Chapter 64: Rotten to the Core

Li Le almost didn't become a vessel.

Li Le completely defected to the Jin Party, failing Zhang Juzheng's expectations for him and the mission entrusted to him by the court. He was not loyal to his own cognition, not loyal to the righteousness he had learned, not loyal to the court's mission, and not loyal to the Emperor. In the final process of becoming a vessel, in the firing process, he did not succeed.

More simply, Li Le almost knelt.

But Li Le secretly went to the Quan-Chu Guild Hall in the middle of the night, and the nature of the matter changed. Zhang Siwei became a clown who lost his wife and soldiers in this round of conflict.

Li Le's memorial gathered the visits Zhang Jing made at the border and reported them according to the facts. The clan-based clique would immediately fall into complete passivity. In this round, the Zhang Party, led by Zhang Juzheng, would win a great victory.

Empress Dowager Li asked for the Emperor's opinion on Li Le's inspection of the Great Wall construction.

Feng Bao was full of emotion. It was just as he had expected: the young Emperor would eventually grow up. Empress Dowager Li was not Wu Zetian and did not intend to hold all the power in her own hands. It was fortunate that Feng Bao chose to listen to the Emperor.

Zhu Yijun thought for a moment and said, "Ice three feet thick is not formed in a single day; a mountain of earth is not built in a moment. The rottenness of the Xuan-Da Great Wall construction must have been accumulated over the years, not in a single morning or evening. Pulling out the poison is also not a matter of a single morning or evening. If we want to..."

"Hmm, hmm, hmm, go play." Empress Dowager Li waved her hand, signaling the young Emperor to go to Jingshan to hoe the earth.

It's good that the young Emperor knows the importance of things. Why talk about big principles!

Once he talks about principles, Empress Dowager Li gets a headache. This young Emperor is just like those scholar-officials, always having a reason. A pile of principles after another, making it seem like she was shielding the Emperor and had made a mistake. It's better not to talk about principles in the future.

The ten mu of land in Jingshan is the Emperor's treasure and heart's flesh; it cannot be sloppy. If he doesn't look at it for a day, it's as if something is missing.

Zhu Yijun came to the Baoqi Hall in Jingshan, secretly feeling it was a pity. Xu Zhenming had understood and implemented the dual spirit from the Grand Secretariat and the Directorate of Ceremonial, not letting the Emperor do any dirty or tiring work. The fertilizer application had been completed before the Emperor arrived.

The smell of fertilizer is not good, but crops need it.

Zhu Yijun also told Feng Bao to plug the holes in the Baoqi Hall. The specific method was mutual reporting. They were all people who climbed over the palace walls to steal, so they knew the way. Reporting one reduces the crime by one degree; reporting one saves one's life; reporting three or five can exempt one from corporal punishment, only needing to be exiled to Qiongzhou.

They are all people in the business; who doesn't know whom?

The young Emperor was busy in the Baoqi Hall for a long time before returning to the Qianqing Palace. He also had a small flower bed where he planted potatoes and sweet potatoes. He couldn't participate in fertilizing the large fields of the Baoqi Hall, but he could make decisions about this small flower bed.

At sunset, during the evening curfew, in the Quan-Jin Guild Hall, Zhang Siwei, Wang Chonggu, and Yang Bo gathered in the study. Yang Bo was not in good spirits, his eyes slightly closed, resting in a grand master's chair. Li Le had already arrived at the Huyukou Great Wall, and the memorial had been sent to the capital by fast horse.

The three of them already knew the content of Li Le's memorial.

"Li Le is bullying people too much! He took the benefits but didn't do the work! He didn't even pay for the Hu girls—this is... 'white prostitution'!" Zhang Siwei was already extremely angry.

But he didn't dare do anything. Dealing with Li Le's family, or even moving against Li Le, was an option.

But Zhang Juzheng is a gentleman. The methods of this gentleman are not gentle at all; they can be called cruel.

