Chapter 232: His Majesty Is Still Young

Upon hearing these words, the expressions of the other three also turned grave.

In fact, they didn't need Han Kuang to spell out the severity of the matter — all three of them were well aware of it, since the trouble Wei Zhongxian had stirred up before hadn't really blown over even now.

There was a precedent for this sort of thing, so they didn't dare take it lightly.

At this moment, Xu Guangqi spoke in a solemn, low voice: "If we let officials write secret memorials against one another, then superiors won't trust their subordinates, and colleagues will be on guard against each other — who would still dare to do anything? Wouldn't everyone be terrified of having some handle grabbed against them?"

"If things are done this way, countless mediocre and lazy officials are bound to appear. At the same time, it could even foster a climate of officials filing false accusations against one another."

"If such a climate ever takes shape, then things will become truly troublesome. The only one who stands to benefit is Wei Zhongxian — they'll be able to use this to falsely accuse any official they want to go after. So this matter absolutely must not be agreed to!"

The others all glanced at Xu Guangqi, not expecting him to take such a stance at this moment, and everyone immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

After all, Xu Guangqi's identity had always been that of His Majesty's man, and they had feared he might choose to support His Majesty at this critical juncture.

Xu Guangqi had always been promoted by His Majesty, after all — yet here he was, not supporting His Majesty, which clearly showed he still had some bottom line in his heart.

Even Sun Chengzong's gaze toward Xu Guangqi softened considerably.

Since Xu Guangqi had already spoken up, the others naturally couldn't lag behind, so Sun Chengzong said: "We need to find a way to advise His Majesty. Now the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot are working together on this matter, and there's also that demonic Taoist in the palace — if we don't think of a good solution, I'm afraid things will only get worse."

As he spoke, Sun Chengzong's gaze swept across the faces of the others, his expression extremely serious.

Huang Kezuan on the side picked up the thread and said directly: "Perhaps we could learn from Xu Jie."

Hearing Huang Kezuan bring up that name, the others were all taken aback.

None of them had expected Huang Kezuan to invoke Xu Jie at a time like this. Because Xu Jie's reputation was poor both in officialdom and among the literati — one could say his name stank.

Although it was Xu Jie who had brought down Yan Song back in the day, his methods were not praised by the people.

After all, in order to topple Yan Song, Xu Jie had married his own granddaughter to Yan Shifan, and even embezzled so much land within his own household that complaints were heard everywhere — one could say he was extremely, extremely unpopular.

Later, if not for Zhang Juzheng protecting Xu Jie, Hai Rui would probably have dealt with him. Even so, after Zhang Juzheng's fall, Xu Jie's reputation was thoroughly ruined.

Now Huang Kezuan was actually suggesting they use Xu Jie's methods — the faces of the others all turned somewhat sour.

Back then, before Yan Song, Xu Jie had truly shown not a shred of moral integrity — and now they wanted to learn from him?

Were they supposed to go and cave in to that Wei Zhongxian?

Huang Kezuan didn't bother looking at the others' faces and continued: "Gentlemen, do you remember Lan Daoxing?"

Hearing this name, the others were startled, then fell into thoughtful contemplation.

Afterwards, the others raised their heads to look at Xu Guangqi, strange expressions appearing on their faces.

The name Lan Daoxing was certainly not unfamiliar to them.

Lan Daoxing was a man of the Jiajing era, a native of Shandong, a famous Taoist of that time who also believed in Wang Yangming's school of thought.

In the thirty-fourth year of Jiajing, Lan Daoxing came from Shandong to the capital, and was later recommended by Grand Secretary Xu Jie of the Grand Secretariat to the deeply devout Taoist Emperor Jiajing, earning the Emperor's deep personal trust.

Later, because Lan Daoxing attacked Chief Grand Secretary Yan Song before the Jiajing Emperor, he incurred Yan Song's vengeance.

Yan Song directed his grandson Yan Hongji to frame Lan Daoxing and have him thrown into prison, where he was persecuted to death.

Lan Daoxing was both a Taoist and a follower of the School of Mind.

