Chapter 358: The Embroidered Uniform Guard's Commander-Director Has Been Changed Again

Not long after, Chen Hong brought Xu Xianchun in.

Clearly, after Chen Hong had left, Xu Xianchun had come to wait for Zhu Youxiao here. For Xu Xianchun, this time he had been trapped by his own doing, and his relationship with Chen Hong had also dropped to freezing point at this moment.

"Your guilty servant Xu Xianchun, paying respects to Your Majesty." Upon seeing Zhu Youxiao, Xu Xianchun hurriedly knelt on the ground, not daring to hesitate in the slightest, calling himself a guilty servant.

Xu Xianchun understood his current position and his own situation.

Zhu Youxiao did not look at Xu Xianchun, continuing to eat his noodles there, and even picked up a piece of pickled cucumber to taste it.

The flavor was not bad — crisp and refreshing.

Noodles, garlic, pickled cucumber — Zhu Youxiao ate with great relish.

After a while, Zhu Youxiao set down his chopsticks, took the silk handkerchief from Chen Hong's hand, and wiped his mouth.

Setting the silk handkerchief down, Zhu Youxiao picked up the mouth-rinsing tea and rinsed his mouth, and only then raised his head to look at Xu Xianchun.

But Zhu Youxiao still did not speak to Xu Xianchun; instead he turned to Chen Hong and said: "Has Cui Yingyuan arrived?"

Hearing these words from Zhu Youxiao, Xu Xianchun's expression dimmed, and he felt terrible all over. At the same time, he felt extremely aggrieved inside — he had done so many things, and had merely embezzled some money, yet this was how his career was being destroyed.

Chen Hong hurriedly said: "Reporting to His Majesty, the man has already arrived."

"Then let him come in." Zhu Youxiao nodded, turned and walked back to his chair to sit down, quietly watching Xu Xianchun kneeling on the ground.

After pondering for a long while, Zhu Youxiao said: "I originally thought you were a clever man, but now it seems I was wrong."

The moment these words were spoken, Xu Xianchun's heart jumped with alarm.

This was already the second time he had heard these words.

The one who had said them before was Chen Hong; now it seemed that when it came to understanding His Majesty, he was far inferior to Chen Hong.

Xu Xianchun hurriedly pressed his head to the ground, nearly bursting into tears as he said: "Your servant knows his mistake! Your Majesty, please give your servant one more chance!"

Zhu Youxiao did not look at him, but continued: "This is not the first time you have taken money."

"As the saying goes, one travels a thousand li to be an official for wealth; I can understand that. People like you — many curse you as my fangs and claws, and I know all of that too. A lifetime as an official is nothing more than seeking fame or seeking profit; everyone has one of the two. There are also those who serve the country and the people, only they are few."

"For someone like you serving in the Embroidered Uniform Guard, you are the Son of Heaven's hawk and hound; you offend many people, and perhaps one day you will not come to a good end — this I also know. So when you people take a bit of money, I did not mind, for after all, the whole realm is corrupt, and in the end you are loyal. Those disloyal ones are all taking money; for you loyal ones to take a bit is hardly blameworthy."

"Your Majesty, your servant…" Xu Xianchun raised his head, wanting to say something, but was cut off by Zhu Youxiao's words.

"But money differs from money, and people differ from people. Some money can be taken, some money cannot; some money some people can take, some people cannot. I am not angry that you took money, but that you cannot see clearly." Zhu Youxiao said with an expressionless face.

Just at this moment, Chen Hong led Cui Yingyuan in from outside.

At this time, Cui Yingyuan still wore a completely bewildered expression, having no idea at all what had happened.

He had originally wanted to sound out Chen Hong, but Chen Hong would not tell him anything, which made Cui Yingyuan's heart somewhat worried.

The instant Cui Yingyuan came in, he happened to see Xu Xianchun kneeling on the ground, and his heart grew even more worried.

"Your servant Cui Yingyuan, paying respects to Your Majesty."

Not daring to hesitate in the slightest, Cui Yingyuan hurriedly knelt on the ground as well.

Although he did not know what had happened, it would not be anything good in the end, so it was better to lower his posture.

Zhu Youxiao glanced at Cui Yingyuan and said: "Rise."

After Cui Yingyuan stood up, Zhu Youxiao's gaze turned back to Xu Xianchun, and he said slowly: "Some people say anyone can do the Embroidered Uniform Guard's job, as long as they are obedient and ruthless. But I do not see it that way."

"You truly did handle matters well, but some things simply cannot be touched. In consideration of your having served me for so long, and having handled your duties well, I will say no more on the matter."

"The money you embezzled, take it back yourself — consider it retirement money I am giving you. We have had our time as ruler and minister; this can be considered fulfilling the bond between sovereign and subject."

There was one thing Zhu Youxiao had not deceived Xu Xianchun about — that he truly did not care that Xu Xianchun embezzled money.

These hawks and hounds under his command risked their lives doing things, offended everyone, and lived days of uncertainty; taking a bit of money was nothing.

But there was one thing Zhu Youxiao could not tolerate, and that was Xu Xianchun's stupidity. In this matter, Xu Xianchun's stupidity had been exposed completely.

Luo Sigong had been removed by him because of soft-heartedness, because of overthinking and hesitation.

Xu Xianchun was ruthless enough and did not hesitate, but his grasp of the bigger picture was far too poor — he simply could not see the situation before his eyes clearly.

