Chapter 476: Imperial Garden

Well, in that case, what are we waiting for? Charge forward! Advance!

From that very evening, every member of the gentry and nobility who could scrape together the massive sum of fifty thousand taels of silver hid away at home, holding secret discussions with their brain trusts.

Master Bo Daxing's painstakingly orchestrated scheme to submit black material not only failed shamefully once again, but actually ended up helping the Transmigrators.

Alright, how does that saying go? When you gaze into the abyss, the abyss also gazes into you.

From this moment on, a great many of these people in the imperial court who cannot see the future will tumble into the Transmigrators' abyss—no, correction, into a bright prospect.

Or, to put it in a more fashionable way: what you have your eye on is their interest; what they have their eye on is your principal.

On the third day after court dispersed, the Chongzhen Emperor, who had been closely monitoring developments, discovered that the civil officials had indeed quieted down on this matter, and no one was submitting memorials to smear the Loyal and Brave Count anymore. Thus, that afternoon, in a cheerful mood, the Emperor summoned Cao Zhongchen—in the Imperial Garden.

That day, after hearing Cao Mangfu's gift-giving speech, he had laughed heartily, put his hands behind his back, and walked away, thus bringing the court session to an end.

As for the Imperial Estate... the Emperor naturally couldn't care less about some Yizhou Imperial Estate. Well, Chongzhen was rather poor, so he did care about it somewhat. But compared to the political gains he had reaped in that court session, the Imperial Estate truly meant nothing.

First, the Emperor confirmed that Commander Cao had not only offended the Guanning Army previously, but had now also locked horns with the Donglin Party. This outcome left the Emperor feeling extremely comfortable.

Having held the reins of power for years, Chongzhen was no longer the clueless youth he once was. He now understood perfectly the importance of balance. With Commander Cao stirring things up like this, Chongzhen was naturally delighted to see it succeed—My dear Cao, you'd best offend every last one of them. Don't be afraid; I have your back.

Second, from a long-term perspective, the Emperor was also pleased to see the various officials carve up the lands of Yizhou.

Since ancient times, in the understanding of any powerful and privileged class, only land is a foundation that can be passed down, guaranteeing the prosperity of a family's descendants for generations. With land, not only can one secure a stable, long-term income, but the ambitious can also stockpile soldiers and provisions, making it a reliable asset when staging a rebellion.

As for the affairs of artisans and merchants, those are all superficial, lowly trades unworthy of excessive attention.

Originally, the Loyal and Brave Count's distant enterprise in Yizhou was just like the territories of those frontier chieftains—not to mention the Emperor, even the entire court could do little about it.

However, now that Cao Zhongchen was proactively dividing up the land, that was an entirely different matter. Although this move seemed, in the eyes of everyone including the Emperor, rather foolish, it fully demonstrated Cao Zhongchen's determination to integrate wholeheartedly into the system. And as the system's greatest beneficiary, His Majesty the Emperor was naturally overjoyed.

Commander Cao's lands being carved up by the landlord class was, in the Emperor's view, actually the best way to eliminate a hidden danger between ruler and subject: with the land dispersed, he could no longer secretly stockpile troops and grain, meaning Cao Zhongchen would naturally devote himself utterly to serving the nation and could no longer become a military strongman.

Outstanding military achievements, reckless loyalty, having offended the entire civil and military establishment, selling off land to cut off his own path to becoming a military strongman... Chongzhen suddenly realized that, looking across the entire court and realm, he could not find a second subject who suited his wishes so perfectly.

Having appraised this loyal subject and adjusted their mutual understanding, the Emperor thus summoned his beloved Cao to the Imperial Garden.

In today's ruler-subject audience at the Imperial Garden, the host was Chongzhen, the guest of honor was the Loyal and Brave Count, and the accompanying guests were the specially selected Senior Grand Secretary Zhou Yanru and Junior Grand Secretary Wen Tiren, along with Fang Zhenghua of the Directorate of Ceremonial—none of these men were of the Donglin Party, and all harbored some degree of goodwill toward Commander Cao, ensuring no awkward scenes would arise.

The Imperial Garden, known in the Ming Dynasty as the Palace Rear Garden, is located at the northernmost part of the Forbidden City. Within the garden are pines, cypresses, bamboo, and locust trees, a lush canopy of fine woods, and it is dotted everywhere with rare rocks and pavilions, built for the emperor, empress, and consorts to rest and enjoy themselves.

Today, the Emperor's banquet location was the Floating Jade Pavilion.

