Chapter 786: Imperial Envoy from the Capital, Messages from the Emperor
As the Jiaozhi region had not yet been pacified, aside from official documents sent via fast horses through the postal stations, other letters and messages were all delayed. Families like the powerful Du family in the capital could still send messages through their influence and status, but others did not have such means. Thus, it was not until after February 15th that the first family letter from Guangzhou finally reached Zhang Yue’s hands, though it was dated before the New Year. In other words, such a letter took a full one and a half months to travel.
Although it was currently the season of strong northern winds at sea, Du Wan avoided rumors by not using grain transport ships to send the letter. Instead, she arranged for it to be delivered through a family from Guangdong who was traveling to Jiaozhi to visit relatives. With this connection, Zhang Yue naturally made things convenient for them. Looking at the letters with their different handwriting styles, he felt uplifted.
The first letter was obviously written by Du Wan. The first sentence told him good news: not long after he left, Hu Bo had detected signs of pregnancy and was now resting at home. Zhang Yue was overjoyed upon hearing this. However, when he read the last two sentences, he couldn’t help frowning. Du Wan casually mentioned that before the New Year, the imperial court ordered sacrifices to the sea god. Since Zhang Qian, the eunuch in charge of the maritime administration, led the ceremony, Yu Qian, the imperial censor in Guangdong, made an excuse not to attend. Instead, Xiang Shaoyuan, the right governor, went in his place. Though it was just a brief mention, Zhang Yue, knowing Du Wan’s habits, sensed something odd and pondered it deeply.
The second letter contained a few unevenly written sentences, without much subtlety, and seemed to be full of trivial chatter. The paper was also crumpled. Guessing it was written by his mother, who might have even shed tears, Zhang Yue held the light paper and sighed involuntarily. When he turned to the third letter, his eyes lit up. The first half was written by Zhang Fu, who simply reported on his progress in martial arts. The latter half was by Jing Guan, who boasted about how well he took care of his grandparents and parents, respected his uncles, and looked after his younger siblings. It covered two pages, with childish handwriting but evident effort. Just writing these words must have taken a great deal of time.
After that were the letters from Qiu Hen and Hu Bo. One was in a somewhat stiff regular script, the other in elegant running script. Both expressed that they were doing well at home and urged him to be careful abroad, filled with concern and care.
After folding the five sheets of letter paper and putting them back into the envelope, Zhang Yue realized it was indeed a quite bulky letter, which made him smile. Now that they had returned to Qinghua Prefecture and were about to head back to Jiaozhou Prefecture soon, the military operations could be considered concluded, and the selection of officials was basically finished as well. After all, aside from the southern region, Lao Huang Fu had a thorough understanding of the situations in the central and northern areas, so he didn’t need to get involved further. Mu Sheng’s army had been retreating step by step from Mengzi County, while many of Liu Sheng’s subordinates had to stay behind to fill the gaps left by the garrison troops and others. The military officers were all calculating their return dates, whether they were civil or military officials alike.
However, his previous request regarding the selection of officials for Jiaozhi still hadn’t received a reply. What was going on in the court? Had it been put on hold, were they busy with other matters, or were they still arguing over officials’ salaries?
“Lord Zhang, the imperial envoy delivering the edict is already ten miles outside Qinghua Prefecture. Marshal Liu asks you to change into other clothes quickly and go meet him!”
Zhang Yue, who had been deep in thought, raised his eyebrows, promptly packed up the family letter, and then called in one of his household generals. Military officers naturally wore armor and military robes during campaigns, while civil officials, for convenience in daily life, wouldn’t wear formal robes like silk or crepe; they would simply wear whatever was comfortable. Now, after putting on those elaborate court robes he hadn’t worn in ages, he felt tightly constrained all over and found it even hard to walk.
Since this was an official imperial edict, it was read by a mid-ranking official and two Jinyiwei officers, accompanied by dozens of eunuchs and Jinyiwei soldiers. Thus, a welcoming ceremony had already been held the previous day, and now it was time to formally welcome the envoy and read the edict. First, the golden drums and flags were displayed, followed by Marquis Anyuan Liu Sheng leading various military officers out of the city walls to greet them. Once they arrived at the Longting in Qinghua Prefecture’s government office, everyone bowed five times as per protocol to receive the edict. After a long day of such procedures, everyone had followed in the footsteps of those ahead until a loud voice sounded, at which point they finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Since civil and military officials were seated separately, Zhang Yue’s position was right after Li Qing, who had just recovered from a serious illness. As he had expected, the edict inevitably contained words like celebrating victories and presenting captives, but the time mentioned was only three months later, with no rewards or acknowledgments for merits—probably because it would be issued upon returning to the capital. Other than that, Liang Ming, the Baron of Baoding, was given the title of deputy general and appointed as the commander-in-chief of Jiaozhi, Chen Qia was tasked with managing the three administrative departments in Jiaozhi as a minister, and Huang Fu was to go to the capital after Jiaozhi was stabilized to deliver the more than three thousand talents selected there. There were no other particularly surprising statements. But beyond these, he was ordered to set off for the capital immediately.
