Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Finally, the drafting of the "Naval Law" was finalized, which would restrain the emperor's whimsical ideas with etiquette and law.

Han Kuang and Cheng Jiming breathed a sigh of relief after the court assembly, but they were also extremely worried about the emperor's actions during the assembly.

They didn't realize it while Liu Zongzhou was alive, but after he went south, they quickly discovered that no one could stop the emperor.

This frustrated Han Kuang, making him realize even more deeply that he was not a qualified prime minister.
"The prime minister assists the emperor above, regulates yin and yang, and follows the four seasons; he nurtures all things according to their needs below; he pacifies the barbarian tribes and feudal lords outside the capital; he befriends the people inside the capital, and enables the ministers and officials to fulfill their duties."

"I haven't done a good job with anything, whether it's internal or external matters!"

Cheng Jiming comforted him, saying:
"Han Gong has already done an excellent job in maintaining stability in the court."

"Since Ye Wenzhong, no Grand Secretary has been able to compare with Han Gong."

"It is because His Majesty's requirements are too high that Han Gongcai is unable to meet them."

He asked himself honestly, and he realized he couldn't meet the emperor's requirements.

Therefore, I both admire and sympathize with Han Kuang, the chief minister.

Being the first true prime minister of the Ming Dynasty was both an honor and a burden. This position was not easy to hold, and there were many precedents for it.

In particular, the current emperor is a man of unconventional thinking, whose ideas differ from those of many ministers and even most of his subjects.

The reasons given at today's court meeting for dismissing Xiong Mingyu clearly demonstrate this point.

Thinking about this, Cheng Jiming said:
"The Emperor's ideas are very different from ours."

"According to the Emperor's philosophy, he has a worldview and his perspective on everything in the world is different from ours."

"If you want to serve the emperor, you need to study his theories carefully and not be criticized by the emperor for being unlearned."

Han Kuang also thought of this matter, and of the contradiction theory that the emperor had specially bestowed upon him.

He realized that he had underestimated the importance of the matter and had not given it enough attention.

Han Kuang and Cheng Ji Ming went to the study together, where Han Kuang flipped through the articles and pondered.

It was discovered that although the emperor's actions were unconventional, they all boiled down to one thing:

Resolve the conflict between population and land resources.

"The three borders and three chains set up by the Emperor are nominally for defense, but in reality they are for expansion."

"Under the pretext of building a defensive perimeter, the regions surrounding the Ming Dynasty were incorporated into the inner vassal states and the inner-subordinate outer vassal states."

"The garrisons needed for the three borders and three chains can also be used to resettle disaster victims and surplus men, reducing the conflict between people and land in the interior."

"This is the job of the chief minister: to pacify the barbarian lords on the outside and to win over the people on the inside!"

"I am not qualified to be the prime minister."

Han Kuang covered his face and sighed, deeply regretting his belated realization.

The emperor had clearly convened lectures to discuss how to resolve the conflict between people and land, yet he himself took no action.

Even when the emperor allowed the capture of barbarians to make room for immigrants, they did not cooperate and resisted, as if it were none of their business.

So much so that the emperor couldn't wait and caused so much trouble.

He felt that if he continued like this, even if he managed to stay in his position for the next three years, he would find it difficult to achieve anything significant.

Even the ministers looked down on him; Liu Zongzhou's rebuke and Cheng Jiming's discussion both indicated a decline in his prestige among the ministers.

He shouldn't leave all the things that he should do to the emperor; otherwise, why would he occupy the position of Grand Secretary?
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Cheng Jiming listened to Han Kuang's feelings and felt the same way.

He said to Han Kuang, "There are not many prime ministers who can do their duties both inside and outside the court perfectly, and the emperor has not allowed you to be in charge of everything."

"The Emperor has entrusted the task of pacifying the foreign vassal states to the Privy Council and the Court of Colonial Affairs. This is the responsibility of the Grand Secretaries and the former Grand Secretaries."

"The emperor himself has already won over the people, so the chief minister not only cannot win their hearts, but also has to take responsibility when necessary."

"The emperor appointed these ministers and officials to their respective positions, and the emperor entrusted the task of supervising and urging them to perform their duties to the supervisory committee headed by Vice Minister Yang."

"Therefore, what Han Gong needs to do is to handle two matters: internal and external affairs. He only needs to be aware of the internal and external affairs, but he should not interfere too much, so as to avoid being seen by the emperor as seizing power and encroaching on the power of other ministers."

Han Kuang nodded, knowing that although the emperor had effectively reinstated the prime minister, he was implementing a system of multiple prime ministers.

He cannot presume to control all matters, both internal and external, for doing so would only arouse the emperor's suspicion.

At this point, he understood the limits of his abilities. He also realized that he couldn't just focus on his reputation; he also had to shoulder the responsibility for the emperor.

With greater power comes greater responsibility. If he doesn't want to take responsibility, he shouldn't even dream of more power.

Reflecting on his work at the Planning and Development Commission, Han Kuang said:
"The proper way to nurture all things is to ensure that all things grow in the right time."

"I feel I have accomplished this task."

"The work of the Planning and Development Commission is to formulate plans according to the laws of nature."

"It's like a shipbuilding project, where saplings are planted a hundred years in advance, based on the growth time of trees."

"Appropriate strategies should be implemented at the right time."

This realization brought him some comfort, knowing that he had finally accomplished something and understood how to better manage the Planning and Development Committee.

Cheng Jiming also highly praised his work at the Planning Commission, reminding him:

“Long-term plans can be modeled after the Navy Act and enacted into law for continuous implementation.”

"This is 'regulating Yin and Yang and following the four seasons,' which is establishing rituals and laws."

The Book of Rites says: "The general principles of rites are to embody the heavens and the earth, follow the four seasons, and conform to the yin and yang and human feelings. Therefore, they are called rites."

"The chief minister must act according to etiquette and law, and is also an assistant to the emperor."

Han Kuang smiled upon hearing this, understanding Cheng Jiming's subtext:

To assist the emperor by establishing rites and laws means to constrain the emperor's behavior within the framework of rites and laws.

Having accomplished this, he was considered a qualified prime minister in the eyes of his ministers.

The current emperor is advocating for adherence to rites and laws and the restoration of ritual and music, aiming to shift the world from an imperial era to a ritual-based era. As the chief minister, he naturally has to follow this principle, act according to rites and laws, and formulate more rites and laws.

Regarding the specific formulation of rituals and laws, Cheng Jiming further stated:
"In the past few years, His Majesty has been very focused on various matters in preparation for the Liaodong war."

"But after driving out the Jurchens, they relaxed their efforts and focused more on major policies and guidelines."

"He is focused on things that will happen years, decades, or even centuries from now, and on solving potential problems."

"When Han Gong formulated the rites and laws, he must have understood the emperor's thoughts and ideas. He could not be like Xiong Mingyu, who was criticized by the emperor for his lack of knowledge and for looking at problems from a static point of view."

This rebuke was extremely damaging, clearly negating Xiong Mingyu's scholarship and insights.

If he cannot correct his mistakes, his views will be ignored in the future, and he will never have the chance to be reinstated.

It could be said that the emperor was forcing his ministers to learn his ideas and to see things the same way he did. If they didn't, they would be replaced by the emperor.

Under this intense pressure, bureaucrats adept at reading their superiors' intentions finally began to stir. More officials started paying attention to philosophical questions. (End of Chapter)