Chapter 217: The Wanli Reforms Are Barely Fifty Years Past — How Can Your Majesty Not Believe the Empire Can Reach That Point Again?

Gao Shiming's words fell, and everyone held their breath to listen.

When this Eternal Prosperity Sovereign first began promoting statecraft memoranda, he would tirelessly teach, guiding them step by step.

In the exchange of official correspondence, he would even write lengthy comments, detailing the strengths and weaknesses and the direction for subsequent improvement.

But as the statecraft memorandum campaign advanced, and as the various ministers came to understand their new sovereign's preferences, this kind of meticulous guidance grew rarer and rarer.

The sort of thing that happened with Xue Guoguan — a road-building memorial taught and revised seven times, hand-held all the way — was now utterly impossible to repeat.

Otherwise, how could that volume, The Collected Revisions of Xue Guoguan's Road-Building Memorandum (His Majesty's Personally Annotated Edition), possibly have sold for the astronomical price of thirty taels?

Precisely because its rarity made it precious.

And now, what has taken its place is this thing called "guidance opinions."

This term first appeared in the directive issued at the grand court conference on the second day of the tenth month.

On each person's assigned task directive, there were rewards and punishments, action items, and deadlines — but the largest portion by far consisted of these so-called "guidance opinions."

These opinions, unlike sacred edicts or imperial decrees, contained only His Majesty's expectations and reflections on the matter; the various ministers could discuss them, negotiate them, and even refute them.

On several occasions, His Majesty, unfamiliar with the details of ministry affairs or unaware of certain unspoken rules beneath the surface, did indeed give erroneous guidance opinions, and was consequently rebuffed by his ministers, some bluntly, some tactfully.

Yet on the great majority of matters, these guidance opinions were incisive, penetrating, and precise to a chilling degree.

Even more formidable was this sovereign's attitude when faced with error.

He actually regarded his own mistakes with an almost astonishingly cheerful demeanor.

That remark of His Majesty's, which circulates through the Secretariat and the Commission, goes like this: "Men are not sages; who can be without fault? The day I commit no errors at all — that would be the greatest error."

"It would not mean I had become a sage. It would only mean that by my side, there was no longer a single loyal minister."

Just listen to that!

Is that the speech of a mere man?

This rational, almost coldly detached temperament — together with this new sovereign's mastery of manipulating the human heart, and his ability to dissect the affairs of governance and the world as effortlessly as a master butcher carving an ox —

Together, these forged in all the ministers an absolute faith in the New Policies.

The closer one stood to His Majesty, the more one encountered him in interviews, memoranda, and meetings, the more firmly one believed in the inevitable success of the New Policies.

Compared to this, the impact of that glorious, epic victory over the Mongols was, in fact, secondary.

It was precisely for this reason that, some days ago, that memorial — jointly signed by the entire Commission and Secretariat — was submitted: the Memorial Entreating His Majesty to Rest the Dragon Body.

In that memorial, setting aside the objectively real, faintly discernible wails of an entire New Policies corps buckling under unbearable strain —

In truth, at least seventy percent of the reason was a sincere hope that this young sage-sovereign would take care of his health.

For in their view, urgent as the conflict between man and land might be, it was still a matter of twenty, forty years hence.

Why such desperate haste?

In the eyes of the various ministers, though the dynasty indeed showed every sign of decline, would not another Zhang Juzheng-style reform suffice?

Once the reform was done, expand territory outward, reclaim wasteland inward — the conflict between man and land could, after all, be eased for a while yet.

His Majesty was only seventeen this year. So long as he did not deteriorate in his late years like Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, the nation was destined to recover.

Compared to this, the most critical matter was not conducting interviews day in and day out.

The discovery of a hundred Zhang Juzhengs could not compare to His Majesty begetting a dragon son at the earliest possible moment!

Gao Shiming picked up the booklet in his hand, preparing to begin his recitation.

This time, he truly had not been able to commit all of His Majesty's instructions to memory.

For no other reason than this: the guidance opinions this time were extraordinarily numerous.

But precisely because of this, it demonstrated how much importance His Majesty attached to the matter of selecting and examining clerks.

Gao Shiming drew a deep breath and read aloud in a grave voice:

"Item one."

