Chapter 121: The Ming Dynasty's Energetic Management Trainees

The dawn light of the mao hour had just begun to filter through the window lattice, casting a hazy, pale glow over Qianqing Palace.

Zhu Youjian had just returned from inspecting the Valiant Guard Camp, his face still flushed from the north wind.

Before the imperial desk, Ma Wenke stood with a bowed frame, his eyes bloodshot, yet his expression carried a trace of barely suppressed excitement.

"So… they talked all the way until the mao hour?"

Zhu Youjian's voice broke the early morning stillness, tinged with a knowing, teasing amusement.

Ma Wenke bowed even lower and replied, "Yes, Your Majesty. The gentlemen stayed up the entire night discussing this matter."

"At first, when the discussion turned to how to investigate the number of births, they truly hit a dead end."

"They came up with many ideas, but either they felt the methods would alarm the common people and go against Your Majesty's original intent…"

"…or they were too biased and could not serve as a reliable reference."

Ma Wenke paused, his tone revealing a hint of admiration.

"It was Sir Luo Yangxing who proved the most quick-witted. He proposed starting with the midwives."

Zhu Youjian raised an eyebrow. How could it be Luo Yangxing?

Given his personality and background, that seemed rather unlikely.

Wang Tiqian, who had been standing to the side with hands hanging respectfully, stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "Your Majesty, this slave has heard that Luo Yangxing just celebrated the birth of his third son last month, naming him Zuochang."

Zhu Youjian's gaze lingered on Wang Tiqian's face for a moment. He nodded, the corner of his mouth curving into a meaningful smile.

"Companion Wang, you have done well. Continue to do so in the future. I want to know of every rustle of leaves, great or small, among all the civil and military officials of the court."

Upon hearing this, Wang Tiqian's body trembled almost imperceptibly, and then a tremendous surge of ecstasy welled up in his heart.

Companion Wang!

That form of address—he had finally regained it!

It meant that, for the time being, he had been pulled back from the brink of life and death, and could… consider a few more things.

Suppressing the turmoil within, Wang Tiqian respectfully responded, "This slave obeys the decree," and slowly retreated to his original position, though his fingertips secretly clenched tight within his sleeves.

He cast a discreet glance at Gao Shiming, only to find the man smiling faintly, seemingly utterly indifferent.

Ha, who are you pretending for? You must be absolutely furious inside, right?

Watching this scene, Zhu Youjian's heart remained utterly unmoved. One who knows others is wise; one who knows himself is enlightened.

He understood perfectly what a man like Wang Tiqian needed, what he himself could give, and what he needed them to do.

As long as they got things done, it was fine. If they didn't, replacing him with a Sun Tiqian or a Liu Tiqian wouldn't be difficult.

Zhu Youjian shifted his gaze back to Ma Wenke, signaling him to continue.

Ma Wenke went on, "The gentlemen discussed that, since they could not make a big show of it, they would borrow the name of Shuntian Prefecture investigating midwives and summon them in batches."

"Then, they would borrow several dozen hands from the Directorate of Ceremonial and, over a period of three to five days, copy and tally the recent delivery records of all the midwives in the capital."

"This way, the whole affair would take only a few days. Even if word leaked afterward and the midwives spread rumors everywhere, outsiders would merely assume it was a routine inspection by the prefectural yamen and would never guess the deeper meaning."

At this point, a smile of irrepressible amusement appeared on Ma Wenke's face.

"Young Master Zhang from the Duke of Ying's household even suggested doing it under the pretext of screening the best midwives in the capital for his wife, who is due to give birth soon, claiming it would be even more seamless. However, the other gentlemen felt it was unnecessary to go to such lengths."

"Ha." Zhu Youjian was amused by this whimsical idea of Zhang Zhiji's. "That Zhang Zhiji—his methods are crude, but his heart is in the right place."

He waved his hand and said, "Proceed as they have discussed. This matter requires the cooperation of Shuntian Prefecture and the Directorate of Ceremonial. You will personally coordinate it. Inform Prefect Xue Guoguan, and Wang Zhaodui, who oversees the discipline of Shuntian officials, so they can give their full cooperation."

