Chapter 300: Wei Zaode Resigns

These court officials harbored prejudice against him. Regarding this situation, Lin Yangcheng had long foreseen it, after all, he was originally a bandit of the Five Camps of the Revolt, and had surrendered after being captured in defeat—quite different in nature from Zhang Nai's defection at Daizhou.

After his requests went unanswered like stones sinking into the sea, Lin Yangcheng still felt somewhat depressed, sensing himself isolated, but as for surrendering to the Qing army, he had never even considered such a thing.

No matter how much chaos erupted within the passes, that was still business among the Han people themselves—what did it have to do with these Qing barbarians?

Lin Yangcheng shared the sentiment of many bandits: it was not dissatisfaction with the Chongzhen Emperor himself. Quite the opposite—many of this emperor's decisions could serve as models of governance for the nation and its people. Their anger was directed at those petty local officials below.

Even Li Zicheng, the so-called Yongchang Emperor of the Great Shun, held this same view.

But no matter what, as a native-born Han Chinese, Lin Yangcheng still possessed perfectly normal national consciousness in his heart. Those Qing barbarians were heretics in his eyes—once they entered the passes, there would never be any good days.

Driven by the great cause of the nation, Lin Yangcheng had even prepared himself to die in battle at Xifengkou Pass, though he still felt he was not fighting to the death for the Ming court, but rather for the great cause of the nation.

Upon arriving beneath the walls of Xifengkou and discovering the suddenly transformed fortress, the Qing officers at every level roared for attack, yet did not advance with the same fanfare as before. The reason was that Dorgon had held them back.

Given Dorgon's steady disposition, even if this incursion through the passes was only for plunder, he would still have the Aha scouts gather intelligence first before acting.

After all, the troops under his command represented the entirety of the Great Qing's strength—if they suffered a loss, it would be a crisis threatening the nation's very survival. As Bumbutai put it, the efforts of all the Great Qing's ancestors would from then on turn to nothing.

No matter how much Dorgon refused to admit it verbally, in his heart he had to acknowledge the fact that the Great Qing's foundation was too thin, still inferior to the great Ming Empire that had endured for two hundred and seventy-eight years.

To borrow Sun Chuanting's words: the Ming state could afford to lose ten or eight times, but if he, Dorgon, lost even once, he would suffer broken bones and torn sinews.

Setting aside how Lin Yangcheng prepared with trembling heart, upon hearing the news that Wu Sangui had refused to take in Zhang Nai, Xu Biao, the Guard Commander of Shanhai Guard, was truly startled and could not fathom it no matter how he thought.

Xu Biao had maintained contact with Wu Sangui all along, unilaterally believing he had done everything he could and that his friendship with this Count of Pingxi was still quite deep. Just last night he had boasted confidently before the crowd, saying his relationship with Wu Sangui was extraordinary and that Wu would certainly grant him this favor.

But he never imagined that all along, in Wu Sangui's eyes, he had been nothing more than a dispensable figure. Xu Biao's face remained gloomy the entire day; though the minor officials beneath him dared not say much, they all understood what was going on.

That night, Xu Biao, who had been laboring diligently atop his concubine, climbed off covered in cold sweat. His concubine also looked displeased, muttering in a somewhat coquettish tone: "My lord, what is wrong with you today? Has this slave lost her appeal for you?"

"Nonsense!"

Xu Biao waved his hand and said without hesitation.

In truth, he was very fond of this voluptuous concubine of his. The reason he had finished so quickly this time was that he was still brooding over the day's affairs, without much interest.

Xu Biao sat on the bed, growing angrier the more he thought, feeling utterly humiliated no matter how he looked at it. Suddenly, he let out a great curse and shouted toward the outside:

"Someone! Bring me Scholar Liu!"

Before long, Scholar Liu was escorted by several soldiers to outside the room, where he knocked on the door. Hearing Xu Biao's extremely weary voice from within, he walked in with hesitant steps. After entering, he exchanged a glance with the concubine on the bed, curled the corner of his mouth, and bowed, saying:

"May this humble student ask what business the Guard Commander has summoning me so late at night?"

"You literati types are always so good at beating around the bush, always going in circles. Stop playing dumb with me—it's obviously about this morning's affair!" Xu Biao said with irritation.

Xu Biao had always been narrow-minded. Though his position as commander of this small guard station meant nothing in Wu Sangui's eyes, within this little patch of Shanhai Guard territory, he was still the absolute authority whose word was law.