The whole ceremony and such took a full two hours. At the thought of returning to the capital, though it was only in three months, everyone was deeply excited. Since Zhang Yue was the first to leave, he inevitably hosted a banquet for Liu Sheng, Li Qing, and a few others that night, not leaving until the moon was high in the sky, drunk as he was. He was an old hand at pretending to drink; although he seemed to accept whatever was offered, he actually didn’t drink much. Back in his room, after drinking a bowl of sobering soup, he finally felt better.
“The Marquis of Anyuan is one thing, but even the others are making such a fuss. If I hadn’t been prepared, I would have drunk myself to death!” he complained irritably. Then he said to Peng Shisan, “Take a few people back to Guangzhou first to give them the news. Let them choose a suitable day to set off for the capital or wait until Amber gives birth before leaving. This trip wasn’t probably just an impromptu order for me to return; there must be another purpose.”
Peng Shisan nodded and headed out. But as soon as he left, Zhang Yue heard voices outside. Before long, Peng Shisan returned with a man. Though the man wore simple blue clothes and a small hat, Zhang Yue, having developed sharp eyesight over time, immediately recognized him as one of the eunuchs accompanying the imperial messenger this time.
“I greet Lord Zhang!”
Seeing the little eunuch kowtow on the ground without hesitation, Zhang Yue was taken aback and quickly ordered him to stand up. Before he could ask about his background, the man introduced himself as the great-grandnephew of Lu Feng, the supervisor of the Eastern Depot. Lu Feng had quietly sent him along with the imperial order from the Jinyiwei. After explaining all this, he stood respectfully and said, “This time, Lord Lu sent me to see the emperor. Someone reported that the Mu family in Yunnan has occupied civilian land, so the emperor ordered you to go to Yunnan and bring Mu Bin, the son of Mu Sheng, with you to the capital.”
Hearing the words “occupied land,” Zhang Yue was only briefly surprised before smiling sarcastically—clearly, the court didn’t intend to pursue this matter further. Otherwise, either sending someone else to investigate or having him inquire while passing by would have been sufficient solutions, without the need to specifically mention him traveling with Mu Bin, the legitimate eldest son of Mu Sheng. It seemed that although the Mu family had long held military power in Yunnan with no objections from the court in the past, there were now some dissenting voices.
If it weren’t for the fact that Yunnan couldn’t do without the Mu family these days, the term “governing” might have become a target for the officials in the capital.
“I understand. After we set off, I’ll go through Mengzi County and then enter the capital via Yunnan, Guizhou, Huguang, and Henan.”
Seeing Zhang Yue’s gentle tone, the young eunuch felt much less anxious and quickly smiled again, saying, “The Emperor also said you needn’t rush on the journey, so as not to fall ill from the fatigue. If you got sick upon arrival in the capital, it would give others an excuse. Additionally, the Emperor asked me to convey that he is already paying attention to the matter you reminded him about. It’s just an ambitious scoundrel who takes advantage of these turbulent times to overthrow others easily—so please rest assured!”
Though his words seemed nonsensical, Zhang Yue felt relieved. Although there might still be others like Wang Zhen, even Lu Feng himself was an ambitious man, but a educated eunuch was far harder to deal with than an uneducated one. Smiling, he was about to have Peng Shisan reward this young eunuch when he suddenly remembered the phrase “turbulent times.”
“Has anything major happened in the court recently?”
Since this young eunuch had been chosen to deliver messages alone, he was obviously quick-witted. He quickly replied, “There’s a foolish censor who submitted a petition suggesting abolishing imperial eunuchs from serving in local areas and ending the Inner Study Academy. As a result, the Emperor became furious. Several censors from the Censorate also submitted petitions, leaving even Gu Duxian quite troubled. Besides that, several senior officials and ministries are also arguing over various issues. In short, you’ll know everything once you return, Lord Zhang.”
Recalling Du Wan’s letter mentioning Yu Qian’s absence during the sea god sacrifice, Zhang Yue finally realized that something serious had indeed happened. He took a deep breath before having Peng Shisan reward the eunuch and send him away. Pressing his temples, he thought back to what he had said to Yu Qian and felt uncertain about his feelings, then shook his head.
All the senior officials and ministries remained silent about the Inner Study Academy, yet he had exposed it directly and even proposed abolishing imperial eunuchs from local duties! In history, Yu Qian seemed to ignore this matter; otherwise, how could he have risen to become Minister of War over the more than ten years from the Xuande era to the Zhengtong era? This sudden petition must have caused shock both inside and outside the palace. However, the fact that some people in the Censorate also submitted petitions showed that Gu Zuo had done a decent job cleaning it out. Anyway, he would have to wait until he returned to the capital to deal with this matter.
