Chapter 483: It Works

Pan Yue: "Wang Zhen?"

Yin Song said with deep implication: "More than that."

"Lord Pan and Lord Xue seek justice, but Wang Zhen and the Grand Secretariat are engaged in factional strife—there is also Your Majesty involved," Yin Song said: "From what Lord Pan and Lord Xue want, your enemies are not merely Wang Zhen, but also the Jiangnanyi Sect officials caught up in this, and…"

Yin Song looked up at Pan Yue and spoke slowly, word by word: "Your Majesty."

Pan Yu widened his eyes and stared at his brother with an open mouth.

Pan Yue, however, showed little surprise—only silence.

Pan Yu could not help exclaiming: "Brother!"

Pan Yue gave him a reassuring glance, then asked Yin Song: "What should we do? Can my father and Lord Xue survive this?"

Yin Song: "Uncertain."

Xue Shao: "Possible."

All three turned to look at Xue Shao.

After a pause, Xue Shao said: "Your Majesty has reviewed the Yue case and the He case himself—he already knows of your uncle's and Lord Pan's injustice. He is Heavy-hearted and will not kill them—but…"

Pan Yue said coldly: "But to accomplish certain things, he will still make my father and Lord Xue bear false crimes and pay costs they should never pay."

Xue Shao asked him: "Do you resent it?"

Pan Yue's face was expressionless: "Resentment? Not quite. He is an Emperor. An Emperor cannot be entirely without hypocrisy—it is merely weighing advantages and disadvantages. As long as my father survives, that is enough."

Yin Song glanced at Xue Shao and smiled faintly.

Yin Qingjun stepped out carrying food and saw it all.

When Xue Shao and the others went to wash their hands before eating, Yin Qingjun asked: "Master, why did you smile so contemptuously?"

"Nonsense. I was smiling with relief."

Yin Qingjun looked utterly incredulous: "That was relief?"

"Yes. I smile because they still possess the innocence befitting their age—what else is that but relief?" Yin Song scolded him: "Unlike you, who at such a young age pretends to be an adult. Even if you must pretend, do it better—haven't you noticed your little uncle's two brothers are dressed too thinly? Go find two sets of suitable clothes for them—they'll need them for their bath later."

Yin Qingjun thought to himself: That was clearly mockery of their naivety, dressed up as relief—so shameless.

At the dinner table, Yin Song enthusiastically served them food and warned earnestly: "Court politics are complex; currents run dark beneath the surface. You, I, and he are all mere leaves. So we must not act rashly—wait quietly for the right moment."

Pan Yu: "Just wait? On the battlefield, we believe in striking first."

Yin Song asked: "And after you strike first, have you ever truly eliminated the threat forever?"

Pan Yu fell silent: "The northern raiders are countless—we're only a small squad. Even if we win, it's just one victory. How could we ever eliminate them forever? Unless we launch a great war, straight into the Tartars' homeland."

"Do you think a great war can be launched just because you want it?" Yin Song said as Pan Yu frowned: "It's a question, not a mockery."

Pan Yu shook his head: "No. I'm just a lowly soldier—I have no authority to decide on a great war."

Yin Song: "Then suppose, by chance, a great war breaks out exactly as you wish—given your current rank, could you command the entire campaign and determine its outcome?"

Pan Yu glanced at his brother and shook his head.

Yin Song said: "This case is the same. A great war has already begun. You and I are mere soldiers—we have no authority to command or determine its course."

Pan Yue pondered: "All we can do is manage ourselves—defend first. Whenever an enemy comes, we defend and counterattack, inch by inch, seizing whatever ground we can." Yin Song nodded approvingly: "Good."

Xue Shao also curled his lips into a pleased smile.

Pan Yue pointed at him and asked Yin Song: "What can Young Master Xue do in this great war?"

"He is doing exactly what your little cousin is doing—indirectly influencing the Emperor's emotions and thoughts."

Pan Yue nodded: "That is indeed far more important than what we can do."

But Pan Yu's focus was different: "My little sister is this powerful? She can influence the Emperor's emotions and thoughts?"

Yin Song: "She is extremely powerful. Even though she has gone to Yunnan, she still influences him."

Pan Yun was indeed influencing the Emperor.

The Emperor had released Wang Zhen intending to use him as a counterweight against the southern literati—but reports from Runing and Quanzhou came like snowflakes.

The refugees and disaster victims in Runing and Quanzhou had been properly resettled.

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Large numbers of refugees from Runing, now with money and grain, returned home; combined with the Emperor's edict ordering all prefectures, counties, and towns to resettle refugees and grant land and tax exemptions, more people across the Central Plains began praising the Emperor.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard reported that within just half a month, two groups of rioting refugees had dispersed; the anticipated refugee uprising by month's end had vanished without a trace.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard and Censorial Inspectors in Quanzhou were even more direct—they reported directly to the Emperor that the relocated civilians in Quanzhou had all received money and grain, and local magistrates had voluntarily dispatched officials from the Ministry of Agriculture to teach fishermen how to farm;

Some magistrates even went into the fields themselves, personally urging farming and sericulture, guiding farmers from seed selection and cultivation to planting, stabilizing Quanzhou's restless populace—this year, the number of people secretly sailing overseas to become pirates had dropped seventy-three percent compared to the same period last year.

This was a massive figure—and one that struck directly at the Emperor's heart.

It made him realize that if the imperial treasury had money and could effectively serve the people, the Great Ming would be so much better;

It also made him realize just how vital Wang Zhen's embezzled wealth truly was.

From the Yue case and the He case, the Emperor had a dawning realization: what he had always treated as mere statistics were, to the people of the realm, actual lives—whole families.

So, while no one else knew, the Emperor's estrangement from Wang Zhen grew steadily.

Therefore, after releasing Wang Zhen, he did not immediately reappoint him—he continued to rely on Cao Jixiang.

As he used him, the Emperor grew accustomed to him. Though Cao Jixiang was not as attentive as Wang Zhen, he was loyal and incorruptible—so… acceptable.

The Emperor tentatively relied on Cao Jixiang to oppose the literati, so recently he had ignored Wang Zhen.

The court was not noble by any stretch—it was filled with a crowd of the most adept at reading eyes, the most skilled at tailoring their behavior to their audience—so Wang Zhen's faction, now weakened, struggled to move forward, while the anti-Wang literati grew smug.

But the literati were not all united: led by Minister Zhuo of the Ministry of Justice, some officials insisted on immediately releasing Xue Xuan and Pan Hong, arguing that since the Yue and He cases had been overturned, the charges of bribery and deliberate miscarriages of justice against Xue Xuan and Pan Hong no longer held.

To the surprise of the Grand Secretariat and the other literati, the noble house of Chang, like the Prince of Yunnan, also insisted on releasing Xue Xuan and Pan Hong.

The Prince of Yunnan's stance was understandable—but why was Chang joining in?

Haven't you forgotten your family is no longer what it once was?

But even more astonishingly, the imperial clan also intervened—Prince Zhou of Kaifeng submitted a memorial pleading for Xue Xuan and Pan Hong.

He was genuinely pleading, not debating whether Xue Xuan and Pan Hong were right or wrong, but persuading the Emperor from another angle.

Work inevitably involves occasional errors — that is understandable. Xue Xuan and Pan Hong are people of noble character, diligent and conscientious; even if they have done no great deeds, they have certainly endured hardship. Therefore, Your Majesty, please show mercy and let them off.

Thus, what was originally a struggle between two factions gradually split into three.

(End of Chapter)