Chapter 17: The Interrogation

By this time, Yao Zongwen's clothes were soaked through with his own cold sweat. Gone was the composure he'd shown at his arrest; now he could only let out a barely audible groan from time to time.

Walking up to Yao Zongwen, Wei Zhongxian wore a smile on his face. He sat down in the chair his underling had brought over, then coldly ordered: "Help Lord Yao over here. Also prepare a stool, and have the scribe get ready."

After saying this, Wei Zhongxian deliberately paused for a moment before continuing: "Lord Yao, if you'd known this day would come, why did you do it in the first place? But it's not too late even now. Confess obediently, and then await His Majesty's judgment."

Yao Zongwen raised his head to look at Wei Zhongxian, his expression somewhat twisted, as if the movement had tugged at his wounds. He let out a cry of pain: "Eunuch Wei, he who does many unjust deeds will bring about his own ruin. Acting as you do, I fear you won't come to a good end."

"That needn't trouble Lord Yao." Wei Zhongxian's face darkened as he looked at Yao Zongwen, speaking with a hint of amusement: "Lord Yao, I have received His Majesty's sacred decree to investigate Xiong Tingbi's case. Now, let's hear what you have to say!"

The scribe beside them had long since been prepared. Hearing Wei Zhongxian's words, he dared not be negligent and quickly picked up his brush to begin writing on the paper — this was to keep a record.

Yao Zongwen was in too much pain to speak at first. He panted for a long while before finally saying: "My grudge with Xiong Tingbi runs deep. When I served as a Supervising Secretary in the Revenue Section, I left office to return home for mourning. After returning to court, I wished to be reinstated to office, but several of my applications to the Ministry of Personnel were set aside, and for years I was not approved. I submitted recommendation memorials several times, yet still received no appointment. Having no other recourse, I wrote to Xiong Tingbi, asking him to request a post on my behalf. But Xiong Tingbi refused me, and for this I came to resent him."

"Later I finally became a Supervising Secretary in the Personnel Section and was sent to Liaodong to inspect the troops. When I discussed matters with Xiong Tingbi, naturally our opinions mostly differed. Add to that several failed attempts to extort bribes from him, and the resentment in my heart toward Xiong Tingbi only grew deeper."

Seeing Yao Zongwen open his mouth, Wei Zhongxian's heart was nearly blooming with joy. This was truly excellent — this alone confirmed Yao Zongwen's guilt.

With this, the prerequisite for expanding this case into something big was in place. Moreover, His Majesty would surely be greatly pleased, and his own position would be consolidated. How could he not be delighted?

"After returning from Liaodong, I began contacting others to slander Xiong Tingbi at court, hoping to teach him a lesson."

Wei Zhongxian grew excited as well and quickly pressed: "Who were your accomplices?"

This was the crucial question.

"It was Liu Guojin, a man of Liaodong. Liu Guojin had previously served as a Censor and received a demotion during the once-every-six-years capital evaluation. After the war broke out in the Liao region, the court decided to employ men of Liao, so Liu Guojin became a Bureau Secretary in the Ministry of War and participated in military affairs. Liu Guojin advocated recruiting men of Liao as soldiers. The court followed his method and recruited over seventeen thousand men, but later more than half deserted. When Xiong Tingbi reported this to the court, Liu Guojin also came to bear a grudge against Xiong Tingbi."

"Liu Guojin and I hit it off immediately. We spread rumors attacking Xiong Tingbi, saying the territory of the Liao region was shrinking day by day, slandering him for discarding everyone's strategies, saying the troops and horses there were not trained, the generals were not deployed, the people's hearts were not won over, punishments sometimes had no effect, and the toil of the soldiers and civilians never ceased."

"Censor Gu Cao was the first to rise up and impeach Xiong Tingbi, saying that in over a year since leaving the pass, he had made no plans for anything; that when Pu River was lost, he concealed the news and did not report it; that soldiers bearing weapons were not used for battle but only for digging ditches; and that with the imperial sword of authority in hand, he sought not to benefit the state but only to throw his weight around."

Listening to Yao Zongwen's words, Wei Zhongxian's brow furrowed and his face immediately darkened. He did indeed want to take revenge on some of these Censors — these people had indeed been impeaching him.

But as for reporting matters based on hearsay — that was itself their duty. Yao Zongwen was due for punishment in this matter, but as for the others, he feared he could not easily deal with them. Besides, what he wanted were the big fish; what use were these small fry?

Looking at Yao Zongwen, Wei Zhongxian said in a low voice: "Lord Yao, I don't like being treated like a fool. Framing Xiong Tingbi, the Military Commissioner of Liaodong — do you think a few of you could accomplish that on your own? Who exactly was behind this?"

Wei Zhongxian glared at Yao Zongwen and barked loudly: "You really won't shed tears until you see the coffin."

Yao Zongwen groaned painfully a few times, his expression shifting constantly. After a long while, he raised his head to look at Wei Zhongxian and said with a smile: "Eunuch Wei, I confess my crimes. But there is no one behind me. No matter how you question me, there is no one behind me."

"Take him down and beat him!" Wei Zhongxian had turned ruthless as well — he was determined to pry open Yao Zongwen's mouth. This matter could not go wrong.

In early February, heavy snow began to fall over the capital once again. Red walls against white snow stirred a feeling of awe from the depths of one's heart. This snow showed no sign of stopping; instead it fell ever harder, and the entire capital was shrouded in snow.

In the bitter cold, few people ventured out, but countless memorials flew into Qianqing Palace along with the snowflakes.

The Tianqi Emperor seemed to have vanished, paying no heed whatsoever to these memorials. He cast all matters entirely to the Grand Secretariat and the Directorate of Ceremonial.

Outside, the ministers were frantic over Yao Zongwen's arrest and all wanted to enter the palace to find out what was going on, but they were all turned away at the gate. This gave rise to many rumors outside — Wei Zhongxian seizing power, the Emperor being dissolute — all sorts of gossip circulated.

At this moment, inside the carpenter's workshop in Qianqing Palace, Zhu Youxiao was fiddling with a block of wood in his hands, while not far away, the rough shape of a wheelchair had already taken form.

"Your Majesty, I've obtained the information." Chen Hong reported softly from the doorway.

Zhu Youxiao carefully picked up a wooden wheel, examined it a few times, nodded with satisfaction, then set it aside. He stood up and stretched before finally speaking: "Then let's hear it!"

"Yao Zongwen has already confessed. Director Wei is still applying torture, saying there are others behind Yao Zongwen." After saying this, Chen Hong stepped to one side, his expression very grave.

Zhu Youxiao laughed casually: "Of course there are others. What could one Yao Zongwen and one Liu Guojin accomplish on their own?"

After saying this, Zhu Youxiao continued with a smile: "In the past, when Xiong Tingbi served as a Censor, he worked alongside Liu Guojin and Yao Zongwen in offering remonstrance. They got along well together, sharing the same aspirations, and jointly made it their business to exclude the Donglin and attack Neo-Confucian learning."

"Liu Guojin and the others had placed their old hopes on Xiong Tingbi — that was also why Yao Zongwen went begging at Xiong Tingbi's door. But Xiong Tingbi dared not agree to their requests, or rather, Xiong Tingbi looked down on them. Thus the two sides were even more disappointed with each other. Yao Zongwen originally came from under Liu Guojin's wing, and from then on the two of them became even more tightly bound together in collusion, scheming against Xiong Tingbi."

"But Xiong Tingbi wasn't so easy to topple either. It's just that sometimes, some things simply await the right moment."