[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-wanli-the-enlightened-emperor":3,"chapter-wanli-the-enlightened-emperor-wanli-the-enlightened-emperor-chapter-364":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Wanli, the Enlightened Emperor",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2322186,4542,"Chapter 364: Appointed by Commission, Assume Office and Act","wanli-the-enlightened-emperor-chapter-364",364,"\u003Cp>Since the Three Sovereigns, since the establishment of state institutions, power alienated in opposition to the tide of the age and its manifestations of corruption have quietly taken root, eroding governance and corrupting customs in every corner.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For public authority, built upon violent coercion, inherently carries the tendency to detach from its public nature and gradually decay.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Out of the need to preserve the state or out of the simple emotions and ideals of those in power, every dynasty has, to some degree, imposed checks and investigations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet the corruption of the entire system often cannot be eradicated, because it is rooted in the economic foundation of the prevailing system of ownership of the means of production.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since the founding of the Great Ming, Emperor Taizu held corrupt officials in utter loathing, even resorting to the brutal punishment of skinning and stuffing, yet with minimal effect.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Two centuries have passed, and no better solution has been found.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, under the patronage of the Wanli Emperor, Grand Secretary Zhang Juzheng initiated it, and Censor-in-Chief Hai Rui investigated the Two Huai Salt Administration case as the starting point—the Wanli Reforms have once again raised the banner of anti-corruption: against the corrupt officials of the Great Ming’s era of social transformation, the court will show no mercy in curbing them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One cannot help but ask.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How is today’s anti-corruption different from those of previous dynasties?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In other words, the new Confucian foundation laid by the Eight Great Masters’ discourse in the second year of Wanli rests on the two words—fairness and progress. If this anti-corruption is guided by new scholarly thought, where is the fairness? Where is the progress?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For this, the Wanli Emperor once expounded on it in the Wenhua Hall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He said, anti-corruption under the reforms does not lie in the difference of harsh laws and punishments, but in the fundamental distinction of intent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The starting point is no longer to mediate internal interest conflicts among court officials, but to safeguard the transformation of wealth distribution—anti-corruption is part of solving the problem of distribution.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The entry point rejects the “temporary expedients” of concentrating on major cases for a one-time fix or accumulating state wealth; instead, it demands that anti-corruption become normalized and institutionalized in response to the era’s transformation—problems to be solved through development.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, in the Xuzhou River and Canal corruption case, satisfying the Wanli Emperor’s momentary anger is not the end; digging deep into the causes and effects of Xuzhou’s corruption, improving the River and Canal system, and enhancing the people’s livelihood are the true objectives of this Xuzhou anti-corruption effort.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The former can be done with a wave of the hand—after venting, one feels perfectly at ease; the latter is the real, vital work of plugging leaks and plugging gaps—the Censorate’s censors have been working day and night on Mount Yunlong without rest, yet still see no end.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Here are the statements from the Xuzhou River Division and the Prefectural Office regarding daily operations; here are the archival records from the Military Preparedness Office, the Household Department Division, and other offices; and here are interrogation records of scholar-gentry, village elders, and river laborers and small merchants—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At dawn, in a meditation chamber of Xinghua Temple on Mount Yunlong, stacks upon stacks of documents filled every desk.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone’s voices were weary; clearly, they had not slept all night.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Deputy Censor-in-Chief Chen Wude held his glasses with one hand and occasionally licked his fingers as he turned pages.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Chaotic! Too chaotic!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he carefully read the documents, Chen Wude’s eyes drew closer to the papers, his brow tightening further.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sitting below, Censor Lu Zun, the Lead Censor, nodded in agreement: “Indeed chaotic. At first we thought the Ministry of Public Works’ Department of Waterworks was involved, but it turns out they were completely unaware.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Department of Waterworks had one Director, one Deputy Director, and seven Clerks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It looked respectable enough.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But outside the Department, there were even more officials: the Tonghui River, Beihe, Zhonghe, Nanhe River Management Divisions; the Quan, Zha, Hong Divisions; the Superintendency and the Tax Collection Factories—there were countless Directors, full of overstaffed, elevated, and overqualified posts—strong branches, weak trunk.