The Ming Dynasty's Five Hundred Years

Chapter 178 Procedural Justice (Fourth Update)

After hearing what her advisor said, Hu Ying's face immediately showed doubt, then joy, and she paced back and forth in the room.

"Li Xianmu isn't the kind of person who doesn't know his own limitations. Why would he act so impulsively? Could there be some kind of conspiracy involved?"

"I don't think it's that bad. No matter how steady Li Xianmu is, he is still young. It's normal for him to be impulsive after achieving success at a young age. Besides, he has always regarded Li Zhongwen as a god, and he came to the Ministry of Rites for this very reason."

After pondering for a moment, the aide spoke eloquently: "I have heard that Li Xianmu once wrote the line 'Ten thousand years is too long, seize the day,' which is a way of expressing his feelings through poetry. This shows that this is his character."

Hu Yingyi began to recall the many events since Li Xianmu entered officialdom. After a long while, she slowly opened her eyes, and the solemnity between her brows dissipated a bit. "You're right. Since Li Xianmu entered officialdom, he has been eager to do almost everything. That is his weakness!"

This matter affects a very wide range of people. Spreading this information will allow us to contact those around us and unite against Li Xianmu.

After the staff left, Hu Ying looked through the window and saw officials coming and going in Li Xianmu's room. For a time, Li Xianmu's room was bustling with activity, while he, the Minister, was neglected. He was already narrow-minded and easily jealous, and at this moment he hated it even more.

"Li Xianmu, this time I, the Minister, will make you taste the bitterness of defeat."

Throughout history, there have been many people similar to Hu Ying. The proverb "a prime minister's belly can hold a boat" exists because most prime ministers are not very magnanimous, which does not conform to people's imagination of a prime minister. The more something is lacking, the more it is emphasized.

If Li Xianmu knew what Chen Ying was thinking, he would definitely ask him, "What if I fail?"

Jealousy and hatred had eroded Hu Ying's reason, making him forget that the purpose of political struggle was not simply to oppose, but to eliminate the enemy.

The reason why most political struggles degenerate into opposing for the sake of opposing is because it is the easiest approach.

But Li Xianmu was different; he came to the Ministry of Rites on the emperor's orders.

If Hu Ying cannot find a suitable reason and opposes simply for the sake of opposing, and this matter reaches the emperor, and Hu Ying still cannot find a suitable reason, then in the end, the only person who will leave the Ministry of Rites will be Hu Ying himself.

……

Since the first year of the Yongle reign, Hu Ying has served as Minister of Rites for ten years. Normally, he could be considered a highly respected and influential figure with many students and disciples.

Unfortunately, the chief examiners for the imperial examinations in the third and ninth years of the Yongle reign were not his people, but rather members of the Neo-Confucian school.

However, during his ten years as Minister of Rites, he had essentially recruited his own people to fill half of the provincial education commissioners, the same position Wang Gen held.

In every region of the Ming Dynasty, there were countless official lines, each representing a power struggle.

Wang Gen, while serving in the Ministry of Rites, recognized Hu Ying's influence in various provinces, especially in the Jiangnan academic system. This prompted him to voluntarily travel to Zhejiang to sever one of Hu Ying's tentacles within the Jiangnan academic system.

Once this immense power was unleashed, it immediately caused a dramatic shift in the entire Ming Dynasty.

"In next year's provincial examination, will you use the content of the 'Xin Xue Chuan Shi Lu' (The Transmission of the School of Mind)?" Yang Rong, a fellow cabinet colleague who was gradually siding with Li Xianmu, exclaimed, "Mingda, are you crazy? The students of thirteen provinces have been studying Zhu Xi's sayings for so long, and now you suddenly switch to the School of Mind. Those angry students will tear you to shreds."

Changing the exam content is too terrible. In modern society, studying is no longer the only way out. Even so, every reform of the college entrance examination will be criticized and trend on social media if it makes it impossible to retake the exam. Not to mention the imperial examination, which is a major event that can change a family's life. How can it be changed so casually?
"It's not about changing it, it's about doing it in parallel!" Li Xianmu isn't crazy, how could he possibly defy the world? Not to mention the Vice Minister of Rites, even if he were the emperor, he wouldn't dare to do that.

Yang Rong, perhaps due to his concern, failed to notice and immediately felt relieved. "Although parallel operations will still cause some disturbance, it should be manageable."

Li Xianmu sneered, "That's not necessarily true. I'm afraid some people will use this as an opportunity to attack me and deliberately cause trouble."

Having recently experienced the perilous struggle for the throne, Yang Rong possessed a high level of fighting spirit. He immediately realized what Li Xianmu was talking about and solemnly said, "His Majesty's decision to have you retain the title of Grand Secretary of the Inner Cabinet and go to the Ministry of Rites must be due to his dissatisfaction with Hu Ying, the Minister of Rites. He probably realized this as well. Do you think he will take action?"

This shows that Li Xianmu and Yang Rong overestimated Hu Ying. He was genuinely unaware that the emperor was dissatisfied with him. However, because he was truly wicked, Yang Rong was able to anticipate his actions.

"It definitely will, and it should already be on its way. That day at the Ministry of Rites, I didn't hide it from anyone; I deliberately told him."

My father once said that if you want to successfully implement a reform, there are two ways to greatly reduce the number of people who oppose it.

The first method is to demonstrate your strength so that they dare not oppose you.

