I was compiling the daily records during the Wanli reign

Chapter 252 The Young Wanli Emperor Uses Schemes in Court! Enhancing Imperial Power and Suppressing the Power of Officials

March 27th, afternoon.

Wenhua Hall.

Holding a document, Feng Bao, with excitement on his face, jogged over to the young Wanli Emperor.

This document is Shen Nian's "Preparatory Plan for Military Training within the Forbidden City," written entirely according to the ideas of the young Wanli Emperor.

Emperor Wanli opened the document and read it very carefully.

"Good, very good! Minister Shen has expressed the necessity of establishing the Inner Army in a reasonable and well-founded manner, which is exactly what I wanted!" The young Wanli Emperor closed the document, looked at the eunuch beside him, and said, "Summon Duke Zhang Rong of Yingguo to an audience!"

Emperor Wanli knew that it would be extremely difficult to get his ministers to agree to this plan.

Therefore, in addition to having Shen Nian write it himself, he also planned to persuade Zhang Rong, the Duke of England, who was in charge of the Left Army Commandery.

The young Wanli Emperor looked down at Feng Bao and said with a smile, "My lord, once we have persuaded the Duke of Ying, I can take this memorial to the Grand Secretary for discussion. Once the Grand Secretary agrees, I will announce this matter in the daily court sessions. If there are any objections, the Grand Secretary, the Duke of Ying, and Minister Shen will naturally explain on my behalf."

Upon hearing this, Feng Bao hesitated for a moment, then bowed slightly and said, "Your Majesty, this old servant feels that it would be difficult to persuade Grand Secretary Zhang to adopt this strategy in private. Perhaps Grand Secretary Zhang is the one who opposes this strategy the most. Perhaps... perhaps... we should discuss this matter at the court meeting the day after tomorrow."

The young Wanli Emperor fell into deep thought and gradually understood Feng Bao's meaning.

His primary purpose in establishing the Imperial Guard was actually to strengthen imperial power, free himself from the constraints of officials, and prepare for ruling in his own right in the future.

Zhang Juzheng was precisely a major obstacle blocking his path to personal rule.

The young Wanli Emperor had no intention of overthrowing this great mountain. He was very grateful to Zhang Juzheng for protecting him over the years and hoped that Zhang Juzheng would continue to assist him.

However, Zhang Juzheng's brilliance was so overwhelming that he seemed like a mascot of the Ming Dynasty, which displeased the young Wanli Emperor.

Therefore, he was prepared to stand in front of Zhang Juzheng, make a name for himself, and prove his abilities.

The young Wanli Emperor dreamed that once he trained the Imperial Guard into the benchmark of the Ming Dynasty's military, so that all soldiers in the country could learn from him, he would have more say in the court and would no longer be treated like a child.

In reality, what he wanted was power, and the freedom that power brings.

“Then let’s handle this matter during the regular court session. Send someone to inform Minister Shen that this plan must not be leaked to outsiders for the time being, not even to the cabinet!” Little Wanli added.

The young Wanli Emperor planned to give his civil and military officials a surprise during the daily court session.

"This old servant obeys!" Feng Bao said, bowing.

He looked at the still somewhat childish face of the young Wanli Emperor and murmured to himself, "This year, His Majesty has grown up and knows how to use tricks to deal with those civil officials. He's starting to resemble Emperor Shizong!"

……

About half an hour later, Duke Zhang Rong of England arrived at the Wenhua Hall.

The young Wanli Emperor first reprimanded Zhang Rong for the various problems he had discovered during his inspection of the Five Military Commands. After Zhang Rong repeatedly admitted his mistakes, the young emperor presented him with the "Preparation Plan for Military Training within the Forbidden City" and asked him to give his opinion.

As the son of a noble family, how could Zhang Rong not understand the young Wanli Emperor's thoughts?

In his eyes, the entire Ming Dynasty belonged to the Zhu family, so there was nothing wrong with what the young Wanli Emperor did. As long as he didn't train recklessly, this move would help improve the combat effectiveness of the Beijing garrison soldiers and, to some extent, enhance the status of military officers in the court.

