[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-i-really-am-not-neglecting-my-duties":3,"chapter-i-really-am-not-neglecting-my-duties-i-really-am-not-neglecting-my-duties-chapter-65":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","I Really Am Not Neglecting My Duties",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2363334,4622,"Chapter 65","i-really-am-not-neglecting-my-duties-chapter-65",65,"\u003Cp>Qi Jiguang repelled Dong Huzi at Xifengkou and captured Bu Ha Chu alive; in Huyukou, the regional commander Ma Fang saw the pass breached as the barbarians plundered and withdrew; Zhang Juzheng originally intended only to dispatch Imperial Censor Li Le, not of the Jin Party, to investigate—merely extending imperial oversight to Xuanfu and Datong was, in his view, already a success.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Zhang Siwei insisted on overreaching, employing every means to corrupt Li Le, coercing and bribing him until Li Le was forced to kneel and accept office.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This violated Zhang Juzheng’s deepest taboos—he held grudges fiercely. Li Le had played the game of feigning loyalty to Cao while serving Han, tricking Zhang Siwei, and now came Zhang Juzheng’s counterattack.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Right Associate of the Ministry of Military Affairs, Zhang Chucheng, impeaches Viceroy and Minister Wang Chonggu for improperly using gold characters in his daughter’s imperial edict, petitioning for its revocation and destruction.” Zhang Juzheng began with the first charge: Wang Chonggu’s daughter’s edict bore gold characters, which violated protocol.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gold seals and titles are reserved for princes; gold-character edicts are reserved for princesses. Wang Chonggu holds no noble title whatsoever—his use of gold characters is usurpation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You bear the surname Wang, but you are not a prince—how dare you use a gold-character edict?!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon hearing this, Wang Chonggu turned pale and cast a pleading glance toward Yang Bo, hoping Yang Bo would speak up and quell the impeachment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Chonggu’s daughter married Yang Bo’s son, Yang Junqing, who was the martial zhuangyuan of Longqing’s fourth year and served in the Northern Commandery of the Embroidered Uniform Guard under Commander Zhu Xixiao as a judicial officer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon hearing Zhang Juzheng’s words, Yang Bo sighed deeply, then bowed and said: “Your Majesty, I am ashamed. My son Yang Junqing’s transgression occurred during the tenure of the new Zheng chancellor; I failed to discipline him. I humbly beg Your Majesty to punish me, strip him of his title and office, and order him to return home in retirement.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yang Bo did not argue or plead with Zhang Juzheng—he directly confessed his guilt to the emperor on the dais. This was a verifiable crime; stubborn denial would only deepen his humiliation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yang Bo chose to surrender.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhu Yijun set down his pencil, sat upright, and asked Yang Bo calmly: “When did you learn your son had violated ritual propriety?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Only afterward did I learn of it. I beg Your Majesty to judge me fairly,” Yang Bo replied honestly at this point—such details were irrelevant. His son’s grave violation of ritual, and his own failure as a father, warranted punishment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Who committed the usurpation?” Zhu Yijun asked Yang Bo again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yang Bo bowed and said: “My son Yang Junqing, Minister Wang, former Grand Secretary Gao Gong, and Senior Eunuch Chen Hong—all four acted in unauthorized collusion. This is a grave offense of usurping authority. I beg Your Majesty to punish them severely.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then, Grand Secretary, what do you propose?” Zhu Yijun asked Zhang Juzheng.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Juzheng bowed and replied: “Your Majesty, I propose revoking the gold-character edict granted to Yang Junqing’s wife, and imposing one year’s salary forfeiture upon Yang Junqing and Minister Wang.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hmm.” Zhu Yijun paused—was Zhang Juzheng being this lenient?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just revoke the edict? Just one year’s salary? That’s it?!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This punishment was far too light.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yang Bo rose shakily, shook his sleeves, knelt, and buried his head low: “Your Majesty, I am ashamed. I failed to discipline my son, fostered factionalism, alienated kin, and seized power unlawfully. I beg Your Majesty to dismiss this old minister.