Chapter 158: A Storm of Wind and Snow Approaches

The sky was oppressively overcast, lead-gray clouds pressing low over the glazed tiles of the Forbidden City, the cold wind wailing as it swept past.

Wang Cheng'en drew his robe tighter, couldn't help but exhale a puff of white breath, and briskly rubbed his hands, which were growing stiff from the cold.

He stood beside an enormous screen, taller than a man, framed in thick timber, mounted on wooden rollers below, and faced with several layers of pristine white paper.

Looking out from the throne before the Gate of Imperial Supremacy and stretching all the way outward, a full eighty such screens stood in silent rows flanking the vermilion stairway.

In all his time in the palace, he had never seen or heard of such a display.

The eunuchs of the Inner Palace School had been turned out almost in their entirety, assigned in pairs, each pair responsible for one screen.

Wang Cheng'en's partner was Fang Zhenghua, the old Eunuch Fang he was closest to.

Their task was, upon hearing a specific signal, to tear the paper from the screen together, revealing the next layer beneath.

For this, they had even set aside time outside their regular studies to drill for several days.

Boom—boom—boom—

Three drumbeats in succession, heavy and muffled, pierced the cold morning mist.

This was the signal for the Guard Officers to enter.

The Han Generals, the Red-Helmet Generals, and the Gentlemen of the Scattered Cavalry, their armor gleaming, their steps precise, took their designated positions in turn, building a framework of solemnity for the grand court assembly to come.

Wang Cheng'en's gaze swept over those polished breastplates, but he caught sight of Fang Zhenghua across the way, grimacing and winking.

He followed Fang Zhenghua's eyes, and only after a long look did he spot the anomaly.

The Han General directly facing them was broad-shouldered and stood ramrod straight, yet the armor across his back was mottled with rust—glaringly conspicuous amid the stern ranks of the honor guard.

He turned his head to look further and realized that the Han Generals nearby all seemed to be in the same state.

Either their armor was damaged or their boots were worn and old; they looked thoroughly shabby.

They seemed, in fact, less presentable than the young eunuchs of the Inner Palace School like themselves.

Wang Cheng'en felt a strange unease.

Three months ago, he had still been lying in some dark little room in the capital, weeping bitterly—how could he have known what a Han General was supposed to look like?

It was just… something felt off.

Wang Cheng'en glanced at Fang Zhenghua and shook his head cautiously.

Fang Zhenghua rolled his eyes and stopped his grimacing.

The two of them stood with hands at their sides, eyes on their noses, noses on their hearts.

A bell tolled distantly from the Meridian Gate, its sound drifting over—this was the signal for the civil and military officials to enter.

Wearing court robes of their various ranks, they filed in according to the order: civil officials to the east, military to the west.

Yet the moment they stepped into the plaza before the Gate of Imperial Supremacy and saw those eighty screens, a faint ripple of disturbance ran through the formerly orderly ranks.

The Grand Secretaries and ministry heads at the front had some idea of what was coming.

After all, they had already seen this during the third Daily Lecture.

Five screens versus several dozen—though the difference was striking, it still fell within the bounds of reason.

They quickly regained their composure and walked to their places without a sideways glance.

The mid- and low-ranking officials following behind, however, lacked such practiced self-possession.

Many of them had already heard, through various channels, some rumors about the "third Daily Lecture"; now, seeing the scene from those stories before their very eyes, every face showed astonishment, and they whispered among themselves, pointing and gesturing at the screens.

Could it be…

Would there be statecraft documents again today?

Was His Majesty finally going to answer the "Question of Man and Land"?

And how would his answer differ from the approaches now commonly discussed throughout the capital?

"His Majesty ascends the throne—"

At the long, drawn-out call, Zhu Youjian, wearing the dragon robe and the winged-silk cap, emerged from behind the gate.

He swept a single glance over the dense mass of officials below and seated himself directly.

"Long live His Majesty! Long live! Long live ten thousand years!"

