Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 118: It’s good to have one every ten days, why change it?
In order to show the royal family's respect for their teachers and to cultivate the traditional etiquette of respecting teachers among the princes, Zhu Changluo granted Sun Chengzong the opportunity to stay in the Forbidden City and have dinner with the two princes after the morning classes.

"Fifth brother, you go back first. The emperor has a few questions to ask Master Sun." After the meal, Zhu Youxiao wiped his mouth and face with the warm and wet towel handed to him by the eunuch to complete the face cleansing.

"My royal brother is really studious." Zhu Youjian shrank his head and thought: Just don't hold me back.

The princes still had classes in the afternoon, but Sun Chengzong was not the one to attend.

In order to ensure that the princes receive a comprehensive and adequate education, Zhu Changluo ordered the Cabinet, Six Ministries, Censorate, Dali Temple, Tongzhengshisi and other confidential departments to take turns sending their chief and deputy officials to the palace to give the princes more practical theoretical lessons.

Since the school schedule is very tight, every break time is precious.

Zhu Youjian quickly used chopsticks to put the remaining rice in the bowl into his mouth. After confirming that there was no more food left in the bowl, Zhu Youjian quickly bowed and left.

"Master Sun, the emperor wants to assign me a task." Zhu Youxiao said to Sun Chengzong.

"Assignment? What assignment?" Sun Chengzong had already finished his lunch and was sitting at another desk organizing the content to be taught tomorrow.

"Master Sun. My father wants to hand over Tianjin to me." Zhu Youxiao sat opposite Sun Chengzong, his face full of anxiety and hesitation.

"External appointment?" Sun Chengzong shuddered with fear: The emperor wants to depose the eldest son and enthronize the youngest? This is absolutely unacceptable!

Sun Chengzong quickly calmed down. While quickly concentrating his energy and thinking of countermeasures, he comforted him in a gentle but powerful voice: "Your Highness, rest assured. I and all the loyal and upright people in the court will not let this happen."

"Master Sun, do you also think that your students are not capable enough?" Zhu Youxiao's eyes darkened.

Sun Chengzong and Zhu Youxiao were thinking completely different things: This was not a question of whether he was competent or not, this was the foundation of the country.

"Your Highness is very talented. As long as you study hard, you will achieve something." Sun Chengzong continued to encourage.

"Master Sun, do you think that I need to improve my knowledge before I can share my father's worries?" Zhu Youxiao looked puzzled.

Sun Chengzong was equally bewildered, so he decided to start from the source, clarifying the entire matter before making any plans. "When and how did Your Highness manage to gain the favor of His Majesty?"

"Father isn't angry," Zhu Youxiao said, skipping the entire banquet at Xu's residence and focusing on the journey back to the palace. "Father said, 'To govern a great country, one must first govern a small area.' That's why he sent me to Tianjin to be the 'prefect.'"

"Where is the prefecture in Tianjin? There is only a guard in Tianjin." Sun Chengzong was puzzled.

"My father is planning to build a new port city in Tianjin starting next year, but the specific reason has not yet been announced. He wants me to do this thing from scratch." Zhu Youxiao said.

"It's not a title outside the capital." Sun Chengzong felt his face getting hot while breathing a sigh of relief: I don't think there is a way to make a king in the capital.

Sun Chengzong was a man of profound skill, and he quickly and quietly dispelled the embarrassment. He coughed twice and put on a solemn expression, "Then there's no problem."

"Master Sun just said, 'I won't let this happen.'" Zhu Youxiao has a good memory.

"It's too early." Sun Chengzong followed up on Zhu Youxiao's previous remarks and said, "Your Highness has only been in elementary school for a short time and should continue to study the teachings of the sages. If you gain control of a place, you might mismanage it."

"So I would like to invite Master Sun to go to Tianjin with me. If I can get your help, I will definitely be able to serve as the prefect." Zhu Youxiao then explained his intention. "Anyway, Master, you don't have any important duties. Teaching is just teaching wherever you are."

Me! What do you mean it's not an important errand? Sun Chengzong was completely offended by this unintentional remark, but on second thought, it seemed to make sense. Truth hurts the most.

"The emperor has the final say on this matter." Sun Chengzong did not object. He believed that practical teaching was a better way to educate than to teach by words and deeds.

"I will go and beg my father." Zhu Youxiao's eyes were full of eagerness.

"Your Highness. I have something to say to Your Highness." Sun Chengzong guessed that the emperor would not refuse this request, but some things are better said in advance.

"Master Sun, please speak." Zhu Youxiao sat upright. Zhu Youxiao knew from Sun Chengzong's expression that what Sun Chengzong was about to say was a very serious topic.

"Your Highness may ask His Majesty for anything, whether people or property. However, you may only retain power temporarily if His Majesty grants it to you," Sun Chengzong said sternly. "Once the matter is settled, you must immediately return the power. You must not cling to it."

