Chapter 85: The Prime Minister Must Rise from the Provinces (Begging for Monthly Tickets!)

This was it!

This was the ultimate question he, Xue Guoguan, had gambled his life and family's fortunes on by braving such peril today!

Building roads was merely the minor art of a diligent functionary; governing the state was the great path to heaven.

What he, Xue Guoguan, sought was hardly the paltry merit of road-building!

He forcefully suppressed the wild joy and excitement surging within him, bowed deeply, and though his voice was somewhat hoarse from the rush of emotion, every word was clear.

"To answer Your Majesty, if we speak only of road-building, the matter hinges on human effort."

"Your Majesty need only appoint this subject as an Inspecting Censor for the city, and grant an additional edict, and the Ministry of Works, Shuntian Prefecture, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and the Five Wards Troops and Horses Office will all be subject to this subject's command."

"Though the various tasks are complex, this subject is confident that within a few months, he can make the capital's streets look entirely new!"

This was the most direct and effective method he could conceive of.

To seize power in a single body with thunderous momentum, and cut through the tangled mess with a sharp knife.

Yet, Zhu Youjian merely watched him quietly, a faint, elusive smile at the corner of his mouth, and slowly shook his head.

"You and I, as sovereign and minister, both know that today's discussion has long since moved beyond mere road-building."

Xue Guoguan struggled to restrain his ecstatic mood and, maintaining a calm tone as much as possible, continued:

"Your Majesty is sagacious. If you wish to begin from this point to reverse the ills of governance, then authority over the matter must be unified."

"This subject requests that Your Majesty issue an edict to merge the road and thoroughfare authority of the Ministry of Works' Waterways Bureau, the Five Wards Troops and Horses Office, and even the Embroidered Uniform Guard entirely into the Ministry of Works' Forestry and Crafts Bureau."

"This subject then voluntarily requests appointment as Bureau Director of the Ministry of Works' Forestry and Crafts Bureau, to clarify powers and responsibilities for Your Majesty and rebuild the regulations!"

This was no longer just about building roads; it was about altering the ancestral system, about abolishing and merging institutions.

In the Great Ming's two-hundred-year history, the ancestral system had indeed been altered before, but such an operation encroaching on the interests of all parties was truly rare.

Xue Guoguan had already staked his life and career on this matter.

As long as he proved his ability in this affair, he would naturally be able to claim greater authority and a stronger voice in the subsequent new policies and reforms!

—As for the new policies?

Even though Zhu Youjian had not spoken a single word about them, any normal person knew this new sovereign was certain to launch new policies; they just did not know where he would begin.

But what greeted him was, once again, Zhu Youjian shaking his head.

The smile still lingered at the corner of his mouth, only this time, it carried a hint of amusement.

"The Chief Supervising Secretary is a pure and honored post; the next step outward is a third-rank Administration Vice Commissioner, and staying in the capital means a fourth-rank capital court official. A mere Ministry of Works Bureau Director is only a principal fifth rank."

Zhu Youjian's voice held a trace of teasing.

"If We made such an arrangement, would it not make all under heaven think that We mistreat Our ministers, harsh and ungenerous?"

Xue Guoguan abruptly raised his head and said with a solemn expression: "For the affairs of state, why would I begrudge this person! A trifling official rank and grade—this subject regards them as floating clouds!"

His words were earnest, his gaze burning, as if he sought to move the sovereign before him with this loyalty.

Zhu Youjian gazed at him, his own mind perfectly clear.

He could not see through whether Xue Guoguan's words came from the depths of his heart or were yet another political performance.

But that did not matter.

What mattered was that the answer he wanted was not this one.

Zhu Youjian slowly turned and paced before the screen, where the large characters he had written earlier to clarify his thoughts still hung.

He reached out a finger and lightly traced the ink marks.

"The Troops and Horses Office, Shuntian Prefecture, the Ministry of Works' Forestry and Crafts Bureau, the Ministry of Works' Waterways Bureau, the Embroidered Uniform Guard…"

He recited them one by one, as if talking to himself, or as if testing the minister behind him.

"Minister Xue, let us set aside for a moment all the accumulated abuses of these hundred-plus years. Let us simply return to the founding of the dynasty, to the place where all of this began."

His finger tapped lightly on the screen, producing a soft 'tap tap' sound.

"In your opinion, this matter of repairing bridges and roads, and clearing ditches—at the very beginning, who should have been the one to do it?"

This question was entirely outside Xue Guoguan's expectations.

At the beginning of the dynasty?

His mind raced, and the records in the history books, the clauses in the ancestral system, flashed by one after another.

At the beginning of the dynasty, this matter belonged to the Ministry of Works' Forestry and Crafts Bureau.

But… His Majesty had just rejected his proposal to go to the Forestry and Crafts Bureau; the answer was clearly not that.

Then which department could it be?

His gaze fixed intently on those government offices on the screen, like a thirsting scholar searching between the lines for the subtle and profound meaning of the sages.

