My Portable Ming Dynasty

Chapter 131 Unreasonable

After the Earl of Wuqing left, Zhu Yijun said to Zhang Hong:

"Following Master Su's method, the guards sent over spread the news that potatoes were valuable, and then deliberately neglected their duties, allowing people in the surrounding area to steal them."

This was Su Ze's idea to promote potatoes near the capital.

Those who own land in the suburbs of Beijing are naturally not ordinary people; they are at least noble relatives of the emperor, such as the Earl of Wuqing.

Ordinary people would naturally not dare to steal from the estate of a noble consort's father, but these nobles and relatives of the emperor were different; they not only dared, but were extremely bold.

Anyway, the sea ban has been lifted now, so why should you, the Earl of Wuqing, be allowed to get potatoes, but other nobles aren't?
After the Tumu Crisis, the nobles of the Ming Dynasty, like the princes, became parasites. Many families were outwardly impressive but inwardly corrupt, and they were surviving only by selling off their ancestral property.

Su Ze used them to promote potato cultivation.

That's human nature. The more you ask them to do something, the more they feel like you're trying to trick them. The more you forbid them from doing something, the more they insist on doing it.

Of course, promoting potato cultivation in this way is only part of Suze's plan.

Huang Ji returned to the Imperial Household Department with the food box bestowed upon him by Zhu Yijun. When his colleagues saw the royal-style food box, their jealousy intensified!

A royal food box!

Under the watchful eyes of his colleagues, Huang Ji proudly opened the food box.

Huh? I've never seen these dishes before.
The first dish was stir-fried shredded meat with strips of vegetables. If Su Ze had seen it, he would have been amazed at how skilled the chefs of the Eastern Palace were, as they were able to recreate this famous dish from later generations based on his own recipe.

The next layer looks like it should be the main dish?
The yellowish paste had a hint of milky aroma and the enticing scent of staple food.

The last layer consists of deep-fried strips, which seem to be the same as those in the first dish, but are sprinkled with expensive spices, making them incredibly tempting.

Huang Ji felt the envious looks around him, so he simply took the three dishes out of the food box and put them on the table to eat.

These three dishes taste really good!

As Huang Ji ate, tears streamed down his face. The Crown Prince's kindness was so profound; how could he ever repay it?
-
While Su Ze was busy promoting potatoes, in the Censorate...

At the beginning of the design of the Six Ministries and the Censorate system, the Six Ministries were specifically responsible for investigating the Six Departments, while the Censorate was responsible for the thirteen circuits and local investigations.

However, the local censorship was soon replaced by the permanent position of governor, and the functions of the Censorate began to converge with those of the Six Ministries, keeping an eye on officials in the capital.

The officials of the Six Ministries were all of equal rank, each with independent case-handling authority that was not subject to interference. Moreover, the Six Ministries had the crucial right to review all memorials to the throne, and were well-informed, thus holding great power despite their low rank.

The Censorate had many levels, unlike the Six Ministries which were independent. Compared to the Six Ministries, which had a total of twelve people (two per department), the Censorate had a large number of censors, giving it an overwhelming advantage in numbers.

Every time the Censorate impeached someone, it used a large-scale manpower tactic. Whether it was a joint signature or a collective petition, it could instantly create public pressure.

The Censorate, however, was bustling with activity just before the year-end.

Next year is the annual Beijing Inspection, which takes place every six years, and the consultation is the work of the Censorate.

The censors of the Censorate would record information about officials in the capital on a visitation form based on clues they collected in their daily work. These records would serve as an important basis for the capital inspection the following year and determine the future of an official in the capital.

Although there is a subsequent "court hearing" stage where officials are allowed to defend themselves, there are many officials in Beijing, and the outcome of the consultation may determine the fate of a Beijing official.

At this moment, in a side hall of the Censorate, several censors were discussing something.

These censors were of different ranks, ranging from a fourth-rank deputy chief censor to a seventh-rank supervising censor, but the one sitting in the main seat was a middle-aged seventh-rank supervising censor.

In other government offices, those with higher ranks would naturally sit in the seats of honor, but the censors of the Censorate, being upright officials, naturally looked down on this set of standards.

The internal rules of the Censorate were to use "seniority" as the standard for measuring rank.

In other words, whoever spent the longest time in the Censorate had the greatest influence.

This is why Luo Zun, despite being only a supervising censor, was able to assure Shen Sixiao that he would remain in his post; Luo Zun was a senior censor in the Censorate.

The censor seated above him was named Qi Kang, and he was also a senior censor.

Qi Kang was a protégé of Gao Gong. He had many opportunities to be transferred to other posts, but he refused them all. This is how he eventually became a senior censor in the Censorate.

In the Ming Dynasty, being a censor was a high-risk profession. Those censors who survived numerous political upheavals were naturally regarded as trendsetters.

Qi Kang looked around. All those present were officials he had befriended in the Censorate over the years, a total of ten people. The joint memorial submitted by ten censors was enough to cause a stir in the court.

