The Ming Dynasty's Five Hundred Years

Chapter 276 Gansu
Winter days are short, and the palace is soon shrouded in gray. There is not a trace of green in the palace, and the palace walls are also dark and gloomy, giving off a sense of oppression.

After the financial meeting, the officials left the palace. A gust of cold wind howled out, blowing up their cloaks and letting in the chilly air. They pulled their clothes tighter and hurried outside.

Yang Shiqi and his entourage surrounded Li Xianmu. At the meeting, the emperor had assigned them a very important task.

Yang Shiqi knew very well that although the task had been assigned to him, he still needed to ask Li Xianmu for the specifics of how to do it. The Grand Secretary was the Grand Secretary, in charge of all cabinet affairs, and nothing could be done without his approval.

"Lord Shouzheng, what do you think of the tasks assigned by His Majesty? How should the cabinet proceed?"

The cabinet members also turned their attention to Li Xianmu. They knew that Yang Shiqi alone could not handle this task for the emperor, and they would all be involved in the preparations.

Li Xianmu thought for a moment.

The emperor entrusted this matter to Yang Shiqi, so it was inconvenient for him to interfere in particularly specific matters. Too much of a good thing would not be good either, and he should not appear to be trying to hold all the power in his hands.

After a moment of contemplation, he slowly said, "Since Shiqi has asked, I will give you a brief overview of the requirements. As for the specifics, you will have to figure it out yourself. If you are unsure about anything, then come to me. Although it is almost New Year's, I still welcome you to visit my residence for a New Year's greeting."

Yang Shiqi immediately smiled gently and said, "Isn't it only right to offer New Year's greetings to Lord Shouzheng?"

Everyone laughed. Yang Rong and Yang Pu were filled with emotion. Among the cabinet members, they had the best relationship with Yang Shiqi and understood his personality the most. He appeared gentle on the surface but was actually extremely assertive.

Previously, the relationship between Yang Shiqi and Li Xianmu was not so harmonious; they had always been secretly vying for power, especially during the Yongle era.

But now, Yang Shiqi is becoming less and less temperamental in front of Li Xianmu, as if he has really changed his personality.

It's not that Yang Shiqi's personality has really changed, but rather that Li Xianmu's current position forces him to change.

While others were expressing their admiration, Li Xianmu himself didn't take Yang Shiqi's compliments seriously.

He didn't think he had really suppressed Yang Shiqi and made him loyal.

However, Yang Shiqi was a truly intelligent man and was very clear about his own position.

Emperor Zhu Zhanji continuously bestowed honors upon Li Xianmu, and unlike other Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet, this was a blatant declaration to the other Grand Secretaries that Li Xianmu's position was unshakeable.

The emperor had conflicts with the outer court and was unfamiliar with the nineteen provinces and thousands of garrisons outside the capital. The only institution he could trust was the cabinet, so the emperor did not want the cabinet to cause trouble.

Yang Shiqi understood this, so he didn't cause trouble.

If one day the emperor needs Yang Shiqi to rise up against Li Xianmu and become a pawn to check and balance Li Xianmu, Yang Shiqi will immediately stand on the opposite side of Li Xianmu.

Therefore, Li Xianmu simply smiled slightly and then pointed out: "When the Cabinet formulates specific measures, it should consider the following points."

First, you need to understand why I proposed this system.
As I mentioned at the meeting, it was for the sake of the Ming Dynasty's financial health and to prevent corruption. Is it possible that it also has some benefits that I haven't thought of?

How can these benefits be better implemented?
This requires you to carefully study the matter when formulating policies.

Li Xianmu emphasized the word "benefits" before continuing as if nothing had happened, but the cabinet members, being astute individuals, understood the hidden meaning in his words.

The group exchanged meaningful glances. What was the biggest advantage of having funds earmarked for specific purposes?

Does this clarify the future financial approval process?
Can it still reduce corruption to some extent?
neither.

The biggest benefit is that the cabinet's power has increased again, but this cannot be said directly to the outside world. They need to figure out how to take advantage of this opportunity to formulate policies to transfer more financial power from the six ministries to the cabinet.

Li Xianmu glanced at the expressions of the group and realized they understood the meaning behind his words. He smiled slightly, thinking that it was easy to talk to smart people, but when you encounter a simpleton, they can't even understand what you're saying.

"What about specific policies?"

