Chapter 590: Falling

Old White Ox recommends "Late Tang" by brother Mu Zi Lan Se — fresh writing, enticing plot, a very fine book. Also recommending "The Ming Official," a shrewd and worldly protagonist who never gets the short end of the stick — my absolute favorite.

……

On the fourth day, this court flogging shook the court and the realm. Nearly thirty remonstrance officials and censors were dragged together outside the Huangji Hall for punishment. They wailed in the freezing wind, shouting the names of the two founding emperors, Taizu and Taizong, their voices shrill and mournful, like cuckoos weeping blood…

On the spot, five of them were flogged to death, over ten were maimed, and the rest would each spend long days confined to their beds. This bloody case on the bingxu day sent a shudder of terror through the civil and military officials and all of the capital.

Perhaps, after this great upheaval, many shrank back, while even more grew to hate Wang Dou and stood in opposition to him. For the Chongzhen Emperor, his mood was a mix of indignation and desolation. The result of the court flogging was not what he wanted; it stood in opposition to his original intent in governing the realm.

Although he had been furious at the time, he had only wanted to severely teach Zhuo Buwei and the others a lesson, not to beat them to death. Yet after the punishment, it was reported that Zhuo Buwei and his fellows were too frail and could not endure the beating; after only a few strokes, they died violently on the spot.

Not only did he feel no joy, but a chill ran up his spine, and suspicions swarmed. Who had tampered with things? Who could he still trust?

But having mounted the tiger, it was hard to dismount. This matter of rumors had to be brought to a close, and the clamor among the frontier troops could not be left unresolved for long. Under the Chongzhen Emperor's strict orders, and relying on certain confessions and the testimony of the remonstrance officials, the investigations by the factory guards and the three judicial offices were carried out even more harshly. Shadows behind the scenes gradually surfaced, and more people were subjected to court flogging, demotion, and even exile.

Yet looking at the list of names in his hand, the Chongzhen Emperor knew that the big fish behind it all was still far from appearing. And the fact that Wang Dou could grasp this list meant he would not be satisfied with the current outcome.

Only, the investigation thereafter grew increasingly difficult. The mutual protection among Ming officials and the shielding networks of various allied interests were exerted to their utmost, just as the progress of the case was about to sink into deadlock again.