Chapter 13 Falling short of success

Paper, pen, ink and inkstone were laid out on the desk in the study.

Prince Beijing Shui Rong was walking in the study with his hands behind his back.

After walking around the study, Shui Rong walked back to the desk, picked up a pen and wrote “Grand Emperor, Second Prince” in large letters on a piece of paper.

Then, he wrote the three big characters “Jurchen”.

The three big words “Mongol” were also written.

Then, he wrote a big word “Ming” at the bottom, put down his pen, and stared at the paper in a daze.

Suddenly, an old man’s voice came from outside: “Young Master! The Emperor’s two dogs are fighting!”

Shui Rong came back to his senses: “Come in.”

The old man pushed the door open and walked in, whispering, “Young Master, there was a fight between the South Camp and the Embroidered Uniform Guards in the East Market.”

Shui Rong perked up and looked at him.

The old man continued, “Three of the Southern Pacification Division’s bandits were hacked to death on the spot, and more than twenty were injured, either seriously or lightly. If Li Hu hadn’t arrived in time…” At this point, he smiled, “these Southern Pacification Division’s bandits would have had their homes confiscated.”

Shui Rong also laughed, “Why?”

The old man replied: “I heard it was because of a scoundrel named Ni Er. The details are still being investigated.”

Shui Rong nodded.

The old man said, “Young Master, this is an opportunity. Although Li Hu and Commander Qiu are both the emperor’s men, they can never be equal. Since the people of the South Camp dared to confront the people of the North Pacification Office, it means that they are in the right, and it was the people of the South Pacification Office who took the initiative. The most important thing is that Li Hu is holding the crown prince behind him. In the case that Li Hu is in the right,
“The emperor will never punish him. Captain Qiu lost his men, lost face, and was punished. Can he swallow this anger?”

Shui Rong’s eyes lit up.

The old man said: “As long as we can make a small breakthrough in Commander Qiu, we can infiltrate the imperial court’s intelligence network and even use it for our own benefit.”

Shui Rong thought for a moment: “It’s not the right time yet. If we approach him now, we will be exposed if we are not careful. When he is full of complaints, we can try to persuade him.” At this point, he suddenly remembered: “How is the investigation of that matter going?”

The old man suddenly remembered: “Look at me, I was so happy that I forgot the important thing. Young Master guessed correctly, the Third Prince is not a pedantic scholar who only reads the books of saints. The death of old doctor Wang is definitely related to him!”

After a pause, he said, “If I hadn’t intentionally tried to get close to him, I wouldn’t have been able to find him.”

Shui Rong sneered: “It’s good to be ambitious! The more they struggle, the greater our chances.”

The old man nodded.

Shui Rong picked up the pen and added “Third Prince” after “Second Prince” and said, “Send a letter to Yangzhou and ask them to send an extra one million taels of silver next year.”

There was silence.

Shui Rong raised his head: “What’s wrong?”

The old man said, “It’s hard to walk with so much salt all of a sudden! Lin Ruhai is watching closely, so you better be careful.”

With a humph, Shui Rong said, “Let’s see what happens.”

The old man: “Yes.” He bowed and walked out.

Shui Rong was stunned for a moment, picked up a piece of rice paper on the desk, picked up the pen and started writing on it.

As the brush moved, the word “Lin” appeared on the rice paper, followed by the words “Ru” and “Hai”.

Having written this, a cold light flashed in Shui Rong’s eyes, and then he roughly drew an “X” on the three words “Lin Ruhai”!
This is the western warm room of the Yangxin Palace. Commander Qiu Duwei of the Jinyiwei has already knelt here waiting for Emperor Yongchang.

Emperor Yongchang walked in with a livid face and went straight to the couch in the south and sat down: “Tell me! Why do you have to catch Li Hu’s spy?”

Captain Qiu replied, “Your Majesty, the Northern Pacification Division is tracking down the Jurchen spies. The suspect has been appearing in the vicinity frequently in recent days, and he is acting suspiciously.”

Emperor Yongchang looked at him.

Captain Qiu went on to say, “The suspect is a small-time thug from the street, and the man they brought up, Ni Er, is also a ruffian. He lends money at high interest rates, eats his spare money at gambling dens, and drinks and fights. Such a person follows the officers in the yamen, and according to the rules, he must be investigated strictly. It has nothing to do with who the spy is.” After saying this, he took out a case record from his sleeve and presented it with both hands.

Emperor Yongchang took it, glanced at it, threw it on the low table, and asked, “He’s not dead, is he?”

Captain Qiu: “Not dead.”

Emperor Yongchang pondered for a long time before saying, “I am also in a dilemma. In broad daylight, the government troops fought in the capital, and people died. The Censorate, the Hanlin Academy, and the Imperial College all submitted memorials, demanding severe punishment. You said that the Jinyiwei acted according to the rules, but no one believed you. That Wang Daniu once saved the emperor!
I will punish you. You feel wronged and think it is unfair. But the problem is that you were the first to do it.” Having said this, he looked at him for a long time before saying, “You will be fined one year’s salary and compensate 500 taels for the medicine. I will pay for you.”

Although he had already guessed the result, he still felt uncomfortable. Captain Qiu closed his eyes and bowed his head: “I obey your order.”

Emperor Yongchang: “I know you are in trouble. I have ordered people to send 500 taels for the funeral expenses of the dead and 100 taels for the medicine of the injured. This is a small compensation.”

Five hundred taels, one hundred taels, the difference is five times!
Captain Qiu was unwilling to accept the defeat, but he had to swallow his anger and said loudly, “Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace!”

Emperor Yongchang nodded with great satisfaction: “I am very pleased that you have such a broad mind. You will go back now and catch all the Jurchen spies as soon as possible and eradicate them completely.”

Captain Qiu: “Yes.” He kowtowed again, then stood up, bowed and walked out.

Emperor Yongchang looked at Captain Qiu’s disappearing back and stood up in annoyance.

At this time, Dai Quan hurried in and reported: “Your Majesty, the Divine General Feng Tang is back.”

Emperor Yongchang looked at him and asked, “How is it?”

Dai Quan: “Li Hu was right. The news leaked out and the important person was not caught.”

Emperor Yongchang turned his gloomy eyes to the window: “Could it be the Northern Pacification Division?”

Dai Quan: “I am arranging people to investigate.”

“No need to check.”

Emperor Yongchang’s eyes flashed with a faint light: “Send all the people to the Northern Pacification Office and tell them that I only want the right result.”

Dai Quan’s heart skipped a beat. The emperor was determined to purge the Infantry Commander’s Office.

Emperor Yongchang: “The Ministry of Internal Affairs must also conduct a thorough investigation. No matter if they are eunuchs or imperial merchants, they must be dealt with according to the law!” He paused and continued: “I will be the bad guy again. This time I will not commend Li Hu for his merits, and let the crown prince reward him with a big house.”

Dai Quan: “Yes.” He answered, bowed and walked out.

Emperor Yongchang suddenly thought: “How is Wang Daniu?”

Dai Quan stopped and replied, “I asked the imperial physician, and he said that I will be fine after two days.”

Emperor Yongchang: “Tell the Imperial Hospital to get whatever medicine they need from the Imperial Palace Pharmacy.”

Dai Quan: “Yes.”

(End of this chapter)