Chapter 55: Can Empty Talk Destroy the Barbarians? Where Are the Northern Barbarians Now?

In the early Ming, the Grand Secretariat had decision-making power, and Hu Weiyong held immense authority. Today's Senior Grand Secretary, however, lacks such broad decision-making power; they must still go to the Directorate of Ceremonial for the "red brush" approval and to the Emperor for the imperial seal. Zhang Juzheng's power, on the surface, seems far less than Hu Weiyong's.

However, the current Emperor of the Great Ming is only ten years old.

Zhang Juzheng presides over court discussions and is responsible for drafting the "ticket" responses. His power dominates the court, and he can even manage things over the young Emperor's head. Does this not make his power appear even more monstrous than Hu Weiyong's?

Did Hu Weiyong dare to manage the Founding Emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang?

Zhang Juzheng dares to manage, and is able to manage, the young Emperor.

Zhang Juzheng stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the shimmering lake, and said, "In the tenth year of Hongwu, Hu Weiyong served as the Left Chancellor of the Central Secretariat. Regarding major matters of life, death, and dismissal, he would often act arbitrarily without reporting to the Founding Emperor. As for the memorials from various inner and outer ministries, he would read them first; any that were unfavorable to him, he would suppress and not present to the Emperor."

"If it were like this, the Founding Emperor would have merely dismissed him."

You Qi asked with confusion, "Then why did the Founding Emperor kill Hu Weiyong, and why did it implicate so many others?"

Zhang Juzheng said with extreme certainty, "Because Hu Weiyong's dealings with the military nobility in the court were extremely close."

"Hu Weiyong was an in-law to the Duke of Korea, Li Shanzhang, and had frequent dealings with the Marquis of Ji'an, Lu Zhongheng, the Marquis of Pingliang, Fei Ju, the Marquis of Nanxiong, Zhao Yong, the Marquis of Yingyang, Zheng Yuchun, the Marquis of Yongjia, Zhu Liangzu, the Marquis of Jingning, and others. The relationship between Chancellor Hu and the Huai-Xi clique—consisting of one Duke and twenty-one Marquises—was far too intimate."

"In-laws—do you understand now? Why does the palace fear the Jin Party? Isn't it because the Jin Party is a clan-based clique?"

You Qi suddenly realized and said, "So that's how it is."

"It was because Chancellor Hu's close dealings with the military nobility made the Founding Emperor sit uneasily, as if needles were pricking his back. That is why Chancellor Hu was included in the 'Record of Treacherous Cliques,' a case from the early dynasty that implicated tens of thousands, with its poisonous legacy lingering on."

You Qi finally stopped speaking. He had understood the key to the matter: his Senior Grand Secretary did not intend to be a powerful, corrupt minister, but merely wanted to be a minister of the state.

The military nobility of the Great Ming is in decline; regarding major court affairs, it is enough for them to just protect their own interests.

The times are changing. The most capable fighting force of the Great Ming has shifted from the original Huai-Xi clique to today's Southern Army.

And the commander of the Southern Army is Qi Jiguang.

Qi Jiguang has enrolled under Zhang Juzheng at the Quan-Chu Guild Hall; their relationship is truly too intimate. The people in the palace are currently ignoring it because the Emperor is young and stability is the priority, but the Emperor will eventually grow up.

When the Emperor grows up, how he views the relationship between Gao Gong and the Xuan-Da border army today will be how he views the relationship between Zhang Juzheng and Qi Jiguang in the future.

Zhang Juzheng is clumsy at protecting his own interests—not because he doesn't know how, but because in a situation where the ruler is young and the state is suspicious, and imperial power is absent, if he were to focus on protecting himself, he could not focus on managing the state.

Zhang Juzheng continued with a relaxed expression, "Do you think being the Senior Grand Secretary is easy?"

