Chapter 202: A Thunderclap Across the Sky: Old Hong Makes His Dazzling Entrance

With the rewards and punishments for the great victory at Qingcheng settled, the tense atmosphere in the hall relaxed noticeably.

For a moment the hall filled with a low buzz of voices, the mood light and animated.

In most people's eyes, the matter of pacifying the Mongols was nothing more than the same old tune of frontier trade markets and tribute — nothing remarkable about it.

The greater part of everyone's attention was either on guessing what extra rewards and promotions might come after the battle merits were assessed,

or on savoring the various edicts the Emperor had issued in the first half of the assembly, parsing the deeper meaning between the lines to make sure they kept firmly in step with the increasingly clear direction of the court.

Only Huo Weihua, Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, was on full alert, his gaze burning as he watched the young Son of Heaven upon the throne.

For one simple reason: His Majesty had already used the phrase "Mongol strategy" twice!

A shrewd man like him — how could he not have come prepared?

Yet when Huo Weihua submitted his meticulously crafted policy essay on statecraft, all he got back was a breezy "We have taken note," which left him utterly baffled.

Even if his approach was off the mark, given this Emperor's past style, he should have given instructions on how to improve it. Why had he started playing this game of sitting on memorials without response?

He was one hundred percent certain that this Emperor was not just paying lip service — there had to be a thunderous, sweeping plan already formed in his mind.

But what exactly was that plan? And would it involve him in any way?

Huo Weihua held his breath and focused his mind, not daring to miss the slightest movement.

At last, Zhu Youjian tapped the wooden gavel and spoke evenly: "Hong Chengchou, stand and present your policy argument."

"This subject obeys the decree." A steady reply came from the rear of the great hall.

Every official in the hall turned to look toward the voice.

Hong Chengchou?

Some of the younger officials were hearing this name for the first time; they turned and saw a man in his early thirties.

What an unfamiliar name.

Was this some demoted official recalled to service?

But among those who had crossed paths with him before, their minds were full of doubt.

In recent days, recalled officials from the Southern Metropolitan Region had been arriving in the capital one after another, but those from Shaanxi should, by all reckoning, still be some time away.

What was more, illustrious names like Qian Qianyi, Sun Shenxing, Xu Guangqi, and Wen Tiren were all still waiting in line for His Majesty's summons.

How had this Hong Chengchou from Shaanxi already reached the capital? And how, the moment he arrived, had he been personally called upon by His Majesty to take part in this critically important Mongol discussion?

Every civil and military official in the court knew full well that when this new sovereign singled someone out in a grand assembly, there was deep meaning behind it — it was never a small matter.

Who exactly was this Hong Chengchou? What had he written in his policy essay to catch this sagely sovereign's discerning eye?

In an instant, everyone in the hall set aside their previous trains of thought and directed their full attention to the figure slowly rising to his feet.

Hong Chengchou stood up, his face as still as an ancient well, but inside, his heart was already surging with emotion.

Mother, I, Hong Hengjiu, rise to glory and riches — this very day!

How had he managed to reach the capital so quickly?

Because this world possesses a creature called the horse!

And because this world possesses idioms such as "spur the horse to greater speed" and "press on day and night without rest"!

And furthermore, because he was only thirty-four years old this year, in the prime of his strength, fully capable of enduring the hardship of a thousand-li dash!

After passing the metropolitan examination, Hong Chengchou had first served six years in the Ministry of Justice, and then been posted to the provinces.

Once sent out, he never had a chance to return to the capital — for five straight years he had been shuttled around local posts.

The so-called position of Shaanxi Grain Administration Vice Commissioner, though ranked junior third grade, was hardly comparable to a senior seventh-grade Supervising Secretary or Censor in the capital.

So when that imperial summons to the capital arrived, he did not delay a single moment but set out at once.

At first, when he reached Tong Pass, he could still take his time, traveling a few dozen li a day.

But as he journeyed eastward and ran headlong into issue after issue of the Great Ming Times from different dates,

he could no longer contain himself!

The Question of Confucius, the Question of All Under Heaven, the Struggle Between Man and Land —

The New Policies of the capital, the New Policies of Northern Zhili —

The red and green rewards and punishments, the posthumous ducal titles, the talk of white crows and black crows —

One earth-shattering piece of news after another left him dazzled and entranced.

He could feel with absolute clarity that an unprecedented storm of transformation was sweeping outward from the capital toward the entire Great Ming!