He had no reason to object and immediately expressed his agreement.

"I plan to propose this policy during the daily court sessions. If the Duke of Ying is interested, remember to participate enthusiastically during the court assemblies!" said the young Wanli Emperor.

"This old minister understands. This old minister will definitely be the first to express his support for this policy, and will also encourage the other military officers of the Five Armies Command to express their support!"

Little Wanli nodded with satisfaction.

He greatly admired veteran officials like Zhang Rong, who understood things quickly and completely obeyed the emperor's will.

……

As dusk approached, in the lecture hall of the Hanlin Academy.

After receiving instructions from the palace eunuchs not to divulge the "Preparation Strategy for the Palace Army," Shen Nian frowned.

When the ruler commands his subject to write, the subject has no choice but to write.

He wrote this strategy by falling completely into the trap set by the young Wanli Emperor.

Furthermore, when working for the emperor, even if he is not instructed not to divulge this plan, he cannot submit it to the cabinet without authorization.

Shen Nian went against his own wishes and wrote the "Preparation Plan for Military Training in the Forbidden City" on behalf of the young Wanli Emperor. He thought that the young Wanli Emperor would definitely show this plan to Zhang Juzheng, and then Zhang Juzheng would definitely come to him. He had already thought about how to explain it.

Unexpectedly, the young Wanli Emperor planned to bypass Zhang Juzheng and announce this policy directly at the regular court session.

“The court sessions in the future are going to be quite lively. Even if the three Grand Secretaries don’t oppose this policy for the sake of the bigger picture, the officials in the Censorate and the Ministry of War will probably strongly oppose it!” Shen Nian murmured.

Shen Nian could understand that the young Wanli Emperor wanted to seize power and demonstrate his abilities so that he could assume personal rule more quickly.

but.

The reason why the young Wanli Emperor is so eager to assume personal rule is not for the sake of the country and the people, but because he wants more freedom—more freedom to spend money, more freedom to pursue his studies, and more freedom to handle state affairs.

This purpose is unacceptable to Shen Nian.

Furthermore, the expansion of imperial power will gradually lead to the collapse of laws and systems.

The current Wanli Emperor is susceptible to many temptations. If he were to establish laws and control the Ming Dynasty, everything would likely descend into chaos.

"If the plan to establish an internal military force is implemented, it will definitely create chaos in the court. Furthermore, if it fosters His Majesty's fondness for militarism, that would be disastrous!" Shen Nian murmured.

……

For any dynasty, an emperor could indulge in taking many concubines and enjoy eating, drinking, and having fun without spending a lot of money. However, if he liked to wage war, no amount of wealth would be enough.

……

On March 29th, at the fourth watch of the day, there will always be a court meeting.

All the civil and military officials gathered at the Huangji Gate.

At this moment, the three Grand Secretaries, Zhang Juzheng, Yin Zhengmao, and Shen Shixing, stood at the very front.

They knew that during today's court session, the young Wanli Emperor would summarize and announce the results of his recent inspections of various government offices in the capital, but they were unaware that he had other plans.

Soon, the court meeting began.

After the officials paid their respects, the young Wanli Emperor slowly began to speak.

"At the beginning of the month, after I recovered from my rash, in order to gain a more thorough understanding of the affairs of the court, I discussed with the three Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet that we should take advantage of our free time each day to make unannounced visits to various government offices to understand the hardships and toil of the lower-level officials and clerks. I spent half a month visiting almost every government office in the outer court, including the Shuntian Prefecture School and the Five City Garrison Command, which are offices that have a lot of contact with the people..."

After the young Wanli Emperor uttered these words, many officials below were dumbfounded.

Some people almost lost their composure.

They were completely unaware of Emperor Wanli's incognito inspection tour.

Some officials couldn't help but tremble, because they knew how wretched their own offices were. Others looked angrily at the three cabinet ministers, complaining that they had kept the matter a secret.

immediately.

