I am a temporary worker in Jinyiwei, how did I become a powerful official?

Chapter 189 The End of Black Bear
Zhao Wenhua sat dejectedly in the living room of the Lin Mansion.

The servant of the Lin residence brought him a cup of tea. He picked up the teacup and was lost in thought, not even opening the lid for a long time.

Lin Shisan walked in: "Zhao Butang didn't drink enough at the Elder's Mansion, so he plans to come to my humble abode for a few more drinks?"

Zhao Wenhua sighed, "Alas. I originally offered the Hundred Flowers Fairy Wine to the Lord, hoping to win a prize at today's birthday banquet. But the Lord didn't even look at it."

"After the birthday banquet, I planned to ask for a private meeting with the elder. But Yan Nian said that the elder had gone to bed and would not even let me into his study."

Lin Shisan took out 25,000 taels of silver from his sleeve and handed it to Zhao Wenhua: "Please keep it, Mr. Zhao."

Zhao Wenhua was surprised: "What are you doing?"

Lin Shisan said: "There are two jars of Hundred Flowers Fairy Wine. If one of them can win the favor of the elder, it will be worth twenty-five thousand taels of silver."

"If the Lord Minister disdains it, then it is worthless."

"I am willing to return this money to Zhao Butang."

Zhao Wenhua slapped his thigh and said, "Brother Lin is truly a righteous man!"

Lin Shisan smiled and said, "Everyone likes money. But making money requires a clear conscience. In a few days, Zhao Butang will present another jar of wine to the emperor."

"If the emperor is like the minister and disdains it, I will return the other half of the money."

Zhao Wenhua gave a thumbs up: "Brother Lin is very particular about how he conducts himself and what he does!"

Zhao Wenhua never imagined that the particular Lin Shisan had already dug a big pit for him according to the instructions of Prince Yu's Mansion, waiting for him to jump in.

Lin Shisan said: "Mr. Zhao has always been generous. I know that you are not worried about money."

"You are full of passion and ambition. If your ambitions cannot be realized, it will be a pity for the court and the people."

Zhao Wenhua said: "Looking at the attitude of the cabinet minister, it is clear that he is unwilling to recommend me to join the cabinet."

Lin Shisan smiled and said, "Although I am just a small official, I have been exposed to the officialdom in the capital for a long time. I think whether you can enter the cabinet or not does not depend on who recommends you."

"The cabinet is the emperor's cabinet, not the ministers' cabinet. As long as the emperor takes a fancy to someone and wants him to join the cabinet, does he need others to recommend him?"

Zhao Wenhua thought: "Alas! I have been an official for decades in vain. I was confused for a moment and can't catch up with you, a young man who has just entered the officialdom for four or five years!"

"Yes, why should I force the elder to recommend me? All I need is the emperor's approval."

"Brother Lin, it is true that those who are involved are confused, while those who are not involved can see things more clearly. Your words have opened my eyes!"

"I will hand over a sign to Xiyuan tomorrow, requesting to meet the emperor and present him with the Hundred Flowers Fairy Wine."

The two chatted for a while, and then Zhao Wenhua said goodbye and left.

The next day, inside the main hall of Yongshou Palace.

Zhao Wenhua knelt in front of the green gauze curtain, with a jar of Hundred Flowers Fairy Wine in front of him.

In fact, Emperor Jiajing had long known that the Hundred Flowers Fairy Wine was found by Lin Shisan in the dangerous mountains.

Emperor Jiajing asked: "What are the benefits of this wine?"

Zhao Wenhua repeated what Lin Shisan had said before: "The Hundred Flowers Immortal Wine was given to Xianshan Xiongxian by the Three Pure Ones. Xianshan Xiongxian was not worthy of it, so he asked someone with a predestined relationship to give it to the current emperor."

"Drinking this immortal wine can not only boost your Taoist power, but also prolong your life."

Emperor Jiajing disagreed and asked casually: "Have you tasted it?"

Zhao Wenhua replied: "No."

Emperor Jiajing's half-joking words made Zhao Wenhua sweat profusely: "You haven't tasted it, how do you know whether it is immortal wine or poison?"

Zhao Wenhua was confused!

He has been an official for many years and knows very well that the current emperor is very suspicious.