Madness! What kind of Emperor is this! What kind of opportunity is this! This is —

What a glorious future!!

The wind rises from the tip of a duckweed, yet the wise man already sees it will become a mighty gale.

He, Hong Hengjiu, would be that wise man who rides the rising wind!

From Shaanxi to the capital, an ordinary traveler moving fast still needed a month.

He, however, covered a hundred li a day; when a horse dropped dead from exhaustion, he abandoned it on the spot and bought a new one, utterly indifferent to the expense!

By sheer force of will, in only sixteen days, he had charged into the capital!

And now, this was the way to enter the game that he had found after many days of agonized thought, peeling back layer after layer.

Hong Chengchou drew a quiet breath, forced down the wild waves in his heart, and spoke in a clear voice: "After arriving in the capital, this subject has observed the New Policies from the sidelines and been deeply stirred. Upon hearing His Majesty's discourse on the Mongol strategy, this subject has pondered it day and night, tossing and turning in bed."

He paused briefly, and his voice suddenly rose a notch.

"This subject believes that the Mongol situation today is vastly different from the past!"

"In times past, the Songlu and Hailu were contained by Gansu and Ningxia."

"The Ordos were at Yansui, the Tumed at Xuan-Da, the Yongshao tribe at the Wanquan Regional Military Commission."

"The Kharchin, Doyan, and the Ligdan Khan's forces were at the Ji Garrison, Ning-Jin, and Guangning."

"Though each tribe posed border troubles, they were merely ailments of one or two provinces; appoint a Governor-General or a Governor to oversee all military and civil affairs, and they could be kept in check."

He paused, ignoring every gaze in the room, and fixed his eyes on the small wooden mallet upon His Majesty's desk. In a deep voice he continued: "But this time, the Tiger Chieftain's westward migration has drawn the Kharchin, Tumed, and Doyan tribes into a joint military alliance against him."

"If the fighting drags on, the Yungshiyebu and Ordos tribes may also enter the war, and the Jianzhou Jurchen will certainly not let slip such a golden opportunity to meddle in the lands south of the Gobi!"

"By then, from Yansui in the west to Guangning in the east, the theater of war will stretch two thousand li. How could a single provincial Governor-General or a single local Regional Commander possibly sweep it clean?"

At this point, Hong Chengchou raised his head, looked sincerely toward the Emperor upon the throne, and cupped his hands. His words were earnest to the utmost: "A boundless blessing that Your Majesty's wisdom is keen as a torch, and that your ministers have labored with devoted hearts, so that within a mere ten days six thousand elite cavalry were assembled, forcibly pressing down this prairie-fire momentum before it could spread!"

"Otherwise, regardless of who won or lost that battle, endless calamity would have followed for our Great Ming."

"If the Tiger Chieftain had won, his rapacious arrogance would have made him a mortal threat at our very heart. And had the Right Wing tribes won, that too would be no good thing — if that victory gave rise to a hero among them, then the story of Altan Khan would unfold once more!"

"Therefore, just as Your Majesty has said: a scattered and docile Mongol realm is a good Mongol realm. A Mongol realm that can serve our Great Ming, raiding and pressing the Jianzhou Jurchen from the steppe, is a good Mongol realm!"

Zhu Youjian listened in silence, his heart utterly unmoved. After the affair with Huo Weihua, flattery of this caliber could no longer shake him in the slightest.

Hong Chengchou read the room; seeing the Son of Heaven's expression unchanged, he shifted his tone, and at last the dagger emerged from the map.

"Thus, to achieve such an objective, this subject has two proposals to submit!"

"The first: externally, concentrate authority!"

"The second: internally, unify the framework!"

"This subject begs leave to elaborate for Your Majesty."

Zhu Youjian said flatly: "Granted."

With permission given, Hong Chengchou's voice grew steadier and more forceful.

"By 'externally concentrate authority,' I mean that the various Supreme Commanders in Gansu, Ningxia, Yansui, Xuanda, the Ji Garrison, and Liaodong—

and the various Governors — must, in all matters concerning the barbarian tribes, act with one heart and one mind, responsive as the arm to the finger's command!"

"This subject petitions that a Grand Minister for Barbarian Pacification be established in the capital, with sole charge of all matters of soothing and placating the tribes, practicing the arts of vertical and horizontal alliance, dividing and dissolving them, so that the tribes truly become vassals of our Great Ming, not hostile raiders!"

