Chapter 498: Promotions and Rewards Can Also Be Like This

Although receiving rewards meant a lucrative position, there was a saying that civil officials were poor while military officials were wealthy. Throughout history, imperial edicts tended to be issued to the residences of noble families, as the rewards given far exceeded what civil officials could expect in terms of money. In comparison, being assigned to a distant province was even more desirable—not only could one indulge in feasts and expenses at public cost along the way, but they could also extort money from local counties. Yet, Zhu Di had not yet decided on who to send to Xuanfu when Zhang Qian casually mentioned that Hai Shou, the deputy supervisor of the Imperial Horse Supervision Agency, was currently in Xuanfu. So Zhu Di simply sent a minor eunuch to deliver the imperial edict there, with Hai Shou then going to Xinghe to announce it—much to the disappointment of many.

Thus, Hai Gonggong, who came from Korea, was highly favored and loved money, had to appear in this place that had survived a disaster. He had accompanied Zhu Di on a northern expedition in the eighth year of Yongle, but he merely followed along; as the deputy supervisor in charge of the Imperial Horse Supervision Agency’s troops, he hadn’t even killed a single person. Now, upon seeing the terrifying pyramids of heads at the east gate of Xinghe, he couldn’t help but gasp, suddenly recalling something he had overlooked before.

Although Zhang Yue was not Zhang Fu’s direct nephew, he was still related by blood. Back then, during Zhang Fu’s second campaign in Annam, he beheaded over 4,500 enemies and then executed more than 2,000 captives including Fan Zhi, Chen Yuanqing, and Ruan Renzhu, using their bodies to build those pyramids. Years later, few would have imagined that the cautious Duke of Yingguo in the court was once a bloodthirsty general—just as few expected Zhang Yue to shine so brightly during the siege of Xinghe.

Faced with Zhang Yue leading his men to greet him, Hai Shou’s smile became even more friendly, and his demeanor even more polite. Upon arriving at the military post, though it seemed to have been cleaned up, it was still far from tidy. Yet he showed no signs of dissatisfaction, standing smilingly facing north. After everyone knelt, he slowly unrolled the scroll.

Although there was an ancestral rule forbidding eunuchs from being literate, most eunuchs who held positions in the palace could read to some extent. Moreover, Hai Shou had come to the Ming Dynasty from a prominent family in Korea. As he squinted at the edict, examining the handwriting, he suddenly realized it wasn’t the usual style of Shen Du, nor was it written by any of the Hanlin scholars. Every stroke seemed to resemble the emperor’s own handwriting. He raised his eyebrows, reassessing Wang Guan’s words in his mind.

Since it was written by the emperor in person, after initially simply praising the soldiers for their efforts in defending the city, he directly issued rewards: “…Wang Huan, the commander, died in battle, and posthumously granted the title of deputy commander. His son, Wang Xiang, was appointed as commander of the Left Yan Mountain Guard, with a hereditary position as a thousand-household officer. Zheng Pingyuan, the thousand-household officer in charge of defense at Xinghe, was promoted to deputy commander of the Kaiping Guard for his contributions to defense. Zhou Bailing, the thousand-household officer of the Imperial Military Camp, was promoted to deputy commander of the Shence Guard for his role in joint defense. Those ranked as hundred-household officers were rewarded with 20 stones of rice and 18 ingots of silver; soldiers received 15 stones of rice and 15 ingots of silver each. Families of those who died in battle were given 8 stones of rice and 30 ingots of silver annually; those injured were compensated with rice according to the severity of their injuries.”

At this point, Haishou paused briefly, as if to catch his breath, before continuing, “Zhang Yue, the director of the Military Armory Department of the Ministry of War, is extremely wise and brave, having achieved many feats. Hearing that you have once again accomplished remarkable feats, I am greatly relieved. In the past, due to your youth, your promotions were delayed, but now, as it is time to appoint officials, we will not be constrained by convention. Next spring will be the year of the northern expedition. You are ordered to oversee military affairs in Xuanfu in your current position, assisting General Zheng Heng of Xuanfu in border defense, pending the large-scale northern expedition next spring. Hearing that your clothes were tattered during the defense of the city, you are additionally rewarded with a robe of brocade. Ten pairs of gold and silver ornaments, ten on the outside and ten on the inside, are bestowed upon your wife and children. So it is decreed.”

