Chapter 109: Better to Foster Talent than to Pine for It

In Qianqing Palace.

Zhu Youjian stood with his hands clasped behind his back before the sand table, lost in thought.

"Your Majesty." Gao Shiming entered with light steps. "The results are in."

Zhu Youjian turned slowly, pulling himself from his reverie. He nodded and took the roster Gao Shiming handed him.

Not long before, he had personally received the Nine Border elite troops summoned to the capital at the Valiant Guard Camp parade ground.

By his decree, each garrison was to select two Platoon Officers and ten shock-troop champions.

Every one of these men had to be a true warrior who had personally taken the heads of western barbarians or Jurchen.

By now, the troops from the four garrisons closest to the capital — Xuanfu, Datong, Miyun, and the Ji Garrison — had all arrived: eight Platoon Officers and forty shock-troop champions in total.

The more distant regions, such as Liaodong and Shaanxi, would still require some days.

Zhu Youjian's gaze swept slowly across the roster. Not a single name on it was familiar to him, but that came as no surprise.

What was interesting was that among these forty-eight men, seven were "barbarian auxiliaries."

So-called barbarian auxiliaries included Mongols who had surrendered, prisoners of war, and herdsmen who could no longer survive and had come to enlist.

Of course, more of them came specifically to the Central Plains seeking wealth and fortune.

Among the Mongol right wing nowadays, the princes and high officials wallowed in drunken dreams, and the intensity of combat was exceedingly low.

A so-called warrior was not necessarily more valued than a Han man who could keep accounts and manage ledgers.

Their appearance differed little from that of Central Plains men — some had even grown their hair long in imitation of the Han — though most still spoke the official tongue haltingly.

But that did not matter.

Heroes are not asked of their origins; why distinguish where a beast of prey came from?

So long as they are claws and fangs that can tear the enemy apart, I dare to use them.

Zhu Youjian personally received each of the warriors — under heavy guard — tested them on the spot in archery, horsemanship, and mounted archery, and bestowed rewards on the spot.

Afterward, he had Xu Yingyuan and Gao Shiming proctor an additional civil examination of policy essays.

The results were much as he had anticipated.

The martial skills of these border-army elites indeed surpassed those of the Capital Camps by a clear margin, nearly all earning a middle reward or higher.

In literary attainment, however, they were dragged down by the illiterate barbarian auxiliaries, and on the whole fell short of the Capital Camps.

Still, this was more than sufficient.

It at least showed that those far-flung military chieftains still maintained a basic respect for him, their new sovereign, and had not tried to fob him off with the old, weak, sick, and crippled.

"Those thirteen who earned the top reward and passed the civil examination are promoted to Platoon Officer. The remainder are raised to File Leader."

Zhu Youjian handed the roster back to Gao Shiming, his voice flat and even.

"Convey my decree to the Ministry of War: have them select additional warriors from the Capital Camps to fill the vacancies."

In this way, the Valiant Guard Camp's strength would expand to over 3,780 men.

"This subject obeys the decree." Gao Shiming bowed in acknowledgment.

But before he could turn to leave, Zhu Youjian's voice sounded again, carrying an almost ruthless calm.

"Tell Xu Yingyuan as well: at the end of this month, the Valiant Guard Camp will undergo a re-examination."

"It will be a comprehensive assessment of formation drill, martial skill, and civil examination. The total number must be pressed back down to three thousand."

"All who fail — whether newly replenished Capital Camp soldiers or elites just arrived from the Nine Borders — will be treated equally and returned to their original posts."

This was his true purpose.

In Zhu Youjian's mind, the Valiant Guard Camp was not merely a personal guard; it was meant to become the future training camp, an accelerated officers' course.

When he first ascended the throne, his footing was unsteady and he dared not undertake sweeping changes. He could only select men within the existing framework of the Directorate of the Imperial Horses. Those men were not necessarily the best, but they were relatively reliable under the circumstances at the time.

But now things were different.

His power was gradually consolidating, and for the moment he had not touched any interests too great.

This was precisely the opportunity to stir up a wave of internal competition — survival of the fittest — within the army, and to sift out blades truly useful to himself.

As for whether this practice of piling new firewood atop the old would breed mutual hatred and disunity in the ranks?