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In other words, as fellow Directors of the Ministry of Public Works, why should the stationed Directors serve as dogs to the ones in the central office? Is there no sense of official etiquette left?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, as one of the “Four Departments” under the Ministry of Public Works, the Department of Waterworks was responsible for rivers, canals, ponds, springs, floods, shallows, roads,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>bridges, boats, textiles, tools, measurements—its duties were numerous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One Director of the Ministry of Public Works’ Department of Waterworks was already overwhelmed; he had no time to seize authority over the divisions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So, no matter how the procedures were written, in practice, any strong-willed stationed Director of the Ministry of Public Works reported directly to the Vice Minister.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Wude rubbed his temples and asked: “If so, then did the senior officials of the Ministry of Public Works have any problems?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Times are not what they once were.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>During the Southern Zhili Salt Administration case, the Emperor had declared that offenses before the first year of Wanli would be forgiven if corrected, but any after would be met with no leniency—even issuing a self-censure edict to avoid being implicated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Censorate no longer cared about Wan Gong or Pan Jixun—hadn’t the Emperor taken them with him precisely to shield them from suspicion?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Assistant Censor-in-Chief Lu Zun shook his head: “We checked. No problems.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, Director of the Ministry of Personnel Xu Fuyuan interjected, explaining: “In the past, Pan Jixun accused Lin Shao and others of incompetence but could not produce evidence; instead, Lin Shao turned the tables on him.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Zhu Heng looked down on Pan Jixun’s abilities—feared he would mishandle river management and feared he would be manipulated—so he informed the Ministry of Personnel to have them refrain from involvement in river supervision matters and focus solely on river management.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“At the time, Grand Secretary Lu Diaoyang was still in office—he approved it, assigning Wan Gong to oversee river works.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon hearing this, the room fell silent, everyone glancing at Lu Zun.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The poor relationship between Pan Jixun and Zhu Heng was well known, primarily due to major technical disagreements.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>During the Yellow River flood of Jiajing 44, Zhu Heng advocated digging a new river; Pan Jixun insisted on restoring the old Yellow River course. In Jiajing 45, Pan Jixun petitioned to survey the upper reaches due to siltation, but was blocked by Zhu Heng.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet the Ministry of Public Works’ factionalism, beyond their personal discord, was also fueled by colleagues stoking the fire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For example, in Longqing 5, Censor Luo Zun impeached Pan Jixun for incompetence in water management, adding that no one surpassed Zhu Heng in river works—Pan Jixun still harbors resentment, convinced Luo Zun was acting on Zhu Heng’s orders.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Zun showed no expression, utterly unaware of fostering factionalism, and continued: “Wan Gong knew of Zhu Heng and Pan Jixun’s feud, feared being used as a tool, and thus was extremely cautious in impeaching river matters.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Therefore, the problem of the Xuzhou River and Canal still lies with the Zhonghe Division, especially Director Li Minqing.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By “cautious,” it really meant letting river workers investigate and correct themselves—avoiding offending anyone, since it was never Wan Gong’s direct responsibility.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Wude rubbed his temples, his expression grave: “His Majesty has pointed out that behind every entrenched case lies an incomplete ritual system.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Take the Zhonghe Division—Li Minqing exploited the gap, turning public power into private authority, operating in secrecy. This is not merely a problem of the Zhonghe Division.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“At its root, it is the Ministry of Personnel’s oversight in official rank design!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Minqing is no minor official—why should Chen Wude personally oversee him?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The real issue is the institutional design: the Ministry of Public Works’ dispatched agencies should not be equal in rank to the central ministry, leading to a lack of oversight by the primary department—that is what a Right Censor-in-Chief should see.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Fuyuan is not a senior official of the Ministry of Personnel; as a mere Director, he cannot bear such heavy words from Chen Wude.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He could only speak for the Department of Clerks, dodging the issue: “In Hongwu 29, when the Ministry of Personnel considered the Department of Waterworks, there was no involvement from the Grand Secretariat; oversight was naturally lacking.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This remark carried subtle implications.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The current Ministry of Personnel is not the Ministry of Personnel of the Minister—it is Grand Secretary Zhang Juzheng’s Ministry of Personnel. Credit belongs to him; blame must not be laid at his door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone turned to look at Xu Fuyuan; Chen Wude’s expression was particularly grim.