"The purpose of this Shuntian Prefecture clerk selection and examination is to send a signal, to serve as a demonstration, and to function as a rehearsal. Everything is in preparation for the formal convening, next year, of the second Metropolitan Clerk Grand Examination."

"The problems and confusion that arise in this process — you ministers need not speak of them with taboo, nor shall they be counted as anyone's fault. Credit goes to the ministers; fault rests upon my person. Simply act boldly and let be."

Silence filled the hall; none raised any objection.

This new sovereign had always shown tremendous tolerance — to the point of outright protectiveness — toward ministers who erred in the course of doing their work.

Some time ago, Zhang Zibing, the Vice Prefect of Shuntian, forcefully implemented the capital's baojia law.

The other provisions were manageable enough, but one item alone stirred up a great storm.

It was the rule that those entering the capital must obtain a "temporary residence permit," to be renewed every three months.

With the civil examinations approaching, scholars were flocking into the capital and collided squarely with this policy; they stirred up agitation and caused a disturbance — a fuss neither large nor small.

Memorials attacking and impeaching Zhang Zibing piled up and overflowed the Office of Transmission.

Yet His Majesty asked only three questions: "Did this baojia measure pass through the layered review of the Shuntian Prefectural Office, the Secretariat, and the Commission?"

"Did it pass my review?"

"And after review, was it publicly posted upon the Gate of Accepting Heaven?"

The answers to these three questions were, of course, affirmative.

His Majesty then said: "Since every procedure was completed, then the fault lies jointly with all the above reviewing offices, with every civil official in the capital who saw the public posting and raised no objection, and even with myself. How can there be cause to attack Minister Zhang alone?"

"'To err' — naturally, one must first have done something before one can err. Is this principle not better understood by you seasoned ministers than by me, a juvenile Son of Heaven?"

"Here with me, we address the matter, not the man."

"All these attacks and impeachments — along with Zhang Zibing's own memorial confessing guilt and begging to resign — are all denied!"

"Order Zhang Zibing to redraft the proposal and post it anew! Henceforth, all matters undertaken under the New Policies shall be handled uniformly according to this precedent."

"Strict review, strict public posting, vigorous error correction, vigorous rectification — that is all. Do not again give up eating for fear of choking!"

After this incident, it goes without saying that Zhang Zibing was moved to tears of gratitude; the other officials at court likewise gained a deeper layer of insight into this young Son of Heaven's manner of conducting affairs.

Thus, the assembled men naturally raised no doubts about revisiting the old regulations on this matter of the clerks.

Gao Shiming waited a moment, and seeing no one speak, continued: "Second point."

"Next year's personnel evaluation for the Northern Metropolitan Region is likewise only a larger-scale rehearsal — laying the groundwork for extending the method of replacing clerks and officials to the entire realm."

"Guanzi said: when profit flows from a single conduit, the state has no rival; from two conduits, its forces are half-crippled; from three, it cannot raise arms; from four, the state is doomed."

"How many conduits does our Great Ming have now? In Our view, it is beyond doubt four!"

"Great Ming's tax revenues are carved up among corrupt under-clerks, corrupt officials, and powerful landlords. The New Policies are precisely meant to rely on white crows to draw them back into a single conduit!"

"But seizing a man's wealth is like killing his parents! How can the New Policies expect the many black crows to offer up the tax money in their hands without resistance, peacefully and amicably?"

"For every extra share the patriotic officials of the New Policies take, the rotten officials of the old order necessarily take one share less. This is a fundamental contradiction of life and death, irreconcilable!"

"The New Policies are themselves a war! A war of the white crows against the black crows!"

"Therefore, every plan and consideration must factor this in!"

"We must guard against the old under-clerks colluding with local cults, with local strongmen, with lawless bandits, and with the border barbarians — joining together in a foul alliance to sabotage the New Policies!"

"In this draft, We need to see detailed judgments and analysis concerning the bottom-line interests of the old under-clerk cohort, resettlement plans, promotion assessments, and other such particulars."

When this speech ended, the assembled men exchanged glances. Though no one spoke, their hearts were filled with helplessness.

This new sovereign — excellent in every way — only seemed always to like imagining circumstances in the worst, most unbearable light.

