Lu Xingjian ignored the memorial and quickly sent Zhang Yong to Jinling, transferring him from the Directorate of Ceremonial to the Directorate of Imperial Supplies.
To avoid arousing the suspicion of the powerful families in Jiangnan, they even staged a performance.
Zhang Yong's old subordinates exposed that Zhang Yong had embezzled more than 7,000 taels of silver to use for his private residence to build and play with various things. As a result, Zhang Yong was dismissed from his post and transferred back to the Imperial Household Department to live in seclusion. This trip to Nanjing was a dismissal.
The newly appointed eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial was Xiao Jing, the chief eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial who was most trusted by Empress Dowager Zhou during her reign.
After Zhou's death, Xiao Jing was put on hold by the late emperor.
After Lu Xingjian ascended the throne, he had his own eunuch faction and no longer employed older officials like Xiao Jing.
Now, having experienced the Liu Jin incident, he is more cautious about the position of Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial and prefers to appoint experienced and prudent individuals.
By this time, after two months of military operations in Henan, the bandit leader was captured and the remaining bandits were wiped out. Compared to the bandits in Beizhili and Shandong, the bandits were larger in scale, but the suppression was faster and more swift.
Lu Xingjian instructed Xiao Jing to convey the imperial decree that General Qiu Yue and Censor Peng Ze would each be awarded fifty taels of silver and four bolts of silk. Other officials would be promoted and rewarded accordingly. Messengers were to be sent to the army front to deliver the rewards, and their merits would be assessed and promoted upon the day of the army's return.
The timely rewards greatly motivated the officers and soldiers. Even Lu Wan and others in Shandong had to step up their efforts to eliminate the remaining rebels, lest they be outdone by the people in Henan.
Ma Ang had just returned to Fengyang when he received an imperial edict reprimanding him for confessing his crimes. Ma Ang dared not argue and had no choice but to resign on the pretext of illness.
The Ministry of War selected another general to lead the troops in his place and ordered the patrol and garrison officers to strictly supervise the generals in their defense.
In July, Qiu Yue, the Earl of Xianning, submitted a memorial stating that the border troops had been exhausted for a long time, the climate and environment were not suitable, and both men and horses were sick. Now that the bandits were gradually quelled, he requested that one-third of them be left to fight the bandits, and the rest be sent back to their respective borders.
Lu Xingjian consulted with the Ministry of War and finally decided to leave 5,000 troops each in Shandong, Henan, Southern Zhili, and Northern Zhili to garrison the border areas, subject to the command of the supervising officer. The rest of the border troops were sent back.
Those who remain in the border garrison will be rewarded with three taels of silver, while those who are sent back will be rewarded with two taels.
However.
After the border troops from Liaodong, Datong, and Xuanfu passed through the capital to reward themselves, Lu Xingjian left the troops behind and did not allow them to return to their garrisons.
He had witnessed firsthand how useful the border troops were; they were far superior to the capital army, which he had spent a fortune to maintain.
No matter how cunning Li Dongqian was, he hadn't yet extended his reach into the border troops.
Li Dongqian was as frightened as a startled bird, and claimed illness to resign.
Lu Xingjian did not agree.
Wanwan's fate is still unknown in Jinling, and he doesn't want any major changes in the situation, so as not to affect Wanwan's side.
However.
The tree may wish to be still, but the wind will not cease.
Someone reported that Wang Xuan, the Left Guard of Yanshan, and his son Qin had dealings with Liu Qi, Qi Yanming, and others, and provided Liu Qi with weapons. An official submitted a memorial impeaching them, saying that Liu Qi and his bandits seemed to know about the movements in the capital in advance, probably because someone leaked the information.
Moreover, the bandits always returned to Bazhou during the time of the suburban sacrifices, indicating that their conspiracy was not small. Exterminating nine generations of their families would be considered lenient. How could they be let off easily?
Lu Xingjian sensed a conspiracy in this.
Is this going to set fire to the Su family?
