Chapter 58: Mouthpiece

The Embroidered Uniform Guard's Imperial Prison has always been divided into an outer section and an inner section.

When ordinary officials committed offenses, or when river-and-sea bandits too powerful for local authorities to handle were captured, they were usually confined only in the outer prison. As for the inner prison, it had not been put to use for many years.

Only those who could not see the light of day were locked away inside.

In truth, though it was called a prison, it was far better than an ordinary cell — it could even be described as spacious and well-lit.

But tonight, the Imperial Prison was ablaze with lamps and torches, and inside the inner prison, though no one raised a clamor, the lights outshone even those of the outer prison.

In Cell Jia of the inner prison, a man knelt starkly upon the floor — none other than Censor Chen Mo, who had been flayed and stuffed with straw. And outside the cell stood the Chongzhen Emperor himself, here in commoner's white, a dragon among fish.

Chongzhen looked at the deathly still Chen Mo inside the cell and frowned. "Chen Buyan, do you wish to die? Or do you wish to live?"

At these words, Chen Mo shuffled forward on his knees, throwing himself against the cell door, and rasped, "Your Majesty! This subject knows his error. I wish to live — I wish to live! I beg Your Majesty to show mercy."

Chongzhen gave a cold laugh. "Naturally, We do not intend for you to die. Otherwise, you would be hanging up there alongside Huang Liji at this very moment. Why would We have gone to the trouble of ordering men to swap you out with a condemned prisoner?"

Chen Mo, hearing this, merely kowtowed and said, "This subject thanks Your Majesty for his vast grace. I shall surely repent my former ways and exert myself in Your Majesty's service."

Chongzhen nodded, noncommittal, and continued, "Your family — halfway along the road, the Embroidered Uniform Guard diverted them to Nanjing. From now on, they will live under assumed names, and naturally they will want for neither food nor clothing."

The instant Chen Mo heard this, he understood a good part of the truth. If his family were safe and sound, then he himself was most likely fated to die of old age inside the inner prison.

Yet Chen Mo did not care. He had been a dead man walking to begin with, and his family had faced banishment to the miasmal wilds of Lingnan.

Now his family had gone to Nanjing and could live on in safety, and he himself had escaped death — this was already a fortune stolen from heaven; he dared not hope for more.

Only, when he thought of that pair of lovely, clever twin daughters at home, he could not guess which bastard would end up getting them cheap.

Watching the expressions flicker across Chen Mo's face, Chongzhen guessed a measure of his thoughts and said at once, "Do not fret that you will end your days here.

If you handle the task We entrust to you well, then after a mere ten years, you may return home and reunite with your wife and children. And if your performance is outstanding, it is not impossible that you might be released even earlier, to live out your days as a man of wealth."

Chen Mo raised his head in disbelief and stared straight at Chongzhen.

"Your Majesty's words — are they true?"

Suddenly he recalled that staring directly at the sovereign was a breach of decorum before the throne, and in a serious light could even be deemed a crime of gross disrespect. In a fluster, he kowtowed again.

"This subject was unmannerly; I pray Your Majesty will forgive the offense."

Chongzhen, however, cared nothing for such trifles, and went on, "A jinshi of the fifth year of Tianqi — one assumes you possess a certain measure of ability. Since We are entrusting this matter to you, it must not be bungled. Otherwise, dying would be more pleasant for you than living."

Chen Mo's heart was uneasy, but he dared not ask too many questions. He could only press himself tightly to the ground in prostration and remain silent.

Watching Chen Mo's demeanor, Chongzhen was inwardly satisfied with this display, and continued, "We intend to establish a publication, similar to the Capital Gazette, to be issued once every half-month.

It shall record the court's policies and movements, Our own words and deeds, as well as opinions beneficial to the dynasty, along with the trends and curious tidbits of the marketplace. Do you understand?"

Chen Mo, however, asked, "Reporting to Your Majesty — but as for these matters of the outside world, this criminal subject, confined within prison, is ignorant of them?"

Chongzhen said, "That is no obstacle. Naturally, the Embroidered Uniform Guard will deliver them to you. As for what should be said and what should not, they will also inform you."

Chen Mo listened, and finding no problem with this, asked, "Your Majesty, what name shall this thing bear?"

