Chapter 232: Starting Anew; Reassessing Meritorious Service

"This subject, by order, examined and selected the Attendant Cadets of the Scattered Cavalry. On the seventh day of the tenth month, the regulations were finalized. Seven hundred and thirty-two sons of the noble and meritorious houses of the two capitals were examined. Twenty-seven martial cadets were chosen, those proficient in archery and horsemanship and able to meet the military examination standard. Thirty-three civil cadets were chosen, those with sound understanding of the classics and insightful views on current ills. In total, sixty men."

The voice of Xu Xigao, the Duke of Ding, echoed across the square, yet it stirred not a single ripple.

By this point in the report, no one cared any longer about this matter of the Attendant Cadets of the Scattered Cavalry. Even the Duke of Ding, Xu Xigao himself, no longer cared.

He finished his report in a methodical manner, bowed with a salute, and silently withdrew back into the ranks of the assembled officials.

In an instant, silence returned to the square.

Every gaze, whether open or covert, reverent or fearful, converged upon that youthful figure standing above the vermilion steps.

The Son of Heaven, Zhu Youjian, was about to posthumously confer merit upon that iron-blooded Chief Grand Secretary of fifty years past, Zhang Juzheng.

Enfeoffed as an earl? A marquis? Or even — a duke?

What kind of reward would this young Son of Heaven use to deliver the final verdict on that earth-shaking reform?

Yet when Zhu Youjian spoke, he merely looked toward the front ranks to address Zhang Maoxiu.

"Minister Zhang."

Zhang Maoxiu, his hair and beard already white, stepped out from the ranks and bowed with clasped hands.

"This subject, Zhang Maoxiu, is here."

Zhu Youjian's gaze was gentle.

"Minister Zhang, what is your venerable age this year?"

Not daring to raise his head, Zhang Maoxiu replied respectfully, "In reply to Your Majesty, this subject is — seventy-one this year."

"Seventy-one —" Zhu Youjian nodded gently, as if calculating something, then immediately asked, "In the first year of Wanli, when Lord Jiangling's new policies began, how old were you then?"

The first year of Wanli, the beginning of the new policies —

The Single Whip law, the nationwide land survey, the merit evaluation of the hundred... — at that time, he himself —

Zhang Maoxiu's heart and mind shook violently. Memories sealed away for over fifty years surged in like a tide.

He suddenly froze. Only after a long while did he answer in a voice that sounded almost like sleep-talking, "This subject was — seventeen at the time."

Zhu Youjian sighed pensively. It was a long moment before he spoke again.

"Indeed. You were seventeen then."

"And We, this year, are also seventeen."

Zhu Youjian fixed his gaze on Zhang Maoxiu and asked, "Minister Zhang, in your seventeenth year, you watched with your own eyes as the great edifice of the new policies rose from the ground. And you spent the latter half of your life watching it collapse with a thunderous crash."

"Now, you are already seventy-one."

"Do you still dare — to see with your own eyes the future of yet another new policy?"

These words, in an almost instantaneous surge, broke through the defenses Zhang Maoxiu had built around his heart through decades of wind, frost, rain, and snow.

Even though he had long ago endured the ruin of his family and the loss of its members, endured a life of ignoble survival, and had come to regard the vicissitudes of the world with some detachment,

Even though he had prepared himself for everything before entering the capital,

It was only at this very moment, only in this very scene, that he truly understood!

Why everyone on his journey to the capital had told him —

The reigning Son of Heaven is a born emperor!

What could he say?

What did he dare say!

Father, eldest brother, second brother —

How could those restless souls down in the Nine Springs, still bearing unfulfilled grievances, ever permit him to utter the word "no" at this moment!

Suppressing his trembling voice with all his might, Zhang Maoxiu summoned every ounce of his strength and spoke with resolute finality!

"For the sake of all under Heaven, the Zhang family has nothing it does not dare!"

"Thus it was with my late father. Thus it is with this subject, Zhang Maoxiu. And thus it shall be with the Zhang family's sons and grandsons for all generations!"

"Good!" An astonishing brightness burst forth in Zhu Youjian's eyes. This was the very promise he wanted, this answer that spanned half a century!

"A fine 'thus it shall be for all'!"

He declared in a ringing voice, "Minister Zhang, you are now a Senior Compiler in the Hanlin Academy, of the upper sixth rank."

"When in the past of the Great Ming has there ever been a seventy-one-year-old Hanlin Senior Compiler?"

"But We insist precisely on having you serve as this Senior Compiler!"

