The Blood Crown - Chapter 111

The six-yearly imperial assessment has officially begun, and a bloodless war has been raging under the surface.

In the capital, everyone is walking on thin ice. It’s certain that countless local officials across the country are not faring any better.

These days, the Ministry of Personnel is extraordinarily busy. The results of local assessments are being sent to the capital through a web of courier stations, while the assessment of officials in the capital is even more complicated.

The Minister of Personnel, Liu An, is not entirely a eunuch’s party member. Most of the time, he is a conscientious and upright official with loyal ambitions for the country. During his tenure, his performance has been commendable. However, he is a fellow townsman and fellow graduate with Wang Shengsheng, and they have a close personal relationship. Liu An’s appointment as Minister of Personnel was largely due to Wang Shengsheng’s efforts when he was Vice Chancellor. Although Wang Shengsheng has been demoted, with Xie Zhongren’s support, his influence remains. Many believe that within a few years, Xie Zhongren will find a way to bring Wang Shengsheng back to the capital. Additionally, most of the officials in the Ministry of Personnel were promoted by Wang Shengsheng, so the advantage clearly lies with Xie Zhongren.

As expected, as soon as the assessment began, Yan Sikong discovered that several officials from the noble faction had poor assessment results.

Yan Sikong, merely a minor official, could not voice his doubts, but he could inform Yan Zilian of the situation immediately.

To avoid suspicion, Yan Sikong and Yan Zilian agreed not to visit each other easily but to meet in a small teahouse run by Yan Zilian’s nephew, which was very safe.

On this day, Yan Sikong brought Feng Ye along.

The two met and greeted each other.

“Shizi.”

“Yan Ge Lao.”

“Please, take a seat, Shizi.”

“Please, Yan Ge Lao.” Feng Ye was quite displeased with Yan Zilian for arranging the imperial marriage for Yan Sikong but did not show it, though his tone was somewhat cold.

Yan Zilian did not refuse and sat down gracefully, expressing his gratitude, “Thank you, Shizi, for being willing to help us eliminate the eunuch faction and purify the court.”

“My Feng family has been loyal for three generations. How can we stand by and watch the eunuch faction wreak havoc, oppressing the people, and let those scheming to usurp the crown succeed?”

“Shizi is indeed righteous,” Yan Zilian praised. He knew well that the Feng family’s main concern was to eliminate Wenyu Chi, their major threat. Otherwise, this year’s reduction in Datong’s military funding would be extremely detrimental to the Feng family.

After some pleasantries, they got down to business.

Yan Sikong handed a list to Yan Zilian, “This is the list I have so far. Sun Beiqing from the Censorate, Zhang Mao, a secretary from the Court of State Ceremonies, Yu Fei, a vice minister from the Ministry of War, and Bai Xinghai from the Ministry of Military Affairs. Their assessment results are mostly unsatisfactory. These are just in the capital; the local assessments have not yet been finalized.”

The “Four Standards” for assessment are integrity, governance, ability, and age. Integrity refers to conduct, divided into honest, fair, and corrupt; governance refers to diligence in office, divided into diligent, fair, and negligent; ability refers to competence, divided into strong, fair, and weak; age refers to age, divided into young, middle-aged, and old. Based on these standards, officials are rated as competent, diligent, or serviceable. Typically, those who are not promoted are dismissed.

However, among these standards, only age cannot be falsified. The other three depend on superiors assessing their subordinates. If an official has offended their superior, they will be deemed unqualified. The Ministry of Personnel’s review of an official’s performance does not dominate. Of course, every year, some dissatisfied with their assessment results will submit petitions, leading to a review, but most endure it in silence.

Thus, the imperial assessment is a grand event of personnel power, where everyone uses whatever means they can to support their allies and suppress their opponents.

Yan Zilian snorted coldly, “Those eunuchs act quickly. These officials will need to be reviewed by the Ministry of Personnel. I will try my best to protect them.”

Yan Sikong nodded, “The eunuch faction has also rated some as unqualified, but Minister Liu is likely to be biased.”

“Before the assessment began, I spoke with Minister Liu,” Yan Zilian stroked his beard, “He may be close to Wang Shengsheng, but with Wang Shengsheng neither in the capital nor in the cabinet, he should know where to draw the line.”

“Hopefully.”

“What about Wenyu Chi?” Yan Zilian looked at Feng Ye, “Shizi, have you found anything?”

Feng Ye nodded and handed them a stack of documents, “Time is tight, so I first compiled evidence of Wenyu Chi’s son using substandard cotton for winter clothing.”

“I remember that incident,” Yan Zilian recalled, “At that time, Consort Wen had a miscarriage, and the emperor, feeling sorry for her, only secretly punished them without further investigation. Bringing up old matters now may not be very effective.”

Feng Ye said, “Actually, during Wenyu Chi’s tenure, his son Wen Weixi misused his position for personal gain, especially in military supplies in Datong, making a lot of profit. However, my father advised that this matter should not involve Datong, lest we incur the emperor’s suspicion.”

