Chapter 2208: Renzong Chronicles 17: The Beginning of Factional Strife

In the Renzong court, Bao Zheng was a renowned minister, an elder statesman, and a paragon of integrity celebrated throughout the court and the realm, even earning the title of "the Great Han's First Upright Minister." Even his political opponents never denied his competence and moral conduct.

Bao Zheng's death made countless discerning figures across the court and beyond sigh in regret, while also triggering a flood of speculation about its cause. Some said he died of overwork, some said illness, others claimed he was angered to death, and still others insisted he was murdered by the wicked faction.

The "murder theory" spread the widest, sparked the most discussion, and stirred the strongest emotions. As for what actually happened, that was not so important—what mattered was that this rumor best matched the common people's expectations and imaginings of the powerful and of officialdom.

And this, too, reflects what the political situation of the Great Han Empire was like around the twenty-first year of Zhengtong: tense, even murky.

Analyzing the layout of the empire's inner and outer courts, the "wicked faction" referred to in the rumors generally pointed to two groups: the Chancellor Faction and the Eunuch Faction. The Chancellor Faction here referred specifically to the faction of Director of State Affairs Wang Shilin, while the Eunuch Faction was the contemporary eunuch group headed by the palace eunuch of the Rear Palace Service, Cai Jue.

Speaking first of the Eunuch Faction—in any dynasty, the eunuch group was a force that could not be ignored, for they served as the most reliable appendage of imperial power. In the Great Han Empire, the energy of eunuchs had never been something to overlook; one need only look at how many "great eunuchs" had emerged from the inner palace in the hundred-plus years since the founding.

Of course, throughout history, the influence of eunuchs had been mainly confined to the inner court, existing as the most loyal claws and fangs of imperial power. This was partly due to the constraints of the empire's political system, and also related to the relatively high "success rate" of the past several emperors, which meant that as eunuch power grew, the result was more beneficial than harmful.

But after entering the Zhengtong reign, the situation changed. Eunuch power continued to expand, and unable to restrain their claws, they began spreading from the inner court to the outer court. The root of this problem lay with the Emperor himself.

Emperor Liu Weizhen of Zhengtong might have been lacking in wisdom and negligent in governance, but he took his own power and position very seriously and did his best to maintain them. Besides promoting trusted ministers like Wang Shilin, his most important reliance was the eunuchs gathered around him.

And the empire's eunuch institutional framework had been established by Emperor Shizu. After a hundred years of development, its powers and functions had become quite mature and complete—the Front and Rear Palace Services plus the Palace City Office could basically cover the entire palace.

It was precisely by relying on this group of loyal servants and hounds that Liu Weizhen could sit securely on the dragon bed while still maintaining a relatively clear and timely understanding of the court situation.

In the first decade of Zhengtong, ministerial power was at its strongest. The palace was still calm then, and the eunuchs' claws were relatively well-behaved. But after Fan Zhongyan was dismissed as chancellor, Liu Weizhen's throne reached a point where no one could shake it, and the eunuchs began to show their edge.

Simply put, the eunuchs were no longer content to stay in their "traditional domain." They began reaching their hands into the outer court, began interfering in governance—openly and brazenly.

And this was obviously intolerable to the powerful ministers in office. One should remember that even in Emperor Shizu's time, court officials constantly dared to speak frankly in remonstrance, let alone under Liu Weizhen.

Thus, in the fourteenth year of Zhengtong, Cao Lun, then Director of State Affairs, made a major move. He led the assembled ministers in pressuring the Emperor together, requesting the dismissal of the Eunuch Faction, putting an end to eunuch interference in governance, and rectifying the court's atmosphere.

Though he had been emperor for over a decade, Liu Weizhen had never experienced such a show of force. His weak nature was exposed, and he responded clumsily. In the end, yielding to public pressure, he chose to compromise, dismissing several powerful eunuchs such as Shi Quanbin and Chen Wei, and the storm subsided.

However, an emperor was, after all, an emperor—not so easily offended. Cao Lun gained tremendous prestige from this, but was soon replaced by Wang Shilin, because it had affected Liu Weizhen's feelings toward the Empress (though by then Liu Weizhen's relationship with Empress Cao was already merely one of mutual respect). After all, they were both of the Cao family, and it could even affect Crown Prince Liu Xiuyuan.

