Chapter 519: Unwilling to Seek High Positions, Content with Peace (Part 1)
“Forty-eight thousand six hundred stones of grain allocated this time through the open bidding system?”
Zhu Di asked again. After receiving Yang Shiqi’s affirmative reply, he couldn’t help but take a deep breath. Based on the price set by the Ministry of Revenue earlier, his estimate had been around twenty thousand stones. Now that the figure had doubled suddenly, he was naturally surprised and couldn’t help but praise, “Good! Marquis Wu’an Zheng Heng dares to act boldly, and Zhang Yue dares to take charge. If all scholars and military officials in the land could work together like them, I could rest easy!”
Even though Yang Shiqi was usually calm and measured, hearing the emperor’s biased judgment, he couldn’t help but sigh. The manor of Marquis Yangwu and that of Marquis Wu’an were adjacent, and the two families often interacted. Moreover, Zhang Yue wasn’t an ordinary civil official from a humble background. Such a comparison was truly unfair to others. Although he also regarded Zhang Yue as a kind of nephew, he felt that the emperor’s praise, if spread, would amount to flattery that killed the truth. So he had to say something fair.
“Your Majesty, Zhang Yue has indeed managed this open bidding well, but these are just the figures promised by various merchants; the grain has not yet been stored. Furthermore, with all due respect, the minimum price set by the Ministry of Revenue was too low in the first place. Since the salt merchants who usually supply salt didn’t supply it this time, the price shouldn’t have been reduced so drastically. After all, Minister Guo…”
Yang Shiqi almost blurted out that Guo Zi was inferior to Xia Yuanji, but he quickly changed his words at the last moment: “After all, Minister Guo was afraid that merchants might be unwilling to participate in the open bidding system, delaying the northern expedition plans. That’s why he preferred to set a lower price, allowing Zhang Yue to have such room to operate. Moreover, the most important factor is Your Majesty’s wisdom in allowing the use of substandard salt. Otherwise, with cunning merchants, this tactic wouldn’t work. And without Your Majesty’s lenient decision and his appointment as governor of Xuanfu, he wouldn’t have been in charge of this open bidding system.”
Even emperors love to hear flattering words, and Zhu Di was no exception. But he was after all an emperor who seized the throne by force, and ordinary flattery no longer moved him. Yang Shiqi’s well-rounded remarks truly suited his taste. After laughing heartily for a while, he thought even more that his refusal of the proposals put forward by the nobles and the seven ministers earlier had been brilliant. The title of military commander was easy to obtain, but even if Zhang Yue had some military strategies, he still couldn’t lead troops into battle. As for getting promoted by one or two ranks, it would essentially mean idleness. It was these cabinet ministers he personally selected who truly understood his intentions, placing him in a position that was both important and not dependent on rank.
“Alright, I know you have affection for those you care about, but don’t be too harsh on others. Young people can be held back a bit, but praise should be given when it’s due. Can’t I even say a few kind words to them?” He casually placed the memorial that had made him so pleased on the desk, then flipped through other memorials sent from the palace. Suddenly, as he turned to one of them, his movements stopped abruptly, and his previously smiling face darkened. Narrowing his eyes at the large red seal, he felt an indescribable emotion well up inside him.
Prince Han, Zhu Gaoxu, requested to come to court in the first month!
Seeing the emperor’s displeased expression, Yang Shiqi immediately knew which memorial was to blame. He held no affection whatsoever for Zhu Gaoxu, who had caused several old officials from the palace to be imprisoned and even led him to the Jinyiwei prison. Yet it was the emperor who ordered Zhu Gaoxu to be exiled to Le’an, and it was also the emperor who declared that he could not enter the capital without permission. Moreover, since being made a vassal prince in the 15th year of Yongle’s reign, Prince Han had not set foot outside Shandong for nearly five years. Yet his fate depended entirely on the emperor’s whim.
“With a northern expedition on the horizon, why does he want to join in now?” Zhu Di coldly threw the memorial on the table and then said indifferently, “Have the crown prince reply to Prince Han, telling him that as a vassal prince, he shouldn’t constantly think about coming to the capital. It’s his duty to cultivate himself properly! His son is already in the capital—after the first month, I’ll be leading troops on an expedition and won’t have time to deal with him!”
The emperor’s response satisfied Yang Shiqi’s wishes. But as a cabinet minister, sometimes he, like the crown prince, had to say things against his conscience. He tried to persuade the emperor again, but quickly changed the subject before Zhu Di became angry, gently reminding him that Prince Zhou had been in the capital for too long, causing some negative discussions in the court.
He was also thinking of his close friend. Seeing that Du Yishan’s son-in-law and disciple had achieved one success after another, the emperor still refused to release him—how much longer would this go on? If there were really suspicions of collusion with Prince Zhou, the emperor should confront him directly; if not, at least an explanation should be given. The former Censor-in-Chief, Chen Ying, had been harsh and cruel, while the current Censor-in-Chief, Liu Guan, was greedy for money. The officials who should have spoken out about state affairs had turned into a swarm of noisy flies!
