Chapter 32: Each Insists on Their Own Story

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The Front Hall.

There were considerably more people present today than when memorials had been presented in the past.

The Grand Secretary, Yan Song, stood at the very front, a court tablet in hand.

Behind him stood Zhang Zhi and Lü Ben, both fellow grand secretaries.

After them, in order, came Wen Yuan, the current Minister of Personnel; Xia Bangmo, Minister of Revenue; Xu Jie, Minister of Rites; Yu Maojian, Minister of Justice; Wen Ming, Minister of Works; and Tu Qiao, Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate.

There was also Zhan Rong, the Left Vice Minister of War, who was currently handling the Ministry of War's affairs. The former Minister of War, Zhao Tingrui, had earlier been dismissed and sent home to live in retirement. His successor as Left Vice Minister, Fan Cong, had then refused to assume the post of Minister of War, enraging the emperor and losing his own office in consequence.

Ten men in all, each wearing a different expression.

Their exchanged glances differed just as greatly.

Tap, tap.

As these ten men, representing the core of the Ming court's power, were still trying to guess why the emperor had summoned all the ministers with such unusual urgency, footsteps could already be heard approaching.

Everyone bent forward and saluted.

“Your臣s pay their respects to Your Majesty. We wish Your Majesty peace and good health.”

Zhu Zaiyu accompanied the Jiajing Emperor from behind as they slowly ascended the imperial dais. He helped the old Daoist take his seat upon the throne, then stood respectfully at his side.

He also took the opportunity to examine the men before him.

Having deliberately familiarized himself with the officials of the previous court during this period, especially the current ministers of the Six Ministries, he quickly identified each of them.

Once Jiajing had settled into his seat, he swept his cold gaze across the hall.

“You may dispense with ceremony.”

He ignored Yan Song and the others' greetings entirely.

That made everyone's hearts tighten once again.

They raised their heads, only to discover that the Crown Prince was there as well.

They had no choice but to bow again.

“Your臣s pay their respects to His Highness the Crown Prince.”

Zhu Zaiyu could only return the salute with cupped hands.

Only then did Jiajing speak.

“The Grand Secretary is seventy years old and has labored tirelessly in the conduct of state affairs. Bring him a seat.”

Yan Song had often been granted a seat when presenting memorials before the emperor, but that privilege had always been extended when he came alone to the Palace of Everlasting Longevity.

To receive such treatment today, in front of so many people, left a flicker of surprise on his face. Huang Jin had already brought over a padded stool.

“Grand Secretary, please sit.”

With questions filling his heart, Yan Song could only join his hands in thanks under the complicated gazes of the others before slowly sitting down.

Only then did Jiajing speak in a cool voice.

“I have summoned you all today because the Embroidered Uniform Guard has submitted a confidential memorial.”

With that, he turned his eyes toward Zhu Zaiyu.

Understanding at once, Zhu Zaiyu took the confidential memorial concerning Zhu Wan's suicide from the inner palace and carried it first to Yan Song.

“Grand Secretary, this is the memorial.”

Yan Song looked up at the young Crown Prince and smiled.

“Thank you, Your Highness.”

Under the eyes of everyone present, Yan Song slowly opened the memorial and read it. At a glance, his shoulder gave a sudden jerk.

Suspicion and curiosity appeared on the faces of the others.

By then, Yan Song's expression had become exceedingly complicated. When he handed the memorial to Zhang Zhi beside him, his arm was trembling faintly.

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Zhang Zhi was even more astonished when he saw this. He hurriedly accepted the memorial, and in an instant his eyes widened in utter disbelief.

Lü Ben, standing beside him, looked completely bewildered. Before Zhang Zhi could pass the memorial over, he reached out and snatched it away.

Before long, the confidential memorial had made its way through the hands of everyone in the hall.

The atmosphere had quietly changed.

Zhu Zaiyu glanced toward Jiajing on the throne. A trace of amusement played across the emperor's face as he studied the grand secretaries and the heads of the Six Ministries.

“Zhu Wan is dead.”

“I gave him authority to act at his discretion. He was the imperial commissioner overseeing Zhejiang and Fujian and supervising the military affairs of the maritime routes, yet he died in the southeast!”

The emperor's voice, impossible to read, echoed through the hall.

