Chapter 160: The Wind Censor Breaks His Blade

A sudden gale swept across the square.

It made everyone look up involuntarily at the lowering sky.

The lower hems of the officials' robes snapped and cracked; the eighty enormous screens swayed slightly, and the junior eunuchs began to worry the papers might blow away.

The commotion originally stirred by the repeated memorials from Shuntian Prefecture seemed to grow even more clamorous in this sudden wind.

Officials clustered in small groups, heads bent together, their buzzing discussion merging into a single wave of noise, every face wearing an expression of shock and uncertainty, or excitement, or anxiety.

The thunderous momentum of the New Policies had exceeded most people's expectations.

Apart from a few remonstrance officials who took money to avert disaster for others,

most officials with poor channels of information only learned today that the spectacular New Policies in the capital had secretly contained such a ferocious purge of the capital's subofficial clerks.

These past days, they had been busy with administrative documents, busy with the questions of the realm, busy considering which side to take after the Donglin entered the capital, even busy chasing the latest installments of Loyal Blood in the Liao Sea...

Hardly anyone had noticed this calamity of the clerks unfolding in Shuntian Prefecture.

It could not be helped — the unranked clerks of the nine lowly classes were simply too far removed from them.

Upon the throne, Zhu Youjian's gaze swept calmly over the bobbing heads below, taking in every shade of the human pageant.

He said nothing, merely raising his hand slightly.

The protocol officer at his side understood at once, drew a deep breath, summoned all his dantian strength, and bellowed harshly:

"Silence!"

The murmuring subsided a little, but the noise remained.

"Silence!"

The protocol officers shouted in unison, their warning tone unmistakable, making more officials shut their mouths and glance uneasily toward the throne.

"Silence!"

The third shout was already like icicles in winter, carrying a bone-piercing chill.

Before the Gate of Imperial Supremacy, silence fell at last.

Only the wind still howled across the empty square.

Only then did Zhu Youjian begin to speak slowly. His voice was not loud, but carried by the relayed chanting of the Court of State Ceremonial officers, it reached every ear with perfect clarity.

"Since the first phase of the capital's New Policies began in early September, many have submitted memorials impeaching the various officials of Shuntian Prefecture — some alleging corruption, some alleging cruelty, some alleging harassment of the people."

He paused, as if giving the assembled officials time to digest his words.

"To this day, in less than a month, a total of three hundred and nineteen impeachment memorials have been received, from seventy-three persons who joined in submitting them."

Trouble!

Some officials immediately sensed something wrong; several faces changed color in an instant, and they could not help lowering their heads a fraction.

Zhu Youjian watched their reactions, the corner of his mouth curving upward, then shook his head, his tone tinged with a note of perplexity.

"This, then, leaves me puzzled. Could it be that I have misplaced my trust, and have, like Wang Anshi of the Song, employed a pack of cruel officials?"

"This truly must be guarded against — the warning of the overturned cart ahead is by no means distant."

At these words, the officials who had just fallen silent stirred again in a ripple of agitation.

Was His Majesty... about to compromise?

Some officials who had originally adopted a wait-and-see attitude immediately felt their calculations spring back to life.

And those who had already submitted impeachment memorials showed even more delight, thinking their "righteous remonstrance" had finally taken effect.

Now perhaps both money and fame could be had in one stroke!

Zhu Youjian ignored this renewed rippling and merely said unhurriedly, "No matter. I have never been fond of punishing without first instructing."

His gaze shifted and settled on the front ranks of the civil officials' column as he began calling names.

"Minister of Justice, Qiao Yunsheng."

A white-haired old man stepped out from the ranks and said, "This subject is here."

He was a recently reinstated former Minister of Justice from the previous reign, an elder statesman of the pro-Donglin faction, seventy-four years old this year, whose sole remaining thought was to reverse the verdicts on the Donglin cases before he died.

The Huangshan case, the case of the Seven Donglin Gentlemen, the case of Xiong Tingbi's collusion with the border...

He wanted to reverse them all.

