Chapter 485

A few days later, he assumed the post of Director of the Bureau of Military Affairs.

Jia Jing did not go through the Ministry of War and the Five Military Governor's Office again; instead, he sought an edict from Emperor Jing Sheng, and in the name of the Bureau of Military Affairs, issued directives to the Censorate and the Imperial Academy, ordering the dispatch of censors and the conscription of student scholars to assist in investigating the garrison farms, military households, and armaments throughout the capital region.

This arrangement appeared to be a step back, but in fact it concealed a deeper meaning.

Censors bear the duty of 'patrolling on heaven's behalf,' while student scholars are seeds of learning yet to enter officialdom; in the history of the Da Han Empire they have previously served similar functions, as when Imperial Academy students were dispatched by the founding emperor in the early Han to measure land and survey fields in the localities.

Sending them to confront the entrenched local garrison strongmen would both reveal the true stance of each garrison and let the world see,

whether the court's investigation is too hasty or the local garrisons have become lawless, this further expands the front of public opinion.

On the Censorate side, Jia Jing personally appointed a dozen or so censors led by Sun Jiachen, who were stern in character and clean in office,

Meanwhile, the Imperial Academy selected over two hundred student scholars of pure background and upright character, divided them into more than twenty teams, each team equipped with ten soldiers and ten Imperial City Guard officers, and sent them again to the garrisons of the capital region.

Most of these student scholars came from humble families, around twenty years old, still bearing the vigor not yet worn away by officialdom.

Hearing that they were to investigate garrison farms and rectify the garrisons, they clenched their fists, each declaring it a splendid opportunity to put their literary and martial talents to use in service of the imperial house.

On the day of departure, some even slipped extra copies of the Da Ming Code and the Fish-Scale Register Study into their baggage, preparing to put their knowledge to good use once they reached the localities.

Yet what awaited them was a more frenzied and savage resistance than before.

The garrisons had long since received the news, knowing this time Jia Jing had bypassed the old offices and directly dispatched personnel from the Censorate and the Imperial Academy.

The garrison commanders were both startled and furious; while officials from the Ministry of War and the Five Military Governor's Office could be easily brushed off, these censors and student scholars—especially the hotheaded youths from humble origins—were the hardest to deal with.

They had no family ties to worry about, nor did they understand the ways of officialdom; their minds were filled only with 'royal law' and 'right and wrong,' so once they got serious they were even harder to handle than the Imperial City Guard.

Thus, under the instigation of interested parties, the garrisons' response measures became even more sinister and vicious.

The garrison officers secretly colluded, deliberately spreading rumors, fanning the flames, claiming that the court's emissaries would confiscate the soldiers' fields, raise taxes, and seize all the garrison farms.

They mobilized their retainers, personal troops, and garrison soldiers en masse, each wielding clubs and swords, and some even brought out old fowling pieces and hunting bows.

When the inspection team of censors and student scholars arrived at the garrison gate, they were met by a black crowd of rioters.

Some wore worn-out uniform jackets, some were retainers of the garrison officers, and many were local ruffians and tenants stirred up by the military officers.

They waved various white cloth banners inscribed with slogans such as 'Investigating land seizures leaves the people unable to survive,' 'Defend our garrison farms, protect our military households,' 'The court is unkind, it robs us of our livelihood,' and the like, forming ranks in the streets and alleys, shouting curses as they surged toward the inspection team.

"Get out! You're not welcome here!"

"Our families have toiled for generations to open these fields—by what right do you say you'll just take them?"

"What investigation! It's just an excuse to scrape a layer of soil off us!"

"Peddling scholars! Bookish fools! Get out!"

"The fields of Tianjin Garrison were bought with the lives of our ancestors—by what right do you corrupt officials come to measure them?"

"Sensible ones, hurry back to Shenjing! If you dare come again, we'll break your legs!"

From time to time someone in the crowd threw stones and rotten vegetable leaves at the censors and student scholars of the inspection team, clanking against their armor with a 'dong'.

Moreover, several desperadoes hidden in the crowd rushed forward to seize and tug at the documents displayed by the censors, brandishing knives to hack at the armor of the guarding soldiers.

The inspection team had no choice but to form a circular formation, draw their swords, and fall back slowly. The team leader, a censor, shouted loudly:

"Disperse! You are obstructing official court business; anyone who hinders will be severely punished under state law!"

But his voice was instantly drowned out by the shouting of hundreds or thousands.

Stones and tiles rained down, wounding several student scholars.

One censor was struck in the forehead by a flying stone, and blood immediately gushed forth.

Such scenes were staged in turn at many garrisons in Tongzhou, Baoding, Hejian, Zhenning, and elsewhere.

Some inspection teams were blockaded outside the garrison gates for an entire day, unable to advance or retreat;

some had their temporary tents set ablaze at night while lodging, causing no casualties but destroying many documents;

and some teams were lured into pre-set ambushes, where a gang of masked men armed with weapons threatened and attacked them, injuring three or four.

Sun Jiachen, possessing somewhat greater ability than others, led a few student scholars in auditing the accounts at Dingzhou Garrison,

through open and covert investigation, he actually obtained a secret ledger and account book of that garrison, in which the amounts of military land seized and corruption and bribery by commanders such as Ma Baoguo over the years were clearly recorded.

Sun Jiachen treasured it as a priceless find; he immediately made a copy of the ledger and accounts, then, fearing delays, ordered the original to be sealed overnight, and taking the copy with him, hurried back to his lodgings to draft a memorial.

