Chapter 133: Liu Yijing Makes His Move

Zhu Youxiao looked at this man and realized he was actually a Censor from the Censorate.

Though the man looked somewhat familiar, Zhu Youxiao did not know him.

One must understand that although Censors of the Censorate bore considerable authority and responsibility, their rank was not high. By the rank of a Censor, he would not be qualified to attend this kind of court assembly.

But Censors had one special privilege, which could also be considered a courtesy. That was, whenever a Censor wished to impeach someone, he could report it upward for approval, and after receiving permission, he would gain the opportunity to attend court.

This was not impeachment by submitting a routine memorial, but rather impeachment face-to-face before Your Majesty in the great hall — far more intense than submitting a memorial.

Zhu Youxiao was not surprised. It was only natural for things to start from the Censorate; the Ming's conventional method of struggle at present was impeachment.

Gently nodding his head, Zhu Youxiao spoke: "Very well, say what you have to say!"

At this moment, Wang An, the seal-holding eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, said softly at Zhu Youxiao's side: "Your Majesty, this man is a Censor of the Censorate, named Zhang Yingdao. He is a student of Liu Yijing, the Chief Grand Secretary of the Grand Secretariat."

Zhu Youxiao gently nodded, now feeling confident in his heart.

Turning his head to glance at Wang An, a smile appeared on Zhu Youxiao's face.

It had to be said, this Wang An was quite capable — his competence and perceptiveness were both far superior to Chen Hong's.

It was just a pity that Wang An was a man of the Donglin Faction, so for now he could not get too close to him.

"Your subject wishes to impeach Zhao Nanxing, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works," Zhang Yingdao said.

Zhu Youxiao glanced at Zhang Yingdao with an expressionless face, then turned to look at Zhao Nanxing, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works.

In truth, the progress of events left Zhu Youxiao somewhat astonished — he had not expected both sides to go at each other with real blades and real spears right from the start.

He glanced at Liu Yijing below, who sat there calm and composed. He had not expected that when this man did not act, nothing happened, but when he did act, it would shake heaven and earth.

In fact, Liu Yijing had no choice. The imperial edict His Majesty had sent over two days ago carried a meaning far too obvious — it was telling him to sink his teeth into the Donglin Faction and not let go.

And yet he had no choice in the matter. Since there was no choice, he could not afford to look ahead and behind with hesitation.

Though he had no choice, he had in fact already made a choice — it was just that this choice had not been made by himself.

Since the choice was already made, he might as well carry the matter through to the end. Shifting blame and hesitating would only incur His Majesty's displeasure as well.

So this time, Liu Yijing directly had his student Zhang Yingdao step forward to impeach Zhao Nanxing — this was also done for everyone to see.

One layer of meaning was to warn those fence-sitters in court, to let them know that continuing to sit on the fence would only lead to a worse death.

Liu Yijing wanted to tell them: I, the Chief Grand Secretary of the Grand Secretariat, have already stepped onto the stage with my cards laid openly on the table. If you do not follow me, then you are my enemy.

There is no neutral faction and no alliance faction — this was Liu Yijing's meaning.

Beyond that, there was a second layer of meaning — that was to show Zhu Youxiao, the Emperor.

I am not going to hide anymore. You tell me to do it, and I will do it with all my might.

In fact, Liu Yijing's approach truly did please Zhu Youxiao greatly.

When a minister does things for the Emperor, and does so without holding anything back, of course the Emperor likes it.

Though this minister was coerced, as long as he dared to step forward, how he got there did not matter.

"Impeach Zhao Nanxing, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works?" Zhu Youxiao showed hesitation on his face and said slowly: "All along, Minister Zhao has been cautious in conduct, sparing no effort for the nation — he can be called a model official. You — why do you wish to impeach him?"

Zhu Youxiao shielding Zhao Nanxing was something no one had expected.

But one person, upon hearing all this, felt a stir in his heart. That person was Liu Yijing.

His Majesty did not want to bear even a shred of responsibility.

Liu Yijing did not believe for a moment that His Majesty would truly protect Zhao Nanxing. His Majesty's current approach was nothing more than displaying his own benevolence and magnanimity, while letting everyone know that His Majesty trusted the ministers of the court.

In other words, the role of the villain had been thoroughly handed to him.

Thinking of this, Liu Yijing glanced at Zhang Yingdao and nodded almost imperceptibly.

Zhang Yingdao stepped forward and declared in a loud voice: "Your Majesty, among the ministers of the court there are many who deceive Your Majesty's sacred wisdom. These people often appear benevolent and virtuous on the surface, yet in private they form cliques for personal gain and indulge in boundless corruption. They seem to be pillars of the state, but in truth they are traitorous ministers of the nation!"

After these words came out, the entire great hall was so quiet that the drop of a needle could be heard.

No one had expected this Zhang Yingdao to come out swinging so viciously right from the start.

He had directly branded Zhao Nanxing a traitorous minister!

And this was too ruthless — saying that Zhao Nanxing was righteous and moral on the surface, but corrupt without limit behind the scenes, and even deceiving the Emperor.

Zhao Nanxing, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works, standing off to one side, now had a face as black as the bottom of a pot.

He had never imagined, no matter what, that the other side would set their sights on him.

In truth, although he held real power, his position within the entire Donglin Faction was not that high, and he was not usually very conspicuous.

By comparison, there were more conspicuous people like Gao Panlong, and those of higher office like Sun Shenxing. If someone was going to be suppressed, it should never have reached his head!

But reality was precisely so helpless — this Zhang Yingdao had indeed come after him, Old Zhao!

Without looking at Zhang Yingdao who was impeaching him, Zhao Nanxing directly fixed his gaze on Liu Yijing, the Chief Grand Secretary of the Grand Secretariat. Clearly, this matter could not be separated from Liu Yijing.

