Chapter Ninety-Two: Opening the Sea, Part Four

It was another grand court audience.

The mighty soldiers of the empire stood in neat ranks, while the sharp crack of whips rang out one after another, pressing down every murmur across the square.

Zhu Qizhen yawned, gathered himself, and put on a grave expression. Wearing the dragon robe, he took his place on the throne with Wang Zhen’s careful support.

By then the sun had risen in the east, but the light was still faint. Every shadow lay stretched long and thin, filling the stone paving of the square. Only in the narrow seams between them did a little golden brightness leak through.

Zhu Qizhen had long since grown used to this chilly morning stillness.

In any case, it was all formal ceremony. All he had to do was sit properly on the throne and wait for the Grand Secretariat to finish presenting the six matters of state. When the morning audience was dismissed, he could go to the Hall of Literary Glory for lessons.

Habits became nature.

According to custom, Yang Shiqi was to present six items. Two of them Zhu Qizhen had already seen in advance. One concerned the robbery of silver meant for the garrisons along the Songhua River. With the help of the Three Guards of Jianzhou, however, the thieves had already been hunted down and slaughtered to the last man.

For this, Zhu Qizhen felt a trace of pride.

Had he not personally approved the opening of border trade with the Jurchens, and thereby saved the people of the Three Guards of Jianzhou, this theft of government silver might well have been allowed to drift into oblivion.

Iha Shuo had made it very clear: after the fifth year of Xuande, nearly all the appointed civilian officials under the Nurgan Regional Military Commission had withdrawn back to Liaodong.

And this robbery of pay silver, though it looked at first like the work of a band of reckless petty thieves, made Zhu Qizhen think twice when it came to the Nurgan jurisdiction. Was there perhaps Oirat involvement behind it?

He did not ask, and Yang Shiqi did not ask either. In any case, the matter had been settled.

The other matter was the series of measures Yang Shiqi had taken: a vice minister of war and a censor from the Ministry of Punishments had both been thrown into prison on charges of corruption and dereliction of duty.

The words Yang Shiqi had spoken when Zhu Qizhen ascended the throne were now all being fulfilled one by one. The garrisons across the realm were being audited. Perhaps because so many aristocrats held power, many reforms in the garrison system could not be fully carried through. But within the civil bureaucracy, Yang Shiqi met with no obstruction at all.

With calm, unruffled ease, he had one unqualified official after another imprisoned, and the atmosphere throughout the court was transformed.

A vice minister of war was no minor figure.

Zhu Qizhen had also examined the record of the Vice Minister of War, Li Yu. He truly had it coming. Yet for such a senior official to be imprisoned while the court itself remained almost serenely unchanged revealed just how formidable Yang Shiqi’s methods were.

Zhu Qizhen thought to himself, If the Five Army Command is not in Yang Shiqi’s hands, then I would likely feel this edge at my back even today.

For a moment Zhu Qizhen drifted into a daze.

Then a resounding voice rang out. “Your servant, Hanlin scholar and chief academician of the Imperial Academy, Li Shimian, has a memorial to present.”

Hearing the familiar voice of Lecturer Li, Zhu Qizhen’s body gave a slight start, and his gaze immediately went to Yang Shiqi.

According to the usual procedure, once Yang Shiqi finished presenting business, Wang Zhen should have called, “If there is business, present it; if not, the audience is dismissed,” and everyone would go back to his own affairs.

How had Li Shimian managed to make a scene like this?

Yang Shiqi also frowned and swept the hall with his eyes. At once a supervisory censor stepped forward and said, “Academician Li, you have broken court decorum before the throne. Do you know your guilt?”

Li Shimian advanced several paces, knelt below the steps, and said in a ringing voice, “I know my guilt. After the audience, I shall naturally go to the Censorate to accept punishment. But my own offense is a small matter; the affairs of the state are what matter most. I have memorialized everything, and the eunuch Wang Zhen has ten great crimes.

“Wang Zhen, once a man mutilated by punishment, was favorably treated by the former emperor and entrusted with instructing Your Majesty. Yet Wang Zhen is narrow in vision and has hampered the sagacious hearing of the throne. This is his first crime.

“Wang Zhen has accepted bribes, and the eunuchs of the inner court all worship him as a sworn father. Whenever anyone seeks promotion, they must first bribe Wang Zhen. Wang Zhen himself does not so much as touch a single coin, but he has placed his nephew Wang Li in charge of receiving them all.

“Wang Li is nothing but a commoner, yet he has enclosed land and built a mansion in the capital, living richer than princes and marquises. All this is by Wang Zhen’s power.

“This is his second crime.

“The former emperor ended the voyages across the oceans in order to soothe the people, yet Wang Zhen harbors hidden intentions and pursues merit for himself, showing no regard for the former emperor’s virtue. This is his third crime.”

