I was compiling the daily records during the Wanli reign

Chapter 249 Holding Back a Big Move, Using a Cunning Tactic! The Young Wanli Emperor: Personal Rule is Freedom

The third day of March.

Emperor Wanli's rash was completely cured, and his daily court sessions, lectures, and sutra recitations all returned to normal.

The "Memorial on the Revival of Mathematics," strongly recommended by the three Grand Secretaries, has been approved, and the young Wanli Emperor personally designated Yaodong Trading Company to initiate this matter.

The imperial court will provide experienced senior accountants to participate, but will not interfere in the development of the budget society, intending to see how far the private sector can advance this matter.

As the Yaodong Trading Company's branches have now been scattered throughout various prefectures and cities in the north.

As long as Shen Nian's father and father-in-law launch a call to establish mathematics societies in various branches, coupled with the backing of the imperial court, this matter can quickly develop and spread throughout the country.

The members of the business, who were originally accountants, could quickly gather together in teahouses, restaurants, or private residences to discuss mathematics.

This was done much faster than establishing the college and recruiting students.

As for how far it can develop, that depends on the leading role played by Yaodong Trading Company.

Zhang Juzheng envisioned—

If this project is successful, businessmen may be able to participate in more projects that improve people's lives in the future.

After all, with the implementation of the Single Whip Law, many mandatory labor services were abolished, local governments had limited manpower, and many livelihood affairs were outsourced. Merchants were better at optimizing resource allocation than local officials.

Of course, what the imperial court needs are merchants who have a strong sense of national responsibility.

Rather than the unscrupulous merchants who "search for peas in a quail's crop and pluck lean meat from a heron's leg," trying every means to amass wealth.

……

March 4th, afternoon, inside the Wenhua Hall.

As the young Wanli Emperor perused the memorials submitted by officials of the capital, including the Five Ministries, Six Departments, Nine Ministers, and Censors, congratulating him on his recovery, he couldn't help but purse his lips.

He hoped to see this.

All the officials could say in their memorials that he had been absent from court for a month due to illness, which affected all affairs of the court. Now that he has returned in good health, all affairs of the court will soon return to order.

However, the officials' memorials were filled with nothing but polite phrases like "Congratulations to Your Majesty on your good health and your ever-present spirit."

It seems to be saying that whether or not the young Wanli Emperor is involved in the current court affairs, it makes no difference.

The civil and military officials still treated him, who was seventeen years old by the traditional Chinese age reckoning, as a child.

This made the young Wanli Emperor very uncomfortable.

Before attending the regular court session yesterday, Feng Bao still said something about how "the Ming Dynasty cannot be without His Majesty for a single day." However, now that the officials are under the command of the cabinet, they only know how to bury themselves in their work and don't even know how to say a word of flattery.

Emperor Wanli felt he had no presence at all.

at this time.

Feng Bao strode into the hall from outside, holding a memorial in his hands.

The young Wanli Emperor asked excitedly, "Do you agree?"

"Agreed! Agreed!" Feng Bao said with a smile, then presented the memorial to the young Wanli Emperor.

This morning, the eunuch from the Imperial Secretariat, appointed by Emperor Wanli, relayed a message to the Cabinet.

His recovery from his rash was entirely due to the care and concern of the two empress dowagers and the empress and concubines. According to custom, after recovering from his illness, the young Wanli Emperor should present gifts to the two empress dowagers and reward those who had taken care of him in the inner court.

Therefore, the young Wanli Emperor used the excuse of a shortage of funds in the Imperial Treasury to request the withdrawal of 100,000 taels of silver from the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, and ordered the Grand Secretariat to draft an edict.

When the young Wanli Emperor opened the memorial, he discovered that the memorial, which proposed to withdraw 100,000 taels of silver from the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, also contained a draft note written by Zhang Juzheng.

