Chapter 707: Oh, It

Upon the imperial decree, all officials knew the matter was irrevocable and immediately set it aside to discuss the next item.

The issue of disaster relief in Jiangnan, and Xue Shao's dereliction of duty.

Although Wang Zhen greatly wished to harshly emphasize Xue Shao's dereliction of duty, upon hearing the Emperor inquire in detail about the disaster in Jiangnan, he realized that in the Emperor's mind, handling Jiangnan's disaster was more important than punishing Xue Shao, and so he reluctantly suppressed his desire to destroy Xue Shao.

Xue Shao then carefully reported on the disaster conditions in Jiangnan and proposed: "I humbly beg to redeem myself by serving—let me go to Jiangnan to oversee disaster relief."

Wang Wen was the first to oppose: "The Censorate will send another official; you shall remain in the capital to receive your punishment."

Wang Zhen directly proposed to the Emperor: "Your Majesty, Vice Minister Wang Wen once served in Jiangnan and has inspected the region; he is also upright and incorruptible. Why not send him south to oversee disaster relief?"

The Emperor asked Chen Xun: "What do you think, Minister Chen?"

Chen Xun said: "I believe Xue Yushi is quite suitable, but his rank is low; even with an imperial decree, he may struggle to command respect. It would be better to appoint another official from court to lead, with Xue Yushi assisting."

"Who else in court is suitable?"

Chen Xun said: "Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, Yu Qian, is suitable."

Yu Qian immediately stepped forward and expressed his willingness to go.

The Emperor asked: "Besides Yu Qian, who else is suitable?"

Chen Xun paused briefly, then said: "Hanlin Academician Xu Cheng is also suitable; he excels in water management and understands military strategy, making him ideal for pacifying the people and managing the disaster."

Wang Zhen whispered to the Emperor: "Your Majesty, Yu Qian is from Qiantang in Zhejiang; Xu Cheng is from Wu County in Jiangsu. In the end, Minister Chen has only recommended officials from Jiangnan."

Though spoken in a whisper, the entire court heard it.

Chen Xun was furious and immediately said: "Your Majesty, I appoint officials based on their ability, not their hometowns. It is Wang Zhangyin who knows the origins of officials too well—may I ask, where is Wang Qianzhi's native place?"

Wang Wen, styled Qianzhi.

One minister chuckled and replied: "Who doesn't know my lord Wang hails from Northern Zhili? Not only is he from the same region as Wang Zhangyin, but they share the same surname—he even took Wang Zhangyin as his adoptive father."

The court burst into laughter.

Even Wang Zhen's own officials could not suppress their smothered chuckles, occasionally glancing at Wang Wen with faint contempt.

Wang Wen: …

Seeing Wang Wen's face flushed red, the Emperor could not help smiling slightly, but quickly regained his solemnity; the suspicion sparked by Wang Zhen's remark dissolved, and he truly began to worry over the choice.

He feared nothing else—only that he spent money, yet it never reached the people's hands.

If Wang Wen were chosen, the situation would remain controllable: even if he embezzled, the money would merely pass through Wang Zhen's hands and return to him.

As he pondered, Xue Shao kowtowed: "Your Majesty, disaster is like fire—wind and flood have raged for over twenty days; the people across the regions have reached their limit. I beg Your Majesty to send a clean, upright official south to supervise relief!"

Yu Qian's gaze sharpened; he crawled forward two steps: "I humbly request the assignment!"

Wang Wen hesitated, then stepped forward: "I also request the assignment."

The Emperor came to his senses, his gaze sweeping over the several men kneeling in the hall, and finally said: "Order Yu Qian as Censor-in-Chief of Jiangnan, to oversee all disaster relief in the region."

Xue Shao exhaled deeply, hearing Yu Qian's respectful reply from behind and to the side.

He had long heard of this Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of War; his disaster relief would be far better than Wang Wen's.

