Chapter Thirty: Virtue as the Law Within, Law as the Written Virtue

Zhu Yijun actually disliked these pedantic Confucian scholars; discourse with them was always exhausting. Take these imperial lectures, for instance—the young Emperor had to initiate the question of what "governance" truly meant.

Wang Jiaping, a lecturer, hesitated for a moment before saying, "Governance is uprightness. To govern is to be upright."

Another lecturer, Fan Yingqi, the top scholar of the forty-fourth year of the Jiajing era, bowed his head and said, "Governance is culture. To govern is to uphold culture."

Without waiting for the Emperor to prompt him further, Wang Jiaping continued, "The way of governance is to be an upright person, employ upright people, follow the upright path, and do upright deeds."

"Administrative affairs are complex; one simply needs to employ the right people. The primary task of governance is personnel management. When virtuous individuals occupy high positions, petty men will restrain their conduct. One must hold the reins of power firmly and handle heavy responsibilities with ease."

Fan Yingqi added, "The method of governance: culture carries the Way, the brush is the tool. Culture transforms the people; the brush blossoms with wisdom."

"Amidst the clamor of the masses, one must guide them toward the right path. The primary initiative of governance is to rectify the social atmosphere. When the atmosphere is clear and the realm is peaceful, base conduct has nowhere to hide. The brush serves as a tool for one's intent to flourish, educating all under heaven."

Wang Jiaping said solemnly, "With uprightness and culture, governance can succeed, the state can thrive, and the hearts of the people will be won."

Zhu Yijun listened to their exchange, then glanced at the *Direct Explanations of the Four Books: The Analects* annotated by Zhang Juzheng, which he held in his hand. He remained silent for a long time before saying, "The Senior Grand Secretary explains it thus: 'Governance' is to rectify the unrectified—to correct the improper behavior of others. That is governance. Only after correction can there be order. What do you two think of this?"

Zhang Juzheng’s definition and the lecturers’ definitions both revolved around the character for "upright." However, Zhang Juzheng interpreted it as a verb—an act of correction, the exercise of power to rectify. The lecturers, conversely, interpreted it as a noun—the essence of justice, the state of being correct.

Wang and Fan glanced at each other, bowed, and said in unison, "The Senior Grand Secretary is correct."

"Hahaha!" Feng Bao and Zhang Hong, the two eunuchs, did not hide their mockery. People always say eunuchs are sycophants, but aren't these court officials just as subservient to power? They were all of the same ilk, so on what grounds did the civil officials lecture the eunuchs daily about sycophancy?

When the two Grand Secretaries’ lectures diverged from Zhang Juzheng’s understanding, their only response was that single phrase: "The Senior Grand Secretary is correct."

Zhu Yijun smiled.

Feng Bao observed Wang and Fan. While Zhang Juzheng’s lectures and his exchanges with the Emperor were fluid and natural, these two lecturers appeared somewhat constrained.

Zhang Juzheng was the Senior Grand Secretary. The current Cabinet was vastly different from that of the early Ming, which functioned merely as a secretariat assisting the Emperor with documents. Now, the Cabinet held immense authority, acting as the administrative nerve center. The rise of the Cabinet’s power had begun during the Zhengtong era, when the young Emperor’s reign left the state in doubt, leading to the regency of the "Three Yangs." Though it fluctuated during the Jingtai, Tianshun, and Chenghua periods, by the Hongzhi era of the Ming Xiaozong, the Cabinet had become the representative of ministerial power, and the status of the Senior Grand Secretary had become increasingly exalted, eventually becoming the head of all officials.

In the early Ming, the Cabinet only had the power to deliberate and advise, possessing no administrative authority. But by the Wanli era, the Senior Grand Secretary held not only deliberative power but also administrative authority, and even some decision-making powers that once belonged solely to the Emperor had shifted to the Cabinet.

Powerful figures like Yang Bo, Wang Chonggu, Zhang Siwei, and Ge Shouli of the Shanxi Faction could still spar with Zhang Juzheng, but Wang Jiaping and Fan Yingqi lacked the courage to challenge his views. If they did, they would likely be dismissed the very next day for something as trivial as stepping into the office with their left foot first.

Zhu Yijun looked at Wang and Fan and asked, "What is 'Virtue'?"

Wang Jiaping bowed: "Benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and sincerity."

Fan Yingqi bowed: "Gentleness, kindness, respect, frugality, and yielding."

Wang Jiaping continued, "Cultivating the self, regulating the family, governing the state, and bringing peace to the world—all predicated on the investigation of things, the extension of knowledge, the sincerity of intent, and the rectification of the heart. A person's self-cultivation manifests as virtue within and propriety without."

