My Portable Ming Dynasty

Chapter 287 "Memorial Requesting a Revision of the Honglu Temple's Duties of Overseeing Foreign Affairs"

Determining how to bestow honors upon Wang Shizhen was indeed a difficult matter.

If Wang Shizhen's achievements had occurred during the Jiajing era, he would have been more than qualified to enter the Grand Secretariat.

However, in the "great era of contention" during the Longqing reign, when ten major events were to be accomplished in a single year, even if he were to enter the cabinet based on this merit, he might not be able to win the hearts of the people.

You say Wang Shizhen made great contributions, but what about Yin Shidan, who handled the Chu vassal problem properly?
Even the position of Minister of Rites, let alone entering the cabinet, is something that Wang Shizhen and Yin Shidan could both compete for.

But such merit cannot go unrewarded.

Besides Wang Shizhen, the deputy envoy Shen Yiguan was in the same situation.

Shen Yiguan's contributions are great, can he be compared to Su Ze?

Even if Shen Yiguan were to be promoted, he probably wouldn't be willing.

Unable to be promoted, Shen Yiguan was already a secretary in one of the Six Ministries.

At the same level, there are very few positions with higher prestige than the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites. These include the Vice Ministers of the Ministry of Personnel's Civil Selection Department and the Ministry of War's Military Selection Department. However, those positions have long been filled, and the candidates are doing a good job, so there's no way to give them up.

This matter truly gave the emperor and the Grand Secretaries a headache. In the end, the Longqing Emperor simply issued a secret edict, ordering the senior officials to submit their own memorials to decide how to reward the grassland delegation, while also resolving the issue of the previous reward for Yin Shidan.

It is obvious that Su Ze is also included in this list of "important officials".

However, Su Ze did not submit his memorial until early October.

Su Ze wasn't trying to act arrogantly; he had simply used up his simulation attempts for September.

In September, Su Ze submitted two memorials: one was "Request to Inspect the Borders and Southern Oceans," and the other was "Request to Re-appoint the Prince of Shunyi," using up two simulation attempts.

Therefore, in order to pass this memorial smoothly, Su Ze delayed until October.

Su Ze did this so that the memorial would be approved.

The content of this memorial was actually very simple; it was a request to the court to redefine the powers and responsibilities of the Court of State Ceremonial.

The current predicament of the imperial court is that Wang Shizhen has made contributions in diplomatic work, but there is no suitable position for him.

The highest-ranking department in the Ming Dynasty responsible for foreign affairs among the tributary states was the Ministry of Rites, but in reality, only a small portion of the Ministry of Rites' authority was related to diplomacy.

In the early Ming Dynasty, the Ministry of Rites was nominally the head of the Six Ministries, "in charge of the administration of rites, sacrifices, banquets, and imperial examinations throughout the country."

Its responsibilities far exceeded the combination of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Culture in the original timeline; etiquette was almost the most important task throughout the entire feudal era.

As times progressed, the actual power of the Ministry of Rites was gradually surpassed by the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Revenue, but its nominal status remained very high.

The position of Minister of Rites was also considered to be half a Grand Secretary.

Although Wang Shizhen made numerous contributions in diplomatic work and was a literary master of his time, barely qualified in cultural work, he did not achieve much in education, and his scholarly personality was not well-suited to sacrificial work.

In fact, Yin Shidan, who returned from the Chu Zong case and was able to handle it fairly, was more suitable to serve as Minister of Rites.

Yin Shidan was a lecturer to the emperor and the crown prince, as well as a master of Confucianism. He served as the head of the Hanlin Academy for many years and had an impeccable resume in education.

He had worked in the Ministry of Rites for a long time and was familiar with its sacrificial rites. Although he was rigid, he had a high reputation as an official, and the Ministry of Rites needed such an official.

This is also the core contradiction.

Su Ze's memorial took a different approach, suggesting that diplomatic and tributary affairs should be transferred from the Ministry of Rites to the Court of State Ceremonies.

The duties of the Court of State Ceremonial originally consisted of only two items: "etiquette" and "ceremony".

