Ming Dynasty 1627

Chapter 11 Laws alone are insufficient to govern.

The faint smell of blood in the Qianqing Palace still seemed to linger.

Zhu Youjian sat on the swaying sedan chair, Zhou Yu's small hand beside him was icy cold, and he held it tightly in his palm.

He didn't say anything, but simply held her hand tighter.

Wei Zhongxian's wails, the little eunuch's ruthlessness, the dull thud of fists smashing into teeth, and the final scene of him being dragged away like a dead dog...

This mundane yet intense drama of "eliminating the powerful eunuch" was far too stimulating for a sixteen-year-old girl.

But will the future always be calm and peaceful?

The storm has only just begun.

Outside the palanquin lay the palace grounds in early autumn.

The late autumn sun peeked through the thin clouds, lazily casting its rays upon the red walls and yellow tiles. Instead of bringing warmth, it gilded this enormous cage with a desolate golden hue.

Occasionally, patrolling imperial guards would pass by, their armor plates clattering together, making a crisp sound that only accentuated the silence of the palace.

"His Majesty."

A slightly immature voice came from outside the carriage, breaking the silence.

Zhu Youjian snapped out of his daze, lifted a corner of the curtain, and saw a handsome young eunuch bowing beside the palanquin, his steps quick and steady.

It was the same eunuch who had been waiting outside the palace and had later personally executed Wei Zhongxian.

The fear and ruthlessness that had been on his face were gone, replaced by the humility and deference befitting a palace eunuch.

It was as if the person who had just shoved a fist into Wei Zhongxian's mouth wasn't him at all.

"What is it?" Zhu Youjian asked calmly.

"Your Majesty, the eunuch... has dealt with the traitor Wei properly." The little eunuch lowered his head and answered cautiously.

"Hmm," Zhu Youjian responded, indicating that he understood.

He paused, then asked, "Did he leave any last words?"

The young eunuch seemed to pause for a moment before replying, "Your Majesty, he had no last words, but... he struggled until his death."

Struggling?
Zhu Youjian sighed inwardly, thinking that there would be an ending that was either a heroic epic or a tale of a tyrant.

Didn't he hang himself at a post station in history? Was his suicide that time also so wretched?
Or is it the butterfly effect? ​​What wings did I flap to cause such a drastic change in Wei Dang's mentality?
Zhu Youjian's gaze fell on the little eunuch's face.

He looked quite young, around sixteen or seventeen years old, and had a scholarly air about him, which was rather rare among the eunuchs who were generally illiterate.

"Can you read?" Zhu Youjian asked casually.

Upon hearing this, the young eunuch's eyes flashed with a barely perceptible light, but he quickly suppressed it and replied respectfully, "Your Majesty, this servant entered the Inner Study in the first year of the Tianqi reign and studied for several years."

"Oh? Who is the teacher?"

“My teachers are Mr. Hou Ke and Mr. Ding Qianxue.”

Upon hearing these two names, Zhu Youjian felt bewildered.

If you mention Hou Xun or Hou Fangyu, he has some influence, but he has absolutely no recollection of Hou Ke or Ding Qianxue.

It's probably not a rare card character.

But there's still a distance to Cining Palace.

Having just weathered a storm, he didn't want to rack his brains anymore, so he chatted casually with the little eunuch.

"Where are they now, and what official positions do they hold?" Zhu Youjian continued to ask.

The little eunuch's voice carried a hint of barely perceptible sadness.

“Mr. Ding... was a Hanlin Academy Censor, and he passed away this March.”

At this point, seemingly fearing that Zhu Youjian might misunderstand, he added, "When Mr. Ding was the chief examiner in Jiangxi, the questions he posed offended... offended the traitor Wei, and he was demoted to a commoner. After returning to his hometown, he was filled with resentment and soon... died of grief and indignation."

He paused, lowering his voice even further, as if afraid of being overheard.

"My servant and a few of my colleagues from the inner study secretly pooled together some loose silver and asked someone to deliver it to Mr. Ding's widow. I wonder... how is she doing now?"

Zhu Youjian listened quietly.

He noticed that the young eunuch's eyes were slightly red when he said these words.

Wei Zhongxian had only just fallen from power, yet he dared to speak out in front of him for a Donglin official who had been persecuted to death by the eunuch faction.
This young eunuch is really brave.

A man who, at a critical moment, would not hesitate to shove his fist into Wei Zhongxian's mouth for his own future or even his own life.

Yet, in private, he would risk his life to help his teacher's wife in order to repay his teacher's kindness.

