Chapter 235: Implementation Measures for Rolling Out the New Policies in the Northern Metropolitan Area

The capital's chill had already seeped into the bone. Beneath a leaden-gray sky, the Forbidden City lay like a slumbering giant beast.

But inside Wuying Hall, the scene was one of starkly contrasting fervor.

The second all-hands plenary session of the New Policies senior leadership was now in session.

The braziers burned hot, driving off the bitter cold outside the hall and casting a faint ruddy glow upon every face within.

The matters to be discussed today were both numerous and urgent. After Zhu Youjian took his seat and the sovereign and ministers exchanged formal greetings, the meeting began directly.

The furnishings of tables, chairs, and stools were the same as usual, but a few details differed from before.

First, a small desk originally placed to the left of the Emperor's throne had served as the post for the rotating chair. Now, a second small desk of identical design had been added to the right.

Zhang Maoxiu, the "Green-Robed Historian" appointed just this morning, sat upright and solemn there, paper and brush ready at hand, his expression one of rapt concentration.

Second, two more chairs had been added to the seats of the Grand Secretaries in the front row.

Two new faces were arrayed among them.

Third was a difference in the arrangements upon the seats: His Majesty had graciously granted each seat a tea set.

Previously, during deliberations, eunuchs were forever coming and going to pour tea and water, which had simply become too much trouble.

One day, the Yongchang Emperor, Zhu Youjian, brought his own large tea mug to the meeting.

Within a few days, all manner of large tea mugs had appeared throughout the New Policies conference.

Zhu Youjian picked up the meeting agenda from his desk and glanced down at it.

"There are many matters to settle today. Let us take them one by one."

"Before we begin, I shall first announce two new appointments."

His finger pointed first toward one of the new faces.

"This gentleman is the former Vice Minister of War, Li Banghua. As of today, he is newly promoted to the Grand Secretariat."

Zhu Youjian's voice was unhurried. A long string of biographical details rolled off his tongue without the slightest stumble.

"Minister Li, a jinshi of the thirty-second year of Wanli. He has served as County Magistrate and Assistant Intendant, implementing the Ever-Normal Granary, community stockade, and baojia systems at the local level, dredging waterways and pacifying violent bandits. His local experience is most ample."

"Thereafter, he served as Governor of Tianjin and used newly trained troops to smash an incursion by a demonic cult."

"He is capable in both civil and military affairs, and intimately familiar with the affairs of Tianjin."

"Therefore, from among the various candidates, We have selected him for the Grand Secretariat, to lead the Policy Group of the Secretariat and prepare for next year's Tianjin experimental zone."

"His future work will intersect heavily with the Northern Metropolitan Area New Policies. You must all cooperate fully."

The man thus named, Li Banghua, rose to his feet. His face was firm and unsmiling. He merely cupped his hands in a full circle toward his colleagues and sat back down, his movements crisp and efficient.

The customary applause sounded in the hall, a welcome for the new member's addition.

Zhu Youjian's gaze swept over Li Banghua's face, but his mind was racing.

This man of both letters and martial talent—his original impression was that he had once reorganized the Capital Camps, and so Zhu Youjian had initially intended to copy the historical answer and assign him to Capital Camps affairs as well.

He had not expected Huo Weihua, Yang Suoxiu, and the others to be so zealous; this task no longer required him.

Yet now, carefully reviewing his record, Zhu Youjian realized how grievously mistaken he had been.

Rich local experience, water conservancy, local governance, troop training, bandit suppression, oversight—this man was practically a hexagon warrior!

How could such an all-around talent be so obscure in later generations? By any measure, he seemed far more formidable than the present Sun Chuanting or Lu Xiangsheng!

Could it be—he looked so vigorous in spirit and robust in health now—that he was actually short-lived?

With only a patchwork understanding of late Ming history, gleaned entirely from web novels, Zhu Youjian could not suppress a flicker of doubt in his mind, then promptly pushed it back down.

Regardless, his record was perfect, his interview was perfect, and he was in the prime of life. There was no reason not to promote him.

Lu Xiangsheng was still a bit green. Following Li Banghua and studying well by his side would be most fitting.

As the applause gradually died away, Zhu Youjian pointed toward the other man.

"This gentleman is the former Vice Minister of Revenue, Zheng Sanjun, likewise newly promoted to the Grand Secretariat."

He paused, then once more introduced the man's record.

