Chapter 265

Zhao Jiu was destined to be estranged from the people of this era, an immense chasm that was nearly impossible to bridge.

This estrangement was not necessarily due to any gap in ideological awareness, nor a difference in educational background, nor even a matter of differing worldviews—it also carried the influence of a natural, inherent cognition…

For example, people of this era always felt that an emperor should enjoy three palaces, six courtyards, and seventy-two consorts.

But in reality, even a "player" from later times would follow a step-by-step process for fishing—catch one, release one. A few who kept four or five concubines might indeed exist, but look at how everyone views them—with curiosity and mockery? Would someone raised in such an environment truly lock away three to five hundred young women for their own personal needs all at once?

Could they even recognize their faces?

Another example: some civil officials always worried that an emperor would launch massive construction projects, indulge in extravagance without limit, and test the limits of this era's pitiful productivity… but would someone who had seen forests of steel and concrete and enjoyed an industrialized life have that kind of inclination?

With forty billion coins, wouldn't it be better to expand the map and open up new territories?

Yet another example: some bureaucrats would speculate from an extreme egoistic perspective that this His Majesty was doing this to consolidate military power, or that to stir up conflicting opinions… but in truth, this His Majesty was simply lazy, ignorant, and just went with the flow.

Sometimes he could indeed think of it, but other times, if you didn't tell him, he wouldn't even know it could be interpreted that way.

Enough digression. Let's talk about spring, when all things flourish. In late February, the Original Learning, forcibly augmented with Prince Shu's New Learning and Guan Learning as its orthodox lineage, was officially established as the state doctrine, becoming the main basis for imperial examinations and teaching, and the guiding ideology of the state… And thanks to the prior agitation and warm-up, along with the unconditional endorsement of the Son of Heaven in an imperial society, it did not cause much of a stir.

Because the court had work to do.

The first matter at hand was precisely the discussion on the unrest in the Nanling region following the complete suppression of the bandits from Dongting Lake.

To speak of it, the unrest in Nanling had begun as early as the Jingkang era. In other words, the area at the junction of later-day Guangdong, Guangxi, Hunan, and Jiangxi had effectively been in anarchy for six or seven years. According to statistics from surrounding local governments, there were currently twelve self-proclaimed kings, three to four hundred bands of varying sizes, totaling thirteen to fourteen thousand people, affecting over a dozen prefectures and military commands across the entire Nanling region…

As for why it was so chaotic, the reasons were manifold.

First, it was an area where ethnic minorities lived in compact communities, culturally somewhat different from the surrounding areas. Second, it was a typical hilly region, with inconvenient transportation and easy to defend but hard to attack—the term "malarial miasma land" was essentially coined for this area. Third, not to mention the Song Dynasty, this place had been a haven for bandits and a region of fierce local customs since ancient times. Often, if some mountain stronghold or local strongman was displeased, they would simply rebel—there had always been a tradition of uprising.

No help for it, it was a poor and remote backwater… yet geographically it was the heart of South China. Bandits from all directions, unable to stay put elsewhere, would all flee there—the same principle as Mount Taihang having produced bandits since ancient times.

Historically, in the mid-Ming Dynasty of another timeline, the Great Ming was clearing out nests and sweeping caves in the north, yet it didn't stop them from rebelling in over a dozen prefectures in the south, causing trouble for many years. How much more so in the present, which had experienced the Jingkang Incident?

Of course, thanks to previous effective efforts such as holding firm on the Huai River, establishing the temporary imperial residence in Nanyang, and recovering the old capital, the current situation of the Great Song had improved considerably. From the perspective of internal troubles, essentially only this big hole remained.

Therefore, the entire court regarded this final pacification campaign as a matter of utmost importance. The Chancellor of the Capital Secretariat, that is, the de facto Prime Minister Zhao Ding, also proposed his own plan based on the characteristics of Nanling. It was to recall the already exhausted Forward Army of the Imperial Camp for rest and reorganization, and instead send Han Shizhong and Zhang Jun south together—one from Fujian, one from Hunan—while having the local volunteer armies from the two Guangnan circuits emerge from Guangdong and Guangxi, attacking from three directions to jointly suppress the rebellion.

