Chapter 509: Impeachment

In the lingering chill of early spring, the snow on the Imperial City in the Capital was melting, revealing the grand ridges of the palace roofs. Yang Sichang stood outside the East Direct Office at the Gate of Imperial Supremacy, cupping his hands together and gently stamping his feet.

After the warming of the past few days, the temperature had dropped again somewhat, and it was still rather cold before noon.

Several eunuch officials were waiting on standby outside the Direct Office. Yang Sichang looked ahead and called over one of the eunuchs. "Which other Grand Secretary has arrived?"

The eunuch lowered his voice. "In reply to Elder Yang, Elder Xue arrived some time ago. He brought a memorial with him when he went in, so I fear he is still reviewing it."

Yang Sichang nodded slightly, and the eunuch withdrew again. Yang Sichang stood in place pondering for a moment, but did not go to Xue Guoguan's Direct Office.

"My lord, the memorials from Sun Chuanting and Liu Zhongtang arrived yesterday afternoon. One is to report merit for the Yongding River Victory, and the other requests that Liu Guangzuo's Execution Before the Troops be commuted to atoning for his crimes through service. There are no other major affairs at court. Today's Imperial Summons is most likely only because of this. Within the Cabinet, only Your Excellency and Elder Xue have been summoned. I do not know why, but His Majesty has been frequently summoning Elder Xue of late."

Yang Sichang turned his head to look. The man beside him was Shen Xun, Director of the Company of Operations in the Ministry of War. This man handled matters very thoroughly and was familiar with the affairs of the Ministry of War. Yang Sichang was currently not the substantive Minister of War in a regular capacity; he was a Grand Secretary of the Cabinet managing the Ministry of War's affairs, working daily at the Wenyuan Pavilion. The Ministry of War thus had no sitting Minister. Although Shen Xun was merely the Director of the Company of Operations, because he was Yang Sichang's trusted confidant, he handled many matters within the Ministry of War's yamen, including some ordinary dispatch bulletins that were not sent to the Cabinet. Therefore, the frontline information he possessed was more comprehensive. Today's agenda mainly concerned the Yongding River battle, so Yang Sichang brought him along to the audience. Only upon arriving here did he learn that Xue Guoguan was also present.

"Naturally, it is because Elder Xue applies his mind diligently to state affairs. His opinions during summons are varied and appropriate, and so he has naturally entered His Majesty's favor."

Yang Sichang spoke flatly, then lowered his head to look at the floor outside the East Direct Office. Although his words said this, both he and Shen Xun knew that Xue Guoguan had recently gained considerable imperial favor. Previously, the Emperor had sent Wen Tiren back to his hometown, but among all the previous Cabinet Ministers, the Emperor was actually relatively satisfied with Wen Tiren. He subsequently had Xue Guoguan, of Wen Tiren's faction, enter the Cabinet, as if as a replacement for Wen Tiren.

Xue Guoguan also cultivated the persona of a Lone Minister and was particularly on bad terms with the Donglin faction, but in the Emperor's eyes, this was not a shortcoming—it was even a merit.

Liu Yuliang, the Chief Grand Secretary, was now teetering on the edge, and Xue Guoguan's standing was rising accordingly. If Liu Yuliang could not weather this crisis, Xue Guoguan would be the person with the best chance of becoming Chief Grand Secretary. Such a consensus already existed at court. Although Yang Sichang was also a Cabinet Minister, this time the Qing army's invasion had brutally ravaged the two provinces of Beizhi and Shandong. As the Cabinet Minister overseeing the Ministry of War, what he needed to consider now was how to mitigate his culpability; he was utterly unqualified to compete for Chief Grand Secretary.

When facing Xue Guoguan, his Cabinet colleague, Yang Sichang would also be doubly cautious, treating him as the future Chief Grand Secretary.

