Chapter 307: Weighing the Balance

When Fang Wen had quickly changed into his official robes and arrived at the front hall, several Centurions were reporting on the progress of matters to Li Ruolian, who sat in the seat of honor.

Seeing Fang Wen enter through the rear door, Li Ruolian gave a few more instructions, and the Centurions bowed and departed.

"Your subordinate pays respects to the Imperial Commissioner! I have kept the Imperial Commissioner waiting—your subordinate has been remiss! May I ask the Imperial Commissioner, is the government's involvement needed at this time?"

Fang Wen clasped his hands and bowed deeply to Li Ruolian as he spoke.

"Prefect Fang, no need for such formality. The city is now largely stabilized, and the principal culprits have all been apprehended—only Vice Prefect Ren remains unaccounted for. There are still several bandit dens yet to be located; I estimate it will take another hour to finish. After that, we will need Prefect Fang to dispatch men to handle the aftermath—there is no hurry yet! Prefect Fang, please take a seat!"

Li Ruolian waved his hand and smiled.

The properties of Huang Zhi, Wang Zuohai, and others were being confiscated and inventoried. These merchants could not escape the fate of decapitation, and their families would be exiled, but the punishment of a batch of implicated officials still required a memorial to the throne, awaiting the Emperor's decree.

Aside from Jiao Yunfeng and Wu Zhiqun, the six bureau clerks Fang Wen had placed on his list, along with their confidants, had all been locked in the prefectural prison. The Embroidered Uniform Guard officers were interrogating these people separately to obtain more details and evidence, to be used for conviction once the Imperial Commissioner from the court arrived.

"The Imperial Commissioner's kindness and patronage—your subordinate will never forget! If there is any use for your subordinate, I will spare no effort!"

Fang Wen made a deep bow to Li Ruolian, then sat down in the subordinate seat.

"Prefect Fang overstates it! I come from the Imperial Guard—the Sage's concerns are the Imperial Guard's shame. Under heaven, anyone who dares to offend the majesty of the Son of Heaven is an enemy of the Imperial Guard! As a minister, Prefect Fang should likewise hold this understanding! As an official who governs the people on behalf of Heaven, you must always prioritize comforting and pacifying the people; only by ensuring those under your governance suffer no hardship can you be considered competent! I hope Prefect Fang will keep this in mind!"

"Your subordinate accepts this instruction! This one will never betray the Sage's trust in this life—I will govern with vigor, rule with closeness to the people, and ensure all subjects under my care bask forever in imperial grace!"

Fang Wen clasped his hands and bowed in salute.

"Mm, I recall the Sage once said: listen to a man's words, but more importantly, observe his deeds. Prefect Fang, I have noted your words today. If you ever deviate from them in the future, do not blame me for being ruthless!"

"Provost, there is a matter your subordinate does not know how to handle—I beg the Provost to show me the way!"

Fang Wen hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"What matter? Speak it!"

Li Ruolian's expression shifted slightly at these words, then he smiled and replied.

Fang Wen then briefly recounted the matter of Ren Yuanshan, including the usual conflicts and grudges between the two, as well as Ren Yuanshan's final attitude, and so on.

"Haha! I was wondering why we couldn't find him anywhere—ask anyone and they said they hadn't seen him. So this Ren Yuanshan actually hid himself in the safest place of all! What a talent! The man's quick thinking is truly remarkable! I was wondering why the yamen runners suddenly took to the streets arresting troublemakers—that move must have been his idea! Hahahaha! Truly formidable!"

Li Ruolian burst into laughter at these words.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard officers who were driving citizens back to their homes throughout the city suddenly discovered that large numbers of yamen runners in official garb had also joined the operation. Upon inquiry, they learned these runners had been dispatched by their superiors to arrest the troublemakers. The senior Embroidered Uniform Guard officials were all astonished, guessing for a long while without figuring out the reason—never did they imagine the truth was so absurd.

When the Embroidered Uniform Guard burst into the prefectural yamen and apprehended all those involved in the case, they found upon counting that only Vice Prefect Ren Yuanshan was missing. After the officers searched the yamen inside and out once more, he was still nowhere to be found. No one had imagined that this Ren Yuanshan possessed such quick wit, making such a move in the shortest possible time.

