Chapter 367: Deeply Calculating Mind

Dressed in a bright red tiger-and-leopard patterned silk robe and wearing a silver headdress, the middle-aged man who stepped forward with these words had a deathly pale face. He was accompanied only by two followers who followed closely behind—none other than Meng Xian, who had returned to office after completing his mourning period for his wife. He gave Zhang Yue a slight nod before coldly staring at the two bewildered soldiers.

Officers in the Ming Dynasty did not necessarily come from military families, but the ordinary soldiers below them certainly did. If they couldn’t leave the military, they had to serve there for life. It was rare for them to be transferred from one unit to another; they usually stayed in one place until death. These two soldiers were in their early thirties and had served in the Changshan Guard for at least ten years. How could they not recognize Meng Xian, the highly trusted commander of the central guard under Prince Zhao? Yet now that this official had returned to his position, he hadn’t shown up in the past few days, claiming he was still dealing with matters at home. Whenever the commanders made a decision, he would simply stamp his seal without hesitation. So why did he appear suddenly now?

“Lord Meng…”

“The Changshan Guard used to be known for its strict discipline and well-organized training—what a formidable army! But look at you now! How dare you obstruct an official from the Ministry of War and speak such outrageous nonsense! How bold you are!”

Zhang Yue had always seen Meng Xian speak in a gentle tone before. Now, seeing him so stern and authoritative, he immediately understood that this was Meng Xian re-establishing his authority as a former official now in charge again. Standing aside, he watched as the two soldiers were stunned by his words and eventually knelt down in shame. Soon, the noise outside attracted attention inside, and in no time, a group of officers in various uniforms rushed out. The two leaders wore bright red robes and black boots, their faces filled with embarrassment.

As soon as Meng Xian saw them, he said with a fake smile, “Lord Wang, Lord Wu—it seems the Changshan Guard’s office has become quite impressive now. You even dare to stop an official from the Ministry of War!”

Wang Fang and Wu Rong, the commanders of the left and right guards, had been suppressed by Meng Xian for a long time. After he left, they joined forces to exclude the new commander of the central guard. Hearing that Meng Xian had been dismissed and lost his wife, and would likely never rise again, they had even rejoiced for a while. Now that Meng Xian had returned to his position, the two who had neither visited him in mourning nor offered condolences felt extremely guilty. Hearing what Meng Xian said, they were stunned and quickly glanced at Zhang Yue.

It was just a minor official from the Ministry of War—what was the big deal… Wait, such a young official from the Ministry of War… It seemed there was only one like him in the whole world!

As the two were still puzzled, Meng Xian strode forward and bowed solemnly before Zhang Yue, saying, “The Changshan Guards were bestowed by the Emperor upon Prince Zhao. They must obey the Emperor’s orders and the Military Ministry’s directives. Though a prime minister may be powerful, those two men not only failed to recognize their superiors but also spoke arrogantly against the Emperor. Even if Lord Zhang is willing to forgive them, I dare not do so. Otherwise, if word gets out, people will say the Changshan Guards are arrogant because of their favoritism! What do you think, Lord Zhang—eighty lashes?”

Although he had once had ties to the Meng family, Zhang Yue didn’t want to get involved in Meng Xian’s struggles for power with his colleagues. He simply replied indifferently, “This is a matter within the Changshan Guards. I am merely an assistant in the Military Ministry’s armory department and not qualified to answer Lord Meng’s question. Whether military law should be applied is determined by the military regulations.”

Upon hearing about the eighty lashes, Wang Fang, the commander of the left guards, and Wu Rong, the commander of the right guards, were shocked. They thought Meng Xian used to be like an old tiger, but now he was showing off his authority right away—was this meant to intimidate them? Though they didn’t know what those two soldiers had said, Wang Fang stepped forward and said with a smile, “Military regulations only prescribe twenty lashes for disrespecting superiors. Besides, they were just confused and didn’t recognize who they were talking to…”

“Confused? Lord Wang, why not ask them what they said?” Meng Xian sneered and ordered firmly, “Eighty lashes—not one less! If they complain, double the punishment!”

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Yue saw the silent officers behind Wang Fang and Wu Rong bowing in unison and saying, “As ordered.” Looking at the two commanders, who were stunned and at a loss, he suddenly understood. It turned out that even before taking office, Meng Xian had already taken control of the officers beneath him, effectively sidelining these two who should have been his equals. Even if it weren’t for Zhang Yue’s timely intervention today, Meng Xian would have found another way to intimidate Wang and Wu tomorrow. What a clever strategy.

When Zhang Yue followed the officers of the Changshan Guard into the passageway from the courtyard, the execution had already begun. He could hear the thudding sound of clubs hitting flesh, but not a single cry, groan, or plea for mercy. Although the military clubs were not as severe as those used by the Jinyiwei, they were still far more brutal. After all, since Zhu Di ascended the throne, he had rarely used those clubs, and even when he did, it was mostly to discipline nobles, usually showing mercy. Yet among the soldiers were fierce and unruly individuals; they were not allowed to twist around or shout, otherwise they would be punished doubly—a punishment no ordinary person could endure. He also noticed more acutely that aside from the two guards in charge, Wang and Wu, whose faces were pale, the other officers seemed to exhibit an indescribable excitement, with some even licking their lips.