After the mountain-shaking, sea-surging roar of prostrations, the assembled officials rose.

The second grand court assembly since the Yongchang Emperor's ascension had formally begun!

From the Court of State Ceremonial came a loud call:

"Present your affairs—"

The Governor of Shuntian Prefecture, Xue Guoguan, gave a light cough.

After waiting a moment, under countless astonished gazes, he stepped out from the ranks, advanced before the throne, and knelt to the ground.

"Your subject, Xue Guoguan, Governor of Shuntian Prefecture, requests to present the matter of the capital's new policies: the first phase of road construction."

His voice was not particularly loud, but in the silence of the plaza at that moment, it stirred a great wave of shock.

The assembled officials erupted in an uproar.

The order of presenting affairs at the grand court assembly was a rule handed down from the ancestors.

Who went first, who went second, who was primary and who secondary—all followed strict protocols, an embodiment of court order.

The Ministry of Personnel was the office of heavenly rank; the Ministry of Rites presided over ceremony and ritual; after them came the other ministries.

How could Shuntian Prefecture be the first to present an affair at this grand court assembly?

Hou Xun, who had just entered the capital, keenly detected the anomaly in this.

The way of Heaven cycles; human affairs succeed one another. The old ruts are freshly broken—are new tracks about to be laid?

Did this new sovereign intend to use today's grand court assembly to proclaim his new policies?

Upon the throne, Zhu Youjian seemed deaf to the commotion below and merely spoke, his tone indifferent.

"Present it."

Xue Guoguan already knew the procedure. Calmly, he drew the routine memorial from his sleeve and presented it with both hands.

An official from the Court of State Ceremonial hurried forward to receive it, turned, strode to the center of the vermilion steps, unfolded the memorial, and began reading it aloud.

"Your subject, Xue Guoguan, Governor of Shuntian Prefecture, having received His Majesty's edict to supervise the capital roadworks. Since receiving the command on the fourth day of the ninth month, relying on His Majesty's awe-inspiring authority and the diligence of every official, the first phase of the project has already..."

The instant the Court of State Ceremonial official opened his mouth, a whip-crack sounded simultaneously.

Wang Cheng'en and Fang Zhenghua, their spirits roused, joined the other eunuchs behind the screens in a single, synchronized motion — rip! — tearing away the first layer of paper from the screens before them.

Revealing the second layer beneath, already densely covered with writing.

The Court of State Ceremonial official's voice was resonant, his accent pure and correct, carrying far into the distance.

Hou Xun stood in the middle of the ranks.

He was not listening to the words of the routine memorial being read by the Court of State Ceremonial official.

His sharp instincts told him that the crux of everything lay on those screens.

He narrowed his eyes and carefully studied the writing on the screens not far away.

One look, and sure enough!

The writing on the screens did not entirely match the content of the memorial being read aloud by the Court of State Ceremonial official!

The writing here had no ornate rhetoric, no elaborate embellishments — only line after line of clear, crisp entries.

Capital Roadworks Phase One Project Summary

Funds Raised: Five hundred and fourteen thousand two hundred taels in total.

Roadwork Scope: Xuanwu Gate Avenue and Chaoyang Gate Avenue, totaling one thousand two hundred and ninety-three zhang.

Roadwork Standard: The central eight zhang of the road paved with stone slabs, the road surface slightly cambered to facilitate drainage. One zhang on each side designated as pedestrian ways, planted with trees to serve as boundaries.

Roadwork Progress: Began on the fourth day of the ninth month; demolition of illegal structures along the streets took sixteen days. Full-scale paving commenced on the twentieth day of the ninth month, and is expected to be completed before the first day of the twelfth month.

Project Costs: Preliminary estimate of approximately two hundred and eighty-eight thousand one hundred and thirty-three taels. Of the donated silver raised, over two hundred and twenty thousand taels remain.

