Chapter 159: Rectifying the Atmosphere

Zhu Youxiao's words did not surprise Han Kuang, Sun Chengzong, and the other two.

The Emperor summoning them here could only mean there was business to discuss. This was the first council since the Grand Secretariat had changed hands, so it would mostly cover what had come before—but certainly all of it would be major matters.

His gaze sweeping across the four faces present, Zhu Youxiao said in a flat tone: "Under normal circumstances, I would not raise anything at this time, but the court is indeed far from peaceful, and there is no time for you gentlemen to familiarize yourselves with affairs at leisure."

"So, gentlemen, familiarizing yourselves with state affairs is something you must do on your own. What you need to do now is to fill out your staff as quickly as possible, because every ministry is severely understaffed."

This was indeed the truth. This case had implicated far too many people—whether the Ministry of War or the Ministry of Revenue, both had lost a great number of personnel. Thus replenishing staff was the urgent task at hand, and the four Grand Secretaries had no objections on that point.

But what needed to be discussed now was how to replenish the staff—and that was the crucial question. Because new appointments meant the chance to expand one's own power base.

Personnel disputes had always been the thorniest issue, and also the one everyone at court most wanted a hand in. Only by having one's own people in key positions could one accomplish more.

Zhu Youxiao said expressionlessly: "Because time is pressing, there is no opportunity for further recommendation. I intend to have you each draw up your own list—the Ministry of Revenue goes to Xu Guangqi, and the Ministry of War goes to Sun Chengzong."

"Draw up a list as quickly as you can, and whatever personnel you need to transfer in from wherever, I will approve as much as possible."

At these words from Zhu Youxiao, all four men present could hardly believe their ears, and none of them knew quite what to feel.

His Majesty was plainly supporting them in selecting their own people. In the Ministry of Revenue, letting Xu Guangqi handle it himself meant Xu Guangqi would inevitably choose those close to him—those who could support him and work for him.

In the Ministry of War, Sun Chengzong had the final say, and the people Sun Chengzong chose would naturally be his own.

As for the other ministries that were implicated, those vacancies were left for Han Kuang.

Huang Kezuan would participate as well, but he was essentially no match for Han Kuang. Still, Huang Kezuan held the Ministry of Justice in his hands—that was His Majesty's assignment to him.

Huang Kezuan had not been deeply involved in the Donglin Faction case this time, so when benefits were distributed, he naturally received the least. But his base plus what he could obtain would still be a force not to be underestimated.

His Majesty's approach was far too simple and crude. No emperor had ever operated this way before—at least, Han Kuang, Xu Guangqi, and the others had never experienced anything like it.

But it was also the fastest method, the quickest way to restore the work of government.

The newly promoted men would all be their own people—easy to direct, obedient, and unlikely to hold things back.

And if any problem arose, His Majesty could go straight to the four of them. That was the advantage.

The disadvantage, of course, was that all the men would belong to the four of them, which could let them grow too powerful and cause His Majesty's word to carry no weight.

But because the Grand Secretariat existed, they could check one another well enough—that concern could be set aside.

If any one of them performed poorly or ran into trouble, the other three could be used to discipline him. No one held sole dominance; no one could act beyond the others.

Though doubts lingered in their hearts, no one stepped forward to object on the surface, because this was all to their own benefit—none of the four had any complaint. And even if they did, it probably would not have mattered.

So the four Grand Secretaries hurriedly said: "Your ministers accept the decree."

Zhu Youxiao nodded and said with a smile: "In that case, get to it quickly. I am about to prepare for my wedding in the coming days, so you gentlemen will need to bear more of the burden. The remaining matter is the cases of the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue—do you gentlemen have any opinions?"

At the mention of the cases, the expressions of the several men instantly turned serious.

But compared to before, the cases of the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue were easier to decide on this time. Having just received their benefits, Han Kuang and the others could hardly argue with Zhu Youxiao—and most importantly, whether it was Minister of Revenue Wang Ji or Minister of War Cui Jingrong, Han Kuang and the others held no fondness for either man.

Xu Guangqi especially—in his view, both Wang Ji and Cui Jingrong were useless sacks of rice and wine, not only failing to do their work but also corrupt. There was nothing to discuss with such men; just get rid of them.

As for the subordinates under Wang Ji and Cui Jingrong, there was even less to say. Dealing with them gave Xu Guangqi no qualms whatsoever.

There was no faction at court now that stuck together like the Donglin Faction had, so they could simply be removed directly, and no one would jump out to make a fuss.

In the Censorate now, Cui Chengxiu had the loudest voice, and he certainly would not step out to attack—even if he did, he would only attack the Grand Secretariat for being too lenient. So no one felt any pressure.

Huang Kezuan was not much involved in the affairs of the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue, so he felt no pressure either.

As for Han Kuang, he would not care whether such men lived or died. They were not his people, and involving himself too deeply would bring him no benefit. He could gain nothing from the Ministry of War or the Ministry of Revenue—His Majesty had already given those benefits to Xu Guangqi and Sun Chengzong.

As for Sun Chengzong, he was indifferent as well. Not that he was indifferent to how those men might react—rather, he was indifferent to how they were punished.

