Chapter 2118: Kangzong Chronicles 5: The Counterattack Begins

"Commissioner, your servant failed to greet you from afar—please forgive me!" In front of Guanguan Hall, a young eunuch dressed in red robes with a clever, quick-witted face came forward to greet Commissioner of the Palace City Wang Yue, his manner somewhat fawning.

As a former servant of Taizong who had served as Commissioner of the Palace City for fifteen or sixteen years, Wang Yue was a figure of considerable power and influence within the palace city and among the eunuch community.

However, in the past two years, Commissioner Wang's days had not been easy either. Old servants of the old era—not to say they were wandering ghosts in the new age—could hardly rely on their former standing, and their confidence was somewhat lacking. Under the political landscape of "many chancellors governing the state," the hounds and claws of the Palace City Office naturally found their days difficult as well.

If during the Yongxi era, under the restraint of Emperor Taizong, the Palace City Office had merely exercised some restraint, trying not to be overbearing or bully others, then in these two years of the Pingkang era, it was the Palace City Office that had to resist being suppressed by others. Since the time of Shizu, the Palace City Office had been subject to much criticism and attack, and now that the ministers had finally come to power, one could imagine what kind of reversal would occur.

Facing the suppression of those chancellors, Wang Yue and the Palace City Office's resistance seemed somewhat feeble. The root cause lay in the weakness of imperial authority. Whether they, as dogs, could be tough or dare to bite ultimately depended on their master. If the master was not up to par, they could only swallow their broken teeth into their stomachs.

Since the second year of Pingkang, the Finance Office had even begun withholding appropriations for the Palace City Office—this was tantamount to stabbing Wang Yue right in the kidney. The Palace City Office had been established for nearly fifty years now. Over such a long time, the institution had continuously grown and expanded. Though its scale was not as vast as the Wude Office, including the Palace City Battalion, its "authorized personnel" numbered over ten thousand.

If one added the second- and third-tier peripheral clerks and soldiers, the personnel scale would swell several times over. Supporting such a large establishment was no easy task, and with the secret intelligence work, expenditures were naturally enormous. Therefore, when the Finance Office began restricting funds, it seriously affected the normal operations of the Palace City Office.

Were it not for the Palace City Office's own years of accumulated reserves, the industries it secretly controlled, and the support of Director of the Palace Workshops Liu Gui, the Palace City Office would have declined even faster. But even so, morale throughout the organization was beginning to scatter.

Wang Yue, being in the midst of all this, felt it deeply—he saw it all with his own eyes and worried about it in his heart. Throughout the entire capital, if there was anyone who hoped more eagerly for the Emperor to personally govern and grasp power, it was absolutely the Son of Heaven's household slaves like Wang Yue.

However, what truly disappointed and alarmed Wang Yue was not the outer court, but the inner palace. First, the Emperor was passive and could hardly stand up for them. Second, the young Emperor was not particularly close to them, the old servants of Taizong's side.

From the very beginning of Liu Wenpeng's succession, Wang Yue had proactively drawn close to the young Emperor, yet the Emperor did not seem to appreciate it. With the various chancellors governing the state and imperial authority constrained, Wang Yue had also secretly advised Liu Wenpeng, suggesting that he should act decisively, gather power into his own hands, and restore imperial prestige.

However, whether Liu Wenpeng did not understand or was simply timid by nature, he paid no heed, and showed little interest in the reports Wang Yue submitted regarding the court situation and the movements of the high ministers.

After several such attempts, Wang Yue's confidence gradually waned, and he was deeply depressed in his daily life. And the people surrounding the Emperor were all fawning sycophants who only knew how to flatter and play with the Emperor, showing no closeness to "loyal ministers" like themselves, growing increasingly distant—this made Wang Yue even more disheartened, and he would often reminisce about the days of Taizong's reign, what glorious times those were.

Take this palace eunuch before him, for instance—he was a household servant from Liu Wenpeng's days as Crown Prince, named Qin Fu. Despite the smiling face and utmost respect before him now, that disguise could not fool Wang Yue's eyes. He could almost be certain that people like this had long been eyeing the positions of old servants like themselves, just as it had been when Taizong succeeded the throne.