In his heart, Zhu Youjian only sneered.

Within an army, if they were truly united into a single monolithic block — now that would be a joke!

That would be no good thing for the army itself, nor for the sovereign who sits high above it.

Man Gui and Zhao Lujiao do not get along?

Let them not get along. On the battlefield, whoever dares defy military orders and be the first to flee in rout can present his head.

The Great Ming's knife-handle must not be sharp only against civil officials; it must be equally sharp against military officers.

Zhu Youjian was even willing to accept one or two lost battles in exchange for the rectification of military law.

Under his reorganization, the Great Ming's inner strength ought to be somewhat more robust than in the same period of history, and the losses it could sustain somewhat greater.

Gao Shiming started inwardly, instantly grasping the ruthlessness contained in this order. He bowed. "This subject… obeys the decree."

As if oblivious to his change in mood, Zhu Youjian turned the subject: "Cao Bianjiao and the others I personally selected — how much longer until they reach the capital?"

Gao Shiming steadied himself and replied respectfully, "To answer Your Majesty, by the reckoning of travel time, most of the officers Your Majesty selected are from Liaodong and should arrive in the capital within five to ten days."

"Only Kong Youde of Dongjiang and He Renlong of Shaanxi are traveling great distances; I fear they will require roughly half a month to a month and a half, respectively."

"Good. I understand."

Zhu Youjian nodded and said no more. He turned, walked back behind the imperial desk, and sat down.

"Bring in today's memorials."

Zhu Youjian had grown increasingly practiced in the routine of reviewing memorials.

Between him and Gao Shiming, a flowing, almost wordless understanding had even developed.

When Zhu Youjian wrote a "√," Gao Shiming knew it meant "forward to the ministry for implementation" and would complete it in the standard format of the vermilion rescript.

If Zhu Youjian spotted a problematic memorial, he would draw a "?" on it.

Gao Shiming did not understand what this meant at first; only after asking did he learn that it signified the memorial had issues and needed to be returned for redrafting.

Soon, eleven routine memorials graded A or B; seven memorials where the Grand Secretariat and the Directorate of Ceremonial had assigned different grades; and twenty C- and D-grade memorials, randomly pulled as a check against collusion between the two bodies — all were processed in full.

From the pile of "Capital Reforms" memorials specially stacked at one corner of the desk, Zhu Youjian drew one out.

"This one — send it back and have him revise it further, then have it posted outside the palace gate as soon as possible, as the second piece of statecraft writing." He handed the memorial to Gao Shiming.

Gao Shiming took it and looked: the memorial was titled "Memorial on the Capital's Starving People," submitted by Zhang Zibing, a Messenger of the Messenger Office.

Unlike the others, this one had not been revised — it was a first submission. Of course, whether he had privately reworked it many times was impossible to know.

"First," Zhu Youjian tapped his fingers lightly on the imperial desk, "if the Shuntian Prefectural Office is to be independent, it should no longer take money from the Ministry of Revenue. Otherwise, everything remains entangled, authority and responsibility stay muddled, and in the end it will be another muddled account."

"Second, the shortfall can be covered from road-building funds, but the two matters must be linked — relief through work."

"Those who do not labor shall not eat. Even if the elderly, the weak, women, and children only do light tasks within their capacity, we absolutely must not simply open the granaries and hand out grain."

Gao Shiming listened with rapt attention, committing every word of the Emperor to memory. "This subject understands."

Zhu Youjian pointed at the remaining memorials. "These men are already beginning to write statecraft pieces with some shape and substance. From now on, We will no longer personally review each one."

"When new proposals come in, you and Xue Guoguan will review them first. After review and revision, once the final draft is settled, then submit it to Us."

"If We also find it feasible, We will then issue an edict to appoint, dismiss, and delegate authority."

"This subject obeys the decree." Gao Shiming nodded in acknowledgment.

This was only to be expected; the devolution of power was almost inevitable.

A leader must oversee multiple fronts and cannot attend to every detail — he can only grasp the broad strokes. That is the natural limit of human energy.

And subordinates, too, need full delegation of authority before they can be fully tempered.

Even if subordinates make mistakes, one must let go and let them act. Otherwise, those below will never grow, and in the end the only one worked to death will be oneself.

