Chapter 70: It Is Time to Prove Your Worth!

The hour of Shen.

Wuying Hall.

Zhu Youjian stood in the warming chamber behind the hall, going over the rhythm and key arguments for the coming session one final time.

A moment later, he drew a deep breath and strode out.

"His Majesty takes the throne—!"

At the eunuch's call, the faint rustle of unease that had lingered in the hall instantly fell to utter silence.

The three Grand Secretaries, the six Ministers, the nine chief ministers of the Office of Transmission, the Court of Judicial Review, the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, and the rest, along with the chief Supervising Secretaries of the Six Offices of Scrutiny — over twenty men in all — rose from their seats and knelt in flawless unison.

"Your subjects pay homage to Your Majesty. Long live His Majesty for ten thousand years, ten thousand years, ten thousand of ten thousand years!"

The mountain-roar of acclamation echoed through the hall.

"Rise."

Zhu Youjian's voice was calm, betraying neither pleasure nor displeasure.

He walked behind the imperial desk and sat, regarding the ministers below as they resumed their seats.

Today's gathering numbered more than ten beyond the last meeting in Wuying Hall, so the tables and chairs were arranged more tightly, fanning out on either side of his central seat.

Some men were attending a "seated conference" in Wuying Hall for the first time and appeared ill at ease, perching on the front edge of their chairs with ramrod-straight backs.

Zhu Youjian offered no pleasantries. He simply raised a finger and tapped lightly on the tabletop.

"I trust you have all reviewed today's agenda, my ministers. Let us begin."

His gaze swept the room and came to rest on the thick stack of answer papers upon the imperial desk.

"The first item today is this: 'Call for Proposals on Raising the Standard of Governance in the Capital.'"

He patted the stack of papers. His voice was not loud, yet it reached every ear with perfect clarity.

"We have read them through. But to be frank, it seems the ministers have not fully grasped why We set this policy question."

"The majority of the responses do not satisfy Us."

The atmosphere in the hall tightened several degrees at once.

Zhu Youjian's eyes settled on the foremost figure, Huang Liji.

"Chief Grand Secretary, tell Us — how do you understand this policy question?"

Composed and unruffled, Huang Liji rose from his seat, bowed, and replied:

"In reply to Your Majesty, since Your Majesty's ascension, you have spread virtue, bestowed grace, and devoted every effort to governance, drawing the eyes of all under Heaven."

"This subject believes that Your Majesty's intent is to begin with the capital, to inaugurate a new spirit of reform and make a fine start for the governance of our Great Ming."

The words were impeccably balanced, watertight — flattering the Emperor while touching on the core idea of "reforming the capital."

The old fox, Zhu Youjian thought to himself. He's said everything and nothing.

But outwardly he merely nodded. "The Chief Grand Secretary's answer is correct, but not complete."

He looked around the room and raised his voice slightly.

"Are there any other interpretations?"

The men exchanged glances. No one answered.

Huang Liji's words, vague as they were, captured what most of them had been thinking. What deeper interpretation could there possibly be?

Zhu Youjian sighed inwardly.

What he wanted were actionable, quantifiable plans — not these "Ten Strategies for the Capital" or "Eight Strategies for the Capital."

Why didn't any of you use four, five, eleven, or twelve? Did you avoid those numbers because they didn't sound auspicious enough?

It seemed that if he wanted to reshape the entire civil and military officialdom into the form he preferred, he would have to grind away day by day and keep educating them.

Seeing that no one would speak, he decided not to wait any longer and simply called a name.

"Chief Supervising Secretary of the Revenue Office of Scrutiny — which one is Xue Guoguan?"

At the far end of the tables, Xue Guoguan's heart gave a violent lurch. He rose almost by reflex.

His heart was now flooded with dread.

When the assignment had come today, the time had been impossibly tight. He had had virtually no chance to think it through carefully and had dashed off a policy essay based solely on what he had seen and heard upon entering the capital that morning, just to get it done.

The moment he finished, a junior eunuch waiting at the office gate had practically snatched it away, saying it had to be delivered to the palace at once.

And now His Majesty's very first name was his...

Was this... to be made a negative example, used to establish authority?

He recalled the fate of that "Three-Don't-Know Grand Secretary" Sun Zhixie had mentioned, and instantly a fine layer of cold sweat broke out across his back. His hands and feet began to disobey him.