At the same time, after dismissing Shi and Chen, Liu Weizhen quickly promoted new people, and Cai Jue rose to power at this time. Cai Jue—though a eunuch, he was no ordinary man. Skilled in both letters and arms, resourceful and cunning, his background was not common either; his adoptive father was Cai Jing, Commissioner of the Palace City during the Shizong reign.

It was precisely on Cai Jue's recommendation that Bao Zheng was able to successfully become chancellor, appointed as Censor-in-Chief. One should know that as the court's foremost voice of integrity, Bao Zheng had in fact always been excluded by those in power, precisely because this man "feared neither power nor privilege."

As for Bao Zheng's character and conduct, one could get a glimpse from how he had served as Governor of Luoyang. Those in power at court all knew that elevating such a man into the Hall of State Affairs would absolutely be asking for trouble.

Thus, they would rather give him a frontier post than let him sit high in the chancellor's hall. Fan Zhongyan had once attempted this, but in the end, due to excessive resistance, he was sent out as Fiscal Commissioner of the Southeast.

Against this backdrop, Cai Jue suggested to the Emperor that Bao Zheng be transferred from his position as Inspector of Lingnan into the central government and made chancellor—and in a position like Censor-in-Chief, what a constraint and deterrent that would be to the empire's powerful.

And indeed it was so. Since Bao Zheng assumed the role of Censor-in-Chief, the court's atmosphere had been somewhat corrected, even if Bao Zheng's efforts were merely a "Don Quixote-style" charge and stand.

Of course, Bao Zheng did not feel gratitude toward Cai Jue for his recommendation; he simply did his duty in his position. At the same time, he consistently insisted on prohibiting eunuch interference in governance and restraining the secret-service claws. During his tenure, besides striking at corrupt officials and lawless nobles, he continued to give the eunuch group special "attention."

This gave rise to a rumor circulating in the capital that Cai Jue had lifted a rock only to drop it on his own feet. Of course, the drama of "Censor Bao resisting the powerful eunuchs" existed only in folk legends.

In fact, there had never been a direct conflict between Bao Zheng and Cai Jue. After Cai Jue rose to power, he did not indulge the eunuchs; on the contrary, he imposed many restrictions and regulations on those "eunuch sons and grandsons." The eunuchs Bao Zheng attacked and censured were dealt with strictly on their own merits.

It was just that the reputation of powerful eunuchs was rather unsavory, that was all.

Turning to the Chancellor Faction—Wang Shilin, as a minister who had supported the Emperor from the very beginning, could be called the foremost contributor to Liu Weizhen's successful suppression of his imperial uncles and succession to the throne. After Liu Weizhen ascended, he repaid Wang Shilin extremely generously.

From the Court of the Imperial Treasury to Minister of Personnel, and even as Fiscal Commissioner during Cao Lun's administration, he was always a major power at court, a giant of authority. Moreover, he was consistently regarded as "the first minister of the imperial faction," the Emperor's good teacher and helpful friend.

After Cao Lun, when Wang Shilin launched his assault on the position of Director of State Affairs, he also received Liu Weizhen's support. Though the Zhengtong Emperor was a hands-off Son of Heaven, if he truly resolved to support one side, the advantage that side gained would be immense.

Thus, Wang Shilin ultimately got his wish, pushing down his main competitors Zeng Gongliang, Fu Bi, and Pang Ji to successfully ascend, becoming the empire's first minister, wielding central power and governing all under heaven.

Wang Shilin certainly had ability. In strategy and insight, he was among the best both at court and beyond. His political skills were formidable, his administrative experience rich, he excelled at reading people's hearts, and he had a profound understanding of the empire's institutional operations. Add to that the Emperor's deep trust—such a man holding great power was, at the very least, not too bad a thing for the court.

The past five or six years had proven this point. Though the empire might have bred numerous problems from top to bottom, on the whole it remained stable. In disaster relief, aiding the people, securing the borders, suppressing rebellions, and exterminating bandits, he had shown outstanding performance. On critical matters, Wang Shilin never equivocated.

However, unlike virtuous chancellors such as Fan Zhongyan, Wang Shilin did not possess much patriotic sentiment. One could barely detect any "idealism" in him. He was merely a bureaucrat of eunuch origin, skilled in power politics—a pragmatist, a balancer.

Many of Wang Shilin's decisions during his administration were based on his own interests and the Emperor's preferences, rather than the traditional sense of serving the state and the people.

For example, in disaster relief, he allocated grain and funds without hesitation. But when it came to evaluating and rewarding the officials who carried out the relief, the criterion was not how many lives were saved, but where there were the fewest disturbances, and who governed with the fewest bandits and refugees. What he valued was the officials' means and ability to "maintain stability."