And so on, item by item, ten grave offenses in all.

Some concerned the transfer of control over the Brocade Guards, some his manipulation of the court, some his collusion with frontier generals, some his secret dealings with the Oirats.

But when Zhu Qizhen heard the part about the voyages across the oceans, he immediately understood where this all came from.

It was the rumor Wang Zhen had let slip, the last straw that had forced the change in course.

By now Wang Zhen was trembling all over.

Even he, at this moment, had probably never imagined that the eunuchs of later generations would be able to rise to the level of a Nine-Thousand-Year Lord in the Ming court. Though he remained useful at Zhu Qizhen’s side, Zhu Qizhen himself possessed a fierce will to power. He could not be said to entrust everything to others, and in many matters there was little Wang Zhen could do. So how could he have expected such a scene?

Zhu Qizhen’s eyes passed over Hu Ying, but Hu Ying did not move at all, as though he had heard none of Li Shimian’s words.

By rights, though the ritual of the court audience did not require the Minister of Rites to oversee it, the Minister of Rites was still the foremost among the ritual officials. He could not simply sit by and watch Li Shimian speak so beyond his station.

Yet Hu Ying behaved as if he had seen nothing.

At once Zhu Qizhen understood. Hu Ying was probably pleased to see this happen.

Among the five men of the Grand Secretariat, Yang Shiqi and Hu Ying were alike. Yang Rong seemed to notice Zhu Qizhen’s gaze and gave him a subtle look.

Zhu Qizhen turned his head and instantly understood. He kicked Wang Zhen lightly and said in a low voice, “Dismiss the audience.”

Only then did Wang Zhen seem to wake from a dream. “The audience is dismissed.”

The words had barely left his mouth when Zhu Qizhen was the first to rise and leave.

There were rules for how an audience ended, who left first and who followed after. The moment Zhu Qizhen moved, the imperial guards at once escorted him away.

As soon as they moved, the civil and military officials below also began to withdraw, leaving Li Shimian standing alone in the hall.

Zhu Qizhen strode toward the Palace of Heavenly Purity and said to the guards beside him, “Send someone to the Hall of Literary Glory and inform Master Wang that I will not be able to attend class today.”

“Yes.” A guard was immediately dispatched.

Then he said, “Send someone to bring Master Yu here. At once.”

Another guard hurried off.

As he walked, Zhu Qizhen thought and said, “Send someone to the Grand Secretariat to wait for Lord Yang Rong. If he has time, tell him to come see me.”

His steps grew faster and faster, and so did his words. One by one the guards were sent away, and Wang Zhen only grew more frightened.

The reason was simple.

Under ordinary circumstances, Zhu Qizhen never gave direct orders to those around him. These little matters were all arranged by Wang Zhen. But now Zhu Qizhen had issued so many instructions, and not a single word had been for Wang Zhen.

How could Wang Zhen not feel uneasy?

Back in the Palace of Heavenly Purity, Zhu Qizhen stood before the throne in the main hall, drew a long breath, and said, “Old Wang, speak for yourself.”

With a thud, Wang Zhen fell to his knees. “Your servant is wronged, Your Majesty. I have always been single-minded in serving you, never daring to step even half a pace beyond what is proper. Many matters were only handled by me on Your Majesty’s behalf. It is these people who cannot bear to see Your Majesty prosper.”

“I truly am wronged.”

Zhu Qizhen said, “Very well, I know. Some of these charges were borne by you in my place. But how did Wang Li come to be? Why have I never heard you mention that you have such a nephew? Considering how faithfully you have served me, how could I not give him a future?”

Wang Zhen shuddered all over. He knew this matter could not be washed clean. At this point, if he wanted to live, he could only move the emperor by appealing to feeling. He kept bowing until his forehead struck the floor and said, “Your servant knows his guilt. Your servant knows his guilt.

“I am crippled. My life has been like this from the beginning. In my heart I know it is wrong, but I simply cannot bear to look away from gold and silver. I truly cannot help myself. Even if Your Majesty punishes me, I will have no complaint. I only fear that once I am gone, those ministers in the outer court will become even more arrogant.

“Your Majesty, if you strike a dog, you must look to its master. I am Your Majesty’s dog. What they are striking is Your Majesty’s face.”

Zhu Qizhen gave a cold laugh. “With a old dog like you around, do I still have a face?”

Hearing that, Wang Zhen finally let out a breath and said, “I have brought shame upon Your Majesty. But my loyalty to Your Majesty is beyond question.”

Having been at Zhu Qizhen’s side for so long, Wang Zhen knew him best. At the sound of his tone, he understood that this storm had at last passed.

Whatever else happened, his life had been saved.