Wanli Emperor Chapter 71 Part 1 (Patreon)

Chapter 71 Part 1: Riding Abreast, Taking in the New and Expelling the Old

The twelfth lunar month, the sixteenth day.

Songjiang Prefecture, Huating County, the Xu Residence.

"Outrageous!"

"Damn it all, this is outrageous!"

Xu Kun paced back and forth in the room, a letter clutched in his hand, his face flushed with rage.

When Hai Rui had first arrived in the Southern Directly-Administered Region, he had deigned to visit him, hoping to resolve matters privately. But that brute had not even granted him an audience.

Fine. 

But now, he had gone so far as to kill a house servant of the Xu family!

"Has everyone grown so bold as to stir up trouble on our very doorstep? A defeated cur dares to humiliate my Xu family!"

"Hai Rui is nothing but a dog on the Grand Secretariat's leash! Does he not know that the Senior Grand Secretary was my father's student?"

Xu Jie glanced up at his second son, then closed his eyes again.

It was his eldest son, Xu Fan, who frowned and said, "Something is not right. We were already preparing to pay the one hundred and forty thousand yin in taxes. That should have been enough to satisfy the Grand Secretariat. Why does this Hai Rui persist?"

Xu Kun slammed his hand on the desk, his voice sharp with anger. "What other reason could there be? The man is audacious beyond measure, posturing as a champion of the people! What does he know of practical governance?"

"He courts fame and reputation! Why did Emperor Shizong not have him executed back then?"

He turned to Xu Jie, his tone urgent. "Father, write to Zhang Juzheng at once! Have this Hai Rui transferred away immediately!"

Xu Fan watched his agitated younger brother, knowing full well this foolish display was about to earn him a reprimand.

He quickly restrained him, saying, "That is enough! Such rashness is unseemly!"

"Before Gao Gong retired, he surely made some arrangements with Zhang Juzheng, targeting our family. Do you truly believe writing to Zhang Juzheng will be of any use?"

Xu Jie still did not speak.

His eyes remained tightly closed, as if lost in deep contemplation.

Xu Jie was now sixty-nine years old. Born in the sixteenth year of the Hongzhi era, he had served through the reigns of Hongzhi, Zhengde, Jiajing, and Longqing, and was about to witness the dawn of the Wanli era.

This former Senior Grand Secretary, who had been an auxiliary minister to two emperors, had perhaps found leisure in his retirement since the second year of the Longqing era. His health had flourished, and he now appeared full-spirited, the very picture of vigor.

Only after a long while, when his two sons had ceased their bickering, did Xu Jie slowly open his eyes.

He instructed, "Kun'er, go and fetch all the New Gazettes!"

Xu Kun was taken aback.

Though he did not know what his father wanted with the gazettes, he dared not disobey, let alone ask a superfluous question. Without a word, he went to retrieve them.

Xu Fan, being slightly more astute, could not help but ask, "Father, is something amiss?"

Xu Jie rested his right hand over his left, stroking it repeatedly.

Since his own son was perplexed, it was only natural to impart his knowledge. "You are right. Something is amiss."

"Gao Gong came purely to make trouble for me, but Hai Rui is different. He came for the salt inspection."

"Now that we have conceded twenty percent, not only has he not relented, but he has publicly killed my man. The more I consider it, the more I feel something is wrong."

Xu Fan offered a timely speculation, "Hai Rui also bullies the weak and fears the strong. I heard he released Wan Hao's brother-in-law and the heir of the Duke of Wei, yet he has not touched the men of Minister Cao or the Earl of Xuancheng."

"Perhaps... it is to settle old grievances."

The "old grievances" naturally referred to Hai Rui's dismissal from office.

At that time, it was the Xu family that had mobilized the common people and the gentry to slander him, instructed the speaking officials to impeach him, and even persuaded Zhang Juzheng to exert pressure within the Grand Secretariat. They had, by hook or by crook, driven Hai Rui back to his hometown.

Putting himself in Hai Rui's shoes, Xu Fan knew that if he were to regain power, he too would seek to settle that score.

Xu Jie glanced at his son and shook his head. "Hai Rui is not like you. He does not allow his personal feelings to interfere with official business."

"Furthermore, he has already executed two seventh-rank Vice Magistrates of the Salt Tax Office and three eighth-rank Salt Tax Administrators. The day before yesterday, he even reported to the Southern Directly-Administered Region's Ministry of Justice, requesting the formal execution of over twenty Commissioners and Vice Commissioners."

"He would not dare do so without authorization from the Grand Secretariat, but... it is unlikely the Grand Secretariat would grant him such free rein."

Everyone knew Hai Rui was here to inspect the salt tax—to put it plainly, to seize money.

They had already conceded, yet he had not relented. Instead, he had launched a campaign of executions. It did not seem right.

And the Southern Directly-Administered Region's Ministry of Justice—who knew what had gotten into them? They approved whatever Hai Rui reported. In just ten days, dozens of officials had been executed!

Xu Fan pondered for a long time but could make no sense of it, nor could he understand what it had to do with the New Gazettes.

He could only fall silent and wait for his father to explain.

Before long, Xu Kun returned with a stack of gazettes.

"Father, the latest is from the first day of the twelfth month. The subsequent issues have not yet reached the Southern Directly-Administered Region."

Xu Jie nodded, reached out for them, and with slightly aged hands, began to flip through the gazettes, reading each issue with care.

While he was thus occupied, the elder brother, Xu Fan, explained their earlier discussion to his younger brother.