In fact, ever since Zhang Yingdao had stepped forward, everyone knew this matter was the doing of Liu Yijing, the Chief Grand Secretary of the Grand Secretariat.

But as for Liu Yijing turning his spearhead toward him, Zhao Nanxing, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works, had a keener sense of it — plainly put, Liu Yijing wanted his position.

This old fox truly stopped at nothing. Thinking of this, Zhao Nanxing sneered repeatedly in his heart.

"Then go ahead and say it." Zhu Youxiao sat back slightly and said with an expressionless face, as if he was already displeased with Zhang Yingdao.

Zhang Yingdao turned a blind eye to His Majesty's demeanor and continued: "Zhao Nanxing, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works, together with Zou Yuanbiao and the deceased Gu Xiancheng, jointly founded the Donglin Academy and were called the Three Gentlemen of the Realm. However, in your subject's view, these men were unsuccessful in officialdom at the time, and their founding of the Donglin Academy was nothing more than a way to vent the resentment in their hearts."

"The so-called teaching of students and joint discussion of current affairs were merely channels for them to express their dissatisfaction and resentment toward the court, using this to unite those who likewise harbored discontent against the court, forming factions and building cliques for private gain. They colluded with one another, recommended each other, and deceived Your Majesty — they are truly traitorous ministers through and through in this court!"

These words were even heavier, so much so that even Zhu Youxiao had not expected them.

Harboring dissatisfaction toward the court, bearing resentment toward the Emperor — this was no longer merely a matter of forming cliques for private gain; this was clearly the rhythm of rebellion.

Zhang Yingdao's words were truly too severe. No one had expected that he would go for the kill on his very first move.

Zhu Youxiao did not know whether this was Liu Yijing's intention, or whether Zhang Yingdao had chosen to do this on his own.

Upon hearing these words that could cost a man his life, Zhao Nanxing directly knelt to the ground, touching his head to the floor and saying: "Your Majesty, your subject has something to say!"

Zhu Youxiao glanced at Zhao Nanxing, but showed no intention of letting him speak. He only said softly: "Minister Zhao, you must wait for others to finish speaking. Stand up for now; after he finishes, then you may speak."

Everyone's gaze once again turned to Zhang Yingdao, wondering what more he would say.

Zhang Yingdao did not look at Zhao Nanxing, but merely bowed and said: "Thank you, Your Majesty. After these people formed their faction, not only did they seize control of court affairs, but they also colluded with border generals. Among them, Li Ruzhen, the Regional Commander of Liaodong, has joined forces with them. Besides this attempt to frame Xiong Tingbi, these people have also embezzled military pay meant for Liaodong."

"Especially Zhao Nanxing, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works — he has embezzled a vast amount of money. Most of the military equipment that the Ministry of Works allocated to Liaodong is substandard, and much of it is defective. Whether cannon or arquebus, they basically explode after a few uses. The border troops' soldiers don't even dare to use firearms; they choose to use spears and sabers instead."

"Yet even so, spears and sabers cannot be supplied in sufficient quantity. In the Ministry of Works' weapons bureau, countless artisans are exploited and materials are taken away. But Liaodong has never reported this, because Zhao Nanxing has already colluded with the border generals of Liaodong, and most of the money has been embezzled by them."

Zhu Youxiao looked at Zhang Yingdao and sighed helplessly. This problem could not really be blamed on Zhao Nanxing's head.

This was no longer a problem of Zhao Nanxing or the Ministry of Works alone, because the entire Ming Dynasty was like this from top to bottom — it was even regarded as an open, established rule.

Only those who did not respect these rules were dealt with. And was it only Liaodong that was affected?

But Zhu Youxiao could also see that whether it was this Zhang Yingdao before him or Liu Yijing behind him, they were merely giving him a justification. To put it plainly, they were handing him a blade.

Did these things in the Ministry of Works exist?

The answer was simple: yes. As long as he sent people to investigate, they would certainly find something, and then he could use that excuse to dispose of Zhao Nanxing.

It just depended on whether he wanted to make the case big or small.

If he wanted to make a big matter small, then he would only remove Zhao Nanxing alone. As for the charge, he had already thought of it — embezzlement and bribery would work, and so would lax oversight of subordinates.

As for the severity of the charge, in the end it all came down to his own judgment. He could do whatever he pleased — he could even tie it together with the case of the Donglin Faction forming a clique for private gain, and he could implicate others as well.

Sighing inwardly, Zhu Youxiao could not help but feel some admiration — these old fellows really were rich in experience.

They did things in such a way that he could find no fault from any angle. It was like being fed — the food was delivered right to his lips, and how he ate it was simply a matter of his own comfort.

These old fellows really were considerate to a fault.

"Is there anything else?" Zhu Youxiao looked at Zhang Yingdao and asked.

Liu Yijing's side had come out swinging, ready to take down Zhao Nanxing of the Donglin Faction — that was quite a bold move.

After this period of attrition, the Donglin Faction did not seem to have many people left. If Zhao Nanxing fell as well, the Donglin Faction would truly have no one left.

But Zhu Youxiao was still prepared to continue, because now was not the time to stop.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, your servant has finished." Zhang Yingdao respectfully performed a bow, then retreated back into the ranks of the officials, standing there quietly, as if none of what had just happened had been done by him.

Zhu Youxiao turned his head to look at Zhao Nanxing and said: "Minister Zhao, you may speak now."

Letting out a light breath, Zhao Nanxing stepped out of the ranks and declared in a clear voice: "Your servant requests to defend himself."

When an impeachment was conducted in the presence of the one being impeached, it was naturally necessary to allow the impeached person to defend himself — this too was the rule.