"Thus the capital sits at the center, and with the Thousand-Li Message Relay stations Your Majesty has created, a telegram can reach every garrison in a single day."

"Then, should the Tumed stir trouble, we gather the forces of Xuanda and Yansui, and lead the Yungshiyebu and Ordos to attack them."

"Should the Kharchin stir trouble, we assemble the strength of the Ji Garrison and Miyun, and lead the Tumed and Doyan to strike them!"

"In the past, the barbarians struck us by gathering forces from a thousand li, coming and going like the wind — like a sharp blade or an iron awl striking the body of a long snake. Our Great Ming set defenses everywhere, with a paper strength of seven hundred thousand men, yet in the end we lost sight of one place while guarding another."

"Now, if all frontier authority is gathered in the capital, let that be the dragon's head!"

"Let the Thousand-Li Lightning Relay stretch across a thousand li, and be its blood vessels!"

"And let the various border garrisons spread along the frontier, and be its claws and fangs!"

"In peacetime it lies hidden and unseen; the moment trouble arises anywhere along the Nine Borders, thunderbolts strike as one, descending from the highest heavens in a single instant!"

The moment this argument was finished, the assembled ministers erupted in uproar!

Even those grand officials who had initially dismissed him turned their heads to look back.

They wanted to see clearly just what manner of man this utterly unknown Hong Chengchou was!

There was no other reason: this policy argument was simply too brilliant. Beyond its powerful practical significance, it perfectly fulfilled the romantic imagination of the literati!

Such is the power of prose!

Even Zhu Youjian, who had heard this argument once before, could not help trembling at it again.

These Ming civil officials, steeped for years in the eight-legged essay — set them in a later age and every last one of them would be a perfect-scorer on the civil service exam essay.

This strategic vision — though Zhu Youjian had already conceived it after establishing the radio stations — he could never have written a policy argument so brilliant!

After all, in the present world, who governs a state by recruiting three hundred perfect-scoring exam essayists every three years!

Only Great Ming——

Yet Hong Chengchou was not finished.

He drew a deep breath and said in a heavy voice: "Just as Your Majesty has said, now that the radio has appeared and Qingcheng has been won, the dynamic of attack and defense has changed!"

"Since ancient times, prolonged safety breeds negligence; prolonged defense inevitably fails."

"The Zuo Commentary also says: where we can go, the foe can also go. Truly so."

"At this millennial turning point, this is precisely the moment to unify authority, and transform the Nine Borders' pacification into pacification-and-drilling!"

"This is precisely the moment when — where the foe can go, we can also go!"

As his voice fell, the hall was utterly silent.

Scattered applause rose — it did not even originate from Zhu Youjian — and in a flash, thunderous applause erupted, shaking the great hall!

Hong Chengchou stood where he was, his face flushed deep red, yet he forcibly restrained himself.

His policy argument was not merely this so-called Grand Minister for Barbarian Pacification!

The map of Yan was slowly unrolling — all for the sake of that final dagger!

He waited a moment, until the applause gradually subsided, then continued: "By 'internally unify the framework,' I refer to the regulations governing all matters within pacification-and-drilling."

"In the past, dealings with the various barbarians consisted of tribute, frontier trade markets, bestowals and rewards, military affairs, envoys, and such matters."

"Yet these many authorities were scattered among various departments, making coordination difficult and creating obstacles at every turn — even giving rise to the abuses of tributary states spying and offering bribes."

"When Joseon and the various tribes come to offer tribute, has there ever been a single occasion that did not involve doling out gold and silver, with connections woven everywhere?"

"Our dynasty's governance of the tribes is decided not by benefit or harm, but by the gold and silver filling each official's purse!"

"Now the Nine Borders are a bottomless expense, military pay already consuming ninety percent of the dynasty's annual expenditure. All the more reason to establish a dedicated Barbarian Pacification agency, to unify authority, purge abuses, and increase real effectiveness!"

Hong Chengchou swallowed, and at last slowly drew the dagger he had been forging for so long: "This subject petitions that this new agency—"

"First: take from the Court of the Imperial Stud the authority to coordinate the horse-price silver, in order to manage frontier trade market affairs!"

"Second: take from the Bureau of Receptions in the Ministry of Revenue the authority over barbarian tribute, bestowals, and investiture, in order to control the instruments of title and rank!"

"Third: take from the Carriage Bureau of the Ministry of War the authority over the Interpreters' Hostel, in order to oversee barbarians entering the capital, and to manage the Black Barbarian Market!"

