Chapter 237: The Maladies of Dividing New and Old — Factional Strife May Arise

As Zhu Youjian's words fell, Sun Shenxing, without the slightest courtesy, spoke directly.

"This subject believes that if one wishes to reform the great administration, one should hold the center and grasp the essentials, pressing down with a vast, majestic momentum — not like the present approach, setting up a separate stove and splitting the court in two.

"The precedent of Lord Jiangling in the early Wanli years stands before us; it has been a mere forty-nine years since then — how can it not be employed again!"

"Let the Six Ministries oversee all inspecting censors and grand coordinators of the realm; let the Six Offices of Scrutiny oversee the failures of the Six Ministries; let the Grand Secretariat oversee the Six Offices of Scrutiny; and let Your Majesty sit in majesty above, pressing and supervising the Grand Secretariat!" "In this way, the governance of the realm will admit no divergence — all will be the New Policies! All affairs, every matter, will be carried out according to the new laws, pressed down with overwhelming force. Why must we forcibly carve out a distinction between new and old!"

"In this subject's view, this present carving of new from old truly has four great harms!"

Sun Shenxing paused here, taking in the reactions of everyone present.

Zhu Youjian's expression was intent, even bearing a slight smile.

Chief Grand Secretary Huang Liji hung his head in silence; Second Grand Secretary Li Guopu's brows were tightly locked; while Huo Weihua, Yang Jingchen, and the other newly risen figures already wore looks of indignation, and the men of the Secretariat were in a complete uproar.

Yes!

This new sovereign had stirred men's hearts, made his stance unmistakably clear, dismounted from his horse in person, and was determined to drive the New Policies forward.

Under such a mountain-toppling momentum, who could make a sound? Who dared make a sound!

Now, in this hall, the greater part are men of the New Policies; with interests at stake, even if some perceive the harms, who would be willing to remonstrate? Huang Liji is slippery as an eel; Li Guopu is bound by his reputation; men like Huo Weihua and Xue Guoguan are mere sycophants; and the men of the Secretariat are far too young. If I do not speak today, who else will speak!

A grief and indignation at his own isolation surged in Sun Shenxing's heart, and heedless of all else, he continued:

"First, it tears the court apart and shakes the foundation of the state!"

"Your Majesty uses the names 'new' and 'old' to divide and judge your ministers — this is no different from drawing a circle on the ground as a prison, causing the court to split of its own accord."

"Those of the New Policies enjoy generous treatment; those of the old policies grow resentful in their hearts. If this persists, far from uniting hearts and minds, it will breed a mentality of factional solidarity and attacking dissenters. Those not in the new positions may abandon themselves to despair, saying, 'I am in the old administration — why should I bother to do my work diligently?' Or they may hold their posts and eat idle, saying, 'Since I am an old man, why should I trouble to remain clean and self-disciplined?' In this way, the foundation of the state will be shaken — it is no blessing for the altars of the realm!"

Zhu Youjian nodded slightly.

Advantages and disadvantages — the New Policies had their advantages, and naturally they had their disadvantages.

The laxity of the old administration was indeed a problem; Little Zhu the Comrade acknowledged the truth of this point.

"Second, it lures men with profit and debases the morale of the scholar-official class!"

Sun Shenxing's voice rose slightly as he continued.

"This subject knows that since the Jiajing and Wanli reigns, the fashion of speaking of profit has flourished greatly; the morals of the age decline daily, and men's hearts are no longer as they were of old!"

"Yet precisely because of this, the court ought all the more to bring order out of chaos, to reshape virtue and morality, so as to turn back the raging tide before it is too late! How can we, on the pretext that the world's morals are already corrupted, willingly sink into depravity and use profit as bait?!"

"Your Majesty uses increased salaries, promotions, imperial favor, and leave to entice men into the New Policies — this is to drive your ministers by profit!"

"Once this precedent is set, officials will act not for the public good, but for private gain! This corrodes men's hearts; imperceptibly, by gradual influence, in the end the accumulated evils will become too deep to remedy!" Zhu Youjian shook his head slightly.

Morality and law are, in essence, the same thing — both are common agreements derived by human society for cooperation and for forming organizations.

