“Han Qian…”
The courtyard gate was pounded with “bang bang bang” sounds, and a clear voice outside called Han Qian’s name directly.
The people in the courtyard all exchanged glances, looking toward Han Qian somewhat at a loss. No one had expected Director Wang’s daughter to be so persistent.
“Why are you all looking at me? Don’t tell me we can actually kill Wang Jixiong’s granddaughter and Director Wang’s daughter, or detain her and extort Chuzhou for money?” Han Qian asked, his head throbbing.
“Han Daren, Wang Jun only asks that you remember past ties and spare Uncle Yin’s life.” Wang Jun’s voice came again from the alley.
“What damned ties?” Han Qian muttered under his breath.
“Why not detain them all?” Tian Cheng suggested quietly. He could tell that Han Qian had no intention of killing Yin Peng, but currently it appeared that Feng Wenlan and Chuzhou had only made contact through Yin Peng.
Besides Yin Peng, Chuzhou had no other important figures in Jinling for the time being. Detaining Yin Peng would at least temporarily cut off Feng Wenlan’s contact with Chuzhou. By the time Chuzhou reacted, everything here would already be settled.
They couldn’t release Yin Peng, nor could they let the Wang family’s young miss smash down the gate. In Tian Cheng’s view, the best solution was to detain the Wang family’s young miss as well.
“I heard Han Daren and the Wang family’s young miss once had a marriage arrangement. If you detain her, wouldn’t that make things work out nicely?” Chun Shisanniang said with ill intent.
Han Qian glared at Chun Shisanniang for her snide remarks, then signaled Tian Cheng to untie Yin Peng and the others.
“You’re really releasing them?” Tian Cheng asked, somewhat stunned.
“When I tell you to release them, release them,” Han Qian urged. Then he fixed his gaze on Yin Peng and said, “I hope your actions tonight were merely an attempt to fish in troubled waters. But I still must say, the Emperor’s heart is difficult to fathom. When you return, you should still advise your master to observe and wait for developments, not to fight with us like a snipe and clam, ultimately letting the fisherman profit.”
Yin Peng could hardly believe Han Qian was really letting them go so easily. As he walked toward the front courtyard, he couldn’t help but look back, as if worried that the next moment Han Qian would order his subordinates to shoot them dead.
The scouts guarding the front courtyard also looked over in confusion. Han Qian waved his hand, signaling them to open the courtyard gate and let Yin Peng out.
The courtyard gate suddenly opened, revealing Wang Jun standing on the steps. Behind her stood a maid holding a horse, staring anxiously at the people in the courtyard, her small face pale with tension, afraid that the next moment she would be hacked to death.
“Wang Jun thanks Han Daren here for his great righteousness in sparing Uncle Yin’s life.” Wang Jun bowed in salute.
Wang Jun wore a dark green jacket and skirt, with the hem torn in one place and stained with mud. Her elbows and arms had scrapes, her hair was somewhat disheveled, and she looked quite bedraggled. Perhaps upon learning that Yin Peng had been captured, she had been too anxious to rush over and had taken a fall on the way.
Han Qian waved his hand, signaling Wang Jun to quickly leave with Yin Peng and the others before he changed his mind.
Then thinking of something else, Han Qian instructed Gao Shao, “Take a squad of men to escort them back to Chuzhou Pavilion. Don’t let anyone intercept and kill them halfway, then pin the blame on us.”
“Aren’t you afraid Yin Peng will transmit the information back to Chuzhou?” Tian Cheng asked somewhat puzzled.
Although Prince Xin, Director Wang, and others were in Chuzhou and might be beyond reach for the moment, there were certainly several ministers at court who belonged to Prince Xin’s faction. Releasing Yin Peng would make the subsequent situation unpredictable.
“The Emperor’s heart is difficult to fathom. That His Majesty didn’t fly into a thunderous rage today and directly throw Feng Wenlan into prison probably means he wants to see how much mud can be pulled up with this carrot, Feng Wenlan, right? The current situation is different from before. Even if Yin Peng transmits the information back to Chuzhou, it’s not particularly critical. I expect Chuzhou mostly won’t jump into this pit,” Han Qian said calmly.
Today, the most important thing was that Chun Shisanniang couldn’t fall into anyone else’s hands, and Wanhong Tower’s true secrets couldn’t be unearthed. As for everything else, Han Qian also chose to observe and wait for developments.
Regarding the Jingxiang campaign, overall Great Chu had suffered considerable losses, but the impact on Great Chu’s court structure wasn’t entirely negative.
Although Jingxiang was devastated, the local power forces there had been bloodily purged, which also allowed Jinling to truly control the Jingxiang region for the first time. Great generals like Du Chongtao and Zhang Xiang had also become more obedient to Emperor Tianyou.
The troops under Ma Xun’s command were defeated by Liang forces in the Jingxiang campaign, which also made Tanzhou even more cautious and compliant. The large-scale relocation of households would further weaken Tanzhou’s strength.
This was the changing situation to Great Chu’s west.
