Chapter 251 Zheng's Demotion, Du Sheng

Chapter 251 Zheng's Demotion, Du Sheng

Du Min returned to Jizhou. When he dismounted, the first snow of the season fell in Jizhou, making the blood spilled at Caishikou appear exceptionally red.

With the execution of seventeen heads, Prime Minister Zheng's reputation resounded throughout Jizhou.

As the crowd dispersed from the execution ground, Du Min led his horse away with the flow of people. Listening to the murmurs among them, he arrived at the governor's mansion where Prime Minister Zheng was staying.

Prime Minister Zheng was not surprised by Du Min's arrival. "You've come at the right time. I need to strike while the iron is hot and remeasure the fields in the two prefectures to compile and preserve the records. Can you help me with that?"

"Why are you telling me to leave?" Du Min asked. "Whose men are those pursuers?"

“It’s Lieutenant Li,” Prime Minister Zheng replied.

"Why did he send troops to chase me?" Du Min asked again.

"He thought you had evidence against him."

Du Min realized what was happening. "You used me? You sent people to investigate his crimes, making him mistakenly believe he was one of my men?"

"Yes," Prime Minister Zheng readily admitted. "Are you angry?"

"Shouldn't I be angry?"

"You're angry that I used you? You've never used me?" Prime Minister Zheng laughed. "I remember your sister-in-law saying that if we can use each other, it's a kind of cooperation. Your magnanimity is far inferior to hers."

Du Min was left speechless and unable to refute.

"Your abilities are far inferior to hers. My people were operating right under your noses, and you didn't even notice?" Prime Minister Zheng seemed still unsatisfied, and he continued to provoke, "Your foolish nephew is useless. What's the point of bringing him here? To be a laborer?"

Du Min was speechless.

“Oh, no, he was somewhat useful. The jokes he made lowered the officials’ guard against you, which made things easier for me,” Prime Minister Zheng continued.

"So, he's not entirely useless after all," Du Min feigned a sigh of relief. "Prime Minister Zheng, may I ask how you discovered that the officials of the two prefectures were colluding with foreign merchants to smuggle salt and slaves?"

"Thanks to you, I returned to Youzhou with the evidence you gave me, arrested some people, and beheaded one. Those who were secretly hiding saw this and risked their lives to reveal the missing persons case to me. While investigating the missing persons case, I discovered that foreign merchants were using the trade of goods to smuggle large quantities of salt beyond the Great Wall," Prime Minister Zheng recounted.

"After that, you developed me into an informant, arranging for your men to infiltrate the military garrisons and salt fields to investigate, using me to attract the attention of local officials." Du Min deduced, then a sudden thought occurred to him, "Didn't you get any incriminating evidence against Commander Li? You sent me to escape to alert him, making Commander Li mistakenly believe that I had obtained evidence against him. He sent pursuers to kill me, and you ambushed and captured his men on the way. You convicted him of the crime of pursuing and killing the governor, but released the news that you had obtained his confession of colluding with foreign merchants, forcing his accomplices to escape, and then you waited for them to come to you and captured them."

Prime Minister Zheng clapped his hands, looking at Du Min with admiration in his eyes, and sincerely praised him: "Prefect Du is quite capable; he understands things very quickly."

Du Min was so angry he almost vomited blood; he had unknowingly become bait.

"Weren't you afraid of taking risks? What's the trouble?" Prime Minister Zheng asked. "Don't be angry. I'm not one to seek credit. I'll share some of the credit for measuring the land and checking the number of soldiers with you."

Du Min remained silent. He felt ashamed, having worked tirelessly for half a year only to become a front for Prime Minister Zheng's clandestine actions.

"Fine." Du Min accepted his loss. "You stay here and clean up the mess. I'll go check out other places first."

"You don't want the achievements here?"

"I can't afford it." Du Min shook his head. He couldn't afford to offend them. This time, the people chasing him had fallen into Prime Minister Zheng's trap and were ambushed, allowing him to escape. Next time, it might really be the same. By leaving this time and not getting involved, he could clearly distance himself from Prime Minister Zheng and keep those watching them guessing.

