Chapter 257: The Capable Minister Sun Chuanting

The situation in the southwest was a major affair at court, though each person's focus differed.

The ministers were more concerned with official positions than with She Chongming's rebellion.

As for She Chongming's rebellion, in their view it was too far away to affect the capital in a lifetime, nor would it affect them.

Zhu Youxiao had no intention of trying to change them. Rather than waste that effort, it was better to do what he ought to be doing.

Yet a new question had emerged in the Great Ming officialdom — namely, who was Sun Chuanting?

This time, when the court established the post of Governor-General of the Southwest, many people had already begun to eye it.

This was a Governor-General's yamen, with very great power, and it would also participate in suppressing the rebellion — an opportunity to earn merit. Once the rebellion was pacified, one could use the occasion to be promoted.

And among them, one person stood out rather conspicuously — that person was Sun Chuanting.

An ordinary Bureau Director of the Military Selection Bureau in the Ministry of War had suddenly been promoted to Vice Minister of War and Right Assistant Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate. This position seemed to carry a hint of military supervision.

Although no explicit office had been given to him, only allowing him to serve within the Governor-General's yamen, that was still enough. Once the southwest was pacified, he would certainly be raised up.

No one knew why, so digging through Sun Chuanting's records became something everyone had to do. Only no one found anything useful.

Sun Chuanting: in the forty-seventh year of Wanli, he passed the jinshi examination and was appointed magistrate of Yongcheng County. He then entered Beijing to serve, becoming a Bureau Secretary of the Ministry of Personnel's Seal Verification Bureau, and later served as Bureau Director of the Military Selection Bureau in the Ministry of War — and then nothing more.

His entire resume revealed nothing strange at all. The only thing that made people wonder was that someone seemed to be secretly promoting him — from a county magistrate directly up to the capital, then into the Military Selection Bureau of the Ministry of War, and this time a leap to the top, becoming Vice Minister of War.

The Ministry of War yamen.

Quite a few people were probing for news about Sun Chuanting, but for those in the Ministry of War yamen, getting close to Sun Chuanting was easier, so many people took the opportunity to curry favor.

This annoyed Sun Chuanting to no end — he couldn't even do his work properly.

Although the court had made new arrangements for Sun Chuanting's position, he still had to wait for Yuan Keli to enter the capital and formally assume his post before he could report to Yuan Keli.

So for now Sun Chuanting could only remain in the Ministry of War, but the current situation made it impossible for him to stay there any longer.

That one at the door delivering documents — that's the seventh one today, isn't it?

Sun Chuanting shook his head helplessly. He naturally knew what these people were thinking. They merely hoped that once he rose in the world, he would promote them.

Sun Chuanting very much wanted to tell them that doing this was useless, because he himself didn't know why he had been promoted.

But not knowing was one thing — Sun Chuanting was still very excited about his promotion, after all, since it was a good thing.

Moreover, this time going to the southwest to participate in the court's suppression of the rebellion was a learning opportunity for him, and also a chance to display his abilities.

Now, whenever he thought of the stream of people coming to curry favor one after another today, Sun Chuanting naturally couldn't feel happy.

Should he ask for two days of sick leave?

But before he could move, someone walked in from outside.

The newcomer was a eunuch.

This made people hesitate even more.

Quite a few people recognized him — this was Chen Hong, the eunuch close to His Majesty.

Seeing Chen Hong walking toward him, Sun Chuanting couldn't help but hesitate, yet he still walked over.

The moment Chen Hong saw Sun Chuanting, a brilliant smile spread across his face.

Compared to the people outside, Chen Hong clearly knew more — he knew that this Sun Chuanting was someone His Majesty had been paying attention to, and for no short a time.

Chen Hong had long known that Sun Chuanting would be given important use, and things had turned out just as he had predicted — Sun Chuanting had indeed been given important use.

Chen Hong said with a smile, "Lord Sun, His Majesty summons you."

Sun Chuanting was startled. His Majesty wants to see me?

As for the current His Majesty, the ministers at court had differing views and differing assessments.

Many regarded His Majesty as an enlightened ruler, the savior of the Great Ming; many believed His Majesty was a fatuous ruler, and that if things continued this way, he might well become the ruler who doomed the Great Ming.

Of course, some words could not be spoken aloud, only thought in the heart. But in officialdom there were no secrets, and such a sentiment had been circulating for some time.

To be honest, Sun Chuanting had never had contact with His Majesty, and he didn't know how to assess him. As an official with his own stance, Sun Chuanting still leaned toward His Majesty being an enlightened ruler.

His Majesty had halted construction within the palace, and was also very frugal — there were only three women in the palace, and nothing else besides.

