Chapter 2: The Wei Case

  Brocade Guard Flying Fish Attire

  "Your Majesty, it's time to get up and attend the morning court." Empress Zhou Wan'er called out softly to Yang Reform.

  "What's going on? What time is it? Is it dawn? Let's go to the morning court!" Yang Gaizhi asked drowsily.

  "Your Majesty, it's already the fourth watch, Your Majesty should get up." Empress Zhou Wan'er reminded Yang Guifei with a slightly shy voice.

  Yang Reform murmured: "The fourth watch? What time is that? Get up, it's too early. The sky is still dark, let's wait a bit... Hmm... Uh-huh..."

  The beautiful queen let out a scream... Yang Reform had already grasped the situation and was in danger.

  After the storm, the sky was already bright. Yang looked out of the window and estimated it was probably around 7 or 8 o'clock in the morning. It's time to go to work. Looking at the queen lying on the bed with a flushed face, sleeping soundly, Yang felt that being an emperor was indeed great.

  This was Yang's first court meeting, and also the first time he faced a large number of officials. Of course, Yang was high above, while the officials were low below, bowing their heads and scraping their feet, which was the best portrayal of these officials. Yang looked at the group of officials kneeling on the ground shouting "Long live", feeling very good. Very domineering, how to say it, 45-degree feeling! What is a 45-degree feeling? It's the feeling of God looking at the common people!

  Yang Reform didn't know these people at all, and he couldn't understand their words very well. After all, there are some differences between the 21st century and several hundred years ago. Moreover, these courtiers were not from one place, and inevitably had accents from various places, so Yang Reform could only understand six out of seven sentences, and one sentence was incomprehensible to him.

  However, judging from some of the words I heard, it seems to be about Wei Zhongxian or something, and it seems that the ministers are impatiently petitioning, demanding that this emperor quickly settle the case of Wei Zhongxian.

  Yang has studied, surfed the internet, and read online discussions about Wei Zhongxian and the Donglin Party. He has also read countless stories of time travel and knows that after Wei's death, those who were involved in his case were punished, with over 200 officials being implicated, some exiled, others forced to serve as soldiers, their homes confiscated, and women forced into prostitution. Some families rejoiced while others grieved.

  So many officials have been eliminated, and the remaining officials will start to laugh. What a big feast it is! If you don't die, how can we go up? You occupy so many positions, and this time so many positions are vacated, how can we not be anxious?

  The border army will be happy now, they have gained so many laborers.

  Some officials are delighted, suddenly there are so many wives and daughters of officials going to the brothel, this is high-end goods! They have delicate skin, knowledge, culture, and were all a group of noble people. After work, they can find some time to play with them, press them under their bodies, and rub them at will, how comfortable that would be!

  There's also the matter of confiscating their homes, we've confiscated so many houses that our hands are numb from it, and moving all those things is exhausting. Your Majesty, please make a decision quickly, only then can their money truly belong to me, otherwise I'll always be worried.

  What's worrisome is that some of the remaining suspects in the Wei Party case are still standing on the imperial court, although they don't have much to do with the Wei Party, but they also occupy a little bit of power, so they're worried to death, fearing that they won't have the chance to attend court again.

  As for what the ministers on earth memorialized and said, Yang's mind of reform was not here.

  Yang thought that if he could confiscate several hundred households, how much silver would he be able to get? Otherwise, this confiscation of so many households would not make sense. More than 200 households! Later on, when dealing with the Wild Boar Skin and Li Zicheng, it would not be easy to accumulate more silver. When should they go after the silver?

  Yang thought of this and couldn't sit still anymore, saying: "Withdraw from court."

  Wang Chengen was slightly surprised, thinking that this matter had not been settled yet, how could it be dismissed so quickly. However, since the emperor said to dismiss the court after his serious illness and first appearance at court, then so be it. After a soft and long "dismissal of the court", Yang Reform had already left, leaving behind a hall full of officials who stood in confusion, not knowing what to do, looking at each other in dismay.

  "Who is in charge of moving house?" Yang Gaizhi asked Wang Chengen.

  "Your Majesty, are you referring to Wei Zhongxian's clique?" Wang Cheng'en replied.

  "Right! If not copying them, then who?"

  "It is Your Majesty, the Commander of the Brocade Guard, Fang Hongyan."

  "Oh, it's him." Yang Reform looked up at the sky, but in fact, Yang Reform had no idea who Fang Hongzhan was. However, since Wei Zhongxian had fallen out of luck and he hadn't, he must have some skills, so he said: "Since it's him, summon him over, I'll see him in the Warming Pavilion."

  Yang Reform sat on the chair in the warm pavilion, lost in thought. What was he thinking about? He must be thinking about how to make a profit from this case. If he wanted to get involved with the Wild Boar Skins and the Peasant Army, he would need money. Otherwise, wouldn't he end up like that historical figure who hanged himself on Coal Mountain with just one rope?

  Yang thought of reform and suddenly shook his head. He thought to himself that as a member of the crossing crowd, he couldn't just die in such a miserable way, it would be a shame for the great group of crossers, wouldn't it? No, absolutely not, he had to change history.

  "Your Majesty's subject Jin Yiwei, Commander of the Imperial Guards and Concurrent Secretary Fang Hongyan, pays his respects to Your Majesty. Long live the Emperor, long live the Emperor, forever and ever!" After finishing speaking, he knocked his head on the ground several times.

  Wearing a flying fish costume, wearing a black wingless black hat, the clothes are cut very well, with two mustaches, looking very neat and tidy, looks about forty years old, leaving a good impression.

  Yang Reform stared at Fang Hongyan for a while before saying: "You are Fang Hongyan, I ask you, what do you think of the eunuch party's Wei case?"

