Chapter 322: The Objective

Li Ruolian, clad in a scarlet robe embroidered with a qilin badge, a luan belt at his waist and a black gauze cap on his head, rode into the city on horseback, and under the guidance of plainclothes Guard officers who had already entered the city, arrived at Li Banghua's imperial commissioner's field headquarters.

"Your Excellency the Governor, everything is fully prepared. This official has brought over a thousand Guard officers and strongmen, and with the elite troops of the Capital Camps, that will be more than enough to suppress any defiance in the Southern Metropolitan Area! May I ask how matters stand on your side?"

Seated in the seat of honor on the left side of the hall, in the western side-courtyard behind the Dongli Pavilion, Li Ruolian clasped his hands and spoke.

Li Ruolian's rank had already been elevated to the first grade of military office, and given the natural status of the Imperial Guard, he thus maintained a posture of equality even when facing the Left Censor-in-Chief, a civil official of the first grade.

Whether beforehand or now, Li Ruolian had never notified the Nanjing office of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Although Nanjing nominally had its own Regional Military Commission of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, having been in Jiangnan for many years, it had long been assimilated by the local officials and gentry, and no longer bore any resemblance to a depot or guard at all. Li Ruolian did not give that so-called Nanjing Regional Military Commissioner of the Embroidered Uniform Guard the slightest regard. Once this assignment was complete, those men of the Nanjing Embroidered Uniform Guard could simply be stripped of their military registry outright.

"The hour is still early, and no word has arrived as yet. Since the Imperial Guard has already entered the city, this official expects the guests will arrive soon enough. Guard Commander Li, pray be patient and do not be anxious!"

Li Banghua sat upright and solemn in the seat of honor, two guards standing stiffly behind him holding the royal command banners and tablets, while Censor Chen Jinmin sat at the lower end of the row of seats on the right side of the hall.

This time, Zhu Youjian had sent two powerful grandees to Jiangnan simultaneously, not merely to deal with the matter of the market strike. His ultimate purpose was to take advantage of the fact that the war beyond the passes had not yet begun—a window of roughly half a year—to implement the plan he had conceived ahead of schedule.

That plan was to merge the various ministries and offices of Nanjing into the court at the capital, to transfer the relevant officials north to the capital, to completely uproot the interests of the Jiangnan power bloc, to bring the Nanjing mini-court that had persisted for over a century to total extinction, and thereby to ensure that the court's decrees flowed unimpeded throughout the territory of the Great Ming.

Zhu Youjian had originally intended to implement this plan only after next year's decisive battle with the Jianzhou slaves, but the sudden market strike in the four prefectures of Jiangnan gave him a fitting opportunity. After weighing the situation, Zhu Youjian quickly made up his mind: rather than continue with piecemeal skirmishes, it was better to go with the flow and seize the chance to cut away entirely this cancer that had attached itself to the body of the Great Ming.

Li Ruolian paid no heed to Li Banghua's stern and unyielding manner. He genuinely admired Li Banghua's incorruptibility and character, but in Li Ruolian's eyes, apart from a handful of exceptions at court, most of the civil officials were men harboring treacherous designs, each racking their brains to suck blood from His Majesty and the Great Ming, with very few who truly considered the welfare of the state. Most of these civil officials deserved to be thrown into the Imperial Prison, and their family properties confiscated into the palace.

Li Banghua was unwilling to have excessive dealings with high-ranking Guard officials, and after speaking, he closed his eyes to rest. Li Ruolian, for his part, tilted his head back to stare at the ceiling, while Chen Jinmin sat motionless. The atmosphere momentarily became awkward and fell into a lull.

Fortunately, this awkward atmosphere did not last long. Before long, a squad leader of the Capital Camps on sentry duty outside the door came to the entrance and announced in a loud voice: "Report to the Imperial Commissioner! Outside the gate, the Count of Xincheng and Garrison Commander Zhang have presented their cards and request an audience!"

"Show them in!"

Li Banghua rose and gave the order in a deep voice.

Before long, Zhao Zhilong and Zhang Yixian, both with grim faces, walked side by side to the outside of the main hall. Seeing Li Banghua and Li Ruolian standing at the door to receive them, Zhang Yixian, after a slight flicker of surprise, still spoke first: "Yesterday, Minister Lü said that Your Excellency Li's authority was most imposing, and I thought his words somewhat exaggerated. But having come to call today, I now see that Your Excellency indeed possesses great authority! I, a mere brush-holder of the Directorate of Ceremonial and eunuch Garrison Commander of Nanjing by imperial appointment, and Count Zhao, a hereditary meritorious noble and garrison commander—even we must be announced before we may enter! Those soldiers at the gate have no sense of rank or propriety whatsoever—utterly discourteous in the extreme! Does Your Excellency not feel that this action violates the established rules?"

