Late at night in the Forbidden City.
Inside the Imperial Study, candlelight flickered. The Emperor, draped in a bright yellow everyday robe, sat alone behind the imperial desk. Stacked upon the desk were secret memorials submitted by the Embroidered Uniform Guards.
The Emperor reached out with bony fingers. With a flick of his wrist, a memorial unfurled.
The red-inked handwriting caught his eye, reading: The First Prince, Xiao Jingxing, hosted a banquet at his mansion to entertain officials native to Jiangnan. The discussions during the feast largely involved the selection of the chief examiner for the autumn imperial examination.
The Emperor's gaze lingered on the words chief examiner, but he remained silent.
Tap...
The tapping echoed through the spacious Imperial Study, carrying the oppressive weight of an impending storm. Listening to this sound, the image of Xu Jie, the Senior Grand Secretary of the Grand Secretariat, surfaced in the Emperor's mind.
Even though he often clashed with Xu Jie on political matters, the Emperor knew deep down that when it came to loyalty to the Great Qian Dynasty, no one among the civil and military officials could surpass him.
Soft, hurried footsteps came from outside the door. The brush-holding eunuch stepped in lightly, bowing as he announced, Reporting to Your Majesty, Senior Grand Secretary Xu Jie has arrived in response to the imperial summons.
The Emperor stopped tapping and raised a hand to signal. Send him in.
Xu Jie stepped over the high threshold, lifted the hem of his scarlet official robe, bent his knees, and folded his hands.
He stood in place and offered a deep bow. As for kneeling...
That was not something he considered. This was simply Xu Jie's privilege.
This old minister, Xu Jie, pays his respects to Your Majesty.
The Emperor sat upright on the dragon throne, looking down at the old minister below.
Regardless of whether he heard the grace of being offered a seat, Xu Jie kept his back straight, took half a step back, and stood three paces away from the imperial desk.
The Emperor's fingers stopped tapping. He raised his hand, resting his fingertips on the edge of the stack of secret reports, and gently pushed them outward.
Several memorials lost their balance and slid off the edge of the desk. The pages flipped in the air before landing with a smack on the golden floor tiles right at Xu Jie's feet.
Seeing this, Eunuch Li, who was standing to the side, knowingly picked up the memorials for Xu Jie and offered them with both hands.
Xu Jie could not be bothered to bicker with this old emperor; they were just two old men with one foot in the grave anyway.
Your Majesty, Xu Jie began, his voice steady. The chronic illness of the court today lies in empty talk ruining the country. The officials neglect their proper duties and focus solely on forming factions to attack those who disagree with them.
Since Grand Secretary Xu has identified this chronic illness, do you have a way to break this deadlock? the Emperor questioned.
Xu Jie cupped his hands and raised them to his chest. I believe that for the autumn examination this August, we can drastically change the regulations. We should reduce the proportion of poetry and prose, and add practical policy essays on matters such as state finances and border defense.
The Emperor's gaze narrowed slightly as he stared at Xu Jie's face. Xu Jie, do you know that this move is tantamount to digging up the roots of the Jiangnan scholarly community? Once implemented, it will inevitably cause turmoil throughout the court and the public. Your strategy is far too radical.
Xu Jie responded calmly, Your Majesty, there is no construction without destruction! In the final years of the previous dynasty, civil officials composed poetry in the court while bandits conquered cities and seized land right outside. We must not ignore the lessons of the past. If scholars only know of romance and nature, but understand nothing of the national economy and the people's livelihood, that will be the true disaster for Great Qian.
The Emperor snorted coldly. You say it so lightly. How many scholars in this world have endured ten years of harsh study just to write a brilliant essay? Now you want to tell them that writing well is useless, and that they need to understand accounting and warfare?
What will they think? They will rebel!
Xu Jie raised his head and looked directly at the Emperor. Your Majesty, you must have heard of the Xu family's Study of the Investigation of Things that has been causing such an uproar in the capital recently... That Xu Zijin has already torn a gap in the iron plate of the scholarly community.
The Emperor leaned forward slightly, resting his hands on the edge of the imperial desk. Oh? Even you have taken a liking to the Xu family's teachings?
Xu Jie spoke frankly, I have also studied this new school of thought in private, and personally, I believe... it makes quite a bit of sense.
I even frequently discuss the phrase truth lies within affairs with my students at home. If one does not engage with practical matters, how can one understand the truth? The same applies to governing a country. Empty talk about the mind and nature is of no benefit to the state; only practical affairs can secure the nation.
Surprise flashed in the Emperor's eyes. He had not expected this Senior Grand Secretary, who came from a traditional Confucian background, to actually approve of the Xu family's teachings. Unconsciously, his estimation of Xu Qinghuan, who was far away in Zhenbei City, rose another level.
That Xu Qinghuan, a mere woman—do her teachings truly possess such great capability? the Emperor asked in return.