With a wave of his hand, the young Wanli Emperor ordered the official on duty at the Office of Transmission to read aloud the problems he had discovered during his incognito inspections. For example: the atmosphere among the officials and clerks of the Censorate was lifeless; some officials entered the office with expressions as if they were attending a funeral, a situation urgently needing improvement; the Three Judicial Offices were openly and covertly at odds, frequently arguing over cases and even physically fighting each other with copies of the *Great Ming Code*; and the music and ritual performances at the Court of Imperial Sacrifices had become a free entertainment for many officials after their duties ended…

When the official on duty at the Office of Transmission read out a question from a government office, one or two officials from that office would voluntarily stand up and kneel on the ground.

The emperor witnessed it firsthand; no evidence was needed to convict them.

Before long, more than ten officials knelt in front of the Huangji Gate.

The crimes weren't serious, but they were enough forty strokes of the cane and enough to be humiliating.

……

A moment later, the question was finished being read aloud.

Emperor Wanli glanced at the officials kneeling on the ground in front of him and said, "The problems I found during my inspection of various government offices are not too serious, but they should serve as a warning to all of you. I will not punish any official this time. I hope that each government office can make every effort to rectify the situation, admit its mistakes and correct them. If the rectification is not done properly and the problems will still occur next time, I will definitely punish them severely!"

"Thank you for your great favor, Your Majesty!" the kneeling officials said in unison, bowing their hands in gratitude.

"Return to your ranks!" Little Wanli waved his hand and then stood up from his throne.

"I can overlook minor issues, but some issues, if left unaddressed, will seriously shake the foundations of my Great Ming Dynasty. During my recent inspection tour, I discovered that the most serious problems lie in two government offices that are crucial to the safety of the capital: the Five City Garrison Command and the Five Military Commands!"

Swish!Swish!Swish!
As soon as these words were spoken, the imperial censors in charge of supervising the five city garrisons and the chief officials of the five military governorates all stepped forward and knelt on the ground.

The main point is to emphasize a good attitude in admitting mistakes.

The Five Cities Military Command, as the government office most criticized by the people in the capital, had many problems due to its numerous trivial matters, all of which were within the expectations of the civil and military officials.

Whether considering the status of the Five Cities Military Command in the capital or the duties it was responsible for, it had to be the worst government office in the entire capital, without exception.

However, the officials were greatly surprised that the Five Military Commissions were singled out for criticism by Emperor Wanli.

The Five Military Commissions, as the highest military institution commanding the national army, seemed to have a high status, but in reality, under the suppression of the Ministry of War, it only had the power to train troops.

The fact that the young Wanli Emperor singled out this criticism clearly indicates that there was a problem with the quality of the soldiers.

Immediately afterward, the young Wanli Emperor waved his hand again, and another official from the Office of Transmission produced another document and read aloud what the young Wanli Emperor had seen and heard during his inspection of the Five City Garrison Commands and the Five Military Governorates.

The Five City Garrison Command was rife with corruption, bribery, gambling, and alcoholism, leading to chaos in the capital and constant complaints from the people.

The Five Military Commands were lax in their duties, with low-ranking officials daring to tamper with documents, engaging in favoritism and corruption, misappropriating military pay and supplies, neglecting training, being perfunctory, and falsifying assessments, resulting in the capital's defenses being extremely vulnerable...

When the officials heard what the young Wanli had seen and heard about the Five City Garrison and the Five Military Commands, they were all incredulous.

They knew these two government offices were bad, but they didn't expect them to be this bad.

The officials of the Five Military Commands, led by Duke Zhang Rong of England, kept their heads down and dared not raise them.

The young Wanli Emperor stood before the throne, looking down.

"I never expected the Beijing garrison to be so negligent. With such a poor attitude towards training, how can the court guarantee that the country's borders will not fall? Who can guarantee the safety of the two Empress Dowagers and myself? This defense is absolutely terrible!" The young Wanli suddenly raised his voice.

"Your Majesty, please calm your anger!" the ministers shouted, bowing with their hands clasped.

Zhang Juzheng looked puzzled; he hadn't expected that the young Wanli Emperor would suddenly criticize the Five Military Commissions and the Five City Garrison Commands.

He knew that these two government offices had many problems, but from his understanding, they weren't as bad as he thought.

