Chapter 136 Ten Strategies: Six out of the ten strategies are aimed at dealing with the Eldest Princess. ...
In early February, Xie Yuan personally appointed Han Song as a drafter in the Imperial Secretariat.
In the same month, an imperial edict was issued ordering the abolition of all post stations that were not key transportation hubs or involved in urgent military or political affairs.
By the end of March, nearly 30% of the post stations across the country had been abolished or merged. This year, the Ministry of Revenue's budget saved over 100,000 taels of silver.
As soon as the drums signaling the end of the court session fell, all the officials dispersed.
As soon as Han Song stepped out of the palace gate, someone tugged at his sleeve.
The morning dew hadn't dried completely, and the floor tiles were slippery; the pull almost knocked him over.
"Congratulations on your new appointment, Han Sheren!"
The speaker wore a scarlet court robe with a gold belt, and his clothes were embroidered with the three-symbol pattern of a fourth-rank official's robe.
Han Song was a fifth-rank official in the Imperial Secretariat, one rank below him, so he returned the bow, saying, "Thank you, sir."
"This gentleman?"
The man was clearly displeased that Han Song did not recognize his identity. Behind him were several colleagues in scarlet official robes, one of whom said, "This gentleman is Liao, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Agriculture."
Liao An.
His father, Liao Songqing, had just been transferred from Linxia Prefecture to Yongdu last year to serve as Vice Minister of Revenue, replacing Qiu Renshan.
Han Song cupped his hands again, "Young Master Liao, I have long admired you."
Liao An quickly waved his hand, chuckled, and said, "I wouldn't dare. Although Han Sheren comes from the Sifang Academy, he is now a favorite of the Emperor. We both serve in the court, and in the future, when our children take the imperial examinations, we will have to rely on Han Sheren's help."
Han Song sensed the sarcasm in his words and turned to leave.
Tan Jin, a senior official in the Ministry of War, stepped forward and patted Han Song's shoulder with a forced smile, his knuckles grinding heavily against Han Song's official robe. "Han Song has been advising the Emperor to abolish the post stations. Do you know how many of those post station officials who were dismissed are relatives of his colleagues from various departments?"
"What Han said is all for the sake of the imperial court. The redundant staff at the post stations cost 100,000 taels of silver. Cutting them off can supplement the military pay and alleviate the people's suffering. What's wrong with that?"
Han Song removed Tan Jin's hand from his left shoulder.
Tan Jin wiggled his knuckles and said, "Han Sheren comes from a humble background, so naturally he doesn't know how many connections are involved behind these post station officials. If you start with the post stations today, will you be keeping an eye on the clerks of the Six Ministries and the bailiffs of the Nine Temples and Five Directorates tomorrow? And what about higher up?"
He took a half step closer, his voice low and threatening: "If those dismissed post station workers wander around and cause trouble, Han Sheren, who do you think should be held responsible?"
“The reduction of redundant staff should be done from the bottom up,” Han Yu said, straightening his back. His voice was not loud but steady. “The post stations are the most overstaffed, so it is reasonable to reduce their staff.”
Tan Jin sneered and said, "Han Sheren should think more about whether those couriers who lost their jobs will hold a grudge against you, the one who offered the advice. After all, they know better than those of us in the court what 'fighting to the death' means."
The surrounding officials gradually gathered, some snickering, others giving him cold looks. Just now in the Chongzheng Hall, he was so focused on listing the silver saved from cutting back on post stations and the number of staff that could be reduced that he hadn't noticed the chill in the eyes of the people in the hall.
At this point, the hostility around them was completely undisguised and came rushing in nakedly.
"Haven't you had enough prison food yet, you prisoners convicted of cheating in the imperial examinations?"
"It is common for petty people to become arrogant and forget themselves when they gain power temporarily. Han Sheren, before you speak or act, please weigh your own capabilities."
"Han Sheren's old master, Prime Minister Xun, is having a hard time these days. I wonder which powerful figure Han Sheren has latched onto to get back into office? We're colleagues, so Han Sheren might as well give us some pointers on how he got in. We can learn the tricks of the trade so that when the time comes, we'll at least have a way out."
Nepotism was rampant, and the complex web of family ties became difficult to manage.
It's incredibly complicated and cumbersome.
The physician in front of him, named Tan Jin, was the nephew of Tan Xialing, the Minister of Justice. He didn't recognize all the others, but he figured they were probably sons of high-ranking officials who had entered officialdom through the privileges of their clans.
He was blocked by a group of officials in scarlet robes, unable to leave.