"Fourth: take from the Hanlin Academy the authority over the Translators' College, in order to select and train interpreters, cultivate merchants, dispatch spies in numbers, and conduct reconnaissance!"

"Fifth: take from the Court of State Ceremonial the authority over barbarian interpreters and ushers, in order to discipline and instruct the barbarians in ritual protocol, and put a stop to barbarians spying on and bribing the central government!"

When this long string of words was finished, the whole of Wuying Hall was so silent one could hear a pin drop.

Everyone present was stunned speechless by these words.

The proposal for a Pacification Minister, though somewhat novel, still sounded like little more than a Governor-General's posting.

But this talk of an internal unified structure was truly excessive.

The earlier restructuring of the Ministry of Revenue, though a major overhaul of its framework, was still ultimately that ministry's own affair.

Yet this Lord Hong, come up from Shaanxi, had unleashed a heaven-shaking barrage that swept in the Court of the Imperial Stud, the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of War, the Hanlin Academy, the Court of State Ceremonial—all of them!

This was nothing less than stripping away every power related to the "barbarians" and setting up an entirely separate establishment!

Hong Chengchou, however, had not yet finished. He steadied his breathing and supplied the legitimizing precedent for his restructuring: "Such restructuring, though it appears startling, in truth has many precedents in our dynasty's past. It is precisely like Your Majesty's earlier reform of the the the Taicang treasury treasury treasury."

"Just as the Interpreters' Institute is categorized under the postal relay stations and subordinate to the Ministry of War, yet has always been supervised by the Ministry of Rites."

"The Translators' Institute recruits students and is akin to a school, and is therefore subordinate to the Hanlin Academy, yet is supervised by the Court of Imperial Sacrifices."

"This subject believes that, faced with a transformation unseen in a thousand years, if we are to reform, we had best reform to the very end!"

"When affairs are concentrated, authority is concentrated; when authority is concentrated, accountability is concentrated!"

"Only thus can we sweep away entrenched maladies and confront this great transformation! Only thus can we exercise unified control over the Nine Frontiers and ensure the steady progress of the new policies in Northern Zhili! Only thus can we lay plans and make arrangements in advance for the ten-year pacification of Liaodong!"

"Such, then, is the comprehensive Mongol strategy that this subject has memorialized!"

As his words fell, Hong Chengchou bowed deeply, then straightened his frame, stood erect in the hall, and spoke no more.

This heaven-shaking policy argument had cost him over ten days and nights of intense thought, and an outlay of more than seven hundred taels of silver.

He had carefully and repeatedly considered his point of entry.

Go to Northern Zhili? He had no personal connections there; the post of Governor-General was not even worth dreaming of.

Take the examination for a prefectship somewhere in Northern Zhili? He had the confidence, but was unwilling to take that slow lane.

For one thing, it was far too slow!

The new policies were rising like a sudden wind sweeping across the plain—seize the moment, and one could soar straight to the highest heavens!

Just like Xue Guoguan, who now oversaw the capital's new policies!

The Mongol question, after much deliberation, was the greatest wind-gap he could find!

As for those seven hundred-odd taels of silver, that was a trifling matter.

On the road to the capital, he had already ridden four fast horses to death.

After entering the capital, he had swept clean every last administrative dispatch, imperial edict, and issue of the Ming Times from the past ten months.

He had, moreover, hosted banquet after banquet for the minor clerks of every ministry, solely to probe for circumstances and key connections.

And now, that investment was at last about to bear fruit!

Within the great hall, a deathly silence reigned; no one among the assembled officials made a sound.

Everyone was rapidly turning over in their minds what had just unfolded before them.

Concerning this man Hong Chengchou, concerning the proposal he had put forward, and most importantly—the Emperor's attitude!

Zhu Youjian, seeing that no one had spoken for a long while, picked up his small wooden mallet and struck a light tap, breaking the silence.

"My ministers, what are your views on this? You may all come forward and speak. Matters are not clarified without discussion."

At these words, many gazes turned, as if by unspoken agreement, toward Huo Weihua, the Left Vice Minister of War, and not far from him, Guo Xingzhi, the Chief Minister of the Court of the Imperial Stud.

Both men were natives of Dongguang County; one served in the Ministry of War, the other in the Court of the Imperial Stud. Their official purviews were proximate, and both had once belonged to the eunuch faction. In the eyes of the assembly, they were natural allies.

