Chapter 231: Secret Memorials Enter the Capital

Hearing Luo Sigong's words, Zhu Youxiao turned to look at him but said nothing.

His meaning was obvious — go on, let's hear what you have to say.

Luo Sigong understood and said, "The Embroidered Uniform Guard has people stationed everywhere, so mobilizing them is convenient, and there's no need to assemble new personnel on the spot."

As he said this, Luo Sigong also turned to glance at Wei Zhongxian, the implication being clear — your Eastern Depot doesn't have this advantage of ours.

Wei Zhongxian was furious, gnashing his teeth as he shot Luo Sigong a vicious glare.

But Wei Zhongxian knew that on this point the Eastern Depot truly was inferior to the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Still, he couldn't just let Luo Sigong push him down. If this matter were handed to the Embroidered Uniform Guard, they would surely gain the upper hand over the Eastern Depot, and it might be hard to ever turn things around afterward.

Not even looking at Wei Zhongxian, Luo Sigong's face was grave — he too realized this was an opportunity. Both for the Embroidered Uniform Guard and for himself personally, this was a very good chance.

If he could get this matter into the Embroidered Uniform Guard's hands, his own power would rise greatly. He could easily let the Embroidered Uniform Guard surpass the Eastern Depot, and let himself surpass Wei Zhongxian.

Luo Sigong continued, "The Embroidered Uniform Guard has spent years in the localities and understands local conditions well. As long as the task is delegated, they will certainly handle it properly. Therefore, Your Majesty's servant believes this matter should be entrusted to the Embroidered Uniform Guard."

Zhu Youxiao made no comment on Luo Sigong's argument.

The reason was very simple — he didn't want to watch the Eastern Depot grow too big, and naturally he didn't want to watch the Embroidered Uniform Guard grow too big either. The Embroidered Uniform Guard was hardly any better than the Eastern Depot. This matter couldn't be handed to either of them.

The reason he had summoned the two of them was simply to use them as a springboard.

"The Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot." Zhu Youxiao said slowly and softly, "Over the years you've handled many matters, but there are still some things you can't handle. Still, we might think of other ways."

Zhu Youxiao shifted the topic and suddenly asked, "So the two of you have no good ideas either?"

Wei Zhongxian and Luo Sigong exchanged a glance, understanding in their hearts — His Majesty didn't want the two of them getting involved in this.

But the key question was, what should be done?

Since His Majesty had summoned the two of them, he must have some arrangement in mind. At this moment, it was all about who could guess His Majesty's intentions.

Luo Sigong quietly cast his gaze toward Chen Hong, hoping Chen Hong would give him some hint. After all, this Eunuch Chen had always been by His Majesty's side, and over the years had walked fairly closely with Luo Sigong — he'd taken no small amount of benefits.

This was a critical moment, so this Eunuch Chen naturally ought to put in some effort.

But Chen Hong seemed not to see Luo Sigong at all. He stood to one side with his head lowered, eyes asking the nose, nose asking the mouth, mouth asking the heart, as if pondering something of great importance.

Seeing this, Luo Sigong could only turn his head back with some helplessness.

Wei Zhongxian on the other side seemed to have thought of something. He stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, this servant believes we could start with the Censorate."

This matter was actually easy to guess. Since his own Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard wouldn't do, the court's only remaining supervisory organ was the Censorate, so handing this matter to the Censorate was more appropriate.

Wei Zhongxian was somewhat excited, because he knew very well that he had people inside the Censorate. Compared to the Embroidered Uniform Guard, he had this enormous advantage.

Cui Chengxiu could now be called a rising star of the Censorate, a promising newcomer. If this matter could be handed to Cui Chengxiu to handle, it would be no different from doing it himself.

Zhu Youxiao glanced at Wei Zhongxian and said with a smile, "Then tell me in detail how it should be done?"

Wei Zhongxian hurriedly said, "Reporting to Your Majesty, this servant believes we should select capable personnel from the Censorate and dispatch them to various localities to supervise local affairs. Should anything improper occur in the localities, these people may be permitted to send secret memorials to the capital."

His tone was full of excitement — this was actually a reprint of the policy he had just proposed, only the executor had changed from the Eastern Depot to the Censorate.

If His Majesty agreed, Wei Zhongxian decided he would immediately recommend Cui Chengxiu and roll this matter out as quickly as possible.

Hearing these words, Luo Sigong's expression turned somewhat unpleasant.

If Wei Zhongxian pulled this off, he would surely be suppressed again. He had already fallen behind Wei Zhongxian before; if this happened once more, he would truly be finished.

Luo Sigong was so anxious he was nearly sweating. He could only look at Chen Hong once more with a trace of hope, wanting to see if Chen Hong had any way out.