"Your Majesty's good health and longevity, the offerings to the two palaces, and the bestowal of rewards are all rare occurrences, and we, your humble servants, dare not disobey... However, we, your humble servants, believe that the court's expenses are inexhaustible, while the nation's finances are finite. If we do not exercise restraint, even if wealth accumulates like mountains, it will be like trying to fill a leaky cup with water from the ocean—it will become increasingly insufficient. Currently, the reserves, both internal and external, are still empty, while the people's blood and sweat have been completely exploited..."

"As the saying goes, 'To endure a moment's expense is to avoid a hundred days of poverty.' This saying, though small, can illustrate a great truth. We humbly beseech Your Majesty to take it to heart. If there is any further expenditure, we will certainly not dare to obey the imperial edict." (See image)

……

Zhang Juzheng's draft proposal, which was nearly five hundred words long, can be summarized as follows:

"Your Majesty's use of money is beyond our control, but the nation's resources are limited. Your Majesty should be more frugal. If the national treasury is used for private funds again, we will not agree!"

After reading the draft proposal, Emperor Wanli's expression turned grim.

Although Zhang Juzheng granted his request, he also reprimanded him, making it even more difficult for him to withdraw money from the national treasury next time.

Emperor Wanli greatly disliked this feeling of not being free to spend money.

In the past two years, Emperor Wanli repeatedly sought excuses to transfer funds from the imperial court into the private treasury.

On the one hand, the expenditures of the imperial treasury were indeed large; on the other hand, the amount of money in the imperial treasury determined, to a certain extent, the emperor's authority.

The imperial treasury has a lot of money.

The young Wanli Emperor could then bestow rewards upon his officials without restraint, making them grateful for the emperor's grace and allowing him to feel that he was the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, not a puppet.

"Alas, I have no control over my own affairs. I, the emperor, am truly not free!" the young Wanli murmured.

Seventeen is an age when people are often sentimental.

Two days ago, the young Wanli Emperor was excited about his recovery, but now he felt that being an emperor was too stifling.

Immediately, the young Wanli Emperor stood up and said to Feng Bao, "My lord, accompany me for a walk!"

"This old servant obeys!" Feng Bao quickly cupped his hands in greeting.

……

A moment later, the young Wanli Emperor and Feng Bao walked on a small path east of the Wenhua Hall.

The other eunuchs were all sent away by the young Wanli Emperor.

After taking a few steps, the young Wanli Emperor said, "Grand Master, when do you think I will be able to rule in my own right?"

Feng Baoxian was taken aback, then cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager once said that Grand Secretary Zhang should assist in governing until Your Majesty turns thirty."

Emperor Wanli glared at Feng Bao with annoyance.

"Can't you tell that's just polite talk? If I don't assume personal rule until I'm thirty, wouldn't I be a foolish emperor!" The young Wanli Emperor had a high opinion of himself and always believed that after assuming personal rule, he could make the Ming Dynasty even stronger.

Feng Bao's eyes darted around, and a smile appeared on his face.

“If Your Majesty wishes to rule personally, this old servant believes that you can do so at any time. Your Majesty already has the ability to rule personally!” Feng Bao said, bowing.

Upon hearing this, the young Wanli Emperor was very pleased, but he shook his head slightly.

"The closest I came to assuming personal rule was during the time of the Grand Secretary's mourning period, but I clearly felt that without the temporarily established Drafting Office and without Minister Shen, I would not be able to manage the affairs of state! What abilities do you think I need to improve if I want to assume personal rule as soon as possible?"

Feng Bao was very excited to see that the young Wanli Emperor wanted to assume personal rule.

After the young Wanli Emperor assumes personal rule, the power of the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs will increase again, which will be most advantageous to him.