His purpose in punishing Shandong, striking at those gentry, and arresting those merchants who trafficked grain was very simple. Since he had come to Shandong, he had to re-establish the court's authority in Shandong.

Because of the trafficking of disaster-relief grain, the credibility of the Shandong government had already gone bankrupt; and with people rebelling here, the people's hearts could not be lost.

His punishing these people was for establishing authority, for re-establishing the court's prestige.

Otherwise, in the eyes of the common people and gentry of Shandong, he as Emperor would not only lack benevolence, but would also appear lacking in authority.

These people fear power but do not cherish virtue — they absolutely could not be let off so easily. At the same time, it was also to confiscate their family properties, so that he could have a substantial foundation.

If during the process of confiscating properties Xu Xianchun had embezzled some — even if he had embezzled a good deal more — he would not have taken it to heart.

But what Xu Xianchun had done now had utterly violated his will. This was no longer a matter of money; Xu Xianchun could no longer be used.

He had many things to do in the future, and great things at that; such a stupid subordinate could not be kept. If he let Xu Xianchun off this time, he would surely ruin things later — better to replace the man now.

"Your servant, your servant…" Xu Xianchun still wanted to say more, but after being glanced at by Zhu Youxiao, he could no longer speak.

He could only kneel there woodenly, mumbling with his lips: "Your servant thanks Your Majesty for the grace of not killing him."

"Go back." Zhu Youxiao looked at Xu Xianchun and said: "Go back and pack up properly, then return to the capital."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Xu Xianchun acknowledged, kowtowed respectfully to Zhu Youxiao, then stood up tremblingly and walked out.

Only his expression was dejected and his steps faltering — long gone was his former high-spirited vigor.

Turning to look at Cui Yingyuan, Zhu Youxiao said: "Take charge of the Embroidered Uniform Guard's affairs for now. If you do well, Xu Xianchun's position will be yours; if you do poorly, then I need not say more — you may leave as well."

Cui Yingyuan was still somewhat dazed, but there was one thing he understood: Xu Xianchun had committed an error, an irredeemable error; His Majesty had stripped Xu Xianchun of everything, and he himself had become the greatest beneficiary.

Thinking of this, Cui Yingyuan finally reacted, and his whole body became excited.

Although Xu Xianchun had promoted Cui Yingyuan and could be considered his benefactor, facing such a matter, no one could help but be excited.

What kind of position that was, Cui Yingyuan knew all too well in his heart. He had never imagined that this position would now come around to him.

"Your servant thanks Your Majesty!" Cui Yingyuan hurriedly knelt and kowtowed to Zhu Youxiao, his face full of excitement.

Zhu Youxiao glanced at Chen Hong and said: "Brief him on the handover."

Having said this, Zhu Youxiao stood up, turned, and walked out toward the back.

After Zhu Youxiao left, Cui Yingyuan climbed up from the ground and went straight to Chen Hong, saying respectfully, "I pay my respects to Eunuch Chen. I hope you will look after me in the future."

Chen Hong glanced at Cui Yingyuan and nodded lightly.

"Since His Majesty ascended the throne, the Regional Military Commissioner of the Embroidered Uniform Guard has been replaced twice. You are the third. The previous two both met good ends, but there is a saying well put: once or twice may pass, but three or four times will not. His Majesty's patience has its limits. If you mess this up again, I fear you will not enjoy the same good fortune as your two predecessors."

Chen Hong said in a calm tone, "Luo Sigong was timid and fearful of trouble; Xu Xianchun was foolish beyond measure. Now it all rests on you. If you do well, your future will naturally be boundless; if you do poorly, you will fare worse than either of them."

"Please do enlighten me, Eunuch." Cui Yingyuan said with an envious smile on his face. "Whatever you say, I will listen and obey carefully. I will absolutely not make any mistakes."

Chen Hong nodded. Good that he knew his place.

So he said, "Do you know what mistake Xu Xianchun made this time?"

Cui Yingyuan shook his head and said with some uncertainty, "This subordinate does not know."

"Very simple. He took money from those grain merchants and did not confiscate their grain and property, allowing those merchants to get away with merely donating their grain. Do you know what this means?" Chen Hong looked at Cui Yingyuan and asked slowly.

This was in fact a test question. If Cui Yingyuan's answer was wrong, Chen Hong would not bother saying anything more to him.

"To answer you, Eunuch, this means Xu Xianchun deceived the sovereign. We who serve in the Embroidered Uniform Guard have great power, and there are many things we can do. But there is one thing we must never do, and that is deceive His Majesty. Whatever His Majesty orders, even if it means walking through blades or treading on fire, it must be done — let alone for the sake of money. Even at the cost of one's life, there can be no error." Cui Yingyuan said.

As someone who had climbed up from the bottom, Cui Yingyuan saw human nature more clearly. In his heart, he knew well that the thing those in power hated most was deception — and even more so with the current His Majesty. Xu Xianchun truly had nerve, daring to do such a thing.

"You are Xu Xianchun's trusted confidant, and yet you claim not to know?" Chen Hong looked at Cui Yingyuan and asked.

"To be honest with you, Eunuch, I truly did not know." Cui Yingyuan said hurriedly. "Xu Xianchun would never tell this subordinate such things. I am merely a dog he keeps. When he needs me, he tosses me a couple of bones. Why would he tell me about matters of dividing gold and silver?"