Chapter 203: Response

Inside the study of Zu Dashou's residence in Jinzhou, Zu Zerun presented the court's official dispatch to his father with both hands, then stepped back to the side.

The steward Zu Jun, released from Shanhai Pass by the Yongwei Camp, knelt on the ground. He had already recounted the entire sequence of events in detail and brought back the document that the Yongwei Camp had given him.

Zu Dashou took the dispatch with a grim face and began to read.

The dispatch was issued by the Minister of War, and its contents were simple. In essence, it stated that after investigation by the relevant authorities, it was suspected that lawless elements in Liaodong were colluding with the Jianzhou barbarians, supplying them with military goods for exorbitant profit; henceforth, this dispatch was sent to all military units along the Liaodong and Shanhai Pass front lines, ordering them to strictly inspect all merchant caravans and travelers from this day forward, ensuring that no military supplies pass through the Shanhai Pass and Jinzhou defense lines until the court lifts the ban, with violators to be treated as traitors colluding with the enemy.

After a brief scan, Zu Dashou casually tossed the dispatch aside, then waved his hand in irritation. Zu Zerun, standing nearby, said in a low voice, "Get out!"

Zu Jun, who had been trembling with fear, felt as if he had received a pardon upon hearing this. He kowtowed once, then rose and backed his way to the study door, turned around, gently opened it, slipped out of the room, and quietly closed the two doors behind him.

Once the door was shut, Zu Zerun asked in a low voice, "Father, this move by the court is no different from a declaration of hostility! When has our Zu family ever suffered such a grave humiliation? If we do not strike back, we will inevitably invite contempt in the future! How should we handle this matter? Please enlighten us, Father!"

Zu Dashou glanced at his eldest son and asked with irritation, "Strike back how? Raise troops to attack Shanhai Pass? Don't forget that your uncle's forces have already been transferred away! This is the court's warning to our Zu family, telling us to rein ourselves in. We can't very well break with the Great Ming over this, can we?"

Zu Zerun spoke up: "Father, your son feels that the situation for our Liaodong is growing increasingly dire. In recent years, the court has abandoned its former policy of leniency toward Liaodong. Our pay and military supplies have been greatly reduced, and they frequently send dispatches rebuking us. Now they have even openly seized our Liaodong goods! If this continues, how will our Zu family fare in the future?"

Zu Dashou frowned and said, "In the past, the court had no strong armies, and our Liaodong army was their only reliance; whether resisting Jianzhou or being transferred within the passes to suppress bandits, our strength was evident everywhere, and the court had no choice but to indulge us. But the current situation is vastly different from a few years ago. Hong Hengjiu and Lu Jiandou have suddenly become skilled in warfare, and the year before last, a Sun Chuanting appeared whom we had never heard of, in no way inferior to Hong and Lu. The roving bandits and great rebels within the passes have been wiped out one after another by these men. Add to that the Yongwei Camp that repelled Ajige at Changping—these several strong armies have already taken shape, and our Liaodong army is no longer indispensable. That is why the court has been pressing us step by step! Though I have long known the details, I have racked my brains and found no solution!"

Zu Zerun stepped forward and lowered his voice: "Father, your son believes that the only course now is to use the pretext that Jianzhou is pressing hard on Ningyuan and Jinzhou, and that our forces, barely holding on, face the danger of losing territory, to pressure the court into lifting the ban and restoring the supply of military pay and provisions—then we can turn around and sell them to Jianzhou!"

Zu Zerun's words made Zu Dashou fall into deep thought.

He understood his eldest son's meaning: continue to nourish the bandits as a matter of priority, and no longer the previous furtive, small-scale aid to the enemy, but openly and brazenly fattening up Jianzhou.

In recent years, Jianzhou had acquired large amounts of population and goods through plunder and conquest in all directions, gradually growing stronger, forcing the Liaodong army to huddle within the cities in passive defense. But Zu Dashou and the others did not believe Jianzhou had the ability to overturn heaven and earth; they still needed external assistance to sustain themselves.

What a joke—with less than two million people, how could they possibly finish off the Great Ming, which had hundreds of millions of subjects?

In their eyes, Jianzhou was just like the Tartars—when starving, they would dash into the Great Ming to take a bite, then go back to hunting and fishing in the deep mountains and forests, surviving in this endless cycle.

Weren't the descendants of the Mongol iron cavalry that once swept through Song and Jin now singing the Chile Song, braving wind and snow to herd livestock and eat dust beyond the frontier?

Weren't the military families of border garrisons like Xuanfu, Datong, and Yansui doing the same thing as Liaodong? And the Tartars never turned the world upside down. It's been over two hundred years—didn't the Tartars ever want to fight their way back?