Recalling Zhang Yue’s previous impassioned and even fierce memorial, Zhu Di furrowed his brows again. Initially, locking someone up was out of momentary anger, but ever since the censor revealed that Du Zhen had been in contact with Zhu Zhu, he couldn’t help but remember how Du Zhen had repeatedly refused to respond to summons in the past. He had executed Fang Xiaoru’s entire family, as well as Qi Tai and Huang Zicheng and others; many prominent scholars disappeared without a trace, including those who hadn’t received much favor from Emperor Jianwen. If it weren’t for the group of military officials and nobles he could rely on who chose to ignore such matters, he likely would have killed even more people at that time. When Du Zhen finally came to court as summoned, he had questioned him in person, and the answer he received left him quite satisfied.
“Go to the Jinyiwei’s Beizhenfu Si prison and ask Du Yishan on my behalf—Is it true what the censor has accused?”
Generally, only eunuchs came to deliver orders at the Beizhenfu Si prison, or the Jinyiwei itself brought people in; court officials rarely visited here. Thus, Yang Shiqi’s arrival by imperial order surprised everyone. Fortunately, from the prison warden to the jailers, they treated those important officials with great care, and Du Zhen was among those they “cared for especially,” so they didn’t expect Yang Shiqi to see anything inappropriate. Upon hearing the news, the Beizhenfu Si supervisor sent someone to rush the message to Yuan Fang and personally accompanied Yang Shiqi to the southern prison.
Having experienced the horrors of a prison before, Yang Shiqi was no stranger to these nearly identical cells. As he walked along, he saw many familiar faces—Huang Huai, Yang Pu, Jin Wenrui Shan, Xia Yuanji, Wu Zhong—all his former colleagues. Since he wasn’t walking slowly, occasionally someone would look up at him; those calm, lifeless gazes were extremely unsettling. When he reached Du Zhen’s cell and saw him sitting at a simple desk writing as usual, with a charcoal pot beside him, he called out before the cell door even opened.
“Yishan!”
Du Zhen raised his head upon hearing his name. After recognizing Yang Shiqi, he put down his pen—since his family had brought him writing supplies, he hadn’t used those provided by the jailers anymore. After all, he wasn’t picky about anything else, but he was particular about this. Rubbing his wrist, he stood up and walked around the desk toward him.
“Brother Shiqi, what brings you here? Since the supervisor is accompanying you, I suppose you’ve come by imperial order? Is there something you want to ask me?”
“At a time like this, you’re still the same!” Yang Shiqi shook his head with a bitter smile, then countered, “Why must I be here to question you by order, rather than to order your release?”
“If you wish to pardon me, a single imperial edict is sufficient—why do you need to come here in person?”
Although he had known Du Zhen to be sharp-witted during their time working together in the Hanlin Academy, Yang Shiqi thought he himself could not have remained so calm during his imprisonment. After taking a deep sigh, he said solemnly, “Yang Shiqi, Grand Secretary of the Left Spring Court, is here by imperial order to investigate Du Zhen. A few days ago, an imperial censor accused you of secretly communicating with princes while residing in Kaifeng. Is this true?”
There were indeed several princes in Kaifeng, but even without explicit mention, Du Zhen knew which one was meant. Without hesitation, he bowed and replied, “Your Majesty, it is true.”
Yang Shiqi had assumed it must be someone’s nonsense, but he was utterly stunned when Du Zhen admitted it right away. In desperation, he asked without thinking, “Don’t you have any explanation?”
“Your Majesty only asked whether it is true or not. Brother Shiqi, please simply give an honest answer.”
At that moment, even Yang Shiqi, who was usually easy-tempered, felt an urge to lose his patience. Knowing that Du Zhen must have been unaware of what was going on outside while in prison, he couldn’t help showing irritation, despite the presence of the military governor nearby.
“Yishan, even if you don’t think of yourself, you should at least think of your daughter and son-in-law! Zhang Yue was trapped in Xinghe for nearly half a month, using every trick in his arsenal to repel Arutai’s attacks. It was only after the Oirats took advantage of the situation to attack that he managed to force them to retreat, earning great merit. The emperor appointed him as governor of Xuanfu, and he successfully completed the task there as well. For anyone, this would be a time for rapid advancement, yet he still remembered to write a memorial to protect you… Think about it—you should at least submit a memorial to the emperor to explain yourself!”
Seeing Yang Shiqi leave in anger, with the military governor and prison officials hurrying after him, Du Zhen shook his head and sighed. It wasn’t as if he could hide the truth forever; moreover, the emperor hadn’t shown any intention of wanting an explanation from him. Why waste words and invite further attacks? Besides, given Zhu Di’s suspicious nature, the Jinyiwei would likely have been sent already. Still, receiving news from Zhang Yue was indeed a pleasant surprise.
He gently narrowed his eyes, and a faint smile appeared on Du Zhen’s usually cold face. When he was a tutor at the Zhang family’s academy, some of the students were more talented than Zhang Yue, while others were more diligent and dedicated. Yet that little guy had always had a good temper toward him. Now that his former student had become his son-in-law, and what was even more precious was that his mindset remained the same as before—this filled him with even greater satisfaction than achieving great things. Preferring peace of mind over rising to fame—truly, this was a student he had taught well. As he thought about this, an unrelated idea suddenly popped into his mind. The emperor often sent Zhang Yue on trips all over the country; if this continued, when would he be able to have a second grandson?