Xu Jie said sternly, Your Majesty, knowledge does not distinguish between men and women! Xu Qinghuan's concept that truth lies within affairs strikes right at the flaws of Confucianism. Confucianism emphasizes seeking within and cultivating the mind, but cultivating the mind cannot produce grain, nor can it produce military pay.
The truth is found on the farmer's hoe and in the craftsman's tools. This is practicality. I believe this is exactly the kind of knowledge Great Qian needs the most right now.
The Emperor tapped his fingers on the imperial desk, pondering Xu Jie's words.
Xu Jie took the opportunity to advise, The court can easily ride the wave of the Xu family's Investigation of Things to implement policies of practicality. Let the pure stream scholars and the new school of thought compete in the examination halls, transforming factional struggles into debates over academics and concepts of governance.
The Emperor looked at the memorials on the floor and spoke slowly, The First Prince hosted a banquet for the Jiangnan officials and promised them the position of chief examiner for the autumn examination. He is buying their loyalty. The Jiangnan scholarly community has always been the court's purse and the cradle of civil officials. By reaching his hand out so far, does he intend to turn my court into the backyard of his princely mansion?
Xu Jie bowed and replied, Please quell your anger, Your Majesty. The First Prince's actions are merely the result of being bewitched by sycophants around him, making him overly eager for success.
Although the Jiangnan scholarly community is important, the foundation of Great Qian lies in the common people of the world and in practical affairs. If we can use the reform of the autumn examination to divert the scholars' minds from poetry and songs to state finances and border defense, the First Prince's schemes will naturally come to nothing.
The Emperor muttered to himself, Letting the pure stream scholars compete with the new school of thought... That is indeed a good idea.
Factional struggles are fights for power and benefits; academic debates, on the surface, are fights over concepts of governance, but at their core, they are still just about benefits.
However, as long as they ultimately focus their minds on governing the country, my court will remain stable.
Xu Jie cupped his hands. Your Majesty is wise! Borrowing the Xu family's influence to implement practical policies will not only select capable officials but also weaken the First Prince's influence in the Jiangnan scholarly community. It kills two birds with one stone.
Xu Qinghuan is far away in Zhenbei City, yet she can stir up a storm in the capital. This girl has quite the formidable methods.
The Emperor changed the subject, bringing up Xu Qinghuan.
Xu Jie replied, In Zhenbei City, Xu Qinghuan used one hundred thousand taels of silver and five thousand shi of grain to pacify the army's morale. Her methods are decisive. Although she is not in the capital, the knowledge she left behind has become the key to breaking the deadlock.
The Emperor pondered for a moment, his fingers tapping the imperial desk once again.
He thought carefully in his heart...
If this was truly carried out, the imperial power could sit securely like a fisherman watching a fight. Not only could they use this to select capable officials who truly understood practical affairs, but they could also seize the opportunity to diminish the First Prince's influence in the Jiangnan scholarly community, thereby weakening factional strife.
Good, the Emperor finally spoke. Leave this matter to the Grand Secretariat to handle. Draft the regulations for the reform of the autumn examination and submit them to me.
I want to see exactly how much true capability the scholars of this world possess.
...
The night was deep.
Inside the Imperial Study, the blue smoke of ambergris incense rose slowly.
After listening to Xu Jie's statement regarding the reform of the autumn examination, the Emperor's perpetually tense face relaxed slightly.
He picked up the Jian kiln black-glazed teacup from the imperial desk.
The tea had gone cold.
Eunuch Li, showing great tact, stepped back and replaced it with a fresh cup of tea.
Senior Grand Secretary Xu, the Emperor did not show anger; his tone merely grew faint.
The reform of the imperial examinations can cure the empty talk of the Jiangnan scholars, but it cannot suppress the ambitions brewing within these nine-tiered palace walls.
Xu Jie naturally understood the unspoken implications behind the words.
This veteran Chief Grand Secretary, having served through three generations of emperors, was well-versed in reading between the lines of the Son of Heaven.
No matter how exquisite the imperial examination reform was, it ultimately only circled the periphery of the issue.
The emperor's true anxiety had never been about the empty talk of a few civil officials.
Rather, it was that the princes, for the sake of the dragon throne, had already brazenly reached their hands toward the very foundation of the state.
The eldest prince Xiao Jingxing's posturing during today's morning assembly had touched the reverse scale of imperial power.
Xu Jie pushed the boat along with the current.
Your Majesty is wise, Xu Jie's voice was steady.
The practical affairs tested in the examination halls are, in the end, just armchair strategies.
To distinguish a true dragon from a grass snake, one must turn these practical theories into actual official duties.
The emperor's gaze fell upon the crane rank badge on Xu Jie's official uniform.
Speak.
Xu Jie threw out the core, fatal move he had been brewing for a long time.
I boldly request Your Majesty to transform the practical questions of the examination hall into practical assignments for the princes to personally experience.
Xu Jie's tone was flat, his enunciation clear.
In name, it is because the princes have come of age and should assist in state affairs to share Your Majesty's burdens.
