Chapter 269: The Airtight Depot Guards

"To stand at the pinnacle of officialdom..."

These four words were the dream of every scholar in the realm. After hearing Ning Wanwo's words, although everyone present knew it was an empty promise, their hearts still stirred involuntarily.

After all, the Great Qing Emperor was sagacious, the Ming court's emperor was benighted, and with the disparity in quality between the two sides' troops, the Great Qing's entry through the pass was an irreversible fact.

Consider Fan Wencheng—before he defected to our Dajin, he was merely a government student, yet now his position was even higher than the one before them. Ning Wanwo had not yet reached the pinnacle of officialdom, but Fan Wencheng had already been there for some time.

Even Ning Wanwo himself had now attained the rank of Grand Secretary, able to participate in confidential military affairs—a rare existence among Han officials. If one could reach the level of those two men, this life would not have been lived in vain.

Liu Zhengzong, Grand Secretary of the Wenyuan Pavilion, said: "Grand Secretary, what would you have us do?"

"Heh." Ning Wanwo gave a cold snort and said: "Now that benighted ruler has the Eastern Depot and Embroidered Uniform Guard as his claws and fangs, arresting upright men everywhere. The poisoning must be carried out as soon as possible. Beyond that, what you need to do is find out just how many people in the court are willing to submit to our Great Qing."

"The Prince Regent has said that anyone who submits after our Great Qing enters the pass will be kept in their original posts. The Prince Regent is not like that shameless, benighted emperor of your court—when he gives his word, it is a promise of gold."

Lin Ruzhu responded: "It shall certainly be so. Since it is the Prince Regent's decree, we shall naturally obey."

Hearing this, Jin Zhijun's heart was greatly settled. "In that case, once the Prince Regent enters the pass, this humble official will at least retain the post of Left Vice Minister of War. When that time comes, I shall need the Grand Secretary's generous patronage."

"Easily said, easily said. You have long since submitted to our Great Qing, and the Prince Regent will not treat you poorly. If you render great service at this critical juncture, even Minister of War is not out of reach." Ning Wanwo sneered inwardly, but his face remained calm and composed.

"This... the poisoning should be delayed for now. Whether that benighted ruler travels abroad or remains in the warm pavilion, he is surrounded day and night by Eastern Depot agents and Imperial Guard troops. Moreover, the benighted ruler has not been ill recently, and Imperial Physician Song has no opening to act." Song Zhipu said.

Ning Wanwo picked up the thread and said: "That is not this humble one's concern. The Prince Regent's intention is for you to act quickly—ideally within these two months. Even if you cannot poison that benighted ruler to death, you must at least keep him from leaving the palace."

"Once chaos erupts within the Ming court's inner palace, you can support the Crown Prince and create even greater turmoil. Best of all would be to have Huang Degong of the Ji Garrison removed—that man's valor is no less than Wu Sangui's. As long as he remains, our Great Qing will feel like a fishbone is stuck in its throat, unable to rest easy for a single day."

"Once Huang Degong is removed, our Great Qing can seize the opportunity to enter the pass and take the realm. When that time comes, you few will have rendered the merit of supporting the dragon and establishing the dynasty—attaining the rank of Minister will be no difficulty at all."

Jin Zhijun, greatly excited, suddenly thought of something and said: "Just the night before last, this humble official saw that the Cheng family medicine shop had taken in a new batch of Blood-Melting Grass. This substance is harmless ordinarily, but once it touches a wound, it is more poisonous than arsenic. Perhaps it can be of use!"

Lin Ruzhu also nodded and said: "With this substance at hand, so long as that benighted ruler is careless enough to be injured, Imperial Physician Song can grind the Blood-Melting Grass into powder and apply it to the benighted ruler's wound. When that time comes, even if a golden immortal descended to earth, he could not save him."

"Excellent. With this, when this humble one returns, I will have something to report to the Prince Regent, and my efforts in lobbying on behalf of your future careers will not have been in vain." Ning Wanwo smiled.

"Then we thank the Grand Secretary." Liu Zhengzong smiled.

"No need for thanks just yet. Before I leave, I still have other matters to discuss with you all." Ning Wanwo waved his hand, and only after the serving boy who had come to deliver dishes had withdrawn did he continue:

"The first matter concerns grain and armor. The land east of the Liao is barren. Our Great Qing has been established for many years, and thanks to the care of the various merchant house managers and proprietors within our borders, now that we are mobilizing a great army, we still need you to make contact and provide a batch of grain and military equipment to be sent beyond the pass."

