Chapter 218: Thorough Investigation of the Capital Camps

Only after everything was finished did Zhu Youxiao ask, "Master, what business brings you into the palace today?"

Sun Chengzong glanced at Zhu Youxiao, his expression resolute as he asked, "Does Your Majesty wish to carry out reforms?"

At this moment, Sun Chengzong no longer beat around the bush and stated the matter directly.

Since he had decided to come into the palace to ask, he had no intention of beating around the bush, so he might as well be straightforward.

Zhu Youxiao cast an indifferent glance at Sun Chengzong and asked with a smile, "Master, why do you say that?"

In truth, Zhu Youxiao did indeed want reform, and what he was doing was reform, but he had no desire to raise the banner of reform.

The reason was simple—reform was not something that shouting slogans could accomplish. At a certain point, slogans did indeed need to be shouted, but now was not the right time.

So Zhu Youxiao did not bring the matter up at all. Even if it were raised now, it would only invite more opposition and nothing else.

Zhu Youxiao had not expected Sun Chengzong to ask about reform, and so directly at that.

Seeing Zhu Youxiao speak this way, Sun Chengzong had no way to continue pressing the question.

The reason was also simple—as a minister, one could not coerce the Emperor. This was a rule that had to be observed, and it was the duty of a minister.

Sun Chengzong said, "Your Majesty has been appointing new people these days and has changed many rules, so I believed Your Majesty had intentions of reform."

Hearing Sun Chengzong's words, Zhu Youxiao felt somewhat helpless.

No matter the era, there were always many clever people—let alone within the imperial court?

Those who could rise to the very top positions of officialdom were not fools.

Although he had found many excuses, he had still been seen through. But at this moment, he still could not admit it, because there was not a single benefit in doing so.

Zhu Youxiao let out an "Oh" with a trace of confusion on his face, then said, "What reform is there? I have never thought of such a thing."

"Ever since I ascended the throne, the court has been in constant turmoil with so many affairs—how could I have the mind to think about this? Besides, throughout history there have been many reforms. Many ministers wanted to do them, and many emperors wanted to do them too, but what was the final result? Few came to a good end, so I have never considered it."

This was not Zhu Youxiao speaking idly—he had certainly thought about it, but it was true that no dynasty in history had come to a good end with reform.

Not to mention others, just look at this very Great Ming—how many years has it been since Zhang Juzheng's reforms ended, and what was the result?

Did it not still end up like this—the man dead and his policies abolished?

Without complete certainty, Zhu Youxiao would not recklessly shout the slogan of reform.

Sun Chengzong nodded and said, "I understand. In that case, let us not speak of this matter. I have another matter."

The Emperor had already given you an answer. Whether that answer was true or false, you had to treat it as true—this was something that would never change at any time.

Since he could not continue pressing the question, Sun Chengzong decisively changed the subject.

"Your Majesty, ever since I arrived at the Ministry of War, I have found that many matters in the Ministry of War are not as one would wish."

Sun Chengzong thought for a moment and said, "Not to mention anything else, the Capital Camps alone are most unsatisfactory. Every year the court spends so much money supporting them, yet the result is that they cannot be relied upon for anything important. So I was thinking of conducting a thorough investigation of the Capital Camps and weeding out the old and the weak."

This matter fell within the authority of the Minister of War, so Sun Chengzong raising it was within normal bounds.

But Zhu Youxiao could also see that Sun Chengzong was setting up an ambush. It did not matter, though—he still recognized Sun Chengzong's military competence. At the very least, Sun Chengzong trained troops well.

Not to mention anything else, many people said that Sun Chengzong had consumed too much silver while in Liaodong, and that his overall strategy was flawed.

But only after truly arriving in the Great Ming did Zhu Youxiao understand that Sun Chengzong did not lack other options—it was just that the other options would not work.

The guard station system of the Great Ming had completely rotted. If reforms were carried out on the old military structure, the difficulty would be enormous—even Liaodong was the same.

The troops in Liaodong did not want to fight for the court—this Zhu Youxiao knew very well.

