Chapter 284: The Will of Great Ming (53rd on the Rankings~)

As the strategy for the Mongol Bureau finally settled into place, Hong Chengchou could not help but let out a soft breath.

It meant that this long and grueling "policy-fixing" grand examination for the Court of Colonial Affairs had already cleared seventy percent of its hurdles.

Through these dozens of days and nights of nonstop work, he had given up all his ten-day rest periods and even spent the three-day Winter Solstice festival holed up in the yamen, going hat in hand day after day to drag the relevant figures from the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of War, and the Secretariat into meeting after meeting.

When he ran into someone on leave, he would simply show up at their door with a jug of wine.

He had bluntly earned himself the elegant nickname "Hong the Door-Blocker."

Looking at it now, all that painstaking effort had not been in vain.

The newborn Court of Colonial Affairs, though a makeshift troupe thrown together on short notice, was already beginning to show a formidable and imposing air.

It was divided into four bureaus: the Mongol Bureau, the Jurchen Bureau, the Administrative Bureau, and the Bureau of the Various Barbarians.

The first two were the critical organs, tasked exclusively with strategies for offensive action and loose-rein control over the Mongol and Jurchen territories.

The Bureau of the Various Barbarians was all-encompassing: Japan, Ryukyu, Ü-Tsang, the Far West, Annam, and even the various southwestern tusi chieftains all fell within its scope.

To use His Majesty's words: "If you do not even know the names of the kings of the red barbarians or the Macao barbarians, what strategy can you possibly speak of?"

Thus, for any country whose internal conditions had not yet been thoroughly investigated, there was no rush to open a separate office; instead, the work of "seeking truth" would come first.

As for the Administrative Bureau, though named "administration," it was in fact the logistical nerve center.

Under it stood three sections — Titles and Ranks, Ritual and Ceremony, and Translation — operating side by side and cutting across all the other bureaus, tasked specifically with the tedious minutiae of filing records, maintaining archives, welcoming arrivals, and seeing off departures.

The Titles and Ranks Section handled matters of enfiefment, frontier trade markets, and tribute.

The Ritual and Ceremony Section handled the laws and ordinances for the various barbarians along the Nine Frontiers, reception procedures for those entering the capital, banquet arrangements, and the like.

The Translation Section handled the translation of books from various countries, as well as the selection, recruitment, and training of interpreters.

At the Yongchang Emperor's command, an official rose to his feet.

The man did not look terribly old, yet the hair at his temples was already flecked with frost, and his official robes hung somewhat loosely on his frame.

It was none other than the Bureau Director of the Jurchen Bureau, Lu Shanji.

He walked to the front of the hall and went straight to the point:

"This humble officer, Bureau Director of the Jurchen Bureau of the Court of Colonial Affairs, Lu Shanji, is charged with reporting on the Jurchen strategy."

"Beyond the Jianzhou core territory itself, the country of Joseon, as well as the Mongol tribes subordinate to Jianzhou — such as the Aohan, Naiman, and Khorchin — also fall within this bureau's scope of jurisdiction." "And in the first year of Yongchang, the short-term strategy pursued by this bureau can be summed up in eight words — divide them from within, blockade them from without." "As for what is meant by dividing them from within, the principle is clear enough and requires no explanation."

"I need only offer a brief 'seeking-truth' clarification so that all of you may understand the details involved."

"Since the barbarian chieftain raised his troops in the eleventh year of Wanli, he first swallowed the various Jianzhou tribes, then annexed the Haixi Jurchen, and later subjugated the Wild Jurchen; after that, he struck at Fushun and Kaiyuan, and seized Liaodong and Shenyang."

"In the course of this process, Jurchen of every tribe, Mongols of every tribe, and Han people from every region were gradually brought under his command."

"The tangle of internal interests among them is, in truth, far deeper and more complex than that among the Mongol tribes."

"For instance, when this humble officer and Supreme Commander Sun were formerly serving as Military Commissioners in Ji-Liao, we used Wang Shizhong to stir up the matter of Urgudai of the Haixi Jurchen, throwing their internal ranks into chaos." "Furthermore, although the Khorchin tribe has attached itself to the Jurchen, it has also, on that account, had its frontier trade market cut off by our court, and harbors considerable resentment in its heart — here, in fact, there is much room for maneuver."

