Chapter 2524: Deeply Rooted and Intertwined

Mu Min couldn't resist a jab. "Douglas Adams really understood human nature. How did that quote go? 'Anything that is in the world when you're born is normal and ordinary and is just a natural part of the way the world works. Anything that's invented between when you're fifteen and thirty-five is new and exciting and revolutionary and you can probably get a career in it. Anything invented after you're thirty-five is against the natural order of things.' Given how short ancient lifespans were, I'd say we should adjust those numbers down a few years."

Lin Baiguang shook his head. "Du Yibin hounds Song Yingsheng day and night. Now you all want to form some 'Lingnan Three Loyalists' boy band. Honestly, I can't stand you people and your obsessive collecting of historical celebrities."

Liu Xiang raised his hands in protest. "Nobody here has that hobby. Certainly not me."

"But consider this," Lin Baiguang said with a grin. "If you had a few historical celebrities following you around, constantly declaring 'The Chief is so wise!' and prostrating themselves at every turn—wouldn't that give your ego a nice little boost?"

"Obviously! But alas, no such luck. Minister Lv calls me wise and mighty every day, but his flattery has grown stale."

Seeing the meeting veer off track yet again, Wu Mu intervened. "Let's get back to business. Based on intelligence reports and materials compiled by the Grand Library, we're looking at a deeply rooted and intertwined network of relationships—not just in Guangdong, but throughout the entire Ming officialdom and gentry class. The Senate's public information has certainly spread through these channels by now. The Ming gentry should have a fairly clear picture of who we are. Chen Zizhuang and his student Li Suiqiu currently stand as the core figures of Guangdong's gentry. Their connections extend to scholars in the capital and Jiangnan as well. How we handle them will shape how the gentry north of the Five Ranges view us when the Senate eventually launches a full Northern Expedition."

"Who cares what they think?" Mu Min scoffed. "Ask the steel rifles and cannons in our hands—they'll tell you what attitude to take."

"That's one approach," Wu Mu acknowledged, "but according to the Senate's strategy, we expect to settle most territories simply by issuing proclamations—minimizing unnecessary casualties and preserving productivity. Otherwise, recovery takes far too long." He paused. "As heroic figures in the old timeline, the Three Loyalists of Lingnan still carry weight with many Senators. People don't want to see them come to a bad end. Some have specifically contacted our bureau, asking us to 'save them while there's still time.'"

Lin Baiguang sighed. "Some things can't be achieved through wishful thinking alone. Principles and integrity sound abstract, but when you actually encounter them, you realize they're anything but hollow."

Liu Xiang took a long sip of strong tea, then turned to Senator Li Zhuoxian beside him. "Old Li, why don't you walk us through this spider's web of gentry relationships?"

Li Zhuoxian was a Guangzhou native from the old timeline with extensive research on Ming historical figures. When the Senate initiated its Guangdong-Guangxi strategy, he naturally followed the team north to assist. He opened his laptop and projected a sprawling mind map onto the screen.

"I compiled this relationship chart using materials and intelligence from this timeline, supplemented with historical records from the old timeline," Li Zhuoxian began.

"Senator Wu Mu is partially correct. To be precise, Chen Zizhuang and his student Li Suiqiu are the core figures of the gentry faction currently inclined toward resistance—not the entire gentry class.

"First, Chen Zizhuang. His family has produced officials for generations. He himself earned Third Place, or Tanhua, in the imperial examinations and made a name for himself opposing the Eunuch Party. Before his dismissal, he held the positions of Right Vice Minister of Rites and Academician Reader-in-Waiting, serving as a lecturer for the Classics Mat while managing the Ministry of Rites' administrative affairs. In 1635, Chen Zizhuang came close to entering the Grand Secretariat but wasn't selected. He was later dismissed and returned home. Everyone here knows his story, so I'll move on.

"Next, He Wuzhou and Huang Shijun. He Wuzhou is Chen Zizhuang's neighbor and future in-law—historically, Chen Zizhuang's youngest son Chen Shangtu married He Wuzhou's daughter. He also served as Right Vice Minister of Rites. Shortly after entering the Grand Secretariat, Wen Tiren brought him down. In the historical 1636, He Wuzhou founded Xiangshan Academy, where Li Suiqiu, Chen Zizhuang, Xie Wenchang, Kuang Lu, and Chen Bangyan all studied under him. Though He Wuzhou currently appears to have defected to our side, he's deeply unreliable. Historically, he was the one who convinced Li Chengdong to rebel against the Qing and restore the Ming. However, we can have our informants in Beijing keep watch on Gu Chaojian. This man hails from Chao'an and despises He Wuzhou. When He Wuzhou rallied Guangdong-Guangxi's local gentry to build connections with the two academies and three offices, Gu Chaojian started feuding with him from the Xinwei year of 1631 onward. But He Wuzhou held the upper hand, leaving Gu Chaojian perpetually bitter and defeated. How deep does this hatred run? Deep enough that when Gu Chaojian heard Li Chengdong had pacified Fujian, he personally traveled there to present a strategy for conquering Guangdong. It was Gu Chaojian's relentless lobbying that convinced Li Chengdong to adopt his plan—allowing him to take Guangzhou almost bloodlessly and destroy the Shaowu regime."

The Senators stared in disbelief. Someone muttered, "What kind of twisted logic is that?"

