Chapter 27: Handling the Tribute Students, Employing Both Conciliation and Suppression
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“Su Maoxiang, Meng Shaoyu, I leave this matter to the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Rites. The Embroidered Uniform Guard will assist you. I am not without consideration for human feelings: investigate the matter for three years and no longer.
“Once the truth has been uncovered, first, the scholars who concealed the matter, along with anyone who sheltered them, shall each receive ten strokes of the military cane. They will have one month to repay ten times the amount involved. Anyone who fails to do so by the deadline shall be stripped of his licentiate title permanently and forbidden from taking the civil service examinations for life.
“Second, no member of the sheltered person’s family may take the civil service examinations for ten years.
“Third, after tribute students leave the Imperial Academy without completing their studies, the Ministry of Personnel shall enter their names into its records. They may not be appointed to any official position for three years, and once appointed, they may not be promoted for another three years.”
The tribute students present stared in utter disbelief.
The reason they had been able to place themselves above others was precisely their status as tribute students. Without the protection of that status, the people they had insulted in the past could probably kill them with ease.
Money, at least, could be dealt with. They could borrow from one another; that would not be a problem.
But being barred from office for three years and promotion for another three meant wasting six years in total. How many six-year periods could a person have in his lifetime? It was tantamount to rendering all their years of effort meaningless.
“As for these people…”
Chongzhen turned to look at the hundreds of licentiates and tribute students kneeling on the ground. A cold smile flickered across his lips.
“As for these people, strip them permanently of every title and forbid them from ever taking the examinations again.
“Once the investigation is complete, the ringleaders shall receive twenty strokes of the military cane and be exiled three thousand li.
“All the rest shall each receive twenty strokes of the military cane!”
The common people gathered to watch immediately erupted in cheers, shouting that long live His Majesty.
As for why they cheered, perhaps it was simple envy. Perhaps these men had always been unbearable. Or perhaps it was because they believed the Emperor had acted justly.
The hundreds of licentiates and tribute students who had gathered to cause trouble, meanwhile, looked as though their parents had died.
The ministers of the Donglin faction wore faces of utter gloom. Hundreds of their people had been ruined just like that.
After leaving the Imperial Academy, these tribute students would ordinarily be assigned by the Ministry of Personnel to posts such as county magistrate, assistant county magistrate, or instructor. Their ranks were low, but with the backing of their allies at court, a little discreet maneuvering would allow them to rise faster than others.
One minister stepped forward. “Your Majesty, is this punishment not somewhat too severe?”
“Severe?”
Chongzhen sneered. “They are only tribute students, yet they have already managed to incite hundreds of people to gather and cause trouble. If they were appointed to office in the future, would they not gather crowds and rebel?
“They can already exploit their privileges to make a fortune. Once they become officials, would they not turn into outright great corruptors?
“Rather than wait until they harm the people in the future, it is better to eliminate the danger now.”
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Several ministers who had intended to plead for mercy immediately abandoned the idea.
His Majesty had gone so far as to mention rebellion. If they continued to plead for mercy, they would probably be dragged outside and beheaded themselves.
“Su Maoxiang, Meng Shaoyu, if you have no result within a month, you may go home and retire.
“And after the investigation is complete, have the Ministry of Rites draft a plan for the prefectures and counties to recommend licentiates for admission to the Imperial Academy. Do not stuff just anyone into it. If another filthy mess like this occurs, do not blame me for cutting off your head!”
“We receive Your Majesty’s decree!”
The two men bowed in unison. Under ordinary circumstances, they might have been troubled, since they had no authority to employ torture. But now that His Majesty had spoken, things would be much easier.
They could gather all the tribute students together, select a few particularly stubborn ones, and subject them to every form of punishment. There would be no need to force the others to confess; the tribute students would rush to admit everything themselves.
If all went smoothly, those who were tortured in the morning could finish the work by afternoon and still make it home in time for dinner.
“Do not blame me for being heartless. If you must blame someone, blame these tribute students who were so overfed and idle that they had to stir up trouble!”
Everyone present immediately exclaimed in shock. With that one remark, the Emperor had completely cast this group of troublemaking tribute students aside. After today, scholars throughout the country would regard them as enemies.
Chongzhen cast one more glance at the tribute students of the Imperial Academy and at the common people present before turning and climbing into the imperial carriage.
What he had done today was, in a sense, a test of the scholars throughout the realm. He truly wished to use this opportunity to abolish the privileges granted to scholars by the dynasty’s founding emperor, but the time was not yet ripe.