After hearing this imperial edict, everyone present exchanged glances. Zhang Yue had expected something like this, as it was likely a case of false promises, so he was not too surprised. In those days, being a governor was extremely prestigious, as such positions were usually held by high-ranking officials. But today’s governors were not a separate position with a fixed rank; instead, the emperor would assign court officials to oversee local areas ad hoc. Usually, these were vice ministers or even deputy censors, and occasionally censors or remonstrance officials would be sent as well.

Zhu Di really distributed rewards casually!

Zhang Yue naturally did not know that, in order to decide on the rewards for the soldiers in Xinghe, the court held three meetings in one day just two days prior. While other matters were easy to resolve, dealing with him proved to be a huge problem.

The first meeting of the day was led by Duke Ying of Britain, Zhang Fu, along with various noble officials. The emperor seemed to have completely forgotten the principle of avoiding kinship in appointments, so Zhang Fu could only remain silent. Unexpectedly, the group led by Marquis Anyuan, Liu Sheng, concluded that Zhang Yue had greatly weakened the Tatar forces and deserved to be given a military position as a commander.

As soon as this report was submitted, there was no further news, so a second meeting was held, with the six ministers and the censors discussing the matter together. Their deliberations were extremely cautious. In the end, Jian Yi, the most senior minister of the Ministry of Personnel, personally intervened, stating that Zhang Yue had led his troops to defeat the enemy chiefs using firearms, personally shot down the enemy’s flag, and used ingenious tactics to defeat the enemy in the snow—these were all great achievements. However, due to his youth, he should not be rewarded hastily; instead, he should be assigned to the Office of Communications or the Ministry of Horse Affairs as a deputy.

Yet Zhu Di, who usually listened carefully to Jian Yi’s advice, still remained undecided. Then came the third meeting, with the cabinet ministers discussing the matter. This time, only three people were present—Yang Rong, Yang Shiqi, and Jin Youzi. Their faces showed no sign of relief at the good news from the front lines; instead, they thought of their former colleagues. Jie Jin had died of cold in the snow, Hu Guang had died of illness, Du Zhen had been imprisoned by the Jinyiwei, and Hu Yan had been transferred to serve as a professor at the Imperial Academy due to his straightforward nature. Even though they had enjoyed favor for over a decade, they were still only at the fifth rank. Now, Zhang Yue, a young man, seemed on the verge of surpassing that rank.

Because of Du Zhen, Yang Shiqi had always treated Zhang Yue like his own nephew. Though he felt regret, he truly did not want him to rise too high, as that would make it harder to reward him further in the future. He believed that converting civil officials to military positions, though somewhat absurd, could be a solution—though the emperor seemed unwilling to do so. The proposal by the seven ministers to preserve their status, even if out of self-interest, made sense, yet the emperor was still dissatisfied. How could they find a solution that satisfied everyone?

“The achievements are remarkable, but if only Zhang Yue were ten years older, things would be easier!”

Although Jin Youzi wasn’t impressed by Zhang Yue, the military report from Xuanfu happened to fall into his hands. Faced with such undeniable achievements, he couldn’t bring his bias into play, but he still couldn’t help complaining, “To be promoted to the fifth rank before turning twenty—has there ever been such a young example among our dynasty’s civil officials? Back in the day, the founding emperor abolished the imperial examinations because they produced only young people, opting instead to recruit scholars from the Imperial Academy and through recommendations. Even if one’s ambition isn’t tied to age, it’s inevitable that some scholars might think he succeeded through his background, which undermines the proper way of selecting officials. I do think converting civil officials to military positions is a solution. After all, the Duke of Yingguo was made a count before turning thirty. As for a commander at the third rank, or even if he went straight to the Five Army Command, I wouldn’t object.”

