The Ming Dynasty's Five Hundred Years

Chapter 265 Eunuchs
Beneath the azure clouds, on the palace road, Li Xianmu stood proudly, while Zheng Huan laughed heartily.

Zheng Huan agreed with Li Xianmu's somewhat arrogant words, even though he himself was someone who was intimidated by Li Xianmu.

But given Li Xianmu's current prestige and power, these words are indeed reasonable and well-founded.

With such a leader, the School of Mind is bound to have a bright future. Although his political career has fallen from its peak, people are not born to do everything for one person!

Inspired by Li Xianmu's heroic spirit, Zheng Huan momentarily forgot his pessimism about his political future and cheered up, saying, "Mingda, I'll be waiting for your news in Jiangnan. A regional governor has its advantages!"

People often say that in times of peace, one should enter the central government to become a prime minister, while in times of chaos, one should become a regional governor. However, if one is willing to bring about change, one must not only hold the central government but also be able to reach the local level. Now that Zheng Huan has been sent to Jiangnan, he can still greatly boost Zheng Huan's prestige.

Li Xianmu laughed loudly: "After arriving in Jiangnan, in addition to handling government affairs, we should discover more talents. The School of Mind is very popular now, but it is not enough. Our goal is to completely suppress the School of Principle. When the whole world is dominated by the School of Mind, the world will change."

The academic war never stops.

Zheng Huan nodded solemnly. As the future governor of Jiangsu, his position was of paramount importance.

The two parted ways in front of the palace gate. Just as Li Xianmu was about to get into his carriage and leave, he suddenly heard Xia Yuanji, the Minister of Revenue, calling him.

Li Xianmu turned around and saw Xia Yuanji standing in front of the carriage, panting slightly, clearly having caught up. A look of doubt immediately appeared on his face. "Lord Xia?"

Xia Yuanji said solemnly, "If Lord Shouzheng does not mind, please come to my humble abode for a chat."

Li Xianmu raised an eyebrow; Xia Yuanji had actually invited him to his residence.

In the current court, Xia Yuanji and Jian Yi are among the very few ministers who can rival him, with Xia Yuanji being the most accomplished and renowned.

Although Xia Yuanji was not one of the top all-around capable ministers in history, nor was he a finance minister like Sang Hongyang who could provide the lifeblood of an empire, his talent in finance was still top-notch.

If it's out of 100, getting 90 is no problem. Xia Yuanji was able to implement the fiscal system reforms proposed by Li Xianmu, which came from later generations, very smoothly.

"Since Lord Xia has invited me, there is naturally no reason not to go."

Li Xianmu also wanted to know what Xia Yuanji was up to. Although they weren't political enemies, they were still competitors.

The six ministries and the cabinet have always been vying for power.

Starting from the Yongle reign, the Six Ministries suffered repeated defeats in the power struggle.

In Li Xianmu's view, this was inevitable.

As the emperor became increasingly indolent in his duties, the Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet took over the powers that the emperor had relinquished and gradually grew in power.

The cabinet was created because Zhu Di was less energetic than his father, and Zhu Gaochi was far less energetic than Zhu Di, so the cabinet gained more power.

After Zhu Zhanji ascended the throne, Li Xianmu gained more trust.

Furthermore, Zhu Zhanji became even more negligent in his duties, thus the cabinet was destined to become an institution with even greater power.

Li Xianmu was preparing to submit a proposal to the emperor regarding cabinet reform, namely, a suggestion for the cabinet to formulate various policies in advance.

This is the draft!
Once the cabinet has the power to draft proposals, it becomes a semi-prime ministerial body.

All memorials from the provinces, both inside and outside the capital, were first sent to the Grand Secretariat by the Office of Transmission. The Grand Secretaries of the Grand Secretariat would then provide their opinions on how to handle them before submitting them to the Emperor. If the Emperor deemed them appropriate, he would mark them with a circle.

In practice, the Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet had many ways to get the Emperor to agree to their suggestions.

For example, the classic three strategies are: the inferior strategy is one that is obviously flawed, the superior strategy is one that looks good but is actually impossible to implement, and the middle strategy is the one that the strategist really wants the lord to adopt.

In practice, the civil servants' extensive experience with the system and customs always guides the monarch in the direction they desire.

Does a monarch's disobedience necessarily lead to a better outcome?
Not!
The most prominent characteristic of the civil service is stability; they do not want to change much, but rather maintain the status quo.

Therefore, once the monarch goes against their wishes, there are only two outcomes: either the whole country moves forward rapidly, or the whole country falls into ruin!
The implementation of the draft proposal system will inevitably greatly enhance the power of the cabinet, and the Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet will be given semi-decision-making power.

