The First Gongsheng of Ming Dynasty

Jinyiwei, Fusi, Beizhen.

Yang Peng came here after returning from Zhang Zhou's mansion, and waiting for him was Sun Shangqi, a captain of the Embroidered Uniform Guard who had just returned from Liaodong.

"Captain Sun... No, I should call you Chief Secretary Sun. In a few days, the Northern Pacification Office will be handed over to you to manage." Yang Peng said with a smile.

Sun Shangqi said hurriedly: "I would also like to thank Eunuch Yang for your support."

Yang Peng said, "You can't say that. Everyone knows who promoted you. How can I take credit for it? I just went to Duke Cai's mansion and heard that Duke Cai is now the Minister of both the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue. You must have found the right tree."

Sun Shangqi looked a little regretful and said, "I haven't had the chance to pay a visit to you since I returned to Beijing."

"Then we should have gone to pay our respects earlier." Yang Peng said, "By the way, have you prepared the things we asked you to prepare earlier?"

Sun Shangqi quickly took out a few things, handed them to Yang Peng and said, "They are all here."

Yang Peng took it in his hand and said with a smile: "This is a proper gift."

Sun Shangqi asked in confusion: "Eunuch, are you going to give me a gift?"

Yang Peng said: "Of course, our family is going to present this gift to Duke Cai. Of course, we can't say it openly, because no one in the court can give gifts to Duke Cai casually, unless it's someone like Princess Yongkang, we can't control it."

"Yes." Sun Shangqi lowered his head.

He also knew very well that it would be too difficult to give Zhang Zhou a gift, and Zhang Zhou would never accept it.

Besides, no matter what the gift is, Zhang Zhou doesn’t seem to like it.

Yang Peng sighed, "Duke Cai has great power in the government and there are many people who want to curry favor with him. Your Majesty is also afraid that there will be factions among the people. Fortunately, our Duke Cai is very polite and never does anything that crosses the line."

"Yes." Sun Shangqi responded.

"If we want to give him a gift, we have to have something fancy." Yang Peng said, "Ordinary gifts, even if they are what Duke Cai likes, cannot be given to him. No matter what it is, Duke Cai will not accept it because he is afraid of suspicion."

"But if you're just asking him for a favor, like helping him with something, and this thing... happens to be helping him solve a problem... this gift is different."

Sun Shangqi thought that the people in senior positions really know how to have fun, and they can even come up with tricks when giving gifts.

Yang Peng said, "Let's say that those who have offended Duke Cai in the past two years are almost all on these files, right? Some are honest people, and Duke Cai cannot do anything to them for the sake of his reputation, so he should relocate them to serve as officials in other places, or demote them to the border areas, and let them suffer some hardships, so that they won't be heard buzzing like flies."

"As for the remaining mediocre people who are willing to be used by others to attack Duke Cai, we must strike them hard, convict them and send them into exile, so that they will suffer the pain of displacement."

"The last group, those who are not clean themselves and want to gain the support of the ministers by attacking Duke Cai, and who want to be enemies of Your Majesty and Duke Cai, must be dealt with properly... Not only must they be made to suffer, but they must also be eradicated, and even their relatives must be convicted and exiled."

Sun Shangqi said hurriedly: "I have just returned to Beijing and have not yet officially taken over the affairs of the Northern Pacification Office. I don't know much about the crimes of these officials."

Yang Peng said: "You don't need to understand, you are just an organizer, you are not allowed to participate in the period."

Sun Shangqi said, "I have done something inappropriate, I hope you can correct me, Eunuch Yang."

"Yes. A teachable boy." Yang Peng said with a smile, "These people are enemies of Duke Cai. Now we can catch them by their tails and convict them all. Isn't this the best gift for Duke Cai?"

"I understand."

Sun Shangqi suddenly realized that the so-called gift-giving was not material at all.

Instead, he helped Zhang Zhou to eliminate the trouble.

These troubles came from the opposition of some people within the court. Zhang Zhou did not do it himself, but Yang Peng took action. In this way, Zhang Zhou had fewer political enemies and maintained a good reputation.

Yang Peng said: "We also ask Duke Cai for help, and ask him to plead with His Majesty on behalf of these people."

Sun Shangqi was confused. How could this be considered a request for help?
Yang Peng then smiled and said, "I'm saying that these people are being held in the imperial prison and are being pressed hard by the people in the court. I can't handle it and it's also bringing some trouble to the court. I'm afraid something big will happen and it won't end well, so I asked him to come forward and deal with it."

