The Ming Dynasty's Five Hundred Years

Chapter 292 Rebellion
Words need not be spoken.

Everyone already knows it.

The Minister of Works' face immediately darkened. He was a normal bureaucrat, not entirely innocent, but he was not a corrupt official either, nor was he particularly greedy. Now that Li Xianmu was powerful and influential, he did not want to offend him.

Now I feel caught in a dilemma.

He was the superior, surrounded by subordinates. The Ministry of Works had once trembled under his control, but today, he suddenly realized—

The power he once held did not truly come from himself, but from the power of the Ming Dynasty's official system and from his position. Those who worked for him sought personal gain, and that gain came from the theft of the Ming Dynasty's public assets. Once he could no longer steal from them, he would be immediately abandoned!
He suddenly remembered the saying of the sage: "A gentleman is always at ease, while a petty person is always anxious."

Then I thought of what Li Zhongwen said: "With a clear mind, what more is there to say!"

It turns out that only by walking in the light can one have the freedom to act. The abyss is deep and mysterious; once you step into it, you have to pay a huge price to get out.

He sighed deeply, "Let headquarters think about it... We will definitely... We will definitely give you a satisfactory answer."

The atmosphere among them shifted from tense to normal, as long as the Minister didn't give up outright.

The cabinet's near-catastrophic reforms to the Ministry of Works sent shockwaves through the entire capital's officialdom, marking an unprecedented upheaval in the bureaucracy.

Once the reform is complete, the Ministry of Works' power will inevitably plummet, ranking last among the six ministries, even inferior to the once prestigious but powerless Ministry of Rites.

In the capital, undercurrents were stirring.

……

Wenyuan Pavilion.

"The officials in the capital are all watching the Ministry of Works, wanting to know how they will retaliate."

"Even a fool would know that they wouldn't just give up like that."

"It wasn't just the Ministry of Works, but also some officials from the Ministry of War, as well as many nobles and officials, who were encouraged to submit petitions opposing this reform."

"The complete ban on private construction teams and the forced purchase of goods from government-owned businesses by the private sector have provoked resistance from many people, who say that this is competing with the people for profit."

"The Ministry of Works has really been ruthlessly weakened this time. Now, officials in the capital are all worried about being transferred to the Ministry of Works and sitting on the sidelines."

Li Xianmu said expressionlessly, "Has the Ministry of Works' power decreased? I feel that the Ministry of Works' power has increased even more after this reform."

"what?"

The group was somewhat bewildered. So many departments had been analyzed and removed; how could their power have increased?
"The Ministry of Works has only lost the power to execute specific projects. The decision-making power for various projects remains in their hands. Moreover, they have gained a wider range of supervisory powers and the power to set standards. In the past, they only managed internal projects of the Ministry of Works, involving the government and the royal family. Now, all projects in the private sector are in the hands of the Ministry of Works. Isn't this a good thing?"

After explaining his points clearly, Li Xianmu said meaningfully, "What the Ministry of Works has lost is not power, but money. From now on, the funds of all government and merchant companies will be directly connected with the Ministry of Revenue. The money that goes through the Ministry of Works will be much less. That's why they're so upset. The Ministry of Works is no longer making any money."

The Wenyuan Pavilion fell silent for a moment.

It took them a long time to understand what Li Xianmu meant.

Yang Shiqi was both incredulous and excited. "This reform, following the corruption case at the imperial tombs, is ostensibly aimed at reducing the Ministry of Works' financial power, but in reality, it is to consolidate the power scattered among the people and allow the court's influence to reach a wider area."
By using the form of business names, officials and merchants were made to accept the supervision of the Ministry of Works, and then these supervision rules were extended to all private businesses involved in engineering projects.

This achieved its purpose, weakened the channels for corruption within the Ministry of Works, and reduced the burden of salary expenditures on the imperial court—a triple win.

That's really ingenious.

"Your Excellency, you are truly a peerless genius!"

Yang Rong was also very excited. "Mingda, is this the policy of 'the state advances while the people retreat' that you mentioned before? It's a reasonable, legal, and justifiable way to extend the power of the imperial court."

Li Xianmu said calmly, "Although the officials of the Ming Dynasty are not without flaws, at least they are watched by the Censorate and the Embroidered Uniform Guard. But those big landowners and merchants in the private sector do things that are too unethical, yet no one is supervising them."

In the capital, officials who took more than three or five concubines were usually impeached by the censors ten or eight times. It was not uncommon for landlords and wealthy people in the countryside to have dozens or even hundreds of concubines.

It's time to get it treated.

A chill ran through the cabinet members. "It's time to take action," Li Xianmu said lightly, but little did they know how many families would be destroyed because of this one sentence!
"But have you thought about how to deal with the upcoming grand court assembly? There are rumors that they will launch an attack at the grand court assembly to oppose this reform."

