Chapter 23: Their Misfortune Is My Delight

As the censor, dressed in mourning white, cried out at the top of his lungs, the civil and military officials in the imperial court turned their gazes toward him. Zhang Weixian, the Commander of the Beijing Garrison, silently tightened his fists inside his sleeves.

Had the counterattack of the civil official faction arrived so soon?

How would His Majesty respond? Would he ignore it as he always had? If so, it would be severely detrimental to the Emperor’s reputation, and the civil faction would undoubtedly exploit this to their advantage. Zhang Weixian took the opportunity to steal a glance at the Emperor on the throne. Unfortunately, the Emperor’s expression remained impenetrable, devoid of even the slightest hint of emotional fluctuation.

Just then, the censor continued:

"The Great Ancestor, the Gao Emperor, first established the laws: inner officials are forbidden from interfering in external affairs. Yet, this Wei Zhongxian, a mere eunuch of the inner court, has stolen imperial edicts, overstepped the rites, and usurped power to command the military..."

In a sprawling tirade of over a thousand words, the censor enumerated ten crimes of Wei Zhongxian before the entire court. His emotions were turbulent, tears welling in his eyes, as if he were a martyr willing to cast everything aside for the sake of the state. Finally, he tearfully declared his stance: if Wei Zhongxian were not executed today, he would dash his brains out against the pillars of the great hall.

Seeing this, Wei Zhongxian hurriedly followed suit, weeping more bitterly than if his entire family had perished, while kneeling on the floor of the hall and wailing that he was being framed. Two white-haired old men began to sob and howl amidst the sea of scarlet and purple robes in the Fengtian Hall.

Following the censor’s blood-chilling wails, a group of officials stepped forward, launching a collective assault on Wei Zhongxian to pressure Zhu Youjian on the throne. These men spoke with righteous indignation, vehemently denouncing the eunuch as the source of all the disasters plaguing the nation. They claimed that if Wei Zhongxian were killed, the Ming Dynasty would regain its clarity and prosperity by midday.

For most of these officials, they had not coordinated or rehearsed this impeachment. Yet, when the moment arrived, each was ready to contribute to the collective cause. There was no other reason: while individuals might betray their class, a class never betrays itself. In essence, this impeachment was an offensive launched by one class against another.

Zhu Youjian sat on the throne, his face still devoid of expression. He could easily silence everyone with a single word or ignore the matter entirely, but that was not his purpose for convening the morning court today.

***

Indeed, as the court descended into chaos, a third party soon stepped forward. The first to emerge was Chen Xinjia, the Magistrate of Dingzhou in Northern Zhili, who had spent the last few days pondering how to interpret the Emperor’s intentions. When he received the salary arrears personally reissued by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, he had already grasped that the Emperor was using this gesture to win over certain officials. He had immediately resolved to find an opportunity to demonstrate his loyalty.

And what better chance was there than this to capture the Emperor’s attention? He knew full well what stepping forward now entailed. He would be viewed with hostility by the entire civil faction; he might be demoted, or even die on the road to exile. But he had already weighed these risks. Great risks accompany great opportunities. Life is short, and reaching seventy is a rarity; he did not dare hope for seventy, but sixty would suffice. He had already wasted most of his life, with one foot already in the grave—if not now, then when? Most importantly, he saw a glimmer of hope for victory in the Emperor’s recent actions.

Thinking of this, Chen Xinjia hesitated no longer. He stepped forward and shouted, "Silence!"

The crowd’s attention was drawn to his roar, and they turned to look at him. Even Wei Zhongxian and the censor who had threatened to die for his cause paused their wailing.

Seeing that all eyes were upon him, Chen Xinjia took a deep breath, regained his composure, and said with a mocking tone, "This Censor has submitted a memorial to demand the death of Wei Zhongxian, yet it was Eunuch Wei who just concluded the case regarding the corruption of the national treasury by the Embroidered Uniform Guard."

"From the home of the chief culprit, Tian Ergeng, and his accomplices, Eunuch Wei confiscated silver amounting to no less than two million taels—enough to cover half a year’s military pay for the Liaodong region."

"I see many colleagues among those who submitted the memorial today, including lords from the Ministry of Justice, the Censorate, and the Court of Judicial Review. Might I ask, if you lords had handled this case, how much silver would you have confiscated?"

Chen Xinjia then began to list the results of confiscations conducted by these departments in recent years: "The fifth year of Tianqi, the sixth year of Tianqi..." He concluded that the cases handled by these offices typically yielded only tens of thousands of taels, sometimes even mere hundreds or thousands.

The civil official faction immediately counterattacked.

"A mere fifth-rank official dares to talk of national affairs?!"

"Speaking up for the eunuch? I see you are a hidden member of the Eunuch Party! You should be executed along with him!"

"What is the meaning of this? Does whoever confiscates the most silver become the loyal subject? I see you are clearly spreading heretical nonsense to confuse the public!"

***

The civil faction was numerous and sufficiently united. With one official after another chiming in, their momentum threatened to drown Chen Xinjia. Just as their influence began to crest, a few impoverished Hanlin scholars, who belonged to no specific faction, suddenly stepped forward.

Those who passed the provincial examinations were already one-in-a-thousand geniuses, and those who attained the title of *Jinshi* were geniuses among geniuses. Thus, even the poorest Hanlin scholars were far from stupid. Naturally, they had also guessed the deeper meaning behind the Emperor’s decision to have the Embroidered Uniform Guard reissue the salaries, and like Chen Xinjia, they had been waiting for an opportunity.

As these impoverished scholars joined the fray, a group of lowly clerks and assistants followed suit. Among them, the Hanlin scholars proved to be the most formidable combatants. One must understand that these men had been the pride of their families since childhood, geniuses expected to achieve greatness, known by name throughout their home counties. Everywhere they went, they were hailed as prodigies.

Yet, after years of grueling study and finally arriving in the Forbidden City, they found themselves treated like dogs beneath the feet of the powerful. Or rather, some of them were not even fed as well as the dogs in those great houses. How could they accept such a disparity? They had hoped to endure, thinking a path forward might open up, but upon realizing that after their hair had turned gray and their savings were spent, there was still no exit, their psyches had begun to warp.

To put it plainly, they were far more extreme than Chen Xinjia. Chen Xinjia might have attacked the civil faction for the sake of his own career, but they were much purer in their intent. They simply wanted those in positions above them to die. As long as they could see those people fall, they would be happy from the bottom of their hearts.