Chapter 233 Seeking an Official Position for Meng Chun
Seeing the other party's expression, Meng Qing finally felt relieved. Although she had her own selfish motives in this power struggle, she also had genuine feelings for him. Perhaps Prime Minister Zheng had taken a shortcut to the position, avoiding the cutthroat competition of officialdom. His principles hadn't been crossed, and his every word and action exuded the air of a noble family, displaying compassion. Du Min's mind was far more ruthless than his. Such a person holding the position of prime minister was a good thing for both officials and the people; it would be a real pity if he fell victim to the blade of choosing the wrong side.
"What safeguards are in place for this decree?" Prime Minister Zheng pressed on, unwilling to give up.
Meng Qing smiled and said, "The two sages are the strongest defense line. What more do we need? You're still not giving up? What's there to be unwilling to give up on? This isn't the first time that aristocratic families have bowed to imperial power. The annual imperial examinations are just a slap in the face to aristocratic families."
"You!" Prime Minister Zheng was so angry that his heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys felt blocked. "If you were sent to another country as an envoy, with that mouth of yours, you would surely be beheaded by them."
“That was a worthy death, giving the court an excuse to send troops into battle,” Meng Qing said meaningfully.
Prime Minister Zheng was startled and looked at her inquisitively.
Meng Qing smiled at him deliberately.
Prime Minister Zheng withdrew his gaze. Could it be that her appearance today was orchestrated by someone behind the scenes? Who? A female saint? If he didn't agree to this surrender attempt, would the Zheng family of Xingyang be finished? Could the royal family be involved in the case of Magistrate Ren's disappearance?
"Prime Minister Zheng, I would like to trouble you to put in a good word for County Magistrate Ren in Xingyang. The longer this case drags on, the greater the impact will be," Meng Qing reminded him.
Upon hearing this, Prime Minister Zheng's suspicions became uncertain once again.
“I have already sent people back to Xingyang County to investigate the case. If it was indeed done by members of the Zheng clan, I will not tolerate it and will punish them accordingly,” he said.
“I believe in Prime Minister Zheng. You are not the kind of person who protects his relatives.” Meng Qing was referring to Minister Zheng’s case. She probed, “When I get back, I will have Du Min come to apologize to you. He was so angry that he lost his mind when he failed to achieve his goal. He said a lot of slanderous things in a disgusting way.”
Upon hearing the mention of Du Min, Prime Minister Zheng snorted angrily, "No need, tell him to get lost."
Fearing she might not take it seriously, he added, "If he dares to come to me shamelessly begging for peace, I will make him lose all face in Luoyang."
Meng Qing thought to himself that Du Min was thick-skinned; even if he lost face, there were many more layers to go, so he wasn't afraid.
"Yes, I'll definitely pass on the message." Meng Qing was two-faced, saying one thing to his face and another to his face. "I've achieved my goal. I'd like to go back to the city for a meal. Are you going back?"
"You are truly upright and honest," Prime Minister Zheng said sarcastically as he strode toward his carriage.
Seeing that Prime Minister Zheng was angry but his steps were not as heavy as when he came, and that Meng Qing was following behind with a smile on his face, Du Li knew that she had achieved her goal. He quickened his pace, squeezed past Prime Minister Zheng's attendants, and eagerly lifted the carriage curtain to invite Prime Minister Zheng into the carriage.
Prime Minister Zheng glanced at him; this Du fellow was no good.
Once inside the carriage, Du Li lowered the curtain, closed the door, and made way for him.
"Go to Shangyang Palace," Prime Minister Zheng ordered, giving himself no chance to back out.
Du Li and Meng Qing exchanged a glance, and then both smiled.
Prime Minister Zheng's carriage departed, and Du Li scooped Meng Qing up in his arms, saying, "Great hero, please get in the carriage."
Meng Qing put her arm around his shoulder and said, "I'm so hungry."
"I told you to eat before we went to the Prime Minister's residence, but you still didn't eat."
“I’m worried that eating too much will make me dizzy and unclear-headed, so I won’t be able to persuade Prime Minister Zheng as I wish.” Meng Qing stepped onto the carriage shaft and climbed into the carriage.
Du Li drove the carriage back and asked, "How did you persuade him? I saw him lose his temper halfway through, and I thought the talks were going to fall apart."