Yang Shiji glanced at Yang Rong and saw that he was still deep in thought, so he couldn’t help but smile wryly to himself. Of the three of them, he was the oldest, followed by Jin Youzi, and then Yang Rong. As a trusted advisor to the crown prince, his influence was less than that of Jin Youzi and Yang Rong. Since Yang Rong was now in charge of the Hanlin Academy, even the emperor often referred to him as “Academician Yang” when in a good mood, so it was safest to let Yang Rong make the final decision.

After a brief pause, he spoke up, “The emperor has placed Zhang Yue in the Ministry of War, seemingly intending to develop his military skills. But since the proposals put forward by people like Marquis Anyuan have not been finalized, it seems he doesn’t intend to promote him to a military position. As for why the seven ministers also remained silent, I think the emperor probably isn’t just seeking caution. If he had intended to raise Zhang Yue’s rank, he would have done so after suppressing the rebellion—there would have been more than just a promotion to the rank of court official. So, it seems the emperor intends to hold back his promotion.”

Hold back his promotion…

Yang Rong, who was quick-witted, had surely thought of this as well. At that moment, he couldn’t help but recall the schemes some people had used behind his back when the emperor appointed him head of the Hanlin Academy. Those people wanted Zhu Di to distance himself from him, so they deliberately recommended him as the head of the Imperial Academy. Although this would have allowed him to surpass the fifth-rank threshold, if he really reached the fourth rank, his future prospects would likely be limited. Otherwise, why would Hu Yan still be stuck at the fourth rank after over a decade? As he thought about this, he suddenly remembered the day when Gu Bin came to see him.

“Sir, although the emperor disapproves of ministers using their positions as examiners to gain personal favors, after all, you were the chief examiner for Zhang Yue’s imperial examination. Even though Zhang Yue isn’t part of the Hanlin Academy, the teacher-student relationship still exists. The Zhang family has a long history in the military, and the Duke of Yingguo is the foremost military official. Being on good terms with the Zhang family may not necessarily benefit your career, but it will certainly help with the overall situation in the future. After all, although military officials need authorization from the Ministry of War to command troops, the emperor is determined to launch campaigns in the north. What if something goes wrong with the troops…”

The man behind him stopped him from speaking, so Gu Bin didn’t continue, but he could easily guess what the topic was. At that moment, he became serious and quickly racked his brains before slowly saying, “If His Majesty merely wants to promote ranks, following the old precedent of appointing people like Fang Bin, not to mention positions in the Department of Communications or the Imperial Stables, even vice ministers could be given such roles directly. Therefore, there’s no need to be restricted by ranks when granting rewards this time. Previously, when thunder and fire struck, His Majesty sent Minister Jian, Minister Jin, and twenty-six others to oversee the country. Now that the military affairs in Xuanfu are urgent, it would be good to let Zhang Yue gain experience by overseeing those affairs there—other considerations can be dealt with later.”
Was such a measure acceptable?
Jin Youzi was stunned by Yang Rong’s casual suggestion and was filled with admiration once he realized its merits. Yang Shiqi also didn’t expect his colleague to think of this, but upon careful consideration, he found it perfectly reasonable and naturally raised no objections. When the three of them went to the Qianqing Palace to submit their request, the initially indifferent emperor suddenly showed a satisfied expression and agreed without hesitation.
Although Hai Shou was unaware of this incident in the capital, after issuing the imperial edict, he still said to Zhang Yue with a smile, “As a fifth-rank official overseeing such an important place as Xuanfu, Lord Zhang, you bear a heavy responsibility!”
Zhang Yue smiled on the surface, but inwardly he couldn’t help but sigh. The position remained the same, yet the power was great—in short, the work required far exceeded what one was paid for, pretty much as it always was.