Chapter 331: Denouncing the Prince Lu's Mansion and Qufu

Li An was rather unconcerned about his master's worries, and only said with a smile: "Sir, you have not been in Shandong for long, and most of what you have done has been military matters. It is only natural that you are not very familiar with affairs in Shandong."

"Even if the earlier matters can be pushed aside, how can this disaster relief affair be pushed away?" Zhao Yan sighed and said: "Who could have imagined that these people would be so bold? And who could have imagined that the esteemed House of the Duke Yansheng could do such a thing? It is truly the greatest absurdity under heaven, enough to make one's teeth chill."

Hearing his master's words, Li An said with a smile: "Surely you do not intend to step forward and take the lead, sir?"

"Why not?" Zhao Yan turned to look at Li An, his expression grave as he said: "Things have come to this point — since it is already like this, we might as well see the matter through to the end and let His Majesty properly deal with them."

"There is no need for you to act, sir — someone will naturally step forward." Li An said with confidence: "Sir, just sit back and watch the show."

"But there is one thing for you to do, sir: keep the garrisons throughout Shandong in check. Tell them that without a dispatch order from the Governor's office, no troops are to move."

"You are worried someone might be driven to desperation? They would not have such nerve, would they?" Zhao Yan said hesitantly.

"When people face life-and-death situations, their nerve tends to grow quite large. As the saying goes, prepare for a rainy day — some things are better guarded against. If something really happens, it will be very troublesome." Li An said with a grave expression.

Letting out a light sigh, Zhao Yan said somewhat helplessly: "They are all jinshi from the three examinations and two lists, speaking of righteousness and virtue and the greater good of the nation with every breath. But when it truly comes down to it, no one can be relied upon."

"These matters need not trouble you, sir. His Majesty will make his own decision." Li An said reassuringly.

While the two were conversing, Zhao Kui, the Provincial Administration Commissioner of Shandong, also returned to his own office.

Unlike the ease of Li An and Zhao Yan, Zhao Kui was extremely tense, and his complexion was very ugly. After sitting down, he picked up his tea and took a sip, nearly choking himself.

Another person walked in from outside.

This was a middle-aged man in his forties, lean of figure with regular features. Upon seeing Zhao Kui, he spoke with an urgent tone: "How was it? Did you see the Governor?"

"See my foot!" Zhao Kui immediately grew angry, his expression turning furious as he slammed the teacup in his hand heavily onto the table.

The teacup made a clattering sound, and tea splashed everywhere.

Zhao Kui paid it no heed, looking at the newcomer and saying: "He is feigning illness and refuses to see anyone. I told you long ago he could not be counted on, but you insisted I go see him. Now look — I hit a wall, didn't I?"

Hearing Zhao Kui's words, the middle-aged man sighed and sat down in a chair somewhat dejectedly.

After pondering for a long while, the man said: "At this point, we can only try our best to push the blame away. If the two of us have to bear it all, I fear neither of us will come out of this well."

"One Provincial Administration Commissioner of Shandong and one Provincial Judicial Commissioner of Shandong — tell me, how do we push it away?" Zhao Kui said with irritation.

"When the sky falls, the tall ones hold it up. Why should the two of us hold it up?" The middle-aged man, Zhou Fusheng, continued: "The two of us are merely the Administration Commissioner and the Judicial Commissioner. Above us there is the Governor, and below us there are the Prefects. It should never come down to us to bear this."

"In Shandong there is the Prince Lu's mansion and also Qufu. If His Majesty truly wants to investigate, let him investigate them. Surely he would not skip over the imperial relatives and the descendants of Confucius the Sage, and only come after us mere ministers?"

"Besides, even if he does go after ministers, he cannot only fix his eyes on the two of us, can he?"

Hearing Zhou Fusheng's words, Zhao Kui gave him a thoughtful look, then said: "You mean the law cannot punish the multitude?"

"The law not punishing the multitude is one aspect; the other is that the law does not punish the weighty. When there are many people sharing the blame, naturally the law cannot punish the multitude, and we will be able to escape this calamity."

"As for the law not punishing the weighty — though the two of us are of light weight, are there not others heavier than us? Within officialdom there is the Governor; outside officialdom there are the Prince Lu's mansion and Qufu. When would it ever be our turn — a Judicial Commissioner and an Administration Commissioner — to stick our heads out?"

"Well said." Zhao Kui praised with a laugh: "Why should the two of us toil away here doing these things? Have someone spread word down below — if they truly want to investigate, let them investigate the Prince Lu's mansion and Qufu."

Zhou Fusheng glanced at the laughing Zhao Kui, a strange expression flashing through his eyes.

Though he spoke lightly, Zhou Fusheng's heart was far from light. He knew very well that this time it would be difficult to get over this hurdle.

Still, there was no harm in using others as a drain for one's own troubles. Perhaps only a fool like Zhao Kui would think he would not be implicated himself.

He would go back and write a confession memorial, pushing the blame onto this fool's head first, and see whether he could survive it.

"Then I shall take my leave." Zhou Fusheng looked at Zhao Kui, smiled, and cupped his hands in salute: "As for the other matters, we will simply proceed as we just discussed. I trust you have a clear picture in your mind, Lord Zhao."

"Rest assured, rest assured — I have it all in hand." Zhao Kui said with a smile, rising to his feet as he said: "Allow me to see you out, Lord Zhou."

