Late Ming Dynasty: So what if Emperor Chongzhen was inactive?!

Chapter 7 Even emperors are just working people; they can still go crazy in meetings.

In the end, even with the combined funds of the six ministries, only 438,000 taels of silver were raised. And even this small sum was a burden for Zhu Youjian; countless lower-ranking officials would have to borrow money to survive, or even starve themselves. Some of these officials adhered to principles and refused to be corrupt, while others held low-ranking positions, were in insignificant locations, and had no room for rent-seeking, making it impossible for them to embezzle.

During the most tragic period at the end of the Ming Dynasty, there were even cases of officials in the capital starving to death! Warfare was followed by plague; the death of people led to the spread of the plague; the movement of people spread the plague. In some places, not only were ordinary people wiped out, but even officials perished, leaving only one or two toothless old clerks in a large county government office!

"Minister Xue, you can use this 1,438,000 taels of silver for construction for now. I'll see if there are any valuable items in the palace, sell them, and then write to my uncles to borrow some more. I'll find a way to raise the money and then give it to you."

Xue Fengxiang's expression changed slightly as he noticed several censors and supervising officials casting sharp glances at him.

To actually force the emperor to pawn his belongings, Xue Fengxiang, you old scoundrel, you truly deserve to die! The censors below were eager to try, preparing to impeach him. The Ministry of Works, besides the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Personnel, is the most corrupt; they didn't believe Xue Fengxiang wouldn't slip up.

The emperor himself has said to cut back, but you're unwilling. Is it because you're afraid that less funding won't be enough to embezzle? The Ministry of Works has been busy fighting wars these past few years; are you desperate for money? You've finally waited until the emperor dies to make a killing!

Everyone here isn't stupid; we've all made it to the court meetings. Who doesn't know the intricacies of officialdom?

Having slept poorly yesterday and eaten little breakfast, Zhu Youjian was now starting to feel hungry. His stomach rumbled, and he wanted to get off work quickly. However, there was a mountain of memorials to report, and he had only just finished the first one, with dozens more waiting in line. He feared he wouldn't be able to go home for lunch today, as he still had to prepare lunch for the court officials, meaning everyone would be working overtime.

Fang Zhuangli, the Minister of Personnel, said that since the Wanli Emperor's policy of inaction, there have been many vacancies in the court's official positions, which have not yet been filled. They hoped to send some officials from the Hanlin Academy to other regions, and to allow outstanding students from the Imperial Academy to serve as examiners, essentially giving them an internship. They also proposed evaluating officials according to the performance appraisal system, promoting those who deserved it, and granting exceptions where possible.

In short, it means that with a new emperor on the throne, based on past experience, the officialdom should be thrown into turmoil.

Zhu Youjian listened with narrowed eyes to Fang Zhuangli's report. What he said seemed very reasonable and righteous, but Zhu Youjian easily discovered the trickery in it:
As for assignments, there are rich counties, poor counties, and even counties known for their unruly and ruthless people who kill officials—the so-called "tough locals." How do you assign them? Don't you need to pull strings and spend some money?
An outstanding student of the Imperial Academy?! What constitutes excellence? Is it writing well and having insightful opinions, or coming from a wealthy family with parents or elders who are renowned scholars?
Promotion?! Isn't this just telling everyone to hurry up and obediently pay homage to the leader? If you don't have anyone above you, what's the point of promotion?

However, what the official said was true. The court was indeed in trouble, and the lack of tax revenue from various regions was partly due to inadequate arrangements by officials.

Even if Zhu Youjian found it disgusting, he could only grit his teeth and accept it. He couldn't tell whether they were human or ghosts. Most officials didn't even qualify to be recorded in history books. All he could do was find those who appeared in later historical records and seemed to have some connection to the grand power-money transactions and power exchanges, and use the big hand of power to give them a push, so that they could also ride the rocket of promotion.

