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

Chen Zhiyuan stood up and stood with his hands at his sides.

Zhu Youjian did not look at him, but focused his gaze on the several memorials laid out on the imperial desk.

"Seventeen impeachment petitions were filed today," said Zhu Youjian.

Chen Zhiyuan did not respond.

"Do you know who submitted these memorials?"

Chen Zhiyuan said, "I do not know."

Zhu Youjian picked up a document from the desk.

"This document is from Mao Yujian, the Censor of Shanxi Circuit. He impeached the cabinet for 'condoning cruel officials and disrupting border defenses'."

He put this one down and picked up another.

"This document is from Wu Zhiyu, a supervising secretary in the Ministry of War. He is impeaching you for 'using the guise of investigating cases to seize power.'"

Another one.

"This document is from Zhou Shipu, a secretary in the Ministry of Revenue. He impeached the cabinet for 'flattering superiors to gain fame and abandoning ancestral laws'."

He placed the three memorials side by side on his desk.

"Mao Yujian is from the Jin Party, Wu Zhiyu is from the Donglin Party, and Zhou Shipu is from the Zhejiang Party." Zhu Youjian looked at Chen Zhiyuan.

"Three people, three factions, who usually don't speak to each other when they meet in court. Today, the targets of their impeachment are different—some are impeaching you, and some are impeaching the cabinet."

He paused for a moment.

"But their memorials were submitted to the Office of Transmission almost simultaneously, less than half an hour apart."

Chen Zhiyuan did not answer.

Zhu Youjian continued.

"I ordered the Directorate of Ceremonial to check the registers of the Office of Transmission. These three memorials were not delivered by the same person, but the three clerks who delivered the memorials went to the same teahouse after leaving the Office of Transmission."

He paused.

"That teahouse is on the west side of Qipan Street. It doesn't have a big storefront, and the signboard says 'Juxianju'."

Chen Zhiyuan raised his head.

Zhu Youjian looked at him.

Do you know who owns that teahouse?

Chen Zhiyuan said, "I do not know."

Zhu Youjian did not give an answer.

He gathered the three memorials together and set them aside.

"I summoned you here today not to tell you who is pulling the strings behind the scenes."

He looked at Chen Zhiyuan.

"I want to ask you, how many people are aware of your budget regulations?"

Chen Zhiyuan said, "The draft of the charter is at the bottom of my book box in my residence, with no words on the cover. Apart from me, only Zhao Delu has seen it. He has never seen the full text, only a few of the clauses that I used when compiling data."

"No third person?"

"no."

Zhu Youjian remained silent for a moment.

"Does the cabinet know you're doing this?"

Chen Zhiyuan said, "The Cabinet knows that I am investigating military expenditure accounts. But investigating accounts and budgeting are two different things. I have not raised the issue of budget regulations with the Cabinet."

"Did Cheng Jiming ask you?"

"I asked. I only mentioned the progress of the investigation, not the follow-up plans."

Zhu Youjian nodded.

"it is good."

He stood up, walked around the imperial desk, and went to Chen Zhiyuan.

"Your method did work."

Chen Zhiyuan lowered his eyes and remained silent.

Zhu Youjian said, "The impeachment memorials are ostensibly aimed at you and the cabinet, but in reality, they are aimed at military spending."

"These people aren't afraid of impeaching you. You're just a fourth-rank Vice Censor-in-Chief. If you're impeached, they can just find someone else to investigate."

"They are not afraid of impeaching the cabinet. Cheng Jiming is shrewd and calculating, and Zhou Yanru is adept at handling social situations. A few memorials cannot remove them from their positions."

He paused.

"What they're afraid of is that this case will really be investigated further."

"What I fear is that you've actually revealed the truth about military spending."

Zhu Youjian's voice was not loud, but every word was very clear.

"Now the court officials' attention has indeed been drawn to the military expenses by you. These past few days, the Six Ministries and Nine Ministers have not been discussing whether Yuan Chonghuan should be executed or who should defend Liaodong, but rather what account books you have obtained from the Ministry of Revenue, what inventory lists you have obtained from the Ministry of War, and what transport orders you have obtained from the Grand Canal Administration."

He looked at Chen Zhiyuan.