Or, to put it more bluntly, they are in fact tools of management for the ruling class, distinguished only by whether they are coercive or soft.

He, Zhu Youjian, believed in morality, but he would not believe only in morality — on this point he was utterly different from these Confucian scholar-officials.

This particular truth, Little Zhu the Comrade did not quite endorse.

Sun Shenxing's speech grew faster, his voice increasingly impassioned, as he delivered all his remaining points in a single torrent.

"Third, it blocks the channels of remonstrance and breeds sycophancy!"

"The distinction between new and old is as stark as clouds and mud. Those who have not entered the New Policies, fearing that many words will lead to many errors, will seal their lips thrice over to protect themselves; those who have already entered the New Policies, to secure their positions and fearing dismissal, will inevitably whitewash the peace, reporting only the good and concealing the bad."

"In this way, those who speak loyal counsel that grates on the ear will vanish, and flatterers and toadies will multiply. Your Majesty's ears and eyes will be stopped up — how then will you perceive the true state of the realm?"

This point was entirely without reason.

In his previous life, Zhu Youjian had been precisely one of those who "fooled the higher-ups"; his attainments in the "Dao of Fooling" were immeasurably deeper than his attainments in the "Dao of Leading." All those interviews and constant study had not been wasted; his perception might be partially obscured, but it could never be completely obscured.

"Fourth, it employs expedients and not the Dao — putting the cart before the horse!"

"These New Policies, carried out with thunderous vigor, may seem to produce striking effects, yet they are all expedient 'techniques,' not the 'Dao' of ordering the state!"

"The Dao of a true king lies in 'transforming the people by virtue and governing the state with rectitude' — rectifying the root and clarifying the source, not treating the head when the head aches. Now, to abandon the root and chase the branch, to substitute technique for the Dao — this is truly no way to govern a state."

Well, by this point, it was even more a matter of fundamentally different philosophies of governance.

Zhu Youjian could not help shaking his head slightly.

But in any case, these four arguments represented certain overall conceptions of the Confucian scholar-official class of this era.

Zhu Youjian still took them into his ears, only he was more engaged in pondering, fathoming, and understanding the currents of thought behind these views.

Yet, as Sun Shenxing's words fell —

From their seats, Huo Weihua, Xue Guoguan, and Yang Jingchen stepped out of the ranks almost simultaneously.

"Your Majesty, your subjects request an immediate court debate! (×3)" This so-called "immediate court debate" was a small rule of the New Policies alignment meetings.

When opinions were severely at odds, one could apply on the spot; all statements would be debated and recorded then and there, and regardless of victory or defeat, appended to the meeting minutes and submitted. Zhu Youjian's train of thought was interrupted; he frowned slightly, and after a moment's silence, waved a hand at the several men.

"No hurry."

He said flatly, "Wait until one side has fully finished speaking; there will be time for debate later."

As he spoke, his gaze passed over the crowd and settled on Liu Zongzhou.

"Minister Liu, We observed that you also had something to say earlier. Do you have anything to add?"

Liu Zongzhou's expression was not so grief-laden and indignant, but it was exceedingly solemn.

He first made a deep bow to Zhu Youjian.

"Since Your Majesty ascended the throne, you have treated men with sincerity, placing all matters and all things openly on the table for discussion — rewards and punishments are thus, and the ills of the times are thus. This subject is not made of wood or grass; how could I not be moved in my heart?"

These words first affirmed the Emperor's attitude, slightly easing the tense atmosphere in the hall.

"What this subject has to say today is somewhat consistent with Lord Sun's views, yet not entirely the same."

Liu Zongzhou raised his head and looked at the Emperor on the throne.

"Your Majesty just now spoke of ordering Zheng Sanjun to enter the Grand Secretariat to take sole charge of the performance evaluation of the old administration."

"If this subject's surmise is not mistaken, Your Majesty's intent is that the New Policies shall follow the path of self-cultivation, family regulation, state governance, and bringing peace to the world, while the old administration shall employ Zheng Sanjun to implement the performance-evaluation methods of Zhang Jiangling — is that correct?"

Zhu Youjian nodded calmly:

"Minister Liu is not mistaken. As the quota for the New Policies narrows, within the old administration, faint signs of laxity and despondency have begun to appear."