The brows of all of them furrowed.

"Isn't this inevitable?" Li Xianmu said casually. "The Grand Court Assembly now only has this one tiny function left."

The group was taken aback upon hearing this, and then gave a deep, bitter smile.

During the Hongwu era, the grand court assembly was an occasion for handling state affairs. However, starting from the mid-to-late Yongle period, the grand court assembly gradually became a ceremonial occasion, and most government affairs were carried out through court discussions.

After the Hongxi era, the cabinet discussed the matter and then consulted the ministers of the six ministries before issuing a direct decree, completely abolishing the deliberative function of the Grand Court Assembly.

However, from a legal perspective, the Grand Assembly is the true venue for deliberation, and the resolutions formed there are the most widely accepted. Thus, the Grand Assembly has been distorted into a venue for political struggle.

Numerous attacks, accusations, and unreasonable disputes, even bloodshed, erupted here.

"It seems that the Prime Minister is very confident."

"The prime minister experienced the relocation of the capital as soon as he entered officialdom. He has encountered countless problems over the years. Although this matter is quite serious, it is nothing more than that."

When the cabinet's top leader, Lee Hsien-mu, was praised, Yang Rong immediately began to flatter him.

A burst of hearty laughter immediately filled the cabinet. If this policy could be implemented, the cabinet's power would be further strengthened, as the budgets of these businesses required cabinet approval.

After all, the cabinet, being of low rank, has no authority over the six ministries, so surely it can't even manage a small business?

It should be understood that officials and businessmen are still businessmen!

Everyone laughed, but Li Xianmu's eyes were filled with cold light. The opportunity he was waiting for was not the grand court assembly, but news from Le'an.

He was waiting for news from the King of Han.

A long time has passed since the corruption case at the imperial tombs and the subsequent establishment of the Anti-Corruption Bureau. Coupled with the Ministry of Works incident, each and every one of these events presents an excellent opportunity.

As the scouts reported, the King of Han could no longer sit still.

The Han King, this fathead fish, was ultimately caught by the skillful fisherman Li Xianmu.

...not as grand as the imperial court assembly.

A message from Shandong was delivered to the capital via the fastest courier: Prince Zhu Gaochi of Han has rebelled!

royal palace.

"Zhu Gaoxu raised the banner of rebellion in Le'an, saying that there were treacherous officials in the court who had corrupted the laws of their ancestors and were trying to destroy the Ming Dynasty. He claimed that he was going to uphold the will of Heaven, eliminate the treacherous officials, and restore the dynasty."

The eunuch, trembling with fear, uttered these words in the Hall of Literary Glory.

The words "Fengtian Jingnan" struck Zhu Zhanji's heart like a heavy blow, contorting his face. "Traitorous minister? Who is the traitorous minister?"

The eunuch hesitated, then slowly said, "He said it was...it was..."

“It is I.” Li Xianmu stood expressionlessly in the hall. “The Prince of Han is referring to me, isn’t he?”

"Yes……"

Zhu Zhanji burst out laughing, but no one else in the hall laughed, because there was no joy in the emperor's laughter, only the icy coldness of a thousand-year-old river.

"Emperor Taizu personally taught and raised him. Emperor Taizong, the late emperor, and I, three generations of emperors, have all valued him. We all believe that Li Xianmu is a loyal, good, and virtuous minister. Only the Prince of Han thinks that his teacher is a treacherous minister. He is truly wise, able to know what others do not know."

"Lao Tzu said that beauty is beautiful because ugliness exists, and goodness is good because evil exists. If everyone in the world were intelligent, there would be no fools. It is precisely because of the existence of the King of Han that the entire court of emperors and ministers are all wise rulers and good advisors."

Li Xianmu's sharp tongue immediately dispelled the tense atmosphere in the hall, and the emperor and his ministers burst into laughter, their tone full of mockery.

If the King of Han knew that the court officials and ministers treated him with such disdain, he would probably be so angry that he would burst into tears.

Zhu Zhanji's anger subsided slightly after Li Xianmu's words. "However, the rebellion of the Prince of Han must be taken seriously. We must first come up with a plan."

The Fengtian Rebellion still makes people somewhat uneasy.

"Your Majesty, when the Rebellion of the Seven States broke out in the Han Dynasty, Emperor Jing of Han first executed Chao Cuo, causing the seven rebellious states to lose their moral authority. We can follow suit now."

No one dared to respond to this, and Zhu Zhanji also turned his gaze to the Minister of Works, his eyes burning with coldness.