When they went inside to discuss the matter properly, he saw Wang Fang and Wu Rong’s expressions change drastically, clearly not matching the appearance of them having jointly submitted a memorial earlier. Before either of them could react, Meng Xian spoke up first: “With the weather getting colder, it’s thanks to the Emperor’s kindness that we can still handle this matter before the twelfth lunar month. I heard that most of the troops in the capital and the imperial guards have already been equipped with new guns. It’s time for us, the Changshan Guard, as well. With ten guns per hundred soldiers, and 15,000 soldiers in the three guards, that should be 1,500 guns. Other weapons are also in poor condition; many swords, shields, bows, and arrows need to be replaced.”

Although Zhang Yue had heard before that the quality of firearms in the Ming Dynasty was poor, there was no doubt that after spending half a year traveling between the Armory Bureau and the capital troops, he had long shed those ingrained impressions. Indeed, issues such as guns exploding, gunpowder getting damp, short range, and failure to fire did exist objectively. But at least in the early Ming Dynasty, there was unprecedented emphasis on firearms. The high success rate of production at the Armory Bureau and the excellent quality of the firearms were unimaginable. If 1,500 new guns were really to be distributed to the Changshan Guard, even if the supply of gunpowder were restricted, who knew what might happen?

Fortunately, there were precedents for this. He immediately smiled and said, “Lord Meng, aside from the Shengji Camp, even among the imperial guards, new guns are not distributed according to the original ratio. After all, some of the old Hongwu-era guns can still be used, and replacing them all would be extremely costly. So all the imperial guards are equipped at a rate of one hundred guns per guard. Besides, the production capacity of the Armory Bureau is always limited.”

Meng Xian frowned but didn’t argue and promptly agreed cheerfully. He then stayed behind to discuss many matters with Zhang Yue, while the other thousand-household leaders also offered their suggestions. From start to finish, the other two commanders were completely ignored, never given a chance to speak. In the end, the two, having no desire or face to stay any longer, simply found an excuse to leave together. This time, aside from Zhang Yue speaking up to keep them, no one else showed any reaction.

After leaving the corridor, Wang Fang saw the glaring bloodstains on the bluestone floor, which made him even angrier. He cursed angrily, “Meng Xian really goes too far! I thought he would learn from his mistakes, but it turns out he was just pretending all this time!”

Although both were commanders of the Changshan guards, Meng Xian was the son of Marquis Meng Shan of Baoding, a legitimate descendant of noble families—someone they both knew they couldn’t compare to. At this moment, Wu Rong’s face was also red with anger as he suggested angrily, “How about we go see Prince Zhao and tell him that he’s undermining us out of ulterior motives, and ask the prince to deal with him!”

“Brother, wake up! If he can return, it’s only because the prince is behind it… Japanese pirates? Where in the world could there be so many of them?” Wang Fang, filled with indignation, saw an officer carrying documents bowing to him before entering and sneered again. “Today, someone still bows to us, but tomorrow there might not even be a pretense of respect! I heard a rumor a few days ago but didn’t pay much attention, but now I remember it. Do you know that Meng Xian recommended his brother to Prince Zhao?”

“Meng Xian has a brother? I didn’t hear about that.”

“All those dukes and marquises are nobles—whose doesn’t have multiple wives and concubines! The current Marquis of Baoding is the legitimate son of the first Marquis of Baoding, but there are other illegitimate sons from the same generation, including several good-for-nothing ones. The one Meng Xian recommended this time is his brother Meng San… Hmph, not even a decent name—no idea what his birth mother’s status is!”

The two spoke in not very loud voices, but Wang Yu, who was carrying documents on his way to the main hall, had an extraordinary ear since childhood and heard everything clearly. He had been sent there by his uncle Gao Zheng, already feeling uneasy, and now found the intrigues among the high officials even more complicated. When he reached the entrance of the main hall, he spoke to the guards there, thinking it would be enough to have the message passed on. But after reporting it, they ordered him to enter.

He merely glanced at the room filled with brightly colored official robes before kneeling on one knee. He didn’t even know what he had said; he just stood up under someone else’s orders, in a daze. Whether it was a thousand-household commander or a military governor, they were all superiors he had only ever looked up to in the past. He recognized them, but they didn’t recognize him. As for Meng Xian, the commander of the central guard, it was the first time he had encountered him, so he felt utterly constrained. Yet when he saw the person sitting to Meng Xian’s left, he was stunned speechless.

Was that not his wife Jin Su’s third cousin?

When Wang Yu entered earlier, Zhang Yue had recognized this cousin-in-law. Seeing his nervous and awkward behavior, he guessed that this man was probably just an ordinary soldier with little experience in such occasions. To his surprise, however, Meng Xian’s tone seemed to carry an unusual degree of concern. Faced with this situation, he suddenly became unsure what to do.

With many matters to settle one by one, Zhang Yue and Meng Xian made another trip to the headquarters of the Three Guards in Changshan outside the city, not returning until the sun was low in the west. As they parted ways, after everyone else had left, Meng Xian suddenly invited Zhang Yue: “A few days ago, Princess Chenliu sent a letter saying she would be returning to the capital soon and would visit Minmin if she had time. Now that the year-long mourning period is over, I still don’t have anyone at home to receive guests if Princess Chenliu comes. I’ve already talked to Jun Ge’s wife; if your wife is available… Back when I was in trouble, you and your wife helped our family a lot. Perhaps we could keep in touch from now on.”