Both men had received generous gift lists from Qian Shisheng the previous night, whose only request was that the Jiangnan market strike case not implicate too many people. Considering that such a request was not excessive, both had agreed to come to the imperial commissioner's headquarters the next day to put in a word. Although Li Banghua had arrived bearing the imperial mandate, surely some face had to be given to the two of them as well? At the very least, the scope of those implicated could be narrowed somewhat—both were confident they could manage that.

After communicating, the two agreed on a time and prepared to come together to pressure Li Banghua—reaping the benefits while resolving the other's troubles, and at the same time enhancing their own prestige. Unexpectedly, when they rose the next morning, before they had even finished washing up, they received word that the Embroidered Uniform Guard had suddenly entered the city. In shock and alarm, the two hurried over to the Dongli Pavilion one after the other, hoping to settle the matter before the Guard could intervene.

But just as the two were about to enter through the main gate, they were stopped by the sentry soldiers, who said they must first go inside to announce their arrival before they could be permitted entry. How could two such proud and arrogant grandees endure that? Before Zhao Zhilong could flare up, Zhang Yixian raised his hand and slapped the squad leader who was blocking him: "How dare you block my path! Are you looking for death? This master will beat you to death right here today!"

That squad leader took a step back to dodge the swinging arm, and in the same motion drew the gleaming long blade from his waist. The other soldiers instantly drew their blades and nocked their bows, forming a wedge formation with that squad leader at the point, glaring fiercely at Zhang Yixian and his party, while the household retainers of the Count of Xincheng's mansion likewise drew their blades, ready at any moment to rush forward to protect their count.

Zhang Yixian, caught between rage and fright, his face shifting between pale and livid, stood frozen on the spot. Zhao Zhilong reacted quickly; after his initial shock, he stepped forward and shouted in a loud voice: "How dare you show such disrespect! This count is a meritorious noble serving as garrison commander of Nanjing, and this is Garrison Commander Eunuch Zhang! Go inside at once and report that the two of us have urgent official business to discuss with the Imperial Commissioner! If official business is delayed, this count will not forgive you! Go now!"

The soldiers and officers of the Capital Camps, who ordinarily prided themselves on being the Son of Heaven's own Imperial Guard, would hardly put any outsider in their eyes. That squad leader swept a contemptuous glance over the two men before him, then casually clasped his hands and replied: "It is a matter of duty—I beg your indulgence! This humble one will go inside and announce you at once! Sheathe your blades!"

With that, he sheathed his blade and turned to enter the gate. The sentry soldiers, having received their orders, put away their blades and bows and continued to stand in two ranks on either side, not even deigning to look at the two grandees, while a dozen or so Guard officers who had been watching the spectacle wore smiles of schadenfreude.

Zhao Zhilong turned and swept a sharp gaze around; the household retainers of the Count of Xincheng's mansion sheathed their weapons and withdrew to their original positions.

Finally able to save face, Zhang Yixian gave a cold snort, glaring with angry eyes at the retreating back of that squad leader. Though furious inwardly, he was utterly helpless. As garrison eunuch, he was an absolute authority in Nanjing whose word was law—but these people from the capital seemed even more overbearing than he. When that squad leader had drawn his blade and fixed his gaze on him just now, Zhang Yixian had seen a faint killing intent in those cold, beast-like eyes.

Zhao Zhilong leaned close to Zhang Yixian and spoke in a low voice: "Eunuch Zhang, swallow your anger for now. Let us first settle the matter we were entrusted with before addressing anything else! Now that the Imperial Guard has entered the city, stirring up more trouble would hardly be to our advantage!"

Once Zhang Yixian had calmed down, his mind had recovered its clarity. He gave Zhao Zhilong a slight clasp of the hands to express his gratitude, then said in a low voice: "I am indebted to Your Excellency the Count today! I cannot shake the feeling that Li Meng'an and the Imperial Guard arriving one after the other—there is something deeply suspicious about this whole affair! With so many Imperial Guard coming south, the man leading them cannot possibly be merely a Chiliarch! Could a high-ranking officer have come in person? If so, then this case has been personally designated by His Majesty! Once we go inside, the two of us must act according to circumstances—we must on no account invite disaster upon ourselves!"

Zhao Zhilong's expression grew somewhat grave. What Zhang Yixian had said was rare frank counsel between high officials. If this entire affair had been orchestrated by the Emperor himself, then he and Zhang Yixian truly would need to be careful.

The current Emperor's actions over these past few years carried a ruthless edge—even a figure as prominent among the meritorious nobility as Duke Chengguo had been killed at a word, let alone a mere count like themselves.

Just then, that squad leader emerged from the courtyard, clasped his hands toward the two men, and said: "The Imperial Commissioner invites both of you to enter!"