Chapter 68: The Eve of the Coronation

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No matter how strange things felt, with the backing of the nobility, the civil officials did not dare to offer open opposition, even if they wanted to.

All they could do was blame the matter on Ren Hengtai and his associates, while making a mental note against Zhu Yunying, plotting in secret to pressure the imperial court.

Asking them to stand up in opposition now was entirely out of the question; after all, when it came to a fear of death, no one surpassed the civil officials.

Historically, it was precisely the Ming dynasty's civil officials who had proclaimed that "the water is too cold." For centuries, the state had nurtured scholars, yet those who attained high positions in the end turned out to be cowards who clung to life and surrendered to foreign invaders.

It was nothing short of a tragedy—a tragedy of the highest order.

It was also the ultimate mockery of Zhu Yuanzhang’s benevolence and preferential treatment toward scholars.

"Very well. Since no one objects, tomorrow, after I ascend the throne, this imperial edict will be promulgated throughout the realm alongside my ascension decree, so that all officials, commoners, and merchants across the land shall know of it."

"Let me offer you one final piece of advice: you would do best not to harbor thoughts of outward compliance while plotting in secret. I believe you are all well aware of the investigative prowess of the Brocade Guard. Furthermore, the Brocade Guard will henceforth be divided into the Northern and Southern Commissions of Surveillance. The Northern Commission shall be responsible for monitoring the empire, while the Southern Commission shall handle interrogations. If any of you wish to test the penal methods of the Brocade Guard, you are most welcome to try."

"Hmph! Court dismissed."

With that final remark, Zhu Yunying feigned towering rage, flicked his sleeves, and strode out of the Fengtian Hall.

Only after his figure had completely vanished did many among the officials feel their tension drain away, collapsing onto the floor of the great hall in utterly ungraceful heaps.

"Heh! A bunch of spineless wretches who only know how to enjoy the benefits without ever serving the country. It serves you right!"

"Ptooey!"

Lan Yu and the rest of the nobility did not miss the chance to rub salt into their wounds. After tossing out a few jeers, they laughed heartily and turned to leave.

"Lord... Lord Su, what... what should we do?"

Once the nobles had departed, the remaining civil officials turned their gaze toward their cautious leader, Su Boheng.

Su Boheng was not only an Imperial Academician of the Hanlin Academy but also a descendant of Su Che. Now that Liu Sanwu had resigned and Ren Hengtai had fainted, he was virtually the only one left capable of holding the civil faction together.

While Zhan Hui still possessed some prestige, he had made himself scarce long ago.

Su Boheng’s aged face was etched with deep sorrow. After a long period of contemplation, he shook his head and sighed, "Alas, this old man has no solutions either. You gentlemen had best make your decisions quickly! This new sovereign of ours is not someone easily bullied."

With that, his body swayed slightly, and supported by his two sons, he turned and left.

He needed to go check on Ren Hengtai.

After all, they were longtime friends, and with this being a critical period in the competition for Cabinet Academician positions, it was imperative to rally every available ounce of influence.

"No! We cannot simply sit here and await our doom. If Lord Su is unwilling to step forward, we shall take matters into our own hands!"

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Watching Su Boheng’s retreating back, someone finally cracked under the pressure and roared in frustration.

"Does Brother Zhang have any brilliant insights?"

An official immediately chimed in to ask.

The rest of the officials cast hopeful gazes in his direction, eager to hear a viable solution from his lips.

Many of these men had secretly backed or controlled numerous merchant households. If Zhu Yunying’s new tax system were truly implemented, their financial losses would be catastrophic.

The official who had spoken first glanced around. Seeing several eunuchs staring intently at them, he gave a slight shake of his head and said, "Let us leave! We will speak once we are out of the palace."

With that, he stood up and strode purposefully toward the palace gates.

Soon, this group marched straight out of the imperial city and headed directly to a large wine house.

This establishment happened to be the property of the official surnamed Zhang. In the past, it yielded him a net profit of at least several thousand taels of silver every single month.

If Zhu Yunying’s new commercial tax were applied, this single restaurant alone would cost him several hundred taels more in taxes each month. The crucial point was that this was not his only asset; he owned four or five other properties that each brought in thousands of taels monthly.

This meant he would have to pay over a thousand taels—if not more—in silver to the imperial treasury every month. To him, this hurt far worse than cutting his own flesh.

Most of the officials present found themselves in a similar predicament to Zhang, which was why their faces bore expressions of burning impatience.

"Brother Zhang, what on earth is your plan? There are no outsiders left now, so out with it!"

"Indeed, Brother Zhang, stop keeping us in suspense! We cannot simply watch mountains of silver slip right through our fingers!"

"Brother Zhang, please tell us!"

"Brother Zhang..."

After taking his seat and stretching everyone's anticipation to its absolute limit, the official surnamed Zhang finally set down his teacup with a satisfied smile and looked around at the company.

"Gentlemen, I do indeed have a way to make His Highness revoke that imperial edict, but..."

"Just state whatever you want, Brother Zhang! As long as we have it, we are willing to hand it over." Unable to contain his impatience, someone interrupted the dawdling official surnamed Zhang.

Seeing this, Zhang dropped the pretense, the corners of his mouth curling upward as he laid out his conditions.

"It is actually quite simple. Tomorrow, after His Highness ascends the throne, he will select Cabinet Academicians. As long as you gentlemen are willing to support me, I shall reveal the method. How does that sound?"

*Gasp!*

Everyone drew in a sharp breath of cold air, utterly astounded that the official surnamed Zhang harbored such ambitions.

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He wanted to enter the Cabinet and become the de facto Chancellor.

Naturally, though shocked in their hearts, for the sake of their personal interests, these officials hesitated very little before nodding in agreement.

Some of the more eager ones even promised to rally their fellow provincials, classmates, and cohort officials to throw their support behind Zhang.

Having secured their promises, the official surnamed Zhang finally expressed his satisfaction and laid out his scheme.

Truth be told, it was not an overly complex plan; it was merely a matter of leveraging overwhelming public momentum to pressure Zhu Yunying.

To put it more plainly, it involved utilizing ignorant scholars—particularly the students of the Imperial Academy, many of whom were backed by powerful local gentry clans.

And the commercial enterprises owned by these local gentry clans far outstripped those of the officials themselves. Surely, those clans would be none too keen on witnessing the imperial court enforce heavy commercial taxation.

By inciting these wet-behind-the-ears students to make trouble, past experience told them it would undoubtedly force the Emperor to rescind the decree.

"Splendid! Brother Zhang truly possesses the talent of a prime minister."

"Hahaha! Lord Zhang is brilliant indeed. With just a few words, he has devised such a marvelous strategy."

Smiles bloomed across the faces of the officials, and they immediately began showering him with flattery.

It was as though they could already envision the scene of Zhu Yunying being compelled by the Imperial Academy students to retract his imperial edict.

After basking sufficiently in the adulation of the crowd, the official surnamed Zhang proceeded to assign tasks to everyone present.

Following a round of enthusiastic toasts, the company dispersed from the wine house. Each set out to leverage their personal networks to contact students of the Imperial Academy, other scholars residing in the capital, and even wealthy merchants.

These wealthy merchants possessed powerful backers of their own, the majority of whom acted as front-men for the imperial princes.

In the span of a single day, the news that the imperial court intended to levy harsh, draconian taxes upon merchants spread like wildfire across the entire city of Yingtian.

And tomorrow... was the day of Zhu Yunying’s grand ascension ceremony.

The skies above Yingtian seemed draped in an invisible, brooding pall, hiding whatever explosive scenes awaited the dawn.

...

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