First, the court had no money to give the Liaodong troops; they had to farm their own land every year just to sustain their campaigns. Second, when they died in battle, the court's compensation was not delivered in full, and the rewards for killing enemies were insufficient—so naturally, soldiers were unwilling to risk their lives for you.

Liaodong lacked fighting spirit and had no elite troops—so what could be done?

The only option was to build fortifications and defend to the death. As long as there was enough money, the forts could be pushed forward as far as possible, encroaching bit by bit.

The benefits of this were numerous, aside from costing a bit more money. And in truth, it had not cost that much—by the Great Ming's expenditures, Liaodong only burned through 8 million taels per year.

For such a large country, was burning 8 million taels even considered money?

With normal tax revenue and normal court expenditures, burning 20 million taels a year was still affordable.

In the end, the Great Ming simply had no money. With money, everything would be easy to handle.

Not counting anything else, just look at the tax revenue of the Great Qing during the Qianlong period.

During the Qianlong era, the Qing dynasty's annual fiscal revenue was around 50-plus million taels of silver, with grain reaching 13 million—and beyond that, there were other sources of income. But what about the Great Ming?

By all rights, the Great Ming's economy was far more developed than the Great Qing's, yet its tax revenue fell so far short.

Liaodong burned such a tiny amount of money, and it burned the country down.

Though natural disasters and man-made calamities were many across the land, wealth was not lacking either—it was just that the state had no money and was poor to the point of death.

So Zhu Youxiao was in no hurry to solve other problems—he only wanted to solve the internal problems. As long as the money was collected, everything else did not matter.

The reason was very simple: with money, everything could be accomplished; without money, nothing could be accomplished.

So Zhu Youxiao was not anxious either. He wanted to first adjust the court and obtain a usable force—at the very least, one that was not just going through the motions.

After achieving this goal, Zhu Youxiao could begin doing what he wanted to do, which should be realized by next year.

Now that Sun Chengzong had raised the matter of thoroughly investigating the Capital Camps, it was clear he also had ideas. Ever since the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Revenue had begun taking action, Xu Guangqi and the others' power had expanded very quickly.

In fact, Zhu Youxiao had been indulging or even supporting Xu Guangqi and the others in doing this—letting the central government gather power.

It was actually very simple: only after the central government had power could Zhu Youxiao gather that power into his own hands.

Now Sun Chengzong had clearly grown restless—he wanted to do the same.

Zhu Youxiao also understood why Sun Chengzong had asked him about reform.

"Since Master wishes to do it, then do it!" Zhu Youxiao said with a smile.

"I will have the Duke of Ying, Zhang Weixian, assist you." Zhu Youxiao mentioned the Duke of Ying.

At this time in the official circles of the Great Ming, the Duke of Ying, Zhang Weixian, was a man who could not be bypassed—also a man who could not be bypassed in the imperial court.

Zhang Weixian was implicated in all three of the late Ming's great cases (the Club Attack Case, the Red Pill Case, and the Palace Relocation Case), yet because of his illustrious background and his command of the Capital Camps' military power, he survived the chaotic and perilous political struggles of the late Ming with his person intact.

Zhang Weixian rendered great service in the Palace Relocation Case—against the obstruction of Wei Zhongxian and others, he personally carried the sedan chair that transported the Tianqi Emperor from the Qianqing Palace to the Wenhua Hall to inherit the throne.

In the original history, even when Wei Zhongxian was in power, he still could not do anything to Zhang Weixian. A major reason the Tianqi Emperor could ensure the capital remained stable was precisely because of Zhang Weixian's existence.

Zhu Youxiao had never given Zhang Weixian an important post, but that did not mean he did not value him.

Quite the opposite — Zhu Youxiao valued Zhang Weixian greatly; it was simply that the time to use him had not yet come.

A man like that was not someone Zhu Youxiao could afford to give up on.

Hearing Zhu Youxiao say this, Sun Chengzong clasped his hands and said, "Your servant thanks Your Majesty. In that case, your servant takes his leave."

Having said this, Sun Chengzong bowed to Zhu Youxiao, turned, and walked out.