Unless… the entire system has already lost all capacity for growth and become a pool of stagnant water.

But the Great Ming of today ought not to be, and must not be, such a pool.

The precondition for delegating power, however, is that the entire strategic vision is implemented from top to bottom. Otherwise, all one releases is a mass of Brownian motion, utterly incapable of forming a concerted force.

Zhu Youjian raised his head, looked at Gao Shiming, and asked, "Companion Gao, do you know why We have launched this statecraft writing campaign?"

Gao Shiming was briefly taken aback, then sank into thought.

A moment later, he ventured an answer: "Your Majesty… do you feel that the policy essays of the past were too vague, and that whether their proposals were workable or not rested entirely on a single man's judgment?"

Zhu Youjian had long grown accustomed to Gao Shiming's sharpness. He nodded approvingly.

"You have grasped the first reason."

"When a policy essay is concrete and clearly reasoned, it does indeed allow Us to better judge its chances of success or failure beforehand, and also to discern the ability of the man who submitted it."

He paused, and his gaze grew distant.

"But what We value even more is another matter — lowering the bar for talent."

"Think about it. Once Xue Guoguan has truly finished building the roads in the capital, We will have him write a retrospective review of his original policy paper."

"In it, he will set down in detail what his original plan foresaw, what it failed to anticipate, where it went wrong, and where it was done exceptionally well."

"With such a thorough retrospective, the plan becomes far more complete."

"If later a second man, a third, a fourth, also builds roads in different parts of the Great Ming, and also leaves behind their statecraft writings and retrospectives —"

"Then a future official, should he need to build roads, need only read through these four or five accounts of his predecessors' actual experience. That alone would likely surpass reading a hundred or a thousand traditional statecraft essays."

"This — this is the true purpose of statecraft writing."

"The floor for how well an official performs his duties will be raised dramatically."

Zhu Youjian's voice was not loud, but it carried a force that seemed to pierce straight through a man.

"If this entire system is pushed forward steadily, then for every task accomplished, the insights of that task are accumulated. Why then fear a lack of men like Xiao He?"

"Better to create a culture that produces talent than to thirst for talent. One Xiao He cannot prop up a collapsing edifice. But if every commandery and county in the realm has the embryonic talent of a Xiao He, then the Great Ming need worry no more!"

Only then did Gao Shiming fully grasp it. "Your Majesty, this is not seeking capable officials — this is… creating capable officials!"

"Precisely." Zhu Youjian smiled, and the smile held a powerful self-assurance. "Exactly so. Have what We said today sent to Xue Guoguan, sent to the Grand Secretariat, and disseminated as widely as possible."

"Then, you and Xue Guoguan together — using the Capital Reforms as your opportunity — will make this entire process of pre-action planning, mid-action recording, and post-action review solid and substantial for Us."

He looked at Gao Shiming, and his tone shifted, his voice softening somewhat.

"Companion Gao, this is the first reward We bestow upon you."

"Ten thousand generations hence, the Yongchang Emperor of the Great Ming may perhaps have faded into the crowd, buried in the dust of the histories."

He paused, then spoke each word deliberately.

"But upon the very origin of statecraft writing, your name, Gao Shiming, and Xue Guoguan's — those two names are destined to be cast in perpetuity!"

The very origin of statecraft writing!

Cast in perpetuity!

Though ever since he had followed the dragon, he had gradually grown accustomed to this new sovereign's unexpected moves —

these words still shook Gao Shiming to his core.

The sovereign's grace, so vast, so weighty.

…And how am I to repay it?

Gao Shiming bowed deeply, his voice carrying a faint, barely perceptible tremor. "This subject shall, together with Minister Xue, carry this matter through with absolute clarity, and not fail the trust Your Majesty has placed in us."

"Good." Zhu Youjian nodded with satisfaction, his expression relaxing. "Then We must trouble you with this, Companion Gao."

He stretched, rose to his feet, and with a young man's casual ease said, "Have the horses readied. It is time to go to Wenhua Hall and have a proper lesson with the gentlemen of the Hanlin Academy."

Gao Shiming's mind was in such turmoil that, unexpectedly, he failed to catch the subtext in the Emperor's words. He merely acknowledged the order and withdrew.