Just like the outer court, in the inner palace of the Great Han today, the old guard still predominated. The Commissioner of the Palace City was Wang Yue, the Director of the Palace Workshops was still Liu Gui, and the Chief of Palace Eunuchs was still Zheng Yuan—though he no longer served at the Emperor's side.

"No more! No more!" Inside Guanguan Hall, Emperor Liu Wenpeng swept the chess pieces aside with one hand, then glared at the old man sitting across from him, and said angrily: "Jia Xuan, do you think I am easy to bully?"

The one playing chess with the Emperor was an old man with white hair but rosy lips and white teeth, exuding an air of refined elegance. Seeing the Emperor angry, he hurriedly rose and bowed: "Your servant would not dare!"

The old man was Jia Xuan, who had served as a chess attendant-in-waiting at the Hanlin Academy for decades. Though his official rank was not high, his reputation was great—he could be called a national master of the game, a grand master of the art of go.

Jia Xuan had entered the Hanlin Academy as a chess attendant-in-waiting during the Kaibao era. However, his superb chess skills had no room to display—Emperor Shizu was only mediocre even at chess, let alone go. It was not until Emperor Taizong ascended the throne that, in his spare time from governing, he summoned people from the Hanlin Academy to play. Jia Xuan, with his exquisite chess skills, was the one summoned most often, and his experience of playing against Taizong for over a decade made him even more highly regarded. Because in dozens of games against Taizong, regardless of the rules, he always lost to Taizong by exactly one stone.

And what made Liu Wenpeng angry was precisely this point. He glared and said: "In the late Emperor's time, you lost by one stone every time. Playing against me, you still lose by one stone every time. Surely you don't mean to say my chess skills can compare with my late father's?"

Hearing Liu Wenpeng say this, Jia Xuan's expression shifted slightly, and he immediately knelt and pleaded: "Your servant admits his guilt!"

"What guilt do you admit to!"

An awkward look flashed across Jia Xuan's old face, and he bowed his head: "Your servant's eyes are dim with age, and I have failed in the principles of chess. I bear the guilt of muddled foolishness."

Seeing Jia Xuan's utterly serious expression, Liu Wenpeng could not help but laugh, chuckling merrily: "This really is putting you in a difficult position! In the entire capital region, who doesn't know that your chess skills are exquisite and second to none?

With my late father's brilliance, do you think he couldn't see through the trick? He didn't hold it against you, so how could I possibly punish you!"

Hearing the Emperor say such words, Jia Xuan looked at Liu Wenpeng in astonishment, then quickly recovered and bowed: "Your Majesty is wise and brilliant. Your servant is moved beyond words!"

"You're a good man!" Liu Wenpeng chuckled, appearing to be in a good mood, and said: "Someone, bestow five hundred strings of cash."

Upon hearing this, Jia Xuan immediately declined: "Your Majesty's gracious gift moves me to tears, but I beg to be excused from accepting it!"

"Why?"

Jia Xuan said with a solemn expression: "Your servant has rendered no merit to the state, and accepting it would bring shame. Moreover, chess is but a minor art, and I dare not seek favor through flattery and sycophancy. I still remember that in the old days, even Grand Tutor Li (Li Fang) received no more than this from the late Emperor."

Hearing Jia Xuan speak these words, Liu Wenpeng's expression became somewhat interesting, his eyes shifting several times, and he said: "It seems you are not only skilled at chess, but also a modest and loyal minister. If you won't accept money, then I shall promote you!"

Hearing this, Jia Xuan was about to speak and decline when he heard Liu Wenpeng continue: "How many officials in the realm rise in rank merely by accumulating seniority and competing in age?

How can it be right that you have toiled for decades and remain a mere chess attendant? Surely you are not inferior to those mediocre ministers and muddled officials?

Hear my decree: grant Jia Xuan the status of a presented scholar, promote him to Hanlin Academician, and serve at court as attendant-in-waiting!"

Seeing the Emperor so resolute, Jia Xuan no longer declined, and bowed in grateful thanks.

