Chapter 1566: Counterattack

The atmosphere in the Wenyuan Pavilion was suffocating.

Emperor Longqing sat high with a greenish face; on one side stood Chen Hong, Feng Bao, and other eunuchs of the Directorate of Ceremonial in crimson robes, while on the other stood Grand Secretaries Gao Gong and Wang Yan, also in crimson robes, along with principal officials from the Six Ministries and Nine Courts such as Hu Zongxian.

Everyone in the hall had, to varying degrees, fixed their gaze upon Wang Yan.

As for Wang Yan, he stood respectfully with his hands tucked into his sleeves, eyes fixed on his nose and mind on his heart, boredly observing the footprints on the floor tiles...

Chen Hong looked left and right, his eyeballs darting about; after exchanging a glance with Gao Gong, he suddenly spoke.

"Wang Yan! Do you intend to rebel?"

"Eunuch Chen, what do you mean by this?" Wang Yan asked with genuine incomprehension, then bowed to Longqing, "Your Majesty, everyone in the world says I am a meritorious servant of Great Ming; I too believe that today's Great Ming embodies the blood and effort of many ministers, earned by me through over fifty assassination attempts where I traded my life for the state. No one is more loyal to Great Ming than I. If Eunuch Chen claims I am rebelling, Your Majesty must uphold justice for me."

"Wang Yan, you are still spouting nonsense. So many scholars outside, and officials—especially those from the Shuntian Prefecture and Daxing County magistracies—they are all besieging the Imperial City; isn't this all at your instigation? How can you say you are not rebelling?"

"That is truly a grave injustice. Just because I once served as the Administrator of Shuntian and as the Magistrate of Daxing does not mean those people were acting on my orders. If anything, I would say these people understand great righteousness and have gathered to eliminate traitors for the sake of the nation. It now appears that Eunuch Chen's hasty emergence shows he does not wish for Great Ming to prosper. You have thrown the inner court into chaos and deceived the Sacred Ear; your crimes deserve ten thousand deaths. Your Majesty, I request permission to execute Chen Hong!"

"Enough!"

Longqing, impatient, slammed his hand heavily on the armrest of his chair, "What use is there in discussing this now? What we need is a solution to make those people outside the Imperial City disperse immediately."

"Master, this humble servant suggests deploying the Factory and Guard troops to go out and whip them severely; that will surely scatter them," Chen Hong eagerly offered his advice.

"This cannot be done, Your Majesty! If we truly act this way, how will future generations view us, and how will they view Your Majesty?"

Such an obviously foolish proposal was immediately refuted by someone. Moreover, to be honest, Longqing's authority was insufficient to allow him to carry out such whippings; if he truly dared to whip them, he might well provoke a 'cleansing of the ruler's side.'

Were those scholars outside being whipped? No, it was the dignity of the official lords that was being lashed. How could an emperor dare to whip them? That was unheard of! The emperor must be made clearly aware of exactly how much weight he truly carries.

Even though it was obvious at this moment that Wang Yan was pulling strings behind the scenes, such actions were still impermissible, as they would shake the very foundations of rule.

Everyone chimed in with one another, proposing all sorts of ridiculous and stale ideas, making Longqing's face turn even greener.

He had rushed out of the West Park in anxiety, only to arrive here and find his worthy ministers engaging in a cross-talk performance; Wang Yan, the instigator, simply stared at the floor, while Gao Gong, the target, stared blankly into the void before him with lifeless eyes...

After much buzzing and murmuring, Gao Gong finally spoke: "Your Majesty, I am indeed old; my eyes are dim and I am no longer fit for duty. I beg to retire and return to my hometown to spend my remaining years in peace."

"Minister Gao..."

"Your Majesty need say no more; at this juncture, I have no choice but to leave," Gao Gong said. "However, the Grand Secretariat cannot be left without someone to manage affairs; Wang Yan is still too young. Zhang Juzheng has been observing mourning at home for a year and a half; now is precisely the time when talent is needed. I request that Your Majesty recall Zhang Juzheng from mourning early."

"Great Ming rules the world through filial piety; this is the great propriety of a son. How can it be ignored so casually? Are there not so many officials in Great Ming that no one else can serve, forcing us to rely solely on this Zhang Juzheng?"

"Your Majesty!" Gao Gong's face was filled with anguish, his gaze toward Longqing brimming with the message, 'I am doing this for your own good.'

Longqing also knew that this was indeed for his own benefit. Wang Yan's counterattack had fully demonstrated his stance, and Longqing had realized that his task henceforth was to suppress Wang Yan; once Wang Yan was eliminated, he would have fulfilled his historical mission...

He turned to Wang Yan, who seemed to have heard nothing: "Minister Wang, Minister Chen, what are your opinions?"

Chen Yiqin looked left and right, then bowed: "Your Majesty, Zhang Juzheng is mature and prudent and has long been known for his sound strategies. Although Great Ming is now peaceful in all four seas and growing richer and stronger day by day, the surface calm hides surging undercurrents; the more this is the case, the more we must remain on high alert. Zhang Juzheng is capable of bearing great responsibilities and accomplishing great tasks. This old minister believes Grand Secretary Gao's proposal is timely."

