Insufficient balance

  General Zhang Xiu of the Imperial Guards smiled and said, "The young prince invaded my border, and both the Gaizhou and Chixian routes had victories, but only Huailai route suffered losses, resulting in the death of a Duwei general. The Supervising Censor-in-Chief Ye was also trampled to death by the chaotic army. The Three Judicial Offices followed the imperial edict to sentence He Canjun, but unexpectedly, after He Canjun was escorted back to the capital, he shifted all the blame for underestimating the enemy and advancing recklessly onto Supervising Censor-in-Chief Ye and Liu Gonggong."

  He Shenjiang was a general recommended by the Ministry of War. If He Shenjiang were to be punished, they would naturally find it difficult to avoid criticism for using people blindly. Therefore, the Ministry of War strongly protected He Shenjiang and blamed the supervisors for not understanding military affairs and interfering arbitrarily. As a result, the imperial envoys and officials in the Imperial Censorate could not help but feel a sense of solidarity with the Ministry of War, and they mutually attacked each other without end.

  The eunuchs in the imperial court are just a bunch of castrated men, who originally had no say in military affairs. However, when Liu Gonggong returned to Beijing, he brought back a letter. Zhang Xiang said this and smiled at Yang Ling: "It's the letter you wrote to He Canjiang."

  Yang Lingdao said: "Yes, I once had some superficial views presented to General He Can, but I don't know how this letter ended up in the hands of Liu Gonggong."

  Zhang Xiu shook his head and said, "The inside story is not known to me. Liu Gonggong is a servant by the side of the Crown Prince, he has a good friend in the palace named Zhang Yong, this official knows a bit about military affairs, seeing your letter he treasured it as a precious thing, immediately stirring up the officials of the Imperial Censorate to impeach the Ministry of War, accusing the soldiers of lacking strength in battle, having low scouting abilities and that the Ministry of War's command was incompetent which is the reason for the defeat.

  "Ha ha, but the Ministry of War is in charge of deploying troops and appointing generals. The daily training and command of troops are actually the responsibility of the Five Armies Command Center. As a result, the Five Armies Command Center, which was originally unrelated to this matter, has been dragged into it by the Ministry of War, and the four yamen have started playing a game of musical chairs."

  Yang Ling hesitantly said: "This... this... I, the subordinate official, really did not expect that so many troubles would arise. Just now, Your Excellency mentioned that the Ministry of Works is also involved in this matter. I don't know what connection there is between the Ministry of Works and military affairs?"

  Zhang Xiu said, "It's not related, originally it wasn't related. However, in your letter you mentioned the clever use of firearms and their importance in future battles. A certain Wang Shouren from the Ministry of War read it and was deeply convinced. At that time, he had a sudden outburst of bookworm mentality and happened to present a lengthy memorial to the Emperor, discussing the way to govern the army and also mentioning that our dynasty's firearms urgently need improvement. In his proposal, he also subtly criticized the Northern Army for having too few firearms. In my opinion as the commander, the content of his proposal did hit the nail on the head, but the timing was somewhat inappropriate."

  Yang Ling heard the three words of Wang Shouren, feeling somewhat familiar, but for a moment he couldn't think of it. However, since he had an impression, he must have seen it when reading historical books before. Now he is just a small official in the Ministry of War, but in the future, he may also be a great official with great achievements, so he secretly paid attention to him.

  Zhang Hua said, "This time the Ministry of Works is afraid that these yamen will push and shove, and put the blame for the defeat on their shoulders. They will complain to the Emperor about the lack of silver and the poor quality of the soldiers, and how difficult it is to produce firearms..." Zhang Hua stroked his chin thoughtfully and said with great interest, "Hmm...the Ministry of Works' memorial was just submitted to the palace yesterday. I estimate that the Ministry of Revenue, which is in charge of finances, has received the news and will also submit a memorial to argue against it."