Looking at Luo Sigong helplessly, Chen Hong gently raised his head. The expression on his face remained unchanged, but there was some disappointment in his eyes.

This Luo Sigong truly was no match for Wei Zhongxian. But there was no helping it — if he didn't lend a hand now, Luo Sigong would probably really be finished.

So Chen Hong opened his mouth and silently mouthed a single word. After saying it, he quickly lowered his head again, no longer raising it, no longer signaling.

Although Chen Hong had made only one motion, Luo Sigong could see what he was saying. What Chen Hong said was "officials."

This left Luo Sigong somewhat puzzled.

Whether it was a flash of inspiration or not, Luo Sigong suddenly thought of a possibility. A glimmer of excitement flashed in his eyes, and he quickly said, "Your Majesty, your servant believes this proposal is inappropriate."

Wei Zhongxian naturally saw the little exchange between Luo Sigong and Chen Hong.

But he knew he couldn't report it, so he could only glare fiercely at the two of them. Hearing Luo Sigong speak thus now, Wei Zhongxian's heart turned over — these two were probably about to stir up some trouble again.

Stepping forward, Luo Sigong said, "Your Majesty, your servant believes the personnel selected by the Censorate are of mixed quality. Such an approach may not achieve good results and might instead bring chaos to the localities. After all, they are unfamiliar with local affairs, and going in rashly could well cause some improprieties."

Watching Luo Sigong speak with such righteous indignation, Wei Zhongxian wished he could go up and slap him.

Why didn't you say this just now?

Now you come out saying all this — and what about your Embroidered Uniform Guard?

Haven't you used that excuse enough already?

Before Wei Zhongxian could step out to say anything, Luo Sigong continued, "Your servant believes local officials at all levels should be permitted to send secret memorials to the capital, with the Embroidered Uniform Guard collecting their memorials and secretly delivering them to the capital."

"Bypassing the Grand Secretariat and going directly to the throne — in this way, local officials can report the true situation, preventing local officials from deceiving those above and concealing from those below. Anything that happens can be delivered to the capital at the fastest speed, and when that time comes, nothing under heaven can be hidden from Your Majesty."

Hearing this, a smile appeared at the corner of Zhu Youxiao's mouth.

Just as he had guessed — they really could think their way to this.

Zhu Youxiao nodded and said, "What you say makes sense, my dear minister. Perhaps this is a good method."

In fact, secret memorials were nothing strange in the Great Ming. It was just that not many people had the authority to send them — basically the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard, plus certain senior ministers at court.

When they met with Zhu Youxiao, they could present their written memorials directly to him, bypassing the Grand Secretariat.

But such a practice broke the rules and was usually not chosen. When ministers submitted routine memorials, they still had to go through the Grand Secretariat — only then the news couldn't be kept secret.

Whether it was the Grand Secretariat, the Office of Transmission, or even the Directorate of Ceremonial, they were like a broken house leaking from all sides — nothing could be kept hidden.

Zhu Youxiao had long been dissatisfied with this, and it was one of the things he wanted to change.

Changing this wasn't particularly difficult, because there was experience from later generations to draw upon.

In the Qing dynasty, to change this system and to reduce the power of the Grand Secretariat, there was a very important invention — its name was the memorial fold.

The memorial fold was first used during the Shunzhi reign of the Qing, became widely adopted afterward, and was formalized as a fixed system during the Kangxi reign. It was abolished with the fall of the Qing, lasting over two hundred years.

It was a document by which officials reported matters to the emperor, named "memorial fold" because it was written on folded paper. It was also called a "fold." The number of pages, lines, and characters per line in a memorial fold all had fixed formats.

Officials inside and outside the capital, regardless of rank — as long as they enjoyed the emperor's favor and special permission — even the most minor functionary, or even the abbot of a temple, could submit folds to report matters and express gratitude.

The most important aspect of the memorial system was secrecy. To ensure that the contents of memorials would not leak, the Qing court established an entire set of confidentiality measures, making the memorial system even more complete.

First, the writer had to write it personally, generally not allowing others to write on his behalf. Once completed, it could not be circulated externally, or punishment would follow.

Second, the palace would produce leather boxes equipped with locks and keys, distributed to the officials submitting memorials, used exclusively for storing and transmitting them.

Third, memorials from officials at or above the rank of Governor-General or Governor were sent by special couriers to the Gate of Heavenly Purity within the palace, handed to the Inner Memorial Office, and delivered directly before the emperor — unlike routine memorials, which went through the Office of Transmission for forwarding. Memorials from ordinary officials were likewise sent by special couriers to the trusted senior ministers designated by Yongzheng, who would present them on their behalf. Naturally, those who forwarded them had no right to know their contents. After the Yongzheng Emperor finished reading and made his vermilion endorsements, the memorials were sent back through the original channel.