"If today's audience concerns these two matters, they can actually be considered one matter. Liu Zhongtang impeached Liu Guangzuo. After the court transmitted the order, the Yongding River Victory happened to arrive. Liu Zhongtang then turned around and, together with Sun Chuanting, pleaded for leniency, requesting that Liu Guangzuo not be executed, and arbitrarily detained Liu Guangzuo in the Wuqing County jail. Such conduct—I wonder where it places the court's authority?" Shen Xun said in a low voice. "There was word yesterday that someone from the Six Offices of Scrutiny submitted a memorial impeaching Liu Zhongtang. His Majesty had Elder Xue draft the rescript for this memorial. We still do not know Elder Xue's true opinion. I only fear that the deliberation of merit for Yongding River will not be too easy."

Yang Sichang furrowed his brow. "His Majesty's intent is clear enough. Do you think the memorial on merit for Yongding River will encounter complications because of Liu Zhongtang?"

"For the Yongding River Victory, although Liu Zhongtang was the Imperial Inspector, the merit of planning and strategy cannot be separated from him. To make an issue of Liu Zhongtang at this moment would be unjustifiable no matter what. This humble official believes that Elder Xue will postpone the merit memorial for Yongding River, first dealing with the matter of Liu Guangzuo. Once the overall situation is settled, he will then handle the deliberation of merit for Yongding River."

Yang Sichang nodded slightly. On the matter of Liu Guangzuo, Liu Yuliang's performance had been vacillating. First, he harshly impeached the military officers of Yang's Army, and then, after the court issued an order for him to deal with Liu Guangzuo, he instead heeded Sun Chuanting. The two defied the order and merely detained Liu Guangzuo.

This matter had caused the court to lose face utterly. Yesterday, the Emperor had their memorials copied and circulated to the Six Offices of Scrutiny. The news instantly spread throughout the court and the country, and public opinion at court was in an uproar. Xue Guoguan would absolutely not let slip this chance to kick a man when he's down.

Yang Sichang had no close relationship with Liu Yuliang, and he did not care what ultimate fate befell Liu Yuliang. His only concern was that the memorial on merit for Yongding River would be delayed. Now, Xue Guoguan's words carried considerable weight before the Emperor. If he wanted to delay the reporting of merit, he could easily devise countless methods to do so. That would then affect the subsequent military operations and ultimately impact the Ministry of War.

After a moment, Yang Sichang finally said, "Reporting and confirming merit is the fundamental duty of the Ministry of War. At present, morale is greatly boosted, but the Jurchen Slaves are still entrenched within the borders. We must still rely on the various garrisons and battalions to fight fiercely once more. If military merits are delayed and left undecided, reward silver and promotions cannot be settled, which is detrimental to the war effort. On this point, I must still make things clear to Elder Xue."

Shen Xun said no more. He had come to speak with Yang Sichang precisely to remind his superior that Xue Guoguan's stock was now rising. If they wanted the front lines to proceed smoothly, the memorial on merit could not be delayed, and Yang Sichang should communicate with him in advance.

But exchanging opinions between Cabinet Ministers was not so casual. Although they normally all worked at the Wenyuan Pavilion, each had their own area of responsibility. When public discussion was needed, it required the Chief Grand Secretary to convene it. It was even less possible to simply go directly to someone's Public House and start discussing matters.

Yang Sichang walked back into his own Direct Office, reviewed several dispatch bulletins once more, and silently memorized again the number of heads taken by each unit and the merits of slaying generals and capturing flags, to prevent mixing them up during the audience.

After sitting in the Direct Office for a quarter of an hour, word came from outside for the Cabinet Ministers to enter. Yang Sichang strode out the door and saw Xue Guoguan also just emerging.

The two exchanged polite pleasantries and waited until the personnel from various ministries participating in the summons had all assembled. Then, led by the eunuch officials, they proceeded northward.

Today's audience was still at the Platform, but they were currently still in the state of awaiting summons. Not far past the Gate of Imperial Supremacy was the Middle Left Gate. To the east stretched a row of Direct Offices, each with a yellow label pasted above its door.

The guiding eunuch led the two Grand Secretaries to the leftmost room. On the label were written the four characters: "Cabinet Direct Office."