Stepping outside the hall, he called over a junior eunuch and gave him a few low instructions.

The junior eunuch hurried off, but Gao Shiming did not immediately return to the hall.

He stood alone beneath the eaves, gazing up at the sky.

The afternoon light was somewhat overcast, and the wind had risen, whipping the hem of his brocade fur cloak with a snapping sound.

He narrowed his eyes, looking toward the gray and hazy distant horizon, and after a long while, gave a soft sigh.

That question His Majesty had asked seemed to echo in his ears once more.

— What is your dream?

A complex smile tugged at the corner of Gao Shiming's mouth as he answered silently in his heart.

This old slave did not know before, but now, at last, he does.

This old slave's lifelong dream is simply to help His Majesty achieve the stature of an Emperor Wu of Han or a Taizong of Tang!

Inside Wenhua Hall.

Qi Xinxiao, following the other Daily Lecture officials and the three Grand Secretariat ministers, filed in orderly under the guidance of a junior eunuch.

He had earned his jinshi degree in the second year of Tianqi, but ordinarily, he only had the chance to set foot in this hall during the regular court sessions and the grand assemblies.

No… even during court assemblies, he could not enter.

Given his rank, he could only stand outside the hall on the vermilion steps.

And coming to Wenhua Hall as a Daily Lecture official was an absolute first.

However, the Daily Lecture did not take place in Wenhua Hall proper, but in the "corridor hall" connecting the front and rear halls of the Wenhua complex.

The character "chuan" here is an elegant term for a passageway.

(See attached overhead view of Wenhua Hall — it is the vertical stroke in the I-shaped layout.)

In the center of the hall, only a single imperial desk had been placed, presumably where the Emperor would sit to listen to the lecture shortly.

The Expositor-in-Waiting Academician Wang Zuoyuan led everyone to their designated positions.

The Grand Secretariat ministers stood in the eastern file, and the Daily Lecture officials stood in the western file.

Qi Xinxiao felt an itch in his throat and could not suppress two low coughs.

Wang Zuoyuan, standing at the front, immediately shot him a stern glance.

Qi Xinxiao quickly forced an awkward smile and tried desperately to suppress the tickling sensation in his throat.

He had felt somewhat groggy since rising this morning, with a slight itch in his throat. Once his shift was over, it would be best to see a physician.

Catching a cold was a minor matter; missing his Daily Lecture duties in the coming days would be a major one.

The group waited for a while before the announcement finally sounded from outside the hall.

"His Majesty ascends the hall—"

Upon hearing this, the officials in both the eastern and western files knelt together, performed the ritual of one kneel and three kowtows, and called out "Long live His Majesty" in unison.

"Ministers, rise."

A young yet steady voice came from behind the imperial desk.

The officials expressed their thanks and rose to their feet.

The three Grand Secretariat ministers remained standing still; the primary lecturers for the Daily Lecture were the Hanlin officials, and the Grand Secretariat ministers were merely there in attendance.

Wang Zuoyuan stepped forward first, bowed, and reported, "Your Majesty, today's lecture is on the Great Learning."

He turned slightly and introduced, "The Daily Lecture official presiding today is Junior Compiler Ni Yuanlu of the Hanlin Academy."

Ni Yuanlu stepped forward on cue and bowed in salute.

Qi Xinxiao was not the day's lecturer. Standing at the back of the crowd, he could only steal glances at the young Son of Heaven on the throne through the gaps between his colleagues' shoulders.

This was the first time he had seen the Emperor from such a close distance.

The young Son of Heaven, clad in dragon robes, still had a youthful look on his face, revealing nothing particularly extraordinary.

Yet Qi Xinxiao still felt his mouth go dry and his tongue parched, as if he had returned to the nervousness and apprehension of his palace examination days.

He heard Ni Yuanlu say in a clear voice, "This subject requests to first read the chapter and verses for Your Majesty, and then explain the parsing, so that Your Majesty may follow sentence by sentence."

This was originally the standard practice for the Daily Lecture.

But then the Emperor on the throne spoke, his voice clear and bright: "That will not be necessary. The Great Learning is but a little over a thousand characters; I can already recite it from memory."

