Chapter 203: Zhang Biao: Zhu Yuanzhang! I Won’t Take This Blame! 【 Requesting Monthly Tickets 】
Zhang Biao knew that Old Zhu would not compromise easily and did not expect him to agree to audit the Imperial Treasury just because he was scolded a few times.
Therefore, Zhang Biao was very clear that to achieve his goal, he had to give Old Zhu enough stimulation, just like in his “previous life.”
Until he was forced to compromise with himself.
However, just as Zhang Biao was about to approach the Hall Door and let out a long sigh under the complicated gazes of the guards, Old Zhu suddenly let out a low growl, like a wounded lion struggling to its death:
“Stop—!”
Zhang Biao shivered all over but still said impatiently, “What is it now?! If you want to kill or torture me, just give me a quick word!”
Old Zhu did not answer immediately. His chest heaved violently as he forcefully suppressed the surging emotions, trying to make one last struggle to save face.
He took a deep breath, his voice filled with sorrow and accusation:
“Zhang Biao! You claim to be for the Great Ming and against corruption! But look at the current situation! The court is in turmoil, officials are uneasy, and the Princes are suspicious! All this is caused by you!”
After speaking, he suddenly pointed outside the hall, as if he could point to the entire world:
“Do you know that while you’ve been going to great lengths to stir up trouble in this Capital City, in Yunnan, the chieftains are constantly rebelling, and smoke is rising again!”
“The court needs stability, financial resources, and military strength to quell rebellions and pacify the regions! But what are you doing?!”
Old Zhu’s voice grew louder and louder, with the momentum of carrying the weight of the world:
“At this time, you’re doing what with auditing the Princes and even auditing Our Imperial Treasury! Do you think the world isn’t chaotic enough?!”
“Don’t you claim to be ‘Zhang Censor for the People of the World’? Do you intend to stand by and watch the borders rot and the people suffer, plunging the Great Ming Empire into war?! Where is your conscience, your responsibility?!”
These successive questions were like heavy shackles. If it were an ordinary official, they would have long since been brought to their knees and asked for forgiveness under the guise of ‘great righteousness for the world.’
However, Zhang Biao, after listening, was not moved in the slightest. Instead, he seemed to hear a great joke and burst into laughter, the mockery in his laughter almost overflowing.
“Heh… Hahaha…”
He laughed so hard that he bent forward and backward, even exaggeratingly wiping away nonexistent tears.
“Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Yuanzhang, if you’re called stupid, you really aren’t clever!”
Zhang Biao called him by name without politeness, his tone extremely contemptuous:
“Those trivial matters in Yunnan, in your eyes, are the world in chaos? And you need to mobilize the entire nation to suppress them?”
He put away his smile, his eyes sharp as knives, and retorted rapidly:
“Do you know why there are always problems there, with rebellions constantly breaking out? It’s because of your approach! Besides sending troops to suppress and kill to establish authority, what else can you do?”
“Oh, maybe you can lure their leaders to the Capital City and execute them, calling it ‘a combination of benevolence and might’!”
“Do you know what ‘Gaitu Guiliu’ means?”
Zhang Biao uttered this term, completely unfamiliar to Old Zhu. Before he could react, he continued to mock him:
“Oh, of course you don’t know!”
“You only know how to make decisions about fighting wars, collecting taxes, killing this person, and demoting that person with a slap of your head!”
“How many of the Great Ming Dynasty’s national policies were truly decided after careful consideration and drawing on various strengths? Weren’t most of them decided by you alone, with everyone else meekly complying?!”
“Your subordinates, those incompetent fools, what can they do besides trying to guess your thoughts, shouting ‘Long live!’, and agreeing with your bullshit ‘might makes right’ logic? What good governance strategies do they have?”
“Governing a place like Yunnan, can it be solved just by killing people? It requires long-term stability!”
“It means abolishing those hereditary local officials and having imperial officials govern instead!”
“It means establishing education, promoting agriculture, and developing commerce, so that the local people can live like human beings, instead of being exploited by those ‘local emperors’!”
“It means making them recognize themselves as citizens of the Great Ming, not slaves to some chieftain!”
“Do you understand these things? Have any of the esteemed officials under you mentioned them to you? No!”