"Being a Senior Grand Secretary who abuses power won't work. Look at Gao Gong; with just one memorial containing some stinging words, he was immediately sent back to his hometown to live in retirement. He was too impatient. Even if Grand Secretary Gao didn't think of the Empress Dowager or the Emperor, didn't he think about what those Jin Party members behind him would think when they saw the 'Memorial on Five Matters'?"

"Being a Senior Grand Secretary who is a mere figurehead won't work either. Without some ability, one cannot handle civil unrest, border troubles, or the Japanese pirates. Take Xia Yan during the Jiajing era, for example; he ended up being beheaded in the West Market for all to see."

"Being a Senior Grand Secretary—delegating power, seizing power, abusing power, manipulating authority—doing anything is a mistake, and doing nothing is also a mistake. In the end, the outcome is never very good."

"It's quite good as it is now."

Zhang Juzheng speaks of balancing leniency and severity. As Senior Grand Secretary, one must be cautious in everything. One wrong step means death. Death, Zhang Juzheng does not fear, but he fears that when the person dies, the policies will cease.

The Great Ming has few breaths left. If he focuses on reform and then dies, and the opponents launch a counterattack to settle scores, how much vitality will the Great Ming have left?

If the person dies and the policies cease, there will inevitably be political turmoil spreading throughout the Great Ming, inside and out. This is not Zhang Juzheng's ambition; he does not wish to see it.

"Then, regarding the Jin Party..." You Qi voiced his concern.

Why does the Jin Party fear Zhang Juzheng? Because Zhang Juzheng has capable people in every aspect: military, political, financial, and censorial. The Zhang Dang can stand toe-to-toe with the Jin Party, and even after the Jin Party lost Gao Gong as Senior Grand Secretary, the Zhang Dang still held the advantage.

Qi Jiguang is the pillar of the Zhang Dang in military affairs. Now that Qi Jiguang has returned his waist-token, won't the Jin Party take the opportunity to kick him while he's down?

Hearing You Qi's question, Zhang Juzheng chuckled and said, "The Jin Party trying to win over General Qi will only be a self-inflicted humiliation. They aren't even in the same camp; if they insist on cozying up to him, isn't that just asking to be scolded? The Jin Party is currently overwhelmed with its own troubles. The Great Wall at Huyukou was only repaired last year, yet it collapsed at a single blow. Someone has to take responsibility for that."

"The Emperor once said: Only those with shared ambitions and shared paths can share joy."

A gentleman's clique is bound by ambition, while a petty man's clique is bound by profit. And for a petty man's clique, the most critical relationships are in-laws and regional ties—which is exactly what the Emperor called 'clan-based cliques'."

Zhang Juzheng is not worried that Qi Jiguang will collude with the Jin Party just because he returned his waist-token, because he knows for certain that Qi Jiguang's ambition is the same as his own.

To make the Great Ming rise again, to make the Great Ming great once more.

Therefore, Qi Jiguang returning his waist-token still makes him part of the Zhang Dang, but it is now a clique bound by shared ambition. The relationship of 'Master and Disciple' is advantageous when power is weak, but becomes a shackle when power is strong.

Letting one's own clique grow to a point where it threatens imperial power is a path that leads to a dead end.

In Zhang Juzheng's view, Qi Jiguang returning his waist-token merely makes the relationship purer and cleaner. Everyone is now a minister of the Great Ming with a shared ambition, which is good for both parties.

The Emperor has already demonstrated his concern for the world and his steadfastness.

A scholar cannot be without breadth of spirit and steadfastness; the burden is heavy and the road is long.

This morning, a memorial was sent into the Wenyuan Pavilion; a memorial impeaching Qi Jiguang for being overbearing appeared before Zhang Juzheng's desk.

"They really couldn't wait. He returned his waist-token yesterday, and today they start impeaching General Qi. These people—can't they show some restraint?" Zhang Juzheng looked at the memorial in his hand and said to Lu Diaoyang with a strange expression.

Junior Grand Secretary Lu Diaoyang picked up a tray of memorials, placed it before Zhang Juzheng, and said, "These are all of them!"

