Wanli Emperor Chapter 83 Part 1 (Patreon)

Chapter 83 Part 1: A Host of Troubles, A Time of Turmoil

Ever since Li Chunfang's meeting with Hai Rui, the entire Southern Directly-Administered Region had awaited the emperor's reply.

The process of waiting proved an ordeal for both sides.

During that half-month, Wokou pirates in Songjiang Prefecture grew restless, and the Intendant of the Susong Military Affairs Circuit scrambled to request reinforcements. 

[TN: Susong is short for Suzhou and Songjiang prefectures]

As it happened, Right Commander-in-Chief Zhu Xixiao was conducting official business in Songjiang Prefecture. He requested aid from the Nanjing Garrison Commander, Zhang Jing. After conferring with the Office of the Governor-General of Grain Transport, they granted temporary authority to Huang Yingjia, the former assistant commander of grain transport, to take charge of the Shenshu Battalion (Divine Pivot Battalion) defending Susong. They also requested that Chen Wangmo, Commander-in-Chief of Grain Transport, assist the Susong Circuit Intendant and prepare a stern defense.

At the same time, throughout the prefectures, counties, and villages, a rumor of unknown origin began to spread, detailing the annual tax revenues of the two capitals and thirteen provinces.

Upon learning that the Southern Directly-Administered Region accounted for sixty percent of the empire's tax revenue, the common people reacted variously.

There were those who felt pride and superiority, those who felt deep imbalance and injustice, and those well-meaning souls who called for tax reductions.

Such matters violated no prohibitions and broke no laws, making it difficult for the authorities to intervene.

For a time, the claim that "the Great Ming is propped up by the Southern Directly-Administered Region" ran rampant.

The Imperial Commissioners were not idle, either.

They successively investigated and handled several major cases.

The Salt Merchants' Association was, needless to say, almost entirely rounded up. Hai Rui confiscated their properties and arrested them all.

The pleas of several great salt merchants to their patrons fell on deaf ears.

Xu Jie proved even more zealous. He personally supervised eleven cases, great and small, including Xu Kun's murder and conspiracy, the capsized Grand Canal transport ships, the false dissemination of seditious texts among the literati, the incitement of the ignorant and stubborn in Taizhou, and contempt for an Imperial Commissioner in Huai'an.

Secretaries, prefects, censors, supervising secretaries, and vice ministers were arrested one after another like dumplings dropped into a pot, all awaiting escort to the capital.

Not only were visitations forbidden, but from time to time, news of further implications would surface.

Every few days brought fresh shock, fresh alarm.

Both sides bared their teeth and claws, yet maintained a degree of restraint.

In this atmosphere, it was not until the second day of the third month that the Imperial Commissioners met with Li Chunfang once more.

What was discussed in detail remains unknown.

But in the days that followed, the Susong Circuit Intendant suddenly displayed astonishing prowess, engaging the invading Wokou pirates in close-quarters battle at some unknown location.

The garrison commanders and military commissioners, who had previously shrunk from battle, now led from the front, personally taking to the field. They annihilated the Wokou in a single stroke, restoring temporary peace to Songjiang Prefecture.

Unfortunately, due to the swift currents, many bodies were washed away, greatly diminishing the merit of their achievement.

Furthermore, the claim that "the Great Ming is propped up by the Southern Directly-Administered Region" suddenly died down.

Enlightened gentry and clansmen went about proclaiming the great unity of the empire, that north and south were one family.

Such breadth of vision inspired deep admiration in all who witnessed it.

At the same time, Hai Rui finished confiscating the property of the last few salt merchants. After formally sentencing the various Transport Vice Magistrates and Salt Tax Commissioners, he finally ceased his actions.

He, along with Vice Minister of the Grand Court of Revision Chen Dong and Vice Minister of Justice of the Southern Directly-Administered Region Wang Xijue, concluded and sealed the salt administration case.

They would soon return to the capital to report to the emperor.

As luck would have it, the imperial cases on Xu Jie's docket were also concluded, and he too would be returning to the capital to report.

Before his departure, Xu Jie, moved by the hardships of the common people, entrusted the Earl of Ding'an, Gao Gong, with the task of returning all 278,431 mu of fertile land that the people had "donated" back to them.

As for his second son, Xu Kun, who had plotted to harm an official, Xu Jie, after righteously disowning his kin, still requested that the Songjiang prefectural office return the body so he might personally bury him.

The common people were filled with gratitude, and all praised him for sacrificing personal feeling for the sake of greater righteousness.

Under Gao Gong's supervision, the people tearfully erected a stone tablet to commemorate the return of the lands and to record the virtuous deeds of Xu Shaohu.

On the ninth day of the third month, Censor of the Henan Circuit Rao Renkan arrived in the Southern Directly-Administered Region to audit the archives of the Nanjing Metropolitan Circuit.

On the same day, Nanjing Minister of Revenue Cao Bangfu submitted a memorial requesting to retire from office.

On the eleventh day of the third month, an edict was issued, establishing a Salt Administration Office in the Shandong Provincial Administration Commission to oversee the salt administration of six commissions. The Lianghuai Salt Distribution Commission was ordered to comply immediately upon receipt of the edict.

On the same day, Nanjing Minister of Rites Qin Minglei submitted a memorial requesting to retire from office.

On the fourteenth day of the third month, an edict was issued: The Earl of Xuancheng, Wei Guoben, for masterminding the capsizing of the grain transport ships, to clarify the punishments and rectify the court's discipline, was ordered by the Governor and Investigating Censor to take his own life. His noble title would not be inherited for the time being.

