Chapter 232 Meng Qing Takes Action
The memorial accusing the emperor was sent to the imperial court. After reading it, the female emperor said calmly: "Reforms are never done without bloodshed and action. Governor Du and other officials have been loyal to the country and fought for the people's interests. Their merits outweigh their faults, so they will not be held accountable."
With the support of the imperial court, this noisy land inventory campaign continued from the old year into the new year. In the new year, more and more landlords and gentry could not resist and sold off their excess land for money. The imperial court and government officials gradually targeted powerful families and centuries-old clans.
Powerful clans, having nowhere else to turn and unwilling to have their land confiscated by the government, chose to release slaves and use their power to register excess land under the names of the released slaves, turning it into estates.
At the same time, powerful officials in the court also stepped up their efforts, investigating whether the officials who advocated the investigation of land ownership were honest and upright, and relentlessly impeached them for any blemish they found.
The officials under the female saint were equally capable of impeaching powerful figures, impeaching aristocratic officials for lax family governance, leniency towards evil, favoritism, and violations of the law and discipline.
The imperial court and the common people were plunged into chaos and infighting.
In mid-February, a memorial from Zhengzhou brought this increasingly acute conflict to a head. The Zhengzhou governor reported that Ren Wenqiu, the magistrate of Xingyang County, had disappeared ten days prior. Before his disappearance, he had refused to allocate land to the Zheng family's released servants, which had resulted in threats from the Zheng clan. Some testified that before his disappearance, magistrate Ren had seen Zheng's servants waiting outside the yamen. Governor Li then ordered Prime Minister Zheng to restrain his clansmen.
This directly points the finger at the Zheng family of Xingyang, practically implying that the Zheng family of Xingyang imprisoned or even murdered Magistrate Ren because of land.
At the same time, Du Min also received a letter from the Prefect of Zhengzhou. After reading the letter, a smile appeared on his lips, but it vanished in an instant. He quickly ran back to the backyard with a grim face. "Second sister-in-law, something has happened to Ren Wenqiu. He went missing ten days ago."
“Your second sister-in-law isn’t home. Magistrate Gu has taken her away to persuade the people to relocate.” Du Li strode out. “Wait here, I’ll go find her and bring her back.”
Meng Chun was also at the governor's mansion. He rushed over upon hearing the commotion, "Third Brother Du, Ren Wenqiu has gone missing?"
Du Min nodded with a stern face, "The letter from Chief Clerk Guo is definitely true."
"Have Wang and Li, the cloth merchants, written to us? They've been active in Xingyang County, so they should know more details," Meng Chun said.
Du Min shook his head.
"I'll go for you and see what's going on." Meng Chun considered himself to have some connection with Ren Wenqiu, and he couldn't sit still after hearing the news. He thought that if he went there, he could help find the person and do his part.
Du Min nodded, "Okay."
Meng Chun looked up at the sky and said, "I'll go home and pack my bags now. I should be able to get to Wen County before dark."
Du Min did not stop him. After Meng Chun left, he paced back and forth with his hands behind his back.
"What happened? I heard a commotion in the front yard." Yin Caiwei walked over slowly, supporting her waist.
“It’s Ren Wenqiu who’s in trouble. It involves the Zheng family of Xingyang. This chaotic reform needs someone to step in and put an end to it.” Du Min reached out to support her and said, “Just focus on your pregnancy and don’t worry about things outside.”
Yin Caiwei is six months pregnant and her body is becoming increasingly cumbersome. Meanwhile, the hatred of powerful families towards Du Min is growing stronger, and he is worried that it will implicate her. For some time now, he has not allowed her to go anywhere outside the governor's mansion.
After returning to the inner quarters and sitting with Yin Caiwei for a while, a maid came to report that Meng Qing had returned, and Du Min immediately got up and left.
"Second Sister-in-law, Chief Secretary Guo has sent a letter. Ren Wenqiu has gone missing, and now the entire court's attention is focused on Prime Minister Zheng." Du Min handed over the letter.
Meng Qing picked up her tea and took a few sips to calm the restlessness brought on by her hurried walk. She took the letter, read it through, and asked, "Is Ren Wenqiu really missing or is he faking it?"
"I'm not sure either." A month ago, Du Min sent a letter to Ren Wenqiu, urging him to escalate the conflict with the Zheng family of Xingyang, hoping to force them to take action against him and thus gain leverage over them. Now, he's unsure whether Ren Wenqiu has truly been imprisoned by the Zheng family of Xingyang or if it's a staged disappearance.