The Minister of Works seemed not to have seen it and continued, "Now that the Prince of Han has accused the Grand Secretary of being a treacherous minister, we should naturally not follow suit. However, the Prince of Han also said that he wanted to change the laws of our ancestors. I believe that these can be completely changed back, so that the Prince of Han will lose his morality. In this way, how could our imperial army not be victorious?"

That's it!

The Minister of Works' real purpose was not to kill Li Xianmu; he knew, of course, that he couldn't. He simply wanted to take this opportunity to cancel the reform of the Ministry of Works.

If it had been an emperor who was not firm in his commitment to reform, or a harsh and ungrateful emperor, his plan might have succeeded. But unfortunately, he encountered Zhu Zhanji.

Zhu Zhanji genuinely disliked his uncle Zhu Gaoxu, so it was absolutely impossible for him to apologize to Zhu Gaoxu. In fact, to some extent, Zhu Zhanji had long been mentally prepared for Zhu Gaoxu's rebellion.

As soon as the Minister of Works finished speaking, Zhu Zhanji immediately said in a cold voice: "If you say such a thing, it is really ridiculous. Since ancient times, there have only been magnificent armies. How could the Heavenly Army be afraid of the enemy?"

As for what you just said, I will only say it once, and this is the first and last time: all reforms must be strictly implemented, especially in the Ministry of Works!
"Do you understand, my dear minister?"

This was a truly humiliating rebuke. The Minister of Works was told that the reform of the Ministry of Works must be carried out. At that moment, the Minister of Works felt as if he were about to collapse, and a deep chill ran through him. He knelt on the ground, trembling, and said, "It was my fault, it was my fault."

At this moment, the Minister of Works had already decided to retire; otherwise, if he stayed here any longer, he might die without a burial place.

But can he really back out?
He was somewhat confused. Would the emperor grant him this respect?

He looked up at the emperor, but he couldn't see the emperor's eyes clearly. He then looked back at Li Xianmu, whose official robes, in crimson and purple, were wide and heavy, embroidered with qilin and countless mythical beasts, resembling a high mountain or a deep abyss.

He saw Li Xianmu's eyes.

Then he saw his own end. He lamented and kowtowed to the ground again, "Your Majesty, I have committed a grave error. I request to resign. Please grant me your permission."

There was a hint of relief in his words.

Fortunately, Li Xianmu was at least willing to give him some face.

Li Xianmu gave up. The Minister of Works was a respectable man. In today's officialdom, although he was not exactly incorruptible, he was not particularly greedy either. His reputation was quite good, and he had made some contributions. He was not a particularly wicked person. Letting him go was not a big deal.

Zhu Zhanji's upper face was shrouded in darkness. He squinted slightly, knowing full well what the Minister of Works meant by those words.

He has admitted defeat and accepted the current outcome.

After a long silence, Zhu Zhanji slowly said, "Now that the Ministry of Works is about to be restructured, we can't do without a key minister like you, my dear minister. Why don't you finish this matter and then retire? What do you say?"

Upon hearing this, the Minister of Works trembled. He dared not raise his head, a look of horror flashing in his eyes, before stammering, "Your Majesty... Your Majesty..."

Of course, he wanted to refuse.

If this really happens, will he come out unscathed?

He probably won't have the chance to retire; he'll just die in office.

Li Xianmu frowned slightly. He naturally knew what the emperor meant: he wanted the Minister of Works to continue making guns, but he thought it was inappropriate.

The key to this matter is that it must be properly divided, but how could the current Minister of Works possibly do it well?
Therefore, he suddenly interrupted, saying, "Your Majesty, since the Grand Minister of Works has already decided to retire, I'm afraid he won't be able to do this job well. I do have an excellent candidate here—Wang Gen."

A hint of gratitude flashed in the Minister of Works' eyes.

When Wang Gen's name reached everyone's ears, surprisingly no one objected.

Wang Gen was an anomaly in officialdom. He had excellent qualifications in all aspects. He was the only direct disciple of Li Zhongwen, so his background was strong enough. He was the second-place scholar in the imperial examination in the third year of the Yongle reign, so his age was strong enough. He had served in the cabinet in the early years of the Yongle reign, so his seniority was strong enough. Later, he was transferred between the Six Ministries and local governments, so his experience was strong enough.

He does a good job in almost everything; he's very capable.

But despite his stubbornness, his promotion was truly slow, because he was never a favored minister in any dynasty, and he took things one step at a time.

But at the same time, it became a universal charger, which can be used anywhere.

“Wang Gen presided over the division of Southern Zhili and has considerable experience in such matters. Moreover, he is familiar with the affairs of the ministry and has dealt with merchants in Jiangnan many times. I believe that appointing Wang Gen as Minister of Works will ensure the smooth division of the various departments of the Ministry of Works.”

(End of this chapter)