Daming Yuanfu

Chapter 2348 Visiting Nanjing (Fifteen) The Duke Pays Homage to the Duke

The joint investigation by the East Factory, the Imperial Guards, and the Metropolitan Censorate has already begun in full swing. The reason why it is called a vigorous investigation is that compared with the past investigations into corruption cases, this investigation has a lot of noise. Whether it is the factory guards or the Metropolitan Censorate, the relevant investigators travel without any cover, and even seem to deliberately make a big show.

This situation is as if they have actually obtained insider information in advance and determined that the emperor or the prime minister has made a decision that someone must be taken down. Now everything they do is just a formality, and they just have to show enough momentum.

However, this was just an appearance. Gao Youshi instructed Tian Yi to let them do so, because the investigations by the Censorate and the Censorate were just a covert plan.

Also at the instigation of Gao Youshi, some rumors began to spread quietly in Nanjing, saying that the prime minister had obtained solid evidence that some officials had been corrupt and perverted the law during the renovation of the imperial palace. These rumors were like catkins in spring, seemingly light and floating, but pervasive, and soon spread throughout the streets and alleys of Nanjing.

Two days later, the emperor went to visit Xuanwu Lake, while Gao Youshi was in the study room of the side hall of Chunhe Palace, quietly listening to Gao Qi's report. He knew that these rumors in the streets of Nanjing were exactly what he wanted. What he wanted was to make some people in the Nanjing officialdom panic and then lose their composure.

This move was useless to Shen Yiguan, and Gao Youshi knew it very well. Shen Yiguan, the old fox, had the fatal handle that he had planned to assassinate Gao Jian and his wife, but he still dared to play against him in the Nanjing Palace renovation case, which fully explained his thoughts.

Although Shen Yikuan was an extremely selfish person, he was obviously very clear about one thing: no one could betray his own class - or to put it more simply, no one could betray the interest group he belonged to.

After the Confucius Temple Incident, although the prestige of the Practical School soared again, "the action of force is mutual", and there was a consensus within the School of Mind that "life and death, success or failure depends on this battle", that is, whether the School of Mind could continue to be an important force in the court depended entirely on this battle in Nanjing.

If the Practical Learning School succeeded in launching a wave of dismissal of School of Mind officials through the Imperial Palace renovation project, then needless to say, even if the School of Mind would not be completely extinct, its influence in the court would disappear into thin air, and it would not be possible to restore its prestige for many years.

And if the Xin Xue School successfully prevents Gao Youshi from stirring up this uproar and makes him gain nothing from this matter, then the Xin Xue School will be able to stabilize the basic situation in Jiangnan, bide its time and wait for the opportunity.

What are you waiting for? Of course, you are waiting for the day when Gao Fushi will regret his decision.

  Yuanfu Jingguogong, what kind of script is this? Isn't this Li Shanchang's script?

Yes, the emperor now trusts Gao Youshi very much. The two were not only childhood friends, but also helped each other achieve success when they grew up, and finally the prosperous era of Wanli's restoration was achieved today. The relationship between the emperor and his subject was close. However, was there no bond between Emperor Taizu and Li Shanchang? Wasn't the friendship of decades of comrades-in-arms precious? Didn't the marriage between children mean something?

However, in the end, Taizu still killed Li Shanchang - even the two iron certificates of immunity from death could not save him!

  Why? Was it really because Li Shanchang participated in the Hu Weiyong case and had the intention of treason? What a joke. He had been a high-ranking official for many years and had retired at home. What was the purpose of his participation in Hu Weiyong's treason? Was he just trying to change the emperor and continue to be a minister? What a sickness!

The real reason is actually very simple. Even though Li Shanchang, who is over 70 years old, has retired and is at home, he is still the leader of the Huaixi Group.

If the crown prince Zhu Biao was a "second-generation emperor" like Li Shimin at that time, and everyone admired his military achievements, then Li Shanchang would probably have a good end. Unfortunately, Zhu Biao was not Li Shimin, he was too kind.