Originally, the Court of State Ceremonial was an office under the Ministry of Rites. Although it also had diplomatic functions, it was mainly responsible for receiving and training tribute missions.

Su Ze's memorial proposed:

"All foreign affairs under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Rites, including tributary states, diplomatic missions, treaty negotiations, and border affairs, were transferred to the Court of State Ceremonies."

"The original function of the Court of State Ceremonies was limited to 'etiquette and ceremonies,' but now it should be upgraded to an agency that oversees all foreign affairs. It should be modeled after the Six Ministries, with various departments set up to handle matters such as the transmission of official documents, the management of diplomatic missions, and the investigation of border affairs, so that its name and function are commensurate."

"The Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies should be promoted to the rank of the third grade, and be regarded as one of the Nine Ministers. His subordinates should be selected and appointed based on their talents."

Su Ze further elaborated on the importance of establishing the Honglu Temple specifically for diplomatic affairs:
"Nowadays, there are frequent exchanges between the four barbarian tribes. Without a dedicated office, it would be impossible to thoroughly study countermeasures. The Court of State Ceremonies is in charge of foreign affairs, so the response can be swift and there will be few mistakes."

"When foreign envoys come to pay homage, they see the majesty of the officials in charge of foreign affairs, which fully demonstrates the Celestial Empire's policy of pacifying distant lands. The Ministry of Rites can also return to its roots and focus on internal governance."

This is the solution Su Ze provided.

Didn't you think Wang Shizhen did a good job in diplomacy?

There's no better position for him if he's promoted; it would be better to increase the authority of the Court of State Ceremonial.

Upgrading the Court of State Ceremonial to the Grand Nine Ministers is essentially giving him a promotion.
The Ministry of Rites should hand over all its tributary and diplomatic duties to the Court of State Ceremonies, which would be more efficient.

Moreover, as Su Ze said, as the Ming Dynasty's foreign policy becomes more proactive, there will be more and more diplomatic and tributary work in the future.

It would be better to simply assign the responsibility to the Court of State Ceremonial, and entrust it to Wang Shizhen, who was skilled in diplomacy. This would be a good way for the court to make the best use of his talents.

Rewarding Shen Yiguan was much easier; he could simply be transferred to the newly established Court of State Ceremonial.

However, Su Ze was also self-aware.

The reason is simple: this expansion of power for the Court of State Ceremonial is different from the expansion of power for the Office of Transmission.

Expanding the powers of the Office of Transmission is like making a cake. The powers that the Office of Transmission now has were originally unclaimed. Su Ze made the cake and distributed it to the Office of Transmission, so the other government departments naturally had no objections.

By the time everyone realized the importance of the power held by the Office of General Affairs, Yang Sizhong had already firmly grasped control of the Office of General Affairs and Postal Services.

But this time, the goal is to seize power from the Ministry of Rites; it's like cutting a cake.

This would certainly be met with opposition from a large number of officials in the Ministry of Rites.

No government office wants to lose the power it holds.

Su Ze stuffed his completed memorial, "Request to Revise the Responsibilities of the Court of State Ceremonial in Charge of Foreign Affairs," into the "Portable Ming Dynasty Imperial Archives."

——[Simulation Start]——

The memorial entitled "Request to Revise the Functions of the Court of State Ceremonial in Charge of Foreign Affairs" was sent to the Cabinet. Except for Zhao Zhenji, all the cabinet ministers expressed their support. Although Zhao Zhenji supported your memorial, the Ministry of Rites did not provide any draft opinions.

Officials from the Ministry of Rites submitted memorials one after another to oppose your memorial, and even cited the "Collected Statutes of the Ming Dynasty" to clearly oppose it.

Your plan to redefine the authority of the Court of State Ceremonial by discussing the issue of bestowing titles upon Wang Shizhen failed due to opposition from officials of the Ministry of Rites.

The emperor rejected your memorial.

——[Simulation End]——

[Remaining Prestige: 1620.]

[To fully approve your memorial, you need to pay 1000 prestige points. Do you wish to pay?]

As expected, there is considerable resistance.

