Chapter 222: The Time Has Come — Close the Door and Drop the Lock

The remaining memorials, Zhu Youjian read through one after another, but instead of replying to each in turn, he sorted and grouped them as he went.

Once he had read every single memorial, he then deliberately pulled out a portion of them and gathered them together.

These singled-out memorials, spanning all three grades of A, B, and C, essentially fell into two categories.

The first category was remonstrance.

Liu Zongzhou, the Heaven-Variant Star Red-Haired Devil, submitted a memorial of remonstrance, begging that the techniques of Shen Buhai and Han Fei not be practiced.

His words were earnest, citing classics and precedents, the spearhead aimed squarely at the earlier incident of exam-cell inspectors entrapping people.

Sun Shenxing, the Earth-Loss Star Single Blossom, submitted a memorial of remonstrance that Your Majesty should not forcibly sever the new policies from the old.

Such a one-size-fits-all approach means that officials in remote regions cannot even find a path to participate in the new policies; if this persists, they may abandon themselves to despair and grow alienated from the court.

Beyond these, there were scattered remonstrances, mostly from people on the Donglin roster, but also including no few moral and renowned ministers who had no past ties to the Donglin.

Did these memorials have merit?

Zhu Youjian leaned back in his chair, his fingertips lightly tapping the desktop, his own judgment forming in his heart.

In truth, they all had some merit.

Most of these moral gentlemen, whom later ages would regard as "old diehards," he had interviewed in person, and they were really not so hopelessly pedantic.

Regarding the red-and-green reward-and-punishment system he had implemented, the civil-official selection exams, and even the move to work in the Western Park — even when they had objections, their arguments were mostly substantive, not just mouthing that ancestral institutions must not be violated.

The principles each man spoke of were, for the most part, about morality and about the hearts of men.

Only — the morality and hearts of men as they understood them were ultimately not the same as the morality and hearts of men as Zhu Youjian understood them.

Some matters, in his, Zhu Youjian's, view, were like scraping bone to purge poison, like preferring short pain to long agony, where the benefits outweighed the drawbacks.

Yet in the eyes of these masters, the drawbacks outweighed the benefits, shaking the very foundation of the court.

As expected, when the Way differs, no common —

When the Way differs, you still have to work for me!

A place must be found where these moral exemplars can be put to some use.

For the moment, Zhu Youjian felt that perhaps Shaanxi was a good destination.

But for the specifics, he still had to wait for the secretariat's "Shaanxi Group" to launch, get running, and complete a preliminary plan of discussion.

Capable officials, harsh officials, virtuous officials — perhaps mixing them together would yield the best results for Shaanxi.

The other category of memorials, however, appeared far more "real and raw."

Self-recommendations, recommendations of others, attacks and slander, defamation.

Memorial after memorial was filled with naked desire and factional strife.

The Grand Secretariat, the Governor-General of Northern Zhili, the Provincial Administration Commissioners of the Thirteen Provinces — these three juicy plums vacated by the new policies had drawn countless covetous eyes, men attacking one another while recommending each other.

Former primary impeachment targets like Huo Weihua and Huang Liji, old hands of the eunuch faction, were now gradually ignored by all.

In their place were Wen Tiren, Qian Qianyi, Yan Mingtai, and others — the hot favorites most likely to triumph in this new round of power struggle.

If one stripped away the backdrop of the new policies and looked at these memorials alone, only one conclusion could be drawn — on this Great Ming court, there was not a single good man.

Among the various candidates, each was either corrupt or a factionalist; either negligent in office or utterly incompetent.

By the end of it, a whole crowd of men were drenched head to toe in filth.

He gently pushed these two stacks of memorials aside and first said to Gao Shiming, "These — leave them all in the palace, unanswered."

Only then did he ask, "That general coordination meeting for Grand Secretariat recommendations — how many times has it convened?"

A wry smile appeared on Gao Shiming's face. "In reply to Your Majesty, it has convened three times already, and they are still deliberating."

"Three times already —"

Zhu Youjian nodded, unconsciously stroking the soft, newly sprouted stubble on his chin.

At the last court assembly, that red line of "practical experience" had nearly shut the door to the new policies, leaving only a crack ajar.

On the surface, it seemed to have cut off the career prospects of countless pure-stream officials.

But in truth, it was nothing more than his old trick of "a thing is valued in proportion to its rarity."

He had hoped that by this drastic narrowing of political prospects, he could deftly blur and shift the debate from "are the new policies right or wrong" to "how exactly does one enter the new policies."

Yet he had still somewhat misjudged the situation.

Or rather, this "casting flirtatious glances" of his had been cast entirely for the blind.

For months now, there were certainly still men at court pointing fingers at the new policies, but the greater and more surging tide was those who longed to enter the new-policy door yet could not.

The objective, it seemed, had been achieved from the very start — there had been no need at all for him, Zhu Youjian, to deploy such scheming.

That being the case, Zhu Youjian naturally would no longer keep the door bolted shut.

It was time, as circumstances warranted and to an appropriate degree, to loosen it a little.

After all, a latent problem was now gradually coming to the fore in the capital — "supplementary-appointment officials."

Reinstating previously cashiered officials without carrying out a large-scale purge of the incumbents could only result in a situation where there were more men than posts.

In this vast and sweeping political rehabilitation, the officials now entering the capital numbered nearly two hundred.