He has the most standard image of a sage monarch under Confucian education, but he is not iron-fisted enough; he has an excellent reputation, but it may not have any deterrent effect on the Huaixi Military Merit Group.

Zhu Yuanzhang seemed to respect Confucianism, but in fact he only used Confucianism to help stabilize his rule. He was by no means a person who truly believed in Confucianism - don't listen to what he said, look at what he did.

So, what would such a person, a founding emperor, worry about when he was old? Of course, he was worried that the crown prince would not be able to control these founding heroes! Do you think everyone has the good fortune of Li Yuan? His son Erlang could control his father, the emperor, in turn, so what in the world could not be controlled?

It was under such circumstances that Zhu Yuanzhang began to feel more and more uneasy about Li Shanchang. At this time, Zhu Biao's benevolent character could not be more obvious. Zhu Yuanzhang became increasingly worried that he would not be able to suppress the Huaixi Military Merit Group in the future, so he simply decided to be the bad guy himself and leave a stable world for the prince.

In Shen Yiguan's opinion, Gao Youshi is the reincarnation of Li Shanchang. Even from the emperor's perspective, he is more difficult to deal with than Li Shanchang.

Although Li Shanchang was regarded as the core of the Huaixi Military Merit Group, that was because Chang Yuchun and Xu Da had passed away one after another, and Li Shanchang was the only one with the highest status in the Huaixi Military Merit Group. In fact, Li Shanchang was far inferior to Gao Youshi in one respect - he had no direct military merit! His status came from being regarded by Zhu Yuanzhang as Xiao He of the Ming Dynasty!

Gao Youshi is different. He can undoubtedly be regarded as a Xiao He-like figure, but he is not just Xiao He. He is also Zhang Liang and Han Xin. He is a true general and prime minister who can do everything!

The current emperor may not be worried about such a person because of the long-term bond between the monarch and his subject, because of Gao Youshi's caution, because of the emperor's prestige as a sage ruler of the Ming Dynasty, and because the orthodoxy of the Ming Dynasty is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people at this moment, unlike at the beginning of the founding of the country.

But what about the future? The crown prince is still in his infancy, while Gao Youshi has already reached the highest position among the ministers, and his reputation is unmatched in the world. If the emperor goes ahead in the future - this is not surprising at all, and there are even signs of it now.

Others didn't know the inside story of the emperor's coughing up blood last time, but Shen Yi Guan was one of the people involved. Wasn't he aware of the emperor's current condition? Usually, the emperor seemed to be in good health, just suffering from occasional foot disease (gout), but Shen Yi Guan knew the real situation too well...

In contrast, Gao Fusi has never been sick in all these years. This guy seems to be in better health than many generals! Although generals practice martial arts, they are often prone to various strange old injuries. Although Gao Fusi only retains some basic exercises, he has a good living habit and regular physical examinations at Jinghua Medical College. His health is ridiculously good.

In short, Shen Yi is completely sure that as long as Gao Youshi does not encounter any accidents, the emperor will definitely go ahead of him, and this time may not take too long...

When the emperor realizes that he may not live long, his perspective on the problem will most likely change. Shen Yiquan thought a lot about this and finally came to the conclusion that either the emperor would regard Gao Youshi as the biggest threat to the prince in the future, just like Taizu did in his later years; or the emperor would simply regard Gao Youshi as the "modern Duke of Zhou" and believe that he has the gentleman's virtue of "governing for seven years".

In Shen Yiguan's opinion, both possibilities exist. Although from the current situation, the emperor is more likely to choose the second approach, but human nature cannot stand the test, and the emperor should also understand this truth, so... until that moment, no one can guarantee it. Even the emperor himself said now, whether he can stick to it at that time is unknown.

