Chapter 161: We Do Not Like This

Once the decree from the three judicial offices went out, even the dullest official understood.

New policies! It had to be the new policies!

The wind had shifted — nothing could be clearer now.

After the Wei Zhongxian era came the era of the new policies!

Yet no one knew whether these new policies would be led by the Donglin faction or the remnants of the old eunuch faction.

At that moment, another new cough rang out.

Everyone followed the sound and saw a tall, powerfully built figure step forward from the ranks of the military officials.

It was Tian Ergeng, Left Commissioner-in-Chief and acting head of the Embroidered Uniform Guard!

The assembled officials felt another jolt of shock.

The Shuntian Prefecture's first batch of reports had already been audacious enough — why was the Embroidered Uniform Guard next? What about the Ministry of Personnel? The Ministry of Rites?

And what did the new policies have to do with the Embroidered Uniform Guard?

Tian Ergeng strode to the center before the dais, lifted the hem of his flying-fish robe, and knelt with steady composure, every movement meticulously precise.

"Your subject, Tian Ergeng, Left Commissioner-in-Chief of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, reports on the reduction of the Guard's personnel."

His voice was resonant, his accent pure and impeccable:

"During Wei Zhongxian's abuse of power, reckless bestowals and indiscriminate appointments swelled the Embroidered Uniform Guard with superfluous personnel, a mix of good and bad. Worse still, there were impostors, phantom payrolls, and rampant corruption."

"Its authorized strength ballooned from 17,760 men in the Wanli era to 36,360 — nearly double!"

"With Your Majesty's sagacious illumination, this subject received the decree on the fifteenth day of the ninth month to investigate. As of yesterday, within fifteen days, 8,120 of those fraudulent and improperly appointed men have already been purged in the first round."

"At present, the Guard is conducting a thorough reexamination: the capable rise, the mediocre step down, and the inferior are expelled. In the course of this, a further 2,073 who failed to meet standards have been successively dismissed."

"This subject estimates that the full reorganization will be completed by the fifteenth day of the eleventh month, at which point the Embroidered Uniform Guard's strength will be maintained at roughly 15,000 men."

"This single measure alone will save the state treasury nearly 260,000 shi of grain and provisions each year!"

As Tian Ergeng's words fell, silence descended before the Gate of Imperial Supremacy.

Saving 260,000 shi a year was a minor matter.

What truly stunned them was the Emperor's sheer ruthlessness.

What was the Embroidered Uniform Guard?

It was the Emperor's own blade!

And now the Emperor had personally ordered that the new policies cut into his own sharpest weapon.

This was a gesture — a gesture that brooked no doubt.

Xue Fengxiang, Minister of Works, stood among the civil officials' ranks, his brow tightly furrowed.

Since the enthronement, he had first run aground before His Majesty over the million taels for the imperial tombs, and then again over the 1.2 million taels in artisan wages for the Three Great Halls. He had long been sitting on a bed of nails.

Even his later donation of five thousand taels of silver for road-building had not lessened the disquiet in his heart one bit.

Now, hearing Tian Ergeng's report, he first looked stunned, then a strange glint flickered through his eyes.

It was as if he had… grasped something.

Not just him — behind him, the Chief Minister of the Court of Imperial Entertainments, the Chief Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, and the Chief Minister of the Seals Office all wore similarly pensive expressions.

Back then, Wei Zhongxian had not stuffed people only into the Embroidered Uniform Guard…

Upon the throne, Zhu Youjian watched all this calmly.

He took in the expressions of Xue Fengxiang and the others, and the corner of his mouth lifted slightly.

"Tian Ergeng has served the state loyally. He deserves reward."

He spoke: "Record one commendation for now. Once the reduction is complete, We shall bestow further reward."

"This subject thanks Your Majesty for your boundless grace!" Tian Ergeng knocked his head heavily to the floor and let out a quiet breath.

He knew that this pledge of allegiance to the new sovereign had been accepted.

But before the assembled officials could recover from the implications of the Embroidered Uniform Guard affair, another light cough sounded.

This time, the sound came from the other side.

Everyone looked over in astonishment — it came from the ranks of the eunuchs beside the Emperor.

Cao Huachun, the brush-holding eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial!

This time, the reaction from the entire civil and military court was even greater than before!

The Embroidered Uniform Guard might be the Son of Heaven's claws and fangs, but it still belonged to the outer court.