But there were also some things hard to stomach, such as employing Wei Zhongxian, believing in the demonic Daoists within the palace, and not being kind enough to officials.

As for these matters, Sun Chuanting actually reserved his opinion. After all, those who had fallen from power, led by the Donglin Faction, had gone too far — embezzling bribes and framing court officials.

Some also said it was Wei Zhongxian framing those people, but Sun Chuanting felt that not all of it could be fabrication.

He had been an official in the Great Ming for several years now, and knew well what the Great Ming officialdom was like. Those officials who appeared clean on the surface — who knew what they were really like behind it.

Seeing Sun Chuanting standing in a daze, Chen Hong frowned slightly and said, "Lord Sun, His Majesty summons you?"

Only then did Sun Chuanting snap back to his senses, and suddenly realize — His Majesty wanted to see him.

He hurriedly said, "Eunuch Chen, might I ask what business His Majesty has with me?"

"That's not something us servants could know." Chen Hong said with a smile, "If there's nothing else, Lord Sun, follow me into the palace."

"Very well, Eunuch Chen." Sun Chuanting nodded in agreement.

The news that Sun Chuanting had been summoned by His Majesty to the Western Park, and that Chen Hong had personally come to deliver the message, quickly spread.

For a time, the Ministry of War became even more lively — many people secretly regretted not having built a good relationship with Sun Chuanting earlier.

Within the Western Park.

Zhu Youxiao was escaping the heat, just short of hugging a block of ice.

Speaking of which, autumn was nearly here — why was the weather still so hot?

Wasn't the Great Ming supposed to be getting cold? Where had all the cold air gone?

At this moment, Zhu Youxiao suddenly missed air conditioning and ice cream immensely. Still, salty ice pops were also quite refreshing — he'd have the palace make some milk ice pops another day.

"Your Majesty, Sun Chuanting has arrived." Chen Hong came to Zhu Youxiao's side and said respectfully.

"Let him in." Zhu Youxiao glanced at Chen Hong, nodded, and set down the ice pack in his hand.

Before long, Sun Chuanting walked in from outside.

He saluted respectfully, saying, "Your servant Sun Chuanting pays respects to Your Majesty. Long live the Emperor, ten thousand years, ten thousand times ten thousand years."

"Rise." Zhu Youxiao waved his hand and said.

Zhu Youxiao looked Sun Chuanting up and down. Sun Chuanting was still very young at this time, appearing quite spirited, with an air of vitality about him—this pleased him greatly.

Zhu Youxiao nodded and said, "I called you here today because there are some matters I wish to discuss with you. I am sending you to the southwest this time, and I would like to hear your thoughts on the region."

Sun Chuanting had not expected that His Majesty would summon him for this matter, and was momentarily stunned. He truly had no idea what was going on.

He did not understand why he was being sent to the southwest, nor did he understand the question His Majesty was asking.

In Sun Chuanting's view, even if someone had recommended him for the southwest, it was most likely just to let him gild his résumé.

After all, the Governor-General of the southwest was Yuan Keli—a veteran minister. If His Majesty wished to inquire about views and approaches for the southwest, he should be asking Yuan Keli, not himself.

So why had the question fallen on his head?

But since His Majesty had asked him directly, there was no avoiding it.

A man who truly wanted to gild his résumé would certainly have shown his hand by now, but Sun Chuanting was not such a man. After receiving this appointment, he had already done considerable homework.

So Sun Chuanting stepped forward and said, "Your servant believes the approach should be to combine suppression and pacification—suppress first, then pacify. At the same time, officials in the southwest must be strictly punished and the governance there cleansed. Only then can the region be stabilized."

Glancing at Sun Chuanting, Zhu Youxiao nodded and said, "Continue."

"Yes, Your Majesty. The southwest has been turbulent since ancient times—it is a land of barbarians, and the local people are not yet civilized. Thus pacification is rather difficult, especially with ambitious men like She Chongming among them."

"Therefore your servant has settled on the strategy of suppressing first and pacifying afterward, wiping out the likes of She Chongming entirely. First, this will purge these ambitious elements—with them gone, no one will stir up trouble or rebel. Second, it will intimidate the southwest, letting them know that daring to show disrespect to the Great Ming leads to but one path—death!"

Glancing at Sun Chuanting, Zhu Youxiao's face showed no expression, but inwardly he was thoroughly pleased.

Truly a capable man—his perspective on the problem was apt, and his handling of measures was well-judged. As long as he could carry things out smoothly, this was the bearing of a great minister of the age.

If not for the fact that Sun Chuanting was too young, too inexperienced, and carried too little prestige to overawe the officials of the southwest, he would have been the Governor-General this time.

