Chapter 185: Nothing Better Than Being an Official

In the city of Dengzhou Prefecture in the sixth month of the seventeenth year of Chongzhen of the Great Ming, there were still quite a few officials with nothing to do, or former officials.

The former were those who had followed Zhu Cilang all the way to Dengzhou. Whether useful or not, they were all stalwarts of the hard times, so after arriving in Dengzhou, every one of them received pay and provisions, was assigned lodgings, and could report for roll call each day at the traveling palace or the Grand Marshal's Office.

The latter were former officials who had come out of Beijing after Li Zicheng's army was defeated and left the city, and had gone to Dagu. The reason they were "former" officials was that they all bore the stain of having served the rebels or being suspected of it. Zhu Cilang did not call them to account, but their offices, titles, and degrees were all stripped away, and no more money or grain would be issued to them. They were left to fend for themselves.

Compared with the "stalwarts of the hard times," this group was of course rather down and out. With no pay or provisions, and no lodgings arranged by the Deng-Lai Governor's yamen, they had no choice but to rent commoners' houses or lodge in the Penglai Pavilion (a Daoist temple) beside the Dengzhou naval port.

Shi Kefa's cousin Shi Kecheng was just such an unlucky fellow who had lost his office and degree, and he was now renting a guest room in the Penglai Pavilion together with a group of like-minded former officials.

Unlike most of the "former officials," however, he was not worried about his official career, nor did he appear down and out. On the contrary, every day he would gather a few kindred spirits, tour the mountains and waters, compose poems and match couplets, and pass his days in utter ease.

Moreover, the idle stalwarts of the hard times did not shun him, but were rather willing to befriend him. After all, he had a cousin whose stock was soaring, named Shi Kefa.

Today a fine, pattering rain fell over Dengzhou Prefecture. Shi Kecheng, a pale-faced scholar in his twenties, did not go out. He sat in a clean guest room in the Penglai Pavilion, lounging at ease with his legs crossed. On the tea table before him was set a pot of fragrant tea, and in his hands he held a book.

The guest room was surrounded by deep quiet, with only the sound of wind, rain, and sea waves reaching the ear, carrying quite the mood of one who smiles as he watches the winds and clouds of the world.

Outside the door was a wooden floor, old with age, which occasionally creaked when walked upon. Shi Kecheng suddenly set down the book in his hands, cocked his ear to listen, then broke into a smile and said, "Which worthy brother is it? Come in, come in."

From outside the door came a respectful announcement: "Your nephew Shi Dewei, having heard that his uncle is here, has come specially to pay his respects."

Then the door was seen to be pushed open, and a man dressed in Confucian robes walked in, holding a dripping wet umbrella. It was none other than Shi Kefa's adopted son, Shi Dewei.

Shi Dewei had concealed his identity and come to Dengzhou together with Tang Yun, so he had not been summoned by Zhu Cilang or Chongzhen. Instead he had been wandering about the city, gathering information. Having heard that an uncle of his was living in seclusion at the Penglai Pavilion in Dengzhou, he had come to pay his respects.

"Your nephew greets his uncle." Shi Dewei set down the umbrella and bowed again.

Shi Kecheng knew Shi Dewei, but they were not close. Today, however, he rose warmly and came forward, took Shi Dewei by the hand, and seated him beside himself, then personally poured him a cup of tea.

"Longjiang, what brings you to Dengzhou?" Shi Kecheng asked. "Did Daolin (Shi Kefa) send you? Where has Daolin got to now?"

"Uncle," Shi Dewei said, "it was Father who sent your nephew to Dengzhou to scout the situation. Father is personally leading the great army that rallies to the throne northward, and by now he should have reached Yanzhou."

"Reached Yanzhou?" Shi Kecheng did a quick mental calculation. "Then in another three to five days he should be at Dengzhou, no? I must go and meet him."

He naturally hoped Shi Kefa could come north to Dengzhou quickly. Shi Kefa was, after all, the foremost among the officials and ennobled worthies of the auxiliary capital, and he also held military authority over South Zhili, and was a Donglin grandee besides. His prestige was naturally immense.

If Shi Kefa came north with the great army that rallies to the throne, the Crown Prince would surely pardon his crime of serving the enemy and going over to the rebels, and restore him to his original office.

"Father cannot come to Dengzhou for the time being," Shi Dewei said, and his words startled Shi Kecheng. "Uncle would do better to leave Dengzhou with your nephew."

"Why?" Shi Kecheng was taken aback. "Daolin is Minister of War of Nanjing, and he is leading troops north to rally to the throne. How can there be any reason for him not to come to Dengzhou to have an audience with His Majesty?"

"Does Uncle not know who holds power in the traveling court at Dengzhou now?" Shi Dewei countered. "And how the Crown Prince's authority to command the armies was obtained?"