Fourth, vermilion-endorsed memorials were to be retrieved and returned.

Fifth, confidentiality work at the Grand Council was strengthened.

Because memorials eliminated the intermediate links in transmission and also employed the court-dispatch method, they could not only reach the emperor's hands quickly, but after the emperor's vermilion endorsement and imperial decree, they could be directly returned to the submitting official and immediately put into effect — thereby greatly improving administrative efficiency and bringing a positive impact to Qing politics.

At the same time, because memorials were all conducted in secret, between the Governors-General and Governors of the provinces and the Provincial Administration and Surveillance Commissioners, between local and central authorities, and between the inner court and the outer court, apart from the normal leader-subordinate relationships, a new relationship of mutual restraint was also formed.

Senior ministers informed on one another, and the emperor's eyes and ears were spread throughout the capital and beyond. No one knew who had reported what about whom to the emperor. Whether public or private matters and interpersonal relations in the central ministries and local governments — great or small — the emperor could learn of them all directly from the memorials.

The emperor thus used memorials to rectify official governance, monitor the people's condition, issue orders, and eliminate those who opposed him. All affairs under heaven were ultimately handled by one man alone, thereby carrying feudal imperial power to an unprecedented extreme.

With such a fine thing available, Zhu Youxiao naturally wanted to make use of it.

At the same time, he could establish a new government office specifically responsible for memorial affairs. This would, to a certain extent, weaken the power of the Grand Secretariat and lay the foundation for establishing new offices in the future.

Only, bringing this matter out would inevitably make countless people unhappy. Especially the officials of the Grand Secretariat — there would also be very many attackers.

Zhu Youxiao could not possibly enter the fray himself, so he had used the pretext of a dream to summon Han Li, and now he had also called Wei Zhongxian and Luo Sigong over.

Originally Zhu Youxiao had wanted to pin this pot on Wei Zhongxian, but he had not expected Luo Sigong to be so eager.

After all, giving it to anyone was still giving it — so let it be him.

As for Luo Sigong's proposal to have the Embroidered Uniform Guard transport these memorials, Zhu Youxiao was not prepared to listen to it.

Because there was simply no great effect to be had. Civil officials would not trust the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Even if they did, many matters were internal problems among civil officials, and they would not go to the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

There was a saying from later generations that Zhu Youxiao remembered very clearly. It was:

Jianghu affairs are settled in the jianghu — whoever reports to the authorities is a traitor.

Though this reasoning was somewhat crude, it worked just the same here. Civil officials could flip back and forth between each other, jumping from one faction to another — those were all matters among their own people.

But jumping to the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot was not allowed. That belonged to class enemies. Defecting to the enemy was equivalent to betrayal.

Zhu Youxiao's gaze slowly swept across the faces of Wei Zhongxian and the others, and he said with a smile: "The two of you are good. You handle matters very properly. I am quite satisfied."

As he spoke, he turned his head to look at Chen Hong and instructed: "Reward them with jade ruyi scepters, and also grant them the wearing of python robes."

After saying this, Zhu Youxiao waved his hand and said: "You may withdraw."

After Wei Zhongxian and the others had left, Zhu Youxiao said expressionlessly: "You should know what to do, shouldn't you?"

"In response to His Majesty, this servant understands." Chen Hong hurriedly acknowledged with deference.

The news quickly spread, and for a moment everyone was in an uproar.

The ministers at court also reacted — the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard were starting trouble again.

This time, the ones these people cursed were Luo Sigong, and even more viciously than they cursed Wei Zhongxian.

But more people wore grave expressions — this matter was going to be troublesome.

Within the Grand Secretariat.

Although the four Grand Secretaries had been contending with one another during this period, they were all people of principle who knew how to control the measure of their struggles.

Fight without breaking — that was what they wanted. If they truly fell out with one another, none of them would be able to stay.

And when facing the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard, they needed to unite as one. As the saying goes, brothers may quarrel within the walls but unite against outsiders — however we deal with each other is our own affair, and we absolutely must not let the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard gain any advantage.

The four Grand Secretaries of the Grand Secretariat now were not the sort willing to curry favor with Wei Zhongxian, so the four of them sat together again, all with somewhat grave expressions.

The first to speak was still Han Kuang, who said slowly: "I imagine all of you have already heard?"

The three men nodded together.

So Han Kuang continued: "Then I won't say much more. What do all of you think?"

"You should all also know the severity of this matter. If we truly go along with the wishes of the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard, I fear it will be the eunuch faction running rampant again, and the nation will know no peace!"