"Minister Zheng, a jinshi of the twenty-sixth year of Wanli. He also possesses extensive local administrative experience, having served as County Magistrate and Prefect, and also undertook water conservancy projects in Henan."

"We have also heard that Minister Zheng is an incorruptible official of considerable repute for probity, refusing all bribes and entreaties."

"Therefore, We have selected him with the intent of placing him in sole charge of auditing the old policies."

Zheng Sanjun also rose, cupped his hands in a full circle, and sat down.

The applause rose again, but this time, the atmosphere carried a subtle difference.

On the faces of Donglin stalwarts like Liu Zongzhou and Sun Shenxing was unconcealed delight, clearly heartened that a fellow traveler famed for his incorruptibility had entered the Grand Secretariat.

On the other side, the Minister of Personnel Yang Jingchen, the newly risen Huo Weihua, and others wore expressions tinged with scrutiny and probing inquiry.

Zhu Youjian took it all in, his face betraying nothing.

This month, he had weathered two great waves of turmoil.

The first was the leave-of-absence wave, initiated by New Policies officials and followed by old-policies officials trailing in their wake.

Fortunately, it was later discovered to be a false alarm.

It was utterly baffling how the two factions had found a common moral banner; not submitting a memorial would instead have marked one as a disloyal deviant.

The second wave was the struggle between the New Policies and the old policies.

This was the far more intractable problem.

He had arrived bearing the perspectives of later ages, and by nature harbored zero trust in the Great Ming's bureaucratic apparatus.

Let alone the eunuch faction, he was only half-convinced about the Donglin as well.

For instance, Sun Chuanting, for instance, Lu Xiangsheng—when they served as County Magistrates, had they never taken customary fees?

He had not dispatched anyone to investigate, fearing it would wound his ministers' hearts, but in his own mind he harbored grave suspicions.

Competent, incorruptible, principled, loyal to the sovereign, patriotic—these labels were each separate. Having moral integrity did not necessarily mean one possessed all the other labels.

That was precisely why he had to make a grand show of it, forcibly carving out the distinction between "New Policies" and "old policies."

It still comes back to that same point: name and substance can transform into each other.

Once you frame the standard for a "white crow," white crows will naturally appear.

It doesn't matter if a lot of disguised black crows are mixed in among them — you just prune the branches little by little.

Then cultivate yourself, regulate the family, govern the state, and pacify the realm, inching outward step by step, clearing one area and consolidating it before moving on, clarifying the realm with the same mindset you'd use to conquer it anew.

But what he absolutely never expected —

In the end, the conservatives actually thought he, a radical, was too conservative!

What the hell.

Sun Shenxing, Liu Zongzhou, Zheng Sanjun — these Donglin Faction men,

and even Yan Mingtai, Zhang Jiude, Yang Weiyuan — these old eunuch-faction men,

had, to varying degrees and for no discernible reason, somehow reached a consensus.

The memorials scattered in from everywhere, whether arguing from the angle of morality, the people's hearts, institutional structure, or practical affairs, all faintly conveyed the same voice —

If new policies are to rise, how can the old policies be allowed to slacken!

They wanted to directly follow the precedent of Zhang Juzheng and push hard for performance evaluations! And to push them within the old policies!

Of course, although the various factions reached agreement on this matter, they were full of divergent opinions and mutual attacks over who should take charge of it.

Zhu Youjian interviewed more than a dozen candidates before finally settling on Zheng Sanjun.

After weighing ability, faction, and service record, this was the safest choice.

Having introduced the two new Grand Secretaries, Zhu Youjian then introduced some personnel newly promoted into the secretariat this month.

Such as Yang Sichang, Wen Zhenmeng, Yao Ximeng, Chen Renxi, Jiang Yueguang, Zhou Yanru, Mao Yuanyi, and a dozen or so others.

This group didn't get the fine treatment the previous two had — a name was read, a round of applause was given, and the formality was over.

With the three personnel appointments announced, he picked up the small gavel and tapped it lightly on the table.

"Very well, you've all met the newcomers. Now, the meeting formally begins."

"Chief Grand Secretary, you may begin."

Chief Grand Secretary Huang Liji rose to his feet, first cupped his hands in salute, then unfolded the booklet in his hands.

"Reporting to Your Majesty. The chief officials of all prefectures, subprefectures, and counties in Northern Zhili have entered the capital by imperial decree and have submitted their statecraft documents."

