Chapter 208: Punishment

Zhu Youjian had already sat back down on the dragon throne, and the fury that had gripped him moments ago was gradually subsiding. But whenever he recalled the mention in Wang Zhian's document of over a thousand skeletons of famine refugees found in the desolate outskirts of Xinyang, his mood remained exceedingly grim.

In Zhu Youjian's view, whether it was the likes of Gao Yingxiang and Zhang Xianzhong or the Jianzhou Jurchens, they were by nature cruel bandits who regarded all life as mere weeds, and so they used brutal means and force to arbitrarily deprive innocent people of their lives. Strictly speaking, murder and arson were simply the bandit profession — over the past decade or more, the common folk who had died directly or indirectly at the hands of the roving bandits could no longer be counted. Zhu Youjian had once naively believed that once the roving bandits were destroyed, with effective measures taken by the court, it would be absolutely impossible for large-scale civilian casualties to occur again.

But Zhu Youjian had still overestimated the moral integrity of certain beasts in human clothing. Some officials and literati, outwardly sanctimonious and full of talk about benevolence and righteousness, were secretly filled with nothing but theft and lechery.

These scoundrels of the Xinyang prefectural government ordinarily claimed to uphold the Way of Heaven above and comfort the myriad people below — who would have thought that for their own private gain they would openly disregard the lives of the people under their governance? This kind of contempt for civilian life was even more hateful than that of the roving bandits.

"All ministers, rise! At present the drought in several northern provinces is severe, and countless elderly, weak, women, and children depend on the government to survive! In the face of natural disaster, only the court and local governments have the ability to keep the masses of refugees alive! I only hope that the Xinyang affair was an isolated incident, for otherwise how could I still believe in the conscience and conduct of officials? How could I have confidence in achieving great governance of the realm?"

Zhu Youjian's tone was steeped in profound despondency.

Since crossing over, he had exhausted his thoughts trying to reform the outdated customs and bad practices of the present age, striving to improve the lives of more common folk. Though results were already beginning to show in many areas, none of it compared to the spiritual blow the Xinyang affair dealt him. When those refugees were on the verge of death, did they curse him, their sovereign, with the most bitter resentment in their hearts?

He was now filled with doubt about whether he could change the Great Ming, and his inner confidence was beginning to waver.

He knew that the Great Ming had an abundance of mediocre, lazy, and lax officials, which was why he had striven so hard to change this situation through institutional reform. But he had never imagined that there were officials like Xu Yunsheng who fattened themselves by devouring the people. It seemed that a strict supervisory system absolutely had to be implemented as soon as possible — that would maximally prevent the recurrence of such tragedies.

The assembled ministers rose one after another and returned to their positions. Wen Tiren memorialized: "The Xinyang affair is truly a tragedy of the human world; Xu and his ilk deserve to die ten thousand deaths! Though Centurion Wang of the Embroidered Uniform Guard overstepped his authority in handling this matter, in urgent situations one must act flexibly, and judging by his conduct, he acted from public spirit — otherwise, these heart-wrenching events would likely have continued! This old minister believes he is without fault and has merit! I beg Your Majesty to render a swift decision in this matter, so that all officials governing the people may take it as a warning! This old minister also earnestly begs Your Majesty to rouse your spirits and not sink into dejection over this minor setback — we ministers will devote our full energies to assisting our sage sovereign in restoring the former glory of the Great Ming!"

"We ministers concur with the Chief Grand Secretary's words!"

"This old servant begs Your Majesty not to brood overmuch, and to take care of your dragon body!"

Everyone in the hall had noticed the Emperor's low spirits, and one after another they offered words of counsel and comfort to Zhu Youjian, whether sincere or feigned — this dispelled much of the despondency in his heart.

Subconsciously, he still carried that later-age mindset of treating others with equality, often forgetting that he was now the master of the realm, forgetting that his pessimistic mood would fill his ministers with fear and unease.

It seemed he was not a qualified sovereign, lacking that cold-blooded quality of viewing all living beings under heaven as mere ants.

But though he was aware of this, Zhu Youjian also knew it would be difficult to change. He only hoped that his mental fortitude would grow stronger, that he would maintain reason and restraint in the face of anything, and that he could use a calm head to make correct judgments and choices.

With that thought, Zhu Youjian finally became completely calm. He said in a deep voice: "The Xinyang prefecture affair is of the most heinous nature! The offending officials and personnel must be punished with the utmost severity! Prefect Xu and all those below him shall be beheaded in the marketplace and their heads displayed! Their family property shall be fully confiscated! Their families shall be exiled three thousand li, made base-born in perpetuity, with no amnesty even on imperial pardon! The Grand Secretariat shall draft an edict proclaiming this to the realm!"

Wen Tiren stepped forward, performed the ritual bow, and received the edict.

Originally Zhu Youjian had wanted to decree that the offending officials be executed by waist-cutting, but considering that waist-cutting was too cruel, after some thought he changed it to beheading instead.

Zhu Youjian took the tea that Wang Cheng'en had brought and drained it in one go. The refreshing aftertaste of the new tea washed away the last trace of irritation from his heart, and his fighting spirit blazed up anew.

He continued: "The Left and Right Censors-in-Chief and the Vice Censors of the Surveillance Court shall each lead teams to inspect the severely disaster-stricken areas of Henan and Shandong. Should they find any local government officials engaging in overt compliance but covert defiance, or in laziness and negligence, regardless of their rank, all shall be dismissed without exception! Those who dare to intercede or plead on their behalf shall share the same punishment! Should anyone be found embezzling disaster relief funds or grain, they shall be beheaded on the spot as a public example! Minister Li, Minister Shi, I hope you two will not concern yourselves with personal reputation or gain or loss, but put the interests of the court and the people first, so that the majority of disaster victims may safely weather the present crisis!"

