The so-called exchange of courtesies

At his words, Luo Yangxing hurriedly said, "Over the next few days, I will have every division intensify its investigations and pull out every one of these planted nails. Your Majesty need not trouble yourself."

Luo Yangxing thought the emperor considered him incompetent for taking so long to uncover just one Chen Zhiguo. But with so many officials at court and so many merchants and commoners in the capital, investigating them one by one would take considerable time.

Besides, His Majesty had never given him a deadline!

Zhu Youjian knew Luo Yangxing had misunderstood him, but did not rush to correct him. His fingers tapped against the desk with a hollow knocking sound, each tap making Luo Yangxing more anxious.

"Your Majesty, I promise to spare no effort in finding every spy the Tatars have planted, leaving not a single one!"

"There is no need to leave none," Zhu Youjian said, his fingertips coming to a halt as he looked at Luo Yangxing. "If we leave none, the Jurchens will simply plant new spies. A nuisance!"

Luo Yangxing immediately understood Zhu Youjian's meaning. "Your Majesty is wise! Once we find these spies, we keep watch on them. If they try to send information, we intercept it!"

Zhu Youjian nodded. They could also use them to transmit false information, just as they had this time.

Without spelling everything out, Zhu Youjian moved on. "That is one point. Have you no other ideas?"

Luo Yangxing raised his head and saw the emperor looking at him expectantly, but his mind seemed to have suddenly ground to a halt.

What other ideas?

Ideas about what?

What ideas was I supposed to have?

Looking at the bewildered Luo Yangxing, Zhu Youjian sighed. As the head of a spy network, how could he confine himself to his own little patch of land?

He ought to think about cultivating other people's fields, too!

"As they say, courtesy demands a return. If the Jurchens can plant nails among us, why can we not do the same?"

At present, the two sides were not on equal footing when it came to information. Huang Taiji could learn what was happening at court without even crossing the passes. But on his own side? He was groping in utter darkness. For now, he could still rely on historical records to roughly judge the enemy's movements.

But what about later?

This battle had already diverged from history. With the so-called butterfly effect, history would certainly follow a different course from now on. If he relied single-mindedly on the knowledge in his head, he would probably follow Chongzhen down the same old road in less than six years.

And then there was the saying: know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be imperiled in a hundred battles. With the ancestors' words laid out before him, Zhu Youjian felt he ought to heed what deserved to be heeded.

Luo Yangxing nodded, finding the emperor's words reasonable. A moment later, however, he frowned again and asked, "Your Majesty, what should we do, then?"

It was easy to say, but actually carrying it out would be no simple matter.

Zhu Youjian nearly laughed in anger. If I have to tell you everything, what do I keep you people around for?

Zhu Youjian's displeasure was all too obvious. Luo Yangxing's thoughts raced, and he hastily added, "I believe... we could use the identities of captives, or those of merchants..." His eyes darted as he frantically searched for ideas. "We are fighting them right now, are we not? Every time the Jurchens breach the passes, they take people back with them. This time will surely be no exception. We could arrange for our men to go over as captives..."

As he spoke, Luo Yangxing raised his head and stole another cautious glance at Zhu Youjian. Seeing that he said nothing, he knew he was on the right track. His confidence grew, and his voice became considerably louder.

"As for merchants, surely we can find a few men in the Embroidered Uniform Guard who know how to do business? We could select a few and establish a caravan. I believe there is no need to rush. They could begin with some small-scale trading along the border, then find an opportunity to enter Mongolia and gradually infiltrate Jurchen territory. We must not make any abrupt moves that would arouse their suspicions instead."

By the end, Luo Yangxing's expression had relaxed. "Has Your Majesty not been planning to deal with the Eight Great Shanxi Merchants? Once they have been dealt with, the Jurchens will certainly seek other caravans to work with. The one we prepare will be ready to serve its purpose!"

Without the Eight Great Shanxi Merchants supplying them with contraband, the Jurchens would certainly seek other merchants. The caravan had to be prepared in advance, lest they scramble when the Jurchens needed it and arouse their suspicions.

"Very good. It seems you are not entirely useless," Zhu Youjian praised him with a smile after hearing him out. "Draw up a plan when you return, then bring the men you select into the palace for my inspection. You must have this done within five days!"

"Yes, I obey Your Majesty's command!" Luo Yangxing hastily rose to accept the order. Praise from His Majesty was not easy to earn. Briefly flushed with pride, he felt that today truly was a fine day.

"Speaking of that, how much evidence have you found of the Shanxi merchants' collusion with the Jurchens?"

Since the emperor had given him a warning, Luo Yangxing had become much more diligent. Over the past ten days or so, he had gathered considerable evidence of their crimes. Anticipating that the emperor would ask during this audience, he had already compiled it into a booklet. He hurriedly took it from inside his robe and presented it.

"Your Majesty, the evidence of collusion between the Fan family of Shanxi and Hanlin compiler Chen Zhiguo is conclusive. We found their correspondence in Fan Peiran's study. The Jin and Wang families have stockpiled large quantities of ironware in their Shanxi warehouses. We found nothing amiss in the Zhai family's account books, but I have already ordered men to keep them under covert surveillance. There must be secret accounts!"

Zhu Youjian leafed through the memorial Luo Yangxing had presented, his gaze gradually turning icy. This was only part of the evidence, and judging by the entries, it covered just the past two years. There was no telling how much these eight maggots had supplied to the Jurchens from beginning to end.

