Chancellor Hu, the emperor came from Huaiyou

From Shanyang in Huai'an Prefecture to Guazhou in Yangzhou Prefecture, this stretch of the Grand Canal was the renowned Han Canal.

The Han Canal connected the Huai River to the Yangtze and had a long history.

During the Spring and Autumn period, the state of Wu excavated the Han Canal.

Later, Emperor Yang of Sui "conscripted more than a hundred thousand people from Huainan to excavate the Han Canal, from Shanyang to the Yangtze."

The existence of this waterway made Huai'an and Yangzhou prefectures strategic military strongholds: "The south must secure them before it has the resources to advance; the north must secure them before supplies can flow unimpeded." Whether campaigning north or south, there was no bypassing them.

Gu Zhengchen stood at the bow, gazing at the ancient waterway and the willows of unknown age along its embankments, a faint smile touching his lips.

Liang Family Jiajun approached with his hands clasped behind his back and recited wistfully, "Once the thousand-mile river was opened, waves that drowned the Sui came crashing from the nine heavens. Before the brocade sails fell, weapons swept past; sorrow lingered, for the dragon boats never returned! A pity that Emperor Yang of Sui lost his empire through pleasure-seeking and tyranny."

Gu Zhengchen glanced at Liang Family Jiajun and pointed at the waterway. "In the late Tang, a poet named Pi Rixiu once stood aboard a boat and reflected, writing these lines: 'All say this river brought the Sui to ruin, yet a thousand miles still depend on its flowing waters. Were it not for the floating palaces and dragon boats, his merit beside Yu's would scarcely fall short.' Don't you think he had a point, Brother Liang?"

Liang Family Jiajun waved a hand and said solemnly, "Better no river at all, and countless common people living in happiness."

Gu Zhengchen smiled calmly and argued no further.

In Liang Family Jiajun's understanding, sparing the people's labor and allowing them to recuperate was the finest way for a king to rule. After all, digging the canal had killed countless people, consumed untold money, and dragged an entire dynasty into the grave with it. It was hardly a good thing.

As for how much convenience this canal had left to later generations, how much wealth it had created, how many common people it had fed, how many dynasties it had sustained, and how many barriers between north and south it had dissolved, he saw none of that.

Enjoying the convenience of the Grand Canal while mocking Emperor Yang of Sui, who had excavated it.

People like that were far from rare.

Just then, another group of relay couriers galloped past along the official road behind the willows on the eastern embankment, shouting loudly and cracking their whips.

"How many groups of couriers does that make?"

Liang Family Jiajun was somewhat surprised.

Gu Zhengchen watched the dust rising in the distance and said quietly, "The second."

"Something important must have happened," Liang Family Jiajun said worriedly. "There was a noise from inside the city when we left Shanyang. Could it be connected?"

Gu Zhengchen shook his head and replied simply, "I don't know."

The boat had traveled for less than half an hour when another group of couriers raced past behind the embankment. Their frequency unsettled the people aboard, who began discussing and speculating among themselves.

"There must be military news from the north. That's why the couriers keep galloping past."

"No, perhaps there's been a flood somewhere."

"You're both wrong. They must be bringing good news from the Central Capital..."

"What do you mean, brother?"

"Haven't you heard? After three years of construction at the Central Capital, the walls of the imperial city and palace enclosure are complete. Naturally, couriers bearing the good news would come one after another. The Fengyang garrison commander, the Fengyang officials, the construction officials-which of them wouldn't need to send someone with congratulations? There may well be more couriers yet. Look, isn't that the fourth group? They must be celebrating the completion of the Central Capital's Temple of Meritorious Officials and City God Temple..."

Gu Zhengchen looked at the middle-aged man in loose white robes who spoke with such assurance. He was rather portly and seemed to know quite a lot about affairs in the Central Capital.

But he was wrong. These couriers were certainly not from the Central Capital.

If they were, why would they take such a long detour by land? They could head straight to Chuzhou and cross the river at Jiangpu to reach Jinling. There was no need to come anywhere near Shanyang.

Clearly, these couriers were carrying reports about the Salt Rebels.

The prefectural yamen had to report it, as did the Grain Transport Office. The Great River Guard was responsible for defense and could hardly fail to notify the court. The remaining group was probably from the Two Huai Salt Transport Commission. After all, the Salt Rebels came from salt-producing households, so the salt transport commissioner had to take a position and explain the situation.

