Chapter 80: Sincere Hearts, True Words

Inside Wuying Hall, a profound silence reigned.

Nearly a hundred civil officials and guard officers, divided into a dozen or so small groups according to the frontier garrisons they were to be dispatched to, stood quietly within.

Among them were third-rank jinshi of the Renxu (second year of Tianqi) and Yichou (fifth year of Tianqi) examination cohorts, as well as men selected from the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

But regardless of their status, at this moment every one of them held his breath and focused his mind, suppressing the excitement and curiosity within as he stole glances from the corner of his eye, quietly sizing up this hall that had lately been the subject of so many rumors.

Indeed, since the new Emperor ascended the throne, he had held only one grand court assembly and one routine court session.

After that, he had only conducted platform summons in Wuying Hall, completely disregarding the established custom of holding routine court on the third, sixth, and ninth days.

But what of it? The late Emperor had only attended court four times a month himself.

To be able to hold frequent summons in Wuying Hall while sparing oneself the ordeal of routine court was truly a blessing.

At least for minor officials like themselves, it was a blessing among blessings.

After all, officials of the fourth rank and above could ride in sedan chairs and enter the great hall, while minor officials like themselves would, in another month, be shivering in the cold wind.

Many gazes fell upon the enormous screen standing in the hall.

Upon the screen, fine ink lines framed neat rows of uniform blocks, each filled with characters and figures — these were the very "tables" that had lately caused quite a stir in the capital.

This object had first appeared in the palace; it was said that His Majesty had made it with his own hands to sort out the income and expenditure of the privy purse.

Later, Minister of Revenue Guo Yunhou saw it, was struck with awe as if beholding a divine artifact, and immediately ordered its full implementation throughout the Ministry of Revenue.

This trend even blew beyond officialdom.

Those well-informed restaurants and taverns in the capital that most loved to chase the latest fashions had actually followed suit, making similar boards and using tables to frame their dish names and current prices.

It struck the scholars newly arrived in the capital as a great novelty.

There was even word that yesterday, Eunuch Gao of the Directorate of Ceremonial had personally visited the Ministry of Personnel and spoken at length with the newly appointed Minister Yang Jingchen; it was feared that before long, the Ministry of Personnel's merit evaluations would also adopt this "method of tables."

Apart from the screen, the two rows of neatly arranged tables and stools drew even more attention.

Ever since His Majesty ascended the throne, he had done away with the old practice of standing during platform summons and, following ancient precedent, granted seats for the discussion of affairs.

As for whether this violated ritual propriety — after all, His Majesty was holding summons in Wuying Hall, so how could it be considered the same as the old platform summons?

In any case, the Grand Secretaries had no objection, the ministry heads had no objection, and the Supervising Secretaries and Censors who had once sat in those chairs had no objection either.

For a time, praise that "His Majesty is benevolent and sagely, sitting to discourse on the Dao, nearly restoring the ancient customs of the Han" spread throughout court and country.

But alongside this praise, there also circulated a private remark that "His Majesty has rather the air of the Han founder," though when pressed for details, no one could quite explain what exactly this "air of the Han founder" meant.

The crowd stood in silence, but their eyes exchanged frequent glances, silently conveying their excitement and speculation.

Before entering the hall, these colleagues who were soon to travel to the same destination had already chatted among themselves.

A startling discovery had set every heart surging.

— In every group, whether they were messengers, Secretariat Drafter, or Embroidered Uniform Guard officers, all were actually from the same native place.

This completely overturned the previous convention for dispatching officials, and coupled with the extraordinary honor of being personally summoned by the Emperor today, it set imaginations racing even further.

What profound intention lay behind His Majesty's action?

Was it to win hearts, or was there some other important assignment in store?

A thousand speculations filled their minds, yet not one could be confirmed.

Just at that moment, a long, drawn-out announcement rang out, instantly cutting off every train of thought.