But Zhu Youjian's next words struck him like a thunderbolt and left him frozen where he stood.

"Among all the responses, yours alone is the most practical."

A trace of approving smile touched the corner of Zhu Youjian's mouth.

He waved a hand. Gao Shiming, standing in attendance beside him, understood at once and distributed a copied document to every minister present.

The ministers accepted the papers and bent their heads to read closely.

As they read, many faces showed expressions much like Xue Guoguan's — a mix of astonishment and bewilderment.

The few with deeper reserves of guile also furrowed their brows, as if trying to divine the Emperor's true intent.

Because this policy essay was, frankly... far too crude.

The prose was unremarkable — clearly a rush job — and more importantly, the matters it discussed were far too trivial.

Muddy roads, beggars everywhere, clogged ditches...

Could this even be called a policy essay?

Wasn't this just the grumbling of some lowly ward clerk?

Zhu Youjian took in every expression. He gestured to Gao Shiming.

Gao Shiming understood. He cleared his throat, picked up the dossier, and began to read aloud in his distinctive voice — slightly shrill yet full and resonant.

"This subject has heard: the capital is what all under Heaven looks to, and he who governs all under Heaven must first govern the capital. Yet governing the capital lies not in lofty debates at court, but in practical affairs in the streets and alleys."

"Within the capital today, the roads are in places uneven — mud when it rains, dust when it clears. This is the first matter. There are also starving folk and beggars, some lying on the main thoroughfares, some gathering at temple markets, impairing the view and also harming the name of our sacred dynasty's benevolence. This is the second matter…"

Gao Shiming's voice reverberated through the hall.

When the reading reached this point, Zhu Youjian raised a hand, signaling him to pause.

He looked toward Xue Guoguan, who was still standing, smiled gently, and gestured for him to sit.

Xue Guoguan sat down, somewhat overwhelmed by the favor. He could feel the gazes cast from every direction converging upon him.

In that instant, the trepidation in his heart was utterly replaced by excitement, and all the wild fancies he had entertained before the audience were thrown to the back of his mind.

— His Majesty is truly sagacious!

"My ministers."

Zhu Youjian spoke. His voice was not loud, yet it carried an unquestionable authority.

"Why did We set the topic as 'Governing the Capital' and not 'Governing All Under Heaven'?"

"The great Ming, founded over two hundred years ago, now sees its national fortunes waning, a hundred tasks awaiting revival — We know this better than anyone."

"Yet We have heard this saying: cultivate the self, regulate the family, govern the state, bring peace to all under Heaven."

"This capital — to Us, it is the self; to you, it is the family! With fifteen hundred civil and military officials in the capital, if even this place cannot be well governed, how dare We aspire to govern all under Heaven?!"

As his words fell, silence filled the hall.

A moment later, Huang Liji was the first to rise, bowing low.

"Your Majesty is sagacious!"

The rest of the ministers, as if waking from a dream, rose in unison and bowed in salute.

"Your Majesty is sagacious!"

Zhu Youjian waved his hand.

"Be seated, my ministers. We have not finished speaking."

Once everyone was seated again, Zhu Youjian's tone abruptly shifted.

"The other purpose of this question lies outside the question itself."

"It concerns the second item on today's agenda."

At these words, every person present felt a chill in their heart.

Everyone's nerves instantly tightened.

Xue Guoguan instinctively lowered his head and looked at the thin sheet of paper on his desk — the one bearing today's agenda.

His gaze swept across it, and his pupils abruptly contracted.

There, on the second line, was written in bold characters —

"Order the full reinstatement of all officials dismissed during the Tianqi era on account of factional partisan strife, to assemble in the capital for reassignment of offices."

In that instant, it was as if a bolt of lightning flashed through Xue Guoguan's mind, raising goosebumps all over his body.

He jerked his head up to look at the Emperor behind the imperial desk, his eyes filled with shock.

Not only he, but nearly every minister in the hall changed countenance upon seeing that line and hearing the Emperor's words.

Some were startled, some afraid, some worried, some pensive.

Zhu Youjian took in everyone's reactions. He nodded slowly.

"Indeed. It is precisely connected to this matter."

He looked around at them all and spoke, weighing each word.

