Chapter 408: The True Purpose

"Your Majesty, Minister Wei requests an audience!" Zhang Dejun hurried forward with quick steps, stopped before the imperial presence, bent deeply at the waist, and reported.

"Mm..." Liu Chengyou stared intently at the thick stack of documents in his hands, deeply absorbed, merely responding offhandedly.

Over the past few days, Zhang Dejun had become much more reserved, especially in front of Liu Chengyou — Liu Chengyou had frightened him badly.

And taking advantage of these days, Zhang Dejun had also reflected carefully, summing up his usual conduct. Put plainly, Zhang Dejun had gotten a bit carried away. The Son of Heaven's trust and his status as a palace eunuch before the imperial presence had made him no longer as low-key and deferential as before. Though not to the point of presuming on favor, his sense of reverence had indeed weakened somewhat.

Zhang Dejun was a rather clever man — he understood the times, knew when to advance and when to retreat, and was fond of reading. He was still young, not yet twenty. But after several years at Liu Chengyou's side, he had been tempered and trained, and among the eunuchs, he was quite favored by Liu Chengyou.

It was precisely for this reason — a handy attendant was hard to come by — that Liu Chengyou had taken the initiative to rap his knuckles, not wanting him to stray from the proper path. Otherwise, he reckoned he would have to find a replacement.

And Zhang Dejun clearly had talent. After that, he indeed became much more "steady." Liu Chengyou subsequently promoted him to Deputy Director of Palace Eunuchs, serving before the imperial presence while also overseeing internal palace affairs.

The Great Han's court had an enormous number of offices — "bloated" would be the word. At the founding of the state, in order to win hearts, stabilize the situation, and accept surrenders and defections, the court had lavished titles both inside and outside. The number of people eating imperial grain inside and outside was no small burden on the state's finances, and Liu Chengyou had already begun trimming it.

Within the Han palace, the various offices and institutions were far from well-established. During the two years of Liu Chengyou's personal frugality, he had also actively compressed the staff of the various eunuch directorates. But such a situation could not last forever — otherwise the dignity of the imperial house could not be displayed. Censors had already submitted memorials asking Liu Chengyou to fill out the inner palace and complete the institutional framework.

Liu Chengyou had similar thoughts. Before comprehensively reorganizing the outer court, he would first regularize the various bureaus, offices, and commissioners within the imperial city — handling his own "family affairs" would also be more convenient. The appointment of Zhang Dejun counted as a beginning.

And although he had been promoted and his salary increased, Zhang Dejun had instead become even more cautious and meticulous, serving with ever greater care.

At this moment, Liu Chengyou was reviewing the financial and tax reports from the State Finance Commission. The situation exceeded his expectations. After two continuous years of rest and recuperation and developing production, the court had finally barely escaped "straitened circumstances" in tax revenue. Though far from wealthy, it was now sufficient to support the army, the officials, the expenditures of the various offices and institutions, border defenses, and major works such as river dredging.

Support for remote and impoverished border prefectures and strategic frontier passes had also been greatly reduced due to the cessation of hostilities. Hebei, which in the previous two years had been a money-devouring beast, was gradually becoming self-sufficient. The third year of Qianyou still saw disasters, especially floods, but they were within manageable limits — far more stable than the calamity-ridden second year of Qianyou.

The regional military governors had basically resumed their tribute shipments to the Eastern Capital, with annual revenues flowing in continuously. In the prefectures directly under the court and the garrisons near the capital, the removal of transit taxes had caused merchants to come and go freely, and commercial tax revenue had increased markedly.

Of course, for the Great Han court, the suppression of Buddhism last year alone had fattened it up completely. Beyond the long-term benefits of land and population, the military funds and grain for the Huai campaign could now be raised with a large portion saved.

Seeing the comfortable smile curling at the corners of the Emperor's lips, Zhang Dejun called out again: "Your Majesty!"

"Hm?" Liu Chengyou finally looked up.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, the Minister of War requests an audience on behalf of Minister Wei; he awaits your summons in the corridor." Zhang Dejun reported again with humble reverence.

Liu Chengyou withdrew his attention from the financial reports and ordered: "Summon him!"

"Yes!"

Zhang Dejun retreated slowly, and once ten paces away, quickly turned and walked lightly toward the palace hall exit. The whole sequence emphasized caution. Seeing this, Liu Chengyou couldn't help but call him back.

"Does Your Majesty have further instructions?" Zhang Dejun turned back and asked.

Liu Chengyou looked him up and down a few times, smiled slightly, and said softly: "Am I that frightening?"

