Chapter 344: Cutting Through the Chaos with a Swift Blade
Although there were three or four military garrisons along the coast, there were not many troops stationed in the various counties of Ningbo Prefecture. Thus, when soldiers in uniform suddenly filled the streets, charging around recklessly, the common people felt an inexplicable fear, and discussions abounded everywhere. Though many had witnessed the assassination attempt at the market, they were too panicked to understand what was happening at the time.
However, when the residents living near Fan’s home saw a large group of soldiers storming in to search and arrest people, their fear turned into confusion. As they watched box after box of belongings being carried out of Fan’s residence, and heard that Fan Tongli, the head of the Maritime Trade Bureau, had amassed huge wealth by colluding with Japanese pirates, the people remained skeptical. It wasn’t until some of the boxes were opened by the soldiers, revealing gold, silver, and precious gems like jade, that the crowd erupted in outrage.
A high-ranking government official colluding with pirates?!
Zhejiang had long been plagued by pirates, and Ningbo Prefecture suffered greatly from them. As a result, the people harbored deep hatred for pirates. Any other crime might have been tolerable, but colluding with pirates was utterly unacceptable. Even those scholars who had previously been dissatisfied with the soldiers’ aggressive actions now kept quiet.
Pushed roughly into a carriage by the soldiers, Fan Tong felt as if the sky had fallen on him. He wasn’t foolish enough to store all his valuables at home, but precisely because of that, watching the soldiers carry his belongings out in droves filled him with genuine panic. Though he couldn’t recognize everything, he recognized many of the items. Only a small portion was a gift from those foreigners; most were rare treasures given by “fake foreigners.” Without his authorization as the head of the Maritime Trade Bureau, how could those impostors enter the port to trade? And where did the evidence of his collusion with pirates come from? He had clearly ordered it destroyed long ago!
It wasn’t until the carriage had gone far away and he was tightly guarded by four soldiers that he suddenly snapped out of his daze. He immediately demanded sternly, “I am the head of the Maritime Trade Bureau appointed by the Ministry of Personnel. Where do you intend to take me by force?”
“Take you by force?” A voice came from outside the carriage. “Mr. Fan must be confused. This is an arrest, nothing to do with taking someone by force.”
At this moment, Fan Tong couldn’t care less about anything else. He said in a tone of feigned authority: “Arrest me? Ridiculous! Civil and military powers are separate—what right do you have to arrest an official like me! To remove my official hat, an imperial edict and a document from the Ministry of Personnel are required!”
“Sir, there’s no need for you to show off your authority to us. Lord Zhang has issued orders with the Imperial Sword. Now, troops from Guanhaiwei, Longshan Station, and Dinghai Rear Station have been ordered to send 500 men to Ningbo Prefecture to eliminate spies colluding with Japanese pirates and to investigate those assassins of unknown origin. Within three days, the local authorities must check the population according to the tax registers and arrest any suspicious individuals.” The man in front of the carriage paused briefly before adding in a firmer tone, “Lord Zhang has also sent urgent documents to General Zhang using imperial seals, urging them to continue south after clearing the islands off Zhoushan, resupply in Changle, Fujian, and then seek local guides to head straight for Dongfan. Of course, Lord Zhang will first report this to the emperor, so it’s an urging rather than an order.”
Hearing these words, Fan Tong’s face turned ashen. He certainly knew who was still in the city. A normal inspection might have been tolerable, but conducting one based on the tax registers would have disastrous consequences. Moreover, the Imperial Sword was clearly broken—how could he still dare use it as an excuse to control the government? Was Zhang Yue trying to commit suicide?
Yet, the carriage traveled for a long distance before suddenly stopping. As the curtain was lifted, an expressionless officer stood before him, causing Fan Tong to tremble with fear. He knew too much—was it already happening…
“I suppose Lord Fan knows that having committed such a grave offense, the emperor will surely order you tried in prison. If you fall into the hands of the Jinyiwei, you likely won’t even get a quick death. Even if you confess to those behind the scenes, it’s unlikely you’ll be able to do anything to them.”
“I…”
Though he wanted to retort, Fan Tong knew this was the sad reality. A final thought crossed his mind. The officer seemed to read his thoughts and said with a smirk, “Under the emperor’s rule, one can only hope for a quick death. But if you die like this, out of anger, your wife, children, and concubines will surely be confiscated by the government.”
“You…” Fan Tong struggled for a while before finally giving up in despair, gradually realizing, “Do to me whatever you want, the Jinyiwei. I only ask that you spare my family. I’ll tell you everything I know.”
Faced with Zhang Yue’s decisive and forceful actions, Wang Daren and Lu Feng in the Wang family were also greatly shaken. The gold, silver, jewels, and various documents seized from several secret locations based on the information provided by Fan Xiyan not only proved Fan Tong’s guilt, but the thoroughness of Zhang Yue’s list was truly astonishing—small merchants smuggling for profit were classified as one group, those selling supplies to the Japanese pirates as another, and those secretly colluding with them as yet another. Even the Yan family, the wealthiest family in Ningbo Prefecture, was divided into different categories; more than a dozen members were arrested, while none of the rest were touched… Along with various other categories, the detailed classifications were so thorough that it was hard to believe they were accomplished by just three people sent by Zhang Yue.
Even Lu Feng, who usually favored sharing credit, began to doubt things. Although Zhang Yue had killed people in Qingzhou under imperial orders, he had fled in panic, while Zhang Yue remained unshaken. Now that the “Imperial Sword” was broken, Zhang Yue wasn’t in a hurry to resolve the issue but instead acted even more openly. He couldn’t help but worry that what happened in Qingzhou might repeat itself. Would hundreds of heads have to fall this time?
