Chapter 301: Seeking Advantage

Lu Yuanzheng's words thoroughly moved He Yunxian.

He knew full well that cases handled by the Embroidered Uniform Guard were personally designated by the emperor, and both the process and the outcome had to be reported truthfully. As long as he polished Lu Yuanzheng's words slightly and wrote them into a routine memorial, his image of remaining unstained amid the mire and rising to the occasion in a time of crisis would leap off the page. The Emperor, thousands of li away, would surely think far more highly of him upon reading the report, and at this turbulent moment, his chances of taking over the Prefect's position would be very great indeed.

"Then... how should this subordinate handle the matter of Liu Zuo?"

He Yunxian, who moments ago had been calling himself "this official" with an air of righteous integrity, finally set aside his pride when his own interests were at stake, cast off the self-respect of a civil official, and began calling himself "this subordinate" before a Vice Chiliarch of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

"Old He, you and I both serve the sage—where do 'subordinate' and 'superior' come in? The Liu Zuo case has nothing to do with you. You need only submit a memorial to the court laying out his various crimes. You've heard of Xu Qiming, haven't you? And Liu Xingwen, Liu Zuo's cousin—these two, together with Liu Zuo and the other guilty officials, are the principal culprits in this plot to wreak havoc on Jiangnan. Let me speak frankly with you: this Liu Zuo case has wide-reaching implications. Only by swiftly severing ties with those entangled in certain interests can you escape unscathed—otherwise you will surely be dragged down with them! Since the eighth year of Chongzhen, our guard has never once disappointed His Majesty!"

Lu Yuanzheng leaned forward, adopting the posture of a close friend, and lowered his voice with an air of mystery.

He Yunxian's impeachment memorial was of great importance—it would serve as his letter of fealty, marking his break with the Jiangnan gentry-official clique. Although his superior had been arrested by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, as a deputy official using the situation to impeach his superior, the meaning of his endorsement of the Guard was unmistakable. From then on, He Yunxian would stand on the opposite side of the Jiangnan gentry and officials.

Lu Yuanzheng put it plainly: this case would implicate many officials. If He Yunxian refused to publicly impeach Liu Zuo yet still hoped to obtain the Prefect's position, not only would it be impossible—he might even be dragged into the case himself.

Wanting to have it both ways—to be the whore and the virgin at once—was a fantasy not worth entertaining.

He Yunxian naturally knew who stood behind Xu Qiming, and he understood that once the case brought down its net, not only would Xu Wenyuan suffer, but the officials and gentry who had associated closely with him would also be listed as co-conspirators. The Embroidered Uniform Guard's reputation for framing, torture, and forced confessions was well known—anyone they set their sights on would shed a layer of skin even if they survived.

But once he submitted the impeachment memorial, it meant he would thoroughly offend the entire Jiangnan gentry-official class, as well as their backers at court. His future career would be fraught with danger—at any moment someone might find fault with him and submit an impeachment of their own, and he could easily lose his post.

Yet if he refused to submit the memorial as the Embroidered Uniform Guard wished, not only would the Prefect's position slip away, he might even be dragged into the Liu Zuo case. Though the Vice Chiliarch before him now wore a kind and affable expression, He Yunxian was certain that the moment he gave a flat refusal, the man would immediately turn hostile.

After a long internal struggle, He Yunxian made up his mind: "Then when should this subordinate submit the memorial? Should I wait until Liu Zuo confesses, or write it right now?"

Lu Yuanzheng was overjoyed at this: "There's no hurry. Let me congratulate Prefect He right here! Hahaha! Liu Zuo and his men plotted to use the market closure as a first step—after a few days of shortages in daily necessities like grain, oil, and salt, they would secretly incite the common people to besiege the government offices, creating the appearance of civil unrest to achieve their hidden aims! Prefect He, the urgent task now is to restore Yangzhou to its normal state. Next, have the authorities send men to inspect the scene of last night's arson, then determine compensation based on the losses of the shops and nearby residents, and provide relief to the dead and injured—so that Liu Zuo and his men's schemes come to naught, and you return to the court a prosperous and stable Yangzhou! If this matter is handled properly, Chiliarch Liang and I will sing your praises at length in our report! Prefect He, are there any officials in the prefectural office who are close to you? Speak their names and ranks, and I will release them immediately!"

Lu Yuanzheng called him "Prefect He" again and again, as if He Yunxian had truly become the Prefect. He Yunxian, who had been agonizing moments before, found the address deeply gratifying.

