Late Ming Dynasty: So what if Emperor Chongzhen was inactive?!

Chapter 18 How can the politics of the Ming Dynasty be managed when surrounded by such "insects"?
When Wei Zhongxian first emerged, he was actually very cautious about the cabinet and showed great respect to the Grand Secretary.

Later, the cabinet lost its power struggle with the Directorate of Ceremonial, and Wei Zhongxian completely stripped the cabinet of its decision-making power.

Because the Cabinet's power to draft proposals requires the approval of the Directorate of Ceremonial to be effective.

If you can't beat them, join them. Eventually, the entire cabinet nominally became part of the eunuch faction.

However, times have changed. After the new emperor ascended the throne, everyone agreed that Wei Zhongxian was doomed, and it seemed that things were indeed as they predicted. The emperor began to rule personally and revoked the power of the Directorate of Ceremonial to approve imperial edicts.

Power is only accountable to its source. Now that the emperor is in power and Wei Zhongxian has lost favor, the cabinet ministers naturally no longer need to give him face. No matter how obsequious they were before, they immediately began a "righteous" severing of ties with Wei Zhongxian. Power from top to bottom is so fragile, so vulnerable.

Seeing his cabinet ministers putting on airs again in front of him, Wei Zhongxian sneered inwardly.

Apart from Li Guoqi, who was a capable official, these people were all just old scholars. They were not worth his time, and the emperor would certainly not tolerate such people.

He finally saw it: the emperor seemed to care about nothing, but his inclinations were actually very clear: no matter who you were, as long as you could get things done, you would be favored. The ridiculous thing was that these incompetent officials still hadn't grasped this point.

Of the group, Li Guozhuo bowed to Wei Zhongxian as usual, displaying neither servility nor arrogance, while the other three stood with their hands behind their backs, glaring at Wei Zhongxian.

Wei Zhongxian returned Li Guozhu's greeting. He was certain that the old man would be the next Grand Secretary. He was glad that although he disliked the man, he hadn't actively suppressed him or made an enemy of him.

Wei Zhongxian's style of controlling the court was like this: first, he had to appoint his relatives and friends, because he couldn't afford to have an enemy to cause him trouble. Among these confidants, the most capable was best; if that wasn't possible, he would leave one competent person among a group of confidants, so as not to block all the avenues, otherwise, if something really went wrong, the emperor wouldn't forgive him.

Despite being favored by the Tianqi Emperor, Wei Zhongxian's journey has been incredibly precarious; it's truly remarkable that he's survived to this day.

Wei Zhongxian was very experienced in gaining favor; the key was to cater to the emperor's preferences. Since the emperor favored capable officials, and a number of competent ministers in Nanjing had been sidelined by him, it was time to bring them back. Wang Zaijin, the Minister of War in Nanjing, was extremely capable, and now that Cui Chengxiu was disloyal, it was time to replace him.

However, what troubled Wei Zhongxian was that Wang Zaijin's relationship with him wasn't good either, and bringing him over would only cause him more trouble. However, he had no choice. He knew perfectly well what kind of rotten apples his so-called "eunuch faction" consisted of. There was also a very strong competitor for the position of Minister of War: the Imperial Tutor, Sun Chengzong.

If Wang Zaijin and Wei Zhongxian merely had a bad relationship, and Wang Zaijin only despised Wei Zhongxian's character, then Sun Chengzong simply couldn't tolerate Wei Zhongxian at all, openly threatening to kill him every day. However, Sun Chengzong was the tutor of two emperors, so Wei Zhongxian couldn't touch this old man.

Wei Zhongxian thought to himself that this matter should be brought to fruition as soon as possible, as his chances of winning were not great, and the longer it dragged on, the more bleak his chances became.

However, he also had his advantages. Sun Chengzong had just been dismissed from office two years ago. When he served as the Liaodong military commander, the Guan-Jin-Ning defense line, which had been built by emptying the Ming Dynasty's treasury, was easily breached by Nurhaci and Huang Taiji. Even the claimed victories at Ningyuan and Ningjin could not change this fact.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend, and Wei Zhongxian felt he had a chance to cooperate with Wang Zaijin. After all, compared to this minor conflict between them, the political differences between Wang Zaijin and Sun Chengzong were truly irreconcilable. Their opinions on the Liaodong issue were completely opposite; both considered the other a traitor who brought disaster to the country and its people, and wished to kill him. In a gentleman's contest, one seeks common ground while rejecting differences; this is a clash of principles, allowing no room for retreat.

The emperor finally summoned them. The cabinet ministers took it very seriously. Generally speaking, for an official from outside the capital to be granted a private audience with the emperor and to have access to the inner court was a sign of great trust and an immense honor.

The group of people were all pondering why the emperor had summoned them. They began to regret not offending Wei Zhongxian, which had left them completely unprepared without any warning.

"Your Majesty, we pay our respects!" Huang Lijie, Shi Laifeng, Zhang Ruitu, and Li Guozhu shouted in unison.

"Rise," Zhu Youjian said calmly. "Come and take a look, everyone." He pointed to the memorials on his desk.

The group of men felt a jolt of unease and hurriedly stepped forward, picking up the memorials on the table, dividing them up, and exchanging them to read. Zhu Youjian sat behind the table, observing their reactions while stretching and cracking his limbs. Among them, Zhang Ruitu was the least capable; after reading several memorials, he was completely bewildered. He had no idea what the emperor meant—was he dissatisfied with one of the three?