Different departments should have some similarities and differences. Don't always focus on the Six Ministries and Five Courts—the government offices in the capital. The provincial governments also have matters that can be reported directly to the cabinet for approval.

The five cabinet members were startled by what they heard and looked at Li Xianmu in shock, their faces full of disbelief.

The cabinet has always influenced the Ming Dynasty by affecting various government offices in the capital.

This is because the power of the Six Ministries of the Ming Dynasty extended directly to the county level. Whether it was the Provincial Administration Commission, the prefectures under the province, or the counties, each of these three levels of government had its own branch corresponding to the Six Ministries, and all matters were reported directly to the Six Ministries.

Even departments with a large number of employees, such as the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Justice, had their own provincial offices in each province. This was similar to the nineteen circuit censors of the Censorate, representing the vertical management of local areas by the Six Ministries.

This was the true administrative method after the Ming Dynasty abolished the prime minister system.

Now Li Xianmu wants to directly allow the cabinet to intervene in local affairs, which means that local areas should be under the dual leadership of the Six Ministries and the cabinet. In fact, since the cabinet has already been subtly suppressing the Six Ministries, he wants local areas to be directly led by the cabinet as well. Is this a real attempt to restore the functions of the prime minister?

Although this is only a financial authority, once this precedent is set, they all know that Li Xianmu will not stop.

Moreover, Li Xianmu was originally the Minister of Personnel, and could influence the promotion and transfer of local officials.

If the cabinet had a say in local personnel and finances, then the cabinet during Li Xianmu's reign would have truly surpassed the Six Ministries and become, to some extent, a prime ministerial body.

after all!

Li Xianmu has never discussed important matters with the other five ministers, but always consults with the cabinet ministers in the inner cabinet.

Even if one were to ask someone to intervene and use connections, the process would still have to reach the cabinet ministers. In fact, it was precisely because of this that the prestige of the cabinet ministers in the government and among the public rose accordingly.

The five-member cabinet was utterly shocked, but Lee Hsien-mok seemed unfazed, smiling as he asked, "What's wrong? Do you find it inappropriate?"

These words were like a wake-up call. Yang Shiqi immediately replied, "No, Lord Shouzheng, no."

"It's just not going to be easy." Yang Rong immediately realized this as well, not saying they wouldn't do it, but simply expressing the difficult prospects.

The five cabinet members now understand very well that, barring unforeseen circumstances, they will not be transferred to other positions as ministers; they will remain in their cabinet positions until they are demoted, retire, or pass away.

Raising the status of the cabinet is naturally an urgent matter, as there is no one in officialdom who doesn't love more power.

"It all depends on human effort. More than 20 years ago, the cabinet was just a dispensable institution. Who could have imagined that it would have such power and status today?"

Li Xianmu's eyes were full of encouragement and deep meaning: "You are all among the most intelligent people in the Ming Dynasty. I believe you can do it."

The five men were taken aback for a moment, then responded with laughter, their voices filled with pride. Li Xianmu's words had struck a chord with them.

Yang Rong, who spent the most time with Li Xianmu, kept thinking about what Li Xianmu really wanted to do and whether his current position in the cabinet was not enough.
Moreover, Li Xianmu is already the Minister of Personnel and the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet. Further increasing the power and status of the Cabinet would simply be a way of taking power away from the Ministry of Personnel, which would not benefit Li Xianmu himself. On the contrary, it would be the Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet who would benefit.

But what good would this do for Li Xianmu? Why go through all that trouble to elevate the status of the cabinet?

Yang Rong was completely baffled. He glanced at Li Xianmu walking ahead, his steps calm and steady, though fast. Another gust of cold wind blew by, as sharp as ice blades, blowing away all the doubts in Yang Rong's mind, and he stopped thinking about it.

……

After leaving the palace this time, it was time for the New Year holiday. Apart from attending the grand court assembly on the first day of the new year, the rest of the time was for rest.

For Li Xianmu, the most important thing was naturally to go to the ancestral hall to contact his father, who had become an immortal.

The constant stream of news from their father is one of the Li family's greatest assets at present.

Even without news of when the Xuande Emperor would die, almost every piece of news could bring him considerable benefits.

During this ancestral worship ceremony, Li Xianmu recounted the major events of the year, and then explained his plans to reform the bureaucracy to Li Qi.

Then comes the usual process of seeking.

With a wave of his hand, the mirror, carved from a single piece of spirit jade, quietly appeared in his palm, still as warm and smooth as the first rays of the warm sun.