"For the rest of your life, no promotion in office, no increase in stipend, no advancement in noble rank!"

"We command you, from this day forward, to take your place at the head of the ranks! In that blue robe of yours, stand before all the hundred officials!"

"Observe these new policies, record this court. Whether loyal or treacherous, worthy or foolish, and even the faults of Our own person — all shall be recorded with a forthright brush, with nothing shielded or excused!"

"We have no wish to hear whitewashing phrases, no wish to see falsely glorifying prose. What We seek is only the brush of Dong Hu, the courage of the Grand Historian!"

Zhu Youjian's voice rose higher and higher: "A hundred years hence, when you take this history book to meet Lord Jiangling, ask him once more on Our behalf!"

"Ask him: was this Son of Heaven, We, worthy or unworthy!"

"And how did this court of civil and military officials compare with the ministers of the Wanli new policies!"

"Minister Zhang, are you willing to do this?!"

The moment these words were spoken, the entire square before Huangji Hall erupted in an instant uproar!

Is this — is this in accordance with ritual?

Of course it is not!

How can there be a principle allowing a petty blue-robed official of the upper sixth rank to permanently stand at the head of the ranks, before the Chief Grand Secretary of the Grand Secretariat?

How can there be a principle where the Emperor's golden words directly sever all of a subject's future prospects?

How can there be a principle of speaking bluntly to a man in his seventies, with every other word being "a hundred years hence" or "down in the Nine Springs"?!

Yet, after the brief shock, all the gazes directed at Zhang Maoxiu held nothing but boundless envy, and even jealousy!

They were so jealous it felt like they were about to split apart!

Was this a head of the officials?

How could this be a head of the officials!

What crap — head of the hundred officials!

This Great Ming could have a thousand heads of the hundred officials, but it has never produced a head of the annals like this!

This was clearly a historian! One of those Grand Annalists or Dong Hu from the pre-Qin era who dared to record the truth with an unswerving brush!

How could Zhang Maoxiu merely have left his name in the annals!

From this day forward, he would be writing the annals with his own hand!

And not just Zhang Maoxiu — it was Zhang Juzheng! The entire Zhang family! All of them together would be cast forever into the annals of history!

In the plaza, a profound silence fell.

Every gaze was focused on that aged figure in the blue robe.

Yet Zhang Maoxiu simply stood there quietly.

When the shocks were too many, he had gone numb.

By this point, he even felt something like release.

Was this the Son of Heaven, raised deep within the palace, with no renowned teacher to guide him?

Too monstrous —

And too — good.

Only — Father, if only you had lived in times like these, how wonderful that would have been.

Having sighed this in his heart, Zhang Maoxiu no longer had the slightest hesitation.

He slowly straightened his robes and set his official cap squarely upon his head.

Then, he dropped to both knees, and facing the young Son of Heaven upon the vermilion stairs, with meticulous precision, performed the grand ceremony of three kneelings and nine kowtows!

This was the highest rite a subject could offer his sovereign and father!

The rites complete, he raised his head.

Within those aged eyes blazed a fierce fire!

The very fire that had been kindled when he was seventeen, suppressed and burning in his heart for forty-nine full years, yet had never once gone out!

"Your Majesty!"

His voice no longer trembled; instead it was resolute and decisive.

"This subject, Zhang Maoxiu, is willing, in this blue robe, to serve as this head of the officials!"

"For the whole of this life, I will seek no promotion, no increase in stipend, no advancement in rank!"

He paused, each word seeming to burst forth from his chest.

"With these eyes alone I will discern the pure from the turbid; with this brush alone I will record the rise and fall! Right and wrong, merit and fault — I will never construct a single falsehood!"

Zhu Youjian looked at him quietly. This time, he did not descend the vermilion stairs to raise him up, nor did he stage any warm scene of sovereign and minister clasping hands and gazing at each other.

He simply spoke decisively.

"Good! Then I ask Minister Zhang, from this day forward, to record well the matters before your eyes."

His gaze slowly swept across the civil and military officials in the plaza, his voice cold.

"Look well at this hall full of civil and military officials — which are loyal and which are treacherous. Look well at this young Son of Heaven — am I a sovereign of a doomed state, or an emperor of restoration!"

"Right and wrong, merit and fault — half shall be told to the ancestors, half shall be left for later generations to judge! Let each render their own verdict!"

As his words fell, he looked no more at Zhang Maoxiu. He merely said lightly to Gao Shiming beside him, "Proclaim the edict."

