Chapter Fourteen: Exchange of Interests

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Under the institutional design of the Great Ming imperial system, the realm was highly centralized, coming perilously close to outright autocracy. The only meaningful restraints were the Grand Secretariat’s drafting of palace-approved ballots, court deliberations, and the censors of the Six Offices’ power to seal and reject decrees.

The institutions of the Great Ming could not function stably without the emperor.

Against this backdrop came the heinous assassination attempt against the prince and emperor—a brazen challenge to authority and imperial power. Yet both the Grand Secretary of the Great Ming and the young emperor independently chose to let the matter rest.

The reason was simple: whatever the outcome of the factional struggle, the price would be paid by the Great Ming. The weakened dynasty could not withstand such violent upheaval.

The second crucial reason was the emperor’s youth. His majesty had yet to command sufficient authority, and maintaining stability had to come first.

All of this was the hidden malice of court politics, the deceit and mutual treachery practiced by grown men. Zhang Juzheng truly did not wish to mention such filthy matters before a child. Trading interests in this manner was ugly, wholly at odds with the doctrine of self-cultivation taught by the Four Books and Five Classics.

“Zhang! Yuanfu! You intend to do the same as Gao Gong, do you?” Feng Bao stared at Zhang Juzheng through clenched teeth, like a ravenous wolf. He was in charge of tearing at his prey, and Zhang Juzheng’s attempt to trade away the assassination case was an act of the deepest disrespect and disloyalty.

When Feng Bao saw Zhang Juzheng remain silent, his expression shifted. He demanded harshly, “You civil officials are all alike. Your mouths are full of benevolence and morality, but your hearts are nothing but business!”

“Disgusting!”

“I have not agreed.” Zhang Juzheng bowed his head once more. He truly had not agreed. He had merely said that he would consider the matter; he had not agreed to Yang Bo either.

“Grand Attendant Feng, calm yourself. I shall explain the Grand Secretary’s concerns, and let him assist me in considering them.” Zhu Yijun looked at Feng Bao, signaling him to halt his attack.

“Hmph. Scholars.” Feng Bao flung back his sleeve and turned around. He obeyed His Majesty’s command and said no more.

“The Jin faction has taken control of the matter of granting Altan Khan tribute and trade rights. They need do nothing more than tighten their control over the troops of Xuanfu and Datong, and they can threaten the capital. Should the northern barbarians’ iron hooves descend southward, the Gengxu Crisis could happen again. We have that warning before us.” Zhu Yijun had brought up the Gengxu Crisis.

The Gengxu Crisis occurred in the twenty-ninth year of the Jiajing reign. Using the Ming court’s refusal to permit free trade as a pretext, Altan Khan launched a war against the Great Ming.

Altan Khan raided the area around the Ming capital for eight full days. Only after the Jiajing Emperor promised to establish tribute and trade relations did he withdraw his army.

It was a humiliation of the greatest magnitude.

In the thirtieth year of Jiajing, the flames of war were kindled once more. From the thirtieth to the forty-fifth year of that reign, more than ten commanding generals and deputy commanders of Xuanfu and Datong died in battle, while countless soldiers were killed or wounded. The capital and the fortresses of Xuanfu and Datong alone consumed four to five million taels in military expenditure. The court treasury was empty; annual revenue could not cover even half of annual spending.

The court’s fiscal income fell short of half its expenditures every year, and the deficit swelled with alarming speed.

The Great Ming suffered, but so did Altan Khan. At last, during the Longqing reign, the two sides reached an agreement and finally ceased their hostilities.

All the Jin faction had to do was invoke the strength of the northern barbarians as a pretext to consolidate the troops. There was no guarantee that the Gengxu Crisis would not happen again.

Zhu Yijun shuffled through the memorials on the imperial desk and pulled out one of them.

“I happen to have a military report here. General Qi Jiguang has repelled the rebel chieftain Dong Huli of the Doyan Guard at four locations: Beigukou, General’s Tower, Sisters’ Tower, and Xifengkou. He has taken more than two thousand five hundred heads, while Dong Huli escaped alone on horseback.”

“The Zhejiang Army truly is a force renowned throughout the world!”

The first battle report Zhu Yijun had received after arriving in the Great Ming was a victory report.

