Chapter 891: Where There’s Profit, Why Not Be Tempted?

The vast hall fell silent all at once; even people’s breathing could be heard clearly.
Though few civil officials nowadays advocated Legalism, not many had never read the renowned *Han Feizi*. Thus, after the statement that Confucianism disrupted the law caused a period of silence, no one stepped forward to refute it. Although many of the current nobles were of the second generation, there were still figures like Zhang Fu from the first generation and the highly favored Zhu Yong—none dared say anything like “military strength is inferior to civil governance” in front of these high-ranking officials. After a long silence, someone finally cleared their throat.
“Attendant Reader Xu spoke wrongly. That wasn’t his intention. It’s just that the military examination system really shouldn’t require such extensive efforts!” The speaker was Luo Rujing, a lecturer at the Hanlin Academy. After bowing to the emperor, he bowed to those around him as well before speaking seriously, “Emperor Taizu established the yellow register to classify the people of the realm into military households, civilian households, artisan households, kitchen households, and so on, so that the commoners could focus wholeheartedly on their duties. Now that the military household system is already in place and military selections are held annually, what’s the need for another military examination? Moreover, how many of those who advance through the military examination are willing to register as military households? That’s the first point.”
Luo Rujing had jointly presided over the provincial examinations in Ying Tianfu with Li Qi. Being a few years older, he calmly took the lead and continued, “Secondly, I know that during the Duke of Ying’s four campaigns against Annam, many people merited rewards, but they were only given salaries, not official positions. Even so, the number of military positions in the court continued to grow each year, incurring significant expenses. Hereditary military households can ensure a stable source of soldiers, while hereditary military officers are the best way to reward merit. Making changes too easily could lead to instability, and unforeseen consequences might arise. Thirdly, if military examinations were conducted in the same way as civil examinations, where would the funds come from? For the annual spring examinations, the examination halls consume tens of thousands of pounds of charcoal, not to mention the expenses for the autumn examinations in various provinces. If military examinations followed the same pattern, it would undoubtedly be a huge burden on the provinces.”
Compared to those with passionate but empty rhetoric, Luo Rujing’s words naturally won nods from many high-ranking officials, including Zhang Yue. However, this was a place for lower-ranking officials to speak, so he neither refuted nor explained anything. He simply watched Luo Rujing step back. But the next moment, when Wang Jin, the one drawing lots, called out a name, he immediately perked up.
“Gu Bin, an attendant reader at the Hanlin Academy.”

Compared to those officials in their early thirties just now, Gu Bin, dressed in his blue official robes, appeared somewhat thin, and his unusually young face made many who were not familiar with him take a closer look. Yet, these glances turned into shock when he spoke his first words, for what he mentioned was the determination of the land acreage across the country—a topic that almost no one had dared to touch before.

“The fish-scale registers of various provinces were created during the Hongwu era. Although they were revised a few times since then, it was only minor tinkering; no real effort was made to conduct a thorough survey. At the founding of the dynasty, the land was barren everywhere. Compared to that time, how much more arable land do we have now? And how much tax does the Ministry of Revenue collect each year? Though I don’t think a high tax collection means a good official, the state treasury needs funds for building roads and bridges and for military expenses. We can’t let the treasury go empty while those who evade taxes get richer! I’ll speak frankly here: when I passed the imperial examination and became a juren, someone offered me 300 acres of good land; when I became a jinshi, it was over a thousand acres; and after I served as a shujishi and later as a reader to the emperor, even more land was offered. I rejected them all, but with such huge incentives, how many people could truly resist?”

Zhang Yue had previously thought Gu Bin was straightforward, but hearing his extremely sharp words and seeing many officials avoid his gaze unconsciously, he couldn’t help but admire him. Indeed, after speaking in one go, Gu Bin paused for a moment, seemingly unaware of the complex looks directed at him, his expression remaining stern as ever.

“As you all just said, there are many ancestral systems. Yes, there were systems in the Hongwu era allowing officials to be exempt from taxes and corvée labor, but these exemptions had limits—they didn’t apply to all the land owned by officials and gentry! In the 26th year of Hongwu, the total land acreage was determined to be 8,507,623 hectares. But how much is it now? As far as I know, it has even decreased. Yet, no matter where you look in the country, the former barren lands have all become arable land! The tax rate on land in our dynasty is unusually low compared to past dynasties—three sheng, three he, five shao per mu of civilian land, one shi for 30 mu, and no more than 300 shi for 30 hectares. The people fear corvée labor, so they give their land to officials and gentry, yet the grain they pay is at least three to five times the tax amount!”