To be able to complete such a major institutional reform with only 1000 prestige points is already quite a bargain.

This demonstrates the immense difficulty of institutional reform.

Su Ze naturally chose "yes" without hesitation.

[Prestige points have been deducted, remaining prestige points: 620. Please complete the petition in real life as soon as possible.]
-
As expected, just as the system simulated, Su Ze's memorial quickly shattered the calm, with officials of the Ministry of Rites vehemently opposing it.

Officials at all levels of the Ministry of Rites submitted memorials in opposition, and the voices of opposition from the Ministry of Rites filled the Office of Transmission, and were then sent to the Grand Secretariat and the Directorate of Ceremonial.

However, thanks to Su Ze's current prestige, everyone in this court struggle has learned to "discuss the matter at hand." No one attacks Su Ze on personal morality anymore. Instead, they cite classical texts to explain the importance of tribute affairs to the Ministry of Rites and that they absolutely cannot be handed over to the Court of State Ceremonies.

The officials of the Ministry of Rites were also experts in this field.

The opposition from the Ministry of Rites officials nearly paralyzed the cabinet. Meanwhile, the court had already ordered Wang Shizhen to delay his return to the capital in order to determine how to reward him. But no matter how slow he was, Wang Shizhen would soon be returning to the capital; surely a meritorious official couldn't return and still not have a reward decided upon?
Time is running out for the cabinet.

Faced with this situation, the cabinet ministers were at a loss.

They supported Su Ze's memorial, but the opposition from the Ministry of Rites was too strong, and no cabinet minister had enough prestige to suppress the opposition.

Wait, actually there is a cabinet.

At this moment, the cabinet ministers looked at Li Chunfang's seat.

In fact, the serialization of "Journey to the West" has already been completed.

Li Chunfang was probably exhausted from rushing to finish the manuscript, so even after "Journey to the West" was completed, she still stayed at home due to illness and has rarely come to the cabinet since.

It's one thing for the prime minister to slack off on ordinary days, but it's only at crucial moments that people remember his prestige and methods.

Gao Gong began by saying:

"We still need to ask Prime Minister Li to quell this matter."

Zhang Juzheng nodded repeatedly and said:

"I heard last time that Chief Minister Li had already made the necessary arrangements."

Zhao Zhenji also said:

"We must ask Chief Minister Li to come out of retirement."

The cabinet reached a consensus and reported it to the Longqing Emperor.

The emperor was also having a headache at this time, so he quickly agreed to the cabinet's suggestion and sent the imperial physician to Li Chunfang's residence again to inquire about his illness.

Li Chunfang naturally understood the emperor's meaning. With the court at a standstill, he, as the Grand Secretary, should indeed step forward to clean up the mess.

The imperial physician then reported that Chief Minister Li had "begun to recover from his illness," and the emperor bestowed upon him many precious recuperative medicines. Li Chunfang then returned to the cabinet.

Upon returning to the cabinet, Chief Minister Li first summoned Yin Shidan, the Vice Minister of Rites.

Yin Shidan received some favors and rewards for handling the Chu Zong case last time, and he continued to serve as the Vice Minister of Rites.

Although many people felt sorry for Yin Shidan, he didn't care about these things.

Yin Shidan had no obsession with joining the cabinet, and the Chu Zong case showed him a new path to abolishing the feudal lords.

If abolishing the feudal domains directly doesn't work, then we should do what Su Ze did: find some heinous feudal lords and abolish their judicial privileges.

If the princely residences could be brought under local jurisdiction, then there would be a way to prevent the princes from annexing land.

Yin Shidan's original intention was the revision of the "Regulations on the Imperial Clan" that he presided over back then.

Li Chunfang met with Yin Shidan privately.

In a side room of the cabinet, the two exchanged a brief conversation, and Li Chunfang said:

“Brother Zhengfu (Yin Shidan), do you still remember when we passed the imperial examination together in the twenty-sixth year of the late emperor’s reign? In the blink of an eye, we are all gray-haired, and there are not many of our classmates left.”