The memorial submitted by Lai Zongdao, the Minister of Rites, stated that the late emperor's death was too sudden, and even if a mausoleum were built now, it would take a year or even several years. Since the Qianqing Palace was generally used as the emperor's sleeping quarters, it was suggested that the late emperor be moved to the Jiyan Hall first.

The Jiyan Hall, also known as the White Tiger Hall, symbolizes solemnity and majesty, fitting the solemn atmosphere of a place where a coffin is laid to rest. Emperor Yongle's coffin was transported from the grasslands and lay in state here until his burial. Zhu Youjian, wanting to use the air conditioning, refused.

He now lives in Xiangning Palace, which is located northwest of Qianqing Palace. Xiangning Palace is also known by a more widely known name: Yangxin Hall.

He didn't shy away from the corpse. During the day, he would review memorials in the Qianqing Palace, and then look at his brother's corpse to warn himself never to be stubborn and try to change the world.

My brother's been a carpenter for so long without any problems, but then he sent a eunuch to collect taxes and got into trouble—accidentally falling into the water?! Hahaha, two Ming emperors have drowned already, both quite young, one a general, the other a carpenter. Would their health be poor normally? Could this really be an accident?
Zhu Youxiao treated Zhu Youjian so well because he never imagined he would die young and never intended to be wary of his younger brother. Their father died early, and Zhu Youjian was raised by his older brother!

Guo Yunhou, the Minister of Revenue, previously served in local government, the Ministry of Works, and the Ministry of War. He only rose to the position of Minister of Revenue last year after being promoted from Vice Minister of War. He had never served in the Ministry of Revenue before. He's good at choosing sides, but what does he know about economics? Damn it, Wei Zhongxian, you're a useless piece of trash! I don't care about your factionalism, but look at the kind of people you've chosen!

Guo Yunhou's memorial began with grand pronouncements on increasing revenue and reducing expenditure, spouting off about sages and virtuous men, as if the emperor could simply cultivate his character and morality to boost tax revenue. Despite having served as a local official and Vice Minister of War, he was utterly incompetent, and the only concrete strategy he proposed was to raise taxes!
Zhu Youjian thought to himself, "If he's not really a fool, then he's just acting."

Doesn't he want to raise taxes?! If it were commercial tax, customs duty, port tax, personal income tax, or inheritance tax, he would welcome it with open arms. But this Guo guy seems to be blind to all of these things. He doesn't collect taxes from the rich, but insists on targeting the common people. The common people are all impoverished, and the taxes have been collected since the seventeenth year of the Tianqi reign!

Zhu Youjian expressed his opposition, but the final result still depended on the Grand Secretaries' drafting, the Cabinet's vote, and then the document being sent to the palace for approval and stamping. Only in this way could the administrative process of the Ming Empire's central court be considered complete, and only then would the memorial be considered effective.

In other words, the two levels of decision-making interfered with each other. The imperial court's policies required the emperor's approval, and the emperor's ideas also required the imperial court's approval. Otherwise, it would be an imperial edict, which was not an order from the imperial court and would be selectively implemented.

This explains why Wei Zhongxian held immense power in the court. He was the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, responsible for marking and stamping documents. Wang Tiqian, the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, was his core henchman. When the carpenter emperor went to carve figurines, power naturally fell into Wei Zhongxian's hands.

He could block the imperial court's memorials from being approved, and even the cabinet couldn't do anything about it.

However, this power was merely granted to them by the emperor; it originally belonged to the emperor, and he could take it back whenever he wanted. They had no power to resist whatsoever. The imperial court was an institution that could collectively oppose the emperor; where could the eunuchs possibly go on their own?
Although Zhu Youjian is currently playing haphazardly, he still reviews memorials. He just can't actively participate in the game, but he can act as a referee. It's common for players to fight each other, but it's rare for them to assault a referee, unless you blatantly make biased calls.

Of course, the emperor could also choose to revise the memorials or even send them back to the cabinet for a new draft. However, since the emperor was generally lazy, the cabinet handled the revisions directly, and the emperor was only responsible for agreeing or disagreeing.

(End of this chapter)