Or is it to force Lu Xingjian to stop reviving Wanwan's position as empress?
To prevent future troubles, Lu Xingjian ordered the Ministry of Justice and the Embroidered Uniform Guard to jointly try the case, sentencing those who deserved the death penalty to death and those who deserved to be exiled to the border.
However, there is one rule: the fire must not be allowed to spread to the Su family and Su Wanwan.
The case was quickly resolved.
However, there were rumors in the capital that Wang Yong, the Grand Master of Ceremonies, had been bribed by Qi Yanming to enter Xiaoyuan Garden to see the Emperor under the name of Wang Yong's younger brother, and only left the capital after spending the night there.
This directly pointed the finger at Lu Xingjian.
In other words, Liu Qi and Qi Yanming were a rebel faction supported by Emperor Lu Xingjian.
As soon as the news broke, Lu Xingjian's reputation as a tyrannical ruler grew even stronger.
He knew that someone was spreading rumors behind his back, hoping to drag him off the throne.
Lu Xingjian felt extremely exhausted.
For many years after ascending the throne, there has been no end to the struggles, and not a single day has been peaceful.
He could even foresee that the future would be just like the past, filled with endless intrigue and backstabbing.
Is this the kind of life he really wants?
If he had a choice, he would rather be a general guarding the border, eliminating the Tatars and restoring the glory of his ancestors.
Instead of staying in the capital and spending every day fighting wits with those cunning and scheming civil officials.
His ambitions lie elsewhere.
Late at night, he entered Yan Ge'er's bedroom.
Yan Ge'er is still awake, writing a letter under the lamp.
"Mother, when are you coming back? I miss you so much..."
Lu Xingjian frowned.
The words I wanted to say to my child to rest early stuck in my throat and I couldn't bring myself to say them.
Even without Wanwan, his life went on as usual.
Every day was tedious and meaningless, filled only with memorials to be reviewed and endless tasks.
There are also people far away who I miss dearly.
He sent almost all the reliable people who had no ill intentions towards Wanwan to Jiangnan.
However, no definite news has come back yet.
The letter the child wrote was also a reflection of his own feelings.
Yan Ge'er spotted him and asked timidly, "Father, I miss Mother. Can I go see her?"
His father had told him that his mother was receiving medical treatment and recuperating in the place where he was born.
"No way." Lu Xingjian refused outright.
If Yan Ge'er hadn't encountered some mishap outside the palace, things wouldn't be like this now.
Evenings were spent busy with memorials in the palace, occasionally visiting the emperor.
He can then focus on military affairs without having to deal with the countless political matters.
How wonderful those days would be.
His biggest worry was that Xiao Bin was trying to provoke Wanwan and elope with her.
But Xiao Bin is already disfigured and is no longer his opponent, so he doesn't need to worry too much about it.
With tears welling up in his eyes, Yan Ge'er grabbed Lu Xingjian's sleeve and shook it gently: "Father, but Mother is sick, and she will be very lonely and sad if no one is with her."
"I want to go and be with her, so she won't be afraid."
Lu Xingjian pursed his lips and took a deep breath. "No."
"It's not safe outside the palace."
Yan Ge'er lowered his head sadly and withdrew his little hand.
"But I don't like it here."
"I don't like the palace, and I don't like reading."
He looked around with teary eyes, “I don’t like this room. It’s so dark, it feels like there’s a monster trying to eat me.”
"Father, I want my mother, I don't want to be here."
My father is very busy every day and doesn't have time to spend with him.
Unlike his mother, who would eat with him every day and tell him stories before bed.
Lu Xingjian didn't answer him, but remained silent for a while before saying, "Go to sleep first, don't think so much."
But.
Lu Xingjian, however, couldn't sleep.
A thought started growing wildly in my mind.
He wanted to see Wanwan.
He wanted to go to the place where Wanwan had lived for three years, to see the place where Wanwan secretly gave birth to the child, and to see the place where Wanwan had planned to live her whole life.
What hardships she endured during that period of her life when he was not a part of her life.
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