Chapter Eighty-Seven: The Wrath of the Son of Heaven

Emperor Zhengde was somewhat fond of play and disliked being restrained, but that did not mean he was a fool.

As an emperor who had been carefully tutored by his own father, the Hongzhi Emperor, and had received a traditional education fit for a crown prince, he knew that no matter how the civil officials leaped and thrashed, they were nothing more than scum. As long as he held the military firmly in his own hands, a group of scholar-bureaucrats could never overturn the heavens.

Once he was certain that the nobility had not colluded with the civil officials, Zhengde had no need to be so nervous.

Having calmed down, Zhengde also felt that he had overreacted. With a wave of his hand, he dismissed the three nobles. Liu Jin immediately scurried to Zhengde's side and asked cautiously, "What should we do with those scholars who beat the grievance drum?"

Zhengde felt a massive headache coming on. Those scholars were truly slippery and impossible to deal with; they could not be executed. Given that his reputation was already thoroughly blackened, executing them would cement his legacy as the number one tyrant in history! As for simply beating them or locking them up, it would merely add to their "spotless reputations," making them even more arrogant and insufferable, and one could easily imagine they would become doubly unbridled in the future.

"Your Majesty, you cannot admit a mistake. Those officials and scholars are the sort who will climb all over your head once you give them an inch. The moment Your Majesty yields, they will never let up," Liu Jin said, seeing that the Zhengde Emperor was hesitating once again. He hurriedly offered his analysis to steel the emperor's resolve.

Zhengde was naturally well aware of this. Having been emperor for three years, and having watched his father handle state affairs for so many years—seeing it, hearing it, and experiencing it firsthand—how could he not understand?

"Then what do you suggest?" Zhengde retorted, his tone less than pleasant.

"Uh!" Liu Jin choked. Although he desperately wanted to say, "Arrest the lot of them; under harsh torture, are we afraid they won't reveal the mastermind?", the words stopped right at the tip of his tongue. Liu Jin was hardly innocent in this affair; at the very least, he had played his part in fanning the flames behind the scenes.

"Your Majesty, in this humble servant's view, we might as well see what the senior grand secretaries have to say," Gu Dayong, who had been standing quietly in the background, suddenly interjected.

Liu Jin shot Gu Dayong a fierce glare. To be dragging his feet at a time like this—the fellow truly did not know whether he was courting death.

Gu Dayong immediately shut his mouth and retreated dejectedly.

"We shall do as Dayong suggested and see what the senior grand secretaries have to say," Zhengde sighed.

Zhengde wore an expression of utter melancholy, irresolute and at a loss as to what course of action to take. Liu Jin stood behind him, tense and waiting for the final card of the gamble to be turned over.

"Report!" A young eunuch came sprinting from afar toward the spot where the Zhengde Emperor was located. Seeing that the emperor and all the great lords of the inner court were present, he immediately dropped to his knees and reported, "Reporting to Your Majesty, the senior grand secretaries of the Cabinet, along with the ministers of the Six Ministries, request an audience with Your Majesty."

"Oh, they've finally come after all!" Zhengde let out a long sigh of relief. "Quickly, summon them!"

The young eunuch, however, did not move; he remained kneeling on the ground with a hesitant and uneasy expression.

"What is the meaning of this? Did We not tell you to go and grant an audience?" Zhengde asked, noticing the young eunuch's troubled expression.

"Replying to Your Majesty, it is not just the Cabinet grand secretaries and the ministers of the Six Ministries who have come. Nearly all the officials from every yamen have arrived, and they are all gathered outside the palace gates, waiting for an audience!" the young eunuch replied, his forehead beaded with cold sweat.

"What?" Zhu Houzhao's vision darkened, and he nearly collapsed in a faint. Fortunately, Liu Jin's eyes were sharp and his hands quick; he managed to steady the Emperor just in time, or the situation truly would have spun completely out of control.

"Your Majesty, please preserve your imperial health above all else!" At this, the several "tigers" surrounding the Zhengde Emperor Zhu Houzhao were truly frightened out of their wits. One by one, they dropped to their knees and burst into loud wailing.

Zhengde felt a profound sense of grievance. It was merely a difference of opinion with a few grand secretaries; was it necessary for the entire court of officials to come and force the emperor's hand?

"What are they trying to do?" Following the grievance, a surge of blazing anger erupted within Zhengde's heart. His eyes turned red, and through clenched teeth, he said, "Accompany Us to the palace gates to take a look. I want to see just how this bunch of ministers intends to coerce Us!"