He could have simply said that the master was dead, but he still brought up the matter of offending Wei the eunuch. Was he trying to clear his name?

Zhu Youjian sighed, "The traitor Wei has brought disaster to the world, and many upright officials have suffered as a result. It is truly unbearable."

He then followed up with, "And what about Mr. Hou?"

"Mr. Hou is from Henan, and he was also demoted to commoner status. Now... he should be in his hometown," the young eunuch replied. Zhu Youjian thought to himself, "Well, so these two teachers from the Inner Academy were actually anti-eunuchs in the past."

He looked at the young eunuch and asked, "What's your name?"

Upon hearing this, the young eunuch could no longer contain his joy, but he still tried his best to restrain himself and lowered his head deeply.

“This servant is Ma Wenke.”

Ma Wenke.

Zhu Youjian silently repeated the name in his mind.

No impression...

"Yes, I've got it."

Zhu Youjian said something indifferently, then lowered the curtain and closed his eyes.

Upon hearing this, Ma Wenke's face turned bright red, but he dared not utter a sound and simply stayed close to the sedan chair.

Inside the sedan chair, Zhou Yu leaned on Zhu Youjian's shoulder, seemingly sensing the reassuring aura emanating from him, and actually fell into a light sleep.

Zhu Youjian, however, felt no sleepiness whatsoever.

His mind was racing with thoughts.

This is the real world.

In his previous life, as someone who had spent many years in officialdom, he, like many of his colleagues, enjoyed discussing the history of the Ming Dynasty.

But this was just to find a topic to talk about.

This kind of reading is ultimately superficial and merely a pretentious exercise in culture.

Who would bother to remember the name and fate of every little person?
He could remember famous eunuchs such as Gao Shiming, Xu Yingyuan, Wang Chengen, and Cao Huachun.

He could also remember Sun Chengzong, Yuan Chonghuan, and Mao Wenlong.

There are thousands of positions in the world, and the more humble the position, the more profoundly it affects the execution effect.

Relying solely on the meager memories in one's mind to find someone is ultimately not a long-term solution.

This isn't like Romance of the Three Kingdoms, where you can just place a few units with 100 intelligence in a city, and food will come pouring in. Then you can just recruit troops from nowhere and sweep through the city.

A vast empire needs an effective system to select talent, to restrain officials, and to ensure the smooth operation of the entire machine.

Instead of relying on the emperor's memory and preferences alone.

Mencius said: Laws alone are not enough to govern themselves.

No matter how good the laws or systems are, if the people implementing them have problems, they are nothing but empty words.

But aren't the people who run into problems also driven by the system?

If everyone is greedy, and even one person isn't, it's simply impossible to survive in officialdom.

He recalled Wei Zhongxian's ledger, and those densely packed names.

Did those people, when they passed the imperial examination, also have the initial intention to speak up for the people?
I wonder how many of the former princes I brought from the Prince Xin's residence will survive under the new rules I'm about to establish?

Could it be that, in the end, the Ming Dynasty is truly beyond redemption?

For the first time, Zhu Youjian felt a sense of uncertainty about the future.

The road ahead for him is incredibly difficult.

Lost in thought, the sedan chair slowly came to a stop.

"Your Majesty, we have arrived at Cining Palace."

Ma Wenke's voice came from outside the carriage.

Zhu Youjian opened his eyes, and the confusion and contemplation in them were instantly replaced by clarity.

He helped Zhou Yu, who was still sleepy beside him, to her feet, smoothed her hair, and said gently, "Changqiu, we've arrived."

Then, he stepped down from the palanquin and looked up at the palace in front of him.

We've arrived at Cining Palace.

His sister-in-law, Zhang Yan, was waiting for him inside.

　[Historical Materials in this Chapter]

　　1. The records of Hou Ke and Ding Qianxue come from the Veritable Records of Emperor Xizong of Ming: "Hou Ke, a compiler of the Hanlin Academy, was ordered to supervise Ding Qianxue, an instructor in the Inner Study Hall."

　　2. I only found out that Hou Ke was Hou Fangyu's uncle by doing some research.

　　3. Ma Wenke is a relatively unknown figure. The record in the *Chongzhen Yilu* states: "The eunuch Gao Shiming of the Directorate of Ceremonial, along with his subordinates Li Jishan, Wang Jiadong, Ma Jing, Zhang Xingsu, Ma Wenke, Li Qianbi, Xu Yangmin, Hao Chunren, Song Fuchen, and Yan Hong, were burned to death." This refers to the events of 1644 when Li Zicheng attacked Beijing. At that time, Wang Chengen was not the only one who died alongside Chongzhen.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)