This philosophy was clearly at odds with the idea that "the people are more important than the state, more important than the sovereign." Though this had always been the case, Wang Shilin displayed it too nakedly in his governance.

Thus, during his years in power, Wang Shilin's reputation was not very good—though this "reputation" referred mainly to the literati and the pure-stream faction. But it did not affect the big picture at all. As one in power, he had no need to condescend to cater to those idle talkers, and among the literati and bureaucracy, there was never a shortage of those willing to attach themselves as followers.

In the eyes of the empire's ruling class, especially the true power-holders, Wang Shilin was actually doing a decent job as Director of State Affairs. The great ship of the Great Han Empire, under the erosion of time, was gradually showing signs of age, but under his control, it continued to sail forward with relative steadiness.

Bao Zheng was the same. Even though he opposed Wang Shilin's philosophy from the bottom of his heart and despised his moral character, out of a principle of "mutual forbearance for the sake of the state," he could still tolerate it, serving the state and the people faithfully within his own sphere of authority, while also making up for Wang Shilin's shortcomings (such as striking at the powerful, corruption, and waste).

What truly made Bao Zheng dissatisfied with Wang Shilin and triggered direct confrontation was Wang Shilin's clinging to power and refusal to retire. By the twenty-first year of Zhengtong, Wang Shilin had served as Director of State Affairs for a full five years.

According to the political principle regarding the term of the Director of State Affairs that had been fully established since the Shizong reign, Wang Shilin should have stepped down and yielded to worthier men. Yet more than half a year past the deadline, Wang Shilin showed not the slightest sign of resigning. On the contrary, he was intensifying his efforts to gather power, place his people, and cultivate his faction both at court and beyond.

The purpose of such behavior was obvious to all, and it was bound to arouse public indignation. Among the many voices of condemnation, Bao Zheng was the most resolute and vehement. He understood deeply the damage and harm that Wang Shilin's clinging to power would do to the stability of the empire's political situation if it succeeded.

Thus, over the past several months, Bao Zheng had done much work, including but not limited to private persuasion, submitting memorials, and blocking the Emperor's door, hoping that Liu Weizhen would intervene in the court situation, set things right, and return the court to its proper track.

Bao Zheng naturally failed. The Emperor's attitude was ambiguous—no conclusion had been reached regarding Wang Shilin, but he held no particular fondness for Bao Zheng either. And through Bao Zheng's constant opposition and obstruction, Wang Shilin came to hate him deeply, secretly sending his partisans to make trouble for him, even suspecting that Bao Zheng harbored designs on the position of Chief Chancellor.

As time passed, the contradiction between the two grew ever sharper. But though Bao Zheng headed the Censorate and was a venerable elder minister, directly confronting the Director of State Affairs was beyond his strength.

When Wang Shilin mobilized his political resources to suppress Bao Zheng with full force, Bao Zheng's position became precarious. Bao Zheng was certainly incorruptible and self-disciplined, loyal to his duties—one could hardly find fault with him personally. But his subordinates, family, and classmates were another matter.

Just as the "Wang-Bao conflict" was intensifying, Bao Zheng suddenly withdrew from the fight and soon died, which naturally invited much speculation from others. Even if Bao Zheng had truly merely suffered a sudden acute illness and died of it.

Tying Bao Zheng's death to the "Chancellor Faction" was naturally meant to arouse sympathy among the common people. The widespread dissemination of the "persecution theory" clearly could not have happened without the push of certain powerful figures, and the political goals and targets hidden within were self-evident.

After Bao Zheng's death, a great debate erupted within the court over how to render his final verdict. Wang Shilin's faction naturally sought to suppress him with all their might, and such conduct further inflamed public indignation.

Thus, a large number of ministers submitted memorials speaking on Bao Zheng's behalf, defending his pure and lofty reputation. For example, Grand Academician Ouyang Xiu, in his grief, personally composed a eulogy praising his character, integrity, and achievements.

Through the efforts of the assembled ministers, Bao Zheng was finally granted the posthumous title "Wensu." Of course, this was also related to Wang Shilin's loosening his grip—perhaps he was thinking of his own legacy.

But it was also starting with Bao Zheng that the Great Han Empire erupted into a party struggle that lasted for years, its intensity the greatest since the founding of the dynasty, all revolving around the position of Director of State Affairs that Wang Shilin so reluctantly clung to.