Now the others finally understood Huang Kezuan's meaning. His Majesty believed in that Taoist, and Wei Zhongxian had used that to stir up no end of trouble — so then, why not find another Taoist?

As long as they found a Taoist who stood on the same side as themselves and could also replace that Han Li, many things would become much easier to handle — they might even seize the opportunity to eliminate Wei Zhongxian.

The others immediately felt this was a good idea, and a fairly reliable one at that.

As for why they were looking at Xu Guangqi, the reason was simple. They felt Xu Guangqi was the most suitable person to carry this out.

After all, Lan Daoxing had originally been a follower of their School of Mind, so finding someone similar wouldn't be difficult.

Another point was that Xu Guangqi enjoyed His Majesty's deep trust — if he handled this matter, His Majesty would believe it.

One had to understand that this point was extremely important.

Once His Majesty harbored any suspicion, there would be no point in continuing with this strategy.

Seeing everyone staring at him, Xu Guangqi's expression turned somewhat grim. He certainly didn't think these people were harboring any good intentions.

Indeed, this was a good method, but carrying it out wouldn't necessarily earn any credit.

Because if the recommended person pleased His Majesty, then naturally all would be delighted; but if that person fell out of favor with His Majesty, then the recommender would suffer His Majesty's displeasure right along with them.

At the position Xu Guangqi and the others had reached, there were some things they simply had no need to do. Because if you don't act, you don't make mistakes — stability becomes very important.

So this matter carried risk. Under such circumstances, for them to hand this task to him — on the surface it looked like they trusted him deeply and were giving him an opportunity; but in reality, they might well be digging a pit to bury him.

Perhaps a single matter alone wouldn't do it, but when a critical moment arrived, it could very well become the last straw that broke the camel's back.

"I don't have any suitable candidates." Xu Guangqi said expressionlessly: "After all, I'm not familiar with these matters. If any of you know of or have suitable candidates, you're welcome to put them forward."

Hearing Xu Guangqi say this, the others understood — he probably didn't want to do it.

So they exchanged glances with one another and found that none of them seemed particularly eager to do it either.

The reason was also simple — if this matter were carried out, it would be far too easy to provoke His Majesty's displeasure. After all, once they did this, it would certainly trigger a counterattack from Wei Zhongxian and his lot, and at that point the loss would outweigh the gain.

For a moment, the atmosphere fell into an awkward stalemate.

At this moment, Sun Chengzong stood up and said: "I'll find the right person — leave this matter to me. But distant water can't quench a nearby fire; how do we stop the Embroidered Uniform Guard and Wei Zhongxian in the immediate term?"

"They're stirring up trouble before His Majesty — we need to destroy this so-called secret memorial system and not let them act so recklessly. Do any of you have a good idea? Are we reduced to submitting memorials of admonition?"

That method wasn't actually very good. Although they hadn't obtained any solid evidence, they knew the current Emperor was not the sort of person who listened to what others said.

Basically, His Majesty didn't even read these miscellaneous routine memorials — even if you wrote one and sent it up, the effect it could achieve would likely be limited.

So finding a Taoist to send into the palace was a long-term solution, but what was needed right now was a method that could show results in the short term.

But the matter had arisen so suddenly that the three of them couldn't come up with a good solution at the moment.

"Let's leave this matter here for now." Han Kuang said with a grave expression: "Everyone go back and think about whether there's a more suitable approach. At the same time, have someone write a routine memorial to test the waters — remember, absolutely don't have a whole crowd write at once, and don't make the wording too fierce. His Majesty is still young."

Having said this, Han Kuang's gaze slowly swept across the assembled men.

His Majesty is still young — though these words were few in number, what they contained was considerable.

Because he is young, he doesn't understand things; because he is young, he has a stubborn temper; because he is young, he is rebellious.

Combined with the context of Han Kuang's words before and after, the others understood. That is — the more you tell His Majesty not to do something, the more likely he is to do it. So absolutely don't push hard; you have to advise him from the right angle.

So the several of them nodded together, then each went their own way.

After getting off work, Han Kuang went straight home. On the way back, he had already sent someone to fetch Zhang Yu.

For Han Kuang, Zhang Yu could now be considered a trustworthy person. He wanted to ask Zhang Yu what he thought about the secret memorial system.