"When We first ascended the throne, We already perceived the decay of national affairs. Yet where exactly lies the way to break the impasse?"

"Is it the frontier? Is it taxes? Is it the discipline of officialdom?"

"We have pondered this repeatedly, and We believe these are all mere surface phenomena."

"The true problem is this: since the Wanli era, our Ming court has seen partisan strife year after year, year after year! The Zhe faction, the Xuan faction, the Chu faction, the Donglin… factions of every stripe, each taking the stage as the other exits!"

"Once a faction gains power, it must hound its opponents to utter destruction!"

"Any official at court who wishes to do his work in peace must inevitably choose a faction to attach himself to — otherwise he is faulted at every turn, obstructed in every matter!"

"What is more terrifying," Zhu Youjian's voice suddenly rose, tinged with a perfectly measured grief, "is that those who do things make more mistakes the more they do; those who do nothing make fewer mistakes the less they do! So much so that our Ming court judges talent solely by moralistic essays, with no regard whatsoever for practical achievement!"

"This is wrong!"

He picked up the thin sheet on his desk — the Donglin reinstatement list soon to be dispatched across the realm — and shook it gently.

"On this list: one hundred and ninety-three men. The farthest are in Guangdong and Guangxi, the nearest in the capital region. Their journeys to the capital will take anywhere from days to months."

"We ask you: among these, how many were slandered? How many suffered unjust accusations?"

"We ask you further: among those seated here today, how many once submitted memorials and took part in attacking them?"

"Once they return to court, will they not seek revenge?!"

"When that time comes, this court will again be foul with dust and smoke, endless attacks and feuds! Shall the great affairs of state simply be set aside?!"

Zhu Youjian grew more impassioned as he spoke. He rose from behind the imperial desk, descended the steps, and began pacing slowly among the assembled ministers.

His gaze, like a sharp sword, swept across every minister's face.

"We intend to prohibit partisan strife! For this reason, We have shown much forbearance in the matter of the Wei faction, executing only the chief villains and not pursuing the rest! We also wish to urge these wronged men soon to return to court — to bear their grievances for the sake of the state!"

He stopped walking and looked at them all.

"Yet We ascended the throne in Our youth, and Our virtue and prestige are still shallow. Will they truly be willing to heed Us and set aside the humiliation of these years of demotion and exile?"

"My ministers, We need practical achievements to prove Our will for restoration!"

"And you, likewise, need practical achievements — to prove your worth to Us, to the realm, and to those political foes soon to return to court!"

"Within a matter of weeks, if practical achievement is what you seek, then governing the capital well is the quickest to show results!"

"Today, I have spoken with you gentlemen in complete candor. Is that clear enough?"

Those words were like the tolling of a great bronze bell, rousing the deaf from their slumber.

The senior ministers in the hall were all sweating at the brow, their hearts and minds profoundly shaken.

They had never imagined that a young emperor not yet twenty years old could see through the essence of politics and the hidden depths of the human heart with such penetrating clarity!

He did not evade the problem. Instead, he laid the sharpest, most sensitive issue — factional strife — bare on the table.

Nor did he favor either side. He offered the one solution no one could refuse, the only solution —

Results!

Using solid, tangible achievements to replace hollow moral slogans and factional labels!

This was an open conspiracy.

An open conspiracy that filled them with both awe and reluctant admiration.

After a long silence, it was still Huang Liji who reacted first. He rose from his seat, stepped forward, and led with a deep, profound bow.

"Your Majesty's sagely brilliance illuminates ten thousand li! Your subjects have only concerned themselves with partisan attacks, compromising far too much on matters of state. We have truly failed Your sacred grace!"

"That Your Majesty would consider us so — your subjects are moved to tears! In the matter of bringing great order to the capital, this subject shall spare no effort unto death!"

"Your subjects shall spare no effort unto death!"

All the ministers rose as one and knelt to the ground, their voices merging into a mighty torrent that surged through the hall.

Zhu Youjian slowly exhaled and glanced at Huang Liji without leaving a trace.

He suddenly felt that having an old fox of a Chief Grand Secretary here to play the supporting role and provide a stepping stool might not be such a bad thing after all?

"My ministers, all of you, rise and be seated."

He returned behind the imperial desk and sat down again. The pace quickened abruptly.

"Then the first matter is hereby settled."

