Chapter 242: Close the Door, Release Wei Zhongxian

Upon hearing his master's words, Chen Hong did not dare to be the least bit negligent.

He had already realized what his master intended to do, and hastily said, "Yes, Your Majesty. This servant will go at once."

After saying this, Chen Hong turned and walked quickly out.

After Chen Hong had left, the expression on Zhu Youxiao's face softened considerably, and his fingers tapped lightly on the tabletop.

Though the expression on his face had not changed, a murderous glint had already appeared in his eyes.

Within the Grand Secretariat, there was utter chaos.

The Grand Secretariat, which should have been calm and orderly, was now in an uproar—though it quickly settled down again, because they saw the four Grand Secretaries walk out with expressionless faces.

Han Kuang and the other three did not so much as glance at the clamoring crowd, but walked straight out.

After passing through the doorway, Han Kuang's gaze slowly swept over Xu Guangqi and the other two, and he asked, "Do we go to the palace now, or to the gate of the Western Park?"

Though the question was simple, Xu Guangqi and the other two all remained silent, neither voicing their stance.

Because this seemingly simple question was in fact very difficult to answer.

Going to the gate of the Western Park now would allow only two things: persuading those kneeling in remonstrance to return; or kneeling alongside them.

The matter had already escalated this far—though the four of them were Grand Secretaries of the Grand Secretariat, there was no way they could persuade those people to return, because those people would never listen to the four of them.

If the four of them went, they would instead be kept there and roasted over the fire.

If they went into the palace, that would mean standing on His Majesty's side. Whether they urged His Majesty to spare them or urged His Majesty to punish them severely, to outsiders it would all look like standing on His Majesty's side.

Moreover, if these people did not withdraw, there was no way to persuade His Majesty to back down except through severe punishment.

If His Majesty took a step back, then these people would press their advantage. Whoever tried to persuade His Majesty would certainly not come to a good end, so this question was hard to weigh.

If the four of them entered the palace now, the abuse heaped on the Grand Secretariat from outside would only grow.

Already quite a few people were cursing the four of them as treacherous ministers, and quite a few were calling the four Grand Secretaries fawning sycophants—some even compared them to several figures from the Chenghua reign.

It should be known that those figures all had terrible reputations now, already nailed to the pillar of shame. "Three paper-paste Grand Secretaries, six mud-sculpted Ministers"—that reputation was hardly a pleasant one.

And so a seemingly simple question had begun to trouble Han Kuang and the others.

But there were also those who did not find it troubling—Xu Guangqi, for instance. He stepped forward and said expressionlessly, "I will enter the palace."

In Xu Guangqi's view, the current His Majesty had many faults.

Such as his superstition regarding the arcane—he had gotten hold of some Daoist priest from who knew where, who spent his time interpreting dreams and always took the contents of dreams as truth.

Such as his trust in eunuchs, his favoritism toward Wei Zhongxian.

But aside from these faults, His Majesty's virtues were still numerous.

Such as supporting his own reforms, such as giving him important posts, such as being open-minded.

In Xu Guangqi's view, since His Majesty was willing to support him, then at this moment he too must support His Majesty to the very end. As for things like reputation, they no longer mattered.

Han Kuang and the other two looked at the resolute Xu Guangqi with varied expressions.

Clearly, at this moment Xu Guangqi had chosen to stand on His Majesty's side, heedless of everything else. This choice made Han Kuang and the others hesitate somewhat, and at the same time filled them with a measure of envy.

At least Xu Guangqi did not have to make a choice—he knew which side he should stand on.

After Xu Guangqi had made his stance clear, Huang Kezuan also spoke up.

He said with a smile, "I will enter the palace together with Grand Secretary Xu."

Huang Kezuan's stance was also very clear. He had promoted Xunzi, and his reputation outside was already thoroughly ruined, so he had no choice.

If he could bring the reform to success, then perhaps Huang Kezuan could still turn his reputation around; otherwise, there was simply no hope.

Under such circumstances, Huang Kezuan had no other choice. A fence-sitter would ultimately be cut down.

Perhaps while both sides were vying for you, you might gain some benefits; but no matter who finally came out on top, you would be the first to be cut.

So Huang Kezuan decisively chose Zhu Youxiao.

Seeing the choices of these two men, Han Kuang immediately smiled and said, "Then let us enter the palace."

Sun Chengzong glanced at the three men and also nodded.

Among the three, Sun Chengzong had the best reputation. But besides his identity as Grand Secretary of the Grand Secretariat, he had another identity—His Majesty's teacher.

At this moment, Sun Chengzong had no choice either.

Yet when they reached a unified opinion, the four seemed to share a certain tacit understanding.

Walking forward, Han Kuang said, "Perhaps we can no longer retreat. We should do something."

As he spoke, his gaze swept over the other three, and his tone turned somewhat low as he said, "If we keep on like this, matters will only become harder to handle."