The Troops and Horses Office? It handles military affairs—no.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard? It handles investigation and arrest—even less likely.

The Ministry of Works… the Ministry of Works…

His gaze roamed back and forth over the characters for 'Ministry of Works,' but he always felt it was wrong.

Suddenly, a flash of light, like lightning, cut through the fog in his mind!

His gaze abruptly shifted away from the characters for 'Ministry of Works' and landed on the name he had subconsciously ignored from the very beginning.

Shuntian Prefecture!

Xue Guoguan's heart trembled; for the first time, he felt the situation slipping beyond his control.

But why? On what grounds?

He raised his head and, in an incredulous, probing tone, asked softly:

"Your Majesty… could it be… Shuntian Prefecture?"

Zhu Youjian finally smiled.

He clapped his hands together sharply — a crisp sound that echoed through the great hall.

"Precisely! Shuntian Prefecture!"

His gaze blazed as he looked at Xue Guoguan, his eyes carrying the appreciation of a man who holds all the pieces in his mind.

"Repairing roads and clearing ditches — these are matters of local civil administration. Even within the capital, they should fall under local jurisdiction."

"If such affairs are not handled by the local father-and-mother official — the Prefect of Shuntian — then who should handle them?"

Zhu Youjian's voice rose sharply, carrying an authority that brooked no dispute.

"But think again. Why is it that matters which ought to be local civil administration ultimately end up assigned to the Six Ministries?"

"And later, with layer piled upon layer and office added to office, why did it always remain trapped within the circle of the Six Ministries and the Embroidered Uniform Guard, never able to break free?"

This question cut deeper than the last — more profound, striking closer to the heart of the matter.

Xue Guoguan stood frozen in place, racking his brains. A fine sweat gradually beaded upon his forehead.

Notion after notion flashed through his mind, only to be rejected one by one.

Yes — why?

It seemed something that had been taken for granted ever since the Founding Emperor laid down the rules.

The capital was a place of supreme importance, at the very feet of the Son of Heaven. For every matter to be directly administered by the Six Ministries — was that not far more reliable than leaving it to a mere Shuntian Prefecture?

But… but why would His Majesty pose such a question?

After a long while, still unable to grasp the crux of it, he could only sigh in defeat and bow. "Your Majesty, the established institutions of the dynasty have seemingly always been thus. This subject… this subject is dull-witted and cannot, for the moment, discern the reason."

A cold sneer flickered through Zhu Youjian's eyes.

The established institutions of the dynasty? Zhu Yuanzhang didn't know shit about top-level design.

He clasped his hands behind his back and began pacing slowly in place. The atmosphere in the great hall grew heavier with each step.

Abruptly, he spoke — but what he asked was a question that seemed utterly unrelated.

"Minister Xue, Han Feizi said: 'A chancellor must rise from the provinces; a fierce general must emerge from the ranks.' What do you make of that?"

A buzzing sound filled Xue Guoguan's mind, as if something had been stirred — yet a thick layer of paper still separated him from it, and no matter how he strained, he could not see through clearly.

He could only follow his instincts and reply with deference: "Your Majesty, these are words of supreme wisdom for governing the realm. Without passing through the provinces, one cannot know the hardships of the people's livelihood; without managing ministerial affairs, one cannot know the difficulties of the national economy. If a man spends his career in the Hanlin Academy, excelling at pure discourse, then once he rises to high office, he will always be neglectful of the finer details of the empire's affairs."

At this point, as if suddenly recalling something, he started violently in his heart. Hardly daring to believe it, he raised his head and looked at Zhu Youjian.

He saw that the Emperor's face bore a malicious smile that said, "Exactly so."

Zhu Youjian clapped his hands and laughed aloud. "There you have it!"

"In the early days of the dynasty, the Six Ministries were paramount. A Censor had to serve a full nine-year term before even qualifying for promotion to Bureau Secretary in a ministry — how arduous that was!"

"Then why is it that today, throughout the court, none fail to esteem Hanlin pure discourse as noble, while treating the practical work of the Six Ministries as a sullied stream?"

"Of the three current Grand Secretaries, which one did not enter the Grand Secretariat by way of the Hanlin Academy, the Supervisorate of Instruction, and the Ministry of Rites?"

"Why, in the end, is it so? Why does the path of pure honor always triumph over the path of getting things done?"

Zhu Youjian pressed forward relentlessly. His barrage of questions fell like heavy hammers, pounding hard against Xue Guoguan's heart.

Xue Guoguan stood rooted where he was, his entire body drenched in cold sweat.

He dared not answer — and could not answer.

For he already sensed, with a growing foreboding, just how earth-shattering the answer the Emperor was about to deliver would be.

Zhu Youjian did not wait for his reply. He had no need of Xue Guoguan's reply.

He went on speaking aloud, as if to himself, his voice reverberating through the empty hall with a deafening resonance.

"It is precisely because the Daily Lectures and the Classics Colloquium of the Hanlin Academy are posts of proximity to the sovereign, posts of pure honor. Ever at the ruler's side, they easily win the imperial favor!"