But once he returned from the southwest, all would be well—then he could be given heavy responsibility. It would also let him accumulate experience; surely by then he would be even more mature and capable.

Sun Chuanting continued, "After the suppression is complete, pacification can be carried out on the spot—those willing to surrender, those who surrender in sincerity, shall all be entered into the Great Ming's household registers and become subjects of the Great Ming. At the same time, the native chieftain system shall be abolished, directly converting native rule to regular administration."

Zhu Youxiao inwardly approved greatly. Sun Chuanting was planning something big—but it suited his own intentions perfectly. This was exactly what he wanted to do.

The last time the Great Ming had carried out conversion of native rule to regular administration was during the Wanli era, when Yang Yinglong had rebelled.

In the eighteenth year of Wanli, Yang Yinglong of the Bozhou Pacification Commission rebelled. The Wanli Emperor dispatched an army of two hundred forty thousand, and in the twenty-eighth year of Wanli the rebellion was pacified. Yang Yinglong took his own life.

This campaign was one of the Three Great Campaigns of Wanli. When the Bozhou Campaign ended, the Ming army split Bozhou in two, establishing the prefectures of Zunyi and Pingyue.

This time, after he pacified the southwest, he too would carry out conversion of native rule to regular administration.

It seemed Sun Chuanting had indeed come prepared, and everything he said struck at the heart of the matter.

Though it was only a rough framework, once the path was set, moving forward in detail would be much easier.

With a guiding principle established, what followed would be simple.

Zhu Youxiao smiled gently and said, "Continue, my minister."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Sun Chuanting acknowledged and continued, "Your servant reviewed some old archives of the Ministry of War concerning the southwest. Liu Xixuan, the Education Intendant of Guizhou, once submitted a memorial to the court:

"'The people of Yunnan and Guizhou suffer exploitation by corrupt officials, their lives bitter beyond words. Yet the native chieftains also oppress the people, and there is not one among them who is not enraged.'

"'Clearly at that time not only were the barbarian people exploited by Han officials, but even the native chieftains were cruelly squeezed by the regular administrators.'

"In this way, when the barbarian people could no longer survive, they naturally gave ambitious men like She Chongming their opportunity. They blamed everything on the court and led their followers in rebellion."

"Thus your servant believes that to resolve this problem, the first step is to rectify the officialdom of the southwest and cleanse its governance; simultaneously convert native rule to regular administration, transforming the barbarian people into Han; and dispatch scholars to the southwest to spread authority and enlightenment. In this way, within a few decades the southwest will surely be restored to the Great Ming's orthodox fold."

Watching Sun Chuanting speak with such eloquence, Zhu Youxiao sighed inwardly.

In truth, the Sun Chuanting of history had been a strategist of great foresight—only he had encountered an impatient Chongzhen Emperor who never gave him the chance to realize his ambitions.

The Chongzhen Emperor of history had been very anxious. He felt the Great Ming was already finished and was single-mindedly determined to restore its glory.

But in reality, the more hasty one is, the less one can accomplish. Sun Chuanting was a victim of that very impatience—and he was neither the first nor the last.

If he gave Sun Chuanting the opportunity, placing him in the southwest, Zhu Youxiao dared guarantee that ten years later the southwest would be an entirely different world.

But that was impossible—he would still have to choose someone else.

Suddenly, Zhu Youxiao thought of a man—Chen Qiyu.

Speaking of which, Chen Qiyu was also a man of talent who understood military affairs. Just the other day he had been stirring about in Luoyang.

If the matter of the Prince of Fu was concluded, he might consider promoting Chen Qiyu.

Where would be a suitable place to promote him to?

The southwest might be a fine choice.

Zhu Youxiao felt this was an excellent idea—Chen Qiyu would surely be overwhelmed with gratitude.

While Zhu Youxiao was thinking of Chen Qiyu, Chen Qiyu knew nothing of it.

At this moment, he had already arrived at the Hundred Flowers Pavilion and was seated in a private room on the second floor, a jug of wine at his side, taking a sip from time to time.

There were no women in the room—only his secretary Li Fang standing behind him.

Just then, a knock suddenly sounded at the door.

Li Fang walked quickly to the door and opened it, finding two unfamiliar men outside. He asked, "May I ask how you two gentlemen are called?"

The men outside said nothing. One of them stepped aside, revealing a familiar face—it was Zhao Zhu, the transmission officer of the Office of Transmission.

Seeing Zhao Zhu, Li Fang knew the man they had been waiting for had arrived. He stepped slightly aside to let them enter, then retreated behind Chen Qiyu.

