Ming Dynasty 1627

Chapter 46 A Unique Morning Assembly (Please read on Monday! Don't forget, friends!)
Grand Secretary Huang Lijie, leading a group of cabinet ministers and ministers, followed behind the eunuch, each with their own thoughts.

The dynasty established a system of three, six, and nine regular court sessions, but this system has become almost a dead letter since the reigns of Emperor Shizong and Emperor Shenzong.

Even the late emperor only attended court about four days a month.

Indeed, every emperor, upon first ascending the throne, always desires to bring peace and prosperity to the world and to illuminate all corners of the earth.

But it's unknown how long this spirit can last.

……

In the blink of an eye, we arrived at the Wuying Hall.

Huang Liji froze as he stepped through the palace gate, his steps halting.

Is this... still the same Wuying Hall he visited last time?

On the left and right sides of the hall, two rows of tables and chairs were neatly arranged.

On each table, there are three things: a stack of paper, a pen, and a cup of steaming tea.

Even more unbelievable is that each table has a small, exquisitely crafted wooden plaque.

Their official titles and names were clearly written on it in the elegant official script.

"Grand Secretary Huang Lijie."

"Second Grand Secretary, Shih Feng-lai."

"Minister of Revenue, Guo Yunhou."

"..."

Although such a scene is unbelievable, it is also immediately clear to anyone who looks at it.

Isn't this the school where I studied so hard back then?
The only difference is that the desks and chairs are now arranged sideways to the teacher instead of facing them. Could it be...?

Is the emperor going to give them a lesson today?

The other Grand Secretaries and Ministers who followed behind also stopped in their tracks.

They looked at each other, unsure of what to do.

"My lords, please take your seats."

Gao Shiming, with a warm smile, extended his hand to the ministers and made a "please" gesture.

Everyone looked at each other, and no one dared to make the first move.

Is this a seat that anyone can sit in?
What about ancestral rules? What about established order? What about the distinction between ruler and subject?
In the end, it was Grand Secretary Huang Lijie who, gritting his teeth, was the first to take the first step.

He walked to the desk with his name on it, but didn't dare to sit down. He just stood behind the desk.

The others immediately followed suit, each finding a table with their name on it and standing there.

Seeing this, Gao Shiming did not urge him, but said, "His Majesty will arrive in a moment. You may take a look at the matters to be discussed today."

Everyone picked up the paper and was greatly intrigued.

The grid is drawn with lines, and the top is written with the topic, person in charge, and items, while the inside contains items such as border pay and horse fodder in silver.

Everything was in perfect order, and it was indeed much clearer than the usual official document writing style.

Gao Shiming added with a smile, "This was written by His Majesty after reading the Records of the Grand Historian, imitating Sima Qian's 'chronological table method'."

"When used in planning, it becomes clearer and more understandable."

"To distinguish it from the family chronologies used by historians, His Majesty has bestowed upon it the name 'Table'."

As soon as he finished speaking, a long, drawn-out greeting came from behind the hall.

"Your Majesty, please ascend the throne!"

Everyone felt a chill run down their spines. They didn't have time to look at the so-called "form" carefully anymore. They quickly turned around and knelt down in a flurry.

"I see your Majesty, long live my emperor!"

Zhu Youjian, dressed in a bright yellow casual robe, slowly walked out from behind the palace, his gaze calmly sweeping over the kneeling officials.

However, instead of sitting on the dragon throne as before, he walked behind His Majesty's slightly higher "Emperor's Special" desk.

"Rise, all of you, and take your seats."

After the officials stood up, they looked at each other, none daring to be the first to sit down.

Zhu Youjian smiled slightly, having anticipated this.

Why are you all not seated?

Still no one moved.

After a moment of silence, Grand Secretary Huang Lijie stepped forward first, his face full of conflict, and said:

"Your Majesty... Since the founding emperor established the rule that when discussing matters in the court, we ministers should kneel to respond, this... this collective granting of seats seems to violate the ancestral rules!"

Yes, it's certainly better to be able to sit and discuss matters.

After all, nobody is a pushover; if you can be comfortable, of course you'll choose comfort.

However, "rites" were the most powerful weapon for civil officials to restrain the emperor.

Even within the court and among the common people, the influence of the School of Mind had penetrated to the bone marrow.

Even among civil officials, most of them would forget about the Four Books and Five Classics as soon as they took office.

But this weapon of criticism can be broken by emperors and barbarians, but they cannot break it.

To everyone's surprise, Zhu Youjian chuckled softly after hearing this. "Ancestral rules?"

He countered, "No matter how great the ancestral rules are, how can they be greater than ancient rites?"

“During the Spring and Autumn Period, Qin and Han Dynasties, when rulers and ministers answered questions, they would sit down and calmly exchange ideas.”

