Chapter 416: Non-Hanlin Members May Also Enter the Grand Secretariat

Huang Kezuan was well aware of his relationship with Cui Jingrong.

But Huang Kezuan was confident that this time, with Cui Jingrong entering the capital, he would give him a proper lesson.

Although this old fellow was a veteran of three reigns, he had one disadvantage—when he had taken the jinshi examination back in the day, he had placed in the second rank.

What did second rank mean?

It meant Cui Jingrong could never enter the Grand Secretariat for the rest of his life.

You see, in the Great Ming, there were rules for entering the Grand Secretariat. You had to be first rank—that is, Zhuangyuan, Bangyan, or Tanhua; apart from that, only those in the second rank who had been selected as Hanlin Bachelors in the top few places could qualify. Otherwise, there was no hope.

Because only those few could enter the Hanlin Academy—non-Hanlin members could not join the Grand Secretariat. Someone like this Cui Jingrong before them simply had no way in.

Huang Kezuan had not previously been a Grand Secretary of the Grand Secretariat, and struggling against Cui Jingrong had put him at a disadvantage. But this time was different—Huang Kezuan had plenty of opportunities to deal with Cui Jingrong.

Zhu Youxiao glanced at the three men and said, "I take it you all already know about the matter?"

"Yes, Your Majesty, your ministers have been informed." The several men quickly spoke up.

"Very well then." Zhu Youxiao nodded and said, "I never expected Xiong Tingbi to have achieved such merit in Liaodong. Striking down the enemy chieftain is a great accomplishment and deserves generous reward; the officers and soldiers of Liaodong must also be rewarded."

Zhu Youxiao's gaze swept across the three men, finally settling on Cui Jingrong. He smiled and said, "Minister Cui, you are the Minister of War—I'll leave the matter of rewards to you."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Cui Jingrong quickly assented.

Zhu Youxiao nodded and continued, "Some time ago, I wished to reform the peerage system, and it has now been handed over to the Staff Office to handle. This time, you should consult carefully with the Staff Office, draw up a reward list, and report it to me."

Cui Jingrong was taken aback, but still agreed: "Yes, Your Majesty."

Ever since arriving in the capital, Cui Jingrong had kept a very low profile.

In truth, it wasn't that Cui Jingrong wanted to keep a low profile—it was that he couldn't do otherwise even if he wanted to.

Compared to when Cui Jingrong had left the capital, the capital now was a completely different place. Officials were changing like a revolving lantern, and many he no longer recognized.

The court had also gained many new offices—some Cui Jingrong had never even heard of, and others he had heard of but never had any contact with.

Under such circumstances, better to stay still than to move—doing nothing at all was best. So Cui Jingrong had remained very quiet, wanting to feel out the situation before acting.

But this matter was clearly not that simple. With the matter now at his doorstep, Cui Jingrong couldn't dodge it even if he wanted to.

That Liaodong had achieved merit was plain for anyone to see. Yet His Majesty had asked him to discuss rewards with the Staff Office—there was something unusual in that.

This had always been the Grand Secretariat's business before. Although the peerage reform had paved the way, it still seemed rather abrupt.

Under such circumstances, this matter would probably not be easy to handle. Still, Cui Jingrong agreed, because he knew very well that His Majesty had his own purposes in assigning him this task. Before he understood the situation clearly, he had better keep his mouth shut.

The three men of the Grand Secretariat wore different expressions.

Xu Guangqi looked indifferent. Li Zhizao was in the Staff Office, and Xu Guangqi knew very well what the Staff Office was doing, understood what it had been up to recently, and understood what His Majesty was doing.

Xu Guangqi approved wholeheartedly, but he simply couldn't say so. He decided to stay silent.

Han Kuang and Huang Kezuan's faces were grim. His Majesty was stripping power from the Grand Secretariat, transferring part of its authority to the Staff Office. There had already been signs of this trend before, and this time it had clearly intensified.

Everyone knew that Sun Chengzong had gone to the Staff Office, and the Staff Office's power had grown greatly—this was a prime example.

This worried Han Kuang deeply. If the Grand Secretariat lost too much power on his watch, what would he do? He'd probably be cursed to death by those loudmouths.

But right now Han Kuang had no good options. If he stepped forward now, he'd probably be replaced immediately.

Beside him, Huang Kezuan kept his head bowed very low. Cui Jingrong was being given important responsibilities, and Huang Kezuan's face was gloomy.

Judging from the current situation, His Majesty having Cui Jingrong liaise with the Staff Office was a way to bypass the Grand Secretariat.

Under such circumstances, it wouldn't be easy for Huang Kezuan to deal with Cui Jingrong.

"Is there anything else? If not, you may withdraw." Zhu Youxiao looked at Han Kuang and the others and said directly.

But before Han Kuang and the others could speak, Zhu Youxiao seemed to remember something else. He raised his hand to keep the four of them, and said directly, "There's one more matter I want to discuss with you."

"Ever since Sun Chengzong was transferred to the Staff Office, the Grand Secretariat has been short one Grand Secretary—that won't do. Recommend a few candidates to expand the number of Grand Secretaries. Choose two." Zhu Youxiao looked at Han Kuang and the others and gave the order directly.

No one had expected His Majesty to select Grand Secretaries at this time—and to select two at once. But none of them dared to be negligent. They quickly said, "Rest assured, Your Majesty—your ministers will draft a list as soon as possible."

