“Your humble subject has indeed come to admit error. A few days ago, your subject was confused and foolish, using words of great disloyalty and unfilial conduct to criticize the sovereign, losing the way of being a minister and damaging Your Majesty’s sagacity. Naturally, I need to come forward to request punishment.” Though Wei Zheng’s mouth spoke words of requesting punishment, his face showed not the slightest trace of shame.
Li Er sat stupefied for a moment, then instantly flew into a great rage: “Since you know you were wrong, why didn’t you come to request punishment at the time, but instead delayed until this moment?”
“At the time there was no need to request punishment. Whether it was right or wrong, only heaven knows. Now it won’t do. Your Majesty must be right, and your humble subject must be wrong. Your subject’s confession memorial has already been submitted to the Central Secretariat, requesting they proclaim it throughout the realm to warn future generations.”
“What do you mean there was no need to request punishment? What do you mean I must be right? Right is right and wrong is wrong. Today you must speak clearly, or else this time I will truly charge you with the crime of great disrespect.” Li Er didn’t know why he was so easily provoked to anger by Wei Zheng, which greatly worried Zhangsun hiding behind the curtain.
“When the realm is at peace, the Emperor must guard against arrogance and rashness. Offering timely remonstrance with harsh but loyal words to Your Majesty is the duty of the Censorate. Now the realm is in chaos with wolf smoke rising on all sides. Your Majesty must possess a fearless heart for our Great Tang to achieve victory in every battle. Any words or actions that damage Your Majesty’s wisdom are greatly disloyal and unfilial, and aid the enemy.”
“Therefore, circumstances change with time. Your humble subject naturally will request punishment from Your Majesty, retract the words I have spoken, and admit my error to the people of the realm.”
Wei Zheng’s words left Li Er completely at a loss for how to respond. He knew all too well what kind of temperament this old fellow had. Being called a stone in the outhouse was most fitting—getting him to admit error was harder than ascending to heaven. Now not only was he admitting error to himself, he had even personally written a confession memorial to be proclaimed throughout the realm. This meant the old fellow was giving up even the reputation he treasured most.
“Your Majesty need not be surprised. Your humble subject does indeed cherish my reputation, but compared with the Great Tang’s rivers, mountains, and altars of state, reputation is truly insignificant. The Great Tang’s rivers and mountains contain countless amounts of your subject’s heart and blood. For them, your subject has cried, laughed, raged, and worried. This land contains my blood, sweat, and tears. Whoever wants to harm it is Wei Zheng’s mortal enemy.”
“Now Your Majesty needs to focus your energy on military affairs in all four directions. What your humble subject can do is do my utmost to share Your Majesty’s worries. Wolf smoke has risen, and in the lands of Shandong and Hebei, the people’s hearts are already unstable. Not only does that area need to supply grain and fodder to the Gewu Prefecture front lines, it also needs to guide the common people to prepare at any time to establish a second defensive line and prepare for scorched earth tactics. More importantly, the people’s hearts there need someone to comfort them. Public affairs are complex and the situation delicate—only a senior minister can shoulder this heavy responsibility. After thinking it through carefully, your humble subject feels I am the best candidate and have specially come to volunteer to Your Majesty, requesting to serve as Inspector-General of the two circuits.”
Wei Zheng spoke with resounding force and unwavering determination. He seemed to have completely forgotten the words he had spoken in this Wanmin Palace before, and also forgotten about privately adding greatly disrespectful content to the Court Diary. Li Er looked suspiciously at the vigorous Wei Zheng before him and couldn’t help but press further: “Why are you so confident that I will agree to your request? You should know my anger has not subsided. Your previous words still ring in my ears. Listen carefully—the words you spoke still echo endlessly among these beams and pillars. I was angered into unconsciousness by your words. Doctor Sun cut open my neck and drew out several taels of blood before managing to save me. Wei Zheng, do you expect me to forgive you with just a few casual words and entrust you with heavy responsibilities?”
