Chapter 167: Bring More People Next Time

By the time he arrived at the yamen, the Ministry of Justice officials' name tags were already crowded outside.

Leading them was an official of about forty years, tall and imposing in appearance.

He was called Wang Lei, a man from Shanxi.

It is said that after Wang Dehan was arrested yesterday, Zhang Siwei's steward, Zhang Quan, quickly received the news. Knowing the implications were grave, he hurried to find his master and spilled the beans like bamboo tubes pouring out peas.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Siwei flew into a rage and cursed, "I have just ascended to the position of Grand Secretary, and you dare to stir up trouble outside! Now that the man has been caught, you can just wait to be punished."

Zhang Quan looked aggrieved.

This wasn't something he had only started doing after Zhang Siwei became Acting Senior Grand Secretary.

Moreover, most of the money he obtained had been given to Zhang Siwei. For Zhang Siwei to pull up his pants and act so righteous now was truly something.

Although he felt aggrieved inside, Zhang Quan could only respectfully say on the surface, "Master, this Wang Dehan is in charge of the Ministry of Revenue granaries; he has always been respectful and has never shown the slightest bit of negligence toward you."

"How much money did you take from him?" Zhang Siwei asked directly.

"I—I didn't," Zhang Quan waved his hands repeatedly.

"Hmph, you still dare to lie." Zhang Siwei flicked his sleeve, glared at him fiercely, and added, "Don't think I don't know; you took another concubine last month and bought over a hundred acres of land in Wanping."

"Tell me, where did you get the money?"

Zhang Quan plopped onto the ground, kneeling, his body trembling like a winnowing sieve: "This servant knows his mistake, this servant knows his mistake, this servant will never dare to do it again, this servant will never dare to do it again."

"Hmph, is our family short of that little bit of money? You even used my name to go around swindling people." Zhang Siwei flicked his sleeve, stood up from his chair in a fury, and kicked Zhang Quan, who was on the ground.

His family had been in business for generations and had long been the wealthiest in Shanxi; did they need that bit of silver?

Zhang Siwei knew well the treachery of the officialdom; when Zhang Juzheng was in power, he had walked on thin ice, not daring to let anyone catch him in a mistake.

He never expected that despite all his precautions, it was hard to guard against a thief within one's own house; today, he had fallen because of a servant.

While he was fuming, Zhang Quan crawled up from the ground, weeping and snotting: "Master, this time it is not just me alone. Wang Dehan has been able to hold his position so firmly because, among the eighteen major yamens in the capital, most people have received his favors."

"Then let the Embroidered Uniform Guard investigate, investigate until the truth is out!"

"Master, you cannot. This Embroidered Uniform Guard is the backyard of the Zhang Family brothers. If we let them investigate, they will surely nitpick your students while turning a blind eye to the Zhang Family's old associates."

How could Zhang Siwei not have this worry? This was his first month as Acting Senior Grand Secretary.

Officialdom has always been about following the wind and steering with the current.

Officials in the capital are best at "guessing intentions"; once he loses face upon taking office, he will likely find it difficult to move an inch as Grand Secretary.

"You go down first; you don't need to worry about this matter anymore. I have already made a decision."

"Yes."

Zhang Quan got up to leave, but Zhang Siwei suddenly called out, "Wait."

"Does Master have other instructions?" Zhang Quan turned around and returned to his original spot, respectful and submissive.

"Go to Vice Minister Qiu's residence and bring Vice Minister Qiu to me."

By the time Qiu Shun arrived, it was already the fourth watch.

He was a Metropolitan Graduate from the twenty-ninth year of the Jiajing reign and was already over sixty years old, but because he cultivated his character and nurtured his nature, he looked only to be in his fifties.

The two sat down in the study, and Zhang Siwei told him everything.

After listening, Qiu Shun raised his two white eyebrows, frowned, and asked, "What does the Grand Secretary want me to do?"