Everyone swallowed, feeling the skin of their scalps grow numb.

Lü Ben hesitated, but at last gritted his teeth and spoke.

“Your Majesty, Zhu Wan's suicide is a grave matter. I respectfully request that Your Majesty issue an edict urging Chief Supervising Secretary of the Military Section Du Ruzhen to investigate the matter thoroughly and submit a report to the court.”

He placed heavy emphasis on the words “suicide.”

His meaning was unmistakable.

Zhu Wan's death could not be attributed to assassination or anything of the kind. It had to be firmly established that he had taken his own life.

After Lü Ben spoke, Minister of Personnel Wen Yuan stepped forward.

“Your Majesty, Zhu Wan's suicide had its causes. Since last year, Lin Maohé of the Fujian Maritime Trade Office, Censor Zhou Liang, Supervising Secretary Ye Tang, and others have submitted memorials stating that Zhu Wan acted with excessive force and had clashed with the Japanese envoy Zhou Liang. This year, the Ministry of War and the Fujian Investigating Commissioner successively impeached Zhu Wan for abusing his authority and killing wantonly, accusing him of killing Zhou Liang and claiming the merit. Only then was he dismissed and ordered to remain at home pending investigation. Chief Supervising Secretary of the Military Section Du Ruzhen and Investigating Censor Chen Zongkui have yet to arrive, but he must already have learned of the matter. Overcome with fear and remorse for his crimes, he therefore took his own life to atone.”

After seeing Lü Ben come forward, Zhu Zaiyu watched this Minister of Personnel step out and continue piling accusations upon Zhu Wan. He gave a cold laugh inwardly.

Minister of Personnel Wen Yuan was also a native of Zhejiang, his ancestral home in Ningbo Prefecture.

That was the same Ningbo Prefecture where, the previous year, the Japanese envoy Zhou Liang had been staying at the Ningbo Guesthouse when the incident involving the thrown letter had occurred.

At that moment, Jiajing's gaze passed over Lü Ben and Wen Yuan before finally settling, almost imperceptibly, on Yan Song, seated upon the padded stool.

Yet before Yan Song could speak, another man stepped forward.

Zhu Zaiyu took a closer look.

It was none other than Xu Jie, the current Minister of Rites, Hanlin Academician, and Director of the Hanlin Academy.

Xu Jie glanced at Zhu Zaiyu, then turned toward the emperor on the throne and bowed.

“Your Majesty, may I ask whether Imperial Censor Zhu left any final words when he took his own life?”

Zhu Zaiyu raised an eyebrow.

He had not expected Xu Jie to raise such a question at this moment.

Jiajing did not answer.

The hall fell silent.

At last, after pondering for a long while, Yan Song slowly spoke.

“Your Majesty.”

The moment he heard Yan Song's voice, Jiajing turned toward him.

Yan Song continued.

“When Zhu Wan went south, he had been appointed imperial commissioner over Zhejiang and Fujian and had also received Your Majesty's edict granting him authority to act at his discretion. The matter of the letter thrown into the Ningbo Guesthouse last year remains unresolved. Since the beginning of this year, officials both in the provinces and at court have repeatedly impeached Zhu Wan, accusing him of ordering Ke Qiao and Lu Tang to kill without authorization. They have disputed whether the ninety-six men, including Lu Guangtou, whom Zhu Wan executed after the dispute, were bandits or common people.”

At this point, Yan Song raised his head. The Grand Secretary, who had seemed on the verge of drowsing, now had eyes clear and bright.

“Your Majesty is wise and broad-minded. When impeachments arose in court, Your Majesty ordered Du Ruzhen and Chen Zongkui to go south and investigate the case. But the facts have not yet been established. Even though Zhu Wan was dismissed and ordered to remain at home, it cannot be said that he was therefore guilty. Still less can it be said that he killed without authorization or took innocent lives to claim merit.”

This was a declaration of position.

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A declaration from the Grand Secretary.

For a moment, the expressions of Lü Ben, Wen Yuan, and the others changed sharply.

Yan Song straightened and said in a deep voice:

“Zhu Wan was a high-ranking second-grade official of our court. I truly cannot imagine what could possibly have driven him to disregard the emperor's favor and take his own life in the southeast.”