With that, he lowered his eyes, as if he had once again become that clay bodhisattva seated upon the dragon throne, uttering not another word.

Gao Shiming took the hint and beckoned to an official of the Court of State Ceremonial.

A preface clerk of the Court of State Ceremonial immediately stepped forward, unfurled the golden scroll in his hands, and in a sonorous voice that could resound across the entire plaza, loudly intoned: "— By the Mandate of Heaven, the Emperor bearing the Way, decrees!"

"We have heard: when the state possesses pillars and beams, the foundation of the realm is forever secure; when the court possesses worthies and good men, all affairs shine with order. Since the Jiajing and Longqing reigns, the national power has gradually declined, and the hundred institutions have fallen slack. Yet in those very times, there were still loyal ministers and martyrs, who either exerted their strength on the battlefield or shed their heart's blood in the court, turning back the raging tide when it had already broken, propping up the great mansion as it was about to collapse. Whether their deeds were manifest or hidden, whether their rewards were lacking or long delayed — whenever We peruse the historical records, We cannot but wring Our hands and sigh."

"Now We, of meager virtue, have inherited the great succession. From dawn to dusk We labor, pondering only the way to restore what was broken and revive what has declined, so as to comfort the spirits of Our ancestors in Heaven. If one desires to seek out the talents of the realm, one must first make manifest the merits of former generations. This is the root of encouraging those to come, and the foundation of settling the hearts of men."

"Therefore, all those whose past achievements were illustrious yet whose honors and rewards were not conferred shall now be recorded one by one, granted posthumous recognition and elevated in rank, so as to comfort loyal souls in the Nine Springs, and to encourage the subjects and people of the realm. Proclaim this to all under Heaven, that all may hear and know."

"Hu Jizong, great-grandson of Hu Zongxian, for his ancestor's merit in capturing and executing Wang Zhi, is enfeoffed as Earl of Jinghai, with a stipend of one thousand shi.

"Ye Shireng, son of Ye Mengxiong, for his ancestor's merit in quelling the rebellion of Bo Bai, is enfeoffed as Earl of Pingxi, with a stipend of one thousand shi.

"Li Xianzu, son of Li Hualong, for his ancestor's merit in quelling the rebellion of Yang Yinglong at Bozhou, is enfeoffed as Earl of Pingnan, with a stipend of one thousand shi.

"Li Shizhong, son of Li Rusong, for his ancestor's merit in the Imjin War to aid Korea, is restored to the inherited title of Earl of Ningyuan, with a stipend of one thousand shi."

A string of bestowals was read out. The civil and military officials listened carefully, but their hearts were not greatly stirred.

These ennoblements were, to be sure, acts of grace, but compared to the shock delivered by that "blue-robed historian" just moments before, they seemed somewhat bland.

The new sovereign had even written his intention to "buy the bones of a thousand-li horse with gold" plainly and clearly into the edict, which made it seem all the more blunt.

Yet they had still thought too shallowly of this young Son of Heaven.

Zhu Youjian's mind was perfectly clear.

The hearts of men were, of course, one aspect he had to consider.

For instance, in the Imjin War, the Li family's merit had not in fact fully met the standard for such a reward, yet he had still restored the Ningyuan earldom to Li Rusong's son — precisely in order to use this in his planning for Liaodong.

But alongside the hearts of men, there was also political calculation.

A pool of stagnant water will not stir unless a stone is cast into it.

When Zhu Youjian sought to move the current body of meritorious nobles, he often felt as if he were trying to shift something ponderously heavy and immovable.

This is not to say that the various nobles would oppose, resist, or even, absurdly, go so far as to assassinate this new sovereign over something like land surveys.

Rather, the present noble bloc was entangled root and branch, intermarrying across generations, and had long since developed deep, unspoken understandings among themselves.

The last time he issued an edict to overhaul the Capital Camps and encouraged the ennobled nobles to submit memorials, the response was sparse — in the end, only a single Earl of Xiangcheng submitted a decent memorial.

Everyone else was watching and waiting, tacitly maintaining the stagnant calm of this pool of dead water.

There was none of the desperate scrambling for New Policy posts that he saw among the civil officials.

Therefore, today's grand conferral of noble titles was not only buying a horse skeleton with a thousand pieces of gold, but even more, it was channeling "living water" into the pond!

He wanted to introduce a new ennobled faction, shatter the old equilibrium, and make them compete with and check one another — and thus serve his own purposes!

