Xie Jin's name would endure through the ages.
He was a rare genius of the Great Ming. Indeed, he had once played a crucial role in steering the course of the great ship that was the empire.
Had Xie Jin not uttered the words "a fine imperial grandson," there was no telling who would have ruled the Great Ming.
Recalling Xie Jin's path as a "scholar prodigy," Zhu Yunwen could not help shaking his head inwardly.
Xie Jin had recited poetry and prose at five, written essays at seven, and read through the Four Books and Five Classics at twelve. At eighteen, he had placed first in the provincial examination. At nineteen, he had ranked tenth in the third class of the Wuchen Examination, received associate jinshi status, and been appointed a Shujishi.
Zhu Yuanzhang had admired Xie Jin's talent, keeping him by his side to advise on confidential affairs and promoting him to Hanlin Academician.
At nineteen, he had already reached heights that countless others could only gaze up at.
Thinking about it, what were nineteen-year-olds doing in later times? Oh, still studying.
Yet holding high office at a young age was not necessarily a blessing. Lacking experience in the world, arrogant and excessively idealistic, Xie Jin had ultimately paid the price.
Within barely two years, he had failed to rise much further in office but had managed to offend plenty of people.
One day, he accused a censor of shirking his duties; the next, he criticized the Ministry of War for negligence. The day after that, he wrote another memorial to pit himself against the big boss, Zhu Yuanzhang.
Before long, Xie Jin had become a man utterly alone.
When Minister of War Shen Qian impeached Xie Jin, not a single person spoke in his defense. Zhu Yuanzhang had little choice but to send him away to conduct inspections in Jiangxi.
Even after leaving the capital, Xie Jin kept stirring things up, until Zhu Yuanzhang ordered him to "shut your doors and study."
Zhu Yuanzhang had also told Xie Jin's father, "Let him return ten years from now; it will not be too late to entrust him with great responsibilities." In other words, Xie Jin was to come back to work after ten years.
As it turned out, Zhu Yuanzhang passed away seven years later. Clearly unwilling to wait out the "ten-year term," Xie Jin hurried to the capital as soon as he heard, using attendance at the funeral as his reason and preparing to rise again.
And so this meeting had come about.
Zhu Yunwen studied Xie Jin carefully. He was short, thin, and unremarkable in appearance.
"This commoner, Xie Jin, bows before Your Majesty."
Xie Jin knelt and called out.
Zhu Yunwen smiled faintly and waved a hand. "Take a seat."
Xie Jin sat down, but perched on only the very edge of the chair.
Zhu Yunwen took no offense. He took out Yuan Tai's impeachment memorial and had Shuangxi pass it to Xie Jin. "Read this before you answer."
Xie Jin hastily accepted the memorial. Upon opening it, his face filled with fear, and he immediately dropped to his knees. "Your subject is guilty."
"Of what offense?" Zhu Yunwen asked.
Cold sweat poured from Xie Jin as he hurriedly replied, "This commoner should not have left home before his mother was buried. That was unfilial."
"If you knew it was unfilial, why did you come to the capital?"
Zhu Yunwen's question was stern.
In ancient times, filial piety was held supreme. If an official's parent died, then regardless of what civil office he held, he had to resign and return home immediately upon learning of the death, observing mourning for twenty-seven months.
There was a specific term for this: Dingyou.
Under normal circumstances, the court was not permitted to forcibly summon someone observing Dingyou to serve in office. If exceptional circumstances required such a summons, it was called being "Recalled from Mourning."
Being "Recalled from Mourning" was rare. Whenever it happened, fierce attacks from the civil officials were inevitable.
For instance, Zhang Juzheng, the Great Ming's most formidable chief grand secretary, had been branded "unfilial" for being "Recalled from Mourning." Even after his death, Wanli had continued to hold the matter against him, enough to make Zhang Juzheng grind his teeth in fury.
Xie Jin hurriedly kowtowed and cried, "Your Majesty, this commoner also came to the capital for the funeral out of filial devotion!"
"Oh?"
Zhu Yunwen stared at Xie Jin.
Xie Jin cried out again, "Though Taizu and this commoner were sovereign and subject in name, his kindness was that of a father to his son. In coming to mourn my father, I too have shown unmistakable filial devotion."
A smile appeared at the corner of Zhu Yunwen's mouth.