Because in Han Kuang's eyes, Zhang Yu was better at dealing with people like Wei Zhongxian, the Eastern Depot, and the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

To deal with a treacherous villain, one must find a villain more treacherous than him.

"Your student greets his esteemed teacher." Upon seeing Han Kuang, Zhang Yu hurriedly bowed in salute, his tone respectful, his etiquette perfectly complete, without the slightest breach of propriety.

"No need to be so formal in private. Sit down and have some tea." Han Kuang said with a smile.

Only after Zhang Yu sat down did Han Kuang speak: "Someone just sent two sheep to the house. I've already had people prepare them. Stay for dinner tonight."

"Yes, Teacher." Zhang Yu respectfully acknowledged.

After taking a sip of tea, Han Kuang continued: "The reason I called you over today is that there's something I want to ask you."

Having said this, Han Kuang then told Zhang Yu the whole matter in full.

After hearing Han Kuang's words, Zhang Yu's expression instantly turned serious.

But after thinking it over, he smiled, raised his head to look at Han Kuang, and said: "Teacher, I think you all might be thinking in the wrong direction. Why must you try to stop it? In this world, for many things, dredging is better than damming."

Han Kuang said thoughtfully: "Then explain in detail."

"When it comes to the skill of bewitching His Majesty, people like Wei Zhongxian are certainly a hundred times better than you, Teacher. As a man of letters, you naturally would never do something like bewitching the emperor. But since things are as they are, if you stubbornly go head-to-head with them, I fear the one to suffer will be you, Teacher."

"Although you, Teacher, are noble and upright, serving the country and the people, seeking neither fame nor profit, and would not even spare your own life — yet you bear the position of Chief Grand Secretary, and so you naturally ought to uphold the state and stop the eunuch faction. Your life, Teacher, must be preserved for when it is needed."

Han Kuang looked at Zhang Yu, stroking his beard and smiling.

These words were pleasant to hear — they affirmed his character and position, and also made clear that one should not stubbornly clash with petty men, and that this was not because of fear of death.

It seemed Zhang Yu had already grasped the subtleties of officialdom. He was worth cultivating properly; surely he would achieve great things in the future.

At the same time, Han Kuang also breathed a sigh of relief. Judging by the meaning behind Zhang Yu's words, he had a way to solve this — that was a good thing.

Han Kuang said to Zhang Yu: "Do you have something to say? Speak freely."

"Yes, Teacher." Zhang Yu quickly acknowledged, then continued: "Teacher, this matter is not necessarily a bad thing after all."

"Everyone knows that once this matter is accomplished, the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot will certainly wield great power, and from then on they can persecute whomever they wish. This is what you and the others are most worried about, is it not?"

Han Kuang nodded. Of course this was what they were most worried about.

This was a very bad signal — it meant that the eunuch faction and their ilk were reaching their hands into the imperial court.

In fact, they had indeed already done so. Take Cui Chengxiu of the Censorate, for example — he had colluded with Wei Zhongxian.

But such matters were fairly common; every generation had a few, so the civil officials did not pay them much mind.

Collusion between civil officials and eunuchs generally did not cause too many problems. The reason was simple: at a critical moment, the civil official could be removed, or the connection could be severed.

What was truly deadly was giving eunuchs substantive power to directly intervene in state affairs.

This matter was exactly that. If things truly developed in the direction Wei Zhongxian wanted, then he really would be able to intervene in state affairs.

This was a very bad and unreasonable thing for the civil officials — the key point being that it was unacceptable.

"In that case, why not have you, Teacher, be the one to do it?" Zhang Yu said with a smile.

"If this matter is done by you, Teacher, then you will hold this power. In this way, you won't have to expend much effort, and you won't even have to offend His Majesty. Just find some pretext to take this matter into your own hands — that's all!"

Zhang Yu continued with a smile: "This matter itself has no right or wrong, no good or bad — it only depends on who does it. In good hands it is naturally good; in bad hands it is naturally bad."

"People like Wei Zhongxian are wolves with wild ambitions, without country or sovereign. If they do it, it will naturally bring disaster to the nation and harm to the people. But what if you, Teacher, were to do it?"