"After many rounds of cross-discussion, this subject will now read aloud the final settled regulations for the implementation of the new policies, as follows:"

"Item one: it is called Examination and Selection."

"From the second to the tenth of this month is the phase for examination, selection, and personnel assignment. Each official will undergo examination and selection in two subjects."

"The first subject is official documents."

"It examines whether the official documents they submitted demonstrate insight into local worldly conditions and their attitude toward the new policies. It assesses whether the documents they handed in are complete and thorough, without concealment, regarding local powerful families, wealthy households, tax collection, land surveying, banditry, and other matters. The maximum score is one hundred."

"The second subject is administrative achievement."

"It examines whether their ability is adequate and whether they are incorrupt. It comprehensively considers past tax completion records, performance evaluation results, and official reputation. The maximum score is one hundred."

When Huang Liji finished speaking, he pointed toward the crowd.

"In this segment, the matter of official document review shall be overseen by Qi Xinxiao, general supervisor of the Northern Zhili New Policies Group of the secretariat."

"All officials in the capital who hail from that locality or have previously held office there will receive official dispatches soliciting their review opinions, to serve as reference."

Qi Xinxiao rose in response, cupped his hands, and sat back down.

"The administrative achievement evaluation shall be overseen by Minister of Personnel Yang Jingchen, in coordination with the Ministry of Revenue and the Censorate, to investigate past tax completion results and reports of corruption."

Yang Jingchen also rose, cupped his hands, and sat down.

Huang Liji paused, then added: "As His Majesty has stated, on the matter of incorruptibility, only major offenses shall be pursued; customary practices shall not be scrutinized. This is a special grace specially decreed for this Northern Zhili examination and selection, and shall not become a permanent precedent."

He turned a page and continued.

"Item two: it is called Setting Targets."

"Each official shall set his own governance targets for the first year of the Yongchang era and submit the 'Northern Zhili New Policies Implementation Pledge.'"

"These official documents must be submitted between the tenth and the fifteenth. They must be grounded in the statecraft document format, with every word substantiated. Neither overreaching for quick success nor indolently shirking duties is permissible."

"The targets fall into two categories."

"The first is the comprehensive survey of population, farmland, and tax revenue — these three are mandatory examinations."

"The second consists of mid-level and lower-level targets such as water conservancy, trade promotion, land reclamation, and bandit suppression, to be set by each official according to local realities."

"The review and approval of such documents shall still be overseen by Qi Xinxiao of the secretariat, who shall coordinate with various officials in the capital to provide input."

Qi Xinxiao rose again, cupped his hands, and sat down.

Huang Liji continued.

"Item three: it is called the Interview."

"From the fifteenth to the twenty-fifth, interview panels shall be formed for the prefectures, subprefectures, and counties of Northern Zhili. The examiners shall be divided into four categories."

"First, members of the Commission, and the Ministers and Vice Ministers of the various ministries, shall serve as chief examiners."

"Second, capital officials of Northern Zhili origin shall, at the time of interview, be assigned according to the principle of one from the same county and one from the same prefecture. This category of examiners totals one hundred and eighty-seven persons."

"Third, examiners who have held office in Northern Zhili as local officials, Judges, Governors, or Regional Inspectors, totaling two hundred and seventy-two persons."

"Fourth, from among the juren and Imperial Academy students in the capital who have submitted statecraft documents, two hundred of Northern Zhili origin and two hundred of other origins shall be selected to attend as observers. One person per session shall have the right to pose one question."

At this point, Huang Liji glanced again at Qi Xinxiao. "All the above-mentioned allocation and shift scheduling of interview personnel shall likewise be uniformly overseen by Qi Xinxiao."

As Huang Liji spoke to this point, the expressions on the faces of Li Banghua and Zheng Sanjun, seated in the very front row, had already become exceedingly colorful.

One was from Jiangxi, the other from Southern Zhili, and both had only arrived in the capital in the middle of the month.

Although they had undergone several interviews with the Emperor, this was their first time attending this sort of "cross-coordination meeting."

Only today did they truly grasp the meaning of the saying, "The new sovereign presses matters, exacting to the last penny."

In the past, the examination and selection of local officials of this sort was simply a matter of dispatching a high-ranking official to take general charge, and that was that. When had there ever been regulations so intricate as to make one's hair stand on end?

