Chapter 1493: A Single Leaf Before the Eye

At this point, he no longer merely wanted to settle the question of how to handle Japan after the war; he also wanted to use an imperial decision from His Majesty to win the argument against the military, making those who were already showing signs of arrogance understand that the Cabinet was the governing body His Majesty relied on most, and that they should not — and could not — overstep their bounds.

Yet, to everyone's surprise, in the face of such fierce debate among his ministers, His Majesty did not issue an "imperial decision" as each side had secretly hoped, nor did he angrily or anxiously rebuke them for their unseemly quarreling before the throne. Instead, he burst out laughing.

"Look at you, just look at you! Every one of you a high minister of state, and the war hasn't even begun, yet you're already thinking about how to divide up other people's property after it's over. You all want to share the state's burdens — the intention is good, but aren't you being a little too hasty? If you want to divide the spoils, shouldn't you first get those spoils into your hands? Arguing until you're red in the face right now — if word gets out, won't you become a laughingstock? Everyone, have some tea first and take a rest!"

In the silent hall, only His Majesty's bold laughter echoed. For a moment, the atmosphere became extremely strange. But the sudden, saber-rattling, unyielding standoff that had just flared up between the two sides of ministers was also inadvertently defused by that laughter.

After the hostility that had risen during the debate slowly faded, the ministers finally regained their original composure. At this point, their expressions all held some embarrassment, especially those few senior ministers who had spoken with the harshest words moments before.

These senior ministers were old brothers who had worked together for many years, and their mutual affection ran very deep. Once they came back to their senses, they all regretted having said such ugly things to one another. Being mocked by His Majesty for being red in the face made them feel even more profoundly awkward.

"Your Majesty… please forgive our offense." The Prime Minister steadied himself, then apologized to His Majesty. "We have been remiss in our decorum, damaging the dignity of the court. Our crimes deserve death ten thousand times over…"

"Please forgive our offense!" The other civil and military ministers also apologized to His Majesty in unison.

"No need. You've been toiling and worrying over affairs of state — what crime is there in that? Wasn't it just speaking a little too loudly? Sharing the burdens of state and sovereign should be exactly like this. Otherwise, if everyone acted like a Mr. Agreeable, just laughing things off and glossing over everything, how could this court possibly continue to function?" His Majesty waved his hand, gesturing for them to sit back down. "I understand your pains. It's just that demanding a conclusion on this issue right now is far too early. Let it rest for a while. Once we've taken Japan, we can discuss it again and come up with a practical, workable solution!"

His Majesty's stance left the Crown Prince even more bewildered. He realized that although his father had interrupted the ministers' debate, he had neither rebuked them for attacking one another, nor displayed the majesty of imperial power, nor improvised a decisive ruling. Instead, he had brushed the dispute aside, planning to discuss it slowly another day — but with the ministers' positions already so divided, if they discussed it later, wouldn't it still yield no result, only causing them to keep arguing?

From childhood, what his father had taught him was to be steady, to be decisive, to show boldness of spirit. Yet his father's conduct today seemed completely at odds with those past teachings. This enormous contrast was truly hard for the Crown Prince to accept.

He dared not speak, but he raised his head to gaze up at his father on the throne beside him, hoping to express his bewilderment this way.

His Majesty noticed the Crown Prince's action, but the smile remained on his face, and his fingers moved slightly, making a gesture to the Crown Prince telling him to hold his tongue for now.

"Alright, let's set this topic aside for later discussion. Is there any other matter to discuss?" His Majesty then asked the Prime Minister.

"In reply to Your Majesty, there is none." After a moment's hesitation, the Prime Minister answered.

Although he still very much hoped His Majesty could issue an imperial decision favorable to the Cabinet, seeing His Majesty's demeanor, the Prime Minister knew it was unlikely today, and that His Majesty clearly had no wish to continue discussing the Japan issue any further.

Since that was His Majesty's wish, there was no need to continue the discussion today. After all, everything that needed to be said had been said; what remained was simply for the civil and military ministers involved to carry out the items one by one according to the consensus of the meeting. Aside from the Japan matter, the Prime Minister had countless other affairs of the realm waiting for him to handle; he did not want to spend all his time on this one issue either.

"By His Majesty's verbal decree, today's meeting shall conclude here." With a trace of reluctance in his voice, the Prime Minister spoke quietly to the assembled ministers.

At his words, the clerks seated in various corners gathered together and compared their respective notes — for every major meeting, to prevent any omissions in the record, the clerks were required to verify the minutes before adjournment. As for the ministers, some drank tea, some chatted idly, all waiting for the time to disperse.

After a short while, the clerks confirmed that the meeting record contained no errors, and one of them reported this to His Majesty, who nodded.

"Everyone must bear in mind the spirit of this meeting, and under no circumstances may state secrets be leaked to the outside!" The Prime Minister took the hint, first admonishing the ministers, then shouting once more to the assembly: "Meeting adjourned!"

