Chapter 135: Worldly Affairs: Nothing Fears More Than the Word

—Your subject, Lu Xiangsheng, was just about to request leave to answer this question!

No sooner had Lu Xiangsheng spoken than Zhu Youjian lightly tapped the imperial desk and said:

"Good! Answer, then. Let me see the measure of your ability."

Lu Xiangsheng drew a deep breath.

He suppressed the excitement of seeing the imperial countenance for the first time, the awe of memorializing before the throne, and the lingering fear of having probed the sovereign's mind.

All the thoughts he had pondered on the journey to the capital, and all he had seen and heard in five years as an official, now surged into his mind.

"Your Majesty, the Great Ming is beset by a thicket of ills — some say the civil service, some say fiscal administration, some say frontier affairs, some say the people's livelihood — a thousand tangled threads, roots and knots intertwined."

"This subject dares not speak recklessly of the whole realm. I beg leave first to set forth two matters: my administration of the Linqing Granary and my governance of Daming Prefecture."

"In this way, seeing the great in the small, the answer to this question will become self-evident."

Zhu Youjian raised his eyebrows and sat up a little straighter.

Shut deep within the nine-fold palace, what he lacked most was frontline intelligence; what he most wished to hear was precisely this kind of hands-on, practical experience from the localities.

For him, there had never been a shortage of methods or means — what he had always lacked most was simply information, true information!

Lu Xiangsheng's voice, steady and clear, slowly resonated through the great hall.

"When this subject took over the Linqing Granary, its annual levy by regulation was over a hundred thousand shi of grain and wheat in kind from Shandong and Henan, held in reserve for famine years."

"For every shi of grain, eight qian of silver was assessed, and local prominent households were requisitioned to purchase and deliver the grain."

"Yet the local authorities, mostly citing drought and famine, put off collection; the prominent households among the people, likewise dreading the purchase and transport, evaded the duty by every possible pretext."

"From the forty-second year of Wanli to the second year of Tianqi, over the span of nine years, the arrears astonishingly reached four hundred forty thousand shi — more than half the annual quota."

At this point, he gave a bitter laugh.

"And what could this subject do after assuming office? Nine years of accumulated burdens, heavier than mountain ranges — I could only first clear the old accounts, then plan for new undertakings."

"Therefore, this subject first pursued the recovery of three hundred fifty thousand taels of silver that had been disbursed over the years for grain purchases but for which no grain had ever been delivered, returning it to the state treasury."

"Only after that did I devote myself to pressing the collection of the in-kind levies from the second year of Tianqi onward."

"Among these tasks — investigating corruption, pursuing arrears of silver, and the like — though they sound difficult, in truth they required only that one do the work in earnest, and results would always follow."

Here Lu Xiangsheng shifted his tone, his voice rising slightly.

"But then — was any of this some extraordinary feat on this subject's part?"

"The regulations of our dynasty are thus; the laws and statutes all stand in place. What this subject did, in truth, was nothing more than scrupulously fulfill his duties and restore the old rules!"

"Why, then, did merely doing the work of an ordinary upright official earn an evaluation of 'superior'?"

Zhu Youjian remained silent.

Times differ, and so do circumstances.

In the local governments of later ages, KPI assessments chase "incremental growth" — innovation, development.

But for the Great Ming of today, never mind talking of increments; even talking of preserving existing stocks is desperately difficult.

Merely restoring the stock — returning the state machinery to the condition of the early Ming, or even just to the condition it was in during Zhang Juzheng's reforms — would be enough to let this dynasty stumble on a little longer and survive the early famines of the Little Ice Age.

Only…

Who could have imagined that the script fate had written for this end-of-dynasty regime was to draw calamity eighteen times in a row?

Old Heaven! The house always rigs the deck!

Lu Xiangsheng sighed and continued.

"This subject was transferred this past third month to the post of Prefect of Daming Prefecture. Upon taking office, I discovered that Daming Prefecture was no different from the Linqing Granary."

"Tax revenues chronically in arrears, the common people driven from their homes and scattered — and the fixed tax quotas then apportioned layer upon layer onto the remaining households. So the cycle repeats, and the people find no means of livelihood."