The thought had barely crossed his mind when an official stepped forward to revive his dereliction of duty charge; before anyone could respond, Xue Shao quickly raised his hand: "Your Majesty, I have urgent news from Japan concerning customs and maritime trade."

"That is the affair of the Honglu Temple and the Navy Command—what is it to you?"

"Xue Yushi neglects his own duties but meddles excessively in foreign affairs."

"To meddle in matters beyond one's office is a sign of great corruption."

Xue Shao replied calmly: "The Censor-in-Chief acts on behalf of the Son of Heaven—on major matters, he reports for imperial judgment; on minor ones, he decides immediately. The Japanese pirates massacred villages in Jiangnan; public sentiment against them is high, and the people are gathering in Jiangnan to cross the sea and exterminate them. As Censor-in-Chief of Jiangnan, it is my duty to inspect and supervise."

General Wang Ji, who had remained silent, believed Xue Shao was right and stepped forward reluctantly: "Your Majesty, Japanese pirates ravage the southeast coast, especially since the late Emperor's reign—they have grown bolder. In the fourth year of Zhengtong, they sailed ashore and breached our Taizhou, Taozhu, and Ningbo garrisons, burning and looting every official granary and civilian home. Last year, they dared land again and slaughtered our people. Had we not been tied down by the Luchuan campaign, I would have led troops across the sea!"

"Exactly! If we were free to act, why would we need a band of martial artists?"

The military officers erupted: "Sending Daoist priests and martial artists to handle this is a disgrace! The people must think all our soldiers are dead!"

"Your Majesty, I beg to lead troops to exterminate these sea bandits!"

One civil official could not help muttering: "We're discussing disaster relief in Jiangnan—why are we suddenly talking about war?"

"The southwest is still unsettled, Jiangnan faces rebellion and floods, the treasury is empty—where is the money for another war?"

"In my view, the Luchuan campaign should not continue."

The military officers were displeased and shouted: "The Luchuan campaign drove Si Renfa's family out of Luchuan—we won a great victory! Why shouldn't we continue?"

"Even after this war, Burma still watches hungrily; if we do not press on, the southwest will never be peaceful," Wang Ji said gravely. "And if the southwest remains unstable, the Wala and Tatar of the north will never submit."

The Emperor deeply agreed: "Barbarians do not yield to virtue—they yield only to might."

Chen Xun's lips trembled, but he could not speak.

Cao Nai was far more straightforward: "But the Luchuan campaign has dragged on for five years and remains unresolved. Our empire has committed hundreds of thousands of troops, drained the treasury, exhausted our armies, and even diverted northern troops south for defense."

"With northern defenses weakened, the Wala and Tatar are no fools—these past two years, every autumn they disguise themselves as bandits and raid south. In the seventh year of Zhengtong, the Wala tribute envoy's party swelled from three hundred to a thousand, and while lingering in the capital, they openly traded bows with our soldiers…"

The Emperor rebuked: "Are you saying I erred in pacifying the southwest?"

Cao Nai replied bluntly: "I dare not."

Xue Shao sighed and raised his hand to continue his report: "Your Majesty, while accompanying the ships to Japan, I discovered Japan is in constant civil strife, unable to control its regional powers or samurai—this is why Japanese pirates ravage our southeast coast…"

Xue Shao detailed their journey to Japan; when he mentioned a Daoist priest from Long Hushan Academy leading them into a city, capturing a local Dada Ming, and forcing him to cede a port and three ships, the Emperor's mouth slightly opened, and the ministers' brows twitched…

Before anyone could speak, Xue Shao shifted tone again: the same Daoist priest had negotiated cooperation with another local Dada Ming, who not only granted her half a port but also a stretch of mountain land—whereupon the priest discovered a silver mine.

The Emperor rubbed his ear and asked: "What did they find on the mountain?"

"A silver mine," Xue Shao said solemnly. "This Daoist master understands astronomy and geography; after several days of surveying with other Daoists from the Tian Shi Fu Academy, they confirmed the entire mountain range is a silver deposit, with silver content reaching eighty percent. With sufficient labor, it could yield one million taels annually."