Sun Shangqi said: "If these people can escape from the cage, it would be like letting a tiger return to the mountain."

"Don't we know?" Yang Peng said with a smile, "If we report this, at most we will pardon those who committed minor crimes, and those who are ignorant will not be reinstated. As for those who are not clean, we will deal with them as usual, and send their families to Binhai City as a gift to Duke Cai."

Sun Shangqi thought, if you give a woman to Duke Cai, that would be considered a gift.

Sending a bunch of useless family members to Binhai City, can this be called a gift?
Yang Peng sighed: "Speaking of which, Binhai City is really short of people."

Sun Shangqi said, "I haven't been back to Binhai City for nearly a year."

"Then you don't know the current situation." Yang Peng said, "Binhai City has developed to this point. What it lacks most is not land, technology or minerals, but people. An ordinary weaving woman in Binhai City can get a salary of more than one or two taels of silver per month, but it still can't recruit enough people."

"The cloth produced there has long been enough for the northern border troops, and even caused the price of cloth around the capital to drop again and again, and it is now comparable to the price of cotton, which is amazing to the world."

"Let's talk about forging steel, casting cannons, and manufacturing muskets. That's really like transporting them out in carriages. When the train from Binhai City to the capital is connected by the end of the year, it will be... spectacular."

When Yang Peng said this, he seemed to be marveling at the miracle.

Sun Shangqi was thinking, if you just arrest a few officials who are against Duke Cai and send their families over, will that solve the problem of lack of people?
Yang Peng asked, "Sun Chenshi, do you have enough manpower to plant new crops in Liaodong?"

Sun Shangqi said truthfully: "Basically... not enough. There is too much wasteland that can be reclaimed, and the soldiers and civilians who plant crops are working every day. Even so, there is still a lot of land that cannot be planted in the right season. But the harvest is very good."

Yang Peng asked with a smile: "Didn't they mobilize people from Shandong and other places?"

"The court has issued an order to relocate the people, but the people are unwilling to move," said Sun Shangqi.

"Isn't it because Liaodong is not the Central Plains, and the people don't want to migrate long distances? Or maybe they don't see the real benefits... If it's like Binhai City, everyone knows that they can make money there, a laborer can make 20 to 30 taels of silver a year, and a woman can make more than 15 taels of silver a year... Who wouldn't want to go there?"

Sun Shangqi said: "But ordinary people cannot migrate."

Yang Peng smiled and said, "It depends on who is going to push this forward. Our family is going to help Duke Cai and transfer the people from Shandong, Henan and even the people around the capital to Binhai City. This is also what His Majesty wants. Since restricting household registration and other things cannot bring prosperity, it is better to follow the development and concentrate people in Binhai City."

Sun Shangqi immediately understood what was going on and bowed, saying, "You are a man of foresight, sir." "It is Duke Cai who has foresight, and we are just doing something for him."

Yang Peng said, still holding the list of officials who were convicted, "These people are just appetizers at best."

Sun Shangqi asked: "Then how should we deal with these people?"

Yang Peng smiled and said, "It doesn't matter to them. Whether they live or die depends on your majesty's judgment. The key is that some of them are honest people. It is more difficult to deal with them. We can neither kill them nor indulge them. We must find a balance between tension and relaxation."

Sun Shangqi thought to himself, this is really difficult. It turns out that people in higher positions have different ideas from us. It was more worry-free when I was a centurion in the past.

"And then..." Yang Peng said with a sly smile on his face, "Some of the women here also need to be sent to the right place."

When Sun Shangqi heard this, he seemed to understand something immediately.

In the final analysis, he still has to send a woman to Zhang Zhou, and he doesn't have to find one himself. It can't even be considered as offering flowers to Buddha. It's simply abusing public power for personal gain.

"We have never seen a cat that doesn't steal fish in this world." Yang Peng said, "Duke Cai is in a high position and has great power. It is not easy for us to do something that he would appreciate and be satisfied with. After all, his ability is there, and we can only do something to add icing on the cake. The rest is to share the worries of His Majesty."

……

……

There was a heavy snow in the capital.

As the year draws to a close, all government offices in the capital seem to have come to a standstill. On this day, Li Shishi, as the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, went to pay a visit to Li Dongyang with an anxious mood. He arrived at the mansion at noon and sat there for the whole afternoon. He only saw Li Dongyang in person after the lights were turned on.