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Fuyuan was no longer the unfortunate follower of Gao Gong—he had learned much over the years. He cleared his throat and declared: “I will promptly submit a report to the Censorate of the Ministry of Works regarding the Water Department’s system, compile it into documents, and present them to His Majesty.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He would not accept whether the fault lay in the Ministry of Personnel’s official system or the Ministry of Public Works’ operations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He would leave it for the Emperor to determine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Wude did not press Xu Fuyuan, a mere Director; he gave a slight nod, accepting this retreat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then he turned to Chief Censor of the Ministry of Revenue, Chen Xingjian, dragging him into the issue of institutional inadequacy: “The Household Department Division is equally culpable.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why did the Household Department’s Waterfront Granary Division never report to the Director-General of Granaries?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why was the former Director-General of Grain Transport, Wang Zongmu, completely unaware?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The problem of the Waterfront Granary’s grain transport was gradually surfacing these past days.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Guangyun Granary’s grain was sent northward only, not allocated locally; yet Beijing’s consumption was limited, so annually, vast quantities of grain rotted in storage according to the accounts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But in actual management, the Guangyun Granary long ago ignored this rule: spoiled grain was diverted to the Yongfu Granary, used for the prefectural treasury, distributed to laborers and soldiers, balancing the books.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The surplus good grain from the Yongfu Granary was directly divided among all parties.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eventually, they even hoped the grain would rot—so they could cash in after inspections.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This is why Lu Shanji lamented in “The Earnest Draft”: “The ground of Guangyun Granary is crumbling, wooden walls decayed, moisture seeps in daily, yet superior officials never worry about repairs or reinforcement—every time I inspect Guangyun Granary, I see ruined foundations; every time I see boards needing repair, I see no concern from above—gradually, the grain rots; how long will this endure?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Over time, their audacity grew; they began directly diverting grain between the two granaries, even between stored and transported grain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, even the Household Department Division’s own staff in the Waterfront Granary did not know the full extent of the deficit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Xingjian was scolded head-on, his face flushed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He immediately rose to defend himself: “Our Vice Minister Fan today returned to inspect the Waterfront Granary—Censor Chen cannot unfairly blame him while he’s away.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Household Department’s Granary Offices are divided north and south; Xuzhou lies within the jurisdiction of the Southern Zhili Granary Office, and inspections are decided solely by the Nanjing Household Department.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“As for Director-General Wang, he is a great merit-maker of the imperial court’s maritime opening—must we now cut the ox after the cart is drawn?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though Chen Wude was known as a pure minister, Chen Xingjian, like Xu Fuyuan, was hypersensitive to such direct criticism and refused to admit fault.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, his reasons were legitimate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Southern Zhili had overseen Xuzhou’s Waterfront Granary; Director-General Fan Yingqi could hardly send Beijing officials to re-inspect.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saying it was an institutional flaw was fine—but it could not be pinned on Fan Yingqi personally.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And Wang Zongmu was innocent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Longqing maritime opening was not only the policy of the late Emperor and Gao Gong, but also the path upheld by the current Emperor and Zhang Juzheng—now over a decade, it has remained the core of the reforms.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From the ministries down to the Grain Transport offices, from conscripting soldiers to dredging and opening seas, through more than ten maritime trials, countless manpower and resources have been expended.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Zongmu had practically taken up residence at the Huai’an Harbor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With his hands full, how could he possibly attend to Xuzhou’s Waterfront Granary?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Wude had no such patience; he replied seriously: “This is precisely the ritual deficiency of the Household Department. Censor Chen must also compile this into documents and submit them to His Majesty’s inspection.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Xingjian did not wish to take the blame, but he did not reject the task.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He bowed slightly, conceding.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Wude gave another slight nod, letting it pass.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A pure minister does not merely find fault with others. Chen Wude turned to Lu Zun: “Where are the Censorate’s statements? Why have the censors never impeached corruption in the River and Canal system?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Zun rose silently and pulled several documents from another stack.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He handed them casually to Chen Wude, explaining: “The Censorate has also suffered from oversight failures—its problems are no less than those of the Ministry of Public Works.