What truly alarmed them was that, for the selection of a mere hundred-odd local officials, nearly a third of the entire capital's officialdom had been stirred into motion — even juren and Imperial Academy students had been pulled in!

It was exactly as the rumors in the capital said —

Deep in stratagem, meticulous in execution; without a will of thunderous force, one could not achieve such work of hair-splitting exactitude.

And yet, what was all this, really?

If only this new sovereign's standards were that simple.

The committees and the secretariat had been whipped spinning like tops by Zhu Youjian this past month — they had not merely discussed this paltry amount.

Otherwise, that storm of "petitioning His Majesty to take a rest" would not have been initiated first by the very people within the New Policies camp.

These days had simply been too grueling!

Open your eyes and there were endless meetings; return home, close your eyes, and countless "revision notes" still swirled in your head.

Thank heaven — at last the end was nearly in sight!

Huang Liji felt a lightness in his heart, cleared his throat, and continued reading.

"Fourth: training."

"From the twenty-fifth to the thirtieth, all selected Northern Zhili local officials shall undergo five days of pre-post training."

"The training bibliography includes:"

"Fifty-Four Methods by Which Northern Zhili Clerks Conceal and Deceive"

"Handbook of New Policies Office Forms and Official Document Formats"

"Handbook on the Authority, Transmission, Reception, and Frequencies of the Thousand-Li Lightning-Flash Relay Stations"

"Handbook on the Memorial Authority, Classification, and Scale for Requesting Capital Camps Support in Local Unrest"

"Three Principles and One Objective for Deeply Understanding the Yongchang New Policies"

"Analysis of the Superior and Erroneous Methods in Zhang Juzheng's New Policies Implementation"

"Resistance Likely Encountered in Local New Policies Implementation — Taking Zhang Juzheng's Huguang New Policies as an Example"

"On the Preparatory Work and Points of Attention for the Northern Zhili Clerk Examination and Selection"

"On the Role and Points of Attention in Promoting the Great Ming Times in the Localities"

"On the Compilation and Collection Work for The Rise and Fall of the Realm and the Livelihood of the People"

"A Comprehensive Explanation of the White Lotus Sect's Organizational Model, Common Characteristics, and Operational Methods"

Huang Liji recited over twenty titles in a single breath, then could not help but let out a long, deep exhale.

"Within these five days, eight lessons per day, forty lessons in total. The above bibliography shall be studied."

"Of these various texts, some have already been printed and bound, some have not yet been fully printed, but all have been assigned to individuals and can basically be guaranteed to be printed and bound before the training begins."

"Among them, the content on clerks, office work, relay stations, and the Yongchang New Policies shall be under the general collection, supervision, and printing of Gao Shiming of the Directorate of Ceremonial."

"Matters relating to Zhang Juzheng's New Policies experience shall be supervised and printed by Expositor-in-Waiting Cheng Jiming, leading the personnel of the Hanlin Academy."

"The White Lotus sect's organizational model, and The Rise and Fall of the Realm and the Livelihood of the People — by Lai Zongdao of the Ministry of Rites —"

"Northern Zhili clerks — by Yang Jingchen of the Ministry of Personnel —"

One by one, the court officials whose names were called rose solemnly, cupped their hands in salute, and then sat back down.

Huang Liji finished calling the roll and only then said, "As His Majesty has stated, the many texts listed above need not be perfected in a single step; first produce an edition, use it while revising it, assess right and wrong in the doing, and judge its value in practice."

Huang Liji turned another page; his voice was already somewhat hoarse.

Seeing this, Zhu Youjian quickly smiled and said, "Chief Grand Secretary, have some tea first. No hurry — take your time."

Huang Liji expressed his thanks for the imperial grace, picked up the large tea mug he had brought from home, and gulped down a big mouthful, only then feeling his throat ease somewhat.

"Fifth: performance evaluation."

"Based on population, acreage of farmland, and tax surveys, each prefecture, subprefecture, and county shall receive from one to ten red marks, graded accordingly."

"Other matters such as water conservancy, commercial taxes, wasteland reclamation, and bandit suppression shall also each be assigned red marks."

"Should a local official collude with powerful families to conceal farmland acreage, or impose additional taxes solely on commoners, a first offense shall receive one green mark."

"If unrepentant, three green marks. For a third offense, or for a major transgression, immediate dismissal, with a capable replacement selected to take over."

"The specific numbers of red marks listed above cannot yet be conclusively determined."