Li Zhuoxian nodded. "Ji Liuqi believed that Gu Chaojian 'spoke at length about conquering Western Guangdong and Guilin within three months, hoping to claim the first merit and humiliate He Wuzhou.' Now that He Wuzhou has been dismissed and sits trapped in enemy territory, if Gu Chaojian doesn't seize this opportunity to make trouble for him, he'd be betraying a rivalry as bitter as fire and water. If Chongzhen listens to Gu Chaojian and takes his anger out on Guangzhou officials and gentry like He Wuzhou—well, would He Wuzhou still feel any loyalty toward that foolish emperor?"

"Truly masters of internal strife, amateurs at external struggle!"

Li Zhuoxian continued. "Huang Shijun's credentials are even more impressive. A native of Shunde, he earned Top Scorer, or Zhuangyuan, in the Dingwei examination during the thirty-fifth year of Wanli. He served successively as Right Vice Minister of Rites, Right Vice Minister of Personnel, and Minister of Rites. Currently, he holds the position of Grand Secretary of the East Pavilion, participating in state affairs within the Grand Secretariat. However, he failed to maintain his integrity in later years. After the Longwu regime fell, he defected to Li Chengdong, shaving his hair and adopting Qing dress."

Mu Min's professional instincts caught something. "All three served as Right Vice Minister of Rites. That's quite the pattern."

"The Ministry of Rites was where Hanlin Confucian ministers gathered," Li Zhuoxian explained. "The Ming Dynasty had no Prime Minister. Grand Secretaries who participated in state affairs were typically selected from the Ministry of Rites. Qian Qianyi, Zhou Yanru, He Ruchong, Wen Tiren, Zheng Yiwei, Xu Guangqi—all of them held titles in the Ministry of Rites. Think of it as the Grand Secretariat's farm team."

Lin Baiguang studied the chart. "Looking at this, the Senate has already become a central node in this relationship network. We're connected to the entire Ming officialdom, from the capital down to the localities. Everything we do ripples through the official-gentry establishment."

"Exactly," Li Zhuoxian agreed. "Never assume Lingao remains shrouded in some fog of war as far as Ming officialdom is concerned. That assumption will cost us. Chen Zizhuang may be a high official in the capital, but his local roots run just as deep as Huang's or He's. He's related by marriage to the Zhu clan of Jiujiang. His cousin Zhu Baolian studied under Li Yingsheng, one of the 'Later Seven Gentlemen of Donglin.' He and Liu Dalin passed the jinshi examination in the same year. He exchanges poetry with Chen Shiji. His ties to Hainan gentry are closer than either Huang's or He's. The gentry circle around him also shares an unusual connection with Yuan Chonghuan. They once held a collective farewell for him, producing the famous 'Picture and Poems of Farewell Banquet for Yuan Chonghuan Supervising Liao in Dongguan.' Fifteen historical figures appear in that work. Among them, Deng Zhen, Li Yunlong, and Liang Ji all served on Yuan Chonghuan's staff at various times. Han Nuan came from the Han clan of Boluo. Though not particularly famous historically, the Han clan wielded considerable local influence. His juniors Han Ruhuang and Han Ruyan later joined Chen Zizhuang in raising troops against the Qing. His contemporary Han Rizuan rose to Minister of Rites and Vice President of the Veritable Records Institute for two reigns before dying in office in 1635. The renowned Huang Daozhou spent two years studying at the Han clan's family school in Boluo when he was fourteen, becoming Han Rizuan's initiated disciple. Han Rizuan served twice as examiner for the Metropolitan Examination; Hong Chengchou, Huang Daozhou, Ni Yuanlu, and Qu Shisi all counted among his disciples. Huang Zongxi's father Huang Zunsu also honored him as 'Teacher on the Seat.' Qu Shisi was Qian Qianyi's student. Qu maintained friendly relations with the Jesuit Giulio Aleni, was baptized into the Church under the name Thomas, and shared his faith with Xu Guangqi, Li Zhizao, Sun Yuanhua, and others. He undoubtedly knows the Senate quite well. Li Suiq..."

Mu Min cut in with a laugh. "Senator Li, if you follow this web far enough, I suspect you could connect even the Chongzhen Emperor to us. Speaking of which—I almost forgot—our Master Gao, Gao Ju's connections reach inside the Palace itself. The Yangcheng Daily and Lingao Times have probably been sitting in Chongzhen's Imperial Study for ages. Our melamine plastic bowls are stored in the inner treasury, and His Majesty drinks Gushiwushuang wine. Hahaha..."

Li Zhuoxian chuckled. "Jokes aside, the local clans on this chart deserve attention too—particularly the Ou clan of Shunde and the Ou clan of Gaoming. Among the fifteen figures in the 'Picture and Poems,' Qu Huainian's father Qu Daxiang and uncle Qu Dalun were both jinshi who served as Hanlin Bachelors. Qu Huairui was his brother; together with Qu Huainian and Ou Biyuan, he belonged to the 'Twelve Masters of Nanyuan.' The Qu Huainian brothers later participated in the anti-Qing resistance as well. Ou Biyuan was the grand-nephew of Ou Daren, one of the 'Later Five Masters of Nanyuan,' and along with his cousin Ou Zhuyu, also numbered among the 'Twelve Masters of Nanyuan.' Ou Biyuan studied alongside He Wuzhou and Li Sunchen. Li Sunchen rose to Minister of Rites in Nanjing before dying in office in 1634. Ou Biyuan's sons Ou Chongxian and Ou Sixian later followed Li Suiqiu and fell in battle at Ganzhou."

"Birds of a feather, indeed. They're all tough bones."

(End of Chapter)