They wanted to, but they no longer had their ancestors' abilities.

The same went for Jianzhou.

The harsh environment of Liaodong determined that Jianzhou could never have much of a future. At most, after the Liaodong military families gradually declined, Jianzhou would find opportunities to nibble away at Liaodong bit by bit, eventually replacing the Liaodong military families and occupying the entire northeast, becoming a separatist regime like Joseon.

What Zu Dashou and the others needed to do was to slow the decline of their own families while keeping Jianzhou's strength within a reasonable range—neither allowing them to grow too big nor letting them weaken to the point of being swallowed in one bite. Only then could the long-lasting wealth and honor of the Zu and Wu families be maintained.

The Zus hoped this situation would last forever, maintaining the current state of "you're fine, I'm fine, everyone's fine."

"At present, Liaodong has not yet thawed, and large armies cannot march. This is not the time to report a Jianzhou incursion. Your plan is feasible—when the snow melts, we will use that pretext to report! For now, we must endure and bide our time. Tomorrow, send a reply to the court, stating that Liaodong will naturally obey orders. Also state that the goods seized this time were taken by someone falsely using our Zu family's name, that the culprit has been executed, and that we will send the head to the capital! At the same time, as usual, continue to demand military pay and provisions—we must not let the court suspect anything is amiss! Go do it!"

Zu Zerun understood, bowed, and hurriedly left. Zu Jun, who thought he had escaped disaster, never imagined that although he was a household-born servant who had served his masters loyally for generations, in the end his life or death hung on a single whim of his master.

In the Qianqing Palace, Zhu Youjian sat high upon the dragon throne. Wen Tiren and the other grand secretaries, along with the heads of the Six Ministries, the Censorate, the Court of Judicial Review, and other relevant offices, as well as the chief eunuchs of the Directorate of Ceremonial, stood in ranks below the imperial steps.

The nine-day metropolitan examination had concluded. The Ministry of Rites presented the list of three hundred successful candidates for the emperor's inspection and review, after which the assembled ministers would discuss Zhu Youjian's proposal to have provincial graduates and Imperial Academy students undergo training at the Imperial Academy before being selected for official posts based on merit.

Zhu Youjian scanned the list of three hundred names. Chen Zilong and Xia Yunyi were both on it, and Zhuang Yuanzhou, whom Sun Chuanting had strongly recommended in his personal memorial, was also on the list, though ranked toward the back.

Fang Yizhi's unexpected absence from the list surprised Zhu Youjian, but it also made him optimistic about the fairness of this metropolitan examination.

It seemed that most officials of the Great Ming still had integrity—one couldn't fully believe all the filth slung at these ministers in the Ming history records.

Fang Yizhi's father, Fang Kongzhao, was a provincial Governor bearing the honorary title of Vice Censor-in-Chief, yet the Ministry of Rites had not placed his son on the list—clearly showing there was no great corruption behind the scenes.

The top candidate of this metropolitan examination was Zhao Shichun, a native of Changshu, Jiangsu, who had not left a particularly resounding name in history.

Zhu Youjian did not place much weight on rankings; he valued more the pragmatic style displayed in the essays. So whether he would take first place in the palace examination remained to be seen.

Zhu Youjian spoke: "The results of this metropolitan examination please me greatly. All of you have worked hard these past days, especially those in the Ministry of Rites! I will take fifty thousand taels of silver from the Inner Treasury to reward the officials, clerks, and soldiers who participated in this examination. The amount each person receives will be managed by Minister Wen!"

Wen Tiren stepped forward, bowed, and accepted the decree. Everyone understood that the emperor was seizing this opportunity to give Wen Tiren a chance to win people's hearts—a sign of imperial favor that indirectly indicated the emperor's stance on the recent attacks by censors accusing Wen Tiren of being a treacherous villain.

Zhang Guowei, the Minister of Rites, was secretly pleased to receive the emperor's affirmation. He stepped forward, bowed, and memorialized: "Your servant requests His Majesty's guidance: since the list of successful candidates has been reviewed, when shall the palace examination be held? Shall the examination questions be set by imperial decree or by the Ministry of Rites? Please enlighten us, Your Majesty!"

Zhu Youjian waved his hand and said, "Hold the palace examination at the customary time! The questions will be set by me!"

The palace examination was generally held about a month after the metropolitan examination. The questions could be set by the Ministry of Rites or personally drafted by the emperor.

After Zhang Guowei withdrew, Zhu Youjian slightly turned and glanced at Wang Cheng'en. The latter immediately announced in a loud voice: "Next, we will discuss the matter of provincial graduates and Imperial Academy students taking up official posts! All ministers may speak frankly on this matter, but do not stray into other topics!"