Chapter 19: The Grand Secretary Meets the Three Cabinet Ministers

In March in Beijing, willow branches swayed in the wind, elm seeds bloomed green, and the spring light was warm; a gust of spring breeze swept past, carrying a flurry of falling peach blossoms.

The earth revived, grass grew and orioles flew, and the streets were so crowded with people that they were almost blocked.

Just after the morning hour this day, only two cannon shots were heard.

Four Embroidered Uniform Guard generals, riding red-date horses of the same color, wearing flying-fish robes, and holding golden-melon giant axes, rode out, leading over a hundred guards of honor on both sides to escort an apricot-yellow-topped sedan chair carried by thirty-two men.

Before the sedan chair had even arrived, the guards in front began to drive the commoners away.

As soon as the commoners saw that sedan chair, they knew the Grand Secretary had arrived.

In the entire capital, only his sedan chair was so unique; it had a full thirty-two bearers, and inside, it not only had a study and a latrine, but also a dining hall.

It was like a small room.

Carried by thirty-two men, it did not sway in the slightest, and inside, it was no different from being outside.

Inside the sedan, Zhang Juzheng sat upright before a desk, his old face as gloomy as water.

After more than a month of recuperation, his body was somewhat better, and this was the very time to flex his muscles and properly implement the New Policy.

But seven days ago, a Central Edict from the Emperor had caught him off guard.

In the ten years of the Wanli reign, the Emperor had never issued a Central Edict; he had not expected that the two of them would fall out over the matter of money.

A Central Edict caused great damage to the authority of the Grand Secretary; sure enough, once the Emperor's Central Edict came down, those petty people could no longer sit still.

There were those who took potshots in secret, those who probed the wind with memorials in the open, and those who gathered in groups of three or five to curse him while drunk.

Regarding this, Zhang Juzheng was not overly flustered.

Through more than twenty years of ups and downs in his official career, he had long since cultivated the habit of remaining calm even if Mount Tai collapsed before him.

Now, he first had to clarify whether that Central Edict was the Emperor's intention or Li Taihou's intention.

It was said that a month ago, he had twice rebuffed the face of the Empress Dowager's father, Wuqing Earl Li Wei.

If, by any chance, Wuqing Earl Li Wei whispered in Li Taihou's ear, it would be very bad for him.

He knew deeply that if not for Feng Bao and Li Taihou, it would have been impossible for him to handle affairs so smoothly; for a moment, he even felt some regret for not having appeased Wuqing Earl Li Wei.

But it was only a fleeting thought.

He, Zhang Juzheng, was not the type of person who feared wolves in front and tigers behind; since the matter had already happened, he would just stand his ground and face it.

Thinking this, the sedan chair stopped before the Forbidden City, and Zhang Juzheng stepped out of the warm sedan and walked inside; after walking for about two quarters of an hour, Zhang Juzheng arrived at the Grand Secretariat duty room at the southeast corner of the Meridian Gate.

This was his first time coming to the duty room since the beginning of spring.

Before he had even walked in, the three Cabinet Ministers already knew Zhang Juzheng was coming, so they lined up to welcome him.

From left to right, they were Grand Academician of the Hall of Preserving Harmony Zhang Siwei, Grand Academician of the Wuying Hall Shen Shixing, and Grand Academician of the Wenhua Hall Yu Youding.

According to the Great Ming system, there could be at most six Cabinet Ministers.

Besides the four Hall Grand Academicians, there were also the Grand Academicians of the Wenyuan Pavilion and the East Pavilion.

In the previous dynasty, although the Grand Secretary held immense power, the several Cabinet Ministers also had some power, and everyone managed their own affairs.

Zhang Juzheng was different; when he served as Grand Secretary, the Grand Secretariat became his one-man show.

The remaining Cabinet Ministers became like a deaf man's ears—mere decorations; because of this, a jingle was even composed in the capital.

"The Great Nine Ministers have their own little schemes, the Small Nine Ministers have their own little schemes, the Eighteen Offices open to the south, and the hall officials follow the Grand Secretary."

Zhang Juzheng stepped forward, performed a salute with cupped hands to the three, and then invited them into the duty room.

After sitting down with the etiquette of host and guest, Zhang Juzheng turned to look at Zhang Siwei; he was three years younger than Zhang Juzheng, but because he took good care of himself, he looked like he had just turned fifty.