The disorderly training of troops by the Five Military Commands and the negligence in guarding the city gates were not the responsibility of the Five Military Commands. Rather, it was due to the unclear division of powers between the Ministry of War and the Five Military Commands, as well as the fact that the focus of the court's new reforms was on the nine border towns rather than the capital garrison.

The imperial court had not yet had time to reorganize the Five Military Commands.

At this moment, Shen Nian looked at Feng Bao, who was not far away with his head down and expressionless.

The young Wanli Emperor was also stubborn, but he was reckless and could be suppressed by Empress Dowager Li, Zhang Juzheng, or some high-ranking officials.

But now, the young Wanli Emperor has learned to use cunning.

His purpose in building up the story for so long was actually to establish an internal military force.

Shen Nian sensed that the court in the future would likely be a place where the power of the emperor and the power of the ministers would constantly clash.

Little Wanli slowed down.

"At this moment, I can no longer trust the Five Armies Commandery, nor can I believe that the Beijing Garrison can protect the Forbidden City. After much deliberation, I have decided to personally create an Imperial Army and reshape military discipline. On the one hand, I want them to become the core force protecting the Forbidden City, and on the other hand, I also want to set an example for all soldiers in the country, so that they know what a truly combat-effective soldier should look like!"

"After I had devised this plan, I ordered Vice Minister Shen of the Ministry of Revenue to draft a good one. You may all listen to it and see if it is feasible?"

Immediately, Feng Bao walked down from a short distance away, preparing to personally read out the "Strategy for Preparing Military Exercises within the Forbidden City".

"The establishment of the inner guard was to allow the emperor to personally instruct the guards and set an example, to reform the laxity of the capital garrison, to conduct military drills in the palace on weekdays to deter traitors, and to conduct imperial tours and inspections in all four seasons to demonstrate the majesty of the imperial family."

“Select strong and robust eunuchs who are not yet of age to practice battle formations at dawn, firearms at noon, and capture techniques at dusk. On the first and fifteenth of each month, hold a grand review at the West Garden Martial Arts Field. The palace guards and soldiers can only be summoned to duty and are not allowed to associate with foreign officials at other times.”

……

"If the internal military is well-trained, then the palace will have elite warriors who can eliminate any threats from within, and will serve as a model for all soldiers in the country. It is truly a powerful weapon for the nation."

……

After hearing the "Plan for Preparing Military Training in the Inner Palace," Zhang Juzheng instantly understood the ultimate purpose of the young Wanli Emperor's incognito inspection tour of the government offices.

To enhance the emperor's authority and suppress the power of officials.

This is most likely because he excessively suppressed the spending and power of the young Wanli Emperor, leading the young Wanli Emperor to want more say in the matter.

After Feng Bao finished reading, the entire Huangji Gate fell silent.

All the officials were pondering the pros and cons of this policy, and why the young Wanli Emperor had proposed it. Some officials looked at Zhang Juzheng, Shen Shixing, and Yin Zhengmao, trying to discern their thoughts from their expressions.

Some people looked at Shen Nian, wondering why he had written this strategy. However, after noticing these gazes, Shen Nian simply narrowed his eyes and gave them a nonchalant expression.

Yin Zhengmao glanced at Shen Nian and immediately understood that this plan was not what Shen Nian truly thought.

At this moment, most officials realized the impact of this policy.

If this policy succeeds, it will enhance the power of the emperor and the eunuchs, while diminishing the power of the ministers.

It's somewhat similar to the style of the Jiajing Emperor back then.

If the young Wanli Emperor were to rashly propose this policy, the officials would definitely stand up and oppose it immediately.

However, at that time, Emperor Wanli clearly pointed out that the protection of the Beijing Garrison was inadequate, which is why he had the idea of ​​establishing the Inner Army.

This is well-reasoned and supported by evidence.

Officials wanted to object, but they struggled to find a suitable reason.

at this time.

Zhang Rong, the Duke of Yingguo, who was kneeling at the front, straightened up, cupped his hands and looked at the young Wanli Emperor, saying, "Your Majesty, this old minister has something to say about this policy!"

(End of this chapter)