In the past, Imperial Summons were relatively simple, but the Chongzhen Emperor was rather diligent. A single Platform Summons would be divided into multiple batches, with the Cabinet, the Five Chief Military Commissions, the Six Ministries, local officials, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and so on all participating. Sometimes it was even for trivial minor matters, which resulted in very long waiting times. In the height of summer or the depths of winter, those waiting would undoubtedly suffer greatly. Thus, last year, a row of Direct Offices was newly renovated at the Middle Left Gate for those awaiting summons to rest. However, the rooms here were not as numerous as at the Gate of Imperial Supremacy; the Cabinet shared one room.

Yang Sichang invited Xue Guoguan to go first. Xue Guoguan firmly insisted otherwise and had Yang Sichang enter the room first. A brazier had already been lit inside, and upon stepping in, one immediately felt warm and comfortable.

A table was placed in the room. The two sat down to the left and right. Eunuchs came over to serve hot tea and small pastries. Shen Xun came in and placed the memorials and dispatch bulletins on the table. Yang Sichang nodded, and Shen Xun withdrew along with the others.

Yang Sichang did not flip open the memorials, lest Xue Guoguan think he was unwilling to converse. This Direct Office was shared; there was no issue of who sought out whom and thus being put in a passive position. It was very suitable for exchanging opinions with other Grand Secretaries.

As if suddenly recalling something, Yang Sichang casually picked up a dispatch bulletin and handed it over. "This morning, the Ministry of War received a new dispatch bulletin from Wuqing. Liu Zhongtang and Sun Chuanting went to the south bank of the Yongding River and personally released a total of seven thousand one hundred and thirty-one captured commoners from Shandong and Beizhi. Officials dispatched from the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Revenue, and the County Magistrates of Wuqing and Dong'an jointly witnessed it. Those previously released number around thirty thousand. I inform you, Jiaxiang, so that you are aware."

Xue Guoguan respectfully accepted it. He quickly scanned it and exclaimed in praise, "The Yongding River Victory, slaying over a thousand bandits, is a merit of the highest order. Rescuing tens of thousands of commoners may contain some inflated figures, but several thousand is certainly true, which is also a virtue of the highest order."

From this tone, Xue Guoguan had no objection to the characterization of the Yongding River Victory. Previously, Lu Xiangsheng had been defeated and perished, followed by the fall of Jinan. The Capital was shrouded in misery and gloom. As the Tartars were seen to be gradually and successfully exiting the border, a Yongding River Victory had been hard-won. The court, from top to bottom, was invigorated; at least it made their public image somewhat better. Naturally, Xue Guoguan would not sing a contrary tune on such a major issue of right and wrong. But he only mentioned "over a thousand" heads taken, which was far from what the various ministries had reported. This meant he might make an issue of this aspect.

"As Jiaxiang says, the Yongding River Victory saved countless lives. Consider that within the Jurchen Slaves' army, there are still hundreds of thousands of captured and plundered commoners. If we could take advantage of this moment of soaring morale to strike and kill another one or two engagements, and rescue more commoners, that would be an even greater virtue."

Xue Guoguan discerned the inclination in Yang Sichang's words and gently closed the dispatch bulletin. "It is also thanks to your, Wenruo's, strategic planning and proper coordination. I know well the difficulties involved. If we truly can strike another one or two engagements and achieve victories like Yongding River, it would indeed be a blessing for the court. However, I, Xue, still have a humble opinion. On the ninth day, a great victory was won on the south bank of the Yongding River. On the tenth, the Jurchen Slaves swept through the Wuqing camp, with countless losses of men, livestock, weapons, and equipment. Sun Chuanting, using the pretext that the losses were all Auxiliary Troops, did not report a confirmed number of casualties. Later, he said that the infantry of the various battalions had scattered rather than died in battle, claiming they were being regrouped, and so on. Could it be that by rounding up some Green-Skin thugs and beggars to make up the numbers, it means no one died outside Wuqing City? Merit should be reported for a great victory, but victory and defeat do not cancel each other out. To commend merit for victory while not recounting fault for defeat—would that not make the court's system a plaything to be manipulated at will?"