Take the examination questions for this very clerk selection: the ministers had remonstrated about them before.

Those cases in the exam questions concerning princes plotting rebellion, gathering crowds to stir up trouble, and beating tax clerks to death — such things were truly most unlikely to occur.

Even if they did occur, they would certainly be localized and few in number; they could not happen on a large scale.

Putting such cases into the clerk examinations to send a signal truly seemed to be making a mountain out of a molehill.

But His Majesty the Emperor asked in return: then how did Wang Anshi's New Policies fail?

The committee members, helpless, directly arranged a joint session and stubbornly debated with His Majesty for nearly half a shichen, yet in the end still could not persuade him.

At the very end, His Majesty only said: aim for the best, and you get the middling; aim for the middling, and you get the worst. Preparing for the worst outcome is always good — is it not?

Besides, these examination questions, like the statecraft essays, are destined to be printed by all manner of booksellers and spread across the realm.

Then We precisely intend to use this opportunity to send a signal, so that all under Heaven may see clearly just how resolute the court is in carrying out the New Policies.

When loyal and righteous men see it, it naturally does no harm; but if it can slightly intimidate those foxes in the city walls and rats in the shrines, is that not also a good thing?

In the end, after all the remonstrating, His Majesty merely struck out the overly sensational topic of "princes colluding with local powers to rebel," but then turned around and added "local cults deluding the people's hearts" in its place.

The assembly fell silent for a moment, until Chief Grand Secretary Huang Liji spoke first.

"Your Majesty's words, though somewhat pessimistic, are an act of nipping trouble in the bud and alerting men's minds. We shall of course act accordingly. However — "

He turned his head toward Hanlin Academy Chancellor Cheng Jiming and asked, "When will the Hanlin Academy be ready for the next Daily Lecture?"

Cheng Jiming cupped his hands and said: "At present, by His Majesty's command, the Hanlin Academy has halted all review of state policies and memorials on water conservancy, horse administration, and the like."

"All personnel are now concentrated on investigating the matter of Zhang Juzheng's reforms. Among these, the land surveys — "

" — and the obstructions, resistance, and feigned compliance encountered during the performance evaluations are the highest priorities."

"It is estimated that in half a month, we should be able to begin the first lecture."

The assembled men nodded at this, all breathing a sigh of relief.

This was the second fruit of that joint session.

His Majesty had asked: why did Wang Anshi fail?

The civil officials spoke of a sage sovereign above, of moral legitimacy, of the restraining power of the dynastic system over the localities, of the differences between the Ming system and the Song system.

His Majesty spoke of human hearts, of interests, of the paralysis of the entire system, of the possibility of external calamities and internal troubles linking together.

The two sides talked back and forth; each had their reasons, neither could be called right or wrong, and neither could persuade the other.

In the end, the remonstrance had hardly moved him; instead it turned into a heart-to-heart talk between sovereign and ministers.

It was Vice Minister of War Huo Weihua whose wits turned fastest: he directly proposed that Wang Anshi was a hundred years in the past, whereas the reforms of Zhang Taiyue were but fifty years ago.

In that affair, the past memorials, edicts, rewards, and punishments were all complete, all stored in the archives.

If one speaks of taking history as a mirror, then does Zhang Juzheng not surpass Wang Anshi a thousandfold, ten-thousandfold?

At these words, His Majesty clapped and cheered on the spot, bestowing upon Huo Weihua yet another epithet: "the Zhang Liang of our age."

The assembled ministers applauded with even greater vigor!

Both sides instantly and completely set aside their earlier dispute, simply waiting for this Daily Lecture to begin.

His Majesty even personally titled this series of Daily Lectures, calling it —

"The Critical Study Series of Daily Lectures on Comrade Zhang Juzheng!"

Comrade, critical, study, series —

Every word sounded so strange, so absurd.

But compared to His Majesty continuing to cling to his own views and speculating about the realm with the most malicious mind, this was far, far better.

The assembly naturally would not quibble over a mere name, and on the spot all approved, with not a single objection.

Gao Shiming had also participated in that joint session and naturally understood this juncture.

He paused a moment, and seeing no one raise a question, continued: "Third point. The date for the second round of Northern Metropolitan Region New Policies clerk examinations — We suggest setting it in the fourth month of next year."

