Chapter 295: Drawing in the Net

Zheng Zhifeng's voyage to Europe was not something to be undertaken immediately—this was a matter of great consequence for the future of the Great Ming, requiring long and thorough preparation before it could come to pass.

Selecting the young scholars to study abroad, choosing the officers and men to serve as guards, preparing a fleet capable of crossing the vast ocean along with all manner of supplies, sufficient medicines and accompanying physicians, the goods to be carried by the Four Seas Trading Company and other merchant caravans willing to brave the distant seas, the choice of deputy envoy, the personnel to remain in Europe to look after the young scholars, finding suitable interpreters—all of these required time.

As for the deputy envoy, Zhu Youjian leaned toward Fang Yizhi, whose thinking was relatively more open-minded. As for those who would remain in Europe to care for the young scholars, they could be selected from the imperial estates—healthy widows and widowers without family ties would be the best candidates.

At present, Fang Yizhi was studying at the Imperial Academy, where his outstanding talent and learning had attracted a considerable number of examination candidates to gather around him. If things continued to develop in this manner, the future Fang Yizhi would become a traditional Ming scholar-official, and under Zhu Youjian's special attention, might even become a very accomplished official.

But Zhu Youjian did not wish to see this uncut jade mixed in with the common run—the future of this great talent must far surpass that of his peers. Stones from another mountain can polish jade; let the hard stone of a foreign land grind this beautiful gem.

Zhu Youjian had no intention of summoning Fang Yizhi for an audience, followed by a discussion between sovereign and minister about the future of the Great Ming. For Fang Yizhi, who was still a commoner without official rank, doing so would undoubtedly place him at the very crest of the storm, drawing upon him countless jealousy and hatred, bringing no benefit whatsoever to his growth or his future career.

When the time came, Zhu Youjian would have the Ministry of Rites announce the mission to the Western Seas among the examination candidates at the Imperial Academy. If his expectations proved correct, even with the lure of official position, the vast majority of these candidates who cherished their lives above all would not be willing to risk such unpredictable danger. Perhaps a few opportunists would wish to participate, but their intelligence and moral character would need to be investigated before they could be selected.

As for Fang Yizhi's attitude toward this matter, it would likely hover somewhere in ambiguity.

But whether he was willing or not, Zhu Youjian would conscript him by imperial decree. Bureau Secretary of the Court of State Ceremonial, rank 6B—let him carry such a title.

One must be ruthless when dealing with talent one has set one's heart upon—jade unturned remains unpolished, and that is the principle of the matter. The mission to the Western Seas would serve as a great trial for Fang Yizhi; everything in his future would depend on his own fortune.

After the general arrangements had been discussed, Zheng Zhifeng performed his salutations and departed the palace. Wang Cheng'en took the initiative to offer seeing him out, and Zheng Zhifeng naturally understood that this meant there were words of instruction to be given, so he did not decline. The two left the main hall of Qianqing Palace together.

"Zhifeng, you did well in today's affair. This old servant's decision to take you as a nephew has proven correct! To know what weighs upon His Majesty's heart and be able to relieve him of that worry—this is the proper duty of a minister! Those who openly or covertly pay lip service to His Majesty's commands while acting against them—this old servant will see to it that they do not fare well, sooner or later! But for now His Majesty must devote his full attention to dealing with the Jianzhou barbarians, and for the sake of peace within the Great Ming's borders, this old servant has held back and refrained from acting. Yet this has led some to believe that the Eastern Depot has become a toothless tiger—hmph!"

Wang Cheng'en walked with his hands clasped behind his back, while Zheng Zhifeng followed cautiously half a step behind.

Although the relationship between their two families had become very close, Zheng Zhifeng still felt genuine fear toward Wang Cheng'en from the depths of his heart. He always felt that before this uncle with his outwardly simple and amiable appearance, he was like a young maiden stripped of her clothes—no secret whatsoever could be kept hidden.

"Your nephew has always kept your teachings firmly in mind. As a high official of the court, I will at all times place His Majesty's concerns above all else, and will never do anything that defies the imperial will!"

Zheng Zhifeng replied with his neck drawn in.

"Zhifeng, tell this old servant the truth today. Just now His Majesty said that once you return safely from that continent of Europa, he would bestow a noble title upon you. What would you do then? Surely you don't truly wish for the Zheng family to produce two earls? In all this Great Ming, aside from the Xu family of Duke of Wei, there has never been a household with two noble titles!"

Wang Cheng'en stopped in his steps and slowly turned around to look at Zheng Zhifeng.

"Honored uncle, if it is truly His Majesty's gracious bestowal, your nephew would not wish to refuse it—that is glory and honor that can be passed down to descendants! You have seen Huange'er several times yourself and have grown quite fond of him. Your nephew feels that if this title could be obtained, passing it on to Huange'er in the future so that he might enjoy wealth and honor all his life—that would be excellent indeed! The original intent of this nephew risking his life on the mission to the Western Seas was to earn merit for him!"

Zheng Zhifeng stood rooted in place for a moment, hesitated, then performed a salute as he replied.

"Very well then! Perhaps this old servant was overthinking things—I always felt that tall trees catch the wind, and feared that once you received the title, you would draw endless criticism. But what you say is also right—why should one fear others' jealousy over merit earned with one's own life for one's descendants? With this old servant and Huange'er's adoptive father around, if anyone dares to trip you up openly or covertly, this old servant will show them no courtesy! Zhifeng, this old servant will see you off only this far. I thought I had many words of counsel for you, but suddenly I find I don't know what to say. This old servant has never seen the sea, but I have heard of its dangers. Take good care of yourself—whatever you encounter abroad, just come back safely. Your wife and children are under this old servant's care; no wind or rain shall touch them. Zhifeng, go now! Go!"

