Chapter 19: Shooting

Perhaps some kind of political radar was buzzing. Although he had been assured, Mu Qi still felt somewhat entangled, to the point that he barely touched his breakfast the next morning. Just as he set down his bowl, a servant rushed in to deliver urgent news:

“Yan Xiao Ge Lao has come with a formal invitation!”

The circle of nobility and officials was different from that of scholars; they rarely had personal connections, and any visit was bound to signal something important. 

Mu Qi was momentarily stunned but immediately ordered for him to be brought to the study. The elderly official, having traveled a long way, wasted no time. After a few brief pleasantries, he immediately spoke:

“Mu brother, someone has launched an attack on us!”

Mu Qi was taken aback. “What?”

“The Tongzhengshi Bureau passed along a message to me this morning. Someone named Zhou Zhicheng, a censor, has lodged a formal accusation against us regarding the tribute affairs we handled. He’s making a big fuss about it, and it’s quite serious. This Zhou fellow is actually a relative of Xu Shaohu, so this may not be a friendly visit!”

Without hesitation, Xiao Ge Lao took out a stack of white papers from his sleeve and handed them to Mu Qi. 

These were copies of the memorial, transcribed by Yan Dang loyalists in the Tongzhengshi Bureau, and as soon as they were in hand, he rushed to the Duke’s residence.

Mu Qi was a bit surprised but didn’t feel particularly worried. It was common for Dangs within the Yan Dang to quarrel among themselves, and there was no need for him to get too involved.

 However, as he read quickly, his expression gradually shifted—after scanning several pages, he saw the usual rhetoric attacking their grandiose ambitions, greed for money, and harm to the national body. 

These were all familiar accusations from the purists and didn’t seem particularly serious. But midway through the memorial, he found a hidden trump card:

“I respectfully request His Majesty to remember the virtue of our ancestors in cultivating culture and their distant wisdom and to restore the old system of Emperor Yingzong’s Tianshun era, removing these greedy, narrow-minded, and biased ministers…”

What followed was the glorification of Emperor Yingzong’s cultural reforms. But Mu Qi no longer needed to read on—damn it, a memorial publicly praising the “benevolent virtues” of the fortress clan—how could it be anything but an improper petition?

Cultural reforms, huh? “If the distant people do not comply, then cultivate cultural virtue to win them over,” right? If the fortress clan’s virtue has been cultivated to such an extent, how come they managed to push the Wala people all the way to the outer wall of Beijing?

Wouldn’t it be better to say they sent someone to Wala for further education as part of their cultural cultivation? You might as well say he went north to sell farts.

No, wait, that’s unfair to the fortress clan. The fortress clan has already been taken away—there’s no need for them to buy anyone from Wala anymore. If no money is involved, it can’t be called a transaction. This point cannot be overlooked.

Of course, the fortress clan is still taboo in the country, so it would not be easily mentioned. This scoundrel, Zhou, deliberately referred to the “old system of Tianshun,” which clearly showed ulterior motives. 

What “old system of Tianshun”? After the usurpation and restoration, the fortress clan, in order to consolidate power, handed over the affairs of tribute and foreign relations to the Hanlin Academy, greatly boosting the prestige of those scholars. 

In other words, this memorial is clearly intended to provoke a conflict between the Hanlin Academy and the two of them, even at the cost of ruining the entire tribute system, just to drag the Yan Dang into the mud!

Such malicious intent to fight for power and profit—how could it sink this low?

Originally, the division of power in the court was such that the Duke’s family had no say in these matters. 

But those Hanlin scholars, who prided themselves on their literary knowledge, were completely useless in practice. They had been led around in circles by foreign envoys during their years in charge of tribute, even leaking military secrets. 

In terms of management, they were far worse than the officials in the Ministry of Rites, who followed procedures. If Zhou Zhicheng had planned this properly and truly managed to stir them into action, would not all of Mu Qi’s hard work come to nothing in an instant?

Damn it, this person must not be left alive!

Mu Qi immediately made up his mind: “He is arrogant and unreasonable, impossible to deal with! If what he says is true, does it mean the more one does for the court, the more wrong one becomes? Yan, we must not show mercy to such a person!”