"By that point, the political signaling will have been blowing for half a year — sufficient time for the various localities of the Northern Metropolitan Region to react and prepare."

"Moreover, the metropolitan examination and palace examination will have just concluded, so the manpower of the various ministries and courts can be freed up."

"Additionally, the summer harvest begins in the fifth month and ends in the seventh. If the rotten under-clerks and powerful landlords in the localities wish to collude and stir up trouble, this will be their best opportunity — we must get ahead of them."

"In sum: examinations in the fourth month, training in the fifth month — strive to have a brand-new corps of clerks ready before the summer tax collection ends, to serve as replacements in reserve."

Gao Shiming lowered the booklet in his hand, looked at the assembly, and said: "The guiding opinions given by His Majesty are these three points."

He paused, then, in the style that had lately grown fashionable within the committee, delivered a second summary: "First: this clerk examination was launched in haste; errors will not be pursued — the emphasis is on accumulating experience."

"Second: the formal plan for the entire clerk selection system must be carefully polished. Pay special attention to the handling of the old under-clerks, and be vigilant against them joining forces with local strongmen and cults to stir up unrest."

"Third: examinations in the fourth month, training in the fifth month — build up a reserve of personnel ahead of time, allow ample time for signaling, and at the same time seize the critical juncture of the summer tax."

"Well? My lords, are there any further questions about the process of conveying opinions itself?"

Everyone shook their heads.

Gao Shiming nodded with satisfaction, picked up the small wooden gavel on the table that symbolized the authority to preside over the meeting, and gave it a light tap.

Crack!

"Good. We shall now enter the discussion phase. Each of you may speak in turn. The Secretariat shall keep a full record of the meeting."

After a brief pause in the hall, Lai Zongdao, the Minister of Rites, was the first to raise his hand and stand.

"The new clerk selection system ranks candidates by numerical score. In this Shuntian Prefecture examination, the questions were generally too easy and too few. Yet His Majesty has clearly stated that these examination questions will be printed and circulated throughout the realm as a political signal."

"If, by next year's April examination, the questions remain at this level of difficulty and quantity, I fear it will be truly impossible to distinguish real talent. I believe the difficulty and the number of questions must be increased."

The others nodded in succession; this was a matter of course.

As soon as Lai Zongdao finished speaking, Cheng Jiming, a Grand Secretary of the Grand Secretariat, rose to add: "The Northern Metropolitan Region spans a thousand li across. If all candidates must come to the capital for the examination next year, those from the farthest places like Daming Prefecture would face a round trip of nearly a month."

"In that case, many impoverished youths from farming families would likely be utterly unable to bear such travel expenses and time away, making it impossible for them to attend."

"And the path of a clerk differs from the provincial and metropolitan examinations; local clans may not necessarily provide much financial support."

"Thus, those who ultimately manage to sit the examination will probably still be the sons of the sub-official clerks already serving in the yamens, or the sons of local strongmen and cunning rogues."

"This would run counter to what His Majesty said the day before yesterday—that the benefits of the new policies should reach as many groups as possible."

"I believe we should issue documents to every prefecture, subprefecture, and county, ordering their new-policy officials to first screen the local youths of unblemished background, and then send them to the capital for the examination at public expense!"

This suggestion was rather unexpected.

Yet as the others savored it carefully, they found the argument truly incisive, and at once they all nodded in agreement; some even clapped their hands in approval.

With this opening, the ensuing discussion grew increasingly spirited.

Someone remarked that this sort of clerk examination was even easier to cheat on than the civil service examinations: the existing narrow examination cells, where candidates could easily pass messages by tapping on the walls, seemed rather unsuitable.

But someone immediately objected, pointing out that Shuntian Prefecture's first clerk examination had already drawn two thousand participants, and next year the entire Northern Metropolitan Region might well see over ten thousand. To build new examination grounds for this—what scale would that require, and at what cost?

Yet before this point could be fully debated, someone else had already steered the topic toward the control of quotas for each prefecture, subprefecture, and county.

After a battle of words, the group unanimously agreed that next year, the number of candidates from each prefecture and county must be capped; otherwise, the total number of examinees would inevitably spiral out of control.

The new-policy county magistrates should first conduct a preliminary selection in their localities to screen out the most outstanding candidates.