"This subject began by clearing unjust prosecutions, thereby accumulating a measure of prestige; then modestly curtailed the practice of commendation, pursued arrears, and personally supervised farming. Only thus did the locality recover a little of its vitality."

"Had Your Majesty not summoned me to the capital, this subject's evaluation this year would, I fear, have been yet another 'superior.'"

He raised his head and looked earnestly at the young Son of Heaven upon the throne, his eyes full of genuine perplexity.

"Though this subject passed the metropolitan examination at twenty, I failed the Hanlin Academy selection, was not chosen for a capital post, and could only be sent out to the provinces. I do not consider myself a man of surpassing talent."

"All that I have done in these five years, when it comes down to it, is simply to do the work in earnest."

"Yet how has the state of the realm come to this — that the mere word 'earnest' suffices to earn a 'superior'? Your Majesty, can this possibly be right?"

Zhu Youjian gazed intently at Lu Xiangsheng below the dais. In his eyes, he saw a sincere question, saw the most guileless bewilderment of a man of action.

He shook his head, sighed softly, but said nothing — merely motioned for Lu Xiangsheng to continue.

Lu Xiangsheng composed his emotions a little, and only then went on.

"This subject has served four years in provincial posts, passing through local offices. If I am to answer Your Majesty's question — 'the ills of the Great Ming' — all my thought and reflection can only come back to these two words: 'in earnest.'"

"Whether in the localities or at the granaries, arrears are chronic. Let them drag on, and sooner or later the court will grant a remission or a commutation to silver."

"But with this cycle repeating, who will ever again take things seriously?"

"In the provinces, remitting taxes and grain wins one a fine reputation as an official who loves the people, and allows one to trade poems and wine with the local gentry. Why would anyone not delight in that?"

"Why must one insist on playing the villain and offending the village notables and local officials? When a single memorial reaches the capital and one's career prospects are damaged — what is the point?"

"Simply collect the customary fees in the ordinary course, and when the time comes for the merit evaluation, send someone to the capital with seasonal gifts and make the proper arrangements. Is that not a hundred times better than doing earnest work at one's post?"

Here he fell silent for a moment. In the end, unable to hold back, his eyes reddened slightly and his voice took on a trace of a choke.

"This subject… when I traveled to the capital under summons this time, passing through Linqing, I privately sought out a post-station runner I knew and asked…"

"It has been barely half a year since I left office, and the Linqing Granary now… has almost entirely reverted to its old ways!"

"I rose early and retired late, laid bare my liver and gall — four years of painstaking effort… and in the end, it was no more than a fleeting glimmer of light!"

Having spoken, he seemed to realize his own loss of composure and hurriedly raised his clasped hands in apology: "Your Majesty forgive me — I have forgotten myself."

With that, he lifted his sleeve and hastily wiped the corner of his eye.

Zhu Youjian sat in melancholy silence. A memory drifted unbidden into his mind.

"On what grounds does this project now belong to their BG?"

"Structural reorganization — it's just something that can't be helped."

"Research, project initiation, R&D advancement, market commercialization — which of those wasn't led and executed by me alone? What did they do? Back at the start, they wouldn't even hand over a single piece of data! Now that the hen's started laying eggs, they brush it all off with a breezy 'structural reorganization'?"

"What's the use of yelling at me! Do my words carry weight? What the hell am I, anyway?! If you can't swallow it, go yell at the next big plenary meeting!"

He shook his head, momentarily caught between tears and laughter.

That had been seven or eight years ago now.

No... that was actually something from over three hundred years in the future.

The young — in the end, they are still young.

When setbacks come, there will always be some doubt and dejection.

Yet what they cannot see is that time will, in the end, reward those who truly put in the effort.

Zhu Youjian pressed down the surfacing memories, and only then did he open his mouth to ask.

"In that case, Minister Lu, what method do you believe should be used to resolve this difficult problem?"

Lu Xiangsheng abruptly raised his head, his gaze blazing as if flames were burning within!

"This subject believes we should revive the performance evaluation system!"

His tone was urgent; these words seemed to have been pent up in his chest for a long time. Once released, they were like a volcanic eruption, utterly beyond restraint.