"Investigate impartially. I have just taken over the position of Grand Secretary and was preparing to find someone to make an example of. I didn't expect the Embroidered Uniform Guard to beat me to it and catch this little fly, Wang Dehan." Zhang Siwei answered loudly. "Grand Secretary, although this Wang Dehan is indeed just a small fly, there must be many big tigers behind him," Qiu Shun shook his head and said with some worry, "If they were mosquitoes, one could swat them in groups."

"But tigers eat people. To make such a big fuss, the capital's officialdom will surely be shaken."

"Then what do you suggest?" Zhang Siwei asked.

"You first issue an order to transfer the person from the Embroidered Uniform Guard to the Ministry of Justice, and we can discuss the rest later."

"Good, I will issue the transfer order in the name of the Grand Secretariat first thing tomorrow morning."

When Wang Lei saw Han San, he didn't waste words and directly took out the Ministry of Justice's transfer order.

Han San took it, looked at it, grinned, and laughed disdainfully: "Sorry, but this Embroidered Uniform Guard of ours is under the jurisdiction of the Emperor. To take someone, you must bring the Emperor's Imperial Edict."

Having said that, he slapped the Ministry of Justice's official document back onto Wang Lei's chest.

"Thousand-Household Han, you really won't give any face at all?" Wang Lei stared at him coldly and retorted, "Let me ask you, if this were an official document issued by Grand Secretary Zhang Juzheng, would your Embroidered Uniform Guard dare to disobey the order?"

Han San did not answer, looking at him as if he were a fool.

If the old Grand Secretary Zhang were still here, he naturally wouldn't dare to be negligent.

It's just a pity that this Zhang Siwei hasn't even sat firmly in his seat yet and has already started playing these crooked games. The person behind Han San's chair is not pleased.

Then naturally, he cannot let Zhang Siwei be pleased either.

Seeing this, Wang Lei held the document high and shouted to the officials behind him: "The Grand Secretary has ordered that Wang Dehan has engaged in corruption and violated the law, and his crimes are heinous. This case is specifically handed over to the Ministry of Justice for investigation. Anyone who dares to obstruct this will be killed without mercy."

Playing this game with me, are you? Han San's face turned cold, and he shouted to a Small Banner Officer: "Go call the men! Whoever the hell dares to force their way in, killing them doesn't count!"

In a short while, a large group of fully armed guards poured out from the gate of the Northern Suppressing Faction. As soon as they rushed out, they immediately surrounded the men Wang Lei had brought.

"What are you doing, what are you doing? Do you, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, want to rebel?" Wang Lei was so angry his nose was crooked, and he cursed with a thick neck.

"The ones rebelling are not us, but you, Magistrate Wang," Han San replied with a laugh, arms crossed.

"This is the Grand Secretary's transfer order," Wang Lei raised the order in his hand, looking righteous and indignant.

"Acting Grand Secretary," Han San reminded him.

The two sides stood in a standoff, neither daring to make the first move.

The scene was extremely awkward for a moment.

Everyone looked at each other, and finally, all eyes shifted to the two leaders.

Wang Lei was caught in a dilemma and cursed inwardly: This damn Han San is truly a stubborn mule. I thought he would soften up with the Grand Secretary's order; now look, he's got me stuck here.

He had thought he could win the favor of the new Grand Secretary, but instead, he ended up eating a mouthful of shit.

Han San saw his inner embarrassment but was not in a hurry.

Anyway, he wasn't the one losing face, so why should he be in a rush? He looked relaxed and ordered someone to bring out a Grand Tutor's chair from inside and sat down on it. Since it was the sixth month, the sun was still frighteningly fierce today.

In no time at all, the faces of the people on both sides flushed red, and beads of sweat the size of beans rolled down their cheeks.

"Hmph, this isn't over!" Wiping the sweat from his face, Wang Lei uttered a harsh threat and turned to leave.

"Bring more people next time you come!"

(End of chapter)