“Whether it’s true or not, we must seize this opportunity,” Du Min said.
Meng Qing nodded, "Give the order to prepare a few horses. I will set off for Luoyang tomorrow."
"Should I go?" Du Min asked.
Meng Qing shook his head. "If you show up, it will only provoke Prime Minister Zheng's resistance."
Du Min let out a sigh of relief, "I'm leaving all of this to my second sister-in-law. Success or failure hinges on this."
Meng Qing tugged at her clothes, took a few deep breaths, and said with a smile, "This is the first time I've felt so much pressure."
"There's nothing your second sister-in-law can't do," Du Min encouraged her.
Meng Qing didn't say anything. After planning for so long, if she still couldn't persuade Prime Minister Zheng, she would give up and let him go down this dark path. Whether he lived or died was his fate.
*
Three days later at noon, Prime Minister Zheng returned to his residence after finishing his shift and met two unexpected people outside the gate.
“Prime Minister, I have been waiting outside your residence for an hour. May I have an hour to talk with you?” Meng Qing walked down the steps.
Prime Minister Zheng hesitated for a few seconds, then said, "Go in."
“The weather is quite nice today, perfect for basking in the sun and warming up. Let’s go for a walk along the river,” Meng Qing suggested. “The flowers along the Luo River are in bloom, making it a great place for a spring outing.”
Prime Minister Zheng stared at her intently for a few moments.
"Don't worry, we won't push you into the water to harm you," Meng Qing joked. "You can bring your entourage."
"Answer me a question first: in the case of Magistrate Ren's disappearance, did you pull any strings behind the scenes?" Prime Minister Zheng asked, voicing his deepest question.
"No," Meng Qing denied decisively.
“I trust Lady Zheng this once.” Prime Minister Zheng lowered the carriage curtain.
Meng Qing and Du Li boarded the hired carriage and instructed the driver to go north of the Luo River.
The two carriages departed one after the other, and stopped by the Luo River north of Shangyang Palace about half an hour later.
Meng Qing stepped down from the carriage and led Prime Minister Zheng away into the distance.
"What are you trying to say after going around in circles like this?" Prime Minister Zheng was getting impatient.
“The Prime Minister has already spent half an hour coming with me, which shows that you are pleased with my arrival. Please be patient a little longer,” Meng Qing said.
Prime Minister Zheng's face darkened, and he stopped in his tracks. "Speak," he said, "you'd better have something useful to say."
Meng Qing glanced at his attendants a few feet away and asked in a low voice, "The female saint has already been named Empress, when does Prime Minister Zheng plan to change his address and give up the title of Empress Wu?"
Prime Minister Zheng subconsciously showed displeasure, and said calmly, "Did I call her by the wrong name? Isn't Empress Wu her?"
Meng Qing didn't answer. Instead, she changed the subject, "Prime Minister Zheng, do you still remember the year you first became prime minister, when you received an imperial decree to go to Luoyang to see off dozens of school principals? On that day, I was sitting in a teahouse at the ferry crossing and clearly witnessed your courteous treatment of scholars. There was not a trace of contempt or impatience in your expression. I thought to myself then, how could a prime minister from a prestigious family, holding such a high position, lower himself to treat a poor scholar with such sincerity? It's like a wealthy merchant seeing a loose copper coin on the roadside and being willing to bend down, pick it up himself, and blow off the dust. This gesture is astonishing, yet incredibly captivating. It's no exaggeration to say that at that moment, I saw the shadow of Buddha in you. Buddha said all beings are equal. As human beings, we are all human beings, therefore, human beings are equal. As officials, we are all officials, therefore, officials are also equal."
Prime Minister Zheng's emotions were calmed down, and he shook his head and said, "People cannot be equal, and officials cannot be equal. I am both a person and an official. Those who are like me deserve to be treated equally. Why should I treat people with contempt when we have no grudges against each other?"
"It seems you don't get along with the female saint. Is it because you look down on her character? Or is it because you are the subject and she is the ruler, and this imbalance of status has made you lose your ability to treat others as equals?"
Prime Minister Zheng was taken aback by her audacity. "No wonder you insisted on coming to this deserted riverbank to discuss matters. Are you afraid of death but still dare to speak like this?"
"You didn't deny it, so it seems I was right." Meng Qing didn't let him change the subject. "Is it that you can't stand her meddling in politics, or that you can't stand her condoning the infighting among powerful factions? Or do you hate her suppressing aristocratic families?"
“This is not something you should be asking,” Prime Minister Zheng refused to discuss these matters with her.