At the very end of the costs, there was a line of tiny characters: (Note: Final costs are subject to the joint audit of the Directorate of Ceremonial, the Governor of Shuntian Prefecture, and the Secretariat upon project completion.)

The Secretariat? What Secretariat?

Setting that aside, was this format not even more different from the statecraft documents he had been gathering around the capital these past few days?!

The statecraft documents circulating nowadays still occasionally indulged in parallel prose of four-six couplets.

Yet this document was... so blunt and crisp!

No "relying on Heaven's grace," no "your subjects tremble with awe" — only cold numbers and clear entries.

The source of every sum of money, the plan for every stretch of road, every milestone on the timeline — all written with absolute clarity, plain and unmistakable.

The Court of State Ceremonial official soon finished reading and withdrew to one side.

On the imperial throne, Zhu Youjian looked at the ranks below, now somewhat askew, and at the officials craning their necks toward the screens. The corner of his mouth seemed to twitch slightly, but quickly returned to calm.

"Yes."

Again, he spoke only a single word.

Xue Guoguan, kneeling on the ground, seemed not to hear the murmuring of the assembled officials behind him. He once more drew a routine memorial from his sleeve and raised it high.

"Your subject petitions for the capital's new governance — the matter of the roadworks' second phase!"

The commotion among the assembled officials grew louder.

One matter, presented in two separate memorials? What sort of rule was this?

Zhu Youjian remained as sparing with words as ever and nodded. "Present."

The Court of State Ceremonial official once more received the memorial, cleared his throat, and began to read:

"Since your subject assumed charge of the roadworks, the common people of the capital have been deeply moved by His Majesty's benevolence, calling it good governance. However, a surplus remains from the silver raised in the first phase, while the starving populace in the capital grows daily more numerous. Your subject cannot bear to sit idly by. Therefore, your subject beseeches His Majesty's gracious permission to use the remaining silver, together with a further round of fundraising, to simultaneously commence the second phase of the capital roadworks..."

"Riiip—"

The eighty junior eunuchs moved again, turning the screens to the third page.

Hou Xun focused his gaze and saw that this page differed again from the last.

There was far less text, and on the right side there were actually two sketch diagrams of a kind he had never seen before.

Capital Roadworks Phase Two Project Plan

Roadwork Scope: The section from Fucheng Gate to the Censorate, approximately one thousand three hundred zhang. The section from Anding Gate to Longfu Temple, approximately one thousand two hundred zhang. Total: two thousand five hundred zhang.

Roadwork Standard: Main avenue specifications as before. For side streets, the center paved with four zhang of stone slabs, with pedestrian ways on both sides totaling one zhang.

Roadwork Progress: Demolition of illegal structures expected to begin on the first day of the tenth month, with the entire project to be completed before the fifteenth day of the twelfth month.

Estimated Cost: Approximately four hundred and ten thousand taels.

Support Required: Your subject humbly beseeches His Majesty's gracious permission to raise funds once more from the wealthy merchants and gentry of the capital. For those who contribute over ten thousand taels, in addition to having their names inscribed on stone, one of their sons may be granted the rank of Secretariat Drafter through the protection privilege.

As before, there was a line of tiny characters below: (Note: Should any surplus remain from the funds raised, it shall be transferred to the costs of the third phase. Should there be a shortfall, the Anding Gate section of the project shall be scaled back as appropriate.)

Hou Xun carefully savored this sentence, sensing that there was something implied within this second phase, though he could not yet see it clearly.

Buying official posts with silver donations had precedents in the dynasty and was nothing remarkable.

This time, in a place of such exemplary virtue as the capital, they could also have their names carved in stone for posterity — no doubt the merchants and gentry would flock to it like ducks to water.

Yet he could not shake the feeling that this memorial was by no means just about selling offices.

But for the moment, he could not think it through.

He shook his head and turned his gaze to the two sketch diagrams.

The first diagram was easy enough to understand — it was a map of the capital, using red and blue lines to clearly mark the routes of the first and second phase projects, clear at a glance.

