The Kingdom That Never Sleeps CH 082 End Of The Act
Compared to other prime ministers' residences, the Left Prime Minister's residence could truly be considered humble.
After the teacher and student finished their meal, they wiped their hands with damp cloths and headed to Ji Wengji's study.
As soon as the door opened, the scent of old ink and paper filled the air. Ji Wengji entered the study, took out a few books, and handed them to Zhao Jing. Zhao Jing received the books with both hands.
Ji Wengji said, "The roads in Qinzhou are rugged, with mountains upon mountains. Who knows when we will meet again? While you're there, read more books. When you return to the capital, we can talk again."
Zhao Jing responded, "I understand, Sir."
After gifting some books, the teacher and student bid farewell.
Zhao Jing bowed deeply, raising his hands high, and said, "I hope to see you again in Shengjing, Sir."
Ji Wengji smiled and said, "Go on."
Zhao Jing turned and left, not once looking back. That afternoon, a light carriage carrying a few boxes of books left Shengjing. By evening, several carriages loaded with clothing and luggage also left from the residence of the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. After traveling about ten miles outside the city, it reached a small pavilion. Qin Si, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, lifted the curtain of the carriage and his eyes brightened as he ordered the driver to stop.
The carriage stopped, and Qin Si, dressed in plain clothes, hurried to the pavilion and greeted, "Guilty official Qin Si greets the Minister."
Amidst the swirling yellow sand on the ancient road, in the small, simple pavilion, the person who had been waiting for Qin Si was none other than Wang Zhen.
Wang Zhen looked him up and down and said gently, "Qin daren has lost quite a bit of weight."
Qin Si felt bitter inside.
Since the incident in Guangling at the beginning of the year, he had been placed under house arrest by the emperor, and nearly half a year had passed. Even a healthy person would grow thin under such circumstances, burdened by endless worries. Qin Si said, "This guilty official has failed you, Minister, unable to handle the affairs of the Ministry of Revenue and the Revenue And Expenditure Department."
Wang Zhen was surprised, "You didn't handle it well?"
"Daren?"
"Whenever the sky is clear, dark clouds always seem to obscure the sun, followed by a downpour. But after the rain, the sun shines brighter than before. Don't you think, Qin daren?"
Qin Si's expression grew complicated, and after a long sigh, he replied, "Yes."
Wang Zhen smiled without saying more.
Using the pretext of the 23 Articles of Tax Reform, Wang Quan attempted to covertly implement "paper currency" without drawing attention from the noble families. However, this path ended in failure, implicating both Zhao Jing and Qin Si, who were banished to distant places.
Successfully handling the Revenue And Expenditure Department would have been a great accomplishment, and Qin Si knew that. But behind every success lies risk, and he was aware he was working for Wang Quan and Wang Zhen. In this political struggle, both he and Zhao Jing had failed, leading to mutual destruction. Yet, Qin Si still held on to hope, which was why he eagerly looked out at the pavilion outside the city.
And sure enough, he saw Wang Zhen!
Qin Si remained silent, waiting for Wang Zhen to give him an explanation.
Wang Zhen did not disappoint him.
"I heard Yu De loves the pastries from Caiqi House. It only has a branch in Shengjing, nowhere else. Wouldn't it be a lifelong regret if you could no longer have them?"
Qin Si's eyes brightened. "Daren..."
Wang Zhen smiled, "If you like them, then eat as many as you can."
As the sun set in the west and the moon rose in the east, Wang Zhen and his manservant stood in the pavilion, watching the three carriages carrying Qin Yude depart from Shengjing. Qin Si sat in the carriage, holding the pastries Wang Zhen had gifted him. He opened the box and ate one, surprising Madam Qin.
"Doesn’t husband usually dislike pastries and sweets?"
Qin Si laughed heartily, "My dear, from now on, I, Qin Yude, will love them!"
The political struggle between the two factions had its gains and losses, but after this incident, the Revenue And Expenditure Department would never reopen.
Zhao Fu had once rebuked the powerful ministers in Chuigong Hall, questioning if they truly believed that the founding emperor abolished the Three Departments just to weaken the ministerial power and strengthen imperial authority. The room fell silent; no one dared answer. Among those present, besides the emperor and a few high-ranking officials, there was also a chamberlain and a junior chamberlain.
Unfortunately, these two were dull-headed. Though loyal, they always turned a deaf ear to matters they dared not listen to or think about.
Much later, Wang Zhen mentioned this in jest to Tang Shen.
Tang Shen nearly laughed out loud.
The founding emperor?
The founding emperor was nothing but a brute!
A rough general who seized the throne from the battlefield!
What else could the founding emperor have wanted to do besides weakening the ministerial power by abolishing the Three Departments? Could he really have conceived of more intricate schemes?
