Chapter 1383: The Pure Stream and the Eunuch Clique

That's right — he thinks the realm's ruin is all my fault, he thinks if the court just purges the "traitor faction" everything will be renewed, he thinks his own heaven-sent brilliance far surpasses his late brother's and that he can surely turn the tide… Well, let's see what kind of mess he can make of the realm!

"Eunuch Wei, public opinion was raging, and many submitted memorials calling for your execution, so… in truth, this arrangement is also His Majesty's mercy…" Yang Lian hesitated, then finally spoke.

"Indeed, His Majesty's heavenly grace is boundless. This old slave must kowtow in thanks for sparing my life." Wei Zhongxian gave a bleak smile, then answered with a trace of mockery. "I suppose I shall never see His Sacred Majesty again. Perhaps when you return, Grand Secretary Yang, you could speak on this old slave's behalf."

"Ah…" Yang Lian still let out a sigh.

The autumn sun set much earlier now. As the hour grew late, the chill in the bleak autumn wind deepened, as if it meant to pierce every man's bones.

Though the courtyard grew colder and colder, Wei Zhongxian showed no intention of going indoors, and neither did Yang Lian. He stood frozen in the cold wind, his expression grave and anxious, looking utterly weighed down by the twilight of his days.

"Eunuch Wei, the Great Ming realm has fallen to such a state. Though you bear fault, it cannot all be blamed on you." Just as the sunlight was fading further, Yang Lian spoke, catching him off guard. "I always used to feel the realm was decaying day by day because… because the late Emperor was lost in idle pleasures, and then you treacherous sycophants obstructed matters from within, until things spiraled beyond control. Only now, having entered the cabinet and participated in state governance, do I realize… realize that you too faced countless difficulties!"

His tone was brimming with deep emotion, both for himself and for the Great Ming realm. "Now the state affairs are arduous, and we struggle with every step. Only now can I see how much heart's blood you exhausted back then just to hold the situation together. Not to mention anything else — if we had listened to you back then, and while that Zhao Jin was still unsteady on his feet, thrown everything into annihilating that villain Zhao, how could things have ever come to this!"

"That villain Zhao… what has that villain Zhao done now?" Wei Zhongxian sensed something from his words, and his heart gave a violent lurch.

Surely Zhao Jin hasn't torn up the peace treaty again? If that's the case… then it's trouble. The capital region still hasn't recovered its vitality after the previous military disaster. If Zhao Jin marches on the capital again, how could the capital garrison, already scared out of its wits, possibly hold out? If Zhao Jin comes again, Great Ming is finished!

"That villain Zhao… that villain Zhao marched on Jianzhou and won a great victory, smashing the Jianzhou slave army, taking nearly ten thousand heads, and slaying the old slave's third son, Tanggudai, in battle." Yang Lian spoke each word deliberately.

Though out of his loathing for Zhao Jin he had no wish to embellish, each word still carried an indescribable air of slaughter.

"Nearly ten thousand!" The moment he heard that number, Wei Zhongxian's face turned deathly pale, and even his eyes widened. The news Yang Lian gave was not what he had feared most, but in a way it shocked him even more.

A moment later, he finally collected himself. "Is this credible?"

Yang Lian understood his feelings, but still nodded heavily. "Several people went to verify it. It's true."

"………………" Wei Zhongxian was speechless for a long while, only staring wide-eyed.

He understood the significance of this news better than anyone.

Ever since the final years of the Wanli reign, the Great Ming's official armies beyond the passes had suffered defeat after defeat, losing countless soldiers and vast territories. Even great cities like Shenyang and Liaoyang had fallen into the hands of the Jianzhou slaves.

As they watched the Jianzhou slaves strike out in all directions, the court was utterly helpless, with no means whatsoever to subdue these barbarians. It was precisely during the period when his own faction held power that the Jianzhou slaves openly established their state and fixed their capital, blatantly becoming a separatist power beyond the passes, repeatedly invading Han territory and slaughtering the people of Liaodong.

There is a common saying: "Jurchens under ten thousand are invincible; over ten thousand, they cannot be opposed." Yet Zhao Jin had wiped out over ten thousand Jurchens in a single stroke… In the eyes of the realm, an enemy who slaughtered Han people while the Great Ming court stood helpless had been effortlessly exterminated by Zhao Jin. Would this not become ironclad proof that Heaven had abandoned Great Ming?

No wonder Yang Lian looked so utterly despondent after hearing this news!

"Now Eunuch Wei should understand as well… just how far state affairs have decayed." Yang Lian sighed again, with some anguish. "Compared to the Xuzhou matter, the Jianzhou matter is merely a skin rash! The Jianzhou slaves raid everywhere, but in the end they are only beyond the passes and cannot amount to much. With diligent defense, we can simply watch them destroy themselves. But… but this Xuzhou villain… that is truly terrifying! Ah, now I can only regret, regret that we did not heed your words back then!"

As a minister of Great Ming, he could not bear to say aloud exactly what was so terrifying, but Wei Zhongxian naturally understood perfectly well in his heart.

However, regarding Zhao Jin, because he had always had more contact with him and thought about him more than Yang Lian, he was even more pessimistic than Yang Lian.