If Emperor Jiajing suspected that the wine he offered was poisoned, he would not be able to enter the cabinet, and his official hat and the head under it would be in danger!
Men should not be impatient when doing things. If they are impatient, they will act too fast, which can lead to bad things.

Zhao Wenhua, who was anxious, said, "Your Majesty, this immortal wine has been consumed by Lord Yan for a long time. It prolonged his life and made him vigorous and energetic at the age of over 80. It was all thanks to this immortal wine."

Zhao Wenhua regretted what he said.

If the emperor is suspicious, then I will explain. At worst, I can taste it myself and prove that it is not poisonous.

Why lie? And even dragged Lord Yan into this.

The Minister of Works got the immortal wine that can prolong life, and he gave it to the Prime Minister first, and then to the emperor? Isn't this putting the cart before the horse? To put it more seriously, this is usurpation.

Upon hearing this, Emperor Jiajing was furious: "Yan Song has this immortal wine for longevity, but he drinks it, but he doesn't offer it to the emperor?"

Zhao Wenhua's heart skipped a beat: It's over, it's over. Now I'm in a dilemma.

Emperor Jiajing asked again: "I asked the Ministry of Works to build Zhengyang Gate at the beginning of this year. Why is the construction period delayed again and again?"

Zhao Wenhua kowtowed and said, "Your Majesty, we need 28 pieces of Yunnan and Guizhou materials to build the Zhengyang Gate. They have not been delivered yet."

Emperor Jiajing snorted coldly: "I don't think it's because the big news hasn't come yet, but because you are not doing your best. You put all your energy into finding some kind of immortal wine for the cabinet chief minister and currying favor with your superiors. How can you have time to do your job?"

Zhao Wenhua was sweating profusely. He didn't dare to say another word and just kept kowtowing.

There is no coincidence in the world, or in other words, there are no coincidences in this world, only the illusion of coincidence.

Just as Emperor Jiajing was furious with Zhao Wenhua, Lu Fang walked in quickly.

Lu Fang walked to the front of the green gauze curtain and said, "Your Majesty, the Imperial Censors Wei Yuanji, Luo Jiabin and others were ordered to investigate the corruption case of the Nine Frontier Armies. They found that the officials of the Central Department of the Capital were involved."

Emperor Jiajing asked: "Which department official?"

Lu Fang lowered his voice and said, "Your Majesty, yes..."

Emperor Jiajing said: "Speak louder!"

Lu Fang had no choice but to shout loudly, "Your Majesty, Zhao Wenhua and Minister Zhao are involved."

Zhao Wenhua was trembling. He wanted to explain himself, but he couldn't utter a word because of the fear that penetrated his bones.

Emperor Jiajing asked: "Oh? How much money did our Zhao Butang embezzle from the military budget?"

Lu Fang replied: "A total of 104,000 taels. There are confessions from six officials from the Nine Borders who were dismissed from their posts, but there is no actual evidence yet."

Emperor Jiajing asked, "Zhao Wenhua, do you have anything else to say?"

Zhao Wenhua squeezed out a fly-like sound from his throat: "I am innocent."

Emperor Jiajing said: "Without solid evidence, I will not convict you yet. Go back home and wait for trial!"

Zhao Wenhua was so frightened that his legs became weak and he could no longer walk. Lu Fang ordered two eunuchs to help Zhao Wenhua out of Yongshou Palace with great difficulty.

The unlucky Zhao Wenhua got into the official sedan chair in a daze. He didn't even know how he got back home.

The four words "awaiting trial while serving his sentence" almost determined the end of his official career.

Zhao Wenhua has had a problem since he was a child. He gets stomachaches when he is anxious.

One year, a Taoist priest came to Zhao's house and gave him a folk remedy. When you have abdominal pain, you can lie on a small boat. The pain will stop in half an hour.

For this purpose, Zhao Wenhua dug a small lake in the backyard of his mansion so that he could lie on a boat to relieve the pain.

The Zhao family's housekeeper helped Zhao Wenhua onto the boat and rowed the boat to the center of the lake.

The boat swayed as the night wind blew. According to previous experience, his abdominal pain would stop in half an hour.

However, half an hour later, his lower abdomen felt like Nezha making trouble in the sea. He was so painful that his face turned pale and he kept wailing.