"Mr. Li." When Li Shishi saw Li Dongyang, he hurriedly stood up and saluted.

Li Dongyang asked: "Baizhou, do you have something important to do?"

Obviously, Li Dongyang also knew that Li Shishi was now caught up in the whirlpool of public opinion. The case previously investigated by the court had come to a standstill at the level of assistant minister, but Li Shishi himself was involved in the case.

Li Shishi said: "Mr. Li, here is a list of officials who have been convicted and transferred from the Northern Pacification Office. It is really sad to read it. Someone is deliberately trying to set up unjust imprisonments in the court."

Let’s set the tone first.

These are all wrongful imprisonments. These people should not be punished. Someone is using prison means to suppress dissidents.

Li Dongyang shook his head. He didn't seem to want to talk about this with Li Shishi.

Li Dongyang could have come back very early, but he deliberately chose not to. This actually shows that he is unwilling to get too close to Li Shishi.

"I understand." Li Dongyang said, "If there is a chance, I will mention this to His Majesty and will bring it up in the court."

Li Shishi said: "Please also ask Mr. Li for help."

"What?" Li Dongyang frowned.

Li Shishi knelt down and said, "I don't know why, but I was framed by some villains. They said I was in collusion with officials who were convicted in the court and that I had done something illegal. The details were not in the court's written memorials or the court's theories. They were all private discussions among some people, and I was overwhelmed by them."

Li Dongyang asked: "So what?"

Li Shishi continued to kneel there, lowered his head and said: "I hope to resign and leave the court, and never ask about the affairs of the court again."

"Ugh!"

After a short silence, Li Dongyang seemed to be very emotional and said, "I know what kind of person you are. It was nothing serious at first. The case was indeed deliberately expanded by someone, and even my brother was imprisoned because of it. His life or death is still unknown. I feel the same as you. I hope that Your Majesty can clear the fog and not be deceived by villains, but now it seems that things are getting more and more out of control."

Li Shishi said: "This list is the result of someone stirring up trouble. Last year, someone committed a crime that was heinous, but he was only detained for more than a month and was finally released, demoted and retained in the court. However, now some people are being implicated for minor offenses that have not been proven. It is really chilling."

It seems that Li Shishi is well aware of Li Dongyang's opposition to this case.

After all, Li Dongyang was stabbed in the flesh, and Li Dongming was involved in the case, which made Li Dongyang hate it so much that he was unable to look at the problem objectively and calmly.

In this case, Li Shishi felt that Li Dongyang would come to help him.

The example he cited was naturally Liu Yu, who was interrogated for almost the same crime the previous year. However, Liu Yu was not killed later. Instead, he was given an official position. He is still serving as an official in the court, but now he is not well-known. Even Li Shishi doesn't know where Liu Yu is serving.

But because he was the one who released the person, Li Shishi was still very clear about the details of Liu Yu's case.

Li Dongyang said: "You compile Liu Yu's case into a book, and I will give it to some people to use it as a case for reference and report it to the emperor."

Li Shishi hurriedly said: "Then what about me..."

"Bai Zhou, you and I have known each other for a long time, and I know your character. You are not a wicked person. Even if you have made minor mistakes, you should not worry too much. After all, no one has pursued your faults until now, so there is no need to be so anxious." Li Dongyang meant that you cannot retreat.

You still have to stay in the court. After this incident, perhaps you will still help me with my work wholeheartedly.

Li Shishi said: "The East Factory has already sent people to search my residence in Beijing and my ancestral home in Jiangxi. I am afraid that the next step will be..."

"You didn't do anything wrong, what are you afraid of?" Li Dongyang said sternly, "Are you discouraged just because others suspect you? As long as there is no evidence, who can do anything to you?"

Li Dongyang said this because he was really angry.

He was angry at Zhang Zhou, not Li Shishi.

In fact, Li Dongyang knew very well that Li Shishi was not clean, but in order to fight with Zhang Zhou, he seemed to have no time to consider whether Li Shishi was innocent or not. As long as Li Shishi could help him discredit Zhang Zhou in the criminal justice system and do things for him, he did not seem to care whether Li Shishi was guilty or not.

He would even help Li Shishi escape punishment.

Li Shishi said: "Mr. Li, I am willing to go through fire and water for you, but just..."

"No worries." Li Dongyang said, "No case should involve the two officials of the six ministries. This is also the rule. Even if someone finds out something, I can guarantee that you will get away with it. At least you can retire and return home to live out your life in peace." (End of this chapter)