Chapter 84: Affairs Too Many, Authority Divided — Then the Officials Will Not Be Diligent (Bonus 2K

An autumn wind curled through the dust, spinning in eddies before the hall and adding a touch of bleakness.

The weather had already turned cold.

Xue Guoguan drew the cuffs of his official robe tighter and followed behind a junior eunuch, head lowered as he hurried on his way.

This was the first time he had been granted a private audience with His Majesty.

The fervor he had felt yesterday in Wuying Hall had long since cooled; in its place rose a disquiet and unease he could hardly put into words.

Road repair.

The assignment sounded modest, even trivial — but once he took it up, he realized just how deep the waters ran.

Barely a day into the posting, he had already met with two polite rebuffs.

Xue Fengxiang, Minister of Works, had been all courtesy and consideration, saying only that his ministry was swamped with affairs and short on manpower, and that should Minister Xue require anything, they would certainly "do their utmost to cooperate."

As for Guo Xingyan, Chief Supervising Secretary of the Office of Scrutiny for Works, he had not even shown his face, merely sending word via a messenger: "Noted."

In essence, he had been given every form of support — except actual support.

Part of this was, of course, a reflexive pushback against him, a Supervising Secretary for Justice, reaching his hand into the Ministry of Works' turf.

But looking deeper, the entanglements ran far beyond the Six Ministries themselves.

Xue Guoguan had no confidence at all.

He was not sure whether that young new sovereign truly understood how deep these murky waters were.

He had passed the metropolitan examination in the forty-seventh year of Wanli and spent seven years navigating the official world, serving in the provinces and rotating through the revenue, war, and rites scrutiny offices; he did not consider himself a weak hand at governance, and he was confident he could sort this matter out cleanly.

But being an official was not only about getting things done — if he bet on the wrong side, years of toil would be wiped out in an instant.

A simple old fellow from Shaanxi, belonging to neither the Donglin faction nor the eunuch faction, when the time came he might not even have anyone to help him back into office.

How much weight did that sentence — "We will give you every support We can" — truly carry?

Was it a casual remark born of a sovereign's passing whim, or a deliberate pronouncement as good as gold?

He dared not gamble on it, nor could he afford to.

After much deliberation, he had simply stayed up all night drafting a vague policy essay and sent it into the palace at daybreak.

Ostensibly a detailed presentation of strategy, it was in truth a stone cast to test the waters.

If His Majesty truly made good on his word, then this assignment would be a fine stairway to the heavens.

Whoever stood in his way then would be standing in the way of his official career.

But if His Majesty…

Xue Guoguan sighed softly and unconsciously touched the black gauze hat on his head.

Amid the ups and downs of officialdom, sometimes being able to face one's own salary with a clear conscience was already the limit.

Just as his thoughts were running wild, he saw Gao Shiming, the seal-holding eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, hurrying out from the gates of Qianqing Palace, his expression peculiar — part embarrassment, part something akin to relief.

"Eunuch Gao." Xue Guoguan hastily stopped and cupped his hands in salute.

Gao Shiming seemed startled, jerking to a halt. Seeing it was Xue Guoguan, he forced a smile onto his face: "So it is Minister Xue. Please, come in quickly — His Majesty has been waiting within the hall for some time."

With that, he even skipped the pleasantries, gave Xue Guoguan a slight nod, then turned and strode swiftly away, his retreating figure looking as though some wild beast were chasing him from behind.

Xue Guoguan stood frozen in place, his heart growing ever more anxious.

After hesitating a moment, he finally drew a deep breath, suppressed all his stray thoughts, and stepped into that most exalted palace of the Great Ming.

"Your subject, Xue Guoguan, Chief Supervising Secretary of the Office of Scrutiny for Justice, kowtows before His Majesty. Long live, long live, long live the Emperor."

After the solemn grand prostration, Xue Guoguan straightened his upper body according to custom, ready to await the command to rise.

Yet the anticipated "rise" did not come.

He merely saw a blur before his eyes as a hand firmly grasped his arm.

"Minister Xue, dispense with these elaborate formalities."

Zhu Youjian's voice came from above, carrying an unmistakable force.

He had actually descended from the throne in person and pulled Xue Guoguan up from the floor.

"Come with Us."

Overwhelmed with trepidation, Xue Guoguan was practically dragged along by Zhu Youjian, stumbling as he followed.

He had not been in the capital long and had seen the new sovereign only once, in Wuying Hall; he had truly not been seasoned many times by this sort of "Han-ancestor style" influence.

In a few steps, the two of them arrived before an enormous rosewood screen.

Xue Guoguan took one look, and his heart sank with a sense of foreboding.