Yang Sichang nodded continuously. Xue Guoguan then continued, "In the battle of Yongding River, the various battalions of Yang's Army fought bravely and each had achievements in beheading the enemy. Some were consistently skilled in battle, but there were also some cowardly individuals who cowered before the foe. That Liu Guangzuo has always been utterly mediocre and incompetent. Since rallying to the king, he had only reported a single head taken. Yet just after the order for his Execution Before the Troops was issued, he immediately reported thirty heads in merit, using this as a reason to have the order rescinded. The strangeness of this situation cannot be questioned. Furthermore, there is the Meritorious Service of slaying the general Yoto, which could be called the greatest merit in decades of Eastern Affairs. Yet there is no head, no banner, no armor or weapons—relying entirely on the testimony of captives. If this is once approved, and then Yoto returns alive to Liaodong a few days later, the court will become the laughingstock of the world, and its authority will be swept away."

Yang Sichang's expression was serious, but from Xue Guoguan's words, he could tell that Xue indeed intended to delay the verification of military merits. The Yongding River Victory would have originally stabilized Liu Yuliang's position, but Liu had previously been too clever by half in impeaching a group of military officers. He had never anticipated that the court would issue an order for Liu Guangzuo's Execution Before the Troops. He was also still haunted by the Mutiny at Wuqiao, and so he immediately changed his stance.

The focus now was no longer the responsibility after his Imperial Inspector duty, but his inconsistency and disregard for law and discipline. If Liu Yuliang had not fallen into such a passive situation, Xue Guoguan would have had no chance at all to contend for Chief Grand Secretary. Now that he had seized the opportunity, his primary goal was to delay and prevent Liu Guangzuo from being absolved of his crimes, so as to have grounds to continue pursuing and attacking Liu Yuliang. Secondly, he would use the Wuqing defeat to offset the Yongding River Victory. Thirdly, he could not allow the Yongding River Victory to produce any earth-shattering Meritorious Service, for otherwise Liu Yuliang would share in the credit and could not be toppled. At that point, it would instead be Liu Yuliang who would return to counterattack him.

"Every point Jiaxiang makes is accurate. Some of the beheading merits within are indeed unavoidably suspicious. Apart from Liu Guangzuo, the battle record of that Li Chongzhen is also quite abrupt and questionable. They truly need further investigation and verification. But some military units achieved solid, tangible results. The heads were inspected and verified by officials dispatched from the Ministry of War, and banners, armor, and weapons are all there to be examined. For example, the units of Anqing Deputy Regional Commander Pang Yu, Lintao Regional Commander Cao Bianjiao, Capital Battalion Deputy Regional Commander Zhou Yuji, and Shaanxi Provincial Commander's Standard Troops's Li Guozheng. Yesterday, the various units struck camp and advanced toward Hexiwu. In a few days, they will again engage the Eastern Invaders. Once their merits are deliberated, morale will be invigorated, which is exactly the right time to fight the Eastern Invaders again."

Xue Guoguan understood Yang Sichang's meaning: separate out Liu Guangzuo's merit memorial and handle the others' first.

"The matter of Liu Guangzuo is not merely about falsely reporting military merit. It is about someone, in order to shield mediocre and incompetent military men, disregarding the authority of the court. If this root cause is not eliminated, how can one speak of invigorating the morale of the various battalions? The Minister of War has long experience in the army and surely understands this."

Yang Sichang understood Xue Guoguan's meaning: he would not obstruct the military merits of the other units, but he needed Yang Sichang's support to bring down Liu Yuliang. The matter of Liu Guangzuo involved not only Liu Yuliang but also Sun Chuanting. Ever since Sun Chuanting took over as Regional Commander, his relationship with Yang Sichang had deteriorated sharply. The Emperor's impression of Sun Chuanting was also very poor. In his heart of hearts, Yang Sichang was pleased to see this, because over fifty cities had been breached during the invasion, and someone ultimately had to bear the blame for the latter half of the campaign. Given Sun Chuanting's current situation, even with the Yongding River Victory, he would still have to shoulder at least the greater part of it.

He slowly continued, "Naturally. Naturally."

At that moment, a eunuch knocked and entered, announcing the summons for the Cabinet. The two men hurriedly rose and adjusted their attire. Shen Xun waited outside the door. Together, the group followed behind the eunuch from the Directorate of Ceremonial and walked toward the Platform.