"Silence —! His Majesty ascends the hall!"

The nearly hundred people in the hall, as if pressed down by an invisible giant hand, dropped to their knees in unison, their movements perfectly synchronized, their shouts of "Long live" soaring to the heavens.

"Long live His Majesty! Long live! Long, long live!"

The wave of sound reverberated through the hall, lingering long.

A moment later, a young and gentle voice came from the throne, falling clearly into every ear.

"My ministers, rise."

Only then did the crowd slowly raise their heads, their movements tinged with cautiousness, their eyes filled with irrepressible eagerness and curiosity.

Most of them were jinshi of the lowest rank, graduates of the third tier; the one and only time in their lives they had ever beheld the imperial countenance was during the palace examination, when they had glimpsed the late Emperor from afar.

As for the current young sovereign, they had never seen him even once.

After all, whether at the enthronement ceremony or at ordinary court sessions, according to regulation, minor officials like themselves could only stand beyond the crimson steps, in the very last rank of the hundred officials.

Looking from that distance, all they could see was a blurry figure upon the throne.

Today might well be the closest they would ever come to the Emperor in their entire lives.

Not to mention those officers meticulously selected from the Embroidered Uniform Guard — many of them came from families that had been hereditary military households in the guard stations for generations, their backgrounds spotless but their status lowly.

Now, to be able to meet the Son of Heaven face to face, they were so stirred that their palms were slick with sweat and their breathing had grown noticeably heavier.

Upon the throne, Zhu Youjian was at this moment somewhat shocked.

Just now, he had clearly seen, among the crowd, an official in a blue robe, his hair already half-white, kneeling there with tears streaming down his face.

Yet throughout the entire process, the old man had not made the slightest sound; he had merely wept in silence.

Was this reasonable?

Was this reasonable?!

Was the title of the Great Ming Emperor really this absurdly powerful?!

Zhu Youjian's entire worldview had suffered a severe jolt.

All he was doing was summoning some staff about to go on assignment, holding a pep talk — how had they become this emotional?

He steadied himself, swept his gaze over the crowd below the steps, and slowly spoke.

"My ministers..."

The hall was so silent one could hear a pin drop; everyone looked up, gazing at him with an almost pilgrim-like fervor, awaiting the Son of Heaven's instructions.

Focused upon by nearly a hundred scorching gazes, Zhu Youjian, for all his years of experience, instantly felt a thin layer of sweat break out across his back.

Damn it, what was I going to say today...

Brain, don't crap out on me at a time like this!

He cleared his throat and spoke in a steady tone.

"Meeting all my ministers today... fills me with deep satisfaction..."

As Zhu Youjian unhurriedly delivered these pleasantries, he was frantically searching his mind for what came next.

There it was! The core question flashed through his mind like a bolt of lightning.

"How stands the realm?"

Having found the thread, Zhu Youjian felt his thoughts instantly flow clear, and his entire bearing changed at once.

He rose slowly from the throne and stepped down from the dais.

"I have long dwelt deep within the palace. In days past I only knew that the realm seemed to be gradually worsening, yet I never knew precisely where the rot lay..."

His voice was not loud, but it carried a peculiar power that made every man listen with rapt attention.

"I asked the Grand Secretaries. They all said: set the roots right and clear the source, lighten the corvée and reduce the taxes."

"I asked the palace attendants. They too said: so long as the sovereign is benevolent and virtuous, the realm will naturally be bright and clear."

"These words are all sound principles, and I understand them. Yet I always felt they were veiled by a layer of gauze — I could not see clearly."

"In the end, I must ask and understand plainly. Only then will my heart be at ease."

Zhu Youjian's tone was utterly sincere, like a student earnestly seeking instruction.

As he spoke, he paced slowly among the crowd, his gaze meeting certain officials' eyes from time to time.

