Chapter Ten: This King Is Truly Overly Cautious (Part One)

On the same day, it was not only Zhouhan Liang who was invited to join Dezhao Zhao’s office. After Zhao Dezhao took Zhouhan Liang on a tour of the Censorate, they had just returned to Zhao’s residence when Chengzong Zhao, the eldest son of Pǔ Zhao who was the same age as Dezhao Zhao, suddenly arrived for a visit—this was also Chengzong Zhao’s first time proactively meeting with Dezhao Zhao.

Being of the same generation and well aware that Chengzong Zhao would not visit without purpose, Dezhao Zhao naturally greeted him politely at the door and invited him in with utmost courtesy. What Dezhao Zhao did not know was that shortly after Chengzong Zhao entered his home, the news had already reached his own uncle, Guangyi Zhao.

“Minister Zhao really couldn’t hold back and acted before us,” remarked Chen Congxin, Zhao Guangyi’s trusted advisor. Guangyi Zhao’s expression was calm as he slowly said, “It was expected, nothing surprising. What surprises me more is Zhouhan Liang. I never thought my eldest nephew could be so cunning as to bring out someone like him, who was long considered irredeemable, to assist in state affairs. His ambition is considerable indeed.”

“Your Highness is right; this definitely calls for vigilance,” agreed Dou Cheng, another magistrate in the Kaifeng prefecture. “Although Yuanbao Liang has repeatedly offended the emperor and is not favored, he is truly talented. Moreover, his uncles and elder relatives were once high officials in the court. Even though they have mostly retired, their disciples and relatives still form a formidable faction in the court. If Your Highness can win their support, you might soon establish your own power base and rival both us and Minister Zhao.”

Zhao Guangyi sighed heavily, full of regret. “It’s my own fault for being overly cautious. I feared that my elder brother would suspect me of recruiting his sworn brothers, so I hesitated to secure Zhouhan Liang early, leaving this hidden danger.”

“Do not worry, Your Highness,” Chen Congxin comforted him. “Fortune and misfortune are intertwined. Although Your Highness has taken a different approach by recruiting a genuinely talented man like Zhouhan Liang and gained indirect contact with the sworn brothers, they have always been the emperor’s concern. If Your Highness gets too close to them, it will only bring trouble upon yourself.”

Zhao Guangyi reluctantly nodded, acknowledging this possibility. Then he asked, “Is there any way to find out what Zhao’s son discussed and did when he met my eldest nephew?”

“Forgive me, Your Highness, but I have yet to place a spy among Zhao’s son’s close attendants,” Chen Congxin answered with some shame. “As for the eldest nephew’s household, since he had kept a low profile and posed no threat to Your Highness, I did not send anyone to infiltrate his home earlier. Therefore, I cannot say what Zhao’s son spoke to the eldest nephew about today.”

Chen quickly added, “I intended to make amends by dispatching someone to Your Highness’s side, but when I sent Lü Qiu Shunqing to recommend aides, he was flatly rejected. So in such a short time, I really have no way to place agents nearby.”

“It’s not your fault. Even I underestimated my eldest nephew before. Don’t blame yourself,” Zhao Guangyi said generously, then instructed, “But we must learn from this and quickly plant our men in my eldest nephew’s household. If possible, we should try to recruit one or two of his trusted attendants.”

“Rest assured, Your Highness, I will do this as soon as possible,” Chen Congxin replied confidently.

At this moment, Dou Cheng spoke again. “Although we can’t know the exact reason Zhao’s son visited, if I am right, he likely came on Minister Zhao’s behalf to win over Your Highness, hoping to form an alliance and jointly trouble us.”

Chen Congxin, Liu Lin, and Yao Shu, who was currently seeking to redeem his crimes through meritorious service, all nodded in agreement, considering this scenario most likely. Zhao Guangyi did not think such an alliance would pose a fatal threat but, to avoid future trouble, asked, “Is there any way to counter this?”

Liu Lin and Dou Cheng frowned slightly while Chen Congxin’s mind raced. After blinking several times, he proposed a plan: “Your Highness, why not pit the tiger against the wolf and let Your Highness and Minister Zhao destroy each other? Then, even if they do unite, there will surely be distrust.”

“How exactly do we do that?” Zhao Guangyi inquired.

“Right now, Wang Zhaozuo, the Right Censor-in-Chief overseeing the Grand Treasury, is a trusted man personally promoted by Minister Zhao. Although his rank is not as high as Li Kedu, Zhen Qian, or Wang Dong, he is still a capable aide and one of Minister Zhao’s key financiers,” Chen Congxin said with a hint of malice. “Wang has a precious son named Wang Chaowen. Thanks to his father’s power, he has often colluded with treasury clerks to embezzle state grain stocks, selling them illegally for huge profits. I have obtained solid evidence recently but planned to wait for the right moment.”