This was not, in itself, a problem — many of these cases Zhu Youjian also found intolerable and had his own plans to reverse.

But — since Old Qiao also wants them reversed, I suddenly find I am not so inclined to reverse them after all.

"Chief Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, Zhang Jiude."

Another old man with a white beard stepped out and said in a quavering voice, "This subject is here."

The Court of Judicial Review in the Ming dynasty had become an almost entirely marginalized institution.

This Zhang Jiude, seventy-one years old, was at the half-step eunuch-faction realm — one could say a very ordinary Ming official.

He would accept the customary fees in his work, but when posted to the provinces he would also repair waterworks and open up wasteland for cultivation, and he had even written a book titled Essential Compilation on Deciding Cases, which he had printed and distributed, hoping to leave his name in the annals of history.

The only problem was that his thinking was simply too ossified; he had even advised leniency in criminal matters and taking benevolence as the foundation.

Zhu Youjian had held his nose and granted him one audience, and had not granted him a second.

"Left Chief Censor, Fang Zhuangli."

Yet another old man stepped out, his voice at least steady: "This subject is here."

This man was somewhat interesting.

When Zhu Youjian first interviewed him, he could not discern the man's factional leanings at all.

In the end, it was Gao Shiming who dug through his background records, and Wang Tiqian who watched his household's comings and goings for several days, before they discerned his eunuch-faction undertones.

Or perhaps one cannot call it the eunuch faction, since he did not attach himself to Wei Zhongxian when Wei held power.

But he was of northern origin, and maintained relatively close contacts with men like Li Guopu and Huo Weihua.

In a certain sense, he might perhaps be counted among the "Northern Faction" within the new reign.

Fang Zhuangli's heart, however, sank in that moment.

The Ministry of Justice, the Court of Judicial Review, the Censorate... the three chief judicial officers had all been named in one breath, and he immediately caught an unusual scent in the air.

As Left Chief Censor, he held the seal of the Censorate; all the realm's remonstrance officials came from under his wing.

Over the past month and more, memorials impeaching the Shuntian Prefecture's new policies had flown into the palace like snowflakes, and a full two-thirds of them had come from the brushes of the Censorate's censors.

And now the Emperor was putting on this show, saying he wanted to compromise?

Only a fool would believe that!

This blade was unmistakably aimed straight at the Censorate!

Upon the throne, Zhu Youjian looked down at the three elder statesmen arrayed like the Fu-Lu-Shou stars and spoke slowly:

"Let the impeachment memorials submitted before today pass. But from this day forward, any memorial impeaching the implementation of the new policies shall be classified as Grade A and specially marked as a new-policy matter."

"All such memorials shall be referred to the Three-Judicial Joint Trial, with you three ministers presiding. The Duke of Ying, Zhang Weixian, and the Directorate of Ceremonial seal-holder, Gao Shiming, shall attend as observers."

Hearing this, Fang Zhuangli's heart gave a slight jump.

A Three-Judicial Joint Trial, with the foremost of the merit-nobility and the preeminent figure of the inner court sitting in as observers — what an enormous display of force!

Yet it was the Emperor's next sentence that delivered the true killing stroke.

"For every impeachment brought, one matter shall be tried, one matter pursued. Should the accusation prove false..."

Zhu Youjian's voice turned abruptly cold.

"... then the accuser shall suffer the penalty in turn!"

The four words "the accuser shall suffer the penalty in turn" crashed down like four great mountains upon the hearts of everyone before the Gate of Supreme Sovereignty!

The entire plaza sank into deathly silence.

Deal with a man as he deals with you!

You impeach someone for corruption — if the investigation reveals it was a false accusation, then you shall be sentenced for corruption yourself!

You impeach someone for cruelty — if it proves to be false, then you shall taste that cruelty yourself!

It was the simplest, and also the most ruthlessly lethal, of rules!

Fang Zhuangli's temples instantly beaded with a fine layer of cold sweat.

He, the Left Chief Censor, the gatekeeper of the Censorate, had in a flash become the foremost man standing at the crest of the storm.

