Chapter 1494: The Art of Governance

The emperor's face was still wreathed in smiles. "I already have a plan in mind for how to handle those gold and silver mines. I called you here today to tell you in advance... I had intended to bring it up later, but since you've already been arguing like this today, I might as well tell you now."

So the emperor already had a draft plan for disposing of these gold and silver mines? The high ministers were inwardly stunned.

The emperor's performance during the meeting had already left them slightly puzzled and bewildered. What was even more startling was that the emperor had long since reached a decision without showing any sign of it, yet had not revealed it during the meeting. Why was that? Each of them pondered in their hearts, but none could make any sense of it.

It was not only the high ministers — even the crown prince was at a loss, unsure what his father's intention really was. But in any case, having a disposal plan from his father was better than having none, so he actually felt somewhat more at ease.

"May I ask — may I ask Your Majesty, how exactly do you intend to handle this?" Steadying himself, and with a trace of expectation, the grand chancellor asked nervously.

"You were all arguing so fiercely today. If I don't produce a resolution, I'm afraid none of you will sleep well for a while, will you? But if I lean too heavily toward one side, I fear the other side will grow even more restless in their hearts." The emperor did not answer directly, but first sighed. "This emperor's job is truly hard to do."

"We your subjects have absolutely no such intention. We beseech Your Majesty to see this clearly!" No one could bear the charge of harboring resentment, so the ministers all hurriedly begged the emperor's pardon.

"Don't be so nervous. I was just speaking offhand." The emperor showed no sign of anger. "However, with you arguing so fiercely, I truly cannot help but think it over more..."

Accompanied by this long sigh, he leisurely raised his head. "You all said you wanted to offer these gold and silver mines to me. I appreciate the sentiment, but this realm of Great Han is already mine to rule. Why go to the extra trouble of taking all the mines into my own hands? Am I supposed to be like the Wanli Emperor of the former dynasty, sending people out there all day to collect mining taxes? Wouldn't that be superfluous? No, that won't do! It is far more proper and legitimate to place them under the state's control!"

These words from the emperor drew different reactions from the ministers. Shi Manqiang and Zhao Song exchanged a rather worried glance, while the grand chancellor and the finance minister could not hide their delight, feeling that their painstaking efforts had not been in vain after all, and that the emperor had ultimately prioritized the greater good and adopted their side's proposal.

However, their delight did not last long. The emperor soon plunged them back into a state of bewilderment and confusion.

"That said, as someone pointed out earlier, concentrating all authority in the hands of the legation in Japan or the Foreign Affairs Department is indeed not conducive to checks and balances. Therefore, we must find another way to handle this..."

This unexpected development made the high ministers look at one another in dismay, none of them understanding what the emperor was planning.

Fortunately, the emperor did not keep them in suspense. "Both of you sides are my pillars of state. I dislike seeing either side come to harm, so I simply have to blaze a new trail. What was the purpose of conquering Japan this time? Wasn't it precisely to bring that gold and silver here to us, to enrich the state's finances? And what institution is most relied upon for the state's financial operations? In my view, none more so than the Great Han Bank. Therefore, let us simply place them under the control of the Great Han Bank, to be independently managed and utilized by the Great Han Bank."

"The Great Han Bank?" The high ministers were taken aback once more.

This was an approach none of them had thought of.

After many days of preparation, the Great Han Bank was about to officially open. In their view, it was a place for Great Han to mint coins for the people and handle savings and remittances. How could it reach out to involve itself in foreign mines? And even if it did get involved, how should the institutional framework be structured?

And so, for a moment, none of them made a sound, continuing instead to wait for the emperor's next words.

"However, since it is to be placed under the Great Han Bank, we must make preparations in advance to avoid being caught off guard when the time comes." The emperor continued. "The Great Han Bank and the Ministry of Finance of the cabinet have a very close relationship, but the Great Han Bank's position is too important to be treated merely as a subordinate agency of the Ministry of Finance. As it happens, with the supervisory authority over the Japanese gold and silver mining operations, I think we should take this opportunity to establish a Supervisory Board within the Great Han Bank, and then set up a subordinate Supervisory Bureau for the Japanese mining operations. Let the Supervisory Bureau be responsible for overseeing the mining operations in Japan, and let the Supervisory Board manage the Great Han Bank domestically. What do you think?"

Seeing that the ministers still looked somewhat bewildered, the emperor continued to explain his intent.

"Japan's gold and silver are abundant, but if they cannot be put to flexible use, they cannot enrich the nation and its people. That is why placing them under the jurisdiction of the Great Han Bank is best. If we simply move them into a vault for storage — whether the Ministry of Finance's vault or the imperial household's private vault — what difference is there from burying them underground?"

The emperor's meaning was now clear to everyone, but the ministers did not fully grasp it all at once. They were still straining their minds, trying to figure out the emperor's intent.

