yande in order to save himself.

Since it's about sowing discord, you can't involve yourself in it. Otherwise, it will seem too purposeful and you'll easily become a pawn, being used by the other side.

After all, among the forces in the entire southeast.

Although he had some influence, he was still far inferior to the two dukes, Duke Dingguo Xu Yande and Duke Wei Xu Pengju.

Of course, not showing it to Xu Yande does not mean that he dared to withhold the impeachment of Yan Shifan against him.

The system of officials submitting memorials to the emperor during the Ming Dynasty had been in place for over two hundred years.

In this process, a complete and strict review mechanism has been established, with records and archives kept from the very first step of submitting memorials.

If it weren't for the fact that he had the autocratic Grand Secretary above him and the eunuchs of the Directorate of Ceremonial who could deceive the emperor, it would be difficult for him to find any loopholes to exploit.

Therefore, all he could do was temporarily delay some memorials and inform the relevant parties in advance so that they could make preparations.

"In addition, please have the Duke of Dingguo take another look at these memorials."

As he spoke, Zhao Wenhua produced several memorials from the Court of Imperial Sacrifices and various ministries, and continued,

"Besides Li Fenglai and other censors who had previously seized upon the fact that powerful figures in the capital were encroaching on the interests of ordinary people, the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, now headed by Yan Maoqing, has also submitted a memorial in support of this."

"In the past two days, even officials from the Hanlin Academy have begun to submit memorials demanding a thorough investigation of this matter, which may cause the matter to escalate further."

"Yan Shifan then began to attack like a mad dog, raising some substantive questions, which undoubtedly provided the Censorate with direction and methods for investigating the matter."

"The Duke of Dingguo's current situation is probably not very good..."

Besides these, there are even worse things to come.

That was naturally the matter of how the Duke of Yi, the Duke of Ying, and the Duke of Cheng suddenly and openly cleared out the illegal fields, shops, and property a few days ago, as if they had planned it together, and escorted the lawbreakers in their mansions to the Northern Garrison to surrender and be brought to justice.

However, this matter is already common knowledge and there is no need to mention it again.

This is what truly put Xu Yande in a passive position.

To retreat or not to retreat.

Should I refund less or more?

This is a big problem for him.

He even had to suspect that the actions of the Duke of Yi, the Duke of Ying, and the Duke of Cheng were at the behest of the Emperor.

Of the four dukes in the capital, three had received the emperor's permission, but he was singled out.

This is becoming an increasingly serious problem!

Therefore, Xu Yande is now very fearful, even more so than other powerful and influential people.

The reason he was holding back at this moment was that he did not immediately follow the example of the other three dukes and begin to clear out the illegal property, nor did he send a few scapegoats to the Northern Garrison to be brought to justice.

Meanwhile, he also contacted his fellow clansman, Duke of Guo, in Nanjing, to discuss countermeasures with Duke of Wei, Xu Pengju.

He secretly ordered people to investigate, hoping to gain a clearer understanding of the situation before taking any further action.

After listening to Zhao Wenhua's words.

Xu Yande grew increasingly apprehensive, but outwardly maintained a calm and composed demeanor, saying lightly:
"At worst, I'll just follow the example of the other three dukes, spend money to avoid trouble, order people to return some of the illegal gains, and send a few scapegoats to the Northern Garrison."

"That being said, this is ultimately a last resort, a necessary expedient."

Seeing that Xu Yande wasn't falling for the bait, Zhao Wenhua said in a serious tone,

"Besides, how can the Duke of Dingguo be compared to the other three dukes?"

"Although the other three dukes may not be without their protégés and former officials in the court, compared with the Duke of Dingguo, they are actually not much different from isolated and helpless individuals."

"Since the Duke of Dingguo and the Duke of Wei are of the same clan and support each other both internally and externally, all the officials and noble families in the southeast look to the Duke of Dingguo and the Duke of Wei for guidance, regarding them as omens of the southeast's fortunes."

