Ming Dynasty 1627

Chapter 119 The Original Secretariat Team

The three stood quietly under the side corridor of the Qianqing Palace, awaiting an audience.

Qi Xinxiao was quick-witted and understood why His Majesty had summoned the three of them together today after only a moment's thought.

Ni Yuanlu wants to combine psychology and reason.

Wu Kongjia was clearly the one who proposed the Yongjia School.

He himself put forward the theory of Wang Gongjing's learning.

It seems that while His Majesty says he doesn't care about right or wrong in his daily speeches, his bias is already quite obvious.

The School of Neo-Confucianism, the School of Mind... His Majesty probably doesn't approve of any of them.

So they really are Legalists?

Thinking of this, Qi Xinxiao frowned. If he were to promote Legalism now, he feared there would be considerable resistance.

The bronze bells on the eaves of the palace remained motionless in the breeze, and the only sound was the distant chirping of cicadas, which made the place seem even more solemn and dignified.

Qi Xinxiao then noticed that Wu Kongjia beside him seemed somewhat uneasy.

He then noticed that there were faint sounds of discussion coming from inside the hall, but he couldn't make it out clearly.

So Brother Yuanhui was eavesdropping.

However, before he could concentrate and listen again, the young eunuch who had led the way earlier had already walked out of the hall and bowed, saying, "My lords, His Majesty wants you to go in now."

The three men were all startled and dared not be negligent. They quickly straightened their clothes and followed the little eunuch across the high threshold.

This was the first time in their lives that they had set foot in this imperial palace.

But as soon as they entered the hall, the scene before them stunned them.

A strange group stood in the hall.

A burly general, who should have been on duty outside the hall, stood solemnly inside the hall, his phoenix-winged helmet tucked under his left arm and dressed in full military attire.

Beside him stood a scholar wearing a scholar's cap and a blue round-fronted robe, though it was unclear whether he was a successful candidate in the provincial examinations or a student of the Imperial Academy. He was speaking to the emperor on the throne with great excitement.

On the throne, Zhu Youjian saw them enter and merely nodded slightly, indicating that they should stand aside, while he continued to listen attentively to the Confucian scholar.

The scholar seemed completely oblivious to the three extra people in the hall, continuing his impassioned speech, his voice echoing in the empty space.

"Your Majesty! Therefore, the extravagant gambling trend is merely a facade!"

"The root cause of the decline of the nobility lies in their lack of hope for promotion and their idleness in daily life, which leads them to take pride in horse racing, cockfighting, and spending lavishly!"

"Therefore, to curb gambling, we must first curb the nobility! To curb the nobility, we must give them something to do, let them establish merit, and select them based on their performance, with the capable rising and the incapable falling!"

"Anyone who is dissolute, corrupt, or harms the people will be stripped of their titles and honors without hesitation!"

Zhu Youjian listened and nodded noncommittally, then asked, "However, among the nobles, are there truly any capable people left?"

The scholar held his head high, exuding a vibrant and heroic air: "Your Majesty, if the eldest son is unusable, then use the second son; if the second son is unusable, then use a distant relative! If even a distant relative is unusable, then establish new merits through military achievements and ennoble the new nobles in place of the old ones!"

"In the glorious Ming Dynasty, is there any worry about a lack of brave and willing people?"

Qi Xinxiao and the other two were secretly astonished. Such remarks were incredibly bold, and they were all curious about who this person was who dared to speak so boldly in front of His Majesty.

After listening, Zhu Youjian pondered for a moment, then shook his head with a wry smile.

“Shouzhong, your temperament is really unlike your father’s.”

Upon hearing this, the scholar named Shouzhong hesitated for a moment, but ultimately stubbornly insisted, "He's just old and overthinking things! If you want to clarify the ills of the time, how can you be so timid and hesitant!"

"Hahahaha..." Zhu Youjian burst into laughter, but did not reply, only waving to Qi Xinxiao and the other two.

