Chapter 54: In Theory, I Have a Hundred Thousand Officers

The sedan chair swayed gently. Zhu Youjian sat with eyes half-closed, his heart still aching.

That was 1.3 million taels from the privy purse…

And in the current climate, probably only half of it — or even less — will actually reach the soldiers.

Later I'll choose the couriers from the Messenger Office carefully, then send the Depot and Guard to tail them.

But how much good that will do, only Heaven really knows.

"Your Majesty."

Gao Shiming's voice sounded beside his ear, pulling him back from his thoughts.

"For each list, we can finish collating native place, age, and background within one double-hour. Only…" He paused slightly, as if weighing his words. "The list of all substantive civil and military officials of the seventh rank and above across the empire will likely take several days."

Zhu Youjian opened his eyes and understood at once. He had already realized the problem. "Oh? Are there that many?"

Gao Shiming bowed. "To answer Your Majesty: the civil and military officials of the Two Capitals number roughly two thousand. These past days, as we filled Your Majesty's official screen, we slaves have already collated them. For civil officials in the provinces, roughly fifteen hundred, we can retrieve the files from the Ministry of Personnel and finish within a few double-hours."

"But… but for the military officers of the local guard stations, there is not enough time."

"The empire has over four hundred guard stations, and the chiliarch stations alone number more than three thousand. A Platoon Leader is already principal seventh rank; above him are Centurions, Vice Chiliarchs, Chiliarchs, and so on… All told, guard-station officers of the seventh rank and above, I fear…"

Gao Shiming's voice dropped, a little embarrassed. "I fear they number nearly a hundred thousand…"

"A hundred thousand?"

The corner of Zhu Youjian's mouth twitched slightly.

You're telling me I currently have a hundred thousand military officers of the seventh rank and above?

What kind of black humor is this? If these hundred thousand officers were all competent, I could sweep the lairs and level the Later Jin by next year.

In his mind, the names of those late-Ming generals began flashing unbidden.

Zuo Liangyu, Huang Degong, Liu Zeqing…

Apart from those bright stars now shining in Liaodong, who else was hidden within the guard-station system?

Even if there were some, I doubt I could fish them out.

With a base of a hundred thousand men, maybe I could find three Zuo Liangyus and five Huang Degongs…

Zhu Youjian was amused by his own thought. He couldn't help shaking his head and let out a laugh.

"That was my oversight." He waved a hand and said to Gao Shiming, "Leave the guard stations aside for now. We only need the lists of the Two Capitals' civil and military officials and the provincial civil officials."

"This slave obeys the decree." Gao Shiming let out a breath and quickly responded. "That being the case, only the register of some fifteen hundred provincial men remains. Your Majesty may take the noon meal first. By the time you finish dining, each list can be presented. Only the list of seventh-rank civil and military officials will be somewhat later."

"Mm. Go handle it."

Today Zhou Yu had gone to the imperial estate outside the city to inspect the settling of the palace eunuchs' families, so she was not here.

Zhu Youjian had to take his noon meal alone. The dishes were very simple — four dishes and a soup, all prepared by the newly purged and reorganized Directorate of Imperial Meals.

He ate quickly. His mind was entirely on those lists he was about to receive; he had little interest in the pleasures of the palate.

After the meal, he rinsed his mouth, then could not wait a moment longer and seated himself behind the imperial desk.

Gao Shiming had already placed the collated registers on the desk, sorted by category.

Four stacks in all, each thicker than the last.

The first stack: the court-recommended candidates for Minister of War, Minister of Personnel, and Minister of Justice — nine men in total.

The second stack: the full roster of the Messenger Office — thirty-two men in all.

The third stack: the list of officials dismissed during the Tianqi era for "Donglin faction" associations — two hundred eighty-three men in total.

The fourth stack, and the thickest: the register of the Two Capitals' civil and military officials and provincial substantive civil officials of the seventh rank and above. Only half was finished so far; the Directorate of Ceremonial was still delivering new lists in succession.