The housekeeper asked, "Master, do you want me to go ashore to find a doctor for you?" Zhao Wenhua didn't say anything, but rubbed her stomach like crazy. She rubbed so hard that it was like an old cook who was angry with her husband kneading dough.

The housekeeper yelled, "Master, stop rubbing it."

As soon as he finished speaking, there was a "puff" sound, and blood gushed out of Zhao Wenhua's abdomen.

The housekeeper hurried forward and shook Zhao Wenhua's shoulder: "Master, Master!"

Zhao Wenhua did not answer.

The housekeeper felt Zhao Wenhua's breath with his hand, but he was still breathing? Damn, the Minister of Works of the Ming Dynasty rubbed his stomach and rubbed himself to death!
The History of Ming Dynasty records: "Wenhua was ill with a poisonous insect poison and was banished to lie on a boat. He felt bored and unhappy. One night, he touched his abdomen and found it split open, with his internal organs spilling out. He then died."

Zhao Wenhua was a Jinshi in the eighth year of Jiajing. He was known for his greed as an official. However, he was good at identifying and employing people. Hu Zongxian, the governor-general of Zhejiang Province, and Tang Shunzhi, the governor of Fengyang, were both introduced to Yan Song by Wenhua.

After Zhao Wenhua's death, the Imperial Censor Luo Jiabin found evidence that he had embezzled military pay for nine frontier troops, totaling 104,000 taels.

Emperor Jiajing was furious and ordered the Embroidered Uniform Guard to confiscate his family property.

Emperor Jiajing issued another decree: "The property of the criminal official Zhao Wenhua shall be confiscated. This is because he embezzled the wealth from the Ministry of Works. The 14,000 taels of military pay for the nine frontiers is not included in it."

"Since ancient times, the son has to pay the father's debt, and the grandson has to pay the grandfather's debt. I order Zhao Wenhua's descendants to serve as soldiers to pay the military pay for the nine frontiers."

As an aside, in the eleventh year of the Wanli reign, the Wanli Emperor, the eldest grandson of the Jiajing Emperor, read the Shilu of Emperor Shizong and saw the edict of the Jiajing Emperor, so he sent the eunuchs to calculate the amount of compensation to be paid by the descendants of Zhao Wenhua.

After the eunuchs made some calculations, they found that the compensation was still far from enough.

Emperor Wanli remembered his grandfather's teachings and insisted that Zhao Wenhua's descendants continue to pay compensation. Either they pay everything or die.

Zhao Wenhua's descendants paid off his debt until the 17th year of Chongzhen, a total of 85 years.

This incident created the record of the longest time a family took to repay its debt to the country in Chinese history.

The study in Yan Song’s mansion.

In front of Yan Song was a handwritten letter from Emperor Jiajing.

In his letter, Emperor Jiajing questioned Yan Song why he kept the immortal wine for himself instead of offering it to others.

Yan Song was silent for a long time.

Yan Shifan said, "Dad, I think there's something fishy about Zhao Wenhua's death. Let Lao Luo investigate?"

"How is it possible to rub your belly to death? And rub it so hard that your internal organs burst out?"

Yan Song raised his head and glanced at Yan Shifan: "What good will it do if we find out how he died?"

"The Emperor has already begun to think about overthrowing Yan! He first investigated the officials of the Yan family in the nine frontiers, and then severely punished Zhao Wenhua. This is just a prelude to overthrowing Yan!"

Yan Shifan was stunned: "Overthrow Yan? Father, you are worrying too much. How could the emperor overthrow Yan? For so many years, it has been our Yan family standing in front of the stage, protecting the emperor from wind and rain."

Yan Song scolded, "How foolish! The emperor is a dragon. Whenever there is wind and rain in the capital, it is all because of the emperor who calls the shots."

"But then again, I'm afraid it's not that easy."

Yan Shifan said, "Dad, I understand everything. As long as Hu Zongxian in the southeast keeps calm and doesn't wipe out the Japanese pirates, our family will not fall."

"It's just that Hu Zongxian doesn't seem to listen to you. I'm afraid he'll be tempted by the grass and betray us and join Prince Yu and Xu Jie."

Yan Song said: "Hu Zongxian is a kind man and will never betray the Yan family. Your Ministry of Works is in charge of river affairs in the country. You should go to Jiangnan and inspect the water conservancy in Jiangnan."

"Meet Hu Zongxian by the way. Make it clear to him. When the Japanese threat is eradicated, Hu Zongxian will die at the hands of others."

