Chapter 1568: Evenly Matched

Chen Hong and Feng Bao were punished and sent to labor camps; the true significance of this matter lies in breaking the collusion between inside and outside and severing the chain of benefit transmission.

Chen Hong had previously been an ally allied with Gao Gong, and Feng Bao was an ally allied with Zhang Juzheng. After Gao Gong stepped down, although Chen Hong and Feng Bao were also at odds, because of the external pressure from Wang Yan, they maintained a stable alliance to focus their fire on Wang Yan.

It was indeed very effective; the personnel from both the Grand Secretariat and the Directorate of Ceremonial can be said to have directly surrounded Longqing. To put it bluntly, the main reason Longqing changed his mind to target Wang Yan was that they were whispering about him in front of Longqing.

Otherwise, Longqing spent his days either sleeping with women or studying how to spend money, having no mind to study Wang Yan. After all, what Wang Yan had always shown was respect; he was basically obedient to Longqing's every word. Not saying he treated him exactly like Jiajing, but at least he retained seventy percent of that.

Under such circumstances, without anyone instigating, how much of a fool would Longqing have to be to find trouble with Wang Yan?

If he had just played his own game, his evaluation might not have matched Jiajing's, but he would absolutely have been a wise ruler of his generation...

So now, Wang Yan targeting Chen Hong and Feng Bao is also quite necessary.

With Chen Hong and Feng Bao briefly gone, the people taking their posts were easy to arrange. Even if the person temporarily in charge of the Directorate of Ceremonial was still appointed by Longqing, Wang Yan's relationships with others over the years had not been good, except for these eunuchs and the relationship with the Factory and Guard was the best.

To put it bluntly, since Wang Yan took power, the people in the palace had been acting according to Wang Yan's wishes. After all, Wang Yan served Jiajing; if he needed to solve problems and mobilize palace personnel, naturally the palace would follow Wang Yan's orders.

Wang Yan always made the worst preparations and was also very good at long-term investment; naturally, he had quite a few people within the palace and among the Factory and Guard.

Not to mention his current status and position, even in earlier times, he was a favored minister trusted by Jiajing. Back then, if he was just a bit kind to people and deliberately sought their friendship, he could gain some friendships. Moreover, when dealing with palace people, he always used silver to pave the way.

And after he took charge of the Shuntian Prefecture, he had already stepped onto the public stage. At that time, if he just showed a kind smile to ordinary people, those people would feel honored by association, and he was not only kind but also used silver. This was quite extraordinary.

So Longqing arranged it, thinking they were his own people, but actually secretly giving Wang Yan a hand.

Of course, not openly, and no need for excessive favoritism; the request was simple: as long as the newly appointed eunuchs suppressed Chen Hong and Feng Bao's people, that was enough. Three months was truly enough time to do many things.

After all, the newly appointed ones knew they were not the most favored; once Chen Hong and others returned, they would be suppressed again, so naturally they would use this opportunity to expand their own power. Even if they were retaliated against later, they would have the ability to resist and protect their power.

This was a second-best thought.

The main purpose was to use this opportunity to perform well; what if Longqing took a fancy to them? Then they would directly secure the position of Head of the Directorate of Ceremonial, which would be nothing short of bliss.

Thus, what was shown was that the newly appointed eunuchs worked hard to speak ill of Wang Yan and find trouble for him, but in reality, they were consolidating their own power.

Longqing, Zhang Juzheng, and others saw that they were consolidating power, but they never thought it was a double act with Wang Yan...

However, the development of events was not that smooth; on this very day, a subordinate ran frantically to the Ministry of Revenue office to report.

Yes, Wang Yan was still the Minister of Revenue and hadn't moved an inch. It wasn't that Longqing and others didn't want to move him; they couldn't. Currently, no one could take over Wang Yan's responsibilities. Even if someone could, would Wang Yan agree?

Long ago, Longqing had already asked Wang Yan's opinion, wanting Wang Yan to be responsible for other matters. At that time, Wang Yan calculated Great Ming's accounts and the palace's accounts for Longqing, stating that while Great Ming looked prosperous, the economic situation was still not ideal, fiscal revenue and expenditure still did not match, and Great Ming's deficit had been pushed by Wang Yan to more than a year's annual revenue of Great Ming, heading straight for fifty million.

This deficit made anyone tremble just hearing it.

In the past, for a few million taels of silver, they would destroy dams and flood fields; fifty million in magnitude, just thinking about it was enough to kill a person...

Of course, this didn't stop them from wanting to move Wang Yan; the more dangerous it was, the more they had to move Wang Yan, otherwise, if they let Wang Yan continue creating chaos, who knew what it would become?

Now that everyone had dealt with Wang Yan, they could repay this debt after a few years of hard times.

Wang Yan guessed that was exactly what they thought...

The subordinate who ran in panting said frantically, "Grand Secretary, Chen Hong is dead!"

"Oh."

"Chen Hong is dead!"

Wang Yan poured a cup of tea and pushed it in front of the subordinate: "I heard. What's wrong? Should I put on mourning clothes and send him off?"