"What Minister Sun just said is not entirely without merit. For that reason, I intend to have Minister Zheng take the lead on this matter."

Liu Zongzhou's voice rose slightly: "This subject's concern, however, differs from Lord Sun's — and it lies precisely in this simultaneous pursuit of both the new and the old!"

He swept his gaze around the great hall and spoke slowly, uttering words that made every man's hair stand on end.

"Factional strife, since the Wanli reign, has grown ever more intense. It began with Zhejiang, Chu, and Qi contending against the Donglin."

"By the Tianqi reign, it had escalated into a life-and-death struggle between the eunuch faction and the Donglin!"

"Men like Cui Chengxiu, Xue Zhen, and Zhou Yingqiu — in the past they were called the eunuch faction!"

"Men like this subject, like Sun Shenxing, like Cheng Jiming — in the past we were called the Donglin!"

A low, irrepressible murmur broke out across the hall.

What was Liu Zongzhou doing!

Before the new sovereign's very face, he was dredging up factional strife and declaring his own allegiance! Was this any way to present an argument!

Liu Zongzhou ignored the crowd's shock and continued:

"We of the Donglin detested the eunuch faction for bringing ruin upon the state, believing that the decay of court governance was entirely their doing."

"Day and night, our sole thought was to purge them utterly, so as to bring about a court where 'righteous men fill the morning audience.'"

"Yet after this subject returned to his home village and quietly read the Song histories, he finally came to an understanding."

"Wang Jinggong and Sima Junshi — the new and old factions of the Song, each attacking the other. Looking back, who was virtuous, who was treacherous? It is hard to reach a settled judgment. But that the Song state was ruined by this, and ultimately perished — that is a fact."

"Viewing the present through the mirror of the past, this subject's heart is filled with dread."

"If, as Your Majesty has said, a struggle between the people and the land truly erupts, and all under Heaven is overturned, our Great Ming may well repeat the Song dynasty's fate."

"When that day comes, upon the pages of history, upon whom shall this crime fall?"

Liu Zongzhou looked around at everyone, meeting their eyes one by one.

"The eunuch faction bears guilt. But we of the Donglin — how does our guilt differ from that of the Song men of old?"

As his words fell, the hall was utterly silent.

The former eunuch faction naturally looked on askance, but those of Donglin background were no less stunned.

Sun Shenxing even turned his head directly, his eyes filled with shock.

With words like these, were you not plunging a knife into the Donglin's own back?!

Yet Liu Zongzhou had not finished speaking.

"When Your Majesty ascended the throne, you restored officials who had been dismissed for factional reasons, and set aside the various Donglin cases without pursuing them. Though this may seem to lack impartiality, it was precisely a measure to suppress and level out factional strife! We are not obstinate fools — how could we fail to perceive the true intent!"

"And yet — "

Liu Zongzhou paused, and at last delivered his ultimate argument. "Your Majesty, the factional strife of former days began in personal animosity and ended in partisan entrenchment. The depth of harm it did the state — the warning is not far behind us."

"Today's division between new and old, though it goes by different names, is still built on intersecting interests, with positions determined by power and advantage. How does its root differ? This subject fears that today we press down the gourd, only for the ladle to bob up tomorrow!"

"Therefore, in this subject's view, there is no other way."

"Either let there be no barrier between new governance and old governance — let all governance of Great Ming be new governance! Implemented as one, assessed as one!"

"Or else, under no circumstances may a Grand Secretary be given sole charge of the old governance. Let the Ministry of Personnel carry out routine assessments and pursue accountability as usual, and that is enough! These two must never be granted separate, rival identities, allowed to form a balance of power!"

Brilliant!

Zhu Youjian could not help but cheer inwardly.

Liu Zongzhou's argument, though not stated quite so bluntly, had indeed struck the crux of the matter.

If the old governance were suppressed, then all would be well — it would simply be a minority, relying on imperial favor, bullying the majority.

But if the new and old governance were pursued side by side, when all rewards, punishments, favor, funds, and provisions were limited —

With the old governance having its own leader, competition between the two sides for resources would be all but inevitable.