"As it happened, the day before yesterday, when I was settling the roster for bestowing rewards on the Nine Frontiers, I discovered that most of you, my ministers, had toiled in study in the provinces for ten years, and some had traveled to the capital for the examinations multiple times."

"Add up those journeys, and I fear each of you has traveled well over ten thousand li."

"I imagine that your knowledge of conditions in the provinces, your knowledge of the realm — though it may be frozen at two years ago, or five years ago —"

"— should still make you the men in this court most familiar with the realm."

His eyes swept earnestly over several of the younger jinshi, and he even gave them a slight nod.

"Moreover, you have only recently passed the examinations and have not yet been overly tainted by the habits of officialdom."

Those young jinshi instantly flushed crimson and straightened their chests, stirred.

"Or else, you were selected from the guard stations, your backgrounds pure and unblemished."

He turned to several Embroidered Uniform Guard officers standing rigidly straight, a warm smile appearing on his face.

This even-handed distribution of eye contact gave every man present the illusion: His Majesty is speaking directly to me.

"I imagine that none of you have yet been infected by the foul atmosphere of the bureaucracy or the depots and guards."

"Thus you are truly like pure gold and innocent children — what you say will surely be true."

By now, the breathing of the assembled men had grown rapid.

Even the Embroidered Uniform Guard officers, whose learning was somewhat weaker, had their blood set boiling by this speech, layer building upon layer.

At this point, Zhu Youjian halted his steps, paused his speech, and earnestly met the eyes of every man, from left to right, one by one.

Only after letting the atmosphere steep for a moment did he slowly continue:

"The ancients said: Heaven sees through the eyes of my people, Heaven hears through the ears of my people. As the Son of Heaven, I must observe the people's condition, to accord with Heaven's heart."

"Yet to know what is straight, one must have the plumb line; to know what is square or round, one must have the compass and square."

"If I do not know the ills of the realm, how can I cure them? If I do not know the sufferings of the common folk, how can I relieve them?"

He paused, then slowly backed up onto the dais, using the height difference to look down upon every man below with a piercing gaze.

Pressed by this atmosphere, the chests of those in the hall were unbearably tight, as if a fierce fire blazed within them.

Every eye followed Zhu Youjian's figure intently, seizing upon every word he was about to speak.

"And should not the plumb line of the realm, the compass and square of the realm, be spoken precisely by the people of the realm?"

The smile faded from Zhu Youjian's face. The dagger was bared at last. He spoke the final passage, word by deliberate word:

"Today, it is with a sincere heart that I ask you all —"

"Where, now, do the ills of this realm truly lie! I beg you to instruct me!"

As the last word fell, he swept his sleeves back sharply, brought his hands together level before him, and, facing the nearly one hundred officials below the dais, bowed slightly with clasped hands.

Almost the instant Zhu Youjian's voice died away, the entire scene in Wuying Hall spiraled utterly out of control.

The long-suppressed silence detonated in a flash, erupting into a violent roar of voices and a scene of chaos.

"Your Majesty! You must not!"

"Your subjects deserve death ten thousand times over!"

Some elderly officials kowtowed on the spot, their foreheads striking the golden bricks with dull thuds, their voices already choked with sobs as they cried out.

Some young jinshi, tears and mucus streaming down their faces, wanted to kneel yet felt it improper, wanted to return the salute yet felt it presumptuous — they simply stood there, trembling from head to toe, mouths parched, unable to utter a single complete sentence.

Even those Embroidered Uniform Guard officers of sterner temperament had reddened eyes. Solemnly they clasped their hands and returned their sovereign's salute with a deep bow.

The hall dissolved into a cacophony — some shouting "Your Majesty is benevolent and virtuous!", some roaring "Who would dare disobey!", some sobbing brokenly, "We would toil to the last bone and die before we rest for Your Majesty!"

Compared to the orderly choruses of praise at court assemblies or Wuying Hall audiences, this chaotic scene was an utter eyesore.

