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

The candles in the cabinet office burned all night.

Cheng Jiming sat at the head of the table, with the draft document in front of him marked with the word "not permitted" in vermilion ink.

The ink had dried completely, but the two characters were still burning hot like a branding iron.

Zhou Yanru, Qian Shisheng, and He Wuzhou were all present.

No one spoke.

The duty room was so quiet that the only sound was the faint crackling of the burning lamp wick.

Cheng Jiming pushed the ballot to the center of the table.

"I saw it all."

His voice was flat.

Zhou Yanru stared at those two words, slowly picked up his teacup, and then put it down again.

"His Majesty is determined."

Qian Shisheng sighed.

"Seven impeachments were submitted, all voted on by the cabinet, and the Emperor rejected them all. This is the first time since he ascended the throne."

He Wuzhou didn't speak, but simply tapped the edge of the table lightly with his fingers.

The silence lasted for a long time.

Cheng Jiming closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair.

"This isn't the first time," he suddenly said.

The other three looked at him.

"In the first year of Chongzhen's reign, the emperor wanted to kill Wei Zhongxian. At that time, the Grand Secretariat, the Six Ministries, and the Censorate jointly submitted a memorial to protect Wei Zhongxian, saying, 'Zhongxian has rendered meritorious service to the country and should not be moved lightly.' The emperor wrote four words in response: 'My mind is made up.'"

He opened his eyes and looked at the candlelight.

"Only then did I realize that this emperor was different from the late emperor. He had his own ideas."

Zhou Yanru understood the unspoken meaning behind Cheng Jiming's words.

"Does the Grand Secretary mean that the Emperor also has his own thoughts on the military expenditure issue?"

Cheng Jiming did not give a direct answer.

He sat up straight again, moved the draft to the side, and took a stack of blank memorial papers from the desk.

"It's not an idea," he said. "It's a decision."

Zhou Yanru, Qian Shisheng, and He Wuzhou were all looking at him.

Cheng Jiming did not look up.

"The case of Yuan Chonghuan dragged on for half a year, and the Ministry of Justice's final verdict was held up on the Emperor's desk for three months, but the Emperor just couldn't bring himself to write it down."

"Why? It's not that there's insufficient evidence, it's that the Emperor himself doesn't believe it."

He paused.

"Chen Zhiyuan's memorial on Wang Anshi's reforms, he was a seventh-rank compiler, but was exceptionally summoned for an audience. After the audience, he was directly promoted to the fourth-rank Vice Censor-in-Chief and granted the Imperial Sword. You all remember these things, right?"

Qian Shisheng nodded.

"At the time, it felt abrupt. A Hanlin Compiler, who had never held any official position, what qualifications did he have?"

Cheng Jiming looked up at him.

"On what grounds? On the grounds that he said what the Emperor wanted to say but dared not say, what he wanted to do but dared not do."

He put down his pen.

"His Majesty has wanted to investigate military expenditures for a long time, not just now."

"The Emperor wanted to investigate as early as the first year of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign. At that time, the Ministry of Revenue said it had no money, the Ministry of War said it needed soldiers, and the border regions said they needed pay. The Emperor asked, 'Where did the money I allocated go?' No one could answer."

"He sent an imperial censor to investigate, and after three months, the censor submitted a memorial stating that the accounts were clear and the expenditures were well-documented. The emperor believed him."

He paused, his voice lowering.

"Last year, the Later Jin broke through the pass, and Yuan Chonghuan was imprisoned. The Emperor asked the same question again—Where did the silver go? Still, no one could answer."

"Chen Zhiyuan has now uncovered everything. The account books, the figures, the witnesses, the physical evidence—it's all crystal clear. What will the Emperor do when he sees this?"

Zhou Yanru remained silent for a moment.

"So Chen Zhiyuan isn't investigating the case alone. He's the Emperor's sword."

Cheng Jiming nodded.

"And it was the Emperor himself who handed over the knife."

Qian Shisheng's expression changed.

"So, what are our proposed vote results...?"

"His Majesty saw it," Cheng Jiming said, "and understood it."

He gently pushed the draft bill marked "not permitted" to the edge of the table.

"This is the Emperor telling us—he will hand over the knife; he will investigate the case. Anyone who tries to stop him is going against him."

The duty room fell silent again.

He Wuzhou had been silent until now, when he suddenly spoke.

"Then we won't stop them."

Cheng Jiming looked at him.

He Wuzhou is the youngest of the four Grand Secretaries, at 43 years old. He has been in the cabinet for less than two years and is usually the least talkative.

