Had no choice but to light another fire. Brian Clark strained his neck and said, “Your Highness the Prince of Yan, this man is distorting the imperial will. His Majesty only decreed the abolition of the Jinyiwei and the transfer of the Imperial Prison to the Ministry of Justice. According to the decree, all local Jinyiwei only need to return their judicial authority to the local yamen. But the Jinyiwei in Beiping, besides handling judicial matters, also shoulder the responsibility of gathering military intelligence and monitoring the Northern Yuan! Since when did the Sage issue an edict allowing local officials to meddle in military and state affairs? In my humble opinion, this man is very likely a spy from the Northern Yuan, here to destroy the Great Ming’s Great Wall! His actions are suspicious, his intentions are punishable, and he himself deserves death!”

A string of serious accusations was thrown out, and Theodore Roosevelt finally reacted.

Whether it was the Jinyiwei or the civil officials, it had nothing to do with him; not his position, not his business. Theodore Roosevelt was not someone who didn’t understand the rules.

But when it came to military affairs, that was the Prince of Yan’s domain.

If things went wrong, there’d be no way to explain himself to George Washington!

“Councilor Wang, what’s going on?” Theodore Roosevelt asked angrily.

That Councilor Wang, flustered and exasperated, immediately denied it: “Your Highness, this man is talking nonsense, he’s framing me!”

“Whether it’s framing or not, just look at the imperial edict! Your Highness will judge for himself!” Brian Clark said sternly.

Theodore Roosevelt took a deep breath and said to Councilor Wang, “Since that’s the case, hand the edict over to me!”

Councilor Wang hesitated for a moment before finally taking out the edict and handing it to Theodore Roosevelt. He was also very puzzled now. He hadn’t read the edict aloud in public; he’d only given it to William Baker, then took it back. William Baker hadn’t noticed anything wrong—so how did this kid spot the problem?

Theodore Roosevelt unfolded the edict and quickly skimmed through it. Sure enough, the edict stated the abolition of the Jinyiwei, the return of the Imperial Prison to the Ministry of Justice, and that all local offices should follow suit.

This edict indeed left room for manipulation. If it were the Jinyiwei in the interior, only responsible for supervising civilians and soldiers, abolishing them would be straightforward. But the border Jinyiwei had a dual mission, which made things complicated!

Theodore Roosevelt had been a feudal prince for seven years and had campaigned with the army beyond the frontier. He understood the situation perfectly. Councilor Wang had overstepped his authority by doing this. The question was, how did he dare? Who gave him the courage?

The abolition of the Jinyiwei was the idea of his eldest brother, Charles Baker.

And Charles Baker had long become the crown prince, taken Song Lian as his teacher, and was deeply supported by the civil officials. Coincidentally, Song Lian had been implicated in the Hu Weiyong case and suffered at the hands of the Jinyiwei… Connecting these events, Theodore Roosevelt understood: someone wanted to kick the Jinyiwei while they were down and take revenge.

They thought that with the crown prince backing them, they could do whatever they wanted.

Frankly, Theodore Roosevelt didn’t want to offend the crown prince—nor could he afford to!

But the problem was, today the civil officials, holding a dubious edict, dared to arrest people and seal up the Jinyiwei office. Tomorrow, they might dare to challenge him, the Prince of Yan!

What’s more, this also involved the major issue of military action against the Northern Yuan. Theodore Roosevelt felt that even if his father, the emperor, knew, he might not approve!

Theodore Roosevelt pondered for a moment. “Councilor Wang, you were acting on imperial orders, so naturally you are not at fault. However, the situation in Beiping is different from elsewhere. You know as well as I do that His Majesty recently ordered us to stockpile grain and prepare to sweep the Northern Yuan! At such a critical moment, we must be extremely cautious. Here’s what we’ll do: for now, seal the office, let these Jinyiwei temporarily stay in the military camp, and I will write to my father, the emperor. Of course, you can also submit a memorial and explain everything clearly, and we’ll wait for the imperial decision. How about that?”

The feudal princes of early Ming were all sons of Old Zhu, of imperial blood, arrogant and domineering. But Theodore Roosevelt was an exception—his tone was gentle and courteous.

But if you listened carefully, his words were even more terrifying than if he’d shouted in anger!

Civil officials could pin labels on people, but so could he—and he was even better at it.

By pushing the matter to George Washington, Theodore Roosevelt both demonstrated his own importance and avoided offending the crown prince Charles Baker. In short, he advanced and retreated with ease, cutting both ways like a knife through tofu.

Brian Clark had now witnessed the methods of the future Yongle Emperor—this guy was no brute!

As Brian Clark was pondering his next move, Councilor Wang didn’t dare challenge Theodore Roosevelt and could only leave with his men. The other Jinyiwei, almost all wounded, tears in their eyes, carefully lifted William Baker’s corpse. No one knew who started it, but soon everyone was crying, more pitiful than children who’d lost their mother!

Theodore Roosevelt sighed. As a feudal prince, he couldn’t get involved with the Jinyiwei. No matter how heartbroken they were, he was powerless to help. As he turned his head, he happened to see Brian Clark!

A flash of ferocity appeared in Theodore Roosevelt’s eyes. “Men, seize him!”

Chapter 7: The Prince of Yan’s Palace and the Wild Child

Brian Clark never imagined that he would end up in the Prince of Yan’s palace as a prisoner—what a novel experience!

The Prince of Yan’s palace was the former imperial palace of Yuan Dadu. Though badly damaged, its layout remained: spacious rooms, orderly courtyards, tall pagoda trees everywhere, full of vitality and lush greenery.

The palace’s Qianhu, James Baker, escorted Brian Clark to an empty room in the back courtyard.

He bared his teeth at Brian Clark and sneered, “You little brat, not very old but quite bold, daring to lie to our prince. Just wait to get a taste of the blade!”

With that, he turned and left, instructing two guards on his way out to keep a close watch. Whether he’d be killed or tortured would depend entirely on the prince’s decision!