“Because they know that you, Zhu Yuanzhang, only like to hear about sending troops to suppress and showing no mercy! As soon as you propose a long-term strategy that requires patience and wisdom, you’ll be branded as cowardly and incompetent!”
Zhang Biao became more agitated as he spoke, his finger almost pointing at Old Zhu’s nose:
“You talk about the world in chaos and the people suffering? I tell you, the biggest source of chaos is your way of ruling, which doesn’t use your brain, only acts blindly, and yet thinks you’re so wise!”
“And the bureaucratic system that your methods have fostered, which only knows how to cater to the superior’s will and achieve nothing!”
“The money in the National Treasury and the energy of the Ministry of War should be used where they are most needed, in places that can truly consolidate rule and benefit the people!”
“Instead of you rushing to put out fires wherever there’s smoke, always treating the symptoms and not the root cause!”
“It’s even more so for the money in the Imperial Treasury!”
“Auditing them is to find out whether the blood of the Great Ming is being drunk by corrupt officials and worms, or if you are using it in this endless, inefficient cycle of force!”
“You’re now blaming me for the rebellion in Yunnan? This is the biggest joke in the world! I will not shoulder this blame!”
Zhang Biao’s torrent of accusations and mockery shattered the ‘great righteousness’ on which Old Zhu stood, and moreover, denigrated the governing capabilities of him and his entire ruling group as worthless.
Old Zhu was stunned by the scolding. On his weathered face, anger, shame, shock, and a hint of panic from being struck at his sore spot mingled together, leaving him speechless for a moment.
“You… you…”
He pointed at Zhang Biao, his finger trembling, and stammered for a long time, only to find that his rhetoric about ‘stabilizing the overall situation’ appeared so pale and powerless in the face of Zhang Biao’s direct critique of the root cause.
Zhang Biao looked at Old Zhu’s speechless expression, snorted coldly, and finally threw down a sentence:
“Think carefully, Old Zhu! Will you continue to cling to your outdated ways and wait for fires to break out everywhere, or will you have some courage and cut the bone to heal the poison!”
“And this audit is the first cut of that bone! As for where the knife will strike, that’s up to you!”
Having said this, he no longer lingered and turned to leave the Huagai Hall with large strides.
Old Zhu was left standing alone, his face fluctuating between green and white, Zhang Biao’s heart-piercing words echoing repeatedly in his mind.
【Gaitu Guiliu… long-term stability…】
【Only knows how to kill… achieves nothing…】
【The greatest source of chaos… is my way of ruling】
These words, like red-hot iron, seared Old Zhu’s heart.
For the first time in front of a minister, he felt an endless sense of frustration, powerlessness, and embarrassment, along with a hint of doubt about his own ruling methods that he was unwilling to admit, unprecedented in its magnitude.
Gradually, only Old Zhu’s heavy breathing could be heard in the Huagai Hall.
It wasn’t until a cool breeze from somewhere outside the hall blew in that he suddenly awoke.
Immediately, he scanned the hall and saw Yun Ming and several guards standing in the corner, looking at a loss. He couldn’t help but frown, and then ordered coldly:
“Yun Ming…”
“Your… Your servant is here…”
“If anyone dares to spread even half a word of what happened today… the nine generations of their family will be exterminated…”
“This servant obeys the imperial decree!”
Yun Ming and the guards immediately knelt down, kowtowing like pounding garlic.
Seeing this, Old Zhu closed his eyes tiredly, with only one thought in his mind:
【This scoundrel Zhang Biao, if not eliminated, will be a major threat!】
【But how to eliminate him… is a bit difficult!】
“Forget it! I’ll deal with that brat later!”
Old Zhu sighed helplessly, then remembered the ‘Gaitu Guiliu’ policy Zhang Biao had mentioned before leaving. A glimmer of understanding flashed through his mind, and he opened his eyes and said:
“Yun Ming! Summon Yu Xin, Tang He, Zhuo Jing, and Xu Yungong to the side hall and have them wait!”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Yun Ming immediately crawled to accept the order.
However, before he could get up to leave, he heard Old Zhu say thoughtfully again:
“Also! Issue a decree! Promote Imperial Guard Battalion Commander Song Zhong to Commander of the Anti-corruption Bureau to assist Zhang Biao in handling matters of the Anti-corruption Bureau!”
“Understood!”
Yun Ming respectfully acknowledged, but his heart was filled with surprise.