These are the connections Qi Kang has built up over the years in the Censorate.

"Have you all received the roster sent by the selection officer?"

The censors present were mostly Gao Gong's cronies. The "selection officer" Qi Kang mentioned was Zhang Siwei, the director of the Ministry of Personnel's Selection and Appointment Department. The list that Zhang Siwei sent was the list of officials who opposed the cabinet in the recent case involving the two princes of Dai and Liao.

The censors all nodded in agreement.

Zhang Siwei sent people to dictate the list, and his intention was clear: to have the censors list the crimes of these officials on the visitation list so that they could be dismissed in the capital inspection next year.

The censors present looked at Qi Kang with some doubt. Dealing with these officials was a result of the consensus of the Grand Secretaries. Not only Gao Gong's faction, but also the disciples of other Grand Secretaries in the Censorate had received similar instructions.

Qi Kang suppressed his dissatisfaction.

Qi Kang's dissatisfaction was directed at Gao Gong.

As Gao Gong's protégé, Qi Kang remained in the Censorate without promotion. During the period when Gao Gong was dismissed from office, he withstood the attacks from Gao Gong's political enemies and finally welcomed Gao Gong back to the court.

However, when Gao Gong returned to the capital, he still insisted that Qi Kang remain in the Censorate.

As a cabinet minister, Gao Gong naturally needed to have his own people in the Censorate, and Qi Kang, with his seniority, was the perfect choice.

Therefore, Qi Kang watched as Gao Gong's former students and officials were promoted one after another through the Ministry of Personnel's efforts. Zhang Siwei, who passed the imperial examination later than him, had already taken up the key position of Selection Officer, while he himself was still a minor seventh-rank Supervising Censor.

During this time, Gao Gong gathered his students to discuss practical learning day and night, but Qi Kang's ranking in the imperial examination was not high, so he was not invited to Gao Gong's home.

Qi Kang could not directly express his resentment towards Gao Gong.

Therefore, Qi Kang could only set his sights on two people: Zhang Siwei, Gao Gong's most trusted confidant, and Su Ze, a rising star in Gao Gong's faction.

In Qi Kang's view, the two were about the same: they both had high scores in the imperial examinations and were born into the Shujishi class. They were already high-ranking officials when they first entered the officialdom and took the fast track to the cabinet.

Qi Kang coughed and said:
"Everyone knows the list now, and the next step is to fill out the visit forms according to the list. However, I have a suggestion: add one more person's visit form."

Everyone cast questioning glances his way. Qi Kang said:

"The Court of Imperial Sacrifices, Su Ze."

Everyone looked at Qi Kang in surprise, only to hear Qi Kang say:

"Su Ze has a bad reputation in the Censorate, and many censors are preparing to find problems with him during the capital inspection."

"But Su Ze is protected by Shi Xiangbao, so these petitions will be fine even if they are sent to the Ministry of Personnel."

“If we don’t fill out Su Ze’s visit form, people will think we are forming cliques for personal gain, which will give them ammunition to attack the Prime Minister.”

After listening to Qi Kang's words, everyone nodded in agreement. Once the crowd had dispersed, a smile appeared on Qi Kang's lips.

One of Qi Kang's plans was to contact everyone to attack Su Ze on the visitor list.

He has already contacted the Sixth Division, and once the petition is submitted, Zhang Siwei will definitely be lenient with Su Ze.

At that time, the Six Ministries will submit a memorial impeaching the Ministry of Personnel for "unfairness in the capital's selection process." Qi Kang will then secretly coordinate with the Censorate to bring down Zhang Siwei, the selection officer.

Of course, without Zhang Siwei, Qi Kang wouldn't be able to take the position of Xuanlang.

Qi Kang did this not only out of personal grudges, but also out of political opportunism.
-
History Museum.

Shen Yiguan walked into the history museum and said to Su Ze:

"Brother Zilin, the Hanlin Academy has been quite lively these days."

lively?

Su Ze looked up at Shen Yiguan, who then said:

"Several senior scholars submitted petitions, and I heard that one of them fainted on the spot."

Luo Wanhua asked in confusion:

"Isn't the visitation form a confidential document issued by the Beijing authorities? How did they know it was on the visitation form?"

Shen Yiguan said:
"With so many people handling the petition, how could it possibly be kept secret? The Six Ministries, the Censorate, the Office of Transmission, the Ministry of Personnel—so many government offices and so many people. Before each capital inspection, news of who would be dismissed would fly all over the capital."

Su Ze recalled the phrases that often appeared in newspapers in his previous life, such as "A well-informed person said," implying that the bureaucratic system was like a sieve, and keeping secrets was a pipe dream.

Everyone present was new to officialdom and experiencing the capital inspection for the first time. Wang Jiaping and Zhang Wei looked at Shen Yiguan with curiosity.