This battle was merely an insignificant episode among Qi Jiguang’s many ferocious achievements. He was not only skilled at suppressing the Japanese pirates; he was also a master at subduing the northern barbarians. Dong Huli had gone to Beigukou to demand rewards from the Ming court, threatening to invade if they were not granted. Qi Jiguang laid a trap for him, annihilating Dong Huli’s entire contingent. Dong Huli’s nephew, unaware of what had happened, came to rescue his uncle and was captured alive, shackled, and sent back to the capital.

“Even if the northern barbarians invade now, I am confident that I can ensure none of them return alive!” Zhang Juzheng declared with utmost solemnity.

He spoke with considerable confidence.

It was Zhang Juzheng who had recommended Qi Jiguang for the transfer from south to north. Liang Menglong, Governor-General of Ji and Liaodong, and Qi Jiguang, Commander-in-Chief of Ji and Liaodong, were both his protégés. They were also the source of his confidence in confronting the Jin faction.

A man spoke boldly when he had a sword in hand.

If the northern barbarians truly came south, they would fight first and discuss the consequences afterward.

Zhu Yijun closed the victorious memorial in his hand and shook his head.

“In war, victory and defeat are ordinary matters. No one dares claim certain victory.”

“When Gao Gong was Grand Secretary, he promoted many men. If this case is pursued, I fear every trail will lead back to Gao Gong. After all, Gao Gong no longer possesses any power.”

“Arresting Gao Gong would cause an uproar throughout the court and leave everyone in a state of panic. They would begin placing obstacles in your path. It would not take many—three or five incidents would be enough to make victory in the struggle even more difficult.”

Once the calamity of war began, the regions of Datong, Xuanfu, and the capital environs—which had only just begun to recover their vitality—would again descend into turmoil. The cost of war would be borne by the ordinary people. Winning would be one thing; losing would make their suffering even worse.

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The Jin faction was a coterie bound tightly together by marriage, common teachers, and shared native places. It controlled the vital strongholds of Xuanfu and Datong, the capital garrisons, appointments to office, and the court’s censorial authority and influence.

You, Emperor, intend to kill Gao Gong and then punish or dismiss those whom Gao Gong promoted.

What exactly do you want? To rebel?

“These traitorous rebels have chosen this moment precisely because the Great Ming is still weak!” Feng Bao immediately added. As a eunuch, attacking the civil officials at every opportunity was his sacred duty.

“I believe matters have not yet reached that point. If disorder truly breaks out, I am confident I can suppress it.” Zhang Juzheng spoke with immense pride.

Since he had dared join forces with Feng Bao to drive Gao Gong from the Grand Secretariat, he naturally possessed his own support. The military, politics, appointments, censorial authority, and influence within the court—the Jin faction had all of these, but so did he.

Gao Gong had already lost all his power. Zhang Juzheng, meanwhile, was the Grand Secretary of the Great Ming.

Zhu Yijun looked at Zhang Juzheng and shook his head.

“Then tell me, Grand Secretary, what will be the cost?”

“The cost will be the vitality the Great Ming has only just begun to recover, consumed entirely in this factional struggle. Since you have come to discuss this matter with me, Grand Secretary, you clearly intend to let it rest. To squander the nation’s strength is neither your wish nor mine.”

Zhang Juzheng remained silent for a long while before finally saying, “Your Majesty is wise.”

This was why Zhang Juzheng had declared himself powerless before the emperor. He had no way to conduct a comprehensive purge of the Jin faction without exhausting the strength of the Great Ming. Thus, before the emperor, he could only advocate letting the matter rest.

Gao Gong himself was not important. He was merely an old man who had lost his power. What mattered was the deeply rooted Jin faction entrenched throughout the court.

At that moment, Zhang Juzheng suddenly recalled the emperor’s annotation of the phrase “comrades, fellow travelers, sharing joy together.” He even experienced a strange sensation: the young emperor seemed to share his own ambition—to restore the strength of the Great Ming and revive the dynasty.

Yang Bo had underestimated Feng Bao. Feng Bao had not only seen through the matter; he had also explained its dangers clearly to the young emperor.

Zhang Juzheng assumed that the young emperor’s clear and incisive analysis had been taught to him by Feng Bao.

Zhu Yijun had already foreseen this situation when he declined to send Feng Bao with troops to Xinzheng to arrest Gao Gong. Did the Jin faction truly possess such audacity? Zhu Yijun knew perfectly well that they did—and in abundance.

