Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

After the journalism awards ceremony, Hou Baoshan, who had come to present the awards, kept Zhang Yao and Ai Nanying behind, and said to them with a smile:

"The imperial gold pen is not something you can easily obtain."

"From now on, when you write articles, you must live up to the value of this pen."

"If you make up stories and the Emperor takes back the golden pen, the consequences are self-evident, you can all imagine."

Although it wasn't explicitly stated, Zhang Yao and Ai Nanying could understand it:

While receiving a golden pen bestowed by the emperor is a rare honor, having it revoked signifies the shattering of that honor.

For intellectuals, that was worse than being killed.

If one is a scholar who knows shame, one should learn from the Han Dynasty scholar-officials and commit suicide.

The two men were filled with trepidation and solemnly promised that they would write their articles well and live up to the golden pen bestowed upon them by the emperor.

Hou Baoshan nodded in satisfaction, took out two silver medals, and said to the two men:
"People often say that newspaper workers are unofficial censors, and Your Majesty also has this expectation."

"These two silver medals are a gift to you."

"I hope you will make good use of it and not let it gather dust."

When Zhang Yao and Ai Nanying saw the "Shut Up and Correct Mistakes" silver medal, their breathing became somewhat rapid.

They knew that this silver seal was the official seal of the thirteen chief censors of the Censorate, and that Emperor Renzong had bestowed it upon important officials.

The current emperor has further developed this system, and has repeatedly bestowed silver medals upon trusted nobles and ministers.

After Wu Shangmo used this to overturn the officialdom in Shanxi, people became even more aware of its power.

Now that the emperor has bestowed the silver seal upon them, he clearly regards them as trusted confidants and has also formally granted them the power of imperial censors.

Young Zhang Yao had never seen such a spectacle before. Overwhelmed with emotion, he raised the silver seal and bowed towards the direction of the palace, saying:

"This humble subject will do his utmost to live up to Your Majesty's great favor."

Ai Nanying had no choice but to bow down, and even pondered whether she should enter officialdom.

With this seal, he truly possessed the power of an imperial censor, and there were no officials above him to supervise him.

Such a carefree situation made him feel reluctant to become an official.

However, considering that Qian Qianyi specifically suggested that the Hanlin Academy expand its enrollment, he felt he had a great chance.

He then abandoned the idea and decided to enter the Hanlin Academy.

After all, this is the future prime minister, far more prestigious than a commoner censor.

Hou Baoshan then assigned a guard to be specifically responsible for the secret report delivered by the silver seal and to protect the two men.

This made Zhang Yao feel safer and even more confident in investigating everyone.

The other winners watched this scene with envy.

They also won awards and were awarded the Golden Pen Medal.

However, compared to the two who received the imperial golden pen and were able to submit secret memorials with silver seals, they were far inferior.

This made them even more eager for the public service award and determined to dedicate themselves to public service.

Hou Baoshan didn't ignore these people either, and shouted loudly:
“All those who have received medals have the right to use their medals to petition the emperor.”

"However, it can only be used once a year, and if the matter reported is unreasonable, the medal will not be returned."

"I hope you will use this with caution and not disappoint His Majesty's high regard!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Zilong and the others were immediately delighted.

Although the opportunity to submit a memorial to the emperor once a year is not many, if used carefully, one can find something to report to the emperor every year.

This greatly enhanced their status, and no official dared to underestimate them.

Otherwise, if a memorial were submitted, these officials would be in deep trouble.

They could report any injustice they encountered to the emperor.

Everyone was overjoyed and sincerely thanked the emperor.
-

Seeing this, Zhang Pu admired the emperor's methods even more.

If in the past the emperor relied on the Embroidered Uniform Guard to forcibly control the press, in the future these press personnel would voluntarily obey the emperor's commands:

The emperor was their biggest protector and the source of their confidence in resisting officials and nobles.

As long as the emperor is behind them, these people will dare to report anything.

Conversely, they lack the confidence to do things that the emperor does not support.

The entire press was manipulated by the emperor, serving as the vanguard for the people to check and balance the officials.

"The ruler, the minister, and the people—they check and balance each other, depending on one another." "His Majesty once said that a triangle is the most stable shape; the ruler, ministers, and people form a perfect triangle."

"Compared to the previous power struggle between the ruler and his ministers, this situation is certainly more stable."