After hearing this, Song Zhipu frowned and said: "The checkpoints are now under extremely strict surveillance. The recent private salt affair in Shandong has stirred up a storm throughout the city, and even the current Imperial Son-in-law has been punished. I fear we will find it extremely difficult."

"Hmph. The Prince Regent also did not expect this dog emperor to be so shameless. All eight Shanxi merchants have fallen, and there are now few merchant caravans traveling through the Wuliangha region. However, this humble one has heard that the sea route and the tea-horse trade with Tumed might be worth pursuing."

Ning Wanwo continued: "The tea-horse trade has always been enormously profitable, and the silk and cloth trades in the Jiangnan region are also worth attempting. In short, anything that earns silver, the Prince Regent permits."

Hearing this, the several men looked at each other in consternation.

This year, besides the private salt affair in Shandong already shaking the court and the countryside and implicating a large number of officials, the tea-horse trade had been under prohibition since the Hongwu era. If discovered, it would cause an even greater uproar.

But since Ning Wanwo had said so, they could hardly refuse. In any case, they were already throwing caution to the wind—once the Qing army entered the pass, everything would be reshuffled and started anew, and they were determined to climb high.

Liu Zhengzong, having made up his mind, nodded and said: "Since the Prince Regent has instructed it, we shall naturally comply."

"Good." Ning Wanwo nodded and continued: "The second matter is that the Ji Garrison and Santun have been re-established within the pass this year. Yang Yufan is not easy to deal with either. The Prince Regent wishes to know the troop dispositions of the Ji Garrison and Santun. Vice Minister Jin, can you obtain them?"

Jin Zhijun was the Left Vice Minister of War, a senior official of the third rank. Below Zhu Dadian, the newly appointed Minister of War, he was the highest authority. He immediately thumped his chest and said:

"That is easy to handle. Zhu Dadian has only just taken office, and the Ministry of War is full of this humble official's people. The Ji Garrison's dispositions were submitted months ago—I only need to send someone to inquire."

"Mm, excellent."

In the warm pavilion, the Chongzhen Emperor received the Eastern Depot's secret report. His face was expressionless, but inwardly he was sneering coldly.

This truly was "you search high and low without finding it, yet it comes without any effort." He had been worrying about whom to make an example of to keep those ministers in line, and this time Dorgon had truly overthought things—did he still think this emperor was the same one who knew nothing of what went on before?

The Eastern Depot and Embroidered Uniform Guard's people were already spread throughout and beyond the capital. The civil official faction was at least outwardly well-behaved now. A vast number of depot and guard agents had nothing to do all day—they even secretly investigated ordinary commoners. For a new face to enter the capital without attracting attention would be difficult indeed.

Moreover, this Ning Wanwo was too clever for his own good. If he had entered the capital alone and kept a low profile, there might have been a slim chance of escaping notice. But this fellow thought himself a genius and swaggered into the city with an entire retinue disguised as traveling merchants.

Wasn't he simply asking for death? Did he really think the Eastern Depot and Embroidered Uniform Guard had been established for nothing?

Wang Cheng'en, Fang Zhenghua, and Cao Huachun, standing before the Chongzhen Emperor, also felt their hearts tremble slightly. Every time the Emperor wore this expression, it was generally a portent that a great many people were about to die.

They were not like Li Ruolian and others who had been promoted directly from the lowest ranks. To have climbed to their current positions, they were the most seasoned of old hands.

Chongzhen now held complete military and political authority over the capital. His power and prestige grew daily—it had reached the point where he could kill whomever he wished. Whether merchant or minister, even if you had done nothing wrong at all, the depot and guard could turn black into white. If they wanted you dead, they would never run out of charges.

In truth, it was hardly surprising. The several emperors before Chongzhen had each been masters of imperial statecraft.

The Jiajing Emperor needed no mention—he spent his entire life playing tai chi with the civil official faction. The Tianqi Emperor had personally cultivated a Wei Zhongxian specifically to vex the civil officials, which was why later generations had blackened his name to the heavens.

Chongzhen was different. For the first decade or so, he may have been led astray by the Donglin Faction, but now that the Great Ming was clearly on its last legs, he no longer played games of schemes and intrigue—he simply drew his blade and hacked at you directly.

Not convinced? Then he would keep hacking until you were.