Chapter 169: Hexagram Sixty-Two: On the Day Si, Reform — Begin!

Inside the conference room of Wuying Hall.

Two junior eunuchs, bent at the waist, gently pulled the heavy hall doors shut, leaving only a few window gaps for air.

The finest silver-charcoal burned within, making the room as warm as spring, yet the atmosphere was even more bleak and chilling than the deep winter outside.

The various ministers and ennobled dignitaries sat in separate ranks, each with an armchair and a writing desk. The young officials from the Secretariat could only sit on small stools behind them.

Zhu Youjian sat in the center, slightly elevated above the others. Over a dozen hand-folded memorials lay on his desk.

His gaze swept calmly over every person seated below.

The Grand Secretaries of the Grand Secretariat, the Ministers of the Six Ministries, the Supervising Secretaries, the Nine Chief Ministers of the greater and lesser ranks — virtually every prominent figure of the imperial central authority was here.

Together with the newly promoted young officials of the Secretariat and the capital's ennobled dignitaries, nearly several dozen people sat assembled in total.

(Attached image: Organizational chart of the Great Ming court. Red denotes the Committees; purple denotes senior eunuch faction members; green denotes Donglin; the rest are neutral or wavering.)

Face after face — some seasoned, some shrewd, some eager, some composed — passed before his eyes one by one.

From his enthronement until now, Zhu Youjian had risen early and retired late, exhausting every method at his disposal.

Bestowing grace and favor, balancing factions, luring with fame and profit, seizing the moral high ground, crafting the image of a sage sovereign.

Only thus had he assembled the present, passably adequate governing body.

The eunuch faction, the Donglin Faction, and neutral figures were all evenly distributed.

And a new governance collective, with himself at the core and the New Policies as its guiding principle, had gradually begun to take embryonic shape.

But this was still not enough.

Zhu Youjian knew perfectly well that the majority of these purple-robed nobles and high officials seated at the pyramid's apex were still watching, still calculating, still waiting.

They were like old turtles steeped in officialdom for years, heads withdrawn into their shells, letting the wind and rain lash at them, seeking only one word: "stability."

Yet he, Zhu Youjian, lacked precisely time, and the one word he absolutely could not give them was "stability"!

All that talk of the Great Ming still having ninety years, or forty-four years, or twenty years —

it was all lies!

If we cannot endure past the second year of Yongchang, cannot endure past the tenth year of Yongchang, then this whole enterprise is doomed!

Zhu Youjian had already shown these top-tier bureaucrats sufficient patience and extended sufficient goodwill.

And now, he had preliminarily acquired the ability to speak from a position of strength.

Hexagram sixty-two: "On the day si, change and reform." Let it begin from this very day!

Tap. Tap.

Zhu Youjian extended a finger and lightly rapped the imperial desk before him. The crisp sound rang out with exceptional clarity in the warm chamber.

Everyone's attention instantly sharpened.

"Yesterday's grand court assembly only outlined the New Policies in broad strokes, to boost morale and rally hearts," Zhu Youjian began. "Today's small conference is where we truly discuss how to get things done."

He looked around at everyone, his tone flat and matter-of-fact, yet brooking no dissent.

"Today's agenda is very simple. First: raise a motion. Second: vote on the motion. If there are no objections, it passes. If there are objections, raise them on the spot, discuss them on the spot, resolve them on the spot."

"Once any motion is decided, it becomes a military order. Should anyone thereafter renege, delay, feign compliance while acting in defiance, or play any of those games of doubling down or adding on..."

He paused briefly, his gaze abruptly turning knife-sharp as it swept across every face.

"Then that person cuts himself off from the Great Ming, cuts himself off from all under Heaven, and willingly becomes a sinner who plunges our Huaxia into the two-thousand-year cycle of order and chaos!"

As his words fell, a deathly silence filled the chamber.

Some people shifted in their seats uncomfortably.

This young Emperor had today torn away every veil of tender sentiment, revealing his sharpest fangs.

"Those who understand, raise your right hand," Zhu Youjian said flatly.

The atmosphere in the hall seized up.

Everyone was momentarily stunned; they had not expected this to count as a motion already.

But the Emperor's gaze was fixed on them — calm, yet bearing the weight of a mountain.

Huang Liji, Chief Grand Secretary of the Grand Secretariat, Grand Secretary of the Jianji Hall, and concurrently a member of the New Policies Committee, was the first to raise his right hand.

