My Portable Ming Dynasty

Chapter 379 Sneak Attack on the Old Comrade

Su Ze wanted to impeach Wang Ting for a simple reason: he was the Left Censor-in-Chief and the Grand Censor of the Censorate.

The Censorate was an investigative agency personally designed by Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang, and it also had a system that differed from other government offices.

Each censor in the Censorate has their own seal upon taking office. Censors in the Censorate can impeach ministers at any time; this is the Censorate's power of investigation.

Of course, this power has been greatly restricted by Su Ze through the performance evaluation system. Now the Censorate can no longer speak on hearsay; it must submit evidence to impeach ministers.

In addition to these, the Censorate had two other methods of impeachment.

One method is joint impeachment.

The supervising censors were established one by one according to the thirteen circuits of the Ming Dynasty. Each circuit also had its own "circuit censor's seal", which was kept by the senior censor of that circuit, that is, the most senior censor among the censors of that circuit.

If the censors of a circuit unite to submit a memorial impeaching someone, and affix the "City Censor Seal," it is called a joint impeachment.

This is a very powerful political event, and the impeached official will usually have to submit a letter to plead guilty and defend himself.

Next came this instance, where all thirteen censors joined forces, affixed the seal of the Censorate, and thus began a joint impeachment.

This is immense pressure. At this point, if a senior cabinet minister is impeached, he must submit a letter of resignation and temporarily relinquish power. This is called "avoiding office and awaiting impeachment," which means giving up one's position and waiting to be impeached.

This system was actually a good political design in the first place. Through the Censorate, whose officials were not high-ranking, it was possible to restrain the top officials and also to supervise senior officials.

However, this method was still misused and abused.

This system has a bug: the Censorate can keep submitting memorials to impeach officials.

The Censors of the Censorate quickly discovered that this method could paralyze the cabinet.

Such incidents have occurred several times. The most serious one paralyzed the cabinet for two months. In the end, the emperor had to intervene and replace the then Left Censor-in-Chief to quell the court dispute.

This is also why the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet must control the Censorate.

However, Gao Gong did not hold office for long, and he was in charge of the Ministry of Personnel for a long time, so he was not well-liked among officials.

In addition, the fact that the Censorate had been suppressed by Su Ze for a long time made Gao Gong lower his guard and fail to clean up the Censorate in time.

The emperor's illness was indeed a matter of great concern to both the court and the public, and the Censorate also held the moral high ground.

That's why Gao Gong was able to be ambushed and killed.

However, the Censorate itself has more than just this one bug.

To submit a joint petition, in addition to gathering the seals of the thirteen senior censors, one also needs the seal of Wang Ting, the Left Censor-in-Chief.

The Ming Dynasty also had a rule that once an official stepped down, the official seal of the department had to be sealed and could only be used when the successor took office.

Su Ze knew that this Left Censor-in-Chief had long intended to resign, so Su Ze was naturally happy to help him resign and step down at this time.

As long as Wang Ting, the Grand Censor, steps down, the seal of the Censorate will be sealed.

Given the current state of chaos in the court, it's unclear when a new Left Censor-in-Chief will be selected quickly.

Once the issue of the joint petition is resolved, Gao Gong, with his skill and ability, will surely be able to deal with the Censorate.

Now Su Ze understood why Gao Gong wanted to reform the bureaucracy first and complete the systemic reforms before carrying out fiscal and tax reforms.

The bureaucratic system of the Ming Dynasty had far too many flaws, making it extremely difficult to get anything done.

As the Grand Secretary, Gao Gong concealing the emperor's illness at this time would not have been a political problem, but it would have been attacked by the Censorate.

If it were a larger-scale reform, there would be even more overt and covert resistance.

If the bureaucratic system cannot be streamlined, and fiscal and tax reforms are carried out solely through personal skill and prestige, then the result will be the same as Zhang Juzheng's reforms in the original timeline.

The Single Whip Tax Reform was successful under Zhang Juzheng, but it was immediately countered after his death. The reform, which was originally intended to reduce taxes, instead increased taxes on the people. The out-of-control bureaucratic system went wild and eventually fell into the abyss.

Su Ze's impeachment memorial to Wang Ting

The format of impeachment memorials was fixed; all that was needed was to state who was impeaching whom.

The impeachment was simple, mainly concerning Wang Ting's inaction as Left Censor-in-Chief, his lack of competence, and the corrupt practices within the Censorate.

After finishing writing, Su Ze stuffed the memorial into the "Portable Ming Dynasty Imperial Court" app.

——[Simulation Start]——

Su Ze's memorial impeaching Wang Ting was delivered to the cabinet.

Gao Gong was being impeached by the Censorate and could not express his opinion to avoid suspicion, so the cabinet was handed over to Zhang Juzheng.

Zhang Juzheng strongly opposed your memorial, arguing that ministers should not be dealt with arbitrarily during such a turbulent time in the court.

Neither Zhao Zhenji nor Lei Li expressed their opinions.

