Chapter 8: Fame Spreads Like Wildfire

  Song Wenxian arrived at the courtyard and saw that Lu Zizi and others were already there, only to realize that Chen Xin had planned everything in advance. The so-called purchase of a commercial building was just nonsense. However, he had already boarded Chen Xin's pirate ship and couldn't get off now, nor did he dare to go to the Jin Yiwei to report it, otherwise Chen Xin would reveal the maritime trade matter, and Sun Xunfu and Zhong Daotai would not let him off either.

  Song Wen sat down on a stool, panting, and Chen Xin accompanied him with a smile, apologizing to him. Then he pulled Qin Lüfang aside and said, "Lüfang, the people in this neighborhood also know you, so you'd better go out more often over the next few days, and try not to let others go out."

  Qin Lv Fang nodded and said: "Then I'll leave early and go have some tea near Chessboard Street."

  Chen Xinxin thought for a moment and said, "No need to go to Qipan Street, just around Chongwenmen, where you usually go, you can still go. In short, don't do anything different from usual, so as not to arouse suspicion."

  Qin Lü Fang agreed.

  Chen Xin appeared calm on the surface, but in reality he was quite intimidated by the Jin Yi Wei and the Dong Chang. He had seen some movies and literary works from later generations that made these two institutions sound too powerful, and now they were still under the control of Wei Zhongxian's gang. Tian Er Geng and Xu Xian Chun were both among the "Five Tigers", and all the officials in the capital would change color when mentioning their names. Of course, people like Yang Lian and Qian Jiazheng who were stubborn to death didn't care, but Chen Xin was very afraid. So he proceeded with caution, almost using every method of secret warfare that he knew. His heart still had some unease, so he could only comfort himself: in such a big capital city with over a million people, as long as they weren't searching house by house, they shouldn't be able to find him.

  For the next two days, Chen Xin didn't go out. Except for Qin Lüfang, the other big men were locked in a small courtyard, not even daring to speak loudly, fearing that outsiders would know there were people inside. Song Wenxian would scold Chen Xin whenever he had the chance, just like Shang Lin's wife. Chen Xin didn't mind and just listened as if it was a storytelling session.

  But after Song Wenxian inquired about the process of clearing up, he felt that the sky had collapsed. Chen Xin scolded people before submitting his name and documents to the Wu Xuan Si, so everyone in the Ministry of War knew who Chen Xin was. He had angered the 9,000-year-old man, and when the time came, he would investigate and find out that he had helped Chen Xin with his fake military household registration, helped him with his submission documents, and introduced him to Zhong Dao Tai... Song Wenxian could no longer smile, as he had previously hoped that the Minister might not be aware of Chen Xin's identity. Now it seemed that they knew everything, and if they investigated further, he would be hard-pressed to escape involvement.

  He's now getting angry just by looking at Chen Xin, it was supposed to be a simple matter of paying respects, but he had to make a big fuss out of it and now he's dragged himself into trouble.

  Qin Lv Fang went out early on the 19th to gather information, and according to his observations on the first day, some soldiers from the Ministry of War were searching around various inns, but there was no large-scale search. Chen Xin slightly put his mind at ease, it seemed that even the Imperial Guards did not dare to make a big move during this sensitive period, probably also fearing that Chongzhen would mistakenly think they were rebelling.

  If it's a secret investigation, with one's own caution, there should be no problem, as long as one's life is preserved, just hide and wait for Wei Zhongxian to fall from power.

  Qin returned home on the 20th, his face filled with excitement. He hastily closed the large gate and rushed into the house to tell Chen Xin, "Big brother, you've become famous! Today, it's all over the tea houses that a certain Chen from Shandong, a low-ranking officer, scolded Cui Xing in the Ministry of War's main hall. Over a hundred people in the ministry couldn't outdo this small officer, and in the end, they had to ask Cui Xing to resign."

  Chen Xin burst out laughing and said: "I didn't know I was so formidable."

  Song Wenxian, who was sitting on a chair in a state of despair, suddenly came back to life and stood up to listen carefully beside him.