"To say nothing of the Naiman and Aohan tribes, who have only just submitted, whose hearts are not yet settled, and who are still wavering."

"And the Han people of Liaodong, living under their rule, suffer torments day and night as if plunged into fire and water, and incidents of them killing officials and fleeing for their lives occur repeatedly — all of these are opportunities that can be exploited." "Even Amin, the Fourth Beile, though his power has swelled of late due to his success in the Joseon campaign, has for that very reason bred an arrogant and independent spirit, and is deeply at odds with Daishan, Manggultai, and Hong Taiji, whom Nurhaci left behind."

At this point, Lu Shanji could not suppress a cold sneer.

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"In former days, the reason the barbarian chieftain could, from a single corner beyond the frontier, bridle and control such a chaotic multitude and forge their wills into one —"

"what he relied upon was precisely that, over these several decades, in using the small to devour the large, in annexation after annexation, he had never met with a major defeat!"

"Because he was ever-victorious, the hearts of his followers were strongly united, to the point that even Han people committed acts of surrendering cities and going over to him."

"However —"

His tone shifted sharply, and his voice rose slightly:

"At Ningyuan, he met defeat, and the barbarian chieftain perished! After Hong Taiji succeeded him, though he won a victory in Joseon, he was then stalled beneath the walls of Ning-Jin, unable to advance an inch." "That momentum of successive victories — there it came to a halt!"

"Right now, whether Jurchen, Mongol, or Han, all of them must surely be weighing that question in their hearts."

"From a single corner of the land, to stand against the great nation of China — can it truly succeed?"

Lu Shanji swept his gaze across the assembled dignitaries in the hall, his tone firm and certain:

"From the moment they stole Liaodong and Shenyang, built city walls to dwell within, and devoted themselves to farming and weaving for their sustenance, their situation has changed!"

"Since they now hold the defense of walled cities and moats, they must also bear the burdens and hardships of sowing and reaping; since they devote themselves to farming and weaving, they must grow attached to their buildings and lands." "They are no longer the roving bandits of old, who followed the water and grass, coming and going like the wind; they are entrenched bandits, guarding their lairs!"

"Even setting aside the land of Liaodong and Shenyang, and speaking only of the Jurchen homeland, there too cultivation came first, with hunting and herding second."

"Back when the Kaiyuan horse market was still in operation, what the Jurchen brought out were ginseng and timber, but what they purchased were our Great Ming's plow oxen and seeds — this is ironclad proof of their turn to agriculture!"

"Outside the city of Khara Mutu, smiths are thick as a forest, smelting and forging day and night without cease; in the outskirts of Shenyang, too, arrow workshops and cannon workshops are arrayed in rows."

"Can these be easily moved away?"

"Their present strategic situation is exactly like that of the Tumed tribe: they can only fight on the defensive, and can no longer wage mobile warfare!"

As he spoke to this point, his bearing grew ever more spirited and roused, as if he had returned to those years of devising strategies within the Military Commissioner's headquarters in Liaodong.

"What is more, with the new policies now about to be launched and every man eager and striving, the overall situation is far, far better than it was in the third year of Tianqi."

"Back then, we were still able to stir the hearts of the Haixi people and throw them into great chaos — how much more so now?"

"At this very moment, we must use agents within to divide flesh from bone, and display our might without to shake their people's hearts."

"And our court, for its part, shall repair arms and armor, nurture and drill our troops, and once our soldiers are elite and our generals plentiful, choose a time and a place to fight a single field battle."

"When that time comes, if Great Ming does not lose, that is Jianzhou's slow defeat!"

"When that time comes, if Great Ming wins, that is Jianzhou's utter rout!"

"The advantage is entirely ours; we should naturally proceed with the majestic, crushing force of Mount Tai pressing down, steady and sure — why be hasty, and why worry that their hearts will not fall into chaos!"

As his words fell, the assembled officials in the hall fell silent for a moment.

After a short while, suddenly, with a sharp clap, a lone burst of applause rang out.

Immediately after, as if a dike had burst and the floodwaters come rushing through, thunderous applause rose up one after another throughout the great hall.

"Well said!"

"Exactly!"

"This is an open scheme! An open scheme carried out in broad daylight!"