"Why is it that in my Great Ming Dynasty, you, the most important ministers, have to stand until your backs ache in order to share the burden of the country?"

He paused slightly, then asked another question.

"Moreover, if we're talking about ancestral rules, corruption is punishable by being skinned alive. Surely you all don't expect me to reinstate that ancestral rule?"

Having said that, he stopped looking at the crowd, lifted his robes, and sat down calmly in his seat.

Well, the skin and the real substance have been extracted.

This was tantamount to smearing the stains on all the ministers present with ink, and then hurling them at them in court.

The cabinet ministers immediately fell silent and obediently sat down.

Upon seeing this, Zhu Youjian felt a great weight lifted from his heart, replaced by a deep sense of joy.

Why did he leave the entire eunuch faction in the court unpunished?

What benevolent and sage ruler, what burning of books in the palace—these are all just excuses. Even the harvesting of prestige is merely a side effect.

There are three real reasons:

Firstly, there was the fear of unrest in the imperial court. After all, Shaanxi was going to suffer a severe drought in the first year of Chongzhen's reign, and if there were large-scale personnel changes for several months, the summer taxes and autumn grain harvests would not be completed, and the country would be doomed.

Secondly, they did not want the Donglin Party and opportunists to seize control of the Tianqi Central Committee under the banner of anti-eunuchism.

These civil officials may not have been from the same faction, but the desire to erode the emperor's power was a consensus and instinct among almost every civil official.

Although it wasn't irreversible—in the second year of Chongzhen's reign, Chongzhen had already dismissed the Donglin faction and revived the eunuch faction of the Imperial Guard—how much more time would that take?
Thirdly, it was all for the sake of today's scene!

This group of spineless and tainted civil officials, at least until the Donglin faction is fully reinstated, cannot significantly hinder his actions.

It will be even more interesting after Donglin is reinstated; they will cling to him even more tightly than they do today.

Only by reducing resistance and increasing support can he freely and easily make adjustments to the entire country according to his wishes.

Instead of spending all day chatting with these civil officials about trivial matters like ancestral rules, rituals, and established systems.

How can a matter of national salvation and survival not involve reform and innovation?!

I'll just open a small window today, and wait until I smash this dilapidated house of yours to pieces!

"Alright, now that everyone is seated, let's begin our discussion."

Zhu Youjian's voice brought everyone back to their senses.

He picked up the "form" on his desk and tapped it lightly.

"The first item on the agenda today is the clearing of unpaid wages in the nine border regions."

"Prime Minister, you took charge of this matter three days ago. How is it progressing?"

Huang Liji had barely sat down when he quickly stood up again.

Guo Yunhou, the Minister of Revenue, also quickly stood up and bowed.

"Your Majesty, your subject and Minister of Revenue Guo Yunhou, together with you, have spent three days working tirelessly to clarify all the outstanding military pay owed to the nine border regions since the first year of the Tianqi reign."

After saying this, he handed a thick stack of booklets from his sleeve to Gao Shiming.

Zhu Youjian took it and saw densely packed characters arranged vertically. After reading two pages, he lost patience.

I am different now. Do you want me to suffer the same frustration I felt three days ago when I was looking at the internal transport warehouse's ledgers?

It must be impossible!

"Gao Shiming, reorganize it using the table method and paste it on the screen."

"Let's skip this for now and discuss it after we've finished organizing it. Now let's talk about the second matter."

After Zhu Youjian finished speaking, he looked at Shi Fenglai.

Shi Fenglai and Fang Zhuangli, the Left Censor-in-Chief, quickly stood up.

Huang Lijie and Guo Yunhou hesitated for a moment before sitting down.

"Your Majesty, regarding the investigation into the floods in Shandong, I have discussed it with the Left Censor-in-Chief and have appointed Jin Lan, the Censor of Shandong Circuit, to go and investigate."

Zhu Youjian tapped the table lightly with his fingers, saying nothing, but gesturing with his eyes.

Shi Fenglai continued.

"The order was received on the 26th, and the candidates were selected on the same day. Jinlan set off on the 27th."

"We will travel by carriage and boat, and it is expected to reach Shandong in ten days. After five days of exploration, we will send an urgent report via post station, and it is expected to arrive in three days."

"Give us two more days, and we estimate that the first payment will be received on September 17th."

Zhu Youjian nodded, feeling somewhat helpless.

This was the speed of communication in ancient times. In Beizhili and Shandong, which were neighboring provinces, it would take ten days to half a month to actually do something.

It's no wonder that efficiency is low right now, with most things taking months to complete.

He had no idea what to do for the time being, so he nodded and asked Gao Shiming to revise the task list before looking at Zhang Ruitu.

"Next matter: how is the payment of horse feed in silver progressing?"

(End of this chapter)