Ming Dynasty 1627

Chapter 19 See you tomorrow! The wise people of the Ming Dynasty

"Excellent! This is exactly what I wanted!"

Beside the imperial desk, several huge screens had been erected at some point, dividing the vast space into different areas.

At the very top of the screen, written in clear regular script, were the names of various government offices, including the Grand Secretariat, the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Personnel, and even the Court of Imperial Sacrifices and the Court of Judicial Review, encompassing almost the entire central government system.

Below the department name, there were a few small booklets, about the size of a palm, sparsely pasted on the paper.

Zhou Yu stood beside Zhu Youjian, her bright eyes filled with curiosity.

She watched as Zhu Youjian walked to the screen behind the Ministry of War and reached down to take down the topmost booklet.

She couldn't help but move closer; on the cover of the booklet were the three words "Cui Chengxiu".

Zhu Youjian opened the booklet, and Zhou Yu followed suit. They saw that it was filled with meticulously written characters in tiny characters:
"Cui Chengxiu was born in Jizhou, Shuntian Prefecture, Zhili Province."

"In the 41st year of the Wanli reign, he passed the imperial examination and became a Jinshi, ranking 135th in the third class."

"The later Censorate administration..."

"In September of the fourth year of the Tianqi reign, Gao Panlong, then Left Censor-in-Chief, impeached him for corruption, and Zhao Nanxing, Minister of Personnel, proposed to demote him."

"Chengxiu was in dire straits. He fled to Wei's place at night and kowtowed to beg to be adopted as his son."

"In the first month of the fifth year of the Tianqi reign, Wei, the traitor, was ordered to report that Chengxiu had been falsely accused and to be reinstated to his post."

……

Every stroke of the pen details everything from his job history and the factions he aligned with to the major events in his life.

“Very good.” Zhu Youjian turned his head and patted the newly appointed Grand Eunuch Gao Shiming on the shoulder approvingly.

Gao Shiming quickly bowed and said, "It is all thanks to Your Majesty's foresight. This servant was merely following orders."

He then repeatedly praised, "During the reign of Emperor Wanli, Zhang Taiyue already possessed fifteen scrolls of official documents."

"However, it only contains information about place of origin and background, but it is not as detailed as Your Majesty's, which even records the official career and major events."

"In this way, it is like viewing literature in the palm of your hand. All the civil and military officials, whether they are virtuous or not, and their entanglements of interests, are all within the confines of your hand."

Zhu Youjian showed little interest in the flattery, his gaze sweeping over the screens. "Continue using this method."

"First, fill in the information of officials of the fourth rank and above in the capital, censors, governors-general of the two capitals and thirteen circuits, and governors. Then we can slowly fill in the information of the rest below that."

"Prepare some more red and green cloth strips; I'll need them later."

Although Gao Shiming was puzzled, he immediately nodded and agreed: "This servant obeys the order."

Zhou Yu finally couldn't contain his curiosity and asked softly, "Your Majesty, what is the purpose of preparing the cloth strip?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Youjian smiled.

"There are too many officials; I'm afraid I can't remember them all. If anyone makes a mistake later, just stick a green stripe on their register."

"Those who perform meritorious service will be given a red ribbon."

"If it's a series of bright reds, let it soar to the sky; if it's a series of greens..."

Speaking of this, Zhu Youjian, recalling his past life, gritted his teeth and said from the bottom of his heart—let him be delisted!
He left the conversation vague at this point.

He changed the subject, his eyes filled with a gentle smile: "Speaking of which, I have an important matter to entrust to my beloved consort."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yu's heart tightened immediately. He quickly composed himself and looked intently at Zhu Youjian.

In the past few days, she has watched her husband navigate complex political situations with ease, and with a single move, he drove the arrogant and domineering Wei Zhongxian to suicide.

Next, they manipulated people's hearts and minds, forcibly molding several people with different stances into a team.

His methods were so skillful that she was dazzled and filled with admiration.

Now that her husband had entrusted her with something, she felt both nervous and excited, and secretly cheered herself on: Ayu, you can do it!
"Your Majesty, please speak. I will do my utmost!"

Zhu Youjian smiled slightly.

"The guards currently on duty in the palace are half former palace staff and half flag bearers transferred from Prince Xin's residence yesterday. I have them paired up for shifts."