"Because I'm also a woman? So you can't stand her interfering in politics?" Meng Qing asked and answered herself. "That shouldn't be the case. Although you come from a prestigious family, you didn't get to your current position just because of your family background. You rose to your position through your own hard work and achievements. Why would someone who earned power through their own efforts suppress someone else who also earned power through their own efforts?"
Prime Minister Zheng was stunned for a moment.
"Is it jealousy?" Meng Qing took a step back, taking in all of Prime Minister Zheng's expression. "Jealousy that she, a woman, could rise to the court and receive your obeisance by whispering in your ear."
Prime Minister Zheng's expression changed drastically, and he shouted angrily, "If you keep talking nonsense, I'm leaving."
Not far away, Du Li and his entourage looked over upon hearing the sound.
“Jealousy breeds contempt, and you despise everything she does.” Meng Qing smiled slightly. “Don’t you secretly wish she would make a fool of herself? When you were in court, looking at her beside the dragon throne, weren’t you thinking, ‘I’d like to see how she falls down.’”
Prime Minister Zheng turned and left, saying, "You're really crazy. I must have been bewitched to come here."
Meng Qing quickly caught up, "You despise her, but your Xingyang Zheng family is already on the hot seat. Prime Minister Zheng, do you also want the Xingyang Zheng family to be the next Changsun family?"
Prime Minister Zheng slowed his pace.
“I can help you.” Meng Qing stopped in her tracks.
Prime Minister Zheng also stopped.
"You can face my relentless scheming for ten years, but why not change your mindset in front of the female sage? Throughout history, there have been very few empresses who have risen from the harem to the imperial court. This alone is enough to prove her wisdom," Meng Qing said, bringing up the old topic again.
Prime Minister Zheng turned around. "What are you going to do?"
"It's just as you think, they want to win you over to her side," Meng Qing said frankly.
"Why? Why me?" Prime Minister Zheng asked, puzzled. "Have you misunderstood? I have no intention of defecting."
Meng Qing thought to herself, "You were the one who pushed me to this position. If we don't win you over, who else should we win over? If we let this go unchecked, and you cause trouble for the female saint in the future, won't we be disliked because of you? You should take responsibility for the mess you made and clean it up yourself."
"Just like when you wanted to win over Du Min, you didn't want to watch him go astray and lose his life. We feel the same way. We want to save you and can't bear to see you go down a dark path. It's heartbreaking to see such a talented person end up dying in exile," Meng Qing explained sincerely.
Prime Minister Zheng laughed in exasperation, "So I should thank you?"
"Don't you want to make some changes?" Meng Qing tentatively moved in the opposite direction. "From the perspective of a subject, would allowing merchants to redeem their land and redistribute it to farmers be beneficial to repairing the equal-field system? Would it be beneficial to the continuation of the Tang Dynasty? Would it be beneficial to the common people?"
Prime Minister Zheng could not deny it, so he remained silent.
Meng Qing stopped and turned around to ask, "You have already reached the pinnacle of your career as prime minister, and your contributions to your family have reached their zenith. As a subject, do you have no ambitions? The Tang Dynasty has lasted for over fifty years, and the number of prime ministers is countless. How many of them have earned a good reputation? And how many of them are buried in the imperial mausoleum?"
“I did what you wanted, and the blow to the family has reached its peak,” Prime Minister Zheng sighed. “I’m trading my family for my future.”
"The court infighting has lasted for months. Do you know the attitudes of the two emperors?" Meng Qing asked. "The two emperors' goals are very clear: first, to ease the conflict between people and land; second, to express their disapproval of the aristocratic families' suppression of imperial power. If you help the two emperors achieve their goals, this infighting will end."
"Speak, what is your plan?" Prime Minister Zheng asked.
"Persuade the various powerful families to back down and give some of their land to the farmers," Meng Qing revealed his purpose. Only Prime Minister Zheng, who came from a powerful family, could accomplish this.
Prime Minister Zheng glanced at Meng Qing thoughtfully a few times, "Is there any part of this decree that I am unaware of?"
Meng Qing smiled but did not answer. She looked at the palace in the distance and said, "Prime Minister Zheng, things have come to this point. Give yourself another chance to work hard. Who knows, you might become a famous prime minister for all time."
Prime Minister Zheng followed her gaze. He had no choice. The disappearance of Magistrate Ren was enough to knock him down from his position as prime minister.
He told himself to give it a try, for the sake of his family. If he fell from power, the Zheng family of Xingyang would have no prime minister for ten years.
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Author's note: See you tomorrow night.
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