Chongzhen said, "Since Our reign title is fixed as Chongzhen, this thing shall be named the 'Chongzhen Semi-Monthly.' Like the Capital Gazette, it shall be distributed throughout the realm.

There is only one point on which it differs from the Capital Gazette: this publication may be purchased by anyone at all. Be they scholar, farmer, artisan, or merchant — every man may have a copy. Therefore, you must devote much thought to how to write it plainly and understandably.

In the next few days, We shall find a pretext to arrest a few more of the corrupt and throw them in here to keep you company. When the time comes, you will lead them in getting the work done properly.

After each issue is completed, hand it over to the Embroidered Uniform Guard, who will submit it to the Directorate of Ceremonial for review and approval. Once approved, it shall be printed and circulated throughout the realm."

Chen Mo, hearing this, asked further, "Your Majesty, are there any taboos for this thing?"

Chongzhen said, "We dislike, firstly, the scholars' endless debates over court politics, and secondly, the merchants' evasion of taxes. Any writing that contains such talk shall be rejected.

As for problematic opinions circulating in the marketplace, you may sift them out and hand them to the Embroidered Uniform Guard; there will naturally be men to deal with them."

Chen Mo, having heard this, now had a rough direction in his mind. He kowtowed in salute and said, "This criminal subject accepts the command. I shall surely devote my utmost heart to carrying out this duty well for Your Majesty."

Seeing that Chen Mo had bowed and grasped his meaning, Chongzhen departed the inner prison, leaving Chen Mo alone inside, wild with joy.

As far as Chongzhen was concerned, although the Donglin Academy had been torn down, that grotesque monstrosity known as the Donglin Faction still existed.

A product of collusion between scholars and merchants, it was a beast where tugging one hair set the whole body in motion, and in the end, there was practically nothing this monster dared not do.

To abolish this monster at the root, there was no way short of thoroughly launching an all-out campaign to denounce Confucius. The problem was, toppling Confucius in the Great Ming was utterly unrealistic.

Ever since that Wild Boar Liu abolished the Hundred Schools, this Confucius Shop had grown larger and larger; every scholar under heaven was its disciple and follower. Strike at the House of Confucius, and he would truly be left with nothing but the Depot and the Guard.

For the present, since he could not move against them, he might as well compete with them outright.

Promoting the artisans earlier had already been one wave; now, by creating a newspaper to contest the market of public opinion with them — never mind how much, even if only one scholar in a hundred swung to his side, that was still a victory.

Besides, Chongzhen had always believed that his true base was the mud-legged commoners, not those merchants and scholars. It was simply that, for now, he could not do without these people.

Once the younger generation raised in the Youth Army and the elementary schools — those utterly loyal to himself — grew to maturity, wouldn't the Confucius Shop be just as easy to tear down?

And furthermore, he was not so foolish as to imagine that the Chongzhen Semi-Monthly alone could take on all these scholars. On the surface, he could always set up a 'Great Ming Daily' as well.

Why were those scholars so damned arrogant? Wasn't it precisely because they held the power of discourse? This newspaper was the very first step in seizing that power of discourse from them!

As for the problem of the mud-legs being illiterate, that was easy to solve. Just send men to every locality to read it aloud — wouldn't that do?

With so many people in the Great Ming, was there really a shortage of men who could read? There were always those old tongsheng who had failed the examinations time and again.

Give them an official post — even if it was a post like that of Deliveryman Li — what then? Now that he neither owed them back pay nor abolished their posts, presumably Deliveryman Li wouldn't rebel, would he?

Thinking of Deliveryman Li, Chongzhen's head began to ache again. After the New Year, it would be the first year of Chongzhen.

When that time came, droughts and floods would strike region after region without cease. Even if he did not lack silver, where on earth was he to get grain?

Silver was all well and good, but that worthless stuff couldn't fill a man's belly.

Since he could not think of any good solution, Chongzhen simply stopped thinking about it. He merely thought about sneaking out of the palace for a jaunt after the morning court session — this was his realm, after all.

One more chapter. Now I only owe 34 chapters. Counting them down one by one. Chen Mo is, after all, the father of my son's wife; after thinking it over, I decided to let him live.

(End of chapter)