The Ming Dynasty's Five Hundred Years

Chapter 166 Secretly Attacking the King of Han
Emperor Zhu Di entered the hall with several eunuchs behind him. The cabinet members bowed in unison. The emperor glanced at them, nodded slightly, and after taking his seat, instructed Hong Bao to show the cabinet the memorials presented by the thirteen governors.

"I have summoned you here today for two matters. This is the memorial from the governors of all the provinces. It is quite problematic. The cabinet should take a look and submit a plan to me in three days."

The cabinet, serving as the emperor's secretariat and advisory body, was duty-bound to handle this matter. Everyone stepped forward to take the memorial, their hearts heavy yet filled with joy.

The reason why a fifth-rank Grand Secretary of the Inner Cabinet is highly regarded by the court and the public is because he can participate in the affairs of state, just as he does now.

According to the ancient political power principle, the final decision-making power (emperor) > the partial decision-making execution power (prime ministers of all dynasties) > the power to approve (semi-decision-making power) > the power to reject (prime ministers of all dynasties) > the power to make suggestions (the cabinet's draft proposals during the period when the chief minister of the Ming Dynasty was in a strong position).

The current cabinet naturally doesn't even have the right to make suggestions; it can only be considered to have the right to participate in making suggestions. However, in the present Ming Dynasty, the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet is the only position that can officially and permanently stay by the emperor's side to participate in state affairs. Even the ministers of the Six Ministries cannot do that.

This is where another ancient principle of political power comes in – political power radiates outward from the emperor, with kinship, political trust, and the status of both parties as the radius. In other words, the closer one is to the emperor and the higher one's status, the greater the hidden power one wields.

Even a lowly eunuch serving the emperor could reveal secrets unknown to the outside world, thus becoming a key factor in the power struggles.

Perhaps worried that the cabinet might not take it seriously, Zhu Di emphasized again, "The problems uncovered by the governor this time are quite significant. I am considering whether the current three departments can meet the court's expectations. All of you must give this matter much thought."

Seeing that everyone in the cabinet had answered solemnly, Zhu Di felt a little relieved and then called on Li Xianmu, saying, "Xianmu, tell me about what happened in Shandong that day."

Li Xianmu then described the devastation of Shandong to everyone again, and then emphasized the importance of Shandong and his concerns about it. Halfway through his speech, the cabinet members all frowned at the same time.

Yang Rong was even more shocked after Li Xianmu finished speaking, saying, "Why didn't the Shandong Provincial Treasurer, the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner, and the Military Commander report this? The Shandong Governor returned two months ago, so why didn't he report this either?"

Yang Shiqi said sternly, "Since this has always been the case in Shandong, the Three Departments may have already become accustomed to it."

As for the governor, it is unclear why he did not report it, but there is no doubt that this was a serious dereliction of duty.

The three provincial officials of Shandong could atone for their crimes through meritorious service, but the governor of Shandong must be severely punished; otherwise, how can the imperial court demonstrate its determination to send a governor to the local area to investigate?

The others also expressed their opinions, and they mostly advocated severely punishing the Shandong governor. This matter was indeed strange. Knowing that the court was unaware of the situation in Shandong, why did the governor fail to report it? What was the point of sending you to Shandong?
Then look at Li Xianmu when he went to Jiangnan. He accomplished so many great things and won over the hearts of the gentry, officials, and common people of Jiangnan for the court.

The emperor remained noncommittal after hearing this, then looked at Li Xianmu, his solemn expression softening slightly. "Xianmu, what do you say?"

“What my cabinet colleagues have said is all reasonable.”

Li Xianmu replied in a deep voice: "Punishing the officials in Shandong is a minor matter. If we want Shandong to be stable, the key lies in governance."

The key to effective governance lies in relieving the people of hardship, reducing exorbitant taxes and levies imposed by local governments, ensuring clear laws and regulations, minimizing wrongful convictions, and eliminating bandits entrenched in Shandong's outlaw communities to maintain local stability.

The emperor pondered for a moment and said, "I hereby issue an imperial edict to the Shandong Provincial Administration Commission, reducing Shandong's taxes for three years. I also strictly order the Shandong Provincial Administration Commission and the Military Command to immediately report any major disasters or rebellions to the Six Ministries. Any delays will be severely punished."

This move is intended to nip any potential mass rebellion in the bud.

The cabinet ministers nodded in agreement, and Li Xianmu also felt that this method was quite feasible, provided that the local authorities cooperated. He then hesitated and asked, "Your Majesty, do you know about the Duke Yansheng's residence?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Di felt a great headache and sighed, "I will personally issue an edict ordering the Duke of Yansheng's residence not to disturb the local area."

The King of Lu was very respectful, unlike his father. As for the King of Qi, I will keep him confined in the capital and not allow him to return to his fiefdom. You may all rest assured.

The first Prince of Lu was personally given the posthumous title "Huang" by Zhu Yuanzhang, which is considered one of the worst posthumous titles.

Many people say that Zhu Yuanzhang was hypocritical and indulged his sons, but this is normal. People are hypocritical. Which emperor in history would execute his favorite son because his son killed the people?

None of them were executed; only those who were out of favor or desperately needed to put on a show were executed.

Zhu Yuanzhang was already a model emperor for giving his sons such derogatory posthumous titles, ensuring they would be infamous for eternity.

"Your Majesty's method is good, but it is only a short-term solution."

There's no such thing as guarding against thieves for a thousand days. Once time goes on, local officials will inevitably become lax and perfunctory in their responses. Li Xianmu said, "The recovery of Shandong ultimately requires the concerted efforts of the three ministries, which is impossible now."