After Zhang Juzheng’s death, it was the new leader of the Jin faction, Zhang Siwei—the nephew of Wang Chonggu—who launched the reckoning against Zhang Juzheng. Zhang Juzheng’s ten years of reform were destroyed in their entirety, and the Great Ming lost its final chance to correct its own course.

Yang Bo had judged people with remarkable accuracy. When he called Zhang Siwei a two-faced opportunist, he had seen straight through Zhang Siwei’s character. Zhang Siwei could submit to Zhang Juzheng for the sake of power, then, for the sake of profit, drive the most critical knife into Zhang Juzheng’s reforms after his death.

“So tell me,” Zhu Yijun asked with a smile, “what conditions did Yang Bo offer to persuade you to let the matter rest?”

Zhang Juzheng considered for a moment.

“The examination and evaluation system, the Ministry of Personnel, and Yang Bo’s retirement.”

“If there were only the first two, I would not agree. Add Yang Bo’s retirement, and it might be acceptable. He is, after all, the factional leader.” Zhu Yijun closed the Direct Explanation of the Four Books and looked at Zhang Juzheng. “You stand to gain the most from this arrangement. What of me, the aggrieved party? What am I to receive?”

Yang Bo had agreed to the examination and evaluation system, surrendered the position of Minister of Personnel, and retired from office. Zhang Juzheng would be the greatest beneficiary. But what of the emperor of the Great Ming, who had supposedly suffered the injustice?

Zhang Juzheng was bewildered. He could not be sure what the young emperor wanted, and hurriedly said, “This is the duty by which I repay the late emperor and remain loyal to Your Majesty…”

The moment Zhu Yijun heard Zhang Juzheng begin another sermon, he hastily interrupted him.

“Stop.”

“I intend to have Wang Zhanglong, Chen Hong, Teng Xiang, Meng Chong, and the other criminals subjected to death by a thousand cuts. They must be executed by prolonged dismemberment, so that the punishment may serve as a warning and deterrent. If they are not subjected to the ultimate penalty, then after we let this matter rest, I fear that wicked men will enter and leave the imperial palace as though no one were watching, moving with the ease of one walking across an open road, as if the palace were unguarded.”

The phrase about wicked men entering and leaving the imperial palace came from a memorial submitted by Ge Shouli, Chief Censor of the Censorate, in which he sought to hold Feng Bao accountable. It meant that the criminal Wang Zhanglong had entered and exited the palace as though it were uninhabited, proceeding directly to the Palace of Heavenly Purity without anyone questioning him, as easily as if he were walking on level ground.

Zhu Yijun had thought the phrase rather apt and simply appropriated it.

Zhang Juzheng sensed that something was wrong. If Feng Bao had truly taught the emperor these words, how could he have learned in advance of the memorial Ge Shouli had submitted that day and told the young emperor what to say?

Zhang Juzheng bowed his head.

“Your Majesty should govern the realm through benevolence and mercy. Benevolence, wisdom, trustworthiness, uprightness, courage, and firmness are all noble virtues. A death by a thousand cuts would surely offend Heaven’s harmony.”

“Grand Attendant Feng, fetch the imperial warrant and seal. Order the Chief of the Embroidered Uniform Guard to personally lead six hundred mounted investigators to Xinzheng and arrest Gao Gong, along with his entire household and relatives. Anyone who resists is to be killed without exception.”

Zhu Yijun gathered up all his notes and rose. He spoke calmly to Feng Bao.

“I obey Your Majesty’s command!” Feng Bao’s face lit up with delight. He immediately prepared to fetch the imperial warrant and blank edict.

“Grand Attendant Feng, wait.”

Zhang Juzheng was helpless. The tactic he had used against Yang Bo the day before had now been turned against him by the young emperor.

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This young emperor had been speaking so reasonably, and then suddenly decided to overturn the entire table. He truly had no regard for the rules of fair play!

Zhang Juzheng immediately said, “I shall lead the Three Judicial Offices in submitting a memorial requesting that all the criminals be subjected to death by a thousand cuts.”

Since Zhang Juzheng would lead the memorial, he would naturally bear the infamy.