The ministers were numb, whispering in disbelief: "How much?"

Xue Shao replied expressionlessly: "One million taels!"

Chen Xun turned to Cao Nai: "Yunnan's silver mines are the largest in our empire—what is their current annual output?"

Cao Nai snapped: "I am Vice Minister of Personnel—why ask me about silver mines? Ask the Ministry of Revenue!"

But after a pause, he gave the number: "Two years ago, it was forty-six thousand taels."

Minister of Revenue Chen Xun fell silent.

The officials fell silent with him, all suspecting Xue Shao of lying.

Xue Shao then said, "Chen Liutao and Qu Zhixing of the Northern Garrison Commander's Office Embroidered Uniform Guard have been accompanying this minister, and they witnessed everything with their own eyes. Your Majesty may send someone to inquire. This minister also brought back three pieces of silver ore from the mountain; a master craftsman may be asked to test their authenticity."

So Chen Liutao and Qu Zhixing ascended the great hall to give their account, and the silver ore they had been carrying on their persons the whole time was also handed over.

Xue Shao himself had brought three pieces; Chen Liutao and Qu Zhixing were no fools either, and each had secretly hidden away three pieces of his own.

Among the whole party, apart from Qu Le, who was honest and came back from the silver mountain empty-handed, everyone else had hidden away some amount or other.

The nine pieces of ore the three men reported were all surrendered. The Emperor at once ordered two pieces to be taken to the craftsmen for examination, then questioned Chen Liutao and Qu Zhixing at length in open court.

The Emperor listened once more to their heroic deeds. The Daoist of the Academy they kept mentioning appeared with suspicious frequency, far too eye-catching; the Emperor felt the name was somehow familiar, and could not help asking, "What is the name of that Daoist from the Academy of the Celestial Master Mansion?"

Chen Liutao: "To answer Your Majesty, her name is Pan Yun, her style-name Sanzhu."

The Emperor: …

Some of the officials: …

Most of the officials did not know Pan Yun; after all, from the moment she had appeared she had been thrown into the Imperial Prison, and had never once shown herself in public.

Apart from a few, when others spoke of her it was always "the Pan girl," "Pan Hong's daughter"—almost no one knew her actual name.

Cao Nai did not know. Seeing Chen Xun fall silent, he asked in a low voice, "Who is she? Does Your Majesty know her?"

Chen Xun's voice was very low: "Pan Hong's daughter. A true practitioner of the Mystic Gate, like True Person Zhang—she possesses mystic arts."

Cao Nai said nothing more, but he felt no ill will toward this Daoist; curiosity prevailed.

But raising his head and seeing Wang Zhen looking as though he had swallowed a fly, his eyes could not help but flick.

There had long been a private rumor that when Wang Zhen was locked in the Imperial Prison, he had been tormented quite badly by Pan Hong's daughter.

He had always taken it for a rumor.

How could Wang Zhen possibly have been tormented by a little girl?

Pan Hong was currently eating dust and sand up in Shaanbei, but Wang Zhen had only sent him to inspect some hardship post, and done nothing further.

If Pan Hong's daughter had truly tormented him, how could he possibly have let Pan Hong live until now?

But now Cao Nai believed it.

If Pan Hong's daughter really was as formidable as Xue Shao and the two Embroidered Uniform Guard claimed, then it would be perfectly normal for Wang Zhen, wary and afraid, to dare not lay a hand on Pan Hong, and only dare to edge him out of Jingcheng.

Pan Hong's daughter also practiced mystic arts—and that was the true killing without spilling blood, harming without leaving a trace.

No wonder Xue Xuan, who had backing, had once again been driven out of Jingcheng, and Xue Shao had been exiled to Jiangnan, with the executioner's blade hanging over him, while Pan Hong, with no backing at all, had only been edged off to a windy, dusty place, with no danger to his life.

So that was how it was! (End of chapter)