The thin mist-like haze on the mirror surface quietly dissipated.

The map of the two capitals and thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty was once again vividly displayed before Li Qi.

He frowned slightly because the mirror was full of white and blue messages. Without hesitation, he clicked on the blue message.

Li Qi reached out and tapped through the messages one by one. Most of them were not particularly useful, but one message caught his attention: there was a problem with the original Gansu branch office. It was a blue message.

The blue message instantly split into tiny specks of light.

Li Xianmu was wondering what information he might get this year when he felt a heat in the jade slip in his hand, and a blue halo emanated from it, with six large characters written on the jade slip.

"The Gansu natural disaster is a hoax!"

Upon seeing this, Li Xianmu immediately frowned. Was the Gansu natural disaster a hoax?

What does this mean? Li Xianmu pondered for a moment.

The Gansu Provincial Administration Commission was established not long ago and had not yet reported any natural disasters, so it must not be referring to the current situation.

Could it be that the natural disaster reported by Gansu in the future is a hoax?
Li Xianmu was somewhat bewildered, but he still knelt on the ground, kowtowed to his father's ancestral tablet, and then turned and left the ancestral hall.

After leaving the ancestral hall, Li Xianmu kept thinking about the message his father had passed on to him. It was a blue message, which, according to past practice, was considered a rather important message that should not be ignored.

But what message was the father trying to convey?

“The Gansu natural disaster is fake,” Li Xianmu murmured. “This message contains the location, the specific events, and the evaluation; the only thing missing is the time.”

Were the past natural disasters in Gansu fabricated?

Is the current natural disaster in Gansu a hoax?

Is the impending natural disaster in Gansu a hoax?

Li Xianmu pondered that these three pieces of information conveyed completely different meanings. If it were in the past, he could simply check it now, but Gansu was not established back then.

If it's now, then news should come back soon.

If it's in the future, then we'll have to wait. The key is that Gansu is a place that frequently suffers from disasters, especially droughts. It's often a severe drought, and the imperial court basically provides relief every few years.

Many officials in the imperial court were unwilling to go to remote places to eat sand.

"What my father means is that at least one natural disaster reported by Gansu in the past, present, and future is false. Why would they fabricate such a report?"

Li Xianmu quickly grasped the key to the information: "Today I told my father that I wanted to rectify official corruption, and then my father gave me this message. So there is only one truth!"

Li Qi looked up at Li Xianmu from the heavens with a smile and shook his head. He was really too smart; he had deduced the truth so quickly.

Li Xianmu's eyes were filled with coldness. "There are people in Gansu who are embezzling funds, trying to steal the imperial relief funds, or they have already done so."

Li Xianmu's speculation is actually related to the political reality in Gansu.

This time, the Ming Dynasty suddenly had five more provincial administration commissions. The splitting of Huguang and Southern Zhili was a challenge, but the emergence of Liaoning and Gansu seemed to be in line with the trend.

Liaoning and Shandong are separated by Zhili Province, and in reality, they already have a great deal of autonomy. It is impossible for the Shandong Provincial Governor to frequently go to Liaodong to manage the province, so there is not much resistance to establishing them as separate provinces.

Gansu is actually similar.

During the Yuan Dynasty, Gansu had its own administrative units. Although it has now been merged into the Shaanxi Provincial Administration Commission, due to differences in distance, culture, and environment, as well as the fact that the imperial court established many guard posts in Gansu, including guard posts belonging to ethnic minorities, the area remains largely unchanged.

The Shaanxi Provincial Administration Commission did not pay much attention to the administration of Gansu, and there was little communication between the two sides. It was probably only a few high-ranking officials from the Shaanxi Provincial Administration Commission who would occasionally visit the western prefectures.

That would make it relatively easy to cover it up.

This is true in places far from the emperor's reach; people always outwardly comply with the court but inwardly defy it. Li Xianmu doesn't believe that the Ming Dynasty can escape this reality.

Just like the Duke of Qian in Yunnan, who was able to drive away all the vassal kings appointed by the imperial court, he must have been quite capable in the local area. People only knew about the Duke of Qian's mansion and not the Ming Dynasty, which is why he was able to permanently pacify Yunnan.

This has always been the case in remote areas.

Gansu will be no exception.

After making a general assessment of the situation, Li Xianmu quickly decided to first send someone to Gansu to investigate secretly and see if the court had been deceived in the past.

if.

That makes things simple.

(End of this chapter)