“You mean have my eldest nephew investigate this case?” Zhao Guangyi immediately caught on.

“Brilliant, Your Highness,” Chen smiled, then grinned wickedly. “We can find a way to let Your Highness learn of this and obtain evidence against Wang’s son. Then, we inform Wang that Your Highness has conclusive proof of his son’s crimes. This way, we gain the upper hand.”

“A clever scheme!” Dou Cheng and Yao Shu applauded, grinning slyly. “If Your Highness has the proof and Wang knows it too, Wang will surely beg Your Highness for mercy to protect his son, perhaps even dragging Minister Zhao’s supporters to beg alongside him. If Your Highness refuses, it will be a direct confrontation with Minister Zhao, making unity impossible…”

Zhao Guangyi smiled and added, “If my eldest nephew does give Minister Zhao this face and shield Wang, I will report truthfully to my elder brother, revealing that his son is colluding with Minister Zhao.”

Everyone laughed heartily, agreeing wholeheartedly. Zhao Guangyi, relaxed, ordered, “This truly is a brilliant plan. Make arrangements quickly. I want to see what kind of man my eldest nephew really is.”

...

Meanwhile, at Zhao Dezhao’s residence in Jingming Ward, during a banquet he hosted for Chengzong Zhao, Chengzong finally revealed his true intent. He had simply found a pretext to settle personal scores, hoping that as a censor, Zhao Dezhao would investigate the case of Li Yue, an official in the Ministry of War’s Department of Armaments, accused of embezzling public funds, thereby removing a parasitic official entrenched within the department.

Zhao Dezhao was quite pleased. Upon hearing the real reason, he did not even blink and immediately patted his chest, saying, “A trivial matter. I have just taken office at the Censorate and was worrying about how to establish my authority. Since you dislike Li Yue, let this matter be my responsibility.”

“Thank you very much, Your Highness,” Chengzong said gratefully and honestly added, “But I must remind you, Li Yue is a disciple of Master Fu Yanqing, the Grand Tutor Fu—who, in turn, is Your Highness’s own uncle’s father-in-law…”

“So what?” Zhao Dezhao cut him off decisively, sneering, “If a prince breaks the law, even if it’s my own uncle, I will not show favoritism—I will uphold justice, even if it means sacrificing family!”

Seeing Zhao Dezhao’s resolute attitude, Chengzong was filled with joy, repeatedly thanking him and inviting him to visit his home. Then they parted happily, with Chengzong returning home to report.

After personally seeing Chengzong out the door and returning to his newly cleaned study, Zhao Dezhao asked Zhouhan Liang, who had just joined him, “Brother Yuanbao, what do you think of this matter?”

“Zhao’s son came to have Your Highness pledge loyalty,” Zhouhan smiled. “It’s no secret in court that Minister Zhao is at odds with your uncle. By naming Li Yue and mentioning his backers, Zhao’s son hopes to force Your Highness to declare your position—whether you stand with Minister Zhao against your uncle or side with your uncle against Minister Zhao.”

Zhao Dezhao nodded in agreement. Zhouhan then curiously asked, “But Your Highness, why did you agree so readily without any hesitation or evasiveness? Have you already decided to ally with Minister Zhao?”

“Did I agree?” Zhao Dezhao asked in surprise. “I only said I would take the matter in hand, but I never promised to bring down Li Yue.”

Zhouhan smiled, realizing Zhao Dezhao’s answer was quite shrewd, and inquired again, “Then what do you intend to do?”

“First, we investigate thoroughly,” Zhao Dezhao answered calmly. “We must confirm whether Li Yue truly embezzled funds. On one hand, it’s a chance to practice investigating corrupt officials; on the other, to see if he’s being falsely accused. We won’t jump to conclusions prematurely and bind ourselves.”

“Then we should check the accounts at the Department of Armaments tomorrow,” Zhouhan suggested. “It’s early summer now, and the year-end audit is far off. If Li Yue is guilty, he probably hasn’t had time to prepare fake accounts. A surprise inspection tomorrow should yield evidence.”

Zhao Dezhao agreed immediately. The next morning, without even reporting to the Censorate as usual, he went straight to the Department of Armaments with Zhouhan Liang, Wang Zhifa, Ma Laifu, and others, showing their credentials and demanding to audit the accounts.

Thanks to Zhouhan’s previous experience standing out in court, the sudden inspection caught the department unprepared, with no leaked information. After a half-day of checking, Zhao Dezhao and his team indeed found a large amount of public funds unaccounted for, with Li Yue, the deputy director of the department, identified as the primary suspect.

