Late Ming Dynasty: So what if Emperor Chongzhen was inactive?!

Chapter 63 Whenever Lord Shang went out, he always had ten armored chariots and a hundred attendants.

"Scholar, stop looking, we've got work to do!"

The junior officer of the Northern Garrison, nicknamed "Scholar," was engrossed in reading a popular storybook, "The Biography of Nurhaci, the Slave Chieftain."

"Lord Centurion, what task has the higher-ups assigned us this time? It's not going to be another trip thousands of miles away to deliver silver, is it?" The scholar replied casually, but his eyes were reluctant to leave the storybook.

"Alright, stop reading! If you do well this time, you might get a promotion too." With that, the commander of the Imperial Guard snatched the storybook from the scholar's hands.

"Hey, boss, no, don't tear this! This book costs five coins!"

"Oh dear, what's the use of this thing? Will looking at this thing make you a real scholar?" the centurion said, exasperated.

"It's not easy to become a scholar in Shuntian Prefecture. I've been trying for seventeen years..." the scholar said dejectedly.

"Stop being a scholar! What good is being a student? Let me tell you, this time we're going to work under Grand Secretary Bi. Even a lowly official has to stand in the prime minister's door. Maybe if the Grand Secretary is in a good mood, he'll promote us. We brothers have to seize this opportunity!"

"Isn't the Grand Secretary surnamed Huang?" the scholar asked, somewhat surprised.

"How long have you been hiding in your room? Didn't you even read the imperial edict posted yesterday? Grand Secretary Huang has been dismissed by His Majesty, and now Grand Secretary Bi Ziyan has taken office!"

However, the scholar wasn't very interested in these things. Instead, he asked with great interest as they walked, "Brother, weren't your ancestors from Liaodong? Did that slave chieftain Nurhaci really make his fortune by selling his assholes to the Mongols?!"

"Ha!" The centurion spat and said disdainfully, "This old servant was just a servant under Commander Li in his younger days. How would I know whether he was a 'rabbit' or not!"

After a while, however, his expression turned very ugly as he said, "This old servant does have some skill. You can read your storybook for amusement, but don't take it seriously. During the Battle of Sarhu, I served in the Southern Route Army. If I had been in one of the other three routes, I'm afraid I wouldn't be back now."

Outside the Meridian Gate of the Forbidden City, the scholar discovered that it wasn't just his Imperial Guards who were there; the Beijing Garrison and the Five City Garrison Commands had also arrived. Several hundred people lined up clearly at the base of the city wall. After a short while, a grand eunuch in red robes emerged from the Meridian Gate, reading an imperial edict.

The scholar knelt down with everyone to receive the imperial decree, but he couldn't quite hear what the eunuch in front of him was saying. However, he figured the eldest brother must have heard him.

After the eunuch delivering the imperial edict left, the various groups began to buzz and chatter again. A moment later, a centurion from the Imperial Guard returned from the front of the line. The scholar tugged at the centurion's sleeve and asked, "Boss, what did the imperial edict say? That eunuch's voice was so soft, we couldn't hear it!"

The centurion's face was rather grim. He said somewhat irritably, "His Majesty has decreed that we must protect Grand Secretary Bi. If anything goes wrong, the lightest punishment is dismissal, and the heaviest is execution!"

Inside the Forbidden City, in the Wenyuan Pavilion, is the office of the Grand Secretaries of the Inner Cabinet.

When Bi Ziyan took office for the first time, the others did not give him a very warm welcome.

The one most dissatisfied with him was the second Grand Secretary Shi Laifeng. He felt that now that the Grand Secretary was gone, shouldn't it be his turn to be ranked according to seniority and seniority? Who did Bi Ziyan think he was!
Guo Yunhou was also very unhappy. First, he was taken away from the lucrative position of Minister of Revenue, which was not enough. In the cabinet, even Bi Ziyan was going to overpower him. This was outrageous!