In order to gain power, the Yan family's attitude towards fighting against the Japanese pirates changed from full support to secret obstruction.

Let’s talk about the Lin Mansion.

Lin Shisan was shocked when he heard that Zhao Wenhua died from rubbing his abdomen.

Uncle Zhang poured him a cup of tea and asked, "Why are you so pale?"

Lin Shisan said: "I didn't expect that Zhao Wenhua would die! He died so tragically. I was the one who designed the trap to kill him."

Zhang Bo advised Lin Shisan: "You are wrong. It was not you who killed Zhao Wenhua. It was his greed."

"If he had been a good official who was honest and upright, who didn't take bribes, or abuse his power, who could have put him to death so easily?"

"Besides, even if he died because of you, you were still doing good to the people."

Lin Shisan felt a little comforted after hearing what Zhang Bo said: "I thought that by persuading him to offer the Hundred Flowers Fairy Wine to the Emperor, at most he would be cut off from entering the cabinet. There would be one less corrupt official in the cabinet."

“I didn’t expect that he would die because of this.”

Zhang Bo said: "You are such a smart person, can't you figure it out? The emperor wants him dead, not because of the Hundred Flowers Wine. It's because the emperor wants to suppress the Yan Party and cut off Yan Song's left arm!"

"You don't need to blame yourself. The court is like a chessboard, and you are just a chess piece. It's not you who ate the opponent's piece, but the chess player. The chess player in the court is in Yongshou Palace!"

Six months later, it was the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month in the thirty-eighth year of the Jiajing reign.

The people of Beijing are welcoming the New Year with joy.

The Lin family's old house in Gouqibo Hutong was also bustling with activity. The servants were busy cleaning the courtyard, posting Spring Festival couplets, and hanging colorful silks.

The Lin family celebrates the New Year in the old house.

Several people in frontier army uniforms entered the old house, led by Li Chengliang's trusted and beloved general, Cha Dashou.

When Cha Dashou saw Lin Shisan, he bowed and said, "I am Cha Dashou, your honor to meet Lin Chuanfeng."

Lin Shisan said with a smile: "Please stand up quickly. You are a rare guest, how did you come to Beijing?"

Cha Dashou replied, "I came to the capital this time on the orders of Lieutenant General Li to go to the Ministry of War to receive the official documents for the assessment of the Xianshan Thousand Households this year. I also came to give Lin Chuan a festival gift."

"There's nothing rare, just some special products from the dangerous mountains, animal skins, honey, ginseng and the like."

Lin Shisan said, "Then I will be very respectful to decline. Please thank Lieutenant General Li for me."

Lin Shisan warmly invited Cha Dashou to dinner. During the meal, Cha Dashou mentioned that because the Jiagu tribe was quite docile, Li Chengliang asked the Ministry of War to give the Jiagu tribe a hundred-household organization.

Furun was old, so he gave up the position of centurion to his son Juechang'an.

Lin Shisan frowned: "Give the Jurchens military households? Isn't that inappropriate?"

Cha Dashou said: "The Ministry of War has approved it. The official document also praised our Li Canjun for his ability to get things done. Wasn't the Doyan Three Guards a precedent for foreigners joining the Ming army?"

At this moment, a familiar voice came from outside the dining room: "Lin Shisan, congratulations!"

It was the assistant commander Zhu Xixiao.

Lin Shisan came out immediately and said, "Master Zhu, why did you come to my humble abode? Please forgive me for not coming so far to welcome you."

Zhu Xixiao said: "I came to congratulate you. You have been promoted to a thousand households!"

Lin Shisan was stunned: "Promoted to a thousand households?"

Zhu Xixiao smiled and said, "Yesterday, the emperor showed mercy and issued an oral decree to grant the Jinyiwei a batch of trial centurions to be promoted to centurions, and deputy centurions to be promoted to centurions."

"I have entered your name on the list of recommendations for promotion by the Northern Pacification Division."

"Captain Lin, congratulations!"

Zhu Xixiao was from Prince Yu's Mansion. Lin Shisan helped Prince Yu's Mansion to overthrow Zhao Wenhua. The promotion to the rank of Qian Hu was reported to Li by Prince Yu's Mansion.

(The end of "Black Bear")

(End of this chapter)