MLMD -Chapter 164 Inspection (Part 1)

The military achievements reported by Yue Yang finally helped Chongzhen recover a bit of his lost face.

Overjoyed, the emperor granted Yue Yang a whole string of cost-free rewards in one go. He also appointed Chen Xinjia as Imperial Censor for Inspection of Xuanfu, ordering him to depart for Shanxi immediately. At the same time, all of the imperial edicts praising Yue Yang were entrusted to Chen Xinjia to be delivered along the way.

The entire court was shaken by this matter, and naturally Lu Xiangsheng, the Supreme Commander of the Xuan-Da region, could not be unaware of it.

In late September, the newly appointed Imperial Censor Chen Xinjia arrived in Datong Prefecture. Not only did Lu Xiangsheng lead the Shanxi Provincial Administration Commissioner, the Judicial Commissioner, and all the generals to welcome him at the gates of the Governor-General’s office, even Xu Dingchen, the Governor of Shanxi, hurried all the way from Taiyuan to receive him.

By rank, Chen Xinjia was only a third-grade official, while Lu Xiangsheng, as Governor-General of Xuan-Da, and Xu Dingchen, as Governor of Shanxi, were both higher. In theory, neither of them needed to personally welcome him.

But officialdom was never judged by rank alone—it depended on what one had come to do.

Imperial Inspecting Censors normally served only one year in a given region, and unless specially approved by the court, could not serve there again. They held the authority to act in the emperor’s name—supervising local governments, impeaching corrupt officials, and evaluating merit and performance.

In simple terms, an Inspecting Censor was the emperor’s eyes and hands in the provinces, with far more official authority than the eunuchs stationed in various regions. More importantly, Chen Xinjia was also Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of War—in modern terms, a deputy minister of defense. And this time he had come to read out an imperial edict, directly representing the Chongzhen Emperor himself. So even though Lu Xiangsheng and Xu Dingchen outranked him slightly, they still had to receive him in person.

Inside the Governor-General’s residence of the Datong Defense Area, Lu Xiangsheng and Xu Dingchen sat at the main seats on the left and right, while Chen Xinjia and the generals sat below them. Dozens of commanders of vice-general rank and above packed the hall until it was full.

Lu Xiangsheng stroked his long beard, his eyes half-closed. Since the Manchu invasion, his already gaunt face had grown even more hollow, and his cheekbones stood out sharply. It was even harder now to read his emotions. Before him lay two documents—Yue Yang’s victory report and Chongzhen’s imperial edict.

Chen Xinjia sat to his right, calmly sipping tea, waiting for either Lu Xiangsheng or Xu Dingchen to speak first.

The expressions of the generals below were a riot of emotions—envy, jealousy, disdain, astonishment, admiration—everything could be found on their faces.

Finally, Lu Xiangsheng spoke. His narrow eyes opened, revealing a commanding aura.

“Lord Xu, Lord Chen has come to Xuan-Da under imperial order to assume office and deliver the emperor’s edict. This is a great blessing for the millions of people of Shanxi and the tens of thousands of soldiers here. In my opinion, we should first ask Lord Chen to convey a few words from His Majesty to our troops. What do you think?”

“Very well said,” Xu Dingchen nodded. Still tired from days of travel, his face showed fatigue, and his spirit was not strong. He forced a smile and said, “Lord Lu is quite right. Since Lord Chen carries the imperial edict, he should naturally speak on His Majesty’s behalf first. Gentlemen, what do you think?”

“Indeed!”

“Lord Chen should speak first!”

The assembled generals were all seasoned veterans of officialdom. They knew the rules perfectly well and all voiced their agreement.

Chen Xinjia could not help but laugh silently. So who was it in the capital that said Lu Xiangsheng was just a reckless brute? That clearly isn’t true.

Of course, this judgment was unfair. Lu Xiangsheng was a metropolitan graduate of the second year of the Tianqi reign, a man of deep learning. Though he was straightforward by nature, that did not mean he was ignorant of human affairs.

“Very well. Then I shall first attend to official business before we speak as friends.”

Chen Xinjia stood, took a memorial from his sleeve, and called out loudly:

“All generals, rise and receive the imperial edict!”

With a rustle of movement, everyone—including Lu Xiangsheng and Xu Dingchen—rose, stepped forward, and knelt.

“We humbly receive the Sacred Edict!”

Chen Xinjia began to read:

“Imperial Edict: The bandits have invaded, violated our borders, and slaughtered our people. I think of this with deep sorrow. Yet the border troops are powerless, and I can only sigh in helplessness…”

As he read this line, Chen Xinjia glanced discreetly at Lu Xiangsheng. Lu felt his face burn, as if whipped by those words. As Governor-General of Xuan-Da, he had accomplished nothing during this Manchu incursion—how could he not feel ashamed?