This was the same principle as when the Jiajing Emperor revived the five marquis and earl lines of Li Wenzhong, Chang Yuchun, Deng Yu, Tang He, and Liu Ji from the Hongwu and Yongle eras. One cannot imitate the Divine Lord of Ten Thousand Years in pursuing immortality, but some of his methods for deploying and shifting the various power blocs still had to be studied.

Of course, as time passed, the new ennobled bloc would still intermarry and still close ranks.

But that would depend on subsequent divide-and-rule tactics and an entirely new institutional design.

No matter what, today, this first stone must be cast!

Just as the hundred officials were lost in their own divergent thoughts, the sonorous voice of the Court of State Ceremonial official rose a full octave higher!

"Qi Jiguang's son, Qi Zuoguo — for his forebear's merit in suppressing the Wokou and guarding the north, and in drilling and training crack troops — is hereby invested as 'Martial Official Who Revives the State, Supports the Polity, Pushes Sincerity, and Manifests Strength,' enfeoffed as Marquis of Calming Waves! With a stipend of fifteen hundred shi of grain, to be inherited by his sons and grandsons in perpetuity!"

In the square, officials with sharp ears had already detected something amiss!

"'Revives the State, Supports the Polity, Pushes Sincerity'? What sort of title was that?

Before they could figure it out, the voice rang out again, like a sudden clap of thunder on level ground!

"Zhang Juzheng's great-grandson, Zhang Tongchang — for his forebear's merit in reviving the state, stabilizing the enterprise, and reforming the New Policies — is hereby invested as 'Civil Official Who Revives the State, Supports the Polity, Pushes Sincerity, and Upholds Rectitude,' enfeoffed as Duke Who Revives the State! With a stipend of two thousand shi of grain, to be inherited by his sons and grandsons in perpetuity!"

This time, everyone heard it clearly!

The entire square erupted into utter pandemonium!

Not because of that startling ducal rank! Nor because of the appended clause "to be inherited by his sons and grandsons in perpetuity"!

But because of that unprecedented investiture title!

The regulations set in the twenty-sixth year of Hongwu stipulated: for all meritorious officials, investiture titles — such as "Civil Official Who Founded the State, Supports the Polity, and Upholds Rectitude" and the like — shall not be granted except by special imperial decree.

Thus, ennobled nobles who bore such titles and those who did not were, in truth, entirely different.

Of course, after the Xuande era, once the Zhu emperors had also bestowed martial official investiture titles upon a host of their own imperial affines, this title system had become somewhat cheapened.

But!

No matter what, throughout the Ming dynasty, meritorious official investiture titles were fixed into only four grades:

Those who assisted the Great Ancestor in securing the realm were styled "Founded the State, Supports the Polity, Pushes Sincerity";

Those who followed the Chengzu Emperor in the Jingnan Campaign were styled "Upholds Heaven, Quells the Realm, Pushes Sincerity";

The rest were merely "Upholds Heaven, Assists the Polity" or "Reverently Inherits the Ancestral Enterprise."

Where did this "Revives the State, Supports the Polity, Pushes Sincerity" come from?!

This was clearly an investiture title created by the Son of Heaven himself!

Its meaning was self-evident: whoever could assist him, Zhu Youjian, in reviving the Great Ming realm and carrying out the New Policies — those would be these "Revive the State" meritorious officials!

This was to elevate the New Policy meritorious officials directly to a status equal to the "Founding the State" and "Jingnan" meritorious officials!

The square seethed with a rising din, agitation everywhere.

Upon the crimson dais, Zhu Youjian merely pretended not to hear.

He slowly raised his eyes and looked once more toward that green-robed official historian who had just risen to his feet.

"Minister Zhang."

"Are you listening? Are you watching?"

In Zhang Maoxiu's heart, great waves surged and churned.

Every time he thought he had finally seen through this new sovereign's methods,

the new sovereign would always tell him: you are still thinking too small.

But precisely because of this, what worry was there that the state's fortunes would not revive!

Zhang Maoxiu forcibly suppressed his agitation, cupped his hands, and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, this subject is listening. This subject is watching."

Zhu Youjian nodded slightly. His gaze passed over him and looked down upon the assembled civil and military officials below with their varied expressions, yet his own face betrayed not the slightest excitement.

He merely rose slowly to his feet, his gaze sweeping across and pressing down the commotion throughout the square, one section at a time.

Indeed — how could it ever be that simple?

He, Zhu Youjian, had spent so much time and convened such a grand assembly not merely to announce a trifling "Revives the State, Supports the Polity, Pushes Sincerity."