Chapter 202: Re-establishing the Depot and Guard

The Capital.

"Are these news reports true?"

Emperor Yongning asked with a look of panic.

"Your Majesty, it is circulating everywhere with nose and eyes; there is indeed some evidence pointing to the two gentlemen, Yin and Zuo.

However, colluding with the White Lotus Sect to rebel should not be the case.

Perhaps it is their clansmen, in order to make money outside, acting under their names."

Xu Zhongen replied with slight hesitation.

He was very clear about the status of Yin Zhiming and Zuo Hongjiang in the Emperor's heart.

If it weren't for true trust, with the pile of messes these two had made in the court, they would have long been abandoned by Emperor Yongning.

It was precisely because of trust that betrayal could not be tolerated.

"Hmph!"

"In order to make money, they dared to collude with the White Lotus Sect.

Without someone supporting them from behind, would they have such great courage?"

Emperor Yongning said coldly.

Once the seed of suspicion was planted, the series of previous problems were all magnified at this moment.

Calling them good officials of a peaceful age was purely nonsense.

He didn't believe that Yin Zhiming and Zuo Hongjiang would rebel, but he had completely lost confidence in the ability of these two.

Two fools who talked big and were fooled by their subordinates—that was truly normal.

"Your Majesty, calm your anger!"

A group of eunuchs said hurriedly.

Deep down, they already hated the two, Yin and Zuo, to death.

Using various means in party strife was not strange, but colluding with the White Lotus Sect to plan a rebellion was crossing the line.

When the eunuch party was overthrown, the White Lotus Sect rebellion was defined, and now exposing the inside story was slapping Emperor Yongning in the face.

The Emperor couldn't hold onto his face, and the first to suffer would be them, the group serving by his side.

"Wang Yifeng, I order you to reorganize the Eastern Depot and thoroughly investigate this case!"

Emperor Yongning's words made everyone gasp.

It had only been a year since the abolition of the Depot and Guard, and now the Eastern Depot was to be rebuilt.

The civil and military officials in the court would definitely oppose it fiercely.

The current eunuch group was not the eunuchs of the Zuo Guangen era and didn't hold much power in their hands at all.

Once the court officials made a scene, and the Emperor couldn't withstand the pressure, they would be dead.

"Your Majesty, the Eastern Depot's scope of activity is mainly concentrated near the capital; to thoroughly investigate this case, we need to send people into Guangxi.

In the past, such cases were all handled by the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Only the Embroidered Uniform Guard has spies all over the world and can investigate this case clearly in a short time!"

Wang Yifeng hurriedly declined tactfully.

The Eastern Depot Superintendent was indeed high in position and great in power, but the accompanying risks were equally huge.

Investigating the leader of the Qingliu faction right from the start—even if evidence was found, the backlash that needed to be borne would not be small.

For the sake of his own life, he decisively pushed out the Embroidered Uniform Guard, which had greater influence.

"Hmm!

What you said is not wrong; this case is indeed suitable to be handed over to the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

In the past, the Embroidered Uniform Guard was full of corruption and wantonly harmed loyal officials, which is why I ordered their dismissal.

The hundred officials were all tortured miserably by the Embroidered Uniform Guard; now to restore the Embroidered Uniform Guard, I fear the resistance will not be small!"

Emperor Yongning said with slight difficulty.

Admitting mistakes was impossible; as an Emperor, he would never be wrong.

Even if there were mistakes, they were the mistakes of the subjects.

The Depot and Guard being dismissed was entirely because the Depot and Guard themselves were not upright, not his responsibility as an Emperor.

Now to restore the Depot and Guard, that was a realistic need.

When rites and music were collapsing, relying on the books of sages to govern the country was already completely unfeasible.

Forced by necessity, he could only take extraordinary measures and restart the Depot and Guard to supervise the hundred officials.

"Your Majesty, the matter of restoring the Depot and Guard does not need to be discussed in the court.

First set up the framework, and after creating a fait accompli, the resistance of the hundred officials will not be so strong."

The Seal-Holding Eunuch Xu Zhongen proposed.

He, the boss of the Directorate of Ceremonial, also lived a stifling life.

Without the support of the armed forces of the Depot and Guard, and having encountered an Emperor who was overly diligent in government, the Directorate of Ceremonial became a mouthpiece.

Those ministers in the court didn't take him seriously at all.

In the late Emperor's dynasty, those eunuchs in the palace were all making a fortune.

If court officials wanted to inquire about news or have an audience with the Emperor, they had to send a gift.

By the time of Emperor Yongning, the situation changed all at once.

Not only did those auxiliary ministers order them around, but even officials of the third or fourth rank below didn't take them seriously.

"Let it be done this way!"

Having made the decision, Emperor Yongning started worrying about the candidate for Commander.

Having lived such a stifling life for so long, he fully realized the importance of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Setting aside collecting intelligence and supervising the hundred officials, just the Embroidered Uniform Guard's prison was a deterrent to the hundred officials.

Without this institution to deter them, the hundred officials didn't fear him, the Emperor, at all.

Humbly accepting remonstrance was an idea from before he ascended to the throne.

Sitting on the throne and having learned the messy remonstrances of the officials, he lost interest in accepting remonstrance.

On average, out of one hundred suggestions, ninety were nonsense, and the remaining ten were all seemingly correct platitudes.

If there was a slight disagreement, that bunch of civil officials could spray him into autism.

Among the dozen generations of Emperors of the Great Dayu Dynasty, he lived the most stifling life.

Hitting with boards, throwing into prison—none of it worked.

The soldiers currently executing the punishments didn't dare to deal a death blow to the civil officials at all.

