Chapter 668: The Passing of the Great Ming's Old Generation

Seeing Grand Prince Bongnim say this, Park Jeong-yang seemed deeply moved. With a respectful expression, he bowed to Grand Prince Bongnim and said with emotion: "Your Highness's heart moves heaven and earth. Your subject thanks Your Highness on behalf of the people of Joseon!"

Grand Prince Bongnim no longer stood on the steps at this moment. He walked down from the steps, came straight to Park Jeong-yang, reached out to support him, and said: "Lord Park is loyal to the state and works for the people with all his heart and effort. You are truly a model for all the court officials. I believe Lord Park's heart will surely be understood and supported by everyone, and in the future you will certainly be able to realize your grand ambitions."

"Your subject has never taken personal honor or rank to heart. I only hope that Joseon can grow strong and the people can live in peace — this is the ambition of my life. Even if I must give my life for it, I will not hesitate!" Park Jeong-yang declared with fervor.

The two exchanged a glance, then both turned their heads away at the same time.

Grand Prince Bongnim said: "Then go and handle it, Lord Park."

Park Jeong-yang quickly replied: "Very well, your subject will go now."

With that, he turned and walked out.

Judging only by his silhouette, there was indeed something of the air of "the wind sighs and the Yi River runs cold" about him.

After Park Jeong-yang left, the expression on Grand Prince Bongnim's face changed.

The look from just moments ago vanished, replaced by a face of utter seriousness. The kind smile was gone too, replaced by a grim, somewhat gloomy countenance.

After a long while, a person walked out from behind Grand Prince Bongnim.

This was a middle-aged man in his forties, with a gaunt face, not very tall, and extremely ordinary in appearance — standing there, one could easily overlook him.

Glancing back at him, Grand Prince Bongnim asked: "Still haven't found out yet?"

"Reporting to Your Highness, we still haven't found out." The man said with a blank expression and an unyielding tone: "It's very difficult for our people to plant someone inside Tongxing Tianxia. Although we recently managed to place someone, they hold no position of importance and cannot access core secrets, let alone find out what Lord Park Jeong-yang is doing."

Grand Prince Bongnim gave a cold snort and said: "Utterly useless!"

"This Park Jeong-yang has been very close with the Ming people from the Tongxing Tianxia trading house lately. He talks about serving Joseon, but in his heart it's all business. These past days, he hasn't been short on benefits. Now that he's this close to the Ming, I don't trust him."

The man standing behind Grand Prince Bongnim said: "There's no news yet, and we don't know what they intend to do. Judging from the current situation, it's very likely the Ming people are up to something."

"What do you mean?" Grand Prince Bongnim asked with a furrowed brow.

"First, the Grand Prince was kept in Ming — that matter already reeks of the strange. Then, when the Ming envoys arrived in Joseon, the first thing they did was cure Queen Inmok. The current strife at court is very much connected to this."

"With the Grand Prince absent, the court is unsettled; Queen Inmok has returned to the fore, and those of the elders faction have all come out of retirement, causing quite a stir. And now the Ming have sent people with military equipment — all this chaos started with the Ming."

"Then what do you think the Ming want to do?" Grand Prince Bongnim asked in a lowered voice.

After thinking for a moment, the man said: "Reporting to Your Highness, I do not know. Joseon has nothing worth the Ming scheming over. What the Ming intend to do, I cannot fathom for the moment. However, I suspect this may not be the Ming's doing."

"What do you mean?" Grand Prince Bongnim asked.

"It's simple. If the Ming Emperor wanted to do something, he wouldn't need to go around in circles like this. If the Ming Emperor wanted something, would Joseon dare refuse?" The man continued: "It's very likely that some people within the Ming want to do something, to fish for some benefits."

Hearing this, Grand Prince Bongnim nodded.

He also felt this was a very plausible possibility. He asked: "Then what should we do?"

"Turn their scheme against them — go with the flow." The man said with a smile: "No matter what the Ming want to do, it does us no harm right now. If Park Jeong-yang truly can win people over to support Your Highness, then Your Highness will stand in an unassailable position. And if these Ming weapons can be obtained this time, that too is a good thing for Your Highness."

Grand Prince Bongnim nodded and said: "You're right. But that's not the most urgent matter. Send people to keep a close watch over there, and find out information as soon as possible. We need to determine exactly how Park Jeong-yang is colluding with the Ming. Best of all, find out who among the Ming is behind this scheme, and what they truly want."