  Moreover, after Big Brother scolded Cui Xingxiu at the Ministry of War that day, news also spread that he was suspected of assassinating Yang Weiyuan. Coincidentally, the Five Armies' Martial Arts Department found the killer's clothes outside Cui's mansion in Mingyu Alley. The officials of the Ducha Yuan were outraged, and many people began to impeach Cui Xingxiu on the 19th, saying he was suspected of hiring someone to kill. It is said that the impeachment memorials piled up as high as a person, and Cui Xingxiu had already submitted a memorial to defend himself and again requested to resign and return home to observe mourning rites.

  "Has the Emperor approved it?" Chen Xin asked hastily.

  Qin Lv Fang shook his head and said, "I don't know, there's no news yet. However, big brother, your reputation has grown greatly. At present, your name has spread throughout the capital, and everyone is praising you for bravely saving Yang Yu Shi and scolding Cui Chengxiu. You have both bravery and strategy, and must be a loyal and righteous scholar."

  Chen Xin smiled faintly and said, "Originally, it was a loyal and righteous gentleman." He looked calm on the surface, but in reality, he was pleased with himself. After finishing speaking, he excitedly rubbed his hands together.

  Song Wenxian was overjoyed as if he had seen hope and hastily pulled Qin Lüfang to ask, "You said that everyone is praising Brother Chen?"

  "Of course, there's also an evaluation of Brother Chen's storytelling."

  Song Wenxian opened his mouth, stunned for a moment before sighing: "In those days Yang Lian and others were also praised everywhere, but what was the result? Chen brothers, you... Ah."

  Song Wenxian said that he didn't want to say it anymore, but for two consecutive nights, he couldn't sleep. Every time he closed his eyes, he could see the Jin Yiwei (Brocade-clad Guards) arriving at his home in Dengzhou like wolves and tigers to capture him.

  Chen Xin didn't try to persuade Song Wenxian either. Looking at the worried expression on this bad bookworm, he secretly felt pleased with himself: "You bad bookworm also have your today."

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  Chen Xin scolded loudly in the Ministry of War, something that was not unprecedented in the history of the Ming Dynasty. Many officials and censors had done so before, and some had even fought on the imperial court grounds. However, Chen Xin was the first to dare cause a disturbance in the Ministry of War as a low-ranking officer. Moreover, he had saved Yang Weizhen, which quickly made him a household name in the capital, with everyone talking about how he had discovered Cui Xing's true nature and, out of righteous indignation, stormed into the Ministry of War to scold him. Everyone thought that Chen Xin was fearless of the powerful eunuchs and spoke out for justice.

  But after that day, he disappeared from public view, and everyone was worried that he would be harmed by the eunuchs. Little did they know that this great hero was hiding in Zhengdong Alley, trembling with fear.

  On October 20, one day earlier than in history, Cui Chengxiu presented a memorial to defend himself, claiming that he had nothing to do with the assassination of Yang Weigong, and at the same time asked to resign on the grounds of returning home to observe mourning rites. From this point on, Chen Xin and Liu Min's two butterflies finally began to subtly influence the course of history.

  On October 21, Chongzhen approved Cui Chengxiu's resignation. The two factions seemed to have reached a balance, but many moderates saw the eunuchs' decline as a signal and shifted their allegiance to the imperial side.

  On October 23rd, Lu Congyuan impeached Wei Zhongxian.

  On October 24, Jia Chunqing impeached Wei Zhongxian.

  Guizhou Dao Yu Shi Wu Shangmo presented a memorial requesting that Cui Xingyu be severely punished again.

  Qian Yuanhui finally took action and impeached more than a dozen members of the Eunuch Party.

  All military affairs were entrusted to Shi Chonggui, who was granted the power to appoint and dismiss officials. Cui Xingyu and his brother Cui Ningyu were dismissed from their posts.

  ... Household Administration was given to Minister of Personnel Affairs Zhou Yingqiu;

  Qian Jiazheng, a tribute student from Jiaxing County, Zhejiang, submitted a memorial to the Eastern Depot eunuch Wei Zhongxian listing his ten crimes.