Feng Bao hesitated for a moment, then said, “Your Majesty, this old servant believes that Your Majesty is not lacking in ability, but rather that you have not taken the initiative to propose a new policy or reform measure. If Your Majesty could formulate an important new policy or reform measure that would win the admiration of all officials and be implemented by the cabinet, Your Majesty’s prestige among the officials would greatly increase. Then Your Majesty could gradually expand your control over the Six Ministries, reward officials more generously, and gradually make the cabinet Your Majesty’s arm rather than Your Majesty’s brain. In this way, when all civil and military officials look to Your Majesty for guidance, Your Majesty will not be far from ruling in your own right!”

"Furthermore, His Majesty cannot voluntarily declare that he wants to assume personal rule; these words must come from Grand Secretary Zhang's mouth to ensure that the ministers have no objections!"

"That makes sense." The young Wanli Emperor nodded. Only if Zhang Juzheng, as the Grand Secretary, voluntarily relinquished power could the young Wanli Emperor assume personal rule.

This is in accordance with the rules of etiquette.

“Currently, my participation in the new policies and reforms is still too weak. The civil and military officials can’t see my abilities or hear my thoughts. I should show more of my abilities and not focus all my energy on lectures anymore!” the young Wanli murmured.

……

On the fifth day of the third month, after the daily lecture, the young Wanli Emperor quickly finished processing the memorials on his desk.

Then he ordered Feng Bao to place all the new policies and reform proposals drafted by Zhang Juzheng, Shen Nian, and others on the table and read them carefully.

He wanted to learn from this experience and formulate a new policy that would be admired by all the civil and military officials.

……

It's almost dusk.

The young Wanli Emperor had already read all the memorials on his desk, and the ink in his brush had dried more than ten times, yet he still hadn't written a single word.

He considered many directions for reform, such as: people's livelihood, imperial examination, military affairs, border administration, salaries, and laws.

However, they could not come up with a convincing and effective strategy that would benefit the Ming Dynasty.

Only now did he realize how broad the knowledge of Zhang Juzheng, Shen Nian, and others was, and how detailed their understanding of various affairs in the court and among the people was.

As for Feng Bao, he was not good at this either. He mentioned a few trivial matters, all of which were rejected by the young Wanli Emperor.

Finally, as night fell, the young Wanli Emperor had not written a single word.

I'll have to continue thinking about it tomorrow.

At this moment, he was full of energy. He especially wanted to prove himself to the civil and military officials. He felt that he would be free after he took over the reins of government.

……

On the seventh day of the third month, near dusk, there was still a blank sheet of paper placed in front of the young Emperor Wanli's desk.

He had to admit that, given his current abilities, he simply couldn't write a complete and feasible new policy.

Trying to find and fill in the gaps beyond the thinking of Zhang Juzheng and others is as difficult as climbing to heaven.

Just then, Feng Bao came up with a wicked trick for the young Wanli Emperor.

"Your Majesty, new policies are hard to come up with. It is as difficult as climbing to heaven for Your Majesty to come up with a good plan that will be admired by all the civil and military officials in a short period of time. Perhaps we should put this idea aside for now. This old servant has another idea in mind."

"Tell me quickly!" the young Wanli Emperor exclaimed excitedly.

Feng Baodao said, "This old servant suggests that Your Majesty should make more incognito visits to various government offices in the capital."

"On the one hand, we can understand the daily affairs of various government departments, and on the other hand, we can discover the problems existing in each government department, so that the officials can feel the majesty of Your Majesty. In addition, Your Majesty can also get to know some young officials, who will be an important force in the court when Your Majesty takes personal control of the government in the future!"

The young Wanli Emperor nodded in satisfaction. Even an emperor must learn to win people's hearts.

His biggest problem right now is that everything is handled by the three cabinet ministers and the heads of the six ministries, and he has absolutely no interaction with lower-level officials.

Little Wanli thought about it.

"The Empress Dowager and the Grand Secretary forbid me from going to the streets to inspect the people's conditions, but they should not object to my going to various government offices in the capital. I have decided... to go to the Grand Secretariat first tomorrow to let the Grand Secretary know what I want to do next, but not to let him inform the other government offices."

