Chapter 204: A Day in Heaven, a Year on Earth

The meeting wrapped up quickly — a few items of business, and it was over in two quarter-hours.

Warm sunlight streamed through the lattice windows, slicing the massive pillars into bright and dark halves; dust motes floating in the air tumbled and danced in the beams, vividly clear.

At the hall entrance, the officials filed out in a steady stream, bearing a trace of weariness, yet between their brows each concealed a surge of barely contained excitement.

A great victory!

A thoroughly exhilarating great victory!

Since Sarhū, the Great Ming on the nine-border battlefront had not seen such a moment of triumphant vindication for a very long time.

With elite troops drawn from various regions, a hundred li beyond the frontier, they routed tens of thousands of Mongol barbarian horsemen, beheaded several thousand, and captured countless cattle, sheep, and horses.

This battle not only broke the Tiger Chieftain's ambition to meddle in Monan, but also invigorated the entire nine-border defense line!

When the news reached the capital, the whole court and commonalty alike rejoiced.

And for the sovereign and ministers who had personally brought this battle about, the surging emotion in their hearts was something no outsider could ever fathom.

Huang Liji walked amid the stream of people, but his steps unconsciously slowed.

At last, he halted, turned, and gazed at this grand hall that had now become so utterly familiar to him.

Sunlight fell on the plaque of Wuying Hall, its reflected glare somewhat piercing, and he could not help but narrow his eyes slightly.

Just then, someone behind him, not noticing the person ahead, barreled straight into him.

"Oof."

Li Guopu was knocked staggering; he looked up, saw clearly that it was Huang Liji, and immediately said with some exasperation, "Chief Grand Secretary, what are you doing planted here?"

"The battle is won, but the assignment of selecting officials for Northern Zhili is not yet finished! Shouldn't you hurry back to the Grand Secretariat to work?"

In the past, Huang Liji would never have missed the chance to banter a little with Li Guopu.

But today, he only looked at Li Guopu, a complicated smile surfacing on his face, shook his head, and asked softly, "Yuanye, do you still remember when we first held a meeting here?"

At these words, Li Guopu's expression instantly froze.

And not only him — some officials nearby who had not yet gone far, hearing this, also stopped in their tracks and looked over, as if by unspoken agreement.

Yes — when was that first meeting held here?

After a moment of blankness, Li Guopu stroked his beard, a reminiscent smile appearing on his face, and answered, "I remember. How could I not remember? The same as you, Chief Grand Secretary — it was the twenty-sixth day of the eighth month, the second day after His Majesty ascended the throne."

"That day, I was assigned the task of drafting a list of officials to be reinstated."

"You, well, you were assigned the job of tallying the long-overdue back pay across the nine borders."

"Both tasks had a three-day deadline, and they kept us busy until we were utterly dazed."

"Who could have imagined that afterward, the tasks would come one after another, each more urgent than the last."

Huang Liji, hearing this, clapped his hands and laughed as well.

"Yes, who could have imagined? Who could have imagined it?"

The Minister of Personnel, Yang Jingchen, also walked over with a smile at this moment and joined in: "Speaking of that, my turn was on the twenty-ninth day of the eighth month, the fifth day after His Majesty ascended the throne."

"At that time, I submitted a report on the horse fodder issue for the nine borders and recommended Lu Jiandou to take charge of it."

"Now Lu Jiandou is carrying it out with great vigor in Yongping — over twenty corrupt officials have already been sent to the capital in caged carts."

"The horse fodder matter has also been sorted out smoothly, and half the silver is even left over."

What he did not mention was that it was also on that very day that he personally witnessed the birth of the 'Three-Don't-Know Grand Secretary' and the first warrior in Great Ming history to be 'marked green on ten counts.'

"Then I was a day later than Minister Yang." The Governor of Shuntian Prefecture, Xue Guoguan, also edged closer.

"It should have been the thirtieth day of the eighth month. I had just returned from Jiangxi, where I served as chief examiner with Junior Compiler Ni Ruyu. Before I could even warm my seat, I was informed that I had to write a policy essay on governing the capital — with a one-day deadline."

He paused, shook his head with a bitter smile, and said, "They said one day, but by the time I got word, only a quarter-hour remained. In my desperation, I had no regard for proper form or style; I poured out all my pent-up grievances and ideas in one furious burst. I thought I had brought disaster upon myself — never imagined it would catch His Majesty's discerning eye."