"Only by knowing your enemy and yourself can you win a hundred battles. Right now we know nothing, and there's simply no way for us to act." With that, Grand Prince Bongnim flicked his sleeve, turned, and left.

The man watched Grand Prince Bongnim's retreating figure, sighed, and soon disappeared as well.

The Ming embassy.

Zhang Yu looked at Sun Chuanting and said with a smile: "Lord Sun has truly been very busy these past two days."

"No choice — there are a thousand threads to pull together." Sun Chuanting also replied with a smile, walking over to sit in a chair nearby before continuing: "Fortunately, things are proceeding smoothly enough. There's no more problem with the Joseon king. Next is selecting the troops and then marching out."

"Once I leave with my men, everything here will be in your hands. I won't interfere with how you handle it, but don't let any major problems arise in the short term — I need Joseon to provide my logistical support."

"I understand." Zhang Yu nodded and said: "This is only the initial positioning for now; there's no need to rush."

"Excellent, that's for the best." Sun Chuanting also said with a smile: "Things are going smoothly on Park Jeong-yang's end. That Grand Prince Bongnim has already begun cooperating with him. Next, it will be up to your maneuvering."

"These are all small matters. Rather, Lord Sun — you must fight this battle well." Zhang Yu said with a smile: "I'll be in Joseon awaiting your good news."

"Don't worry." Sun Chuanting also replied with a smile.

Over the following days, everything in Joseon proceeded according to plan, step by step.

Sun Chuanting quickly selected an army — one belonging to the elders faction, recommended to him by Park Jeong-yang. Clearly, they were confident in their ability to control this force.

Aside from that, Zhang Yu made no major moves on his end either.

Once the army was ready, it marched out directly, advancing in full force toward the front lines.

The capital, Qianqing Palace.

For Zhu Youxiao, life had been fairly comfortable during this period.

Although the military reform had already been rolled out, there was nothing too troublesome demanding his attention for the moment. It was still only in the planning stage — while there was plenty of discussion outside, the voice of opposition was not loud.

Given Zhu Youxiao's current control over the court, there was little chance of any massive wave of opposition arising. Besides, everyone knew about the problems with the guard stations; no one would touch on that matter and incur the Emperor's displeasure.

The civil officials wore an air of indifference — after all, military affairs had been managed by the Staff Office these past few years. Reform or no reform, it had little to do with them. They couldn't get a hand in this matter, so all they could do was watch.

On the contrary, some ambitious civil officials felt they could make their mark. At least this reform had created several major posts worth considering. If they could get one, that would be a meteoric rise. Switching from civil to military service was fine now — later, it would be much harder.

On the military side, the Staff Office didn't oppose the guard station reform, and the Imperial Guard didn't participate either, so no one objected. The guard stations below had no chance to oppose — they had no right to speak at all.

Everything transitioned smoothly and progressed well, so naturally Zhu Youxiao's days were comfortable.

Sitting by the water, reclining in a chair, with a table beside him laden with all sorts of pastries, fruits, and tea.

A fishing rod lay before him as he soaked up the sun and fished — it had been quite some time since he'd enjoyed such days.

Empress Zhang sat beside Zhu Youxiao, having set up a reclining chair of her own. She basked in the sun with him, occasionally picking up a pastry or a piece of fruit and placing it into Zhu Youxiao's mouth.

They looked utterly relaxed and at ease — the imperial couple both thoroughly enjoying themselves.

Suddenly, footsteps sounded as Wei Chao approached from the distance.

He came straight to Zhu Youxiao's side and said: "Your Majesty, the Huang family just sent word — Grand Secretary Huang has passed away!"

Hearing this, Zhu Youxiao let out a sigh, then sat up.

Though he had long been prepared for this in his heart, now that the moment had truly come, Zhu Youxiao's heart still felt heavy.

Life and death will always be a threshold no one can cross.

Huang Kezuan was gone. He estimated that the old officials of the Great Ming would now leave him one by one. For him, that was hardly good news.

"Prepare the carriage, let's go take a look." Zhu Youxiao rose to his feet and said.

"Yes, Your Highness." Wei Chao acknowledged, then quickly turned and led the way ahead.

When Zhu Youxiao arrived at the Huang residence, quite a crowd had already gathered there, and the suona horns had already begun to play.

Officials filed through the gate to pay their respects, coming in an unending stream.

Zhu Youxiao went in as well, took a look at Huang Kezuan's remains, and was then escorted to the reception hall nearby.

Once he arrived there, Zhu Youxiao spotted quite a few familiar faces.

