Chapter 305: The Bingxu Reforms

Establishing the Tax Bureau, the Salt Bureau, and the Imperial Bank was clearly no small matter. The Chongzhen Emperor could of course have forced these through by direct palace edict — there was nothing wrong with that in itself — but it would give the scholars of the realm even more ammunition.

The Chief Grand Secretary of the Grand Secretariat had now been replaced by the pragmatic Jiang Dejing. Compared to Wei Zaode, this Chief Grand Secretary was more capable, utterly loyal to the court, and unafraid to take the blame.

Since he had the name of the Grand Secretariat to borrow, the Chongzhen Emperor naturally would not resort to the underhanded tactic of a non-official direct palace edict to push through his reforms. At that moment, the Chongzhen Emperor, who had already consulted with Jiang Dejing, nodded his approval and asked with feigned formality:

"My minister Jiang, have the lists of principal officers and officials been drawn up?"

"Your Majesty, the Pang clan of Jinling possesses vast wealth. The current clan head, Pang Zhongqian, once served as a county magistrate with excellent governance records. He can serve as the principal officer of the bank. Here are the official lists for the Tax Bureau and the Salt Bureau. Please review them, Your Majesty."

After looking them over, the Chongzhen Emperor handed the lists to Wang Dehua and asked: "If any of you have opinions, speak freely and tell me. A ruler must be brave enough to accept remonstrance!"

Hearing this, the officials below all rolled their eyes. You really have some nerve — saying such insincere words without so much as a flush or a gasp. Going out to offer remonstrance would be asking for a shortened life.

"Since none of you have objections, proceed accordingly!" The Chongzhen Emperor smiled with satisfaction, thinking to himself that they knew their place. He turned and asked: "Minister of Revenue Ni Yuanlu, how is the matter of sorting through the capital officials progressing?"

The Chongzhen Emperor was quite concerned about this matter. Keeping such a batch of utterly useless good-for-nothings fed day after day — the sooner they were dismissed, the better. That officials outnumbered soldiers and yamen runners combined was simply laughable to say.

"Your Majesty, after returning that day, I summoned Vice Minister Lian of the Left and Vice Minister Liu of the Right. We took out the accumulated household registries and sorted through them through the night. Fortunately, we did not fail our charge and completed the task before the court session. This is the list of officials of the third rank and above. Please review it, Your Majesty." Ni Yuanlu stepped forward and said respectfully.

Having spoken, Ni Yuanlu took out a small booklet and handed it to the ceremonial eunuch, who passed it to Wang Dehua, who then presented it to the Chongzhen Emperor.

After handing over the booklet, Ni Yuanlu coughed lightly twice. Several minor clerks, granted passage by the Grand General guards, hurriedly carried four or five large wooden chests filled with household registries into the hall and set them down below the imperial dais.

"Hu Tianzhong, Li Decai... Niu Ganglie — what sort of rubbish are these? How is it I don't know a single one of them?" The Chongzhen Emperor flipped through the booklet, and after only a few pages, crumpled it in his hand and refused to look further.

This booklet listed officials of the third rank and above, and with just a rough flip through, whether loyal or treacherous, none of the names on the first few pages were any historical figures he knew or recognized.

At this moment, the Chongzhen Emperor's mind contained the memories of that historical figure, yet even in those memories there was no impression of these people at all — which showed just how useless this bunch truly was.

Moreover, the Chongzhen Emperor had taken a rough glance at the resumes of these so-called high-ranking officials of the third rank and found that very few had anything remarkable about them. Within the last seven or eight years, most of them were mediocre do-nothings, occupying posts without doing their duty, and seeking fame through false pretenses.

It was precisely these people occupying the principal positions at court that had turned the Great Ming court into what it was today. The more the Chongzhen Emperor thought about it, the angrier he grew. He threw the booklet directly to the ground and said:

"Li Ruolian, the Southern Provost's Office has been idle for too long — it's time to get them moving! Have them investigate one by one the moral conduct and governance records of these high-ranking officials of the third rank. For those who have shown no achievements within three years, strip their salaries first. As for whether they keep their posts, we'll see how they perform afterward!"

Hearing this, Li Ruolian immediately stepped out of formation with great strides and said in a deep voice: "Rest assured, Your Majesty. I will handle it as soon as I return!"

The Chongzhen Emperor turned his head and noticed that several large chests had been carried up before his very eyes. Knowing full well what they contained, he had no intention of even looking at them.

No need to think about it — most of the people in those chests were ants gnawing at the dike, occupying posts without doing their duty. At least a good half of them needed to be dismissed.