"First, we'll psychologically undermine him, putting him at a disadvantage from the start." Meng Qing tied up the carriage curtain and sat behind Du Li, leaning against his back. "The biggest reason officials are dissatisfied with a female sage in power is her gender. I used that as a starting point to exploit Prime Minister Zheng's hidden emotions. From our initial meeting in Chang'an, whether negotiating or discussing cooperation, he never showed me any contempt. In our subsequent interactions, he didn't skip me to discuss the matters I was responsible for with Du Min, which shows he doesn't dislike women's intelligence."
When he spoke of the female emperor, he only referred to her as Empress Wu, acknowledging only her position in the harem and denying her status in the court. Why was that? It's certain he looked down on her. Why? I believe it's because he felt the female emperor's power was due to His Majesty. He projected his own experience into the perspective of his own household, viewing the female emperor from the viewpoint of his wives and concubines, while he, a learned and powerful prime minister, had to kneel before her. Therefore, he felt disgust, resentment, and discontent, his heart constantly screaming "Why me?" This further escalated into contempt and resistance, which I attribute to jealousy. Jealousy is an emotion men believe only women possess. He was deeply ashamed of my accusations but couldn't explain it. How? Admit he only felt disgust, resentment, and contempt towards the female emperor? He dared not say it; he was guilty. He himself couldn't distinguish whether he had genuinely felt jealousy. Meng Qing narrated, "He might deny being jealous of the female emperor, but he certainly was jealous of His Majesty. The powerful families were already resentful of imperial power, and His Majesty, still weak, was able to sit firmly on the throne—it was bound to arouse jealousy." This idea is disloyal. For a Confucian minister, to have such thoughts of disloyalty is to despise himself, and he must first appear weak in terms of morale.
"Impressive," Du Li exclaimed.
"A majestic prime minister, deeply educated in Confucianism, harbors rebellious thoughts but has no intention of doing so. What would you do in his place?" Meng Qing asked.
“I’ve never been a prime minister, so I can’t relate to that. But I have been an unfilial son. When I first had these unfilial thoughts, I couldn’t accept it myself. Afterwards, I felt very guilty and wanted to prove that I was filial,” Du Li replied.
“Yes, outsiders can see his disrespect for the royal family, so he has to prove that he is loyal to the royal family.” Meng Qing breathed a sigh of relief; she was reassured that her analysis was correct.
"Ren Wenqiu's disappearance is a fact, and the target is the Zheng family of Xingyang. If the two emperors intend to, a mere charge of lax family management could force Prime Minister Zheng to resign. They could even use this as a scapegoat to forcefully confiscate the Zheng family's land and imprison a group of their clansmen. By then, very few members of the Xingyang Zheng family would remain in officialdom," Meng Qing continued. "How could Prime Minister Zheng not be anxious? The fate of his family depends entirely on the emperor's will. He's desperate for a way out. He tolerated me keeping him at bay for half an hour, which shows he's out of options. At this point, I'm giving him a suggestion, implying it's from above. He can't resist this opportunity."
"Brilliant, absolutely brilliant!" Du Li clapped.
As the carriage passed Shangyang Palace, Meng Qing looked over and happened to see Prime Minister Zheng's carriage turn onto the palace road.
"It was your third son who was willing to take the risk. First, he acted as bait to lure the Sima family into the trap, pushing the land investigation to a climax and forcing the two sages to speak out in support of the officials implementing the decree, thus accelerating the escalation of the conflict between farmers and merchants and powerful clans. Later, when the time was right, he risked persuading his subordinates to act as bait, putting the Zheng family of Xingyang in a difficult position." Meng Qing was a strategist, and the success of the plan was due to the good execution of the people involved. She whispered, "I also have to praise the female sage. Her attitude was very firm, she didn't compromise at all, and she didn't give the powerful clans a chance to retaliate."
Du Li laughed out loud, "You should be appointed as the Vice Minister of Personnel Evaluation. You are the most impartial."
“I can’t take the job. Prime Minister Zheng wants to appoint me as an envoy to other countries.” Meng Qing laughed. “Once Prime Minister Zheng has drawn all the firepower away, we’ll have Wang Zhou come to the Imperial Academy to study.”
"Won't someone bully him?" Du Li worried. "Should we move in with him?"
“Let’s run back and forth,” Meng Qing said. “I plan to ask Prime Minister Zheng to help us find a renowned master for Wang Zhou, so we can use his reputation to protect him.”
Du Li knew immediately that she probably had someone in mind; she didn't fight battles she wasn't sure of winning.
"I can smell the aroma of food!" Meng Qing exclaimed excitedly. "Finally, we can eat!"
Du Li went to the city magistrate's office to park the carriage, while Meng Qing went to the market to buy food.
"Two bowls of mutton blood soup with flatbread, put them on the table after they're cooked, I'll go buy some biscuits," Meng Qing called out as he passed the flatbread stall.