Zhang Yue didn’t particularly despise merchants who smuggled for profit—after all, under the sea ban of that era, only import was allowed, and maritime trade, which had thrived since the Tang, Song, and Yuan dynasties, was completely halted, making smuggling inevitable. But colluding with Japanese pirates or even supplying them was utterly intolerable. If it weren’t for the requirement in the Ming Dynasty that executions required imperial approval, he would have already carried out executions. Seeing Wang Daren drenched in sweat and Lu Feng distracted, he gently coughed.
“Merchants who only smuggle can be temporarily imprisoned, but those who sell supplies to the pirates or collude with them must not be spared. How could the pirates wreak havoc along the coast if they had no supplies or insiders? I and Lord Lu will submit a special report to the emperor about these people. But now, after obtaining confessions to confirm their crimes, they shall first be shackled outside the Maritime Administration for three months!”
“Such unruly people indeed deserve severe punishment!”
Due to the steam from the charcoal stove in the room and the tension and fear, Wang Daren felt his clothes stick tightly to his back, with a damp sensation running down his spine. Although the Maritime Administration was now heavily guarded, trade proceeded in an orderly manner—those foreigners were even more disciplined than usual, lacking the energy to haggle over prices. Though he, as the eunuch supervisor, was still safe for now, who knew if he’d still be intact in a few days?
So when Zhang Yue casually made an excuse to send him away, he felt an even greater sense of impending crisis. Now, with soldiers following him wherever he went, he wasn’t free to do anything, not even speak freely, so he had no choice but to sit idle inside the house.
Meanwhile, beneath the golden plaque in the Fengguì Hall of the Wang family’s residence, the two people sitting on the grand armchairs exchanged glances. It was Zhang Yue who spoke first: “Eunuch Lu, although Wang Darong is greedy, he does have some skills. Not the kind needed to deal with foreign nations, but rather the methods to manage the Maritime Administration. I know he’s part of Eunuch Huang from the Imperial Secretariat, but since Huang is far away in Beijing, he may not be aware of every detail here. Besides, Prince Zhao isn’t like Prince Han—he’s always been the emperor’s favorite prince. If we remove one thorn, can you guarantee that the next person sent will be someone you control?”
Lu Feng’s expression tightened, and he asked slowly, word by word, “Lord Zhang, is this a reminder or a warning?”
“Of course it’s a reminder!” Zhang Yue sneered, though he felt compelled to say more in front of this ambitious eunuch. “With the sea ban just lifted, merchants from all over have flocked to Ningbo, and inevitably, some will try to scheme. My swift action this time is meant to intimidate those with ulterior motives. But rather than sending a clueless newcomer who might cause problems and blame fall on us later, it’s better to keep an experienced person in charge. On the surface, it shows respect for Eunuch Huang and Prince Zhao, but in reality, it also shows that we’re not just trying to assert power, thus winning over the people at the Maritime Administration. After that, we can immediately lift the ban and allow ships to set sail. Wang Darong, having escaped great danger, will surely give his all.”
“So it’s essentially an extra merit?”
Lu Feng’s expression changed slightly as he stood up. Seeing a Ru ware hand-painted blue and white porcelain vase on a side table, he scoffed and even changed his tone of address. “You should have realized from Wang Darong’s words earlier—he even dared to threaten me! If someone backstabbed us, who among us could bear it? Besides, just this porcelain vase shows how greedy he is. If we let such a scoundrel go…”
When water is too clear, there are no fish. Zhang Yue has never believed that severe punishment can eradicate corruption. Haven’t we seen Zhu Yuanzhang even strip people of their skin? In the end, weren’t those who were corrupt still corrupt during the Hongwu era? Moreover, how many people in the court today are truly honest and upright? Immediately, he interrupted Lu Feng with a smile, “Before, he had his advantages. Now that there’s a whole box of evidence, what advantages does he still have to threaten you and me? As for the things he stole, if it’s for his life, he’ll surely confess. Just give it a try—maybe from now on he’ll truly become one of your people.”
After pacing back and forth several times and carefully pondering Zhang Yue’s words, Lu Feng gradually found them to make perfect sense. By saving Huang Yan’s face, planting a nail in that old man’s side, and even extracting a hefty sum of money, he might even earn a good reputation in the emperor’s eyes… Compared to that, not being able to finish speaking in one breath was nothing at all. With this thought, he turned to look at Zhang Yue and suddenly broke into a wide smile.
“Lord Zhang, thank you so much for the reminder. Otherwise, driven by momentary anger, I would have lost the big picture for a trivial matter. Rest assured, I’ll definitely think of a good solution for the matter of the Emperor’s sword. This time, I’ll follow your advice—whatever you say goes! Even regarding Wang Darong, I’ll talk to him clearly, ensuring he owes you a huge favor.”
That late at night, after being thoroughly squeezed dry, Wang Darong saw Lu Feng out of the room and finally let out a long sigh of relief—after all, compared to his life and future, material possessions really didn’t matter. Yet just as he was about to rest, there was another knock at the door. He hurriedly turned to open it and saw Zhang Yue, immediately wearing a smile.
After all, Lu Feng had made it clear earlier that it was Zhang Yue’s intercession that saved him this time. At this moment, he couldn’t help but wonder what price he would have to pay to get rid of this man. But what Zhang Yue said next took him by surprise: “Eunuch Wang, since the emperor has already ordered the lifting of the sea ban at the Ningbo Maritime Administration, there’s no time to lose. Let’s start handling it tomorrow. We’ll work out the specific rules tonight.”