"Minister Wang?" Longqing called Wang Yan's name once again.

Wang Yan also bowed: "Your Majesty, the most urgent task is to hasten the calming of today's incident. Gao Gong harbors malicious intentions; his heart is condemnable. At such a time, he is still thinking about those messy affairs. Without him, without me, without Zhang Juzheng, and without Chen Yiqin, would Great Ming perish?

If we speak of pillars of the state, I believe no one in the current court compares to Hu Zongxian. Pacifying the wokou, stabilizing the southeast, destroying the Tartars, expelling the Oirats, managing Liaodong and the Western Regions—these are all Da Gong achievements influencing a hundred years. For an ordinary person to achieve even one is rare; Hu Zongxian has fought north and south, far surpassing the ordinary. Furthermore, he reformed our Great Ming military, making our military strength greater than ever before, invincible throughout the universe.

As the saying goes, only in turbulent currents does true color reveal itself. Over these many years, I do not know what merits Zhang Juzheng possesses to warrant such praise from Grand Secretary Chen. Mature and prudent—is Hu Zongxian not more mature? Bearing great responsibilities and accomplishing great tasks—has anyone borne greater responsibilities or accomplished greater deeds than Hu Zongxian?"

Gao Gong turned and glared at Wang Yan, shouting, "Then let Hu Zongxian enter the Grand Secretariat, and let Zhang Juzheng return as well!"

Wang Yan glanced at him and said indifferently, "Grand Secretary Gao, since you have already requested retirement, do not worry so much. If you wish to spend your old age in peace, you should meddle less in matters unrelated to you; worrying too much exhausts the spirit and hastens death.

Alas, after we are all gone and future generations read the historical records, if they say that Grand Secretary Gao returned home and soon died of depression, they might suspect that I, Wang Mou, sent someone to do it. That would be an injustice surpassing even Dou E. No one knows that I, Wang Mou, have been targeted for assassination over fifty times for the sake of Great Ming—poisoning, armored soldiers attempting murder, street stabbings, and even, damn it, women trained and sent to my residence to strike between the sheets, those bastards..."

As he spoke, Wang Yan seemed to anger himself, roaring in the hall, recounting the hardships of these years, nearly tearing up and blowing his nose.

Unfortunately, those present were a group of selfish power monsters devoid of empathy; they felt not a shred of sympathy for Wang Yan's plight, perhaps thinking instead, 'How has he not died after more than fifty attempts?' They quietly watched Wang Yan's performance.

Wang Yan was a dutiful man; even without an audience to encourage him, he truly rambled on until he had finished his speech.

Longqing, now with black lines covering his forehead, still had to put on a show after listening, sighing that Wang Yan had truly devoted himself heart and soul to Great Ming, risking his life to realize the goal of making Great Ming greater, a story truly worthy of song and tears.

Then he said, "Minister Gao's words do hold merit; whether Hu Zongxian or Zhang Juzheng, both are pillars of Great Ming. Since we are in dire need of talent, let us proceed as Minister Gao suggested. Minister Wang, Minister Chen?"

Chen Yiqin naturally agreed, as he was a supporter of Longqing.

Speaking of which, he ought to thank Wang Yan; without Wang Yan as a target, the old fellow would have been kicked out by Gao Gong long ago. Of course, Gao Gong should be even more grateful; as stated earlier, without Wang Yan, grass would already be three feet high on Gao Gong's grave. Sadly, Gao Gong neither knew this nor understood gratitude...

Whether Chen Yiqin agreed or not was unimportant; everyone knew that Longqing was asking Wang Yan.

Thus, Wang Yan graciously bowed: "The Grand Secretariat belongs to Your Majesty; we are all Your Majesty's subjects, so naturally, we abide entirely by Your Majesty's decision."

"Then it is settled," Longqing said wearily, waving his hand. "Draft the edict..."

Thus, very quickly, a fresh imperial edict was issued, and a eunuch messenger went to the gate of the Imperial City to proclaim it.

Upon hearing the content of the edict and learning that Gao Gong had requested retirement and return to his hometown, the scholars and grassroots officials outside shouted praises for the Sage Emperor, kowtowed toward the city, and then dispersed.

However, the impact of this matter was not yet over; Wang Yan intended to expand his victory. Toppling Gao Gong was not important; what mattered was crushing the forces that allowed Gao Gong to act with impunity. The target was obvious: the great households of the north.

Even though the northern great households had been dealt with several rounds already, they still retained considerable strength. The main reason was that Wang Yan had not handled them directly. For so many years, there had never been a direct, thorough cleanup to cut the weeds and dig up the roots. Even though Wang Yan had conducted another major investigation previously, this situation remained unchanged.

After all, the work was done by subordinates; although some people were indeed implicated, it was merely perfunctory. It was mainly Hai Rui who handled affairs, dealing with many people during his inspections.

Of course, the major investigation was not in vain; they all knew Wang Yan was going to get serious. If they did not report the hidden land and population, Wang Yan would truly unleash a massacre. Thus, the second major investigation was successful; although there was certainly still underreporting, it no longer mattered.

