Chapter 381: My Imperial Guard

This matter was thus concluded for the time being.

The matter was handed over to Cui Chengxiu, and Zhu Youxiao trusted that Cui Chengxiu would give him a satisfactory reply and an excellent answer.

You see, to be a powerful minister or a treacherous one, you cannot do without cunning.

People like Cui Chengxiu would handle matters beautifully—at least on the surface, it would look very beautiful. As for how many people were dissatisfied or resentful in private, that did not matter; they simply did not care.

In fact, Zhu Youxiao did not care either.

The great currents of the world surge onward, vast and mighty.

Those who follow me prosper; those who oppose me perish.

Zhu Youxiao wanted to forge a powerful empire and tread a path no predecessor had walked.

Those who could keep up would naturally fare well; those who could not were destined to be eliminated, with no room for negotiation.

Zhu Youxiao would not negotiate with them, nor would he think of keeping everyone along, because he could not drag them all.

"The Ministry of Rites matters are finished; let us now speak of the Ministry of Personnel." Zhu Youxiao looked at Zhou Jiamo and said slowly, "Does the Ministry of Personnel have any need for funds? You may raise it now."

The Ministry of Personnel managed officials and did not have many places to spend money. So after Zhu Youxiao asked, he did not pay much attention.

Zhou Jiamo stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, the Ministry of Personnel does indeed need some funds, but not too much."

After hearing Zhou Jiamo speak, everyone's faces twitched.

Just now Shen Tingyun had said the same thing, and then he opened his mouth asking for three million taels. Now you say the same—do not open your mouth asking for three million taels as well.

"The Ministry of Personnel merely wishes to increase some personnel," Zhou Jiamo said.

"Oh, to do what?" Zhu Youxiao looked at Zhou Jiamo with some puzzlement.

Zhou Jiamo had been planning this matter for a long time; raising it now was no surprise, and it could be counted as a good opportunity.

Zhou Jiamo did not hesitate and said directly, "To add some officials for performance assessment and inspection tours."

In fact, this was something Zhou Jiamo had no choice but to do.

For the officials of the Ministry of Personnel, these days had not been easy.

You see, the Ministry of Personnel had always controlled the official caps—the annual performance assessments by the Ministry of Personnel were a life-and-death matter for officials, and this aspect also reflected the Ministry's power.

But ever since the secret memorial system was established, the Ministry of Personnel's power of performance assessment had been weakened.

Now the Office of Transmission was rising, and beneath it there was also an Inspection Bureau, which could be said to have snatched away much of the Ministry of Personnel's power.

If they did not find a way to snatch it back now, the Ministry of Personnel's standing would gradually decline. This was something the Ministry of Personnel could not accept, hence today's proposal to reclaim a portion of that power.

After hearing this, Zhu Youxiao nodded and said, "This matter is indeed proper."

"But if it is merely a simple increase in assessment and inspection personnel, that would be making a mountain out of a molehill. How about this: the Ministry of Personnel formulates a plan, something like the Assessment Law, and then we deliberate."

Upon hearing Zhu Youxiao's words, all the ministers' hearts stirred.

Your Majesty had been strengthening the assessment of officials—this was something everyone knew. At the same time, Your Majesty's actions against corruption had been ongoing.

Whether it was the secret memorial system, the Office of Transmission, or the Inspection Bureau, all had been continuously strengthened. Clarifying officialdom's governance was something Your Majesty had always valued greatly.

Regarding the Assessment Law, someone had mentioned it before, but it had never truly been implemented. Judging from the current situation, Your Majesty was about to put the Assessment Law on the agenda.

This news was rather significant. The Assessment Law—one of the core decrees of Zhang Juzheng's reforms back then—was also something most officials deeply loathed.

The so-called Assessment Law was actually not that difficult; it merely required each government office to list the matters to be done each month, submit the list to the superior office, and at month's end have it verified and settled. If enough was completed, one passed; if not completed, one failed and faced strict punishment.

Want to coast along and idle away your days in a government office?

Do not even think about it.

Because the key to the Assessment Law was holding individuals responsible. Once something went wrong, the responsible person had to be pursued. Even if you had already left your post, matters from before still had to be shouldered by you.

The Assessment Law could be said to have placed a yoke around officials' necks—this was certainly not what officials wanted. Officials of the Great Ming did not enter office to do such things.

Having the successor clean up the predecessor's mess had nearly become a common practice in officialdom. Serve one three-year term and then leave—who would care what things looked like three years later?

So under such circumstances, all officials opposed the policy of the Assessment Law. This was also why, after Zhang Juzheng died, everyone opposed him.

During the years Zhang Juzheng was in power, he had dismissed three-tenths of the Great Ming's officials, and those people would inevitably hate Zhang Juzheng to the bone. At the same time, those connected to them would likewise not speak well of Zhang Juzheng.

Moreover, officialdom valued the principle that when the lips are gone, the teeth feel cold, so toppling Zhang Juzheng had nearly become a trend.

Now Zhu Youxiao had brought out this Assessment Law. Although his tone was casual—merely telling the Ministry of Personnel to formulate a plan—those present felt that something was happening again, and it was something big.

Zhou Jiamo, meanwhile, was inwardly crying out in distress. Your Majesty truly intended to implement the Assessment Law. If it were truly implemented, his own troubles would likely be enormous.

But on such an occasion, Zhou Jiamo had no choice; he could only steel himself and agree.

Zhou Jiamo said, "Yes, Your Majesty. Your subject will set about arranging it upon returning."

