[Location: Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs, left of the Governor's Mansion.]
In autumn, the cabinet submitted an urgent memorandum regarding the reorganisation of the grain transport system in southern Zhili.
This system was the lifeblood of the nation and the region was a crucial hub for revenue and supplies. The memorial stated that, due to dereliction of duty by several grain transport governors and local officials, there had been severe grain losses, necessitating the dispatch of an imperial envoy to conduct a thorough investigation with the Black-Clad Guards.
The memorial was submitted to the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs, where it was initially reviewed by the scribe Xiao Wuchen.
With the Black-Clad Guards infiltrating and surveilling him, Xiao Wuchen knew that the Left Governor-General's Office would meticulously analyse his every move. He therefore decided to use the memorial as a subtle counterattack and test.
Recalling the old files he had reviewed, Xiao Wuchen knew that the Southern Zhili grain transport system had always been one of the Left Governor-General's Office's financial resources and information networks. Although the main grain transport governors appeared to be appointed by the Six Ministries, their families often had clandestine dealings with the Left Governor-General's Office.
If the cabinet's suggestion to dispatch imperial envoys and the Black-Clad Guards directly to investigate is followed, the Left Vice-General will have the initiative to purge and protect his own forces.
Xiao Wuchen picked up his brush and wrote his commentary in red ink with a specially made vermilion pen, after the draft in the memorial.
He didn't revise the proposed investigation, but he did add two key points:
'Selection of the Imperial Envoy': 'The Imperial Envoy should be selected from the Censorate and accompanied by the Director of the Eastern Depot to prevent local officials from deceiving the Emperor.'
Scope of Investigation: 'The investigation should be expanded to include the military garrisons in the three provinces along the Grand Canal to check for embezzlement of military pay or misappropriation of grain.'
He presented this annotated memorial to the Grand Eunuch Wang Dehai.
After reading the annotations, Wang Dehai pondered briefly, stroked his beard and said, 'The Censorate and the Eastern Depot checking the Black-Clad Guards is indeed a sound measure. The military garrisons are indeed a hidden danger, so investigating them is a good idea. Hmm, your annotations are very skilful.'
Without further thought, he affixed the seal of the Directorate of Ceremonial and presented the memorial to the Emperor.
The memorial was quickly delivered to the desk of the Left Commander through the "information network" of the Black-Clad Guard.
Upon seeing the memorial, and Xiao Wuchen's vermilion annotations in particular, the Left Commander's expression changed drastically.
'The Censorate? The Eastern Depot?' The Left Commander stared coldly at the words in the annotations.
He immediately realised that this was no coincidence.
Personnel Selection and Checks and Balances: Dispatching Censorate officials (mostly honest civil servants) and the Eastern Depot's supervisor (who had a long-standing feud with the Black-Clad Guard) was clearly intended to disperse and restrain the leadership of the Black-Clad Guard in the investigation.
Scope of Investigation: Expanding the investigation to the garrison troops would hit the heart of the matter directly. The garrison troops along the route were his secret network for recruiting retired Black-Clad Guards, amassing wealth and setting up intelligence stations.
'What a Xiao Wuchen! He has only read a few memorials, yet he has such a firm grasp of the inner workings and taboos of my household.'
The Left Commander abruptly stood up and paced around his study. This time, he felt not anger, but a deep sense of dread.
Xiao Wuchen's move involved no violence or accusations; it was simply a seemingly plausible 'poisonous thorn' planted within the normal course of government affairs.
'He's declared war on me,' said the left-wing commander-in-chief in a deep voice. 'He's threatening me with information and power.'
He had no choice but to react.
Emergency clean-up: He immediately issued a secret order for the garrisons along the Grand Canal to undergo emergency reorganization and relocation, ensuring that the Eastern Depot and the Censorate wouldn't unearth any core secrets.
Acknowledging checks and balances: He tacitly approved the plan involving the Censorate and the Eastern Depot in the imperial envoy. This was his way of telling Xiao Wuchen that he recognised the threat and was willing to accept the checks and balances in this information game.
Blocking the source: "Thoroughly investigate the Directorate of Ceremonial to find out who leaked the secrets about the Grand Canal garrisons to Xiao Wuchen."
However, he didn't know that Xiao Wuchen hadn't learned about the garrisons from outsiders, but had deduced the information himself from countless memorials, military reports and documents from the Ministry of Revenue.
Xiao Wuchen's actions proved his worth; he was no longer a mere eunuch who could be manipulated by force, but rather a scribe of the Directorate of Ceremonial with highly analytical abilities and political influence.
With a single memorial, he drew a clear line between himself and the Left Governor's Office — they were two independent forces, each with their own intelligence and checks and balances.