When the young Wanli Emperor said this, he was actually somewhat timid.

He was worried about being reprimanded by Zhang Juzheng again, so he decided to greet Zhang Juzheng first.

He believed that Zhang Juzheng had no reason to refute this.

Zhang Juzheng was always pleased with his enthusiasm for politics.

Feng Bao continued, “Your Majesty, the capital city and the garrison are currently severely corrupt and poorly trained. The Five Military Commissions are practically useless, and the secret police are good at intelligence but bad at protection.”

"This old servant believes that Your Majesty could raise this issue when inspecting the Five Armies Commandery, and then select eunuchs to reinstate the ancestral system, establish the Inner Army, and define it as the Emperor's personal army, thereby breaking the civil officials' monopoly on military power!"

"Internal military operations?"

Upon hearing these three words, the young Wanli Emperor understood Feng Bao's meaning.

The Inner Court Military Training Corps, also known as the Inner Court Training Corps of Eunuchs, originated with the Zhengde Emperor.

In the thirty-first year of the Jiajing reign, Emperor Shizong also established the Inner Palace Camp to train eunuchs in the inner training ground.

The Inner Army bypassed the Ministry of War and the Five Military Commissions, and was directly under the command of the young Wanli Emperor. To the emperor, this symbolized absolute power and the absolute oppression of the ministers by imperial authority.

Emperor Wanli knew that by establishing an internal military command, he could extend his influence further and weaken the power of the current civil and military officials.

There are internal troops involved.

Even the censors and officials who were willing to risk their lives to remonstrate would inevitably become much more restrained.

The young Wanli Emperor understood that if he brought up the matter directly, Zhang Juzheng and other officials would definitely object on the grounds of wasting grain and funds, and posing safety hazards.

However, it is not impossible to promote the development of the inner army by using the poor training of the Beijing garrison and the ineffective training of the Five Military Commissions to ensure the safety of the inner court.

The internal military command was essentially giving the young Wanli Emperor an extra sword in his hand.

In the future, the imperial army could be used for visiting imperial tombs and offering sacrifices, which led to a continuous increase in imperial power.

Feng Bao added, "Your Majesty, once the Inner Army is established, you can train it entirely according to your own ideas!"

Upon hearing this, the young Wanli Emperor's eyes lit up immediately.

Feng Bao's words always resonated with him. The young Wanli Emperor, influenced by Shen Nianri's lectures, also harbored a desire to personally lead an expedition.

This single incident alone could make the young Wanli Emperor's dull life more interesting.

The young Wanli Emperor paused for a moment and said, "Next, I need to think carefully about how to accomplish this matter. Your Excellency, you should also think carefully."

"Old slave, you obey!"

Feng Bao proposed this plan both for the sake of the young Wanli Emperor and for his own benefit. He believed that a strong imperial power meant a strong Directorate of Ceremonial, and he also desired greater power.

……

Just as the young Wanli Emperor and Feng Bao were plotting how to gradually move towards assuming personal rule.

In an inn in Datong Prefecture, Shanxi Province.

Shen Nian's father, Shen Yaoshan, and his father-in-law, Gu Dongxing, have arranged for the various branches of Yaodong Trading Company to begin establishing arithmetic societies.

Following Shen Nian's advice, the Mathematics Society must be managed like an academy, and even more rigorously than an academy.

For example: Any member who falsifies accounts will be immediately dismissed and will never be employed by Yaodong Trading Company again.

In addition, capable mathematicians should be given high salaries and high status, and they should be organized together to write and publish books on empirical algorithms to influence more people.

Shen Yaoshan and Gu Dongxing also contacted some business friends in Jiangnan to jointly establish a mathematics society and share information.

This matter brought both fame and fortune, attracting many participants and sparking a lively interest in mathematics among the people.

(End of this chapter)