“Indeed so. In Wei Zheng’s life, I only do what I believe should be done, just like now. Under the assault of the entire world on Tang, Your Majesty needs to establish supreme authority. Wei Zheng naturally will admit error. The two circuits of Hebei and Shandong need someone to comfort them. Wei Zheng is the best candidate, so naturally I will volunteer myself. How could I hesitate due to a small private grudge?”
“What an impartial and selfless Wei Zheng, Wei Xuancheng! Your Majesty, this old minister Fang Qiao is willing to guarantee Wei Zheng. If Wei Zheng cannot accomplish the task, this old minister is willing to receive punishment together with him.” Fang Xuanling loudly praised Wei Zheng, then held his tablet and knelt before the Emperor, strongly vouching for Wei Zheng. Not only did he do this, but Zhangsun Wuji and others who followed in also did the same, with only Chu Suiliang remaining expressionless like a clay Buddha.
They had ascended the hall to discuss affairs of Hebei and Shandong. Those areas were currently being continuously harassed by the Mohe and Shiwei allied forces. Zhishi Sili and the other two foreign generals were constantly sweeping back and forth across the black earth but found it difficult to completely eliminate all the barbarian tribes. Large groups of Mohe people had already penetrated deep beyond Yingzhou. If a second defensive line could not be quickly established, whether Niu Jinda could even maintain a firm foothold in Yingzhou would be in question. This time the Mohe and Shiwei tribes had practically come out in full force. According to Zhishi Sili’s reports, the Shiwei Wuwan tribe, Nali tribe, Shanbei tribe, Ruzhe tribe, Mengwu tribe, and Hejie tribe—these major tribes had already mobilized with full force and were fiercely attacking the Qibi, while the Mohe people had joined with the Heishui Mohe, completely setting aside even hereditary feuds, firmly trapping Zhishi Sili’s forces at Heishui Plain.
Zhang Jian’s fifty thousand troops were locked in fierce, indecisive combat with the Silla and Baekje people at Wonsan and Pyongyang. Once Hebei Circuit fell, Zhang Jian’s army in Goguryeo would face the worry of complete collapse. At this time, a senior minister with enormous prestige in Shandong and Hebei absolutely had to be dispatched to that place to reorganize city defenses and ensure the armies of the three foreign generals could guarantee Zhang Jian’s army’s supply lines. The crisis there could erupt at any moment. Perhaps only someone like Wei Zheng going there could truly mobilize the common people to protect their homes and defend their country.
Li Er was not ambiguous either. He had long since thought through the reasoning here, but due to considerations of face, he could not make this decision. Now with Fang Xuanling and others vouching for him, giving him a way out, he would naturally go with the flow. However, after hearing Wei Zheng’s appointment, Chu Suiliang revealed a smile. He had not heard a single word in the decree about restoring Wei Zheng’s noble rank.
“Brother Xuancheng, this journey to Hebei involves long mountains and waters, and the situation is dangerous. I request that my brother display great divine might to twist the hearts of the officers, soldiers, ministers, and people of the northern lands into a single rope and reverse the current situation that is extremely unfavorable to our dynasty.” After Fang Xuanling bowed to Wei Zheng, he began to entrust him with the task.
“This old man is bearing imperial credentials to Yunzhong, so naturally I know how to respond. Hebei and Shandong have deep foundations. As long as they are mobilized, those barbarians will only have the option of fleeing in panic. You should still put more thought into Beiting. Guo Xiaoke has already been surrounded by the Turkic people in Kucha. Yun Ye in Gaochang has become an isolated force but still must cut off the connection between the Turkic people and the grasslands. The Tubo people have bypassed Luanshi City and are urgently attacking Shazhou. Su Dingfang’s great army has already moved up to meet them, so there should be no major problems. These Tubo people, seeing they cannot conquer Shazhou and enter Hexi, might very well turn to attack Gaochang where Yun Ye is located. That is where the real trouble lies.” Though Wei Zheng received the credentials wearing a black robe that clashed sharply with the bright yellow credentials, he still spoke with overwhelming authority.