Zhao Fu, borrowing the "tiger skin" of the founding emperor, silenced the four prime ministers, preventing them from ever mentioning the reopening of the Three Departments. After the Revenue And Expenditure Department incident, the Ji and Wang factions both suffered losses, but only Zhao Fu remained unaffected, comfortably watching his ministers scramble for power and profit.
But did only the emperor benefit?
Zhao Jing was demoted, Ji Wengji lost a major supporter in court, and Zhao Fu felt more at ease with him.
Qin Si was demoted, and Wang Zhen lost a capable subordinate. Zhao Fu's newly appointed Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue was aligned with Left Prime Minister Chen Linghai. But beyond this, Wang Zhen was untouched by the incident. In fact, Zhao Fu entrusted him with complete control over the affairs of the newly established Silver Pull Division, favoring him even more.
The Silver Pull Division, established in the northwest, mainly managed military funds and provisions.
In April, Tang Shen privately handed Wang Quan a memorial. A few days later, Wang Quan submitted a memorial to the emperor. Zhao Fu, previously disheartened by the failed "paper currency" policy, had been in poor spirits recently.
At over sixty years old, having reigned for thirty years, Zhao Fu had accomplished many significant feats. For instance, in the tenth year of Kaiping, he went to war with the Liao State and signed a peace treaty; in the seventeenth year of Kaiping, he commissioned the management of the Yellow River, greatly reducing the risk of flooding. More recently, two years ago, he ordered the construction of three official roads leading north, which would be remembered as a great achievement a hundred years from now.
As a sage ruler, Zhao Fu believed he was already destined for an eternal place in history.
But if he succeeded in implementing the "paper currency" policy, he would become one of the most renowned emperors in history.
However, Wang Quan's initial proposal to disguise the policy under tax reforms had failed. Neither Ji Wengji nor Wang Quan, both serving as prime ministers, managed to pull it off! Now, Wang Quan comes to him again, saying, “Your Majesty, instead of pursuing the levy reforms, let’s go through the military funding from the northwest. We can use the situation at the front as a pretext to secretly push for the ‘paper currency’ initiative!”
Zhao Fu, though still skeptical, allowed it.
The Silver Pull Division, ostensibly in charge of military provisions, would eventually operate like a future bank once the three official roads were completed. Military officers could store the supplies distributed by the court in the Silver Pull Division and exchange them with deeds when needed. Over time, these deeds would evolve into a form of "paper currency." There’s no need to go out of your way to exchange; in the various provinces of the northwest, you can directly use these deeds for buying and selling. The Silver Pull Division 'recognizes the paper, not the person'!"
This was Tang Shen's "deceive the heavens while crossing the sea" scheme, offered to Wang Quan. (TN: This idiom means to carry out a deception or trick that is clever enough to evade detection, often used in the context of a cunning strategy or scheme.)
The northwest, constantly at war with the Liao State, was an ideal testing ground for the "paper currency" policy, as noble families had no influence there. Once the groundwork was complete, the policy could be expanded nationwide, leaving the noble families with no room to retaliate.
This was a long-term endeavor, not something that could be accomplished overnight. Thus, Zhao Fu entrusted the task to the younger, more vigorous Wang Zhen, not to Wang Quan.
In the court, as the Silver Pull Division began its operations, the court officials were puzzled but had no idea what it was truly for.
Ji Wengji silently acquiesced, allowing the Division to operate.
In the scorching summer, after Tang Shen had finished reviewing the memorials, he handed them to Right Vice Prime Minister Xu Bi. After Xu Bi had read them, he smiled at Tang Shen as he was about to return and said, "Tang daren, today the court's affairs are particularly busy, and the memorials you need to review are far more than usual."
Tang Shen halted his steps and turned back, saying, "I will obey the command."
When Tang Shen returned to his own quarters, a government worker indeed carried over another box of memorials and placed it on his desk. As Tang Shen flipped through them, he saw not only the military reports from the northwest but also the other local reports that Xu Bi had stopped him from viewing last year, now all returned to him. Silently, Tang Shen looked at these reports, closing his eyes in deep thought, trying to figure out what Xu Bi had been orchestrating over the past year.
In the end, he let out a helpless laugh.
Xu Bi hadn't done anything!
The Ji faction had been exiled, while the Wang faction saw both gains and losses. Chen Linghai’s man had replaced Qin Si, taking the position of Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. But Xu Bi hadn’t gained anything, nor had he lost anything! He remained, in the emperor’s eyes, a figure that barely existed, an official without presence, a Right Vice Prime Minister with almost no threat to his power.
Meanwhile, Right Vice Minister of Personnel Yu Chaosheng entered Xu Bi’s office, bowing deeply, “Greetings to Sir.”
