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

Chapter 65 How long can the Ming Dynasty remain so stable?

Cheng Jiming was taken aback.

Chen Zhiyuan continued.

"The border troops mutinied because they were owed wages and because they couldn't survive."

"It's not because they knew there were corrupt officials at the top. They knew all along that there were corrupt officials. They were soldiers stationed on the border, and they knew better than anyone how much of their pay was being withheld."

He looked at Cheng Jiming.

"Does Grand Secretary Cheng really think that the border soldiers wouldn't know that some people are embezzling their quotas? Or that someone is withholding their pay?"

Cheng Jiming did not answer.

Chen Zhiyuan said.

"They know. But they can't do anything about it. They dare not cause trouble, because if they do, they will be beheaded. They dare not speak out, because no one will care even if they do. They can only endure it, endure it until the day they can't endure it any longer."

"Now the imperial court wants to investigate this matter, to recover the money, and to change these regulations. When the border troops find out, will they rebel? Or will they be more willing to guard the border?"

Cheng Jiming fell silent.

Zhou Yanru spoke.

"What about the common people? What will they think when they find out?"

Chen Zhiyuan looked at him.

"Grand Secretary Zhou, what are the people thinking now?"

Zhou Yanru was stumped by the question.

Chen Zhiyuan answered for him.

"What the people are thinking now is that the imperial court is increasing the taxes on Liaodong, the suppression of rebellions, and the training of soldiers, and the burden is getting heavier every year. They can no longer make a living."

"They don't know where the money went, but they know they're getting poorer and poorer and can't survive."

"If they knew that this money wasn't truly needed, but had been embezzled, withheld, and exploited at every level, what would they think?"

He paused.

"They will hate those corrupt officials. They will feel that at least the court is still investigating, still pursuing, and still making changes. Instead of what it is now, which only knows how to increase taxes and only knows how to ask for money, but never says where the money goes."

He Wuzhou said.

"Vice-Prefect Chen, what you're saying is all speculation. What if the people react differently? What if they think the court is completely rotten and have utterly lost faith in it?"

Chen Zhiyuan nodded.

"Grand Secretary He is right. It is possible. That's why I said earlier that we must do a good job in three things: the way we make the information public, the scope of the information public, and what we do after the information public."

He turned to Zhu Youjian.

"Your Majesty, I believe that making it public is not simply a matter of posting an edict. It requires a multi-step process."

Zhu Youjian finally spoke.

"explain."

Chen Zhiyuan said.

"The first step is to verify the facts. The figures I just mentioned are only preliminary results."

"Over the next month, a special task force composed of the three judicial departments will review all military expenditure accounts since the first year of the Chongzhen reign. Every discrepancy, every expenditure destination, will be investigated thoroughly if possible, and those that cannot be investigated will be listed and explained why they cannot be investigated."

"The second step is to assign responsibility."

"After verification, the crimes will be determined according to the law. Those who deserve to be executed will be executed, those who deserve to be dismissed will be dismissed, and those who deserve to be prosecuted will be prosecuted."

"But we must proceed in batches, not all at once. In the first batch, we should arrest those with the most conclusive evidence and the largest sums involved. This will show the government and the public that the court is serious and not just going through the motions."

"The third step is to make it public. After the responsibility is determined, the results of the investigation, the list of those convicted, and the amount of stolen goods recovered will be sent to the provincial administration commissions, prefectures, and counties in the form of an official gazette."

"At the same time, notices were posted in Shuntian Prefecture and Yingtian Prefecture to let the people know that the court was rectifying military spending, who had been arrested, and how much money had been recovered."

He paused.

"The fourth step is reform. This is the most crucial step. At the same time as making it public, the imperial court must announce the new regulations for managing military expenditures."

"New rules are needed for everything: how to determine troop numbers, how to allocate and transport funds, how to distribute them, and how to supervise them."

"Let the government and the public see that investigating cases is not just about killing a few people, but about plugging the loopholes."

After he finished speaking, he took a step back.

The platform remained quiet for a long time.

Cheng Jiming looked at Chen Zhiyuan with a complicated expression.

He had to admit that the young man was thinking more deeply than he was.

