Chapter 14
In the first month of the Yiwei year of the Chunxi reign, I heard from Meng the chef that there was an octagonal pavilion next to the Pai Ya Stone at the foot of the Imperial Training Ground.
At the time, those present included Doctor Zheng of the Imperial Academy's Martial Arts School, Master Liu, the Internal Affairs Officer, and Li Yu, the Sanitation Officer. After Meng Xiao finished talking about his struggle with his brothers and concubines for the position of head of the family, Meng the Chef drank a bowl of Meishan tea, pulled a goat's hoof from a lotus leaf, and began to gnaw on it.
Dr. Zheng smacked his lips and asked, "Is that all?"
Meng the chef said, "Although he is related to me, he is the candidate who best meets Doctor Zhao's requirements. As the saying goes, when selecting the best, one should not avoid relatives."
Mr. Liu said, "This man cannot issue orders, cannot make laws, and cannot manage a household. How can he be entrusted with important tasks?"
Li Yu said, "This year, both the inner and outer courts have been buzzing about Meng Xiao's collusion with high-ranking officials to lend money to the people. It's been six years since this happened, so why bring it up again? In my opinion, these people aren't discussing him, but how much profit the Wu family has reaped from the market by using this money-making rake."
In front of Dr. Zheng and Mr. Liu, Li Yu didn't continue his speech. Hearing him mention the Wu family reminded me of what he had said to me the night before. At that time, I was speculating with him about Zhao Du's intention to recruit Meng Xiao. He recounted some current events, explaining: Since the departure of Grand Tutor Wu (Lin), Duke Yu (Yunwen) has been appointed Envoy to Sichuan. General Wu (Ting), originally the Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Guards and Commander of the Xingzhou Army, was dispatched to Jinzhou by imperial decree in the Dinghai year of the Qiandao reign. In the Renchen year, General Wu was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Guard in Ezhou. Rumors circulated within the inner court that the emperor intended a northern expedition. Unfortunately, Duke Yu died in the first year of the Chunxi reign. If a northern expedition were to take place, the Wu family would have to be relied upon to command the troops. Lizhou Road was a heavily guarded border region, crucial to national security. The Xuanfu Division's military treasuries and the Yangzhi Division held over 7 million strings of cash, 8,000 taels of gold, and over 20,000 taels of silk. However, following Duke Yu's death, the Xuanfu Division was ultimately disbanded. Subsequently, the Zhizhi, Dutong, Chama, and Zongling Divisions were established. The court mandated that "field duties within the former military units be returned to the military," effectively granting the Xuanfu Division's profit-making power to the Dutong Division. However, the evenly matched status of the four divisions gave the Wu family renewed signs of power grabbing.
In recent years, despite repeated petitions from Shu officials like Chen Xia, Fan Chengda, and Li Fan, who tried to curb the expansion of their power, the borderlands still relied heavily on the Wu family for military support, and the inner court had not yet given up on the idea of a northern expedition. The court's attitude toward the Wu family over the past two or three decades—in Li Yu's words, "employ them when they can, but also guard against them when they can't"—has been a mix of "use them when they can, and guard against them when they can."