With this single move, the Emperor had all but abolished the remonstrance officials' privilege of "reporting upon hearsay," fitting every runaway horse with the harshest of bits!

Almost by reflex, he wanted to open his mouth and object.

Ancestral institutions, proper form, the channels of remonstrance... he had countless angles from which to argue.

Yet when the words reached his lips, he swallowed them back down.

Out of the corner of his eye he caught sight of Qiao Yunsheng not far away — the old minister's face was likewise a picture of shock, his lips quivering, clearly locked in a fierce inner struggle.

Fang Zhuangli's mind, however, was racing.

How could he object?

Say that this would obstruct the channels of remonstrance? But the Emperor had plainly stated that the penalty would apply only when "the accusation proved false." So long as your impeachment was factual, not only would you be blameless — you would be meritorious.

Invoke the ancestral institutions? In the Great Ming's ancestral institutions, punishing false accusers with the penalty they sought was a core tenet of the law to begin with! And this new sovereign disliked hearing about ancestral institutions above all else...

Fang Zhuangli's inner turmoil lasted only a moment before it resolved at last into a silent sigh.

Now that the new Emperor had ascended the throne, the Donglin Faction was stirring restlessly, and dark currents surged beneath the surface of the court.

If he were to lose this blade that was the Censorate, the consequences were truly unthinkable.

... The outcome before him now, it seemed, was not entirely unacceptable.

At the very least, the Emperor only sought to suppress attacks on the new policies, not to purge his Censorate.

Having thought through to this layer, Fang Zhuangli's taut body relaxed, imperceptibly.

He hesitated no longer. Taking the lead, he stepped forward and bowed deeply toward the throne.

"This subject obeys the decree."

His voice broke the deadlock.

The Court of Judicial Review Chief Minister Zhang Jiude's murky eyes flickered.

He glanced at Fang Zhuangli, who had already bowed, then at Qiao Yunsheng beside him, whose expression was shifting uncertainly. He pondered for a moment.

Forget it — why overthink this? He was merely a Chief Minister of the Court of Judicial Review.

With that thought, he too bent forward and bowed.

"This subject... obeys the decree."

In the span of a breath, of the three chief judicial officers, only the Minister of Justice, Qiao Yunsheng, remained standing alone.

He felt countless gazes converging upon him — some sympathetic, some gloating, but most of all an intangible pressure.

Even more, he felt that calm yet mountain-heavy gaze from upon the throne.

Qiao Yunsheng's heart was in violent turmoil.

The governance of all under Heaven rests first upon the censorial system.

If the censors are to be held accountable in this manner, how will the remonstrance officials dare to submit memorials freely?

His Majesty's move, for all its appearance of impartiality, was in truth nothing but tipping the scales!

But... what if he refused to bow his head?

Looking at the two men who had already bowed, he knew — he had no choice at all.

The Emperor's options were not limited to him alone...

A thread of bitterness welled up in his heart, and Qiao Yunsheng's graying beard trembled in the wind.

After a long pause, he spoke slowly: "Your Majesty, may this subject venture to ask — does this measure apply only to the new policies?"

Zhu Youjian smiled. "Of course it applies only to the new policies. What else?"

——That is a lie.

The censors of the Great Ming have long since taken on the color of a pickling vat — what supervisory function could they possibly still have?

Morality on their lips, profit alone in their hearts.

Supervise? Supervise my ass!

Zhu Youjian's subsequent purges of the remonstrance circuit will only grow wave after wave larger, wave after wave harsher!

Qiao Yunsheng let out a breath, as though he had convinced himself.

"This subject… obeys the decree."

Watching the three men below bow their heads and accept his command, a trace of genuine amusement finally appeared on Zhu Youjian's face.

He nodded lightly, as if he had not the slightest inkling of the struggle within their hearts.

"With this, We can at last set Our mind somewhat at ease."

"The new policies of Our Great Ming now have the disciplinary arm keeping watch — they should hardly end up suffering the same fate as Wang Anshi's."

"Our heart is greatly comforted, greatly comforted indeed!"

"Continue with the reports."