Liu Wenpeng, seemingly moved by Jia Xuan's earlier words, pondered for a moment, his eyes rolling once more, a smile forming at the corners of his mouth. Pointing at the chessboard on the table, he said: "I am the Son of Heaven—naturally I should take heaven and earth and the four seas as my board, and the common people of the realm as my pieces. This chessboard is too small—how can it allow me to display my full abilities?"

Having said this, ignoring the astonishment of those around him, he raised a finger and ordered: "Transmit my oral decree: have Director of the Palace Workshops Liu Gui craft a chessboard for me, ten zhang wide, with a high platform built beside it as a seating area for play, and select sturdy guards to be trained meticulously as pieces."

"Minister Jia!" Looking at Jia Xuan, Liu Wenpeng's very form of address had become more intimate: "The next game will be quite a different scene."

Faced with the Emperor's "whimsical idea," Jia Xuan was somewhat stunned. But before he could say anything, Liu Wenpeng had already waved him away, his interest having quickly shifted from the art of go.

The good mood did not last long, because Wang Yue had arrived. Toward Wang Yue, this old servant of Taizong's, Liu Wenpeng in fact had no great objection—otherwise, how could he have allowed him to remain in his position as Commissioner of the Palace City? He simply disliked how Wang Yue, like those chancellors and censors, tried to admonish him. Liu Wenpeng was not one to refuse all counsel, but his experiences since succeeding the throne had given him a strong rebellious streak, so severe at times that he could not distinguish loyal from treacherous, good from bad, true from false.

"What fresh news is there in the capital?" Liu Wenpeng asked Wang Yue directly. He most enjoyed hearing anecdotes from the capital and amusing stories from the streets. Unfortunately, Wang Yue's answer was not to Liu Wenpeng's liking. Meeting the Emperor's gaze, he bowed with unusual solemnity: "Your old servant has come specifically to bid farewell to His Majesty."

Hearing this, Liu Wenpeng was somewhat surprised and asked with some confusion: "I have no intention of removing you from your post—why do you ask to resign?"

Wang Yue took a deep breath and bowed: "The Palace City Office is about to be abolished and will cease to exist. Where, then, will this old servant, the Commissioner of the Palace City, find his place? If Your Majesty remembers this old servant's decades of toil serving the late Emperor, then grant me a kindness and allow me to return to my hometown to live out my remaining years."

"What do you mean!" Liu Wenpeng dropped his casual demeanor and stared coldly at Wang Yue: "Who wants to abolish the Palace City Office!"

Meeting the Emperor's icy gaze, Wang Yue's heart leaped, and he explained in a wronged tone: "At today's court deliberation, Minister of Personnel Lü Mengzheng raised this proposal."

Minister of Personnel Lü Mengzheng had been recommended by Zhang Qixian and Li Hang to come to the capital at the beginning of the year, after Murong Defeng passed away, to serve as Minister of Personnel and fill the position of chancellor.

On this matter, Prince of Lu Liu Ai actually had objections—he favored Liu Jichang, the Administration Commissioner of the Jingji Circuit, who came from the imperial clan—but in the end, it did not come to pass.

"Lü Mengzheng!" At this moment, hearing this, Liu Wenpeng grew angry, slapping the table and fuming: "What right does he have! The late Emperor's appointed assisting ministers—he is not among them!"

Seeing Liu Wenpeng angry, Wang Yue felt relieved inwardly instead. What he feared most was the Emperor showing no reaction at all. If the Emperor could not even perceive the sensitivity and critical importance of this matter, that would be the most terrifying thing of all.

Wang Yue bowed his head and said: "I report to Your Majesty: Lü Mengzheng is a veteran minister of three reigns, with considerable prestige both in and out of court. Moreover, this man has long-standing grievances with the Palace City Office. During the Shizu era, he had already incited the ministers to attack the Palace City Office, intending to abolish it.

Now that he has ascended to the chancellorship and holds great power, it is hardly surprising that he raises this proposal again. In those days, this man spoke with great righteousness, claiming to act for the state and the sovereign, but in truth he sought to cut off His Majesty's ears and eyes, so that those outside ministers could deceive the throne.