Regardless of age, there were more than six hundred thousand licentiates throughout the country. This group had already taken most of the common people hostage.
Put plainly, they controlled the direction of public opinion. In this era of low literacy, licentiates were highly educated men in the eyes of ordinary people, and a single word from one of them could often make the people believe anything.
Moreover, abolishing what the founding emperor had established was not something that could be accomplished with a single decree. If he insisted on doing so, the ministers would likely curse him to death.
Every sort of accusation would be thrown at him: treason, gross disrespect, filial impiety, being a benighted ruler, being a tyrant, and countless others.
And if the Kong family of Qufu stepped in to guide public opinion, the resulting chaos would be even greater.
“Wait and see. Within a year at the latest, I will accomplish it. If anyone dares oppose me, I will simply exterminate them.
“It is not only the privileges of scholars that I intend to reform. I will reform the civil service examination system and the entire method of selecting talent as well!”
Chongzhen repeated the words silently to himself.
After returning to the Hall of Supreme Governance, Chongzhen continued, “Shi Fenglai, as a Grand Secretary, how do you intend to resolve the uprising and great disaster in Shaanxi?”
Shi Fenglai immediately stepped out of the ranks. Thanks to the interruption caused by the students’ disturbance, he had been given time to devise a strategy.
“Your Majesty, I believe that the problems in Shaanxi can be resolved only by employing both pacification and suppression. We should primarily follow Lord Guo’s proposal in regard to pacification, and chiefly adopt the Duke of Chengguo’s proposal for suppression. We should proceed along both paths at once.”
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“Lord Shi certainly knows how to summarize!”
Faced with the mockery, Shi Fenglai did not argue. He continued, “We should draw five thousand elite soldiers from each of the four military garrisons at Datong, Shanxi, Yansui, and Guyuan, and encircle Baishui, the principal area of the uprising. That would give us twenty thousand elite troops in total.
“We must place the rebels under pressure: surrender, or we will destroy you. They have only two choices.
“Under such pressure, combined with Your Majesty’s decree promising not to pursue past offenses and measures such as opening the granaries to distribute relief grain, anyone who is not a fool will lay down his weapons and surrender.”
“Lord Shi, where will the grain come from? How will you resolve the shortfall in the Duke of Chengguo’s calculations?”
“Let us set the grain question aside for now and resolve the uprising first. Otherwise, the rebel forces will continue to grow. What will we do when they sweep across all of Shaanxi, Henan, and Shanxi?”
“Without grain, you would merely be drinking poison to quench your thirst. Once the relief grain runs out and the uprising breaks out again, all our efforts will have been wasted.”
“And what of the troops transferred from the frontier garrisons? What if the enemy learns of it and seizes the opportunity to attack the border? Can you bear responsibility if the frontier garrisons fall?”
“Heh. When the Duke of Chengguo proposed transferring troops and killing the rebels outright, why did none of you ask where those troops would come from? Yet now you are questioning me?”
“I support Lord Shi’s proposal. We should pacify them first. They may not be able to eat rice at every meal, but surely they can drink porridge. That ought to solve the problem, should it not?”
“I second the proposal. Grain shipments from Jiangnan may be somewhat slow, but we can purchase some from the great landed families of Shaanxi. If the state treasury cannot solve the problem, we can borrow from them first and repay them afterward.”
“The imperial court borrowing grain from private individuals? Never mind whether anyone would lend it—what about the dignity of the court? What about the dignity of the imperial family?”
“Rebellion is a capital crime punishable by the extermination of nine branches of a family at any time. Even if the court issues a decree pardoning all past offenses, will they believe it? Might they not think it is merely a delaying tactic, followed by an autumn reckoning?”
…
The dispute continued for a full half-hour, yet neither side could convince the other. The Hall of Supreme Governance descended into uproar.
“Let Your Majesty decide!”
Suddenly, Shi Fenglai shouted the words aloud. The disorderly hall instantly fell silent, and then everyone knelt.
“Let Your Majesty decide!”
Chongzhen rose from the dragon throne and walked to the edge of the dais, fixing his gaze on the assembled ministers.
“In theory, I agree with Lord Shi’s proposal.”
Seeing several ministers preparing to step forward and question him, Chongzhen waved a hand and continued, “I have just listened to all of you argue. In the end, you are focused on only a few questions: where to transfer troops from, where to obtain grain, what to do if another uprising breaks out after the grain runs out, and whether the people who have joined the uprising will believe us.
“None of these questions is impossible to resolve.”
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