"What exactly happened to the Huyukou pass? Is what Li Le mentioned in the memorial true?" Yang Bo looked at Zhang Siwei and asked with a serious face. "The pass was repaired at the end of last year; why was it breached by the Northern Barbarians?"

Zhang Siwei finally said the truth.

Zhang Siwei said quite calmly, "The Huyukou pass was never repaired at all."

"Bastard! How can state affairs be such child's play! Altan Khan didn't dare to go deep, he just looted the granary. If he had intended to invade the border, wouldn't that have put the border in danger?!" Yang Bo was furious and stood up. He had asked several times before, and Zhang Siwei had said it was fine. Today, Li Le's memorial returned to the capital.

Zhang Siwei finally said the truth.

Zhang Siwei said quite calmly, "Uncle's tribute also included money for the Huyukou pass. That way of speaking makes it seem like I swallowed it all by myself."

Yang Bo's mouth twitched, he slowly sat down, and let out a heavy, turbid breath. It was

The young Emperor was pointing at the mulberry tree while scolding the locust tree, using his questions to ask Yang Bo about loyalty, trust, knowledge, and action. To this, Yang Bo could only say that His Majesty scolded well!

Yang Bo could not be as shameless as Zhang Siwei.

"The security around Baoqi Hall is extremely strict; it is not easy to make a move," Zhang Siwei said again.

He did want to find a thief who could scale walls to investigate the situation, but he could never find a way. Feng Bao in the palace, although incompetent in other things, had become extremely difficult to deal with after the assassination case, reorganizing the palace staff.

Yang Bo looked at Zhang Siwei, full of horror, and said with great surprise, "Baoqi Hall is just a place for a ten-year-old ruler to play. What are you trying to do?!"

Zhang Siwei extended his right hand and pressed down, signaling Yang Bo to calm down. He smiled and said, "Nothing, what could I do? Just to investigate the situation and see what the Emperor is doing. The news coming out of the palace now is a mix of truth and falsehood; I don't know which is true and which is false. I don't even know what General Qi did or said in the palace after returning to the capital."

"If there is no news from the palace, won't we become deaf and blind, left to be bullied by Zhang Juzheng?"

"That Zhang Hong has some ambition; we can test him."

Under the guidance of the Emperor of Great Ming, Feng Bao had carried out a reorganization inside and outside the Great Ming, and the effect was extremely significant. The palace was cleaned, but not completely; there were still people from the outer court in some unimportant places in the palace.

This led to all kinds of false news flying everywhere, and even people like Zhang Siwei, Wang Chonggu, and Yang Bo could not determine whether the news was true or false.

For example, last night, definite news came out of the palace that the Emperor had collapsed!

This news gave Zhang Siwei and Wang Chonggu a big fright. They calculated for a long time whether they could use this opportunity to do something, but the next day, the Emperor appeared in the Zhao Wenhua Hall as usual.

Information is power; information is a lifeline. Now that the Jin Party has lost its channel for obtaining news from the imperial palace, it has become tied hand and foot.

Zhang Siwei asked someone to investigate the news of Baoqi Hall to know what the Emperor was doing. If that thief happened to do something, like setting a fire or poisoning the water, that would not be something Zhang Siwei could control.

It was all done by the thief! What does it have to do with him, Zhang Siwei!

Yang Bo held his forehead and said powerlessly, "What is His Majesty doing in Baoqi Hall? After the examination on the 29th of every month, His Majesty leads the court officials to go there. Isn't it perfectly clear what he is doing?"

"I do not agree with you contacting Zhang Hong. Are you trying to drag my old face down, press it to the ground, and stomp on it twice before you are willing to stop?!"

"Zhang Hong is a person by His Majesty's side. If you want to contact him, will Feng Bao let you? Eunuch factions ruining the country only spin around in the imperial city; officials ruining the country—those who govern others commit evil, and small evils become great evils, the root of disaster."