This Liu Zongzhou, it seemed, saw deeper and farther than Sun Shenxing.

Having finished speaking, Liu Zongzhou faced the throne and bowed deeply.

The whole of Wuying Hall was terrifyingly silent.

Everyone was silently digesting the two men's successive addresses.

After a moment, all eyes turned toward the Son of Heaven's face, wanting to see how he would ultimately decide.

And upon the throne, Zhu Youjian's mind was perfectly clear.

This was the reality he had to face.

There had been no imagined citations of the classics, no use of "the ancestral system must not be violated" to pressure him.

Still less had anyone trotted out ghost-and-spirit talk of "Heaven-human resonance" — at least, not yet.

The scholar-officials of Great Ming were far more realistic than the caricatured figures in the history books.

The so-called ancestral system, the so-called celestial omens — these were merely tools in their hands to constrain the sovereign.

When useful, they used them; when not, they discarded them.

After Li Zhi and Wang Yangming, the average moral standard of Great Ming's scholar-officials had declined, but the shackles on their thinking had also been loosened.

The great edifice of Master Zhu's School of Principle now tottered, barely held up by its frame.

When these scholar-officials saw clearly that the young monarch upon the throne would not swallow that set of tricks at all, they cast them aside without hesitation and took up the sharpest, most practical weapons instead.

Namely, the flaws inherent in the new governance itself — the real, concrete defects of the new governance!

The "four ills" Sun Shenxing had spoken of, the "new factional strife" Liu Zongzhou had spoken of — they could not be called entirely correct, but they were at least grounded in real reasoning. Zhu Youjian could even sense that they were not opposing for opposition's sake, but simply holding fast to the "correct" way of governing that they believed in their hearts. What they said and did could at least be called by the word "sincere."

He thought of the memorials he usually received.

Some, in order to accomplish a single matter, would speak only of its benefits from beginning to end, never mentioning its drawbacks, hiding the harmful consequences with the utmost care.

Others focused solely on the immediate, constantly proposing levies, commutations, and silver conversions, with no regard for long-term strategy, seeking only achievements for their own tenure.

Still others, ostensibly dealing with public business, revealed between every line calculations made entirely for their own private gain or that of their protégés.

Compared to those memorials that required Zhu Youjian to scheme and scrutinize with painstaking care, the candor of these two men today seemed all the more rare and valuable. But!

Right and wrong in any matter have never been judged solely by loyalty or treachery.

To save the nation, to reform — on this fundamental line of the New Policies, not a single discordant note, not a single waver can be tolerated!

No matter how loyal, no matter how patriotic — once you stand on the opposite side of this road, you become an opposition that must be crushed.

In political choices, where is there any moral judgment? It is all nothing but the weighing of interests!

Zhu Youjian turned these thoughts over in his mind, but revealed nothing on his face.

That young face was as still as a deep pool, leaving every probing gaze below grasping at empty air.

He was silent for a moment, then let his eyes slowly sweep across the assembled ministers in the hall and opened his mouth to ask:

"Regarding the New Policies and the old policies — apart from Minister Huo and Minister Xue, does anyone else wish to speak?"

The hall fell silent for a moment. Zheng Sanjun, who had just been appointed as the Grand Secretary overseeing the performance review of the old policies, rose to his feet and opened his mouth, about to explain himself.

Zhu Youjian merely glanced at him, then lightly waved a hand.

"Minister Zheng's views — We have already discussed them fully. There is no need to repeat them now."

"Presently, We shall explain everything together." Zheng Sanjun paused, startled, then bowed with clasped hands. "This subject obeys the decree."

Zhu Youjian waited another moment. Seeing that no one else rose, he turned his gaze back to Sun Shenxing and Liu Zongzhou, who were still standing.

"Every word spoken by you two ministers is utter sincerity."

"Were you not men of loyal integrity and righteous spirit, how could you treat Our own mind as nothing, and brave the risk of angering your sovereign to speak these words that grate upon the ear?" "This is you two ministers loving Us — and loving the Great Ming."

Zhu Youjian habitually began his setups with the charm-offensive skill, and the assembled ministers in the hall had by now grown somewhat accustomed to it.