Zhu Youxiao nodded and said, "That would be for the best."

Having said this, Zhu Youxiao waved his hand and said, "Alright, you may go."

Han Kuang and the others quickly bowed and said, "Your ministers take their leave."

After Han Kuang and the others had left, Zhu Youxiao remained seated without moving, lightly tapping the armrest of his chair with his fingers, his expression shifting from time to time.

Selecting Grand Secretaries now was, of course, meant to draw attention. Zhu Youxiao had stripped power from the Grand Secretariat and had the Staff Office liaise with the Ministry of War.

If this matter got out, it would certainly stir up no small waves, and who knew what kind of trouble might erupt.

Zhu Youxiao needed a focal point to draw the attention of these civil officials and keep them from making a fuss.

In the court, nothing drew attention better than the selection of Grand Secretaries. Once the news was released, many people would choose to make their move—their energy would no longer be spent on the Grand Secretariat's power being carved up, but on competing for the position of Grand Secretary.

Under such circumstances, there would be fewer troublemakers, and resistance would be much reduced.

To stir the pot further, Zhu Youxiao thought of another method. He turned to look at Chen Hong and said directly, "Have someone spread the word that this time, in the selection of Grand Secretaries, the conditions may well be relaxed—non-Hanlin members may also enter the Grand Secretariat."

When doing something, one must see it through to the end. Since he was going to stir things up, he might as well make it big and muddy the waters even further.

Upon hearing this, Chen Hong quickly bowed and said, "Rest assured, Your Majesty—this servant will see to it at once."

Having said this, Chen Hong turned and walked out.

Zhu Youxiao stood up and headed toward the inner palace.

Everything had been arranged. Now he could return to the inner palace to keep his wife and children company.

Meanwhile, at the Kong family in Quzhou.

In recent days, the entire Kong household had been in a state of panic.

Ever since the news from Shandong had spread to Jiangnan, the Kong family hadn't had a single good day, their hearts filled with anxiety. Who knew whether the affairs of the Northern Branch would implicate them?

That was deeply worrying. But things had calmed down over this period—no rumors or actual incidents had occurred—which allowed the Kong family to breathe a sigh of relief.

The Quzhou government office.

A team of imperial envoys arrived here, travel-worn and weary.

The eunuch at their head was pale-faced, clearly exhausted from the journey—his body could barely take it.

Upon receiving the news, the Prefect of Quzhou dared not show the slightest negligence and was waiting at the entrance of the government office from early morning.

Although Quzhou could hardly be called a place where "the mountains are high and the Emperor is far away," it was still quite distant from the capital. It was not considered a major locale, usually drawing no attention from the court, let alone receiving imperial commissioners. An imperial edict was something they wouldn't even dare to dream of.

Yet who could have imagined that today an imperial commissioner would arrive—and one bearing an imperial edict, no less.

When he saw the commissioner's procession approaching, the Prefect of Quzhou hurried forward to greet them, cupping his hands with a smile and saying, "Li Wenliang, Prefect of Quzhou, pays respects to the Imperial Commissioner."

There were quite a few people in this procession—civil officials and military officers alike, and even members of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. But at the head of them all was that eunuch.

He glanced at Li Wenliang and said, "This humble one has come to Quzhou to deliver an imperial edict to the Kong family, with no intention of disturbing the local authorities. Lead the way for us—take us to the Kong residence."

Upon hearing that the edict was for the Kong family, Li Wenliang breathed a sigh of relief inwardly. As long as it wasn't for him, all was well.

Everyone at court knew full well these days that if you were singled out, the odds of something disastrous happening were far too great.

Local officials especially—in the past two years, no small number had been stripped of their property and executed. As long as they weren't coming for him now, that was the best possible outcome.

Li Wenliang quickly replied, "Very well, Eunuch. Please, this way."

Having said this, Li Wenliang led the party to the Kong residence.

By this time, the Kong family had naturally also heard the news. Not daring to be negligent, they hurriedly brought people out to welcome the commissioner's procession.

Times were not easy for the Kong family. The Northern Branch had already been finished off—who knew what would become of the Southern Branch.

Everyone had originally assumed that with the Northern Branch destroyed, the Southern Branch might rise, and His Majesty might bestow rewards upon them.

But the rewards never came—they waited and waited, and as time dragged on, doubt began to creep into everyone's hearts. Even the Kong family themselves began to feel they were doomed.

His Majesty might simply ignore the Southern Branch entirely, and even if he did take notice, it might well be to mete out punishment. So the Southern Branch of the Kong family grew even more anxious.

Now that they heard an imperial edict had arrived, their hearts were filled with utter uncertainty.

Kong Shangqian led his family members out in haste to receive the commissioner.

Upon seeing Kong Shangqian, the eunuch directly unrolled the imperial edict and began to read it aloud.

The content was not overly verbose—it enumerated the misdeeds committed by the Northern Branch of the Kong family, spoke some words of praise for the Southern Branch, and then conferred upon Kong Shangqian the title of Duke Yansheng.

However, this Duke Yansheng could not serve in Quzhou—he would have to go to the capital.

The edict was written very clearly: not only was Kong Shangqian granted the noble title of Duke Yansheng, he was also given the position of Dean of the Imperial Academy.

The entire Southern Branch of the Kong family was to relocate to the capital, and they were not permitted to remain in Quzhou.

This was to prevent a recurrence of the Northern Branch's situation.