My Portable Ming Dynasty

Chapter 190 Any reform will inevitably challenge imperial power.

Su Ze took out the "Memorial Requesting the Revision of the Accounting Records of the Longqing Era" from his sleeve, took two steps forward, and handed it to Zhang Juzheng's desk.

Zhang Juzheng solemnly picked up Su Ze's memorial, read it word by word, and then looked at Su Ze with a complicated expression.

There are people in this world who understand me so well!
The idea of ​​compiling accounting records was something Zhang Juzheng had already conceived when he first entered officialdom and was studying at the Hanlin Academy.

Zhang Juzheng once shared these ideas with his friends, but they all thought he was indulging in wishful thinking.

Later, when Yan Song came to power, the court became corrupt and Zhang Juzheng, who was constantly on the rise and fall of officialdom, became increasingly reserved and low-key.

Even after his advisor Xu Jie drove out Yan's faction, Zhang Juzheng never expressed his desire for reform to Xu Jie.

Zhang Juzheng did not trust Xu Jie.

Although they were like teacher and student, Zhang Juzheng knew that Xu Jie was just a patch-up artist; he couldn't control the officials at all, let alone promote reforms.

Therefore, Zhang Juzheng chose to lie low, believing that the path of reform was lonely and that he could only fulfill his ambition of reform by climbing to a higher position.

But then, he ran into Su Ze!

And Su Ze is Gao Gong's disciple!

Zhang Juzheng's thought at this moment was regret; how wonderful it would be if Su Ze were his disciple.
Zhang Juzheng raised his head and looked at Su Ze, saying:

"His Majesty will not approve this memorial."

Su Ze said:
"His Majesty may not approve it, but the ministers are already discussing it. If even one-tenth or one-hundredth of the matters in this memorial can be accomplished, my wish will be fulfilled."

Zhang Juzheng stared at Su Ze and said:

“If Emperor Shizong were on the throne, the Embroidered Uniform Guard would already be outside the Ministry of Revenue by the time you submitted this memorial.”

Su Ze shook his head and said:

“The security on Haigang Peak was poor, so Emperor Shizong did not kill him.”

Zhang Juzheng looked at Su Ze, unsure whether Su Ze was genuinely ignorant or feigning ignorance, but he still said:

"This time, that time."

Su Ze replied, "The one currently in power is not Emperor Shizong."

Zhang Juzheng sighed and said:
"If we wait another ten years, and wait another ten years for Zilin to submit this memorial again, I will definitely push this memorial forward!"

Su Ze shook his head and said, "Your Excellency, 'The Master said, standing by the river, 'It flows on like this, never ceasing day or night.' How many decades can this world have?"

Zhang Juzheng sighed again.

The difficulties in implementing the Accounting Records are not limited to local opposition.

More importantly, to establish a unified accounting system, it is essential to have the most accurate financial data.

The Ministry of Revenue's Imperial Treasury, the Court of Imperial Stud's Changying Treasury (responsible for horse administration), the Court of Imperial Sacrifices' Treasury (responsible for sacrifices to Heaven, Earth, and ancestors), and the Emperor's Imperial Treasury.

The imperial treasury was the emperor's private property. Su Ze's memorial was actually a request for the imperial treasury to publish its accounts to the Ministry of Revenue.

Even the Longqing Emperor, who was known for his leniency towards his ministers, would never have supported Su Ze's memorial.

No, this is no longer just about not supporting him; it's about absolutely developing a grudge against Su Ze.

Zhang Juzheng looked at Su Ze again:
"Once this memorial is sent, there's no turning back."

Zhang Juzheng looked at Su Ze.

Although Su Ze's previous reform measures included many shocking memorials, he was basically on the emperor's side.

The emperor wanted to abolish the morning court sessions, compile history and publish newspapers, suppress censors, and open ports for trade. These were all things the emperor himself had long wanted to do but could not do due to ancestral laws and pressure.

However, this memorial, "Request to Revise the Accounting Records of the Longqing Emperor," touched the emperor's private treasury. Would the emperor still trust Su Ze as before?
Especially given Su Ze's current high prestige, his every move attracts attention from both the government and the public.

Zhang Juzheng had already considered the worst-case scenario: Su Ze would be alienated by the emperor because of this memorial and would no longer be given important positions.

Throughout Zhang Juzheng's career, he had seen too many ambitious officials like these. Those ministers who impeached Yan Song one after another had long since decayed, yet the court still did not allow their families to collect their bodies for burial.

Zhang Juzheng was not that kind of person. He believed in another path: as long as one climbs high enough, there will always be an opportunity to realize one's ideals.

Now that Li Chunfang is pressing down on him, he will lie low, focus on doing his job well, and accumulate strength for the future.

Zhang Juzheng originally thought Su Ze was that kind of person, but this memorial changed his mind.

Su Ze cupped his hands and said, "Grand Secretary Zhang, I hope this memorial can be submitted to the Ministry of Revenue as a proposal."

Upon hearing Su Ze's words, Zhang Juzheng stood up abruptly and stared intently at Su Ze.