"This subject passed through the Gate of Accepting Heaven — the public notices of administrative documents posted there are indeed good, and they have truly opened a new atmosphere in officialdom. But this subject humbly submits... the supplementary task lists are even better!"

"Lay out every task, stipulate what is to be accomplished, what the deadline is, and what the reward shall be. Then submit a prior documentary report for the record, and afterward investigate the results against that document!"

"In this way, the capable will inevitably rise, the mediocre will fall, the diligent will be rewarded, and the indolent will be punished!"

He took a step forward, his voice growing ever more impassioned.

"This subject governed Linqing, yet was trapped by the inability to govern all the subordinate prefectures and counties simultaneously!"

"This subject governed Daming, yet was trapped by the inability to govern all the subordinate departments and counties simultaneously!"

"If this excellent method could be implemented, all affairs advanced in parallel, and official conduct rectified uniformly, why worry that there would be no one to do the work, or no work to be done?"

"We need not demand that every man achieve a top-grade evaluation — only that every man possess a middle-to-upper bearing. If so, how could the realm have fallen to such a state!"

"This is precisely... holding names to account for their realities, and making rewards and punishments certain!"

As his words fell, his breathing was ragged, and his already fair face flushed crimson from agitation.

Within the great hall, there was utter silence.

A moment later, Zhu Youjian smiled faintly.

He turned his head to look at Gao Shiming, who stood in attendance to the side, and asked with a smile: "Companion Gao, at the start of the month, We instructed you and the Ministry of Personnel to draft that system of task management with red and green rewards and punishments. How has the coordination with Minister Yang been progressing?"

Gao Shiming bowed with a smile and replied: "In answer to Your Majesty, this slave and Minister Yang have already completed deliberations. We will use this month as a trial integration period, conducting assessments only and withholding public announcement for now. At present, all matters are gradually being sorted out."

"If Your Majesty wishes to implement this method, with the current staffing of the Ministry of Personnel and the Directorate of Ceremonial, we can initiate the red-and-green performance evaluation for the capital officials at any time. However, if it is to be extended to the entire realm, I fear the personnel and procedures are not yet sufficient."

Zhu Youjian nodded with satisfaction: "Continue the trial integration; there is no rush. As for personnel... they will be arriving shortly."

Having said this, he turned his head and looked with keen interest at the utterly astonished Lu Xiangsheng, smiling:

"Minister Lu, do not be impatient. We gave these instructions on the sixth day after Our enthronement. The various matters have now been in preparation for nearly a month."

"When you take up the matter of the horse fodder, I fear you will first be tested by this new law of Ours."

Lu Xiangsheng was profoundly embarrassed; his face seemed to burn even hotter.

He could only bow deeply and say with chagrin: "This subject... this subject has no fear of being tested! It is only... only that Your Majesty's foresight is profound and Your conduct of affairs meticulous. This subject's speech just now was truly displaying his slight skill before a master."

—Huh, haven't I said these exact words once before?

Zhu Youjian smiled: "You are still young. So long as you can hold fast to the two words 'earnest diligence,' your future will be boundless. A momentary oversight counts for nothing."

Figures who leave their names in history truly all possess something exceptional.

The two words "earnest diligence" — spoken aloud, they seem utterly unremarkable.

But this is Lu Xiangsheng at twenty-seven.

What of when he reaches thirty-seven, forty-seven, fifty-seven?

A Lu Xiangsheng who has been earnestly diligent his entire life — what heights would he reach?

It truly fills one with anticipation!

As for the slight immaturity, naivety, and impatience he now displays — these are, in truth, but minor flaws on a fine piece of jade.

Zhu Youjian let out a satisfied breath. He was extremely pleased with this second SSR card he had laid eyes on.

He stretched slightly.

Outside the Warmth Pavilion, the special examination he had temporarily convened for the warriors of the Nine Border Garrisons should, by his reckoning of the time, be nearing its end.

He was quite looking forward to this — to see just what kind of answers men like Cao Bianjiao and Kong Youde could produce.

One must understand, his questions were designed to roast them over a blazing brazier.

His thoughts having reached this point, he decided to conclude this audience. And so, out of habit, he opened his mouth and asked:

"I have no further questions. Do you have any questions you wish to ask me?"