The other three were all shrewd operators and instantly grasped Han Kuang's meaning.

Xu Guangqi then said, "That depends on His Majesty's intentions."

Huang Kezuan beside him picked up the thread: "Now the governance of the Great Ming is corrupt; beneath the court, merchants run rampant and the common people live in misery; military preparedness has fallen into disrepair, troubles multiply at the frontiers, and the court's revenues dwindle year by year. Perhaps the time has come for a change."

After Huang Kezuan's words were spoken, none of the other three picked up the conversation.

But in truth, a thought had already stirred in the hearts of the three, and a tacit understanding had been reached.

That was—this was no time for petty infighting; they needed to proclaim a unified core slogan for the four of them, and that was reform.

If the four of them remained silent as they were now, they would gain nothing, and their reputations could never be salvaged.

But if they proclaimed the slogan of reform, it would be different—people would support them.

If the reform succeeded, then the reputations of the four would improve; if the reform failed, it would not necessarily make their reputations worse than they were now.

Moreover, even if reform failed, there were still those with good reputations—Fan Zhongyan, for instance.

Lord Fan Wenzheng's reputation among the literati was truly lofty; mention him, and there was not a single stain to be found.

A single line—"To worry before all the world worries, and to rejoice after all the world rejoices"—secured Lord Fan Wenzheng's reputation.

Sun Chengzong glanced at the three men, then said, "What Grand Secretary Xu said makes sense. It depends on His Majesty's intentions."

Launching a reform would be extremely difficult, but the greatest difficulty was His Majesty's attitude. Would the reform fail because of His Majesty's retreat?

If that truly happened, the four of them would likely come to no good end. Take, for example, Wang Anshi, whose reputation among the literati was now poor.

"Your Majesty is not Emperor Renzong of Song, and the Great Ming is not the Great Song either." At this moment, Han Kuang's voice was filled with firmness.

His words carried the weight of a final verdict, and the other three said nothing more, clearly acquiescing to his statement.

These men were naturally quite familiar with this period of history.

In the third year of Qingli, Zhao Zhen appointed Fan Zhongyan as Assistant Councillor of State, and also promoted Ouyang Xiu, Yu Jing, Wang Su, and Cai Xiang to remonstrance officials (commonly known as the "Four Remonstrators"), showing keen determination to press forward.

In September, under Zhao Zhen's orders, Fan Zhongyan and Fu Bi put forward ten reform proposals: "clarifying promotions and demotions, curbing favoritism, refining the examination system, selecting proper officials, equalizing public fields, strengthening agriculture and sericulture, improving military preparedness, reducing corvée labor, extending grace and trust, and emphasizing commands."

Ouyang Xiu and the others also submitted memorials one after another discussing affairs of state, and Zhao Zhen adopted most of their suggestions, gradually promulgating and implementing them throughout the realm.

Because the new policies infringed upon the interests of the aristocratic officials, they met with obstruction from these parties.

In early the fifth year of Qingli, Fan Zhongyan, Han Qi, Fu Bi, Ouyang Xiu, and others were successively driven out of the court, and the various reforms were also abolished—the new policies ended in complete failure.

This period of history came to be known as the Qingli Reforms.

Han Kuang's meaning was already quite clear: the current Your Majesty is not Emperor Renzong of Song, and the present Great Ming is not the Great Song of that time. Thus there was no need to worry that Your Majesty would be like Emperor Renzong, nor to worry that they themselves would end up like Fan Zhongyan.

They all knew what happened to Fan Zhongyan—he was shuffled back and forth by those at court and ultimately died while in office.

This was a means in officialdom of harming someone invisibly. That is, they would not let you return to the capital, nor let you serve in a stable post, but instead have you transferred back and forth—today in Shandong, tomorrow they'd send you to Jiangnan, the day after to Huguang.

In this era, the roads were long and travel was extremely difficult. Especially for ministers of advanced age, after being shuffled around a few times, their lives would be spent.

After the four reached a tacit understanding among themselves, they said nothing further, and likewise tacitly avoided mentioning Zhang Juzheng.

In fact, the reason was simple: the current Your Majesty is not the Wanli Emperor, and they are not Zhang Juzheng either.

After walking forward a few steps, Xu Guangqi suddenly said: "It seems it's been some time since Zhang Juzheng's rehabilitation, hasn't it? Since he's already been vindicated, shouldn't we do something about it?"

Han Kuang and the other three were startled for a moment, then understood why Xu Guangqi had said this.

Huang Kezuan clapped his hands and said: "Indeed! Find Zhang Juzheng's descendants and give them the rewards they deserve. At the same time, a temple should be established for sacrifices, so that later generations may know Zhang Juzheng's merits. Also, his posthumous title is inappropriate—let's deliberate on a new one."

Zhang Juzheng's posthumous title was "Wenzhong," and all four knew this. But given Zhang Juzheng's accomplishments, this posthumous title was somewhat insufficient—and everyone knew the real story behind it.