Fan Yingqi added, "Extensive learning, careful reflection, and earnest practice lead to a benevolent heart, predicated on kindness, humility, frugality, and tolerance. To cultivate the masses, lead them with virtue and regulate them with propriety."

It was all just correct, empty rhetoric.

After listening, Zhu Yijun looked at the two lecturers and asked, "The Senior Grand Secretary explains it thus: 'Virtue' is the principle realized through personal practice. One must experience things personally; only the truths gleaned from what one has seen, heard, and thought constitute virtue."

"The principles of human relations must first be embodied in one's own self before they can be used to teach and transform the world. Laws and regulations must first be upheld by oneself before they can be used to bring order to the world. It is said: Virtue is the law within the heart, and the law is the written form of virtue."

"To cultivate oneself with virtue, to govern the state with law, to rectify the improper—this is governing with virtue."

"What do you two Grand Secretaries think?"

Wang and Fan, helpless, bowed and said, "The Senior Grand Secretary is correct."

When "governance" was a noun, the "virtue" derived was also a noun; when "governance" was a verb, the "virtue" derived was also a verb.

"Do you two scholars only know how to say 'The Senior Grand Secretary is correct'?" Zhu Yijun said, sounding quite disappointed. As a ten-year-old emperor, he was eager to learn how to govern, but Wang and Fan seemed too afraid to challenge Zhang Juzheng’s authority.

"Your Majesty is wise," Wang and Fan replied, not knowing how else to respond.

"Hahaha!" Feng Bao and Zhang Hong finally burst into laughter, watching the two embarrassed scholars with undisguised mirth. As internal officials, their duty was to clash with the outer court under the Emperor's instruction. If these officials lost face, Feng Bao and Zhang Hong naturally wouldn't let the opportunity pass. When else should one beat a dog in the water?

"You two scholars, do you hear yourselves?" Feng Bao asked, unable to stop laughing.

"Enough, enough. You two head eunuchs, stop laughing. The Ritual Correction Officers are watching; what kind of decorum is this?" Zhu Yijun stopped their raucous laughter.

The Ritual Correction Officers, who were responsible for enforcing etiquette, immediately stood straight, their faces solemn, their smiles vanishing. These officers were "Great Han Generals," a title belonging to the Embroidered Uniform Guard, specifically tasked with correcting ritual violations. They were rigorously trained and, under normal circumstances, would never laugh. But even they had been laughing at the two Grand Secretaries.

Zhu Yijun looked at the two scholars and asked, "I have a doubt."

"If one governs by virtue, and the gentleman is the one who governs, what happens if the gentleman has no virtue?"

"Or, what if the gentleman does not cultivate virtue, does not discipline himself, does not revere virtue, does not improve himself?"

"To be more precise, if the gentleman treats the world as his own private property, judging right and wrong solely by his own interest; if he is learned, worldly, and sophisticated, skilled at disguise, knowing how to use the rules to seek private gain, benefiting only himself and not the public, neither broad-minded nor resolute, clinging to office and greedy for salary, occupied with private affairs instead of public duties—what then?"

If he were talking to Zhang Juzheng, Zhu Yijun wouldn't need to be so detailed, as Zhang would understand immediately. But with these two, he feared they wouldn't grasp his meaning, so he spelled it out clearly.

The efficiency was clearly low. Zhang Juzheng was a pragmatic official who understood the way of adaptation, while the two scholars before him were "Pure Stream" officials who prized propriety and virtue, and held the idea of adaptation in extreme contempt.

Wang and Fan were silent, their postures slightly unsteady. Was this a topic that could even be discussed? It was a slippery slope they couldn't afford to touch. How could they answer? The Emperor’s question sounded more and more like he was attacking the Shanxi Faction!

Wang Jiaping said firmly, "If a gentleman is confused and acts against the Way, one must dare to confront him, speak of his faults, and not fear punishment—dying for the security of the state! One should not regret such actions; this is what a straight official does. I should be such an official! If a minister lacks virtue, he should be impeached. If the sovereign has..."

Wang Jiaping stuttered to a halt. Fan Yingqi, who was there to support him, stepped forward: "If the sovereign has..."

"The sovereign has... what?" Zhu Yijun asked with a smile.

Wang and Fan realized they had been tricked! The Emperor had been emphasizing that the "gentleman" is the one who governs, defining the gentleman as those who rule the country. But when the word "sovereign" is used in relation to "minister," it refers only to the Emperor!

For thousands of years, the rule of "sovereign and minister" dictated that a son does not speak of a father’s faults, and a minister does not speak of a sovereign’s failings. For example, King Zhou of Shang lost the empire because of Daji; the one kneeling before Yue Fei’s temple is only the minister, not Zhao Gou, because Qin Hui blinded the sovereign; Ming Yingzong Zhu Qizhen’s defeat at Tumu was Wang Zhen’s fault; and Zhu Qizhen’s execution of Yu Qian was blamed on Xu Youzhen.