At the same time, Han Kuang, Xu Guangqi, and the other two thought of a deeper layer: the other ministers at court would not care about the fates of those men either.

Once His Majesty's decree letting Xu Guangqi and Sun Chengzong select personnel went out, those people would likely be busy currying favor with these two men.

So if you went to defend the old incumbents, how could you know you would not offend these two new powers? Unless you were a magnet, who would bother with them?

But in the officialdom of the Great Ming, how many magnets could there be?

So none of the four dwelled on the matter or overthought it—they reached a consensus directly.

Xu Guangqi stepped forward, bowed, and said: "Your Majesty, punishing them according to the laws of the Great Ming will suffice."

Xu Guangqi's meaning was clear: severe punishment, nothing to discuss.

Zhu Youxiao nodded with a smile, quite satisfied with Xu Guangqi.

This was what it meant to have one's own man—someone who dared to step up and dared to speak at the critical moment.

And since those men had no connection to Xu Guangqi, he had no need to protect them. Going along with the Emperor was to his advantage.

Once Xu Guangqi, the Second Grand Secretary, had spoken, it was Sun Chengzong's and Huang Kezuan's turn to state their positions.

Huang Kezuan stood behind Sun Chengzong—his ranking was lower than Sun Chengzong's—so at this moment he stepped forward, came out, and said expressionlessly: "Your Majesty, your minister feels that Grand Secretary Xu speaks with reason."

Then it was Sun Chengzong's turn.

Sun Chengzong said directly: "Your minister has no objections."

Of the four Grand Secretaries, three had already agreed—only Han Kuang remained. Though Han Kuang was the Chief Grand Secretary, he would not step out to oppose at this moment either.

So Han Kuang also said: "Your minister concurs."

Zhu Youxiao nodded and said: "Then let this matter be handled this way."

"Do you gentlemen have anything else to say? If not, we will end here for today." Zhu Youxiao said with a smile.

The meeting having reached this point, Zhu Youxiao was quite satisfied. This was far more pleasant than the faces he had seen before.

"Your ministers take their leave." The several men hurriedly bowed, then turned and walked out together.

Zhu Youxiao watched their retreating figures, a smile curling at the corner of his mouth. He turned to look at Chen Hong beside him and said: "Has the lecturing at the Embroidered Uniform Guard stopped? Have them resume it in the coming days—do not let it cease. Handle it as it should be handled."

Chen Hong hurriedly replied: "Yes, Your Majesty. This servant will see to it at once."

After Chen Hong had left, Zhu Youxiao leaned back against the daybed, a smile spreading across his face.

At long last, he could finally do some proper work. But there was still one matter before him—he needed to rectify the atmosphere.

What was called rectifying the atmosphere was, in essence, unifying thought.

After a moment's thought, Zhu Youxiao decided he should put one man to use, and at the same time find some work for certain others—otherwise those people would not stay quiet and might well stir up trouble.

Although not many people participated in this meeting, the news still couldn't be kept under wraps.

Soon the news spread throughout the entire officialdom of the capital.

Sure enough, just as previously anticipated, no one cared at all about how Cui Jingrong and Wang Ji would be dealt with, and even less did anyone care about the remaining people.

Everyone was concerned about only one thing — how to get into the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War.

Although a batch of people had already died before, everyone felt they wouldn't be so foolish themselves, so there was nothing to worry about.

Most importantly, in officialdom, from the ninth rank to the first rank, how many pairs of eyes weren't fixed on every single official hat?

Now that there were so many opportunities, and such good positions at that, naturally everyone wanted to take a gamble. Thus, the number of people with designs on these posts grew.

For a time, the residences of the several Grand Secretaries could be described as bustling as a marketplace — those coming to pay their respects lined up from one end of the street to the other, and some even threw letters into the residences. Every kind of tactic was being employed.

At the same time, former classmates, fellow disciples under the same master, and even students all came knocking, crowds of them in droves.

This situation was making Sun Chengzong, Xu Guangqi, and the others rather irritated, but these matters still had to be handled — they needed to prepare candidate selections as quickly as possible.

The entire capital was lively, but there were also quiet places — namely, the residence of Sun Shenxing, Minister of Rites.

Gao Panlong was at that moment sitting in Sun Shenxing's home, his expression none too pleasant.

This time, the Donglin Faction could be said to have suffered a crushing defeat — from start to finish they hadn't gained a single benefit. A group of people had been removed from office, and some had even lost their heads, leaving them in an utterly sorry state.

Beyond that, the Donglin Faction's power had been greatly weakened, making them even more feeble. The new Grand Secretaries had been announced, and Minister of Rites Sun Shenxing was not among them — this was quite awkward.

"What should we do from here on?" Gao Panlong said with some hesitation.

Sun Shenxing sipped his tea, shook his head bitterly, and said with some helplessness: "We need to have a 'from here on' first. Things have come to this state — neither of us is in an easy position anymore."

"Go pay a visit to Sun Chengzong's home. See if you can get him to transfer you to the Ministry of War."

Hearing Sun Shenxing's words, Gao Panlong furrowed his brow and said with some helplessness: "Have things really come to such a pass?"

Sun Shenxing waved his hand casually and said with a smile: "Better safe than sorry. Being prepared never does any harm."