Immediately after, the officials of the Secretariat and the New Policies Committee raised their hands without the slightest hesitation.

Following that, the others — whether of the Donglin Faction, the old eunuch faction, or the neutral camp — hesitantly, some faster and some slower, all raised their right hands as well.

Zhu Youjian nodded with satisfaction, his gaze sweeping unobtrusively over the faces of the New Policies faction officials.

He had long ago briefed this core group on the meeting procedures.

In today's conference, he would set the motions, he would set the personnel, and the direction of the votes would naturally be set by him as well!

What "balancing factional strife"? That was the Jiajing Emperor's method for pursuing Daoist immortality.

What "relying on the Depot and Guard spies"? That was the Tianqi Emperor's method for his carpentry.

He, the Yongchang Imperial Sovereign Zhu Youjian, would follow the later era's "centralism" if he was to walk any path at all.

To personally enter the arena and become the leader of the New Policies, to flog this aged empire forward — that was his road!

Today, he would teach these bureaucrats their very first lesson.

"Very good." Zhu Youjian drew a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "The first matter today: unify our thinking and establish the broad outline for implementing the New Policies."

"We have previously stated that the 'struggle between man and land' is the Great Ming's mortal affliction. To solve this problem, we must begin with the two words: 'the state.'"

He looked at the assembly and posed a question.

"Why must there be a state? Why must there be a Son of Heaven over all under Heaven? And why must the common people, with their blood, sweat, and taxes, support the hundred officials and ennobled dignitaries?"

"Who can answer this question for us?"

At these words, the assembled ministers stirred with murmurs.

This question was too vast — so vast they had never even considered it.

They read the Four Books and the Five Classics, sat the civil examinations, became officials, governed the common people — everything seemed as natural and self-evident as Heaven and Earth.

Ruler as ruler, subject as subject, father as father, son as son — the Three Bonds and Five Constants, these were the cornerstones of the world as they understood it.

And now the Emperor was asking them: why do these cornerstones exist?

A long silence fell over the hall.

The members of the New Policies Committee, though long since "bombarded" by the Emperor with similar questions, found it awkward to speak up now — they knew that today, they were not the main players.

As for the remaining elder ministers, every one of them fixed their eyes on their noses and their noses on their hearts, resolved to watch more, listen more, and speak little.

Zhu Youjian had not expected them to produce any earth-shattering answers either.

He had not come today to "discuss" — he had come to "overawe"!

Seeing no one respond, he did not wait further, but gave his own answer directly.

"Because without gathering affairs together, nothing can be accomplished; without centralizing authority, nothing can be decided!"

"To resist the northern barbarians, is it enough to rely solely on the strength of the border troops in Xuan, Da, Ji, and Liao? It is not! We must draw upon the wealth and taxes of the south, and levy soldiers from the Central Plains! Otherwise, the northern barbarians will first break the north, then swallow the south, and the realm will hardly escape reeking of mutton and filth!"

"To harness the Yellow River and dredge the Grand Canal, can it be done with the strength of Shandong or Henan alone? It cannot! We must coordinate the upper and lower reaches, spanning several provinces from east to west! The river-works expenses, which run into the millions or tens of millions, are even less something a single prefecture or county can bear!"

"To relieve famine and disaster — when the west suffers drought, we make it up with grain from the east; when the south floods, we rescue it with wealth from the north!"

"The grain and money of the realm do not belong to one province or one locality, but to all the people under Heaven!"

Zhu Youjian rose to his feet, both hands braced on the imperial desk, his body leaning slightly forward, his gaze blazing. He no longer intended to disguise his thinking, nor to attach it to any Confucian doctrine.

From this day forward, he would flog this nation forward — in thought, in action, in every dimension!

Zhu Youjian continued his exposition:

"This — this is why Huaxia must have a state, why it must have a Son of Heaven, why it must have officials and functionaries!"

"Sincerely hold to the mean, to govern the four quarters, to rule the myriad people."

"This is the duty of the Great Ming, the duty of the Son of Heaven, and the fundamental duty of every one of you seated here, who draw court stipends and govern on behalf of the state!"

"The common people sustain us with their taxes and levies; we repay them with peace, security, and well-being! This is the Dao of Heaven, and also the covenant between ruler, subject, and people!"

"I have given this answer. Those who agree, raise your hands!"

