I was a conman in the Ming Dynasty.

Chapter 271 Officials Fight a Gang

Chapter 271 Officials Fight in a Group

Zhang Fengyi pointed at Wang Wenzhou and cursed, "You little brat, I'll curse you!"

Without saying a word, Wang Wenzhou rushed towards Zhang Fengyi and slapped him across the face.

Although Zhang Fengyi was the Minister of War, he was not a military general. In the Ming Dynasty, civil officials controlled the military, and the high-ranking officials in the Ministry of War were mostly civil officials.

Everyone watched as Wang Wenzhou acted like a madman, kicking down Kong Zhenyun, the Vice Minister of Rites, and slapping Zhang Fengyi, the Minister of War. Although there was factional strife in the court, this newcomer, Wang Wenzhou, was utterly outrageous. Just five drinks had offended everyone.

"Colleagues, we can't let this traitor Wang Wenzhou get away with this! Hit him!" Imperial Censor Zhang Shouqi roared and charged toward Wang Wenzhou.

Immediately, a dozen or so younger civil officials rushed towards Wang Wenzhou. A true man should make his mark today; beating up Wang Wenzhou would surely earn them face in front of the Grand Secretaries.

Although these civil officials were not professional fighters, Wang Wenzhou was no match for the many hands he had, and in no time his clothes were torn by the men who were beating him.

Wen Tiren, Qian Qianyi, and a few other old foxes acted as if nothing had happened, closing their eyes to rest. They understood that Wang Wenzhou dared to cause trouble in the court because he must have something to rely on; since the emperor hadn't intervened, they didn't want to get involved. Besides, they also wanted to give Wang Wenzhou a good beating. That brat was too outrageous; on his very first day as an official, he was causing trouble for all the other officials. If the emperor didn't intervene, they even wanted to take this opportunity to expel Wang Wenzhou from the capital.

"How dare you! Beating my son-in-law in front of me? Do you think the Duke of Yingguo's mansion has no one left?" At this moment, Wang Wenzhou's father-in-law, Duke Zhang Zhiji of Yingguo, roared and rushed out, followed by a group of nobles.

This was a plan devised by Wang Wenzhou and Zhu Youjian, with Wang Wenzhou having consulted with the nobles beforehand. Regarding peace talks, Wang Wenzhou explained the pros and cons, and most of the nobles agreed. After all, as long as the Ming Dynasty existed, the nobles' titles remained; if the Ming Dynasty fell, the nobles would lose everything.

As nobles joined the battle, the civil officials gradually became overwhelmed.

Seeing that the civil official had been wronged, Wen Tiren immediately shouted, "Stop! What kind of behavior is this, fighting in the imperial court!"

"Stop!" Zhu Youjian could no longer stand idly by, after all, he was the emperor.

Since the Emperor had spoken, everyone immediately stopped.

Wen Tiren pointed at Wang Wenzhou and said angrily, "Your Majesty, Wang Wenzhou committed a crime against a high-ranking official in the court. His crime is unforgivable!"

Zhu Youjian said angrily, "Are you still officials of the court? You're all acting like street thugs in the imperial court, cursing and fighting each other. What kind of behavior is this?"

"Wang Wenzhou! Do you know your crime?" Zhu Youjian asked.

"Your Majesty! I have been wronged!" Wang Wenzhou cried as he knelt on the ground.

"What grievance do you have?" Zhu Youjian asked.

"Your Majesty, look!" Wang Wenzhou said, taking off his torn clothes. The knife scar on his abdomen was clearly visible.

Wang Wenzhou wept, saying, "This humble servant has shed blood for the Ming Dynasty! This is a wound sustained in the great battle against the rebel army. Not only that, this humble servant has also shed tears for the Ming Dynasty! My wife, six months pregnant, accompanied me to battle. She was wounded, which affected her pregnancy, and the child was born prematurely. She died. I am a meritorious official of the Ming Dynasty, but they..."

Wang Wenzhou pointed at Kong Zhenyun and others and said, "They called me a traitor! I am wronged!"

Kong Zhenyun retorted, "Wang Wenzhou, your negotiation with the enemy is treason!"