In the past, a dozen boards could take a life.

Now, after forty or fifty court beatings, it was just a flowering buttock; no one had been seen beaten to death.

Being in prison was even less feared.

The prisons of the Three Judicial Offices were all in the hands of civil officials; officials who scolded the Emperor and were thrown into prison were the most admired by civil officials, beautifully called "backbone."

Interrogation and conviction were nonexistent.

Once in prison, they would receive preferential treatment.

After walking out of prison, their reputation in the scholarly circles became famous all at once.

It made him, the Emperor, a machine for others to brush up their reputation.

Emperor Yongning was dissatisfied with the two, Yin and Zuo, and a large part of the reason was that their students liked to use him to brush up their reputation the most.

Every time he got angry, the two would jump out and cite classics to plead for mercy.

Once or twice could be tolerated, but after multiple times, no one could tolerate it.

The Emperor was unhappy, and the two, Yin and Zuo, naturally knew it, but they didn't take it to heart.

This was the power of "killing with praise."

The auxiliary ministers left by the late Emperor constantly created momentum for the two in secret, directly putting them on a pedestal.

At this time, the two were only one step away from entering the cabinet.

The two, who hadn't resisted the temptation, were now lost in the praise from the outside world.

When doing things, they often substituted themselves into the identity of cabinet ministers, thinking they could sit on equal footing with several auxiliary ministers.

They didn't realize the danger approaching at all.

The end of the year was approaching, and everyone was busy preparing for the New Year, and no one brought up the matter of sending troops anymore.

With no one urging him, Li Mu was happy to be relaxed.

Dragging it out for one day counted as one day; it was just right to use the precious time for training troops.

"My lord, the things you ordered have all been handled properly.

Your name is very useful in Nanzhili.

Many gentry and merchants have sent people over, preparing to inspect the mines on the spot.

Merchants from all over the sea have also clearly stated that if they take the Zhongnanbandao route, they will bring back some grain.

As of now, six hundred thousand shi of grain have been transported to Lianzhou Port, and the remaining three hundred thousand shi will also be delivered within a month.

In addition, the student has purchased one hundred thousand shi of fine grain and two hundred thousand shi of coarse grain from the local area, which are currently stored in the Yangzhou region.

After the New Year, when the fleet has free space, they will be transported over."

Lan Linjie reported with a smile.

The importance of a good reputation was reflected here.

With the credit endorsement provided by Li Mu, things progressed even more smoothly than expected.

Of course, everyone was willing to give face, and the most important thing was profit.

Grain was purchased with real gold and silver; for grain merchants, selling to anyone was selling.

Gentry and merchants were willing to come over to contract the mines because they had tasted the dividends of mining.

Gold, silver, and copper were all currency in Great Dayu; what was mined was ore, but it was also money.

As for the promise of the sea merchants, it could basically be ignored.

Over ninety percent of sea merchants wouldn't go to the Zhongnanbandao.

The main objects of maritime trade were Japan and Nanyang, followed by the Korean Peninsula; the trade volume contributed by the Zhongnanbandao was relatively low.

Everyone was so cooperative because merchants practiced "harmony brings wealth."

In situations that didn't involve their own interests, no one would offend the powerful officials in the court for no reason.

"You've worked hard, Mr. Lan!"

Li Mu affirmed.

Subcontracting the mines was a last resort.

Besides the state-run mines, there were many mines privately opened by Guangxi gentry, which had now also fallen into his hands.

There was a pile of mines, large and small, and they simply couldn't be managed.

Forcibly arranging to resume production and mechanical management—

I guess it wouldn't be long before the disadvantages of losses in state-run enterprises would reappear.

Not wanting to lose money after laboring, the best choice was to subcontract the mines and collect rent directly every year.

"These are all things within the student's duty; it's not hard work.

By the way, my lord, there is another piece of news that needs to be reported to you.

The imperial court is restarting the investigation of the White Lotus Sect case, which seems to involve the two gentlemen, Yin Zhiming and Zuo Hongjiang.

The gentry of Nanzhili are very concerned about this and want to ask you to help inquire about it."

Hearing the news brought by Lan Linjie, Li Mu knew that Xu Wenyue had made a move.

The evidence regarding the two, Yin and Zuo, colluding with the White Lotus Sect was sent out from his side.

That no action was taken for a long time was probably because Xu Wenyue had sensed something and didn't want to be used as a gun.

Now the situation was different; the suppression war was not fought satisfactorily, and he had to give the imperial court an explanation.

Throwing out Yin Zhiming and Zuo Hongjiang colluding with the White Lotus Sect at this time was undoubtedly the best way to escape.

The attention of all parties was attracted; as long as it was proven that the two had collusion with the rebels, the pot of unfavorable suppression could be thrown out.

A group of auxiliary ministers all found Yin Zhiming and Zuo Hongjiang unpleasant; he only needed to throw out some evidence, and everyone would beat the drowning dog.

It was almost certain that Yin Zhiming and Zuo Hongjiang would be finished this time.

There were few officials in the Great Dayu Dynasty who could withstand an investigation.

Once they dug deep, all kinds of messes they had done would be exposed.

Even if they cut off their tails to survive and let their clansmen take the blame, they still couldn't escape this disaster.

Yin Zhiming and Zuo Hongjiang had great influence in the Jiangnan region; their participation in the treason case would inevitably implicate a large group of people.

Especially those family disciples who studied under the two—even if the imperial court didn't implicate them, their future would be "bright-less."

Not to mention becoming an official, they wouldn't even be able to take the imperial examination.

As long as the examiner knew they were students of the rebels, no matter how good their articles were, they would be mercilessly brushed off.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 203 =====