"It's a pity my talent is dull; that memorial on road repairs was rejected by His Majesty seven times before I finally revised it into its final form. By great fortune, in managing affairs up to now, I have at last not betrayed His Majesty's trust."

The few men beside him, hearing this, practically felt their teeth go sour with envy.

Who didn't know that Xue Guoguan's 'outpouring of grievances' had now become a model essay, eagerly copied and circulated throughout the capital?

On the strength of it, he had vaulted into becoming the man in charge of the capital's new policies. Though he was only the Governor of Shuntian Prefecture, everyone understood that his entry into the Grand Secretariat and appointment as a Grand Secretary was practically a foregone conclusion.

What incredible luck!

Once this topic was broached, it was as if a chatterbox had been opened, and the others all gathered around as well.

"Mine was the first day of the ninth month, the meeting on distributing rewards to the nine borders." The speaker was an official from the Messenger Office; because the border garrison he was assigned to was relatively close, he had returned to the capital early.

"Mine was the seventh day of the ninth month, the first Daily Lecture at the Hanlin Academy." This was a young Hanlin academician.

"Mine was the eleventh day of the ninth month — precisely for today's Mongol campaign!" This was the Bureau Director of the Ministry of War who had been rebuked by His Majesty until his face turned crimson.

One by one, each added a word, and before they knew it, in chronological order, they had traced through every important meeting held within Wuying Hall in these less than two months.

From reinstating the Donglin faction, to auditing the back pay; from the Daily Lecture policy discussions, to distributing border rewards; from repairing the capital's roads, to the northern expedition against the Mongols —

Some matters, like the Mongol campaign, had already borne fruit, while others, like the capital road repairs, had only just begun.

But no matter what, everything seemed to be advancing with unshakable resolve.

After everyone had spoken, it was Qian Qianyi who spoke last.

He looked around at them all and smiled. "This humble official, like most of the colleagues newly arrived in the capital, came to Wuying Hall for a meeting for the very first time only today."

"By my reckoning — today happens to be precisely the fiftieth day since His Majesty ascended the throne."

Fifty days.

A mere fifty days.

At these words, the officials who had recently entered the capital were not overly affected; on their journey here, they had already felt the surging tide of this storm through the Great Ming Times along the way.

But for many of those who had been involved from the very beginning, this span of time struck like a thunderclap.

An overwhelming sense of unreality, so intense it was dizzying, instantly seized them.

Xue Guoguan murmured unconsciously to himself, "Only fifty days? Why do I feel as if more than half a year has passed —"

Indeed.

It had only been fifty days.

Yet what had happened in those fifty days was more — more breathtaking — than the past five years, even ten years, combined.

Huang Liji clapped his hands and burst out laughing, the sound brimming with exhilaration and deep emotion.

"Gentlemen, a single day in heaven, and a year passes in the world of men!"

"When you immerse yourself wholly in your work, that is exactly how it feels!"

His ardent gaze swept over the assembled officials, and he declared in a ringing voice: "Go on, then — all of you, go! Hurry back to your duties! When the end of next year comes, we shall see whose name tops the red list for the new policies!"

At these words, the officials first stared blankly, then burst into a wave of knowing, hearty laughter.

"The Zhuangyuan of the red list, is it!"

"On this matter, I shall yield to no man!"

Amid the laughter, they clasped hands in farewell and, without further delay, dispersed in all directions, transforming once more into hurrying streams that flowed back into the yamen of their respective ministries and bureaus.

Before long, the space in front of the hall stood utterly empty.

Several young eunuchs from the Directing Hall Directorate, responsible for sweeping and cleaning, slipped silently into the hall.

With practiced skill, they swept the floor clean, then meticulously returned every table and chair to its original position with scrupulous care.

After that, they closed each of the windows one by one.

This done, they bowed and withdrew, slowly pulling shut the two heavy, vermilion-lacquered doors of the hall.

Creeeak—

Clunk.

The sunlight was utterly shut out, and the hall sank at once into deep gloom.

The tables and chairs, arranged in perfect order, and the several blank standing screens beside them stood silent in the dimness.

None could know, the next time these hall doors opened, when it would be, for what matter, and for whom.