Zhu Youxiao thought for a moment, then smiled and shook his head.

Some things were better left unexamined.

Turning to look at Chen Hong, Zhu Youxiao said, "Go to the Grand Secretariat and convey my decree: on the first day of this month, I will hold a morning court — and a grand assembly at that. All civil and military officials of the fourth rank and above in the capital are to attend."

Chen Hong had not expected His Majesty to bring this up, for the Emperor had not held court for quite some time. Never mind a grand assembly — His Majesty had not even attended the regular morning court.

That His Majesty now wanted to hold a grand assembly surely meant something major was afoot, but that had nothing to do with him.

Chen Hong dared not ask further. He hurriedly bowed and said, "This servant will go at once."

After Chen Hong had left, Zhu Youxiao stretched his body and gazed out at the distant, shimmering surface of the water.

For Zhu Youxiao, these past days he had not wanted to stir up trouble — he had only wanted to sit here peacefully and wait quietly.

But his ministers would not stay still.

The affairs of this period really ought to be brought to a close. It was time to see the results of the men he had chosen.

At this point, a decision had to be made.

News that His Majesty would hold a grand assembly on the first day of the month spread quickly through the capital, and all the officials could hardly believe their ears.

Once they recovered their senses, they rubbed their hands together in eager anticipation. Since the situation was what it was, this was their chance to shine.

Inside the Grand Secretariat, the atmosphere was somewhat strange.

The four Grand Secretaries seemed to be on guard against one another, and the mood was not good. Though they all kept up appearances, no one knew what the others were truly thinking behind their backs.

Only Han Kuang wore an air of one who desired nothing and thus feared nothing, smiling genially at everyone and putting on a show of being uninvolved.

In truth, Han Kuang had been doing exactly this for some time. The news of the grand assembly actually cheered him considerably — things would finally come to a resolution.

As for what that resolution would be, he was not particularly concerned.

The clamor and chaos of the court, Han Kuang felt, did not much affect him. But one thing was certain: he had a rough idea of what these Grand Secretaries were thinking.

After all, the player is blind, the onlooker sees all. What Han Kuang had been doing all along was watching everyone.

Under these circumstances, Han Kuang felt he had already grasped something.

Make your noise, make your noise!

Let's see how far you can take it. When you've gone far enough, you'll get what's coming to you!

But this time, Han Kuang did not intend to participate. He planned to do something else instead.

Just then, a clerk walked in from outside and came straight to Han Kuang's side, saying respectfully, "Grand Secretary, someone from your household has arrived. It seems something has come up."

Smiling, Han Kuang rose to his feet and said, "My household staff just don't know any better. My apologies — this old man must step away for a moment. Please bear with me on the affairs of the Grand Secretariat."

The others hurriedly smiled and clasped their fists, saying, "No trouble at all, please go ahead," while each harbored his own private calculations.

Once outside, Han Kuang saw his family retainer.

The retainer led him to a secluded corner, and only then did Han Kuang ask, "How did the matter go?"

"To report to you, master, the man has been found," the retainer said quickly.

"Then bring him back and have him come to the residence to see me tomorrow." Han Kuang thought for a moment, then said, "Don't let anyone know. This matter must remain secret for now. Understood?"

"Yes, master, I understand." The retainer acknowledged the order, turned, and walked out.

In an inn in the capital, three men were discussing Han Kuang.

Seated at the head was Song Yingsheng, on the left was Song Yingxing, and on the right was Zhang Yu. Tea and refreshments were laid out on the table, but none of the three showed any intention of drinking or eating.

"Something about this is too strange," Zhang Yu said with a furrowed brow.

"Han Kuang is the Chief Grand Secretary of the Grand Secretariat. Why would he send an invitation here, and invite us all to his residence? When did we ever catch the eye of the Chief Grand Secretary?"

At this, Zhang Yu laughed self-deprecatingly. "The man is a great scholar of the School of Principle, a figurehead of the Donglin Faction."

Song Yingsheng glanced at Zhang Yu and said flatly, "It probably has something to do with that business last time. Getting mixed up in affairs like this is bound to be dangerous. This capital really is a hard place to make one's way."

