Ming Dynasty 1627

Chapter 115 Hidden Dragon Should Not Be Used, Yang is Here Too

September 10th, 9:00 AM, one hour before the second daily lecture.

Zhu Youjian broke with precedent today and did not deal with the mountain of memorials first.

Instead, he read through all the documents submitted by the Hanlin Academy.

Basically, they fall into three main categories: Neo-Confucianism, the philosophy of mind, and harmony, with nothing particularly outstanding.

Only two booklets were interesting, which was quite ingenious.

Zhu Youjian gently closed one of the booklets.

On the title page are three words: "Qi Xin Xiao" (齐心孝).

Zhu Youjian tapped his fingertip on the cover, then looked up at Gao Shiming: "Is Minister Qi's health much better? Will he come for today's lecture?"

Gao Shiming bowed and replied, "Your Majesty, Wang Zuoyuan has reported that Qi Bianxiu sweated profusely for two days after taking the medicine, and his cold has been cured. However... I am worried that there may be residual disease in his body, which may harm Your Majesty's health, so I did not allow him to enter the palace today."

He paused, lowered his voice even further, and said with a hint of earnestness, "Your Majesty, while talented people are hard to find, the emperor's health is of paramount importance and is ultimately the foundation of the nation."

These words are impeccable and represent the most reliable loyalty from a subject.

Zhu Youjian frowned slightly, caught in a moment of inner turmoil.

He had already made arrangements for Qi Xinxiao's whereabouts, so he still hoped that this poor scholar could participate in the grand performance he had been planning for a long time.

After all, he'll only be performing this one big act once.

However, Gao Shiming's concerns were not entirely unfounded.

A moment later, he suddenly smiled, and the troubled look on his face vanished.

"This matter is not difficult."

Zhu Youjian casually picked up a pen and paper and quickly sketched a few simple lines on the white paper.

A graphic that would become commonplace in later generations appeared on the paper.

He handed the paper to Gao Shiming.

"Have the needlework bureau make one using the finest soft cloth, with several layers of cotton yarn inside, just like this, so that he can wear it over his mouth, nose, and ears."

After saying that, Zhu Youjian raised his hand and gestured in front of his face.

Gao Shiming took the paper, looked at the strange pattern on it, and roughly understood its purpose.

But is this thing even useful? How useful is it?
But he had no choice but to obey the emperor's orders.

Gao Shiming bowed and accepted the order, then turned and instructed the eunuch outside the door to carry it out immediately.

But in his heart, he had already made up his mind.

Even if he wears this strange thing, Qi Xinxiao must be placed in the most inconspicuous corner of the Wenhua Hall, as far away from His Majesty's dragon throne as possible.

……

After processing the articles from the Hanlin Academy, Zhu Youjian hurriedly reviewed and approved all the memorials.

This included several revised drafts of the new policies for the capital city, which were then presented to him.

Everything—the tasks, the data, the plans—was done thoroughly and meticulously.

"Draft an imperial edict," Zhu Youjian said calmly.

“Wang Zhaodui, the former secretary of the Imperial Secretariat, was promoted to the position of judge of Shuntian Prefecture and given the title of censor of Yunnan Circuit. He was in charge of the rectification of officials in Shuntian Prefecture and Wan County and Daxing County.”

"Li Shiqi, the former head of the Ministry of Revenue, was promoted to the position of Vice Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture, in charge of the rectification of commercial taxes at the Nine Gates."

These are two of the four winners.

Zhu Youjian turned his gaze to Wang Tiqian, the Eastern Depot supervisor, who was standing on the other side.

"The Eastern Depot should provide good assistance with these two matters."

"Investigate thoroughly the background of the clerks in the capital, their usual methods of corruption, and the extent of their wealth, and send a copy to the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture."

Zhu Youjian paused, then added:

"You need to work with the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture to compile a list of these clerks' methods and write it into a document for governing the country, which you can then present to me for my review."

Wang Tiqian felt relieved. He had been standing in the Qianqing Palace for several days, and finally, he had something to do.

If there's life, then there's survival.

He immediately knelt down and said, "This servant obeys!"

Zhu Youjian nodded, then picked up the remaining two winning essays, pondered for a moment, and finally shook his head.

"Gao Banban, regarding the issues of thieves and gambling, we will continue to collect and refine policy proposals, but we will put them aside for now and not include them in the first phase of the new policies in the capital."

—The first phase of the new policies in the capital.

Gao Shiming and Wang Tiqian both caught the word and instantly understood something, but neither of them asked any further questions.

Why put these two matters aside?

Zhu Youjian already knew the answer in his heart.

It wasn't that the two documents about thieves and gambling were poorly written.

On the contrary, it's written too well.

It was so good that even he, a time traveler, felt a chill.

The second function of official documents for practical matters was fully demonstrated at this moment.

It is not just a plan to increase the success rate, but also an incredibly real and thorough information gathering channel.

To stand out in this new era of elegant governance, one must thoroughly prepare one's studies and present everything one knows and investigates to the emperor without reservation.

Let's talk about the thief first.

The memorial concerning the thieves in the capital detailed the various origins of the criminals. Idle young rascals and unruly commoners, as well as displaced refugees fleeing famine—all were to be expected.

It's difficult, but not impossible.

Even more troublesome are the thieves who mingle among the wandering monks.

This place contains all sorts of monks and Taoist priests, both legal and illegal.

It was legal; I bought a Buddhist ordination certificate for five taels of silver.