Xu Bi smiled at him, “Xian Zhi, you and that Tang Jingze have quite the timing. Every time he just leaves, you come.”
Yu Chaosheng was surprised. “Has Tang daren been here?”
Xu Bi replied, “Take a seat.”
The two of them, teacher and student, sat facing each other, discussing academic matters and eventually talking about Yu Chaosheng's family. Yu Chaosheng had returned to Shengjing for half a year, and his wife had recently given birth. Today, Yu Chaosheng came to ask his teacher to name the child.
Xu Bi said, “You’ve been married for over a decade and finally have a child, which puts a worry of mine to rest. Do you know that two years ago, I almost thought you were like Wang Zifeng, someone who favored men?”
Yu Chaosheng was shocked, “Wang daren has a preference for men? How did you know, Sir?”
Xu Bi countered, “If he doesn’t, why would he be twenty-eight and still unmarried? Xian Zhi, Xian Zhi, you can deduce this just by thinking. Even His Majesty surely knows. In the Song Dynasty, there’s no law that a prince consort couldn't hold an official position. A son-in-law as exceptional as this would surely have been bestowed with a princess by His Majesty long ago, forming a royal union."
Yu Chaosheng, feeling ashamed, replied, “I’ve been foolish.”
“His Majesty's heavy favor towards him is likely not without knowing full well he’ll have no heirs,” Xu Bi continued. “But enough about him. This is your first child, so you need a good name. How about ‘Ke’? As in, ‘to cut a tree with an axe.’ How does Yu Ke sound?”
“Thank you for the name, Sir.”
They chatted a while longer, before Xu Bi, after taking a sip of tea, said meaningfully, “Last year, Wang Quan submitted a memorial for twenty-three tax reforms. I immediately reassigned Tang Jingze to handle the northwest memorials, no longer allowing him to oversee local affairs. Who could have predicted that this year, Wang Quan would propose establishing a Silver Pull Division in the northwest? A Silver Pull Division in the northwest... That Tang Jingze is quite the interesting character.”
July 23, 30th year of Kaiping, 30 li outside Yanzhou City in the northwest. (TN: ancient measure of length, approx. 500 m)
The summer nights of the northwest were like burning knives, the air unbearably dry. The fierce wind didn’t bring any relief from the heat, instead scorching the skin like fire. Over thirty young soldiers, dressed in clothing thay blended into the night, lay prone behind a small hill, quietly observing the scene ahead.
At the center of the group was a tall, dark-skinned, handsome general. His bright, piercing eyes fixed on the rugged path below the hill. The moonlight reflecting in those eyes seemed to burn with an intense flame.
“Click click—”
The sound of hooves and carts approached from the distance.
A quarter of an hour later, a caravan dressed as Liao merchants passed beneath the hill. As they moved between two large rocks, the lead Liao merchant suddenly fell into a trap, throwing the entire convoy into disarray.
“Ambush! Ambush!” The Liao soldiers shouted, speaking in their barbaric tongue.
Atop the hill, a gleaming spear was drawn with a sharp sound. Li Jingde roared, “Where are my Feilong troops?!”
The soldiers answered in unison, their voices shaking the heavens, “Here!”
“Charge with me!”
“Yes!”
The Liao soldiers disguised as merchants were terrified by the thunderous shouts. When they looked up at the hill, they saw only a few dozen men! Yet these few dozen men carried the force of thousands. Furious, the Liao soldiers cursed and drew their blades, charging forward as well.
Under the bright moon, blades pierced flesh, and blood sprayed through the air.
The white tassels of the spear were soon stained with blood.
After a long and brutal fight, the Song army captured several Liao soldiers and seized an entire convoy of military supplies and provisions.
A soldier brought one of the Liao men before Li Jingde. “General, the leader of the Liao soldiers is dead. This man seems to be the highest-ranking among the prisoners. He’s not a soldier; he’s a civil official. A few Liao soldiers tried to protect him, but we captured him.”
Li Jingde wiped the blood off his face with his sleeve. “A high-ranking official, huh?”
The Liao official, speaking Song language, spat at him, “Li Jingde, you bastard! Tomorrow, the Liao army will be at the gates of Youzhou, and we’ll cut off your head and hang it above the city!”
In the next instant, a silver spear pierced through the Liao official’s chest. He stared in disbelief, not understanding how someone could kill a prisoner of war, especially one as valuable as himself.
“Damn son of a b*tch! Did you really think I have a good temper just because I stayed quiet?” Li Jingde cursed.
“General!” his men said helplessly.
“Let’s go, pack up the goods, and head back. We’ll ask the Commander-in-chief for a reward,” Li Jingde ordered.