"But I am still not entirely at ease. I need my beloved consort to thoroughly investigate everyone's background, origins, and interpersonal relationships."

“Then those who are found innocent will have their families brought to live together in the imperial estates in the capital region, and will be provided with land to put their minds at ease.”

He turned to Gao Shiming and said, "You are in charge of arranging this imperial estate. Do not let those filthy people continue their corrupt and tyrannical acts, lest they affect my deep affection for them."

Gao Shiming's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately replied, "This servant understands."

Zhu Youjian turned back and looked at Zhou Yu: "After the palace guards have finished screening, the key figures in the Imperial Kitchen, the Imperial Pharmacy, the Imperial Palace Attendants, and the Day-Wake-Up Attendants... should also be dealt with in the same way."

He deliberately lowered his voice and his expression became serious: "This important task concerns our lives and the world. My beloved consort... can you shoulder it?"

Zhou Yu was overwhelmed by this imposing aura, and her heart was pounding in her throat. She unconsciously shouted, "This concubine... can certainly bear it!"

Only after shouting did I realize that my voice was distorted and my cheeks instantly turned bright red.

Zhu Youjian was amused by her adorable appearance and burst into laughter, instantly easing the tense atmosphere in the hall.

He said to Gao Shiming, "My beloved consort has never managed affairs before, so you should help her out, but you must not do everything for her, understand?"

Gao Shiming bowed and smiled, "This servant understands."

Just then, Gao Shiming hesitated for a moment, but still stepped forward.

"Your Majesty, since early this morning, more than a dozen memorials have been submitted to the palace. The Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs has already categorized them. Would you like to review them now?"

Upon hearing that it was a matter of state, Zhou Yu immediately put on a stern face and, imitating the image of the virtuous empress she had imagined, curtsied and said, "The inner palace should not interfere in politics. Your Majesty, I shall take my leave now."

Just as she was about to turn around, Zhu Youjian grabbed her wrist.

"Please stay, my beloved concubine. You will find out about these things sooner or later."

Zhu Youjian's laughter made Zhou Yu's face turn even redder, and she had no choice but to stand back next to him somewhat embarrassed.

"Bring it here," Zhu Youjian said to Gao Shiming.

Soon, Gao Shiming and several eunuchs from the Directorate of Ceremonial presented a stack of memorials. "Your Majesty, this first category consists of nine impeachments." Gao Shiming reported.

Who will be impeached?

"Minister of Personnel Zhou Yingqiu has four copies, Minister of Justice Xue Zhen has three copies, Minister of War Cui Chengxiu... all nine copies."

Zhu Youjian nodded, his face expressionless: "Keep them all in the central government and don't issue them."

He found it both funny and absurd.

Unexpectedly, after becoming emperor, the first official task he handled was to smooth things over and play the trick of "keeping things in check."

Gao Shiming was not surprised at all, and then picked up another memorial: "Your Majesty, this is a memorial from Hu Tingyan, the governor of Shaanxi, which is about... the Shaanxi border troops' arrears in pay."

The moment the words "owed wages" were uttered, the smile on Zhu Youjian's face vanished instantly, and a chill ran down his spine.

He reached out and took the question booklet, quickly browsing through it.

The words on the memorial were shocking:

The military pay in the Lin Gong area has been in arrears for five or six years, amounting to more than 200,000 taels.

The military pay for Jinglu Border Fort was also in arrears for two or three years.

From the 47th year of the Wanli reign to the 6th year of the Tianqi reign, the amount of silver owed for transporting supplies from Guzhen to Beijing totaled more than 159,000 taels.

At first, the soldiers only pawned their clothes and sold their bows and arrows to make ends meet, but now they have gone so far as to sell their children and wives.

At first, they were just begging on the streets, but now some of them have deserted and run away.

At first, they only dared to discuss it in private, but now they dare to openly gather and make a ruckus.
...At the end of his memorial, Hu Tingyan almost pleaded with the court to quickly release the overdue salaries in order to stabilize the critical situation.

Zhu Youjian quickly calculated in his mind: 20 plus 15.9... that's a hole of 35.9 taels.

He then thought of the imperial treasury he had just received... 1.43 million taels.

He let out a long sigh.

Only now did that uniquely decadent aura of the late dynasty truly and vividly assault our senses.

“Let the cabinet ministers vote on it,” he shook his head, his voice somewhat hoarse.