“Lord Jingyuan’s concern is understood,” Yan Zilian flipped through the documents, “But this alone cannot shake Wenyu Chi.”

Yan Sikong said, “Teacher, don’t worry. We will find more evidence.”

Yan Zilian said solemnly, “The biggest difficulty in this matter is that Wenyu Chi is extremely cautious in his actions, leaving almost no handle. All the corrupt activities are done by Wen Weixi. Even if we get rid of Wen Weixi, the emperor won’t implicate his father because of Consort Wen.”

“The emperor’s favor for Consort Wen is indeed the biggest obstacle,” Feng Ye said, “The emperor appoints people based on personal favoritism, whether it’s Consort Wen or Xie Zhongren.”

Yan Zilian sighed, not expressing his opinion.

Yan Sikong also felt very troubled. Even if Wenyu Chi was not particularly outstanding in his achievements, he had been diligent and meticulous for many years, never making any mistakes in appointing military generals, arranging strategies, or managing military supplies. He was highly respected in the court. His son’s greed for money was not considered a major issue. This was precisely why the Second Prince posed such a significant threat to the heir apparent. If he were merely the son of a favored concubine, he could never contend with the conservative ministers who adhered to the ancestral system.

After some discussion, the three of them couldn’t come up with any good solutions for the time being. It was getting late, so they decided to part ways.

Yan Zilian politely said to Feng Ye, “Shizi, could you leave first? I have a few words to say to Sikong.”

Feng Ye glanced at Yan Sikong, cupped his hands slightly, and then turned to leave.

“Teacher…” Yan Sikong had a feeling that Yan Zilian’s words were related to Feng Ye.

Indeed, after watching Feng Ye’s figure disappear, Yan Zilian turned to Yan Sikong with a meaningful look. “Have you and Shizi reconciled?”

Yan Sikong replied, “Not entirely reconciled. Last time, I sought his help regarding the Crown Prince, and he agreed. He also proposed to join forces with us to eliminate Wenyu Chi.”

Yan Zilian nodded, gently stroking his gray beard. After a moment of contemplation, he said frankly, “I heard about what happened with you and Shizi at Baisheng Tower a few days ago.”

Yan Sikong’s heart skipped a beat. There were many onlookers that day, so it was inevitable that rumors would spread. As to how others perceived it and whether they believed Feng Ye was genuinely drunk, was uncertain. He had been worried about this matter in recent days.

Yan Sikong could only chuckle awkwardly, “That day, Zhou Miexing hosted a banquet to reconcile us. He was merely trying to do us a favor.”

Yan Zilian gave Yan Sikong a sidelong glance, “It’s rare to see you feeling guilty and avoiding the main topic.”

Yan Sikong realized he had indeed responded poorly, showing concern, which led to mistakes. He said, “I just felt a bit embarrassed. Shizi was indeed drunk.”

“Sikong, there’s no need to hide it from me,” Yan Zilian said. “I always thought Shizi’s reaction to the arranged marriage was excessive. But now, upon reflection, it seems quite reasonable.” His sharp gaze fixed intently on Yan Sikong.

Yan Sikong took a deep breath and said in a low voice, “I am ashamed.”

Yan Zilian shook his head, “You are both too young. Fortunately, the marriage has been decided. His Majesty will not break it off because of unfounded rumors, but you must be careful in the future. Such matters are always unseemly when spread.”

Yan Sikong’s cheeks felt a bit hot. “Yes.” Later, he asked Feng Ye how he got home, and Feng Ye only said not to worry, that the servants at Baisheng Tower had been silenced.

However, while the servants’ mouths could be sealed, how could they silence the many officials and scholars present at the banquet? Yan Sikong had always been cautious in his actions, yet he never expected to make such a foolish mistake. He didn’t know how the incident would be perceived by others. Given that Feng Ye opposed the marriage at the banquet and left him freezing outside his residence for two hours, he hoped that others would think Feng Ye was simply trying to humiliate him.

“However, your closeness with Shizi is not entirely a bad thing,” Yan Zilian squinted, his eyes deep. “With Lord Jingyuan’s support, the Crown Prince’s position could be secured.”

“Lord Jingyuan is unwilling to get involved in the succession struggle, fearing the Emperor’s suspicion.”

“There are few like Guo Ziyi, who had great achievements without arousing the Emperor’s suspicion,” Yan Zilian said coldly. “In the court, no one can remain uninvolved. Only by doing everything possible to support the Crown Prince’s ascension can we ensure his safety.”

Yan Sikong knew that Yan Zilian wanted him to convey this message to Feng Ye. He couldn’t fathom Yan Zilian’s true intentions, so he could only agree on the surface.

Seeing his hesitation, Yan Zilian changed the subject, “Regarding Wenyu Chi, we will continue to find a way. If we can’t bring him down in this imperial assessment, the Crown Prince might not escape the next calamity.”

“Understood.”

Shizi (世子): This term refers to a son of a prince or a feudal lord, often used to address someone of high birth or status.

Yan Ge Lao (颜阁老): This is a respectful term used to address Yan Zilian, indicating his seniority or respected position.