"In this recent period, I too have thought carefully. I fear… I fear that even if you had not obstructed me, I could not have eliminated him back then." His voice was hoarse. "That boy Zhao Jin, though young, is profoundly calculating, with wisdom and strategy surpassing ordinary men — nothing like a young man at all. He lay low from the very beginning, secretly amassing wealth, grain, and power in Xuzhou. By the time I could even hear his name, it was already… already nearly impossible to do anything about him! This villain is not only skilled at amassing resources, but also skilled at training troops. You have seen his private soldiers with your own eyes — to say one of them is a match for ten is no exaggeration! Several years ago, if we and the late Emperor had made a painful resolution, mobilized all the elite troops from the frontiers, been willing to exhaust the treasuries' stored wealth and grain, and thrown our entire strength against Xuzhou, then perhaps we could have forcibly traded ten for one and destroyed Zhao Jin. But… but… at that time, not to mention that you and the late Emperor would never have agreed — even I, even I, how could I have made such a judgment? Who in the entire realm would have believed it?"

Though he made no outward sign, Yang Lian inwardly felt that Wei Zhongxian spoke with great reason.

As it was, his current way of dealing with the Xuzhou villain already made the court ministers think he had lost his mind. If Wei Zhongxian had truly done that back then, they would certainly have thought him utterly deranged and would definitely have stopped him.

"Able to train troops, skilled at management, and also adept at strategy and cunning — how on earth did Zhao Jin develop such abilities?!" After thinking for a moment, Yang Lian could not help but ask.

Could it truly be a gift from Heaven?

The same thought flashed through both men's minds at once, but after exchanging a glance, neither spoke it aloud.

"Eunuch Wei, however ruined state affairs may be, the three-hundred-year realm of Great Ming's successive ancestors cannot be allowed to fall to ruin in our hands." In the end, casting aside those vexing thoughts, Yang Lian spoke with considerable difficulty. "At least our ancestors have taken pity, making that demon Zhao Jin lose his senses — he has read so many books and yet does not know to treat the scholars well… So long as he remains so harsh toward the literati, the hearts of the realm will ultimately still rest with Great Ming, and restoration and revival will come in due course…"

Hmph… Wei Zhongxian sneered inwardly.

The great trend is what it is. What can you bookish scholars accomplish, apart from writing moralizing essays and shouting abuse? Jianzhou and Xuzhou grow strong, raiding everywhere, ever harder to control — what solutions can you Pure Stream civil officials possibly offer? If maintaining the realm depended only on wagging tongues, how could the situation ever have fallen to such a state? Zhao Jin openly looks down on you, and what can you do about it!

However, in consideration of Yang Lian's reasonably decent attitude, he ultimately kept these words to himself.

After lamenting for a while, Yang Lian finally found a sliver of confidence for Great Ming in the hearts of the literati, and his complexion improved considerably.

"Eunuch Wei, although you have now… now retired, you previously managed state affairs. Though it cannot all be blamed on you, still… still you absolutely cannot say you bear no responsibility." He raised his head and looked at Wei Zhongxian.

"That, I admit." Wei Zhongxian offered no defense whatsoever, knowing he had none to give. "I must thank you, Grand Secretary — at least you have not, like the others, shifted all the blame onto my head, and you even admit it cannot all be blamed on me…"

"Therefore, state affairs must trouble you once more. His Sacred Majesty also needs you to share his burdens…" Yang Lian did not respond to him, but simply continued.

"Share his burdens? I am a man awaiting punishment for my crimes. That I have not been thrown into the heavenly prison to die of disease in that place without sunlight is already the Son of Heaven's mercy. How would I dare to say anything more about state affairs?" Wei Zhongxian shook his head, and finally gave another bitter laugh. "Besides, in the Son of Heaven's heart, the ruin of state affairs is entirely my crime. Everything I did was wrong beyond all wrong — so how could I go and mislead others again!"

By rights, given his current fallen status, he had no standing to say such things to Yang Lian, and as a subject, criticizing the sovereign was a grave transgression. Yet at this moment, Yang Lian could understand the resentment in Wei Zhongxian's heart, and with state affairs being so difficult, he did not take offense at his attitude.

"I will not hide it from you, Eunuch Wei — this time your household will certainly be confiscated. Whether to resist the villain Zhao or resist the Jianzhou slaves, or to strengthen and revive ourselves, money is needed, and it flows like water…"

"That, I naturally understand." Wei Zhongxian nodded. "I just never expected that by now, Grand Secretary Yang would be the one bringing up the word 'money'…"

"A gentleman should not speak of profit, but in urgent times, expediency is permissible." Yang Lian answered with the utmost gravity, showing not the slightest embarrassment at the mockery. "State affairs are arduous. To sustain them, to revive them, we need not only the people's hearts but also money to support them… This principle, I do understand."

Wei Zhongxian kept watching Yang Lian's expression, but in his eyes he could detect not a trace of hypocrisy.

"Grand Secretary Yang, you are truly a good man." After a long moment, he sighed. "If the civil and military officials of the court had a few more good men like you, perhaps the outcome would be somewhat different."

Yang Lian wanted to argue, but he knew perfectly well in his own heart what most of the high officials were like, so he had no ground to stand on.

"Very well. As for wealth and such — since my days are already numbered, keeping it holds little meaning." Wei Zhongxian sighed. "My wealth came from Great Ming, all from the late Emperor's favor. Now, returning it to the court — I can take that lightly enough… Take it, just take it all! I will write you a list later. Old Wei is leaving; I'm not afraid to break my household for the country this once!"