【Having Song Zhong assist Zhang Biao. Isn’t that teaching the apprentice to starve the master?】
【How will Censor Zhang… deal with this?】
The thought flashed through his mind, and Yun Ming quickly turned and left the Huagai Hall.
On the other side.
While Zhang Biao was having a “passionate exchange” with Old Zhu, One-armed Old Zhou, Lame Old Li, Blind Old Sun, and Injured Old Qian seemed to have transformed into ghosts in the shadows of the Capital City.
They used Zhang Biao’s training to avoid the eyes and ears of the Imperial Guard, while quietly carrying out their activities according to Zhang Biao’s “table instructions.”
Moreover, as disabled old soldiers, they themselves had many connections and easily gained the sympathy of soldiers from similar humble backgrounds, clerks, and even commoners.
After a few cups of rough wine, a few opening remarks about “back in the Northern Desert…” could open up many conversations.
Their recruited “downlines” were also carefully selected.
Among them were honest farmers whose families were ruined by clerks, fellow soldiers whose land was encroached upon by powerful families with no one to appeal to, and even low-ranking officers in the garrisons who were exploited and filled with resentment.
These people might have limited abilities, but hatred and injustice were their best driving forces.
And they were small targets, not easily noticed by the Imperial Guard’s vast surveillance network.
In the following period, information, like a trickling stream, continuously flowed from the villages, garrisons, and the lower levels of government offices around the Capital, through various secret channels, to a discreet courtyard rented by Old Zhou and the others in the city.
Tonight, the moonlight was obscured by thick clouds, and only a meager oil lamp flickered inside the room.
The four of them met secretly again, piecing together the fragments of information they had each collected.
Although Old Sun’s eyesight was poor, his hearing and memory were exceptional, and he was responsible for sorting and recounting.
Old Qian knew a few characters and recorded them on scrap paper with crooked symbols and simple diagrams.
Old Zhou and Old Li were responsible for analysis and judgment.
At first, it was just some predictable cases of corruption.
For example, how a village head levied taxes under false pretenses and embezzled the funds; how a garrison battalion commander withheld military pay and resold military grain; how a county clerk colluded with local gentry to seize civilian land…
“Hmph, as expected, all crows are black!”
Old Li spat, and his injured leg twinged, causing him to gasp.
“Don’t rush, there’s more to come.”
Old Zhou’s expression was solemn, and he gestured for Old Sun to continue.
As more information was pieced together, some seemingly unrelated corrupt acts gradually revealed disturbing clues.
Behind the corrupt acts of certain low-level clerks, local gentry, and even garrison officers, there seemed to be implicit connections to higher, more hidden networks.
And as the direction of these networks was roughly outlined, a picture far more terrifying and astonishing than simple corruption slowly emerged.
“According to the foreman whose mine was seized, the wealthy Mr. Chen, who occupied the mine, transports large quantities of fine iron and saltpeter every year through the River Gang to several estates at the border of Southern Zhili and Shandong.
Nominally, it’s for making farm tools, but the recipients act suspiciously, and the estates are always frequented by strong men of unknown identity, unlike ordinary farmers.”
Old Sun’s voice was extremely low, with a hint of disbelief.
Old Qian drew an arrow pointing south on the scrap paper, labeling it ‘Iron, Saltpeter, Private Soldiers’.
“A River Gang squad leader from Shuimen who was ostracized revealed…”
Old Zhou continued, his voice a little dry:
“They were once ordered to ‘escort’ several special ‘merchant goods,’ all grain and cloth, but the destination was the unstable mountainous areas of Jiangxi and Huguang in recent years.”
“The escorts were not ordinary merchants; they had fierce eyes and followed orders strictly, like old hands in the army. Afterward, these soldiers were warned not to spread the word.”
Old Qian’s hand trembled slightly. To ‘Iron, Saltpeter,’ he added ‘Grain, Cloth.’ Next to the southward arrow, a question mark appeared.
“There’s something even more sinister.”
Lame Old Li’s face turned pale, and his breathing quickened: “I contacted an old acquaintance who used to be a scribe in the Five Military Commissions. After drinking, he let slip that in recent years, the Ministry of War has accounted for enormous quantities of military equipment lost in ‘bandit suppression’ by various garrisons,
especially bows and armor, but many battles… were not fought on such a large scale!”
