Chapter 17: Xu Jingchang, Peerless and Invincible
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Chapter 17: Xu Jingchang, Invincible in Valor
“Minister Qian, Xu Jingchang has carried out something this deranged. Whatever else may be said, you must take a position on it,” Minister of War Ru Chang grumbled. “He has made the official documents of every ministry public. Where does that leave the dignity of the ministries?”
Minister of Justice Zheng Ci sighed as well. “Exactly. The affairs of the various ministries are complicated and cannot be explained in a sentence or two. By doing this, he has provoked disputes among the ministries. His intentions are plainly sinister.”
Minister of Rites Song Li was comparatively tactful. “I think it goes too far to call his intentions sinister. Xu, the Communications Commissioner, is merely young and inexperienced in government affairs, trying to distinguish himself through novelty. All we need do is make him retract it.”
One minister after another spoke up. Even the Minister of Personnel, Qian Yi, and the Minister of Revenue, Xia Yuanji, could no longer withstand the pressure.
“Let us go before His Majesty and request an edict restraining Xu, the Communications Commissioner,” Xia Yuanji proposed.
Qian Yi kept his face taut. After a moment, he finally nodded.
The six ministers, the chief commissioners of the Censorate, their deputy commissioners, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies, the Minister of the Court of Sacrifices, the Minister of the Court of Imperial Studs, the Director of the Imperial Academy—in short, all the eminent officials whose names carried weight—rose to their feet.
“We will go together!”
The officials were consumed with outrage, looking as though they meant to march on the capital with drawn blades and present the emperor with a full account of the consequences.
Zhu Di had no idea that Xu Jingchang had caused such a tremendous uproar. He had issued an edict pardoning Xu Huizu, and, after considerable difficulty, had managed to spend a night in Empress Xu’s palace without being thrown out. The next morning, refreshed and invigorated, he had just begun preparing to handle state affairs when he saw Zheng He hurrying toward him.
“Your Majesty, something terrible has happened. All the court officials are waiting outside the Left Shun Gate, full of fury. They all say they intend to impeach Xu, the Communications Commissioner.”
Zhu Di froze for a moment, his head buzzing. He truly could not understand what was wrong with this Xu Jingchang.
First, he had clashed with military commanders such as Qiu Fu. Then he had turned around and clashed with the civil officials.
How had the boy managed to become detested by both men and dogs?
And was not the Communications Office merely responsible for transmitting messages?
How had he managed to make everyone hate him?
Zhu Di was utterly baffled. With no other choice, he hurried to the main hall and summoned everyone inside.
“Qian Yi, you speak first.”
Qian Yi bowed. “Your Majesty, Xu, the Communications Commissioner, has posted the number of matters handled by each ministry in the Communications Office. This has somewhat exceeded the bounds of his office, and has consequently provoked widespread discussion among the officials. We respectfully ask Your Majesty to issue an edict ordering him to withdraw it.”
Zhu Di frowned even more deeply. “What is improper about making public the state of affairs in the various ministries?”
“It is profoundly improper!” Ru Chang immediately declared. “Your Majesty, the Communications Office is responsible only for the receipt and dispatch of memorials and petitions. How can it presume to assess the Six Ministries? Such unauthorized expansion of its authority would undermine the institutions of the realm and disrupt the rules of the court. If it is not stopped at once, the consequences will be endless.”
Zhu Di was puzzled. “Is it really so serious?”
“Your Majesty,” Zheng Ci said, “it may be even more serious than that. Every government office in the capital has already been unable to conduct its work normally. The court is in complete disorder, and the people are unsettled. This has truly gone too far.”
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The officials were boiling with indignation, gnashing their teeth in anger. Zhu Di could not remember when the court officials had ever been so united.
Even Qian Yi and Xia Yuanji were opposing Xu Jingchang. The sight was genuinely alarming.
“Zheng He, go and summon Xu Jingchang.”
Zheng He acknowledged the order. After a while, Xu Jingchang arrived, looking utterly exhausted. Several people came with him, including Grand Preceptor Yao Guangxiao, Hanlin Academician Yang Rong, and Duke of Cheng Zhu Neng. Among them were both civil officials and military commanders.
Yao Guangxiao in particular rarely concerned himself with government affairs. But the disturbance had grown so great that Zhu Di feared losing control of the situation and had no choice but to invite Grand Preceptor Yao.
Xu Jingchang stepped into the main hall and immediately sensed danger everywhere, as though he were Han Gaozu attending the banquet at Hongmen, or Wang Situ traveling a thousand miles to deliver his own head.
Perhaps I should simply turn around and go home?
“Xu Jingchang, why have you insisted on being unconventional and thrown the court into chaos?” Zhu Di rebuked him outright.
Xu Jingchang hurriedly replied, “Your Majesty, I am truly being wronged. There is no basis for such an accusation!”
Zhu Di glanced around the hall and snorted. “Look at them. So many court officials came here at dawn to lodge complaints against you, and you still dare claim that you are being wronged?”
Xu Jingchang looked over the assembled officials and answered without the slightest courtesy, “Your Majesty, if these gentlemen of the court could put as much energy into handling government affairs as they do into lodging complaints, so many matters of state would not have piled up. They are the ones harming the country and its people. What face do they have to impeach me?”
Ru Chang was enraged by this and immediately stepped forward.
“Xu, the Communications Commissioner, what exactly do you mean by publicizing the number of matters handled by the various ministries? Who gave you permission?”
