Chapter 102: The Choice

And what was the result?

Yang Lian and Zou Yuanbiao were thrown into prison, and even Liaodong Governor Yuan Yingtai and Guangning Governor Wang Huazhen were dragged into it—the whole affair suddenly spiraled out of control.

If this situation were allowed to continue, how many people in the court would be implicated?

Now the question emerged: how exactly was one supposed to salvage this situation?

It was with this purpose in mind that the conversation between Sun Shenxing and Zhao Nanxing began.

The two men sat in mutual silence.

They knew what they ought to do, but they did not dare to do it.

If they had listened to Han Kuang's advice earlier, the outcome would have been simple—merely abandoning Feng Sanyuan and the others. It wouldn't have sounded good for their reputations, but those men had been in the wrong to begin with, so it could be glossed over to some extent. The others probably wouldn't have put up much resistance either.

But things were different now. If they had to abandon someone now, who would they abandon?

That would be Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate Zou Yuanbiao, former Liaodong Governor Yuan Yingtai, Guangning Governor Wang Huazhen, and Yang Lian, the rising star of the Donglin Faction. If these four were abandoned, how would the rest of the Donglin Faction see it?

Doing something like that would easily scatter people's hearts. Once hearts were scattered, the ranks would be hard to lead.

The key problem was that they themselves would come under attack, even be kicked when they were down, and their reputations among the scholar-official class would be utterly destroyed.

Neither of the two men dared to make that decision.

One had to understand—the reason everyone had previously been unwilling to punish Feng Sanyuan and the others severely was precisely this concern.

Because the entire case had been stirred up by Wei Zhongxian of the Eastern Depot. If everyone advocated severe punishment, wouldn't that be tantamount to being in bed with Wei Zhongxian? What would people think of them?

Joining the eunuch faction in framing one's fellow officials—that was spinelessness through and through; throwing in one's lot with the eunuch faction would ruin whatever reputation one had.

The mutual flattery and back-scratching among the Donglin Faction relied entirely on that reputation. Everyone together, serving the state and the sovereign—once that reputation was gone, it would be equivalent to digging up the very roots of the Donglin Faction. Wouldn't that be the tree falling and the monkeys scattering?

In an instant, the matter became difficult to handle.

There were solutions, but there was no way to implement them.

The two men were now stuck on the back of a tiger, unable to get off.

After a long silence, Zhao Nanxing raised his head, looked at Sun Shenxing, and slowly spoke: "How about we go find Sun Chengzong?"

For the two of them to go seek out Han Kuang—they really couldn't swallow their pride enough to do it.

Moreover, if they went to Han Kuang now, it would be tantamount to admitting defeat and conceding to him. They did not believe Han Kuang was the helpful sort.

One had to understand that Han Kuang was also a major power in the court, and he was bound to have his own interests and demands. If they went to him now, there was no guarantee that Han Kuang wouldn't make demands of his own.

To make up for their previous mistakes, to get Han Kuang to step in and save them, the price they would have to pay would inevitably be enormous. Perhaps it wouldn't just be a matter of a few official posts—they might have to prop up Han Kuang to seize the position of Chief Grand Secretary of the Grand Secretariat.

Everyone knew that position was never meant for Liu Yijing to hold for long, but at the same time, it hadn't been prepared for Han Kuang either.

Under such circumstances, paying that kind of price—Sun Shenxing and the others truly did not dare to do it.

Minister of Rites Sun Shenxing let out a sigh and said with some helplessness: "Then it can only be so. I hope Sun Chengzong can persuade His Majesty. We ask for nothing else—just that nothing happens to Zou Yuanbiao and the other four."

Zhao Nanxing nodded.

At this point, not bleeding was no longer an option. Feng Sanyuan and the others could no longer be protected, but Zou Yuanbiao and the other four still had to be saved.

Though both men said as much, neither seemed to have much confidence.

Still, the two had reached a consensus: they would advance and retreat together.

If they could persuade Sun Chengzong to protect Zou Yuanbiao and the other four, then the two of them would step forward.

If they couldn't protect them, then they would have to step down themselves, and even prepare to be implicated.

In short—they could not show weakness.

Their reputations could not be lost.

Even if they lost their official positions, their reputations had to be preserved.

That way, even if the two of them went down, their standing among the scholar-official class would be preserved.

Though Sun Shenxing and the other had spoken little, they had reached a consensus.

The Grand Secretariat's duty room.

Han Kuang stood by the window, expressionless, gazing at the branches sprouting green buds outside.

After a long while, he let out a soft sigh.

Han Kuang knew that by now things were beyond salvaging—His Majesty had lost trust in many people. In Han Kuang's view, the Donglin Faction had played a perfectly good hand into utter ruin.

But there was nothing he could do about it; he couldn't change anything either. Those people had never listened to him anyway. He had offered his advice, and his responsibility was fulfilled. As for the rest, it didn't matter.

"Grand Secretary." The voice of a clerk sounded from behind him.

Han Kuang didn't turn around, merely standing with his hands clasped behind his back, asking softly: "What is it?"

"Reporting to the Grand Secretary—the Chief Grand Secretary requests your presence." The clerk hurriedly bowed.

With all the commotion outside, the Grand Secretariat was hardly at ease either.

Though none of the Grand Secretaries had taken a stance, not taking a stance was itself a stance.

Many of those below had already had enough.

In recent days, routine memorials impeaching the Grand Secretaries had been flooding in, and the number was still on the rise.

Clearly, some people could no longer stand by and watch. The impeachment charges ran the gamut—even stale, moldy grievances from years past were being dredged up.

At this point, the Grand Secretariat was naturally rife with anxiety and unease.

To put it plainly, the people outside were pressuring the Grand Secretaries to take a stance, and then use their weight to pressure the Emperor, forcing His Majesty to compromise.

This wasn't the first time such a tactic had been employed.

If the three of them refused to play along, they would either have to resign or be vilified.

Back in the day, the "paper-pasted Three Grand Secretaries and clay-molded Six Ministers" had been reviled for countless years, and even now, when brought up, they were still regarded as treacherous sycophants by the civil officials. In the Grand Secretariat, if one didn't want a foul reputation, one had to do something to earn the respect of the civil officials.

So the atmosphere inside the Grand Secretariat was hardly pleasant.

Now was the moment of the avalanche—not a single snowflake could stop it.

Han Kuang nodded, his tone utterly unruffled as he said: "Alright, I understand."

After saying this, he turned around and walked out.

He didn't know what Liu Yijing wanted to discuss with him, but he knew it was certainly related to what had happened this time.

Arriving at the duty room of the Chief Grand Secretary, Han Kuang found Liu Yijing looking at him with a smile.

Han Kuang sighed helplessly.

The current situation was actually somewhat advantageous for Liu Yijing. Because originally, once the situation stabilized, the first thing everyone would do was replace Liu Yijing as Grand Secretary, since he couldn't hold down the Donglin Faction.

Of course, Han Kuang knew he couldn't hold them down either.

Once Liu Yijing stepped down, the one who rose would certainly not be old Han, but someone else.

Now that things had escalated to this point, naturally no one wanted to move Liu Yijing aside. Not because those people thought he was useful, nor because they didn't want to touch him, but because there were too many messes to clean up and they simply couldn't spare the attention.

But now the choice was also laid before Han Kuang — what exactly should he do?

"Yuchen has come? Sit." Liu Yijing greeted Han Kuang with a smile.