"They shall be determined according to the finalized 'Northern Zhili New Policies Governance Targets Commitment Letter' produced after the Northern Zhili local official selection."

"This matter shall be jointly overseen and followed up by Gao Shiming of the Directorate of Ceremonial and Yang Jingchen of the Ministry of Personnel."

Huang Liji had at last turned to the final page.

"Sixth: oversight."

"Northern Zhili oversight shall proceed along three parallel tracks."

"First, the Northern Zhili Regional Inspector teams. Yuan Keli shall serve as Regional Inspector of the Eight Prefectures; Hou Xun and Yan Mingtai shall serve respectively as Southern and Northern Regional Inspectors."

"After the summer tax collection, the two inspection zones shall be swapped."

"Each is required, in the course of inspection, to use no post stations, display no official placards, and conduct all travel in plain-clothes incognito; all categories of official expenses shall be specially approved from the imperial privy purse."

"Second, Embroidered Uniform Guard banner-officer scouts. Along the three newly opened relay-station lines — the Capital–Jinzhou, Capital–Daming, and Capital–Denglai routes — they shall divide zones and gather intelligence."

At this point, Huang Liji deliberately emphasized his tone.

"His Majesty specifically instructs: this category of Embroidered Uniform Guard personnel possesses only the authority to report matters, not the authority to enforce the law. Should an arrest be required, it must proceed through the dynastic system of red endorsement by the Supervising Secretary of the Office of Justice."

"Third, the traditional Censors and remonstrance officials may also submit memorials. However, to prevent fabricated accusations that obstruct the New Policies, such impeachments must clearly distinguish right from wrong and may not be ambiguous."

At these words, the many officials who had participated in the deliberations all inwardly breathed a long sigh of relief.

This matter was finally drawing to a close!

Yet many of those attending for the first time — such as the green-robed historian Zhang Maoxiu — listened in stunned amazement.

What Northern Zhili New Policies? Hearing it in its entirety, this was simply taking half the strength of the Great Ming central government and pressing it down with overwhelming force onto a single, tiny Northern Zhili.

The many ennobled nobles exchanged glances, saying not a word.

Zhang Weixian, Duke of Ying, swept his gaze across to the opposite side, where Zhang Tongchang, Duke of Xing, sat with a face full of eager anticipation, and could not suppress a quiet, melancholy sigh in his heart.

He hoped the Emperor would be sagely wise, yet feared the Emperor might be too sagely wise——

The affairs of family and state — a dilemma indeed!

Whatever postures each man struck,

Huang Liji finally closed the volume and let out a long breath.

"Your Majesty, the broad outline of the New Policies is essentially as presented. The full detailed regulations have been compiled into a fifty-thousand-character document, Implementation Measures for Carrying Out the New Policies in the Northern Metropolitan Region. The blocks can be carved overnight, and it can be printed and published within five days. If any of you gentlemen wish to examine it, you may wait for the printed edition and study it in detail then."

He spread his hands as he finished, and could not help adding a rueful remark.

"I shall not recite the complete text — after all, a lengthy discourse of fifty thousand characters is something this old man — truly cannot manage to read through any longer."

The moment the words "this old man" left his mouth, Huang Liji startled even himself, and he hurriedly cupped his hands in apology: "Your Majesty, this subject has been discourteous before the throne——"

Before he could finish, he was cut off by Zhu Youjian's loud laughter.

"Ha ha ha, Chief Grand Secretary, why so rigidly formal."

He pressed his hand down with a smile, motioning for Huang Liji to sit at ease.

The atmosphere in the hall relaxed at once.

Yet Zhu Youjian's gaze suddenly sharpened, falling upon Sun Shenxing and Liu Zongzhou.

"Minister Sun, Minister Liu, I have debated the New Policies and the Old Policies with you many times before."

"I have always said that the Old Policies cannot accomplish the work of the New Policies. Now that you have heard the policy proposals presented by the Chief Grand Secretary today, can you at last see the distinction somewhat more clearly?"

"The matter of the Old Policies must also be settled with a final conclusion today!"

The moment these words fell, the relaxed mood that had filled the hall instantly froze solid.

Everyone knew that the real drama was only now about to begin!

From among the seated ranks, two figures rose almost simultaneously, one just before the other, their voices ringing out clear and strong through the great hall.

"Your Majesty, this subject has a memorial to present!"