The total number entering the capital must not exceed six thousand, so that the existing examination cells in the provincial examination hall could accommodate them.

As for the matter of cheating, they could suggest to His Majesty that the multiple-choice questions simply be removed and replaced with fill-in-the-blank questions, which would serve just as well.

Subsequently, others brought up matters such as pre-service training for new clerks, secondary selection examinations, periodic evaluations, and how to assign posts through examination after training.

Another group raised issues concerning the evaluation, punishment, and cross-regional transfer of existing sub-official clerks.

Most chillingly, Wang Tiqian, the Director of the Eastern Depot, pointed out that based on the Eastern Depot's investigations into the capital's sub-official clerks over the past two months, the foundation of many clerks' power lay partly in their local connections and partly in their private account books. To resolve the abuses of the sub-official clerks, the key was to seize these private accounts.

The moment this topic was raised, it sparked a fierce debate.

One faction, represented by Huo Weihua and Xue Guoguan, held that the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot could indeed be deployed to extract the clerks' account books through interrogation.

Another faction, represented by Huang Liji and Lai Zongdao, held that the task of interrogation should be left to the local prefectures and counties; only if collusion truly emerged should the Depot and Guard be dispatched, and not before.

The final faction, represented by Li Guopu and Cheng Jiming, held that while the private accounts were indeed important, the laws of the dynasty should be imposed with an overwhelming, open force. They proposed ordering every locality to establish state contracts and set a deadline for voluntary reporting; any land still fraudulently registered or concealed at the end would simply be confiscated as official fields.

In summary, the conservatives found the radicals too conservative, while the radicals felt the conservatives were somewhat too radical.

In any case, after talking for half the day, they still could not reach a unified opinion. Gao Shiming could only rap his gavel and table this item of discussion for the time being.

All told, the meeting lasted for over two hours before gradually showing signs of winding down.

Gao Shiming spoke occasionally during this time, but for the most part, he merely mediated and maintained the order of the proceedings.

Seeing that the intervals between the participants' remarks were growing longer and longer, he swept his gaze around the room and at last rapped his wooden gavel once more.

Crack!

"Very well. It seems today's opinions have largely all been aired. Secretary Ni, please summarize."

Ni Yuanlu, the chief of the Secretariat who had been writing furiously the entire time, stood up, picked up a thick stack of booklets, and declared in a clear voice: "This 'Northern Metropolitan Region Clerical Examination Alignment Meeting' has collected a total of twenty-seven valid opinions."

"Of these, eighteen have reached consensus and been adopted."

"Five require observation of the actual results of this Shuntian Prefecture clerk examination before a decision can be made; they are temporarily tabled."

"Four have drawn opposing opinions from more than two of the lords present and require His Majesty's imperial decision."

"The detailed opinions are stated as follows:"

"First, next year's clerk examination questions must be harder and more numerous, but must still be completed within a single day. Proposer: Lai Zongdao, Minister of Rites; seconder: Cao Huachun, brush-holding eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial."

"Second—"

Gao Shiming listened quietly, and only when Ni Yuanlu had finished reading the entire summary did he speak again: "My lords, are there any omissions, errors, or new supplementary opinions?"

Everyone shook their heads.

Gao Shiming nodded and struck the gavel for the third time.

Crack!

"Good! Secretary Ni, please draft the minutes of this meeting into a formal document. After it has been signed jointly by all participants, it shall be submitted to the throne via the Office of Transmission."

"As for the subsequent selection of primary and secondary personnel for this matter, we shall await His Majesty's decision as before."

"This alignment meeting is hereby adjourned!"

Swish—

A round of applause, not especially fervent but wholly sincere, broke out in the hall.

Gao Shiming rose to his feet, picked up the wooden gavel, and walked unhurriedly over to Yang Jingchen, the Minister of Personnel.

"Minister Yang, today's alignment meeting was the only one of its kind. My task is now complete."

"According to the rotation schedule, tomorrow, you shall serve as the presiding officer."

"There is also only one meeting tomorrow, but that meeting will be no simple matter. I must ask you, Minister Yang, to coordinate with the various ministries in advance and notify the participants."

With that, he reversed the gavel, extending it handle-first, and offered it over.