Indeed, while dining in the Great Kitchen Western Chamber, Zhu Yuanzhang had once spoken of himself and Xie Jin as "father and son," encouraging Xie Jin to "hold nothing back and speak plainly for me to hear."
That had led to the historically famous ten-thousand-word Memorial from the Great Kitchen Western Chamber.
Zhu Yunwen gave Xie Jin an appreciative look and nodded slightly. "Taizu valued you greatly. Now that I have just assumed power, I do need capable men. Xie Jin, enter the Hanlin Academy and serve as a Hanlin expositor."
Overjoyed, Xie Jin immediately bowed in thanks. "Thank you for Your Majesty's boundless grace."
Zhu Yunwen nodded. "Rise."
Suppressing his excitement, Xie Jin stood.
The Hanlin Academy could be considered the emperor's inner circle, and its highest official was the Hanlin Academician, whose actual authority was almost equivalent to that of a chancellor.
Entering the Hanlin Academy meant placing one foot inside the empire's center of power.
"Given the present state of the court, what policies do you consider best?"
Zhu Yunwen asked.
After a moment's thought, Xie Jin lowered his hands respectfully and said, "Your Majesty, in your subject's opinion, we should stabilize the court internally and rally the officials, while curtailing the princes' power externally and consolidating military authority."
Zhu Yunwen glanced at Xie Jin. "Be more specific."
Xie Jin replied solemnly, "Taizu was harsh, and the officials lived in terror. Even the ministers of the boards and departments remained constantly uneasy. Your Majesty is benevolent, and the officials have long awaited your reign. If Your Majesty governs with leniency and benevolence and rectifies harmful policies, you will surely win their hearts. Once their hearts turn to you, the court will stand as secure as Mount Tai."
"As for external affairs, although the Nine Frontier Kings personally appointed by Taizu command large armies, they do not rely on their troops to defy the throne. Their strength rests solely on the system of princely fiefs. Breaking this impasse would not be difficult."
Zhu Yunwen looked at the confident Xie Jin and asked, "How would you break it?"
Xie Jin answered directly, "Relocate their fiefs and steadily curtail their power."
Zhu Yunwen sank into thought.
Beside him, Xie Jin continued, "Your subject has heard that the Prince of Gu, the Prince of Liao, and the Prince of Su repeatedly petitioned to have their fiefs relocated, only to be refused by Taizu. Now that Your Majesty holds the realm in your hands, you may extend your grace to the frontier kings by choosing suitable places for them to live as their fiefs, setting an example for the others."
Zhu Yunwen nodded slightly, acknowledging this option.
In truth, the troops commanded by the frontier kings were all the court's soldiers. They were placed under the kings' command only to resist Northern Yuan cavalry and defend the frontier.
If the kings were relocated inland, they would lose their military authority and naturally cease to pose any threat.
Yet some men could not be dealt with simply by moving them elsewhere.
The Prince of Ning, with his numerous troops and generals, was one. The Prince of Yan, skilled in campaigns and battle, was another.
Without waiting for Zhu Yunwen to ask, Xie Jin said plainly, "Among the Nine Frontier Kings, the princes of Ning, Qin, and Yan possess the largest and strongest armies. But the Prince of Qin died some time ago, and his successor is merely a child, hardly a threat. The Prince of Ning commands eighty thousand elite soldiers, but he resides beyond the frontier. Without supplies from the court, he could not last long."
Zhu Yunwen frowned slightly, unconvinced by Xie Jin's armchair strategy.
Although the Prince of Ning lived beyond the frontier and depended heavily on the court for supplies, unless a blockade was imposed in time, he could lead his forces south, break through Xifengkou Pass or Shanhai Pass, and link up directly with Beiping Prefecture.
Historically, Zhu Di had seized the Prince of Ning and brought his troops to Beiping, bolstering his own strength.
Xie Jin focused solely on the Prince of Yan, Zhu Di, calling him "foremost among the princes" and extremely difficult to deal with. He proposed "benevolent governance first, followed by pressure through military force."
Smiling, Zhu Yunwen praised Xie Jin's views and encouraged him to serve the court diligently.
After Xie Jin left, Zhu Yunwen remained silent for a long time before finally sighing. "One man's vision is still too narrow. It seems the time has come to establish the Grand Secretariat."
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