Aside from Han Kuang, Sun Chengzong, Xu Guangqi, and others had all come as well.

Looking at these aged faces, Zhu Youxiao felt helpless. He feared that for a long stretch to come, he would have to endure this sort of thing again and again—continually seeing people off.

When the assembled crowd saw Zhu Youxiao walk in from outside, they naturally dared not be remiss. They hastily rose and bowed respectfully, saying: "We pay our respects to Your Majesty!"

"All of you, dispense with the formalities." Zhu Youxiao waved his hand and said.

After Zhu Youxiao sat down, the other ministers followed suit and took their seats, and the two sides began to converse.

Only, the conversation did not last very long—after all, in such an atmosphere there was little suitable to say, and especially since these old ministers were all somewhat distracted.

Huang Kezuan's today was their tomorrow, and most importantly, that day was no longer far off for them. In such a setting, they found themselves momentarily unable to collect their thoughts.

Zhu Youxiao did not stay there long—the atmosphere was not good. If he lingered any longer, Zhu Youxiao felt his own spirits would be affected.

After leaving Huang Kezuan's home, Zhu Youxiao returned to the palace.

Huang Kezuan's funeral was very grand, and Zhu Youxiao also bestowed considerable gifts. But soon enough, this matter would vanish from everyone's sight.

When a man dies, it is like a lamp going out—afterward, everyone goes back to how they were, and life must go on.

In the days that followed, things indeed unfolded just as Zhu Youxiao had anticipated—half a year passed in the blink of an eye.

Before they knew it, it was the end of the year. With the New Year approaching, the capital had also begun to turn cold.

Snowflakes drifted down, and the entire capital took on a bleak, desolate air.

Treading through the accumulated snow on the ground, Zhu Youxiao went for a stroll outside.

Staying cooped up in the warm chamber all day long had made him uncomfortable—he had come out for some fresh air.

Today the sunlight was just right, and the air was slightly crisp; breathing it into his lungs refreshed his spirits considerably.

Wei Chao followed behind Zhu Youxiao and said respectfully: "Your Highness, someone has already been sent over to Lord Li's residence."

Zhu Youxiao nodded and said nothing more.

Ever since Huang Kezuan died, the Great Ming court had been losing people one after another, exactly as Zhu Youxiao had thought it would.

In the past half year, seven or eight old ministers had already died—and these were the prominent, high-profile figures.

A few days ago, Li Zhizao had fallen gravely ill. Zhu Youxiao had thought he might make it through the winter, but who could have imagined—in the end, he hadn't pulled through. After the Little New Year, with the New Year proper about to arrive, the man was gone.

As Xu Guangqi's trusted confidant, Li Zhizao was not much younger than Xu Guangqi. These past two years, Xu Guangqi's health had also been none too good, and Zhu Youxiao felt quite helpless about it.

These men—though he wished to keep them, he could not.

"Whatever will be, will be." Zhu Youxiao looked at Wei Chao and said with a somewhat helpless tone.

"Yes, Your Highness." Wei Chao hastily acknowledged.

As the eunuch who attended at Zhu Youxiao's side, Wei Chao also knew that the Emperor was in low spirits. With ministers dying constantly these past six months, it would be strange if the Emperor's mood were good.

After taking a step forward, Wei Chao spoke again: "Your Highness, the Directorate of Ceremonial just received word that Eunuch Chen has already reached Tongzhou. If not for the heavy snow blocking the roads, he would have entered the capital today."

Zhu Youxiao nodded and said: "That counts as one of the few pieces of good news."

With the land survey completed, Chen Hong and Wei Zhongxian had also begun their journey back. Though there had been twists and setbacks along the way all along, everything had finally been completed smoothly—this brought Zhu Youxiao great relief.

"Tell Chen Hong there's no need to rush—safety comes first." Zhu Youxiao thought for a moment, then instructed.

"Yes, Your Highness." Wei Chao hastily acknowledged: "This servant will send word to Eunuch Chen right away."

The two of them walked and chatted as they went, and before they knew it, they had arrived at Kunning Palace.

Empress Zhang had long since received word and came out with her attendants to welcome Zhu Youxiao.

"In this bitter cold, you shouldn't have come out." Zhu Youxiao took Empress Zhang's hand and said: "Let's go inside quickly—if you caught a chill in this weather, that would be no good. Let's talk inside."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Empress Zhang acknowledged, letting Zhu Youxiao lead her with a beaming smile.

The husband and wife walked into Kunning Palace together.