The faults of these sovereigns were almost always blamed on palace consorts, eunuchs, or sycophantic ministers. The Emperor was always pure and clean.

"If the sovereign has failings, one should remonstrate," Zhu Yijun completed the sentence for them, then asked, "Remonstrance is persuasion. If the minister persuades and the Emperor does not listen, what then?"

"In the forty-fourth year of Jiajing, Hai Rui carried his own coffin to present the 'Memorial on Governance,' angrily rebuking the Emperor for his faults, calling him unfilial and disloyal. My grandfather said Hai Rui wanted to imitate Bi Gan, but I do not wish to be King Zhou of Shang, so I spared his life. When the late Emperor ascended the throne, he granted a general amnesty, and Hai Rui left the prison to serve as a censor again."

"But after the late Emperor ascended the throne, he did not summon his ministers for six years, attending court only to do nothing. If the Emperor does not listen to remonstrance, what should be done?"

Governing by virtue is logically sound, but if the Emperor fails to cultivate virtue, what can be done within the Confucian framework of "sovereign and minister"?

The fact that he hadn't summoned ministers for six years wasn't just Zhu Yijun's claim; it was the remonstrance of Gao Gong and other officials. The Longqing Emperor had spent six years as emperor without summoning his ministers, and when he did attend court, he did so carelessly, often canceling sessions. The officials had tried to persuade him, but failed. Yet, both the Jiajing and Longqing Emperors were still willing to use the imperial seal, so the Ming’s error-correction mechanism could still function. Later, when the Wanli Emperor fought over the succession, he couldn't defeat the officials, so he simply gave up and stopped using the seal altogether.

The officials stopped fighting too—who could they fight? There was no one there. Were they to fight their own wits against the air?

If the Wanli Emperor didn't attend court for thirty years, didn't attend daily meetings, and didn't even use his seal, wouldn't anyone try to persuade him? Many did. The Wanli Emperor adopted the "Three Noes" principle: don't listen, don't look, don't speak. The court came to a near standstill.

Facing the officials' "Memorial on Wine, Lust, Wealth, and Temper," the Wanli Emperor had no solution; he couldn't win. The officials, facing the Emperor’s "Three Noes" strategy, had no solution either; they could only keep persuading.

If they persuade and he doesn't listen, what then?

"One must die in remonstrance!" Wang Jiaping had to answer. The Emperor had a doubt, and as a lecturer, he had to resolve it, but he could only give a vague answer.

Zhu Yijun shook his head: "If one tries to smash one's head against a pillar, the Ritual Correction Officers will stop you, and you will be sent to the Northern Bureau of Investigation for 'indecorous behavior.' Did Hai Rui not carry a coffin to remonstrate, only to be thrown into the Northern Bureau of Investigation and kept there until the general amnesty?"

"Death by remonstrance, death by remonstrance—if he doesn't listen, doesn't look, and doesn't speak, what is the use?"

The Wenhua Hall fell into silence. Only the sound of the wind blowing the curtains reminded everyone that time was passing. The air became heavy, and the atmosphere grew tense. Wang Jiaping and Fan Yingqi said nothing; they could not continue this line of conversation, for to do so would be disloyal and unfilial.

Wang Jiaping roared inwardly: If the Emperor does nothing, if the Emperor does not cultivate virtue, what can be done?

What *could* be done!

Gao Gong’s "Memorial on Five Matters" was the most appropriate! In the sixth month of the sixth year of Longqing, Gao Gong had proposed five points: first, the Emperor must hold court; second, punish the eunuchs for dominating politics; third, dismiss the Directorate of Ceremonial; fourth, return power to the Cabinet; fifth, memorials not reviewed by the Cabinet could not be directly approved by the Emperor.

Of these five, the last was the most taboo, as it implied that without the Cabinet's review, the Emperor's actions were illegal, forcing the Emperor to explain himself. The others could be explained away as political infighting between the Cabinet and the Directorate of Ceremonial, as the ancestral laws of the Hongwu era did not include such things as the Directorate of Ceremonial. But Gao Gong—what was the meaning of that last point?

It had terrified Empress Dowager Li. Especially since this memorial was submitted six days after the Longqing Emperor’s passing, before the seven-day mourning period had even ended!

"You two, shall we ask the Senior Grand Secretary to come?" Zhu Yijun looked at the two stuttering Grand Secretaries and gave them an out, choosing to let them go.

Zhu Yijun was the "breaker of walls" for Zhang Juzheng. These two scholars hadn't even understood the words "governance" and "virtue" themselves; they weren't qualified.