On the fourth day after Zhang Juzheng's death, Censor Lei Shizhen and six other remonstrance officials impeached Pan Sheng, and Emperor Shenzong ordered Pan to retire.

Pan Sheng had been recommended by Zhang Juzheng during his lifetime, and his downfall signaled Zhang Juzheng's fall from favor. The remonstrance officials also turned their spears toward Zhang Juzheng.

Emperor Shenzong then ordered the confiscation of his property, stripped away all his court ranks, forcibly took back the imperial seals and four generations of patent letters of honor granted during his lifetime, and displayed his crimes to the world.

Moreover, Zhang Juzheng narrowly escaped having his coffin opened and his corpse whipped; his family members either starved to death or were exiled.

Many of the officials Zhang Juzheng had employed during his lifetime were either dismissed from office or executed in the marketplace.

This rehabilitation would certainly not be merely for Zhang Juzheng alone—rather, all the officials who had been implicated along with Zhang Juzheng would also be vindicated, and it would be done with great fanfare.

The purpose of the four men was also simple: through this matter, they would lay the groundwork for their reforms, while also winning over people's hearts.

Once the matter was complete, the four of them would openly step forward to push the reforms, establishing themselves as the reformist faction and branding those who had attacked them before as the old party.

In this way, it would no longer be a matter of their personal issues, but a struggle between the new and old lines.

This way, the pressure on the four of them would be greatly reduced, and they would also gather many hands to help them. As long as Your Majesty could support them, with their current strength, they could absolutely push it through.

So when Huang Kezuan's suggestion was voiced, the other three did not object.

Xu Guangqi nodded and said: "That is exactly as it should be."

Sun Chengzong also said: "Let's write up a routine memorial when we get back."

Han Kuang nodded and said expressionlessly: "Let it be done then. Once this current matter has passed, we will set about handling this affair."

At the Western Park.

Zhu Youxiao looked at Wei Zhongxian and Luo Sigong before him, holding a teacup in his hand and taking a light sip, then asked: "Have you both heard about what's happening outside?"

Wei Zhongxian's heart gave a sudden thump, and he hastily said: "This servant has heard."

Luo Sigong was not a step behind, also quickly cupping his hands and saying: "Your servant has heard as well."

Zhu Youxiao nodded, gently placing the teacup on the table, and said with an airy calm: "In that case, which of the two of you will go settle this matter for Us?"

Settling accounts was a matter for later; right now, those fellows kneeling outside needed to be dispersed.

Dispersion certainly could not be achieved through kind words—force would naturally be required.

In other words, at this time those civil officials needed to be beaten away, and those who stubbornly refused to leave would have their legs broken and be arrested on the spot.

Doing such a thing would certainly invite curses, and the infamy would be considerable.

After Zhu Youxiao asked this question, Luo Sigong hesitated.

After all, he was not like Wei Zhongxian—his family were hereditary members of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, which counted them among the nobility, though without a title of nobility.

Luo Sigong placed considerable weight on his reputation, at least not willing to trample his face underfoot like Wei Zhongxian did.

In the twenty-first year of Wanli, Luo Sigong organized the founding of the Capital Shanghu Guild Hall, used as a gathering and lodging place for Hunan officials, gentry, and examination scholars.

From this matter alone, one could see his regard for the literati and scholars.

The reason was also simple: in this era, the literati and scholars held the highest status. Some members of the Embroidered Uniform Guard looked down on this with disdain—what they wanted was the Emperor's favor, was power.

But others were different; they aped refinement, wanting to blend into the scholarly class, using this to elevate their own status and standing.

Yet these Guard members never considered what their foundation truly was.

Sometimes, those who forget their foundation end up with nothing in the end.

Wei Zhongxian had no such scruples. Upon hearing his master's words, his eyes immediately lit up.

He had been attacked quite viciously over the past period—there were routine memorials impeaching him every day, and the ones attacking him were precisely these people.

All along, he had been holding in a breath of anger, wanting to strike but never having the opportunity.

Now, a golden opportunity was right before his eyes. As a petty-minded eunuch, Wei Zhongxian would not let go of such a task—one where he could openly eliminate his opponents without catching his master's scolding.

He directly lifted his robes, fell to his knees with a thud, and said with utmost respect: "Master, this servant is willing to go!"

Hearing Wei Zhongxian say this, Luo Sigong only then snapped back to his senses.

Seeing Chen Hong anxiously signaling him with his eyes, Luo Sigong suddenly realized what was happening, hastily knelt to the ground, and loudly said: "Your servant is also willing to go!"

But in this world, some things—once you hesitate even a little—the opportunity is gone.

Zhu Youxiao glanced at Wei Zhongxian, waved his hand, and said: "You go."

When he said this, Zhu Youxiao's tone was very light, as if he were speaking of something utterly trivial, as though he had not taken the matter before him to heart at all.