Chapter 1470: The Grand Secretariat

"A great nation spending a bit of coin to build His Majesty a place to live—what of it? We can afford it!" Chen Hong smiled again. "Weren't we talking about striking Japan? That country abounds in gold and silver. Once we take a fat sum from them, why worry about money for a detached palace? I'm the head of the Ministry of Finance; I've run the numbers. As long as we don't book these funds under military expenditure, a little creative shifting and the money is there! Besides, with all those gold, silver, and copper mines in Japan, if we monopolize their mining trade in the court's hands, how much wealth could that bring in? Building a detached palace would be a trifle by comparison!"

"So you really do have an ulterior motive!" The Grand Chancellor suddenly saw the light, then furrowed his brow and sank into thought.

He now understood: the Finance Minister's proposal to build His Majesty a detached palace was mostly born of a minister's sincere devotion, hoping the emperor could better enjoy all under heaven. The other, smaller part was to use the palace project as a pretext to wrest from the emperor the future authority to administer Japan's mineral trade and place it under the Grand Secretariat's Ministry of Finance.

"You are the Grand Chancellor; you know the state's finances as well as I do. Though the court values commerce and exerts strong control over the regions, bringing in far more revenue than previous dynasties, the places we must spend are even more numerous—we're strapped everywhere. We can issue debt to the whole realm and use the loans to cover shortfalls, but that's no long-term solution. Too much accumulated debt could harm the state. So, in my view, we must find every way to broaden revenue streams. Isn't that what His Majesty thinks too? Open Japan's gates, bring that gold and silver into our dynasty's treasuries to relieve the pressing need… I believe this campaign must not be treated as a stopgap. On the contrary, we should seize this chance to let the court secure an exclusive trade monopoly over Japan. That would greatly ease our predicament."

Japan is rich in gold, silver, and copper—precious metals the mainland now needs as monetary material. Yet while it abounds in precious metals, Japan sorely lacks other resources and must import ironware, firearms, and other matériel from outside. If the court monopolizes trade in those goods, it can reap enormous profits from such commerce and partly resolve its fiscal difficulties.

"You've said all the fine words, but you've handed me a hard problem…" In contrast to the Finance Minister's excitement, the Grand Chancellor gave a bitter smile. "Snatching food from the military's mouth is no simple matter. It will depend on His Majesty's opinion."

"Which is precisely why we build him a detached palace—to make His Majesty happy!" the Finance Minister answered with righteous confidence. "We're always crying poverty to His Majesty, saying there's no money here and hardship there, that we can't put funds into military spending. Though His Majesty often heeds us, how can he be pleased if we keep saying it? We must let His Majesty know that, in the end, we do spend for this Great Han realm!"

To prevent the chronic malady of previous dynasties where military men were held in too low esteem, this dynasty had from the very start institutionally elevated the military's status. It not only established the principle that civil officials may not command troops and that the army's command authority is relatively independent, but also stipulated that military spending be relatively independent.

Each year the army draws up a budget figure based on its own requirements and submits it to the court. This budget is the approximate annual military expenditure, termed the "military fund." The Grand Secretariat may neither reject nor cut the military fund; only the emperor can decide whether to approve it. If dissatisfied with a particular item, the Grand Secretariat cannot directly strike it but may only write its opinion into a related memorandum and submit it to His Majesty, leaving His Majesty to decide whether to remove it.

Of course, to prevent the army from becoming excessively domineering, the Grand Secretariat holds supervisory and auditing authority over military fund expenditures. Should it discover favoritism, fraud, embezzlement, or waste, the Grand Secretariat may each submit a signed memorandum to the advisory organs beside His Majesty and order that the responsible persons be dealt with.

However, because the Great Han had only just settled the realm and had been continuously waging war abroad, the annual military fund was an enormously vast outlay that could not be cut according to the Grand Secretariat's wishes. At the same time, though every year it had to grudgingly carve the army's required expenses out of already insufficient fiscal revenues, the Grand Secretariat could exert no proper influence over this expenditure, and even its supervisory authority over the military fund was temporarily a dead letter. This state of affairs was one that the civil officials, including the Grand Chancellor and the Finance Minister, all hoped to change—at the very least, the Grand Secretariat must gain a clear grasp of the military's funding sources, uses, and destinations.

This advance into Japan relied on the awe-inspiring might of the Great Han army. It was foreseeable that, if nothing were done, Japan's gold and silver deposits, and even the trade channels and monopoly rights, would all fall into the hands of the military establishment. That would be tantamount to adding a revenue source beyond the Grand Secretariat's oversight for the army. In the future, monitoring the army's expenditure would likely become even more troublesome, and it would also hinder the Grand Secretariat's annual determination of the military fund's amount.

If the Grand Secretariat wanted to snatch food from the military's mouth, it absolutely required the emperor's nod. Without His Majesty's assent, the civil officials could not now stop the army, especially in a country like Japan that required military conquest.