"This slave obeys the decree."

Ma Wenke acknowledged the order, then continued his report: "Once the method for tallying births was decided, Sir Ni Yuanlu led the group in discussing how to investigate ages of death. This proved truly thorny, far more difficult than the former, and they could not find a foolproof plan."

"They ultimately decided to draw from multiple sources, such as the account books of coffin shops in the wards, the records of free mortuaries, and even the genealogies of various clans, to create several different estimation plans. For example, they would prepare several reports based on average ages of forty or fifty sui, and present them all together during the Daily Lecture for Your Majesty's consideration."

Zhu Youjian nodded. This was already the best possible approach for the moment.

What he truly cared about was another question.

"So, did they manage to figure out the answer I mentioned?"

Ma Wenke's expression instantly became extremely agitated, even carrying a hint of worship.

"To answer Your Majesty, it was precisely on this question that the gentlemen got stuck, racking their brains and arguing endlessly until daybreak."

"In the end, it was the Duke of Ying who woke up, discovered we still hadn't slept, and personally took up a rattan cane to disperse everyone."

He raised his head, looking at Zhu Youjian with eyes full of light.

"Your Majesty, forgive this slave for speaking boldly. Your thoughts and ideas are truly unprecedented, earth-shattering! This slave believes that even though Sir Ni and the others are the finest minds of their generation, they would never have been able to conceive of it out of thin air!"

Zhu Youjian pondered for a moment.

It wasn't that he was being deliberately mysterious; he simply wanted to use this opportunity to force them to open their minds a little further.

After all, an answer that one arrives at only after racking one's brains, failing to grasp, and then personally verifying, is all the more unforgettable.

For this first cohort of the secretariat, he hadn't merely balanced their backgrounds.

He was truly and genuinely nurturing them like the management trainees of a later era.

"If they still can't figure it out today, then give them the second brocade pouch. Don't let it delay the real work."

As he spoke, his gaze fell upon Ma Wenke's face, which could barely conceal its exhaustion.

"They've all gone home to sleep, yet you alone still had to enter the palace to report to me."

Zhu Youjian's tone suddenly softened.

"You've worked hard, Wenke. You've handled this assignment very well. Hurry down and get a good sleep. Look at your eyes—they've practically turned you into a rabbit."

A warmth surged in Ma Wenke's heart, a current of heat instantly flooding his entire body, as if the previous exhaustion had been swept away entirely.

He bowed down emotionally, "To ease Your Majesty's burdens, this slave would not refuse even ten thousand deaths! This slave is not tired! This slave will go to Shuntian Prefecture to deliver the decree at once!"

With that, he respectfully saluted and took his leave, his departing steps carrying a gust of wind, brimming with drive.

Watching his hurriedly retreating figure, Zhu Youjian was slightly lost in thought for a moment.

Once upon a time, in his previous life, the freshly graduated management trainees he had mentored had seemed to be exactly like this.

Give them a sliver of sunshine and they'd blaze with it — for a single project they could go days and nights without shutting their eyes, their gaze flickering with boundless hope for the future.

Only… he wondered how they were all doing now.

Were they still pulling all-nighters in office towers, grinding themselves down for KPIs and OKRs?

You probably never imagined that your boss… has now come to 1627 to out-grind the ancients.

Zhu Youjian slowly shook his head, casting this brief wisp of thought from his mind.

He turned to Gao Shiming beside him and instructed: "Companion Gao, have the Needlework Bureau take measurements for those men and make each of them a brocade robe. The weather is turning cold by the day — I will not have my right-hand ministers freezing."

Zhu Youjian paused, then added: "Ma Wencai gets one as well. Do not leave him out."

"This slave understands. I shall arrange it later," Gao Shiming replied with a faint smile.

In the deep-autumn dawn, a chill seeped through the window cracks. Zhu Youjian drew a deep breath; the icy air sharpened his mind further.

He rose to his feet, stretched his limbs, and in his eyes remained only the clarity and resolve befitting an emperor.

"Come — bring forth all of today's memorials!"