"Then it would surely benefit the people and purify the officialdom. Later generations would take this matter as a permanent precedent, and you, Teacher, would go down in history — in this way, both ends are served."

After hearing Zhang Yu's words, Han Kuang's gaze flickered uncertainly.

What Zhang Yu said was very tempting to Han Kuang, but he also knew that although Zhang Yu's words sounded flowery on the surface, the essence of this matter was not as Zhang Yu described.

Put plainly, it was about seizing power.

Unlike what Zhang Yu said, what Han Kuang worried about was that he would not gain the support of the civil officials.

After all, this matter had been plotted by all of them together from start to finish. If he took it into his own hands, how would the others see him?

They would think he wanted to become a Yan Song. If so, they would probably all oppose him.

Although he was the Chief Grand Secretary of the Grand Secretariat, there was one critical problem: he was not that trusted by His Majesty.

Once they started making trouble, he might well be sent packing. So this matter could not be handled that way.

But this was still a very good line of thinking — the matter could be brought under the Grand Secretariat. Once it was in the Grand Secretariat, he was the Chief Grand Secretary — nominally, would it not still be under his control?

Thinking of this, Han Kuang could not help but break into a smile.

Bringing this power into the Grand Secretariat — that was the best approach. Because once it was in the Grand Secretariat, it was still draft rescript, still red endorsement.

The impeachment memorials from officials in all regions would all be drafted by him and his people. What was this?

This was power!

Once such power was in hand, the strength of the Grand Secretariat would surely be greatly enhanced, and his own position would be greatly elevated as well.

Glancing at Zhang Yu, Han Kuang said with a smile: "This matter cannot be handled by setting aside public duty for private gain. How could such power be held in the hands of one person alone?"

"Although I, your teacher, conduct myself with integrity, I also know in my heart that one cannot survive alone in officialdom. Bringing this power under the Grand Secretariat is the best strategy of all."

"In this way, all the gentlemen of the Grand Secretariat can act according to this precedent — this is a policy for lasting peace and stability."

Having said this, Han Kuang stroked his beard and smiled: "Tomorrow I will go to the Grand Secretariat and tell them the idea you proposed."

"Esteemed teacher need not do so. Your student has not yet entered officialdom; such prominence would be inappropriate. This matter will not become your student's achievement, but rather a constraint upon him. The tree that stands out in the forest is the first to be felled by the wind. Your student is already quite conspicuous as it is. Now is the time to hide one's light and devote oneself to scholarship — I absolutely must not be so ostentatious."

"I beg you, Teacher, to protect me in this — say that it is your own plan. Your student is deeply grateful!" Zhang Yu finished speaking, bowed in salute, his face full of entreaty.

Looking at Zhang Yu, Han Kuang said nothing, but his eyes were full of delight.

This student of his was truly good — this sensitivity alone was excellent. His own words just now had only been a formality.

If he really went and said this was Zhang Yu's scheme, it would indeed do Zhang Yu no good.

Conversely, it would do himself no good either — first, it would make him look incompetent; second, it would make him seem careless in handling affairs.

He even told Zhang Yu about something like this? That would only make people feel that he, as Chief Grand Secretary of the Grand Secretariat, lacked authority.

Why would anyone do something that brought no benefit?

It was just that, being Zhang Yu's teacher, claiming his student's ideas as his own wouldn't sound good if it got out, which was why he had said what he did.

Zhang Yu also understood his meaning, which was why he said what he did afterward. As the saying goes, "hear the melody and know the refined intent" — his student had exactly that kind of ability.

"Since you put it that way, we'll do as you say." Han Kuang said with a smile: "Although this matter cannot be spoken of openly, your teacher has remembered it. Once you enter officialdom, I will make up for your merits."

"The examinations at the Imperial Academy are about to begin — how are your preparations coming along?"

Han Kuang dropped the subject and directly changed the topic: "Your reputation is rising in the capital these days. This time you must take the examination seriously and strive for a good ranking — don't disappoint your teacher."

"Rest assured, Teacher, your student understands." Zhang Yu hurriedly bowed and said.