A departmental discussion is a public discussion within a department, which is completely different in nature from a personal memorial.

The deliberations of the ministries represented the will of the entire Ministry of Revenue. Once a matter became a matter for the deliberations of the ministries, the emperor and the cabinet would feel pressure to strongly oppose it.

If Su Ze hadn't personally requested to come to the Ministry of Revenue, Zhang Juzheng would have even suspected that he was sent by Gao Gong specifically to eliminate his influence within the Ministry of Revenue.

Zhang Juzheng stared at Su Ze and said:

"No, this matter cannot be discussed in the ministry."

Su Ze looked at Zhang Juzheng and said:
“Grand Secretary Zhang, two years after His Majesty ascended the throne, you submitted a memorial entitled ‘Memorial on Six Matters,’ which mentioned ‘strengthening the foundation of the nation.’ You said that it was necessary to clarify the nation’s finances so that ‘both the ruler and the people could focus on being pure of heart and efficient in their affairs, and that the people could live in peace and the nation could be secure.’”

Su Ze then added:
“In the twenty-eighth year of the late emperor’s reign, Grand Secretary Zhang submitted a memorial entitled ‘On Current Affairs,’ in which he said, ‘If there is any obstruction, the blood and qi will not be able to rise and fall, and the diseases of swelling, weakness and paralysis will arise.’”

"You also said that the problems of stagnation are: 'the arrogance of the imperial family, the neglect of officials, the procrastination of the bureaucracy, the lack of border defenses, and the severe shortage of funds.' 'Praise and blame are contradictory, right and wrong are confused by words, appointment and dismissal are decided by love and hate, the government is often in disarray, and there is no order to things.'"

"This memorial from Su is precisely aimed at consolidating the foundation of the nation, clarifying the laws and regulations, and establishing a unified system of governance!"

After Su Ze finished speaking, Zhang Juzheng avoided Su Ze's gaze.

Su Ze turned around and said to Zhang Shouzhi, the Vice Minister of Revenue, who was sitting to the left:

“Minister Zhang, today is a joint discussion by the thirteen ministries. If the matters discussed can reach a consensus, shouldn’t we draft a memorial to His Majesty as a joint proposal?”

Zhang Shouzhi didn't know what Su Ze's memorial actually said, but seeing Zhang Juzheng, the Grand Secretary, lose his composure, he knew that Su Ze must have written another memorial that would cause a great uproar in the court.

If such a memorial were submitted as a proposal from the Ministry of Revenue, wouldn't I be finished as the Vice Minister of Revenue?
However, he was timid and hesitant by nature; otherwise, he would not have been willing to assist Zhang Juzheng.

Now, Zhang Juzheng's imposing presence has been intimidated by Su Ze, and Zhang Shouzhi is even more submissive and dares not speak out.

Seeing that Zhang Shouzhi remained silent, Su Ze took it as tacit agreement, and then addressed the other heads of the thirteen departments:

"What Su Ze discussed today concerns Hu Bangben."

After saying this, Su Ze began to read aloud the contents of his memorial in front of everyone.

When Su Ze finished reading the first paragraph, Ding Jingxuan, the chief official of the Zhejiang Provincial Bureau of Personnel, was already trembling. He only regretted that he had not been able to stay at home on sick leave like Ma Sen, the Minister of Revenue.
madman!

Ding Jingxuan thought about his attempt to trick Su Ze and secretly regretted provoking such a madman!
After Su Ze finished reading the memorial, the expressions of the people present were varied.

However, soon, Qiu Nong, the chief of the Fujian Provincial Bureau of Personnel, and Xia Chun, the chief of the Shanxi Provincial Bureau of Personnel, stood up to support Su Ze! Xie Xu, the chief of the Sichuan Provincial Bureau of Personnel, also stood up to echo him. One after another, the chiefs of the bureaus of personnel stood up. Including Su Ze, seven out of the thirteen bureaus of personnel had already supported Su Ze.

really!

Just days before finishing writing the memorial, which was destined not to pass, Su Ze still used the "Handheld Ming Dynasty Court" simulation.

——[Simulation Start]——

A day later, the memorial requesting the revision of the Longqing Accounting Records was sent to the cabinet. The cabinet ministers dared not draft a proposal and sent it to the palace.

The Longqing Emperor was furious when he saw your memorial and ordered the Ministry of Revenue to review it and find any errors in it in order to punish you.

To the emperor's surprise, more than half of the officials in the Ministry of Revenue supported his memorial, and even several chief officials of the Bureau of Civil Affairs directly submitted a memorial in support of him.

Enraged, the emperor dismissed seven officials, including you, from the Qingli Bureau.

The Emperor has dismissed you from your positions as Daily Lecturer and Crown Prince's Lecturer, and has forbidden you from entering or leaving the palace.

A year later, you were demoted and exiled from the capital.

——[Simulation End]——

[Would you like to consume 10000 prestige points to ensure the entire memorial is executed?]