Looking at these stacks of registers before him, a surge of ambition rose in Zhu Youjian's heart.

This — this was his future core team!

This — this was the capital with which he would change this era and reshape the Great Ming realm!

He rubbed his hands together, like a player about to open a blind box, his eyes gleaming with excitement and anticipation.

Which one to start with?

Zhu Youjian's gaze swept over the four stacks of registers and finally settled on the thinnest one.

Come! Start with the smallest first — warm up the luck.

He drew a deep breath and picked up that court-recommendation list with only nine names.

The Ministry of War, the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Justice — these three departments could be called the very axis of the imperial court.

Especially the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of War: one controlled personnel, the other controlled military affairs. Their importance went without saying.

At present, the minister posts of these three ministries were all temporarily filled by their Left Vice Ministers — hardly a long-term solution.

The most urgent task was to settle the candidates first. Even if they were only temporary "paper-hangers," he had to set up the framework first and get the court functioning normally.

As for later… there would be plenty of time later to replace them, slowly, one by one.

Zhu Youjian's heart was brimming with excitement.

This was the first time he was truly, in the fullest sense, beginning to intervene in the personnel appointments and dismissals of the outer court civil officials.

Yet when he turned his gaze to that list, full of anticipation, his brow furrowed involuntarily.

What… what sort of candidates were these?

The first problem: age.

Zhu Youjian's eyes swept over the strings of birth dates, and his expression grew rather grim.

In his view, the ideal age for a nation's top ministerial grandees should be between forty and sixty.

Officials in that age range possessed both sufficient experience and shrewdness — not prone to the rashness and recklessness of youth — and ample energy, not yet sunk into the dotage and senility of the old.

Considering that medical care and general health in this era fell short of modern times, that age range probably ought to be shifted downward a bit.

But the men on this list before him were far too "mature."

The oldest was the candidate for Minister of Personnel, Qiao Yunsheng, currently aged… seventy-four?

The corner of Zhu Youjian's eye twitched involuntarily.

Seventy-four years old…

Old sir, are you quite certain you can survive the journey from your hometown to the capital to take up your post?

The second question: native place.

Looking down the list, of the nine candidates, five were actually from Northern Metropolitan Circuit.

Zhu Youjian's brow furrowed even tighter.

It was not that he was prejudiced against officials from Northern Metropolitan Circuit, but that nothing should be taken to extremes.

Officials from Southern Metropolitan Circuit and the Jiangsu-Zhejiang region, whether honest or not, would more or less speak for local interests.

But Northern Metropolitan Circuit, Shaanxi, Shanxi — was that not true of every official under heaven?

The vital capital region, with the Later Jin eyeing it hungrily to the north and drought poised to erupt in the west, was precisely the foremost territory he would have to command from the center in the future.

The concentration of men from Northern Metropolitan Circuit had to be strictly controlled.

The third question, and the most critical one — he did not know a single one of these men!

Well, it could not be said he knew none of them at all.

Two names on the list did ring a faint bell.

One was called Huo Weihua, who had presented the "Numinous Dew Drink" to his undeserving elder brother, the Tianqi Emperor.

But beyond that — what background, what ability — he knew absolutely nothing.

It did rather surprise him, though, that this man had not been implicated the way those in the "Red Pill Case" had been.

The other was Wang Zaijin.

A famous pessimist from the moment Liaodong collapsed, who declared Guangning indefensible and demanded an immediate withdrawal to Shanhai Pass.

And then Yuan Chonghuan held Ningyuan, and after that pushed forward again and held Ningyuan and Jinzhou.

Awkward, isn't it, Old Wang!

Zhu Youjian let out a long sigh, feeling utterly weary at heart.

Forget it. Paper over the cracks for now; adjustments can be made once the real talents enter the capital.

He laid the list gently down upon the imperial desk.

"Gao Shiming, bring me the detailed dossiers on these nine men. We wish to examine them closely."