Prime Minister Zheng lowered his eyes in thought. He didn't want to let Du Min leave, after all, Du Min was truly not afraid of trouble or hard work, willing to do any job, and very easy to use. But it would be a good thing if Du Min left, so as to prevent him from clinging to the aristocratic families.

"Very well," Prime Minister Zheng nodded. "Where do you plan to go?"

“Yizhou and Guizhou,” Du Min instructed. “These two prefectures are not far from Jizhou and Youzhou. The reputation you have built here will spread to these two prefectures, and the powerful clans and wealthy families will definitely be eager to sell their land. I will keep an eye on them and make sure the land prices don’t go up.”

"Alright," Prime Minister Zheng agreed.

Du Min handed over all the evidence he had collected to Prime Minister Zheng, including cases of bullying men and women, suspected collusion with bandits, murder and dumping of bodies, etc. These cases were learned by the guards who took Jinshu to contact the common people. He had already tried some of the cases, while others involved soldiers in the military garrisons, so he had no way to investigate them. Now Prime Minister Zheng could investigate them all.

After the handover was completed, Du Min took his men to Yizhou.

Thus began four years of mutual exploitation and cooperation between Du Min and Prime Minister Zheng. The two traveled through seventeen prefectures, including Youzhou, Jizhou, Yizhou, and Guizhou, heading west from Hebei Road, through Hedong Road, and directly towards Guannei Road.

During their five-year tenure as governors, they imprisoned over 700 people, solved over 500 cases of doubt and injustice, beheaded over 70 people, dismissed over 60 officials, and measured 230,000 hectares of land, more than 70,000 hectares more than the land registered five years prior.

As the apparent power holder, Prime Minister Zheng suffered impeachments and accusations that could fill a coffin-sized wooden box over five years. However, with the protection of two sages and the support of his clan, he remained unaffected. Not only did he receive rewards and commendations every year, but the status of the Xingyang Zheng clan in the court also rose accordingly, and many members of the Zheng clan were promoted.

In early May, when Prime Minister Zheng entered the capital region with his illustrious military achievements, the Li Tang imperial family and Guanzhong nobles in Chang'an became restless. Following a suggestion from an advisor under the Dugu clan, before Prime Minister Zheng could act, a deluge of memorials were sent to the Luoyang court, and the Zheng clan of Xingyang faced a relentless barrage of impeachments and suppression. Initially, the attacks focused on moral conduct: those who took concubines as wives, those who beat their wives, those who drank alcohol during mourning periods, those who frequented brothels… more than ten members of the Zheng clan were punished and demoted for their moral failings.

The royal family and meritorious families living in the Gyeonggi region attempted to use this move to force Prime Minister Jeong to back down through the Jeong clan.

The results were indeed remarkable; the Zheng family became increasingly anxious and frequently sent letters to the north.

In June, Prime Minister Zheng and Du Min, working together openly and covertly, achieved their first victory in Tongzhou. They obtained evidence that Dugu Ying's son-in-law was running a gambling den and hiring thugs to force farmers to sell their land, resulting in his demotion to commoner status. The Dugu family, implicated, became Prime Minister Zheng's scapegoat, forced to become the first meritorious family in Chang'an to have their land holdings investigated.

Prime Minister Zheng's move completely set the stage for many families to become enemies with the Zheng family of Xingyang. Whether they were relatives by marriage or old friends, no one showed any mercy to the Zheng family. The foundation of the former alliance was now turned into a sharp blade to attack the Zheng family.

In just two months, most of the Zheng clan members and their protégés who had been promoted because of Prime Minister Zheng in the past five years were demoted or imprisoned. The fact that the Zheng clan members had hidden excessive amounts of land under their names also became a weapon to attack Prime Minister Zheng for bending the law for personal gain.

Prime Minister Zheng, far away in Chang'an, stared blankly at the pile of letters on his table. His family was facing internal and external troubles, already in complete disarray. Now, all the external threats were directed at him, forcing him to compromise. If he stood idly by, he would become a sinner and an enemy of his family, and those who opposed him would become his own people.