Old Zhu, the Salt Rebels, wickedness their daily trade, have challenged the court's authority. Shouldn't you issue an edict ordering rigorous investigations into them, so this canal can finally enjoy peace? Shouldn't you send a few censors to examine the lives of the salt-producing households and find a way to stop them from becoming Salt Rebels?

Like a boorish spectator at a game, Gu Zhengchen had abruptly tossed a piece onto the chessboard of the Great Ming officialdom.

Inconspicuous, but deadly.

Two days later, at the Central Secretariat in Jinling.

Hu Weiyong closed a memorial, lifted his cup of cold tea, and took a small sip. "When a man leaves, his tea goes cold," he said mildly. "But even when he's still here, his tea can go cold."

Feng Mian, the assistant administrator of state affairs, shuddered at those words. He immediately ordered someone to brew a fresh pot of tea, then took it and personally brought it to Hu Weiyong's desk. "Chancellor Hu, the summer heat hasn't entirely faded yet. Drinking cold tea is bad for your health, after all."

Hu Weiyong gave Feng Mian a penetrating look and accepted the tea bowl. "I hear the Earl of Sincerity has already set out for Jinling to plead guilty. Assistant Administrator Feng, do you think the emperor will forgive him?"

Feng Mian removed the cold tea bowl and said humbly, "The emperor has already issued an edict stripping the Earl of Sincerity of his stipend, which is virtually the same as stripping him of his title. Clearly, the matter of the Tanyang Royal Aura angered His Majesty. Even if the earl comes to Jinling to explain himself, he will find it difficult to escape punishment. Only..."

"Only what?"

Hu Weiyong's expression darkened.

Feng Mian hastily said, "Only that the Earl of Sincerity has rendered great service, has many connections at court, and has followed the emperor for years. Out of regard for their old bond, His Majesty may leave an opening in the net."

"Is that so?"

Hu Weiyong frowned slightly.

Feng Mian said cautiously, "Chancellor Hu, the emperor came from Huaiyou..."

Hu Weiyong fixed his gaze on Feng Mian.

The man has a point. The emperor came from Huaiyou. Old Zhu's family didn't even own a patch of land, let alone possess any royal aura or dragon vein. Yet he became the founding emperor of the Great Ming, the sovereign on the throne. Does he truly believe in royal aura in his heart?

The attack on Liu Bowen over the Tanyang Royal Aura angered the emperor, but all he did was strip him of his stipend. That amounts to a warning, nowhere near the result I wanted.

Seen that way, the emperor was merely using the situation to maneuver. He had no intention of getting rid of Liu Bowen.

Once Liu Bowen enters the capital, he may well emerge unscathed.

"Chancellor Hu, an urgent report from Huai'an Prefecture!"

Censor-in-Chief Chen Ning hurried in with a document, calling out as soon as he entered the hall.

"What is it?"

Hu Weiyong asked imperiously.

Chen Ning handed over the document, wiped the sweat from his forehead, cursed the sweltering weather, then said, "The Salt Rebels are plotting rebellion. They attacked the Huai'an prefectural yamen and the Grain Transport Office! They threatened to throw the Grand Canal into chaos and sever grain transport between north and south unless their leader, Zhang Sanxiu, is released!"

After reading the document, Hu Weiyong's stern mouth curved into a smile. "Salt Rebels, heh. These petty thieves dare threaten the court's grain transport? They truly have no idea how to live! Even if we lent them a hundred measures of courage, would they dare attack the grain ships?"

Chen Ning fanned himself with his hand and said urgently, "Chancellor Hu, they've already attacked the prefectural yamen and the Grain Transport Office, and they used firearms! These men must be remnants of Zhang Shicheng's forces. We cannot take them lightly. If Huai'an Prefecture falls into turmoil, all under heaven will tremble."

Hu Weiyong drew a deep breath and began seriously considering the gravity of the matter.

Chen Ning's words were not without basis. During Zhu Yuanzhang's struggle with Zhang Shicheng for the realm, he had suffered considerably from Zhang Shicheng's firearms. In the final assault on Pingjiang City (Suzhou), he had concentrated his entire main force and fought for ten long months. One reason was that Zhang Shicheng's army had been equipped with a considerable number of firearms.

The old Salt Rebel chief Zhang Shicheng has only been dead six years, and these people are stirring up trouble again?