So Shen Yiguan dared to gamble, betting that Gao Youshi would eventually regret his actions. Anyway, there were not many people left in the Xinxue School, so what if he didn't gamble? As for Shen Yiguan himself, he also had reasons to gamble.

Gao Youshi had held the fatal evidence in his hand for some time, but he had been keeping it to himself. This meant that Gao Youshi did not actually want to put Shen to death, at least not now.

Shen Yikuan didn't dare to conclude what the reason was, but he vaguely felt that Gao Youshi himself was also worried that Gao Qiu would regret it, so he would rather put him, Shen Yikuan, in the position of an opponent all the time, so that people in the world would think that he, Gao Youshi, did not control the government, and there were still people in the court who opposed him and could oppose him.

In this case, Shen Yi Guan became bolder - you want to keep me here to prove that you are not the only one in power, so if I play the role of the opponent well, you will not kill me, right? Otherwise, with the current half-dead state of the Xin School, if I am killed by you again, where can you find another opponent who at least looks a little bit important to deceive the world and the emperor?

For these reasons, even though Gao Youshi made such a big noise, Shen Yikuan still suppressed some timid voices seeking peace within the School of Mind, and forcibly brought together the officials of the School of Mind in the south of the Yangtze River. They responded with silence, and watched the investigations of the Censorate and the Imperial Censorate indifferently, like a dead pig that was not afraid of boiling water.

However, Shen Yiquan also had some negligence: the School of Mind could only unite around him, but the nobles did not dare to play dead.

What a joke! We are all top officials who share the same fate with the country. We don't have any bullshit orthodoxy to maintain. As long as our interests are threatened, we will kneel down. What's the big deal? You, the Xinxue School, want to drag us together to fight against Gao Youshi, who holds the Emperor's Sword. Why? Shen Yikuan, don't forget that Gao Youshi is now the Duke of Jingguo. We are on the same path as him!

As expected, not long after, some guilty nobles began to act secretly. They either used their connections or sent people directly to contact Gao Youshi, hoping to reach some kind of agreement in private.

Gao Youshi was well prepared for this, and it could even be said that this was his intention. He did not reject these contacts, but he would not easily meet with guests. He spread the word through Gao Qi that he was willing to listen to their explanations, but the premise was that they must be sincere and not hide anything.

On this day, the eunuch Tian Yi, the garrison eunuch of Nanjing, quietly came to Chunhe Palace. Although he was a member of the inner court, since this investigation involved nobles, he naturally had to ask Gao Youshi's opinion. For example, who could be moved and who could not be moved, and if they had to be moved, to what extent... and so on.

"My Lord, I have some information here that may be helpful to your investigation." Compared with the last time, Tian Yi's attitude was very respectful.

Gao Fusi nodded and motioned for him to continue.

“Your Majesty should know that although the nobles were deeply involved in the renovation of the imperial palace, the real leaders of this matter were still several important officials of the Xinxue School.

They hid behind the scenes, but pushed the nobles to the front, using their influence to embezzle money. Although the nobles also had some guilt, such as getting a share of the profits, in the final analysis... they were just accomplices, and they might even have been deceived. "Tian Yi said slowly. Tian Yi was of course a man with good eyesight. At this moment, it was clear that Gao Youshi did not intend to break up with the nobles, but was obviously trying to control them through this incident. However, Tian Yi was not sure to what extent Gao Youshi would do this, so he left a lot of loopholes in his words.

Gao Youshi pondered for a moment and asked, "Does the Internal Guard know who they are?"

Tian Yi took out a list from his sleeve and handed it to Gao Youshi: "Please have a look, Duke. These are the results of our investigation. They should be accurate."

Gao Youshi took the list and glanced at it. There were seven or eight officials listed on it, including some well-known figures in Nanjing.

"Very good, this list is very useful." Gao Youshi nodded, and then asked: "My nobles, do you have any news about the internal defense?"

