Chapter 96: The Great Explosion in the Capital

Reentering Yangzhou, the scene before him was utterly transformed; once-bustling streets had become desolate.

Under the scourge of plague, merchants and travelers had vanished, and residents no longer ventured out.

Aside from a few merchants selling grain, oil, and daily necessities, forced by the authorities to remain open, the streets held no commerce whatsoever.

Leading his troops into the city, Li Mu skillfully assumed control of Yangzhou’s defenses and took charge of epidemic prevention.

The soldiers under him were all familiar faces; many had been recruited by him originally.

Those who had dared to pay lip service while secretly resisting had all been sent to die as cannon fodder—now their graves were overgrown with grass.

The local gentry also showed due respect, refraining from causing trouble.

The same epidemic prevention orders, after a change in leadership, were enforced with sudden and dramatic intensity.

This left the Yangzhou prefectural officials seething with resentment.

“Your Excellency, the men below know only the Five City Military Command, not the Yangzhou Prefectural Office.”

"If this continues, it will surely lead to a major disaster!"

Ren Renming frowned as he spoke.

As Yangzhou’s Prefect, he deeply resented the Five City Military Command’s power grab.

He had expected the epidemic response to be carried out by the Five City troops under his command.

Not this—where every minor and major affair in the city had been seized by those soldiers, reducing him to a mere figurehead.

“What great disaster could there be?”

“The Five City Military Command is the capital’s garrison force; they are authorized to handle daily affairs in the capital—handling Yangzhou’s affairs is beyond their mandate!”

Xu Wenyue snapped irritably.

Looking at this acting Prefect appointed by Nanjing’s Ministry of Personnel, he was filled with rage.

If not for this fool’s incompetence, which allowed the plague to rage unchecked, he would never have had to bow to Marquis Wuyang.

By convention, the military was forbidden from interfering in local governance—but the Five City Military Command was no ordinary army.

In the capital, this was precisely their duty; returning to the provinces and resuming the same role was nothing unusual.

As for overstepping and sidelining the Yangzhou Prefect, that was merely his bad luck—after all, the Five City Military Command answered directly to the Emperor.

Xu Wenyue did not believe he had the stature to forcibly compel them to obey a local Prefect.

“Your Excellency, that’s not what I meant.”

“You are the Imperial Commissioner—yet they dared to act without even seeking your approval.”

“Such arrogance and lawlessness clearly indicates they are amassing troops to defy central authority…”

Before Ren Renming could finish, Xu Wenyue hurled his teacup at him.

With a loud “crash,” splashing tea drenched him from head to toe.

Ignoring the blood trickling from his forehead, Ren Renming knew he had irrevocably angered Grand Secretary Xu—no one received such treatment without crossing a fatal line.

“Your Excellency, forgive me!”

“Your Excellency, forgive me!”

…

Ren Renming hastily knelt and begged for mercy.

All the officials present were chilled to the bone; none dared step forward to help.

The wise knew Ren Renming had committed a fatal taboo.

To vent his own anger, he had dared to play the game of sowing discord—right up to his superior’s face.

Subtle hints might have been tolerated, but this fool, oblivious to his own death sentence, had repeated it again and again.

“Get out!”

“Do not let me see you again!”

Xu Wenyue said coldly.

With no display of authority for some time, those below had begun treating him like a fool.

His southern journey was to achieve results and pave the way for further advancement—not to bicker with local officials.

His tensions with Marquis Wuyang were merely for the Emperor’s eyes.

Fighting to the death would benefit him not at all.

For the Yangzhou Prefect, the entire world was Yangzhou Prefecture; but in the eyes of this Grand Secretary, the world was the empire.

Local gains or losses meant nothing.

Deep within, Xu Wenyue’s resentment toward Nanjing’s Ministry of Personnel had reached its peak.

He had asked them to send people to assist in governance—not to stir up trouble.

Ren Renming was not only incapable, but also lacked discernment.

Sending such a man here was nothing but an attempt to poison him!

Had he not reacted swiftly enough to see this man’s true nature, and kept him close and in favor, he would have eventually caused a catastrophic disaster.

With this bad impression formed, Xu Wenyue now had no intention of promoting any other officials sent by Nanjing’s Ministry of Personnel.

The greatest reason the Pure Stream Faction lost political struggles was the scarcity of men willing to do real work.

Not because they were incompetent, but because anyone who acted would inevitably make mistakes.

His colleagues ignored achievements and instead fixated on each other’s errors, striking when the opponent was down.

Internal infighting had severely dampened everyone’s motivation to act.

As a result, many officials did nothing at all, merely spinning pleasing lies to earn a good reputation and cling to high office.

This game might work for a foolish ruler, but since Emperor Tianyuan’s ascension, it had become useless.

The Emperor favored capable, hardworking officials; those below were forced to adapt.

