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

The prime minister did not want the cabinet to get too deeply involved.

Assigning a dedicated person to follow up means direct involvement. If problems arise, the cabinet will be held responsible.

"Closely monitoring" simply means watching.

If something goes wrong, the cabinet can say, "We are only supervising; the actual handling of the case is by Chen Zhiyuan."

Cheng Jiming thought further ahead than they did.

"it is good."

He Wuzhou picked up his pen and changed it.

Zhou Yanru looked at the revised draft and suddenly said something.

"What about Chen Zhiyuan... does he know we'd do this?"

Cheng Jiming did not answer.

He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.

Whether he knows it or not is not important.

The next day at dawn, the cabinet's official documents were sent to the six ministries and nine ministers.

Ministry of War.

Shen Xun, the chief clerk of the Department of Civil Affairs, looked at the official document with a grim expression.

"Fully cooperate," "Open all files," "Treat as an emergency military matter"... Every word felt like a slap in the face.

Three days ago, he stopped Chen Zhiyuan at the entrance of the Ministry of Revenue and said, "According to regulations, a written edict from the official in charge is required."

The Cabinet now explicitly states that "Chen Zhiyuan has the same authority to issue official documents as ministers and officials of ministries and departments."

He couldn't stop him.

"Sir Shen..." the subordinate asked cautiously, "Vice-Prefect Chen needs a list of troop numbers for Xuanda Town, what should we do..."

Shen Xun slammed the official document heavily onto the table.

"Give."

Ministry of Revenue.

Several doctors gathered together, looking at the same official document.

"What's wrong with the cabinet?" a thin-faced doctor asked in a low voice.

"Didn't you want to remove Chen Zhiyuan from office the day before yesterday? Why are you 'fully cooperating' today?"

The older doctor didn't say anything, but simply folded the official document and put it into his sleeve.

"We do what the higher-ups say." He said calmly.

"But the account books..." the thin-faced doctor hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but couldn't.

"The matters recorded in the ledgers were handled by the previous manager. We only need to hand over what Chen Zhiyuan wanted; the rest is none of our business."

After the older doctor finished speaking, he turned and left.

The Grand Canal Transport Office, the Ministry of Works, the Court of Imperial Studs...

The same scene played out in different duty rooms.

Some people are cursing, some are worried, and some are trying to distance themselves from the situation.

But no one openly stopped Chen Zhiyuan anymore.

The Censorate.

Cao Yubian also received an official letter from the cabinet.

He placed that page on his desk and looked at it for a long time.

Imperial Censor Liu and Imperial Censor Sun stood at the lower end, their faces looking rather grim.

"Chief Censor, this move by the Cabinet..." Censor Liu said in a low voice, "Isn't this pushing Chen Zhiyuan into a fire pit?"

Cao Yubian remained silent.

Censor Sun said, "The cabinet outwardly supports him, but in reality, they are putting him in a difficult position. The faster the case is investigated, the more people they will offend. No matter how much the emperor favors Chen Zhiyuan, he cannot withstand the backlash from the entire officialdom."

Cao Yubian finally spoke.

Whether he can handle it or not is his business.

He paused.

"The Censorate should act according to the Cabinet's official documents. If they want personnel, they don't have them. If they want files, they'll transfer them if they have them, and if they don't, they'll say they don't have them. There's no need to stop them or help them."

Imperial Censor Liu was taken aback.

"Shogun, this isn't..."

"What is this?" Cao Yubian looked up at him.

Imperial Censor Liu swallowed the second half of his sentence.

"It's nothing."

Cao Yubian didn't look at him again and continued to review the documents.

"Go."

Chen Zhiyuan saw the cabinet document at noon.

Zhao Delu returned with a copy from the Registrar's Office, his face pale.

"The Vice Minister of the Cabinet issued this document. All six ministries and nine ministers have received it."

Chen Zhiyuan took it and read it from beginning to end.

After reading it, he placed the document on his desk.

His face was expressionless.

Zhao Delu stood there, his palms sweaty.

"Vice-Prefect, this...the Cabinet wants to...?"

"They're going to put me on the fire to roast," Chen Zhiyuan finished for him.

Zhao Delu opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say.

Chen Zhiyuan did not speak immediately.

