Chapter 126: Establishing Authority

Li Erxi approached Chang Ziyu, took the memorial from his hand, returned, and handed it to Chongzhen. Chongzhen unfolded the memorial and began to read.

Zhu Chunchen was furious beyond measure. Over the years, civil officials had often voiced criticism of the hereditary nobles, but few had submitted formal impeachments. Even when they did, it was only about trivial matters—some noble household indulging wicked servants who fought with commoners over profit and maimed someone. Who would have expected a direct, open confrontation like this? Today was supposed to be a ceremonial formality, a happy occasion. First Li Banghua had suddenly thrown a wrench into things, and now this fellow Chang was stirring up even more trouble, actually trying to put him and Li Guozhen in mortal danger.

Though he hadn't seen the memorial, he knew his own affairs well. Most of what Chang Ziyu had said was certainly true, and most of the senior ministers knew it full well. The only question now was whether the Emperor was aware of the inside details.

He stepped forward a few paces, clasped his hands in salute, and said: "Your servant impeaches this Chang person for deceiving his superiors and framing senior ministers! Everything he has said is pure slander! At this time of great upheaval for the Great Ming, his malicious intent to sow discord between sovereign and minister, destabilizing the morale of the Capital Camps, is plain for all to see! The scourge of the roving bandits is not yet extinguished, and the Jianzhou barbarians still eye us with predatory intent! The hundreds of thousands of troops of the Capital Camps are truly the cornerstone of the capital's safety! If the capital is thrown into turmoil because of such a petty man seeking fame, how are Your servant and the Earl of Xiangcheng to conduct ourselves? I beg His Majesty to investigate thoroughly!"

The threat in these words was quite heavy—the meaning being that no matter how poorly regarded the Capital Camps were, they still numbered in the hundreds of thousands, and they all listened to him and Old Li. This Chang fellow was trying to frame the two of them. If the Emperor believed his words and punished them, then the Capital Camps would make trouble, and at that point he and Old Li would be powerless to stop it.

Chang Ziyu retorted sharply: "Whether this humble official is framing anyone or seeking fame, Your Majesty need only send someone to investigate and the truth will be known! During the Jisi Incident of the second year of Chongzhen, I did not see the Capital Camps achieve any particular merit! For the safety of the capital, the Yongwei Camp suffices! What right does the Capital Camps, useless as a chicken rib, have to call itself the cornerstone? Let the Duke speak no more, lest he only add to his own ridicule!"

Li Guozhen spoke in a sinister tone: "The safety of the capital may not depend on the Capital Camps, but no one can guarantee the safety of a certain someone!"

Chang Ziyu laughed twice and said: "The Earl of Xiangcheng's words have quite a marketplace flavor! This Chang's safety need not concern the Earl of Xiangcheng!"

Li Banghua flew into a rage and shouted: "The Earl of Xiangcheng should mind his conduct! As a noble earl, how can you speak like a ruffian?! Could it be that Chang's words have struck your vital point?!"

Wen Tiren also frowned and said: "The Earl of Xiangcheng should choose his words carefully! This is the imperial court, and before His Majesty you must maintain the bearing of a grand minister! Chang submitting an impeachment is the proper duty of a Censor! As for the outcome, that rests entirely with His Majesty's judgment!"

Li Guozhen was about to retort when Chongzhen, having finished reading the memorial, looked at him coldly and said: "A Supervising Secretary must fear for his life because of an impeachment? Li Guozhen, what formidable authority you wield!"

Zhu Chunchen and Li Guozhen both changed color simultaneously. The Emperor had always been courteous to the hereditary nobles and had never before rebuked anyone by name. When civil officials and nobles clashed, the Emperor would always smooth things over. Today he had broken with precedent, loudly berating them in public. Something was wrong—both men thought this at the same time.

Chongzhen waved his hand. Li Erxi carried the memorial over and placed it in Wen Tiren's hands, and then everyone in the hall read it in turn—except Zhu Chunchen and Li Guozhen, who were deliberately not allowed to see it.

After Wen Tiren and the others finished reading, they all furrowed their brows and looked at Zhu and Li with unfriendly eyes. Hou Xun, the Minister of Revenue, was especially severe, his gaze seemingly burning with anger.

Chongzhen said coldly: "What Minister Chang has reported is shocking to behold. If what he says is true, my heart is both pained and grieved! I never imagined that after the dynasty had nurtured these families for over two hundred years, there would be those so ungrateful! If this can be endured, what cannot be?!" With that, he flicked his sleeve. Several Grand Martial Guards who had long been waiting outside rushed into the hall. Before Zhu Chunchen and Li Guozhen could react, the guards closed in, knocked the black gauze caps from their heads, twisted their arms behind their backs, bound them instantly with hemp rope, and kicked the backs of their knees. Both men fell to their knees with a thud.