On that day, Right Commander-in-Chief Zhu Xixiao, representing the Northern Imperial Prison, stepped forward to supervise the Earl of Xuancheng's compliance with the decree.

The next day, the Earl of Xuancheng's residence held a funeral procession.

On the seventeenth day of the third month, the emperor and the Grand Secretariat reviewed the cases of officials of the seventh rank and above who had been sentenced to death and found no errors. Those in custody were to be sent to the capital in prisoners' cages, effective immediately.

Zhang Lu, Right Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Nanjing Censorate, was promoted to Left Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, and was to remain Commander of River Defense, concurrently managing river patrols.

At the same time, the Marquis of Yongkang, Xu Qiaosong, who held the posts of head of the Nanjing Right Chief Military Commission, Commander of River Defense, and manager of river patrols and commission affairs, was summoned to the capital for an imperial audience.

On the eighteenth day of the third month, Xu Jie, Hai Rui, Chen Dong, and the other Imperial Commissioners began their return journey to the capital.

On the same day, former Grand Secretary Li Chunfang, having heard that Empress Dowager Rensheng was overseeing the early education of Princess Yanqing, specially requested to send his granddaughter to the palace to serve as a study companion.

On the eighteenth day of the fourth month, an edict reached Nanjing.

The requests of Nanjing Minister of Revenue Cao Bangfu and Nanjing Minister of Rites Qin Minglei to retire were approved. They were granted the titles of Grand Guardian of the Crown Prince and Grand Preceptor of the Crown Prince, respectively.

Wan Hao, the Nanjing Imperial College Libationer, was promoted to Nanjing Minister of Rites and was bestowed a customary reward of five taels of silver.

Wang Xijue, Nanjing Vice Minister of Justice, was transferred to the post of Nanjing Left Vice Minister of Personnel, and was bestowed a customary reward of twenty taels of silver and a robe of golden silk gauze.

The Marquis of Yongkang, Xu Qiaosong, was to concurrently serve as Governor of Fengyang, Anqing, Huizhou, Ningguo, Chizhou, Taiping, and Guangde. He was to relocate his station to Anqing, while remaining Commander of River Defense, and was to proceed to Anqing to establish his camp immediately.

Right Commander-in-Chief Zhu Xixiao, head of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, was ordered to escort former Grand Secretary Li Chunfang's granddaughter, Li Baiyang, to the capital.

In addition, the Earl of Ding'an, Gao Gong, and the various ministries and departments of the Southern Directly-Administered Region were requested to prepare for the establishment of the "Shanghai Maritime Trade Supervisorate." The customs revenue from the past three years was to be used for tax exemptions for the various prefectures of the Southern Directly-Administered Region, to be managed by the Nanjing Ministry of Revenue.

…..

On the thirteenth day of the fourth month, at the Tongzhou Lu River Ferry Crossing.

Tongzhou County was the starting point of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, situated at the foot of the Son of Heaven, only forty li west of the capital city.

A vital artery of the capital region and a bustling hub, it saw an endless stream of travelers.

When the Imperial Commissioners' great ship docked, it naturally drew a crowd of onlookers.

Only after the Embroidered Uniform Guard had cleared away the irrelevant spectators did the Imperial Commissioners disembark.

Xu Jie pushed away the personal guard who intended to support him. With his hands clasped behind his back, he walked slowly and steadily down from the ship.

Quietly waiting for the Embroidered Uniform Guard to find carriages, he turned his face to look at Hai Rui. "How will His Majesty deal with me?"

Hai Rui shook his head and did not speak.

Xu Jie sighed. "Hai Gangfeng, considering that I once saved your life, telling this old man such a small matter that does not contravene the law would do no harm, would it?"

He had originally intended to involve himself in the matter of splitting the Southern Directly-Administered Region to demonstrate his usefulness.

As it turned out, the emperor was even steadier than he had imagined.

He had rejected Li Chunfang's proposal outright, opting instead for the most stable method of proceeding slowly.

This not only took Li Chunfang by surprise but also deprived Xu Jie of any ground on which to prove his worth.

He did not know whether that good student of his had lent him a hand.

Now, with his life and death in the hands of others and not a single bargaining chip to his name, how could he not feel apprehensive?

Hai Rui met Xu Jie's gaze, paused for a moment, and said seriously, "How could His Majesty inform a subordinate of his arrangements? This subordinate truly does not know of this matter."

Xu Jie knew that Hai Rui would not lie so easily and felt all the more helpless.

Logically, if the emperor wanted to kill him, he would not have allowed him to return to the capital as an Imperial Commissioner to report on his mission; he should have been sent in a prisoner's cage.

Moreover, he was, after all, a former Senior Grand Secretary. For the sake of the dignity of high ministers, he should not be executed lightly.

After all, none of the hundred officials wished to see another Senior Grand Secretary executed, as had befallen Xia Yan.

But when one's own life and safety were at stake, to rely only on guesswork was torment enough.

In recent nights, Xu Jie had tossed and turned, aging considerably in a short time.

He could not suppress his terror—the emperor was too ruthless.

Xu Jie had now lost all room for survival in the Southern Directly-Administered Region.

His colleagues and regional clique resented him for his earlier methods; one could say he was reviled by all.

He had wished to rely on his clan, but he had been forced to return the farmlands and dismiss his "household."

Even his closest descendants had begun to look at him with strange eyes after he had decided to use his second son to take the blame for his eldest.

One could say that he had been forcefully transformed from an old minister scheming for his own survival into a pure minister —one with nothing left but his official title!

Faced with such an emperor, he could not be certain whether being summoned to the capital meant a new arrangement or a continuation of his torment.

He had been constantly pondering: did he, in the end, possess any path to survival?

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