Was the blade now going to cut into the inner court as well?

Cao Huachun walked to the center of the hall, knelt to the ground, and spoke in a clear, bright voice:

"This slave Cao Huachun requests to report on the reduction of eunuchs in the palace."

"By decree received on the eleventh day of the ninth month, this slave has coordinated with all the directorates and offices to purge 2,877 superfluous eunuchs from the palace. At present, 16,772 registered eunuchs remain in the palace."

"Henceforth, a further purge will be conducted once each month, with over 900 dismissed each time."

"It is estimated that by the end of the first year of the Yongchang era, the number of eunuchs in the palace will be reduced to 13,974."

"At that point, this will save the privy purse 27,000 shi of grain and provisions and 34,000 taels of boot-and-shoe silver each year. In addition, it will save the Court of Imperial Entertainments various outlays for rations and supplies, equivalent to roughly 13,000 taels of silver."

The stirring among the officials grew louder.

The Emperor was… even cutting into himself?

Since ancient times, there had only been emperors who complained that the palace lacked enough hands — who had ever heard of an emperor voluntarily dismissing eunuchs?

"Reducing the eunuchs is truly a virtuous policy!" one official could not help murmuring in admiration. "This may well curb the depraved custom of commoners castrating themselves in hopes of wealth and rank."

But there was always a way to argue against anything, and someone immediately retorted: "The measure is indeed good, but did His Majesty not just say that the empire suffers from overpopulation and a struggle between man and land? From that perspective, self-castration hardly seems a bad thing."

A buzz of assorted chatter arose, but no one could make any real sense of it.

Zhu Youjian paid no heed to these murmurs. He merely commended Cao Huachun: "Loyal service. Record one commendation."

Cao Huachun withdrew, and from the ranks another brush-holding eunuch stepped forward.

"This slave, Zheng Zhihui, reports on the inventory of the Ten Warehouses and the budget for supplies."

Zheng Zhihui knelt, unfolded the personal memorial in his hands, and began to read it aloud, methodically and precisely.

"Upon investigation, the Ten Warehouses of the palace are riddled with deep-seated abuses. Many goods do not match their ledgers, and waste is severe."

"This slave and others, by decree, conducted a thorough audit and have set the supply budget for all palace items for the first year of the Yongchang era."

"Among these, the annual quota for yellow wax is set at forty thousand jin, wide white cotton cloth at one hundred twenty thousand bolts, leather materials…"

Zheng Zhihui read in one breath for a full quarter-hour. The junior eunuch beside him, responsible for turning the screen panels, was scrambling, barely able to keep up with his pace.

On the screen, rows of figures and charts clearly displayed the results of the Ten Warehouses' material rectification.

After a long while, Zheng Zhihui finally stopped. He swallowed and, in a slightly hoarse voice, concluded:

"According to this budget, after selling off all the useless and surplus goods stored in Beijing's Ten Warehouses for silver, we can currently collect approximately three hundred seventy thousand taels. In the years to come, an additional annual revenue of roughly two hundred thirty thousand taels can be generated!"

Everyone could not help but look toward the Minister of Revenue, Guo Yunhou.

Selling off surplus goods from the inner storehouses for silver to offset border military pay and ease the state's finances—every successive Minister of Revenue had submitted countless memorials on this.

Yet whether it was the Wanli Emperor or the recently deceased Tianqi Emperor, both turned a deaf ear to it.

All those past memorials were either held at court without response or met with outright refusal.

No one expected that this new sovereign would actually be willing to cut into his own flesh like this!

In that moment, a strange emotion surged in the hearts of many officials.

Zhu Youjian nodded, his gaze sweeping over to the Minister of Revenue, Guo Yunhou.

"The silver converted from the Ten Warehouses' goods shall be deposited in full into the privy purse. We have other uses for it."

Guo Yunhou's heart sank slightly at these words.

He had been counting on this money to help plug the gaping hole in the border military payroll.

However, this flicker of disappointment passed in an instant. He quickly rallied himself.

This new sovereign was so sagacious and resolute in action; he was absolutely not a ruler who hoarded wealth.

What difference was there between him placing the silver in the privy purse and placing it in the Ministry of Revenue?

Having thought this through, Guo Yunhou's mood brightened again. He was already calculating which deficits he could petition to cover with this silver.

On the throne, Zhu Youjian's gaze shifted to Zheng Zhihui, his tone softening somewhat.