With evidence of Li Yue’s embezzlement in hand, Zhao Dezhao understood Zhao Pǔ’s faction’s intention: to compel him to take sides openly, showing willingness to cooperate, and then discuss forming an alliance to jointly confront his opportunistic uncle.

Having plenty of official experience, Zhouhan Liang immediately grasped their meaning and asked, “Your Highness, what shall we do? Shall we impeach Li Yue?”

Without hesitation, Zhao Dezhao said, “Return to the Censorate and submit a memorial impeaching him!”

“Don’t you want to leave room for maneuver?” Zhouhan probed.

“Brother Yuanbao, I consult no one on leaving room. Even with my own uncle, there is no room for compromise. If either of us yields, it is not only foolish but courting death!” Zhao Dezhao showed a rare cold smile.

Thinking of the bloody struggles for the throne in history, Zhouhan Liang nodded firmly without further persuasion. Zhao Dezhao and his group immediately left with the accounts, heading back to the Censorate to draft the impeachment—of course, given Zhao Dezhao’s limited literary skill, the memorial would be penned by Zhouhan Liang.

An unexpected event occurred just as they arrived at the Censorate. Zhao Dezhao had barely seated himself in the carriage with Wang Zhifa’s support when a middle-aged man dressed as a commoner hurried up, waving a petition and shouting, “Honorable Lord of the Clear Sky, I am wronged! Please uphold justice for this humble subject!”

Startled, Zhao Dezhao glanced back, then confirmed the man was addressing him. “You must be mistaken. Citizens petition to the Kaifeng prefecture next door, not the Censorate.”

“Sir, this time I complain about an official, not a citizen,” the man hurriedly explained. “And a very high-ranking official at that. I fear the Kaifeng officials won’t dare take this case, so I came to the Censorate, which supervises officials, to lodge my complaint.”

Considering it was indeed his duty to oversee officials, Zhao Dezhao accepted the petition and read it carefully. It was written by Guan Yun, a clerk at the Grand Treasury, accusing Wang Zhaozuo, the Right Censor-in-Chief in charge, of allowing his son to act wildly, colluding with clerks to embezzle state grain stocks, selling them to civilians for huge illegal gains, and substituting inferior rice mixed with sand and husks to deceive the court.

After reading, Zhao Dezhao did not rush to respond but pondered for a moment. Then he called Zhouhan Liang over and whispered instructions, raising his voice afterward, “Get moving. No need to return to the Censorate later; meet me at home.”

Zhouhan agreed and asked, “Your Highness, what about the Department of Armaments case?”

“No rush,” Zhao Dezhao smiled. “We have the evidence. They can’t trick us now. That case can be reported another morning.”

Zhouhan nodded and left with his two attendants. Zhao Dezhao ordered Wang Zhifa and Ma Laifu to bring Guan Yun in, personally interrogating him in his office.

Although Guan Yun looked shifty and untrustworthy, he was remarkably honest. Despite receiving some benefits from the corrupt activities of Wang’s son and his superior, Guan Yun remained upright and risked coming to the Censorate to report the illegal deeds.

Seeing such integrity and potential, Zhao Dezhao was pleased, praising Guan Yun greatly, promising to protect him and reward him handsomely with promotion and wealth.

By chance, Lü Qiu Shunqing, another censor who had expressed his willingness to follow Zhao Dezhao, suddenly visited the office, curiously inquiring about the case.

Being colleagues at the Censorate, Zhao Dezhao revealed everything. After hearing the details, Lü Qiu’s face lit up with delight. “Your Highness, this is a great achievement! When our Song army campaigned west against Shu, we discovered inferior rations supplied to the troops but never found the culprits. If we dig deeper into this case, we might even uncover old unresolved cases.”

“Really?” Zhao Dezhao was thrilled. “Brother Lü Qiu, what do you suggest we do to investigate thoroughly?”

“Immediately inspect the warehouse of Dahong Rice Company!” Lü Qiu, experienced in investigations, pointed to the petition. “The petitioner said that corrupt officials at the Treasury sold a large batch of official grain to Dahong Rice Company just days ago. They likely haven’t had time to swap all the bags bearing official seals. If we get that solid evidence and follow the trail, the case will be easy to solve.”

Hearing this, Zhao Dezhao was even more delighted. “Brother Lü Qiu, please help find experienced clerks quickly. We’ll search Dahong Rice Company’s warehouse together. If we prove this, the credit will be shared equally!”

“I will obey your orders, Your Highness,” Lü Qiu agreed, but inwardly sneered, “Still too inexperienced.”

At the same time, Zhao Dezhao muttered to himself, “I recall a story from the ‘Cautious Hero’: the demon lord boss had long ambushed the novice village, attacking as soon as the hero stepped out. Could I be facing something similar?”