Built in the eleventh year of the Wanli reign, the Floating Jade Pavilion is a three-bay square pavilion nestled against water and mountain. When the Loyal and Brave Count was led outside the pavilion by a eunuch, he found the two Cabinet Ministers already seated inside, chatting and laughing freely.

Commander Cao stepped forward to pay his respects. After the three sat down and exchanged a few simple words, a procession headed by eunuchs emerged from the distant rockeries and wisteria. Walking in the very center of the procession was the Emperor himself.

"Dispense with the formalities. Grant them seats." Seeing the three subjects come forward to greet him, the young Emperor, his face wreathed in smiles, raised a hand to waive the ceremony. Then, before a long table in the pavilion set with melons, fruits, pastries, and tea, the Emperor sat first, and the subjects, after apologizing for the presumption, also sat down.

Judging by the overall atmosphere today, Chongzhen had put some thought into it. Not only was the audience location set in the relaxed environment of the garden, but the Emperor himself was also dressed in a relatively plain, moon-white dragon robe.

At the start of this tea gathering, the ruler and his subjects first began chatting around a pot of lychees in syrup on the table.

Due to poor transportation efficiency in the Ming Dynasty, although the Directorate of Imperial Delicacies (the Imperial Kitchen only came into being in the Qing Dynasty) occasionally received fresh seasonal fruits from Jiangnan, they would not be given to the Emperor to eat. Fruits like lychees, which spoil the moment they leave a cold chain, were even more unlikely to be served.

This time, after Commander Cao entered the capital, he first presented a batch of canned goods to the palace, then privately guaranteed his ally Fang Zhenghua a long-term supply going forward.

Then, just as before, Fang Zhenghua shouldered the pressure and risk to promote the lychee and orange cans within the palace.

The effect was, needless to say, excellent.

Whether it was Chongzhen's primary wife, Empress Zhou, the favored Noble Consort Tian, or Chongzhen's beautiful sister-in-law, Empress Zhang, all were full of praise for the lychees in syrup, each feeling as if she had become Yang Guifei.

As a result, Fang Zhenghua not only gained immense prestige in the Rear Palace these past few days but also received rewards from the noble ladies and was even praised a few times by Chongzhen. One could say no one else was enjoying such limelight.

After sitting down today, Chongzhen also first used the lychees as a conversation starter, cracking a few jokes like "Today I'm merely offering a borrowed treat" to lighten the mood.

Seeing the Emperor in high spirits, the three old-hand guests quickly began their skilled banter. This included Zhang Dongdong, who had previously worked as a company manager at an advertising firm, so he shared a tacit understanding with the veteran actor Wen. For a time, the scene was filled with harmony, and a real sense of common language flowed between ruler and subjects.

After chatting for a while, once the jokes had been told and the lychees sampled, the Emperor wiped his mouth with a silk handkerchief and then, with a smile on his face, said to the Loyal and Brave Count: "My dear minister, your trip to the capital this time can be considered a perfect success. I am truly pleased. I merely wonder, what are your plans from here on?"

Seated to the Emperor's right, his beloved minister Cao had long prepared an answer. Upon hearing this, he did not miss a beat, immediately cupping his fists and replying solemnly: "Reporting to Your Majesty, I intend to return to Yizhou in a few days."

"Oh..." The Emperor let out a faint "oh" upon hearing this, then added, as if casually, "If you are not in a hurry to leave, my dear minister, you could temporarily assume the seal of the Ji-Liao Regional Commander. I will allocate an additional two million taels of Liao Pay annually for you to train troops. Once the Ji Garrison has forged a powerful army, you may serve as Military Commissioner, overseeing the Liaodong campaign. Cao Chuan, are you willing to pacify the northern barbarians for me?"

As Chongzhen said this, his two eyes stared brightly at Cao Zhongchen, unblinking.

In the next moment, the Loyal and Brave Count rose to his feet. With a face full of solemnity, he first bowed to thank His Majesty for the imperial grace, then immediately put on a troubled expression and said to the Emperor: "To be honest with Your Majesty, my return at this time is also due to unavoidable circumstances."

At this point, Commander Cao spread his hands: "Your Majesty, one cannot make bricks without straw. My previous great victory over the Tartars was, for the most part, owed to the repeating firearm."

"Now, I am out of ammunition. I am a tiger without teeth. Therefore, I must return to Yizhou to prepare firearms and gunpowder."

Hearing this, Chongzhen turned his head toward the two Cabinet Ministers with some disbelief: "Can this really be true?"