“Those extra military supplies seemed to have vanished into thin air!”
“And the people handling these expense reports, besides a few directors in the Ministry of War, it seems… the Censorate and the Directorate of Transmission also had people secretly facilitating this!”
As these words were spoken, the dilapidated room fell silent.
Only the faint crackling of the oil lamp wick and the heavy, suppressed breaths of the four men could be heard.
Fine iron, saltpeter, grain, cloth, estates suspected of training private soldiers, military equipment with unknown destinations, supplies transported to rebellious regions, and… ‘protective umbrellas’ in the court providing convenience!
All these clues were no longer isolated acts of corruption. They were like cold pieces of a puzzle, ultimately forming a conclusion that made their souls tremble—
【Someone in the court, possibly someone of high status, has been long-term, systematically, and secretly funding, or even manipulating, rebellions in various regions!】
【They are not simply engaging in corruption; they are raising bandits for self-importance! They are using the Great Ming’s National Treasury and resources to continuously create and maintain unrest in various places for some unspeakable purpose!】
【Perhaps to maintain military power, perhaps for factional struggles, perhaps for deeper schemes… but no matter what, they are undermining the foundation of the Great Ming!】
“My God…”
The charcoal pencil in Old Qian’s hand dropped again. He was ice-cold, his lips trembling:
“This… this isn’t corruption… this is… this is undermining the Great Ming, and it’s intended to keep the world in chaos forever!?”
Colluding with enemies and aiding bandits!
Causing chaos in the world!
This was more insidious and vicious than simple collusion with foreign enemies!
The level involved was definitely beyond their imagination!
An icy chill that penetrated to the bone instantly gripped the four of them.
They were just a few old soldiers who wanted to get justice for their villagers and themselves in the fight against corruption. How did they stumble upon such a shocking conspiracy that could overturn the entire court and cause rivers of blood to flow?!
Panic, like a cold python, coiled around their hearts, almost suffocating them.
They felt as if countless hidden eyes were coldly watching them through the cracks of this dilapidated house.
“Steady! All of you, steady yourselves!”
Old Zhou gripped the edge of the kang tightly with his one arm, his knuckles turning white, and gritted out the words: “Whoever panics, dies first!”
Old Li suddenly hit his injured leg with his fist. The sharp pain cleared his confused mind a bit, and he growled:
“Right! What’s there to be afraid of! A head is just a big scar! Back on the battlefield, what kind of situation haven’t we seen!”
Although Old Sun couldn’t see, his senses were more acute. He listened to the wind outside and the distant dog barks, his voice hoarse:
“This matter… is too important, the water is too deep. With the strength of us ants, if we act rashly… we will be crushed to powder.”
Old Qian panted, as if he had just been pulled out of water, cold sweat soaking his clothes.
He picked up the charcoal pencil, not to record, but to furiously and repeatedly smear away the crucial clues related to ‘funding rebellions’ and ‘black hands in the court.’
Until only a black smudge remained on the scrap paper.
“Brother Zhou is right!”
Old Qian’s voice trembled with the relief of escaping death: “This matter… we can’t handle it, nor should we!”
“Pretend we don’t know! Keep it in our stomachs! Our goal now is still those visible corrupt officials and clerks who bully us!”
“If we investigate these thoroughly and hand them over to Lord Zhang, it will be a great achievement!”
“Exactly! Let’s do what we can first!”
“Right, we can’t alert the enemy!”
“This water is too murky and too deep. If we jump in, we’ll disappear without a trace!”
The survival instincts honed on the battlefield, after extreme shock and fear, quickly led them to the most realistic and wisest choice.
That was to set aside this discovery, which could overturn the entire court, and continue to focus on their original objective.
They carefully sealed the information that had been smeared away and the verbal information that had not yet been recorded deep within their hearts, as if it were a Pandora’s Box that absolutely could not be opened.
Then, they forced themselves to refocus their attention on the “conventional” evidence of grassroots corruption.
However, the atmosphere in the room had completely changed.
Each of them felt as if an iceberg had been pressed onto their hearts, heavy and cold.
They knew that they might have inadvertently glimpsed the tip of a massive conspiracy looming over the Great Ming.
The road ahead would become more perilous, and every step would require treading on thin ice.
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