But every word he speaks carries weight.

"What Grand Secretary He means is..."

Qian Shisheng asked.

He Wuzhou didn't look at Qian Shisheng, but instead looked at Cheng Jiming.

"Prime Minister, do we agree to the memorial impeaching Chen Zhiyuan?"

Cheng Jiming did not answer immediately.

Zhou Yanru spoke for him.

"I'm afraid he'll cause trouble. Military spending is a very complex issue, involving a wide range of people from top to bottom, from officials in the capital to generals on the frontier. There are too many people involved."

"If we really want to get to the bottom of this, we'll have to replace half of the generals in the nine border regions, replace 30% of the senior officials in the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue, and thoroughly investigate the entire Grand Canal transport office from top to bottom."

"This isn't investigating a case, this is flipping the table."

He Wuzhou nodded.

"Yes. So we impeached him to maintain stability."

He paused.

"But now the Emperor won't allow impeachment."

"Then let's try a different approach."

Cheng Jiming looked at him.

"What's the thought process?"

He Wuzhou pushed the teacup away and leaned forward.

"If the Emperor wants to investigate, let him investigate. If he wants to overturn the table, let him overturn it."

"But we didn't stop him. We helped him lift it."

Qian Shisheng was taken aback.

"What Grand Secretary He means is..."

He Wuzhou ignored him and continued to look at Cheng Jiming.

"Prime Minister, what does Chen Zhiyuan lack most right now?"

Cheng Jiming did not answer immediately.

Zhou Yanru continued, "Manpower. The Emperor has assigned him two Imperial Guards, but Cao Yubian of the Censorate has isolated him, and the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue are not cooperating. The only people he can mobilize are Zhao Delu and two captains."

He Wuzhou nodded.

"Yes. He lacks manpower, money, and power. So let's give him those."

"Give it to him?"

He Wuzhou pulled the memorial paper in front of him.

"Tomorrow the Cabinet will issue an official document to the Six Ministries and Nine Ministers. It contains three main points."

He spoke and wrote at the same time.

"First, the audit of military expenditures is a crucial task appointed by His Majesty, and all ministries and departments must fully cooperate."

"All the files, ledgers, and documents that Chen Zhiyuan needs to access, from the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Works, and the Grand Canal Administration, shall be made available without any delay or excuses."

"Second, Chen Zhiyuan, the Left Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, was ordered to handle this case. His authority to issue documents is equal to that of the ministers of the ministries and departments."

"The requests they make must be handled as urgent military matters by all departments and offices, and no excuses should be used to obstruct them."

"Third, this case involves border defense, finance, and military equipment, and is of great importance."

"The Cabinet will assign a special person to follow up and report the progress to His Majesty regularly."

He finished writing and put down his pen.

Zhou Yanru looked at these lines and slowly frowned.

"Grand Secretary He, this is not helping him, it's putting him on the hot seat."

He Wunu did not deny it.

"Yes. If he wants to investigate, we'll let him investigate to the end. If he wants to access the files, we'll let him access all of them. If he wants to overturn the table, we'll help him lay out the tablecloth and tell him—please."

He paused.

"The faster and deeper he investigates, the more people he will offend."

"Military spending is a problem that one person cannot handle alone."

"He has the Emperor backing him now, but how long can the Emperor's patience last? Half a year?"

"The case is solved, the evidence is on the imperial desk, so what's next?"

He Wuzhou's voice was calm.

"Will those people in the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Revenue, and the border garrisons who he dragged out just sit idly by and wait to die?"

"They will retaliate, submit memorials, claim they have been wronged, and accuse Chen Zhiyuan of unfair handling of the case and fabricating charges."

"What will the Emperor do then? If he protects Chen Zhiyuan, he will have to turn against half the court."

"If we don't protect Chen Zhiyuan, then in the end, the case will only turn out to be Chen Zhiyuan's fault."

He paused for a moment.

"This isn't just praising someone to death. It's letting them kill themselves."

After listening, Qian Shisheng fell silent.

Zhou Yanru also fell silent.

Cheng Jiming did not express his opinion, but stared at the three points He Wuzhou had written on the paper for a long time.

"The Grand Secretary?" He Wuzhou asked.

Cheng Jiming finally raised his head.

"The cabinet can approve these three points. But one of them needs to be changed."

Which one?

Remove the phrase "The Cabinet assigned a special person to follow up." Replace it with—

He paused.

"The Cabinet will closely monitor the progress of this case and will report to His Majesty as needed."

He Wuzhou glanced at Cheng Jiming and understood.