The struggle for the throne during the Jiajing reign

Chapter 104 Subordinate Officials

Unlike in the early years of the founding of the dynasty, when a prince could command tens of thousands of troops, now even when going to a fiefdom, he only has a little over a thousand guards.

Moreover, most of them are ceremonial guards, serving only as a facade, with pitifully weak actual combat capabilities.

For example, when Zhu Zaizhen's grandfather went to Anlu to assume his fiefdom, the imperial court only arranged for 600 captains and 1,000 soldiers.

Moreover, this is under the condition of going to the princely territory. The two brothers are currently residing in the capital, with probably only about a hundred guards, used to protect the princely residence and serve as a procession for their travels.

The remaining few hundred people were mainly palace maids, eunuchs, servants, cooks, sedan chair carriers, craftsmen, etc. The number of officials was not full, probably only twenty or thirty.

Zhang Juzheng said, "The positions of chief secretary, judge, clerk, tutor, and guard commander—these positions for officials under the Prince's residence will be arranged by the Ministry of Personnel."

As the Minister of Personnel, Xu Jie would be foolish not to include some of his own people in this group.

Zhang Juzheng did not finish his sentence, but simply asked, "How about I go to the Yan residence tonight?"

The meaning is self-evident: Xu Jie's foundation in the Ministry of Personnel is still shallow. As long as Yan Song exerts a little pressure, the selection and assignment of officials under the Prince's Palace can be decided by the Yan family.

Xu Wei scoffed, "Yan Song and his son also planted their own spies in their residence."

Zhu Zaizhen remained calm and reassured her, "This is inevitable, and as things stand, it's better to have the Yan family arrange some people than to have Xu Jie arrange them all."

Ma Dezhao didn't particularly like Xu Wei either. This man was really extreme, but his strategic acumen was also undeniable. For the sake of His Highness, he had to respect him, so he spoke up to mediate, saying, "With more people, everyone will inevitably have their own people. This is true here, and it's the same for Prince Yu's side. Let's settle things at the residence first and then deal with things slowly."

Zhang Juzheng, too lazy to argue with Xu Wei about such useless things, went straight to the point: "The key positions are only in the position of Chief Secretary, Chief Clerk, Chief Judge, and Chief Etiquette Officer."

The fifth-rank chief secretary was responsible for the management of the entire prince's mansion. The sixth-rank chief attendant was in charge of all the palace servants. The sixth-rank judge was responsible for the punishments within the mansion. In addition, there was the fifth-rank guard chief who was responsible for the security of the entire prince's mansion.

The rest of the officials in the Prince's Palace were all minor, idle positions of the eighth or ninth rank, and they had to obey the orders of the Chief Secretary in everything they did, so they were not worth paying attention to.

Zhu Zaizhen's gaze fell on Ma Dezhao, his eyes filled with trust: "The position of Chengfengzheng will naturally be held by the eldest servant, along with the wet nurse and Zhang Xing, so there shouldn't be any problems with the inner quarters."

Ma Dezhao solemnly promised that whether His Highness granted him the position or not, it would not affect his willingness to risk his life.

"As for the Imperial Guard Commander, I plan to ask Lu Bing for someone, let's say Chen Zhao, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard who escorted me out of the palace last time."

Zhang Juzheng's eyes lit up, and he repeatedly praised, "That's excellent. Commander Lu is His Majesty's confidant. Appointing his subordinates will not only stabilize the security of the Prince's Palace, but also please His Majesty. It's a win-win situation."

Zhu Zaizhen nodded slightly, then slowly announced the next arrangement: "As for the judge, I need to ask Yan Shifan for Luo Longwen."

This was unexpected for the three of them, as Ma Dezhao and Xu Wei did not know who this person was.

Zhang Juzheng knew Luo Longwen, who was Yan Shifan's advisor and the current Secretary of the Imperial Secretariat, but he had never heard of him having any talent in criminal law.

Zhang Juzheng immediately asked, "Why did Your Highness choose this person in particular?"

"Because he's rich and knows how to make money."

"ah?"