  Yang Ling listened with a mixture of laughter and tears, saying: "How could this be? I really didn't expect to stir up such a commotion. If I had known earlier... it would have been better not to write that letter."

  Zhang Huan stretched his waist and said lazily, "Have you ever caught crabs? If you put a group of crabs in a basket, you don't need to cover it. Crabs can't climb out because as soon as one wants to climb up, the others will cling to its body and pull it down. In the end, none can get out. Hehe, it's always been this way in official circles, nothing unusual."

  "Without this letter, they would have found another excuse to shift the blame onto each other. But now, thanks to this, your great name is known throughout the six ministries. The Crown Prince has heard about it and asked for your memorial, after reading it, he immediately requested that you be summoned to the capital to serve as a reader-in-waiting... Hehehe..."

  Zhang Xiu smiled and then composed himself, "These officials' affairs have nothing to do with my Imperial Guards. The Governor has summoned you today for a special reason, do you know what it is?"

  Yang Lingdao said: "Please instruct me clearly, sir."

  "We, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, are in charge of investigating and punishing officials and civilians across the country, independent of the three judicial offices. The Eastern Depot, on the other hand, is responsible for supervising officials and the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Whenever my Northern Patrol Office has a major case, the Eastern Depot always sends someone to sit in on the trial, so it seems that their authority is even higher than ours."

  Yang Ling didn't know what Zhang Xiang was getting at, and he couldn't help but feel a little puzzled. He listened as Zhang Xiang continued: "However, many of the meritorious officials in the Imperial Guard are descendants of those who have served with distinction, and many of the officials in the Eastern Depot were recruited from among our military officers. So you could say that the Eastern Depot and the Imperial Guard have a very close relationship - if it came down to it, the Imperial Guard wouldn't necessarily be afraid of the Eastern Depot. Fortunately, we've always gotten along well, and there's never been any discord between us."

  Zhang Xiu glanced at him and said, "Since the end of last year, Your Majesty has been feeling increasingly unwell... Recently, Your Majesty intends to reopen the Western Depot, which is in charge of supervising the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Currently, people are secretly preparing for this, and personnel are being massively recruited from the military to form a separate system, with no connection to the Eastern Depot or the Embroidered Uniform Guard."

  Yang Ling was taken aback by his words, and after careful consideration, he understood the unspoken meaning. The emperor felt that there was a problem with his body and had already begun to consider a successor. Although the Eastern Depot and the Imperial Guard were the organizations he trusted most, their power was too great. According to Zhang Xiang's words, although the depot and the guard had supervisory responsibilities, they were actually like one family. The emperor was worried that if the newly reopened Western Depot did not draw any soldiers from the Eastern Depot and the Imperial Guard, it would be to counterbalance the Eastern Depot and the Imperial Guard, so as not to lose power when a new emperor ascended the throne.

  Zhang Xiu said, "As the Crown Prince is still young, the Imperial Guards and I bear the responsibility of ensuring the safety of the imperial family. How can we not be cautious? However, since Your Majesty has doubts, the Eastern Depot and the Imperial Guards cannot avoid suspicion and it would not be good to arrange personnel around the Crown Prince. Now that you are the Crown Prince's reader, you are a close minister by his side. You must bear this responsibility, do you understand my intention?"

  Yang Ling still doesn't understand his intention, the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot have shared joys and sorrows together, holding great power. Now with the establishment of the Western Depot to supervise the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard as its duty, they naturally worry about their power being usurped.

  The people around the prince now only have a group of eunuchs, they can also be won over, but the current holder of the East Factory's seal is naturally unwilling to support a group of their own kind to seize power in the future. Yang Ling has no foundation in the court, supporting such a person, even if he rises to prominence, cannot leave the East Factory and the Imperial Guard, making him the most suitable candidate.

