Huangming

Chapter 26 Palace Factional Strife: The Donglin Party Takes the Lead

Yang Lian immediately stepped forward, holding his official tablet, and knelt down, saying: "Your subject, Yang Lian, Supervising Secretary of the Ministry of War, respectfully reports:"

Your Majesty, ruling with utmost reverence, must surely hear the cries of the common people at night! The Ministry of Revenue now requests an increase in the Liaodong levy, ostensibly for border relief, but in reality, it is a case of cutting flesh to heal a wound. We, your humble servants, lay bare our hearts and risk our lives to present this memorial:

The Liaodong tax, which began during the Wanli era, already had an additional nine li per mu, exhausting the people's strength. Now, to demand another three li per mu is tantamount to skinning the skin and marrow, driving innocent children into banditry! In Shandong, bones litter the fields; in Shaanxi, people eat each other; five out of ten families sell their wives and daughters. Can Your Majesty bear to let the three hundred years of benevolent rule of our ancestors be squandered by the whips of tax-collecting officials?

Yang Lian's report was impassioned and passionate. Although he was kneeling on the ground, his eyes were bright and piercing. He glared at Li Ruhua as if he wanted to devour him alive.

"Furthermore, the Ministry of Revenue reports that the imperial granary is empty, yet the imperial treasury is overflowing with millions. Why does Your Majesty not release funds from the imperial treasury to alleviate the national crisis? Construction projects are frequently undertaken in the palace, and the textile industry consumes 800,000 taels of silver annually. Reducing these expenditures by one or two taels would offset the increased taxes. Instead of punishing the corrupt officials, Your Majesty is executing the poor and starving people. Is this not what Mencius meant by 'leading beasts to devour men'?"
As for the additional levies on the mausoleum construction, that is utterly absurd! The late Emperor, with his virtuous character, would certainly not bear to burden his impoverished family with the expenses of his mausoleum. In the past, Emperor Wen of Han, when constructing his Baling Mausoleum, demonstrated frugality with his ceramic wares; Emperor Renzong of Song abolished the Lantern Festival celebrations, a virtue that benefited later generations. Now, the Ministry of Works is falsely claiming extra funds, with corrupt officials and cunning bureaucrats. Even if an additional 200,000 taels is added, will a single coin reach the coffin? It will only enrich the pockets of these corrupt officials!

As Yang Lian spoke, his voice grew more and more impassioned. He bowed three times, tears streaming down his face, looking every bit the loyal subject of the Ming Dynasty.

Your humble servant, weeping with blood, kowtows and begs:

First, immediately cease the additional taxes, and remit all those already levied.
Second, the illicit gains from mining tax collection were confiscated and used for military purposes.
Third, execute Li Ruhua to appease the people, and appoint Jian Qingzheng to take charge of the Ministry of Revenue.

If you insist on carrying out this tyrannical rule, please first behead us and hang our heads at the Meridian Gate, so that the people will know that the court has ministers who would die to remonstrate, but no policies that care for the people!

Your humble servant, at the risk of death, respectfully submits this report.

After Yang Lian finished speaking, more than a dozen officials stepped forward from the ranks of civil officials, all holding tablets, knelt on the ground, and shouted:

"Immediately cease the additional taxes, and all taxes already levied should be revoked!"

"Seize the illicit gains from mining taxes and other illegal activities to fund military purposes!"

"Execute Li Ruhua to appease the people, and appoint Jian Qingzheng to head the Ministry of Revenue!"

"If you insist on carrying out this tyrannical rule, then cut off our heads first!"

For a time, the imperial court was truly bustling with activity, filled with righteous officials.

Li Ruhua trembled with anger and cried out to the emperor on the throne, "Our Great Ming has long suffered from accumulated problems. If taxes are not increased, where will the Liaodong military pay come from? Where will the disaster relief funds come from? Where will the funds for the imperial tombs come from? I beg Your Majesty to see the truth."

Fang Congzhe also stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, the Minister of Revenue is a loyal and devoted minister who speaks from the bottom of his heart."

Li Ruhua was an official of the Zhejiang Party and was at odds with the Donglin Party members.

Fang Congzhe was originally a non-partisan, or at least that's what he thought. However, he was first considered a member of the Zhejiang Party, and then because his disciple Qi Shijiao organized the "Qi Party," he was pushed to be the backer of the Qi Party, making him a loser.

With the Red Pill Case still looming, like the Sword of Damocles hanging over his head, he's simply given up.

Since you consider me a member of the Zhejiang Party or the Qi Party, then I am, isn't that enough?
Adhering to the principle that the enemy of my enemy is my friend, Fang Congzhe strongly supported Li Ruhua.

Grand Secretary Han Kuang stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, Li Ruhua's actions are undoubtedly like leading beasts to devour people and cutting flesh to heal wounds. They are words that will mislead the country and the people, and should not be heeded!"

Sun Shenxing, the Vice Minister of Rites, stepped forward with his official tablet in hand, his sword pointed directly at Fang Congzhe.

"How can the Grand Secretary defend Li Ruhua?"

Looking at the chaotic Wenhua Hall, Zhu Youxiao's expression remained unchanged, but he felt somewhat irritated.