"No need, no need. Please stay, Lord Zhao." With that, Zhou Fusheng cupped his hands and turned to leave.

After Zhou Fusheng had gone, a person emerged from behind the screen.

This was a man in his fifties, and from his dress one could tell he was a private secretary.

The secretary watched Zhou Fusheng's departing back and said slowly: "Sir, that Lord Zhou probably has ill intentions."

"He never had good intentions to begin with." Zhao Kui gave a cold snort and said: "He truly thinks I, surnamed Zhao, am a fool. He is a Judicial Commissioner — there are few areas where he can be implicated. But I, as Administration Commissioner, have far too many areas of exposure. Do you believe that once he returns, he will denounce me?"

When the secretary Chen Gang heard Zhao Kui say this, he nodded and said nothing more. It was enough that his own master understood things clearly.

Zhao Kui then sighed with unwillingness and said: "Now that His Majesty has come to Shandong, people's hearts are uneasy, and everyone is looking for a way out. That Zhou Fusheng would do this is predictable."

"Governor Zhao Yan has gone into hiding, and what Zhou Fusheng plans to do is easy to imagine. The question is — what should I do?"

The secretary Chen Gang glanced at Zhao Kui and said: "The matter is as difficult as it is simple. What Zhou Fusheng just said was not without reason. Sir, write a memorial and report the facts as they are. That will do."

Hearing Chen Gang's words, Zhao Kui said hesitantly: "Do we really denounce the Prince Lu's mansion and Qufu?"

"At this point, we can only let them step forward." Chen Gang said with a smile: "As for what the court will ultimately do, that is beyond our knowing. But I think it will most likely be dropped. At the very least, you will not be in any great danger. If those above are dealt with leniently, there is no reason those below should be dealt with harshly."

"Fine, I will go write it at once." Zhao Kui gritted his teeth, rose to his feet, and walked toward the inner hall.

He was going to write a routine memorial, to absolve himself of responsibility and tell His Majesty exactly who had been causing chaos in Shandong.

Meanwhile, within Jizhou Prefecture.

Zhu Youxiao came to outside the city walls and began presiding over disaster relief for the victims, distributing grain to the refugees.

Countless grain was handed out from Zhu Youxiao's own hands, while convoys transporting grain continuously departed from Jizhou City.

The grain transport, originally handled by the Jizhou garrison troops, was now supervised by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and the great procession set out majestically for all parts of Jizhou.

Along the way, people carried a great bronze gong, striking it with loud clangs, shouting at the top of their voices: "His Majesty's heart is with Shandong, personally coming to Jizhou for disaster relief; His Majesty's sacred heart is benevolent and kind, opening the granaries to broadly distribute relief grain!"

At the same time, the soldiers also began helping the common people with disaster recovery, rebuilding houses, and digging out corpses to burn them on the spot.

Bureau Directors from various localities also began to mobilize, treating the sick and dispensing medicine to the people.

All of this was paid for out of Zhu Youxiao's own pocket. Of course, the money did not come solely from Zhu Youxiao alone — someone behind the scenes was footing the bill for him.

In Jizhou City, the Hongsheng Grain Shop.

This was an extremely grand establishment in Jizhou City — its name was like thunder in the ears, known to all, unknown to none.

But even such a grand business had reached its end today.

A eunuch dressed in red robes stood at the entrance, a smile on his face, appearing kind and amiable.

But behind him, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, fierce as wolves and tigers, were truly terrifying, enough to make one shudder.

All the people of the Hongsheng Grain Shop were dragged out, forced to kneel to one side, not daring to breathe too loudly.

Soon someone carried out a chair and obediently placed it beside the eunuch.

The red-robed eunuch was Chen Hong. After sitting down, he swept a glance over the kneeling clerks of Hongsheng Grain Shop, then beckoned to someone nearby and said, "Bring that shopkeeper over."

Soon the shopkeeper was hauled over and made to kneel directly before Chen Hong.

Looking the shopkeeper up and down, Chen Hong said slowly and deliberately, "Your name?"

"Reporting to Your Excellency, this humble one is Kong Liansheng." The kneeling shopkeeper said hurriedly.

Chen Hong nodded, reached out and took a ledger from the hands of the man beside him. After flipping through it quickly for a few glances, he asked, "Where are the other ledgers?"

"Reporting to Your Excellency, this shop has only this one ledger." Kong Liansheng said with some bewilderment. "There are no other ledgers."

"I have always stayed deep within the palace and have never come out to handle affairs. This time I followed His Majesty out. It is also my first time handling a matter. If this matter is botched, I fear I will have no face to see His Majesty."

"Now that you refuse to tell the truth, this makes things very difficult for me." Chen Hong looked at Kong Liansheng and spoke with a troubled tone.

Kong Liansheng's body trembled, but he truly did not dare tell the truth. If he spoke the truth, he could not bear the responsibility — when the time came, not only would he lose his own life, the lives of his entire family would be lost as well.

"This humble one truly does not know what Your Excellency is talking about. This place indeed has only this one ledger." Kong Liansheng said through gritted teeth.

Chen Hong nodded and said with a smile, "I won't make things difficult for you, but there is one matter you must help me with. Tell me, where is your grain? There isn't that much grain in your granary."