Zhang Dejun carefully raised his eyelids, then quickly lowered his head again, standing in a posture of reverence: "Your Majesty's majesty grows daily; your servant's body and mind are utterly awed — I dare not look directly!"

Liu Chengyou chuckled, then immediately composed his expression and waved his hand: "Have Wei Renpu come see me!"

When Wei Renpu was led into the hall, he also glanced at Zhang Dejun with some surprise, but paid it no mind.

Clutching a memorial in his hands, he walked to the imperial presence and performed the rites.

"How is the delineation of authority between the Ministry of War and the Bureau of Military Affairs progressing?" Liu Chengyou asked directly.

"In reply, Your Majesty! The duties of the various offices and institutions in the central organs have been clarified. The principal officials, Vice Bureau Directors, and clerical staff — your servant and his subordinates have all completed the work." Wei Renpu handed over the memorial in his hands: "Your servant has submitted a memorial to that effect, along with a separate list of official appointments for Your Majesty's perusal and deliberation! If there are no objections, it shall go to the Ministry of Personnel!"

"With Minister Wei handling matters, I am naturally at ease!" Liu Chengyou's words expressed affirmation and praise for Wei Renpu's abilities, even as he read through the documents and asked: "How is it over at the Bureau of Military Affairs?"

Wei Renpu said: "The officials, registers, and seals involved in the transfer of authority have all been moved to the Ministry of War. At present, the two offices of the Ministry of War and the Bureau of Military Affairs in the Eastern Capital have completed their separation of duties. We only await communication with the imperial army inside and outside, the military governors of the various circuits and prefectures, and the garrisons of the cities and passes, so that orders from above reach below and local duties return to their respective offices!"

Hearing this, Liu Chengyou nodded, looking very satisfied, and said: "Minister Wei is truly a capable minister. With a thousand tangled threads, in just one month's time everything has been put in order — this is why the institutional reform has gone so smoothly!"

"Your Majesty, this is not the merit of your servant alone. The officials of the Bureau of Military Affairs and the Ministry of War, from top to bottom, actively cooperated and contributed to this matter!" Wei Renpu remained as modest as ever.

But from his tone, Liu Chengyou detected a hint of implication. Why had the reform of the Bureau of Military Affairs gone so smoothly? Why had the officials at all levels cooperated so readily? Behind it all lay Guo Wei's cooperation.

Liu Chengyou owed Guo Wei this favor — otherwise it would absolutely not have been this easy. But precisely because of this, it proved the necessity of dividing power and reforming the system.

Consider: if Guo Wei had not cooperated, or had even secretly thrown obstacles, what great trouble that would have caused Liu Chengyou. And if the matter had ended in anticlimax, it would have damaged his prestige as Emperor. Even though what Guo Wei had chosen to do was the "weak" option.

"And Commissioner Guo? Still recuperating from illness?" Liu Chengyou asked, knowing full well the answer.

"Indeed!" Wei Renpu said: "Since Duke Xing returned to court from his border inspection tour, he has not once set foot in the Bureau of Military Affairs. Your servant has spent this period focusing on the Ministry of War. Over at the Bureau of Military Affairs, only Zheng Renhui has been assisting with affairs in his capacity as recipient of imperial edicts. This is not a long-term solution — the Bureau of Military Affairs ultimately needs a principal officer!"

Detecting the admonition in Wei Renpu's words, Liu Chengyou said directly: "Since Minister Guo's illness has not yet recovered, let him rest at his residence for a while longer. As for the Bureau of Military Affairs, Zheng Renhui shall be made Deputy Commissioner of Military Affairs, exercising authority over the Bureau's affairs!"

"Yes!" It was clear the Emperor had already made up his mind, and Wei Renpu had no intention of belaboring the matter further.

"Furthermore!" Liu Chengyou's tone grew more serious: "Since the reform of the Bureau of Military Affairs has reached a critical period, to prevent military deployments from falling into chaos due to the newly established structure — from today onward, for the cavalry and infantry imperial army of the two commands inside and outside the Eastern Capital, any unit of one squad or larger, without my golden tally, imperial edict, or a directive from the Bureau of Military Affairs, is strictly forbidden to move. Anyone who moves troops without all three orders shall be dealt with as a rebel!"

Hearing this proposal, Wei Renpu was slightly startled inwardly. He looked up and saw the Son of Heaven's face utterly calm. Only then did he understand: dividing power and reforming the Bureau of Military Affairs was merely the surface; even the Ministry of War was probably just a facade put on display. Strengthening the Emperor's control over the army — that was the Son of Heaven's true purpose.