In cold weather, the audience was held in the Platform Warm Pavilion. Near the Warm Pavilion, there was also a warming room for awaiting summons. As the group exited, other doors opened in succession. Officials from the Five Chief Military Commissions and the Six Ministries who were awaiting summons emerged one after another and, under the guidance of the Directorate of Ceremonial eunuchs, proceeded to the warming room.

The Cabinet was the first to be summoned, so there was no need to wait in the warming room. The group arrived before the Warm Pavilion. Yang Sichang entered with his head lowered, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw that the Emperor was already seated.

Directly ahead inside the Warm Pavilion was a screen. The Emperor sat before the screen, with a table in front of him. To his left were four eunuchs from the Directorate of Ceremonial; they also had a table in front of them, used for recording the audience proceedings.

Yang Sichang performed a kneeling bow with three kowtows and then rose. He heard the Emperor's voice come through: "The Chief Grand Secretary and Sun Chuanting sent another memorial yesterday. They spoke of releasing thirty thousand commoners, of going to Hexiwu to pursue the Jurchen Slaves, and again of that Liu Guangzuo, requesting that his sentence be commuted to atoning for his crimes through service. Previously, there was an edict for Execution Before the Troops, yet they merely detained him in the Wuqing County yamen. Yesterday, someone from the Six Offices of Scrutiny impeached the Chief Grand Secretary for his inconsistency and disregard for court orders. How does the Cabinet think this matter should be concluded?"

The Chongzhen Emperor's voice was icy cold. Everyone could hear his extreme displeasure. Silence reigned in the Warm Pavilion for a moment. Yang Sichang did not speak first; he waited to hear Xue Guoguan's opinion. Although he knew Xue Guoguan wanted to deal with Liu Yuliang, he still had no clue as to the exact method Xue would use.

Xue Guoguan stepped forward one pace. "Liu Zhongtang and Sun Chuanting claim that Liu Guangzuo is indeed cowardly, battle-shy, and utterly mediocre, but has committed no major offense. They worry that Execution Before the Troops would cause the generals to become suspicious, to the detriment of the subsequent war situation. This minister believes such words are a grave fallacy!"

The eunuchs from the Directorate of Ceremonial at the side swiftly recorded, the faint sound of brushes on petition paper audible.

"On the very day after the impeachment was issued, the various units of Yang's Army fought with courageous vanguard spirit, sweeping away the enemy's miasma in one battle—the greatest victory since the invasion began. It was the court's authority that awed and deterred them. Executing cowardly individuals before the troops not only does not damage morale, but rather demonstrates clear rewards and punishments, which is what gives officers and soldiers the heart to fight fiercely. It was originally an excellent opportunity to spur on the generals. Who knew that those two, using the pretext of troop mutiny, would disregard the court's orders and openly shield a mediocre and incompetent military man." Xue Guoguan raised his head slightly and said in a resonant voice, "This minister believes that the matter of Liu Guangzuo is not about whether one military officer is executed or not. Rather, it is that the Chief Grand Secretary, impeaching one moment and shielding the next, utterly lacks a firm view, is inconsistent and self-contradictory, and arbitrarily defied orders. Law and discipline have been completely swept away! Henceforth, which General Officer of any battalion will still submit to the court's authority? How can the very foundation of the court be allowed to be shaken? This minister requests that the Chief Grand Secretary be handed over to the Six Offices of Scrutiny for deliberation and punishment!"

The Chongzhen Emperor's gaze shifted to Yang Sichang. "What does the Minister of War think?"

Yang Sichang's mind raced for a moment. Handing the Chief Grand Secretary over to the Six Offices of Scrutiny for deliberation meant the Chief Grand Secretary would become a man under a cloud of guilt. Before a conclusion was reached, Liu Yuliang could no longer continue serving as Chief Grand Secretary, nor even as Imperial Inspector. The Emperor's attitude was very likely to agree.

Liu Yuliang's prospects were already extremely dire. The Cabinet would very likely fall under Xue Guoguan's control, and he needed Xue Guoguan's support on the memorial of merit and other matters.

Yang Sichang drew a breath. "The court's law and discipline brook no offense. This minister approves of handing him over to the Six Offices of Scrutiny for deliberation."