But this plan was immediately opposed by the Privy Councilor Zhang Jun, who believed that the back-and-forth deployment of troops would waste time. Since Yue Fei was already in the south, he should quickly move south before the weather became too hot, and finish the battle before summer arrived.

In response, Zhao Jiu once again expressed support for Zhang Jun, but agreed with part of Zhao Ding's opinion. In the end, he ordered that Yue Fei himself decide how many troops to take south and how many to bring back for rest, granting him the authority to mobilize the local government and volunteer troops from Jiangnan West Circuit, Fujian Circuit, Guangnan East Circuit, and Guangnan West Circuit, as well as to conscript soldiers from local Miao stockades.

At the same time, he dispatched all generals, soldiers, civil and military officials from the two Guang and Nanling regions to go south together to serve as guides, ensuring the resolution of this final large-scale rebellion.

Since His Majesty had decided, matters were quickly implemented.

No sooner had the major pacification campaign been decided by the outer court than another earthquake-like important event erupted within Dongjing City: Yang Yizhong, the Commander of the Imperial Guard, was suddenly stripped of his authority to receive and transmit secret memorials, which was instead handed over to Liu Yan, the second-in-command of the Imperial Guard.

There were traces to follow. Previously, the Grand Coordinator of Hubei had submitted a formal memorial impeaching Yang Yizhong precisely on the issue of secret memorials. It was just that matters concerning Original Learning and military arrangements for pacification had been more important at the time. Now that those matters were settled, His Majesty naturally dealt with it.

However, Yang Yizhong, who had always been considered the most trusted of His Majesty's confidants, suddenly receiving such treatment inevitably sparked speculation and conjecture within Dongjing City. Almost the very next day after the incident, dozens of memorials were sent through the Privy Council to Zhao His Majesty's desk, all impeaching Yang Yizhong and demanding his execution.

"I merely stripped you of the authority to transmit memorials, and they already think I want to kill you," Zhao Jiu suddenly snorted with a laugh in the pavilion by the fish pond, enjoying the fresh air while reading the memorials.

Yang Yizhong, standing to one side, seemed about to speak but stopped, while Liu Yan also showed a strange expression.

"But to be honest, if Ma Shen hadn't submitted that memorial, I wouldn't have thought of this either," Zhao Jiu said, putting down one memorial and casually picking up another, shaking his head incessantly. "Zhengfu, you simultaneously hold military power within the palace, intelligence disposal authority, and control over communications between me and the generals and military governors across the realm. If you truly wanted to rebel, you could imprison me and then forge edicts to the various armies. This power is no less than that of the Privy Councilor."

"Your subject would never dare!" Yang Yizhong could no longer hold himself together and knelt on the spot under the gaze of Lan Gui, Liu Yan, and several Hanlin Academicians and Imperial Diarists.

"It's not a matter of daring or not; it's for your own good," Zhao Jiu continued with a sigh. "I was also ignorant, leaving such a huge loophole in the system. If Ma Shen hadn't pointed it out, I truly wouldn't have thought of it that way… When they kept saying they wanted to kill you before, I thought it was because you were always taking the blame for me… To be honest, don't hold any resentment in your heart."

What could Yang Yizhong say? He could only solemnly clasp his hands and reply: "This is Your Majesty's grace. Your subject harbors absolutely no resentment."

After a moment's hesitation, Liu Yan, who was also in attendance, knelt directly: "Your Majesty, your subject believes that the authority to transmit secret memorials might as well be directly placed under the Palace Eunuch Bureau…"

"No need!" Zhao Jiu immediately shook his head. "I took it from Zhengfu only because he had too many responsibilities concentrated on one person, which was naturally improper. Now that it's separated, that's fine. Why move it again?"

"Your subject also holds military authority over the Imperial Guard," Liu Yan said cautiously.

"Is it the same thing?" Zhao Jiu finally frowned. "Military forces, intelligence, and pivotal state affairs—these are the critical powers during extraordinary times. The two of you jointly command the Imperial Guard, Zhengfu holds the Imperial City Bureau, and you handle the transmission of secret memorials. That's already sufficient and proper."

