My Portable Ming Dynasty

Chapter 235 Seize the Opportunity and Submit Another Memorial

The power of the Nine Ministers' Office in the Ming Dynasty was constantly changing.

Anyone familiar with the workings of officialdom understands that many factors influence departmental power, and it is definitely not simply a matter of what is stipulated in the "Collected Statutes of the Ming Dynasty".

The competence of the heads of government offices and the course of historical evolution.

The most famous example is the change in the status of the Three Judicial Offices of the Ming Dynasty.

In the early Ming Dynasty, the Court of Judicial Review once suppressed the Ministry of Justice and became the judicial center.

Following this, the Censorate began to rise, gaining control of the power to review cases and, through the system of provincial governors inspecting cases, taking control of local judicial power.

Today, the Ministry of Justice has regained the upper hand, becoming the most powerful judicial department by controlling the power of judicial interpretation and case review.

Some emperors preferred to use the Embroidered Uniform Guard to handle cases, so sometimes the Censorate was excluded from the Three Judicial Offices. During the reign of Emperor Wuzong, the Three Judicial Offices were the Ministry of Justice, the Court of Judicial Review, and the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

The Office of Transmission was once a wealthy government office, but it has been declining ever since.

The phrase "ancestral wealth" refers to the period during the reign of Zhu Yuanzhang, when he encouraged people to file lawsuits. The Office of Transmission was responsible for handling these cases, and Zhu Yuanzhang used this method to punish many corrupt local officials.

However, the succeeding emperor had no interest in handling such cases of petitions filed beyond one's jurisdiction, so the Office of Transmission lost its power to supervise petitions and became a mere errand boy among the Nine Ministers' offices.

However, things gradually changed starting with Li Yiyuan, the former Commissioner of the Court of Judicial Review.

Firstly, in terms of function, the imperial court subsidized the expenses of the post stations, and the Office of Transmission gradually gained control of the post stations. The post station network in the two capitals, North and South, is now in the hands of the Office of Transmission.

The three new postal routes that Su Ze petitioned to build—the "Northwest Military Intelligence Express Post," the "Grand Canal Express Post," and the "Sea Post"—were all funded by the imperial court and are now under the control of the Ministry of Justice.

In addition, the private post stations around the capital were also operated by the Commissioner of the Court of State Affairs. Although the balances of these private post stations had to be turned over to the Ministry of Revenue, the Commissioner of the Court of State Affairs had an extra sum of "liquid money".

What surprised Yang Sizhong the most was that Su Ze actually got the Ministry of War to produce a speedboat.

This is a strangely shaped ship with a slender hull, a pointed bow, and a tall mast with many sails. This fast ship was named "Clip Ship" by Su Ze and was used for communication between coastal ports.

These fast ships travel at extremely high speeds and can quickly travel between several coastal port cities.

After its trial voyage, the ship was commissioned by the Maritime Trade Office to be used for transmitting banknotes between various Maritime Trade Offices along the coast.

Unfortunately, the Ministry of Works said that there were still several technical difficulties in building this clipper ship. The sharp, hollow bow required the most skilled craftsmen to manufacture, and the sail material was an even bigger problem. The existing fabrics were not strong enough. The Ministry of Works tried many materials and finally used a blend of silk and cotton linen, but the cost remained high.

However, the biggest problem is the shortage of crew members who can operate such high-speed sailboats.

High-speed navigation in coastal waters is a very dangerous activity, requiring the captain to have a thorough understanding of the sea conditions.

If you're sailing into the deep sea, you need to be more familiar with nautical charts and be proficient in using various navigation and positioning technologies.

Only the best students from the Denglai Maritime Training Institute can serve as crew members on clipper ships, which has limited the development of this type of vessel.

However, in Su Ze's memorial, he proposed equipping the Office of Transmission with clipper boats, writing:

"However, along the coast for thousands of miles, merchants and travelers gather and military affairs are urgent. The existing postal routes are circuitous, the land routes are rugged, and the water routes are via canals. Official documents often take months to be exchanged. Whenever there is a maritime alarm or an urgent business matter, there is a risk of delays and missed opportunities."