The two exchanged a glance and smiled at each other, both understanding exactly what was going on, and also understanding another thing — right now they depended on each other, and neither could afford to stir up trouble.

Early the next morning, Han Kuang rose very early and went straight to the Grand Secretariat.

The others had all arrived as well.

Because there was no morning court, there was still some time before work began, so the few of them sat in the duty room drinking tea and nibbling on some pastries to tide themselves over.

Speaking of which, not holding morning court was actually quite a relief for senior ministers of their age — at least they didn't have to get up so early every day to go stand outside in line.

Sitting in the duty room drinking tea and eating pastries was quite comfortable.

For these big shots at court, they knew very well that morning court was more form than substance.

Because nothing substantial could be discussed at morning court anyway — any major matters were discussed privately in meetings. As the saying goes, "big matters are settled in small meetings, small matters in big meetings" — that was the norm.

So they weren't really all that concerned about whether the Emperor held morning court or not. As long as the Emperor was willing to see them and listen to what they had to say, that was enough — nothing else mattered.

As for those clamoring for the Emperor to hold morning court, most of them were censors and the pure-stream faction.

The reason was very simple — their ranks were too low to see the Emperor. Only during morning court, when they impeached someone, could they get to see the Emperor and win a chance to distinguish themselves.

If they followed proper procedure, when they wanted to impeach someone, all they needed to do was write a routine memorial and submit it to the Office of Transmission, which would forward it to the Grand Secretariat, which would then pass it to the Directorate of Ceremonial.

By the time the whole process was complete, the secret would no longer be a secret.

Of course, impeachment didn't necessarily have to be kept secret — this was their job after all, and real-name reporting was perfectly fine.

The key problem was that such a routine memorial had no dramatic effect, wouldn't be seen by His Majesty, and the Grand Secretariat would resolve the issue before it ever got that far, because the Grand Secretariat would issue the red endorsement.

So what were they supposed to do then?

People who relied on shooting their mouths off as a shortcut — how could they manage without such opportunities?

Go to morning court and curse the Emperor, and you might even trick your way into a flogging at court, which would lead to meteoric advancement. But if you could never even see the Emperor, then no matter how fiercely you wrote your routine memorial, it wouldn't be of much use — the Emperor might just banish you directly, strip you of your position, and send you home.

No other method was as effective as going to morning court and tricking your way into a flogging, which was why the censors and pure-stream officials wanted morning court to be held.

Different needs produced different attitudes. The several Grand Secretaries of the Grand Secretariat felt there was nothing wrong with not holding morning court. They were happy to eat, drink, and discuss matters at their leisure.

Han Kuang laid out his thoughts and set down his teacup, saying: "In this way, we can turn a bad thing into a good thing. The Grand Secretariat can oversee all officials in the realm, which will help purify officialdom, and at the same time won't go against His Majesty."

After the few of them heard Han Kuang's proposal, the expressions on their faces varied.

Sun Chengzong couldn't help but think of one person — that person was Zhou Jiamo, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel.

Zhou Jiamo had once spoken of promoting the Assessment Law — could this be considered a necessary policy to precede the Assessment Law?

If this policy were combined with the Assessment Law, it would certainly produce an excellent synergistic effect.

Turning his head to glance at Han Kuang, Sun Chengzong raised an eyebrow and said: "This matter might be a very good approach, but there's one point that needs to be discussed clearly — how exactly is the Grand Secretariat going to carry this out?"

"After all, if we want His Majesty to entrust this matter to the Grand Secretariat, we need to make His Majesty feel that the Grand Secretariat would do a better job than Wei Zhongxian and his lot."

Hearing these words, the several of them nodded.

In principle, they had no objection to Han Kuang's proposal, because once the Grand Secretariat truly had this power, it would be their power.

As for whether those below felt uncomfortable, or whether officials grew suspicious of one another, or whether superiors feared being impeached by their subordinates — that was outside the scope of their concern.

But they still had to put on a show of propriety.

So Huang Kezuan said: "We also need to make regulations regarding false accusations and how accusations are filed — people can't just spout nonsense or casually submit routine memorials. This matter needs to be discussed carefully."