As for Shouzhou, which Emperor Tianyou had always worried about, not only had they lost troops and commanders in the Jingxiang campaign, they had also lost territory in southern Caizhou. Xu Mingzhen had submitted multiple memorials requesting punishment for this.
Although Xu Mingzhen’s memorials requesting punishment were hypocritical, this precisely demonstrated the restrained posture of Anning Palace and the Xu clan of external relatives.
That Emperor Tianyou chose this moment to move against the Feng family clearly showed calculation. Whether Chuzhou would get involved after learning of this, Han Qian wasn’t entirely certain, but as things currently stood, Emperor Tianyou could still do as he pleased.
After the horse hooves gradually galloped into the distance, Han Qian said to Yao Xishui and Chun Shisanniang, “Feng Wenlan and Kong Zhou, worried about arousing my suspicions, didn’t send anyone to Niliu Lane tonight to confirm the information. But if no news emerges, or if Yin Peng never contacts them, they’ll inevitably become restless. Perhaps if we go to Changchun Garden now, we can wait by the tree stump once more.”
……
……
Yin Peng had fallen into Han Qian’s trap completely unprepared, without alerting anyone around him. From being captured to being brought back to Lanting Lane had taken only a very short time.
Wang Jun’s nighttime intrusion into Lanting Lane to take Yin Peng and the others away was even more unknown to outsiders.
It was as if Jinling city lay shrouded in the tranquil night, with nothing having happened at all.
Since Feng Wenlan had already made his choice, Han Qian had no need to worry about them further. In the end, he didn’t go to Changchun Garden to wait by the tree stump, and even withdrew the spies watching core Anning Palace figures like Niu Gengru and Zhao Mingting.
Early the next morning, Han Qian hurried to the Commandery Prince’s mansion to explain to Third Prince Yang Yuanpu, Shen Yang, Zheng Hui, and others what had happened the previous night.
At Feng Wenlan’s sudden change of heart, actually turning to cooperate with the Second Prince, Yang Yuanpu was naturally both angry and annoyed. He immediately had Han Qian gather more evidence of the Feng family’s crimes so he could continue impeaching Feng Wenlan and Kong Zhou.
Han Qian assigned these matters to Tian Cheng and Gao Shao to handle. After leaving the Commandery Prince’s mansion, he directly left the city and returned to Yandang Cliff, calmly observing how events would unfold.
The case of destroying mountains at the Imperial Mausoleum was jointly memorialized by Censorial Investigating Censor Zhang Han and Third Prince Yang Yuanpu, with charges both light and severe. After Emperor Tianyou summoned Feng Wenlan and rebuked him, he neither directly held Feng Wenlan accountable nor turned the case over to the Censorate to follow up. Instead, he handed it to the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs for investigation, making everything confusing and unclear.
Generally speaking, if Emperor Tianyou truly wanted to severely punish the Feng family, he should have turned the case over to the Censorate or the Court of Judicial Review to follow up. Handing it to the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs for investigation didn’t look like he intended to expand the scope at all.
In many people’s view, this perhaps meant the Feng family was at the height of imperial favor.
However, Censorial Investigating Censor Zhang Han had no intention of letting the Feng family off. Three days later, he again submitted a memorial impeaching Feng Wenlan and Kong Zhou for encroaching on civilian farmland when building their garden at Meiting Wharf, even going so far as to bribe officials and manufacture false cases. The matter also directly implicated Kong Zhou. Third Prince Yang Yuanpu further submitted accusations about how unauthorized mountain destruction had caused disaster for over four hundred rural households and drowned dozens of people.
Emperor Tianyou again summoned Feng Wenlan and Kong Zhou to inquire about these matters. This time, Feng Wenlan and Kong Zhou were unable to leave the palace again. Instead, they were ordered to remain on duty at Chongwen Hall and could not leave at will.
The next day, Emperor Tianyou issued an edict summoning Zheng Chang to court, appointing him Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. At the same time, he stripped Feng Wenlan and Kong Zhou of their official positions on charges of unauthorized destruction of the Imperial Mausoleum and manufacturing false cases, had them detained in the Court of Judicial Review for investigation, and made Zheng Chang responsible for presiding over the case.
At this point, many people caught on and began impeaching Feng Wenlan, Kong Zhou, and their followers for violating state discipline, with all manner of charges.
On the third day of the ninth month, when Han Qian returned to the Commandery Prince’s mansion, the charges against Feng Wenlan and Kong Zhou had accumulated to twenty-seven counts. Besides unauthorized destruction of the mausoleum and seizing civilian farmland, they included serious crimes like embezzlement and corruption, forming factions for private gain, privately storing armor, and maintaining private troops. All impeachment memorials were immediately sent to the Court of Judicial Review for investigation.
Although ultimately determining the punishment for Feng Wenlan and Kong Zhou might require Emperor Tianyou to convene a Privy Council meeting for discussion, it would still be based on Zheng Chang’s investigation of their crimes as Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review.
Although yesterday the Feng family had Feng Liao personally deliver the tortured and disfigured Guo Que’er back to the Yandang Cliff estate as a gesture of seeking mercy, at this stage what could Han Qian say? He directly refused Feng Liao entry and wouldn’t even see him. At this point, he couldn’t possibly step forward to suggest that Zheng Chang, who had just been summoned to serve as Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, falsify the Feng family’s crimes.