  Yang Ling thought of this and felt like sitting on pins and needles. For someone who aspires to climb up, such an opportunity and such a powerful backer are naturally once-in-a-lifetime encounters that come only once in a hundred years. However, with this, his humble position as a servant-reader cannot help but become a thorn in the eyes of others, a stab in their flesh. How easy is it to live a peaceful life for two years?

  Yang Ling suddenly realized the crux of the matter and couldn't help but panic, saying: "Thanks to your excellency's favor, I'm just a junior official... I'm still young, I fear I may not live up to your trust."

  Zhang Xiu gazed at him steadily for a while, until Yang Ling felt a chill run down his spine. Only then did Zhang Xiu smile faintly and say in a light tone: "In this world, the greatest is the Son of Heaven. As long as you are by the Son of Heaven's side, nothing is impossible."

  He smiled slightly and said, "Speaking of the Western Factory, I remembered something. In the third year of Chenghua, the Southern Barbarians rioted, and Xiangcheng Bo Li Jin and Minister Cheng Xin led troops to quell the rebellion. After pacifying the rebels, they captured countless men and women. They brought a group of slaves back to the capital to be distributed among the princes and nobles. Among these slaves was a man surnamed Wang and a girl surnamed Ji who were sent into the palace. The man was castrated to become an eunuch, while the girl became a palace maid..."

  He said with a smile and looked down at Yang Ling: "Do you know what happened to these two people later?"

  Without waiting for Yang Ling to answer, Zhang Xiang had already spoken on his own: "Ten years later, the imperial court first established the Western Depot. The Western Depot was in power at that time, surpassing the Eastern Depot and the Imperial Guards. And who was the head of the Western Depot? His surname was Wang, his name was Zhi, it was that eunuch who was captured and entered the palace ten years ago."

  Wang Zhi's name, Yang Ling had heard of it before. Upon hearing this, he couldn't help but let out a sigh. Zhang Xiang continued: "That Miss Ji, who was first a palace maid, then a female official, and later promoted to be the Shu Empress, eventually becoming the empress dowager, is actually the birth mother of the current emperor." He clapped his hands in amazement, saying: "What an extraordinary encounter! Think about it, back when they were captured at Da Teng Gorge, if they had been beaten to death by soldiers during transport, no one would have thought twice about it. Who could have imagined that among them, two people would end up beside the emperor, giving rise to such a magnificent and stirring story?"

  He smiled and said, "You are a scholar by origin, those civil officials regard you as one of their own, the Imperial Censorate, the Office of Scrutiny, and the Ministry of War all have a good impression of you. Behind your back, the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot also find you convenient to deal with. It can be said that you have countless opportunities. As long as you can gain the recognition of the Crown Prince, then on the day when the Crown Prince ascends to the throne, it will be your moment of glory, and your name will resound throughout the imperial court! Yang Same-Know, do you still need to belittle yourself?"

  Yang Ling gazed at Zhang Xiu's "lovable" smiling face, and in a daze, he seemed to see Yang Pai's large hand waving forward, shouting loudly: "Amir, charge!"

  "Amir" rushed forward, not towards a promising future, but towards his woman.

  As soon as he left the Jin Yiwei Beizhen Fu Si, he saw lights lit up everywhere, Yang Ling thought of his wife waiting for him at home, and suddenly felt homesick. What "Golden scales are not objects in the pool, once they encounter wind and clouds, they become dragons" was instantly thrown into the clouds, two years, what precious time, it's better to spend more time with his own little wife.

  There are two major temple fairs in the capital, known as Dongmiao and Ximiao. The East Temple is the Longfusi Temple near the Fourth Archway on Dashilar Street, which holds a temple fair on the 9th and 10th of each month. The West Temple is the Dalong Temple on Huguo Temple Street, which holds a temple fair on the 7th and 8th of each month.

  Today is not the temple fair, but these two streets have formed a fixed business district for a long time. Tea houses, wine shops and stores are lined up shoulder to shoulder, very lively. Yang Ling and You Niang had a warm dinner at a restaurant, and then went straight to the Huguo Temple.

