Chapter 151: The Eunuch Faction Rises to Power

The court was indeed unsettled, and the most unsettled matter of all was the position of Supervising Secretary of the Ministry of Personnel.

The Censorate and the Six Offices of Scrutiny were the collective term for the Supervising Secretaries of the Six Offices and the thirteen Censors of the Censorate, commonly known as the Two Offices. Among them, the Six Offices of Scrutiny were especially unique.

On the one hand, the Supervising Secretaries served as attendants to the Emperor, offering remonstrance and filling gaps in policy; on the other hand, they inspected the affairs of the Six Ministries and all other offices, and also participated in court deliberations on major matters, court nominations of high officials, and court trials of major cases. Though their rank was merely the seventh grade, they were "low in rank but extraordinarily heavy in power."

Low in rank meant that Supervising Secretaries were only seventh-grade officials, utterly inconspicuous in a place like the capital.

Extraordinarily heavy in power could be explained in a single sentence: they had the authority to seal and reject the Emperor's edicts, sending them back to the Grand Secretariat for redrafting!

From this one could see how fearsome the power of the Six Offices of Scrutiny was!

The Six Offices covered War, Revenue, Rites, Justice, Works, and Personnel. The Ministry of Personnel was known as the first of the Six Ministries, so naturally the position of Supervising Secretary for Personnel was the most important. All promotions and demotions within the civil official system had to be reviewed by them. Most importantly, after enduring just a year or two, one could rise within the capital, leaping to at least the fourth rank, and if sent out to the provinces, one might even become a third-rank Circuit Intendant!

Great power, fast promotion — no one was willing to give up this position. The Donglin Faction was bound together by partisan ties, so naturally they would all use "their own people."

And so, conflict arose.

There were three candidates to fill the position of Supervising Secretary for Personnel: Liu Honghua, Ruan Dacheng, and Wei Dazhong. According to established procedure, Liu Honghua should have succeeded, but his elderly mother had passed away and he would soon have to return home for mourning, leaving the position vacant.

All three men were members of the Donglin Faction. In principle, an internal reconciliation should have sufficed, but in reality the Donglin Faction was riddled with rival factions within. No one commanded universal obedience, and it was not a true political party in the real sense. And so, a struggle was inevitable.

The giants of the Donglin Faction — Minister of Personnel ** Xing and Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate Gao Panlong — conferred privately and planned to give the position to Wei Dazhong, whom they trusted more.

Ruan Dacheng, however, was a fellow townsman and close friend of Zuo Guangdou. It was Zuo Guangdou who had written letters summoning him back to the capital from his hometown, precisely to contend for this position.

At the court deliberations, all officials took pride in speaking boldly and remonstrating frankly, so each spoke with impassioned eloquence. No matter how high one's rank or how great one's prestige, if one found a flaw in another's argument, one would step forward to refute it.

Zuo Guangdou and Yang Lian had rendered great service in the "Case of the Palace Relocation" — that is, Zhu Youxiao's succession to the throne. Though their official ranks were not high enough, their prestige was considerable, and behind them stood a group of like-minded men. For a time, they actually fought ** Xing and Gao Panlong to a standstill, neither side able to prevail.

Jinghuan Palace, side hall.

Zhu Xu sat properly at the table, back straight, holding a book, listening attentively as Yang Lian lectured on the Records of the Grand Historian with measured cadence.

Yang Lian treated Zhu Xu as a child just beginning his education, explaining in detail everything from the origins of the Records to the historical circumstances of Sima Qian's time.

Zhu Xu had a genuine desire to learn, so he listened earnestly.

At this stage, there would be no fill-in-the-blank questions, no reflections, no poetry appreciation, no essays... The first priority was rote memorization — memorizing so thoroughly that one could recite it backwards and forwards without error.

Yang Lian stood at the front holding his book, his expression indifferent. After reading a few lines, he would glance at Zhu Xu to confirm he was listening attentively before continuing.

One lesson lasted a full two hours and more.

Yang Lian closed his book, looked at Zhu Xu, and said: "Today's lesson ends here. Next time I come, I will examine Your Highness." Having said this, he picked up his book and walked toward the door.

Zhu Xu hastily rose, bowed respectfully, and said, "I respectfully see off the Master."