Only then did Zhu Yijun sit down again, signaling Feng Bao that he need not fetch the warrant and seal. He looked at Zhang Juzheng and said, “The Imperial Medical Academy has a skilled physician named Chen Shigong, especially accomplished in external surgery and dissection. Leave this execution by a thousand cuts to Chen Shigong. Set aside a four-courtyard compound within the academy and prepare it properly.”

“Hang a plaque over the entrance. The Dissection Institute.”

“The Dissection Institute shall be devoted to dissecting traitorous rebels and the disloyal or unfilial. Once the dissections are complete, they may also help advance the medical science of the Great Ming.”

“Dissect them slowly, bit by bit, one at a time. Study the mysteries of human physiology in meticulous detail. What do you think, Grand Secretary?”

Modern medicine was founded upon anatomy. Chen Shigong, especially skilled in surgery, together with the title of Grand Physician of Dissection and the Dissection Institute, would complement each other perfectly.

These traitorous rebels were going to die regardless. Why not let them contribute their final measure of light and heat to illuminate the road of medicine in the Great Ming?

Zhang Juzheng rolled the words “Dissection Institute” over in his mind, and his expression changed dramatically. This went far beyond merely offending Heaven’s harmony.

Why was His Majesty so ruthless at such a young age? If Zhang Juzheng agreed, he would not merely endure a brief storm of criticism. For as long as the Dissection Institute existed, the civil officials would seize upon it and curse him for as long as they lived.

Zhang Juzheng looked toward Feng Bao. Clearly, these tactics must all have been taught by him.

Feng Bao had a bandage wrapped around his head, and his cheeks were swollen badly enough to conceal any change in expression. Yet he, too, felt deeply unsettled. Although he had already learned to accept that His Majesty was an emperor with methods of his own, he could never have imagined that those methods would involve such an execution, such an extreme punishment, and such a horrifying means of creating fear and deterrence.

Zhu Yijun looked at Zhang Juzheng with a smile.

“Grand Secretary, are you unwilling?”

“Not at all.” Zhang Juzheng exhaled a breath of stale air, bowed his head, and said, “Your Majesty is wise.”

Zhu Yijun smiled.

“Since we intend to let the matter rest, we shall establish the Dissection Institute today and send the criminals there tomorrow. This case involves many people, so the sooner it is done, the better. Tomorrow afternoon, I shall go to the Dissection Institute to witness the executions.”

“I obey Your Majesty’s command.”

Zhang Juzheng had no choice. He had to bear the infamy himself. Otherwise, His Majesty would never agree to let the matter rest.

What was Zhu Yijun doing?

He was forcing Zhang Juzheng to take a side. He was forcing Zhang Juzheng to commit acts that would outrage Heaven and mankind. He was forcing him to become the emperor’s sole minister, an isolated minister.

Compared with Zhang Juzheng’s complete surrender to imperial authority, the position of Minister of Personnel, the implementation of the examination and evaluation system, and the retirement of the Jin faction amounted to nothing.

For Zhang Juzheng, enduring a little abuse was actually a good thing. The work he would undertake in the future could be summed up in the words: “I am no ordinary minister; I am the regent.”

Once he governed as regent, could his reputation possibly remain spotless? Was Zhang Juzheng planning to imitate Wang Mang?

Making Zhang Juzheng endure the abuse was a way of protecting him.

The purpose of establishing the Dissection Institute was to give Chen Shigong, the saint of surgery, a place to practice. Zhang Juzheng would die in the tenth year of the Wanli reign from an infection following surgery for hemorrhoids. He would be only fifty-eight years old.

At the Dissection Institute, Chen Shigong would perfect his art of dissection. One way or another, he had to give Zhang Juzheng a surprise.

A small knife at the rear, and the Grand Secretary Zhang would have his eyes opened.

“I respectfully see Your Majesty off.”

Zhang Juzheng escorted His Majesty from the Hall of Literary Glory with great deference. When he stepped outside, the noonday sun shone directly upon him. The early spring light still carried a sharp chill.

He was somewhat dazed. During today’s audience, the emperor had shown no aversion to trading interests. The exchange between the emperor and himself had proceeded as smoothly as the exchange between Zhang Juzheng and Yang Bo. His Majesty had seemed almost like a seasoned old hand.

Yet Zhang Juzheng knew one thing with absolute certainty: the still-young emperor shared his own goal completely.

The Great Ming was to rise again.

The road to making the Great Ming great once more was long and beset with obstacles.