After hearing it, Xu Kun waved his hand dismissively. "What other reason could there be? He is emboldened by Gao Gong's backing in the Southern Directly-Administered Region!"

"A dignified Senior Grand Secretary, courting Heaven's favor, has stolen the military merit of pacifying Altan Khan to secure a noble title for himself, debasing his own stature."

"A petty official, disregarding his own wife and children, his mind filled with some nonsensical notion of the common people, deceiving himself."

"The two are jackals of the same lair!"

Xu Fan sighed.

He could not help but lament, "Alas, this final strike from Gao Gong, bartered with his own retirement, is truly difficult to parry."

When Xu Jie had retired, he had been able to set conditions with Emperor Muzong and drive Gao Gong away. Now that it was Gao Gong's turn to retire, his counterattack was naturally not to be underestimated.

As the two brothers were speaking, they suddenly saw Xu Jie crumple the gazette in his hands into a ball and throw it to the floor, his face devoid of expression.

His hands were pressed tightly upon his knees, suppressing an involuntary tremor.

Both brothers were stunned.

"Father?"

"Father?"

Xu Fan quickly picked up the gazette and stepped forward. "Father... have you discovered some clue?"

Xu Jie opened his mouth to speak, but found his lips trembling, and he clamped his jaw shut again.

Xu Fan, not understanding, unfolded the gazette and frowned at the content that had so agitated his father.

Xu Kun also drew closer, reading the words aloud: "Jia Daiwen, Chief Supervising Secretary of the Office of Scrutiny for Revenue, and Censor Hu Xiao, for using prophecies to disrupt governance and harboring disloyal intentions, were, on the twenty-ninth of the eleventh month... formally executed."

After reading this sentence, Xu Fan's face also turned pale!

Seeing his father and brother's reactions, Xu Kun was completely bewildered and asked, "Were they not convicted some time ago? Why such surprise?"

Xu Fan's voice was stiff. He drew a deep breath and said through gritted teeth, "They were convicted, but the new reign era is about to begin, and a general amnesty will be declared for all under Heaven!"

Hearing this, Xu Kun finally realized what it meant.

He asked in astonishment, "They were executed just before the amnesty?"

"What? Does the Grand Secretariat dare act so!"

Xu Jie's state of mind was already in turmoil.

Seeing his son still acting so foolishly, he finally erupted in fury. "The Grand Secretariat? You still think it is the Grand Secretariat?"

"Does the Grand Secretariat dare to execute speaking officials like this?"

"Can the Grand Secretariat ignore the fifty-three memorials from the Southern Directly-Administered Region pleading for leniency?"

"Does the Grand Secretariat dare to rush to execute someone before a general amnesty?"

He snatched up a teacup and hurled it at the portrait of himself paying homage to Emperor Shizong!

Tea trickled down the painting.

He roared in fury, "It is the Emperor!"

"It is the Emperor who wants me dead!"

"That eleven-year-old brat is treating me like a pig to be fattened for the slaughter!"

His two sons trembled with fear.

Xu Fan, being quicker-witted, hurried forward to support his father, handing him his cane, afraid the rage would make him ill.

Xu Jie shoved him away, his knuckles white as he gripped the cane.

He squeezed his eyes shut, as if to suppress the fury and terror within them.

Jia Daiwen and Hu Xiao were both of the Southern Directly-Administered Region's clique. Their executions revealed the central government's unshakeable resolve to bring the region to heel.

The question was, whose resolve was it?

A single man's will is difficult to change, but the will of a group is difficult to align.

Having served in the Grand Secretariat for many years, Xu Jie naturally understood its workings.

When the Grand Secretariat handled matters, if the pressure exceeded a certain limit, it would inevitably have to compromise, regardless of the Senior Grand Secretary's own thoughts.

But if it were the Emperor...

Xu Jie's heart sank to the depths.

Xu Kun was still lost in a fog, frowning as he said, "Father, are you saying it is the Emperor? But I heard that it is Zhang Juzheng who holds power in the court now."

"A few days ago, I even heard that the Emperor has already been driven out of Qianqing Palace by Zhang Juzheng and sent to the Western Garden!"

Xu Fan quietly tugged on his younger brother's sleeve. Xu Kun looked up in confusion, only to see his father's face contorted with a ravenous expression.

He quickly fell silent.

Xu Fan, however, had understood his father's meaning.

Though still finding it difficult to believe, when he pieced the events together, it seemed all the more plausible.

"No wonder."

"No wonder Zhang Juzheng, who is clearly at odds with Hai Rui, still granted him such authority in the Grand Secretariat. It was the Emperor pressing him."

"No wonder the Duke of Wei's heir, Xu Weizhi, was released, and the Duke of Wei's residence has since been closed to all visitors."

"No wonder the Nanjing Garrison Commander, Zhang Jing, arrived to assume his post with men from the Directorate of the Imperial Stud."

"The former Senior Grand Secretary Gao Gong, the Governor-General of Grain Transport Wang Zongmu, the Imperial Commissioner-Grand Coordinator Hai Rui, the Southern Directly-Administered Region's Wang Xijue, the Nanjing Garrison Commander Zhang Jing, the Commander-in-Chief Chen Wangmo..."

"To have unknowingly moved all these men into key positions—he means to strike a fatal blow!"

"How has it come to this? How has it come to this?"

Xu Fan murmured to himself, growing more terrified as he considered the implications.

The Xu family's power was great, but anyone targeted by the Emperor, no matter how powerful, was easily crushed when singled out!

How had it come to this!

Though Xu Jie's landholdings were vast, they had all been acquired through voluntary exchange!

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