His spirits lifted, He Yunxian casually named several people—from the criminal section, the revenue section, and the works section—though most were clerks and minor functionaries. Lu Yuanzheng summoned the guards outside the door and instructed them to stay by He Yunxian's side today, both to protect his safety and then to go to the front courtyard of the main hall to release those men. Afterward, they were to select men from the clerks, runners, and constables to write notices and post them along the streets, organize people to beat gongs and make announcements, ordering all merchants to open for business immediately—any who refused would be arrested and imprisoned on charges of colluding with bandits.

After giving his instructions, Lu Yuanzheng rose and left for the chiliarchy office; a Centurion stayed behind with his men to continue interrogating and sorting through the others.

He knew that once He Yunxian had agreed to the matter, he would certainly throw himself into it wholeheartedly. Though most officials of the Great Ming were rather corrupt, they were not lacking in administrative ability.

As long as those in authority came forward, aside from a handful of gentry households and great families, the small and medium merchants who had been wavering would surely open their doors at once upon hearing the government's announcements. After all, they depended on their businesses to feed their families—the market closure had only come about after Xu Qiming and Liu Xingwen had sent men door to door to persuade and threaten them. Now that they knew Xu Qiming and the other ringleaders had been arrested, if they still refused to comply they would soon be thrown in jail themselves—so why stubbornly hold out against the authorities?

As for compensation for the Four Seas Trading Company and the damaged residents nearby, that would certainly come out of the assets of Xu Qiming and his ilk.

Last night's great fire had destroyed several shops and goods of the Four Seas Trading Company, and nearby residents had suffered as well—over thirty rooms had been burned down. Fortunately, no one had been burned to death.

Returning to the chiliarchy office, Lu Yuanzheng immediately went to Liang Qi's workroom and reported the matter of He Yunxian to him.

"Old Lu, well done! As long as the authorities step forward, Yangzhou will be safe and sound, and in a few days it will return to its former state. With Liu Zuo and his men captured, our task here is accomplished! The hour is still early—not yet chen shi—so you hold the line in Yangzhou while I go to Huai'an Prefecture to see how things stand there. Per the Provost's intention, we were supposed to wait until this lot made a bigger disturbance before acting, but since Yangzhou is already settled, the other prefectural cities may soon learn of it. To guard against the unexpected, I'll go sit in Huai'an and keep watch! You keep an eye on things here—I've already given all the orders, just follow the original plan!"

Just as the market closure in Yangzhou was suppressed in the blink of an eye, Suzhou Prefecture, to the southeast of Yangzhou, was seething beneath a calm surface.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard had established only a single Centurion station in Suzhou Prefecture, with its offices in the former Suzhou guard station compound.

When the Centurion station was first established and moved in, the guard stations of Jiangnan had long since existed in name only—no one had conducted official business in the compound for years. Combined with years of neglect and lack of use, many of the once-imposing buildings had collapsed into ruin, and the courtyards were overgrown with weeds.

Chen Quan, the Centurion of the Suzhou Centurion station, was a rough-and-ready sort. Seeing the state of things, he didn't take it too much to heart—he simply took public funds, hired laborers through a broker to do a simple cleanup, roughly patched up the collapsed buildings, and moved his men in.

That afternoon, after shen shi, in Chen Quan's workroom at the Centurion station, Li Ruolian was holding a secret meeting with Fang Wen, the Prefect of Suzhou.

This Fang Wen was the same Fang Wen who had served as County Magistrate of Lingtai while Sun Chuanting was suppressing bandits in Shaanxi. He had been promoted to the sixth rank for military merit, and later, through Sun Chuanting's strong recommendation and Zhu Youjian's personal inquiry, the Ministry of Personnel had promoted him by special decree to Prefect of Suzhou.

Fang Wen had leapt several ranks from a sixth-rank County Magistrate to the head of a major prefecture, and deep in his heart he was filled with gratitude toward Sun Chuanting. He secretly vowed that he would never disappoint the grace of Sun Chuanting's patronage in this life, and would strive to achieve outstanding results in his tenure at Suzhou Prefecture to repay his benefactor's recommendation.

But when he arrived full of confidence from the impoverished backwaters of the northwest to take up his post in prosperous Suzhou, he discovered that unless some great change occurred, he would find it very difficult to accomplish anything as Prefect of Suzhou.

The reason was simple: his orders could not even leave the Suzhou prefectural office. He had been thoroughly sidelined, reduced to a hollow figurehead—a clay idol and wooden statue in name only.