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“During Yongle, the posts of Censorial Inspector and Embroidered Uniform Guard Battalion Commander were established to patrol the rivers.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But after the establishment of the Salt Inspection Censor in Zhengtong 3, the Salt Inspection Censor began to oversee river patrols; in Hongzhi 1, the Two Huai Salt Inspection Censor was ordered to manage the river south of Jining, and no separate River Patrol Censor was appointed.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Previously, this was not a problem, but since the salt administration reforms, the Two Huai Salt Inspection Censor’s duties have multiplied, requiring frequent reporting to the distant Shandong Salt Administration, leaving river patrols increasingly neglected.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Since the River and Canal system had never previously been problematic, the Censorate never submitted a memorial to add a dedicated River Patrol Censor.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The part-time River Patrol Censor, like local river or lake supervisors appointed from prefects and county magistrates, operates on the same principle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Chenghua 8, the Changlu Salt Inspection Censor was assigned to oversee the Tongzhou and Linqing river sections; in Jiajing 7, the Granary Inspection Censor was assigned to manage the river north of Tianjin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was never a dedicated River Patrol Censor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Wude sighed softly: “Cutting staff and oversight—hard to have both.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Central oversight of localities requires manpower—vast amounts of it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But this directly contradicts the dynasty’s two-century-long trend of streamlining and reducing redundant officials.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Originally, the Censorate had proactively petitioned to abolish the River Patrol Censors precisely to align with this broader purge of surplus officials.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, if we petition again to reinstate them, it will seem as if the Censorate is capricious, lacking direction and resolve—like adding noodles when the broth is too thin, then adding broth when the noodles are too many—damaging its authority.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, Wan Xiangchun, Right Associate of the Ministry of Works, spoke up: “Thus His Majesty has ordered us to conduct thorough research, draw broader lessons from current problems, ground our efforts in reality, and carefully refine a complete official structure for the River and Canal Water Office.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“At that time, any increase or reduction in posts must be viewed holistically—whether to cut or add remains undecided.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the issue of institutional flaws, the Ministries of Personnel, Revenue, and Works, as well as the Censorate, are all equally at fault.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>While I have redundant officials on my side, you lack oversight on yours—let us combine our proposals for institutional improvement, and we won’t violate the court’s directive to eliminate surplus posts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All officials within the meditation chamber found institutional refinement daunting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn’t just the conflict between adding and cutting posts; there were also disputes over jurisdictional divisions between water conservancy and grain transport, and even the need to shed historical burdens to secure greater authority for the ministries—among countless other issues. These could not be resolved through shouting; only through collective negotiation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since everyone was eating from the same pot of new reforms, no one objected.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing no one speak, Luo Zun continued, raising the problems exposed by the Xuzhou case: “As for Li Shidi, the Regional Inspector of Fengyang, the specifics remain unclear.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The yamen says he’s far away and easy to deceive; but the Water Office rumors suggest Li Minqing is a distant relative of his, and they’re colluding.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh, right—the messenger just said Li Shidi has arrived and is waiting in the Great Hero Hall.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luo Zun stood up and volunteered: “Shall I step out and question him first?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not only Chen Wude, but also Xu Fuyuan, Chen Xingjian, Wan Xiangchun, and others rose to stop him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Not appropriate.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t act rashly!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing this, Luo Zun sullenly sat back down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wan Xiangchun, Right Associate of the Ministry of Works, gently soothed: “We summoned him under the guise of a meeting—if we arrest him on the spot, the public backlash would be severe. People will gossip.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Better to wait until His Majesty returns, or until the meeting formally concludes.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Just give it some proper connection.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Investigating a case isn’t an emergency—there’s no reason to import Zhang Jianzhi’s methods into the Censorate’s daily operations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even though everyone knows something’s wrong when local officials are absent for days, the proper procedures must still be followed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if we go a thousand steps further, not all Xuzhou officials are corrupt. If we skip the surface rituals, it would be unfair to the remaining thirty percent of upright officials.