Wanli Emperor Chapter 38 Part 2 (Patreon)

Chapter 38 Part 2: Meticulous Calculation, a Court Divided

Zhu Xizhong sighed: "After the Earl of Zhangwu, Yang Bing, took command of the Capital Garrisons, the first thing he did was change the system from direct imperial reporting to one where memorials were first discussed by the Ministry of War, then presented after Ministry review."

A procedural change was a power change.

Changing from direct imperial reporting to Ministry of War approval first was a shift from Gu Huan's transcendent status to bowing before the Ministry of War, acting humbly.

After Emperor Yingzong, this was the norm for the nobility.

What he didn't mention was that back then, Emperor Shizong had suspected something amiss with Emperor Yingzong's matter, which was why he'd taken the opportunity of the Gengxu Incident to strongly support Gu Huan and bypass the Ministry of War to reorganize the Capital Garrisons.

Zhu Xizhong wasn't sure if Emperor Shizong was exceptionally sharp or naturally suspicious.

In any case, it was all past, and he didn't care about the truth.

For the nobility, the status given by Emperor Shizong was real.

It was a pity that as soon as Emperor Shizong passed away, it was immediately returned by the late emperor.

Zhu Yijun frowned: "Has the Earl of Zhangwu always been so cautious?"

Had he taken benefits from civil officials, or was he simply useless?

Zhu Xizhong shook his head: "At that time, the Earl of Zhangwu's heir was accused of crimes by the Censorate and Ministry of Justice, and was only released without charge after a month."

Zhu Yijun fell silent. What a chain of moves.

This was also why he hadn't reached out to the Capital Garrisons.

When it came to military power, the situation was too complicated.

Back then, the Five Chief Military Commissions were almost like the Bureau of Military Affairs. After several reforms, they were reduced to being under the Ministry of War, controlled by others.

These Capital Garrisons were even more a focus of contention for all sides, and could only be dealt with slowly.

Only now that he had Zhu Xizhong standing behind him did he dare harbor such thoughts.

Military force was always the greatest confidence for flipping the table.

After transmigrating, the reason he'd first contacted the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and why he had to strip Feng Bao of his Eastern Depot position, all stemmed from this consideration.

Zhu Yijun looked at Zhu Xizhong: "Duke of Cheng, I have ascended the throne at a young age. Besides a general amnesty, I will also bestow grace widely."

"I heard the Marquess of Zhenyuan, Gu Huan, has no biological son. What do you think if I bestow a title on his nephew, Gu Chengguang, as Assistant Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard?"

This was the person currently designated to be adopted by Gu Huan to inherit the title.

Now, with an extra grace title, after inheriting the main title, he could transfer this grace title to his own relatives.

Zhu Xizhong was silent for a moment, understanding the emperor's meaning.

He slowly nodded: "This subject will immediately go inquire about Gu Chengguang's abilities and character."

Zhu Yijun said with satisfaction: "I am at ease when the Duke of Cheng handles matters."

What was to be investigated was naturally not his abilities and character, but how much loyalty and patriotism he possessed.

If Gu Chengguang was willing to serve at his side like Jiang Keqian, it would mean Gu Huan had agreed to this matter.

It would also mean Gu Huan was still willing to fight for the Capital Garrisons for this new emperor.

Of course, if he was unwilling, Zhu Yijun might have to lie low for a while, then have Qi Jiguang enter the capital.

In short, these Capital Garrisons had to be controlled.

Whether it was the promise to Li Wei about sea transport, or the mining tax case in Huguang, or using Xu Jie as an example in the land survey, or even suppressing unrest in Xuan-Da—all these actions could only be taken after gaining control of the Capital Garrisons.

Zhu Xizhong bowed and was about to take his leave.

Zhu Yijun nodded and watched Zhu Xizhong depart.

He stood at the door briefly before turning to go to the front hall.

…...

The fifteenth day of the sixth month.

The emperor bestowed silver coins on the auxiliary ministers, the Six Ministries, the Censorate, the Five Commissions, the Minister of Military Administration, the Court of Imperial Seals, and the Edict Drafting Office 【An office within the Grand Secretariat】.

And, in response to the memorial of seventy-six speaking officials impeaching Feng Bao, by order of the emperor, the edict of Empress Dowager Chen, and the edict of Empress Dowager Li, the decree stated:

"The ancestral system is perfect and complete, and should be observed for ten thousand generations."

"In recent years, the authorities have not followed laws and regulations, causing confusion in affairs and panic among military and people. How can this be called governance?"

"To seek the ancestors' will and clarify the Law of Evaluation, the inner court must lead by example."

