Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 69: Imperial Palace Court Meeting (Part )
Auspicious snow signifies a good harvest. On the first day of the winter lunar month in the 48th year of the Wanli reign, the capital and several neighboring provinces welcomed their first heavy snowfall. Beijing was blanketed in a blanket of silver, and the flakes fluttered like dancing jade butterflies.

Outside the Forbidden City, the moat, a silver mirror, reflects the drifting ice crystals. Ice crystals, colliding in the abyssal heavens, condense into solid, thick white goose feathers as they fall to the ground, like fluttering jade butterflies, blanketing the weathered ancient trees with a pristine coat of white.

The glazed tiles of the imperial palace, illuminated by the snow, appeared solemn and mysterious. Even before dawn, the armored and spear-wielding Han generals were already arrayed on both sides of the Thousand-Step Corridor between Daming Gate and Chengtian Gate. Falling snow drifted onto the generals' cheeks, melting on their warm skin, but the resoluteness on their faces remained unwavering.

Because the notice had been posted early, everyone in Beijing knew that the Imperial City, which had never been open to the public, would unveil a corner of its mystery today. From the moment the curfew ended, people began to gather in a protruding corner of the Imperial City.

Before the hour of Mao, the short convex wall from Chang'an Right Gate to Chang'an Left Gate was already densely packed with curious people.

At the hour of Mao, bells rang and drums played, and the two gates on the left and right of Dong'anmen slowly opened. To prevent the disturbance caused by the gathering of people from disrupting the normal attendance of officials at court, the emperor ordered the Ministry of Public Administration to spread a message to all major government offices, informing them that officials attending court should enter the palace via Dong'anmen, Dong'anlimen, and Donghuamen instead of Damingmen, Chengtianmen, Duanmen, and Wumen.

Today's morning court session was held neither at Huangji Gate nor at Qianqing Gate, but at Huangji Hall. This was extremely unusual, as Huangji Hall was not a place for regular ceremonies.

Huangji Hall was originally named Fengtian Hall. It was renamed Huangji Hall in the 41st year of Jiajing. It stands in the center of the Forbidden City and is the largest hall in the Forbidden City. The inside and outside of the hall are decorated with thousands of golden dragon patterns, and there are ten ridge beasts installed on the corners of the roof.

This place was usually used for major ceremonies such as the emperor's coronation, wedding, empress's appointment, and military orders. The last time it was used was on August 1st, when Emperor Taichang held his coronation ceremony.

After all the civil and military officials had lined up and taken their positions, the emperor, accompanied by three senior eunuchs from the Imperial Household Department, walked between the civil and military officials and climbed the stairs to the gilded throne with cloud and dragon patterns on the top level of the Sumeru-style platform in the center of the hall.

This throne was newly crafted from nanmu wood during the Jiajing reign. It's gilded throughout, and each layer, from top to bottom, is adorned with auspicious dragon patterns. Thirteen vivid golden dragons entwine around the chair's arch, while a central dragon stands proudly on the back.

The emperor lifted his robe and took his seat. All the officials knelt and shouted, "Long live the emperor! Long live the emperor! Long live the emperor!"

"Gentlemen, please stand up." The emperor's voice was so calm that no emotion could be detected.

Then, Xu Guangqi, the Minister of Rites and Minister of the Honglu Temple, sang loudly: "Report the matter!"

"Ahem!" Li Ruhua, the Minister of Revenue, coughed twice, then stepped out of the procession, knelt before the Emperor, and reported, "The Ministry of Revenue, in compliance with the Imperial Order, has allocated funds from the imperial treasury to pay the arrears of officials of the sixth rank and below in Beijing, and has also granted compensation for the interest owed. All outstanding wages and interest have now been fully disbursed. The actual disbursement of outstanding wages is 564,892 taels of silver, and the actual payment of interest is 246,149 taels of silver. A total of 811,041 taels of silver."

Zhu Changluo's expression remained unchanged, but he was silently calculating in his heart: More than 40% interest rate is too much.

Li Ruhua's memorial was not a request but a presentation. After the memorial was completed, the emperor only needed to nod his head to indicate approval, and the process was complete.