Chen Sihai walked into the room, glanced at the seated Chen Qiyu, and said, "Are you Magistrate Chen of Luoyang?"

At this point Chen Qiyu naturally could not remain seated. He hastily rose and bowed, saying, "That is indeed this official. May I ask how you are called, sir?"

"Chen Sihai, Assistant Director of the Inspection Bureau of the Office of Transmission. You may not have heard of this office, as it has only recently been established. This official holds the fourth rank." Chen Sihai said slowly, adding his rank at the end.

Of course, this was not to flaunt his rank before Chen Qiyu, but rather because stating one's rank made matters easier to handle.

Fourth rank—that was by no means low. One should know that the Chief of the Office of Transmission was only third rank, and the Left and Right Directors were fourth rank. Clearly Chen Sihai's position was high indeed—he was certainly one of the leading figures within the Office of Transmission.

"Your subordinate pays respects to Your Excellency." Chen Qiyu hastily bowed deeply.

Chen Sihai nodded and said, "Enough, rise."

After Chen Qiyu straightened up, Chen Sihai finally asked, "The routine memorial and the secret memorial—both were submitted by you?"

"In answer to Your Excellency, it is indeed this subordinate." Chen Qiyu acknowledged.

There was nothing to hide in this matter; Chen Qiyu's original intent was to make the affair as large as possible, so since the other party asked, he naturally had to speak.

Chen Sihai nodded and said, "Do you know what His Majesty said?"

After hearing Chen Sihai's words, Chen Qiyu felt a sense of foreboding in his heart.

Because when ministers speak privately, they rarely bring up His Majesty—especially when one is not familiar with him. Since he had raised the matter of His Majesty, there must surely be something to say.

Chen Sihai did not wait for Chen Qiyu's reply, but said directly, "After your secret memorial reached the capital, Lord Zhao of the Office of Transmission took your secret memorial and entered the palace, presenting it to His Majesty."

"His Majesty said that very day that you would certainly submit a routine memorial as well, and that in this way you could bind your matter together with the secret memorial system, thereby pressuring the court and pressuring His Majesty—forcing the court and His Majesty to severely punish the Prince of Fu and severely punish the officialdom of Jiangnan."

"At the time, Lord Zhao asked His Majesty whether you should be arrested. His Majesty said instead: the dignified County Magistrate of Luoyang of this court wished to impeach a feudal prince, yet had to resort to such methods. Then where are the common people to appeal their grievances? What methods are they to use? The very reason for the secret memorial system is so that His Majesty is not kept in the dark."

"His Majesty asked me to bring you a message: you must trust His Majesty. Since His Majesty has employed the secret memorial system, no matter what the matter is, He will not leave it unattended. That is why His Majesty sent me this time."

"Originally, the Chief of the Office of Transmission wished to come in person, but since the secret memorial system has only just been established and there is simply too much work, the Chief of the Office of Transmission could not spare himself, so he sent me instead."

Listening to Chen Sihai's words, Chen Qiyu did not utter a single word, but his heart churned like rivers overturning and seas flooding.

It seemed he had measured the gentleman's heart with a petty man's measure. His Majesty's present boldness of vision and decisiveness was indeed beyond his own comparison!

After Chen Sihai finished speaking, Chen Qiyu said, "Lord Chen, when you return to the capital, could you bring a memorial to His Majesty on my behalf?"

Chen Sihai glanced at Chen Qiyu and nodded, saying, "That is naturally no problem. However, there is one thing you should know: His Majesty has already issued an edict strictly forbidding officials from using routine memorials and secret memorials together. Because the court's relay stations transmitting documents back and forth also require the deployment of personnel and the expenditure of money and grain."

Upon hearing Chen Sihai's words, Chen Qiyu smiled bitterly and said, "Your Excellency, this subordinate is already overwhelmed with shame."

"Then let us not speak further of that matter." Chen Sihai nodded and said, "This time, your impeachment of the Prince of Fu and the Prefect of Henan Prefecture is being taken very seriously by both His Majesty and the court, so tell me the situation."

"You must understand that the secret memorial has a precondition—it cannot be reporting on hearsay. Do you have evidence in hand?"

Chen Qiyu nodded and said, "Regarding the evidence against Prefect Liao Zhong, this subordinate has several cases in hand, with both witnesses and material evidence complete—all of it can prove his embezzlement and acceptance of bribes."

"As for Liao Zhong's taking concubines and receiving gifts, there is no one in all of Luoyang city who does not know of it. He is downstairs right now, likely here again to look for girls—if he takes a fancy to one, he will bring her back, then directly marry her as a concubine, throwing a grand celebration and making everyone contribute gifts."