Yet his movements had already been watched by the garrison's retainers.

That night, the courtyard where he was staying suddenly caught fire; though the blaze was not large, it happened to engulf the room where he kept his documents.

Sun Jiachen fled the flames in disarray, risking burns to his arm, and rescued the copy that had a few pages scorched on the desk.

But before he could catch his breath, a cold arrow shot from the darkness, grazing his ear and embedding itself in the doorframe behind him.

After several assassination attempts, Sun Jiachen was escorted out of Dingzhou City under cover of night.

Having left the city, he looked back at the garrison walls under the night sky and saw a few lanterns still lit on the battlements, like a row of eyes watching a play, coldly gazing upon his sorry state.

This censor, who had been stern for half his life, felt a chill run through his body for the first time and could not help shouting:

"Lawless and heinous! Deserving death! Deserving death!"

What is even more alarming is that the garrison commanders collectively kept silent about this chaotic situation.

Some feigned illness and took leave; others simply shut their doors and refused visitors, claiming they could not control things;

And the bolder among them, on one hand secretly sent men to indulge the disturbances, while on the other hand submitted memorials to the court, repeatedly saying, 'The troops' hearts are unsettled, fearing mutiny,' 'The populace gathers to defend the fields, which is understandable,' 'I truly cannot restrain them; I respectfully request a postponement of the investigation.'

One sentence: if the investigation continues, the army will mutiny and the capital region will fall into utter chaos!

After all, according to past experience, the emperor fears nothing more than a military mutiny; the last mutiny in the Jingying resulted in Wang Ziteng being stripped of office, did it not?

In just a few days, the garrisons of the capital region fell into utter turmoil, and the impeachment memorials flying to the Qian Qing Palace piled up ever higher!

Several inspection teams composed of censors and student scholars suffered setbacks in succession; the most severe was besieged for a night in Hejian Prefecture, with dozens of people trapped by hundreds of rioters in a ruined temple outside the garrison.

When they finally broke out, everyone was wounded, their armor and clothing tattered, suffering from hunger and cold.

The Director of the Bureau of Military Affairs, Jia Jing, received reports from all places each day; sensing that the moment had come, he first went to the palace, held a private conference with Emperor Jing Sheng, obtained a troop transfer order, and then hurried straight to the Twelve Regiment Camp.

On the way to the camp, the accompanying Zhu Que could not help but say:

"Sir! These garrison officers are simply too insolent! First they incited retainers and soldiers to cause trouble, manufacturing public opinion, fanning the flames, adding fuel to the fire; then they dared to assault officials directly and shoot cold arrows, showing they have utterly disregarded the court!"

Jia Jing heard this, yet he smiled, his gaze calm as he said:

"Isn't this exactly what we want? Now the court is in an uproar, Shenjing is shaken—sending troops to suppress them now is wholly justified!"

Zhu Que fell silent for a moment, then said:

"I, as a subordinate, never expected they would actually go this mad; the Embroidered Uniform Guard hasn't even exerted much effort there, yet they have risen up on their own!"

We had originally planned to let the Embroidered Uniform Guard give a secret push, but it hardly got used.

Jia Jing's gaze deepened as he said:

"When Heaven wishes to destroy a state, it first drives it mad! To reform and restore order, never underestimate the backlash of the old powers!"

"Actually, given the Da Han Empire's current situation, tearing down and rebuilding might be simpler; trying to renovate the old structure is, on the contrary, not so easy!"

"Just like this time, we could have simply sent out the army to roll over them, but considering the various repercussions of wielding the butcher's knife domestically, we had to first lay two rounds of political and public-opinion groundwork."

"Right! Have the Prince of Nan'an, the Heir Apparent of East Ping, and the others all fled to Tongzhou and Jizhou?" Jia Jing suddenly asked.

"After Jia Mu gave the two ducal mansions a three-day ultimatum at her birthday banquet, the two mansions felt the pressure, held secret meetings behind closed doors, and adjusted their strategies!"

"Originally planning to burn the land-tillage registers or manufacture public opinion, but it was already too late; seeing that Jia Jing was in earnest, the founding lineage's martial merit, unwilling to sit and await destruction, chose to take a risky gamble!"

"Thus, when the three-day period elapsed and the Imperial City Office came calling, the Prince of Nan'an, the Heir Apparent of the Prince of East Ping, and the others had already vanished."

Zhu Que let out a cold chuckle, then said:

"Exactly! If it weren't for the lord's order to let them go, how could they have left Shenjing City? What nonsense, daring to contend with the lord!"

"They have now secretly contacted more than a dozen trusted commanders of the Guard Posts, preparing to first seize Tongzhou, Jizhou, and several other strategic points."

"Then they will issue a proclamation to purge the court, calling on all Guard Posts to respond. At the same time, they are also contacting some of their old troops in the southeast and southwest. If the war fails, they plan to flee to the southeast and carve out a separatist regime!"

Jia Jing nodded, gave a light laugh, and said:

"If they succeed in purging the court, they hold supreme power; if they retreat, they can carve out a domain for themselves—quite a thorough plan!"

He paused, then spoke coldly:

"Their usefulness is nearly exhausted; have the Embroidered Uniform Guard keep a close watch—this time we will net them all, not letting a single one escape!"

"Yes!"

"Go! To the main camp to mobilize troops and quell the rebellion!"

……