Towards the end, he uttered a forceful statement: “The land system is rotten. If left unaddressed, it will deteriorate even further! Whether it’s the teachings of Confucius and Mencius or our dynasty’s ancestral systems, they all advocate light taxes and corvée labor—not ignoring tax evasion. Therefore, the problem of the ruined land system in the Jiangnan region mentioned by the censor earlier is precisely an opportunity for a thorough investigation.”

Zhang Yue kept observing the expressions of the high-ranking officials. Aside from those like Yang Shiqi and Du Zhen, whose expressions were usually unreadable, the others showed subtle changes—Guo Jin looked at them curiously, seemingly preparing to add them to his list of candidates for the Ministry of Personnel; Hu Bian frowned slightly; as the acting Minister of Rites, he seemed unconvinced by Gu Bin’s sharp words. Wu Zhong’s expression was calm, but his posture suggested nervousness, which was understandable—among the high-ranking officials, he was known for his greed. As for Jin Youzi and Yang Pu, they both had thoughtful expressions.

Zhu Zhanji, of course, was fully attentive, even calling Wang Jin over to ask him a few questions in a low voice before finally nodding in approval. Seeing the emperor’s reaction, many of the ministers below grew worried, with even more looking embarrassed—although the emperor had just issued an edict ordering officials to audit their family lands, many still hoped for the best. No one expected that what should have been a minor matter would turn into a serious confrontation.

Was it really necessary to go to such lengths for an investigation? If so, wouldn’t they have to go through great trouble to separate their family lands or find other solutions?

The nobles also owned their own estates. Though their exemptions from taxes and corvée were much higher than those of civil officials, they still fell far short compared to their actual income. But since most of them had been among the first to engage in maritime trade, they could still afford those small taxes, finding some satisfaction in seeing the hardships of the civil officials. Zhang Fu, the Duke of Yingguo who was tasked with overseeing the imperial lectures, watched everyone speak without showing any expression until the bell signaling the end rang.

At this first meeting of the Hongwen Pavilion, some were pleased, some disappointed, some nervous, some sighing… truly, everyone had a different reaction. The high-ranking officials, along with the emperor, went to Wenhua Hall, as the passionate speeches from earlier had been recorded by dedicated scribes. Though they didn’t need to reread them due to their good memory, they still had to stay there for the emperor’s reference.

The discussion in Wenhua Hall didn’t yield any results regarding today’s topics, but it established a routine: twice a month, candidates had to be submitted three days in advance—either recommended by the ministries, selected by the Imperial Secretariat, proposed by the Hanlin Academy, or chosen directly by the emperor. Although it wasn’t completely fair, it at least provided an opportunity. So, after the officials left Wenhua Hall, Hu Bian, the Minister of Rites, called Zhang Yue over, and the two walked together.

Speaking of Hu Bian, the Minister of Rites, he was truly a legendary figure. After the Jingnan Campaign, although it was claimed that Emperor Jianwen had set himself on fire and died, Zhu Di still couldn’t take it at face value. Thus, he sent many people to investigate across the country, and Hu Bian was one of them. He spent a full fourteen years on these investigations, with rumors even suggesting he had traveled abroad. Upon returning, Hu Bian enjoyed smooth career progress almost the entire time, only encountering slight setbacks during the Hongxi era when he spent a year or two in Nanjing before being transferred back to the capital. After Lu Zhen’s death, he became Minister of Rites and now also oversaw the Ministry of Revenue. However, he was a staunch supporter of Nanjing, always believing that moving the capital to Beijing was too costly and being overly meticulous about tax revenues and officials’ salaries.

Therefore, Hu Bian had initially been unenthusiastic about Du Zhen’s proposal to increase officials’ salaries in kind, but his attitude toward determining the landholdings across the country changed from skepticism to growing interest. After discussing it with Zhang Yue, he eventually nodded and said, “This plan works. Since Yu Qian has already started, we should select some capable people to carry it out—someone like Gu Huanzhang today is an ideal candidate. As a disciple of Yang Mianren, he possesses real talent and the courage to speak out; he can deal with those powerful elites!”

Thinking of Gu Huanzhang’s eloquent speech today and comparing it to his usual reserved manner, Zhang Yue couldn’t help but sigh inwardly, but he still spoke up, “I know Gu Huanzhang. It’s good that he is upright and speaks out, but he’s a bit aloof and has never handled civil affairs. It may not be suitable for him to take on such a major responsibility suddenly. By the way, since Minister Hu now oversees the Ministry of Rites, I have something to suggest. Currently, each province doesn’t have dedicated educational supervisors; instead, there are imperial censors and others in charge of oversight, with the imperial court appointing special examiners during the provincial exams. But this approach is inefficient and not conducive to the development of official and private schools in various provinces.”

