Chapter Fifty-One: An Audience at the Prefectural Office

Congratulations to the Great Sword Master, Dark Sovereign, on being promoted to lodge master and surging to the top of the fans’ rankings. Mighty and domineering, with deepest thanks.

The magistrate’s yamen in Linqing Prefecture.

Sheng Zhongquan, the prefect of Linqing, was a short, plump man, rather genial in manner. That, of course, was only his state in recent times. Two years earlier, Sheng Zhongquan had still been a short, sturdy prefect, full of vigor and brimming with appetite.

And all of this, naturally, was because this was already Sheng Zhongquan’s third year in office.

The third year meant his term was nearly finished. This was his final year.

He wanted stability. No trouble, no incidents. He had to ensure that the family fortune he had amassed over three years would not be ruined in an instant. Up until before the fourth month of the fifteenth year of Chongzhen, all had gone rather smoothly.

But now... such hopes seemed difficult to fulfill.

All of it was because of Crown Prince Zhu Cilang.

The tax office had undergone sweeping changes, and the timber levy bureau had been merged away. The situation in the city was like a meteor striking a still lake; it could no longer remain calm. Thinking again of the fate of Zhu Cilang’s predecessor, Chu Lushan, Sheng Zhongquan could not help but sigh.

Yet when he thought of the gains he had accumulated over these three years, he could not bear to let them go, no matter what. So when Sheng Zhongquan met Yang Chuan, he finally made up his mind.

A decision whose prospects of success and failure seemed especially clear.

Thinking of the words Yang Chuan had spoken when they met, thinking of the promised benefits and his own hard-won fortune of these three years, by the time Yang Chuan entered the rear courtyard, his whole being had risen to its peak state. It seemed as though he had returned to those energetic days three years before.

“Be thorough in cleaning! If you delay the master’s important business, I’ll flay you alive!”

“How is the invitation of Miss Yiwu from the Wonderful Sound Tower coming along? What? Several wealthy merchants have arrived? Tell those blind fools that if they are not here within a quarter of an hour, the Wonderful Sound Tower need not think of opening again!”

“Good, good. As long as the wine and banquet for Pinxuan Tower are prepared properly, that will do!”

When Sheng Zhongquan stepped into the rear courtyard, his ears were immediately filled with the voices of three stewards, all bustling about and issuing arrangements in every direction.

Yet with all that clamor, the boundless encouragement that had just risen in Sheng Zhongquan abruptly deflated for some reason.

At that thought, Sheng Zhongquan grew irritated and waved his hand as if shooing flies. “All of you get out. Do you stand here to get in the way?”

The three stewards were startled at this.

Seeing that, Sheng Zhongquan also realized his words had been too harsh.

The chief steward, Sheng Fu, immediately glared at the steward who had just been the loudest and barked, “What are you yelling about? Didn’t you hear what the master said? If you want to shout, go outside and shout!”

“Yes!”

Sheng Zhongquan waved weakly and went into the inner room. “Go and do your work properly. How far have they gotten?”

Sheng Fu followed softly at his heels. “Master, Sir Dongshan said he will arrive in two quarters of an hour. General Liu said he will arrive together with Sir Dongshan. Chief Clerk Qin agreed to come, but did not say when. I just sent someone to check; he has not set out yet. No one is at the tax office residence either.”

Sheng Zhongquan nodded several times in a row, so many that Sheng Fu’s eyes nearly stared out of his head.

After a long while, Sheng Zhongquan finally said, “It’s fine. Go out and wait.”

Only after Sheng Fu had left did Sheng Zhongquan suddenly sigh. “This Linqing... has somehow, before I knew it, ceased to revolve around me.”

Sheng Zhongquan sought stability, wanting only to safely carry away the family wealth he had accumulated over three years. Yet that also meant standing apart from the many upheavals, and thus losing his authority. Otherwise, who would not have hurried over in advance with eager attention?

Two quarters of an hour later, Liu Zeqing and Yang Chuan arrived together.

With a certain reserved dignity on his face, Sheng Zhongquan stood by the inner hall’s doorway. Only after Yang Chuan had offered a salute and Liu Zeqing had made a show of moving did he step forward with warm courtesy to help them both rise.

