Chapter 2: The Wind Rises from Zhongshan Mountain Chapter 42: Mr. Zhao's Great Prophecy
In the evening, Zhao Jin and Zhao Shouzheng returned home. When they heard what happened at Weijixian, they were naturally furious.
"Compared to Yan Song, what is Duke Wei?" Zhao Jin immediately slammed the table and said, "I will file a report against him for 'letting his servants run wild and causing great harm to the people'!"
“Calm down, nephew. Although I’m holding the shares of Weijixian on your behalf, we are a family. If you report him for this, I’m afraid he will retaliate.” Zhao Shouzheng advised hurriedly.
"Father is right. We can't go to complain to a duke for such a trivial matter." Zhao Hao said with a wicked smile, "If we want to fight, we have to hit him where he is weak."
"Oh, brother, you mean..." Zhao Jin suddenly remembered the incident with Zhou Jijiu, and thought to himself that no wonder his brother was not in a hurry, it turned out that he had already made a plan.
"That's right," Zhao Hao nodded with a smile and said, "Xu Pengju has already tricked his youngest son's mother, Zheng, into becoming the Duke's wife. The next step is to push his youngest son to the throne. He certainly doesn't want to get involved at this time."
"Oh? You said it was fake, do you have any evidence?" Zhao Jin asked curiously.
When he heard that day that Zhao Hao knew everything about Duke Wei's family affairs, he was very shocked. But today, after hearing new revelations, he felt a little numb.
"this……"
Zhao Hao hesitated for a moment. He couldn't tell his elder brother that he was actually using a historical cheat. The fact that Xu Pengju, that idiot, wanted to depose the eldest son and enthronize the youngest son in his later years caused a sensation in Nanjing. Not only was it recorded in Ming history, but almost all notes and unofficial histories also ridiculed him.
Because the matter finally turned into a farce, Xu Pengju not only failed to get what he wanted, but was also exposed for forging documents for Zheng. As a result, Zheng's imperial edict was taken away, and many officials were also punished, exposing the weak nature of the current nobles.
However, the details of how Xu Pengju forged the information are briefly recorded in unofficial history. What can Master Zhao do?
"It's just a rumor, but is that enough?" He could only say with a smile, trying to evade the question, "We don't really want to bring him down."
Moreover, the founding duke who held the imperial seal could not be brought down unless he was guilty of treason.
"That's enough. We have always reported things based on hearsay." As expected, Zhao Jin did not ask further questions. He just thought that his brother had a secret channel that should not be disclosed, so he smiled and rubbed his hands, saying, "I will write a memorial and send it to the censor who has a good relationship with Wei Guogong first, and ask him to sign it with me."
"Great!" Zhao Hao clapped his hands and laughed, "This way, Duke Wei will definitely see the impeachment letter, and he will definitely know how to deal with it."
"Of course. How can a mere restaurant be compared with the issue of his successor?" Zhao Jin laughed loudly for a while, and said with a hint of regret: "It's a pity that now we can't use him to revive our reputation!"
"In that case, it's really a bargain for him." Zhao Shouzheng also nodded.
"Brother is already famous all over the world, why should we spend more effort?" Zhao Hao looked at Zhao Jin with a smile. He knew the anxiety in his elder brother's heart.
Zhao Jin had been reinstated for nearly three months, but there was no news from Beijing. It seemed that the bigwigs in Beijing had forgotten about him, a small seventh-rank imperial censor...
Although three months is not a long time, as the saying goes, you can strike the iron while it is hot. If you delay for too long and the iron becomes cold, how can you strike it?
Even though Zhao Jin was an expert at cultivating his Qi, he couldn't help but feel a little restless.
"Just be at ease. I'm putting this here, brother will be promoted within this year, or at least good news will be received in one or two months." In order to reassure his brother, Zhao Hao had no choice but to use the great prophecy technique again.
"Okay, I believe my brother." It was not easy for Zhao Jin to write directly to Gui Tongnian to ask about this matter. He could only hope that Zhao Hao's prediction would come true again.
…
Zhao Jin did what he said and discussed with Zhao Hao about writing the impeachment letter that night.
The next morning, he took a sedan chair to the Nanjing Censorate, which was located outside Taiping Gate and on the shores of Xuanwu Lake.
When Taizu established his capital in Nanjing, he set up all the civil and military offices outside Chengtian Gate, the main gate of the imperial palace. Only the three judicial offices were placed outside Taiping Gate to show that the judicial offices were independent of the civil and military offices.
The place is surrounded by mountains and rivers, with picturesque scenery and uncrowded traffic. Working here is very leisurely. After Emperor Chengzu moved the capital, the three courts in Nanjing had even less to do. Many old men even came to work with bird cages. Every day, they strolled along the Houhu Lake, played a few games of chess under the shade of trees, went back to the government office to have lunch and sleep until the evening, and then went home with bird cages...
For officials without any ambition, this is a good place to cultivate one's character. But Zhao Jin is eager to do something to make up for the lost time. For him, working here is nothing short of torture.