Xu Jingchang replied at once, “Minister Ru, that is unreasonable. A few days ago, His Majesty issued an edict requiring every ministry to fulfill its duties, rectify the administration, and restore the people’s livelihood. Since then, the memorials and petitions received by the Communications Office have increased several times over. I was afraid something might be overlooked, so I sorted them into categories: how many were submitted to the palace, how many received His Majesty’s personal approval, what measures the various ministries proposed after receiving them, and how many of those measures were actually implemented. I merely made a simple tally. That is part of what the Communications Office ought to do. Otherwise, if His Majesty were to ask what the Communications Office had accomplished, would I not be accused of drawing a salary without doing any work? At least now I have something to report.”
Ru Chang had no interest in listening to Xu Jingchang’s explanation.
“You call this doing your work? You are plainly trying to supervise the ministries! Where did you find the audacity to place yourself above the Six Ministries?”
“What do you mean, place myself above the Six Ministries? I am merely fulfilling my duties and attending to matters within my office. You, Minister of War Ru, on the other hand, have accomplished nothing these past few days. Have you not failed to live up to His Majesty’s gracious trust?”
Xu Jingchang unleashed his full force, displaying the same ferocious brilliance that had once allowed him to dominate every argument in the realm of political debate.
As the quarrel grew louder and louder, Zhu Di gradually understood why the officials were so opposed to Xu Jingchang’s actions.
The boy had truly provoked the wrath of the entire court.
Meanwhile, Yao Guangxiao lowered his brows, secretly amused.
It is not enough for this old monk to suffer his anger alone. Let all of you experience just how troublesome the little wretch can be.
The old monk had become nothing more than a spectator enjoying the spectacle. Yang Rong, however, lowered his head in thought. He felt that Xu Jingchang’s approach was not entirely without merit.
By this point, not only Ru Chang and Zheng Ci, but even Left Deputy Censor Chen Ying, had joined the assault on Xu Jingchang.
Chen Ying had suffered a crushing defeat during the joint examination by the three judicial bodies. Qiu Fu had failed to come to his aid, and afterward Chen Ying had learned that Xu Jingchang had been behind the interference. Now that the opportunity had presented itself, how could he possibly let it pass?
“Balancing yin and yang and harmonizing the various ministries are the duties of a chief minister. Xu, the Communications Commissioner, could it be that you have placed yourself in the position of chief minister? You should know that the Founding Emperor left an ancestral injunction forbidding the restoration of the office of chief minister. What you are doing is outrageously bold.”
That fellow truly was a venomous snake. In a single stroke, he had invoked Zhu Yuanzhang.
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He had also struck directly at the heart of the ministries’ anger.
Qian Yi and Xia Yuanji heard his words, but felt little satisfaction. If anything, they were somewhat worried.
Chen Ying was certainly vicious, but he lacked foresight.
Zhu Yuanzhang had abolished the Central Secretariat and, by virtue of his position as Son of Heaven, personally assumed the duties of chief minister. He had managed to shoulder the burden for decades without a mishap.
But that had been possible only because Zhu Yuanzhang possessed extraordinary ability.
Looking back across several thousand years of history, there had always needed to be an institution between the emperor and the court officials, one that connected what came before with what came after. It might be called the Chief Minister’s Office, the Three Departments, or the Central Secretariat, but such an institution could never truly be dispensed with.
At present, Zhu Di had established no Grand Secretariat. Xu Jingchang, presiding over the Communications Office, had taken a step forward. In the eyes of the assembled officials, this was a sign that ministerial authority was on the verge of revival.
One should not forget that the Department of State Affairs had originated from the Office of State Transmission—and that the Office of State Transmission had originally done nothing more than control the memorials submitted by the officials.
Anyone with even a modest understanding of official institutions could see that the Communications Commissioner, by controlling the memorials, possessed immense authority and limitless potential. Now that Xu Jingchang had begun publicizing the ministries’ performance, he had effectively begun evaluating government affairs.
The chief ministers of the Tang and Song dynasties had even borne the title of “Chief Minister Concurrently Managing Affairs with the Central Secretariat.”
The phrase “managing affairs” meant to assess and distinguish between matters.
Xu Jingchang was no longer merely developing the Communications Office into an Office of State Transmission. He was even showing signs of advancing toward the authority of a chief minister.
The brutal reality had already shattered the officials’ psychological defenses.
If we do not suppress this boy now, will the Six Ministries and the Censorate not all become his subordinates in time?
“Censor Chen, you are correct that the Founding Emperor forbade the restoration of the office of chief minister. But the Founding Emperor also said that no one was permitted to weaken the emperor’s authority. Why do you not mention that? The purpose of the Communications Commissioner is to ensure that government affairs are properly transmitted and that responsibilities are clearly understood. How many memorials have the various ministries submitted? How many has the emperor approved? How many have you processed? Can such matters be left as one great muddle?
“The Founding Emperor also forbade his ministers from deceiving the emperor and obscuring the truth from the throne. And now all of you have joined together to accuse this official. Is that not factionalism and private collusion? Today you can unite to lodge a complaint against me. Tomorrow, will you unite to coerce the emperor? The thought is truly terrifying!”
Xu Jingchang was not afraid of having accusations hurled at him. If it was a matter of putting labels on people, he could do that just as well as anyone.
Among all the officials in the hall, only Duke of Cheng Zhu Neng was completely outside the intricacies of the dispute. He could not see the hidden implications at all. He merely knew that Xu Jingchang was arguing back and forth with so many senior officials without yielding in the slightest.
He was practically Zhao Zilong reborn, charging seven times into and out of the encirclement at Changban Slope!
What a boy. No wonder Qiu Fu could never get the better of him.
I am thoroughly convinced!
The quarrel grew more and more heated. At that moment, Yang Rong suddenly stepped forward.
“Your Majesty, in my view, the affairs of state are tangled like hemp. A proper method is needed to determine how they should be handled. I humbly suggest that this matter requires Your Majesty’s personal judgment.”
End of Chapter
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