Zhou Jiamo paused, then spoke again: "There is another matter, namely regarding official salaries."

The previous matter could wait, but this next one truly had to be raised. If it were not handled soon, he would be strangled to death by those beneath him.

"The court owes officials a great amount of back pay, and moreover, paying officials' salaries in paper notes has left many officials living in hardship. This time, your subject requests one million taels of silver to make up the arrears in officials' salaries."

After a brief moment of deliberation, Zhu Youxiao said, "This matter—let us, sovereign and minister, discuss it thoroughly afterward. It is indeed a major affair and must be planned with long-term consideration."

Upon hearing Zhu Youxiao's words, Zhou Jiamo was startled.

But Zhou Jiamo understood in an instant—Your Majesty was about to take the knife to officials' salaries.

He knew in his heart that since Your Majesty had not said how the knife would be wielded, there was nothing he could say about it.

So Zhou Jiamo hastily said, "Yes, Your Majesty."

Zhu Youxiao nodded.

After Zhou Jiamo withdrew, Zhu Youxiao continued, "The Ministry of Personnel is also finished. Next, let the Ministry of War speak."

Everyone present understood one thing: today appeared to be about dividing money, but in reality, Your Majesty was assigning each ministry its upcoming tasks and missions. If you said nothing at all, you would likely get no good fruit to eat.

Sun Chengzong stepped forward, clasped his hands with force, and said, "Reporting to Your Majesty, the Ministry of War needs a great deal of money. After preliminary calculations, the Ministry of War requires seven million taels of silver."

Sun Chengzong had directly opened his mouth like a lion.

After this figure came out, everyone stared at Sun Chengzong, their eyes nearly falling to the ground.

In fact, could the Ministry of War spend seven million taels?

The answer was that they could spend it—and even that wouldn't be enough.

But this money couldn't all go to the Ministry of War. And if that much money all went to the Ministry of War, what about the other offices?

"Let's hear it." Zhu Youxiao looked at Sun Chengzong, his expression calm and unchanged.

It was certain that the Ministry of War would spend money, and it was equally certain that it would be one of the biggest spenders.

Although Sun Chengzong was asking with a lion's mouth, Zhu Youxiao wasn't surprised in the least.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Sun Chengzong acknowledged, then spoke slowly: "The Ministry of War's funds are mainly divided into two parts. One part is for repairing the Nine Border Garrisons."

"This time in the northwest, because of the earthquake, many passes have already been damaged. They truly ought to be properly repaired. Otherwise, once the Tartars invade, the court will suffer considerable losses."

Pausing for a moment, Sun Chengzong took a breath and continued: "Aside from the northwest, places like Liaodong also need reinforcement. Wild Boar Skin has repeatedly violated the border, and the losses to forts and stockades across Liaodong have been quite severe—they all need repairs as well."

"Beyond that, the losses of weapons and equipment among the various border troops have also been severe. In many places, the border troops no longer have any weapons to draw. Now that the Hundred Crafts Institute has already cast many new-style firearms, I request that some be equipped for the local border troops."

"For the various sabers, spears, swords, and halberds in each region, I also request a batch for the local border troops. The steel output at the capital's steelworks is now very high and very fast; the sabers and spears produced are much better than the originals."

"Even the newly manufactured steel crossbows have longer range and greater power, and they're less prone to warping—quite suitable for border troops. A batch should also be equipped."

After Sun Chengzong finished speaking, he simply stood there in the great hall.

The ministers chattered and whispered among themselves.

Listening to Sun Chengzong's words, Zhu Youxiao understood his meaning.

This Minister of War simply wanted to give the border troops a sum of money—on the one hand to let them repair city walls and fortresses, and on the other to replace some of their equipment.

These two aspects truly did warrant spending, so Zhu Youxiao nodded and said: "Draw up a concrete budget, then."

The meaning of these words was perfectly clear—you can forget about the seven million; be practical, and whatever it should be, that's what it will be.

Sun Chengzong nodded and said: "Yes, Your Majesty. I will calculate it as soon as I return."

Zhu Youxiao nodded and said: "Since we've come to this topic, let's also address the other matter. I intend to establish an Imperial Guard Corps Command Office, responsible solely for commanding the Imperial Guard Corps. As for the composition of personnel, I am still considering it and will inform you later."

Upon hearing these words, the expressions of the ministers all changed.

The Imperial Guard Corps Command Office—the meaning was obvious. This office was to command the Imperial Guard Corps.

With a Guard Corps Command Office, there would have to be an Imperial Guard Corps. His Majesty intended to place the new army under his own name.

The Great Ming had always possessed imperial guards. Among the directly subordinate guards, the Imperial Guard Command had twenty-six guards, twelve of which were established during the Hongwu era, with a portion established during the Yongle years.

These all fell under the Imperial Guard Command Office—one could say they were the Emperor's personal troops, not subject to the Ministry of War's jurisdiction, not commanded by the Five Armies Commissioner-in-Chief's Office, and accepting only the Emperor's orders.

But as time passed, with the Emperor's power waning and civil officials meddling, the Imperial Guard Command Office had become a hollow shell in name only.

The only one still under the Emperor's direct command was the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Clearly, the current Emperor did not want things this way—he intended to establish a new Imperial Guard Command Office. His Majesty had even changed the name, to the Imperial Guard Corps Command Office.

Given the current Emperor's temperament, this surely couldn't be as simple as just establishing an office—this was about rebuilding the twenty-six directly subordinate guards.