"Oh, Grand Secretary, why aren't you worried? For so many years, people who died in labor camps have all been investigated. Grand Secretary just dealt with Chen Hong and Feng Bao, and Chen Hong died only a month after going there; this matter is hard to explain."

"What about Feng Bao?"

"He is safe and sound; only Chen Hong died. This morning when he woke up, Chen Hong didn't move. People nearby pushed him and saw no reaction, then checked his breath, and only then confirmed Chen Hong was dead, immediately reporting it. The people below feared delaying Grand Secretary's important matters, so they had the Wuanping coroner examine the body directly, saying he died of poisoning, so they hurriedly told Grand Secretary."

The subordinate took a sip of warm, palatable tea and recited the sequence of events at high speed.

"Grand Secretary, according to your rules all along, do not hide anything when something happens. Currently, the construction site has been controlled immediately, everyone in the same room as Chen Hong has been locked up, and those who recently contacted Chen Hong are being screened. People from the Factory and Guard, the Ministry of Justice, and the Court of Judicature and Revision should have already received the news and are preparing to assign capable personnel to investigate the case.

Grand Secretary, someone is harming you."

"Just a eunuch; how can he harm me? Alright, go back to your work."

A short while later, Hu Zongxian arrived here.

"You must prepare for the worst."

This was the first sentence Hu Zongxian said after meeting Wang Yan. Because blood had already started to flow and the methods had become cruel, this signaled that the situation had escalated to a more intense level.

"Too unwise," Wang Yan shook his head. "Insisting on escalating the matter to this degree, how will it be resolved in the end?"

"Still thinking about how to resolve it?"

Hu Zongxian let out a long sigh. "Why don't you just flee? In recent years, maritime trade has gone well, and you have explored most of the outside places. Many places are still uncivilized; if you go overseas, you can become a king."

"Your words make no sense, Old Hu. You say I fought hard with my life to create the Great Ming prosperity, only to have me leave here? Then what have I been fighting so hard for all these years?

You know I have innate supernatural strength and have practiced a few farming techniques. Not saying how amazing, but killing dozens of armored soldiers is something I have actually done. If so, what office did I hold back then? I should have just gone to the southeast, found a wealthy family to slaughter, stolen their ships, and fled. Why go to such great trouble to become a pirate overseas?"

Wang Yan's meaning was simple and direct: if he ran, he would be negating everything he had done in the past. If he waited to die, that was not his character. So even though the situation had developed to this point and the struggle had become more intense, he would still stand firm and fight, never surrender...

Hu Zongxian could only sigh helplessly, not knowing what to say.

"This old man will follow you."

Hu Zongxian could only say so because he had no room left. Since his reinstatement, he had been bound to Wang Yan. At this time, defecting to Longqing and others would not be accepted. Even if they accepted him, after killing Wang Yan, his fate would surely be miserable. Moreover, he was already of such an age; he had enjoyed glory and wealth, reached the highest position a minister could hold; if he died, he died, with no regrets.

"Rest assured, we won't die. We are one big family, and there are countless mouths below following us to eat; how could we just fall like this?"

"Let's hope so."

"This attitude of leaving it to heaven is not good; it is too negative. We must strive; if we strive, there is hope; if we do not strive, then everything is truly over."

Wang Yan smiled cheerfully, as if nothing had affected him at all, giving Hu Zongxian confidence and strength.

He still walked at a leisurely pace and still treated people with a kind smile, as if nothing had affected him at all. Just like that, an hour passed, and Wang Yan and Hu Zongxian were summoned to the Western Garden.

As expected, when they arrived, Zhang Juzheng and Chen Yiqin were already there, along with the disheveled Feng Bao and the eunuch who had previously temporarily held the Directorate of Ceremonial, kneeling on the ground.

Dispensing with formalities, Longqing got straight to the point: "Minister Wang, do you know that Chen Hong died at the construction site?"

"I know; my subordinates told me immediately, and they also notified the Factory and Guard, the Ministry of Justice, and the Court of Judicature and Revision... The response was reasonable, and the handling was appropriate. I also heard that after the Wuanping coroner examined the body, he said the man was poisoned to death."

Zhang Juzheng interjected: "Then what does Grand Secretary Wang think?"

"It should be that he was poisoned to death," Wang Yan nodded solemnly.

Feng Bao jumped out: "Wang Yan, why pretend to be foolish at this time? On your construction site, labor reform prisoners died; this is indefensible by both reason and emotion."

"Ridiculous! What do you mean 'my construction site'? That is a construction site of my Great Ming government! As for labor reform prisoners dying, what of it? Haven't they died before? Some were beaten to death, some poisoned, some sought their own deaths; there have been many deaths.

I finally understand: Grand Secretary Zhang and Eunuch Feng mean that I had Chen Hong killed."

Wang Yan laughed loudly, "Then by my reckoning, you, Feng Bao, killed him. After all, upon Chen Hong's return, he was still the Chief Seal of the Directorate of Ceremonial, and you have long been dissatisfied with him; killing him on this occasion is reasonable and logical, fitting both emotion and reason.