"Prefect Fang, since you have asked, you already have an idea in your heart! I have only one piece of advice: better the devil you know than the devil you don't! With such a great handle in your grasp, this sort of man is the one you can rely on! You only need to have him agree to submit a memorial impeaching Xu Wenyuan, and from then on no one in the Suzhou prefectural yamen will be able to obstruct you! I have said my piece! The disturbances in Yangzhou, Huai'an, and Changzhou have all been quelled in succession—I must now set out to inspect these prefectures! To see whether the successors can bear this responsibility! Prefect Fang, do your work diligently—until we meet again!"

Six days later, Li Ruolian's urgent memorial on quelling the disturbances in several Jiangnan prefectures was placed upon Zhu Youjian's imperial desk.

The memorial gave a fairly detailed account of the senior Embroidered Uniform Guard officials' preliminary planning and deployment regarding this matter, as well as the details of quelling the unrest in each prefectural city, emphasizing that during the suppression of the disturbances that affected several prefectures, the Embroidered Uniform Guard had not mistakenly killed a single civilian—although many citizens had been injured in the process, that had been purely unavoidable.

The properties confiscated this time from over twenty wealthy merchants and implicated officials such as Liu Zuo involved such a wide variety of assets that the final tally would take some time to complete. The gold and silver seized from each household was being hastily packed into wooden crates, and once finished, would be shipped back first by hired boats. According to Li Ruolian's estimate, this batch of gold and silver alone amounted to roughly eight million taels, and the value of the farmland, shops, goods, residences, and so forth was no small sum either.

We're rich! Haha!

Zhu Youjian's mood brightened as he read this far.

Although he was not short of money now—one could even say he was very wealthy—who would ever think they had too much money?

But this vast sum could not all be sent to the capital. Of it, Shandong and Henan were each to retain one million taels. The various supplies needed to resettle disaster victims were enormous in quantity—hoes, sickles, axes, iron shovels, and all manner of farm tools had to be shipped from the capital to various regions, and the consumption along the way was no small amount. Better to leave the silver for local governments to purchase and manufacture themselves, which would also bring no small boost and impetus to the local economy, allowing many common people to benefit continuously.

In his memorial, Li Ruolian also briefly touched upon the matter of Suzhou Prefecture, giving a short introduction to the conflict between Prefect Fang Wen and Vice Prefect Ren Yuanshan, and finally discussing Ren Yuanshan's quick response and his pledge of allegiance, listing the businesses the Ren family was involved in within Suzhou.

Much like Li Ruolian's initial reaction, upon seeing the choice Ren Yuanshan had made at the critical moment, Zhu Youjian could not help but laugh out loud.

Seeking advantage and avoiding harm is the nature and common trait of the vast majority of people. Judging from the data listed by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the Ren family had no great interests in Suzhou Prefecture. This time, Ren Yuanshan's involvement was most likely born of jealousy and resentment. Although his character had some flaws, it was not an unpardonable crime—keeping him in office was not a bad choice.

As for this Fang Wen recommended by Sun Chuanting, Zhu Youjian still wanted to cultivate him with care. For no other reason than to give Old Sun an additional source of strength in the court in the future.

Zhu Youjian trusted Sun Chuanting's judgment.

For Fang Wen to accomplish anything, the deputy assigned to him had to be obedient and cooperative. Since such a great handle was now clenched in Fang Wen's grasp, this Ren Yuanshan might as well remain in office.

Li Ruolian had done exceptionally well in this matter—he was worthy of promotion and greater responsibility.

As for the appointments and removals of officials in the other prefectures, Zhu Youjian planned to temporarily keep the existing uninvolved officials in their posts, with vacancies in principal positions to be filled temporarily by their deputies.

After this sudden strike by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the officials of these prefectures were likely scared half to death—at least in the short term they would obey the court absolutely. As for the candidates for principal positions, Zhu Youjian was inclined to have Li Banghua make the recommendations.

Li Banghua had been in Shandong for half a year handling the resettlement of disaster victims—that time had been sufficient for him to gain a fuller understanding of the officials around him. Those who had distinguished themselves as capable administrators deserved promotion and reward, and Zhu Youjian also trusted Old Li's character and judgment.

Among the implicated officials in this case, the principal culprits Liu Zuo, Huang Jingbo, Li Qimei, Sun Yunzhuan, and Jiao Yunfeng were all to be executed, their properties confiscated, and their families exiled.

Xu Qiming, Liu Xingwen, Huang Zhi, Wang Zuohai, and the other merchants would be dealt with in the same manner as the above officials.

As for the lower-ranking officials and clerks implicated in the case, aside from having their properties confiscated, Zhu Youjian did not plan to execute all of them.

This was not because he was overly merciful, but because this group still had other uses—and very important ones at that.