This time, the stir in the hall was even more violent than before.

The officials of the New Policies faction raised their hands high without the slightest hesitation.

The other officials, however, looked at one another, their eyes full of struggle, shock, and suspicion.

The Emperor's words had completely cast aside the traditional theories of divine right of kings and rule by Heavenly Mandate and virtue, and instead starkly redefined the legitimacy of the state and imperial authority from a perspective of "utility" and "pragmatism"!

Was there reason in it? There certainly was.

Those three affairs of the realm, each more fatal than the last, were truly irrefutable.

But... it was simply too overbearing!

After a moment, Lai Zongdao, the Minister of Rites, his face flushed crimson, gritted his teeth and stepped forward.

"Your Majesty!" he said in a loud voice, trembling slightly with agitation. "The Book of Documents says: 'Only virtue moves Heaven; nothing is beyond its reach'! The Son of Heaven is the Son of Heaven because he possesses virtue and can shepherd the people on Heaven's behalf — not because he can amass practical achievements!"

"When a ruler practices the kingly way, the four seas are naturally at peace; when a ruler practices the hegemonic way, the realm's hearts turn away. Your Majesty's discourse today esteems utility and profit while slighting virtue and moral transformation — this is the beginning of the hegemonic way, not the conduct of a true king! If this persists, the people will know only force and not know ritual; the foundations of the state will surely be shaken! This subject implores Your Majesty to think thrice, and to reaffirm the teachings of the sages!"

Zhu Youjian listened to him quietly until he finished, then nodded, his face betraying neither pleasure nor anger.

He said only one faint line: "When the granaries are full, they know propriety; when food and clothing are sufficient, they know honor and shame."

"From ancient times to the present, we have never seen the common people driven from their homes, with the starving dead covering the wilds, while the court could maintain enduring peace and order by empty talk of virtue."

"Minister Lai, that speech of yours — if delivered to Wang Mang of the Xin dynasty, it would be rather apt."

With that, he did not so much as glance at Lai Zongdao again, but swept his gaze once more over the assembled officials.

"Does anyone else have objections?"

Within the great hall, a deathly silence.

Everyone had been terrified by the Emperor's words.

To compare the sitting Minister of Rites to a minister who remonstrated with Wang Mang — this was practically pointing at his nose and calling him pedantic, hypocritical, and blind to the times!

Lai Zongdao shook from head to toe with rage, his lips quivering, yet he could not utter a single word.

Zhu Youjian waited a moment, and seeing no one else speak, said: "Then let us vote by show of hands."

This time, the hands went up more slowly, more hesitantly, than the time before.

But in the end, one hand after another rose, sporadically, until Lai Zongdao — face still flushed, standing alone and isolated — was starkly exposed.

Zhu Youjian rapped the table, and as if he had not seen him at all, continued.

"Good. The meaning of the state, the Son of Heaven, and all of you — that has been made clear."

"Then I ask further: the Great Ming of today, compared to the founding reigns of Hongwu and Yongle — in duties such as resisting foreign insult, repairing waterworks, and relieving famine and disaster, how has it performed? Better, or worse?"

He looked at the assembly and said directly: "Those who believe we are not as good as in the founding reigns, raise your hands."

This time, nearly everyone raised a hand. Even Lai Zongdao, after hesitating a long while, raised his hand in humiliation.

This was an irrefutable fact.

Zhu Youjian nodded. "Good. Those who believe the Great Ming's national strength and order today still retain eighty percent or more of the founding reigns — you may lower your hands."

No one lowered a hand.

"Those who believe we still retain sixty percent or more of the founding reigns — lower your hands."

This time, sporadically, more than half lowered their hands, mostly middle-aged and elderly bureaucrats.

"Those who believe we still retain thirty percent or more of the founding reigns — lower your hands."

As his words fell, another large batch of people lowered their hands.

In the end, the only ones still holding their hands up were those few young officials from the Secretariat.

Zhu Youjian waved his hand, signaling them to lower theirs as well.

"It seems everyone has a scale in their heart."

"The struggle between people and land, like the barbarian threat, river-works, and famine, is an affair that can topple a state. It is only that past dynasties were muddled and failed to perceive this far-sighted concern."

"Some of you say sixty percent, some say thirty percent, but at root, you all concede that the Great Ming today is far from what it was in the founding era."

