Starting from 1618 of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 48 Apocalypse's Coronation

The autumn winds of the first year of the Taichang reign were more severe than in previous years, as if they were trying to wipe out the last bit of vitality of the Ming Dynasty.

In the streets and alleys of Jinan, fallen leaves swirled on the bluestone slabs, and an inexplicable sense of unease permeated the air. This year was nothing short of an endless nightmare for the bureaucratic system of the Ming Dynasty. In July, the Wanli Emperor, who had been like a god over everyone's heads for forty-eight years, passed away, and the white mourning cloths draped throughout the country had not yet been removed; in August, the Taichang Emperor, who had only been on the throne for a month and had not even warmed his seat, died suddenly due to the infamous "red pill"; then in September, the sixteen-year-old Tianqi Emperor, Zhu Youxiao, hastily ascended the throne amidst the clamor of the "Palace Relocation Case" and the shadow of a palace coup.

In just three months, the Forbidden City had three different owners.

This violent upheaval from the top, like seismic waves, traveled south along the Grand Canal, eventually crashing heavily into the officialdom of Jinan Prefecture.

Inside the council hall of Lu Ji's camp, the underground heating was blazing, making the room extremely hot, but everyone felt as if a block of ice had been stuffed inside, chilling them to the bone.

The Vice Provincial Surveillance Commissioner Zhou Daodeng, the Prefect of Jinan, and a group of officials from the "Imperial Timber Security Command" were now pacing around Lu Yan like ants on a hot pan. Their usual imposing official demeanor in front of the people had vanished, replaced by fear, anxiety, and an eagerness to "jump ship."

"Brother Lu! Immortal Lu! What time is it? How can you still be sitting here!"

Zhou Daodeng was so anxious that he was covered in sweat, not even bothering to straighten his crooked official hat. He was clutching a court report sent from the capital by express courier, his fingers white from the force, and his voice trembled like a broken bellows.

"News from the capital says that the Donglin Party members in the Censorate have gone mad! Using the 'Red Pill Case' and the 'Palace Relocation Case,' they're frantically impeaching the eunuchs in the inner court! They claim they want to purge the emperor's inner circle, expel the eunuch faction, and avenge the late emperor! Those tough guys like Yang Lian and Zuo Guangdou are practically spitting in the face of the Directorate of Ceremonial!"

Zhou Daodeng swallowed hard, his voice hoarse and trembling with tears: "The Imperial Household Department is the first to be affected! I heard that the upright officials in the Ministry of Works have already ordered a halt to all imperial timber procurement and are going to thoroughly investigate local affiliated businesses. Our 'Imperial Timber Bureau' is registered under Wang Tiqian of the Imperial Household Department, which means it's the property of the eunuch faction! If we're found out that we're in cahoots with the eunuchs, what will become of our official hats... no, our heads?"

"Yes, Brother Lu!" The prefect of Jinan also looked ashen-faced, constantly wiping the cold sweat from his forehead with his sleeve. Beads of sweat streamed down his plump cheeks. "Yesterday, the provincial inspector's gaze towards me was strange. His words were subtly hinting that I should quickly distance myself from 'certain people.' Shouldn't we...shouldn't we make some plans soon?"

"What are we planning to do?" Another magistrate was even more panicked, his voice shrill and piercing. "Let's retreat! Brother Lu, quickly take down that yellow flag at the camp gate! Burn the account books! We'll just say we were misled by Lu Ji, and that the Eunuch's Office forced us! It's not too late to cut ties now! If we're too late, we'll all be buried with him!"

The hall was filled with a cacophony of defeatist rhetoric. These officials, who had once reaped enormous profits within Lu Yan's "community of shared interests," were now revealing their ugliest sides in the face of political risk—betraying their allies.

Lu Yan sat in the main seat, holding a cup of tea in his hand.

He gently skimmed the foam off the surface of the tea, his movements elegant and composed, his expression as calm as a still pond. Through the rising steam, he coldly scrutinized the group of Ming Dynasty officials.

This is the weakness of speculators. They only want dividends and don't want to take risks. Their political vision is always limited to their immediate interests, unable to see the true power logic behind the ever-changing clouds above the Forbidden City.

"What's the panic?"

Lu Yan put down his teacup, the porcelain cup colliding with the table with a crisp "thu".

The voice wasn't loud, but it carried an imposing, stabilizing authority that instantly silenced the noisy hall. All eyes, whether anxious, resentful, or fearful, were fixed on the young scholar.

"Take down the flag? Burn the tent? You think you can whitewash this?"

Lu Yan stood up, straightened his sleeves, and slowly walked to the huge map of the Ming Dynasty hanging on the wall. His back was as straight as a pine tree, casting a long shadow in the candlelight, which enveloped the hearts of the officials.

"My lords, please use your brains." Lu Yan turned around, pointed heavily at the capital city with his finger, and said with a hint of mockery, "The Donglin Party is now 'liquidating' the situation, not 'investigating' it. What they want is the power of the inner court, the power of the cabinet to draft proposals and the power of the Directorate of Ceremonial to approve documents, not these few rubbish books of yours."

His gaze was piercing, sweeping across everyone's faces one by one. Every official he looked at instinctively shrank back.

"At this critical juncture, whoever moves first is guilty. Whoever drops the flag is offering their neck for others to cut. By dropping the flag now, you are telling everyone that something is amiss. In that case, the Donglin Party, in order to establish its authority, will be the first to use you as a sacrifice; the inner court, in order to vent its anger, will also treat you as traitors. You will please neither side and will only face certain death."