He had openly denied that Zhu Wan had died by suicide.

As soon as Yan Song made his position known, Minister of Revenue Xia Bangmo immediately stepped forward. He cupped his hands around his court tablet.

“Your Majesty! Ever since Imperial Censor Zhu received his commission, he has labored with all his heart and strength. After being appointed imperial commissioner over Zhejiang and Fujian, he rigorously enforced the maritime prohibitions, directed military operations, recaptured the Twin Islands of Ningbo, divided his forces to garrison Zhangzhou, Quanzhou, and Funing, and subdued the bandits of Wen, Pan, and Nanji. After three months of continuous fighting, the seas were swiftly pacified. He shattered the bandit armies, suppressed the mining rebels of Chuzhou, and won a great victory at Zhao'an. How could a minister so loyal to the state, so devoted to his duty, and so fearless in the face of danger be guilty? How could he have committed any wrong? Why would he have been driven to suicide?”

Although this Minister of Revenue obeyed Yan Song in everything—consulting the Grand Secretary before every major decision and communicating with his younger colleague at the Yan household before carrying out even minor matters—his words today, though clearly intended to support Yan Song, were also fair and measured.

But after Xia Bangmo had joined Yan Song in defending Zhu Wan, Zhan Rong, the Left Vice Minister of War currently handling the Ministry's affairs, stepped forward with a gloomy expression.

Zhan Rong first glanced at Xia Bangmo, unmistakable mockery and contempt in his eyes.

Only then did he turn toward the emperor and bow.

“Your Majesty, ever since the reign of the founding emperor, our dynasty has rigorously enforced the maritime prohibitions. The southeastern coastal provinces are mountainous and possess little arable land. The people's livelihoods are difficult to sustain, and they often take boats to sea to fish. Some commoners and petty merchants conduct a little trade along the coast, all because poverty leaves them no other choice.”

“The sages possessed the virtue of nurturing the people. Yet ever since Zhu Wan assumed office as commissioner of the two provinces, he claimed to be acting under imperial orders and enforced the maritime prohibitions with severity, without distinguishing right from wrong. His campaigns against the various bandits and his suppression of the mining rebels of Chuzhou were indeed meritorious. But it is also true that he wantonly killed the coastal populace!”

“Under the pretext of Your Majesty's edict, Zhu Wan treated the occasional petty criminals and illicit traders along the coast—men who should have been dealt with by the local authorities—as bandits and traitors without distinction. He ordered his subordinates to slaughter them at will, needlessly multiplying the killing. The people of the southeast were terrified and came to fear officials as they feared tigers. This was in no way consistent with the benevolent governance of the imperial court, nor with the compassion Your Majesty extends to all the common people.”

“Now that the court has sent investigators south, Zhu Wan has learned of the matter and must surely realize his own guilt. Had it become known to the public, he would have faced the curses of the people, the impeachments of every official, and Your Majesty's wrath. Thus he took his own life to atone!”

“Zhu Wan is now dead, but the men who carried out his wanton killings under his orders, such as Ke Qiao and Lu Tang, are still alive. I respectfully request that Your Majesty issue an edict charging Ke Qiao, Lu Tang, and the others with crimes and executing them, so that the truth may be made clear!”

On one side, Yan Song and Xia Bangmo sought to defend Zhu Wan, insisting that he was innocent.

On the other, Zhan Rong of the Ministry of War directly fixed the charge of wanton killing upon Zhu Wan and sought to have Ke Qiao, Lu Tang, and the others condemned and executed along with him.

It was truly a clash of spearpoints against wheat. Each held to his own argument, and neither would yield.

Upon the throne, Jiajing's expression was dark.

The situation had reached an impasse, and the emperor was deep in thought over how to deal with it.

At that moment, Zhu Zaiyu's body shifted noticeably. When he raised his head, his face showed that he wished to speak but hesitated.

Jiajing caught the small movement at once and raised an eyebrow.

“Does the Crown Prince have something to say?”

The emperor's sudden question immediately drew the attention of everyone present.

For a moment, more than a dozen pairs of eyes turned toward him.

Zhu Zaiyu remained calm and composed. With measured dignity, he stepped forward, cupped his hands, and spoke.

“Father, I have something to say.”