Hearing his elder brother say this, Song Yingxing said with a mournful face, "It's all my fault, dragging the two of you into this. I just never expected things to turn out this way. I only wanted to steel my resolve, who would have thought it would stir up such a fuss."

Zhang Yu set down his teacup, looked at Song Yingxing, and said with a smile, "This isn't your fault. You only went to see them once. We were merely caught up in it by chance and circumstance. It looks dangerous, but it may yet prove to be our opportunity."

Raising his head to look at Zhang Yu, Song Yingxing asked with some agitation, "What do you mean by that?"

"Of the four Grand Secretaries in the Grand Secretariat, Han Kuang follows the School of Principle, Xu Guangqi follows the School of Mind, and as for Huang Kezuan — he should also count as School of Principle, but he's now shifted to championing Xunzi. So each of them represents a school, and among them Sun Chengzong is His Majesty's teacher, also School of Principle, a representative of the Donglin Academy — perhaps not so deeply connected, but that is the fact."

"Have you noticed something? Of the four men, three each represent their own faction, and only two are the same — Sun Chengzong and Han Kuang. Under such circumstances, doesn't that make one of them redundant? Sun Chengzong is His Majesty's teacher — who do you think will be the one to go?" Zhang Yu asked the two brothers.

Seeing both of them looking at him, Zhang Yu said with confidence, "The one who leaves will certainly be Han Kuang. The only reason he remains in the Grand Secretariat is that His Majesty used him to balance the other members. After all, the affair some time ago made too much of a stir, so His Majesty kept him on — but now it seems that is no longer necessary."

"That's why Huang Kezuan went to honor Xunzi — it's what you call carving out a path. Because he saw Xu Guangqi's future. If nothing unexpected happens, after Han Kuang leaves, the Chief Grand Secretary will be Xu Guangqi. In terms of position, Xu Guangqi is the Second Grand Secretary — next in line; in terms of seniority, he holds the Ministry of Revenue in his hands, enjoys His Majesty's deep trust, and has the support of Shen Tingyun, the Minister of Rites."

"Neither Sun Chengzong nor Huang Kezuan can compete with Xu Guangqi. So now the question arises — will they be content? Having come that far, who would willingly yield?"

Song Yingxing looked at Zhang Yu and said helplessly, "We brothers are no good at this sort of thing, so stop being so mysterious. If you have something to say, just say it directly."

"Very simple — they need to find another path." Zhang Yu said with a smile. "After all, His Majesty was able to accept Li Zhi's teachings, so Xunzi naturally poses no problem either. That's why Huang Kezuan chose Xunzi — it makes him stand out as unique, and at the same time lets him gather a following."

"Look at the situation now: though many oppose Huang Kezuan, there are equally those who support him. Among these people, some genuinely think Huang Kezuan makes sense, while others are simply speculating. Even so, Huang Kezuan has achieved his goal — he has become a new force at court, rather than being ignored and replaceable at any moment as before."

"This puts two men in a tight spot — one is Sun Chengzong, the other is Han Kuang. But Sun Chengzong isn't too worried. He holds the Ministry of War; he only needs to do something to demonstrate his usefulness."

"As for Chief Grand Secretary Han Kuang — once Huang Kezuan and Xu Guangqi settle their contest, that will be the moment Han Kuang is pushed out. He might not even last until the two of them settle it — Han Kuang will be packing his bags and leaving. If Han Kuang is willing to accept it, then fine — he can take the privileges His Majesty grants him and return peacefully to his hometown. But what if he isn't willing?" Zhang Yu rose to his feet, a hint of excitement showing in his eyes.

Seeing that the two brothers said nothing, Zhang Yu was not discouraged, seemingly unconcerned that no one was playing along.

He continued, "If Han Kuang were content and didn't care about any of this, he should have left last time. Why would he have borne such a bad reputation until now? Remember, the School of Principle and the Donglin Faction people haven't treated him well. Having sacrificed so much to win the position of Chief Grand Secretary, how could he possibly hand it over willingly?"

