The Succession Struggle in the Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 189 The Cunning Prime Minister is Hard to Decipher

The moment Zhao Hanquan stepped forward, Tu Chengyu saw that the Prime Minister's anger had intensified.

Therefore, it can be inferred that Zhao Hanquan was probably the chief minister's mortal enemy.

Seeing that someone else had stepped forward to present a memorial, the Emperor said, "Minister Zhao, what is it you wish to report?"

Zhao Hanquan bowed and replied, "Your Majesty, I also impeach the Grand Secretary for instigating his family to incite the salt workers to rebel and collude with the Japanese invaders and our people."

Zhao Hanquan had indeed come to impeach the Grand Secretary.

However, the charges he impeached have already been explained by the chief minister. If Zhao Hanquan does not have particularly strong evidence, it will be difficult to achieve his goal with just a few words.

However, this person still stood up to impeach after the Prime Minister had finished explaining, so he might have some information on him.

The emperor probably thought of this as well, so he asked, "Minister Zhao, can you provide evidence for your impeachment?"

The Emperor's question had a special meaning.

Because Zhao Hanquan was an official of the Ministry of Justice, he did not have the right to submit memorials upon hearing rumors, unlike the censors.

He needs evidence to impeach someone; otherwise, he's just framing his colleague.

How could Zhao Hanquan, who was able to stand up in the imperial court, not have thought of this?

He said casually, "Your Majesty, the evidence I presented is all in the memorial. I request Your Majesty's review."

As he spoke, he took out a memorial from his wide sleeves and held it above his head with both hands.

The eunuch standing below the imperial steps stepped forward, took the memorial from Zhao Hanquan, and presented it to the emperor.

The emperor received the memorial and immediately began to read it.

Zhao Hanquan's memorial contained more information and was more detailed than Gu Changyuan's.

The emperor looked at it carefully, and the entire court fell silent.

Only occasionally could one hear the sound of the emperor flipping through memorials.

Perhaps it was too quiet, which caused a sense of oppression to gradually spread within the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

Every courtier who could sense this atmosphere lowered their head deeply, afraid that others would see their expression.

Tu Chengyu speculated that Zhao Hanquan's appearance might indicate that the Vice Grand Secretary was about to launch a final assault on the Grand Secretary.

This is why the sensitive court officials all acted as if they wanted to stay out of it.

Tu Chengyu naturally sensed this atmosphere as well.

But firstly, he wasn't afraid of these things, and secondly, he was there to settle things, so there was no need for him to hide.

So, while all the officials in the court were bowing their heads, Tu Chengyu took the opportunity to quietly turn his head and observe what was happening in the court.

This observation actually made Tu Chengyu see something different.

That is, Tu Chengyu suddenly realized that the Grand Secretary was actually Gu Changyuan, who had just impeached him, and the two of them were secretly looking at each other.

This action was quite unlike their previous tense standoff and argument.

Moreover, Tu Chengyu could tell from their expressions that the two of them did not seem to harbor any hatred towards each other.

Although the two were careful when they looked at each other, others in the court probably couldn't see it.

Only Tu Chengyu, who was close to Gu Changyuan because he was answering Gu Changyuan's question, was able to see it.

Although the two of them sensed that Tu Chengyu was observing them, they decisively turned their eyes away and stopped looking at each other.

However, Tu Chengyu still discovered their little tricks.

This discovery made Tu Chengyu realize that things had suddenly become interesting.

Just as Tu Chengyu continued to secretly observe, the Emperor finally finished reading the memorial.

"My dear ministers, why are you all bowing your heads?"

The emperor probably looked up and saw that all the officials were pretending to be quails, so he asked them all a question in confusion.

Upon hearing the Emperor's words, although no one answered, they all raised their heads again.

However, compared to before the emperor read the memorials, the officials are now raising their heads rather low.

The Emperor probably guessed what everyone was thinking, so he didn't continue to have them.

He simply asked Zhao Hanquan, "Minister Zhao, I have read your memorial. Are the witnesses and evidence you mentioned all true?"

Zhao Hanquan said, "Your Majesty, how dare I speak recklessly in the court? The witnesses and evidence I mentioned have all been imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice prison."

Judging from his confident tone, he had clearly been prepared for this.

Upon hearing this, the Emperor asked, "Since the witnesses and evidence are all here, then let's have the trial conducted after the court session. However, there is one thing I don't understand: where did you get these witnesses and evidence?"

Zhao Hanquan said, "Your Majesty, the witnesses and evidence in my possession were reported by the imperial envoy sent by the Ministry of Justice to the local prefectures to investigate criminal cases."
The report arrived in my possession last night, and I dared not delay, so I wrote a memorial overnight, which I am now presenting to Your Majesty today.