Wang Wenzhou said angrily, "Lord Kong, you oppose peace talks. Let me ask you this: if you don't negotiate, do you have the ability to pacify Liaodong? If you do, the Emperor will surely entrust you with an important task. Not only that, but after you pacify Liaodong, you will become a great hero of the Ming Dynasty! But do you fucking have that ability?"

"You... I am a civil official! Not a military general!" This was the only way Kong Zhenyun could retort.

"Heh!" Wang Wenzhou sneered, "Lord Kong, so you're saying you only have the ability to talk? You can only talk, but you can't do anything! What good is just talking? Can you talk the Tartars to death?"

"You...you're being unreasonable!" Kong Zhen was furious.

Wang Wenzhou laughed and scolded, "Lord Kong, you're just a hero in words, all you do is boast! When it comes to real things, you're nothing! First, you don't have the talent to pacify Liaodong; second, you can't come up with a strategy to pacify Liaodong; and third, you even oppose peace talks! Let me ask you, if we don't negotiate and just keep dragging this out, and the Ming Dynasty is dragged down to its demise, can you bear that responsibility?"

Wen Tiren smiled slightly. So, the Emperor and Wang Wenzhou had been going on for so long because they wanted to negotiate peace with the Tartars. As the Grand Secretary, I cannot, and dare not, take the blame for this!

Qian Qianyi and the other old foxes understood. Your Majesty, you want to negotiate peace? Are you kidding me? How can our Great Ming bow down to the Tartars? Your Majesty can't take the blame; it's up to us to take it, but do we dare to? We'd be condemned and cursed to death by the people!

Zhu Youjian said coldly, "The messenger will draft an edict: Wang Wenzhou, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, and Kong Zhenyun, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, have acted improperly and disgracefully in the court. They shall each be fined one year's salary."

"Your subject accepts the imperial decree and expresses his gratitude!" Wang Wenzhou smiled slightly.

"Your subject accepts the decree and thanks you!" Kong Zhenyun shook his head with a wry smile, realizing he had been beaten for nothing. The Emperor was clearly taking sides.

Zhu Youjian began, "My esteemed ministers, let us continue our discussion on the peace talks. Minister Wen, what are your thoughts?"

Wen Tiren cupped his hands and said, “Your Majesty, our Great Ming Dynasty has been established for more than two hundred years and has never suffered such humiliation. To negotiate with the Tartars would be a disgrace to our nation! Our Great Ming Dynasty has a strong army and horses, and it is only a matter of time before we pacify Liaodong.”

Zhu Youjian shook his head with a wry smile. "Wen Tiren! I have always trusted you implicitly, yet you lie through your teeth for fear of damaging your reputation!"

The Grand Secretary disagreed, so Zhu Youjian asked the Second Grand Secretary Xue Guoguan, "Minister Xue, what about you?"

“This old minister also thinks it is unacceptable!” Xue Guoguan said. “The Tartars are barbarians. How can they keep their word? Even if the peace talks are successful, they will break the contract and rob our Great Ming.”

Zhu Youjian sneered, "My dear ministers, please express your opinions."

Minister of Personnel Xie Sheng spoke up, saying, "I also think it's unacceptable!"

Subsequently, all the ministers expressed their disagreement with peace talks.

Wang Wenzhou and the nobles exchanged a glance, signaling to each other, "Brothers, let's go!"

Zhang Zhiji stepped forward and said, “I believe that peace talks are the best policy. Many of my colleagues do not understand military affairs. War is not an easy task. One general’s success is built on the bones of ten thousand soldiers. Subduing the enemy without fighting is the best policy. By negotiating peace with the Tartars, our Great Ming can concentrate all its efforts to suppress the rebels. Then, we can find any excuse to start a war with the Tartars again and reclaim our Great Ming’s homeland.”

After Zhang Zhiji made his statement, the nobles followed suit, expressing their support for peace talks.

After everyone had expressed their opinions, Wang Wenzhou shook his head with a wry smile. Apart from a few officials who supported peace talks, both civil and military officials opposed them.

There were not many nobles in the Ming Dynasty, and even fewer with real power. The nobles had very little say in the court.

Wang Wenzhou winked at Zhu Youjian. "Your Majesty, there's no other way. We can only torture them to the point of ecstasy, so they'll have no choice but to agree."