Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 100 Secret Purpose
Xu Guangqi felt like he was going crazy.

On the first day of the winter month, the emperor issued an edict ordering a change in the morning court system. However, the six cabinet members ignored the order and pretended to be dead.

This was a difficult situation for Xu Guangqi, who held both the Honglu Temple and the Ministry of Rites. Both positions were related to court meetings. Court meetings traditionally fell under the purview of rituals and were governed by the Ministry of Rites, while the Honglu Temple was responsible for the order and conduct of court meetings.

Several waves of people have come before and after. Their wording is different, but the meaning is the same: quickly submit a memorial to persuade the emperor to change his ways and revoke his decision.

Among them, the young Hanlin scholars in the Hanlin Academy who spent all day studying classics, history, and literature were the loudest. They even organized dozens of people to run to Xu Guangqi's house to ask him for an explanation.

But Xu Guangqi didn't want to get involved in this matter at all. The change of the reign title, the spring examination, the promulgation of the calendar throughout the country, and the spring plowing ceremony next spring were all more important than such a small matter as the reform of the court system.

But the censors won't care. You won't submit a memorial to remonstrate with the emperor, right? Then we'll submit a memorial to impeach you.

Thus, the Hanlin scholars and the censors began to "walk on two legs." On the one hand, they quoted classics and advised the emperor on the principles of prosperity and decline, while on the other hand, they rolled up their sleeves and made things difficult for the cabinet and the Ministry of Rites.

Throughout the Ming Dynasty, collective memorials followed a specific sequence: lower-ranking officials would submit euphemistic memorials first, followed by increasingly aggressive memorials from officials of increasingly higher ranks.

During this process, the emperor would be furious and order the punishment of those who displeased him. But later, the senior officials above them would ask the emperor to pardon the officials who submitted the memorial, saying that "this matter reflects public opinion."

The petitions for pardon would inevitably contain the officials' own views on the incident, which forced the entire court to be involved in the dispute.

It would be best if the protest was successful, but even if it ultimately fails, it can still stir up public opinion and boost morale.

If the emperor issues a decree of beating in court and a sacrifice occurs, then one's name will be recorded in history and passed down through the ages. In short, there will be no loss either way.

This time, however, the offensive of the Hanlin Academy and the censors was like hitting cotton. Instead of rejecting the submitted memorials, they were all simply "acknowledged." The emperor was not enraged, nor did he punish the lower-ranking officials who had initiated the initial offensive, thus sparing the higher-ranking officials from expressing their opinions.

What's more, the emperor even issued an edict allowing the cabinet and ministries to operate normally, and strictly ordered officials in all government offices not to neglect their duties on the grounds of being impeached.

Zhu Changluo issued this decree because of a customary practice in his dynasty: officials impeached should cease all public and private interactions and remain at home awaiting further action. However, Zhu Changluo found this custom incomprehensible.

Especially at this time, the Donglin Party and the Anti-Donglin Alliance were still secretly competing with each other, and almost every cabinet member and official was impeached. Xu Guangqi was criticized the most. If the conventional procedures were followed, the entire court would be paralyzed. To prevent this paralysis, the only way was to have the officials pretend to be dead.

"He holds a position in a government department but is ignorant of the ancestral rules and common etiquette. He is just sitting in a vacant position but doing nothing and is a parasite that wastes the court's treasury." Xu Guangqi's eyelids twitched wildly as he looked at the memorial impeaching him: these people's wording is becoming more and more excessive. Wait, this signature, isn't this a censor from the Donglin Party?

Just when Xu Guangqi was overwhelmed by various things, the gatekeeper quickly walked up to him and said, "Sir, someone from the palace wants to see you."

Xu Guangqi was still wondering who had instigated the faction's internal mouthpieces to attack him, but the gatekeeper's call interrupted Xu Guangqi's thoughts. "The palace? Which government office? What business are you here for?"

There are tens of thousands of people living in the imperial city, and each of them is considered to be from the palace.

"He said he was from the study of the Imperial Household Department. He wanted the minister to help him take a look. The couplets for next New Year's Day are not in accordance with etiquette." The gatekeeper replied.

The Central Study of the Imperial Household Department was responsible for the books and couplets written for the Wenhua Palace. It was the least lucrative department in the Imperial Household Department system.

"Tell him to stay in the back room. I'll see him after I finish what I'm doing." Xu Guangqi said with a nonchalant look. After a quarter of an hour, Xu Guangqi finally "finished" his work. He went to the back room, made sure no one else was there, and then pushed the door open and asked, "Excuse me, Saint Ann?"

"May your Majesty be well." The eunuch understood.

If the Zhongshufang asked about couplets, why bother coming to the Ministry of Rites to find the official in person? Wouldn't it be better to just pass a note over?

"May I ask the eunuch's name?" After asking about the emperor's health as usual, Xu Guangqi asked for the visitor's name.

"My Lord, my surname is Tang, and my given name is Zhong, which means sincere. I am only a junior eunuch and dare not call myself a eunuch." The man replied with a bow.

"Young Master Tang." Xu Guangqi returned the greeting.

"Is it an oral order or a secret decree?" Xu Guangqi asked again.

Oral instructions, which lacked a carrier but were equivalent to imperial decrees, required kneeling to receive them. Secret decrees, while often carried a carrier, did not require kneeling due to their special and informal nature.

"It's a secret order dictated by word of mouth." Tang Shaojian replied with a smile.

"Please speak." Xu Guangqi put his five fingers together and made a gesture of invitation.

"The emperor is preparing for a secret meeting." Tang Zhong nodded, sat back in his seat and said.

"Secret meeting? Will the emperor send eunuchs to meet with the missionaries from the Atlantic countries as usual?" Xu Guangqi guessed.

"There will be no missionaries this time. Only maritime merchants from the Atlantic countries will be invited. The emperor has other arrangements for the missionaries." Tang Zhong explained.

"Then we'll discuss business. When? Where?" Xu Guangqi was not too surprised by such an arrangement.

"It's at the Xu Mansion," Tang Zhong said in a tone that brooked no denial. "As for the time, please arrange it yourself, Lord Xu. The sooner the better."

"Which eunuch will be visiting my humble abode?" This raised the question of hospitality. If Wang An came personally, Xu Guangqi would arrange a lavish banquet; if it were Wei Chao or Wei Zhongxian, it would be less grand. The difference between the two was roughly the same as Luo Sigong giving Wang An 10,000 taels and Cui Wensheng 9,999 taels.

Tang Zhong certainly understood what Xu Guangqi meant. But he just said, "Godfather will definitely come."

Who is your godfather? Xu Guangqi was puzzled.

Tang Zhong saw Xu Guangqi's apprehension and suddenly understood. He chuckled and apologized, "I'm sorry. I have the honor of being called the seal-holder eunuch." Among the twenty-four yamen, only two people could be called the seal-holders instead of the official office names.

"The palace asked me to set the time myself, so how can I inform the palace?" This is a secret meeting, so naturally I can't make a big fuss and say that I am ready.

"Don't worry. If everything is arranged properly, just hang a small lantern at the back door of your house. Someone from the palace will come the next day." Tang Zhong said as he took out a few pieces of paper with couplets written on them. "Since you are here, please help me take a look, Mr. Minister."

(End of this chapter)