Yan Donglou immediately rejoiced. The nobles and the literati were not from the same circle; as long as there was no rebellion, a family like the Mu family had no need to be concerned with impeachment. 

He had come specifically to find Mu Qi’s son, fearing the latter would stand by and leave him to face the enemy alone. He had not expected the young lord to be so righteous and take on the responsibility himself!

Since this was the case, he did not hold back and directly expressed his views:

“Everything Mu brother says is exactly what I feel! Such villains stir up trouble everywhere; in the future, they will surely cause chaos in the world. We must strike back decisively!”

Mu Qi felt greatly reassured. Based on decades of experience, he knew that the Yan Dang’s moral level was, at best, human. However, their skill in dealing with others was unparalleled, and they were highly regarded for it. With such teammates providing cover, Mu Qi had no fear of defeating Zhou.

Of course, before starting a battle, one should first understand the opponent’s background. Mu Qi asked, “Is this person related to Xu Ge Lao? Could he have been instructed by him?”

“It’s hard to say,” Yan Donglou pondered for a moment before shaking his head. “According to logic, Xu Shaohu wouldn’t ignore his relatives, but Xu Ge Lao has already given his word in front of the Emperor. He cannot easily intervene. I don’t think it’s him.”

As for figures like Xu Shaohu and Yan Fenyi, who were thick-skinned and unyielding, a simple oath from them was often meaningless. But the Xiyuan was under the direct jurisdiction of the Feixuan Zhenjun. You might get away with nonsense elsewhere, but could you possibly spout nonsense in front of the Zhenjun? Wouldn’t his demon-subduing thunderstrike be useless?

Moreover, Yan Donglou had another consideration in mind. He had personally led the Yan Dang in confrontations with the Qingliu Dang and knew how deeply calculated Xu Ge Lao could be. 

If he had made a move to stop this, the memorial would not be such a crude, half-finished product. Without a doubt, if the memorial had been edited by Xu Ge Lao, even if Mu Qi read it a hundred times, trying to interpret it from his homesickness to his feeling of being undervalued, he would never have seen the hidden flattery of the fortress clan.

Indeed, when a master craftsman takes action, one knows immediately whether it is good or not. As fellow experts, they were familiar with each other’s style.

With an expert backing him up, Mu Qi felt half at ease but still reminded, “Even so, someone related to Xu Ge Lao will still be difficult to deal with.”

The young lord smiled faintly, exuding calmness. As ruthless and cunning as Yan Donglou was, even he found dealing with Xu Shaohu somewhat challenging. 

But handling such a small fry as Zhou, he could do it with ease. He flicked the memorial, scratched a mark on it with his fingernail, and handed it to Mu Qi:

“This man is foolish and shallow and has already planted his own downfall. Please take a look, Mu brother.”

Yan Donglou pointed to a line in Zhou Zhicheng’s lengthy accusations, which criticized the two for colluding with palace forces, oppressing foreign envoys, and abusing their power, causing the envoys to tremble and flatter in front of them…

Yan Donglou made a heavy mark on the word “also.”

“‘Also flatter in front of others’—what does ‘also’ mean?” The young lord smiled darkly. “The word ‘also’ indicates that someone else has already done so. 

It’s well known that all we did was send a few volumes of imperial-written blue words to the tributary envoys. Could this be a deliberate hint that someone has already been pressured by palace forces and flattered in front of these words? Who could be so pitiful?”

Indeed, Zhou was a top-tier villain, and just a glance at the memorial allowed him to identify the key flaw. Mu Qi admired him greatly but still had to point out:

“Yan brother, your strategy is brilliant, but this single word ‘also’ can only result in a reprimand at most. It won’t be enough to scare him. Moreover, it involves the Hanlin Academy, which complicates matters further. We must take stronger action to set an example.”

A mere official was nothing to fear. What worried Mu Qi was that Zhou might repeatedly submit petitions, stirring up interest among the scholars of the Hanlin Academy and rekindling the glory of the fortress clan. 

The Hanlin Academy, known for being the cradle of future ministers, would be difficult to handle. Therefore, they needed to strike early and strike hard, ensuring the Hanlin Academy would not dare to meddle.

The young lord smiled faintly, “Please advise me, Mu brother.”