"But entrusting such pivotal affairs to a military officer is ultimately inappropriate," Hanlin Academician Li Ruopu stepped forward and clasped his hands. "Your Majesty, as early as the Tang Dynasty, there was discussion that the power of the chief councilors lay first in governing the realm and second in controlling pivotal state affairs… In our dynasty, the Eastern Secretariat governs the realm, and the Privy Council controls pivotal affairs. The system is already quite complete."

"If it were complete, how could Liang Shicheng have become the 'Inner Chancellor'?" Zhao Jiu retorted without even looking up. "Wasn't it because he encroached upon the power of pivotal affairs?"

Li Ruopu was momentarily stunned, but then responded again: "Your Majesty, the Son of Heaven resides at the center of the realm, and it is inevitable that there will be attendants by his side. As long as eunuchs strictly adhere to moral principles, even if they come into contact with certain matters, it does not count as interference in governance."

"How can eunuchs possibly not interfere in governance?" Zhao Jiu laughed in response. "I talk to you about systems, and you talk to me about morality… You yourself said that the power of pivotal affairs is the power of the chancellors. Eunuchs, residing by the side of the Son of Heaven, inevitably get involved in pivotal affairs. And since they get involved in pivotal affairs, they are in fact encroaching upon the power of the chancellors. This is the basic principle behind eunuch interference in governance since ancient times… For example, take Eunuch Lan. Even though he has an excellent reputation now, dare you say that he doesn't hold some power over pivotal affairs?"

Lan Gui knelt down without hesitation, becoming the third person to do so.

"So it seems in your eyes, it is acceptable for eunuchs to encroach upon the power of pivotal affairs, but absolutely unacceptable for military officials to do so," Zhao Jiu continued, still not looking at Lan Gui, just shaking his head while flipping through the memorials. "What kind of logic is that?"

Li Ruopu hesitated for a moment, then continued to respond: "Your Majesty is right. Since there is a Privy Council, the power of pivotal affairs should all belong to the Privy Council."

"But wouldn't that be stripping the monarch of his power?" Zhao Jiu continued with a smile. "Should I follow Emperor Guangwu's example and set up an Inner Secretariat, and then continue the internal and external power struggles?"

Li Ruopu fell completely silent.

"Times and circumstances change," Zhao Jiu, who kept flipping through the memorials, finally sighed deeply. "Monarchial power and ministerial power, central and local, civil officials and military generals—the struggles are endless. But we must distinguish the circumstances… A few years ago, we were like stray dogs, a small court. The court was within the army, and nothing else mattered. Starting from Nanyang, we barely had a foothold, and it was a period of military-first politics, where everything was centered on the army. After the Yaoshan campaign, the situation stabilized, but the war still had to continue. So I wanted to establish a separation of civil and military powers… And since we have a separation of civil and military powers, the secret memorials from these generals should only go through the Imperial Guard system. You, the Eunuch Bureau—none of you should quibble about it… All of you, rise!"

The three kneeling men all stood up. Even Li Ruopu clasped his hands and responded: "Your subject understands. This matter pertains to a wartime system and should only be discussed after the Jin people have been completely annihilated."

Zhao His Majesty, who had not stopped looking at the memorials on the stone table in front of him despite all the previous talk, finally paused upon hearing this. He looked up and fixed Li Ruopu with a strange gaze, making the Hanlin Academician on duty that day momentarily flustered.

"Your Majesty, has your subject made some oversight?" After a pause, Li Ruopu finally couldn't hold out.

Zhao His Majesty also sighed helplessly: "Minister Li has made no oversight. I just don't understand something… That is, all of you—not just civil officials, but also military officers, eunuchs, imperial relatives, and even the common people—why do you always want to return to the old ways, to walk the old path? You must know that the old ways clearly led to the Jingkang Incident, clearly a path that wasn't any good. So why are you all so reluctant to part with it, so insistent on seeing the old path as the right one? Is the power of tradition truly so great? Why do I say 'the ancestors cannot be taken as models'? Isn't it because the ancestors took the wrong path?"

Li Ruopu's expression was dazed, and for a moment he didn't know how to respond.