The imperial envoys he mentioned, sent to local areas to investigate the criminal justice systems of prefectures and counties, were sent because the court feared that local officials would abuse their power or act unjustly in law enforcement.

Every year, the Ministry of Justice would send some minor officials to local areas to conduct spot checks on criminal cases and see if there were any injustices.

This system achieved great success during the reign of Emperor Taizu.

As a result, Emperor Taizu punished many corrupt officials and redressed many unjust cases for the people.

However, as time went on, this system gradually lost its original effectiveness.

Especially during the last ten years of the reign of the retired emperor, the government was basically reduced to a means for minor officials in the Ministry of Justice to extort money from local areas, and for many years there were no major cases of unfair investigations.

Who could have predicted that this system, which had become a mere formality, would actually come into play again today?

Not only did they fail to re-examine the unfair cases, they also turned their anger towards the Prime Minister.

The fact that the systems established by the imperial court can be put into effect again should, in principle, be a cause for celebration.

But now it's clear to anyone with eyes to see that this isn't because the system has worked.

Instead, some people exploited this system specifically to target female prime ministers.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to collect the prime minister's incriminating evidence so quickly.

And it was such a coincidence that I received it last night.

Tu Chengyu estimated that these so-called witnesses and evidence were already in their hands.

It was only because the Emperor was furious yesterday and wanted to determine the selection of the imperial envoy for disaster relief today that they were asked to produce these pieces of evidence.

There must be quite a few people in the imperial court who could guess these things.

But if someone dares to say that, they must have done a flawless job in terms of procedures.

Since that's the case, the Emperor could only say: "Although Zhao Aiqing's statement is supported by witnesses and evidence, since it concerns the Grand Secretary, we must consider it carefully."

Therefore, I believe this matter should be handed over to the Three Judicial Offices for investigation after the court session.

The Emperor's move can be seen as temporarily helping the Grand Secretary. It prevented Zhao Hanquan from presenting the witnesses and evidence in court, and also gave the Grand Secretary some leeway.

Everyone thought that, faced with the emperor's favoritism, the Grand Secretary would go with the flow and temporarily avoid being impeached in court.

However, Zhao Hanquan and others may voice their opposition.

However, today's events are all about defying conventions, and once again, things have left people speechless.

Zhao Hanquan showed no dissatisfaction with the Emperor's decision.

On the contrary, the Grand Secretary, who benefited from the situation, seemed to have been wronged.

He said loudly, "Your Majesty, impeachment is a matter of national law and cannot be altered because of the identity of the person being impeached."

Although I hold the position of Grand Secretary, I cannot receive special treatment. I believe it is best to clarify the matter of Lord Zhao's impeachment in court.

Who could have predicted that the usually shrewd and calculating Grand Secretary would be so uncompromising in court today?

However, the Prime Minister, who was impeached, did not even think of concealing or delaying the matter.

As the emperor, it seems there's nothing he can do to help him.

So the Emperor said to Zhao Hanquan, "Minister Zhao, since the Grand Secretary has said so, then tell the Grand Secretary what is in your memorial."

"Your humble servant obeys," Zhao Hanquan said, stepping forward to a position roughly equal to Gu Changyuan's. He then addressed the Grand Secretary.
"Your Excellency, I will speak now."

The Grand Secretary nodded with a stern face, seemingly also eager to hear what Zhao Hanquan would say.

Zhao Hanquan took a deep breath and slowly said, "Yesterday evening, I received a letter from the Ministry of Justice regarding the imperial envoy sent to Jiangnan to inspect criminal prisons."

The letter revealed that the second son of the Grand Secretary's family frequently interacted with Wu Youwei and Yin Weixing, whom Lord Gu had just mentioned.

The salt workers' rebellion was orchestrated by the second son of the Grand Secretary, who instructed these two men to carry it out.

The purpose, as Lord Gu stated, was to seize business from the salt merchants and to engage in smuggling transactions with overseas merchants.

The Grand Secretary frowned as he listened to his words, then asked, "Lord Zhao, are you so sure it was my good-for-nothing second son who did it?"

Zhao Hanquan said, "I also don't want to believe that this would happen in the Prime Minister's household, but there are witnesses and evidence pointing to your second son, so I have no choice but to believe it."

The Grand Secretary asked again, "Lord Zhao, can you guarantee that all these witnesses and evidence are genuine?"