"Issue my decree to raise funds and distribute wages as soon as possible, at least... to send out a batch first to stabilize morale."

"Yes," Gao Shiming replied, and then presented another book.

"Your Majesty, Shandong Governor Li Jingbai reports that since June, Shandong has experienced continuous heavy rains and floods, which have inundated crops, destroyed houses, and caused countless deaths."

???

Zhu Youjian was a little confused.

He knew that Shaanxi was about to experience a severe drought, but he never expected that Shandong would suffer from devastating floods this year!

He had only been in this world for a few days and was busy assembling his first team, so he knew nothing about the disaster relief measures of this era.

Should we directly distribute money or grain? Or should we exempt them from taxes? And how should these measures be implemented to prevent them from being exploited by lower-level officials?

Countless questions flooded his mind, but he had no answers to any of them.

"This clause... has also been submitted for drafting, but there is no need to issue an imperial edict."

“The last important matter,” Gao Shiming said, his voice growing increasingly cautious.

"Huang Yuntai, Minister of Revenue and Supervisor of Liaodong Military Transport, reported that the horse feed from Shanhaiguan had always been purchased from merchants in Yongping and Jizhou, and the transshipment process had caused problems."

He suggested that the silver collected for the purchases should be sent directly to Shanhaiguan for local procurement to save on expenses.

Zhu Youjian frowned, feeling that the logic of this statement was not quite right.

He carefully went through the process in his mind and quickly discovered the problem.

The essence of this problem is that the resource of horse grass needs to be physically transferred from the production areas of Jizhou and Yongping to the consumption area of ​​Shanhaiguan.

Huang Yuntai's method only delivered the "money for buying horse hay" to Shanhaiguan, without solving the problem of transporting the horse hay itself.

Shanhaiguan doesn't produce that much horse grass locally!
Could this method be a convenient way to embezzle funds?

Once the silver reaches the hands of those military leaders in Liaodong, who can say for sure whether they will buy horse fodder, or how much they will buy?

He was somewhat unsure and decided to remain calm and observe the performance of the newly appointed cabinet ministers.

"Understood, send the draft along with the proposal."

Gao Shiming then reported some minor matters such as the commendation of virtuous women and the official seal of the Ministry of Revenue, but Zhu Youjian listened casually, his mind already elsewhere.

After the eunuchs had all left, he slowly walked to the "Great Ming Dynasty Unification Map" in the hall, with Zhou Yu quietly following behind him.

His finger moved slowly across the huge map, wandering between Shaanxi and Liaodong, feeling as if he were surrounded by a thick fog, with countless threads of confusion, unsure of where to begin.

Finally, his finger, as if carrying immense force, struck the location of Beijing heavily.

"It's alright." He turned around, his eyes no longer filled with confusion, only the fighting spirit honed through countless trials in his past life remained.

"Tomorrow, let me see just how smart these people of the Ming Dynasty really are!"

　Let me explain my adherence to historical facts:
　　1. Character traits, birth and death dates, and official positions at this time should be strictly based on records. For those not recorded, reasonable deductions should be made (for example, Wang Chengen; in about ten chapters, I will introduce the loyal Wang Banban, haha).

　　2. Natural disasters are unaffected by any butterfly effect; droughts occur when they are due and floods occur when they are due. This is also the biggest mid-term boss in the book.

　　3. Some things, such as Huang Yuntai's horse feed being converted into silver, will gradually become unrecognizable and deviate from historical facts as the protagonist intervenes in the court affairs, according to my deduction, before the protagonist's butterfly wings are flapped.

　　4. To be honest, all I have right now are the climaxes of each volume and a simple outline of the first volume. I have no idea how the story will go from here on out. This is just...so awesome!

　　[Historical Materials in this Chapter]

　　1. The fact that Shaanxi owed wages, Shandong was flooded, and Liaodong had fodder is a historical fact. I will not post the original text here. If you are interested, you can find relevant historical records of August 24th and 25th.

　　2. The system of submitting memorials, drafting proposals, and withholding them from public notice was a very mature deliberative mechanism in the late Ming Dynasty. However, it involves too much content, and I will write an introduction about it and put it in the related section of the work when I have time, for interested readers. This deliberative mechanism is truly fascinating. The imperial power, the cabinet, the six ministries, and the censors all checked and balanced each other, and only through compromise could state affairs run smoothly.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)