The officials dispersed one after another, and as they passed by Han Song, some glanced at him sideways, while others snorted coldly, but not one of them came to his rescue.
Just as Han Song was about to speak, a clear and melodious voice suddenly came from behind the crowd.
"What's all this commotion about? Are all the government offices so idle that they have nothing better to do?"
Several officials in scarlet robes turned around at the sound, and the two men stood side by side on a higher step. Both were dressed in purple robes with jade belts around their waists. Chen Luan stood tall with his hands behind his back, possessing a delicate and graceful air.
The other person beside him was Sheng Yu'an, the Right Vice Minister of the Secretariat and concurrently the Minister of Agriculture.
Everyone bowed and greeted each other.
"Greetings, Lord Marquis; greetings, Lord Sheng."
Chen Luan glanced at the gathered officials and said, “The matter of abolishing the post stations was personally approved by His Majesty. Instead of discussing it here, you should go back and supervise the local areas to ensure its proper implementation, so as not to mislead His Majesty’s wishes.”
Liao An and Tan Jin's expressions changed slightly. Even with their powerful families, they dared not easily offend Marquis Xuanping, one of the Seven Ministers and a nobleman.
Tan Jin awkwardly stopped talking and laughed it off: "Your Excellency is too kind. We were just discussing the pros and cons with Han Sheren."
Chen Luan said, "The advantages and disadvantages have already been discussed in the court, and Your Majesty will make your own wise decision."
The officials who had gathered around dispersed in dissatisfaction.
Chen Luan walked to Han Song's side and naturally walked alongside him. "Let's go." He took two steps.
Han Song turned slightly, but showed no intention of going with him.
He flicked his sleeve, bowed to Chen Luan, and said, "Thank you for your help, Lord Marquis." Then he turned to Sheng Yu'an and said, "Thank you, Lord Sheng. I have some documents that need to be processed by the Chief Justice immediately, so I won't trouble you to come along."
Chen Luan was slightly taken aback. "In that case, please proceed, Han Sheren."
Han Song nodded his thanks and turned to walk towards the Central Secretariat. His steps became heavier.
The morning light pierced through the red walls of the palace gates and fell on people's faces, feeling even cooler than the autumn wind.
Han Song pulled his sleeves tighter.
He clutched the draft memorial in his sleeve, which contained a proposal for the next step: to abolish and merge local tax officials. This was a path he should have walked himself, cleanly and straightforwardly.
Spring always arrives earlier in the bamboo huts of Lingjiu Academy than elsewhere. New bamboo leaves sprout just after the first month of the lunar calendar, and the bamboo shoots emerging from the corners of the walls grow to waist height in just a few days. When the wind carries a warm, humid air, late spring has arrived, and the bamboo branches have already sprouted dense leaves, their green color at its peak.
However, someone ruined this beautiful scene.
Jiang Bojin stormed through the corridor, glaring at everyone he saw. The students of Lingjiu Academy were all afraid of him and would avoid this strange old man with one arm.
Ever since the imperial decree to abolish the post stations was issued, Jiang Bojin learned that the person who drafted the decree came from the Sifangguan (a government office), and he would occasionally go to Gu Xie's study to rant and rave.
On this day, the person arrived before the voice did.
"Outrageous! This brat is not worth discussing things with!"
A copy of the official gazette lay before Gu Xie. Jiang Bojin's remaining upper arm was tightly clutching a similar roll of paper, which he had crumpled up like pickled vegetables.
"What's the use of letting high-ranking officials hold their positions without doing anything, and dismissing a few lowly messengers? I thought the young emperor had some courage and boldness in opening the Four Directions Hall to solicit advice. I've misjudged him."
Gu Xie stared at the copied official gazette and shook his head.
Thirteen out of ten post stations across the country were eliminated, saving more than 100,000 taels of silver annually.
Jiang Bojin said, "If the post stations are abolished, the post workers will have no way to make a living, the post horses will be used by officials, and the post roads will be abandoned. The connection between military intelligence, grain transport, and communication between prefectures and counties will be severed. What a waste of money! In a few years, when the post roads are cut off and merchants disappear, the emperor will know what it means to cut off flesh to mend a wound."
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. He flicked his empty sleeve in a resolute arc, "I don't care anymore! This old man with his decaying bones will no longer concern himself with the filth of the world!"
After saying that, he stormed off in a huff.
However, before Jiang Bojin could even savor these bold words, the very next day, the wooden door to Gu Xie's study slammed shut with a loud crash.
"Gu family girl, quick, write it down, it's extremely important!"