This was the worst-case scenario Su Ze had simulated, but to his surprise, the Ministry of Revenue was so supportive of him.

Come to think of it, Zhang Juzheng had been running the Ministry of Revenue for many years. If he wanted to implement reforms, he would naturally seek out talented people.

Those who were chosen by Zhang Juzheng and recruited into the Ministry of Revenue must have been ambitious and capable ministers.

Ambitious and capable ministers will naturally see the benefits that the "Longqing Accounting Records" brings to the country.

The results of this simulation gave Su Ze hope of implementing the memorial.

Su Ze's method was to leverage the departmental meetings to form departmental councils, and then use the pressure from these councils to reduce the prestige required for enforcement.

The result of this simulation was that, thanks to the strong support of the Ministry of Revenue, the emperor was unable to directly punish Su Ze.

The emperor even wanted to purge the Ministry of Revenue, demoting the officials who supported the "Memorial Requesting the Revision of the Accounting Records of the Longqing Era," before finally taking action against himself.

This shows that the emperor was still hesitant to act against the pressure of public opinion surrounding the Ministry of Revenue.

Indecisiveness was a flaw of the Longqing Emperor.

Su Ze wasted many of his prestige points because of the emperor's indecisiveness.

Since the emperor's indecisiveness could be used by other ministers to oppose Su Ze's memorial, Su Ze could also use the emperor's indecisiveness to put pressure on him, thereby reducing the consumption of prestige points.

As expected, the pressure from the Ministry of Revenue made Emperor Longqing hesitant to act rashly.

What if we add Zhang Juzheng?
If this proposal can still get Zhang Juzheng's support, wouldn't it require even fewer prestige points to force it through?
Zhang Juzheng looked at Su Ze and said:
"Zilin, you didn't have to be in such a hurry."

Su Ze shook his head and said:

"Grand Secretary Zhang, this matter is neither urgent nor urgent."

"?"

Su Ze said:

“Grand Secretary Zhang, you too once resolved to eliminate the corrupt practices. Throughout history, any dynasty that sought to reform and strengthen itself inevitably had to reach this point.”

Everyone present was confused by the conversation between Su Ze and Zhang Juzheng, but Zhang Juzheng immediately understood what Su Ze meant.

Reforms in every dynasty inevitably touched upon imperial power!

This was Shang Yang's curse, and also the inevitable fate of all reformers.

The reason is simple: any reform will inevitably harm the interests of some people.

It's like eating meat. Once you've eaten all the easy meat on the bones, what's left are the tough bones.

From the reforms of Shang Yang onward, all reforms in successive dynasties eventually encountered the imperial power.

As Su Ze said, his series of reform measures all started with the easiest ones.

The establishment of newspapers, the opening of ports, and the commencement of shipping were all fabricated out of thin air. Many of these events did not harm the existing interest groups, or the influence of these groups in the government was very weak.

However, as Su Ze submitted his memorials and proposed reforms, they inevitably touched upon the imperial power.

Take the recent "Memorial Requesting the Compilation of Accounting Records during the Longqing Reign" as an example. Without first completing the accounting in the imperial court, it would be impossible to implement the subsequent land clearing measures.

If they can't even figure out the emperor's private treasury income, if they can't even figure out the largest account book in the entire Ming Dynasty, how can they expect to figure out the accounts of the prefectures and counties?
The easy things have been changed, and all the reforms to come will touch on the deepest interests of the entire Ming Dynasty.

Imperial power is something that cannot be avoided.

Su Ze's memorial merely requested that the imperial treasury's accounts be handed over to the Ministry of Revenue for auditing; it did not request that the emperor hand over the imperial treasury to the outer court, yet it encountered such strong opposition.

If even this basic requirement is difficult to meet, then don't even think about writing any accounting records.

Without compiling accounting records, Zhang Juzheng's Single Whip Law would be nothing more than a castle in the air.

Zhang Juzheng understood Su Ze's meaning almost instantly, and in that instant, the foundation upon which he had served as an official for decades was shaken.

Yes, if one is determined to reform, then just as Su Ze said, one will inevitably clash with imperial power sooner or later.

The so-called "acting according to the times" means that the "time" will never come.

That so-called waiting is nothing but self-deception.

Su Ze's words directly touched the most sensitive chord in Zhang Juzheng's heart.

Where exactly is this "time"?

Immediately following, Su Ze's words struck Zhang Juzheng's heart like a resounding bell.

"Grand Secretary Zhang, the time is not on our side!"

Yes, it's not something I can have.

As he aged, his health gradually deteriorated, and Zhang Juzheng vaguely felt the same sense of being chased by time that the ancients had.

Will the opportunity I've been waiting for really come?

Upon realizing this, Zhang Juzheng stood up and said:
"Those who wish to sign may do so; those who do not wish to may leave."

"This memorial was submitted to the cabinet as a proposal by the Ministry of Revenue."

After saying this, Zhang Juzheng walked to the table where the officials in the Imperial Archives were recording the meeting, picked up the pen on the table, and signed his name on Su Ze's memorial.

(End of this chapter)