After this questioning, His Majesty also seemed somewhat drained. He simply set down a new memorial and shook his head as he instructed: "Don't say such things in the future. Even after the Jin people are annihilated and we return to normal times, it will be a new normal, not the old normal… Write an article expressing roughly what I mean, send it to Compiler Hu, and put it in the next issue of the Capital Gazette."

Li Ruopu dared not refute and quickly acknowledged the order.

However, just as Li Ruopu turned to head towards the side hall to write the article, Zhao His Majesty suddenly called him back: "Don't go!"

Hearing the unusual tone in the voice, Li Ruopu was startled and suspicious, but he could only quickly respond and turn back.

Next, His Majesty held that memorial in his hand, read it over and over for a long time, then pressed it on the table and pondered for a long while before speaking calmly again: "Academician Li, don't write that article for now. Summon the four chief councilors, the Censor-in-Chief, and the Ministers of Revenue and War to the Wende Hall for a policy discussion!"

Seeing His Majesty's calm tone, Li Ruopu, who had been a Hanlin Academician since Nanyang for some unknown reason, instead felt a momentary pang of guilt and hurriedly took his leave to carry out the order.

After waiting a while longer, Zhao Jiu, who had been sitting in place without moving for a long time, finally rose and headed towards the Wende Hall, surrounded by his cautious close ministers. When he arrived, the four chancellors, the Censor-in-Chief, and the two ministers had already gathered with Li Ruopu.

And at this point, Zhao Jiu finally revealed the answer:

"Someone in the Ministry of War has impeached the Rear Army of the Imperial Camp for massive corruption involving discount payments. Were you all aware of this?"

The four chief ministers—the Left and Right Vice Directors of the Secretariat, Zhao Ding and Liu Ji; the Left and Right Vice Directors of the Bureau of Military Affairs, Zhang Jun and Chen Gui; plus the Censor-in-Chief Li Guang; and additionally the Minister of Revenue, Lin Qi—all looked toward the Minister of War, Hu Shijiang. Hu Shijiang's expression did not change, and he directly stepped forward, cupping his hands to address Zhao Jiu: "Your Majesty, your subject is aware of this matter. Before this official submitted his memorial, he discussed the military expenditures of Shaanxi with your subject."

Zhang Jun glanced at the expression of His Majesty the Emperor, then frowned and stepped out of the ranks: "Your Majesty, your subject believes the Ministry of War has put the cart before the horse... Commutation payments, military farming, phantom payrolls, and the conscription of soldiers for labor—these four are common maladies in the army, probably unavoidable since ancient times. And at present, which unit in the entire army can be free of them? Only, with the war still undecided and the civil-military divide, some matters must be tolerated; it is an unspoken understanding between superiors and subordinates... Minister Hu, being new to the affairs of the Ministry of War, is perhaps unclear about what is primary and what is secondary."

Many of those around frowned, but generally no one spoke; even Li Guang only sighed.

Zhao Ding thought for a moment, then stepped forward in his capacity as the head of the Eastern Administration, but even he showed some hesitation: "Your Majesty, the Ministry of War is also fulfilling its duties. Moreover, the Rear Army of the Imperial Camp was reorganized before Your Majesty's eyes, essentially eliminating phantom payrolls. Additionally, due to the ingrained habits of the Western Army, which is still stationed in its home region, the practice of commutation payments is somewhat more prevalent. It is only natural that this has drawn the Ministry of War's dissatisfaction."

Zhao Jiu's expression remained unchanged, like a wooden puppet: "I am not here to reprimand Minister Hu. I have, of course, always known about things like commutation payments. The reasoning you all present is precisely what I have been emphasizing all along... I just suddenly feel that this is already the fifth year of the Jianyan era, and some people should change their bad habits. Moreover, some things should be done."

The ministers below, especially those who had followed His Majesty the Emperor for a slightly longer time, seeing this expression on His Majesty's face, all became solemn instead. Zhang Jun was particularly alarmed, showing a hint of panic.

"Summon Wu Jie to the capital! Zhang Jun should come as well!"

Upon hearing the latter name, even Zhao Ding became somewhat flustered.