Gu Xie looked up at him and said, "Sir, have you come up with another good strategy for governing the country?"
"Not so," Jiang Bojin said. "My 'Ten Strategies' are excellent for rectifying official corruption, but the emperor doesn't appreciate them, so what can I do? I've figured it out. The reason the ten strategies weren't adopted is that they didn't hit the emperor's real sore spot. This time, instead of going to the Imperial Academy, we'll use your grandfather's connections in the capital and your brother's connections. We must, absolutely must, get straight to the emperor's ears!"
The paper was laid out on the table, the ink was ground perfectly, and as Jiang Bojin spoke a sentence, Gu Xie wrote it down, word by word.
***
Since the beginning of this year, good news has been continuously arriving in Yongdu.
One report came from the northern border: the Yong army, having run out of supplies, seemed to have forgotten their purpose, fighting tooth and nail with our troops for food, their battles utterly disorganized. Chen Liangyu assembled a large army, launching a seven-pronged attack on the passes east of the lake in northern Yong. After fifteen days and nights of fierce fighting, they had captured most of the passes east of the lake and were currently holding key positions, mopping up the remaining enemy forces. The remaining northern Yong troops had retreated to the west of the lake and dared not make any rash moves.
Secondly, Chengyang Boyue Dun successively captured many of the rebel strongholds, killed the rebel leader Lu Guangrong and more than 2,000 of his followers, and the remaining rebels scattered and fled, thus temporarily pacifying the hinterland of Xiling.
However, another urgent situation arose.
After the start of spring, a new outbreak of peach blossom disease has recently occurred in the southern prefectures and counties of Xiling, with hundreds of people infected.
Xie Wenjun slowly flipped through the newly delivered official gazette. Beside her was a thin piece of paper, sent back by Chen Liangyu's flying horsefly. Her gaze lingered on those few lines of ink for a long time, unable to look away.
Seeing that she was watching intently, the maidservant served her a cup of hot tea and waited by her side.
After an unknown amount of time, Xie Wenjun called out, "Yuanrong."
The maiden said, "Your Highness, Sister Yuanrong has returned to the Imperial Library. The Imperial Library's records are so messy and disorganized that Sister Yuanrong will probably be busy for several days."
Xie Wenjun said, "Give the order to prepare a generous gift and have it sent to the palace."
During the Rain Water season in February, the Empress of Fengyi Palace gave birth to a prince.
Consort Shu, Zhai Yu, was due to give birth in April, but when news of Chen Liangyu's victory in capturing Chaya Valley in Hudong reached the palace, she went into labor and gave birth prematurely.
After the Empress gave birth to a son, Xie Yuan granted a general amnesty to pray for the young prince's well-being. Later, Consort Shu and her child were safe and sound, and the capital region was exempted from taxes for half a year.
The maid said, "When the Crown Prince celebrated his full moon, I had already prepared the gifts for Consort Shu's palace. I will bring the gift list to Your Highness for review in a little while."
As she spoke, she presented a volume of policy essays.
"Your Highness, the teacher just sent this over, saying it's Mr. Jiang's new work, 'Ten Strategies.'" She didn't seem very happy. "Six out of ten of them are aimed at you."
After Han Song gained Xie Yuan's favor, Jiang Bojin became quite impatient. The ink on his policy essay was still fresh, and it began with "The power of the Eldest Princess is growing daily, which may hinder the imperial authority," and he strongly advised reducing the Eldest Princess's fiefdom and confiscating her private army.
As she read line by line, the article detailed the powers she had held in recent years, the number of Changning Guards in her household, and even the relationship between the Princess's household and the Six Ministries, the Nine Temples, and the Southern Heng and Northern Chen dynasties.
"You dare to say that."
Xie Wenjun's eyes remained expressionless as she simply placed the policy proposal on the table and said, "Rong Jun."
Rong Jun, clad in armor and carrying a sword, stood outside the threshold and said, "Your subordinate is here."
"By imperial decree, the dismissed post station workers are mostly from poor families who have suddenly lost their livelihoods or become vagrants. Officials of all prefectures, counties and districts are hereby ordered to check the rosters. Those who wish to return to farming should be allocated wasteland, and those who wish to enlist should be sent to the front lines to fill vacancies. It is strictly forbidden to expel them without question."
“The post roads in remote counties are sparse, which may cause delays in routine correspondence. The Ministry of War and the prefectural and county governments should designate delivery routes and use civilian couriers to fill the gaps, so as not to delay important military and political affairs.”
Author's note: Thank you for reading this far!
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