CHAPTER 377: CHAPTER 167: THE PEOPLE OF THE WORLD, EACH WITH THEIR OWN FUTURE (PLEASE SUBSCRIBE)_2

Power division is inevitable.

Thus, later on, civil servants followed suit. With the Emperor centralizing power, they ceaselessly submitted petitions, passing off matters to the Emperor to handle. Unable to endure this, the Emperor was forced to delegate authority.

Just as the current Court eliminated the Prime Minister position, the Cabinet was still born.

Acquiring power is always just a small part of centralization. How to redistribute power and use it to get things done—that’s the most difficult part.

After all, power can be taken through force, but one can’t force people to handle affairs diligently and properly with the sword.

Because there are too many matters under heaven, it is impossible to supervise each individually. Doing so would increase the consumption of manpower and resources. Besides, who will watch over those tasked with supervision?

Even the most flawless system requires human execution.

With human rule, naturally, there’s much room for manipulation.

Therefore, whether it’s the Prime Minister or the Emperor, the most important quality isn’t capability but "evenness."

The sage’s subtle words about profound righteousness have already exhausted the very essence of governance.

To be even is to balance all parties, to quell disputes...

When all under heaven is stable, everyone remains within the order; even when it’s time to abide by the rules, they are followed. Once order is lost, it becomes every man for himself, with rituals collapsing and music corrupting.

Ritual, in fact, is also order.

At this moment, Magistrate He couldn’t be bothered with maintaining dignity and rituals, and said, "Gongming, I’ve always been practical and not one for idle talks. I prefer to work at the local level, establishing a heart for heaven and earth, setting a life for the people..."

Xu Qing couldn’t help but chuckle, but regarding the matter of his future, even someone like Magistrate He couldn’t escape convention.

After all, the whole world is just a stage of straw-hatted players.

In his past life, Xu Qing had even heard of local bigwigs playing the game Honor of Kings.

Xu Qing quickly interrupted Magistrate He’s righteously-acted performance, saying, "Have you ever considered, sir, since even the position of governor has been put aside without discussion by the Grand Secretary, do you think the currently vacant Governor and other high offices will continue following the example of the Yingtian Inspector?"

"The Governor’s office is a permanent position, unlike the inspector and governor general. How could it remain unappointed?" Mr. He, after all, was an old hand in the bureaucratic game, grasping the implication behind Xu Qing’s words.

Beneath the Governor, there are the Assistant Governors and counselors. Without an inspector or governor, the Assistant Governor naturally holds the most power in local civil affairs.

The question is how to transfer the current Assistant Governor and clear the way for his own promotion.

But the idea seems sound.

As long as there is no Governor above him, even if he is only an Assistant Governor, he still has the Governor’s powers. By working hard for one or two years, then pushing a bit further, becoming the Governor would not be impossible.

But the Governor and the governor general are different.

The appointments and dispatches for the latter two depend entirely on the moods of the Cabinet and the Emperor.

The Grand Secretary could act on his own and assign Zhang Shilun to South Zhili, but Court struggles call for compromise. A step back by the Grand Secretary may well be for advancements elsewhere.

Xu Qing thought to himself that Mr. He still lacked experience. The Wanli Emperor ignored court sessions and administrative duties for decades, and for many official positions to remain vacant for a few years was common.

He said, "The precedent set by the ancestors is not a law, the change in heaven is not to be feared. Now that we have begun reforms, what is there that is established? The key to this matter depends on whether the Grand Secretary is willing to help you, and moreover, if the people above Lord Prefecture are willing to exert themselves."

Magistrate He said, "I have enough backing behind me, but Gongming, you have to help as well. Otherwise, I cannot be certain."

He knew that for matters in the Southeast, Xu Qing could certainly speak on his behalf to the Grand Secretary.

Although it might be a bit irregular for him to be promoted to Assistant Governor, it wasn’t excessively so. After all, Magistrate He had contributions for the Lotus Sect and the change from rice to mulberry cultivation, and for the cadastral survey of lands.

His earlier mention of the Governor’s position, in fact, was aiming for the Assistant Governor’s slot. This is called aiming for the higher position to secure the one in the middle.

However, he also coveted the power of the Governor.

The desire for power is a basic lesson in officialdom.

If you don’t want to be promoted and wield power, what else could you be planning—rebellion?

Xu Qing smiled: "This matter, to say it’s difficult is difficult, to say it’s easy is easy. But, it may require some inconvenience for Lord Prefecture."

"Not inconvenient at all, not at all. Gongming, you know me, I’ve always been one to value concrete achievements, everything I do is but to seek welfare for the people of the world," Magistrate He immediately waved his hands and spoke with moral righteousness.

Xu Qing really wanted to retort, ’the people of the world’—can you, Old He, truly bear such a burden?

He continued, "Lord Prefecture, this matter only requires you to ask my father-in-law for a favor, to submit a petition. But the two of you have grievances; if he makes it difficult for you, you’ll need to make an apology."

Magistrate He didn’t mind apologizing. He asked, "The petition content shouldn’t be to recommend me or to ask the Court not to appoint a Governor, should it?"

Xu Qing nodded, "The key to this matter lies in, before my father-in-law leaves office, he submits a petition to Your Majesty, requesting a cadastral survey of all the lands in the South Zhili prefectures. Especially, he should ask the Court to appoint a deeply respected Minister as the Governor, to personally oversee this matter. This move is for the welfare of all people under heaven, and I doubt any elder Minister would dare to shirk such responsibility."

Magistrate He was startled at first, but then quickly caught on and slapped his thigh, "Gongming, this move is brilliant!"

He understood too well.

If it’s clearly stated that becoming the Governor entails the cadastral survey of South Zhili’s lands, who else would want to step into this pit of fire?

The task of surveying the lands in South Zhili, compared to Yingtian Prefecture and Jiangning Prefecture, is incredibly more challenging.

It is clear that this is a no-win situation; entering it, one cannot emerge unscathed.

The key lies in how to tightly bind the Governor’s position with the cadastral survey.

As the Imperial Censor responsible for local supervision, Mr. Feng naturally has a significant say. His submitted petitions are naturally expected to be given considerable attention by the Cabinet and the Emperor.

Moreover, the Grand Secretary needs to firmly establish this matter.

But for the Grand Secretary, whether it’s the maritime affairs of the Southeast, the mulberry cultivation, or the cadastral surveys of the two prefectures... these already fruitful projects must be protected, so that no one comes to disrupt them.