Chapter 67: Power Concentrated Breeds Corruption; Affairs Scattered Breed Failure

Zhu Youjian sat upright in the armchair, his gaze following Gao Shiming's retreating figure.

What, after all, did "loyalty" mean in this age?

As a modern soul, he found it difficult to truly understand and believe in this ancient, pure, even somewhat foolish loyalty.

In the world he knew, loyalty was often a synonym for profit, a fig leaf for cliques and factions.

Profit drove people together, and factional ties bound them like invisible shackles to a particular chariot.

Therefore — whether out of caution or efficiency — the Directorate of Ceremonial had to be dismantled.

This institution, which had developed over more than two centuries, had now swollen to a monstrous size.

Apart from military authority, which belonged to the Directorate of the Imperial Horses, virtually all power within the inner court ultimately converged in the Directorate of Ceremonial alone.

Fiscal power, personnel power, educational power, supervisory power… and that most essential power, the very symbol of the Emperor's extended authority — the power of red endorsement.

It was practically a miniature court independent of the outer court.

Not to mention that, in his long-term plans, the inner court would play an even more important role.

He intended to use the imperial estates and imperial shops as test sites to explore the catalytic effect of state-owned enterprises.

Yes, state-owned enterprises certainly had their drawbacks — low efficiency, abundant corruption — but they also often served as a sharp blade for opening up new industries and barren fields.

If that were added to the tally, the Directorate of Ceremonial's authority and responsibilities would swell to an unimaginable degree.

How could such a behemoth not be broken apart?

Power concentrated breeds corruption; affairs scattered breed failure.

The excessive concentration of power inevitably leads to corruption and loss of control — that is an iron law unchanged through the ages.

Moreover, with so many matters concentrated in a single institution, it was bound to be difficult to achieve results.

He needed more refined management; he needed every link in the chain to operate at maximum efficiency.

Zhu Youjian lifted the teacup at his hand. The warm tea slid down his throat, clearing his tangled thoughts.

Of course, it was not that he truly distrusted Gao Shiming so much — it was simply that, most of the time, there was no need to test human nature.

Taking precautions was a sovereign's duty, and also a sovereign's benevolence.

Before long, Gao Shiming returned, followed by three middle-aged eunuchs walking hurriedly, their expressions each different.

"Your Majesty, the men have been brought," Gao Shiming said, bowing.

Zhu Youjian raised his eyes and let his gaze pass over each of their three faces.

Gao Shiming understood, stepped aside, and began the introductions.

"This is Liu Ruoyu, formerly under the late eunuch Chen Ju."

Zhu Youjian's gaze settled on Liu Ruoyu.

The man was quite tall, standing out even among eunuchs, who were generally of larger stature.

On his chin, one could see the bluish stubble left after shaving, yet between his brows hung an indelible scholarly air, his eyes calm as still water.

"This is Cao Huachun, formerly under the late eunuch Wang An."

Cao Huachun appeared somewhat older, his temples already faintly white, but his face was kindly and gentle, even bearing a trace of a smile.

"This is Zheng Zhihui, formerly under the late eunuch Wang Feng."

Compared to the first two, Zheng Zhihui looked far more shrewdly alert.

He was not tall, his body slightly stooped, but his eyes darted about briskly, radiating a sharp, clever energy.

The introductions finished, Gao Shiming added one more line: "Your Majesty, these three all entered the palace in the twenty-ninth year of Wanli."

Zhu Youjian raised an eyebrow.

Interesting.

Gao Shiming had deliberately pointed out that these three had respectively belonged to the late Chen Ju, Wang An, and Wang Feng, and also noted that they had entered the palace in the same year. What was he doing?

Was he telling him that these three had different backgrounds and belonged to different factions, and could thus check and balance one another?

Or was he clarifying in advance that the promotion of these three had no personal connection to him, Gao Shiming?

Perhaps both.

Zhu Youjian understood clearly in his heart, but betrayed no reaction, merely nodding.

He pondered for another moment, then spoke.

"Your examination papers were personally selected by Us."

At these words, the three men's expressions shifted, each different.

A flash of excitement crossed Cao Huachun's face; Zheng Zhihui's breathing quickened slightly; Liu Ruoyu remained as calm as ever, only his gaze growing more intent.

"However," Zhu Youjian's tone turned, "We are, in truth, not satisfied."