Prime Minister Zheng hesitated for two days. While on official business, he was shot in the back with an arrow. He took the opportunity to write a letter of resignation due to illness, requesting the emperor to resign from his important post as governor and return to Luoyang to recuperate.

Before he could send the letter, he received a letter from his family breaking off relations with him. Ten years ago, the advisor who had helped Prime Minister Zheng organize the free school and three members of the Zheng clan took the letters they had exchanged with Prime Minister Zheng and reported to the Dali Temple that Prime Minister Zheng had fabricated achievements, used his family's connections to induce his students, relatives, and in-laws to donate money to the free school, and that his aim was to create false achievements to win the position of prime minister. This was deceiving the emperor and unjustly becoming prime minister.

After the Dali Temple accepted the case, the censors accused Meng Qing, the wife of Wu County, and Du Min, the governor of Huai Prefecture, of conspiring with Prime Minister Zheng in this case to help Zheng Yu ascend to the position of prime minister.

Beset by lawsuits, Du Min and Prime Minister Zheng were summoned by the Dali Temple in September and returned to Luoyang.

On the ninth day of the ninth month, the Double Ninth Festival, the trial of Du Min, Meng Qing, and Prime Minister Zheng for conspiring to fabricate political achievements was held at the Dali Temple. The two emperors listened to the case, and officials from the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Personnel were present.

“Madam, do you recognize the person below?” Lu Shaoqing pointed to the staff member kneeling below the hall. “He said that he met you ten years ago at the governor’s mansion in Luoyang. The governor at that time was Zheng Chang, the former governor of Luoyang.”

Meng Qing shook her head, "I don't recognize her, she looks unfamiliar."

“Madam, you really don’t recognize me? I even received a handwritten letter from you bearing your seal.” The aide said. “If you don’t remember, the heads of the private schools in Ruzhou and Ezhou must still remember me.”

"Your Majesty, a letter from Zheng Chang, the former governor of Luozhou, confirms this matter." Lu Shaoqing presented the evidence.

"I did meet Prime Minister Zheng's staff at the governor's mansion in Luoyang, but I'm not sure if it was him. It was a brief encounter more than ten years ago, and I don't remember it," Meng Qing quickly corrected himself.

"Do you agree with his statement? He obtained your handwritten letter from you and went to Ruzhou, Shanzhou and other places to contact the headmasters you appointed?" Lu Shaoqing pressed.

"At that time, the person in charge of matters related to the free schools was Prime Minister Zheng. He sent people to collect the profits of the free schools in various prefectures and counties. What's wrong with me giving him an identity certificate?" Meng Qing insisted on not identifying Prime Minister Zheng, but only disassociating himself from the matter.

The former Vice Minister of Personnel Evaluation has been promoted to Minister of Personnel. Minister Yin interjected, asking, "Madam, are you unaware of Prime Minister Zheng's private actions?"

"I don't know," Meng Qing said, avoiding the main point. "I only met the man in the hall who claimed to be my advisor once. After we parted, I heard nothing from him and knew nothing about his subsequent actions."

"You were in charge of managing the free schools in various places at the time. How could you not know about the profits of the free schools? Did you not know that there were problems with the profits of the free schools that Prime Minister Zheng transported to Chang'an?" Lu Shaoqing refused to let her off the hook and questioned her sternly.

“There is a problem.” Meng Qing nodded.

Lu Shaoqing's eyes lit up, and the others' gazes also changed.

“I think it’s too little,” Meng Qing replied slowly. “Under my management, the free schools in Luozhou and Henan Prefecture earn a profit of seventy to eighty thousand strings of cash a year, and the two free schools in Heqing and Heyin counties are not far behind.”

She pointed to the four people kneeling below the hall, "I was just a woman, only in my early twenties at the time, with no powerful backers and no helpers. I made a profit of nearly 200,000 strings of cash in one prefecture on my own. They were either scions of noble families or advisors of high-ranking officials, and their abilities far surpassed mine. With them involved in the business of the charity school, it is indeed problematic that we only made a profit of a little over one million strings of cash in more than twenty prefectures."