"So under these circumstances, what should Han Kuang do?" Zhang Yu's gaze swept across the two brothers.

This time he did not continue speaking. Instead, he sat down, picked up his teacup, took a sip, and waited for the two brothers to respond.

Song Yingxing raised his head at this moment and said slowly, "He also wants to do something?"

"Of course he wants to do something—if he just waits, he's waiting to die." Zhang Yu said with a smile: "Looking at the current situation at court, Han Kuang needs to choose a new school of thought, or else he's walking a dead-end road."

"If he keeps clinging to the School of Principle's leg, then he'll very likely be finished. After all, the School of Principle is primarily based on Mencius's teachings—whether they admit it or not, that's how it is. And Xunzi's teachings are exactly the opposite of Mencius's. If the court once adopts Xunzi, the School of Principle will be greatly weakened."

"When it truly comes to that point, there might only be one Sun Chengzong left at court. Under such circumstances, Han Kuang would have no chance, so he needs to find a new school, find new people to support him. This might be the reason they invited us."

After saying this, Zhang Yu sat down in the chair, staring sharply at the Song brothers, and said in a deep voice: "So I say this is an opportunity—the best opportunity for us. Han Kuang needs our support, and don't we equally need his?"

"Right now at court there's Xu Guangqi of the School of Mind and Huang Kezuan of the Xunzi school. Han Kuang doesn't have many choices, and our Guanzhong School might suit him very well—after all, we're far from both the School of Principle and the School of Mind."

"Although our school is relatively small, we still have some people. As long as we place ourselves under his banner, he'll gain our support, and at the same time we'll gain his. It's a matter of mutual benefit—and for us, the benefit might be even greater."

"Because there's the School of Mind and the Xunzi school at court, it's even harder for us to make a name for ourselves. Without anyone's support, it's very difficult for us to rise. Under these circumstances, Han Kuang is undoubtedly our best choice."

After Zhang Yu finished speaking, he said with some agitation: "Success or failure—it all comes down to this one gamble!"

Song Yingxing and Song Yingsheng exchanged a glance, both seeing the disbelief in each other's eyes—but they did believe what Zhang Yu said.

Among the three of them, Song Yingsheng was mature and steady; Song Yingxing was broadly learned, with some knowledge of everything; as for Zhang Yu, he was not as composed as Song Yingsheng, nor as erudite as Song Yingxing, but he was extremely skilled at scheming, with a particularly deep grasp of human nature.

So within this small group of three, Zhang Yu had always served as the strategist. The three had been together for so long, and Zhang Yu had proven his ability countless times. So the Song brothers never doubted Zhang Yu's words.

So now the question arose—what should the two of them do? This was a very major matter.

"If Heaven offers and you do not take, you will suffer the consequences." Zhang Yu looked at the silent brothers and said slowly.

At this moment, Song Yingsheng raised his head and directly asked Zhang Yu: "You said it yourself—Han Kuang's position is actually already unstable, and he could leave at any moment. If he leaves halfway, wouldn't we become the target of everyone's criticism? We have no backing at court, and when that time comes, I'm afraid we'll be cast aside to idle."

"Isn't that still better than our current situation?" Zhang Yu sneered with a smile: "What are we now?"

"We haven't even passed the imperial examinations, let alone anything else. With Han Kuang's support, we could quickly step into the mainstream's view. Setting everything else aside, just take the Imperial Academy—once we enter the Imperial Academy, if no one supports us, what could we accomplish?"

"Brother, I think we should give it a try." Song Yingxing looked at Song Yingsheng and said: "What Zhang Yu said makes sense. We don't know what the future holds anyway, so we might as well take the gamble. If we succeed, we'll be able to accomplish things properly, and all our years of study won't have been in vain."

"If we don't succeed, at worst we return to our hometown—writing books and studying while passing down farming and scholarship to our family. We might even be able to benefit our native place, which would count as our deep good fortune."

Seeing that both of them held this attitude, Song Yingsheng thought it over, then nodded as well and said: "Since that's the case, let's give it a try. If Han Kuang truly says so, then we'll follow him."