"And those statecraft memorials I have received — millions of words in sprawling prose — when you strip them to their essence, they come down to just three things: increasing production, opening new lands, and lifting the maritime ban. Yet pursue these three, and official discipline, fiscal administration, border defense, the imperial clan, land tenure... every problem tangles together and surges up at once."

"Solving even one of these is already beset with difficulty. Layer on top of that the Great Ming's present condition — its structures broken, its order in chaos — and it becomes harder still."

He shifted his tone, his voice easing slightly.

"Yet governing a state is like treating an illness. Sickness comes like a mountain collapsing; it departs like silk being drawn from a cocoon."

"Drastic medicine can indeed drive out the disease, but it also very easily injures the body. Wang Anshi's reforms — that cautionary lesson is not far behind us."

"Therefore, it is my will that the new policies be carried out by degrees, by region, and by steps."

"Within the inner palace, I shall apply drastic medicine — for that is the place most easily brought under control."

"The capital and Shuntian Prefecture shall be treated with a somewhat drastic approach — for capital officials gather thickly there, and with daily oversight and inspection, I have no fear of things going awry."

"The various prefectures of Northern Zhili shall be one degree milder still — for the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the Eastern Depot, and the censorial inspectors patrol everywhere there, and I have no fear of them abusing the people while deceiving their sovereign, or outwardly complying while secretly defying."

"And for all the remaining provinces of the realm, we shall simmer them over a slow flame. Select and appoint the worthy and capable, advance step by patient step, seeking not rapid success but only stability."

"Thus we distinguish inner from outer, near from far, tension from release — what do you all think? Those in favor, raise your hands."

This speech — of cultivating the self, ordering the family, governing the state, and bringing peace to all under Heaven — Zhu Youjian had delivered many times over, until it had nearly penetrated every heart.

Place the most radical reforms closest to yourself, and put the places hardest to control into the mildest tier.

This formulation let the overwhelming majority of those present breathe a deep sigh of relief.

Even if some officials and ennobled peers with vital interests in the capital or Northern Zhili were inwardly displeased, none dared, at this moment, to stick their neck out.

After all, the cautionary example of Lai Zongdao was still painfully fresh.

This His Majesty, somehow, had abandoned the path of benevolence and, all at once, turned so harsh and cutting.

And so, this time, the hands went up with extraordinary speed and uniformity.

"Good." Zhu Youjian nodded, but the smile on his face vanished in an instant, turning utterly icy.

"Since everyone agrees, then I find myself puzzled."

"Since my ascension, the statecraft memorials I have received could fill carts and be measured by the bushel."

"Why is it that in this hall full of crimson and purple robes, among the Six Ministries and Nine Chief Ministers, among the ennobled peers and grand officials — men who have fed on the dynasty's stipends for ten years, for twenty years, beyond counting — those who have submitted memorials on affairs of state are so pitifully few?"

"Yet on the contrary, those petty officials of the seventh rank, and even capital scholars who have not yet entered the civil service — every one of them is bursting with zeal, every man offering his counsel. How is this?"

"Can it be that the rise and fall of the realm rests only with the common man, and not with the high ministers and nobles?"

The air in the great hall seemed, in an instant, to have been sucked utterly away.

The young officials of the Secretariat standing in the rear rows now had eyes sharp as knives, sweeping without the slightest evasion over those great personages in the front rows, who were silent as winter cicadas.

Yang Jingchen, Li Guopu, and the other Grand Secretariat ministers who had already been briefed by the Emperor and had deeply participated in drafting the new policy proposals — even they felt as though thorns were piercing their backs. How much more so everyone else.

"Perhaps it is because the gentlemen are seasoned and circumspect."

Zhu Youjian shook his head, his tone carrying a trace of mockery impossible to define.

"I do not wish to pursue the past."

"But the state can wait no longer. The myriad people of the realm can wait no longer!"

"The implementation of policy may be gradual, but the work itself must be urgent!"

"If you gentlemen will not move, then I shall move!"

He struck the table and barked: "Minister of Rites, Lai Zongdao!"

Lai Zongdao's body shuddered. He raised his head instinctively, his face full of shock and unease.

Was this Emperor's vindictiveness so fierce, his punishments dealt so swiftly?!

Zhu Youjian's voice was icy and commanding.

"Rise. Receive your orders!"

(Attached again is the remaining portion that wouldn't fit earlier — this structure has not yet been adjusted to its final form.)