"Meanwhile, the Six Ministries — where men bend over their desks and handle the multifarious, tedious business of governance — have instead sunk into obscurity, becoming offices of the sullied stream that no one cares to inquire about!"

"If it is already thus in the capital, then in the provinces it is worse still. Among all the lords of the court, how many are willing to accept provincial postings? And how many do not regard provincial postings as a path to be dreaded?"

He halted his steps, his gaze blazing like a torch as he looked straight at Xue Guoguan.

"Let me ask you this. Were it not for today's events, your next promotion, as Chief Supervising Secretary of the Office of Scrutiny for Justice, would simply be a choice between a fourth-rank metropolitan post in the capital and a third-rank provincial posting."

"— Minister Xue, if it were you, which would you choose?"

This question was like a sharp knife, laying bare the cruel truth in all its bloody flesh.

He opened his mouth, but not a single word came out.

The answer required no words.

Watching his flustered expression, Zhu Youjian sighed quietly in his heart.

Human feeling is like water — it always flows along the path of least resistance.

The first-rate talents all flood into the Hanlin Academy, where they hold forth at the Classics Colloquium and the Daily Lectures, striving to win a reputation for "pure honor."

The second-rate talents shuttle back and forth among the Six Ministries and the scrutiny offices, maneuvering for a metropolitan post.

The third-rate talents — or those who have lost in factional struggles — are the ones sent out as Regional Inspectors and Governors, to accumulate seniority in the provinces, yet always seeking to return to the capital.

And what, then, of the Prefects and County Magistrates who actually govern the common people?

What remains — is it not merely those third-rank jinshi who failed in the examinations and possess only mediocre ability, or those juren who rose through purchased offices?

"If the water is not deep enough, it lacks the strength to bear a great vessel."

Zhu Youjian's voice carried a trace of deliberately measured sorrow.

"Yet in the Great Ming of today, the calamities in the remotest villages far surpass the maladies of the central court!"

Steam rose from the sweat upon Xue Guoguan's brow.

At last, he understood completely.

He understood what kind of grand — what kind of terrifying — design lay behind this young sovereign's words!

When he entered the palace, all he had sought was to use the road-repair matter to consolidate offices, concentrate authority, and secure himself a stepping stone for advancement.

He had even!

He had even imagined that perhaps this new sovereign simply did not understand the entanglements involved at all!

In that case, he could just muddle through and be done with it.

Who could have guessed that what His Majesty had in mind was, unmistakably… to reverse the flow of talent that had persisted since the founding of the Great Ming, and to reshape the entire political order of the dynasty!

What a monumental, earth-shaking undertaking!

Zhu Youjian paced slowly back to the screen. He picked up the vermilion brush and, over the three characters he had already circled, slashed one more emphatic ring around them.

"Shuntian Prefecture."

"Therefore…" Zhu Youjian turned his head, his burning gaze fixed on Xue Guoguan, and spoke each word with deliberate weight:

"To govern the capital, one must begin with Shuntian Prefecture!"

"To govern the Great Ming, one must first sever this road of pure prestige and replace it with a standard of practical achievement!"

He strode forward, extended both hands, and grasped Xue Guoguan's hands tightly.

The young Son of Heaven's hands were dry and warm, carrying an ineffable strength.

"Minister Xue, what We said just now — that the prime minister must rise from the provinces and departments…"

"Then…" His voice carried earnest sincerity and expectation.

"Do you wish to be such a prime minister?"

The words were blunt and direct, utterly devoid of subtlety. They completely defied the bureaucratic conventions and the ruler-minister propriety of the age.

Yet Xue Guoguan felt only a surge of hot blood rushing from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head, burning through him until he trembled and his vision swam.

Instinctively, he wanted to pull free, to prostrate himself, to kowtow — to express his loyalty and emotion, which had swelled beyond all measure.

But the Emperor's hands were like a pair of iron pincers, holding him fast, giving him no room to move.

He could only bow his body forward as far as he could, open his mouth, and try to say something.

"This humble subject…"

The moment he spoke, the hoarseness and dryness of his own voice startled even himself.

He swallowed hard, moistened his throat, and then, with every ounce of strength in his body, continued:

"This humble subject… dares not aspire to the matter of the Chief Grand Secretary! I ask only to serve Your Majesty, to serve the affairs of Shuntian Prefecture! Your subject shall, for Your Majesty, govern these hundred li of land and make them utterly renewed!"

"Good!"

Zhu Youjian, hearing this, let out a great laugh, a laugh brimming with indescribable satisfaction and relief.

"Good! From this day forward, We shall at last have Our own Bao Longtu!"

Holding Xue Guoguan's hand as though leading a long-lost kindred spirit, he strode to the imperial desk.

With his own hands, he spread out a fresh sheet of white paper, fixed his burning gaze on the minister before him, and declared in a ringing voice:

"Then let Our first Prefect of Shuntian, for Us and for the million souls of this capital, write this 'road-building' proposal anew!"