In the past, Zhang Juzheng would never be stingy with praise in his 'ticket' responses, lauding Qi Jiguang's achievements. But now, Qi Jiguang is no longer a disciple of Zhang Juzheng at the Quan-Chu Guild Hall.

Zhang Juzheng picked up his brush, his left hand gathering his right sleeve, dipped it in ink, and began to write.

Qi Jiguang returning the waist-token of the Quan-Chu Guild Hall signifies that Qi Jiguang and Zhang Juzheng have completely parted ways. This means Qi Jiguang has lost his backer and support in the court, so they can start impeaching him.

Before, the censors didn't dare to impeach him because of the Great Ming's respect and fear for Zhang Juzheng. Now that Qi Jiguang has become a military noble, who is still afraid of him?

Zhang Juzheng wrote a lot in his 'ticket' response, mainly refuting the arguments of the censors. He was still defending Qi Jiguang's reputation, just as before; there was no difference.

Does a gentleman's clique rely on this waist-token and the relationship between a master and disciple?

The friendship of over twenty years between Zhang Juzheng and Qi Jiguang will not end because of a waist-token. They still stand on different battlefronts, clearing away the ills of the Great Ming and letting the Great Ming recover its vitality.

Zhang Juzheng promoted Qi Jiguang because Qi Jiguang had a heart to serve the country. Zhang Juzheng supported Qi Jiguang in forming the Zhe Army and gave him support because Qi Jiguang could truly win battles.

He gave Qi Jiguang support, and Qi Jiguang used one victory after another to assist his political activities. This is a process of mutual achievement, not what You Qi said—that Zhang Juzheng's kindness to Qi Jiguang was all one-sided, with no return from Qi Jiguang.

You Qi, a servant, only saw Zhang Juzheng's kindness to Qi Jiguang.

The Directorate of Ceremonial's attitude toward Zhang Juzheng is slightly strange. Everyone says Zhang Juzheng is calculating, yet Qi Jiguang slapped Zhang Juzheng in the face outside the Xuanwu Gate, and Zhang Juzheng is still defending Qi Jiguang so much in his 'ticket' response?

Where did that vengeful Zhang Juzheng go?

As always, the young Emperor of the Great Ming arrived at the Wenhua Hall in ordinary clothes, waiting for the eunuchs to bring in the dragon throne. Zhu Yijun sat steadily upon it.

Yesterday, Zhu Yijun made responses to all the memorials impeaching Qi Jiguang. Zhang Juzheng's 'Memorial on Five Matters' said that all should be responded to. Regarding the impeachment of Qi Jiguang, Zhu Yijun came up with his own method.

Qi Jiguang being ennobled and returning the waist-token of the Quan-Chu Guild Hall to You Qi does not mean the young Emperor has grasped military power.

It only means that Qi Jiguang, as a person, has become a member of the nobility—nothing more.

A general is just an individual; military power is about military construction. These two are completely different concepts.

The Zhe Army is not Qi Jiguang's private army; it is the Great Ming's army. From beginning to end, the Zhe Army never became Qi Jiguang's private army. If it had, their fate would not have been so miserable.

"We ministers pay our respects to Your Majesty. Is Your Majesty's sacred body well?" The officials offered their greetings.

Zhu Yijun extended his hand, signaling everyone to rise, and said with a smile, "I am well. Rise, let us begin the court discussion."

Zhang Juzheng remained seated in the first position on the left. He looked at the twenty-seven court officials who had taken their seats, took out a memorial, and said, "The memorial impeaching General Qi has already been rejected by His Majesty."

"His Majesty said: 'Everything has evidence. If empty talk can destroy the barbarians, where are the Northern Barbarians now? If you wish to impeach General Qi, you may go to Jizhou to assist in military affairs for a period of three months. If you insist on impeaching him, we shall discuss it again.'"

After Zhang Juzheng finished speaking, even he himself laughed. ===== CHAPTER 56 =====