"Long live His Majesty, long live, for ten thousand years!"

The assembled ministers, already somewhat weary from the meeting and waiting, heard the Prime Minister's words and rose one after another, performing the kneeling salute to His Majesty once more. Then they filed out of the meeting hall. These civil and military ministers would relay the directives for their respective departments that they had heard in this meeting down to their colleagues and subordinates, setting the entire bureaucratic and military apparatus of the Great Han Empire in motion in the direction His Majesty had designated.

This was precisely the political operating model His Majesty had established for the Great Han court over his many years of building power. Although compared to previous dynasties, this model seemed unorthodox in many respects — for instance, the frequency of these imperial conferences far exceeded the court sessions and assemblies of the preceding Ming Dynasty — it had consistently operated effectively and had become the greatest guarantee behind the Great Han Empire's ability to achieve such monumental accomplishments in just a few short years.

That His Majesty could devise his own systems for the Great Han court and consistently operate them with such effectiveness truly earned the heartfelt admiration of both civil and military officials.

However, not all of these civil and military ministers departed. Prime Minister Wang Zhaojing, Finance Minister Chen Hong, Marshal Shi Manqiang, and General Zhao Song, the commander-in-chief for the Japan campaign, were all stopped just as they were about to leave the meeting hall by imperial aides-de-camp who had appeared without warning. These aides quietly informed them that His Majesty wished to detain them for a private audience.

In the past, when attending state conferences, this group had all had the experience of being kept behind by His Majesty after the meeting for further detailed discussion. But no such occasion had ever shaken them as much as this one. For these senior ministers, seasoned by years of worldly experience, had all secretly guessed the reason His Majesty was detaining them.

They quickly followed the aides' footsteps and each made their way to the small side hall where they had met before. What slightly startled them was that His Majesty and the Crown Prince were already waiting there.

Instinctively, they moved to perform the ritual salute again, but His Majesty immediately stopped them.

"Alright, the outsiders have all left now. Everyone remaining here is an old hand — what need is there for so much ceremony? Sit, sit, sit!"

"Your servants greet His Majesty!" The senior ministers could only nod lightly to His Majesty and then each took their seats.

Once they were seated, His Majesty still wore a face full of smiles, as if he were in quite a good mood.

"Hey, you really went at it fiercely today — you nearly scared the Crown Prince to death! His very first time sitting in on a meeting and he runs into a big scene like this. He really hit the jackpot, didn't he? Hahahaha."

Although His Majesty laughed as if he were thoroughly amused, the ministers' hearts remained deeply uneasy. They could not tell whether His Majesty was truly happy or secretly mocking them. Still, from His Majesty's perspective, he surely could not have wanted the court to descend into such chaos…

"Uncles…" Seeing His Majesty speak thus, the Crown Prince gathered his courage and interjected, urging the senior ministers, "Since everyone bears the state in their hearts, all serving the nation with utter sincerity, why must you quarrel over minor matters, harming the harmony among you and damaging the dignity of the state…"

The Crown Prince had been born in Xuzhou and had grown up under the watchful eyes of these old Xuzhou brothers. He was full of affection for these uncles, so no one was less willing than he to see them openly quarreling in court, and even less willing to see them confronting one another.

The Crown Prince's words made the senior ministers feel even more awkward, and even somewhat alarmed.

"We have erred, and beg the Crown Prince's forgiveness." They repeatedly apologized to the Crown Prince.

"Uncles bear the state in their hearts and labor so tirelessly for its affairs — what error is there in that? I merely cannot bear to see you uncles quarreling so." The Crown Prince shook his head repeatedly, indicating that he harbored no ill will whatsoever toward his uncles. "This realm was won by my father and you uncles working together with one heart, and it must be maintained by everyone working together with one heart. What great matter cannot be properly discussed? I feel that you uncles need not argue; if each of you yields a step, that should be enough…"

Each yield a step — easy to say, but how could it be so easy to yield? The four senior ministers all smiled bitterly in their hearts, though with their lips they repeatedly acknowledged their fault and assured the Crown Prince they would argue no more.

"The Crown Prince is right. This realm still depends on everyone's sincere unity to be maintained. When disputes arise, it is best for each side to take a step back." At that moment, His Majesty suddenly spoke up as well. "We are all old brothers. Having differing opinions on state affairs and getting into some arguments — that's perfectly normal, no one can avoid it. But letting it get that heated is unnecessary…"

When His Majesty spoke thus, the ministers' hearts were no longer so calm. They all grew slightly tense, heads bowed as they carefully pondered the true meaning behind His Majesty's words.

"You were all thinking about how to distribute those gold and silver mines in Japan. In itself, that's not wrong — isn't that exactly why the court is attacking Japan? Having differing opinions is normal; each of you is considering your own responsibilities. But you see, after all, you've each been working in different places for several years now, so you've all become somewhat like a single leaf before the eye, unable to see Mount Tai…"