Emperor Shizu, wise and martial, could hardly fail to see through his sinister intentions. His dragon countenance shook with rage, heavenly might descended, and twenty-eight treacherous ministers were demoted. Lü Mengzheng was transferred to local posts for twenty years.

Now, Lü Mengzheng has been in the capital as chancellor for only a few months, and not only has he reinstated and promoted the officials demoted back then, he has also revived his former proposal. His intentions are plain to see.

Since its establishment, the Palace City Office has been subject to constant attack. During the reigns of Shizu and the late Emperor, it could still be protected. Now, the various chancellors take advantage of His Majesty's youth—"

"Enough!" Liu Wenpeng suddenly interrupted Wang Yue with irritation, his eyes nearly devouring him.

"Yes!" Wang Yue was startled and immediately fell silent, but joy began to spread through his heart.

Liu Wenpeng thought for a moment, then asked in a suppressed voice: "What is the reaction of the various ministers to this proposal?"

Wang Yue answered without hesitation: "Apart from Chief Censor Wang Xuanzhen, who explicitly opposed it, everyone else—including the Prince of Lu and the Director of State Affairs—was vague in attitude, saying it should be discussed further. In this old servant's view, the various chancellors lean toward Lü Mengzheng's proposal."

"Can you see into the hearts of the ministers?" Liu Wenpeng glanced sidelong at Wang Yue.

Wang Yue's heart gave a slight start, and he immediately responded: "This old servant cares too deeply and made reckless guesses. I beg His Majesty's forgiveness!"

"Lü Mengzheng..." Liu Wenpeng did not acknowledge him, murmuring to himself, a trace of anger surfacing on his young face.

Liu Wenpeng did not know Lü Mengzheng well, but at this moment, he was filled with disgust. Besides, when Lü Mengzheng had been appointed chancellor back then, he had only briefly consulted this emperor's opinion.

At this moment, many thoughts raced through Liu Wenpeng's mind, but occupying the high ground of his thoughts was only one notion—the other auxiliary ministers were not easy to move, but Lü Mengzheng surely did not have the protective halo of "Taizong's deathbed decree" to shield him.

"All of you, get out!" Coming back to his senses, Liu Wenpeng waved his hand at those around him and ordered.

"Your Majesty!" The eunuch attendant Qin Fu, serving at his side, was somewhat taken aback and called out instinctively.

"Hm?" Liu Wenpeng shot the man a cold, sharp look.

"Yes!"

After dismissing those around him, Liu Wenpeng beckoned Wang Yue to come closer for a private talk. To be fair, this was the closest the Emperor had ever been to the Commissioner of the Palace City since ascending the throne. Even though Wang Yue was already past fifty, his heart warmed at this moment; had he not been restraining his emotions, his eyes would have grown moist.

"Tell me all the intelligence and secrets you've investigated and collected!" Staring at Wang Yue, Liu Wenpeng commanded.

Even though he was prepared, Wang Yue could not help but feel surprised inwardly, but he immediately asked, "May I ask which aspects His Majesty wishes to hear reported?"

"Just tell me about this Lü Mengzheng!"

Naturally, nothing good about Lü Mengzheng could come from Wang Yue's mouth. Wang Yue introduced nearly everything about Lü Mengzheng's career and the various disputes and anecdotes involving him, and Liu Wenpeng clearly did not care about the man's talent, moral character, or achievements—these held no meaning for the young emperor at this time.

"Organize all this material you've collected, find someone, and submit an impeachment memorial!" Finally, Liu Wenpeng ended his private talk with Wang Yue with such an instruction.

Thus began the Emperor's first counterattack against his auxiliary ministers since ascending the throne, and also the first step toward reclaiming political power.

Of course, this process was not so smooth, even though the target he had chosen was only a Lü Mengzheng who did not have the protective talisman of "Taizong's deathbed decree."

But likewise, Lü Mengzheng was truly an appropriate choice—his reputation, status, and influence were all sufficient.

In the eleventh month of winter in the second year of Pingkang, Ding Wei, the Drafter of Edicts, suddenly submitted a memorial impeaching the chancellor and Minister of Personnel Lü Mengzheng, accusing him of favoritism in appointing officials.

The winter in the capital region thus became especially lively.