The officials' reaction — this impassioned fervor — was due in no small part to the speaker's oratorical force, which far surpassed Li Yukui's.

But the identity of the man speaking was equally crucial.

Had these words not come from Lu Shanji, the crowd would have dismissed them as the ravings of a child and never grown so stirred.

Lu Shanji, fifty-two years of age, a native of Dingxing County in Northern Zhili.

He was a man renowned as a true hero — one whose every word was a driven nail.

In the forty-seventh year of Wanli, he served as a Bureau Secretary in the Ministry of Revenue, overseeing the Guangdong Bureau.

At that time, Liaodong was short of pay and provisions. The officials petitioned the Shenzong Emperor to release funds from the privy purse, but the memorials were all retained at court without response.

Yet by regulation, the civil officials of the Great Ming simply could not bypass the Emperor to make any decision.

The soldiers at the front needed money — where was the money to come from?

Lu Shanji went straight to the point and submitted a letter to the Minister of Revenue, Li Ruhua.

"Rather than beg for a purse that will not be opened, why not retain the gold that has not yet been delivered?"

What this meant was: since the Shenzong Emperor refused to give money when asked, why not simply intercept the Guangdong gold-flower silver due for tribute and divert it to military pay?

When Zhu Youjian later read the archives and came upon this record, he was utterly dumbfounded.

Brother, with backbone like that... how is it I've never heard your name in the history of my later era?

This was nothing short of pulling teeth from a tiger's mouth!

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Sure enough, Wanli was first mildly angered and directly issued an edict docking him a year's salary.

But the matter did not end there.

At that time, a mere Bureau Secretary of the Ministry of Revenue, Lu Shanji not only refused to back down but openly declared:

"Let the bureau officers stake their lives in contention, and the hall officers stake their offices. However stubborn His Majesty's will, it may not prove unswayable."

He was actually demanding that the higher-ups — the Minister and Vice Ministers — join him in laying their black gauze caps on the line to defy the Emperor.

At this, Wanli flew into a rage and had him demoted and posted out of the capital.

If the story ended there, he would be no more than a stubborn magistrate who could not adapt. The key was that after the Tianqi era began, Lu Shanji was recalled to service and reassigned as a Bureau Secretary in the Bureau of Operations of the Ministry of War.

Thereupon, he followed Sun Chengzong out to manage the Liaodong frontier. In a few short years, the region saw abundant harvests and great order, and his achievements were outstanding.

Just at this time, the post of Bureau Director of the Bureau of Appointments in the Ministry of Personnel fell vacant at court. After the court nomination process, Lu Shanji was selected.

The so-called Bureau Director of the Bureau of Appointments in the Ministry of Personnel controlled the evaluation, selection, and promotion of officials throughout the empire. It was a plush post among plush posts, a critical office among critical offices. Though nominally only a fifth-rank bureau director, its actual power rivaled that of a full Minister bearing the seal of a ministry!

Even Sun Chengzong urged him to return. After all, Liaodong was bitterly cold; going back to the capital would let him care for his aging father and enjoy a few years of ease.

And then Zhu Youjian, in this man's official evaluation dossier, read the following passage:

"To leave the frontier for the appointments bureau — this is what ordinary men would not refuse, but would you say Shanji desires it?"

"So long as Your Excellency remains one day with the army, this man remains one day in your tent."

"Shanji's beard and brows bristle like halberds — would he turn back to be a bureau director in the Ministry of Personnel?"

"My father, a man of Fanyang, has written instructing Shanji to serve well at Your Excellency's side on the frontier. The old man adds an extra bowl of rice to his meal for your sake."

"That Your Excellency should treat Shanji as an ordinary man is one thing — but would Your Excellency treat my father as an ordinary man as well?"

The meaning of that last line was:

Supreme Commander Sun, if you think I'm just some common fellow greedy for wealth and rank, so be it — but how could you think my father is a common fellow too?

When Zhu Youjian read this, he simply struck the table and cried out in admiration.

What a man — Lu Shanji, whose beard and brows bristle like halberds!

The key was, it was remarkable enough that the son was so iron-willed, but the father proved just as unyielding!

Like father, like son — this family was rather extraordinary.