  "This...this..." Fang Hongru was startled, thinking that the eunuch's affairs had nothing to do with him, a mere commander and vice censor-in-chief. Those cabinet ministers, the Donglin faction, why ask me? I'm just a minor official. Fang Hongru never thought the emperor would ask him about this matter. He could only stammer and stutter, unable to come up with an explanation.

  Yang looked at Fang Hongyan, who was hesitant to speak, and asked: "About these eunuchs' rebellion, the confiscation of their families, the exile of those exiled, and the execution of those executed, what do you think about it?"

  Fang Hongjin was even more flustered, his face ashen, and he couldn't help but wonder if the Emperor wanted to make an example of him. He thought to himself, "If that's the case, why bother summoning me here? A eunuch could have just delivered the imperial decree, and I would have had no choice but to accept my fate."

  Yang's idea of reform was actually very simple: those with money would pay it out, those who should be executed would be spared from death, those who should be exiled to the border would be reassigned to inland areas, those who should be imprisoned would receive suspended sentences, and those whose homes should be confiscated would instead borrow money everywhere and return it in full, leaving some remaining for themselves; otherwise, if their homes were really confiscated, they wouldn't have a single penny left. Unfortunately, this idea was just too "outrageous", even the entire Ming dynasty might not have guessed what the emperor was thinking now.

  Yang reform looked at Fang Hongzao's inexplicable and terrified appearance, thinking to himself: It seems that his own painstaking efforts are still being ignored.

  Look at Wang Chengen standing beside him, and think that this household "extortion" is a dirty job. It's better not to let Wang Chengen do it, which is not good for his future reputation. History has no record of Wang Chengen being greedy or dirty. Let's find two new people instead. Look at the two little eunuchs standing below again. Suddenly, attention was drawn to them.

  Yang pointed at the two small eunuchs standing in the back and said: "You, you, you two come over. I have a task for you to do, are you willing or not?"

  The two little eunuchs standing behind first looked surprised, then quickly bowed their heads and backs, running to the back of Fang Hongzao, kneeling on the ground, first asking for peace, then eagerly waiting for Yang Reform to give them some instructions. This is going out to spread the imperial edict, it's a special envoy, can't help but show off a bit, collecting some silver is a small matter, the emperor has a position in mind that's a big deal, how can they not be happy?

  Yang Reform looked at the two slightly excited little eunuchs and said: "What are your names?"

  "In response to Your Majesty's words, it is Nu Bi Er Xi Zi (Xiao Shun Zi)." The two small eunuchs spoke in unison, and indeed they were well-trained.

  Yang nodded and said: "Alright, Er Xi Zi, Xiao Shun Zi, are you two willing to help me with something?"

  "Your humble servant Xi Zi (Xiao Shunzi) is willing to go through boiling water and walk through fire for Your Majesty, without any hesitation."

  Yang Reform looked at the two people's tacit cooperation and thought to himself, "The attendants by the emperor's side are indeed well-trained, they're really something. No wonder there are tens of thousands of eunuchs in the imperial city."

  "The task for you two is very important. If you two do well, I will not be stingy with rewards," said Yang Reform.

  "...I suppose you are also aware of the eunuch Wei's case, they all should be executed or have their homes confiscated, but considering that next year is the first year of my reign, I should grant a general amnesty. I don't want to kill so many people, confiscate so many homes, and cause so many families to suffer and break apart, bringing bad luck. So, you two go to the prison and their homes, ask those involved in the eunuch Wei's case if they are willing to redeem themselves. Those who are willing can use silver to redeem their crimes: those who should be executed will be spared from death, those who should be exiled to the border will be exiled to a nearby place instead, and those who should be imprisoned will receive a reduced sentence. If those whose homes were confiscated can provide more silver, they can keep a place to live...I don't want to start my reign with many killings, you two understand?"

  Yang's reform is really good, wanting both silver and face, beautifying it as not willing to kill too many people, granting amnesty to the world, and not wanting to let too many families be broken. The following people heard that shout! This is also too strong, Fang Hongyan felt a chill down his spine, cold sweat dripping, thinking that this emperor is really shameless, I know about his bad deeds, he won't find an excuse to silence me too, right? Who invented the phrase "accompanying the lord is like accompanying a tiger", it's really too fitting.

  The two small eunuchs were more at ease than Fang Hongzao, and when they heard that they were going to scrape silver, they couldn't care less. Their eyes sparkled, and their waists straightened a bit. What the eunuchs valued was not fame, but rather the emperor's opinion of them, which was most important.

  "Hmm, Fang Hongjin, you also heard that, Er Xizi and Xiao Shunzi are going to handle this matter. You're in charge of coordinating from the middle. If they can't get into Tianlao Dayu, it's up to you. Er Xizi, Xiao Shunzi, you two are responsible for finding those involved in the Wei case and their families, see how much silver they can pay to redeem themselves. Otherwise, by next year, I'll have to execute too many people at the Imperial Court, which is unlucky. Do you understand?"

  "I understand." Fang Hongjin replied in a loud voice. He let out a sigh of relief, thinking that as long as he wasn't the one being troubled, it was none of his business if they wanted to find those Wei case culprits. This broken matter was still best left untouched by him; otherwise, those officials would surely impeach him again.

  "Your Majesty, the two small eunuchs (Xiao Shunzi) understand and will definitely take care of this matter for you." The two small eunuchs knocked their heads on the ground a few more times, with happy faces. They were different from Fang Hongzhan, who was an official and had to consider all aspects, his own influence, his own future. The two small eunuchs were different, they only needed to consider how to please the emperor, how to do their job well for the emperor. A eunuch's only reliance was the emperor's favor. Without this, a eunuch was nothing.