The old men in Nanjing’s Six Ministries clearly still failed to grasp the situation, clinging to their outdated ways.

After dismissing the officials, Xu Wenyue rubbed his temples in silent pain.

Yangzhou’s situation was dire; whoever served as Prefect would inherit a mountain of wreckage.

Frankly, he had no desire to place his trusted men in such a perilous post—the risk of failure was far too great.

But now it was clear: he had to use his own people.

Others recommended were utterly incapable of grasping his intentions or following his policies closely.

“Huaichang, draft the memorial: recommend Hanlin Academician Gu Youwen as Yangzhou Prefect, and Ministry of Revenue Assistant Director Ma Cunyi as Yangzhou Assistant Prefect…”

Xu Wenyue rattled off a string of names, startling Hou Huaichang.

“Your Excellency, this may be inappropriate!”

Hou Huaichang hurriedly urged caution.

It was not that the recommended men had any flaws—in fact, they were all highly capable.

Had they lacked merit, they would never have caught Grand Secretary Xu’s eye.

The problem was: all of them were Xu Wenyue’s disciples and former subordinates.

Placing them all in Yangzhou Prefecture would make nepotism glaringly obvious, inviting fierce criticism.

“Relax. The Yangzhou Prefecture today is no longer the Yangzhou Prefecture of before.”

Outside Yangzhou City, all three prefectures and seven counties have fallen to rebel forces, leaving behind a colossal mess to clean up.

No faction will place promising officials in such a toxic post.

My recommending men here is simply to ease the court’s burden.

Enough. My status does make it inappropriate to recommend them directly.

Send an invitation to Marquis Wuyang—I shall host him for a banquet.”

Reason ultimately prevailed; Xu Wenyue abandoned the idea of personally recommending them.

But the men still had to be brought over—otherwise, the cleanup would fail, and he would never be free of this mess.

“Your Excellency, Marquis Wuyang is also an Imperial Commissioner; it would be fitting for him to recommend officials for Yangzhou’s vacancies.”

“But he is at odds with you. Without sufficient compensation, he will not easily agree.”

Hou Huaichang reminded him.

Political deals were nothing new in officialdom.

Even bitter enemies could cooperate when necessary.

The danger lay in Xu Wenyue needing something while Marquis Wuyang had no desire to trade—making the price exorbitant.

“Relax. The demands of those imperial relatives differ from ours.”

Marquis Wuyang did not stay in the capital to enjoy comfort—he traveled thousands of miles to Yangzhou for one reason: to establish a heritable family fortune.

The salt fields across the Two Huai regions, now under direct government control, will all fall into deficit within a few years.

Better to sell them to private operators than let the eunuch faction ruin them.

With Marquis Wuyang’s status, securing one or two of them is not unreasonable.

Besides, I need someone to clean up Yangzhou’s mess—does he not have his own loyalists to place?”

Xu Wenyue sneered.

If there was no demand, create one.

The nobility, imperial relatives, and eunuch faction had joined forces—not merely under the Emperor’s silent guidance, but to carve out a share of the salt profits.

The court’s finances were strained and required more revenue.

Either plunder the people, or plunder the merchants, or plunder the officials.

The first path had reached its limit; further taxation would cause the cost of rule to skyrocket.

The Emperor dared not risk it, so he could only settle for a second-best option.

The Da Yu dynasty was a classic case of official-business collusion; if the Emperor wanted to raise money, he could only choose to ally with one faction and crush another.

What held true above held true below as well.

Xu Wenyue, seeking to achieve political success in the salt administration reforms, likewise needed to bring in more allies.

Without dismantling the alliance of eunuchs, imperial in-laws, and noble meritocrats, who would take seriously a mere empty-title Imperial Envoy like him?

……

“Boom!”

A thunderous explosion ripped through the silent night sky, shaking the entire capital.

Under the massive shockwave, countless houses turned to rubble, and roaring flames lit up the whole city.

The earthquake triggered by the explosion spread from the capital to Hebei, and neighboring prefectures and provinces all felt the ground tremble.

Within the imperial palace.

Emperor Tianyuan, busy with his conjugal duties, was flung off his bed by the violent aftershock, his head slamming hard against the floor.

“Ah!”

“Summon the imperial physician at once!”

……

Upon hearing the terrible news that the Emperor was injured and unconscious, the Empress and Empress Dowager fainted as well.

The harem concubines were reduced to trembling wrecks, utterly incapable of managing affairs.

With no leader, the palace plunged into chaos, left only in the hands of eunuchs.

……

Tianyuan was not the only unlucky one; under the violent shockwave, the mansions of many nobles near the epicenter were reduced to ruins.

The Xingguo Duke’s Mansion, the Nanyang Marquis’s Mansion, the Pingyuan Marquis’s Mansion…

One by one, illustrious noble houses vanished into history with the great explosion.

Only the roaring flames remained to prove they had once existed.

(End of Chapter)