Yet it was charged with a vibrant vitality the likes of which none had ever seen.

Gao Shiming could not help but rush forward several steps, positioning himself slightly in front of Zhu Youjian as a shield.

His sharp eyes swept the hall warily, fearful that these emotionally unmoored officials might commit some rash act.

Zhu Youjian slowly straightened up, himself startled by the tsunami-like response before him.

But he quickly steadied his nerves, drew a deep breath, and shouted with all his strength:

"Gentlemen!"

The voice was not loud, yet it seemed to carry a strange, uncanny power.

In an instant, the chaos fell silent once more.

Inside the great hall, dead silence!

Some stood, some knelt, their postures varied, yet every one of them lifted their heads in unison, their gazes — mingled with tears, fervor, and wild passion — burning fiercely upon their Emperor.

Not a single person made even the faintest sound, but the colossal force contained within that stillness struck Zhu Youjian until his whole body tingled numb.

He forcefully suppressed the surging emotion in his heart and, striving to keep his pace even, said:

"Let the envoys from each garrison town form their own groups and discuss separately."

"In the end, on paper, write down what you believe to be the top three maladies of the realm! And append real local eyewitness accounts as supporting evidence!"

Having spoken, Zhu Youjian turned his head and called out: "Gao Shiming!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Gao Shiming instantly grasped his intent and relayed the order in a loud voice.

A group of junior eunuchs immediately filed in like fish in a stream, carrying the paper, brushes, ink, and inkstones already prepared and setting them upon the tables.

They then guided the envoys to the various tables according to the border garrisons they had visited.

Seeing that everyone was already standing in place before their group tables, Zhu Youjian gave a light cough and said finally:

"Then please, everyone, take up your brushes and discuss. In one shichen, I shall return to hear the abuses and maladies you present."

With that, he looked at them no more, swept his sleeve, turned, and withdrew toward the rear of the hall.

Yet Zhu Youjian's figure had only just rounded that enormous screen.

From the Wuying Hall behind him, a colossal wave of sound, as if it could blow the hall's roof off, erupted with a boom!

That extreme stillness was instantly supplanted by extreme clamor!

"It is official corruption! If the civil service is not set right, then all affairs are ruined!"

"Bullshit! Your hometown is in the county seat — what do you know of how wretched the border troops are now! The hereditary military households are fleeing; not one in ten remains. That is the mortal affliction!"

"None of you are right! It is clearly the realm's famine, and the relief efforts are utterly inadequate! Didn't you see the letters from my hometown? They've already begun trading children to eat!"

"I am a jinshi of the Renxu cohort — you, a man of the Yichou cohort, watch your tone when you speak to me!"

"What's so great about being a jinshi? When I was serving in the Embroidered Uniform Guard, you were still in split-crotch pants!"

Zhu Youjian halted his steps abruptly.

He stood behind the screen, trying to make out something clearly, but this wave of sound — formed by nearly a hundred men shouting, arguing, debating — was simply too immense, a droning roar, and instead he could hear nothing distinctly.

That fervent wave of sound — even through the screen — its heat and longing could still be felt.

This force surged toward Zhu Youjian like a tide, and he could not help but tremble faintly himself.

He slowly turned his head to look back.

But before his eyes was nothing more than a screen painted with mountains, rivers, and geography.

This Great Ming…

It can still be saved! Damn it, it absolutely can still be saved!

I said it! I, Zhu Youjian, said it! I, Zhu Youjian, the Yongchang Emperor of the Great Ming, have spoken it with my own mouth!

No one can destroy it! —

At this time, the verifiable list of Xingren and Secretariat Drafter envoys numbers sixty-eight persons.

Attached are the fourteen among them connected to bandit affairs, Jianzhou affairs, and Mongol affairs; the rest who died naturally or have no subsequent records are not counted.

(Chapter 81: The Greatest Malady Under Heaven Is None Other Than Administrative Paralysis\\)