“That detestable Lu Dongzan actually escaped numerous assassination attempts and returned to Tubo! This traitor stayed in the capital just to stabilize us and interfere with our judgment. Over these years he has gained deep understanding of Jiannan Circuit, and on this journey back he actually made it with thrills but no dangers. This evil thief—this old man will certainly not let him rest.”
Zhangsun Wuji’s expression was very ugly. Their family had always been on good terms with the Tubo people and had made a great fortune over the years relying on their relationship with Lu Dongzan. As the guarantor for Tubo, he had now almost been impeached into a sieve by the censors.
Seeing Wei Zheng off was also Yun Shou. The half-grown youth learned from his elders and respectfully wished Wei Zheng smooth travels. Thinking of Yun Ye’s dangerous circumstances, Wei Zheng’s heart filled with bitterness. He patted Yun Shou’s round head, said to study well, then mounted his family’s carriage and, clutching the credentials, hurried along the ancient road toward Hebei Circuit.
Di Renjie sprawled over a map of Chang’an, measuring inch by inch with his hand, then picked up a charcoal pencil and circled Daixian Ward beside Yanping Gate. He rubbed his eyes—this was already his hard-won achievement from an entire night’s work.
Thinking of Chang’an’s dense population, Di Renjie smiled bitterly and shook his head. The official duties of the Court of Judicial Review were not easy to perform—complex and arduous. Picking out murderers and enemy state spies from among a vast population of one million was definitely not an easy task.
“Dense in the south and sparse in the north, noble in the east and wealthy in the west.” This was Chang’an’s layout situation. Because the north held the palace city and imperial city, the population was dense with many official residences. The southern regions, especially the three southern rows of wards, were called “outside the enclosure” because they were remote, and residents were relatively sparse. When Emperor Wen of Sui first built Daxing City, to prevent the city south from being too empty, he ordered his sons to build residences in the three southern rows of wards to control and fill the southern area. But ultimately because it was too remote, though there were occasional residents, cooking fires did not connect, and plowing and planting created crisscrossing paths. The Shengdao Ward in the southeast region was “entirely grave mounds with absolutely no residents.” And in the Changshou Ward in the southwest region, there were even fierce tigers roaming about. Di Renjie himself had led the Court of Judicial Review’s constables more than once to hunt tigers there.
People were a very strange type of creature. The higher the land prices, the more they liked to cluster together. The more sparsely populated an area, the more it was shunned. The land prices around both the Eastern and Western Markets had already reached sky-high levels. Changshou Ward still only had a very few households residing there, and one or two people were regularly carried off by tigers—extremely pitiful.
Looking from east to west, since the Sui dynasty, high officials and nobles mostly lived in the western city, but later a shift occurred, and the eastern city instead became where high officials and nobles’ mansions were located. Especially the northeastern city region—because it was close to the imperial palace interior, official residences were densely concentrated. Zhang Yonglu explained that the Ruyuan Ward and Shengye Ward in the city’s northeast were especially crowded with princely mansions. Ruyuan Ward had seven imperial princes who built residences here—it truly deserved to be called the Ward of Wealth and Nobility.
Last night, three constables were killed by someone in Anye Ward. Their entire bodies had only a shallow wound at the throat, yet just this one wound caused massive bleeding. The three constables were sprawled on the ward wall, having almost bled out every last drop. Each person’s bosom also contained various miscellaneous items—at a glance one could tell they were stolen.
Di Renjie didn’t care about the life or death of three constables who had engaged in theft while guarding their posts. What he cared about was the weapon the murderer used when killing, because that blade was too fast. Not only did it cut open all three men’s arterial blood vessels with one stroke, it also severed a silver coin with a hole that one of the bandits wore hanging from his neck.