Yet the total standing civil officials in the entire capital, at the very most, numbered only a little over a thousand.

Once these men were reinstated, their original posts had long been occupied by others; they could only be "supplementarily appointed" to the various ministries, drawing their salaries but spending their days utterly idle.

Among them, a portion of their energies was certainly directed at statecraft documents.

But inevitably, another portion of their energies was directed at all manner of factional cliques and currying favor for advancement.

After all, the door to the new policies was simply too narrow!

Never mind examples like Xue Guoguan, who had soared to the heavens in a single bound — even men like Yuan Jixian, who entered the secretariat, were growing fewer and fewer.

The multitude, like starving dogs scrapping for food, naturally wanted to try every means — moral and immoral alike.

Zhu Youjian sank into thought.

The time was about right; just like the matter of new-policy public opinion, the matter of new-policy quotas had also reached a new stage.

If we drag this out any longer, the balance of pros and cons will shift again.

Let us open the door one last time. Once it is opened, I can set my mind at ease and prepare for the new policies of the first year of Yongchang.

His deliberations complete, Zhu Youjian spoke decisively: "Companion Gao, you will draft two edicts."

"First: the Northern Metropolitan Region lies right beside the capital. The post of Governor-General there serves little real purpose."

"It is now changed to a single Regional Inspector for the Eight Prefectures of the North, under whom two Regional Inspectors, one North and one South, shall be established."

"The Northern Regional Inspector shall oversee Shuntian Prefecture, Yongping Prefecture, Hejian Prefecture, and Baoding Prefecture."

"The Southern Regional Inspector shall oversee Zhending Prefecture, Shunde Prefecture, Guangping Prefecture, and Daming Prefecture."

"Both shall report to the Regional Inspector for the Eight Prefectures."

"At the close of the summer tax collection, the jurisdictions of the Northern and Southern Regional Inspectors shall be swapped."

Zhu Youjian had been mulling this over for a long time; his thoughts were clear, and the decrees flowed from his lips one after another.

"Have Yang Jingchen follow the precedent of the Ji-Liao Audit Group that Huo Weihua set up earlier, and assign full staffing to both the Northern and Southern Regional Inspectors to form 'Inspector Groups.'"

He paused, then threw out the most critical piece.

"This entire Regional Inspector system shall also count as part of the new policies. However, appointees need not have practical experience."

"If anyone within an Inspector Group can produce results, then that person shall be deemed to have acquired practical experience."

Beside a closed door, a small window had been pushed open by his own hand.

He did not stop, and continued to add: "Furthermore, issue another decree. Do the same for the Provincial Administration Commissioners of the thirteen provinces — assign each a full 'Commissioner Group.'"

"The Provincial Administration Commissioner himself must still possess practical experience. But the members of the group need not."

"By the same logic, if this group can produce results, its members shall likewise be deemed to have acquired practical experience."

"These are the two matters. Polish my intent and send it to Yang Jingchen at the Ministry of Personnel. Have him draft a preliminary version, and later convene the full committee for discussion."

Yet, though this was a measure to expand slots, Gao Shiming asked a question that implied the exact opposite: "Your Majesty—"

"Are the slots for the new policies about to be tightened?"

"Yes." Zhu Youjian nodded. "It is time to close the door."

"Handle it as we discussed last time. Take the point in the twelfth month when that batch of new-policy local officials in the Northern Metropolitan Region completes their evaluation and selection,"

"their training, and their departure for their posts as the cutoff. From then on, new-policy slots will be comprehensively tightened."

"The Secretariat shall have only one new slot per month."

"In all ministries and courts, those handling new-policy duties shall be allotted varying numbers of slots based on the scale and merit of their work."

"If we are to open wide again, that will have to wait until next year."

Gao Shiming's heart tightened. He bowed and said, "This subject understands. Tomorrow, I shall convene the New Policies Committee and finalize both the matter of new-policy slots and the charters for the Northern Metropolitan Inspector Groups and the Thirteen-Province Administration Commission Groups."

Zhu Youjian rose from behind the imperial desk and gently stretched his somewhat stiff limbs.

He glanced out the window at the gray, overcast sky, his tone indifferent.

"I have already given them ample time."

"If by the twelfth month there are still those who cannot enter, they are either lacking in talent or wavering in resolve."

"Since they are not on the same path, let them go their own way."

"Three hundred men of the new policies are more than sufficient."

"After all, when our dynasty's Great Ancestor founded the realm, how many men did he have?"

When he finished speaking, Zhu Youjian's gaze fell upon the last memorial.

It was a report from Fujian.

He picked it up, was silent for a moment, and finally could not suppress a sigh.

"What a pity. The man most deserving of such an opportunity, yet—"

Zhu Youjian shook his head, said no more, and simply handed the memorial over.

"I approve all of the Grand Secretariat's draft rescripts. Instruct the Ministry of Rites to deliberate on matters of posthumous honors and a temple name."

With that, he waved his hand, turned, and walked toward the warm pavilion.

Gao Shiming respectfully received the memorial.

As he looked at it, it was indeed as expected — the very report from Zhu Yifeng, Governor of Fujian:

The former Grand Secretary of the Jianji Hall, Ye Xianggao, passed away from illness at his home in Fuqing County on the twenty-ninth day of the eighth month of the seventh year of Tianqi.

He was sixty-nine years of age.