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What do you mean, Grand Secretary Yang? Are you refusing even to return the gold-character edict?” Zhu Yijun’s tone turned icy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I dare not. I have long considered myself a servant of the state, favored by Your Majesty and the late Emperor, possessing modest merit, always boasting that adversity only revealed my virtue and prosperity never made me arrogant—I served as general and minister, balanced civil and military affairs, and was the pillar of the realm. I once prided myself on exhausting myself for the state. Now I see it was merely a joke, a laughingstock. I humbly beg to retire, and earnestly request Your Majesty permit me to return home and rest in peace.” Yang Bo’s voice trembled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yesterday, he had told Zhang Siwei and Wang Chonggu at his residence that his old face would one day be torn off, thrown to the ground, and trampled upon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, the ten-year-old emperor asked whether he was feigning retirement to force the court into leniency—this revocation of the edict was like a thick spittle spat in Yang Bo’s face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yang Bo had been cherished by the Jiajing Emperor, entrusted with frontier affairs, and he had not betrayed that trust—he performed admirably. But the Jin Party had corrupted itself: the greater its former glory, the deeper its present shame.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Juzheng quickly said: “Your Majesty, permit me to speak: Grand Secretary Yang is a man of great virtue. In Xuanfu and Datong, he stabilized the region; in Jizhou and Liaodong, he ensured peace; as Minister of War, he secured the Nine Borders; as Minister of Personnel, he implemented the Kaocheng Law. I humbly beg Your Majesty to forgive him for his past merits.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Juzheng meant: let past service be honored—do not press further. The emperor’s words had pierced Yang Bo’s most cherished pride.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, the Ministry of Personnel still needed Yang Bo to oversee the Kaocheng Law.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhu Yijun looked from Yang Bo to Zhang Juzheng and realized: Yang Bo was serious. He was not feigning retirement to pressure the court, nor was he leveraging his age—he simply could not bear the shame and wished to leave.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Feng Bao, who had been about to speak, also saw the situation clearly and chose silence—he never interrupted when the emperor spoke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhu Yijun’s tone softened. He smiled and said: “Grand Secretary Yang, you overstate. The state relies heavily on you. I am young and lacking in virtue, dependent on the counsel of civil and military ministers. How could you disregard the late Emperor’s final command and abandon me?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This…” Yang Bo was speechless. After a long silence, he said: “I am deeply grateful Your Majesty has not forsaken me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yang Bo did not know how to respond further—the young emperor had shut down his exit. He had already been disloyal; to defy the imperial command and insist on leaving would make him even more disloyal and unfilial.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhu Yijun smiled and said: “Grand Secretary Yang, rise.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was tolerable that the Jin Party’s leader was Yang Bo. But if Zhang Siwei took his place, it would be unbearable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If the Jin Party must have a leader, better Yang Bo remain in the Wenhua Hall—at least things would not be worse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Juzheng’s main target was Wang Chonggu. His daughter’s gold-character edict had been issued during Gao Gong’s tenure, known to few—Zhang Juzheng happened to be one of them. He had not raised it before, but he had not forgotten.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The impeachment against Wang Chonggu came from Right Associate of the Ministry of Military Affairs Zhang Chucheng, a native of Jiangling, Jingzhou, and a staunch member of the Chu Party—Zhang Juzheng’s fellow townsman.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your Majesty’s decree: revoke the gold-character edict granted to Yang Junqing’s wife; impose one year’s salary forfeiture upon Yang Junqing and Minister Wang. Do any of you object?” Zhang Juzheng asked Wang Chonggu, word by word.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Chonggu ultimately said nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This matter involved Yang Bo, who had used his diplomatic merit to contain it. A harsher punishment would risk harming the virtuous—this outcome was already favorable for Wang Chonggu.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Juzheng signed the memorial and handed it to Zhang Hong, who presented it to the throne. Zhu Yijun paused, then stamped the imperial seal of Wanli, and turned to Zhang Juzheng.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The impeachment against Wang Chonggu for gold-character edict usurpation was merely the beginning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Juzheng picked up the second memorial: “Imperial Censor Chen Tang of the Nanjing Huguang Circuit impeaches Regional Commander Ma Fang, Left Grand Marshal of Datong, for bribing Lin Shaohuai, Director of the Military Arsenal, and Wu Zhe, Assistant Military Commissioner, to evade inspection of frontier defenses and construction projects, totaling seventy-six thousand four hundred thirty-two taels of gold-silver coin—evidence and suspects apprehended together.