  On October 28, Wei Zhongxian requested to resign as the East Factory's eunuch supervisor, and Chongzhen approved. He was relocated to Fengyang Imperial Mausoleum and left Beijing on October 29. The eunuchs' party collapsed, and officials who had been recorded in the original register of colleagues all submitted memorials requesting to resign.

  With the downfall of the eunuch party, Chen Xinyi's reputation became even more resounding, and the Donglin Party also believed that although he was only a military officer, he was extremely upright and selfless.

  Chen Xing looked at the information he had summarized over the past few days. Wei Zhongxian's downfall was so rapid that even Chongzhen might not have expected it. Fundamentally, it was still the contempt for eunuchs in the hearts of scholars. As soon as Wei Zhongxian slightly lost power, it became a situation where everyone pushed against him. The Eunuch Party lacked cohesion and could be said to not be a party at all, but rather a group gathered around Wei Zhongxian, united by power and interests. Many were forced to join Wei's side by the Donglin faction, including Wei himself, who was also forced to oppose them. Therefore, the Eunuch Party never had any clear political ideology, only opposing the Donglin faction and following the officials of the Imperial Court to gain promotions and wealth.

  Chen Xin's understanding of Wei Zhongxian is that he has done many bad things, but also some good things. In some major national events, Wei did not make decisions based on personal preferences or group interests. During the Tianqi period, the continuous loss of Liaoshen and Guangning led to a precarious situation in Liaodong. However, during the four years when Wei held great power, the front-line situation in Liaodong gradually stabilized, and the financial situation was much better than during the Chongzhen period that followed.

  Later historians all condemned Wei Zhongxian's mining and tax supervisors. Chen Xinyi thought it was the strangest that those historians, living in a country with the second-highest tax burden index in the world, paying various known and unknown taxes, would think that Ming dynasty scholars and coal bosses could not pay taxes, and even say that the 30% commercial tax would affect the development of early capitalism. Chen Xinyi wanted to let them see what the tax-to-income ratio was in Britain and Japan at the same time, what the total amount was, how many people there were, and whether British capitalism had developed or not. If they stood in front of him, Chen Xinyi would have liked to spit a mouthful of water at them.

  The Donglin Party, who overthrew the eunuch party, satisfied their moral superiority, but their governing talent may not be better than this illiterate rogue, or it can be said that they are worse than Wei Zhongxian.

  However, the legendary life of Li Jinzhong is finally coming to an end. From the day he left Beijing, a group of officials stood up and attacked him. Chongzhen then ordered the Ministry of War, casually finding an excuse: "Wei Zhongxian should have been executed in public to avenge the grievances of the people, but was leniently exiled to Fengyang. How could a minister not think of reforming himself, dare to bring his family and followers, carrying weapons, surrounding and protecting him, with the momentum of a rebellion? The emperor's heart is extremely hateful, ordering the Brocade Guard to immediately send officials to...

  On the day Wei Zhongxian left Beijing, Chen Xin, who had been hiding for over ten days, was finally able to re-emerge. By then, he and Yang Wenguang had become the first heroes to attack the eunuch party. Ironically, both of them were motivated by ulterior motives. Yang Wenguang was instructed by Wei Zhongxian to attack Cui Chengxiu, while Chen Xin simply wanted to gain fame.

  There were a few people who understood, but under the overwhelming public opinion of attacking the eunuchs, no one cared about these minor details. The reputation of these two men even spread to other places in the north, and of course, it became more and more exaggerated as it was passed on. Chen Xin had already been rumored to be a figure like Zhang Fei or Li Kui.

  "It's time to come out of hiding." Chen Xin rubbed his forehead, having hidden for over ten days. The danger had finally passed and he could see the light of day again.

  On the sixth day of the eleventh month in the seventh year of Tianqi, Wei Zhongxian hanged himself at an inn in Fucheng County after hearing the news that the Imperial Guards had arrived. The only one who hanged himself with him was a eunuch named Li Chaoqin. However, he could not have imagined that seventeen years later when Chongzhen hanged himself, there would also be only one eunuch accompanying him.