"You!" Lu Shaoqing's face turned ashen from being tricked.

Prime Minister Zheng burst out laughing in the hall.

"Prime Minister Zheng, your staff and relatives have accused you of fabricating achievements. Do you admit it or not?" Seeing that he could still laugh, Lu Shaoqing immediately turned his attention to him.

"Wait, Lu Shaoqing, you haven't cleared my name yet," Meng Qing interjected. "Who accused me of conspiring with Prime Minister Zheng? The evidence of conspiracy is insufficient. Shouldn't you clear my name now?"

"And me! I knew nothing about this, yet I've been wrongly accused. Who framed me? I want to hold them accountable for delaying my official duties!" Du Min chimed in, causing trouble.

"Besides the testimony of the staff, is there any other evidence?" the female saint asked.

"The pigeon breeder at the Prime Minister's residence said that ten years ago, Lady Wu and Governor Du had frequent correspondence with Minister Zheng, who was then Minister of the Imperial Secretariat," said Lu Shaoqing.

Du Min sneered, "Once I step out of this door, I'll pack my belongings and move to Lu Shaoqing's residence. In a few days, I can say that my actions in Youzhou to punish the Lu clan were at Lu Shaoqing's behest?"

Lu Shaoqing glared at him angrily.

“If Lu Shaoqing is not capable of handling cases, he should request a transfer.” Du Min pressed him, “If you handle cases like this, you will surely have many wrongful convictions. Your Majesty, I request that the cases handled by Lu Shaoqing be retried.”

"Lu Shaoqing's ability to adjudicate cases is indeed questionable. After the New Year, transfer Di Renjie back to the capital to serve as the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, to re-examine the unresolved cases of the Court of Judicial Review," the Empress Dowager said. "Minister Yin, Minister Yao, what are your views on this case?"

"I believe that Governor Du and Lady Wu are innocent." Minister Yin showed no intention of avoiding favoritism and openly protected his own people.

"Prime Minister Zheng, what do you have to say?" Minister Yao asked. "Did Governor Du and Lady Wu know about your fabricated achievements?"

"I don't know," Prime Minister Zheng replied.

"Do you agree with the charge of fabricating your political achievements?" Minister Yao pressed.

Meng Qing glanced at the female saint without leaving a trace.

"I know..."

"I agree." Upon hearing the Empress Dowager's voice, Prime Minister Zheng abruptly interrupted her. He knew her attitude was enough. He had offended many powerful families for her sake; if he continued to serve in the court, he would be a sitting duck. It was better for him to retreat to a local prefecture to avoid the limelight. If the Empress Dowager were to have some good fortune in the future and take pity on his misfortune, he would still have a chance to return to the court.

“I have fabricated my achievements and am unfit for the position of prime minister. Today I request to resign from the position of prime minister.” Prime Minister Zheng took off his official hat. “Lady Wu and Governor Du are unaware of my actions. I beg Your Majesty and my colleagues to clear their names.”

Minister Yao cupped his hands and said, “Your Majesty, Your Majesty, Prime Minister Zheng has confessed his guilt. Please make the judgment.”

"Zheng Qing has both faults and merits. In five years, he has investigated and identified over 70,000 hectares of land that had been seized by powerful clans for the court and the people. He is highly regarded among the people. If he is severely punished, it may hurt the people's hearts." The Empress looked at the Emperor. "Your Majesty, how about demoting Zheng Qing to the position of Prefect of Suzhou?"

Du Min's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately sat up straight.

"Very well." The Emperor granted his request. He looked at Du Min and said, "Minister Du has also made meritorious contributions as the governor. He shall be promoted to Minister of Works."

Du Min was both surprised and delighted. He knelt down to express his gratitude, his heart pounding with fear.

"However, Minister Du's mission to inspect the local schools is not yet complete. Once this case is closed, he will continue his inspection duties," the Emperor added.

Du Min's heart skipped a beat, and he could hardly breathe. Was he being asked to take the knife from Prime Minister Zheng's hand, the knife that would draw hatred?

My life is over!

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Author's note: See you tomorrow night.