The second method is to find a sufficiently large sacrifice during the implementation, then kill it to intimidate others.

Now that I have just entered the Ministry of Rites, there is no better way than to eliminate Hu Ying and undermine his prestige.

Upon hearing this, Yang Rong pondered for a moment and said, "Mingda, what you said makes sense. What are you planning to do, and is there anything I can help you with?"

"Later, I will submit my reform plan to the cabinet in my capacity as Vice Minister of Rites." Li Xianmu took out a memorial from his bosom. "This is the plan. I need your help to persuade my cabinet colleagues to send an inquiry letter to Hu Ying, the Minister of Rites."

One sign of the significant increase in cabinet power is that the cabinet as a whole can send letters to the six ministries to inquire about policies and specific cases.

Because the emperor's energy is limited, it is impossible for him to know everything. From the county, prefecture, province, and then to the Six Ministries, each layer of institutions will intercept those unimportant matters.

Now that there is a cabinet, the number of matters reported from local areas has increased several times over. These matters naturally cannot fall on the emperor's shoulders, so they can only fall on the cabinet. Since the cabinet handles these matters, it naturally has the right to inquire. The six ministries dare not refuse to answer the cabinet's questions, otherwise the cabinet could simply report to the emperor, saying, "The Ministry of Rites is not cooperating with the cabinet's work. I'm afraid Your Majesty will have to inquire about the details of this matter personally," and then the Ministry of Rites would be finished.

However, such letters sent to high-ranking officials like the Minister of Rites required collective approval from the cabinet, because the Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet were essentially fifth-rank officials and not formal government offices, so their legitimacy was always insufficient. The cabinet's collective approval was considered more appropriate.

“No problem.” Yang Rong readily agreed. “Now that you, Mingda, have been promoted to Vice Minister, your colleagues in the cabinet will no longer stop you, not even Shiqi. You can rest assured.”

The entire cabinet is made up of princelings.

They all knew that their future lay after the crown prince ascended the throne, but Li Xianmu was different, so they had no intention of competing with Li Xianmu, at least during the Yongle era.

Yang Shiqi, who was the most resistant to dissent, no longer had the will to oppose Li Xianmu.

However, Li Xianmu always remained wary of Yang Shiqi.

Because he never forgot that Yang Shiqi had once attacked him, and it was only because of the Crown Prince that the two sides gradually reconciled.

People like Yang Shiqi, who have struggled at the bottom but never changed their original aspirations, have an unbreakable will. To put it bluntly, such people are stubborn and, at their age, it is impossible for them to change.

I only hope that Yang Shiqi can understand what is most beneficial to the world and not go astray because of past favors.

……

The cabinet quickly passed the resolution, and the inquiry then drifted into the Ministry of Rites and landed on the Minister of Rites' desk.

Ministry of Rites.

The Minister of Rites, the Left and Right Vice Ministers, and other officials, all held their breath and stood on the left and right sides respectively.

Hu Ying threw the letter in her hand onto the table and questioned Li Xianmu in front of everyone: "Right Vice Minister, what is the meaning of this? If you are dissatisfied with me, or if you have any questions, you can ask me in person. There is no need for such trouble."

Li Xianmu took the letter and looked at it, then revealed his understanding. "I thought it was something else, but it turns out to be this letter. Minister Hu may not have served in the cabinet, so he doesn't know that this is a formal cabinet procedure."

As for the Minister's words, I can ask him any questions I may have.

However, I have something to say. I am indeed the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, an assistant to the Minister, but matters concerning the imperial examinations are official court documents, not private matters.

Therefore, I must first send the official document to the Grand Secretariat, then the Grand Secretariat will send it back to the Ministry of Rites as an official document, and the Minister will also send it back to the Grand Secretariat in the form of a memorial with an official seal, and finally hand it over to His Majesty. This is the whole formal process.

Now, after going through the hands of many people and with the official seals of various government departments, the policies that can be finally achieved are truly feasible.

"If I were to speak with the Minister in private like this, wouldn't that be placing state affairs between the Minister and myself in a private setting? If there were any shady dealings between us, wouldn't that invite criticism?"

That's disgusting.

Isn't this cabinet thing something you, Lee Hsien-mu, created? What's with all this talk about it being official or private?

In the era of absolute monarchy, procedural justice was not taken seriously, because emperors often led the way in breaking procedures.

Now Li Xianmu is using a program to annoy Hu Ying.

As soon as Li Xianmu uttered this series of convoluted yet logically clear words, everyone else in the room immediately lowered their heads, especially the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, who kept his head bowed and remained silent, fearing that he would be dragged into the contest between the two.

As a high-ranking official of the third rank, he wasn't afraid, but the problem was that there was really no need to get involved. What benefit would he gain?

Of course, he still hoped that Li Xianmu could get rid of Hu Ying, so that he could be promoted. He had been stuck in the position of Vice Minister of Rites for many years.

Even bystanders found it disgusting, let alone Hu Ying, the person involved. His face changed color again and again, turning red, then purple, then black.

He left with a heavy groan.

"Minister Hu, don't forget the cabinet's inquiry; you need a response within a day."

Li Xianmu kindly offered this reminder.

Hu Ying stumbled again as she hurried away.

"That Grand Secretary and Vice Minister is still too strong. I'm afraid the Minister can't beat the Right Vice Minister." The others in the room looked at each other, conveying the same message.

(End of this chapter)