The atmosphere instantly froze.

"The questions We posed required concrete and practicable strategies, not those flowery, ornate, and substantively hollow showpiece essays."

Zhu Youjian's gaze sharpened. "Therefore, there will now be an additional test. Only those who answer well in this session will be considered truly successful."

All three men felt a jolt in their hearts and immediately bowed in response: "This slave obeys the imperial decree."

They knew the real test was only now beginning.

Zhu Youjian leaned back in his chair and, as if casually, tossed out the first question.

"We have heard that since the Tianqi era, the Embroidered Uniform Guard has been plagued by the abuses of excessive appointments and inflated rosters, its numbers swelling more than twofold."

"Then, does the same situation exist among the inner attendants of the palace?"

He did not specify who should answer, merely gesturing vaguely with his hand: "Whoever can answer, step forward and speak."

The three exchanged glances. Zheng Zhihui's eyes shifted between Cao Huachun and Liu Ruoyu, as if weighing his options.

Of course inflated rosters and excessive appointments existed — but should they really speak of it? Who would be the first to stick his neck out?

In the end, it was Cao Huachun who drew a deep breath and took a step forward.

"In the past, when this slave served under Eunuch Wang An, I assisted in managing palace personnel matters and know a thing or two about this. This slave presumes to beg leave to speak on it."

His voice strove to remain steady, yet still carried a faint, barely perceptible quiver.

After all, he could not help but consider: could this be the only opportunity he would have after so many years in exile?

"Speak." Zhu Youjian gave a slight nod, signaling him to continue.

"In reply to Your Majesty," Cao Huachun steadied himself and spoke with clear logic, "in the time of the Wanli Emperor, the number of palace eunuch personnel usually fluctuated between eleven thousand and sixteen thousand. But now, to this slave's knowledge, the registered eunuchs in the palace have reached over nineteen thousand seven hundred."

"The difference is as little as three thousand and as much as eight thousand. If we take eight thousand superfluous personnel as the measure, reckoning only a monthly grain ration of four dou per man and boot-material silver of five taels six qian per year, the palace's annual waste on this alone amounts to forty-four thousand eight hundred taels of silver and ninety-six thousand shi of grain."

Not a single word of padding — pure substance.

The figures were precise, the reasoning clear and orderly.

A trace of a smile finally appeared on Zhu Youjian's face. "Now that is sound policy discourse. Someone, grant him a seat."

A young eunuch moved at the sound of the command, but as he looked around, the hall held no seats apart from the grand armchair His Majesty occupied and a few chairs of the same style — how would he dare move one of those?

After a moment's hesitation, a flash of inspiration struck. He carried over a long bench used for administering punishment from the corner of the wall and set it down opposite Zhu Youjian.

Seeing this, Cao Huachun hastily gave thanks for the grace, then walked over with the utmost care. He perched on the very edge of the bench, only a sliver of his backside touching it, his back ramrod straight.

Zhu Youjian immediately followed up with a second question.

"We know that corruption runs rampant through the officialdom of the Great Ming today. Yet the gold-flower silver of the privy purse, tallied every year, has never once come up short. That is rather curious."

His gaze shifted to the other two men. "You tell me: where exactly do the palace eunuch supervisors manipulate matters, and how do they embezzle the state purse?"

Zheng Zhihui's heartbeat suddenly accelerated.

This question was sharper than the last, and far more likely to give offense.

He glanced at Liu Ruoyu beside him and found the man still wearing that same expression of unruffled calm, showing no sign whatsoever of stepping forward.

Zheng Zhihui gritted his teeth.

Wealth and rank are won by risking all! Who knows what the next question will be!

He took a step forward, bowed, and said, "In reply to Your Majesty, this slave... this slave knows a thing or two about this."

"Speak."

"In reply to Your Majesty," Zheng Zhihui spoke at a quicker pace than Cao Huachun, carrying a shrewd edge, "the annual revenue of the privy purse, of which gold-flower silver and military farmland grain levies form the bulk, totals over one hundred and five myriads."

"Among these, the gold-flower silver comes in large fifty-tael ingots and is frequently disbursed as rewards for external use, so few dare lay hands on it there. If they do, it is only when the gold-flower silver is melted down into standard-fineness silver that they filch a little on the melting loss — that hardly counts as the main source."