Luo Wanhua asked, "Then why did these old scholars submit the petition?"

Shen Yiguan said:
"Isn't it all just laziness and incompetence?"

"Lazy and incompetent?"

Su Ze asked doubtfully:
"They're all Hanlin scholars, how could they be associated with the words 'mediocre and lazy'? This investigation order from the Censorate is far too hasty."

To pass the palace examination, become a probationary official, and finally pass the imperial examination to become a formal member of the Hanlin Academy, one must be far from mediocre.

The Hanlin Academy was a prestigious and respectable official position, and they didn't have any specific work to do, so how could they be considered lazy?
Shen Yiguan began to explain to Su Ze:

“Brother Zilin, the words ‘mediocre and lazy’ are now the common reason used to dismiss officials in the capital inspection.”

Luo Wanhua asked, "Why is that?"

Shen Yiguan said:
"The label of 'mediocrity and laziness' is the hardest to wash away; it's much harder to prove one's innocence than any other crime."

The short-tempered Wang Jiaping said:

Isn't this just a fabricated charge?

Shen Yiguan nodded and said:
"exactly."

He then said in a low voice:

"I heard that the old scholar surnamed Sun has excellent calligraphy skills. The censor Qi Kang once asked him for a piece of calligraphy, but the old scholar not only refused but also added a couplet to the request."

Everyone was very curious about this gossip and quickly asked, "What?"

Shen Yiguan, true to his reputation as a tech-savvy person, managed to find out this kind of information. He said:
"The first line: The censor requests calligraphy, each character as precious as gold; The second line: The scholar refuses ink, each ink stroke as hard as iron."

Good heavens, even Luo Wanhua, who was least adept at socializing, was speechless at this senior scholar. It was one thing to refuse someone's request for calligraphy, but to write a couplet like this was to completely offend them.

Wang Jiaping frowned and said:
"Even so, surely Censor Qi wouldn't retaliate during the capital inspection?"

Shen Yiguan looked at Su Ze and then said:

"This Imperial Censor Qi is a protégé of Grand Secretary Gao."

Su Ze thought for a moment and remembered this person.

Su Ze frowned again. This Qi Kang seemed to be a big shot. After Gao Gong was dismissed from his post, he led the impeachment against Xu Jie for "encroaching on farmland". Although the matter was eventually dropped, it made Xu Jie, the then chief minister, very wary.

After Gao Gong was reinstated as prime minister, Qi Kang became the leader that Gao Gong had placed in the Censorate.

Historically, at the end of the Longqing reign, Qi Kang suddenly betrayed Gao Gong.

The Six Ministries and the Censorate certainly don't tolerate idlers.

From this perspective, Qi Kang is a petty and narrow-minded person. It's no wonder that the old scholar surnamed Sun offended Qi Kang and was punished.

After finishing the gossip, Luo Wanhua also said with some concern:
"Brother Jianwu, let's not talk about others, we'll also be doing the capital inspection next year, right?"

Of the five people present, Wang Jiaping and Zhang Wei were still junior scholars, not yet officially appointed, and therefore did not need to participate in next year's capital examination.

Su Ze, Luo Wanhua, and Shen Yiguan all hold official positions and will all participate in next year's Beijing inspection.

Shen Yiguan said casually:

"Brother Yifu, don't worry. The Censorate's petition is one thing, but the court hearing is more important. Finally, the Ministry of Personnel will have to make a public decision. With Brother Su here, are you afraid that the imperial examination will fail?"

Luo Wanhua breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Shen Yiguan said with emotion:
"But those old Hanlin scholars, if it weren't for the Grand Secretary's strong protection, would probably be demoted and exiled from the capital."

Wang Jiaping and Zhang Wei, unaware of the treacherous nature of officialdom, asked in bewilderment:
"Is it that serious? Isn't there supposed to be a court hearing?"

Shen Yiguan shook his head and said:
“The Censorate has issued a petition. If the superiors and the Ministry of Personnel overturn the Censorate’s petition, the censors will certainly not let the officials involved off the hook if they get into trouble in the future.”

"If you two were in this position, what would you do?"

Su Ze understood that this was the norm in officialdom.

If you follow the crowd and conform to the opinions of the majority, and things go wrong, then everyone will be responsible, which is equivalent to no one being responsible at all.

If you refuse to follow the crowd and insist on your own opinions, then if something goes wrong, there will be endless counterattacks and retaliations.

This is also why many mistakes within the bureaucratic system are difficult to correct.

To overturn a common resolution, one must assume full responsibility, and what officials fear most is taking responsibility.

Neither the Grand Secretary nor any official from the Ministry of Personnel would risk offending the Censorate for the sake of a few old Hanlin scholars.
-
On December 16th, most government offices in the capital had already begun their holiday break, but news about the petition was spreading like wildfire among them, causing widespread anxiety among officials in the capital.

As expected, the fire ended up burning Su Ze.

(End of this chapter)