  Liu Biao and Yang Yiqing, the two light bulbs, of course, wouldn't carry them with him. As a result, they had a meal in the alley, and when they came out, the two turned around, so they asked passersby for directions. The pedestrians on the road were surprised to hear that the young couple was going to Huguo Temple to burn incense, but still pointed out the way for them.

  Originally, this ten-hall temple was a famous temple with vast grounds, but now it has been converted into a Lama Temple. The people of the capital have always had a mindset of respecting and fearing the strange-shaped Bodhisattvas worshipped by the Lamas, and they do not dare to learn from their rituals. Only during temple fairs, tourists like to enter the temple to see something unusual, but normally, very few people come, so this temple is famous for its sparse incense offerings, which is completely different from other temples with thriving incense offerings.

  However, the Han people's attitude towards religious beliefs is not as rigidly divided as that of Westerners. You believe in yours and I believe in mine; it would never come to blows just because you believe in Yuanshi Tianzun and I believe in Sakyamuni Buddha, nor would we forbid our children from intermarrying. So although the travelers found it a bit strange for this young couple to go to the Lama Temple, no one made things difficult for them.

  Over the years, many lamas from Qinghai, Kangding, Tibet and even outside China have visited the Ming court. Because in their local areas, politics and religion are combined, these lamas' visits were like those of local officials, and were highly valued by the imperial court. Therefore, the emperor bestowed several temples on them, allowing monks who wished to stay in the Central Plains to live there, and Huguo Temple was one of them.

  Although incense is not prosperous here, fortunately, it is supported by the imperial court and provides what is needed on time, so the life of these lamas is not very bitter.

  Yang Ling entered the gate of Huguo Temple, and saw that the temple was brightly lit inside. Although there were some tourists, most of them looked like elderly people who had wandered in to rest their feet, chatting idly under the corridor. The main gate of the Golden Pavilion directly opposite the entrance was wide open, but it was cold and deserted with no one entering or leaving.

  Yang Ling turned his head and saw Han Youniang following behind him, more than three feet away, with a bashful expression. He couldn't help but chuckle and tease: "Wife, why are you keeping such a distance on the street? Your husband keeps turning his head to look at you, his neck is almost twisted off".

  Han Youniang blushed and leaned in close to him, whispering: "Master, speak softly, or people will laugh at us. As a woman, I shouldn't be walking alongside you anyway."

  Yang Ling chuckled and said: "Alright, then you can follow behind me. The Buddha says that in the previous life, one has to turn back five hundred times to exchange for a single brush of shoulders in this life. From now on, you can follow Master every day, and when Master is free, he will look back at you. Look back five thousand times, ten thousand times, and strive to be husband and wife again in the next life."

  The young girl blushed and gave him a white eye, but before she could respond, a harsh voice suddenly said: "This statement is interesting, I've only heard of 100 years of fate, 1,000 years of affinity, and 10,000 years of fate and affinity."

  Yang Ling turned his head and saw a young scholar with a face as smooth as powdered milk, holding a small golden fan, smiling at him. The young scholar was slightly taller than the young lady, with bright eyebrows and eyes, wearing a Taoist robe (a type of robe in the Ming dynasty), with a silk belt around his waist, and a six-panel hat on his head, adorned with a crystal on top, looking handsome and elegant.

  The young scholar opened his mouth, and the ugly duckling's voice, which was in the midst of a change, shouted again: "I just don't know which sutra this brother's 500 glances back is from? Is it the Threefold Refuge, Five Precepts, Compassionate Heart, Renunciation, Merit Sutra, or the Amitabha Buddha Sound King Tara Sutra? Or is it the Forty-two Chapter Sutra?"

  He flicked open the decorative golden fan with a flourish, fanned himself nonchalantly twice, then closed it again, finding it too cold. He asked, "Today, my younger brother and you can be said to have brushed shoulders, but I don't know why you kept turning your head back to look at me in your past life?"