Dong Wencong rose and slowly ground an ink stick against the inkstone as he said, "Only the Ministry of Personnel issued a written reprimand. Neither the Grand Secretariat nor the Empress Dowager has intervened. It does no great harm."
Fang Yun's face remained expressionless. "To them, it is merely common people taking to the streets, merely smashing, looting, and robbing-not worth their attention. Oh, that was somewhat unfair of me. At least the Left Prime Minister's faction cares a great deal. After all, it gives them an opportunity to attack you and me."
Dong Wencong remained silent. He had already recognized Fang Yun's defining trait: he always stood on the side of the common people and never regarded himself as a bureaucrat.
Then Fang Yun loaded his brush with ink and began writing a memorial to the throne.
Seeing that Fang Yun had not asked him to leave, and recalling what Fang Yun had said earlier, Dong Wencong stole a look at the memorial.
The memorial stated that, to address the current turmoil in Xiang Prefecture, he strongly urged the Grand Secretariat to establish a "Xiang Prefecture Office for Qing Affairs," shortened to the Office for Qing Affairs. It would combine military and civil administration, ensuring that they would not be helpless when the Qing Kingdom's army passed through and, more importantly, preventing public outrage from flaring.
The memorial also briefly described the incidents that had occurred across the prefecture that day. Although it accused no one directly, it implied that the situation in Xiang Prefecture was inseparable from the Grand Secretariat's neglect of Qing affairs. Had a "Temporary Military Affairs Office" been established beforehand to dispel the effects of the Qing Kingdom's plundering, such incidents would not have occurred throughout Xiang Prefecture.
At this point, realization dawned on Dong