This metropolitan graduate from the thirty-fourth year of the Jiajing reign had a distinguished background; his maternal uncle was the famous Viceroy of the Three Frontiers Wang Chonggu, and his father was a large salt merchant in Shanxi, so he was like a fish in water in the officialdom.

Seeing Zhang Juzheng shift his gaze toward him, Zhang Siwei hurriedly stood up and said, "Grand Secretary, this servant believes that the national treasury and the private treasury should not be confused; for His Majesty to combine public and private into one is not in accordance with the Ancestral System. This servant has already written a memorial and is prepared to remonstrate with His Majesty regarding this matter."

As he spoke, he took out a memorial and handed it to Zhang Juzheng.

Zhang Juzheng took it, scanned it roughly, and slapped it onto the table.

He swept his eyes over the three of them and said loudly, "Actually, compared to the eight million taels of silver in the Taicang, these one hundred thousand taels of silver are nothing."

"But one must not set this bad precedent; once His Majesty gets a taste of the sweetness, then if subsequent edicts bypass the Grand Secretariat, what use will we Cabinet Ministers have?"

"The Grand Secretary's vision is lofty and hits the nail on the head," the three stood up together and replied, "We are willing to join the Grand Secretary in submitting a memorial to remonstrate with the Emperor."

Zhang Juzheng waved his hand, signaling them to sit down, and then took out the memorial he had already written from his bosom.

The few of them took it, signed their names on it, and handed it back.

Just at this moment, a Junior Official walked into the room.

"What is the matter?" Zhang Juzheng asked.

"Grand Secretary, Imperial Censor Yao has something to see you about; he is currently waiting in the adjacent duty room."

Yao Kuang?

Zhang Juzheng's heart rippled slightly, and he instructed the person who came, "Tell Yao Kuang to wait there; I will go over in a moment."

The duty room Junior Official performed a salute and stepped back to return.

Inside the room, Zhang Juzheng instructed the three, "At this extraordinary time, I hope the three of you will act with caution and not fail the earnest hopes of His Majesty and the Empress Dowager."

The three nodded repeatedly and agreed.

After that, they talked for another twenty minutes or so, and the three Cabinet Ministers then each withdrew.

Zhang Juzheng stood up, pushed the door open, and walked into the side room to rest.

Inside the room, Yao Kuang immediately sprang to his feet; Zhang Juzheng waved his hand to signal him to sit and asked directly, "What is the matter? Speak directly."

Yao Kuang wiped the sweat from his forehead and took out a memorial.

"Your subject, Zhao Ning, Supervising Secretary of the Nanjing Office of Revenue, kowtows to Your Majesty: 'Several days ago, this subject observed the celestial phenomena at night and discovered a celestial dog eating the moon; this must be the work of a treacherous official, a warning given by Heaven. I humbly hope Your Majesty will prioritize the Great Ming state, purge the treacherous official, and return a bright and clear universe to the Great Ming.'"

After Zhang Juzheng finished reading, his face turned black as ink.

He happened to be born in the Year of the Dog, so such a statement was quite unfavorable to him.

After a moment of silence, Zhang Juzheng looked at Yao Kuang and asked, "What is the intention of the Emperor and the Empress Dowager?"

Yao Kuang shook his head and said at a very fast pace: "This was sent by someone on behalf of Eunuch Feng. The Emperor and the Empress Dowager have not had time to look at it yet. After the Senior Grand Secretary has finished reading it, I still have to deliver it to the Directorate of Ceremonial."

"I hope the Senior Grand Secretary will make a decision soon."

Zhang Juzheng was silent for a moment, then suddenly smiled and said: "I have an impression of this man. He was a metropolitan graduate from the forty-fourth year of the Jiajing reign, and the Chief Examiner for that session happened to be Gao Gong. However, Gao Gong has already passed away; I did not expect this person to jump out now."

"In my opinion, it is eighty percent for the sake of fame," Yao Kuang said indignantly. "These poor, sour scholars style themselves as sacrificing their lives for righteousness and take being beaten with the rod as an honor. The more you fuss over them, the more energized they become."

"It is good that you know," Zhang Juzheng said, glancing at Yao Kuang.

"Then what is the Senior Grand Secretary's intention?" Yao Kuang confirmed.

"Simply ignore it and let the Emperor decide for himself," Zhang Juzheng said with a calm and indifferent expression.

(End of this chapter)