Chapter 31: The Four Friends of Heaven's Saint

Su Ze bowed to Zhang Daocheng once more and asked, "Uncle Zhang, do you know which ministers in the imperial court currently support Empress Cao?"

Zhang Daocheng replied, "If one were to name the greatest supporter of Empress Cao in the court, it would naturally be Commissioner Fan."

Commissioner Fan was none other than Fan Zhongyan.

Su Ze pondered this; it was a logical conclusion. Back then, Fan Zhongyan had opposed Emperor Renzong’s deposition of Empress Guo. Representing the reformist faction, Fan had urged the Emperor to establish an heir early to secure the foundation of the state, driven not by personal ambition, but by a concern for the stability of the court. Simply put, reformists like Fan Zhongyan required a stable government, and the Empress was a core component of imperial power. Establishing a crown prince early was beneficial for national stability. Much like the ministers during the reign of the Wanli Emperor who petitioned for an early succession, this was a matter of public interest aimed at securing the country. Su Ze believed that the reformists led by Fan Zhongyan would not stoop to such underhanded tactics against him.

Zhang Daocheng continued, "Besides him, there is Chancellor Lü."

Su Ze felt a chill. Chancellor Lü was none other than Lü Yijian, the current Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi—the Prime Minister. At the mention of Lü Yijian, Zhang Daocheng grew anxious. He stood up and paced, saying, "I hope it is not Chancellor Lü. If he is the one behind this, Su, you are in serious trouble."

Su Ze nodded in agreement. Lü Yijian was not as famous in history as predecessors like Kou Zhun or successors like Wang Anshi, but as a seasoned political survivor throughout the reign of Emperor Renzong, he was a truly formidable operator. As the leader of the conservative faction, Lü Yijian had deep roots in the court and was exceptionally skilled in political maneuvering, possessing a ruthless streak. If it were truly Lü Yijian acting against him, even Zhang Daocheng began to fear for Su Ze’s safety.

Zhang Daocheng added, "Last year, the 'Four Friends of Tiansheng' were all expelled from the court, and it is said that was the work of Chancellor Lü. You must be careful, Su."

Su Ze nodded. The Four Friends of Tiansheng—Zheng Jian, Ye Qingchen, Song Xiang, and Song Qi—were a political force formed by officials who had passed the imperial examinations during the Tiansheng era. They existed independently of the reformist faction led by Fan Zhongyan and the conservative faction headed by Lü Yijian, functioning as a group of pragmatic technocrats. During the Kangding era, just two years prior, these four had reached the height of their power: Song Xiang as a Councilor of State, Zheng Jian as Deputy Commissioner of the Bureau of Military Affairs, Ye Qingchen as Minister of Finance, and Song Qi as an Attendant at the Tianzhang Pavilion. Their influence was unrivaled, posing a direct threat to the conservatives.

Among them, Zheng Jian was the leader and the greatest threat to the conservatives. Zheng Jian was Fan Zhongyan’s brother-in-law, though he had passed the examinations many years later than Fan. Before his promotion to the Bureau of Military Affairs, Zheng Jian had served as the Prefect of Kaifeng—the most difficult post in the empire—where he performed brilliantly and won the praise of the people of Bianjing. His greatest achievement there was dealing with Feng Shiyuan, a minor official in the Kaifeng prefecture.

Though merely a minor official, Feng Shiyuan had colluded with Chancellor Lü Yijian. Using his connections, he had artificially inflated property prices in Bianjing, helping the children of the elite profit from real estate speculation. He even boasted while drunk that he was "Half-City Feng," claiming he could buy half of Bianjing. He gathered thugs and even colluded with corrupt members of the Imperial Guard to forcibly seize the property of commoners. Several previous Prefects of Kaifeng had been unable to stop him. However, Zheng Jian, being shrewd, capable, and decisive, preferred unconventional tactics. He arrested Feng Shiyuan on charges of possessing banned books, and using him as a breakthrough, he ensnared a whole host of wealthy scions.

Zheng Jian leveraged this to arrest Lü Yijian’s sons, Lü Gongchuo and Lü Gongbi, impeached Lü Yijian himself, and implicated over a dozen conservative officials, including the then-Censor-in-Chief Kong Daofu and Tianzhang Pavilion Attendant Pang Ji. However, at that time, the reformists led by Fan Zhongyan had just been suppressed by Emperor Renzong. If Lü Yijian were also dismissed, the Zheng Jian faction would have become too powerful. Emperor Renzong, a master of balancing power, chose not to act against Lü Yijian; he even comforted him and pardoned his two sons. The case ended with Feng Shiyuan being exiled to Hainan.

On the merit of his work as Prefect of Kaifeng, Zheng Jian was promoted, and for a time, the Four Friends of Tiansheng overshadowed the conservatives. But alas, the older the ginger, the spicier it gets. Having risen to power suddenly, the four—all men of exceptional literary talent—frequently gathered to drink and compose poetry. Once they held high positions in military affairs, state policy, finance, and imperial drafting, their constant gatherings aroused the Emperor’s suspicion. By convention, the Commissioner of Military Affairs and the Councilor of State were not supposed to associate privately to avoid the appearance of impropriety, let alone the Minister of Finance, who controlled the national treasury, and the Emperor’s close attendant responsible for drafting edicts. Their habit of calling themselves the "Four Friends of Tiansheng" touched a raw nerve with the Emperor.

Su Ze knew this was the ancestral malady of the Zhao Song emperors: an intense fear of ministers forming cliques. Lü Yijian, that old viper, had further stoked the conflict between Zheng Jian and the reformists led by Fan Zhongyan, isolating the Four Friends. Finally, with a single memorial accusing the four of forming a faction, Emperor Renzong expelled them all from the court to serve in provincial posts and issued an imperial decree warning all officials against forming cliques. With this, Lü Yijian had used his intimate knowledge of the Emperor’s mind to dismantle the Four Friends and seize control of the court.

Su Ze reflected and became increasingly convinced that the mastermind behind the attacks on him was none other than Lü Yijian. He recalled Wang Anshi once mentioning that imperial censors were set to impeach Song Qi, the current head of the Directorate of Education and one of the Four Friends. This was a campaign of total annihilation against the remnants of that group. The scandal at the Directorate of Education might not have been aimed at Su Ze at all; Lü Yijian was simply suppressing his political enemies and happened to crush Su Ze along the way. Chancellor Lü was truly a man of formidable means.

Although mostly speculation, the sequence of events was clear. Su Ze was fifty percent certain that the man behind the scenes was the Chancellor. He might not even be the target; the true objective was likely the destruction of the Four Friends, with the Directorate of Education scandal used to thoroughly discredit Song Qi. In gaming terms, he had simply been hit by the area-of-effect damage of a larger conflict—collateral damage.

A surge of indignation rose in his heart, though he quickly realized that the power struggles of the elite were the same in any era. Just then, a commotion broke out outside the study.

"The master is receiving guests! You cannot go in there, young lady!"