His gaze once again turned to Xue Guoguan.

"Xue Guoguan."

"This subject is here!" Xue Guoguan immediately rose to his feet.

"The matters you listed in your policy paper — road-building in the capital, resettling famine refugees, dredging canals and ditches — are extremely tedious. I now assign you sole charge of road-building!"

"After you leave, immediately draw up a detailed list of costs, labor, methods, and measures for this matter, write it up as a memorandum, and submit it directly! I will match you with the necessary manpower, material resources, and funds!"

Zhu Youjian paused, looked at Xue Guoguan's face, flushed red with excitement, and said in a deep voice:

"I will give you every support I can. I only ask, my minister, that you do not disappoint my expectations."

Xue Guoguan felt a surge of hot blood rush straight to his head. He abruptly swept aside the hem of his robe, dropped to one knee, and his voice rang out.

"This subject dares not disobey your command!"

Zhu Youjian nodded with satisfaction and looked to the others.

"As for the remaining matters, after you gentlemen leave, either volunteer yourselves or recommend worthy men, each taking responsibility for one. The standard is twofold: first, results must be visible within ten days to a month; second, there must be tangible benefit to the million souls of the capital."

"Do not submit any more of those stale platitudes. Is that understood?"

"Your subjects obey!" the ministers answered in unison.

Zhu Youjian rapped the table.

"Good. The first matter is settled. The second matter: the reinstatement of all officials dismissed during the Tianqi era due to factional disputes. The list is here. Does anyone have an objection?"

Silence filled the hall. No one spoke.

Chen Eryi, the Chief Supervising Secretary of the Office of Scrutiny for Personnel, unconsciously squeezed the routine memorial hidden in his sleeve — the memorial he had written through the night, opposing the large-scale reinstatement of the Donglin Faction.

He glanced almost imperceptibly at his colleagues to the left and right, especially at several silent former comrades of the eunuch faction. In the end, he did not dare step out of line.

The Emperor had already spoken to this point. To stick one's neck out now would be failing to recognize the times — seeking one's own death.

"Very well."

Zhu Youjian's eyes swept over the name plaques on the table and finally settled on one name.

"Lü Tunan, Commissioner of the Office of Transmission."

"This subject is here."

"Within today, have all the reinstatement documents dispatched. Is there any problem?"

"Replying to Your Majesty, no problem!" Lü Tunan rose and bowed with clasped hands.

"Third matter: the reinstatement of Zhu Xieyuan as Governor-General of Sichuan, Guizhou, Huguang, Hanzhong, and other regions, with direct command of military affairs. Any objections?"

Still, no one spoke.

Zhu Youjian signaled Lü Tunan with his eyes, and the latter rose once more to accept the order.

"Fourth matter: I intend to hold a special imperial examination next spring on the occasion of my accession. The quota of successful candidates is set at four hundred. Any objections?"

This time, there was finally some reaction in the hall. Several Grand Secretaries and Ministers exchanged glances, then rose together.

"Your Majesty's sagely brilliance — this is a grand undertaking to seek talent for the nation!"

"Fifth matter," Zhu Youjian nodded, his tone not pausing in the slightest. "After next spring's examination, the Ministry of Personnel shall oversee the selection of fifty men proficient in mathematics, to be incorporated into the Ministry of Revenue, where a new Accounting Bureau shall be established. Any objections?"

Guo Yunhou, Minister of Revenue, immediately rose to his feet and clasped his hands in excitement. "Your Majesty's sagely brilliance! This subject… on behalf of all in the Ministry of Revenue, thanks Your Majesty for this profound grace!"

Having spoken, he turned to look back at the others.

The others all kept their eyes on their noses and their noses on their hearts, the very picture of men for whom this matter had nothing to do with them.

Zhu Youjian breathed a secret sigh of relief.

Very good. The hardest hurdles of the day had all been passed smoothly.

It seemed this meeting of "laying all cards on the table" and "driving the wolves to devour the tigers" had produced remarkable results.

He waved his hand, and a trace of relaxed amusement appeared on his face.

"All matters for today are concluded. My ministers, you are dismissed. Attend to your respective tasks with diligence."

The assembled ministers rose, about to make their obeisance and withdraw.

At that very moment, a voice rang out abruptly in the hushed great hall.

"Your Majesty, this subject… has a memorial to present."