"You have committed past errors, which We should rightfully pursue. But considering your diligence and effectiveness in this task, your merits and faults shall cancel each other out."

Hearing this, Zheng Zhihui felt as if he had been granted a great amnesty, his whole body going limp.

He heavily knocked his head against the cold golden brick floor, sobbing uncontrollably: "This slave… this slave is guilty! This slave is unworthy of Your Majesty's heavenly grace! This slave will in the future serve as an ox or a horse, and would die ten thousand deaths without refusal!"

Past errors?

A flicker of doubt passed through the assembled ministers. What error could offset the merit of cleaning up the Ten Warehouses?

Before anyone could figure it out, another light cough sounded.

The brush-holder of the Directorate of Ceremonial, Liu Ruoyu, was the last to step out from the ranks.

He walked to the center of the hall, knelt, and without a single word of superfluous nonsense, delivered his report, concise and crisp.

"This slave, by decree, oversaw the inner palace. Within a period of ten days to a month, I rigorously investigated matters of corruption within the palace, collusion between the inner and outer courts, and the leaking of palace secrets."

"In total, twenty-seven corrupt inner attendants of various ranks were found, and five thousand one hundred twenty-three taels of embezzled silver were recovered."

"Furthermore, ninety-three individuals were found to have colluded with the outside, leaking matters of the palace…"

Here, he paused.

Before the Gate of Supreme Pole, all murmuring and discussion ceased entirely.

Every gaze was fixed intently on Liu Ruoyu.

Liu Ruoyu raised his head, his gaze calm, and uttered the final three words.

"All have been executed."

At these words, everyone's eyes instinctively darted toward the figures standing at the very front.

Eunuch corruption was a minor matter, and the five thousand taels of recovered silver was an even smaller matter.

Colluding with the outside…

Aside from those Grand Secretaries, Ministers, and ennobled nobles standing at the very front,

who among this entire civil and military court had the standing, the audacity, or the ability to secretly communicate with inner palace officials and spy upon the sovereign?

Those nobles and high officials, usually so lofty and pampered, now felt as if they had thorns in their backs under the countless gazes fixed upon them.

In the midst of this deathly silence, Zhu Youjian on the throne finally made a move.

He stood up, his gaze slowly sweeping across the various high ministers and nobles in the front row.

When his eyes passed over Wu Yuyin, the Respectful and Compliant Marquis, his gaze even paused for a moment, and he smiled at him.

That single glance alone made Wu Yuyin, a marquis of perpetual inheritance, instantly turn pale, his legs trembling.

Zhu Youjian finally spoke. His voice was not loud, but it reached every ear with perfect clarity.

"The sovereign's mind is difficult to fathom. That you ministers might wish to spy upon the sovereign is not entirely incomprehensible."

He paused, his tone utterly calm and even.

"But… We do not like it."

As his words fell, Wu Yuyin could hold on no longer. He was the first to collapse to his knees, his voice trembling beyond recognition.

"This subject would not dare! This subject is guilty!"

His breakdown quickly triggered a chain reaction.

One after another, the nobles and high ministers in the front row knelt down.

"This subject would not dare!"

"Your Majesty, calm your anger."

Immediately after, the officials behind them had no choice but to follow suit, kneeling like a tide, a dark mass of figures.

"Your Majesty, calm your anger…"

Before the Gate of Imperial Supremacy, a dark mass knelt as one.

Zhu Youjian looked at the assembled ministers and shook his head, then descended from the imperial throne.

He walked before the crowd of officials and regarded them.

"Since ancient times, the Way of sovereign and minister has always spoken of Confucian sage-kings — in audience, it is always Yao and Shun, or Yu and Tang."

His tone carried a trace of mockery.

"But in truth, within, they all employ the methods of Shen Buhai and Han Fei, esteeming a sovereign's heart that cannot be fathomed, so that ministers cannot peer into it."

"Yet We have no wish to be so."

He waved a hand.

"All of you, rise."

The assembled ministers hesitated a moment before rising one after another, yet still dared not lift their heads.

Duke Xu stared down at his own boots, his heart unable to resist a surge of wavering and dread.

—He had voluntarily severed his informants within the palace, but what if someone inside could not withstand torture and made wild, false accusations?

If this matter went badly, it would be a great case implicating thousands.

How could this new sovereign be so unwise?!