"These people inquire about each other, collude with each other, and try to absolve each other of any wrongdoing. I sit in the Qianqing Palace and don't need to send anyone to investigate; I can tell who is in cahoots with whom just by looking at the memorials they submit."

"Yesterday, Shen Xun from the Ministry of War was still preventing you from transferring the files, but today, as soon as the cabinet issued the official document, he personally handed them over. Those clerks from the Ministry of Revenue were still shouting a few days ago that 'according to regulations, a handwritten order from the chief official is required,' but this morning they sent you seven batches of files."

Zhu Youjian's lips curled into a smile.

"They're getting anxious."

Chen Zhiyuan raised his head.

"Your Majesty is wise."

Zhu Youjian did not accept this flattery.

He walked back to the imperial desk and sat down.

"But," he said, "your budget proposal cannot be released now."

Chen Zhiyuan did not answer immediately.

Zhu Youjian looked at him.

"Do you understand what I mean?"

Chen Zhiyuan said, "Your subject understands."

Budgetary regulations are a fundamental solution.

A fundamental solution can only be implemented after the symptoms have been addressed.

The military spending case is still under investigation, the evidence has not been fully collected, and the suspects have not yet been identified.

Presenting the budget now is tantamount to telling everyone that Chen Zhiyuan not only wants to investigate old accounts, but also wants to change the rules.

Those who rely on old rules for their livelihood will fight back fiercely.

They would say the budget regulations were "political chaos," that Chen Zhiyuan was "the second Wang Anshi," and that the emperor "listened to treacherous officials."

They would link investigations with restructuring, using opposition to restructuring to obstruct investigations.

Then the military expenditure case will be shelved and forgotten, just like the "Wanli Accounting Records" of that time.

Zhu Youjian looked at Chen Zhiyuan.

"I'm not asking you to stop," he said. "I'm asking you to distinguish when to investigate and when to make changes."

Chen Zhiyuan said, "Your subject understands."

Zhu Youjian waited for him to continue.

Chen Zhiyuan said, "My current duty is to investigate the case. To find out the amount, the process, and the people responsible for the embezzlement of military funds. This is a task assigned to me by His Majesty, and I will certainly do it well."

He paused.

"The budget draft is a privately prepared document, not a formal memorial. I will present it to Your Majesty whenever you require it."

Zhu Youjian nodded.

"What are you planning to say during the platform's Q&A session tomorrow?"

Chen Zhiyuan said, "I intend to report the preliminary results of the military expenditure audit to the Emperor and the court officials."

"Preliminary results?"

"Yes. I have identified some problems from the account books I reviewed over the past three days. The problems mainly focus on three areas."

Chen Zhiyuan took out a folded piece of paper from his sleeve and presented it with both hands.

"First, the troop numbers were inflated. The troop numbers reported by the various garrisons in the nine border regions differed from the actual numbers in the Ministry of War's register by an average of about 23%. In the second year of Chongzhen's reign alone, the amount of unrecorded troop numbers was about 870,000 taels of silver."

"Secondly, there was the misappropriation of funds. The difference between the funds allocated by the Ministry of Revenue and the funds actually received by the border garrisons was between 30% and 40%. The whereabouts of this portion is unknown."

"Thirdly, there are transshipment losses. There are numerous categories of 'losses' in each stage of canal and land transportation, with some prefectures and counties deducting as much as 3% for a single transaction. This part lacks unified standards and effective supervision."

Zhu Youjian took the paper and read it over.

The numbers on the paper were more specific than he had expected.

He put the paper down.

"Are all these data records available?"

"Yes. I have retrieved the originals or copies of the Ministry of War's inventory, the Ministry of Revenue's allocation books, the grain transport slips, and the receipts from the prefectures and counties, and verified them one by one."

"What about the actual revenue figures for the border town?"

"The Ministry of War has archives of the receipts submitted by each town. I have reviewed the receipt records of Liaodong, Jizhou, and Xuanda towns from the first to the second year of the Chongzhen reign and cross-referenced them with the amounts allocated by the Ministry of Revenue and the amounts transported by the Grand Canal. Every discrepancy is documented."

Zhu Youjian remained silent for a while.

"Are you planning to release all these numbers when you conduct a matchmaking event on the platform?"

Chen Zhiyuan said, "I intend to discard a portion."

Which part?