I was compiling the daily records during the Wanli reign

Chapter 62 Emperor's Certification! Little Wanli's Checks and Balances

On the sixth day of February, it was time for the regular court session.

Behind the curtain drawn by Empress Dowager Li, the young Wanli sat high on the throne, and Shen Nian stood on one side as the recorder of daily life.

After the officials from the six ministries reported some daily government affairs.

Cao Wei, the deputy commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and pacification commissioner of the Northern Pacification Office, strode out.

"Your Majesty, I have investigated the impeachment of Lord Zhang by Liu Tai, the former Liaodong Inspector. He was reprimanded by the Lord for violating regulations and requesting a reward for last year's Liaodong victory. He harbored resentment, and, furthermore, he coveted a reputation for his integrity. Therefore, he launched into wild and perverse remarks, destabilizing the state. He is sentenced to fifty strokes of the cane and exile to the frontier!"

Little Wanli looked serious.

"This greedy and evil villain, seeking to gain a reputation for honesty, has ruined the reputation of the Prime Minister. He deserves to be punished!"

Hearing this, Zhang Juzheng strode out.

"Your Majesty, last year, Fu Yingzhen slandered Your Majesty, but he was only exempted from punishment by caning and exile. Now, Liu Tai is only impeaching a cabinet minister, so his crime should not be greater than Fu Yingzhen's."

"Liu Tai said that he impeached me for the sake of the emperor, father, and the world. Although he had selfish motives, according to the law, he should not be punished too harshly. I earnestly request that he be exempted from the caning and demoted to a commoner."

"This treacherous and cruel man was saved by the Prime Minister. This is truly a gesture of loyalty and kindness. I am deeply moved. I will follow the Prime Minister's wishes and remove him from the official rank and make him a commoner!"

Zhang Juzheng immediately bowed and shouted, "Your Majesty is wise!"

"Your Majesty is wise!" the ministers shouted.

This conversation between the young Wanli and Zhang Juzheng was meant for the court officials, especially the censors.

The officials below also understood: It is difficult to shake Mount Tai, and it is even more difficult to shake Zhang Juzheng.

With the young Wanli protecting Zhang Juzheng, no one could harm him in the slightest.

Just when everyone thought that the matter was about to end and the court meeting was about to end.

"Cough cough!"

Little Wanli coughed dryly and said, "My lords, what is a censor?"

"I advise the emperor on his mistakes, monitor the officials, regulate government, uphold rites and laws, enforce discipline, and safeguard imperial power. However, since I ascended the throne, the behavior of many censors has greatly disappointed me!"

Little Wanli asked himself questions and answered them, and his tone became serious.

Hear this.

The censors standing behind the officials from the six ministries couldn't help but look up.

It seems that the emperor is going to punish them!
The young Wanli continued, "I follow the rules of our ancestors and know that a wise ruler is one who readily accepts criticism. I also hope that you can point out my mistakes, so that I can understand my gains and losses and make fewer mistakes."

"However, in recent years, the implementation of the New Deal has damaged the interests of some officials. Under the guise of 'supervising all officials and correcting illegal activities,' they have engaged in acts of 'seeking fame and reputation, slandering the emperor and selling integrity.' This undermines national order and affects the New Deal. It is the behavior of treacherous officials, and I cannot tolerate it!"

"Among all the civil and military officials in the court, who are the virtuous officials and who are the treacherous ministers? Who is public-spirited and who is selfish? I have a scale in my heart!"

"Some officials boast of their high moral standards, but because they can't get promoted, they scorn the cabinet's monopoly of power and the ministries' partiality. They need to examine their performance appraisals to determine if they are capable of handling their duties and whether they have made any contribution to the country and its people."

"Only those who possess both virtue and talent are good ministers. For Ming officials, there is no shortcut to promotion; it depends solely on one's ability to govern the country!"

……

Today's little Wanli is full of aura.

After listening to Feng Bao's talk about Shen Nian's strategy of "punishing those officials who seek fame and speak out", he finished writing his plan in his mind before going to bed.

The young Wanli paused and said, "To punish those censors who are selling their reputation for honesty, I have decided to personally go to the Imperial Prison to try Liu Tai. If he is merely a Confucian scholar with short-sightedness, he will be punished according to the charges I just made. If he is a traitor who is willing to destabilize the country for his own selfish reputation, I will issue another decree."