"Wang Dehua, after court, personally go to the Eastern Depot and have Wang Cheng'en set aside his recent matters. Everyone in these chests is to be investigated by the Eastern Depot. Those who have accomplished nothing since the year of Jiashen — strip them of their posts immediately!"

"Also, the Eastern Depot has good intelligence. Have the agents go among the people to inquire about these men's situations. Combine that with what's recorded in these household registries, and only after confirming the facts decide whether to dismiss them." As he spoke, the Chongzhen Emperor slammed his hand hard on the dragon throne and barked:

"Issue the order: the Five Wards Troops and Horses Office and the Shuntian Prefecture yamen and other offices are to post notices throughout and outside the capital starting today. The Shuntian Prefecture and the Troops and Horses Office yamen are to receive all who come to report cases. There must be no instance of refusing to handle a reported case — otherwise, I will punish severely!"

"For every wrongful case reported to the yamen, the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot must re-investigate each one! If the accused is truly wronged, dismiss the guard officers and officials responsible for the original investigation. If not wronged, take the accuser and behead him!"

"The capital is to be placed under martial law starting today. The garrison troops at the four gates and the soldiers patrolling the streets are to be doubled. Anyone who causes trouble is to be arrested first and foremost. Anyone who dares resist with weapons is to be cut down on the spot! Summon Dong Qi and the newly enfeoffed Earl Wang Xiantong to the palace to see me tonight!"

To be sure, the Chongzhen Emperor understood that this would implicate a large number of hardworking honest folk, but this drawback was far smaller than the benefits of dismissing and trimming useless officials.

First, at this time, honest folk were basically destined to be bullied — very few could climb to high positions, generally remaining at the lowest rungs as minor clerks. Second, trimming the official ranks was not the same as abolishing relay stations; the two differed fundamentally at the root. Later generations of enterprises all used this principle.

In Chongzhen's view, the entire Great Ming court was like a machine whose parts had mostly rusted. These parts were already corroded beyond repair. Keeping them meant spending enormous salaries every month and year while efficiency only grew worse.

When the court session ended that day, officials, yamen runners, merchants, and even soldiers throughout Beijing all sprang into action. Even the Chongzhen Emperor's consorts in the harem chattered about it endlessly, some praising and some criticizing.

As things stood, the only ones who remained completely unmoved were the common folk at the bottom.

In the view of certain discerning people, although this bold reform by the court shook the entire upper framework, it did not actually affect their fundamental lives — after all, life had to go on.

That night, the fully armored Capital Garrison Governor-General Dong Qi and Deputy Governor-General Wang Xiantong entered the palace and held secret discussions with the Chongzhen Emperor for an entire night.

Early the next morning, a force of roughly a thousand troops marched in from Tongzhou and camped outside the capital.

At the same time, the capital garrison intensified its patrols at every gate and street. The number of yamen runners from every government office on the streets multiplied severalfold. Any street tough or local ruffian who so much as committed a minor offense would be viciously thrown into prison without the slightest leniency.

The next afternoon, at the Wei residence.

Wei Zaode, who had already retired in glory, had just stepped out of his gate that day, preparing to take his entire household out happily for a spring outing — when a batch of city garrison soldiers in bright armor bearing sharp weapons came running straight toward him. The joyful atmosphere vanished in an instant.

The leader of these soldiers was a Battalion Commander who clearly recognized this former Chief Grand Secretary who had only recently retired.

Had Wei Zaode left under a cloud, this Battalion Commander might not have bothered. But since Wei Zaode had retired with honor and deep imperial favor, the officer still had to salute respectfully and say:

"Sir, it would be best not to go. The city gates are under martial law — no one is permitted to leave. Outside the city, troops from Tongzhou and elsewhere are stationed. Every part of the capital is under our watch. It would be best to remain within your residence for the time being."

"So the Tongzhou Guard troops have come as well. It seems His Majesty has finally poked a hole through this sky after all." Wei Zaode immediately understood what had happened. He first thanked the lowly Battalion Commander, then signaled his household to hurry back inside.

"Tell you what — I'll leave a few brothers to stand guard outside your residence, sir. If anything happens, they'll serve as a deterrent!" The Battalion Commander suddenly thought of something and waved over five or six soldiers to give them instructions.

"In that case, I thank you, young brother." Wei Zaode also knew that the city garrison was a new army with strict discipline, not comparable to the old troops, so he had no worries and readily agreed.

The Battalion Commander nodded, exchanged a few pleasantries, then turned and waved his hand, barking:

"Continue the patrol! Brothers, keep your blades sharp. If anyone dares cause trouble, His Majesty has said — cut the bastards down on the spot!"