The hall was deathly silent. Zhou Daodeng's face was ashen. He knew Lu Yan was telling the truth, but it was a truth that was utterly despairing.

"Then... what should we do? Are we just going to wait to die?" Zhou Daodeng asked in a trembling voice; he was truly terrified.

"Waiting for 'change'."

Lu Yan slightly raised his eyes, his gaze gleaming with the rational light unique to engineers, the light that sees through appearances to the essence.

"You only saw the chaos of 'three emperors in one year,' and the arrogance of the Donglin Party. But what I saw was the enormous opportunity brought about by the 'power vacuum.'"

Lu Yan walked to the table, placed his hands on the surface, and leaned forward, like a leopard ready to pounce, exuding a powerful aura.

"The new emperor ascended the throne at the tender age of sixteen. He was just a child. He loved woodworking and hated preaching. And what kind of people were the Donglin Party? They were full of moralistic rhetoric, constantly forcing the emperor to read Confucian classics, restricting imperial power, and even trying to turn the emperor into a puppet in their hands. Do you think a young emperor, isolated and helpless in the deep palace, would trust whom most?"

Lu Yan's voice rose a few decibels, carrying a seductive power:

"Is it those civil officials who constantly berate and control him? Or his close companions who grew up with him, did woodworking with him, and managed his household?"

The officials looked at each other thoughtfully, and the fear in their eyes subsided slightly.

"This is a battle for control. The tighter the civil service group presses, the stronger the imperial backlash will be. The inner court may seem passive now, but it is actually accumulating strength for a counterattack. As long as the new emperor doesn't fall, the eunuchs won't fall either. Because the emperor needs the eunuchs as his dogs to bite and to balance those arrogant civil officials."

Lu Yan's gaze sharpened, as if piercing through layers of mist to see the course of history:

"Who is Wang Tiqian? He's the head of the Directorate of Palace Attendants! He's a veteran of the inner court with deep roots. More importantly, according to reliable information I received from Eunuch Liu of Tianjin—Wang Tiqian has just distinguished himself in the 'Palace Relocation Case,' helping the new emperor drive out Consort Li, who had been occupying the Qianqing Palace. The new emperor is now relying heavily on him. Moreover, Eunuch Wang has already astutely established contact with the new emperor's wet nurse, Madam Ke."

"Who is Madam Ke? She is the new emperor's 'Holy Mother'! If you offend her, the Donglin Party won't be able to cause trouble for long."

Lu Yan pulled a secret letter from his sleeve. It was sent by Liu Cheng via carrier pigeon, containing only a few simple coded words, but enough to explain everything. He slammed the letter on the table with a crisp "smack," making everyone's hearts skip a beat.

"Gentlemen, this is a high-stakes gamble. It is the biggest gamble of the Ming Dynasty."

"If we win the bet, this ship will be as solid as iron; even the Minister himself can't touch it. If we lose..." Lu Yan sneered, a ruthless glint in his eyes, "At worst, we'll all become pirates at sea. My Lu family has ships, guns, and loyal brothers. Even at sea, it's better than being cowards here!"

These words contain both rational political analysis and a naked guarantee of force, and also reveal the ruthlessness of a desperate criminal.

Looking into Lu Yan's unwavering eyes, Zhou Daodeng finally understood that he had no way out. He either followed Lu Yan down the dark path and gambled on immense wealth and power, or he was trampled to death now and became cannon fodder in the political struggle.

He gritted his teeth, slapped his thigh hard, and the muscles in his face trembled.

"Damn it! Let's risk it! It's all the same whether we stick our necks out or not! Brother Lu, you're right! Fortune favors the bold! If we win this gamble, my life is yours!"

"I'll go too!" the prefect roared, his eyes red. "I'll do anything to keep my official hat!"

Seeing that people's minds were made up, Lu Yan raised the corners of his mouth slightly, revealing a satisfied smile.

"Alright! Now that we've reached a consensus, let's get started."

Lu Yan turned to look at Hu Jingshui, who had been silent and frantically calculating gains and losses: "Old Hu, withdraw all 30,000 taels of cash from the account."

"What?!" Hu Jingshui exclaimed in surprise. "Boss, that's all our working capital! If we lose this money, we won't be able to pay the mine workers or the guards next month!"

"Payment can be delayed, but this money must be spent."

Lu Yan gazed northward, his eyes as deep and unfathomable as an ancient well.

"Send it to Beijing. The head office is undergoing restructuring, and the new boss has just taken office. It's a time when they're short of money, people, and support. At this time, whoever provides the new boss with the first 'startup capital' will be the new boss's confidant and a hero who helps in times of need."

"This money is not a bribe, it's a 'political donation.' We'll use this money to help Eunuch Wang stabilize the situation and also to buy ourselves a standing ticket in the new regime."

"Fan Fu, go there yourself. Tell Eunuch Wang that in Shandong, no matter how things change in the court, we only recognize the inner court's authority. The Imperial Timber Bureau will not only not be shut down, but it will be expanded to a huge scale! We must raise the banner: 'Congratulations on the new emperor's ascension to the throne! Urgently transporting the timber needed for the enthronement ceremony!' I want Lu's company to pay for the transport of this timber, and it must be done in a grand and spectacular manner, so that the whole world can see it!"

The cold wind howled, making the yellow flags in the camp flutter.

While the rest of the world watched and retreated, Lu Yan, with his Jinan interest group, went against the tide, placing all his chips on the gambling table called the fate of the Ming Dynasty. He wasn't betting on luck, but on his profound understanding of human nature and power.