At this moment, there was silence in the Huangji Palace.

"Any treacherous ministers whom I have identified as 'selling reputation for integrity and harming government' will be decreed to never be reinstated. Neither I nor future emperors shall reinstate such officials!"

Upon hearing this, all the censors were dumbfounded.

This is a bit cruel!

Being a treacherous minister who is certified by the emperor to be selling his integrity for fame means that his path to gaining an honest reputation is blocked; there is no possibility of reinstatement, which means that his official career is hopeless from then on.

This is the law.

This completely blocked the way for officials who wanted to gain fame and official positions by selling their reputations and honesty.

The chief censor, Left Censor-in-Chief Chen Zan, came out.

"Your Majesty, this decree can check and balance bad censors, but where are the standards? Etiquette and ancestral laws are above all else, so there must be some rules!"

What he meant was, who will check and balance the imperial power?
Swish!Swish!Swish!
All the censors looked at Chen Zan with approval.

This is exactly what they want to say but dare not say.

If the loyalty, treachery, goodness or badness of censors are all defined by the emperor through laws (in black and white) in the future, then the imperial power will expand unprecedentedly. Who will supervise it?
This is not allowed by the Ming Dynasty's ancestral system.

The emperor must follow the ancestral system, and the supervisory power of the officials is the most important.

A faint smile appeared on little Wanli's face.

"Mr. Chen's words make sense. I certainly cannot disregard the laws of the land and define officials as loyal or treacherous based solely on my personal preferences. I may also be deceived."

“That’s why I think so.”

"When I am evaluating a censor for selling their integrity, I will have the historian who also records my daily life record my words and deeds verbatim for the annals. I will also submit the evaluation process and my reasons to the Three Judicial Departments for review. Only after their approval will this decree take effect. What do you think?"

At this moment, all the officials raised their heads with a look of surprise.

The emperor used his reputation to guarantee the fairness of the certification by recording it word for word in the daily notes; the review by the three judicial officials was a guarantee based on ancestral laws.

What officials praised most was that he avoided the cabinet.

Cabinet ministers were often impeached by censors, but they did not participate in the review process, ensuring that censors could make suggestions relatively freely.

The cabinet can also supervise the record-keeping officials to ensure that every word and action can be recorded in history books, and the imperial power can still be subject to the ancestral system and rituals.

This is a perfect closed loop.

At present, censors are very powerful, and many officials fear them more than they fear the cabinet.

Many officials are happy with this rectification.

Zhang Juzheng narrowed his eyes.

He felt that little Wanli could not come up with such a good idea. He glanced at Feng Bao, then at Shen Nian, as if thinking about something.

"My lords, do you have any objections?" asked the young Wanli again.

"Your Majesty's holy judgment, I have no objection!" Ma Ziqiang took the lead and strode out, shouting loudly.

this moment.

The three cabinet ministers, Zhang Juzheng, Lu Diaoyang and Zhang Siwei, all knew who came up with this idea.

As the three elders bowed, the officials behind them all bowed and shouted, "Your Majesty, this is your holy decree. We have no objection!"

A satisfied smile appeared on little Wanli's face.

At this time.

Zhang Siwei bowed and said, "Your Majesty, Liu Tai has slandered our Master and destabilized the country. He is unworthy of Your Majesty's personal trial. I suggest Your Majesty observe the trial from behind the wall and instruct the judges to follow Your Majesty's wishes."

Little Wanli nodded and said, "I understand. I already have a suitable candidate in mind."

The Eastern Depot, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and the Three Judicial Departments were nominally directly under the imperial power.

Little Wanli can use anyone.

The reason why the title of personal trial by the emperor was used was to deter those treacherous officials who were seeking fame and honesty, so that they could not use it to take shortcuts in their official careers.

This time, the right candidate in little Wanli's mind is Shen Nian.

Next, how to make Liu Tai reveal his true form becomes Shen Nian’s task.

……

Note: According to historical records, Fu Yingzhen was reinstated after Zhang Juzheng's death and was appointed as the Nanjing Dali Cheng. After Liu Tai was demoted to a commoner, he was found to have committed corruption by Zhang Xueyan, who was promoted to the Minister of Revenue. He was exiled to a garrison and died suddenly.

(End of this chapter)