His memorial, he saw, had been completely taken apart and turned into several small sheets of paper, neatly pasted onto the screen.

Zhu Youjian released his hand and stood before the screen with his hands clasped behind his back, not looking at him but rather as if admiring a painting.

"Minister Xue, We have read this policy essay of yours."

His finger tapped lightly on the first sheet of paper.

"First, standardize regulations: the repair of the capital's streets should be governed by enduring laws, to eliminate future troubles."

His finger glided across and pointed to the second sheet.

"Second, strictly enforce performance reviews: merits and faults in road repair should have clear rewards and punishments, to stir motivation."

Then to the third sheet.

"Third, make good use of civilian labor: corvée workers may be conscripted during the agricultural off-season to repair roads, thus saving state funds."

Zhu Youjian's finger traced unhurriedly across each of those articles.

Every one of them was the product of Xue Guoguan's painstaking wording, every one of them seemed so… impeccably balanced, beyond reproach.

And at the same time, utterly useless.

At last, Zhu Youjian's finger stopped at the final sheet. He slowly turned around, his gaze settling on Xue Guoguan's face, which was struggling to remain calm, and the corner of his mouth curved into a faint, ambiguous smile.

"Every point is sound, every sentence earnest."

He first offered a word of praise, then shifted his tone, his voice cooling by three degrees.

"Only, We do not believe that this is your true standard, Xue Guoguan."

"Minister Xue, this memorial of yours seems hardly commensurate with your talents. Is there some difficulty that cannot be stated plainly in a memorial?"

Xue Guoguan could not stop his fingers from trembling.

He looked into Zhu Youjian's eyes, which seemed to pierce straight through a man's heart, and a storm of shock and awe rose within him.

He knew all along! He actually knew!

Inwardly, Xue Guoguan let out a long breath. In the end, he made the critical decision.

He would speak the truth — or at least, a part of the truth first.

He drew a deep breath, bowed low to Zhu Youjian with clasped hands, and his voice carried a trace of bitterness, yet also a gravity he had never shown before.

"Your Majesty's sagely discernment illuminates all for ten thousand li. This subject… is ashamed."

He offered no further defense of himself.

"It is not that this subject intended to deceive, but that this matter of road repair, though it seems trivial, is in truth a tangled web of interlocking interests — pull one thread and the whole body moves."

"When duties are scattered and authority divided, officials grow indolent; when policy issues from many doors, affairs lack unity. This subject… has the will but not the power."

The smile faded from Zhu Youjian's face. He was somewhat baffled, but still nodded for him to continue.

Xue Guoguan steadied himself and slowly began to explain.

"Your Majesty, this matter of repairing the capital's roads involves corvée labor, illegal structures, paving, inspection, and a host of other affairs. Authority and responsibility are divided among various offices, and the entanglements are complex."

"Among these, the powerful and noble families of the capital, as well as common residences and shops, have in many cases encroached upon the land to conduct business and blocked the drainage channels. By custom, this matter falls under the purview of the Bureau of Forestry and Crafts of the Ministry of Works."

"But if the streets are to be repaired and the channels dredged, that falls under the authority of the Bureau of Waterways, also of the Ministry of Works."

"Beyond these, the Embroidered Uniform Guard also has a Guard Commander who leads a number of banner officers, charged by decree with patrolling the city — they too have a hand in this matter."

At last, Zhu Youjian's expression shifted, taking on a look mingling astonishment and absurdity.

He had assumed that Xue Guoguan's greatest difficulty was simply a matter of money.

For that, he had even meticulously prepared a "money-raising scheme," intending to use the road repair as a starting point to stir things up properly.

He had never imagined that what stymied a hero was not, in fact, money.

Xue Guoguan, his head lowered, did not notice the Emperor's odd expression. He gave a bitter laugh and continued:

"Your Majesty, even setting aside these entanglements of authority, consider merely the mobilization of manpower. If it were only routine filling of potholes, one would need to mobilize the Five Wards Troops and Horses Office, or, through the Prefect of Shuntian, mobilize the fire-and-watch units of the capital's various wards."

"But if the roads are to be newly built and the stone slabs replaced, then a great deal of corvée labor is required. In that case, one might have to use rotational troops from the guard stations, or even convict laborers from the Ministry of Justice."

At this point, he finally raised his head and looked directly at Zhu Youjian.

"Your Majesty, this subject is the Chief Supervising Secretary of the Office of Scrutiny for Justice. The limits of my authority are thus."

"Your Majesty must also be aware of these tangled affairs in the capital. Therefore, without further authorization from Your Majesty, this subject… truly finds it impossible to advance even an inch."

Zhu Youjian gave an embarrassed smile and put on an expression of complete assurance, indicating that We had indeed known all along.

