Wanli Emperor Chapter 77 Part 2 (Patreon)

Chapter 77 Part 2: Learn from Past Mistakes to Avoid Future Ones; Bear the State's Disgrace

Xu Jie stared fixedly at Hai Rui, trying to read the answer in his eyes.

Hai Rui met Xu Jie's gaze, his own filled with something like admiration and reverence. "His Majesty says, 'To bear the state's disgrace is to be a true sovereign; to bear the state's misfortunes is to be the king of all under Heaven.'"

He paused, then said meaningfully to Xu Jie, "Junior Preceptor, do you understand?"

Xu Jie's face froze. For a moment, he seemed to grasp some thread of logic, but it was like trying to see flowers through fog.

He racked his brains, trying to think it through, but could find no way.

Wei Chao, at the side, interjected. "Yesterday at the Huai'an prefectural office, there were too many prying ears and eyes, so it was not proper to speak plainly. Now, however, it is fine to tell the Junior Preceptor."

Xu Jie looked toward him.

On Wei Chao's effeminate face, there was unmistakable pride. "On New Year's Eve, the Imperial Father-in-Law, Li Wei, moved by His Majesty's grace, voluntarily surrendered himself to the Censorate and returned two hundred and ten thousand taels of illicit silver."

Hearing this, Xu Jie looked up. After a moment's thought, he still shook his head. "It is nothing more than the old trick of a pardon and the secret return of silver. You cannot deceive the world."

If it was only to this extent, they were underestimating the intelligence of the world's people.

Such a deceptive act would only add fuel to the fire.

They could not possibly prosecute the Imperial Father-in-Law. The emperor would likely have a falling out with the Empress Dowager.

Wei Chao shook his head, with the air of one trying to explain summer to a winter insect. "Junior Preceptor, that is merely measuring a gentleman's heart with a petty man's yardstick. The Imperial Father-in-Law's illicit silver was all used to provision the armies of Guangdong and Guangxi for this year."

"At the same time, during the Censorate's investigation of this case, it was discovered that Empress Dowager Cisheng was also implicated, having received twelve thousand taels of the illicit silver from the Imperial Father-in-Law."

Xu Jie was shocked.

Cases were normally handled by minimizing them. How could they possibly have investigated all the way to the reigning Empress Dowager? What was the meaning of this!?

Wei Chao glanced at him and continued, "The Three Judicial Offices, in accordance with the law, submitted a petition to the emperor regarding the 'Eight Deliberations,' and the Grand Secretariat drafted an opinion, requesting that the emperor grant a pardon."

"The emperor did not permit it. He only followed the precedent of the 'Eight Deliberations,' reducing the punishment by one degree. Thus, the Imperial Father-in-Law Li Wei was spared exile and sentenced to one hundred strokes of the cane."

"Empress Dowager Cisheng, forty strokes. The emperor received the punishment in his mother's stead..."

"In the Hall of Heavenly Mandate, he received thirty-seven strokes of the cane in his coronation robes. Three strokes of the rattan whip were administered by Empress Dowager Rensheng herself."

Hearing this, Xu Jie finally understood what the emperor intended to do!

Escalation! This was the essence of escalation!

He could not help but murmur in a daze, "And after that, moved by the emperor's virtue, did the Grand Secretariat all voluntarily surrender themselves?"

Wei Chao gave him a surprised look and nodded. "Correct. The Senior Grand Secretary, Zhang Juzheng, moved by the emperor's filial piety, voluntarily returned the seasonal bribes he had received over the years, totaling eighty-one thousand taels."

"According to Article Twenty-three, Section Eleven of the Great Ming Code, concerning officials who accept bribes without subverting the law, for amounts exceeding one hundred and twenty tael, the punishment is one hundred strokes of the cane and exile to a distance of three thousand li."

"The Three Judicial Offices once again requested the emperor consider the 'Eight Deliberations.' The emperor then ruled to spare him exile and sentenced him to one hundred strokes of the cane."

"The Senior Grand Secretary personally received the caning outside the Meridian Gate."

"The illicit silver was used to exempt the nine gate taxes of the capital for the first year of the Wanli era."

"Zhang Juzheng submitted a memorial requesting to retire. His Majesty left it unanswered. That same day, the Associate Grand Secretary Gao Yi surrendered himself, stating he had accepted eleven copper coins and seven eggs from a neighbor, and was thus sentenced to twenty strokes."

"The auxiliary ministers Lü Diaoyang and Yang Bo followed suit shortly after."

At this point, Xu Jie finally understood what the emperor was doing.

Even he, Xu Jie, could not help but feel a sense of awe, as if looking up at a towering mountain.

This was a master of escalation!

He had merely tried to implicate everyone of consequence, to make the emperor wary of acting rashly.

But the emperor had dragged everyone into the water!

Hearing that Gao Yi had been bribed with seven eggs, he understood the next move in this strategy.

Xu Jie wanted to find a way to live amidst certain death.

The emperor wanted to tear everything down and build it anew!

Wei Chao continued to recount the events in the capital. "The next day, the heads of the Six Ministries, the Nine Ministers, the Minister of the Grand Court of Revision, the Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, the Minister of the Court of Imperial Entertainments, and others all surrendered themselves."

"Each returned their illicit gains and received caning outside the Meridian Gate."

"The Minister of Justice, Wang Zhigao, for covering up his own son's murder, submitted a memorial requesting to retire. The old case is being retried by the Three Judicial Offices."

"Subsequently, with superiors exposing those below them, the hundred officials were all implicated in the corruption case."