"Okay," the stall owner replied.
When Du Li arrived, Meng Qing had already bought all the food. The couple ate their fill, returned the carriage, and then walked back to the post station.
*
It was only then that Prime Minister Zheng met the female saint in Shangyang Palace.
"Zheng Qing, what's the matter? I heard from the Palace Attendant that you're still hungry?" the Empress asked.
"Yes, I met Lady Wu at noon and talked to her about some things. I was in a hurry to get to the palace and missed lunch." Prime Minister Zheng pulled Meng Qing out.
"Oh?" The female saint exclaimed in surprise, "It's also related to Lady Wu?"
Seeing her genuine surprise, Prime Minister Zheng felt a surge of annoyance. He realized Meng Qing had tricked him; she hadn't come to him on the orders of the female saint.
"The Lady of the County came for the same reason that Governor Du had a dispute with me last year. She advised me to fulfill my duty as a subject, to share the emperor's worries and seek benefits for the people. As the head of all officials, I should set an example by taking the lead." Prime Minister Zheng found a respectable reason for his rash move. "I was persuaded by the Lady of the County and followed her advice. I went to the palace specifically to seek the Empress's opinion."
The female saint raised an eyebrow, and then red rain fell from the sky?
"What opinion?" the female saint asked cooperatively.
"I intend to join forces with various aristocratic families to sell off 100 to 300 hectares of land. I will be responsible for persuading the officials of these families," said Prime Minister Zheng. "I request that after the aristocratic families make concessions, Your Majesty may issue an order to abolish the policy of levying taxes per mu (unit of land area)."
The female saint looked thoughtful.
"The land ceded by local gentry and landlords, the land relinquished by powerful families, and the land redeemed by merchants are enough to alleviate the conflict between people and land," said Prime Minister Zheng.
"Lady Wu is quite sentimental. The case of Magistrate Ren's disappearance was linked to your Zheng family, and she immediately came to offer you advice, fearing that you would be implicated," the female saint said.
Prime Minister Zheng couldn't tell whether she was unhappy or pleased, but the mention of Magistrate Ren's disappearance and the Zheng family of Xingyang made him shudder. After careful consideration, he thought that since he had already done it, he might as well explain directly: "Lady Wu is repaying a debt of gratitude. She advised me not to follow the old path of those who came before, lest I die in exile."
The female saint chuckled lightly, "Zheng Qing, I've had enough of your cold shoulder for a long time."
Prime Minister Zheng prostrated himself and said, "Your subject knows his crime."
"Ten thousand hectares of land, in exchange for the peace of your Zheng family." The female saint made him fight against the powerful families for profit, and made him fight against them. "The land confiscated from corrupt officials is also included."
Prime Minister Zheng gave a bitter smile. Ten thousand hectares of farmland meant he would offend all the powerful families, and his future honor and disgrace would depend on the two emperors.
"Your subject obeys the decree." The title of traitor undoubtedly belonged to him.
After Prime Minister Zheng left the palace, the Empress Dowager immediately instructed her female officials to summon Lady Wu to the palace the next day.
The female saint personally asked Meng Qing what she wanted in order to reward her.
Meng Qing was overjoyed; this was a completely unexpected delight. She hadn't expected to receive a reward on this trip. However, after her initial surprise, she looked troubled.
"Your Majesty, thanks to your blessings, I lack nothing, except for one thing: my family's status is low. My eldest son will be fourteen years old in a few days and can enter the Imperial Academy this year. However, he has a merchant uncle, and I worry that he will be ridiculed by the sons of noble families in this regard." Meng Qing chose to resolve Meng Chun's worries, and she bowed deeply, "Please forgive me, Your Majesty, it was I who was greedy."
“It’s human nature, and it’s understandable,” the female saint said.
Upon seeing this, the female official standing nearby reported, "Your Majesty, the Lady of the County's brother was not only the first to respond to the decree, but he also redeemed all 600 hectares of land without missing a single acre."
"Oh? You are quite honest, you didn't try to take advantage of any loopholes or cheat." The female saint was in a good mood. "The extra reward I gave you back then was not used, so I will give you another reward and appoint your brother as the Assistant Magistrate of Huai Prefecture."
Meng Qing didn't know what kind of official this was, but it was definitely a real official position. She thanked the emperor with a smile and said, "On behalf of my younger brother Meng Chun, I thank Your Majesty for your great favor. We will surely swear to be loyal to Your Majesty to the death."
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Author's Note: There will be one more update tonight.
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