Wen Tiren and the others were secretly alarmed. This was no spur-of-the-moment decision—it had clearly been planned for a long time! The Grand Martial Guards outside the hall were never this agile and professional; this was plainly the standard technique of the Embroidered Uniform Guard's mounted agents! The Emperor had been prepared for this all along! Was this still the Emperor they knew? Turning on people at the drop of a hat! They would have to be careful from now on! Who knew when some handle might fall into the Emperor's hands—and then they'd die without even knowing whose hands killed them!

Zhu Chunchen glared at Chongzhen with bloodshot eyes and roared: "What crime have the two of us actually committed, that we should be treated like this?! Your Majesty, send someone to investigate! Which court official doesn't embezzle or take bribes?! Even if the two of us took some money and grain, at worst we could return it! Is Your Majesty's conduct here demanding our lives?! Our ancestors were personally enfeoffed by Emperor Taizu and Emperor Taizong—we are bound to share the dynasty's fate! Your Majesty should not bring ruin upon yourself! If the hundreds of thousands of troops of the Capital Camps cannot see the two of us, I fear disaster will arise!"

Chongzhen spoke as if he hadn't heard: "Immediately order the Eastern Depot to send agents to seal off the two men's residences and search for relevant evidence! Order Sun Yingyuan's three thousand cavalry and four thousand infantry to seal off the Capital Camps! The Ministry of War and the Embroidered Uniform Guard shall send officers into the camp to screen personnel—anyone who dares disobey orders will be executed on the spot! Let the two of you cease your clamor!"

Li Erxi acknowledged and departed. Two Grand Martial Guards reached out and dislocated the jaws of Zhu and Li, leaving the two men making guttural sounds in their throats. Chongzhen then closed his eyes to rest, while the assembled ministers, filled with trepidation, stood in silence.

Outside the Duke of Chengguo's residence, Wang Shiqin—wearing a round cap, black boots, and a black robe—waited idly for the imperial decree. Everything had been arranged. Not long after Zhu Chunchen and Li Guozhen had gone to court, several hundred Eastern Depot agents had already surrounded the two men's residences, waiting only for the word to storm in and confiscate their property.

With the arrival of the eunuch messenger bearing the decree, Wang Shiqin waved his hand with great vigor and shouted, "Let's go!" He then took the lead toward the gates of the ducal residence, with a dozen or so section chiefs—wearing pointed caps, white leather boots, and brown robes with small sashes tied at the waist—following close behind.

The gates of the Duke of Chengguo's residence were tightly shut. Someone was peeking over the wall, and upon seeing Wang Shiqin and his men, a voice from atop the wall shouted: "This is the ducal residence—no unauthorized entry!"

Once the Eastern Depot agents had surrounded the residence, those inside had already sensed something was wrong. They wanted to report to their master, but they couldn't get out at all. Zhu Chunchen's wife, who was Li Guozhen's elder sister and known for her ferocity, sent out several dozen household guards to force their way through, but more than ten were felled by arrows. The rest retreated in disarray, and only then was the order given to close the gates.

A section chief raised a bright yellow scroll high and shouted: "By imperial decree, we are here to confiscate the Duke of Chengguo's residence! Open the gates at once! Those who resist will be executed!"

After a flurry of panicked cries from within, the gates slowly opened. A squad leader waved his hand, and over two hundred agents surged into the ducal residence under the leadership of their respective section chiefs. Wang Shiqin thought for a moment, then withdrew the foot he had been about to step through the gate and stood waiting outside. Before long, a section chief ran out of the residence carrying a wooden box. He came to Wang Shiqin's side, saluted, and handed the box to him. Wang Shiqin took it and looked impatiently toward the west—the evidence from the Earl of Xiangcheng's residence hadn't arrived yet. The wooden box contained forged documents from the Eastern Depot detailing the quantities and receipts of Capital Camps armor and weapons that the Duke of Chengguo's residence had allegedly sold to the Jianzhou barbarians, as well as account ledgers of silver embezzled from the camps and profits from reselling military grain. Zhu Chunchen had regularly reviewed these ledgers, and Li Guozhen had done the same—the numbers on the pages meant silver, and silver was always a pleasure to behold. The forged documents had been placed in Zhu Chunchen's study by Zhu Gui and others after Zhu Chunchen had left for court that morning, with clear instructions on their exact location. The Eastern Depot's experienced confiscation specialists had found them easily. Though it would have been possible to forge the documents and submit them directly without searching the ducal residence, this was Wang Shiqin's first case and he wanted to establish his authority—he felt that going through the full motions would make it perfect and far more satisfying.