Tian Yi smiled slightly and said, "The nobles are naturally anxious. They have sent people to our house many times, hoping to ask the Duke for mercy through our family."

"If the child dies, they know how to feed; if the snot is in the mouth, they know how to spit it out." Gao Fusi sneered: "However, since they took the initiative to come to our door, we might as well take advantage of them."

He thought for a moment, then said to Tian Yi: "Laonei Shoubei, tell those nobles that I am willing to meet them. However, Chunhe Palace is not a good place for a meeting, and I will arrange another place for the meeting. In addition, now that things have come to this, I don't want them to hide anything."

"Yes, we understand." Tian Yi replied.

The next afternoon, Gao Youshi went to the Censorate to "understand the case" and then went to the Nanjing Ministry of Revenue with a full set of ceremonial guards. This was Gao Youshi's job, so naturally no one doubted it.

However, two special visitors quietly arrived at the small house in the backyard of Jinghua Trading Company where Gao Qi had been conducting the investigation a few days ago. They were Xu Hongji, Duke of Wei, and Wang Yunzhong, Earl of Chengshan.

The former is the nominal leader among the Nanjing nobles. Although he is not a Nanjing garrison meritorious official now due to his young age, his title of Duke of Wei means that he is the representative of Nanjing nobles.

As for Wang Yunzhong, the Earl of Chengshan, who was the garrison commander of Nanjing at the time, some people might wonder how a mere Earl could be a garrison commander? Well, his identity was quite complicated.

The title of Chengshanbo came from Wang Tong, but Wang Tong did not start from scratch. He was the son of Wang Zhen, a general under Emperor Chengzu during the Jingnan Campaign, and Wang Zhen died in the Jingnan Campaign. Zhu Di commented on him: "With a warrior like Wang Zhen, what can he not accomplish? If he had not died, his merits would have been the best among all the generals." Therefore, he was posthumously named Marquis of Jinxiang. During the reign of Emperor Renzong, he was posthumously named Duke of Ningguo again, and was allowed to be worshipped in the temple of Emperor Chengzu.

Even so, Wang Zhen died too early, and his son was not as well-off as the living nobles. After his father's death, Wang Tong did not inherit the title of Marquis of Jinxiang, but was demoted to the title of Marquis of Wuyi. Later, because he was responsible for the construction of Changling, he was renamed Marquis of Chengshan. During this period, he participated in many expeditions to Mongolia.

After Emperor Renzong ascended the throne, Wang Tong was appointed as the deputy governor of the rear army governor's office and was given the title of the prince's guardian. When he was appointed as the general of Jiaozhi, he was defeated and abandoned the city. He was impeached, stripped of his title and imprisoned. During the Zhengtong period, he was released and demoted to a commoner. After Emperor Daizong Zhu Qiyu ascended the throne, he served as the deputy governor and participated in the defense of Beijing. He was meritorious in resisting Yesen and was promoted to the deputy governor and stationed at Tianshou Mountain. His property was returned. In the third year of Jingtai, Wang Tong died and his son Wang Cong inherited the title of Chengshanbo. The Chengshanbo lineage was passed down from then on.

In other words, Cheng Shanbo's lineage was not actually a founding noble of Nanjing, but a Jingnan noble. His appointment as a Nanjing garrison noble also represented a kind of invisible suppression of the founding nobles by the imperial court.

Let's not talk about these for now. At this time, both parties sat down as host and guest. Xu Hongji had a trace of worry on his face. He cupped his hands and said, "Duke Jingguo, we came here today to discuss with you the misunderstanding regarding the renovation of the imperial palace."

Gao Youshi nodded slightly, his eyes swept across the faces of the two men, and then he slowly spoke: "Duke Wei, Cheng Shanbo, you are both nobles of the court. I heard that you have also made great efforts in the renovation of the imperial palace this time, and the emperor knows this. However, if there is anything inappropriate, you should also understand that this cabinet has the responsibility to investigate it thoroughly."