"Please establish an additional Office of the Court of State Affairs in each of the major ports along the southeast coast, such as Ningbo, Quanzhou, and Guangzhou. This office shall be responsible for the dispatch of clipper ships and the delivery of documents between the ports. All important news concerning coastal defense, urgent matters related to maritime trade, major disasters, and imperial edicts can be transmitted via this 'sea relay'."

The latter half of Su Ze's memorial requested the court to follow the "precedent" of Korea and establish an Office of Transmission in Luzon, Southeast Asia, to contact the local Han Chinese, gather information on Southeast Asian countries, and strengthen ties with the various vassal states of Southeast Asia.

Commissioner Yang Sizhong closed Su Ze's memorial.

This is the reason for the change in the power of the Office of Transmission.

In the past, the Commissioner of the Court of State Affairs was merely someone who read the memorials of the officials earlier than the Six Ministries; in reality, he was an agency that delivered official documents.

The Office of Transmission was very important in the Ming Dynasty, a dynasty that handled state affairs through official documents, but importance did not equate to power.

The current Office of Transmission is an agency that covers several major postal networks of the Ming Dynasty and aims to establish service stations throughout the country to transmit national intelligence.

This means that the Office of Transmission will become the hub for the transmission of intelligence within the Ming Dynasty.

Using clipper boats, messages from Nanjing would depart from the dock in Shanghai County, sail directly to the dock in Zhigu, and then be delivered to the capital in as little as fifteen days via a fast horse relay system along the stone-paved road between Zhigu and the capital.

This is a speed that was unimaginable before.

Not only in Nanjing, but also in Guangzhou, messages could be delivered via the sea express courier, and the capital could receive official documents from Guangzhou within a month.

In addition, there are overseas news reports.

After Feng Xueyan was sent to Korea, the Korean Tongzheng Office quickly began its work, sorting out news from within Korea and sending a briefing to the capital every half month. Now, the Ming emperor was even more aware of the situation in Korea than the Korean king.

In addition, in order to make meritorious contributions and return to the capital as soon as possible, Feng Xueyan also gathered information about Japan in Korea and sent it back to the capital as a special case.

If we follow Su Ze's memorial and establish the Nanyang Tongzheng Office, then intelligence from Nanyang can also be obtained by the Tongzheng Office in the future.

These administrative offices will later be distributed in coastal cities, military intelligence hubs in the northwest, Liaodong fortresses, key routes in the southwest, and also overseas.

In officialdom, having the ability to know things faster and earlier than others is a form of power.

Yang Sizhong understood this; the power of the Office of Transmission was gradually expanding.

The premise is that Su Ze's memorial can be executed.

Yang Sizhong tapped his knuckles lightly, but the resistance to this memorial was not in the outer court, but in the inner court.
-
——[Simulation Start]——

Your memorial, titled "Memorial on the Swift Ship Delivery of Official Documents and Request for the Establishment of the Southern Ocean Administration Office," was delivered to the Cabinet on the same day. The entire Cabinet approved your memorial, which was then sent to the inner court.

The Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs sabotaged your efforts, causing the Emperor to retain your memorial.

——[Simulation End]——

[Remaining Prestige Points: 340]

[Should we use 100 prestige points to force the memorial to pass?]

"Yes."

[100 prestige points have been deducted, remaining prestige points: 240.]

Looking at the simulation results, Su Ze realized that this time it was the Directorate of Ceremonial that was obstructing his memorial.

Upon closer reflection, it seems to be true; this memorial essentially turned the Office of Transmission into the emperor's eyes and ears.

Who were the emperor's original informants?

The Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Clearly, the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs saw this and therefore sought to obstruct the implementation of the memorial.

Good heavens, I've been so busy these days fighting wits with the outer court that I've completely forgotten about the inner court.

That's true. For eunuchs, their power came from the emperor's trust.