Wang Cheng'en waved his sleeve and slowly walked back toward Qianqing Palace. Zheng Zhifeng turned around, knelt down, and knocked his head loudly against the ground in the direction of Wang Cheng'en's retreating back, then rose and departed the palace.

Regarding Zhu Youjian's promise to bestow a noble title upon Zheng Zhifeng, Wang Cheng'en was extremely opposed. A Zheng Zhifeng who became a titled noble would not be as easy to control as a Zheng Zhifeng who was merely an official. Only those one could keep in hand would not pose a threat to His Majesty and his family—such was Wang Cheng'en's thinking.

He had originally intended to hint that Zheng Zhifeng should decline the title, but the man's attitude was resolute indeed. Left with no choice, Wang Cheng'en could only play the good fellow to the end and soothe Zheng Zhifeng in turn, so as to set his mind completely at ease.

In late August, the capital was already growing cool in the mornings and evenings, with the leaves of some trees beginning to yellow and fall. Yet a thousand li away in Jiangnan, it remained as splendid as ever with flowers in full bloom, the temperature still stubbornly high.

In the second hall of the Yangzhou Chiliarch's office of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Assistant Guard Commander and Northern Bastille Provost Li Ruolian, dressed in plain clothes, sat upright in an armchair with his back straight, his left hand resting on the armrest, his gaze sweeping like lightning over all those present in the hall.

Yangzhou Chiliarch Liang Qi and Hangzhou Chiliarch Wu Junsheng stood respectively on the lower sides below him, while the Centurions of the two chiliarchies stood at rigid attention in ranks below their respective superiors.

"This officer has come south by imperial decree, specifically regarding the matter of lawless elements in Jiangnan who plot to stir up chaos! This officer holds that this incident, nominally a tax resistance, is in truth an act of certain civil officials using this pretext to defy His Majesty! We are all hereditary soldiers of the Son of Heaven—our honor and disgrace, our rise and fall, are bound entirely to His Majesty. As the saying goes, the sovereign's worry is the minister's shame—all who oppose His Majesty are enemies of our corps! Since Emperor Yongle moved the capital, the civil officials of Jiangnan, far from the capital and presuming upon the distance between heaven and earth, have grown ever more arrogant! Our corps are the claws and ears of the Son of Heaven—to punish wrongdoing on behalf of the Son of Heaven and to make imperial might shine eternally upon the soil of the Great Ming is our corps' bounden duty! Any who dare to defy heaven shall be killed without mercy! Liang Qi! Report the intelligence your command has gathered on this matter!"

The moment Li Ruolian opened his mouth, he had defined the nature of the incident: defiance of imperial authority, suspicion of forming cliques to oppose the court, and the ringleaders were to be killed without mercy.

Ever since receiving the secret imperial edict to travel south, Li Ruolian had ordered three hundred riders divided into ten teams, traveling south by boat or by horse over land, all dressed in plain clothes along the way so as not to draw attention.

He himself had set out first with one team of riders, personally going to Nanjing, Suzhou, and other places to investigate, and had arrived secretly in Yangzhou Prefecture yesterday with several guards.

The remaining riders, according to the prearranged plan, were stationed separately in hidden locations outside each city, awaiting orders.

In Jiangnan, long accustomed to peace, the sudden appearance of even a dozen riders would cause astonishment, let alone a force of several hundred—if it drew the attention of those with sharp eyes, it might bring unnecessary trouble to this operation.

"Reporting to the Provost! According to what this humble officer's captains have investigated, Nanjing Minister of Personnel Xu Wenyuan, Yangzhou Prefect Liu Zuo, Huai'an Prefect Li Qimei, Vice Prefect Sun Yunzhuan, Changzhou Prefect Huang Jingbo, and Suzhou Prefecture Judge Jiao Yunfeng are the masterminds behind this market closure. Additionally, there are numerous officials of various ranks from various offices involved, including not a few Bureau Directors and Bureau Secretaries of the six ministries in Nanjing! The great merchants who plotted the market closure number twenty-six or more, spread across Huai'an, Suzhou, Changzhou, and other prefectures. Under their coercion, many small and medium merchants in Huai'an, Suzhou, Changzhou, and Yangzhou also intend to join the closure! This humble officer has also learned that the closure is to take place in two days! The above is the intelligence this humble officer has gathered—this humble officer awaits the Provost's decision on how to proceed!"

"Excellent! Since the great fish have entered the net, it is time to draw it in! For now, let them enjoy their freedom a few more days. When they have closed their markets for three days and the deed is done, we shall move to arrest them and confiscate their property on the charge of attempting to incite civil unrest and gathering crowds to oppose the court! Any who dare to resist may be cut down on the spot! Any lawless elements who take advantage of the chaos to fish in troubled waters shall be killed without exception! The suppression of disorder in Huai'an and Yangzhou prefectures shall be handled by the Yangzhou Chiliarchy; the officers and men of the Hangzhou Chiliarchy shall accompany this officer to Suzhou and Changzhou prefectures to make arrests! The riders who came from the capital are already waiting outside each prefectural city—when the time comes, they shall be notified to enter the cities and impose martial law!"