In that case... could the Jurchen diplomatic strategy devised by a man of such unyielding character possibly consist of nothing more than a simple internal sowing of discord?

As the applause died down, Lu Shanji continued speaking, his expression growing ever more solemn.

"As for the external blockade, the principle is equally simple."

"It is just as Censor Yan set forth in his earlier memorial concerning the defeats in Liaodong."

"First, we were defeated because our court's hearts were divided and our military preparations neglected."

"But in truth, we were defeated even more because..."

He paused, and a fierce ruthlessness suddenly gathered between his brows. His voice turned harsh and severe:

"There are traitors to the realm who do not wish Liaodong to win!"

He gestured with an empty hand, his tone icy.

"The territory of Jianzhou holds no more than a few hundred thousand souls. Its produce is limited to ginseng, furs, and the like."

"The profit from its trade is far inferior to that of the Mongol Right Wing, let alone compared to the route of maritime trade with foreign lands."

"Even with smuggling year after year, how much profit can there be? A million taels of silver a year at most!"

"And yet, it is precisely these treacherous wretches, coveting this paltry profit of a mere million, who have caused the dynasty to pour tens of millions in coin into Liaodong to no avail!"

"So that eight years have passed and the matter still cannot be concluded!"

"In Liaodong, there are officers who carry goods across; in Dongjiang and Joseon, there are maritime merchants whose ships carry goods across!"

"Through these two routes, the Jianzhou barbarians, with a mere million in profit, have seized their breathing space and nurtured their tiger-and-wolf army. How laughable! How detestable!" Lu Shanji's gaze swept the assembled officials like lightning. Finally, he gave a slight nod toward the Minister of Justice, Qiao Yunsheng, and then spoke coldly: "To deal with these corrupt and colluding wretches, nothing short of the harshest statutes will serve to warn the world."

"The Court of Colonial Affairs and the Ministry of Justice have deliberated jointly for days and have finally settled upon new regulations against smuggling, to be appended to the Penal Code and formally promulgated in the first year of the Yongchang era." "For any merchant caught engaging in private trade with Jianzhou, regardless of the sum involved, the offender shall be hunted down and his entire household confiscated!"

"For any officer, palace eunuch, ennobled noble, or civil official who shields, conceals, or abets such smuggling merchants — whatever his office, whatever his rank of nobility — once discovered, his title and office shall be stripped, his household likewise confiscated, with no leniency whatsoever!"

At this point, he spoke each word deliberately, as if every syllable dripped with the stench of blood:

"Since they are so greedy for profit, then let them gorge themselves on it!"

"The dynasty still has tens of millions in unpaid wages right now — the state treasury is empty, and we are desperately short of funds and grain!"

"To use these shameless wretches, who for petty gain cast aside the common people, their sovereign and father His Majesty, and the realm itself, to fill the void in the state treasury — the time for this is precisely now!"

With that, he swept his gaze across the assembly one last time, cupped his hands deeply toward Zhu Youjian, and declared with solemn awe:

"Your Majesty, this subject's report is concluded."

Seated behind the imperial desk, Zhu Youjian smiled faintly and gave a light tap with the wooden mallet in his hand.

"Very well. The Jurchen Bureau's affairs can only be discussed to this extent; anything more detailed is classified as Top Secret under the confidentiality regulations. If any of you ministers have questions regarding these two matters, you may raise them now."

As his words fell, the hall fell into a momentary pause.

It was not that they were frightened.

The officials filling this hall were either Great Accomplishment masters forged in the tide of the New Policies, or men who had long tempered themselves to the half-step New Policies realm. They would not be scared witless by a mere confiscation order.

It was simply that Lu Shanji had spoken at breakneck speed, his words like blades, laying out this thunderbolt strategy in mere moments.

Utterly unlike the slow, meticulous style of Li Yukui before him, many were still digesting the content they had received.

After a moment, someone finally raised a hand.

"This order is indeed sound, but how is it to be implemented? The crux of such a severe statute lies not in its severity, but in its execution. It must not be turned into a tool for factional persecution, or even for framing and entrapment."

In response to this question, Qiao Yunsheng, Minister of the Ministry of Justice, stepped forward to answer.

