Chapter 492: The Struggle Between Xu and Han

Although everyone was reluctant, although everyone wanted to pull the Emperor back, although everyone wanted to have a proper debate with the Emperor, there was nothing to be done — the Emperor had already slipped away, and by the look of it, he wouldn't be coming back anytime soon.

As for submitting routine memorials to remonstrate, the Emperor could simply keep them unanswered, pretending he had never seen them at all.

In the past, if the Emperor wanted to leave the capital, he needed the ministers to make arrangements — the Grand Secretariat, for instance. If the Grand Secretariat opposed it and refused to arrange things, then the Emperor couldn't leave even if he wanted to.

But things were different now. The Emperor didn't just rely on the Grand Secretariat — there was also that Staff Office over there, and they could help make the arrangements.

Those people in the Staff Office might not necessarily oppose it, because among them were many hereditary nobles and imperial in-laws, and even military generals. Under such circumstances, these matters had nothing to do with them, so why would they bother to oppose?

What benefit was there in opposing Your Majesty?

Only by following Your Majesty could one gain benefits.

Even on the Grand Secretariat's side, not everyone necessarily opposed it.

Han Kuang walked over to Xu Guangqi's side.

Four years had passed, and Han Kuang was beginning to show his age — his hair was starting to turn white. But his temperament had also mellowed with age; he greeted everyone with a smile.

Han Kuang's eyes were narrowed into slits, giving him the look of a kindly old man.

Yet everyone knew that after these past few years, this Chief Grand Secretary had become even more cunning and wily, and when he schemed against people, he always did it silently, like fine rain soaking into the earth. Those loud, crackling displays of force — he basically didn't do those anymore.

"Jiangnan — now that's a fine place." Han Kuang said with a sigh of emotion: "If I remember correctly, Grand Secretary Xu is from Songjiang Prefecture, isn't he?"

Xu Guangqi glanced at Han Kuang, his facial expression unchanged.

Xu Guangqi knew Han Kuang had nothing good to say. The fact that he was from Songjiang Prefecture had long since spread across the whole realm — how could Han Kuang possibly not know?

Lately Xu Guangqi found Han Kuang very irritating. This fellow was always pretending to be an old man — claiming his age was advanced and his memory was failing; claiming he was old and his reactions were slow, and so on. His posturing of relying on seniority was getting worse and worse!

But in truth, everyone knew that this old fellow Han Kuang was nowhere near that state — it was all an act he put on.

Xu Guangqi nodded and said with a smile: "Indeed. Come to think of it, it's been many years since I've been home. If I remember correctly, Grand Secretary Han, you should be from Shanxi, right? Shanxi is a fine place!"

Turning his head to smile at Xu Guangqi, Han Kuang nodded without speaking.

Shanxi is a fine place — do you even believe that yourself?

That region hadn't had a moment's peace these past few years, with all kinds of natural disasters striking frequently. Earthquakes, droughts, fierce winds — every sort of calamity imaginable had come, and the common folk were struggling just to survive.

But Han Kuang also understood that this was Xu Guangqi threatening him.

Just now he had mentioned that Xu Guangqi's family was in Songjiang Prefecture, so Xu Guangqi brought up that his family was in Shanxi.

What was that business at Zhangjiakou last time?

Shanxi had been dragged into no small amount of trouble over that — this was clearly putting eyedrops in his eyes, giving him a warning.

But the two of them were used to this by now. They glanced at each other and both laughed.

After trading a few barbs, Han Kuang said directly: "Still, you should send a letter home, to avoid making a fool of yourself later. After all, Grand Secretary Xu, you haven't been back in many years, so you may not know the affairs of your household all that clearly. Back in the day, our Great Ming also had a Grand Secretary surnamed Xu, and the mess he made was not a pretty sight."

Xu Guangqi naturally knew the story Han Kuang was referring to — that man was Xu Jie, the famous Xu Jie.

Everyone said Yan Song was a great corrupt official — the Yan family controlled the court, and the Yan family committed every kind of evil. In contrast, Xu Jie, who stood against him, had a much better reputation.

But what was the result?

Xu Jie was far wealthier than Yan Song.

If it hadn't been for Gao Gong and Hai Rui, that case would never have come to light.

After all, Xu Jie's student was Zhang Juzheng. By that time, Xu Jie would naturally be portrayed as the great hero who toppled Yan Song. He would go down in history with a glorious name, while Yan Song would be reviled for ten thousand generations.

It was just that Gao Gong couldn't stand to see it anymore, so he lifted the lid off, and together with Hai Rui, the two of them investigated Xu Jie down to the very bottom.

The family property dug up from Xu Jie's household far exceeded Yan Song's. His family had also engaged in no small amount of extortion and seizure by force or guile — one could say they were the model of getting rich quietly without making a sound.

Bringing up Xu Jie in front of him — this Han Kuang had no good intentions!

Xu Guangqi glanced at Han Kuang, slowly nodded, and said directly: "Thank you for your concern, Grand Secretary Han. But if anything happens in my household, then they have only themselves to blame. Children and grandchildren will have their own blessings — don't be a beast of burden for your descendants!"

"Our Great Ming has not come to where it is today easily. This is all His Majesty's achievement. Back in the day, our Great Ming also had such an opportunity — there was once a Chief Grand Secretary surnamed Zhang, and even two consecutive Chief Grand Secretaries surnamed Zhang, one of whom was a fellow townsman of yours from Shanxi, was he not?"