"The matters Wu Sangui once instructed us to handle—do you have records of those?"

Hearing that even Xu Biao's form of address had changed, no longer calling him Count of Pingxi, the scholar's face showed surprise. He immediately understood what his superior was referring to and hastily said:

"To answer you, my lord, every single one is recorded here with this humble one. Might I ask why my lord inquires—?"

Xu Biao still remembered the condescending gaze of the Guanning army soldier that Xia Guoxiang had sent to deliver the message—looking at him as if he were a dog. To be humiliated before his own subordinates—if he did not vent this anger, how could he continue to hold his head up in Funing city!

He gave a cold snort and said: "Write this up as an official document, prepare ample silver and gifts, bring along that famous painting—I will personally travel to the capital at dawn tomorrow to meet Grand Secretary Feng Butang of the Grand Secretariat. Damn it all—Wu Sangui made me lose face, so I'll make things difficult for him too!"

At this point, Xu Biao suddenly seemed to remember something and added:

"Also, Ren Su of Zhongtun Guard has always been at odds with me. After I leave, send people to spread rumors saying it was all Ren Su's vile scheming out of jealousy over my good relations with the Guanning army—in short, make it seem completely unrelated to me."

Though Xu Biao was extremely displeased with Wu Sangui, he still did not dare openly oppose the immensely powerful Liaodong warlord faction, nor did he believe the court would take any action against Wu Sangui. This was nothing more than an attempt to vent the frustration in his chest.

But stepping back, whether the court or Wu Sangui made a move, that Ren Su who opposed him would not come to any good end either way. All things considered, this time he stood to gain without any risk of loss.

At the same time, in Kaiping city, Ren Su, the Guard Commander of Zhongtun Guard who was sleeping soundly, suddenly sneezed violently.

After the Chongzhen Emperor returned to the capital from Guguan, before he even had time to deal with the mountain of memorials and documents piled up, the first thought that came to him was: this situation of sitting idle and consuming resources could not continue.

The state treasury and the privy purse would eventually run out, and currently the Ming's finances were still in deficit every year. Such a vast nation needed money everywhere, and if he wanted to reform the military system, he would need even more.

At this time, relying solely on confiscating the properties of a few literati and wealthy merchants could hardly sustain things for long. He needed to find a method that could continuously generate income. An idea that had been brewing in the Chongzhen Emperor's mind for a long time surfaced once again—commercial taxation!

However, to the Chongzhen Emperor's surprise, Wei Zaode, who was usually very obedient, had become somewhat unusual this time. Not only was he evasive about the commercial tax matter, he was even delaying and refusing to discuss it.

What should have been completed within a set period of one day was still unfinished by sunset of the second day. This greatly displeased the Chongzhen Emperor with Wei Zaode. On the third day after court, he kept the assembled grand secretaries behind and asked with a gloomy expression:

"Wei Zaode, the two-day deadline I gave you has passed. Regarding the matter of commercial tax, does the Grand Secretariat have a plan?"

"Your Majesty, your servant is advanced in years. The position of Chief Grand Secretary bears great responsibility and should be held by someone of talent. Your servant recommends Second Grand Secretary Lord Jiang for the post. I beg Your Majesty to permit your servant to retire from office. Your servant thanks Your Majesty." Wei Zaode stepped forward and, trembling, presented a memorial.

When Wei Zaode spoke these words, not only was the Chongzhen Emperor astonished, but all the assembled grand secretaries were shocked as well, speaking out one after another to dissuade him. Only Jiang Dejing remained expressionless, not uttering a word.

Had Wei Zaode made this request at any other time, it would have been nothing. But choosing this moment to beg for retirement was plainly an attempt to avoid any association with the commercial tax. The Chongzhen Emperor's loss of face was secondary; what chiefly troubled him was how inconceivable it was.

Ever since he had transmigrated into the Ming, the Chongzhen Emperor had known Wei Zaode lacked real ability, yet he still kept him as Chief Grand Secretary, valuing precisely Wei Zaode's timid and fearful nature.

At this time, the great Ming did not need a Zhang Juzheng; what it needed was an emperor who wielded absolute authority.

Over these past two years, Wei Zaode had indeed done exactly that—occupying the latrine without shitting, deferring all decisions to the Chongzhen Emperor, allowing him to rapidly implement all policies and decrees in the name of the Grand Secretariat.

But now, because of a commercial tax, even someone as cowardly as Wei Zaode was willing to defy him and resign from office. Was this commercial tax really so terrifying, so difficult to collect?