If even the channels of information are monopolized by the outer court, then the inner court will have even less say.

The three heads of the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs were simply keeping a low profile and not vying for power with the outer court, but that did not mean they were weak and easily bullied, or willing to relinquish their most important power.

It seems I haven't thought things through thoroughly enough.

Su Ze increasingly felt the difficulty of promoting change. This was something he had the ability to exploit and fill in the gaps. Without it, a policy that would benefit the country and its people might unknowingly offend many people.

With so many powerful forces in the capital, if even a few were to step forward and obstruct the process, things would not get done.

Reform is difficult! Su Ze also understood why reform pioneers always had to establish their authority first, and then push forward reforms in a way that was almost like overcorrection.

If we don't do this, we might not even be able to take the first step.

But solving this problem only cost 100 reputation points?
Yang Sizhong took the memorial of Su Ze, which had been drafted by the cabinet, to the Directorate of Ceremonial.

Yang Sizhong handed the memorial to Li Fang. Li Fang narrowed her eyes, and just as she was about to look through the memorial, Yang Sizhong said again:
"Chief Li, I also have a secret report."

Secretly?

Secret memorials did not need to go through the cabinet and the six ministries; they were official reports submitted directly to the emperor.

Of course, secret memorials could not bypass the Directorate of Ceremonial.

Unlike the Qing Dynasty, which favored secret politics, the Ming Dynasty's official document system strongly discouraged secret reports.

Which high-ranking official would submit a secret memorial?
Therefore, the secret memorials of the Ming Dynasty were basically all flattering and inquiring about the emperor's well-being.

The emperor was naturally too lazy to read these, and most of the secret memorials were simply replied to by the Directorate of Ceremonial.

However, Li Fang still solemnly accepted the secret memorial from the Commissioner of the Court of Judicial Review.

After Yang Sizhong left, Li Fang picked up Su Ze's memorial.

This time, Li Fang frowned more and more as she looked at it.

If the Office of Transmission became the emperor's eyes and ears, then what about the eunuchs in the local manufacturing and maritime trade offices?
What about the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard?
Li Fang naturally thought of this place when he wanted to become the number one person in the inner court.

Li Fang put down Su Ze's memorial and picked up Yang Sizhong's secret memorial.

Did they place people from the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard in the Office of Transmission?
Li Fang never expected that this seemingly rigid Commissioner of the Court of Judicial Review would be so shrewd.

Li Fang also understood why Yang Sizhong didn't submit a public memorial. If the outside court saw this secret memorial, he would be ridiculed to death.
This Yang Tongzheng is quite a character.

Li Fang sighed inwardly. In the past, the Office of Transmission was a powerless government office, and no one paid much attention to it. Most of the officials in it had little future.

Unexpectedly, this Grand Secretary was flexible and willing to cooperate with the inner court.

That's true. If these intelligence stations were really established in various places, the inner court's intelligence capabilities would be greatly enhanced.

The inner court could also use the express delivery system of the Office of Transmission, so there was no need to build its own network for transmitting messages.

A win-win situation is better than a lose-lose situation.

Li Fang handed both memorials to Feng Bao and Chen Hong, who naturally supported them.

For Feng Bao, this was a golden opportunity to expand the power of the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

For Chen Hong, who was in charge of the Imperial Transport Treasury, if he could use the postal system of the Ministry of Communications, commercial news from the Maritime Trade Offices in various regions could be transmitted quickly, which would greatly strengthen the inner court.
-
February 26th.

Inside the Imperial Household Department, Su Ze was looking at the system's settlement report.

The Emperor decreed the establishment of offices for administration in coastal cities with open ports, utilizing maritime postal services to deliver important messages. He also ordered the establishment of offices for administration in Southeast Asia to liaise with various Southeast Asian nations and gather intelligence there.

[Yang Sizhong, the Commissioner of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, reached a tacit agreement with the inner court to place a eunuch from the Eastern Depot or the Embroidered Uniform Guard in the Bureau of Records, sharing the postal system with the inner court.]