"On the same day, the Chief Supervising Secretary of the Office of Scrutiny for Personnel, Li Zaiting, reported on the first quarter's results of the Law of Evaluation in the Northern Directly-Administered Region, in which countless officials were found to be corrupt."

"Nearly ninety percent of the officials in the Northern Directly-Administered Region were implicated in the great corruption case."

Xu Jie did not need to hear any more.

This was not implicating them in a great case; this was wiping the slate clean!

As long as an official surrendered at this time, everything before the first year of the Wanli era would be erased.

Under these circumstances, his exposé was useless.

Adding more mud to a mire does not change its nature.

The emperor intended to lead this entire pool of mire, to tear it down and then rebuild!

Not only the Northern Directly-Administered Region, but the Southern Directly-Administered Region could be handled in the same way. Treated with impartiality, the Southern Directly-Administered Region could no longer protest.

Moreover, most of those he had tied to his cause were involved in corruption cases. With corruption punishments reduced by one degree and past offenses forgiven, they would likely abandon him immediately.

And certain people, it seemed, had committed crimes that could not be pardoned.

No wonder among the eleven cases he was to oversee, not a single one was for corruption. They were likely all related to conspiracy!

A fine sage emperor, truly a fine sage emperor.

The question was, how did the emperor accomplish it!?

Xu Jie murmured to himself, "How is it possible..."

These nobles and high officials, why would they be willing to suffer a loss of reputation just to participate in this drama of tearing down and rebuilding?

Would it not be better to quell the matter?

Yang Bo was on the verge of retirement. Why would he accept such a stain on his name at this time? Just to carry the emperor's sedan chair?

And the likes of Gao Yi, who, even without guilt, had to get involved—even if it was only seven eggs, would having it recorded in the annals of history be a glorious thing?

Not to mention Zhang Siwei, Ma Ziqiang, and Wang Zhigao, whom he understood well. Why would they cooperate with the emperor?

Hearing Xu Jie's murmuring, Hai Rui finally could not resist interjecting, "Junior Preceptor, besides your kind of greater good, there is also the greater good of being in the same boat."

"His Majesty and the Grand Secretariat—they are the greater good!"

He naturally knew how difficult it had been for the emperor to persuade those high officials and nobles one by one.

Using familial affection to coerce the Imperial Father-in-Law, restarting the Kaizhong System to win over the northerners, reopening the Maritime Trade Supervisorate to entice the nobles, and even using the emperor's own political credibility as a guarantee.

He had never seen such humble political consultation, to both investigate the case and prevent turmoil in the court.

To encounter such a sagacious ruler—what great fortune!

Wei Chao then took another edict from his robes—for those not addressed to a single person but distributed to various places, several copies would be transcribed.

"His Majesty, after walking to the southern suburbs to pray, issued an edict of self-criticism..."

Xu Jie suddenly reached out and took the edict.

He began to read it himself, unable to wait.

He wanted to reassess this young emperor!

"I am young in years and shallow in virtue. Having just ascended to the supreme position, I have yet to achieve any merit."

"Barely half a year as emperor, and corruption has become rampant, a decadent trend. Is this not my responsibility as emperor?"

"I have questioned officials who performed well under the Law of Evaluation, and they all say their income does not cover their expenses, that they do not have enough to eat. I sent men to see for themselves and heard that these people live in mulberry-thatched huts, that they have no firewood for their stoves, that their wives wear thorn hairpins and cloth skirts, and that their children eat the food of pigs and wear beggars' rags."

"When I asked the reason, I learned that the court has been in arrears on their salaries for four months and has been using treasury notes, peppercorns, and other things to exacerbate their poverty."

"Is this permissible?"

"Revered Heaven and Ancestral Temple, the corruption of officials is clearly my responsibility. If I do not first correct my own ways, how can I lightly punish my subjects?"

"Thus, I have made a decision. I will abolish the tribute of jewels and other extravagant items and correct my past errors of excessively lavish meals and expenditures, in order to reduce the expenses of the inner court."

"Furthermore, I promise that when the Law of Evaluation is implemented, all qualified officials will receive their full salaries, and outstanding officials will receive an additional performance bonus to compensate for the court's past failings."

"Likewise, in accordance with the opportunity of a general amnesty, for corruption before the first year of the Wanli era, as long as the illicit silver is returned, the punishment can be reduced by one degree, allowing one to atone for their crimes with meritorious service."

"As for the suffering brought upon the common people during this period, it should all be borne by the emperor himself, that is, by me."

"To compensate the common people, the court will grant a period of tax reduction in accordance with the amount of illicit funds collected."

"At the same time, the Kaizhong System will be reopened to supplement the grain provisions for the soldiers on the frontier."

"As for the merchants, the court will re-establish the Fujian Maritime Trade Supervisorate between spring and summer and add a new Maritime Trade Supervisorate at Chongming Sha, allowing ships to go to sea."

"Now, in the Northern and Southern Directly-Administered Regions and the Fujian Provincial Administration Commission, which are covered by the Law of Evaluation, I hope to see officials actively surrender themselves and atone for their crimes with meritorious service."

"Upon seeing this edict, you will understand my thoughts. My aspirations and my heart will not change."

After reading the edict of self-criticism, Xu Jie's eyes were vacant, his mind reeling.

He stumbled and fell into Hai Rui's arms.

He struggled to support himself, looked at Hai Rui, and said in a hoarse voice, "A fine 'bear the state's disgrace,' a fine 'bear the state's misfortunes.'"

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