"Therefore, the corruption of the palace eunuch supervisors in fact mostly occurs in the goods and materials of the Ten Storehouses."

He paused briefly, and seeing the Emperor listening intently, his courage grew.

"Apart from gold and silver, the palace's annual supplies also include large quantities of grain, rice, silk cloth, yellow and white wax, tung oil, and other goods requisitioned from the localities, stored separately across the Ten Storehouses such as the Jia Storehouse and the Yi Storehouse."

"With the exception of grain and rice, which are consumed in enormous quantities, the annual requisition amounts for the other items are often far in excess of what daily use requires."

"Over months and years, backlogs build up in the storehouses. These goods and materials either rot and decay from poor storage, or are stolen by those entrusted with their safekeeping and smuggled out of the palace to be sold for profit."

"Worse still, there is collusion between insiders and outsiders — passing off inferior goods as superior, falsely reporting spoilage and wastage. The methods are too many to enumerate and have long been an open secret within the palace."

The smile on Zhu Youjian's face deepened.

"Good! Well said! Zheng Zhihui, you truly have a thorough grasp of detailed affairs. Excellent, excellent! Take a seat as well."

"This slave thanks Your Majesty." Zheng Zhihui was overjoyed and hastily gave thanks for the grace.

He walked over to the long bench. Cao Huachun, very perceptively, shifted his backside to the side, making room for him.

Zheng Zhihui murmured a low word of thanks and, following Cao Huachun's example, seated himself on the left edge of the bench.

Now, only Liu Ruoyu remained standing in the hall.

Zhu Youjian's gaze finally came to rest fully upon him.

This man was a true prodigy.

His father was a Regional Commander of Liaodong — a son of a proper military house — yet he himself had requested entry to the palace to serve as a eunuch because he "experienced a strange dream." In the entire Great Ming dynasty, that counted as a bizarre tale.

Even more remarkable was that, in the original course of history, he was implicated and imprisoned by Wei Zhongxian's eunuch faction. Finding himself in dire straits, he roused himself to vigorous effort and, while in prison, wrote a work titled Zhuozhong Zhi, recording in detail the affairs great and small, the statutes and institutions of the palace during the Tianqi era — leaving behind precious historical material for later generations.

In the fortitude of his spirit, he could be called the eunuch world's equivalent of Sima Qian.

Only...

Zhu Youjian thought to himself: in this timeline, I fear you will never again have the chance to leave your name in history in that particular way.

He considered for a moment, then posed his final question.

"Palace security is lax. News from within the Forbidden City often spreads throughout the capital in an instant."

"Our daily conduct and words seem to be lived out right under the eyes of the court officials. This, We detest deeply."

"If one wished to tighten palace security, where should one begin?"

Hearing this, Liu Ruoyu's expression remained as calm as ever.

He took a step forward and cupped his hands with composure.

"In reply to Your Majesty, lax palace security and the leaking of information stem from no more than three causes."

His voice was neither loud nor soft, steady and clear, carrying a natural power to convince.

"The first is the ease with which gossip spreads."

"The palace eunuchs and serving women number in the tens of thousands. Confined all day within the palace walls, their lives are tedious."

"From the Son of Heaven above to the mistresses of the various palaces below, their words, deeds, and conduct naturally become the finest material for idle talk."

"This is human nature — when idle, one relieves boredom thus. Though difficult to prohibit entirely, it can be guided. It is merely a matter of issuing instructions and punishments forbidding them from wantonly spreading matters concerning the imperial house."

"The second is petty profit."

"Many eunuchs, when sent out of the palace on orders to make purchases, or those with family outside, are often willing to peddle palace gossip they have heard for money."

"Such information is a mix of truth and falsehood, mostly hearsay and speculation, and the profit gained from it is no more than a few qian of broken silver. Yet it spreads far and wide, and the harm it does is great."

"The third is collusion between insiders and outsiders."

"This matter has deep roots and spreading tendrils — whether it be spies planted by court officials, or eunuch supervisors serving as the conduit to the outer court."

"The tangled roots and knotted branches within are not easily untangled in a moment. To cure it at the root, one must broadly spread oversight, open channels for reporting, and impose strict laws and harsh punishments, so that they dare not and cannot offend. Only then might one slowly trace the threads and pull out the root of the disease."

This speech, moving from surface to core and advancing layer by layer, dissected a seemingly insoluble problem with perfect clarity.