Since the Emperor had spoken, a young eunuch naturally stepped forward to lead the way, followed by a massive retinue of eunuchs and palace maids as they marched imposingly toward the front gates of the Leopard Quarters.

By this time, the grand secretaries of the Cabinet and the ministers of the Six Ministries were already sweating profusely. They had repeatedly ordered their subordinate officials to disperse, only to be rebuffed at every turn. Each and every one of them acted as though imbued with a sense of "supreme righteousness," and absolutely no one was willing to be the first to retreat. Some officials even shouted slogans such as, "Where righteousness lies, how can one cherish one's own skin?", instantly extinguishing any thoughts of withdrawal that the others might have harbored.

Everyone knew this was an act of forcing the emperor. To remonstrate with the sovereign, mounting a massive spectacle was not necessarily better; the reigning emperor was known to respond to soft approaches rather than hard ones, and this was only pushing the emperor in the opposite direction. When the time came, if the Emperor flew into a rage, everyone would be implicated.

Yet no one was willing to withdraw first, and no one dared to withdraw first. There was no other reason—it was for the sake of a spotless reputation. If one were to retreat first, wouldn't one be branded with the label of "craven and fearful of death"? How could one ever establish a foothold in the scholarly community after that?

The grand secretaries could not forcefully compel them either. As the leaders of the officials, their "spotless reputations" were something they could never afford to lose. Without "righteousness" on their side, how could they command the obedience of the hundred officials? How could they make the literati submit? They could only allow themselves to be pushed forward to the front. With "righteousness" present, who dared to swim against the current?

A massive crowd of civil officials clamored noisily all the way to the outer gates of the Leopard Quarters, until they were blocked by a throng of Imperial Horse Stables guards. At that, the officials' clamor grew even louder. Particularly some of the younger officials eager to curry a "spotless reputation" shouted all the more fiercely, openly cursing at the gates: "The Emperor is muddle-headed!" and "Corrupt eunuchs hold sway!"

Before Zhengde and his retinue of eunuchs even reached the palace gates, they heard the deafening uproar coming from outside. Listening closely to the contents, Zhengde instantly turned ashen with rage, his body trembling. He immediately instructed Liu Jin, "Aside from the grand secretaries and the high ministers of the third rank and above, arrest everyone else who is shouting and lock them away in the Imperial Prison of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Any who dare to show defiance shall be beaten with the heavy bamboo. As for that bunch beating the grievance drum, strip them of their scholarly honors and round them up together. Such men, utterly devoid of sovereign and father, are they even fit to read the books of the sages?"

Zhengde no longer had any inclination to observe the situation outside the gates. Issuing his commands on the spot, he turned around and strode back in a towering fury.

Upon receiving the imperial decree, Liu Jin felt a wave of exhilarating satisfaction. With a cold smile, he instructed the trusted young eunuch by his side, "Don't just stand there gaping, open the palace gates. Since this servant bears His Majesty's decree, of course we must properly host this bunch of officials!"

The palace gates slowly swung open, and stepping out was not the Emperor, but the sneering, supreme grand eunuch of the dynasty—the Director of the Directorate of Ceremonies and Superintendent of the Eastern Depot, Liu Jin.

Upon seeing that it was Liu Jin who emerged, the mass of officials instantly felt a sense of foreboding. When countless imperial guards of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and secret agents of the depots appeared around the civil officials, surrounding them completely, Liu Jin's intentions stood glaringly revealed.

"Eunuch scum! We possess the righteous energy within our breasts; we are not afraid of your tyranny!"

"Corrupt eunuchs ruin the state, leaving the people with no means of livelihood! We shall establish a heart for Heaven and Earth, and secure the mandate for the lives of the people. We demand to see the Emperor!"

"We demand to see the Emperor! You eunuch wretch, do you dare to block the communication between the sovereign and his subjects?"

"Eunuchs usurp power! Where are the ancestral institutions of the Founding Emperor?"

...

Seeing this array, the crowd of civil officials instantly erupted into a massive clamor once again, a ceaseless stream of various insults filling the air. The Cabinet grand secretaries exchanged glances, let out a long sigh together, walked up to the palace gates, and said, "We wish to report directly to the Sovereign. Please step aside!"

Liu Jin chuckled and said, "My lords grand secretaries, His Majesty has issued a decree, and you might as well listen to it!"

With that, Liu Jin turned toward the vast throng of officials who had been hurling abuses at him and shouted loudly, "His Majesty has issued an edict: anyone below the third rank who dares to presumptuously discuss state affairs and coerce the palace gates shall be arrested and brought to justice without exception. Anyone who shows defiance shall be beaten with the heavy bamboo!"