“Does the little pavilion minister know that His Majesty previously ordered the scholars of the Hanlin Academy to compose poetry and write articles praising the achievements of Emperor Taizong Wen?”

Yan Donglou responded with a sound of realization, and his eyes immediately brightened: “As a member of the Yan Dang in the pavilion, of course, I have access to crucial information. 

I know the emperor has been carefully planning and intends to move his father, the late emperor, into the Imperial Ancestral Temple. 

To ease the pressure of ceremonial rites, the emperor is implementing a bundled approach: first, generating public opinion to adjust the temple title and ritual specifications for Emperor Taizong Wen, and once the reform of the Ancestral Temple is finalized, the emperor can swiftly move his father into the temple—smooth and efficient.”

This entire plan was a smooth, clever sequence of steps, but the most crucial part was changing the temple title for Emperor Taizong. Therefore, starting a month ago, the emperor had been speaking at both large and small meetings about the achievements of Emperor Taizong, subtly creating public discourse.

The little pavilion minister, who had risen to prominence by managing ceremonial affairs, naturally understood the strategy, and he was immediately intrigued:

“Are you saying…”

Mu Qi smiled slightly, showing calm composure: “Little pavilion minister, in the current situation, praising Emperor Taizong’s achievements is a risky endeavor.”

Flattering the royal family was a skill long practiced by civil officials, honed through years of experience. However, historically, certain individuals with ulterior motives had complicated matters—such as referring to the emperor’s ancestors as having virtue and achievements. 

The term “Taizong” was already the highest temple title, and any further praise would have to move towards a more ancestral title. But the problem was, why would they refer to Emperor Taizong as “Ancestor”?

By conventional logic, the most fitting temple title should have been “Shizu” (Grand Ancestor), praising Emperor Taizong for his contributions in “founding the empire” or “rebuilding the world,” which made perfect sense. 

Some even proposed this suggestion. But the term “Shizu” implied a change in the imperial lineage, with the smaller family replacing the larger one…

Everyone knew that Emperor Zhu, the Fourth of the current dynasty, was the legitimate heir, the undisputed Son of Heaven. The idea of a “changing lineage” or a “smaller family replacing the larger one” was extremely controversial and could be seen as a dangerous political maneuver, even implying allegiance to the previous emperor, Jianwen.

In short, the emperor’s critics were quickly silenced, and the suggestion to use the title “Shizu” was dismissed.

Some who had previously proposed the term “Shizu” now turned to the emperor’s own words, finding that he had referred to the achievements of Emperor Taizong as “the restoration of the founding ancestor’s authority.” They proposed the temple title “Xingzu” (Restoration Ancestor), thinking it would be acceptable.

There was no problem with this suggestion, but they had overlooked a small detail: Jianwen Emperor’s own father had been given the temple title “Xingzong” (Restoration Ancestor). Thus, the suggestion was once again rejected, and the proposal was swiftly discarded.

The same reasoning applied to other titles such as “Zhongzu” or “Liezu,” which also implied restoration. 

The issue was that the current emperor, Zhu, was widely respected for his filial piety, and his genuine devotion had even brought the spirit of the late Emperor Gaozu back to life. To emphasize “restoration” seemed illogical, as the dynasty was still alive and thriving.

This political maneuvering lasted a year, with many conflicts and indecisions. Eventually, even the Eastern Depot officials grew suspicious, realizing that more and more court officials seemed to be from the Dang of the Jianwen emperor.

The problem lay in the contradictory demands of the emperor’s advisors, who sought to highlight Zhu’s legitimacy while also emphasizing restoration—a highly delicate balance.

Finally, Yan, a seasoned politician, skillfully managed the situation, navigating the complex demands of the emperor.

“Well, since His Majesty has made his decision, how can we not comply? The Ministry of Rites, which I oversee, is responsible for ancestral rituals. I propose we issue an official document, allowing the officials to write articles praising Emperor Taizong Wen. With your wisdom…”

At ordinary times, such a mistake might go unnoticed, but given the current critical situation, any improper wording would quickly reveal the hidden motives of those involved.

The little pavilion minister, being sharp, immediately understood. He laughed heartily, pleased: 

“Brother Mu, your suggestion is brilliant. I will certainly follow your advice!”