Yet in his heart, some doubt lingered.

In his impression, was the Great Ming not reputed to have a "small government"? How had it come to resemble the over-layered Song dynasty?

What sort of divine organizational structure was this?

Instinctively, he wanted to call out for Gao Shiming, to ask this living encyclopedia of Ming bureaucracy whether Ming regulations had always been this absurd.

But the words reached his lips before he remembered — Gao Shiming had personally gone to fetch that damned Compendium of Statecraft Writings.

He hesitated a moment, then turned his gaze back to Xue Guoguan and adopted the manner of a guiding question:

"Then, Minister Xue, in your opinion, why has such a situation of many offices handling one matter come to pass? If it is so in the capital, is it also so in the provinces?"

That single sentence!

A flash of sharp light instantly burst forth in Xue Guoguan's eyes!

The Emperor had not asked "what is to be done," but "why has it come to this"!

A difference of a single word — as distant as heaven from earth!

The former was a question about road repair; the latter was a question about the governance of the realm.

This was the true stairway to heaven that he, Xue Guoguan, had been seeking! Not some road repair project!

How much merit could repairing a few broken roads possibly earn?! How could it be worth the pains of a dignified Chief Supervising Secretary!

He forcefully suppressed his inner excitement, strove to straighten his back until it was ramrod-stiff, and spoke in a deep voice.

"In reply to Your Majesty! In the provinces, matters have by no means reached this point!"

"In the provinces of our dynasty, there are established the Provincial Administration Commission, the Provincial Surveillance Commission, and the Regional Military Commission — the three offices dividing power.

"However, since the Chenghua years, Governors and Governor-Generals have often been appointed above them, assuming overall authority over an entire province. With authority unified and orders issuing from a single source, this malady does not yet exist."

"As for affairs in the capital…"

He paused, carefully weighing his words, but in the end, he spoke them out, word by word.

"Affairs in the capital often lead to offices being established for the sake of a specific task."

"Take street repair as an example. In the early days of the dynasty, it was solely the responsibility of the Bureau of Waterways. Later, because the task was not handled well, the Bureau of Forestry and Crafts was added to co-manage it. Still later, the Five Wards Troops and Horses Office, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the Censor for City Patrols… all were added and all could manage it."

"Each time a new office was added, the effect was immediate. However, as years passed and time wore on, personal interests grew, laws and standards slackened, and the effect once again became hardly praiseworthy."

"It is like the matter of apprehending thieves in the capital. First it was the Five Wards Troops and Horses Office; then the Capital Camps Patrol Battalion was established to assist; and finally, the Western Office of the Embroidered Uniform Guard was added. Now, by day it falls to the Troops and Horses Office, by night to the Patrol Battalion, and with the Embroidered Uniform Guard established, they can intervene regardless of day or night."

Zhu Youjian nodded, then shook his head.

This matter of apprehending thieves had been mentioned back when he questioned Tian Ergeng about the spies, but he had never expected the absurdity behind it.

He now understood completely.

So this was a system of endless patches — to solve a problem, a new department was created, but the old department was never abolished.

Over time, patch piled upon patch, the system grew bloated and inefficient, with each part obstructing the others.

Personal interests encroached upon the institutions; once the institutions were established, personal interests encroached upon them again — an endless cycle, so it has been since ancient times.

And he suspected that the wellspring of this unchecked favoritism was, in all likelihood, the successive emperors of the Great Ming.

No wonder the public order and conditions in the capital had deteriorated to such a state.

Zhu Youjian looked at Xue Guoguan, whose face was a knot of anguish and conflict yet held a trace of hope, and understood him completely.

That hollow memorial he had submitted was nothing but a conversation starter; its entire purpose was today's audience.

Zhu Youjian pondered for a moment, a plan already forming in his mind.

This matter was, for him, an entirely unexpected difficulty — he had not planned to carve up the capital's power pie so soon.

But since a loose thread had appeared, and Xue Guoguan was genuinely willing to pull on it, there was no harm in giving it an early tug.

Although he had no prepared plan for this, that was hardly a problem for a leader.

When a leader faces a sudden difficulty, the most universal solution is always one and the same.

Zhu Youjian smiled faintly and spoke in a clear voice.

"The difficulty of road repair — We have understood it."

"Indeed, what Minister Xue left unspoken, We have also understood."

"The capital's apparatus is bloated to this degree; all affairs are neglected and decaying; authority and responsibility are ill-defined — this is the seat of the disease!"

He paced back before the screen, and after a few brief prefatory remarks, his gaze settled once more on Xue Guoguan's face.

"— So, Minister Xue, in your view, how should this situation be resolved?"