And Zhang Juzheng as well; lately, Grand Secretary Zhang has repeatedly caused me trouble, maliciously suppressing me, a loyal subject of Great Ming. With Chen Hong dead, it is perfect to frame me.

Eunuch Liu also had a motive; he temporarily holds the Directorate of Ceremonial and fears Chen Hong will return to seize power and take back the position of Chief Seal.

Others also had motives; they all find me eyesore and seized this opportunity to frame me. Otherwise, I would not have been ambushed and attacked sixty-six times. Throughout all dynasties, this is truly unheard of and unseen. These are all good ministers and good people of my Great Ming.

Your Majesty, please examine this clearly; your subject is truly innocent! Your subject requests to investigate this matter. Rest assured, Your Majesty; your subject will definitely investigate this thoroughly and clearly, restore your subject's innocence, and give Eunuch Chen an explanation."

How could Longqing let Wang Yan investigate? He waved his hand: "We clearly know Minister Wang's character; he would definitely not commit such an act. Since Chen Hong is dead, further talk is useless; let the Factory and Guards investigate in detail. Let Feng Bao handle this matter."

He did not ask for others' opinions; his statement was affirmative and brooked no doubt.

Wang Yan, however, spoke up: "Your Majesty, letting Eunuch Feng investigate the case may be inappropriate."

"How is it inappropriate?"

"Eunuch Feng is currently undergoing labor reform, with over a month remaining before his release upon completion of his term. Your Majesty, a state has its laws, and a family has its rules; allowing Feng Bao to pay a copper fine to escape punishment was already Your Majesty's heavenly grace. These three months of labor reform cannot be reduced by even a single day; otherwise, what dignity remains for the national laws of our Great Ming?"

Longqing stared wide-eyed at Wang Yan, yet Wang Yan merely stood there with his hands tucked into his sleeves, eyes fixed on the ground, as if completely unaware of the Emperor's anger at this moment.

Chen Yiqin said, "Grand Secretary Wang, in extraordinary times, extraordinary measures are taken; letting Eunuch Feng out early is understandable. Moreover, you may not know that nowadays labor reform has become a mere formality; execution below is not thorough. One day earlier or later makes no difference."

"Grand Secretary Chen is pointing out a problem. Lately, I have been busy cleaning up the mess left by Gao Gong, and people below are beginning to seek death again. In that case, it is perfect for Eunuch Feng to return; tomorrow I will personally go to the construction site to explain the rules to those below and punish them. We must ensure labor reform is implemented, making these criminals truly suffer to atone for their sins."

As soon as Wang Yan finished speaking, everyone's gaze fell upon Chen Yiqin.

That gaze truly stung Chen Yiqin; he wished he could slap himself twice. Wasn't this just handing Wang Yan a pillow?

But since the words were already spoken, where was there room to withdraw them? Thus, this matter fell to Eunuch Liu, who temporarily held the Directorate of Ceremonial, and Feng Bao had no choice but to return to labor reform.

After all, everything Wang Yan said was absolutely correct; no one could deny it.

However, not letting Feng Bao return did not solve the problem. The Factory and Guards were still investigating, still directing the fire toward Wang Yan, using this matter as a raft to begin striking at Wang Yan's faction.

They dragged major issues into minor matters, launching an expansion.

But it was useless, because both sides were already finding various faults and omissions; even without the matter of Chen Hong, there were plenty of pretexts to launch attacks.

Thus, how Chen Hong actually died became self-evident...

However, Wang Yan did not care about these issues; while wrestling with Zhang Juzheng, he did not delay the progress of various affairs. He remained as leisurely and comfortable as ever, without a shred of the panic one might expect from being personally targeted by the Emperor.

This gave Longqing and Zhang Juzheng a rather unpleasant experience.

One felt no imperial majesty, the other felt no authority of the Great Ming Grand Secretary; it seemed as if Wang Yan were the Grand Secretary instead.

Indeed, Wang Yan was the de facto Grand Secretary. While the two sides fought back and forth, Wang Yan's faction only grew larger.

Moreover, the tactic Wang Yan employed was very simple: the laws of Great Ming. He acted strictly according to the law, wielding the correctness of Great Ming to target those opposing him, proving invincible...

Conversely, the people under his command were considerably cleaner. Even if they all embezzled public funds, those under him had more scale than the opposition, knowing which money could be taken and which could not.

Although it is very ironic, the fact is just so: even embezzlement has levels of high and low; at the very least, one must not delay the handling of official business.

But these points did not apply to Wang Yan. He also embezzled, yet neither Longqing nor Zhang Juzheng, nor even Feng Bao, who completed his labor reform and became the Chief Seal of the Directorate of Ceremonial, used this as a pretext.

Because the premise for accusing Wang Yan of embezzlement was the ability to bring him down, not the inability to find faults to kill him...

Therefore, the ambushes and attacks Wang Yan faced increased again; he had truly become 'King Endurable-Kill'...

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