Xu Hongji called Gao Youshi the Duke of Jingguo, but Gao Youshi called himself a member of the cabinet. The attitudes of both sides were obviously somewhat subtle.

Wang Yunzhong's face flashed with panic, but he quickly calmed down: "Duke Jingguo, please understand, we have absolutely no selfish motives. Everything we do is for the court and for the emperor."

Gao Youshi nodded without comment. There were problems in the palace renovation case, which was as obvious as lice on a bald head. However, how big the problem was, who had the problem, whether it was voluntary, intentional, or a momentary oversight, it would be up to Gao Youshi, the prime minister who was in charge of the case, to determine the tone.

"This cabinet believes in the loyalty of the two of you and other nobles involved in this matter to the emperor. However, it seems that a lot of the funds for repairing the palace this time have gone missing, and some prices are wrong. There are also many materials used in the project that cannot be matched with the reported forms. And so on... I wonder what you two think?" Although Gao Youshi's tone was calm, even a little gentle and elegant, it was filled with unquestionable majesty.

Xu Hongji and Wang Yunzhong's faces turned ugly. They knew that Gao Youshi was giving them a final ultimatum. If they could not give a satisfactory answer, they would be severely punished.

"Duke Jingguo, there are indeed some problems here... but we have been deceived. The two of us and all the nobles involved in this case are willing to fully cooperate with Duke Jingguo's investigation. We only hope that Duke Jingguo can say a few good words for us in front of the emperor." Xu Hongji said sincerely.

  Gao Youshi frowned, looking hesitant, but secretly shook his head in his heart: I wonder if this Duke of Wei is really young and inexperienced, not very good at being an official, or is he so confident that he still thinks he can get through it with the golden signboard of Duke of Wei? It's come to this point, and you still don't know that you should make an exchange?

Seeing Gao Youshi in silence, even with a gloomy look on his face, Wang Yunzhong, the Earl of Chengshan, who had been reluctant to speak up, had to speak up: "Duke, Duke Wei means that no matter what you want to do next, he and the nobles of Nanjing will fully cooperate without any excuses."

It takes an old hand to be sensible. Gao Fusi breathed a sigh of relief and turned to Xu Hongji and asked, "Oh? Is this what Duke Wei meant?"

Xu Hongji finally realized what was happening and nodded hurriedly, "Yes, yes, my country... uh, that's exactly what I meant."

"Okay, okay." Gao Youshi finally smiled and nodded, "In that case, our guild will explain everything to you, His Majesty."

Xu Hongji felt that "explain it in detail" didn't seem to be strong enough, and he was still a little worried, so he subconsciously glanced at Wang Yunzhong.

Wang Yunzhong was much more knowledgeable than the young novice Duke. When he heard Gao Youshi call himself "Duke of this country" this time, he knew that the matter was settled. He quickly stood up, bowed deeply to Gao Youshi, and said respectfully: "Then I will leave everything to you, Duke. From now on, if you have any instructions, we will not dare to refuse."

When Xu Hongji saw this, he quickly imitated him and said, "The younger generation does the same."

Gao Fusi smiled, stood up and said, "For now, I don't have any further instructions. You two just need to wait for good news. As for the future... since we are all nobles, there will surely be a day for us to drink together. Well, it's not convenient for the Duke to come out, so I will return to the palace to report. Goodbye, you two."

"Yes, yes, Lord Duke, take care." Wang Yunzhong said with a slight bow.

Xu Hongji seemed even more anxious, and said, "As long as the Duke is free, I will welcome you at Shengqi Tower in Mochou Lake."

Gao Youshi smiled and left calmly.

  Mochou Lake is a good place to go. Zhu Yuanzhang gave Mochou Lake to the Xu family. This favor was indeed great. However, I don’t know if I will have the chance to go there… I’m afraid the emperor may not be happy to see me.
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