Firearms?

This matter could not be underestimated.

The Hall of Golden Chimes.

Minister of Revenue Yan Xizhe knelt and reported, "Hejian, Kaifeng, Yan'an, Beiping, and other prefectures and subprefectures suffered locust plagues this summer. Fenzhou in Shanxi also suffered drought. Harvests have fallen in these areas, though land taxes can still be collected. I beseech Your Majesty to waive their land taxes."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded gravely and dipped his brush in ink. "These regions have suffered disasters, and my heart burns with anguish. As you suggest, exempt the people there from taxation. Order the local authorities to report the disasters truthfully. If the people have nothing to eat, open the granaries and distribute grain. Provide relief and proper assistance. We must never let them become refugees or lie starved to death along the roads!"

Yan Xizhe thanked him for his grace. "Your Majesty loves the people as your own children. It is their good fortune."

Zhu Yuanzhang lowered his head, wrote a few words on the memorial, then closed it. "They are all my people. How could I not pity them? Since you're here, there is another matter that requires allocations from the Ministry of Revenue."

Yan Xizhe carefully lifted his head to look at Zhu Yuanzhang.

Zhu Yuanzhang set the memorial aside. "It is already the eighth month, yet the soldiers of the Henan, Shenwu, and other guards still lack winter clothing. The Ministry of Revenue must allocate twenty thousand sets of padded clothes and other supplies."

"I shall obey Your Majesty's command."

Yan Xizhe did not hesitate.

Zhu Yuanzhang raised a hand. "You may withdraw."

As soon as Yan Xizhe left the Hall of Golden Chimes, he encountered Hu Weiyong and Chen Ning and cupped his hands in greeting.

Hu Weiyong studied Yan Xizhe's face, as still as an ancient well, and asked, "How is His Majesty's mood today?"

"In reply to Right Chancellor Hu, I dared not scrutinize His Majesty's countenance. I do not know his mood."

Yan Xizhe's face remained cold.

Hu Weiyong's gaze chilled slightly. Everyone else calls me Chancellor Hu, treating me as the chancellor, but you, Yan Xizhe, insist on calling me Right Chancellor Hu. Are you reminding me that Left Chancellor Xu Da still stands above me?

So what if Xu Da is left chancellor? He's not in Jinling now. He's in Beiping!

And what are you, a minister of revenue, doing at the Hall of Golden Chimes? If you have business, bring it to the Central Secretariat for discussion. How dare you bypass me, the right chancellor, and go straight to the emperor? Liu Bowen looks down on me because of his great achievements, but what are you, Yan Xizhe? You look down on me too?

He swept past with a flick of his sleeves.

Hu Weiyong and Chen Ning entered the hall.

When Zhu Yuanzhang heard that the Salt Rebels had caused trouble, brazen enough to blast the courtyard walls of the prefectural yamen and Grain Transport Office, he slammed his hand on the desk in fury. "This matter must be thoroughly investigated! Interrogate Zhang Sanxiu under severe torture and make him name his accomplices. Order Huai'an Prefect Ren Guangzu to join forces with the commander of the Great River Guard and crush the Salt Rebels with all their strength! Once their guilt is established, show no leniency!"

"I shall obey Your Majesty's command."

Hu Weiyong accepted the order.

Zhu Yuanzhang's anger would not subside. These recent days had truly been unsettled: first the soldiers' rebellion in Qingtian County, then mountain bandits causing trouble in Danzhou, Guangdong, and now this affair with the Salt Rebels!

"What else is there?"

Seeing that Hu Weiyong had not left, Zhu Yuanzhang asked.

Hu Weiyong said solemnly, "Your Majesty, should we broaden the investigation into this Salt Rebel case? I suspect that these Salt Rebels are very likely remnants of Zhang Shicheng's forces stirring up trouble. If that is indeed the case, should Suzhou not also be investigated?"

Zhu Yuanzhang fixed his gaze on the shrewd, inscrutable Hu Weiyong, then picked up the document and glanced at it again. "This happened in Huai'an Prefecture. There should be no need to investigate Suzhou Prefecture, should there?"

Hu Weiyong assented, bowed, and withdrew.

Zhu Yuanzhang threw the document to the floor and said coldly, "Nothing more than a little friction with Suzhou Prefect Wei Guan, and already you want to strike at him. Hu Weiyong, you're still far too impatient!"