In reality, it is a test of the future crown prince's political and administrative acumen.
Whether they are a mule or a horse, pull them through the mud, and the truth will be known.
Princes assisting in state affairs had been an established precedent across all dynasties.
But for Xu Jie to bring it up at this critical juncture was to force the princes to show their hands.
To push them directly from behind-the-scenes partisan struggles into the front-stage quagmire of government affairs.
The eldest, Xiao Jingxing. The emperor called him directly by name.
His tone was stripped of fatherly warmth, leaving only a superior's cold analysis of a subordinate.
He is inherently arrogant and eager for quick success. His speaking up for the Jiangnan civil officials in court today was nothing more than him eyeing the wealth of Jiangnan.
His princely estate is a bottomless pit of daily expenses. He desperately needs vast amounts of gold and silver to satiate the appetites of his Jiangnan faction.
Xu Jie chimed in, Your Majesty sees things as clearly as a blazing fire.
Since the eldest prince lacks money and wishes to establish prestige in the court.
I believe there is currently a most thorny and immensely costly assignment that can be given to the eldest prince as his first test.
The emperor's eyelids lifted slightly.
The military supplies for the Northern Border?
Xu Jie cupped his hands, Exactly!
The war in the Northern Border is critical, and the Helian Royal Court glares like a tiger watching its prey. The provisions for the thirty thousand defenders of Zhenbei City are an unfillable hole.
Although the Minister of Revenue, Xu Youde, has taken on the task of dispatching funds and grain, the emptiness of the state treasury is an indisputable fact.
If the eldest prince can raise these military supplies and assist in the responsibility of resisting the Helian, he will prove his capability.
The emperor looked at this veteran official who had served through three reigns.
His mind raced.
The Northern Border had suffered years of continuous warfare, leaving it barren.
It was a lawless land where border generals and barbarians smuggled and traded.
Xu Jie continued his petition.
This strategy can both test whether the eldest prince has the talent to govern the country and force him out of the gentle embrace of the capital.
To wade through the muddy waters of true interests at the border.
Armchair strategy is easy, but producing real silver and gold is hard. Only if the eldest prince can establish a firm foothold in such a treacherous place as the Northern Border can he convince the masses.
The emperor listened quietly, the secret report from the Brocade Guards on his desk surfacing in his mind.
As the Son of Heaven, he knew better than anyone what the Northern Border was like right now.
Xu Qinghuan, bearing the Emperor's Sword, had just forced the Deputy General's estate in Zhenbei City to cough up a hundred thousand taels of silver.
In passing, she also leveraged the situation to establish new rules for the border markets.
Xu Youde controlled the Ministry of Revenue's dispatches in the capital, while his daughter rectified military affairs and gathered wealth in the border city.
Working inside and out, this father and daughter truly had formidable methods.
But this empire of Daqian, after all, bore the surname Xiao.
How could the financial power and military morale of a vital border town be allowed to be eroded by subjects for long?
Since the eldest prince was eagerly reaching his hands everywhere in the capital, it would be better to send him to the Northern Border.
A prince arriving in person would rightfully be a military governor above an imperial envoy, naturally carrying the legal authority to divide power.
The eldest prince lacked money and wanted to seize power; Xu Qinghuan held the sword and wanted to establish rules.
When these two collided in the bitter, cold land of Zhenbei City, there would inevitably be a fierce struggle between a dragon and a tiger.
The emperor's mind was already clear in its calculations.
If the eldest could not even suppress a female subject, then his position as crown prince would have to be reconsidered.
If the eldest used ruthless methods and ruined the overall situation at the border, he would only have himself to blame.
As for the Xu family, they were nothing but a good whetstone to sharpen the imperial scion.
Subjects were subjects in the end; both the terrifying thunder and the nourishing rain were the grace of the sovereign.
No matter how much the Northern Border was turned upside down, as long as the funds and provisions were raised and the border was held, the imperial power would sit securely on the fishing platform.
The emperor's fingers fell on the edge of the imperial desk, lightly tapping the grain of the red sandalwood.
Grand Secretary Xu.
A flat voice echoed in the grand hall.
This plan is very appropriate.
Xu Jie kept his hands tucked in his sleeves, showing not the slightest arrogance of claiming credit, his figure like an ancient pine.
All that this old subject schemes is for the state and empire of Daqian.
The emperor stood up, his bright yellow everyday robes casting a shadow in the hall.
He did not walk around the imperial desk, but merely looked at his Chief Grand Secretary across that desk which symbolized supreme power.
Xu Jie bowed deeply to the floor, his expression as placid as an ancient well.
The emperor turned around and pushed open the carved window lattice, letting the night wind pour in.
The eldest prince, Xiao Jingxing, has long come of age and should be tempered in state affairs.
Then let him step into this...
A few sparse words, spoken from the golden mouth of the emperor.
This open scheme, using the world as its chessboard, was thus set into motion.