He laid out a detailed explanation of tiered review and sentencing according to the crime, stressing that everything would strictly follow the review procedures now in place under the New Policies. That is, while severity would be applied, there would be no laxity, nor any blind rush for speed; ironclad proof would be sought in every case.

Immediately after, another person asked:

"If Dongjiang and Liaodong are sealed off, what of the west? That region is home to the Ligdan Khan, the Doyan, and the Kharchin tribes — we may not be able to control them." This question was answered by Lu Shanji.

"Just as with anti-corruption, the key to suppressing smuggling is not to eliminate it entirely, but to raise its cost."

"If in the past, the Jianzhou barbarians could buy a dan of rice in Dongjiang or Liaodong for one tael of silver, then going through the Mongols, they would have to spend three taels, or five. Thus, even if the Ji Garrison and Zhangjiakou cannot completely stop the tribes from reselling, it still doubles the drain on their national strength — this is not without meaning. Even more bleakly, suppose our blockade in Dongjiang and Liaodong cannot achieve full effect — the same principle applies. In all matters, so long as one acts, there will inevitably be results; it is only a question of how great or small those results are."

As question after question was raised, and each was parried by answers long since fully formed, the Jurchen strategy was finally approved amid an air of awe-inspiring resolve. Next came the reports from the Administrative Bureau and the Barbarian Affairs Bureau.

The Bureau Director of the Administrative Bureau was an official transferred from the Ministry of Rites, who delivered a steady, balanced report on the arrangements for titles, ranks, and ceremonial protocol.

Only when he reached the "Translation Section" was there some content of a special nature.

"It is proposed to expand the recruitment of interpreter talent. In addition to routine interpreters, a dedicated institute will be established to translate the classical texts of the Far West and various nations. This matter will be coordinated with the Academy of Sciences…" As for the seven thousand books from the Jesuits, an imperial decree was not even needed.

A single order from the Court of Colonial Affairs dispatched two squads of runners, who spent a day hauling them all into the Court's courtyard.

Not all of these books, however, were related to the sciences.

Roughly a hundred or so were science-related and would be translated jointly with the Academy of Sciences.

Of the other seven thousand, many were on theology, history, the humanities, and such — with theology being the most numerous.

This portion would also be translated, but for the purpose of "seeking truth."

As for the Barbarian Affairs Bureau, since its Bureau Director was still being selected, Hong Chengchou temporarily delivered the report in his stead.

The report for this section essentially revolved around the two words "seeking truth."

And the order of priority was made very clear: Japan first, Annam second, the various Southeast Asian nations third.

First, thoroughly ascertain the details of Japan, Annam, and the Southeast Asian nations; everything else could wait.

Bureau by bureau, they reported; bureau by bureau, they questioned; bureau by bureau, they made collective pledges.

As the final jade mallet fell, this conference at last drew to a close.

The assembled ministers dispersed, the Emperor withdrew.

Yet the will of the Great Ming remained, lingering in this place.

For days, for tens of days.

For years, for decades.

Swiftly or slowly, sooner or later.

This will would ultimately transform into one urgent dispatch after another, into the dust raised by one relay horse after another, into one great sail-bearing ship after another.

Like thunderclaps, like driving rain, surging forth with majestic force to every corner of the realm!

A section of historical material is appended:

Collected Statutes of the Great Ming, Volume 221: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is charged with diplomatic relations, tributary missions, border affairs, and the mediation of disputes with foreign states.

Its predecessor was called the Court of Colonial Affairs, which originated in the tenth month of the seventh year of Tianqi.

At its initial establishment, adapting to the circumstances of the time, apart from the Administrative Bureau and the Barbarian Affairs Bureau, only two special bureaus — the Mongol Bureau and the Jurchen Bureau — were separately established, to address the urgent threat of the northern barbarians and eastern barbarians. Once the realm was pacified and the surrounding peoples submitted, the Jurchen having been extinguished and the Mongols having been assimilated, these two bureaus were abolished and no longer maintained.

Later, as the Mandate of Heaven shone forth and the national power grew daily, additional bureaus were established to govern the myriad nations.

All states of the Far West and the Kunlun regions were each governed by separate bureaus, and the regulatory framework was at last complete, thus forming the grand structure of today's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

(A diagram of the current structure of the Court of Colonial Affairs is attached. I won't make many of these diagrams; I'll update it once in a while.)