"You don't know Luo Longwen," Zhu Zaizhen explained with a smile. "He wasn't from a scholarly background. In his early years, he was just an ink maker in Huizhou Prefecture. But the ink he made was worth ten thousand coins per roll, and it was priceless in the market. Scholars in Jiangnan were vying to buy it."

A craftsman without even an official title managed to climb the social ladder through Yan Shifan, rising from a commoner to a seventh-rank official in the Imperial Secretariat, all thanks to his incredibly profitable business.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Juzheng had no objection whatsoever. He was an extremely pragmatic person and well aware of the importance of money.

After Your Highness leaves the palace, the expenses of the Prince's residence will be considerable. Even though the salaries of the officials are paid by the court, as the ruler, you must still provide rewards during festivals.

Otherwise, with the meager salary from the imperial court, who would be willing to serve wholeheartedly?

"Then why not assign him to another position?"

Zhu Zaizhen shook his head: "Traveling thousands of miles to get promoted and make money, I can't let Luo Longwen get rich, but I have to promote someone. The Secretary of the Imperial Secretariat is already a seventh-rank official, it's not good to transfer someone here to be demoted."

It means that his qualifications are really not enough. Otherwise, I would have been willing to let him go, even if he was the chief clerk. He is in charge of handling criminal cases, but what major cases or serious criminals could the prefecture possibly have to deal with?

It's nothing more than stealing and reselling things, or tipping off others, and then arranging for someone to administer the punishment. The key is money; without money, you can't do anything.

The three were impressed, and then they wanted to discuss the matter of the chief secretary.

Zhu Zaizhen waved his hand: "Let's not discuss it further. Let's see what Father Emperor or Yan Song thinks first. Either one is fine. If it doesn't work out, we can change."

Zhang Juzheng thought for a moment before speaking. The position of Chief Secretary was still too crucial, especially when the Grand Secretary and the Qingliu faction were trying to bring people into the government.

His rank is certainly not high enough to be directly promoted to the fifth rank, but His Highness can put pressure on Yan Shifan to arrange for an honest and obedient chief secretary, so that he can actually take control of the Prince's Mansion.

In this way, he can calm down any turmoil!

But before he could finish speaking, Zhu Zaizhen interrupted him, saying that the position of Chief Secretary of the Prince's Palace was not a job for Zhang Juzheng; it was a waste of his talents.

"Sir, there's no need to say more. I have my own arrangements for your affairs. Next year, set off to visit various places. Finance, grain, criminal law, water conservancy, agriculture, sericulture, military preparation, and border defense—these are the true practical knowledge of governing a country."

There's a saying that a prime minister must rise from the ranks of local officials, and only through practical experience in local affairs can he build a solid foundation.

The reason why Ouyang Bijin was able to be promoted to Minister of Rites so easily this time is because of his long experience in local government.

Zhang Juzheng naturally wanted to visit the place, but at this crucial time—

"Since Mr. Xu is with me, you don't need to worry."

Zhang Juzheng glanced at Xu Wei but didn't speak. What he was worried about was Xu Wei. The more outstanding Xu Wei's talent was, the more detestable his personality was. He could only pretend to be a decent person in front of His Highness.

He can certainly be a strategist, but if he were to take the lead in overseeing practical matters, he would only needlessly cause trouble for His Highness.

Ma Dezhao saw Zhang Juzheng's concerns and said, "Mr. Zhang, there's no need to worry too much. After all, we're under the Emperor's nose, and with Grand Secretary Yan and Governor Lu's men around, nothing serious will happen."

Zhu Zaizhen also laughed and said, "Sir, do you perhaps think of me as a child who knows nothing and needs to be taken care of in everything?"

This is the habit of smart people: they don't trust others and always want to solve all problems on their own.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Juzheng's hidden worry finally dissipated, revealing a self-deprecating smile.

He bowed to Zhu Zaizhen and said, "Your Highness is right. I always thought about making sure that Your Highness would tighten every fence, but I forgot that Your Highness has many hidden thoughts."

Xu Wei grimaced, thinking, "Why does this sound so cheesy? Did the Four Books and Five Classics ever teach this?"

How come I've never learned this?