The Ming Dynasty: Starting with Emperor Chongzhen's crackdown on factionalism

It was already noon when they returned to the Censorate from the Qianqing Palace.

Chen Zhiyuan did not go directly back to his own room, but went to the main hall of the Censorate first.

Left Censor-in-Chief Cao Yubian was discussing matters with several censors when he entered, and they all stopped talking.

"Chen Qianxian".

Cao Yubian nodded slightly, his face expressionless.

Chen Zhiyuan bowed and said, "I have just come from the palace to report on the progress of the investigation into the Yuan case."

Cao Yubian gestured for him to sit down: "Speak."

Chen Zhiyuan took out a short document from his sleeve and presented it with both hands.

"This is a preliminary summary of my investigation into the impeachment memorials in the Yuan case."

"We have verified 143 memorials from the seventh year of the Tianqi reign to the second year of the Chongzhen reign. Of these, 97 can be corroborated by original documents, while 46 have no direct document evidence, but after examining relevant witness testimonies and physical evidence, most can be presumed to be true or partially true."

He paused, then continued, "There are also seventeen other memorials, the reasons for which are significantly different from existing archives and witness testimonies, and are suspected to be rumors or deliberate framing."

"This part of the list has been compiled separately for your reference."

Cao Yubian took the document and glanced through it briefly.

The document was written very neatly, with each entry listing the date of the memorial, the person who submitted it, the subject matter, the verification results, and the source of the evidence.

Everything that should be there is there, and nothing that shouldn't be there is added.

"That's all?" Cao Yubian looked up at him.

"That's all for now," Chen Zhiyuan said calmly.

"The Yuan case involves numerous memorials, and verifying them one by one will take time. I will continue to investigate and report back with any new developments."

Cao Yubian stared at him for a moment, then nodded.

"Okay. Continue your investigation. Remember, the verification must be rigorous, and every conclusion must be verifiable."

"Your humble servant understands."

Chen Zhiyuan rose, bowed, and left the hall.

The censors looked at each other, bewildered, as he walked away.

"Is it that simple?" an imperial censor whispered.

"Otherwise what?" Cao Yubian said calmly.

"The Emperor ordered him to investigate, so he will. What he investigates and what he finds are his business. What we should do is keep an eye on things and make sure nothing goes wrong."

Everyone fell silent.

Cao Yubian placed the document on the table and looked out the window.

He knew what Chen Zhiyuan was doing.

He heard about things like transferring files from the Ministry of Revenue and troop rosters from the Ministry of War.

It seems this person is still pragmatic.

They did not search for things that could not be searched.

Back in his room, Chen Zhiyuan closed the door and bolted it shut.

Zhao Delu was already waiting inside. When he saw him come in, he quickly got up.

"Your Excellency, the Ministry of Revenue has sent over another list, saying it's to supplement the military procurement records from March of last year."

Chen Zhiyuan took the order, glanced at it, and sneered.

"They're quick to fix it. Tell them I want the original ledgers, not copies. If the originals are gone, have the person in charge write a statement, sign it, and explain how the damage happened."

"Yes." Zhao Delu wrote it down.

"And another thing," Chen Zhiyuan said, sitting down.

"From today onwards, all we shall say to the public is that we are still investigating the impeachment memorials in the Yuan case. Not a single word shall be mentioned about the military expenditure accounts. If anyone asks, we shall say we do not know or are not clear about it."

Zhao Delu was stunned for a moment, then he understood.

"Understood."

"Go."

After Zhao Delu left, Chen Zhiyuan took out a wooden box from under his desk.

Open it, and inside is a thick stack of drafts.

The top one reads "Trial Regulations for the Military Budget in Liaodong".

This is what he wants to present to Zhu Youjian.

It must be finished in three days.

He picked up his pen, but hesitated to put it down.

Budgetary systems are common knowledge in later generations, but in the Ming Dynasty during the third year of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign, they were unheard of.

How should it be written so that Zhu Youjian could understand it, the court officials could accept it, and the border towns could implement it?

It cannot be too advanced, otherwise it will be regarded as spreading heresy and misleading the public.