“But I also know that Minister Lu has only just arrived in Xuan-Zhen, with few troops and generals at his disposal, so I can understand his difficulties. Now that the Tartars have withdrawn, I hope you will swiftly reorganize the army and ensure they do not dare to invade again.

I have heard that in Yingzhou there is a general named Yue Yang, skilled in agricultural colonization and now also greatly meritorious, having slain over two thousand enemies. This greatly comforts me. I hereby promote Yue Yang to Xuanwei General, and his wife Hai Lanzhu to…”

After the edict was read, everyone took their seats again.

Chen Xinjia handed the edict to Lu Xiangsheng with a smile.

“Lord Lu, before leaving the capital, His Majesty specifically instructed me that upon arriving in Xuan-Da I must go to Yingzhou to see for myself whether Wuli Village is truly as well managed as people claim, a land as rich as fish and rice. I wonder whether Lord Lu and Lord Xu would be willing to accompany me?”

Lu Xiangsheng and Xu Dingchen exchanged glances. If we refuse after he puts it that way, won’t it look like we don’t take the emperor seriously?

Xu Dingchen nodded and smiled. “Speaking of Wuli Village, I’ve been there several times. In the past two years it has indeed been managed extremely well. Lord Chen is not mistaken—it truly can be called a land of abundance. I hear they will be harvesting there in a few days. If Lord Chen is interested, you should definitely go and take a look—it will surely open your eyes.”

“Oh? Is that so?” Chen Xinjia was delighted. “Then why don’t we go to Wuli Village together? What do you gentlemen think?”

“Go to Wuli Village?” Lu Xiangsheng and Xu Dingchen looked at each other and slowly nodded in unison.

“A splendid idea. Let us go together!”

While countless people were being astonished by the affairs of Wuli Village and Yue Yang, what was Yue Yang himself doing?

At this moment, he was at home taking care of his wife.

The reason was simple—Hai Lanzhu was pregnant.

Ever since Yue Yang returned, he had sensed something was off about Hai Lanzhu. After calling in a doctor, they discovered the truth. The news instantly shook the entire Yue household.

Her pregnancy was a huge event—far more important to Wuli Village and the Yue family than any military victory or promotion.

The ancients said that among the three unfilial acts, having no heir was the greatest. Yue Yang had been married to Hai Lanzhu and the Linglong sisters for over a year, yet none of them had shown any sign of pregnancy. The old madam had been frantic, constantly making them drink various tonics. Yue Yang had grown so sick of them that just seeing those medicines made him nauseous.

Now it was finally over—he no longer had to drink that stuff.

The news of Hai Lanzhu’s pregnancy quickly spread throughout Wuli Village and Yingzhou. Yue Yang’s subordinates all came with gifts to congratulate him. Even Magistrate Zheng Fakui and the city’s merchants were no exception.

After all, Yue Yang was now the most powerful man in Yingzhou—holding military authority, a government post, and vast private wealth. Anyone who wanted to thrive in Yingzhou had to stay on good terms with him.

“Come on, dear—be good. Drink this bowl of medicine!”

In Hai Lanzhu’s room, Yue Yang held a bowl of miscarriage-preventing decoction, coaxing his wife to drink the black liquid.

“Zhenghong, I really don’t want to drink this anymore. Let the maids take it away…” Half-lying on the bed, Hai Lanzhu stared at the medicine, her beautiful oval face scrunched up. Normally bold and spirited, she was now terrified of these concoctions and could only plead with her husband.

“No. Either you drink it, or you go explain yourself to the old madam.”

Yue Yang shook his head firmly.

“Then… I’ll drink it.” Thinking of the old madam’s burning desire for a grandson—and her dreadful nagging—Hai Lanzhu shuddered. Taking the bowl from Yue Yang, she took a deep breath, her pretty face set with heroic resolve, as though going to the execution ground.

“Gulp, gulp…”

Pinching her nose, she drained the bowl in one go. Just as she was about to speak, light footsteps sounded. Her maid Xiaoman hurried in, followed by the Linglong sisters. The moment they entered, Yulong spoke.

“Husband, Sister Hai Lanzhu—Magistrate Zheng, Shunbao, and Defender Hu are all here. They say they have urgent business to see you.”

“They’re here?” Yue Yang looked surprised. These days, because of Hai Lanzhu’s pregnancy, he had handed most military affairs to Shunbao and Hu Laosan and taken a few days off to stay with his wife. It had only been a few days—why had they all come together?

“Well… looks like something big has happened again.” Yue Yang shook his head and said to Hai Lanzhu, “Rest well. I’ll go take a look.”

“Mm, go on.” Hai Lanzhu weakly waved her hand. The bitter taste of the medicine still had her face scrunched up.

Walking past the Linglong sisters, Yue Yang put an arm around each of them and kissed their cheeks lightly.

“Help take care of Hai Lanzhu, alright?”

“Don’t worry, husband,” Yuling said gently.

“Yes, with my sister and me here, nothing will happen!” Yulong said cheerfully.