"In truth, what good strategy do I, Your Humble Minister, possess? If one speaks of clumsy thods, indeed I have thought of one. If the Emperor wishes to be inford about all matters of the court, he should let officials submit secret morials."
Gu Chengyu smiled slightly; the power of the realm, wielded by one alone, without falling into others’ hands, is the wish of every Emperor.
By initiating secret morials, officials, especially colleagues, could report on each other. Thus, even if the Emperor does not approve the morials presented by the Cabinet daily, he could rest assured. With mutual supervision, who would dare commit acts of disloyalty behind the Emperor’s back?
Courtiers openly speak their minds, paths of discussion widen, and those who usually dare not write on morial papers can directly report to the Emperor.
Upon hearing this, the Emperor grew increasingly fascinated, "Oh? Gu Aiqing, quickly elaborate in detail; I am keen to hear more."
"Why not select a few favored officials on the court and let them use secret morials for important matters? These secret morials need not go through the Ministry of Communication but be submitted directly to you, Emperor. The contents of the morial are known only to you and the reporting official; no one else can know."
The morials of the Dayan Dynasty are first submitted by officials to the Ministry of Communication, then forwarded to the Cabinet, where the Cabinet drafts its response before presenting it to the Emperor. There are quite a few drawbacks here; the morial goes through two stages before reaching the Emperor’s hands.
If any mistakes arise in between, and the morial fails to reach the Emperor, the reporting official suffers in silence. Furthermore, having been through nurous hands, what confidential content can possibly be inscribed upon that morial?
Nowadays, with the Cabinet wielding power, even if soone wants to indict, they dare not inscribe it in the morial. Those who present at the morning court are truly courageous, but that is only for officials attending the court; lower-ranked officials do not have such power. They cannot even see the Emperor!
As for those local officials, if following the normal process, the contents of the morial are also screened by the Cabinet.
"Indeed! Do not stop, continue speaking," the Emperor listened and found the thod remarkable. But who should be chosen as these close individuals? And how does he ensure that these few do not deceive him? If there are only a few, it definitely won’t work; it seems the number needs to be increased.
The Emperor listened to Gu Chengyu’s analysis and had his own plans in mind.
"Policy benefits lie in not just one aspect: first, the Emperor can learn about the lower matters quickly by prioritizing the secret morials for his reading. Second, with a confidentiality system in place, officials dare not write certain matters in morials but can narrate them within secret morials."
Gu Chengyu did not ntion another point: to better consolidate imperial power. Ministers eager for the Emperor’s trust would surely want to express themselves fully, thus making the matters reported in the secret morials more nurous.
Upon hearing this, the Emperor was greatly satisfied, beaming with delight, laughing heartily, "Haha! Gu Aiqing truly has outstanding talent! This matter of secret morials is indeed a wise strategy."
Zhang Hai and Min Feng, kneeling outside the study, saw earlier that Xiao Quanzi was guarding the Imperial Study Room’s entrance; now they heard the Emperor’s joyful laughter. Within the Imperial Study Room, only Gu Chengyu and the Emperor are present; could it be that Gu Chengyu said sothing that delighted the Emperor?
Both felt mixed emotions; it seems Gu Chengyu has the Emperor’s favor on his side. If they go up against Gu Chengyu, wouldn’t it be asking for trouble?
Gu Chengyu saw how pleased the Emperor was, but he had so unsavory truths he had to disclose.
If the Emperor were young and healthy, the thod would undeniably be excellent. Although the workload for the Emperor would increase, the officials beneath dare not deceive, and the Emperor would naturally relish it.
However, the Emperor is now in the twilight of his years, reducing the thod’s effectiveness. Certainly, it still has so effect—it’s impossible for there to be no benefits.
"A wise bird chooses its tree to perch on," said those officials forming factions, wasn’t it because the Emperor is aging, and it won’t be many years before a Crown Prince would succeed him?
Those courtiers only think about quickly choosing sides, hoping to gain the new Emperor’s favor in the future. Their loyalty to the current Emperor is not so high.
Moreover, with the Cabinet’s current power, officials led by Xia Qing certainly would not comply with the Emperor’s wishes.
If the secret morial system is implented, then the Cabinet’s draft authority would beco void. The Cabinet officials would lose their real power, how could they let that go easily?
So, the secret morial system only suits the Emperor’s confidants. Court relationships are complex, how many confidants could the Emperor have? Moreover, even those confidants have nurous thoughts. Thus, in truth, the benefits of secret morials are not great, but there are so considerable advantages.
However, for such reasons, Gu Chengyu could not disclose them to the Emperor; ultimately, he has his own personal motives. If the Cabinet loses power, it would be very unfavorable for him. He entered Hanlin Academy to prepare for entering the Cabinet in the future. Without the draft authority, the Cabinet becos an empty establishnt; there would be no point in him joining the Cabinet.
Moreover, if Xia Qing loses his power, the Emperor would no longer need to support officials to oppose Xia Qing, and he would miss an exceptionally good opportunity.
Gu Chengyu admits his desire for power is considerable, but once entering the court, who wouldn’t desire high rank and great rewards?
Thus he proposed this matter not just seeking personal gain, but also to prevent the Cabinet from losing authority; in the future when he joins the Cabinet, he would need real power.
"But if the Emperor wants to implent it, there will be many obstacles," Gu Chengyu thoughtfully considered, pondering how to present this matter’s drawbacks to the Emperor.
Whereas the Emperor was extrely pleased just a mont ago, Gu Chengyu’s words brought him back to calmness. The Emperor is no fool; with careful thought, he could identify the difficulties within.
Among the Six Ministers, he only places a bit more trust in Shen Shikang. In previous instances of curbing Xia Qing’s power, Shen Shikang contributed a lot. But Shen Shikang is also the uncle of the second Prince, certainly biased toward him, and with the princes all grown, many court officials support Prince factions.
The Emperor sifted through the court officials again, yet found none trustworthy. Gu Chengyu, adept at listening and observing, noticed the Emperor’s furrowed brow in thought, knowing that the Emperor now faced a lack of useful personnel.
Among the various ranks of court officials, most have chosen factions; those who haven’t are of little capability, shunned by the factions. Pure Ministers do exist but are few! The Emperor, being skeptical, might even suspect them to belong to other factions!
"To report to the Emperor, implenting secret morials is not devoid of drawbacks. If nurous officials use secret morials, without knowing each other’s contents, fearing so officials might get slandered without ans to defend themselves. Furthermore, such officials potentially believe they have a close relationship with you, Emperor, and use it to blackmail other officials, requiring your careful discernnt, Emperor."
Pausing briefly, Gu Chengyu continued, "Additionally, colleagues might harbor suspicion and mutual distrust, which also harms the implentation of governnt policy."
The severity of these relationships, Gu Chengyu naturally has to highlight. Otherwise, should any errors arise in the future, he would bear the consequences when the Emperor holds accountability.
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