It's not just about investigating cases and murders, but about a whole process—verification, accountability, transparency, and reform.

Every step has a purpose, and every step paves the way for the next.

Zhou Yanru was also thinking about it.

Chen Zhiyuan was not unaware of the risks of going public. However, he believed that the risks were manageable, and that the benefits of going public might outweigh the risks.

He Wuzhou thought about it even more.

He suddenly realized that Chen Zhiyuan's approach was not only aimed at the military spending case.

This is setting rules.

A rule that can be followed in all future cases.

Investigate, assign responsibility, disclose information, and restructure.

If anyone is ever corrupt again, this is how the court will deal with them.

The common people knew, the border troops knew, and the whole country knew.

Those who are greedy should think twice.

Because their names might be posted on the city gate.

Zhu Youjian looked at Chen Zhiyuan and remained silent for a long time.

Then he looked at Cheng Jiming.

"Mr. Cheng, what do you think?"

Cheng Jiming remained silent for a moment before slowly speaking.

"Your Majesty, what Vice-Prefect Chen said is indeed reasonable. However, I still have some concerns."

"explain."

"After the news is made public, the public's reaction, the border troops' attitude, and the discussions among scholars are all unpredictable."

"If things get out of control, the consequences will be unimaginable. I believe that, to be on the safe side, we could first try out the first two steps suggested by Vice Minister Chen?"

"After verifying the facts and convicting the suspect, we'll see how the government and the public react before deciding whether to make the information public."

Zhu Youjian did not answer, but looked at Zhou Yanru.

Zhou Yanru thought for a moment and then said.

"Your Majesty, I agree. We should first investigate and determine the guilt, then decide based on the situation. If public opinion is stable after the investigation, it will not be too late to make it public. If public opinion is unstable, we can adjust our strategy accordingly."

Qian Shisheng and He Wuzhou both nodded.

Zhu Youjian looked at Chen Zhiyuan.

Chen Zhiyuan remained silent.

Zhu Youjian waited for a while.

"Chen Zhiyuan, what do you think?"

Chen Zhiyuan said.

"Your Majesty, I believe that what Grand Secretary Cheng and Grand Secretary Zhou said is a mature and prudent approach to governing the country. It is safe, secure, and has minimal risk."

He paused.

"But I also believe that if we only investigate and convict without making it public and without reforming the system, then this matter is only half done and is as good as not done at all."

Cheng Jiming frowned.

"What do you mean you didn't do it?"

Chen Zhiyuan looked at him.

"Grand Secretary Cheng, I have discovered a problem while reviewing the account books."

"What's the problem?"

"These corrupt practices didn't form overnight. They took decades or even centuries, layer by layer, generation by generation, to gradually become what they are today."

"Every official, every general, lives within these rules. They know it's wrong, but they all do it."

He paused.

Why? Because no one is investigating.

"The previous one was corrupt and left, and the next one comes and does the same thing."

"The imperial court has investigated cases and executed corrupt officials, but once the cases are investigated and the people are executed, the rules remain the same, and the loopholes remain the same."

"Newcomers, faced with the same positions, the same temptations, and the same routines, will eventually follow the same old path."

Cheng Jiming remained silent.

Chen Zhiyuan continued.

"When I was reviewing the accounts at the Censorate, I made a discovery. In the first year of the Chongzhen reign, the Ministry of War audited the military pay in Liaodong and found a shortfall of 7,000 taels of silver, which was subsequently recovered as 80,000 taels of silver."

"Two guerrillas were killed and a deputy general was dismissed. It seems the job was done."

"But when I checked the accounts from the second year of Chongzhen's reign, those seven thousand vacancies reappeared the following year. A different group of people were using them."

He looked at Cheng Jiming.

"This isn't about changing the people; it's about the rules not being changed."

Cheng Jiming fell silent.

Zhou Yanru also fell silent.

Zhu Youjian stood up.

He walked to the edge of the platform, his back to the assembled officials.

After a long silence, he spoke.

"Mr. Cheng, Mr. Zhou, Mr. Qian, Mr. He."

All four people bowed at the same time.

"Your subject is here."

Zhu Youjian did not turn around.

"I understand everything you've said. Safe, secure, low risk. Those are all correct."