Illegal means either not being able to afford a certificate or using a counterfeit certificate.

But these are not the most troublesome issues.

The most troublesome source of thieves is the Imperial Guard of the Capital Region.

The area surrounding the capital is comprised of seventy-eight garrisons and three major military camps.

Originally a protective barrier for the capital, it has now become a den of iniquity.

The memorial was written cryptically, but it also made it clear: "They become soldiers when they enter the country and bandits when they leave, and even the generals tacitly approve of it, taking it as the norm."

What appears to be a case of theft actually involves a whole host of unsavory matters, including local militia systems, the Beijing garrison system, and the policy on ordination certificates for monks.

As for the Imperial Guards, the Five Cities Garrison, and the Patrol Battalion, which were responsible for capturing thieves, they were utterly incompetent, which was not surprising at all.

As for gambling, it was even more decadent.

While theft could be attributed to inadequate investigation and lax enforcement, at least a basic order still existed.

Gambling, on the other hand, is rampant and caused by tacit agreement between superiors and subordinates.

From civil officials and nobles to peddlers and soldiers in border regions, everyone gambles, and gambling is everywhere.

There are many different kinds of games, such as leaf games, circus games, lake games, lottery games, Cuju (ancient Chinese football), cockfighting, cricket fighting, etc.

The Ming Dynasty law stipulated that "anyone who gambles for money shall be punished with eighty strokes of the cane," but this law was too harsh and had become a dead letter.

The revised Criminal Law stipulated that "anyone who opens a gambling den shall be imprisoned in cangue for two months, and anyone who participates in gambling shall be imprisoned in cangue for one month," but this is now almost impossible.

Zhu Youjian gently closed the memorial and sighed in his heart.

But who could Zhu Youjian blame?
This relaxation of the gambling ban is entirely his ancestors' doing.

The great-grandson of Emperor Wanli loved cricket fighting, General Zhu Shou loved cockfighting and Cuju (ancient Chinese football), and the reclusive Emperor Wanli simply invented Douyexi (a type of Chinese opera).

In this respect, Jiajing was a little better, because he wanted to become an immortal, so he kept himself pure and did not like gambling.

I'm impressed, what a bunch of god-like ancestors.

Zhu Youjian shook his head, pulling himself out of his rant about his family of origin.

His new policies in the capital had only two real purposes: to build up a team and to create a political upheaval.

The idea that they should seize the opportunity to make a name for themselves before the Donglin faction arrives is just a smokescreen for these eunuchs.

—The mighty emperor of the Ming Dynasty, who can play Cuju (ancient Chinese football) and cockfighting, if he really wanted to protect himself, couldn't he protect a few of his ministers?
Why should we rely on any achievements to protect the eunuch faction?

Despite the repeated defeats of the Chongzhen Emperor in history, he still held the power of life and death and was very powerful.
If Emperor Tianqi could support Wei Zhongxian, he could naturally support Gao Zhongxian and Wang Zhongxian as well; it's just that he disdained to take this extremely inefficient path.

Therefore, new policies can be implemented in smaller quantities, but they must be implemented steadily, effectively, and crucially!

One lash leaves a bloody welt, clean and decisive, without any hesitation.

This is the same principle as fighting a war: first accumulate small victories, then plan for a major victory.

He is still young and his foundation is not yet solid; it is far from the time for him to launch a decisive battle.

As for when one's wings are fully grown...

Zhu Youjian composed himself and looked up to ask, "How's the progress on Master Sun's side?"

Gao Shiming immediately replied, "Your Majesty, all of Grand Secretary Sun's matters have been approved immediately by the Grand Secretariat and the Directorate of Ceremonial, and the Ministry of War has also been extremely cooperative."

"The orders for the deployment of personnel and troops have been issued urgently, and the necessary cotton boots, armor, weapons, and other supplies have been shipped. General Sun left Beijing yesterday and plans to first regroup his troops in Tongzhou."

Zhu Youjian nodded, but his finger lightly tapped the two memorials about thieves and gambling that he had just read.

He had absolutely no faith in the integrity of the officials in the final days of this dynasty.

He turned his head, his gaze sharp as lightning, and stared directly at Wang Tiqian.

"Have the people from the Eastern Depot keep a close eye on things for me! I can ignore other matters for now."

"But if anyone dares to tamper with Sun's military equipment or pay, no matter who it is, arrest them immediately! After arresting them, have the three judicial departments conduct an expedited joint trial, and handle everything swiftly and strictly!"

"We must find a few typical examples to make an example of!"

Wang Tiqian was overjoyed! He kowtowed and accepted the order: "This servant obeys!"

This job is even more different now!

However, Wang Tiqian still felt a little regretful, because even after arresting someone, he still had to hand them over to the three judicial departments for processing, which was ultimately not direct enough.

But it's alright, we can take it slow. No emperor in the Ming Dynasty has ever been able to resist the temptation of the Eastern Depot, which is so powerful and easily controlled.

Zhu Youjian silently considered the matter for a moment, confirming that nothing had been overlooked.

Finally, he stood up, stretched, and his joints made a series of soft cracking sounds.

The planning and reviewing of documents over the past few days had left him feeling somewhat exhausted.

But more than anything, it was an excitement of about to step onto the battlefield.

"Alright, with Master Sun working for me at the front, I can't just sit idle."

"Let's prepare the carriage for the Wenhua Hall."

—It's finally my turn again!

(End of this chapter)