Earlier, everyone had said that since Japan lay isolated beyond the sea, the authority of the agencies stationed there should be strengthened to avoid a situation where multiple authorities issued conflicting orders. Yet now, with a single word from the emperor, in addition to the legation in Japan and the garrison forces, there would also be a Supervisory Bureau directly subordinate to the Great Han Bank. The original two-headed arrangement had become a three-headed one — what kind of situation was this?

Also, the Great Han Bank had suddenly risen to prominence, and it seemed the emperor valued this institution greatly. What exactly was he planning?

The ministers could find no answers to these questions.

The two military men, Shi Manqiang and Zhao Song, were fine. They were men who led troops into battle, and their proposal to place the Japanese gold and silver mining operations under the imperial household had originally been meant to curry favor with the emperor. So seeing that the emperor had his own ideas, they no longer resisted.

The grand chancellor and the finance minister, however, felt rather differently. When the emperor had spoken of establishing the Great Han Bank, they had always regarded it as a subordinate agency of the cabinet's Ministry of Finance. Over these past few years, the preparatory work for the Great Han Bank had always been personally overseen by the finance minister. It was precisely under the finance minister's meticulous organization that the preparatory work for the Great Han Bank — born out of the banking operations of the Cloud Mountain Firm — had proceeded so smoothly, and from the very start it had already grown into a colossal entity.

And now, the emperor was saying he had other plans for the Great Han Bank? That he wanted to separate the Great Han Bank from the cabinet's structure?

Both ministers felt a sense of loss, especially Finance Minister Chen Hong, whose heart ached all the more. To have the Great Han Bank taken from his hands — not to mention the painstaking effort he had invested earlier — wouldn't his future authority also be greatly affected?

At present, the state's financial operations were all in the hands of the finance minister. The annual minting of coins and budgets were all decided with his final approval. If the Great Han Bank were made independent of the Ministry of Finance, then he would no longer be able to oversee the state's financial affairs on his own. Such an outcome was truly too hard to accept.

"Your Majesty... the Great Han Bank concerns the national economy and the people's livelihood. Strengthening its management is imperative," Unable to bear it, even though he could see that the emperor's decision was already made, the finance minister could not help but interject. "However, if it is directly separated from the cabinet, then... then what are we to do? If the Great Han Bank is not under the cabinet's jurisdiction, it will inevitably require constant communication between the two sides in the future to avoid friction. Yet we already bear the burden of state affairs every year and are utterly exhausted. If we must repeatedly communicate with the Great Han Bank over matters that could be settled with a single word, wouldn't that create unnecessary complications and delay other important affairs? Furthermore, how many expenditures of the imperial household and the state can possibly all be budgeted in advance? There will always be unforeseen circumstances. If the Ministry of Finance does not hold full authority, how will swift decisions be made when the time comes? And if swift decisions cannot be made, wouldn't that delay Your Majesty's important affairs? With all these various drawbacks, I beseech Your Majesty... I beseech Your Majesty to reconsider..."

By the time he reached this point, his voice had grown softer and softer, as if he were practically pleading with the emperor.

The others understood his unwillingness to see his authority diminished and eroded, so no one inwardly mocked him. Instead, they felt a pang of sympathy, a sense of shared commiseration arising within them.

Yet his words, so earnest as they were, did not move the emperor to retract his decision. There was not even a trace of hesitation.

"What the finance minister says does have merit. These various drawbacks indeed require much consideration. However, making the Great Han Bank independent of the cabinet is imperative. These drawbacks can be gradually overcome. I ask the finance minister to put in extra effort going forward!" The emperor's tone was resolute and decisive.

Although his high ministers were all outstanding figures of their time, and had been tempered by years of governing and leading troops into rich experience, they had, after all, emerged from an old era like the Great Ming. Their minds still lacked much of the thinking proper to the early modern age, and so on many issues they could not make the mental turn, remaining trapped within the old framework of thought.

Precisely because of this, they did not quite understand the importance of a central bank, nor did they know how vital it was for a central bank to maintain relative independence.

However, though they did not understand the emperor's intent, these ministers were, after all, still extremely loyal and diligent. So even though they were reluctant, the grand chancellor and the finance minister bowed their heads to indicate that they had grasped the emperor's meaning.

"I understand. I... will go back and begin arrangements to completely separate the Great Han Bank's institutions from the Ministry of Finance." The grand chancellor nodded. Then another question occurred to him. "However, may I ask Your Majesty, how should this Supervisory Board be set up? Am I also to find the personnel on my own?"

Since the emperor had personally said to establish this Supervisory Board, he must attach extreme importance to it. So the grand chancellor asked first, to avoid acting on his own and violating an imperial taboo.

As he had expected, the emperor already had his own plans for the Supervisory Board.

"This Supervisory Board is extremely important. The selection of personnel cannot be done hastily. We must proceed with caution."

"Then has Your Majesty already chosen the candidates?" the grand chancellor asked curiously.

He had only heard this term from the emperor's lips today, so he was completely in the dark. However, judging by the word "Board," it should be a body composed of many people.