Today, during the regular court session, only one matter was resolved. The second matter, which had just been brought up, immediately aroused the indignation of the officials. The key issue is that the officials' indignation was not due to the need to resolve the affairs of the Ming Dynasty, but rather to eliminate dissidents and engage in factional strife.

My Ming Dynasty is about to perish, and there's still factional strife?
Zhu Youxiao tapped the armrest of the dragon throne three times with his index finger. Wei Chao, who had been observing Zhu Youxiao's movements, immediately shouted, "By imperial decree, silence!"

After a moment, the Wenhua Hall finally quieted down. Zhu Youxiao looked around at the assembled officials and said, "Our Great Ming Dynasty has been established for more than 250 years, and the accumulated problems have long been severe, leading to an empty treasury. The matter of increasing the Liaodong tax needs to be discussed again. However, if the Liaodong tax is not increased, where will the money come from?"

With his final question posed, Zhu Youxiao turned his gaze to Yang Lian and the other members of the Donglin Party.

Yang Lian just now used a three-pronged approach of "moral criticism + people's suffering + factional attacks," and his words were so fierce that they made the listeners sweat profusely.

For a moment, Li Ruhua was at a loss for words.

Then let me ask you:

If the Liaodong military pay is not increased, who will pay for the military expenses and disaster relief funds?
Yang Lian immediately said, "Seize the illicit gains from mining taxes and other illegal activities to fund the military!"

Zhu Youxiao turned to Wei Chao and asked, "Wei Chao, how much silver did you get from confiscating the illicit gains from mining taxes and other illegal activities?"

"At most one million taels," Wei Chao answered truthfully, his expression not pleasant.

The Mining Supervisor was an external authority of the Directorate of Ceremonial, and the Donglin Party had been trying to reduce it. Wouldn't that mean that the benefits and power of the Directorate of Ceremonial, the ancestor of the Directorate of Ceremonial, would decrease?

Yang Lian's expression changed, and he immediately said, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. What Eunuch Wei said is incorrect. Gao Huai, the tax supervisor of Liaodong, amassed wealth during his tenure, which led to the mutiny of the garrison troops in the thirty-sixth year of Wanli. The amount of silver confiscated was no less than one million. When Chen Zeng, the mining supervisor of Shandong, was impeached, his family property was confiscated, yielding more than 300,000 taels of silver, as well as countless gold, jade and treasures. Now there are more than 20 mining supervisors in the Ming Dynasty. If we calculate that each supervisor confiscates an average of 100,000 taels, the total amount of more than 20 mining tax supervisors could be more than 2 million taels."

Wei immediately refuted this.

“After all, only a minority of mine supervisors embezzle. Gao Huai and Chen Zeng are special cases among the external supervisors. Even if all of them were confiscated, the amount of silver obtained would definitely not exceed one million. Moreover, after layers of exploitation, how much of it would actually go into the national treasury?”

Zhu Youxiao waved his hand, and Wei Chao immediately shut up.

"Even if the censor says that two million taels can be seized, it will still not be enough for the Liaodong military expenses."

Yang Lian immediately said, "The remaining amount will be supplemented by the imperial treasury."

Zhu Youxiao was so angry at Yang Lian that he almost laughed.

Did they really think the emperor's secret treasury was a bank?
It can produce gold and silver continuously?
"The imperial treasury has only about 500,000 taels of silver left."

Yang Lian continued, "If His Majesty orders the palace to tighten its belt and not repair the palace, it will surely save a million taels of silver, which can be used to pay the Liaodong military expenses."

Not only do they want to take my money, but they also want me to save money?
How can you even bring yourself to lament the well-being of others!

Zhu Youxiao gave a light snort and said, "If the palace can cut back on food and clothing and save a million taels of silver, then all of you officials can also cut back on food and clothing. The remaining funds for the Liaodong campaign and disaster relief can be drawn from your own savings. Is that alright?"

Upon hearing Zhu Youxiao's words, the assembled officials in the Wenhua Hall fell silent, or rather, were stunned and speechless.

Yang Lian took a deep breath. He originally thought he was shameless enough, but he didn't expect that the new emperor was so young and already had a thicker skin than him.

Yang Lian immediately said, "Our salaries are only enough for our daily expenses. Many honest officials, let alone saving money to contribute to the Liaodong military, don't even have enough money to buy a coffin after they die."

Grand Secretary Han Kuang also rose to speak, saying, “Your Majesty is mistaken. When Hai Rui served as the magistrate of Chun’an County, he wore plain clothes and ate coarse grains. On his mother’s birthday, he only bought two catties of meat. When he passed away, he only had eight taels of silver left and a few old clothes. His coffin was purchased by his colleagues. The people spontaneously closed the market and mourned him.”

Gu Xiancheng founded Donglin Academy, advocating "concern for family affairs, national affairs, and world affairs," and established family precepts of "no concubines, no slaves, and no property." The five brothers all lived simple lives, and the villagers called them "the five pure Gu families," with no surplus wealth.

Emperor Taizu employed low salaries to support officials; how could the officials possibly have enough money and provisions to pay the Liaodong military expenses?

Zhu Youxiao watched these people perform.

While the Ming Dynasty did indeed employ officials with low salaries, they had other sources of income!
Besides, are all of you officials truly honest and penniless?
(End of this chapter)