Shi Dewei, who had been in Dengzhou for two or three days, had already heard something of the Incident at the Gate of the Imperial Ultimate — no one dared speak of a palace coup, but there were plenty of versions calling it a remonstrance by force of arms. After all, the Incident at the Gate of the Imperial Ultimate had happened in full public view and could not be concealed at all.

And in Shi Dewei's view, the upheaval at the Gate of the Imperial Ultimate was nothing less than a coup d'état! The Crown Prince's authority to command the armies had been seized by usurpation. This Crown Prince was plainly a traitorous subject and a rebel!

"This is a matter of the imperial house," Shi Kecheng shook his head. "Can you do anything about it?"

"Why does Uncle say such a thing?" Shi Dewei frowned. "Uncle has read the books of the sages. Does he not know what righteous cause and proper title mean?"

Righteous cause, my foot!

Shi Kecheng frowned deeply and thought: You martial oaf, how can you be as wooden as Shi Kefa? Your uncle here is already a turncoat official, so why should I care about righteous cause? As long as the Crown Prince lets me hold office, that is enough! Your uncle toiled for twenty years over the Four Books and Five Classics precisely in order to hold office!

"Ah," Shi Kecheng rolled his eyes, "what you say makes sense! Mm, a scholar ought indeed to speak of righteous cause and proper title. But I cannot leave Dengzhou at once, because I still have some friends here in Dengzhou. I will go and see them now, and see whether I can persuade them to leave with us."

"That would be excellent." Shi Dewei was overjoyed. "Why not let your nephew accompany Uncle to see them?"

"No, no, no," Shi Kecheng shook his head repeatedly. "It would not be convenient for you to show yourself. I will go alone to see them."

It was indeed inconvenient for Shi Kecheng to bring Shi Dewei along to see his friend, because the man he was going to see was named Su Ziwen. He and Shi Kecheng had passed the jinshi examination in the same year, both having succeeded in the sixteenth year of Chongzhen, and both had been appointed to the post of Hanlin Academy compiler.

The difference was that Su Ziwen had taken the lead in going over to Zhu Cilang outside the Gate of the Imperial Ultimate, and he was also a disciple of Johann Adam Schall von Bell, versed in much Western mathematics and chemistry, and skilled at handling gunpowder and cannon. He had now been given important employment, becoming one of Zhu Cilang's lecturers and a secretary of the Grand Marshal's Office, ranking below the Grand Marshal's Office chief clerk Bi Jiucheng. He too was a man whose stock was soaring.

Shi Kecheng, for his part, though he had a cousin like Shi Kefa, had made a momentary misjudgment, thinking the Great Ming was finished, and so had not fled with the rest. He had stayed behind in Beijing and become a turncoat official, and now he had been stripped of everything and reduced to a commoner.

When the commoner Shi Kecheng came on important business to seek an audience with the Grand Marshal's Office secretary Su Ziwen, Su Ziwen was busy with another Marshal's Office secretary, Zhou Zerui, and another Eastern Palace lecturer, Gong Dingzi, arranging the special Deng-Lai examination.

The idea of holding the special Deng-Lai examination had been proposed by Li Yan — while rectifying the guard stations, the most powerful local strongmen of the Deng-Lai region had to be given the chance to hold office! Su Guansheng's "grand inspection tour" in the fifth month had been busy with just this matter.

Deng-Lai was, after all, the front line, and one could not be too harsh with a bunch of landlords and strongmen, or else what if they all became collaborators? So they had to be given a way out. Whether military officers of the guard-station system or scholars of Deng-Lai's three prefectures, seven guards, and eleven counties, all were to be given a chance.

And a very great chance at that!

In short, the landlord-class intellectuals and strongmen of the two prefectures of Deng and Lai were soon to welcome the most critical official-post examination of their lives.

And Su Ziwen, as one of the chief examiners, was naturally run off his feet. But since Shi Kefa's younger cousin had come, he still had to squeeze out time to see him.

"Brother Ziwen, your younger brother has learned of a confidential matter, which he wishes to report to the Crown Prince in person."

Before passing the jinshi examination, Su Ziwen had already been a famous scholar of Jiangnan and was known by his courtesy name, so Shi Kecheng addressed him as "Brother Ziwen" and called himself "your younger brother," keeping his posture very humble.

"What confidential matter?" Su Ziwen said. "Might you reveal a little of it?"

Shi Kecheng looked left and right, then lowered his voice: "My cousin Shi Kefa has sent his adopted son to Dengzhou!"

"What?" Su Ziwen was startled. "I have heard nothing of this!"

"He came under an assumed name!" Shi Kecheng said. "Brother Ziwen, might you now make an introduction for your younger brother?"

This is a matter of great importance! Su Ziwen thought: Shi Kefa is now a figure of tremendous consequence. Whether His Highness the Thousand Years can take the throne in Nanjing — he is the key! And this Shi Kecheng is his cousin. If he sincerely comes over, he too will be of great use!

"Good!" Su Ziwen nodded. "Follow me. I will take you to see His Highness the Crown Prince right now!"

(End of Chapter)