Chapter 1013

Pan Yun could easily contact the Emperor; she had written a talisman to inform him of last night's events first thing in the morning.

Now she could also condense Xue Shao's thoughts and tell the Emperor, allowing him to prepare in advance.

This was the advantage of information asymmetry.

While all court ministers remained ignorant, the Emperor already knew everything that had happened in Guangdong.

He could freely arrange his strategy ahead of time, selectively revealing useful information to certain individuals and coordinating plans with them in advance.

Pan Yun was right, and the Emperor's thinking was sound—but an unexpected mishap occurred in selecting personnel.

Or rather, no one had anticipated any mishap.

The Emperor chose to inform Yu Qian.

Yu Qian, long known for his integrity and fairness, became furious upon hearing of the massive corruption in Guangdong's military district and immediately consulted the Emperor on who to appoint to take over.

He agreed without hesitation to Xue Shao's proposal to use part of the confiscated assets to appease military households, redistribute military farmland, provide partial compensation, and exempt them from thirty percent of their next year's grain quota.

The shortfall of thirty percent in military grain would be partially covered by the confiscated silver, with the remainder to be resolved by the new Regional Commander.

"Xue Censor suggested using the navy to protect merchant ships sailing the South Seas in exchange for payment—this is inappropriate," Yu Qian said. "Protecting the people's interests is our duty. Great Ming's navy protecting Great Ming's merchant ships is only right; to profit from it, how could our Maritime Customs Office ever face the merchants again when collecting tariffs?"

The Emperor found Yu Qian's reasoning sound and abandoned the idea.

Yu Qian said: "If Guangdong's military grain is insufficient, it can be reallocated from other regional garrisons."

He proposed: "Your Majesty, from this corruption in the military, we see that power must not be concentrated in one person or one institution. If another department were assigned to manage all military farmland and grain allocation across the realm, though it could not entirely eliminate commanders from embezzling rations or seizing farmland, it would drastically reduce such abuses."

Yu Qian proposed reclaiming authority over all military farmland and grain allocation from the regional Commander-in-Chiefs and returning it to the Ministry of War.

The Emperor was swayed but felt some concern.

He recalled Pan Yun's advice: when uncertain about a decision, one must reflect thrice before acting.

He immediately suppressed his impulse and said: "First resolve Guangdong's matter; all other issues will be discussed only after a full audit of every regional garrison's affairs."

Yu Qian agreed and immediately proposed several candidates for Guangdong's Regional Commander—all of them civil officials.

The Emperor frowned.

Yu Qian explained: "Many regimental commanders and battalion commanders in Guangdong have been caught. As Your Majesty said, the battalion offices in Chaozhou, Huizhou, Guanghai Garrison, and Zhaoqing Prefecture are all implicated. Since we've drawn the bow, there's no turning back. To prevent further corruption after these military officers are arrested, we must sever their connections."

"Battalion commanders and company commanders are selected from lower-ranking military officers; therefore, the Regional Commander should be chosen primarily from civil officials, creating mutual checks and balances."

The Emperor fell silent, then nodded slightly, keeping the candidates Yu Qian proposed: "I'll consider who is most suitable."

Yu Qian knew the Emperor would choose from these candidates—he wouldn't decide immediately, but would either consult the Empress or the State Preceptor.

Yu Qian saw no flaw in his proposal and bowed before withdrawing.

As soon as he left, the Emperor immediately took yellow talisman paper and wrote the names on it, then asked Pan Yun: "What does the State Preceptor think? Who among these is suitable?"

Pan Yun, who had been drinking tea, spat it out upon receiving the message.

She frowned tightly and said nothing, deciding instead to return to Jingcheng that night.

The Emperor was becoming increasingly absurd—why did he have to ask her about everything? Had he lost all autonomy?

This habit must be stopped. She needed to train, to cultivate—how could she waste so much time calculating state affairs for him?

The Emperor had grown up; he should be independent. Pan Yun set down the talisman. At that moment, Lao San rushed in: "State Preceptor, guess who's arrived in Guangzhou?"

"Who?"

"Lord Xue's father-in-law."

Pan Yun looked up: "Who?"

"Feng Hongde!"

Pan Yun raised an eyebrow: "Why is he here? Did Cao Rong summon him?"

Lao San grinned: "The interesting part is—Cao Rong didn't summon him."

Pan Yun: "Leaving his post without orders? He's asking for death."

Lao San said: "Our boss ordered Prefect Song to arrest him, saying we must give them some credit—we can't eat all the meat and leave not even a drop of broth."

Pan Yun nodded: "An Chen knows how to govern."

Lao San winked and grinned: "Lord Xue wants to personally interrogate him. We must keep the news from Chaozhou hidden for now—we're stretched too thin to handle it ourselves. To seize the assets there, we'll need local military households' cooperation. State Preceptor, wouldn't you like to come along for the show?"

Pan Yun: "You've said all this just to get me to go to Chaozhou?"

Lao San scratched his head, grinning awkwardly: "Our boss believes you, State Preceptor, have divine abilities. Since the confiscated silver is meant for military households, we can't let local authorities seize it—otherwise, even ignoring losses, once the money enters their pockets, retrieving it will be nearly impossible."

"Xue Censor is a touring censor; once this case is settled, he'll move on. We, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, roam the empire—we can't stay here forever fighting over this one sum of dirty silver. If we send it to Jingcheng, the back-and-forth debates will drag on for at least one or two years, or indefinitely. By then, even if His Majesty orders them to return the money for military households, it'll be gone."

"If the money's already vanished, what good is any proposal?"

Pan Yun: "I confiscate the assets? But where will this money go afterward? Who will receive it?"

"Once the new Regional Commander arrives and appoints new battalion and company commanders, the funds will have a destination. The remainder will be deposited into the imperial treasury," Lao San said. "Compared to local authorities, our boss trusts you—and so does Xue Censor."

Pan Yun gave a light hum but did not object.

She thought of Shen Boxiu and Shen Shukang—she had made promises to them.

Seeing she didn't oppose, Lao San urged: "State Preceptor, let's go watch the show!"

Pan Yun went with him to watch.

The Prefect's office quickly arrested Feng Hongde, dressed in civilian clothes.

All the men he brought were captured without exception.

Feng Hongde was arrogant, struggling violently and shouting: "Do you know who I am? Who dares arrest me? How many heads do you have to cut?"

Prefect Song stepped out of the main hall, looked at the chaotic courtyard caused by Feng Hongde's violent struggles, and frowned.

Feng Hongde spun around, glaring at Prefect Song: "You know who I am?"

Prefect Song looked bewildered: "Is your status so high?"

Feng Hongde's lips moved, snapping back to awareness: "Prefect Song, since you know I'm the battalion commander of Chaozhou Garrison, why have you ordered me bound? We serve the same court…"

"Wait," Prefect Song raised a hand to stop him, smiling faintly. "Serving the same court? Let me remind you, Commander Feng—you're the battalion commander of Chaozhou Garrison. Why are you in Guangzhou Prefecture?"