With a smack, Zhu Youjian slapped the booklet onto the imperial desk. Luo Yangxing immediately sprang to his feet.

Zhu Youjian waved a hand at him. "Keep investigating!"

Luo Yangxing bowed to acknowledge the command, took his leave, and departed the hall.

After a full day's work, Zhu Youjian's back and waist ached, and his head felt dizzy. He rose, stretched, and slowly paced out through the doors.

There were no braziers outside the hall, and the cold struck him full in the face. In the darkness, he could see only the outlines of the palace walls, vast and receding into the distance.

The ancients had said that once a woman entered a noble household, its gates were as deep as the sea. Those words voiced a woman's secluded sorrow, yet Zhu Youjian could not help thinking that he was much the same.

Beyond those deep palace gates, he had once moved through these halls, organizing historical materials and treating this place as a temporary stop from which he could leave at any time.

Now he bore the fate of the Great Ming upon his shoulders. He was the master of this palace, yet did this palace not also bind him here, leaving him unable to escape?

Wang Cheng'en followed close behind. Seeing the emperor's tightly knitted brows and heavy concerns, and that he still seemed disinclined to rest, he summoned the courage to advise him. "Your Majesty, it is late. Please retire early!"

Zhu Youjian waved his hand and remained beneath the covered walkway. Rain was still falling, brushing his face with threads of cold.

Enough. The late hours only breed more sorrow. Better to focus on the business at hand. Once I have untangled all these troublesome affairs, I will have a chance to properly enjoy the extravagant life of an ancient emperor!

Zhu Youjian encouraged himself inwardly, entirely failing to notice the hem of a robe that flashed past outside the palace gate.

The visitor was Zhu Youjian's empress, Zhou Shi. Since the emperor had awakened after falling ill, he seemed busier than before. In the past, however numerous the affairs of state, he would still visit the rear palace every three to five days.

But now more than ten days had passed, and he had not summoned a single consort.

As a woman, Empress Zhou inevitably wondered whether the emperor had found a new love, or whether some palace maid serving him had won his favor.

If that were the case, then as mistress of the rear palace, she ought to arrange for the woman to receive a proper title.

The more Empress Zhou thought about it, the more unsettled she became. Disregarding the late hour, she decided to come and take a look at the Palace of Heavenly Purity.

Before she even entered the hall, Empress Zhou saw the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard hurrying away. After taking a few more steps, she saw the emperor standing beneath the covered walkway, looking melancholy.

The suspicions in Empress Zhou's heart instantly vanished, leaving only an overwhelming tenderness and ache for him.

The emperor had been too busy with affairs of state to visit his consorts. Not wishing to disturb him, Empress Zhou took one look and returned to the Palace of Earthly Tranquility.

"Allow this servant to help Your Majesty retire!" Qiu Mei, the palace maid attending Empress Zhou, stepped forward and removed her cloak, only to see the empress sit on the bed with a sigh, her face filled with worry.

"What is troubling Your Majesty?" Qiu Mei placed a hand warmer in Empress Zhou's hands and asked with concern.

Empress Zhou shook her head. "I am merely worried about His Majesty. He has so much to deal with, yet I cannot help him at all. My father... my father thinks only of himself. I have let His Majesty down."

Empress Zhou's father was Count of Jiading Zhou Kui. Previously, when Emperor Chongzhen had asked the officials to donate money, Empress Zhou, knowing how stingy her father was, had secretly given him the five thousand taels she had painstakingly saved so that he could donate them as his own. Who would have thought Zhou Kui would donate only five hundred taels and pocket all the rest?

When Empress Zhou learned of it, she cried with anger.

Now the Jurchens had invaded again. Empress Zhou thought His Majesty must once more be worrying over provisions and military pay. Her gaze shifted to her dressing table, and she immediately rose and strode toward it, not even stopping to put on her shoes.

"Please slow down, Your Majesty!" Qiu Mei cried anxiously. She bent to pick up the empress's embroidered shoes and hurried after her.

Empress Zhou sat before the dressing table and emptied all the jewelry from her case onto it. Qiu Mei knelt before her, put on her embroidered shoes for her, and only then stood up.

"Why have you taken everything out, Your Majesty?"

Empress Zhou shook her head, her eyes fixed on the dressing table. She then set aside one gold hairpin and a pair of jade bracelets, pointed at the rest, and told Qiu Mei, "Take these to His Majesty tomorrow. Tell him they are my contribution toward rewarding the soldiers."

With that, she stroked the Phoenix Hairpin and jade bracelets in her hands, a faint smile rising to her face. "Only these two cannot go. His Majesty gave them to me when we married!"

Qiu Mei sighed. "Very well. This servant will deliver them tomorrow. It is late, Your Majesty. What matters now is that you rest."

The empress put away the gold hairpin and jade bracelets, then added, "Also, spread word of this tomorrow."

"Yes, this servant understands!" Qiu Mei could not help smiling. Spreading the word meant getting the other consorts to contribute money as well. "Your Majesty does not seek all the credit for yourself."

"What matters is easing His Majesty's worries!" Empress Zhou climbed into bed and pulled the brocade quilt over herself. Before closing her eyes, she reminded her once again, "Remember. Do not forget!"

"Rest assured, Your Majesty. This servant will see to it the moment I open my eyes tomorrow. Please get some rest!"