"Thus, Feng Bao, Seal-holding Director of the Directorate of Ceremonial, Admiral of the Eastern Depot, and concurrently in charge of the Directorate of the Imperial Stud, has submitted self-recrimination, stating that due to exigent circumstances, he holds too many important posts, and requests to be stripped of his Eastern Depot position."

"The emperor and empresses dowager have all agreed."

"From the day this decree is issued, Feng Bao is stripped of his Eastern Depot position. Li Jin, Scribe Eunuch of the Directorate of the Imperial Stud, is transferred to be Scribe of the Directorate of Ceremonial and Admiral of the Eastern Depot."

"Let all ministries and departments be informed. Respect this."

The decree was issued in the name of the Two Palaces and the emperor, its legitimacy beyond doubt.

The content was also simple and clear—merely transferring the Eastern Depot from Feng Bao's hands to Li Jin's.

Whether he was impeached or acted voluntarily was unimportant, and no one would delve into it.

To fight without breaking, the dignity that should be preserved for people always had to be preserved.

Once this decree was issued, the Six Offices of Scrutiny rarely showed such efficiency.

In short order, copies were made for all ministries and departments and reached the hundred officials' ears.

In the Censorate, the Censors were greatly encouraged, as if they'd won a great victory.

After all, they had forced the regent empress dowager to concede.

This was both seniority and reputation.

But matters weren't that simple.

The speaking officials hadn't been happy long before receiving two subsequent orders.

One was an edict from Empress Dowager Li, questioning the Office of Transmission as to why the palace had not yet received the Senior Grand Secretary's self-recrimination memorial, and whether it had been lost. A statement was to be submitted quickly to explain.

The second was an imperial edict from the emperor, stating that officials who had not yet submitted their memorials should do so as soon as possible.

Anyone with eyes could see these two edicts were two sentences spoken from the same mouth.

The target was naturally that current Senior Grand Secretary who had not yet requested dismissal—Gao Gong.

On the same day, the Office of Transmission replied to the palace that the Senior Grand Secretary Gao Gong's memorial had been inadvertently damaged and needed re-copying, which caused the delay.

On the same day, the Minister of War, Yang Bo, was preparing to respond to impeachment from the Office of Scrutiny for Revenue and had no time for the court conference.

But for unknown reasons, the Office of Scrutiny for Revenue said they had already investigated the matter and quietly withdrew the impeachment, letting Minister Yang attend the court conference.

As soon as Yang Bo attended the court conference, he received the edict stripping Feng Bao of his position.

Then, feeling that Feng Bao had been impeached by the ancestral system, he publicly asked in court whether the Senior Grand Secretary, Gao Gong, holding the concurrent post of Minister of Personnel, conformed to the ancestral system.

The Minister of Rites, Lü Diaoyang, immediately echoed him.

And he questioned the Censor-in-Chief, Ge Shouli, whether the ancestral system was selectively applied.

Ge Shouli argued forcefully on principle.

The Minister of Justice, Liu Ziqiang, accused Yang Bo and Lü Diaoyang of guilt by association, harboring malicious intentions to disrupt the court.

At the same time, the Governor-General of the Granaries, Wang Guoguang, read the decree's content in court, saying: "to seek the ancestors' will and clarify the Law of Evaluation."

Since the decree had been issued, how could it be ignored? This was precisely the time to clarify who didn't respect the ancestral system.

The Seal-holding Director of the Directorate of Ceremonial, Feng Bao, repeatedly took the opportunity to kick Gao Gong while he was down.

He said that even the Directorate of Ceremonial could lead by example. Why was Gao Gong not even as good as a eunuch?

After being reprimanded by the Ritual Correction Officer, he then said that Ge Shouli had incited speaking officials to impeach him but ignored Gao Gong. Wasn't this clear evidence of factionalism?

The high officials of the Six Ministries, Nine Ministers, and the Seal-holding Director of the Directorate of Ceremonial instantly drew battle lines.

In this situation, all vice ministers, junior censors-in-chief, and libationers didn't even have the qualification to interject.

They could only watch, trembling.

Unexpectedly, Gao Gong, who was at the storm's center, was only slightly stunned initially, then acted as if nothing had happened, standing at the head of the ranks.

Not only did he offer no defense, but he didn't even say half a sentence, as if everything had nothing to do with him, and he could be a cold-eyed spectator.

The emperor had a child's heart and would ask directly if he had doubts.

After the court session, he asked the Senior Grand Secretary why he didn't defend himself.

Gao Gong only said he would submit a retirement memorial as soon as possible.

It seemed he was truly disheartened and had the intention to retire.

In one day, the crowd was in uproar.

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