Ming Dynasty: I, Yan Maoqing, am truly radiating auspicious energy!

Chapter 51 "An Examination of the People"

Qianqing Palace.

Before Zhu Houcong lay a yellowed, curled memorial, but his gaze was no longer on the memorial; instead, he stared absently at a corner of the empty hall.

Huang Jin held a rag in his hand and pretended to be busy, moving quietly and not daring to make a sound, for fear of disturbing the emperor's thoughts.

Huang Jin knew in his heart that the Emperor was once again reminiscing about someone by looking at the object.

That memorial was submitted by Grand Secretary Gui E twelve years ago, and it was titled "A Study on the Appointment of People".

The most crucial reform measure in the memorial was the "Single Whip Law".

The so-called "Single Whip Law" abolished the old and outdated tax and corvée system, and combined the land tax, corvée and other miscellaneous levies of various prefectures and counties into one, collected in silver, and paid in cash based on the amount per mu (unit of land area).

This would greatly simplify the tax system, making tax collection easier, and would also make it more difficult for local officials to cheat, thereby increasing fiscal revenue.

It can be said that Gui'e's memorial truly resonated with the Emperor.

It should be noted that the Emperor had conceived this idea long before this memorial was submitted, and had been planning to achieve this goal for many years.

Therefore, the emperor first took advantage of his parents.

The "Great Rites Controversy," which lasted for several years, was ostensibly a struggle over the issue of imperial succession, but in reality, it was a pretext to eliminate the bureaucratic power of the old dynasty and regain complete control of the court.

This is just the first step;
The second step was for the emperor to utilize Zhang Cong, who had been selected from the "Great Rites Controversy," to address the old problems of official corruption, eunuch power, imperial estates, and the selection of talented individuals.

Zhang Cong did not disappoint the emperor, and during his ten years in court, he devoted himself to reform.

In the process of reform and anti-corruption, Zhang Cong was pushed to the opposite side of almost all imperial relatives, eunuchs, officials, and powerful people. Memorials impeaching him came one after another, to the point that paper became scarce in the capital.

The emperor also gave Zhang Cong his full support.

Almost all the memorials impeaching Zhang Cong were kept in the archives and not issued. If there were any officials who were too stubborn, he did not hesitate to bear the reputation of being cruel and inhumane, and punished them with swift and decisive measures.

Even in order to cooperate with Zhang Cong's reforms.

The emperor even set an example by personally targeting his own powerful maternal relatives, issuing an edict:
"From now on, those who are granted titles by their maternal relatives shall remain so for the rest of their lives and shall not be allowed to inherit the title."

He even made it a permanent system, cutting himself off from his mother, Empress Dowager Jiang, and Empress Chen's family, whom he had tried so hard to protect during the "Great Rites Controversy," and becoming a truly isolated person.
The third step was to implement the "Single Whip Law" from Gui E's "Recruiting People" when Zhang Cong's reforms began to show results.

No one knows how delighted the emperor was when he saw this "Examination of the People".

Huang Jin can only be described with these four words—jumping and dancing with joy.

He immediately summoned Gui'e and treated him with the same courtesy as Zhang Cong, ordering him to carry out the "Single Whip Law" to the end at all costs.

However, the final outcome of this matter was extremely disappointing.

The "Single Whip Law" was met with strong opposition from a large number of officials, led by former Grand Secretary Yang Yiqing, as soon as it reached the stage of court discussion.

Rumors have also circulated that some people are threatening to arrest and kill Gui'e and her family, and even to dig up Gui'e's ancestral graves.

There are forty-seven versions of the cruel methods used to kill Gui'e and her family, each one chilling.

Gui'e was frightened and hid in the house with her family for many days, not daring to go out or even attend the morning court.

Ultimately, under unimaginable pressure, Gui'e fell ill and requested to retire due to illness. The emperor repeatedly used both kindness and force to persuade her to stay, and sent an imperial physician to treat her, and bestowed upon her wine, rice, vegetables and meat as a reward.

However, Gui'e eventually couldn't hold on any longer and soon became unable to even get out of bed.

Seeing that Gui'e's health was no longer up to the task, the Emperor had no choice but to allow her to return to her hometown. Several months later, he received news of her death.

With Gui'e's death, the "Single Whip Law" was gradually forgotten... That day was the first time Huang Jin had seen the emperor weep sadly since his ascension to the throne.

The second time was several years later, when Zhang Cong passed away due to illness.

Like Gui'e, during Zhang Cong's illness, the emperor even personally consulted the imperial physicians, personally prepared medicinal pills for him, and ordered the Taoist priest Shao Yuanjie, who was still alive at the time, to pray for him and ward off the disease on the night of the festival.

It wasn't until Zhang Cong fainted while on duty in the imperial court and remained unconscious for more than a day that the emperor had no choice but to let him go home to recuperate.

Not long after, news of Zhang Cong's death reached the capital.

On that day, the emperor burst into tears, his voice hoarse and desperate, like a child who had lost all his beloved possessions and had no hope left.

Huang Jin didn't know whether the Emperor shed tears for Gui'e, for Zhang Cong, or for himself these two times.

But at that moment, he could vaguely sense that something in the emperor's heart shattered into dust. The sharp edge that had once emanated from him was fading, and the young man seemed to have aged decades in an instant...

after that.

The emperor then appointed Li Shi and Xia Yan as Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet.

But Huang Jin could no longer see that fierce spirit; he only saw the emperor growing increasingly depressed, like an old man on his deathbed.

Especially after the fire that burned down the imperial palace during his southern tour two years ago, the emperor became even more suspicious, often waking up in the middle of the night with convulsions, and even being wary of him.

However, Huang Jin suddenly realized today that the Emperor did not seem to have completely given up. Despite his despondency, he probably still harbored a sliver of hope deep down.

He was still trying to find the next Zhang Cong and Gui E who belonged to him; otherwise, why would he have taken out the "Renmin Kao" again?
This was definitely not just due to the fact that the Tartars crossed the pass and marched south, and the imperial granary couldn't even come up with 800,000 taels of relief money.

The Emperor's true intentions, forced to conceal by harsh realities, extend far beyond this...

"Yellow buddy..."

Zhu Houcong's sudden hoarse voice startled Huang Jin, who quickly bowed and agreed:

"Your Majesty, I am here."

"Put this memorial away for me... Burn it along with the prayer scrolls during the next religious ceremony."

Zhu Houcong's tone was somewhat hesitant, but he finally sighed, and Huang Jin could detect an indescribable despair in the latter half of his sentence.

"Your Majesty..."

Huang Jin was momentarily at a loss as to whether he should agree or not. He felt that burning the document would destroy much more than just a memorial.

Just at this time.

Just then, a shout came from outside the hall:
"Report! Commander Lu Bing of the Embroidered Uniform Guard requests an audience. It's urgent!"

Zhu Houcong glared at Huang Jin, and only after Huang Jin put away the memorial did he finally speak:

"Go, summon him in."

After a while.

Lu Bing entered the hall, panting, and immediately knelt down with a clean and decisive motion.
“Your Majesty, I have just received a report from your subordinates that Yan Maoqing, whom Your Majesty previously ordered me to keep a close watch on, is about to leave the capital and has now arrived at Chaoyang Gate.”

"This is a report of my recent surveillance activities. Please take a look, Your Majesty!"

(End of this chapter)