It was instead Sun Shenxing and Liu Zongzhou, who had attended far too few of these meetings, who were rather unaccustomed to it, even growing somewhat at a loss.

Just as the two were about to speak, Zhu Youjian raised a hand and said, "First, be seated. Answer while seated."

The two hesitated a moment, then slowly sat down. Zhu Youjian continued.

"Why have sovereigns of ages past always refrained from showing their hand, making much of 'the sacred will being inscrutable'?"

He tossed out the question, but without waiting for an answer, went on speaking on his own.

"Because every single matter under heaven inevitably has both advantages and disadvantages."

"Either the advantages are great and the disadvantages small, or the advantages small and the disadvantages great. Or the great advantage lies far off, while the small disadvantage stands before you; the near advantage stands before you, while the far disadvantage lies behind. Arrange and combine them thus, and the configurations of advantage and disadvantage are endless."

"Precisely for this reason, on any given matter, one can invariably seize upon its disadvantages to launch a ferocious attack."

Sun Shenxing's eyebrows shot up; he could barely restrain himself from raising his voice in protest, but seeing the mild expression on Zhu Youjian's face, he forcibly held himself back. Zhu Youjian smiled faintly and continued along his own train of thought.

"Moreover, advantages and disadvantages shift with time and conditions. It is entirely possible that at the moment of decision, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages, yet after implementation, the disadvantages gradually come to outweigh the advantages."

"Therefore, for a sovereign, the best course of action is to never show his hand."

"In all matters, let the ministers under him take the lead."

"If it succeeds, the sovereign has led wisely; if it fails, then drag that minister out and behead him, issue a self-accusing edict, purge the court of those around the throne — and the sovereign remains that sage and enlightened sovereign, merely one who was briefly deceived by a treacherous minister."

Zhu Youjian's gaze swept over everyone, and he smiled faintly.

"Gentlemen, this set of imperial statecraft that We have learned from the history books — is it correct?"

The assembled ministers filled the hall with silence. No one took up these rotten words.

This Son of Heaven was excellent in every way, except that he was always fond of speaking these heart-piercing truths.

Always fond of laying power politics and morality bare on the table for discussion.

This kind of talk — how are we, your ministers, supposed to comment on it?

Zhu Youjian sighed softly.

"Just now, when Vice Minister Huo wished to rise in rebuttal, this was precisely the principle."

"Had We remained silent and let him take the lead, then today's debate would have become a struggle between the ministers of the new and old factions. We could have stood apart and reaped the fisherman's profit."

At this point, Zhu Youjian's tone shifted abruptly.

"However!"

"Is the Great Ming of today in a time when it can fear to act, fear to err, fear to bear responsibility?!"

"We are unwilling to toy with such imperial statecraft! That is mere technique — not the Dao!"

"Our Dao is that of the Duke of Zhou, who spat out his food to receive guests, so that all hearts under heaven turned to him! It is to show sincerity to others, to be open and aboveboard!"

"Therefore, the reasoning behind the New Policies — Vice Minister Huo cannot answer it, nor can Prefect Xue!"

Zhu Youjian's gaze, like a sharp sword, thrust straight at Sun Shenxing and Liu Zongzhou.

"This reasoning must, without fail, be answered by Us alone!"

"The merits and faults in this must, without fail, rest upon Our person alone!"

"We must let all people under heaven see, with absolute clarity, every right and wrong, every twist and turn within this."

"We must make the reasoning of the New Policies like the sun and moon traversing the heavens, like the rivers flowing across the earth — once established, unshakable!"

He paused briefly here, looked at the two elder ministers, and asked with solemn weight:

"Minister Sun, Minister Liu — can these words of Ours be considered candid?"

Sun Shenxing slowly rose to his feet and bowed deeply toward the throne. "This subject has never doubted Your Majesty's utter sincerity."

Liu Zongzhou likewise rose and bowed. "It is precisely because our sovereign possesses a sincere heart that this subject dares to speak these sincere words!"

"Good!" Zhu Youjian nodded. "Both of you, be seated. No need to stand on ceremony."

He looked around at everyone and slowly began to speak.

"Then today, We shall carefully and in detail, explain the many principles behind these New Policies to you ministers, one by one."