"This committee gavel — I entrust it to you."

Yang Jingchen's expression turned solemn. He extended both hands, accepted the gavel with gravity, and carefully hung it from his own belt.

Only after all this did he raise his head, a wry smile surfacing on his face. "That meeting again?"

Gao Shiming's face was equally helpless. With a bitter laugh, he said, "Yes — that meeting again."

Yang Jingchen shook his head and let out a long sigh. "I understand. I'll do it properly."

The meeting the two men spoke of was none other than the one that, since the second day of the tenth month, had been argued over for a full ten-plus days without producing the slightest result —

The Grand Secretariat New Member Nomination and Selection Conference!

Within it, the most fiercely contested and most ambiguous part seemed, on the surface, to be a dispute over whether a particular candidate was suitable — yet at root, it was not entirely a question of candidates at all.

Rather, it was about that standard in His Majesty's command: seemingly clear, yet still leaving room for debate.

Namely — what exactly counted as "practical experience"?

Which of the former faction bosses at court had not started their careers by walking the path of the "pure critics"?

If the definition of "practical" were drawn too narrowly, their political lives would seem to have reached a dead end.

Upward, they could not enter the Grand Secretariat; outward, they could not go to the Thirteen Provinces as Provincial Administration Commissioners; and the prefectural and county posts in Northern Zhili were far too small to accommodate such great Buddhas as themselves.

How could they bear this? Naturally, they all raised their arms, shouted at the top of their lungs, and argued with all their might!

Yet, while the old faction bosses cared so deeply about this conference, the new dignitaries of the committees regarded it as nothing more than an endless torment.

Liaison meetings came in large and small. One like today's, discussing the clerks' examinations, was already considered fairly large, and in the end it lasted nearly a full double-hour.

Whereas a small meeting like the earlier one to finalize the team for auditing Ji-Liao military funds could have every detail settled in two quarter-hours.

But the importance of a meeting never lay in its size — only in whether it produced "practical achievement"!

These men of the New Policies, unlike those faction bosses still struggling to squeeze into the New Policies, were already on the broad road to heaven — so naturally they detested meetings that yielded no "practical achievement."

Some of the younger officials in the secretariat even wished the scope of "practical" could be as narrow as possible! Best if all the old grandees of the past could be swept straight onto the rubbish heap.

In short, at this Grand Secretariat nomination conference, everyone clung to their own view. No one could persuade anyone else, and no one could discern right from wrong.

Stirred and stirred again, it had ultimately been churned into a pot of mud that no one could see through.

After all, no matter how much the crowd argued, if the Emperor would not relent, then he would not relent. What could you do about it?

Only the committee members rotating in to chair the meeting and the secretaries responsible for recording it suffered. Whoever's rotation landed on this meeting had truly been cursed with eight lifetimes of bad luck!

Yang Jingchen sighed inwardly, feeling that the gavel at his waist had grown a few ounces heavier.

At today's deliberations, what everyone disputed all lay in "the matter." Though there were differences, they all pointed in one direction.

At tomorrow's meeting, what they disputed would likely lie only in "the person" — seemingly argued with absolute conviction, yet in truth poles apart.

Matters can be debated; men are hard to debate.

Seeing this, the others understood what was on his mind. With a measure of sympathy and a measure of relief, each cupped his hands toward him in salute.

A few junior eunuchs, seeing the meeting had ended, now pushed open the doors of Wuying Hall.

The officials filed out in order.

In an instant, crimson and blue-green interlaced; cloud patterns and sunlight reflected off one another.

At the head were the Grand Secretaries, with first-rank crane rank-badges on their chests; behind them, the various Ministers of the ministries, with second-rank golden pheasant rank-badges; further back, third-rank peacocks, fourth-rank cloud geese —

These flesh-eaters dwelling high in the temple of state, with barely a double-hour's far-sighted planning in this hall, had already arranged the empire's great policies half a year ahead.

Yet, a few li to the southeast of this place, outside the Provincial Examination Hall —

Qian Changle, who wore no rank-badge on his chest, only patches, was still searching for that one-in-ten-thousand hope.

To put it this way seems a bit mystifying.

Let me put it more plainly.

Qian Changle was trying to check his answers —