"If the Duke of Dingguo and the Duke of Wei give in easily in this matter, even if they are just like the other three dukes, they will probably be seen as a sign of the decline of the court, which may demoralize the people."

"Once people's hearts are scattered, many things will become difficult to handle in the future."

Xu Yande naturally understood Zhao Wenhua's words, and after a moment of contemplation, he asked:
"What advice does Minister Zhao have for me?"

"How dare I presume to offer guidance before the Duke of Dingguo?"

Zhao Wenhua feigned modesty and smiled, saying...

"I was just thinking, is it possible to seize upon one aspect of this matter and use it to expose the whole problem?"

"Nowadays, most of the officials who submit memorials impeaching powerful figures in the capital for encroaching on the interests of the people are relatively clean officials. It is unlikely that taking action against them will result in anything significant enough to influence public opinion."

"But when someone like Yan Shifan got involved, it was like a rat dropping into a pot of porridge."

"If the Duke of Dingguo can privately communicate with the powerful figures in the capital and work together with the Duke of Wei, they can properly stir up this pot of porridge that has been contaminated with rat droppings."

"Then this isn't just a pot of porridge, it's a pot of rat droppings."

"No one would eat rat droppings, just as no one would believe that someone like Yan Shifan is cut from the same cloth."

"In this way, even the emperor would not readily believe the things reported in their memorials, and the impeachment memorials of those censors would naturally become worthless."

"This time, things will be much easier to gloss over, won't they..."

"..."

After listening to Zhao Wenhua's words, Xu Yande had to admit that it was indeed a good solution.

Moreover, the powerful and influential people in the capital are now all in the same boat, making it easy for them to communicate privately and leaving them with a lot of room for maneuver.

As for Duke Xu Pengju of Wei, he was actually in a situation where his fate was interdependent with that of the powerful figures in the capital.

After all, no one can guarantee that the emperor, having taken the opportunity to deal with the powerful and influential people in the capital and tasted the benefits, will not set his sights on the powerful and influential people in the local areas... Therefore, they will definitely cooperate fully.

However, Xu Yande still laughed, and said meaningfully:
"If I remember correctly, Yan Song was your adoptive father, right? So, Yan Shifan should be considered your adopted brother, right?"

How could he not understand that Zhao Wenhua's plan was aimed at taking Yan Shifan's life?

"He can't distinguish his own position and has taken the wrong side, which is unrighteous. How can he blame me for being unjust?"

Zhao Wenhua chuckled awkwardly.

Xu Yande nodded slightly and smiled at him:

"Since you are so understanding and righteous, I will give it a try."

……

A few days later.

A group of officials gathered at the entrance of the Imperial Household Department, working together to install new wooden couplets on both sides of the gate.

The first line reads:
The sounds of wind, rain, and reading aloud fill the air!

The second line reads:
[Family affairs, national affairs, world affairs—we care about everything!]

This was naturally Yan Maoqing's doing again.

To form a faction, you need an extremely catchy slogan.

Just like many uprisings and foundings in history, their rapid development was inseparable from a catchy and highly persuasive slogan.

For example, Chen Sheng and Wu Guang's "Are kings, nobles, generals, and ministers born with a special destiny?"

For example, Liu Bang's "punish the wicked and overthrow the tyrannical Qin".

For example, Zhang Jiao's "The Azure Heaven is dead, the Yellow Heaven shall rise; in the year of Jiazi, great fortune will come to the world."

For example, Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty said, "Expel the Tartars and restore China."

Yan Maoqing, on the other hand, chose the slogan of the Donglin Party, which would only gain power decades later. After having previously used Xu Jie's pretense, he also used the Donglin Party's pretense, leaving them no chance to show off at all.

"Yan Maoqing is really good at pretending..."

Yan Shifan could hardly bear to watch and sighed in exasperation.

He just couldn't understand why these officials of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices were so proud and excited about following Yan Maoqing.

Throughout history, how many people who are good at showing off have actually been good people?
Just as I was thinking this.

"Imperial edict has arrived!"

A shout suddenly rang out from behind.

(End of this chapter)