"Master Sun, what you mean is that after Tianjin Port City is completed, I must return it to my father?" Zhu Youxiao smiled slightly and said with a maturity beyond his years, "Master Sun, let alone my lack of accomplishment, even if I built a prosperous city from scratch, it would only be the work of a city or a piece of land. How could I be greedy?"

"Your Highness is so wise and sharp-witted that I am truly impressed." Sun Chengzong didn't know what was going on in the palace. He just felt that the student in front of him was growing too fast.

------

"The Prime Minister is here too?" Minister of War Cui Jingrong, who was sorting through military textbooks in the right wing of the Imperial Palace, looked at Fang Congzhe as he stepped over the threshold and asked with a chuckle, "Weren't you granted a sedan chair in the Forbidden City by the Emperor? Why are you walking here?"

"Don't mention it," Fang Congzhe waved his hand, his face etched with embarrassment. "I was naturally overjoyed to receive such a bounty, but one day, while swaggering through the Forbidden City in my sedan chair, I ran into the Emperor. Guess what?"

"What else can you do? Get out of the sedan chair and ask for the emperor's well-being before continuing on your journey." Cui Jingrong took a sip of the lukewarm tea. "The tea in the palace is always better than at home."

"Oh. Of course I have to get out of the sedan chair to greet you, but the emperor isn't riding in a sedan chair at all. He's strolling around the Forbidden City with Wang Zhangyin and Wei Chao Bingbi. How can the emperor be walking while I'm being carried?" Fang Congzhe was chatting with Cui Jingrong when the Minister of Justice Huang Kezan and the Minister of Revenue Li Ruhua also arrived. With one minister and three ministers gathered together, those who didn't know would think something big had happened.

"Oh. Prime Minister Fang and Minister Cui are here too?" Li Ruhua was older and had more experience, so no one cared when he greeted them in a half-joking tone.

"Hello, both of you." Huang Kezan bowed politely.

"Are you all here to avoid the midday court?" Cui Jingrong looked at his colleagues with interest.

"It should be Minister Cui, right? Logically speaking, you were here just the day before yesterday, so it should be the Minister's turn to teach the Ministry of War class, right?" Li Ruhua said.

"Brother Maofu, why do I remember that the Ministry of Revenue class is the last one this afternoon?" Fang Congzhe asked back.

"The imperial edict says 'no excuse for not attending court'. And teaching the princes isn't one of those 'excuses.'" Li Ruhua spread his hands. "My old arms and legs can't stand for three hours a day."

"This isn't the way to conduct court. Normal official business will be delayed," Huang Kezan sighed. "The Emperor didn't come yesterday, and he hasn't come today. He's been making excuses. This isn't even a court meeting." As he spoke, Cui Jingrong's gaze passed through the gap between the teacups and fixed on Fang Congzhe's aged face. "The Emperor is battling it out with the Imperial Academy and the Imperial Academy." After taking a sip of his tea, Cui Jingrong withdrew his gaze.

"Prime Minister, you are the backbone of us all." Huang Kezan walked up to Fang Congzhe and bowed. "You must come up with a plan for the three dynasties."

"What can I do?" Fang Congzhe is an old and shrewd man. He never wants to get involved in such thankless tasks that will always offend one side.

"Let's write a joint petition." Li Ruhua's voice floated over from the side.

"The Cabinet will lead the charge, unite with the Nine Ministers, and submit a memorial to the Emperor explaining the pros and cons." Cui Jingrong put down his teacup. "What do you all think?" He addressed it as "you all," but only looked at Fang Congzhe.

"Count me in." Huang Kezan jumped out and expressed his opinion when Fang Congzhe's mouth moved slightly and he was about to speak.

In this way, the three ministers present reached a unified opinion.

"Submitting a memorial is no problem," Fang Congzhe sighed and nodded, "but the question is what to write? After all, this is an ancestral precedent."

"Skinning and strawing a person and putting him in the county office as a public display was an ancestral custom," said Huang Kezan, the Minister of Justice, with a rather humanitarian tone. "Wasn't it abolished because it was too cruel?"

"This isn't a matter of ancestral rule." Fang Congzhe paused, then changed his previous evasive attitude and said bluntly, "I want to ask which side you all have decided to stand on in this matter?"

Fang Congzhe's eyes burned fiercely, like a completely different person. He knew full well that at this point, he and the cabinet he led could no longer remain on the sidelines. If he disagreed with the joint petition, not only would the six ministries and nine ministers, but the ministers before him would certainly abandon the cabinet and act on their own. Rather than passively accepting a fait accompli, it would be better to seize the initiative from the outset.

Moreover, the experience since the new emperor ascended the throne told him that no matter how he hid, the emperor would pull him out to express his position.

"Which side?" Li Ruhua shook his graying beard and threw the question back. "Which side do you think we can stand on?"