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Wude nodded: “His Majesty has nearly finished inspecting Xuzhou. Let’s wait until then to openly and vigorously launch the investigation.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was no real need to summon people to Mount Yunlong and detain them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was only because the Emperor was being capricious and insisted on personally inspecting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ministers could not resist the Emperor, and feared corrupt officials might panic and lash out—so they resorted to this last resort: temporarily detaining local officials who could threaten His Majesty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The claim that detaining them would make it easier to interrogate subordinate clerks and registrars was merely incidental.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These men are all waiting for the Emperor to finish his inspection and return, so they can shoulder the blame for illegally detaining officials—and then openly arrest and interrogate them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After this brief interlude, Chen Wude asked: “The Water Office stops at Li Minqing; Regional Inspector Li Shidi is suspicious. What of the prefectural and county yamens and the Military Preparedness Commissioner?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this, Luo Zun’s expression darkened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He snorted: “The Prefect Wu Zhonghang and the Deputy Military Preparedness Commissioner Chang Sansheng are certainly involved—but whether others are implicated remains uncertain.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Battalion Commanders, Judges, and Registrars we’ve interrogated all speak with confidence, claiming they have powerful patrons above them—but none can say who exactly.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A fourth-rank Chief Censor, who has handled countless major cases—even high-ranking officials in crimson robes tremble before him—when had he ever been so openly dismissed?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>o￠O\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those truly protected by powerful patrons would never react this way.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If they kept silent and concealed their patrons, there might still be a chance—but if even their patrons are imprisoned, these gangs are all doomed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These petty fish and shrimp are either ignorant and fearless, or half-informed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This left Chen Wude speechless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He looked uncertainly at those in the meditation chamber and humbly sought their opinions: “We haven’t spared the Ministers, the Viceroys, the Grand Coordinators, or the Vice Ministers—who else could be involved?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone exchanged glances.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Fuyuan, Director of the Ministry of Personnel, seemed to recall something and was about to speak.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, a sound came from outside the door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thud!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thud-thud!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The meditation chamber door was knocked on; everyone fell silent in unison.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Shao Sichan, jinshi of the thirty-fifth year of Jiajing, former Director of the Ministry of Revenue Wang, accompanied by a group of local elders and notables, is outside requesting an audience. They say bandits have been roaming Xuzhou, cruelly murdering scholar-officials.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“They beg the Shao Sichan to release the Prefect and Deputy Military Preparedness Commissioner so troops may be dispatched to suppress the bandits.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was the voice of Xiao Liangyou, the newly appointed third-place jinshi and Compiler in the Hanlin Academy, serving as Secretary to the Imperial Court.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luo Zun rose and opened the door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiao Liangyou bowed deeply, completing all formalities before entering the chamber: “Also, the Eunuch Sun Dexiu, Imperial Commissioner overseeing the Guangyun Granaries and managing Yongfu Granaries and Grain Transport, and the Eunuch Ke Yong, Director of the Zhonghe Water Conservancy and overseeing Grain Transport, have blocked the entrance to Xinghua Temple.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“They say we’ve detained Xuzhou officials, disrupting official duties, and demand the Shao Sichan release them immediately.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Newcomers to officialdom lack manners—they don’t know the old rule that subordinates must address subordinates properly. They call the Right Chief Censor “Shao Sichan” instead of “Zongxian.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fortunately, Chen Wude didn’t mind; he was even pleasantly surprised.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He exchanged glances with his colleagues in the chamber. They had neither the means nor the mood to advise the Emperor about his rogue behavior.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the eunuchs’ arrival reminded them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Wude gently removed his spectacles, his expression clearing: “I nearly forgot—such sordid affairs could never be complete without the palace eunuchs.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He pointed toward the Great Hero Hall, signaling Xiao Liangyou to bring them there, then rose to meet these unexpected visitors.\u003C\u002Fp>",3580,"2026-06-20T16:31:35.124Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","cacb7479f92d4afcddccda23282c03134420e73485c9b3dc884018d9d5a009a4","wanli-the-enlightened-emperor-chapter-365","wanli-the-enlightened-emperor-chapter-363",375,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fwanli-the-enlightened-emperor-cover.jpg"]