“Sir Dongshan, General Liu, we have kept watch over one another for three years; there is no need for such formalities. Please, come in!”

Smiling, Sheng Zhongquan welcomed the two inside.

Yang Chuan carried himself with the air of a celebrated scholar. “The prefect is the local guardian of the people. These three years of cultivation and toil, and all the prosperity of this place, have depended upon the prefect’s stewardship. How could we be discourteous?”

The two exchanged pleasantries, and the atmosphere grew quite animated. Even Liu Zeqing, who had never much liked joining in the hypocritical courtesies of the literary men, joined the mood by saying, “With the old prefect’s help and Sir Dongshan’s planning, the evil of Linqing may at last be removed!”

Sheng Zhongquan and Yang Chuan exchanged a glance, both nodding. They looked down on Liu Zeqing, this military head who affected scholarly refinement, but on the surface they still comforted him in unison: “For the most critical matter, we will still need the general’s efforts!”

“Leave it to me!” Liu Zeqing, flattered by the two of them, was nearly ready to beat his chest in oath.

But when a loud announcement rose from outside the door, the few people present all stood and went out.

“Chief Clerk Qin of the Ministry of Revenue, the tax office of Linqing, has arrived!”

Sheng Zhongquan did not slow his steps. He did not stand on ceremony in the inner hall, but personally walked to the main gate. There he saw Zhu Cilang dismount neatly from his horse, toss the reins to his bodyguard, and stride forward with long steps to face the others.

That vigorous build and nimble movement did not look like those of a civil official at all, but rather like a martial man.

At that thought, Sheng Zhongquan could not help but glance sideways at Liu Zeqing’s bloated body. Yet this General Liu at his side did not look the least bit like a brute warrior; so long as he did not speak, he instead had something of the bearing of a scholar-official.

What a chaotic world...

“I have come here. There is no need for ceremony. Let us go inside and speak of business.”

Zhu Cilang gave a slight clasp of the hands and went straight in, causing the smile that had just risen on Sheng Zhongquan’s face to freeze at once.

Yang Chuan smiled without speaking. Liu Zeqing looked at Sheng Zhongquan with an expression that seemed to say, “See? I told you.”

Sheng Zhongquan gave a dry laugh and hurried after Zhu Cilang into the inner hall. It was almost as though, if he were a moment too slow, even the seat of honor would be seized by someone else.

Of course, Zhu Cilang was not so lacking in manners.

Once Sheng Zhongquan had taken the principal seat, he cleared his throat and, true to form, dispensed with all needless ceremony, saying directly, “I have heard that Chief Clerk Qin has joined with General Liu Zeqing, commander of the Shandong garrison, in a memorial to His Majesty, requesting permission to lead troops into Henan to suppress the unrest?”

“There is such a matter,” Zhu Cilang replied with remarkable directness.

This startled Sheng Zhongquan. He had expected Zhu Cilang to speak in circles, but had not anticipated such frankness.

At that moment, Liu Zeqing said with a smile, “Prefect, after His Majesty learned of the memorial jointly submitted by General Qin and myself, I hear he was greatly pleased. This matter has already been forwarded to the Ministry of War. In a few days, there will be an imperial edict granting us leave to enter Henan.”

After the two had spoken, Sheng Zhongquan let out a heavy sigh and said, “Going to Henan to suppress rebellion is to relieve His Majesty’s worries, the duty of a minister. But... but... the peace of Shandong depends entirely on General Liu’s defense. Military affairs are perilous. Victory would naturally be cause for great joy, but as the military classics say: first consider defeat, then consider victory. The peace of Shandong cannot do without General Liu!”

“This... this...” Hearing this, Liu Zeqing was instantly left at a loss for words. He looked at Zhu Cilang with an expression as if badly constipated, wanting to speak yet hesitating.

“So exaggerated...” Zhu Cilang silently judged inwardly, but only busied himself with drinking tea and did not take up the thread at all. If he still could not see that these two were conspiring together to force his hand after such blatant theatrics, then he would truly be blind.