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

"What I want is the truth, not empty talk."

"If you dare to utter even the slightest lie, or use this to exonerate Yuan Chonghuan, I will not let you off lightly."

"Your subject dares not."

Zhu Youjian then looked at Cheng Jiming and Zhou Yanru.

"The cabinet will reconsider Chen Zhiyuan's memorial. Although there are concerns about the system of accountability for speech, the abuses of the censors' system of reporting on hearsay and recommending officials without accountability do exist."

"You draft a set of rules to see how to impose some constraints without going too far."

The two cabinet ministers exchanged a glance, bowed, and said, "Your Majesty, we obey your decree."

Chen Zhiyuan bowed slightly, but his gaze did not leave Zhu Youjian's face.

"Your Majesty, I have another guess."

Zhu Youjian frowned.

He disliked his subjects speaking in such an uncertain tone, and especially disliked the word "guess".

The nation is facing a difficult situation, and every decision is related to the lives of countless people. How can we rely on guesswork?

"What guess?"

Zhu Youjian's voice was clearly impatient.

Chen Zhiyuan took a deep breath.

He knew that once those words were spoken, there would be no turning back.

"From this day forward, memorials impeaching me will fall like snowflakes onto Your Majesty's desk."

The platform was deathly silent.

Cheng Jiming and Zhou Yanru simultaneously looked up at Chen Zhiyuan, their expressions complex.

The ministers bowed their heads, but their shoulders were slightly tense.

Zhu Youjian stared at Chen Zhiyuan for a full three breaths.

Then, a cold smile appeared on his lips.

"If you have no problems yourself, why be afraid of impeachment?"

Chen Zhiyuan did not answer immediately.

He sensed the probing in Zhu Youjian's words, and also detected a hint of almost imperceptible disappointment.

The emperor probably thought that this young official, who had been so eloquent just moments before, was now worried about his own safety and was nothing more than a mediocre person.

"I am not afraid," Chen Zhiyuan said slowly. "I am merely making a prediction."

"Prediction?" Zhu Youjian's voice grew even colder.

"Are you a fortune teller, or can you predict the future?"

"I am not good at fortune telling," Chen Zhiyuan said.

"The case of Yuan Chonghuan, on the surface, is about his loyalty and treachery, merits and demerits, but in reality, it is a pretext for various factions to make their own arguments."

Chen Zhiyuan continued.

"Your Majesty has ordered me to write a report analyzing the Yuan case. If I write that Yuan Chonghuan is guilty, the Donglin faction will surely regard me as an enemy."

"If I were to write that Yuan Chonghuan was innocent, all other factions would surely rise up against me."

"If I write something ambiguous, everyone will criticize me for being fence-sitters."

"Therefore, I predict that no matter how I write it, memorials impeaching me will come like snowflakes."

"Because those people don't care what I wrote, they only care which side I stood on."

"Or rather, they only care about whether they can drag me into the vortex of factional strife and make me another pawn in their attacks on their opponents."

Zhu Youjian remained silent.

He put his hands behind his back and paced back and forth on the platform.

One step, two steps, three steps.

The boots made a dull thud as they stepped on the blue bricks.

Looking at the emperor's back, Chen Zhiyuan suddenly felt that this twenty-year-old young man had too heavy a burden on his shoulders.

It was so heavy that it bent his back, so heavy that every turn of his head was difficult.

But the next moment, Zhu Youjian turned around, his face expressionless.

"You speak as if the entire court is full of scoundrels, and only you are a gentleman."

"Your subject dares not," Chen Zhiyuan said, lowering his eyes.

"I am merely a seventh-rank compiler, the lowest-ranking official in the Hanlin Academy. I have no right to judge anyone."

"So what you just said wasn't a judgment?"

"I am stating the facts," Chen Zhiyuan said, raising his head.

"If Your Majesty does not believe me, you may wait three days. Within three days, the memorial impeaching me will surely arrive."

"At that time, Your Majesty will be able to judge whether what I have said is true or not."

Zhu Youjian stared at him for a long time, then suddenly let out a cold laugh.

"Chen Zhiyuan, are you trying to provoke me?"

"Your subject dares not."