Li Banghua and Shi Bangyao both knelt with solemn expressions, performed the great ritual, and then received the edict and accepted their orders.

Zhu Youjian knew well that digging wells and building canals required both time and grain, and also required professional talent to direct the construction. Some regions with extremely scarce water resources needed wells drilled to depths of over ten zhang or even several dozen zhang — such projects consumed enormous amounts of manpower, materials, and money, and the results were not particularly remarkable.

But the drought in the northern provinces would continue for several more years, and in this era of underdeveloped technology, the drawback of overly long construction periods for water conservancy projects was laid completely bare.

This meant that for a very long time, the court would have to produce astronomical amounts of grain to feed these starving masses, so that only after the wells were dug and canals completed could the fields yield anything. This was a highly unrealistic proposition — doing so would completely bankrupt the Great Ming's finances, and the result would be losing more than gaining.

Though the Zheng family's fleet was now continuously purchasing rice from Siam, Jiaozhi, and other places and shipping it to the capital, the fleet still needed a very long time for each round trip. You couldn't very well ask the Zheng family to set aside their business and serve exclusively as your transport fleet, could you? That would be equivalent to directly reaching into the Zheng family's pockets — how could a great nation behave with such a complete lack of grace? Besides, Zheng Zhilong wasn't necessarily going to agree to it.

After Li Banghua and Shi Bangyao returned to their positions, Zhu Youjian continued: "Based on what I know of the situation, among all the disaster-stricken provinces, prefectures, and counties at present, Shaanxi's various measures have been the most appropriate, and their implementation the most thorough — hence it has been the least affected by the drought. All of this is thanks to Minister Sun's able governance, the local officials' tireless diligence, and their people-centered conduct. Added to this, under years of continuous upheaval in Shaanxi, the population has sharply declined, and so Shaanxi has begun to show signs of being able to sustain itself. Judging by this situation, in a few years a picture of stability will begin to emerge within Shaanxi. This has truly eliminated a major hidden worry for the court — Minister Sun's contribution is indispensable!"

Toward Sun Chuanting, a man of exceptional ability who was both loyal and fearless, Zhu Youjian would from time to time offer words of praise before the assembled ministers — his purpose being to warn them all that this was a man he favored, and they had better not go looking for trouble by making difficulties for him.

Seeing that most of the ministers were nodding in agreement, Zhu Youjian continued: "Previously I have already issued an edict ordering the disaster-stricken prefectures and counties of Shandong to relocate the refugees within their borders to the banks of the Grand Canal and to the lake regions of Weishan, Zhaoyang, Nanyang, and Dushan in Jining Prefecture. This is because the aforementioned areas are dense with rivers and lakes, with fertile soil — whether digging wells or diverting lake and river water for irrigation is extremely convenient, and the expenditure of grain and money is far less than in arid lands. With long-term management, becoming a land of fish and rice is no idle hope. The Ministry of Works has already dispatched officials of the Waterways Bureau to plan and arrange matters, selecting lands that will not be flooded during the rainy season to build villages and open up military farmland. As long as the measures are effective and the local governments direct affairs properly, in a few years the disaster victims of Shandong may also obtain good fields and fine homes."

Minister of Works Fan Jingwen memorialized: "According to the report of Bureau Director Ma of the Waterways Bureau, after personal inspection by the officials dispatched by the Waterways Bureau and consultation of local county gazetteers, it has been learned that the uncultivated wasteland around the four southern lakes of Jining Prefecture alone amounts to several hundred thousand qing. After opening the land and several years of crop rotation, most of it can become top-grade fields, whose output would be sufficient to feed a population of several million. The local farming households may also, in their spare time from farming, catch fish and raise shrimp — whether they sell them to others or consume them themselves, it counts as a considerable source of extra income."

Zhu Youjian nodded and said: "The Ministry of Works has handled this matter exactly as I wished. Minister Fan, you should actively seek out usable talent from within the ministry — as long as they genuinely possess real learning and ability, the court will naturally promote them beyond the ordinary. This way, everyone's talents will be put to full use, and it will also earn Minister Fan the fine reputation of a discoverer of talent. Minister Fan, take this to heart!"

Fan Jingwen happily performed the ritual and received the edict. The Ministry of Works was like a chamber pot — whether it was the Emperor, the Grand Secretariat, the inner court, or powerful ministers and nobles, when there was business they used it, and when they were done they tossed it into a corner. When something went wrong, someone still had to bear the blame — it was the typical child that neither grandmother nor uncle cared for.

Apart from the Ministry of Works' few high officials — the Minister and the Left and Right Vice Ministers — the mid-level officials of the various bureaus, such as Bureau Directors, Vice Bureau Directors, and Bureau Secretaries, were essentially all people of strong professional expertise, and many of the minor functionaries were leaders in their respective trades. But because the Great Ming from top to bottom basically paid no attention to promoting and employing professional talent, officials of the Ministry of Works advanced extremely slowly, and those mid-level officials harbored considerable resentment privately.

This time the Emperor had spoken, so Fan Jingwen was naturally delighted to go along with the current. When he returned to the ministry and told everyone — saying that through his earnest advocacy, His Majesty had personally agreed to increase the pace of promotions for Ministry of Works officials, and that as long as everyone worked with genuine dedication in the future, he would surely go to His Majesty to seek promotions and rewards on their behalf — in this way, his authority within the ministry would be greatly enhanced.