(Attached illustration: blue lines are the new roads, red lines are the previous roads)

The second diagram, however, was truly peculiar.

It depicted several horizontal bars of varying lengths. Beneath the bars were labels such as "Demolish Illegal Structures," "Lay Stone Slabs," "Plant Trees," while above them corresponded times such as "Ninth Month," "Tenth Month," "Eleventh Month."

Hou Xun stared at that diagram, pondering it for a long while, and a look of astonishment gradually dawned in his eyes.

He understood!

This… this is actually a method for showing project progress! Compared to lengthy written descriptions, this kind of chart is a hundred times more intuitive!

It seems this is yet another whimsical idea from that young monarch seated high above the nine steps — following on the heels of the so-called tables, line graphs, bar charts, and pie charts.

(The attached illustration is, in fact, a Gantt chart — standard operating procedure for Zhu Youjian.)

A surge of mingled emotions welled up in Hou Xun's heart.

Dwelling deep within the palace, with no one to teach him — is that what has given rise to this childlike heart, unfettered by the conventions of the mundane world?

Upon the imperial throne, Zhu Youjian nodded lightly once more and spoke: "It is."

This time, he did not pause, but continued:

"Xue Guoguan has applied himself diligently to his duties. The matter of road-building touches upon the face of the imperial capital above, and connects to the livelihood of the common people below; it is truly the foremost priority among the capital's new policies."

"With so many hands to mobilize, funds to raise, materials to purchase, and laborers to arrange — a myriad of tangled threads — to have the first and second phases planned out in such perfect order within a mere ten-day span is a feat of no small difficulty."

"Let the Directorate of Ceremonial and the Ministry of Personnel jointly record this in the files, and award Xue Guoguan one red mark."

The moment these words were spoken, the entire plaza before the Gate of Supreme Polarity fell silent for an instant.

Then, an invisible stirring, like a hidden fire across the steppe, began gradually spreading through the ranks of the hundred officials!

A red mark!

Another red mark!

The assembled ministers looked at one another, their eyes filled with doubt, speculation, and a trace of barely concealed… longing.

Since the new sovereign's ascension, Zhang Ruitu had been given ten green marks and stripped of his rank and registration.

The Governor of Shandong, Li Jingbai, had been given two green marks and seemed still safe and sound, yet everyone felt his prospects were utterly dim.

And what of one red mark?

One red mark — what reward did it bring?

To this day, no one knew!

This new sovereign simply kept adding one after another, yet never once explained what red marks and green marks meant.

If one received ten red marks, what could one obtain?

Ennoblement for wife and children? Or direct entry into the Grand Secretariat?

No one knew.

But everyone knew that the new sovereign had repeatedly brought up the matter of red marks, and given his conduct since ascending the throne, it absolutely could not be baseless nonsense!

This unknown brought with it an immense space for imagination, and an unprecedented thrill.

When all gain issues from a single source, men's hearts turn toward it; when rewards and punishments are clear, the hundred officials strive to match the standard.

Hou Xun could not help but heave a quiet sigh.

This Emperor did not even need to produce real gold and silver — merely by using these mysterious "red marks" and "green marks," he had slipped an invisible bridle around everyone's neck, while at the same time dangling a carrot before their eyes, visible yet out of reach.

To the left, or to the right — it all depended on his will alone.

But… this kind of game could not be sustained for too long.

Yet who knew when the new sovereign would finally reveal the purpose of these red and green marks? Surely he would not keep playing this empty-stakes trick forever?

The clamor among the assembled ministers seemed to be gradually escalating.

Within the ranks, the expression of the protocol officer changed again and again, yet in the end he did not voice a reprimand.

For before attending court today, they had long since received the Emperor's decree: at today's court assembly, so long as there was no act of charging the imperial carriage or brawling in the court hall, all breaches of decorum would go unpunished.

Yet suddenly, from within the ranks, another person gave a light cough…