"Li Le is Bai Gui's man. If you deal with his man like this, will Bai Gui swallow his anger? If a bigger mess is made, how will it be cleaned up?"

Zhang Siwei said quite dissatisfied, "The Grand Secretary has already reached into our territory; are we to do nothing? Wouldn't that make us look easy to bully?"

Yang Bo looked at Zhang Siwei and said very firmly, "Do you know why Bai Gui does not deal a fatal blow to us?"

Zhang Siwei curled his lips into a smile and said, "He can't deal with us. Full of benevolence and morality, talking about caring for the world—isn't it just because he can't do it? Is he trying to save some face for himself? If he could do it, if he could deal a fatal blow, he would have done it long ago."

Yang Bo was stunned, then shook his head with a smile and said, "That is what you think."

"The reason Bai Gui refuses to deal a fatal blow to the Jin Party is not that he cannot defeat us, but simply to prevent people in the palace from thinking he wants to establish a dictatorship, causing concern in the palace. If the inside and outside of the palace were all his people, the Empress Dowager in the palace would be worried. That is why Bai Gui keeps us, maintaining a superficial balance."

"Can you understand? You don't understand; how could you understand?"

Zhang Siwei waved his hands repeatedly and said, "No, no, no. To seek extraordinary achievements in governing the country, one must do extraordinary things! The Grand Secretary has talent and virtue, which the world recognizes, but he still doesn't do things to the end. He did it, but didn't finish it—isn't that the same as not doing it? He is unassailable while alive, but what about after he dies?"

"Heh, he should have wiped us all out instead of leaving a root! Then he will surely see what happens to him!"

Yang Bo looked at Zhang Siwei and then at Wang Chonggu, finally sighing, "Can a gentleman be deceived by his own methods? Is it Bai Gui's extraordinary achievements that are ridiculous, or our petty villainy that is ridiculous?"

Zhang Siwei said indifferently, "Ridiculous is just ridiculous. The Grand Secretary gets nothing, while we can get everything. It's just some fleeting fame."

Zhang Siwei never felt he was wrong. Zhang Juzheng wants to be a gentleman, but in the end, he gets neither fame nor achievements. Seeking extraordinary achievements is not as good as seeking wealth that will last for ten thousand generations.

"Enough, you go. Be steady. It won't be too late for you to stir up trouble after I'm gone." Yang Bo finally gave up trying to persuade them and waved his hand, signaling the doorman to see them out.

What Zhang Siwei said made some sense, but will the young Emperor in the palace really let Zhang Siwei manipulate him?

May is the willow that cannot be broken. Looking across the earth, the willow trees have unfolded their branches with tender yellow-green leaves, gently swaying in the slight spring breeze.

May is the swallow that has flown back. Among the carved beams and painted pillars, the swallows fly nimbly, building nests on the beams and chirping happily in the gentle spring light.

The Zhao Wenhua Hall in May is still solemn and dignified. After three sounds of the clean whip, the officials slowly walked into the Zhao Wenhua Hall.

"Your subjects pay respects to Your Majesty. Is Your Majesty's holy body at peace?" The officials bowed respectfully.

Zhu Yijun extended his hand and said, "I am at peace. Officials, rise and begin the court discussion."

Zhu Yijun couldn't wait to see the court officials fight! Isn't that why he comes to Zhao Wenhua Hall every day to listen to government affairs—to watch them argue!

"Thank you, Your Majesty." The twenty-seven court officials of the Great Ming rose, took their seats, opened the memorials in their hands, and prepared for a day of court discussion.

"Zhang Chucheng, Right Supervising Secretary of the Ministry of War, discusses the golden-letter imperial decree used by the daughter of Viceroy and Minister Wang Chonggu, which is inappropriate, and submits a memorial requesting its revocation," Zhang Juzheng said. He did not start by bringing out Li Le's memorial to launch a general offensive, but spoke of another matter.