Yin Shidan wanted to support the memorial, but Zhang Juzheng rejected his right to speak, saying that "this is not an educational matter."

Ultimately, the cabinet reached a consensus, led by Zhang Juzheng, opposing your memorial impeaching Wang Ting.

The Longqing Emperor accepted your memorial.

——[Simulation End]——

[Remaining Prestige: 1270.]

[To approve your memorial, you need to pay 500 prestige points. Do you wish to pay?]

Su Ze naturally chose "yes" without hesitation.

[Prestige points have been deducted, leaving 770 prestige points. Please complete the memorial as soon as possible and await its effect.]

Looking at the simulation results, Su Ze realized that without the system, this memorial would have been blocked by the cabinet.

Without a cheat code, I wouldn't have a chance against these old foxes.

Still need to practice!
-
cabinet.

After being impeached by the Censorate, Gao Gong immediately submitted a petition to return home and await further investigation.

Zhang Juzheng took over the work of the cabinet.

Just then, Li Yiyuan, the Commissioner of the Court of Judicial Review, arrived at the cabinet with Su Ze's memorial.

After reading Su Ze's memorial, Zhang Juzheng, imitating Gao Gong, coughed and said:
"Gentlemen, let's discuss Su Zilin's memorial."

Su Ze's memorial was very short, and everyone finished reading it quickly.

Those present were all seasoned veterans of political struggle, and they could all see through Su Ze's move. This was Su Ze helping his mentor, Prime Minister Gao Gong.

Zhang Juzheng also felt some regret at this point.

What he regretted was why he didn't stop Li Yiyuan from requesting that Su Ze be put in charge of the postal service at the Ministry of Communications.

Now that Su Ze has been placed in the crucial Department of General Affairs, Gao Gong is like a tiger with wings.

It seems that Su Ze chose to go to the Office of Transmission himself; this young man is truly far-sighted.

Unfortunately!
Zhang Juzheng put aside his chaotic thoughts; this memorial was bound to fail.

After everyone had finished reading, Zhang Juzheng then said:
"I believe that the court is in a time of great turmoil, and Su Zilin's impeachment of the Left Censor-in-Chief will cause an even greater upheaval in the court."

"I oppose Su Zilin's memorial, but the Left Censor-in-Chief Wang Ting will protect him."

After Zhang Juzheng finished speaking, his gaze fell on Zhao Zhenji.

This is a matter of personnel appointments within the imperial court, so Lei Li and Yin Shidan cannot voice their opinions. Gao Gong has already returned home to await his judgment, so the only one in the cabinet who can oppose him is Zhao Zhenji, the Grand Secretary.

As long as Cho Jung-gil remains silent, the cabinet can reach a consensus.

Given Emperor Longqing's current situation, if the cabinet can reach a consensus, the emperor will certainly not agree to Su Ze's memorial.

Zhao Zhenji frowned.

Zhao Zhenji disliked Gao Gong, but he also disliked Zhang Juzheng.

Seeing Zhao Zhenji remain silent, Zhang Juzheng prepared to make the final decision, at which point Yin Shidan spoke up:

"Wait a minute."

Seeing that Yin Shidan was about to express his opinion, Zhang Juzheng immediately interrupted him, saying:

"Grand Secretary Yin, this is not an educational matter."

Yin Shidan's face flushed red. Zhang Juzheng's words were a direct slap in the face!
Zhang Juzheng essentially said that this was not an educational matter, and that he, as the Minister in Charge of Education, was not qualified to speak on it!

Yin Shidan's face flushed red and then turned pale, but Zhang Juzheng remained indifferent.

Even Zhao Zhenji couldn't stand it anymore.

Zhao Zhenji said:
"Grand Secretary Zhang, are you saying that Grand Secretary Yin cannot speak on matters of great importance concerning the laws and regulations of the court?"

Zhang Juzheng looked at Zhao Zhenji, and even Lei Li's expression was not good. Only then did he realize that he had just been too autocratic.

Zhang Juzheng also began to reflect on himself. If it were someone else's memorial, he could have let Yin Shidan express his thoughts and then not let him sign it.

Perhaps it was because it concerned Su Ze that he lost his composure.

Zhang Juzheng coughed and said:
"What Grand Secretary Zhao said is correct. Then please let Grand Secretary Yin share his thoughts."

At this moment, their gaze fell on Yin Shidan.

After this turmoil, some time has passed.

The cabinet fell silent.

Actually, Yin Shidan didn't have much to say.

Although he was allied with Gao Gong, Su Ze's sudden impeachment of Wang Ting, the Left Censor-in-Chief, was not actually justified.

By expressing his support, Yin Shidan was essentially making a statement to Gao Gong.

However, Zhang Juzheng's domineering style completely displeased Yin Shidan.

For some reason, Yin Shidan suddenly had a flash of inspiration.

He summoned his personal attendant, instructed him on some matters, and then remained silent.

Just as Zhang Juzheng's patience was about to run out, Yin Shidan's secretary returned to the cabinet.

He whispered a few words in Yin Shidan's ear, and Yin Shidan's eyes lit up.

