Top Scholar

Chapter 478 The Imperial Party
"Then let His Majesty personally serve as the mentor of the newly appointed scholars." Su Lu then said something astonishing: "Let the title of 'disciple of the emperor' no longer be merely nominal, but become a real teacher-student relationship between the emperor and his subjects!"

"Won't this get us accused of overstepping our bounds?" Zhu Shou raised an eyebrow.

“How could this be overstepping one’s bounds? If the chief examiner of the provincial examination can be the head examiner, why can’t His Majesty be the chief examiner of the palace examination?” Su Lu shook his head resolutely and said:
"Furthermore, ordinary mentors merely provide some protection and seek some promotions for their students. The emperor holds the power of the entire country, and no one can match him in this regard. However, he has never paid attention to these newcomers to the officialdom, so they can only seek help from their mentors—naturally, they will only be loyal to their mentors."

He paused for a moment, then explained, “Actually, they are also loyal to the emperor and love their country, but the emperor and the country are too far away from them, and they can’t feel each other’s feelings, you know? It’s more practical to love the teacher.”

Zhu Shou listened intently, pondered for a long time, and finally squeezed out a few words through gritted teeth: "Only fame and position should not be lent to others."

"You hit the nail on the head!" Su Lu praised him first, making Zhu Shou beam with joy. "Oh my, your comprehension is really too high. If you didn't become a eunuch, you might be able to pass the imperial examination with top honors."

"Haha, of course!" Zhu Shou said proudly, hands on his hips. "That's what my master said too!"

"Right now, there is a golden opportunity for His Majesty to put this into practice... We must thank Eunuch Liu for clearing away the obstacles in the court for His Majesty," Su Lu continued.
“If Your Majesty had implemented this policy before, those ‘old fogies’ would have obstructed it in every way. But now, the voices of opposition have long since disappeared. Your Majesty can just go ahead and do it… If anyone still dares to make irresponsible remarks, just let Eunuch Liu deal with them.”

"Hey, now that you mention it, Liu Daban is actually quite useful!" Zhu Shou was overjoyed, like a poor student who had guessed a difficult question correctly.

“Of course, without Eunuch Liu, how would those civil officials know what reverence is?” Su Lu said calmly. “But Eunuch Liu is also a eunuch, so my conclusion about eunuchs just now also applies.”

"...to use them as henchmen and eyes and ears, rather than letting them directly participate in important military and national affairs?" Zhu Shou frowned and asked rhetorically.

Su Lu nodded slowly, his heart pounding wildly, but his expression remained calm and composed as he spoke unhurriedly:
"Eunuch Liu is indeed of great use, but he must be strictly controlled. He is ruthless and decisive in his actions, disregarding rules and acting as he pleases. He is like fire and water. If used well, he can pave the way for the emperor and intimidate the ministers! But if left to his own devices, he will cause a wildfire and lead to endless disasters!"

As Su Lu spoke, he stared intently at Zhu Shou, and seeing that he was merely frowning and not showing any emotion, he continued, mustering his courage:
"Therefore, while Your Majesty is determined to use him, you must also keep him firmly under your control, just as water must be kept within the dike and fire within the furnace, so that it can be beneficial and harmless... rather than letting him run rampant."

At this point, Su Lu deliberately paused. If Zhu Shou was unwilling to listen, then he would stop here and say what he needed to say.

Zhu Shou nodded slightly, signaling him to continue.

Su Lu was finally relieved. It seemed that Eunuch Zhang had overestimated Liu Jin's standing in Zhu Shou's eyes.

If Zhu Shou truly considered Liu Jin as his mother, he wouldn't allow anyone to speak ill of her, not even friends...

Su Lu became even bolder, saying, "When you need to use him, untie the bridle and let him out to bite people; when you don't need him, tighten the reins and make him a sword hanging over everyone's heads—this is the kind of controllable deterrent the Emperor can have, not an out-of-control flood or ferocious beast. Otherwise, it will eventually destroy all order and cause chaos in the world!"

"..." Zhu Shou frowned even more, and finally couldn't hold back and said, "Don't go off-topic, let's get back to how to get the newly appointed scholars to recognize the Emperor as their mentor."

“Alright.” Su Lu readily agreed, “To be honest, this examination is the best opportunity for the Emperor to cultivate his cronies. First of all, the Emperor rectified the examination system and cracked down on corruption, which allowed candidates who originally had no connections to pass the examination. All the candidates were already deeply grateful to the Emperor.”

"Mmm." Zhu Shou's expression softened slightly, and he nodded repeatedly, clearly preferring to hear about this topic.

“Based on this, the Emperor can easily do something that will move them to tears… For example, like a mentor, he could summon the newly appointed scholars in batches, offer a few words of encouragement, and bestow upon them small souvenirs or the like,” Su Lu suggested.

"For example, after the palace examination and before the assignments, hold a short training course for one or two months to teach them court etiquette, official precepts, and so on. Of course, the most important thing is to teach them to be loyal to the emperor, loyal to the emperor, and loyal to the emperor!"

"Does that mean His Majesty still has to give them lessons every day?" Zhu Shou asked worriedly.

"..." Su Lu barely managed to suppress a roll of his eyes. This person was far too slacking off. He then smiled and said, "Of course not. Just give a speech at the beginning and end of the course, and occasionally show up. The key is to have this bond... When we graduate, we'll give everyone a certificate personally inscribed by the Emperor. Wouldn't that truly make them 'disciples of the Emperor'?"

"So simple?" Zhu Shou asked in surprise.

"How difficult do you think it is?" Su Lu laughed.

"Why didn't the previous emperors do this?" Zhu Shou asked doubtfully.