Now, farming properly and paying taxes properly required handing over less than the shares demanded by submitting to great households. The common people are not fools, and information circulates; thus, over time, these hidden lands and populations naturally returned...

However, the great households of the Central Plains were unconvinced; their earnings from the land had decreased, their income extracted from the regional population had diminished, and their commercial profits had shrunk. In recent years, Wang Yan had also reformed the salt monopoly and rectified the grain transport system, causing significant impact.

In contrast, a large number of factory-owning capitalists were making huge profits, the great households of the southeast were earning abundantly from maritime trade, and the great households of the Jiliao region had secured most of the profits from the grasslands and Liaodong.

The great households of the Central Plains watched helplessly, unable to get a hand in; naturally, they had to resist, express their dissatisfaction, and fight for their interests. Thus, inevitably, they began coercing those they could influence to target Wang Yan.

With so many such people linking up, they formed a great trend; a force named 'Overthrow Wang' began to envelop Wang Yan.

Added to this, Wang Yan had stopped hiding in recent years and began gradually consolidating power; even though he handed over money readily, this finally gave Longqing a sense of crisis. Looking around Great Ming, the situation could not be better; without Wang Yan, there was still peace and money to spend, so naturally, Wang Yan had to be cast aside...

But Wang Yan was not someone who would wait for death; he would not surrender without a fight. Thus, an irreconcilable contradiction arose, and everyone began studying each other.

At present, it seemed Wang Yan had taken the lead.

After Gao Gong fell, Wang Yan raised his butcher's knife against the great households of the Central Plains. Well, not exactly a butcher's knife, since he used the law, compelling all great households to contribute to Great Ming.

A huge number of officials from top to bottom were implicated; personnel transfers were frequent and intense. Wang Yan did not fear backlash, replacing nearly one-third of the officials in one breath.

Initially, Longqing opposed this fiercely, but afterwards, once Wang Yan had arranged his own people and began utilizing their personnel again, he naturally ceased his opposition.

Of course, not all of them had pledged allegiance to anyone; where would one find so many people to pledge allegiance to? The majority were simply those who could not grasp the intricacies of silver, could not master the art of flattery, and handled affairs in a lackadaisical manner.

Wang Yan promoted a large number of such individuals, giving them opportunities to demonstrate their abilities. For those who wished to get things done and were capable of doing so, he had always been tolerant.

Being capable of getting things done represented, to a certain extent, pragmatism and a conscience. Such people actually found it very easy to agree with Wang Yan's governing strategies; it was just that previously, even if they wanted to pledge allegiance, they had no door to enter.

Now that Wang Yan had given them opportunities, allowing those who performed well to rise to power, he had naturally expanded his own influence...

As for the claim that Wang Yan had set a bad precedent for political struggle by inciting people to march and thereby forcing opponents to compromise, that was of no consequence.

Did they truly think inciting people to march was so easy, especially when those people were scholars and low-level officials? These individuals were fanatical supporters of Wang Yan, having all received benefits from him. Even those scholars who had received no direct benefits had studied Wang Yan's doctrines.

Wang Yan had now risen to the Grand Secretariat; how could he possibly not influence the realm of scholarship? Whatever the government examined, the scholars below would delve into. Unfortunately, his influence over the selection of officials had been gradually increasing over these past years...

Even excluding all this, he did not fear his opponents organizing these people to march against him.

It was still the same statement: apart from being greedy for wealth and lustful, he had no other faults; he was absolutely wholeheartedly striving for the greater glory of Great Ming. With the increasingly frenzied assassinations brought about by yet another crackdown on the great families of the Central Plains, the number of assassination attempts against Wang Yan had exceeded sixty—a definitive proof of his absolute loyalty that no one could deny.

If someone marched, he would dare to go out alone, unarmed, and engage in a grand debate with his opponents right before the eyes of the crowd. He was open and aboveboard, with a clear conscience...

"Do you truly have a clear conscience?"

Within the Wenyuan Pavilion, facing Zhang Juzheng's question, Wang Yan nodded without hesitation: "Let me say it again: no one is more loyal to Great Ming than I am. I am using my life to strive wholeheartedly for Great Ming, even willing to sacrifice that life if necessary. The number sixty-six is quite impressive; it is my latest count of assassination attempts. Old Zhang, tell me, what do I have to feel guilty about?"

"Must it be this way?"

"Old Hu, listen to how shameless that sounds. Clearly, you are the ones targeting me, not wanting me to live, yet you speak as if I am the one being relentless. Why did you return? Wasn't it specifically to kill me? So hypocritical, acting as if you are so righteous; it's utterly boring."

Wang Yan tossed over a memorial. "People below are impeaching Chen Hong and Feng Bao; these two have become somewhat outrageous. Not only have they bought large mansions outside and kept mistresses, but they also privately beat a woman involved in an affair to death with staffs. This matter is unacceptable! Does Great Ming have no laws anymore? It is simply lawless! Old Zhang, how do you think this matter should be handled?"

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