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon hearing this, Wang Chonggu was utterly stunned. This was an extreme secret. Huyukou’s fortification was merely one of many large-scale frontier construction projects since the peace talks. Similar cases had been common. Lin Shaohuai and Wu Zhe were core pillars of the Jin Party. How had this case been uncovered? Why had there been no whisper yesterday?!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When had the offense occurred? When had they been caught red-handed?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Both the Shuntian Prefecture and the Ministry of Justice had Jin Party informants—how could they have been caught without a sound?!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Commander?” Zhang Juzheng turned to Zhu Xixiao, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, standing at the rear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“At dawn today, as the palace gates opened, I received Your Majesty’s edict, led troops to apprehend two households, seized evidence and suspects together, recovering over sixty-five thousand four hundred taels of silver. All suspects are now detained in the Northern Commandery, awaiting interrogation,” Zhu Xixiao reported to the emperor on the dais.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhu Yijun knew of this case—he had personally written the edict and stamped it. Lin Shaohuai and Wu Zhe were core Jin Party figures.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yesterday, You Qi had delivered a pile of evidence to Xu Jue, who passed all incriminating materials to Feng Bao, who, as Chief Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial and Director of the Eastern Depot, petitioned to investigate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Minister Wang,” Zhu Yijun began, not by addressing the bribery case, but by clarifying procedure: “I have heard that without a jia tie (Ministry of Justice warrant) and without an edict, it is a white-paper case; with an edict but no jia tie, it is a yellow-paper case; only with both edict and jia tie is it a proper case. Can the Ministry of Justice affix its seal to a genuine edict?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He emphasized the word “genuine”—that edict was written by his own hand!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If the Ministry of Justice dared to stall on procedure, Zhu Yijun would mark Wang Zhihao for future reckoning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Embroidered Uniform Guard required a jia tie—a document specifying the offense, issued by the emperor—to make an arrest. Without the Ministry of Justice’s seal, it was merely an edict.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If the Embroidered Uniform Guard arrested someone without an imperial edict, it was a white-paper case, unrecognized by court officials, and subject to impeachment by censors.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If they had an edict but no seal from the Ministry of Justice, it was an imperial-supervised major case—a yellow-paper case.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If they had both an edict and the Ministry of Justice’s seal, it was an imperial-supervised, Ministry-recognized case—a proper case.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhu Yijun was asking Minister of Justice Wang Zhihao: did the Ministry recognize this case?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If the Ministry refused, it remained a yellow-paper case, leaving room for endless wrangling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Minister Wang Zhihao saw the Chu Party and Jin Party locked in fierce combat—he, as Minister of Justice, dared not meddle, lest he be crushed between two titans.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhu Yijun gestured, and Commander Zhu Xixiao handed Wang Zhihao the jia tie and case files.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Zhihao carefully reviewed the dossier, then affixed his seal to the imperial edict, transforming it into a jia tie. The Embroidered Uniform Guard’s arrest, ordered by the emperor, supervised by Censor Chen Tang of the Censorate, and now recognized by the Ministry of Justice—this was no longer a white- or yellow-paper case, but a solid, ironclad case.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Censor Chen Tang of the Nanjing Huguang Circuit had already sealed the edict—procedurally, there was no flaw.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Zhihao looked at Yang Bo with a look of helplessness. Zhang Juzheng had planned this for a long time—he had already seized their weak points and merely waited to strike.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This strike came with thunderous force, unstoppable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Minister Wang, you previously served as Viceroy of Xuanfu and Datong—do you know anything about these matters?” Zhang Juzheng leaned back in his chair, his hand slightly extended, his gaze fixed on Wang Chonggu, his expression grim.\u003C\u002Fp>",2030,"2026-06-21T07:55:54.218Z",1,"Qwen3.5 397B","efd6f5cc58addc0e9d4e385d8ea7916abf5fbef1fb495a45ba0d1c9a1d9085d3","i-really-am-not-neglecting-my-duties-chapter-66","i-really-am-not-neglecting-my-duties-chapter-64",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fi-really-am-not-neglecting-my-duties-cover.jpg"]