"Come on over here. You'll be working together from now on, so you can introduce yourselves first."

He then pointed at the Confucian scholar and the Han general, and said to Qi Xinxiao and the other two, "You can also tell these two the questions we discussed today. The things I want you to do later are related to this."

The men exchanged bewildered glances, all somewhat confused, but they still stepped forward as instructed and introduced themselves. The burly general turned around first, gave the three men a slight bow, and said in a steady voice, "I am Luo Yangxing, a centurion of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, courtesy name Taihe."

The scholar turned around, cupped his hands in greeting to the three of them, and still looked excited: "My name is Zhang Zhiji, courtesy name Shouzhong, and I am currently studying at the Imperial Academy."

Qi Xinxiao and the other two were all moved.

Luo Yangxing was the son of Luo Sigong, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Zhang Zhiji was the son of Zhang Weixian, the Duke of Ying.

Good heavens, they turned out to be two deeply entrenched "second-generation officials" from Beijing.

Qi Xinxiao returned the greeting with a cupped hand: "I am Qi Xinxiao, a compiler at the Hanlin Academy."

"My name is... Ni Yuanlu."

"My name is... Wu Kongjia."

After announcing their names, Qi Xinxiao and the other two recounted the events of the day's lecture.

He explained the entire process to the two men, starting with the debate between "loving the people" and "renewing the people" in the Great Learning, all the way to "why Confucius chose benevolence," and finally concluding with "what are the problems of the Ming Dynasty today."

Zhu Youjian sat to one side, his eyes deep and silent, observing everyone's reactions in quiet contemplation.

This morning I was busy lecturing, so I could only glance at the two memorials, "Memorial Requesting the Crackdown on Thieves in the Capital" and "Memorial Requesting the Elimination of Gambling".

It wasn't until the afternoon that he had time to summon the person who submitted the memorial for questioning.

These two men were Luo Yangxing and Zhang Zhiji.

Upon closer examination, it is indeed true that everyone has their own expertise and family traditions.

Luo Yangxing, who came from a family of imperial guards, was extremely knowledgeable about the bandits and outlaws around the capital. He could analyze them in great detail, even down to how many positions the patrol camp was short and where the embezzled funds went each month.

Zhang Zhiji, son of the Duke of England, was equally astute, clearly analyzing the gambling practices and causes within the circle of nobles.

It can only be said that these sons of officials have a natural advantage that is hard for others to match when they want to do things.

Whether they have the ability to drive change is still unclear, but when it comes to information collection and feedback, no one knows better than these local "big shots".

Let's take a look at the three members of the Hanlin Academy.

Avoiding old-fashioned approaches is one aspect, but staffing is another.

Ni Yuanlu was close to the Donglin Party, Wu Kongjia was a former member of the eunuch faction, and Qi Xinxiao was of commoner origin.

With the addition of Zhang Zhiji's noble status and Luo Yangxing's Imperial Guard, the three of them formed a small group with relatively diverse identities.

Later, as he gradually adds more people and balances the geographical and social strata, he will eventually have a complete secretariat team.

Yes, the Secretariat!

Forewarned is forearmed, without prejudging the waste.

It's impossible to wait until things get too complicated before starting to build the system; rules, regulations, and staff selection all require time to prepare.

But for these five people to get into the secretariat, they'll have to see how well they perform with this first small task I gave them.

While Zhu Youjian was lost in thought, the five people in the hall had already begun to discuss the most interesting points.

Qi Xinxiao was in high spirits, but he was wearing a mask and spoke in a muffled voice.

Ni Yuanlu took over the responsibility of explaining, speaking animatedly.

Zhang Zhiji listened with great excitement, clapping his hands in admiration, and constantly asking for details, regretting that he was not present at the lecture.

Wu Kongjia and Luo Yangxing were somewhat similar; both remained silent, only nodding occasionally.

(End of this chapter)