At these words, a slight stir rippled through the assembled Hanlin officials.

As if he had not noticed, Zhu Youjian continued, "Why not let me recite it once from memory? If there are any places where the parsing is unclear, Minister Ni may then point them out to me. How does that sound?"

Ni Yuanlu was momentarily taken aback and instinctively looked toward the Chief Grand Secretary Huang Liji, who stood opposite him.

Chief Grand Secretary Huang Liji's expression remained impassive; he merely nodded slightly.

Only then did Ni Yuanlu bow and say, "Your Majesty's natural brilliance astounds your subjects. This subject shall then respectfully listen to Your Majesty's recitation."

"Good." Zhu Youjian nodded. "If there are any errors, Minister Ni may interrupt me at once."

With that, he closed his eyes and began to recite aloud.

"The Way of the Great Learning lies in manifesting bright virtue, in loving the people, and in abiding in the highest good. Knowing where to abide brings fixity, and fixity allows stillness…"

The clear, resonant voice of the recitation echoed through the spacious Wenhua Hall, the enunciation crisp and the rhythm steady.

Every Hanlin official present was an elite who had fought their way through the brutal competition of the imperial examinations, and reciting the thousand-odd characters of the Great Learning from memory was no difficult task for them.

But for this to come from an Emperor who had long resided deep within the palace and, by all accounts, had no renowned teachers to guide him, was enough to cause astonishment.

Yet, it was merely astonishment.

Qi Xinxiao's throat, however, grew itchier and itchier, as if a feather were gently scraping inside it, making him restless and uneasy.

The Emperor's recitation continued.

"…What is meant by 'regulating one's family lies in cultivating one's person' is this: people are partial toward those they love and cherish, partial toward those they despise and loathe…"

Qi Xinxiao held it in again and again, but in the end, he could not help it. Lowering his voice, he let out a short, sharp "cough."

On the imperial throne, the Emperor's recitation paused slightly, but quickly resumed.

Wang Zuoyuan, standing beside the Emperor, had already cast a knife-like glare his way, full of warning.

Qi Xinxiao felt a chill in his heart. In this hall still carrying a trace of coolness, he broke out in a cold sweat by sheer force of tension.

He swallowed desperately, trying to suppress that tickle, but the more nervous he grew, the sharper the sensation became.

The Emperor's recitation had already reached the latter half, yet Qi Xinxiao had not heard a single word — every ounce of his concentration was locked in combat with his own throat.

"... What is meant by 'the pacification of the world lies in ordering one's state' is this: when the sovereign treats his elders as elders, the people will be roused to filial piety; when the sovereign treats his superiors as superiors, the people will be roused to fraternal duty..."

At last, Qi Xinxiao could suppress it no longer.

He let out another soft cough.

That was it — it was over. As if some barrier in his throat had been breached, a string of violent, heart-rending coughs followed, unstoppable no matter what.

"Cough... cough cough... cough cough cough..."

The Emperor's recitation came to an abrupt halt.

In all of Wenhua Hall, one could have heard a pin drop.

Wang Zuoyuan flew into a towering rage. He spun around sharply and barked in a fierce voice, "Insolence! Who dares commit such a breach of decorum before His Majesty!"

Qi Xinxiao was scared out of his wits by that furious shout, and his coughing stopped as if by a miracle.

His face ashen, he prostrated himself on the ground without a second thought, his whole body trembling like chaff in a sieve.

"This subject... this subject deserves death ten thousand times over!"

He lay prostrate on the cold gold bricks, regret and terror flooding his heart all at once.

Only that one sentence echoed in his mind — "Do not follow the example of Huang Youxuan!"

It's over. It's all over. Huang Youxuan had waited for a new sovereign — was he, too, to wait for a new sovereign?

Wang Zuoyuan, however, did not so much as glance at him. He merely turned and knelt before Zhu Youjian to beg forgiveness: "Your Majesty, this man has committed a breach of decorum before the throne and disrupted the Daily Lecture. This subject requests that he first be expelled from the great hall. Once the Daily Lecture is concluded, this subject shall certainly return to the Academy to reprimand him severely!"

A deathly silence filled the hall.

Everyone held their breath, awaiting the Emperor's judgment.