While the Eastern Depot was conducting the confiscation, on the official road south of the capital, several carriages were slowly heading south. Zhu Gui's wife and children rode in one; Liu Xu, along with Fu'er and Madam Pan, shared another; and Zhu Gui himself sat alone in a third, his expression complicated, the carriage loaded with his years of savings and the thousand taels of silver the Eastern Depot had rewarded him. Betraying his master to survive had been a choice forced by circumstance—it seemed his master couldn't survive this. When the authorities confiscated a household, they always spared the women but not the men. The madam, the concubines, and the young ladies should be safe, though without their fine clothes and rich food, they would surely suffer much hardship in the future. Once he was settled, he would find someone to inquire after them and secretly send money and grain—a small repayment for his master's kindness to him. For Fu'er's sake, he could only obey. When he eventually went down to the underworld, he would have no face to meet his master's family again. He could only stay far away—better to never see them at all. Zhu Gui's eyes brimmed with tears as he let the carriage trundle slowly southward. The Eastern Depot had long since arranged household registrations and travel permits for his entire family. Their destination was a small town in Jiangnan, where Zhu Gui's family, with their considerable wealth, could live comfortably for generations.

A quarter of an hour later, a rider came galloping from the distance. The section chief on horseback also carried a wooden box. Wang Shiqin didn't wait for him to dismount—he quickly descended the steps, swung onto his own horse, and rode off at a gallop, with the section chief following behind on his mount.

"Reporting to His Majesty—the Eastern Depot has delivered the evidence!"

At Li Erxi's quiet report, Chongzhen slowly opened his eyes and instructed: "Bring it up."

When Zhu Chunchen and Li Guozhen saw the familiar wooden boxes, they exchanged a glance and their complexions turned ashen. When Li Erxi brought over the evidence that the Duke of Chengguo's residence had sold military equipment to the Jianzhou barbarians and showed it to Zhu Chunchen, his face flushed crimson, his eyes seemed about to bulge from their sockets, and he strained with his waist and legs as if to rise—but he was pinned down firmly by the two Grand Martial Guards. He struggled with all his might, emitting low, beast-like growls from his throat.

Zhu Chunchen stared fixedly at Chongzhen, his eyes seeming to bleed. Embezzling military pay and reselling military grain—those he would admit to. A great ducal household of several hundred people—where would all that silver for fine clothes and rich food come from if not for business alone? All of this he admitted. He had always thought that even if the Emperor wanted to settle accounts this time, at worst he would be stripped of his title. As long as it wasn't treason, keeping his life was no problem at all. Who could have known this damned Emperor would fabricate a charge of colluding with the Jianzhou barbarians—a crime equivalent to treason! This time not only was he finished, but the fate of his family was easy to imagine. What he could never have dreamed was that this Emperor came from a later age, and because he despised Zhu Chunchen's later betrayal and surrender, he had schemed to destroy him on trumped-up charges. The result was, in a way, rather absurd.

Several days later, the imperial decree came down: Zhu Chunchen and Li Guozhen were to be beheaded and their bodies displayed in the marketplace, and all adult males of both families were to be executed as well. The charges against Zhu and Li were secretly training death squads, privately hoarding weapons and armor, and colluding internally and externally with intent to rebel. The remaining female relatives were to be exiled to Qiongzhou, and the servants and maids were each given five taels of silver and released to return home.

The various shops and taverns the two families owned in the capital were quickly taken over by the Four Seas Trading Company. These establishments were all in prime locations—especially the five salt shops and two taverns, which would bring Chongzhen substantial profits every year.

The reason Chongzhen had not used the charges of embezzling military pay, mistreating soldiers, and reselling military grain to destroy the two families was that such charges were too light. These practices were widespread throughout the court and the military, accepted and tolerated by most. If he had uprooted two great houses that had existed for over two hundred years on such charges, it would have made the Emperor seem too cold-hearted and would have bred resentment in many hearts.

Under the formidable pressure of the Yongwei Camp's reputation, the screening of Zhu and Li's confidants within the Capital Camps proceeded very smoothly. Though the two men had planted partisans throughout the camps, many of these were idle rich young men of the capital who spent their days in drinking, whoring, gambling, and bullying the weak—nothing truly evil. Faced with real weapons and real battle formations, their legs went weak at once. Using leads provided through Xue Lian and Wei Shichun's connections within the military, the Ministry of War identified over a hundred officers connected to the two men. Of these, aside from several dozen true loyalists whom Chongzhen ordered beheaded, the rest who were only tangentially involved were ultimately shown leniency—after paying a certain amount of silver, they were stripped of their military registration and sent home.

Finally the imperial decree came down: the Marquis of Yangwu, Xue Lian, was appointed to command the Capital Camps, with Wei Shichun as his deputy. The military regulations of the camps were naturally those that Chongzhen had discussed in detail with Xue and Wei. The Ministry of War and the Embroidered Uniform Guard jointly sent officers to be stationed in the camps to supervise military discipline and the distribution and use of pay, provisions, weapons, and armor, with the right to submit memorials directly to the Emperor. If any commanding officer violated military discipline, both bodies could report it through secret memorials.

The Eastern Depot gained great notoriety from confiscating the noble residences, and Wang Cheng'en took the opportunity to dispatch resident agents to every government office in the capital to monitor their daily affairs—even the Embroidered Uniform Guard's own headquarters received resident agents. From this point on, the Eastern Depot's dominance over the Embroidered Uniform Guard was formally established.