Among the six ministries, the Ministries of Punishments and Works were the most complex and thus ranked lowest, while the Ministries of Personnel, Revenue, and War held significant power and were always the most sought-after. The Ministry of Rites was regarded as noble, but its real power lay in the imperial examinations held every three years. Yet, these exams were often overseen by a cabinet minister, with the Ministry of Rites merely playing a supporting role. That’s why Hu Bian, as Minister of Rites, was so keen on also managing the Ministry of Revenue. He had heard rumors about Zhang Yue’s suggestion before, but since their relationship was rather ordinary, he was naturally eager when Zhang Yue brought it up himself, so he asked detailed questions.

If they could truly take control of the imperial examination system from the Censorate and the Hanlin Academy, it would be extremely beneficial for the Ministry of Rites!

For a moment, deeply moved, Hu Wei stared at Zhang Yue before suddenly saying with a smile, “Vice Minister Zhang truly cares about the world, but this matter is of great significance. If you were to propose it rashly again…”
“I merely mentioned it briefly to the Emperor. But if it’s truly appropriate, it should still be Minister Hu, after all, this is a matter concerning the Ministry of Rites.” At this point, Zhang Yue paused naturally. Seeing Hu Wei smile slightly, he knew that person was eager to take on this task, so he continued, “There are just a few matters where I must ask Minister Hu to understand the difficulties on both sides.”
These matters didn’t need to be specifically mentioned. Hu Wei had already taken charge of the Ministry of Revenue when Xia Yuanji was ill, during which time he drastically cut expenses and even rethought the conversion of officials’ salaries into cash, leading to conflicts with Du Zhen, who wanted a higher ratio of rice to cash at that time. But now, if the farmlands across the country were redefined, the Ministry of Revenue’s income would increase significantly. Coupled with the substantial amount of silver, goods, and funds sent to the capital by the three maritime administrations, his stance on this matter had softened somewhat. Thus, he nodded modestly, as if making a compromise.
However, when the two walked to the Left Gate of Chang’an and watched Hu Wei leave, Zhang Yue smiled slightly, thinking there was another proposal he hadn’t mentioned yet. Otherwise, Hu Wei surely wouldn’t have been able to maintain that calm expression. Hu Wei was a staunch supporter of the Jiangnan faction, who always believed Nanjing should be the capital, and that maintaining a large military presence and population in the barren north was a waste of national resources. It was said that in recent years, Hu Wei had repeatedly advocated for moving the capital again. Zhang Yue had already prepared another proposal: to establish a maritime administration in Tianjin!
After the Ming Dynasty moved its capital, not only did the imbalance between the poor north and wealthy south persist, but the north’s growing dependence on rice from the south also led to an abnormally prosperous economy along the Grand Canal. As a result, proposals for sea transportation were repeatedly blocked, as the interest chains involved were already too complex. It had been just a few years since the capital was moved in the 18th year of the Yongle era, making it the most likely time for change. If not for the lethargy of this so-called era of peace, even during the so-called Little Ice Age at the end of the Ming Dynasty, people wouldn’t have had the opportunity to exploit the situation.
Back at the Ministry of War, Zhang Yue found that the turmoil from the debate in the Hongwen Pavilion seemed to have continued here. Offices everywhere were filled with discussions, some even loud and unrestrained, with conversations revolving around those three key issues. When he entered his office, he even heard Chen Yong’s familiar voice inside.

“It’s really strange. The King of Wei was young, so it made sense for him to stay in the capital. But why did the King of Yue stay instead of going to his fief? Even if the Empress Dowager wanted her children to serve her nearby, it should have been the King of Xiang…”
Zhang Yue had had the same doubts before. Unfortunately, the clues from Hu Qi were limited, and with the Lantern Festival holiday and subsequent preparations for the Hongwen Pavilion, he hadn’t delved further into it. Now, hearing Chen Yong say the same, his sense of strangeness grew even stronger. Just then, he heard Shi An sigh inside.
“Speaking of this, I’ve heard some rumors. Isn’t the Empress Dowager sick? It’s said that the doctor summoned to the palace was recommended by the Duke of Cheng. And it seems the Duke of Cheng recommended him because the King of Yue had recommended that person to his wife in the first place.”