Zhu Youjian listened, and could not help but silently applaud in his heart.

Such insight — intimate knowledge of the inner palace and its ways, striking straight at the human heart — truly befitted the man who could write the *Zhuozhong Zhi*.

"Well said!" Zhu Youjian praised. "You may sit as well."

Liu Ruoyu gave thanks for the grace and turned back, only to see that on that long bench, Cao Huachun and Zheng Zhihui were straining to squeeze leftward, making room for him on the right side.

He walked to the bench, but did not sit squarely. Instead, he spread his legs slightly apart, settled into a shallow horse stance, and perched himself lightly on the very rightmost edge.

And so, a somewhat comical scene unfolded in the hall.

Gao Shiming stood respectfully in attendance at one side.

Zhu Youjian sat upright in his broad armchair, his expression composed and at ease.

And opposite him, the three freshly minted middle-aged eunuchs, soon to be entrusted with heavy responsibilities, were squeezed together like three quails in a row on a single long bench — looking both cramped and awkward.

Zhu Youjian fell silent for a moment, as if digesting the exchange just past, or perhaps pondering the arrangements to come.

At last, he spoke, breaking the strange, comical atmosphere.

"From your answers just now, I can see that you have all given deep thought to my questions. In the three areas of personnel, finance, and oversight, each of you has detailed and original ideas. This is very good."

His tone shifted, turning stern.

"I shall now assign each of you a task. But this time, do not show off your stale pedantic flourishes. You must present me with a solid, practical plan!"

With that, he pointed a finger straight at Cao Huachun.

"Cao Huachun, you shall take charge of palace personnel."

"From this day forward, all personnel transfers, promotions, and dismissals within the palace shall be under your control."

"Your first priority is to begin by cutting superfluous staff from the palace. All who have assumed false names, the aged and infirm, the cunning and indolent — you may dismiss them all."

"But there are two conditions. For those elderly eunuchs who served the late emperor and labored many years in the palace, you must arrange for their care; do not let their twilight years be bleak. The personnel lists must be reviewed repeatedly; do not let the genuine be mistaken for the false, and do not wrong the loyal and honest by mistake."

"Do you understand?"

Cao Huachun's heart surged with excitement. He rose abruptly to his feet and, forcing himself to calm, replied, "This slave obeys the decree! I shall not fail Your Majesty's trust!"

Zhu Youjian nodded with satisfaction, and his finger slid smoothly toward Zheng Zhihui.

"Zheng Zhihui, you shall take charge of palace finances."

"Henceforth, the receipts and disbursements of all palace storehouses, the fiscal accounts, and the audits of expenditures shall all be under your control."

"Your first priority is to thoroughly consolidate and clear the accounts of the Ten Storehouses, and get a clear picture of the family assets!"

"From now on, for every item that enters or leaves the storehouses — down to the last needle and thread — you must present me with a four-column ledger. Every entry must be clear, and the accounts must match the goods."

"Do you understand?"

Zheng Zhihui also rose to his feet at once. The light in his eyes was undisguised ambition and hunger.

He bowed deeply from the waist. "This slave obeys the decree! I shall surely guard the privy purse's coin and grain for Your Majesty!"

That long bench had been packed full. Now, with two men suddenly gone, the weight shifted and the bench tipped up slightly.

This gave Liu Ruoyu, perched on the edge in his horse stance, a sharp start. A cold sweat broke out, and he nearly lost his seat.

Zhu Youjian's gaze fell at last upon him.

"Liu Ruoyu," his tone grew deeper still, "you shall take charge of palace oversight."

"Henceforth, for all matters within the palace — assembling to gamble, brawling and stirring trouble, leaking secrets, embezzlement and corruption — the authority to investigate, impeach, and censure shall be under your control."

"Your first priority is to tighten palace discipline for me, rectify the inner court's conduct, and ensure that palace affairs never again leak to the outer court!"

"Do you understand?"

Liu Ruoyu let out an almost imperceptible breath of relief and rose from the bench.

He cupped his hands calmly and accepted the order. "This slave obeys the decree."

"Very well," Zhu Youjian waved his hand. "All of you may withdraw for now. Go back and each of you write out your true plans in detail and submit them. Companion Gao, remain."

"This slave takes his leave."

The three men and the attending junior eunuchs bowed in unison, then, bent at the waist, backed out of the hall.