Therefore, not long after his reinstatement, his relations with his colleagues became strained because he did not fit in.
When his sedan chair landed in the Censorate, the censors who were singing in the pavilion with shrill voices and shyness immediately stopped. They didn't want to be lectured by the old censor Zhao who relied on his seniority...
"Go away, go back to your respective tasks." A censor in his thirties with a dark complexion grabbed his purple clay teapot from the stone railing.
This person was the unnamed censor who had extorted money from the Zhao residence.
The imperial censors also lost interest, picked up their bird cages and tea sets, and left in a bad mood.
"Master Ma, please stay." Zhao Jin stopped the dark-faced censor and said, "I have something to discuss with you."
It turns out his last name is Ma.
Ma Yushi secretly cursed his bad luck, turned around and forced a smile, saying: "I don't dare to discuss it, what do you want, senior?"
"I have a letter of impeachment. Please take a look, Lord Ma." Zhao Jin said in a deep voice and took out the letter of impeachment from his sleeve.
"Oh?" Censor Ma did not dare to neglect him. He let Zhao Jin into his duty room, put down the teapot, and started to read the impeachment documents.
"Hiss..." After reading it, Censor Ma couldn't help but take a deep breath and looked at Zhao Jin and asked, "Are you going to impeach Duke Wei?"
"Yes, I have been in Nanjing for many years and have heard about the many illegal things Duke Wei did. Now that I have been granted reinstatement, it is time for me to serve the emperor." Zhao Jin said solemnly, "Sir Ma just returned from his post as the Southern City Inspector last year. He must have heard a lot about Duke Wei's affairs. Please help me review them and see if there is anything I can modify or add."
After a pause, he cupped his hands again and said, "If you could sign it, I would be very grateful."
"It is my duty to patrol the country on behalf of the emperor!" Censor Ma immediately bowed his hands and shouted a slogan. Then he forced a smile and said:
"This is a serious matter, and I dare not speak rashly. Allow me to leave the memorial and think about it for two days, and then discuss it with the old senior."
"It should be so." Zhao Jin stood up and thanked him again, then left the small and cramped duty room.
Censor Ma saw him out and watched Zhao Jin's figure disappear through the second door. He then turned around, put the impeachment document into his sleeve, and hurriedly closed the door and left the South Courtyard.
…
It was almost noon when Xu Bangning just crawled out from under the pile of makeup.
If he hadn't made an appointment to drink with Liu Yingfang, the son of Ning Jinbo and the commander of the palace army's rear guard, he would never have gotten up before noon.
Xu Bangning yawned, and with the help of a maid, he wiped the lipstick marks off his face. Then he washed, combed his hair, and dressed neatly. Then he lazily came out to the flower hall to meet Liu Yingfang who had been waiting for a long time.
Xu Bangning took the bird's nest offered by the maid, rinsed his mouth, and said with a casual smile: "You came early?"
"Brother is calling you, why don't you hurry over to report for work?" Liu Yingfang was also in his early twenties, dressed in gorgeous clothes, with oiled hair, and the same dandy demeanor.
"This little mouth looks like it's covered in honey." Xu Bangning laughed and wiped his mouth with the handkerchief. "Today my brother is treating us. Let's eat at Zuixianlou first, and then we'll meet Zhao Yanru."
"Oh my, the sun is rising from the west?" Liu Yingfang was overjoyed at first, but then she asked with a smile, "Brother, is there something wrong?"
"Yes." Xu Bangning nodded and said, "If anyone dares to hit my servant, it's right next to the jurisdiction of your palace army guards."
The Ming Dynasty's garrisons can be seen as military administrative areas, where local officials were not allowed to set foot. Therefore, the public security in places adjacent to the garrisons was always extremely chaotic, such as Caijiaxiang...
"Who is so bold?" Liu Yingfang asked curiously, "You dare to touch a tiger's butt?"
"A poor man who doesn't know what life and death is." Last night, Xu Bangning had already found out all about Zhao Hao's background. He would not take the other party seriously even if he was the grandson of the former vice minister or the grandson of the current vice minister.
"Gather a hundred or eighty of your men, sneak into Caijia Lane at night and smash that restaurant called Wei Ji Xian to pieces."
"It's extremely delicious?" Liu Yingfang couldn't help but laugh when he heard that. He had long disliked the extremely delicious food.
The imperial court now relied on recruiting soldiers to fight, and the guards had completely become farming institutions. Even the guards of the government army, one of the upper guards, were completely abandoned, and the officers could only make a living by squeezing the military households and the people in the garrison.
Damn it, Wei Ji Xian’s business is so prosperous, but they don’t even know how to offer tribute to the commander. Liu Yingfang was originally looking for something to teach them a lesson.
Now the two of them finally thought of the same thing, so they put their arms around each other and prepared to go to Zuixianlou to eat and chat.
Who knew that before he even left the house, he saw Xu Pengju's attendant running over, sweating profusely, panting and saying, "Young Master, the Master is calling you to hurry over!"