Faced with this question, Zhao Hanquan answered without hesitation:
"Your Excellency, the case has not yet been tried, so how can I guarantee anything? However, the witness I know is a graduate of both the imperial examinations and the provincial examinations, so I suppose he wouldn't speak nonsense on such an important matter."

Among the evidence I obtained is a letter handwritten by your esteemed second son. If Your Excellency does not believe me, you are welcome to go and see it for yourself.

Zhao Hanquan looked confident and spoke with certainty, clearly having confidence in the evidence in his hand.

At this point, if the Grand Secretary did not want Zhao Hanquan to tear off his official robes in court, the best course of action would be to stall for time and wait until after the court session to come up with a solution.

But the Grand Secretary has already turned down the Emperor's help, so how could he possibly delay any longer?

Sure enough, Tu Chengyu saw the Grand Secretary grit his teeth and turn to face the Emperor after hearing these words.

He said, “Your Majesty, I am an incompetent old minister. I have assisted the emperor for decades, yet I have failed to educate my children and grandchildren properly, raising such worthless individuals.”

This old minister is deeply ashamed and dares not stand here in the court. I beg Your Majesty to grant me permission to retire and return home to educate my children and grandchildren.

To everyone's surprise, the Prime Minister directly admitted to the impeachment.

However, he did not take the blame upon himself, only admitting that he had failed to raise his son properly.

If that were the case, the Grand Secretary's reputation might suffer, but it would certainly not reach the point where he would have to retire to his hometown.

Now that he's proposing to retire and return to his hometown, it seems like he's using a strategic retreat as a means to advance.

At this moment, Tu Chengyu had a vague feeling that the Grand Secretary's unusual behavior today might have a deeper meaning.

His choice to bring up the impeachment in court instead of delaying it was not because he wanted to confront it head-on, but because he had a plan.

Because if the Prime Minister, as everyone initially thought, delays the impeachment process...

This way, we might be able to gradually come up with a solution and completely clear ourselves of the charges of impeachment.

However, this left the Grand Secretary with a reputation for being guilty.

Therefore, when the Grand Secretary is vying for the position of Imperial Envoy for disaster relief in the court today, he has no say, and the Second Grand Secretary can easily obtain the position.

Thinking of this, Tu Chengyu suddenly remembered that the Crown Prince had said yesterday that their impeachment of the Grand Secretary was not to bring him down, but to obtain the position of Imperial Envoy in one fell swoop.

Therefore, Zhao Hanquan's impeachment may have been aimed at achieving this goal.

The Grand Secretary, on the other hand, likely saw through their plans, which is why he deviated from his usual practice and chose to confront them in court.

Although doing so might implicate the Grand Secretary's son.

All of the above are just random guesses in Tu Chengyu's mind, and he doesn't know what others will think.

The emperor on his throne was clearly unprepared for the resignation of the chief minister.

Upon hearing the Grand Secretary's words, the Emperor stood up anxiously.

He said urgently, "Minister Shen, why do you say that? The matter hasn't been investigated yet, so don't take it upon yourself."

Besides, even if the truth comes out in the end, these things were only done by the youngest son in the family. At most, you just didn't discipline your son well, but it's not to the point of retiring to your hometown.

Moreover, it is because of court affairs that the discipline of the household children has been neglected; everyone knows the reasons for this.

The Emperor spoke earnestly and seemed very reluctant to let the Chief Minister leave.

Faced with the Emperor's sincere attempt to retain him, the Grand Secretary remained silent, seemingly lost in thought, without giving an immediate reply.

Zhao Hanquan and Gu Changyuan, who had impeached the Grand Secretary, have also fallen silent.

No one else in the entire court stepped forward to relentlessly pursue the Grand Secretary.

Seeing this, Tu Chengyu became even more certain that the Vice Minister had no intention of overthrowing the Prime Minister now.

However, the choice made by the cunning Grand Secretary was unexpected by the Second Grand Secretary and the others, which is why they are now at a loss.

Tu Chengyu believed that the impeachment matter would come to an end here.

The next step is for everyone to compete for the position of Imperial Envoy for disaster relief.

He himself had come to the court for nothing today.

But to everyone's surprise, the Prime Minister spoke up again at this moment.

"Your Majesty, I am grateful for your protection of this old minister at this time. However, I can no longer keep this matter from Your Majesty."

Judging from his words, it seems there's something else that others don't know about, mixed in with his words.

But now that the situation is in his favor, why would he think of bringing it up himself?

Of course, no one would believe that he didn't want to hide it because he was grateful for the emperor's kindness.

Given the cunning nature of the Grand Secretary, he might have some other plans involved.

(End of this chapter)