He turned to look at Zhang Juzheng, which made Zhang Juzheng sense that something was wrong.

Yin Shidan cleared his throat and said:

"I just dispatched the Secretariat to inquire about it."

"The Censorate did not hold an opening ceremony. Today, Wang Ting, the Left Censor-in-Chief, is also at home claiming to be ill and did not go to the Censorate."

After Yin Shidan finished speaking, the entire cabinet fell silent.

Zhao Zhenji immediately said:
"Since the Censorate is not open for business, when was its official seal affixed?"

Zhang Juzheng now realized he was doomed.

Wang Ting, the Left Censor-in-Chief, often claimed to be ill, but sometimes the Censorate needed the official seal, so there were many memorials with blank seals in the Censorate.

Zhang Juzheng never expected that these censors would be so careless!
A blank seal is no small matter!

There was a major case in the early Ming Dynasty, known as the "Blank Seal Case".

To prevent officials from embezzling public funds and endangering the government, Zhu Yuanzhang stipulated that local governments must send accountants to the Ministry of Revenue in the central government every year to verify the financial revenue and expenditure, including land tax, taxes, and military expenditures.

After the Ministry of Revenue reviews the documents, if there are any discrepancies in the funds or grain, the documents must be rejected and resubmitted.

However, the distance between the provincial government and the Ministry of Revenue was long, so the accounting clerks often carried blank documents. If the Ministry of Revenue rejected them, they would immediately correct them. This practice became the norm at the time.

In the ninth year of the Hongwu reign, Zhu Yuanzhang inspected the national financial records and discovered that blank ledgers had been pre-stamped. He was greatly shocked by this and concluded that local officials would use this to embezzle money and grain. Therefore, he ordered severe punishment, executing all officials in charge of the seal and punishing all assistant officials with one hundred strokes of the cane.

This incident became a major case in the early Ming Dynasty, after which all levels of government strictly managed the seals.

Many officials were dismissed for lax management of official seals.

In order to make it easier for Wang Ting to request leave, but also to avoid being disturbed by the censors below, he prepared many blank memorials stamped with the seal of the Censorate and placed them in the Censorate.

This is actually normal, since the emperor can't control the Censorate anyway. Whether he's in the Censorate or not, he can only stamp these kinds of memorials.

However, your memorial was submitted on the sixteenth day of the first month. On the sixteenth day of the first month, the Censorate did not even have a ceremony to open its offices, and the official seal was still sealed. You used a memorial with an empty seal to impeach the Grand Secretary!
Yin Shidan said:
"When I looked at the impeachment memorials of the Censorate before, I noticed that the Censorate's seal was a different color from the other seals. It turns out that the seals were affixed at different times."

"Wang Ting, the Left Censor-in-Chief, failed to properly safeguard the official seal, leaving an empty seal in the courtyard, treating the laws and regulations of the court and the official seal as a joke!"

"I, too, will submit a memorial to impeach him!"

Upon arriving here, Zhang Juzheng understood that the Censorate was doomed.

Because of the "blank seal case," the issue of official seals became a major concern for the imperial court.

Although officials will no longer be executed for holding an empty seal, they will certainly be dismissed from their posts.

Historically, many high-ranking officials in the Ming Dynasty were dismissed from their posts simply because they misused the seal.

Wang Ting not only misused the seal, but also left a blank seal in the Censorate. Therefore, it was not unreasonable for Su Ze to impeach him for "holding a position without performing his duties".

It wasn't just the royal court; even senior censors who jointly submitted memorials were punished for using blank seals.

This attack aimed at Gao Gong was easily neutralized by Su Ze!
Now that things had come to this point, Zhang Juzheng no longer hesitated and said:

"Wang Ting, the Left Censor-in-Chief, failed in his duty to safeguard the official seal. Su Zilin's report is correct, and I support his impeachment."

Thus, the cabinet was reversed, with all four cabinet ministers supporting the impeachment of the king, and Yin Shidan had evidence added.

Thus, with just one memorial from Su Ze, Wang Ting, the Left Censor-in-Chief, fell from power, and the Censorate was instantly put at a disadvantage. Gao Gong was about to return to the cabinet.

Zhang Juzheng sighed inwardly. After this incident, Gao Gong would surely clean up the Censorate and replace it with several senior censors he trusted.

In this way, the tactic of impeachment by members of the Legislative Yuan can no longer be used.

However, Zhang Juzheng was also a man who could take things in stride. Since this attack had been thwarted, he would prepare for the next round.

Zhang Juzheng looked around and then said:
"But the Censorate is the general outline of the Taiwan Constitution. In such turbulent times, the Censorate is also needed to suppress the officialdom."

"Therefore, after Wang Ting resigned, the Censorate still needed someone to take the helm."

Zhang Juzheng cleared his throat and said:

"I suggest that Hai Rui, the Vice Censor-in-Chief and Governor of Yingtian, return to the capital and take charge of the Censorate. What do you all think?"

(End of this chapter)