We can't be too conservative, otherwise we won't be able to solve the problem.

Chen Zhiyuan closed his eyes and recalled the Ming Dynasty financial history materials he had studied at the Party School in his previous life.

The Wanli Accounting Records – that was a comprehensive financial book compiled by Zhang Juzheng during his reforms. It contained the rudiments of a budget, but only provided statistics, not control.

The Complete Book of Taxes and Labor Services records taxes and labor services in various regions, but it does not include the concept of a budget.

The current fiscal system of the Ming Dynasty, to put it simply, is "spending to determine income".

We will levy as much as we need.

If the tax cannot be collected, then increase the tax collection, and leave it in arrears.

There was no planning, no control, and no accountability.

What he wanted to write was something entirely new.

Two days later.

The first draft of the charter has been completed. It is about two thousand words long and covers the entire process of budget preparation, review, execution, supervision and auditing.

But not enough.

A specific table template needs to be attached.

Budget statement, allocation statement, expenditure statement, final accounts statement.

There also needs to be detailed operational guidelines.

How to verify troop numbers, how to calculate rations and pay, and how to audit accounts.

He has to do these things slowly.

Finally, Chen Zhiyuan included the matter of military expenses in Yuan Chonghuan's case in his memorial to the throne.

Zhao Delu rushed forward, his face pale.

"Vice Commissioner Cao, you need to come over as soon as you return, immediately."

"The Chief of Staff... the Chief of Staff looks terrible, and his hands are shaking."

Chen Zhiyuan's heart stirred.

Cao Yubian was the head of the Censorate, the Left Censor-in-Chief, a high-ranking official of the second rank, and was usually as calm and composed as a mountain.

The things that could make his hands tremble...

He straightened his clothes and headed to Cao Yubian's duty room.

The corridor was eerily quiet.

In the past, there were always clerks and censors coming and going, but today there was not a single person.

Chen Zhiyuan could hear his own footsteps echoing on the bluestone slabs.

The door to the duty room was ajar.

Chen Zhiyuan raised his hand and knocked on the door.

"Come in."

The voice was cold, as cold as ice.

Chen Zhiyuan was stunned when he pushed open the door.

The duty room was a complete mess.

Torn pages of paper were scattered on the ground, and the inkstone lay overturned beside the desk, ink spilled all over the floor.

Cao Yubian stood by the window, his back to the door, his shoulders trembling slightly.

Chen Zhiyuan walked to the center of the room and bowed.

"Your humble servant Chen Zhiyuan greets the Chief Censor."

Cao Yubian suddenly turned around.

His face turned bright red, his eyes were bloodshot, his lips trembled, and he pointed at Chen Zhiyuan, unable to utter a word for a long time.

Chen Zhiyuan stood with his hands hanging down, motionless.

"You...you..." Cao Yubian finally managed to squeeze out a sound.

"Do you even know what you're doing?!"

"Your humble servant is ordered to investigate the Yuan case..."

"Bullshit!" Cao Yubian interrupted sharply.

"The Yuan case? You dare mention the Yuan case to me? What are you investigating? Military expenses! The Ministry of War's accounts! The Ministry of Revenue's records!"

He rushed to the desk, grabbed a stack of papers, and slammed them down at Chen Zhiyuan's feet.

The pages were scattered all over the floor.

"This humble official has a special decree from His Majesty..."

"A special order? A special order for you to investigate Yuan Chonghuan! Not for stirring up a hornet's nest!"

Cao Yubian's voice was hoarse.

"What is military expenditure? It's the lifeline of the nine border regions! It's the food and supplies for hundreds of thousands of troops!"

He walked up to Chen Zhiyuan and stared intently at him.

"You think you're the only smart one? You think you're the only one who can see the problem? Let me tell you, the Censorate investigated military spending ten years ago!"

"And what was the result? The censor in charge of the investigation was sent to Yunnan three months later, where he died on the way, supposedly from malaria."

"The supervising official who assisted in the investigation was rated 'frivolous' in his second year's performance review, and was dismissed from his post and returned to his hometown. The third year, his house caught fire, and none of the seven members of his family escaped!"