The first part of Hong Chengchou's argument, "concentrating external authority," was unobjectionable. After the advent of the radio and the victory at Qingcheng, it was indeed a brilliant and feasible policy proposal.

But the latter part, "unifying the internal structure," was carving flesh from the various ministries!

And the deepest cut of all fell upon the Court of the Imperial Stud, with its annual intake of eight hundred thousand taels in horse-price silver!

This was tantamount to installing a grand overlord above Guo Xingzhi's head.

Could Huo Weihua's small faction tolerate this?

Feeling the eyes upon him, Huo Weihua could only find it somewhat amusing.

What are you all looking at me for?

If the Emperor had singled out Hong Chengchou to speak, then given His Majesty's past thunderous style of action, he must already have a complete plan in mind.

Those administrative dispatches had likely gone through who knows how many revisions already.

What was issued today was merely pushing the boat with the current, a formal debut.

Besides, what did "the Ministry of War's interests" even mean? What were "the Court of the Imperial Stud's interests"?

In this Great Ming dynasty, official postings shifted as fast as the telegraph; to remain in one ministry for two years was already considered long.

Whatever Your Majesty wanted from the Ministry of War or the Court of the Imperial Stud, he had only to take it.

In any case, this trifling Ministry of War was certainly not the end point for him, Huo Weihua.

His end point ought to be that foremost position at the very front!

The forty-two-year-old Huo Weihua raised his head, his gaze drifting without a trace toward Chief Grand Secretary Huang Liji—only to meet Huang Liji's own glance head-on.

Huo Weihua's expression did not change; he even smiled and nodded slightly in greeting.

A pity, though—this Mongol affair was likely not meant for him. Even if there were a role, it would probably be no more than playing a supporting part.

Since His Majesty had called upon Hong Chengchou by name, it was clear his heart had long since settled on someone for this matter.

So be it. He would first finish the tasks at hand in the Ministry of War.

Huo Weihua had already seen clearly: in this new reign, the prevailing wind put attitude first, and concrete achievements second; neither could be dispensed with.

Otherwise, why had Yan Mingtai, for all his donation of ten thousand taels of silver, not even been granted a single chance at an audience?

Having abandoned any thought of intervening in the Mongol affair, Huo Weihua's mind gradually drifted back to the matters on his own desk.

And thinking of the Interpreters' Institute, which was fated to be carved out, brought the matter of the postal relay stations to his mind.

The Interpreters' Institute was itself, in fact, a postal relay station—merely one reserved for tributary envoys from the four quarters to rest their feet when entering the capital, which was why it was so exceptional.

But the broader network of postal relay stations across the empire was also, in truth, under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of War's Bureau of Equipage.

And yesterday, Huo Weihua, the recently reinstated Supervising Secretary, had come to visit and spoken of the matter of reforming the postal relay stations—

Should he get involved in this matter or not?

Huo Weihua could not help but begin weighing the pros and cons in the midst of this grand assembly.

The postal relay station matter was a tangled web of deep-rooted connections—pull one hair and the whole body moves.

This matter reached upward to the ministries and courts, and downward into the lijia system. In between, it intertwined with prefectures and counties, relay stationmasters, local strongmen, and petty clerks. One misstep in handling it, and popular resentment would surely boil over.

Never mind what sort of people that resentment came from.

Huo Weihua calculated inwardly for a moment, and in the end still gave a negative verdict.

If the benefit is not tenfold, do not reform the law; if the achievement is not a hundredfold, do not replace the vessel. The balance of pros and cons in this matter was simply too lopsided.

It was nothing but a hot potato, all too easy to mishandle.

Forget it. Let the Bureau of Carriages open some files for Liu Mao—that would count as expressing an attitude of supporting reform.

But as for the concrete execution, it would be better for him, Huo Weihua, not to take part.

Accomplishment is important, but choosing the right matter is far more important than doing a matter right!

Just as Huo Weihua's mind was wandering far afield, a voice he had never expected suddenly sounded from behind him.

"This subject does indeed have some opinions, which I respectfully present for Your Majesty's consideration!"

The smile on Huo Weihua's face instantly froze.

He slowly turned his head to look toward the source of that voice, his heart filled utterly with disbelief.

Guo Xingzhi? No—

—What in the hell are you trying to do?!

Nothing more today.

To the minister who guessed Hong Chengchou yesterday, 0.5 red envelope, because you only got it half right.