He looked at the document, his gaze falling on the lines "fully cooperate," "have the same authority as ministers and officials," and "handle as an emergency military matter."

He recognized He Wuzhou's handwriting.

The draft impeachment document that was submitted yesterday was also written by He Wuzhou.

It was written neatly and beautifully, without a single flaw.

Just like this official document.

Zhao Delu couldn't hold back any longer.

"Vice-Chancellor, this cabinet is clearly—"

"I know."

Chen Zhiyuan's voice was very calm.

Zhao Delu was taken aback.

"You...you knew?"

Chen Zhiyuan pushed the document aside and didn't look at it again.

"The cabinet unanimously passed an impeachment motion yesterday to remove me from office. The Emperor rejected it. Today they issued an official document ordering the Six Ministries and Nine Ministers to 'fully cooperate' with my investigation."

He paused.

"Do you think they've changed their ways? Or have they realized that the military spending scandal absolutely had to be investigated?"

Zhao Delu did not answer.

Chen Zhiyuan answered for him.

"No, not at all. They calculated that I wouldn't be able to investigate this case."

He leaned back in his chair, his gaze fixed on the view outside the window.

"The military expenditure issue has been embezzled for many years from top to bottom, involving many people, and it's all clearly written in those ledgers. But knowing about it is one thing, verifying it is another."

"I wanted to check the vacancy quota in the Ministry of War, and the Ministry of War said, 'This was handled by the previous administration.' I wanted to check the allocation in the Ministry of Revenue, and the Ministry of Revenue said, 'The grain transport hasn't arrived.' I wanted to check the transshipment of the grain transport, and the transport department said, 'It was attacked by river bandits on the way.' I wanted to check the distribution in the border towns, and the border towns said, 'The account books were burned.'"

He turned his head and looked at Zhao Delu.

"There are people involved in every link of the chain, and there's a reason behind every link. Can I, alone with two captains and a clerk, possibly investigate everything?"

Zhao Delu remained silent.

Chen Zhiyuan continued.

"The cabinet knows. That's why they're 'fully supporting' me now. They don't want me to succeed in my investigation; they want me to fail."

"The longer I investigate, the greater the resistance will be. The Six Ministries and Nine Ministers may appear to cooperate, but how much behind-the-scenes maneuvering will they engage in? How will those I've exposed retaliate? Will the impeachments in the court cease? How long can the Emperor's patience last?"

He paused.

"In the end, either I give up and resign, or I uncover a bunch of problems but can't catch the real culprit, and the case hangs in the air, never to be solved."

"At that time, the cabinet could say with great regret that Chen Zhiyuan was capable, but unfortunately he was too hasty and ineffective."

Zhao Delu's palms were already soaked with sweat.

"Then... what do we do?"

Chen Zhiyuan did not answer immediately.

He lowered his head and looked at the mountain of account books, memorials, and confessions piled up on his desk.

Looked for a long time.

Then he spoke.

"Do you know what's the most brilliant part of this cabinet document?"

Zhao Delu shook his head.

"The best part is that they gave me a knife, but the hilt was facing outwards."

Chen Zhiyuan picked up the document and read it again.

"They said, 'All the files, ledgers, and documents that Chen Zhiyuan needs to access must be made available, and there must be no excuses or delays.'"

"This allows me to investigate faster, deeper, and broader."

"They said, 'Chen Zhiyuan has the same authority as high-ranking officials in ministries and departments when it comes to official documents.'"

"This means I have to deal with all the departments and institutes myself; no one can shield me from it."

"They said, 'The Cabinet will closely monitor the progress of this case.'"

"This is to tell everyone that the Cabinet is watching what Chen Zhiyuan is doing. If problems arise, the Cabinet can take action at any time."

He put the official document down.

"So they're not afraid. They think that no matter how much I investigate, I'll eventually get stuck at some point. The issue of military spending is too complex; I can't wade through it alone."

Zhao Delu couldn't help but ask.

"Then... can we wade through?"

Chen Zhiyuan did not answer.

He was silent for a long time.

So long that Zhao Delu thought he would never speak again.

Then Chen Zhiyuan said.

"You asked me yesterday what the Ming Dynasty lacks most right now."

Zhao Delu nodded.

"I said, what's lacking is guts."

He paused.

"The cabinet is giving me this document not to help me, but to see if I have any backbone."