"No matter what, official duties must continue," Cui Jingrong took over, skipping the topic of "taking sides" and focusing on the actual business. "The chieftains from the three southwestern provinces who were summoned to Liao have already assembled near Shanhaiguan, and a number of matters await the Ministry of War's seal. I imagine the Ministry of Revenue is similar."

"It's just money and food." At this point, Li Ruhua's face grew even more melancholy. "The national mourning has almost used up all the money in the Taicang warehouse." Whenever Li Ruhua mentioned money, he would bring it up and whine about poverty. He rambled on for a long time before finally getting to the point: "I plan to find a time to see the emperor and ask him to give me some more money."

"What's the point of just handing out silver? Can it even feed you?" Cui Jingrong sighed. "Xiong Tingbi sends a petition to the Ministry of War every two weeks, complaining about the rising prices of rice and flour in Liaodong. In the past two or three months, prices in Liaodong have been rising steadily, by almost 30%. As you all know, Xiong Tingbi has a bad mouth! Sigh!"

Huang Kezan tapped the table with his knuckles and reminded them, "Is this the time to talk about this? Your Highnesses will be in class in two quarters of an hour."

"After all this talk, I just want to say one thing: we can't hold court anymore. Ten-day court sessions are fine, why change them?" Cui Jingrong tactfully expressed his position. "Now, my two assistant ministers and I have to take our official duties home every day. I haven't done that in a long time." Cui Jingrong braked the car just in time.

"Oh!" Huang Kezan chuckled. The Ministry of Justice kept the files on criminal officials, and he knew that Cui Jingrong had recently sent someone to contact the official in charge of the Jiaofang Division, asking him to help remove the slave status of a famous prostitute.

"Let's take things one step at a time. Should we start with this aspect in our memorial?" Li Ruhua suggested, "Let's submit a joint memorial simply to mention the busy schedule of each ministry. What do you think?"

"Don't you make decisions or offer suggestions?" Huang Kezan asked.

"No need. Just state the facts in the joint memorial." Fang Congzhe thought: The emperor probably already has an idea, and he is just waiting for a way out.

"What about the Ministry of Rites? The Ministry of Rites' opinion is crucial in this matter." Li Ruhua asked.

"Xu Libu? Just look at his deep eye sockets and you'll know." Fang Congzhe shrugged and said.

------

"Minister of Revenue Li Ruhua requests an audience!" The door of the Southern Study was open, and the eunuch who delivered the message had already delivered the message and received a response, but the eunuch standing at the door of the Southern Study still called out Li Ruhua's name in a very formal manner.

"Announce." A voice that was obviously not in the best spirits came from the depths of the hall.

After entering the palace, Li Ruhua found the emperor struggling with two small pieces of iron. "Your Highness, Li Ruhua, pays homage to the Emperor!"

"Get up." Zhu Changluo nodded, then said to Wei Chao, "Bring a stool for Minister Li."

After a while, Wei Chao placed a padded stool behind Li Ruhua. "Master Li, please sit down."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

"Thank you, Wei Bingbi."

"Tell me. What's the matter?" Zhu Changluo continued to struggle with the iron block in his hand.

"The Late Emperor" Li Ruhua began with a complaint as usual.

"Stop!" Zhu Changluo stopped him. "Every time you come to me to ask for money, you always mention my father, which only adds to my sadness." Zhu Changluo pretended to be a filial son. But in fact, his only impression of Emperor Wanli was the portrait hanging in the ancestral temple. "How much do you want? Just tell me."

Li Ruhua didn't blush and said directly, "Your Majesty, please allocate 200,000 taels of silver to reward the chieftains in the southwest. This will prevent their soldiers from plundering the villagers."

"Do they still have this bad habit?" Zhu Changluo put down the iron block in his hand, took the dry towel handed to him by the eunuch and wiped his head.

"Except for the female chieftain Qin Liangyu who was strict in ruling her subordinates and the White Spear Soldiers who had a solemn military discipline, the other chieftains' soldiers all had a precedent of plundering the people to pay their salaries," Li Ruhua replied.

"Wang An, write a note and have the Internal Transport Warehouse transfer 200,000 taels to the Ministry of Revenue. The Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War will discuss how to spend the money." Zhu Changluo wasted no time. "We will not pursue the past, but if similar incidents occur again after the food and wages are fully provided, we will severely punish them."

"I obey your order." Wang An took out a piece of white paper and began to draft the order.

"On behalf of the various chieftains and the people of Liaodong, I thank the Emperor for His Majesty's divine grace." Li Ruhua said this, but inwardly he wondered: Severe punishment? Emperors of all generations prioritized the military over the people. Even Emperor Xiaozong Hongzhi, faced with a case of border soldiers claiming credit for killing innocent people, personally intervened in the trial, exonerating them on the grounds of insufficient evidence. While Liao was stable now, a counterattack seemed elusive. If the case were brought to the Emperor, it would likely be dismissed with a vengeance.

(End of this chapter)