Of course, the emperor was able to agree to this suggestion because the cabinet lacked an implementing agency, which inevitably constrained the cabinet's power.

Li Xianmu understood this, but he still had to carry it out. Abolishing the prime minister system was simple, but restoring it was not. It could only be done slowly, making each policy a routine practice, and ultimately relying on the power of habit to form a huge power.

The reason why Li Xianmu is now revered is because of this.

This is because he was both the Minister of War in a real capacity and the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet. In terms of the powers and responsibilities of the Ministry of War, he had already obtained more powerful authority than the power to draft proposals. He had both the power to execute and the power to make suggestions, and could basically do whatever he wanted.

The world has basically figured it out: if the Grand Secretary is concurrently the Minister of Personnel, then his power is almost the same as that of the Prime Minister.

With these thoughts in mind, the two arrived at Xia Yuanji's residence.

Xia Yuanji was deeply favored by Zhu Di and received many rewards, so he did not need to work to make a living, and his mansion was quite luxurious.

After entering the mansion, Li Xianmu followed Xia Yuanji into the hall. After the servants served tea, Li Xianmu looked at Xia Yuanji.

Xia Yuanji first sighed deeply, then his expression became serious. "Lord Shouzheng, I never thought I would really have any conflict with you, and I have no prejudice against the School of Mind and the School of Principle."

Li Xianmu raised an eyebrow, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with Xia Yuanji's words. Xia Yuanji might not have thought that way in his heart, but people in this world are often not in control of their own destiny.

However, since he had said so, Li Xianmu smiled slightly and said, "Lord Xia is a man of great talent, the chief steward of the Ming Dynasty's finances. The good governance of the Yongle era is inseparable from Lord Xia's contributions, which we all know."

Xia Yuanji seemed to have guessed what Li Xianmu was thinking, and then said, "No matter what differences we have in our political views, in the end, we have all studied the classics. But now Your Majesty wants to promote eunuchs!"

A sharp glint suddenly flashed in Li Xianmu's nonchalant eyes. He slowly sat up straight, his gaze fixed intently on Xia Yuanji.

"What does Lord Xia mean?"

Xia Yuanji stared intently at Li Xianmu and said in a deep voice, "Wasn't the Qin Dynasty destroyed because of Zhao Gao? How many upright officials were implicated in the Party Prohibition at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty? The eunuchs who arbitrarily deposed and installed emperors in the Tang Dynasty destroyed the Tang Dynasty's hopes for revival so many times."

How could a group of eunuchs, raised in the deep palace, possibly be psychologically normal? What abilities could a group of eunuchs possibly have to compare to the elites selected from millions?
Lord Shouzheng, do you really think that eunuchs interfering in politics is a good thing?

"Eunuch interference in politics is a path to the downfall of a nation. Lord Shouzheng, you are a model for scholars throughout the land; so many idolize you. Do you intend to watch the Ming Dynasty slide into the abyss?"

Xia Yuanji clearly had been holding back for a long time, so when he spoke, it was completely different from his usual mild-mannered personality.

If these words of his were to get out, they would surely incur the disgust or even hostility of the eunuchs, but he still said them in front of Li Xianmu.

This naturally includes trust in Li Xianmu's character; although he was considered a political enemy, there was no animosity between them in private.

"Why is Lord Xia telling me these things?" Li Xianmu's face was expressionless. He was an extremely cautious person. Even though he trusted Xia Yuanji's character, he still did not reveal his thoughts. Instead, he asked, "I am a close minister of the emperor. It is a bit too risky for Lord Xia to tell me these things. After all, it was His Majesty's idea to promote eunuchs."

Xia Yuanji was taken aback at first, then burst into laughter, laughing so hard he almost fell over. "The emperor's close advisor? Lord Shouzheng, you are a subject of the world!"
I've been your colleague for twenty years, and I happen to have a keen eye for people. How could I not know what Lord Shouzheng is thinking?
Besides, you are a role model for the world. How could this possibly be accomplished if you didn't speak up? Anyone who even considered such a thing is truly overestimating themselves.

Li Xianmu was genuinely surprised this time; indeed, heroes are as numerous as carp crossing a river.

Although he thought this in his heart, he remained expressionless on his face. He simply stared at Xia Yuanji and then slowly said, "I will advise Your Majesty on the matter of promoting eunuchs, but advice is merely an expression of attitude, and this matter is destined to fail."

As Xia Yuanji said, Li Xianmu did not want eunuchs to interfere in politics, mainly because eunuchs were generally incompetent and most of them gained power only by relying on the emperor's favor.