Your subject suggests establishing a permanent governorship in Shandong, responsible for all affairs except military command. The governor should be a high-ranking official of the second or third rank in the imperial court, preferably with the additional title of Censor-in-Chief, serving a term of three to five years until Shandong is thoroughly governed and stabilized.

After speaking, Li Xianmu lowered his head and fell silent. The emperor was deep in thought, as were the cabinet ministers. If the position of Shandong governor was permanent and officially held the title of censor of the Censorate, it would be a semi-official position. Furthermore, as Li Xianmu said, the governor would be in charge of various affairs such as military and political affairs, civil administration, personnel management, criminal justice, customs, and grain transport. In effect, the Three Departments would become subordinate to the governor.

This will be a major reshuffle of the politics of the provinces, because everyone knows that once Shandong has a permanent governor, the other provinces will surely follow suit.

Zhu Di hesitated and said, "The late emperor established the Three Offices because he thought the provincial system had too much local power and was worried about the disaster caused by the regional military governors of the previous dynasty. That's why the Three Offices were set up to check and balance each other. Now, do we really want to break this system of checks and balances and reappoint real regional governors?"

The balance of power is an essential lesson for emperors, and Zhu Di was naturally an expert in this.

"Your Majesty, the provincial governors and other officials have been transferred to local areas for a long time, while the governors are all selected from the central government to inspect the local areas. Moreover, our dynasty is different from the previous dynasty. The censors and other officials are quite well-established, and there is no reason for the formation of regional military governors."

Zhu Di knew he was overthinking things. Things were completely different now than in the Tang Dynasty. The governors were all civil officials and were sent by the imperial court.

"The cabinet should also formulate a plan for this matter, and I will discuss it with the Nine Ministers at the small court meeting the next day."

This was a truly momentous event for the nation, and a resolution was unlikely in the short term. However, at least there was a glimmer of hope for a solution, which pleased Zhu Di greatly.

He pointed at Li Xianmu and laughed to the cabinet ministers: "You all are in the cabinet with my nephew, so you should know that he is very talented. But in my opinion, he is not only talented, but most importantly, he dares to be the first in the world and is not afraid of offending people. He is like this in Jiangnan and he is like this in the capital."

"Your Majesty, I thank you for your praise. Your Majesty's favor towards me is immense. I only wish I could serve Your Majesty with my life, even at the cost of my life."

"I have summoned you to the palace today because I have something to tell you. There have been rumors circulating in the capital for the past few days and months. I know they are meant to sow discord between us, the emperor and his minister. You don't need to worry about them or fear that they will reach my ears. I am not so easily fooled by such a shallow scheme."

The emperor suddenly brought up something few dared to mention, which both surprised and reassured everyone. Whether what the emperor said was true or false was not important, but what could be heard was that the emperor's trust in Li Xianmu had reached a new level. Such vague rumors were no longer enough to harm Li Xianmu and the crown prince. For the crown prince's faction, this was undoubtedly a great victory.

"I thank Your Majesty for your trust."

Li Xianmu knelt down to express his gratitude, and then smiled bitterly at the emperor, saying, "Since Your Majesty has brought this up, I recall that I met some ministers last time who spoke ill of me for currying favor with the Crown Prince. They said that my actions in advocating for the Crown Prince would make me look like Wei Zheng in the future. Does Your Majesty know what they mean by that?"

Zhu Di smiled and told Li Xianmu to stand up. "You said you were talking about Wei Zheng, which means you're part of the Crown Prince's faction. But what's the point of saying Wei Zheng is dead?"

"Let alone Wei Zheng, who is in life and death, even if we were to compare him to a minister in the early Tang Dynasty, I would be Pei Ji. I am a close minister of the emperor, not a prince, not a member of the Crown Prince's faction, nor a member of the Han King's faction or the Zhao King's faction. The sun in my heart is only Your Majesty."

"I know of your loyalty."

Zhu Di laughed loudly: "But your analogy is not good. There are so many ministers in history who are close to the monarch. Why did you choose such an incompetent person as Pei Ji? If he had your talent, he would not have been humiliated by Emperor Taizong of Tang. I think Wei Zheng is better. At least he is capable and more suitable for you. I can also be compared with Emperor Taizong. You and I, as monarch and minister, will leave behind a beautiful story for all time."

"Then I will be like Wei Zheng who lives, not Wei Zheng who dies, after all, Emperor Taizong of Tang did not kill Wei Zheng."

Zhu Di still laughed and said, "That's right, Emperor Taizong of Tang didn't kill Wei Zheng, and I certainly won't..."

He paused abruptly, then slowly frowned. "Do you still remember who said you were the one who killed Wei Zheng?"

Li Xianmu pretended to be taken aback, then slowly frowned and pondered for a long time before uttering a few names.

Zhu Di's expression had already turned somewhat grim.

But Yang Rong exclaimed in surprise, "Aren't two of them officials of the Prince of Han? The dead Wei Zheng, the Crown Prince's faction, the Prince of Han often compares himself to..."

He suddenly stopped, not daring to speak again. Yang Rong didn't dare to speak again either, but everyone knew what Yang Rong wanted to say: the Prince of Han liked to compare himself to Emperor Taizong Li Shimin.

Li Shimin was a model ruler, but as a son, he was truly too "filial".

Countless memories flashed through Zhu Di's mind in an instant.

His heart was in turmoil, and the suspicious nature of an emperor surged forth. Li Xianmu's words touched the depths of his heart. Of his three sons, who was the one he truly feared?
There is actually no other option but Hanvon!
The Prince of Han, who had excellent relations with a group of nobles, was the only one capable of overthrowing Zhu Di; the Crown Prince was actually unable to do so.

This is why he gave the crown prince a minor punishment as a warning; a casual reprimand was not necessary for a severe punishment.

"King Han..."

(End of this chapter)