The establishment of maritime post stations improved the efficiency of the administrative system and strengthened the imperial court's control over the entire country.

The Nanyang Administration Office brought the flag of the Ming Dynasty back to Southeast Asia.

[Zhang Xuan, the first director of the Nanyang Administration Office and the Secretary of the Administration Office, was stationed in Nanyang, greatly enhancing the prestige of the Ming Dynasty. The rulers of various Nanyang countries tried to persuade Zhang Xuan to stay dozens of times. He remained in Nanyang for twenty years, strengthening their control over the region.]

[Ming Dynasty +5]

This time, the national lifespan has actually been extended by five years?

That makes sense; improving the efficiency of the administrative system is entirely beneficial to the country.

However, it's really tragic that the director of the Nanyang Administration Office has been stationed in Nanyang for twenty years.

Su Ze observed a moment of silence for the official he did not recognize.

It turned out that Yang Sizhong, the Commissioner of the Court of State Affairs, had reached a deal with the inner court to get the memorial approved.

This Commissioner of the Court of Judicial Review is quite a figure.

Su Ze hadn't expected that this unassuming Grand Secretary would be so flexible and willing to cooperate with the inner court.

The memorial to establish the Office of General Affairs was passed so easily that Su Ze pulled out another blank document.

Since that's the case, let's go all out and strike while the iron is hot to completely reform the postal system!

"Memorial Requesting the Establishment of the Office of General Affairs and Postal Service!"
In fact, he had long had the idea of ​​integrating the post road system of the Ming Dynasty.

The ruling machine of the Ming Dynasty was a mountain of code with layers of dung, and the post station system was its essence.

The postal system of the Ming Dynasty was complex. The official post stations near the capital were nominally managed by the Office of Transmission, but the responsibility for supporting the post stations was assigned to Shuntian Prefecture.

In addition to official post stations, local governments also had their own express delivery stations.

The Ministry of War had a subordinate Department of Chariots and Carriages, which was responsible for the affairs of military post stations.

The Ministry of Works also had a dedicated system of post stations for canal transport, and even the Ministry of Rites' education department had its own transmission channels.

There were also local eunuchs and various semi-official channels established by the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

The Ming Dynasty's postal system was a typical example of a system that lacked overall planning, was prone to redundant construction, and was both wasteful and inefficient.

Su Ze wanted to integrate the postal station work across the country into the Office of General Affairs, and establish a new Office of General Affairs and Postal Service. It is estimated that the Ministry of War will be the most opposed to this.

The Ministry of War had its own system for delivering military intelligence, which was managed by the Ministry of War's Vehicle and Chassis Division.

Su Ze had seen the Ministry of Revenue's accounts. Every year, the imperial court invested a large amount of money in the Carriage and Chariot Department for military horses, so the Ministry of War would not give up easily.

Conversely, if the Ministry of War's military post station is a tough nut to crack, other government departments will be even less willing to obediently relinquish their power.

We should give it a try in the end.

Now that the Office of Transmission has joined forces with the inner court, it is the best time to propose a plan.

Su Ze already had a draft, so he quickly wrote the memorial and put it into the "Portable Ming Dynasty Court".

——[Simulation Start]——

The memorial requesting the establishment of the Office of General Affairs and Postal Services was delivered to the Cabinet on the same day. You requested that the Office of General Affairs be renamed the Office of General Affairs and Postal Services, and that General Affairs Offices be set up at major transportation hubs throughout the country to be responsible for postal affairs nationwide.

The cabinet approved your memorial, and it was sent to the inner court.

The Ministry of War strongly opposed your memorial, which discussed the importance of the military postal system. Emperor Longqing accepted your memorial.

——[Simulation End]——

[Remaining Prestige Points: 400]

[Should we use 300 prestige points to force the memorial to pass?]

Only 300 points?
What are we waiting for? Su Ze decisively chose "Yes"!
[300 prestige points have been deducted, remaining prestige points: 100.]

(End of this chapter)