Li Guozhuo, however, held Hong Chengchou's impeachment memorial for a long time, his eyebrows furrowed in worry.

After reading it, Huang Liji consoled himself:
At the time, the Battle of Ningjin was raging, and their cabinet's main attention was drawn to the war in Liaodong.

Moreover, at that time, military strength and finances were very tight, so they simply didn't have the energy to deal with the bandit Wang Er's disturbance in Shaanxi. Besides, it wasn't that they completely ignored it; hadn't they already allocated two thousand taels of silver to let the Shaanxi governor recruit soldiers and horses to deal with it? In his view, it was just a few unarmed thugs, and they shouldn't have any trouble handling them.

His Majesty's summons to him now must mean that there has been another change in this matter, which must be because Hu Tingyan is just too incompetent!

"Your Majesty, I request that you dismiss Hu Tingyan and appoint a capable minister to serve as the governor of Shaanxi," Huang Liji said with righteous indignation.

Zhu Youjian looked at him, a hint of disappointment flashing in his eyes. As the Grand Secretary, he dared not take responsibility. He had laid out the whole mystery, yet he still couldn't understand the problem. He still thought it was just a few bandits causing trouble. How could the Ming Dynasty's politics be managed with such "insects" around?
With this thought in mind, Zhu Youjian slowly said, "Minister Huang, you are sixty-two years old this year, aren't you?"

"Ah?! I am only fifty-nine years old this year, uh..." Huang Liji suddenly realized, his face turning ashen. He lowered his head and said with trembling lips, "I misremembered. I am indeed sixty-two years old by the traditional Chinese age reckoning. I am old and in poor health. I request to retire and hope Your Majesty will grant me permission to return to my hometown. As for the selection of the Grand Secretary, I request Your Majesty to choose another virtuous and capable person of high moral character and prestige."

"Oh ho, still not convinced?" Zhu Youjian thought to himself with a sneer.

This old fellow was quite confident, thinking he was doing a pretty good job as Grand Secretary. The implication was clear: Could Zhu Youjian find anyone more capable than him? He wouldn't be satisfied with just anyone!
Zhu Youjian didn't indulge him. Since you're not convinced, Zhu Youjian didn't play any tricks to persuade you. Instead, he asked seriously, "Then, in Grand Secretary Huang's opinion, who is a virtuous and capable person who can succeed you as Grand Secretary?"

Now Huang Lijie was in a bind. His original intention was simply to vent his anger through a sarcastic remark, but he hadn't expected the emperor to be so straightforward. After thinking it over, he realized he couldn't allow the current cabinet members to rise to power, otherwise he'd lose face. "If you think you're inferior to the other cabinet ministers, then what gives you the audacity to sit in the position of Grand Secretary?"
However, he didn't have many people to choose from. In the early days, the chief minister came from the Hanlin Academy and was just a sixth-rank official who consulted with the emperor. He had little power, but he could stay by the emperor's side often, which made it easier for him to get promoted. He was essentially a secretary.

However, by the mid-to-late Ming Dynasty, the power of the Grand Secretariat had expanded. Grand Secretaries were generally promoted from the positions of Ministers of the Six Ministries, and the assistant ministers concurrently held the position of Minister, making them genuine second-rank officials, greatly enhancing their prestige and status. Of course, now that the Grand Secretariat has been weakened by Wei Zhongxian, its power and status have declined somewhat, but at least a Vice Minister or higher degree of experience is still required; otherwise, the Grand Secretaries are just paper tigers and cannot command respect.

Moreover, the emperor merely asked him; it didn't mean he would actually choose the Grand Secretary according to his suggestion. The Grand Secretaries are nominated by the court; if his candidate couldn't even pass that stage, it would be even more embarrassing. The emperor's move was truly cunning, making him slap himself in the face.

Huang Lijie pondered deeply, sweat beading on his temples. After careful consideration, he finally revealed his choice: Sun Chengzong! He had yielded. Although he was still relatively healthy, he was indeed getting on in years, and he had to consider his descendants; offending the emperor would bring him no benefit. In his view, recommending Sun Chengzong was an act of currying favor with the emperor.

Now, Sun Chengzong is far away in Gaoyang County, Hebei Province. The threshold of his hometown is almost worn out by the crowds. Everyone thinks that he will definitely be employed and given important responsibilities by Emperor Chongzhen.

However, Zhu Youjian was not satisfied with this answer. Appointing Sun Chengzong as Grand Secretary wasn't impossible; although Sun Chengzong's abilities were questionable, his political stance was sound. Minor officials are judged by their abilities, while high-ranking officials are judged by their political acumen. Sun Chengzong was also a loyal subject whose entire family died in battle, but sometimes, such stubborn loyalty could be even more destructive to the country than that of ordinary treacherous officials.

Moreover, is being called the Imperial Tutor a really good title? The Imperial Tutor of the Ming Dynasty was the emperor's lifelong enemy. Zhu Youjian felt a headache coming on just thinking about the stubborn old man giving him a lecture.

Helpless, he could only say that the country was in a difficult situation and hoped that Huang Lijie could continue to work hard for a while longer, and that he could let him retire when he had recruited a suitable candidate.

This result left Huang Liji somewhat dazed. Did the emperor just want to give him a warning? Then why was he so harsh? Huang Liji felt wronged, as if his heart had been hurt.

Seeing their leader in such a terrible state, the other three cabinet ministers were even more terrified. They had to be careful with their next responses, or they could be fired. Huang Lijie didn't want to keep his job, but the others didn't.

(End of this chapter)