So, to curry favor with His Majesty, the Finance Minister, who had been pondering this problem all along, came up with the "build a detached palace" idea—a plan that would satisfy both sides.

The detached palace would provide a residence for the emperor, manifesting the imperial dignity and the Great Han court's prestige. It could also serve as the reason for the palace construction expenses, allowing His Majesty to transfer the Japan trade into the Grand Secretariat's control. In the Finance Minister's view, compared to the profits that monopolizing the Japan trade could yield, building His Majesty a detached palace was hardly an unbearable expense.

"I only fear His Majesty may not be pleased!" The Grand Chancellor shook his head, clearly not as optimistic as the Finance Minister. "Our intentions are utterly sincere, but we must not let him misunderstand this as us suppressing the military. The most vital thing in governing a state is unity of purpose from top to bottom. If our good intentions only breed misunderstanding, we'll regret it beyond remedy."

"You are the head of the cabinet, the foremost of all civil officials under heaven. Naturally you must consider the state and His Majesty. How can you weigh everything by whether His Majesty is pleased or not? Does it mean that if His Majesty is displeased, we stop doing things that benefit the state and the people?" The Finance Minister retorted, seeming somewhat displeased. "Besides, our emperor rose from the ranks; it's perfectly normal for him to look after his old army brothers and former subordinates. But excessive care may not be a good thing. Nowadays there are quite a few who dominate a region and act with arrogance. If we let them independently control a revenue source like Japan, even if it poses no threat within a generation or two, if it persists, what will become of things after several generations? In my view, we need not interfere in the military's personnel promotions, but the power of fiscal oversight over the army must be firmly held by the Grand Secretariat. Each year the army should only receive money from the Grand Secretariat's hands; it must not have its own independent financial resources. Otherwise, we are nurturing a tiger to court disaster!"

The Grand Chancellor halted his steps and silently pondered Chen Hong's words. He had not expected that this Marquis of Pingyuan, ordinarily so low-key and amiable toward others, had already turned so many things over in his mind—some of which coincided uncannily with his own thoughts.

"You are a minister who thinks for the state." After a moment of silence, he nodded. "The problems you've considered, I've mulled over a few times myself. They truly ought to be raised properly now. I will handle the matter of the detached palace."

"You are the head of the Grand Secretariat. Once you make a start, everything becomes easier." Seeing that the Grand Chancellor had finally agreed to his proposal, Chen Hong breathed a sigh of relief. "Rest assured, this matter won't rest on your shoulders alone. Once you take the lead, everyone in the Grand Secretariat will jointly submit a memorial in support. I'd like to see who dares object to letting His Majesty live in a slightly better place."

If the Grand Secretariat ministers jointly petitioned, His Majesty would surely comply with the hearts of all subjects under heaven, wouldn't he? The Grand Chancellor silently conceded that the other man's argument was very sound.

In his view, building His Majesty a detached palace and simultaneously bringing the future monopoly rights over Japan trade into the Grand Secretariat's hands were both matters of great benefit to the state and to His Majesty, and worth his fighting for together.

"I doubt anyone in the Grand Secretariat will object. Let's settle it so." He let out a long breath. "As for the Japan matter, we must also strive properly with His Majesty…"

Having said this, he turned slightly to glance at Kong Zhang, Zhou Pu, and the others following behind him. These men were his subordinates, so they kept their distance; he had no intention of hailing them directly. He merely cast a meaningful glance their way, then gestured with an empty hand toward Chen Hong beside him, hinting that they should first have a private word with Chen Hong later.

Though the two men were cautiously trailing behind the guards, they had not missed the Grand Chancellor's glance. They immediately bowed slightly toward him in unison, signaling that they understood his intent.

Soon, the guards led them beside a large building, and everyone halted in step with them.

The main hall's great doors soon swung open. Several aide-de-camps in black uniforms came forward to greet them, saluting the court ministers while ushering them inside the large building.

This great hall was far larger than the side chamber where His Majesty had earlier conferred with his chief ministers on military and state affairs; it was specially used for convening large-scale state conferences.

The interior was immensely spacious, with floor tiles underfoot and charcoal burning along the walls, so the temperature inside was very high. Copper lamps hung on all the surrounding walls, candles already lit within them, illuminating the whole space brightly. There were also many more tables and chairs: besides a large oval conference table at the very center, many chairs lined the perimeter for lower-ranking officials to attend as observers. Under normal circumstances they could only listen in, with an occasional chance to speak.

Several solemn-faced clerks sat in the corners, silently preparing to record the minutes of the coming conference.

Under the influence of this tense atmosphere, apart from the few Grand Secretariat ministers long accustomed to it, those civil and military officials who rarely had the chance of an audience—or were attending for the first time—immediately grew stiff and restrained. Even their movements slowed considerably, fearful of causing any mishap here that might affect His Majesty's mood. Heads lowered, they found the seats corresponding to their official rank and seniority, then sat down hesitantly. No one whispered to their neighbor, and for a moment the great hall fell into an oddly profound silence.

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