Only after Yang Lian had walked far away did Zhu Xu let out a long breath. It had been a long time since he had disciplined himself so strictly. Sitting still for so long was truly exhausting.

He patted his legs as he stood up, picked up his book, and walked out of the side hall.

Just as Zhu Xu stepped out the main door, Cao Wenzhao approached and said, "Your Highness, there has been a change in the situation."

Zhu Xu's legs were sore, so he walked slowly. He asked, "What change?"

Cao Wenzhao seemed not to know how to put it. After a moment of silence, he said, "Those at court who had been supporting Ruan Dacheng suddenly stopped speaking, and moreover, someone has impeached him."

"Ruan Dacheng?"

The corner of Zhu Xu's eye twitched, and he marveled inwardly, thinking to himself, 'So it really can't be avoided. This one is a famous figure among the remnants of the eunuch faction in history...'

"Tell me the rumors." Zhu Xu smiled.

Cao Wenzhao coughed once, looked at Zhu Xu, and said, "It is said that Ruan Dacheng had an old affair with one of Lord Zuo's concubines, and he was caught in the act."

"Come, come, let's go inside and hear the full story."

Zhu Xu raised an eyebrow and chuckled. As long as such matters didn't involve himself, he was always delighted to hear about them.

Meanwhile, Ruan Dacheng, who had clashed with Zuo Guangdou, was seething with resentment. At home he turned the matter over and over in his mind, unable to swallow this insult. He pushed open the door, climbed into his sedan chair, and directly told his steward: "To the east of the city — the Wei residence!"

Wei Zhongxian could not remain within the palace and was supposed to reside at the Eastern Depot, but in fact, as everyone knew, he had a private residence in the eastern part of the city.

The steward could see that his master was displeased and dared not ask questions. He urged the sedan bearers on, heading openly and directly for the east of the city.

Arriving before the courtyard of the Wei residence, Ruan Dacheng hesitated again.

Although the Donglin Faction was internally divided into many factions, they were all partisans with complex interlocking relationships. ** Xing and Gao Panlong and the others had not simply forced Wei Dazhong into the position of Supervising Secretary for Personnel by brute strength; they had also employed various means, vacating the position of Supervising Secretary for Works to offer it to him.

But in an instant, he recalled the words that had appeared at the court deliberation: 'In light of the approaching capital evaluation, Dacheng cannot be employed.'

His expression turned cold and resolute. He strode toward the main gate of the Wei residence, while inwardly nursing his hatred: 'Zuo Guangdou, ** Xing — you have humiliated me today. One day I will repay you a hundredfold!'

Filled with anger, he pounded on the gate, making the doors of the Wei residence shake again and again.

Soon, a household retainer opened the door, looked Ruan Dacheng up and down with an air of arrogance, and barked coldly: "Who are you? Do you know whose residence this is, daring to make such a racket?"

Suppressing the anger in his heart, Ruan Dacheng lowered his posture and said, "This official is Ruan Dacheng of the Personnel Office of Scrutiny. I request an audience with Eunuch Wei."

The retainer gave him another once-over, then shut the door, saying, "Wait!"

Ruan Dacheng took a deep breath and stood before the gate waiting.

Before long, the retainer opened the door and said to Ruan Dacheng, "Please enter, Lord Ruan. Eunuch Wei is currently receiving guests. Please wait in the side chamber."

Ruan Dacheng kept his posture extremely low, followed the retainer inside, and sat in the side chamber drinking tea, waiting patiently.

Before long, he saw people streaming out of the main hall like a tide, and his expression immediately turned to shock.

Among the crowd he spotted Guan Yingzhen, Xu Dahua, and even Shen Yiguan's grand-nephew!

These men were all members of the evil faction — why were they here?

The so-called evil faction referred to, in the eyes of the Donglin Faction, every partisan group other than Donglin itself.

The Donglin Faction had used every means at its disposal, especially the capital evaluation, to drive nearly all other partisan groups out of the court, creating the spectacle of "all the upright filling the court" and the imminent revival of the Great Ming.

But at this very moment, a host of key figures from the evil faction had all gathered at Wei Zhongxian's residence!

Ruan Dacheng's eyes were filled with alarm, but then his face twitched slightly, his gaze turned to hatred, and a cold smile curled at the corner of his mouth.