In other words, all charges impeaching Feng Wenlan and Kong Zhou would be confirmed by the Court of Judicial Review, then submitted to Emperor Tianyou to convene a Privy Council meeting of princes and great ministers for decision.
This was also what Emperor Tianyou expected his subordinate ministers to dutifully do at this time.
On the sixth day of the ninth month, Han Qian entered the city early to go to the Commandery Prince’s mansion. While he was discussing matters with Shen Yang and Zheng Hui in the public hall, Wang Lin walked in quite excitedly and said, “His Majesty has issued an edict. The charge of treason against Feng Wenlan and Kong Zhou has been confirmed. According to the law of high treason, they should be executed immediately, all clan property confiscated, and their relatives and associates will all be imprisoned by the Court of Judicial Review for trial and sentencing.”
Han Qian had long anticipated this would be the Feng family’s outcome. However, thinking that in the more than two years since he had come to Jinling, apart from getting along quite well with Feng Yi and Kong Xirong and being able to drink and boast with them, he had mainly been scheming against the people of the Xinchang Marquis’s mansion, and when he thought about it carefully, he didn’t actually have a single friend with whom he could sit down and chat casually, his mood was quite heavy.
“Although Master Baishi is the presiding judge, confiscating the Feng family’s property in the capital will be carried out by personnel from the Censorate, Court of Judicial Review, and Ministry of Justice working together. As for the Feng family’s clan properties in Xuanzhou, Runzhou and other places, officials from the Court of Judicial Review will be dispatched to work with the prefectures and counties. Our side has no way to manipulate things,” Wang Lin said quite regretfully, his words still complaining that the Feng family was too ungrateful, causing the Commandery Prince’s mansion to miss a good opportunity to seize the Feng family’s wealth and strengthen their power.
Shen Yang glanced at Wang Lin but said nothing. Han Qian guessed he probably quite regretted recommending Wang Lin for a position at the Commandery Prince’s mansion.
However, Wang Lin had previously impeached the Xu clan for encroaching on civilian farmland, showing quite the manner of a renowned scholar. For this he had been suppressed by Anning Palace and the Xu clan and demoted to a minor prefectural official. Han Qian thought that after suffering that blow, he had probably abandoned his former lofty and self-righteous temperament.
Han Qian had no mood to remain in the public hall listening to everyone discuss the Feng Wenlan case. He returned to Jinyun Tower to handle the affairs that had accumulated over the past two days.
Although their workshops, warehouses, and Linjiang Money Shop had been separated from the Han family’s private property, these matters were still under his jurisdiction. However, the specific affairs were all handled by Lin Haizheng.
Currently, the Commandery Prince’s mansion’s power and financial resources had expanded enormously. There was no need for the Linjiang Money Shop to pursue aggressive expansion. Although they continued to raise funds subsequently, the annual interest rate was compressed to two percent, and the newly raised money was mainly used to replace the previous high-interest loans.
In this way, the interest the money shop had to pay each year was gradually decreasing. The warehouses and workshops could provide the Commandery Prince’s mansion with an additional one to two hundred thousand qian in money and grain each month.
Compared to the financial resources the Commandery Prince’s mansion currently controlled, providing an additional one to two hundred thousand qian in money and grain each month seemed quite insignificant. However, the workshops also supported over five hundred sons of the Left Division and craftsman households for the Commandery Prince’s mansion, which was quite considerable.
The Inner Residence selected accompanying personal guards, with Yongchun Palace replacing the former estate guards and clerks, or the Commandery Prince’s mansion adding new assignments. This time, over a hundred sons were selected from among them.
Of course, the more important point that many people, including the Third Prince himself, hadn’t yet realized was that if the training model for workshop and Left Division sons was formalized, or even taken a step further to create formal schools, this would actually open a new path for training loyal forces directly available to the Third Prince and the Commandery Prince’s mansion.
Han Qian didn’t break through this paper window. On one hand, the Left Division was currently under his control, and previously gathering Left Division sons under the workshop’s name to teach them literacy and crafts while conducting semi-military drills and management had been pushed forward by him alone. If he broke through this paper window, he would more likely invite suspicion. On the other hand, the aristocratic families absolutely wouldn’t want to see commoner sons receive the same high-level education and training as aristocratic sons.
The ultimate result would directly weaken the position of the aristocratic families.
At least for now, Han Qian didn’t want to be the first bird shot and oppose the aristocratic families.
After handling the affairs at hand, seeing the hour was still early, Han Qian thought about leaving the city again to stay at the Yandang Cliff estate. But just as he had packed his things and was about to have Zhao Wuji and Xi Fa’er bring horses to accompany him out of the Commandery Prince’s mansion, Tian Cheng walked in and said in a lowered voice, “Feng Liao, Feng Yi, and Kong Xirong may have already escaped the city. Officials from the three bureaus searched all the Feng family’s residences and shops in the capital but couldn’t find any trace of them.”