Zhang Ruitu dared not bare his teeth at Bi Ziyan. He was originally a court official who had only entered the cabinet by currying favor with the late emperor and bribing Wei Zhongxian. Now that Huang Lijie had been retired, how could he dare to challenge him?! Guo Yunhou, looking at the group of palace guards and personal guards in the corridor outside the Wenyuan Pavilion, said sarcastically, “Whenever Lord Shang went out, he always had ten armored chariots, followed by a hundred men, strongmen wielding spears, and warriors carrying shields, surrounded by shouts and shouts, as if facing a formidable enemy. The common people, seeing this, would all avoid him by the roadside, saying to each other, ‘Lord Shang’s power is greater than that of tigers and wolves. We should stay far away as soon as we see the dust rising from his chariots, lest we provoke his anger!’”

Those present were all learned men, so they could easily understand Guo Yunhou's meaning, and tensions instantly rose within the Wenyuan Pavilion.

Li Guozhuo looked at Guo Yunhou, then at the newly appointed Grand Secretary Bi Ziyan, and felt extremely helpless.

He used to be the most upright and least popular person in the cabinet, but he could still maintain a semblance of dignity; after Bi Ziyan arrived, he attracted everyone's resentment, and now no one pays any attention to him.

However, Bi Ziyan remained unmoved by the mockery and said calmly, "Scholar Guo, His Majesty has appointed us to the cabinet to advise on political affairs and assist in document processing. Since you are so fascinated by pre-Qin stories, I request His Majesty to transfer you to the Hanlin Academy to compile history."

Upon hearing this, Guo Yunhou's face paled. The emperor currently favored Bi Ziyan so much; he might actually be capable of such a thing. Moreover, Guo Yunhou himself knew the emperor didn't like him, so he shut his mouth, daring not to argue with Bi Ziyan any further.

Although he had suppressed Guo Yunhou, Bi Ziyan felt somewhat helpless. If he could, he would have preferred to work together with his colleagues instead of straining relations and having to use the emperor's authority to subdue others. However, his attempt failed; he overestimated the morale of his officials and had been forced to this point.

Inside the palace, Zhu Youjian slept soundly until noon as usual. Today was a day of recess, which happened every two days, so he didn't have to go to work. Although he got up late, Zhu Youjian was neither drowsy nor misled by Bi Ziyan.

"Wanwan, none of you should leave the palace for the time being," Zhu Youjian said.

Previously, Emperor Zhu Youjian had given the two sisters waist tokens to leave the palace, allowing them to go to the market outside the imperial city with sufficient guards, fearing that they would feel stifled in the palace.

"Mmm." Sun Shiwan nodded. She didn't mind; she preferred to stay in the palace practicing martial arts and reading.

Shixiu, on the other hand, preferred to wander around aimlessly, always dragging her along. Sun Shiwan thought to herself that she would have to confiscate her sister's palace pass when they got back.

Zhu Youjian knew that reforms would inevitably affect vested interests, and taking someone's money was tantamount to killing their parents. If he had a choice, he wouldn't want to offend these people.

But this opportunity is too precious. Liaodong is temporarily quiet now, the Jurchens are full of internal conflicts and have no intention of raiding south; the peasant uprisings have just begun and have been suppressed by the iron fist. These people have just rebelled and lack experience, so they quickly calmed down after being beaten; the rebellion in the southwest has also been unexpectedly stopped.

It can be said that the next year or two represent the only window of opportunity for the Ming Dynasty to develop over the next decade or so. If reforms are not carried out now, there will be absolutely no hope later on.

Of course, he was generally pessimistic about Bi Ziyan's reforms. He did not expect the Ming Dynasty to turn around, but only hoped that these measures could play a role, give the Ming Dynasty a boost, and extend its life by a few years.

If all else fails, he will have no choice but to pack up and head south to become the ruler of the Southern Ming. However, after Emperor Xuanzong of Tang fled to Sichuan, no one took him seriously. Would his fate have been better if he had fled south?

The most frustrating thing for Zhu Youjian was that he had no idea where the enemy was coming from, and all he saw were loyal ministers and generals!

(End of this chapter)