"You're trying to provoke me." Zhu Youjian's voice suddenly rose.

"You want me to see if this court is truly as you say, rife with factional strife and self-serving individuals!"

"You want me to see for myself whether those ministers who claim to be loyal to the emperor and love their country will turn on me just because a seventh-rank compiler spoke a few truths!"

Chen Zhiyuan fell silent.

Because he knew that Zhu Youjian was right.

That's what he meant.

But he couldn't admit it.

Zhu Youjian paced a few more steps, then suddenly stopped.

"Very well," the emperor said. "I will wait three days. I want to see if it is really as you say, that memorials impeaching you will come flying in like snowflakes."

He turned around and looked at Chen Zhiyuan with eyes as sharp as knives.

"But remember this: if you have problems yourself, if your memorials are empty and meaningless, if you are just trying to please the crowd—then you won't need anyone else to impeach you; I will be the first to punish you."

Chen Zhiyuan bowed and said, "Your subject understands."

"Step down." Zhu Youjian waved his hand.

"I want to see your memorial in three days."

"I obey your decree."

Chen Zhiyuan bowed again, then turned and walked down the platform.

He could feel the gazes behind him—Cheng Jiming's scrutiny, Zhou Yanru's coldness, and the curiosity and vigilance of the other ministers.

And there was Zhu Youjian's gaze.

When Chen Zhiyuan returned to the Hanlin Academy, it was already late noon.

The office was empty; his colleagues had probably all gone to eat.

He sat down in his seat, looked at the historical manuscripts piled on the table, and suddenly felt that all of this was so unreal.

Five days ago, he was a Party School teacher in the 21st century, organizing historical materials from the Ming and Qing dynasties in the library.

Five days later, he became a compiler in the Hanlin Academy in the third year of the Chongzhen reign of the Ming Dynasty. He had just faced the emperor directly on the platform and said those things that might bring about his death.

He closed his eyes, trying to clear his mind.

Zhu Youjian asked him to write a memorial analyzing the Yuan Chonghuan case and the situation in Liaodong.

This is not a simple task.

The case of Yuan Chonghuan is too complicated and involves too many people.

The situation in Liaodong was even more chaotic – insufficient military pay, abandoned military farms, generals with their own agendas, and the Later Jin eyeing the region covetously.

Zhu Youjian was a notoriously suspicious emperor in history.

Chen Zhiyuan rubbed his temples and opened his eyes.

He spread out the paper, ground the ink, and picked up the brush.

The pen tip hovered over the paper, but couldn't fall for a long time.

The next day, Chen Zhiyuan went to the Hanlin Academy to report for duty as usual.

He had just sat down in the main room when Huang Daozhou came over.

"Brother Yichen." Huang Daozhou's voice was soft, but his eyes were serious.

"The platform responded correctly yesterday, are you... alright?"

Chen Zhiyuan looked up and saw that the concern in Huang Daozhou's eyes was genuine.

"Thank you for your concern, Brother Youxuan. I am well."

Huang Daozhou looked around and lowered his voice.

"Brother Yichen, your memorial... and what you said during yesterday's audience have already spread."

Chen Zhiyuan's heart skipped a beat: "So fast?"

"The central government is only this big," Huang Daozhou said with a wry smile.

"The slightest breeze can spread throughout the Six Ministries and Nine Ministers within half a day. Let alone such an important matter as a memorial presented at the platform."

He paused, lowering his voice even further.

"Brother Yichen, although we are not close friends, we are both officials in the Hanlin Academy, and there are some things I must remind you of."

"Brother Youxuan, please speak."

"Your memorial, as well as your remarks yesterday about 'responsibility for speech' and 'investigation,' have affected the interests of too many people."

Huang Daozhou said.

"It is an ancestral system of this dynasty for censors to report matters based on hearsay. How can they agree to be held accountable for their words?"

"And then there's the issue of collective punishment for recommendations—which minister in the court hasn't recommended a few people? If those recommended are punished for their mistakes, who would dare to make recommendations?"

"Not to mention your talk of 'factional strife' and 'selfish motives'... Brother Yichen, you're practically insulting the entire court."

Chen Zhiyuan was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "Brother Youxuan, what if what I said is true?"