Yes, Li Chunfang and Yin Shidan were in the same year of the imperial examination. Li Chunfang was the top scholar in the 26th year of the Jiajing reign, while Yin Shidan was also a second-class scholar who entered the Hanlin Academy as a probationary official and was later selected to remain in the Hanlin Academy.

Because they were born in the same year, Li Chunfang had a better understanding of Yin Shidan's political ambitions.

Li Chunfang continued:

“Back then, when my brother Zhengfu presided over the revision of the ‘Regulations on the Imperial Clan’, he failed to abolish the Prince Su’s fiefdom, which I still regret to this day.”

Yin Shidan looked up at Li Chunfang.

Because they were born in the same year, they were more aware of each other's political ambitions.

Yin Shidan was from Jinan Prefecture, Shandong Province. When he was studying, his family's land was seized by the local vassal king, Prince De, and some of his relatives were forced to their deaths by Prince De's mansion.

The Prince of De was first enfeoffed to Zhu Jianlin, son of Emperor Yingzong Zhu Qizhen. His initial fief was located in Dezhou, Shandong. Later, due to the "barren land and poor people" of Dezhou, the fief was changed to Jinan. Thereafter, the Prince of De's lineage resided in Jinan for generations.

Like Zhang Juzheng of Jingzhou, Yin Shidan of Jinan Prefecture also grew up spoiled by the Prince of De's family and was determined to weaken the power of the princes.

However, Yin Shidan was more composed and rarely expressed his political views in public.

All of this naturally could not be kept from Li Chunfang, who was the same age as him.

Li Chunfang continued:
"Brother Zhengfu, now is a golden opportunity to realize your ambitions, you must not miss it."

Yin Shidan was indeed tempted.

Since his ascension to the throne, the current emperor has already abolished two feudal lords. If we add the Chu feudal lord, whose judicial privileges were also revoked, the Longqing Emperor is much more ruthless in dealing with the imperial clansmen than his father.

However, as a fellow graduate, Yin Shidan did not believe that Li Chunfang would specifically summon him to the cabinet just to reminisce about old times.

"You summoned me here because of the criticism from the Ministry of Rites, right?"

"But Su Zilin was too hasty in this matter, which aroused such strong opposition from the Ministry of Rites. Even if I support it, I cannot stop the other officials in the Ministry of Rites."

Hearing this, Li Chunfang smiled.

As a shrewd old fox, he understood what Yin Shidan meant.

Yin Shidan himself did not oppose Su Ze's memorial.

As for the second half of the sentence, Yin Shidan had great prestige in the Ministry of Rites and had actually acted as the head of the Ministry of Rites for many years. How could he not suppress the opposition from the Ministry of Rites?
This is nothing more than setting a price for oneself.

Since a price has been set, there is room for negotiation.

Li Chunfang offered another price:
"His Majesty has approved the resignation of Grand Minister Gao Yi."

Gao Yi, the Minister of Rites, had repeatedly requested to resign, but at this point the emperor approved his resignation, making his intentions quite clear.

Li Chunfang used the position of Minister of Rites to gain Yin Shidan's support.

Yin Shidan was clearly not satisfied with the price. He said:
"The entire Ministry of Rites will respectfully welcome the new Minister upon his arrival."

Li Chunfang sighed; as expected, this fellow student was not so easy to persuade.

He had no choice but to continue:
"The Cabinet will push for a revision of the Imperial Domains Act."

Yin Shidan then looked up at Li Chunfang and pressed for an answer:
"really?"

"really."

Yin Shidan then said:

"This time, Su Zilin should be involved in the re-ordering."

Li Chunfang said helplessly:

"Aren't you worried that Su Zilin might be too radical, Zhengfu?"

"I'm afraid he's not radical enough."

Since that was the case, Li Chunfang agreed.

Yin Shidan achieved a satisfactory result, and he said:
"I can only reduce the number of memorials submitted by the Ministry of Rites, but there are some officials in the Ministry of Rites that I cannot persuade."

Li Chunfang said, "As long as the Ministry of Rites doesn't submit too many memorials, I also have a way to persuade His Majesty to approve Su Zilin's memorial."

"Then it's settled."

(End of this chapter)