“Destined to fail?” Xia Yuanji was surprised. “Why is it destined to fail? If we explain the reasons to His Majesty, would he really insist on carrying it out even if he knew it would be detrimental to the world?”

"Then I will explain the reasons behind this to Lord Xia today."

Li Xianmu picked up his teacup, took a small sip, and then said, "Our Great Ming has no hidden dangers from maternal relatives, the hidden dangers from the imperial clan are gradually disappearing, and the hidden dangers of military generals becoming too powerful are almost non-existent."

As a result, after the Hongxi reign, we civil officials became increasingly powerful, and in the foreseeable future, we will become even more powerful. In order to check and balance the power, the emperor must support a force, and the best force to support is the eunuchs, eunuchs without military power!

If you want to stop the eunuchs from interfering in politics, you are directly confronting His Majesty. Do you really think that if the emperor insists on doing something, the ministers have any chance of succeeding?

Li Xianmu stood up and drank the slightly cooled tea in one gulp. “There are some things we know we will fail at, but we must still do them. However, we should also know when to stop doing things we know we will fail at.”

Lord Xia is the pillar of the Ming Dynasty's finances. Although we may have some conflicts in the eyes of the world, Lord Xia has always responded very well to the policies I propose. I still hope to continue to work with Lord Xia as colleagues.

Lord Xia, don't make a mistake; you must preserve your usefulness!

That's all I have to say; I'll take my leave now.

Having said that, without waiting for Xia Yuanji to react, he strode out of the mansion.

Xia Yuanji was left standing there in silence, shocked and speechless. He watched Li Xianmu's departing figure, remaining silent until dusk.

……

After leaving Xia Yuanji's residence, Li Xianmu got into his carriage, his eyes becoming increasingly sharp. He had said some things at Xia Yuanji's residence, but he naturally wouldn't say what was on his mind!

He also loathed the interference of eunuchs in politics.

Although there were eunuchs like Zheng He, most eunuchs were very bad. As Xia Yuanji just said, they had their male genitals cut off and then spent many years in the palace, a place full of perverts. Most of them had psychological problems.

But he knew that it was impossible to stop eunuchs from interfering in politics.

Zhu Zhanji was the emperor with real power. Under the current system of the Ming Dynasty, Li Xianmu could only rely on the emperor's trust to do his best.

If that's the case, then there's no need to do things that are destined to fail.

Li Xianmu intended to use this incident to exchange for some other concessions from the emperor.

Then all they have to do is wait patiently for their opportunity. If they can't accomplish it in their generation, they can wait for the next generation. The Li family has ancestral spirits above them, so there can't be any particularly bad family heads. But the emperor can't guarantee the quality.

The eunuch is interfering in politics now, but he will eventually be deposed.

If passed down from generation to generation, the prime minister system will surely be restored, and the various systems of the Ming Dynasty will inevitably be improved.

However, this matter is a long and arduous one.

Unless he has the opportunity to assist the young ruler in ascending the throne and reach the level of Zhuge Liang, but...

Li Xianmu shook his head. It was simply impossible. Zhu Zhanji was so young that he could rule for at least twenty years, which would be enough time for the next emperor to take over the reins of government.

Li Xianmu glanced back at the Ministry of Revenue's residence one last time. The fact that Xia Yuanji had come to see him showed that the civil officials throughout the land were extremely sensitive to and resentful of the emperor's subtle hints.

The relationship between the emperor and his ministers, which had eased somewhat during the Hongxi era, was bound to head in an unfavorable direction again.

As one of the current civil service leaders, Li Xianmu knew that this matter was bound to fail, but he still had to express his attitude. He had no choice in this matter.

If you want to wear a crown, you must bear its weight.

Being a civil service leader is not just an honor, but also carries a heavy responsibility; there are things that must be said and things that must be done.

Without lingering any longer, Li Xianmu stopped thinking about the matter. Compared to the eunuch issue, he valued further suppression of the Six Ministries. He already had a plan in mind, but he was struggling with how to get the emperor to agree to it.

There is no suitable opportunity at the moment.

Shaking his head, Li Xianmu turned and got into the carriage, heading towards the Li residence.

The matter of splitting the provinces, which we discussed today, still has a lot of work to do. We also need to pay attention to the reactions of officials across the country. There will inevitably be countless petitions, some in favor, some against, and some with suggestions.

It is still the first year of the Hongxi reign, but it has already become the Xuande era, and a new curtain of reform has been slowly drawn.

As the most important minister in the court, he will inevitably face a great many things!
(End of this chapter)