I guess Zhao Du's intention is to use the money-lending incident of the Meng family as evidence to find a weakness in the Wu family. As for how he plans to recruit Meng Xiao and how to use Meng Xiao for his own purposes, I don't know now. However, I know that Zhao Du has high expectations for Meng Xiao, and perhaps he wants to use him not only to contain the Wu family. He is now in charge of the Jisufang, and he also has to contact and deploy many intelligence offices outside the border. I once heard him talk about this: when Shi Gong, the secretary of the Privy Council, was the advisor of the Jisufang and was in charge of border defense affairs, he set up a intelligence station "Duting" in Chencang County, which received envoys and spies sent from the south of the Yangtze River, and at the same time recruited people from the north to investigate in various places. After Longxing was restored, Shi Gong sent a confidant to Longyou to be in charge of intelligence affairs. After this man's departure to Chencang County, the Palace Guards and other officials of the Privy Council could no longer rely on Shi Gong for remote information on military events in the northwest. It was said that all news from beyond the northwest borders, concerning Lizhou, Tubo, Daxia, and the Jin Kingdom, was only delivered to Shi's residence via special couriers, rather than relayed by other officials in the capital. Later, the imperial court abolished the head of the Jisufang (Emergency Room), assigning its responsibilities to the various offices of the Shangshu Province and the Zuoyousi (Left and Right Offices). However, Shi Gong did not delegate this responsibility to other officials. This meant that his network of northern civilians, special envoys, and spies deployed abroad remained under his control. At the time, some alleged that Shi Gong used these intelligence offices to secretly communicate with the Jin Kingdom, buying and selling military intelligence and even accepting valuable brocade as a gift from the Jin. After months of investigations, censors and prosecutors failed to find any evidence of his guilt, leading to rumors that Shi Gong, relying on his extensive seniority, was still abusing his power.
Three years ago, Shi Gong suddenly passed away, rumored to have been assassinated. Since then, "Du Ting" has ceased submitting reports to the imperial court, yet it continues its smuggling business among the four kingdoms. According to reports from the General Administration Office, the leader of "Du Ting," a former confidant of Shi Gong, has connections with powerful figures in Jin, Xia, Tubo, and Liao. I suspect Zhao Du's recruitment of Meng Xiao may also be linked to his desire to control intelligence from the northwestern border. Taking a broader view, his manipulation of Meng Xiao and the Wu family may be linked to the emperor's Northern Expedition plan.
At this time, Li Yu said, "It's not so much that he can't manage his family, but rather that his family can't manage him. A son inherits his father's business and always establishes new family rules, but always with the introduction of new rules, treachery arises. He puts on airs and issues a few orders, but always with the issuance of orders, treachery arises. But a son values family ties, how could he abandon his family? In my opinion, Meng Lang's failure to manage his family is like abandoning the deep winter and entering the new year."
Dr. Zheng asked, "What year?"
Mr. Liu took a sip of Liulin wine and a bowl of Rizhu tea. Then, holding a piece of lamb trotter with his chopsticks, he asked, "How many silver notes did he sell?"
Meng, the chef, said, "I don't know. No one knows, and no one is going to settle the account. Even if the account is settled, and the people still don't pay back the money, who will pay it back?"
Li Yu said, "Right now, we're the only ones talking about him here, but we don't know he's watching us from four thousand miles away. Perhaps before he did this, before he caused this huge mess, he had in mind who he was trying to impress. His master is mysterious and unpredictable, perhaps a master who can strategize and predict the future."
Meng the cook laughed and said, "I've been talking about this and that hair, or onions and garlic sprouts. But Brother Li is like the roundworm in my brother's stomach."
Li Yu said, "It's just chewing tendons."
Master Liu added salt and cheese to the tea, threw in a few slices of ginger, sipped a spoonful, and said, "This grandson bullied a child and even strangled him to death. He's not a kind person."
Li Yu said, "That's already the most benevolent thing. Pinching him to death is benevolence. If he doesn't, the boy's master will be the women in the family. The women in the family only know that a tael is either yours or mine. They gang up on him and fight him, pretending to be evil. How can we divide it? He told the postman to continue delivering the letter, which means he won't share it. Pinching and coaxing him means the servant won't share it with him either."
Master Liu said, "That's nice to say, but I think you're a cricket. So, tell me, what exactly is Old Zhao trying to do by asking about him? Is he trying to bring him to the capital to use as leverage against the Wu family, or is he trying to send him somewhere to do some official work? Where is this guy staying now?"
"Where else could a wanted criminal escape to? He should have gone to Dayao." Li Yu took a sip of tea and frowned. "Unfortunately, this ginger doesn't match the ram's hoof. This tea is as bitter as ash."
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