After Li Ruhua finished his report, he bowed, faced the emperor, and retreated to his original seat. After Li Ruhua was restored to his seat, Wei Zhongxian, the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department and the commander of the Western Depot, stepped down from the throne and walked to where Li Ruhua had been standing. He also coughed twice, "Clean up," and then reported, "The Western Depot, under the Emperor's order to 'temporarily take over the duties of the Eastern Depot,' has completed the confiscation of Zheng Yangxing's residence and his hiding place. A total of 968,462 taels of silver and 83,214 taels of gold were seized. In addition, there were also numerous rare antiques, famous paintings and calligraphy, and jewelry and jade, the value of which is still incalculable."

"At present, 811,041 taels of silver have been allocated to the Ministry of Revenue, and the remaining cash has been transferred to the Ministry of War. All gold has been added to the imperial treasury. At the rate of one tael of gold equaling ten taels of silver, a total of 832,140 taels of silver has been allocated to the Ministry of War."

The Ministry of War would not use gold to pay soldiers, so Zhu Changluo ordered the Western Factory to convert the gold from the Imperial Treasury into silver at the prevailing market exchange rate and send it to the Ministry of War. The Ministry of War had no use for the remaining antiques, calligraphy, paintings, jewelry, and jade, so they had to first add them to the Imperial Treasury and then slowly dispose of them.

After Wei Zhongxian finished his report and returned to his seat, Minister of War Cui Jingrong stepped forward and presented his report, saying, "Your Majesty has immediately issued one million taels of silver from the treasury reserves to reward the officials and soldiers of the nine frontier regions. By October 26, the 48th year of the Wanli reign, the entire amount had been distributed."

"Your Majesty has ordered the immediate release of one million taels of silver from the treasury reserves to be sent to Liaodong to reward the soldiers and soldiers there, thereby alleviating the urgent shortage of military pay. The full amount will be paid on August 15th."

On July 21, the Wanli Emperor passed away. Zhu Changluo, who had not yet ascended the throne, began to exercise the actual power of the emperor, conveying the late emperor's will and working to reverse a series of bad policies of the late Wanli period.

The first of these was to issue two million taels of silver, which would be distributed to the nine border areas and Liaodong respectively.

The Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War calculated that Liaodong owed a total of 2.36 million taels of silver. Even if one million taels were allocated, the total outstanding was still 1.36 million taels. In other words, even if the remaining silver and gold after the Ministry of Revenue were included, the outstanding amount was still over 370,000 taels. However, arrears of silver were common practice at the imperial court, and a mere 370,000 taels was considered minimal.

After Cui Jingrong finished his report, he bowed and returned to his seat. Xu Guangqi, the Minister of the Ministry of Rites, stepped out and walked before the emperor.

At the court meeting, the Minister of the Ministry of Rites not only had to sing "Report" and "Report completed", but also had to submit memorials on behalf of local officials.

"Your Majesty, Xiong Tingbi respectfully reports this."

"In June of the 48th year of the Wanli reign, the bandit chieftain Nurhaci led his troops to besiege Yilu and Puhe, burning and looting the area and injuring countless civilians. On the 12th, the vanguard of 20,000 bandits marched directly towards Shenyang, followed by a reinforcement of 40,000. Another 10,000 marched out of Dongzhou Fort and headed straight for Fengji Fort."

"He Shixian, the general defending Shenyang, personally led the army to meet the enemy twenty miles east of Shenyang. After a fierce battle in the field, the enemy retreated fifteen miles and camped."

"General Chai Guozhu led his troops to fight against the bandits at Xiaojiashan, Yutiaozhai, and other places, thirty miles east of Dongzhou Fort."

"The various armies of Heaven attacked and blocked the enemy, with the north and south facing each other. The enemy's attack was fruitless, and they abandoned countless ladders and hooks and poles and left in dismay."

"In August, the bandits sent 20,000 troops to advance on Puhe, but before they reached Shenyang, He Shixian led his troops out of the city to meet them, killing over 200 of them. The bandits retreated to Huishan."

"On the second day of September, I led my troops to attack the bandits, conquered Huishan, and beheaded 89 people. On the eighth day, I conquered Fu'an Fort and beheaded 116 people. The bandit leader Nurhaci led his troops to retreat to the border of Jianzhou."

After Xu Guang finished his speech, he returned to his original position.

(End of this chapter)