Chapter 191: A Fabricated Charge

There was no denying that Zhang Cai had been hit with a truly weighty charge.

Throughout the Ming dynasty, corrupt civil officials and military commanders who abused their power were among the greatest fears of any emperor. Even Jiajing, that exceptionally shrewd ruler who had spent his entire life scheming against his own ministers, would fly into a thunderous rage at the mere mention of military commanders wielding undue power.

Since ancient times, few who became entangled with either of these two matters ever came to a good end. Zhang Cai had spoken with no small measure of self-satisfaction, thinking to himself: You forced my hand — and this ought to be my killing blow.

But as it turned out, such accusations simply could not hold water before Zhou Jingwu.

Having said this, Zhou Jingwu stepped forward, seized the still-struggling Zhang Cai with one hand, and hauled him out from among those Fushe scholars as easily as if he were lifting a chick by the neck. Turning his head, he continued:

"Whatever remains in this room falls outside this Commissioner-in-Chief's jurisdiction. Chiliarch Li, I leave it entirely to your Eastern Depot."

"Rest assured, Commissioner Zhou — this sort of work is right up our alley!" Li Youcheng first offered a flattering bow with clasped hands. Only after watching Zhou Jingwu and the Shenwu Army soldiers march the Fushe crowd out of the room did he turn around with a sinister grin:

"Men, you all know the drill — no need for this Chiliarch to spell it out, eh?"

The Eastern Depot runners were hardly novices at this sort of business. They all burst into snickering laughter and shouted back: "Understood! Chiliarch, just watch us work!"

"We'll swear black is white and white is charcoal — he won't be able to wash himself clean even if he jumps into the Yellow River!"

The runners pulled out the "evidence" they had prepared in advance from their bosoms. That book, for instance, was placed among the small pile of materials the Fushe scholars used for their daily lectures at the academy, with someone specially assigned to record that this was precisely what Fushe used in their regular teaching.

Others tucked numerous slips of paper between the pages and carried them off — some allegedly corresponding with the Tartars, others supposedly in secret communication with various Donglin bigwigs in court. It was the standard frame-up routine. Once the Eastern Depot had worked its magic, even an innocent man would wake up the next morning to find himself branded with unpardonable crimes.

The Eastern Depot dared to act this way only because their backing was anything but ordinary. That said, these were no longer the Tianqi years — the present Emperor knew everything, and one could not go too far, lest one end up like those Fushe fools and burn one's own hands.

Of course, every runner knew full well how much the Emperor loathed the Donglin Faction. As long as they devoted themselves single-mindedly to opposing Donglin, nothing they did could possibly count as excessive.

Once out of the courtyard, Zhou Jingwu and the Shenwu Army soldiers headed straight for the market district. Why the market? Because it was His Majesty the Emperor's wish — since the seventeenth year, whenever criminals were to be beheaded, it had to be done at the market, so that the common folk could all see clearly.

Zhou Jingwu had no intention of speculating about His Majesty's intentions; he would simply follow orders.

But fortune is fickle. No sooner had the Shenwu Army men marched Zhang Cai and the rest of the Fushe crowd out of the courtyard — with the depot runners still inside finishing up — than they came face to face with a motley assortment of people from every walk of life.

At the head stood none other than Xu Dechong, the current Prefect of Yingtian Prefecture. Behind Xu Dechong followed a contingent of Yingtian Prefecture constables with hostile expressions, and beside the constables stood local gentry, landlords, merchants, and their household servants.

Among the gentry and landlords, one surnamed Zhao held the highest standing, while the Liu and Li families were the next most notable.

The merchants were a different matter — representatives from virtually every trade had shown up. Judging by appearances, three families were taking the lead this time: Wang Duo, the portly magnate of the cattle, horse, mule, and donkey trade; Qian Duo, the cloth merchant with a weaselly face and a drooping mustache; and Chu Youcai, the head of the Yingtian Prefecture Chamber of Commerce, a dignified man of upright bearing.

"The Troops and Horses Office is conducting official business — all unrelated persons, clear the way at once!"

Before Zhou Jingwu could say a word, a sudden commotion arose from behind him — it was the arrival of the Nanjing Troops and Horses Office. Watching these so-called Fushe talents, Zhou Jingwu's expression grew ever more interesting.

Good heavens — this Nanjing truly was a den of crouching tigers and coiled dragons. He had only led his men out of camp a short while ago; barely an hour had passed in total, and yet all the local powers-that-be, the big shots of every trade, had managed to assemble in full in such a short time. If anyone claimed they weren't all in league with one another, even a fool wouldn't believe it.

With so many people packed together, the ordinarily spacious Willow Street had suddenly become overcrowded — nearly shoulder to shoulder, face to face. Under such circumstances, Zhou Jingwu had no choice but to tread carefully; one misstep could cause irreparable consequences in Nanjing.

Suppressing the anger in his heart, Zhou Jingwu stepped forward a few paces, looked at Prefect Xu Dechong, and asked coolly: "Prefect Xu, the Shenwu Army is merely following His Majesty's decree to arrest a few wanted criminals. Surely there's no need for such a grand send-off?"

Xu Dechong showed no sign of backing down, and demanded with a hostile expression: "Commissioner Zhou, just yesterday I personally rode out of the city to welcome you. How is it that today you bring soldiers to make arrests? For such a great show of force, do you have an imperial warrant to back it up?"

"I wondered what you were here for — so the much-vaunted incorruptible Prefect Xu turns out to be a lobbyist after all?" At this, Zhou Jingwu first gave a silent chuckle, then composed his expression, clasped his hands toward the north, and said: "This Commissioner acts on imperial decree and needs no warrant. If Prefect Xu doubts my words, you are welcome to write to the capital and ask whether this is true."

"That won't do. The two capitals are a thousand li apart — a round trip would take at least half a month. If Commissioner Zhou's words prove false, by then these innocent scholars would be cold in their graves." Xu Dechong shook his head, then after a moment's thought added: "Still, this official assumes that Commissioner Zhou, being deeply trusted by His Majesty, would never emulate that treasonous rebel Zuo who abused his power. Have you perchance uncovered some evidence this time?"

"Indeed." Zhou Jingwu waved his hand, signaling the soldiers to hand over the evidence the Eastern Depot runners had uncovered, then said: "This Zhang Cai first wrote heretical books slandering His Majesty, and now he has colluded with the eastern barbarians, plotting rebellion."

As he spoke, Zhou Jingwu's eyes darted about, and he said with a smile: "These Fushe scholars also said that landlords, powerful gentry, and the eunuch faction are all birds of a feather, and that those merchants who squeeze black-hearted money out of the common folk are each more detestable than the last. Once they installed an obedient emperor, they would redistribute everyone's fields and property."

Seeing the gentry, merchants, and landlords all turn pale with shock, Zhou Jingwu piled on further:

"This Commissioner's words are not empty accusations — Chiliarch Li of the Eastern Depot is even now leading men in a search of the courtyard. Before long, the truth will surely come to light."

Before long, after everyone had passed around the "evidence" brought by Li Youcheng and his men, they all became furious beyond measure. Wang Duo stepped forward to strike Zhang Cai, and though his steward held him back, he still cursed at the top of his lungs:

"Damned Fushe — you all deserve to die! I've spent so much silver supporting you, and this time I even ran around on your behalf, only to find you're a pack of ungrateful wolves!"

Seeing the shift in the crowd's mood, Qian Duo immediately chimed in with curses: "Exactly! And they want to redistribute my fields and property too — they deserve a thousand cuts!"

"Commissioner Zhou arrested them well — these wretches ought to be flayed alive!"

"Want to divvy up my land? Not a chance!"