"What a pity, what a pity!"

After saying this, Xu Guangqi shook his head, clasped his hands behind his back, and walked away.

Watching Xu Guangqi's retreating figure, Han Kuang's expression also faded.

The two consecutive Chief Grand Secretaries surnamed Zhang were naturally Zhang Juzheng and Zhang Siwei.

The fellow townsman from Shanxi was naturally Zhang Siwei.

While Zhang Juzheng was alive, Zhang Siwei was a capable lieutenant under him. After Zhang Juzheng died, he became the vanguard of the anti-Zhang Juzheng faction, pissing in the same pot as the Emperor.

At the same time, Zhang Siwei's family was the biggest salt dealer in Shanxi. Like the family of Wang Xiangqian, the then Governor-General of the Three Borders, they were not only Shanxi's largest salt merchants but also Shanxi's biggest smugglers.

But sometimes, man proposes and heaven disposes. Zhang Siwei finally became Chief Grand Secretary of the Grand Secretariat, and then people in his family started dying.

First his father died, and Zhang Siwei had to return home to observe mourning; then his mother died, and he had to continue observing mourning at home; then his two younger brothers also died.

And all of these things happened within the short span of two years.

By the time his three years of mourning were nearly complete, he couldn't hold on any longer — and he died too.

By using Zhang Siwei's story to warn Han Kuang, Xu Guangqi was actually telling him: man proposes and heaven disposes — don't act recklessly. A mantis trying to stop a chariot never ends well, and no one can sabotage the Great Ming's resurgence.

Han Kuang watched Xu Guangqi's retreating figure as he slowly walked toward the steps.

At this moment, Huang Kezuan walked over and reached out to support Han Kuang.

Han Kuang glanced at him and said with a smile: "You're not young yourself, yet you're supporting me. Don't let us both fall."

"Then let's walk a bit slower." Huang Kezuan said with a smile: "We support each other — walking slowly, we can still go farther."

Han Kuang looked at Huang Kezuan, nodded, and said with approval in his tone: "Well said. Those who set out first don't necessarily arrive first — who knows what they'll encounter on the road? Let's walk slowly. As long as we don't make mistakes, we'll get there eventually."

"Indeed." Huang Kezuan also nodded with emotion.

The two walked forward together.

Naturally, all the civil and military officials in court saw this scene.

The struggle between Xu Guangqi and Han Kuang had grown increasingly fierce over the past two years, and everyone had long since grown accustomed to it.

Xu Guangqi had always wanted to bring Han Kuang down, and Han Kuang had always wanted to bring Xu Guangqi down. The two of them could be said to be going back and forth, locked in a most spirited contest.

Over the past two years, with the development of the School of Mind, Xu Guangqi's influence could be said to have grown enormously. What he had once advocated and the status he had once represented had brought him great convenience, so his position had risen very quickly.

Where he had once needed to rely on others to oppose Han Kuang, that was no longer necessary—Xu Guangqi's strength was now formidable.

Under such circumstances, conflict at court was inevitable.

Apart from Han Kuang and the other one, the third Grand Secretary, Cui Jingrong, basically did not get involved in their affairs. Because he had arrived relatively recently, he wore an air of "don't come looking for me."

As for the staff office, Sun Chengzong and Yuan Keli stood together.

The two exchanged glances, each seeing the other's worry.

In their view, the Great Ming was currently in a good period—the Emperor was wise and in the prime of his life, he had a son, so the succession was secured; development in all areas was excellent, the military was strong; and after several purges of officials, governance was also good.

At such a time, it really was not suitable for any large-scale conflict to erupt at court. If Han Kuang and the other one truly went at each other, things would become troublesome.

Who knew what the Emperor was thinking, letting Han Kuang and the other one carry on like this?

"Will you go south with him this time?" Yuan Keli looked at Sun Chengzong and asked directly.

"Who knows?" Sun Chengzong said with a grave expression. "I would very much like to follow and see, lest His Majesty take things too far."

"Although His Majesty has matured somewhat now, in the end he is still young. If he truly sweeps through Jiangnan, then things will become troublesome."

"Indeed." Yuan Keli said with a sigh: "We really should send a few seasoned and prudent ministers to accompany him. It's just that we don't know what His Majesty is thinking—this matter may not be easy to manage."

"We should also limit the involvement of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot." Sun Chengzong said with a frown: "Those two have been stirring things up quite fiercely these past two years."

"I'm afraid there's no avoiding it," Yuan Keli shook his head and said: "Some things simply cannot be helped. We'll take it one step at a time. If it truly comes to it, you should strive to go along. This time, I'm afraid it can't be stopped."

"What His Majesty wishes to do, no one can stop." Sun Chengzong said.

As for the others, they too were discussing these matters.

The Duke of Ying, Zhang Weixian, had a hesitant look on his face. He glanced at the Duke of Ding beside him and said with some helplessness: "What use is following me? If you're worried about Nanjing, then hurry up and send them a letter."

Upon hearing this, the Duke of Ding smiled bitterly, his tone helpless as he said: "How dare I write a letter at a time like this? If His Majesty found out that I was tipping them off, what do you think His Majesty would think?"

What the Duke of Ding referred to was naturally the Duke of Wei in Nanjing—he was now very worried that once His Majesty arrived in Nanjing, he would deal with them.

Zhang Weixian glared at him and said: "Then what bloody use is following me?"