With divine approval, Zhang Yue’s few household generals and attendants naturally packed their belongings overnight. Just as he was about to rest, someone came to report that the Ruan family had sent something through a messenger. Upon inspection, he found several porcelain bottles containing pills, half a box of agarwood, several spice recipes, various small ivory carvings, and a piece of plain paper.
The paper contained words of gratitude, along with a request for Zhang Yue to recommend his brother Ruan Qin to Li Cheng, a clerk in the Ministry of War, after returning to the capital. Since the two families were related, they also hoped Li Cheng would look after them in the future. It mentioned agarwood and spices as gifts for Zhang Yue’s mother, Lady Sun, and his wife, Du Wan, while the ivory carvings were meant for the children to play with. The pills, effective against poison injuries, were to be given to Marquis Yangwu. Overall, the message was polite and well-phrased.
“She’s thought of everything. She probably knew I couldn’t bring much, so it’s all light items. Old Peng, take these back to Guangzhou when you go—so as not to disappoint her efforts.”
Peng Shisan cheerfully took the lacquered redwood box, glanced at its intricate lock, winked with a smile, and left without further words. Zhang Zhuo had taken many people away before, and Zhang Yue had taken more still, leaving few people in Guangzhou. If Du Wan and the others were to travel to the capital from Guangzhou, he would have to send half of his current household servants back to ensure their safety along the way. After all, once Zhang Yue left, Marquis Anyuan Liu Sheng would surely send people to Mengzi County.
Knowing that Zhang Yue would later travel with Mu Bin, the crown prince of the Mufu, the cunning Peng Shisan left only four household generals, including Niu Gan, while the rest followed him back to Guangzhou. Sure enough, when they set off the next day, Marquis Anyuan Liu Sheng readily provided a hundred soldiers to escort Zhang Yue to Mengzi County in Yunnan. There, the local Mu family would surely welcome them, so he wouldn’t have to worry then. Before leaving, Zhang Yue bid farewell to Li Qing, Huang Fu, Chen Qia, Shi An, Chen Yong, and others, giving special instructions to Shi An and Chen Yong.
The roads in the northern border regions had all been opened up, and after several more military campaigns, not only rebels but even bandits had decreased significantly. Chen Tianbao’s long-planned rebellion failed in no time, and news of Zheng He leading his powerful fleet to punish Champa spread, causing various ambitious local lords to go into hiding. Over the past month or two, they had faced various troubles such as uprisings by local residents—how could they afford to worry about anything else?
It’s all quite simple: the powerful families kept adding extra taxes in various ways beyond what the government had set, and they never changed even during times of war. Now, with such provocation, it naturally sparked another kind of hidden hatred. Only this time, the instigator fled in a hurry, and behind him, a large group of elite natives from Jiaozhou would also be relocated to the Central Plains in the near future.
Zhang Fu’s previous wars and raids on talents had already severely weakened the Jiaozhou people, but this time it was a truly devastating blow.
It would take at least a month for a large army to travel from Jiaozhou Prefecture to Mengzi County, but Zhang Yue, traveling day and night, reached Mengzi County in Lin’an Prefecture in just half a month. By then, Mu Sheng’s army had already dispersed to various garrisons, but Mu Sheng, having received advance news, had already sent his personal general Su Ming with elite soldiers to wait there. The soldiers in charge of escorting Zhang Yue completed their task, received generous rewards from him, and happily returned to Jiaozhou. Su Ming, on the other hand, booked the largest restaurant in the county to entertain Zhang Yue.
Zhang Yue still remembered the four great generals in “The Deer and the Cauldron”—Liu Baifang and Su Si. Naturally, during the banquet, he couldn’t help but observe this extremely capable man by Mu Sheng’s side. Su Ming, having long heard of Zhang Yue’s fame, kept toasting him while carefully studying this astonishingly young high-ranking official. The more he looked, the more he thought the man was no different from his own young master—a gentle and refined scion of a noble family. But as the wine flowed, Zhang Yue, feigning drunkenness, mentioned that he intended to go to Beijing with Mu Bin, which shocked Su Ming greatly.
After the banquet, when Zhang Yue was asked to go back to his room to rest, seeing him enter the room under Peng Shisan’s support, seemingly unaware due to his drunkenness, he couldn’t help but think of the arrangements already made by the Mu family’s mansion by Cuihu. His brows furrowed deeply.
It seemed Zhang Yue had already planned this, surely having received information from the capital. Since his young master still needed someone to look after him in the capital, he had to advise his master—this beauty strategy needed to be handled with caution!