"Were previous emperors as idle as the current one?" Su Lu asked the profound question.

Zhu Shou immediately turned red in anger and retorted, "You don't understand. Every time the Emperor holds court and lectures, he has to listen to those rigid civil officials preaching in a pedantic manner, spouting classical phrases that make his head ache and his buttocks hurt."

"Understood." Su Lu nodded and smiled. "In short, the late emperors were too busy with important national affairs to have time to start from small things. But we have plenty of time now, and we can also use this to prove that what happened before was not negligence, but rather an inability to communicate with those old fogies."

"That makes sense! Let's do it that way!" Zhu Shou slapped Su Lu's thigh hard and said, "You're such a clever fellow!" "Don't touch me," Su Lu said, grimacing.

"However, these cheap and effective tricks can only move people temporarily. Without something practical, they will fade away over time."

"What practical thing?" Zhu Shou asked.

"Of course, we should ask His Majesty to personally assign them positions. They don't all need to be desirable posts; difficult tasks are fine too. As long as they know that His Majesty is watching them, and that good performance will lead to promotion, they will naturally be loyal to the death and become His Majesty's trusted advisors." Fearing Zhu Shou might find this troublesome, Su Lu quickly explained:

"In fact, official positions are still allocated by the Ministry of Personnel, but it is changed to the emperor personally issuing official certificates at the end of the training course, which makes it easy to transfer power and influence upwards."

"Hmm, that's a good idea." Zhu Shousong breathed a sigh of relief. For him, no matter what he did, it had to be as simple as possible without causing trouble.

“In addition,” Su Lu paused, then lowered his voice, “His Majesty can also select a group of outstanding talents from the training class and grant them the power to submit secret reports with silver seals. In this way, His Majesty will have spies planted in the heart of the officialdom, and the slightest movement in the two capitals and thirteen provinces will no longer escape His Majesty’s notice.”

"The power to submit a secret memorial with a silver seal is reserved for officials of the rank of governor or above," Zhu Shou murmured.

"As I just said, now is a rare time without obstacles, and we should do everything that benefits the imperial power!" Su Lu declared resolutely.

"As the saying goes, a scholar will die for one who understands him. A young scholar who is granted a silver medal through exceptional means will only feel gratitude towards the Emperor!"

As he spoke, he looked intently at Zhu Shou: "Those who achieve great things throughout history always have people around them who are willing to fight for them. Since forming cliques and engaging in self-serving activities in the court is unavoidable, let's just make these people all become the 'Imperial Party' who are loyal to the Emperor!"

"The Emperor's Party?" Zhu Shou's eyes lit up, and he couldn't suppress the corners of his mouth. "Just for those two words, this is worth it!"

He urged Su Lu impatiently, "Keep going, I'm really into it."

"Of course, you should give important positions to your trusted confidants, but you can't completely rely on favoritism. Otherwise, they will inevitably become arrogant and domineering, which will be even more harmful," Su Lu said.
"Therefore, we must be even stricter with them and force them to produce tangible results. Only in this way can the Imperial Party become strong and not degenerate into a concentration camp for parasites. This leads to the second point—defining responsibilities and ensuring accountability!"

"Should we assign specific responsibilities?" Zhu Shou asked.

"Yes, it consists of two parts. The first is defining responsibilities and delegating authority, which clarifies the positions, powers, and responsibilities of officials, ensuring that officials do not overstep their authority and that no one shirks their duties. The second is holding officials accountable based on their promises. After defining responsibilities and delegating authority, officials' actual performance is assessed based on the targets they have promised; those who achieve their goals are rewarded, and those who fail in their duties are punished." Fearing that Zhu Shou might not understand, Su Lu explained in plain language:

"The point is to assign tasks to officials and assess their performance on schedule, so as to prevent them from being perfunctory and irresponsible."

"Won't that be a lot of trouble?" Zhu Shou felt scared again.

Su Lu had anticipated this question, so he shook his head and said, "It's not troublesome for the emperor. After setting a task, there's no need to interfere with the performance of his subjects. He only needs to verify the results upon the due date. In this way, the emperor can remain calm and collected, accurately distinguish between the wise and the foolish, and advance the great cause of the emperor's rule."

"Yes, that's good." Zhu Shou nodded happily.

"Once responsibilities are clearly defined, rewards and punishments must be clearly distinguished. This leads to the third point—unauthorized rewards and punishments!" Su Lu then said to him in a deep voice:
"Remember, whoever controls rewards and punishments controls people's hearts. This should be the supreme power held solely by the monarch and must never fall into the wrong hands."

"Are all the so-called thunder and rain the emperor's favor?" Zhu Shou asked.

“That’s right, but rewards and punishments should be based on accountability and cannot be arbitrary.” Su Lu nodded and said:

"Rewards should be able to win hearts and minds, and those who have made contributions should be generously rewarded. Even minor officials should not be overlooked. However, no one should receive rewards without merit, and no matter how close the relationship, rewards should not be given indiscriminately. Only in this way can officials strive to make contributions."

“Punishment must establish authority; the guilty must be severely punished. Even powerful and trusted officials must be severely punished if they commit serious crimes, so that subjects will not dare to act recklessly!” Su Lu continued, enunciating each word clearly:

"Remember, for a monarch, rewards and punishments are never the goal, but rather a means of controlling subordinates. Never confuse the two."

"Yes, I understand." Zhu Shou nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite.

"Only when all three points above are achieved can one touch upon the highest level, the fourth principle—separation of powers and checks and balances." Su Lu then said leisurely:

"Otherwise, it's playing with fire."

(End of this chapter)