"By replacing nobles and eunuchs with the common people to create a check and balance with the civil officials, His Majesty is truly a wise ruler!"

Zhang Pu was deeply impressed by this. Although he knew that the emperor's purpose in advocating democracy was to check and balance officials, he still welcomed it.

Because he was once a commoner, he naturally stands more on the side of the common people.

Even after becoming a civil servant, he still believed that the common people were far better than nobles and eunuchs. At least members of parliament were scholars who understood morality and etiquette.

No civil official wanted to experience the rampant power of the nobles at the beginning of the dynasty again. After the Tumu Crisis, the nobles, as a political group, were no longer able to compete with the civil officials, but the emperor then promoted the eunuchs.

Eunuchs were even more unscrupulous than nobles. Liu Jin was a prime example, but what Wei Zhongxian did was simply outrageous and resented by both heaven and man.

If the current emperor continues to support eunuchs and civil officials to check and balance each other, the court will never be stable and will inevitably remain in conflict.

In comparison, the general public is more readily accepted by officials.

Because most officials came from commoner backgrounds, and scholars were also one of the four classes of people.

Zhang Pu was full of anticipation for this new order, and even worried that the people would not be able to stand up, and that the emperor would turn back to support the eunuchs.
-

Thinking of the emperor's emphasis on investigative journalists, Zhang Pu returned to the newspaper office and said to Chen Zilong and Zhang Yao:

"The Emperor attached great importance to investigative journalists and specially bestowed upon them the five words 'speak with facts,' calling them the main force of public opinion supervision."

"What do you think of my suggestion to create a column for investigative journalists?"

Zhang Yao was very supportive and said:
"The Emperor established the General Investigation Bureau within the Censorate to be responsible for investigation matters."

“Each censor can apply to establish an independent investigation agency to investigate suspicious matters.”

"Investigative journalists are like civilian censors; each one is equivalent to an investigation bureau."

"Of course we should support them and send out their investigation report."

Chen Zilong also supported this, but his understanding over this period of time made him realize that this matter was not easy. He said to the two of them:
“Supporting investigative journalists is acceptable.”

"But the current situation is that investigative journalists vary greatly in quality."

"Many journalists don't understand what investigation is at all. They know that the emperor values ​​investigative journalists, so they call themselves investigative journalists."

"Some people's articles are simply unreadable; they're all pure conjecture."

He pulled out a few articles and placed them in front of the two of them.

Zhang Pu frowned upon seeing some articles that contained little factual information and were almost entirely filled with baseless accusations, feeling that this was unacceptable.

"This kind of article is not even as good as the old rumors and reports, let alone investigations."

"What did the Censorate say? What did they write in their investigation report?"

Chen Zilong said:

“I’ve spoken with some censors I know, and the investigation reports from the Censorate are just as varied in quality.”

"The Censor-in-Chief Gao, who was in charge of the Investigation Bureau, wanted to standardize the format of investigation reports and improve investigation rules in the same way as the eight-legged essay, but he was opposed by many censors."

"Although he was the Vice Censor-in-Chief, he had no jurisdiction over the Supervising Censors and could not enforce this matter."

"Rewards can only be given to censors who are willing to conduct serious investigations based on their seniority."

Zhang Pu nodded slightly, indicating his understanding.

Unlike the State Council and the Privy Council, which had a clear hierarchy, the censors of the Censorate, although ranked, did not have a jurisdictional relationship with each other.

Each censor has independent investigative powers and the authority to directly report matters to the emperor.

The Censor-in-Chief can exert influence, but he cannot control them.

While this maintained the independence of the censors, it also meant that the Censorate would encounter numerous obstacles when implementing new measures.

Every censor has a voice, and if even one person is dissatisfied, the new measures may not be able to be implemented.

Unless the emperor approves, dissenting voices must be suppressed.

After thinking it over, Zhang Pu said:
"I will report this matter to His Majesty."

"Find Censor Gao another day and have him report this matter to the higher authorities."

"His Majesty values ​​investigative journalists so much that he will likely support improvements to investigative methods."

He discussed with Chen Zilong, Zhang Yao, and others the need to standardize the investigative reports of journalists and those of censors. He also stipulated that various investigative methods should be established, granting corresponding powers to both censors and investigative journalists.

This was intended to elevate the status of investigative journalists and solidify their identity as unofficial censors. (End of Chapter)