Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 97: The Way of the King, the Virtue of the Emperor

"Father! I dare not." Zhu Youxiao stood up, stepped back, and knelt on the ground.

Zuo Zhuan, Duke Xuan's Third Year: "The Prince of Chu attacked the Luhun Rong and went to Luo to inspect the troops on the Zhou border. King Ding sent Wang Sun Man to congratulate the Prince of Chu, who inquired about the size and importance of the tripod."

Yu cast the Nine Cauldrons, which were regarded as national treasures by the Three Dynasties. The King of Chu asked for the tripods, intending to replace Zhou with Chu.

So to Zhu Youxiao, his father's words sounded very serious, reminding him not to cross the line.

However, Zhu Changluo had no such meaning. With the development and changes of the times, many words have taken on new meanings. In the modern context, "asking for the throne" is no longer a synonym for "wolf-like ambition," but rather a positive connotation, meaning someone who is unwilling to be left behind and has great ambitions.

"Jie was a corrupt official, so the tripod was moved to Shang. King Zhou of Shang was tyrannical, so the tripod was moved to Zhou. If the sun and the moon lose their virtue in the sky, the sacred artifacts will change. This is the way of heaven. There is nothing wrong with you having the ambition to aspire to the throne. You are my father's eldest son. If you don't even have the heart to aspire to the throne, my father will be disappointed. On the first day of the winter month, my father will hold the emperor's sword at Chengtian Gate and ask if you can hold it in his place." Zhu Changluo helped Zhu Youxiao up.

"Your son, your son," Zhu Youxiao said, his face filled with shame. He understood the implication of his father's words: his father was not afraid of him asking for the throne, but was only afraid that he would not dare to ask.

"You were right to answer no then. If you had said yes, you would have been arrogant. The tripod represents the virtues of a nation and the way of a ruler. Only by understanding the weight of the tripod can one know where to direct the sword. To be a qualified monarch, challenging the tripod is essential." Zhu Changluo weighed his words carefully. "But there is only one sword of the Son of Heaven, so you are the only one in the world who can challenge me for the tripod. If anyone else dares to challenge the tripod, I will execute him and his entire clan."

Zhu Changluo omitted a sentence that was unnecessary to say now: If any member of the royal family has the ambition to seize the throne, his fiefdom will be stripped away, and he will be given poisoned wine and white silk.

"Your son will accept my advice." Zhu Youxiao trembled in shock at his father's cold eyes.

"Hmm." Zhu Changluo suddenly smiled. "That's the truth, but what exactly is the virtue of a country and a ruler? I've been pondering it all the time."

"I just took this opportunity to teach you the art of controlling people, but a technique is just a technique after all. If a monarch only knows how to control people but does not know why he controls them, it will either lead to harsh rule or lazy rule. I think you also realized this point and asked about the way to be a monarch." Zhu Changluo said.

"Your Majesty's thoughts are far less than yours. Your Majesty only remembers that you said loyalty and filial piety are both the way of a minister, and where there is the way of a minister, there must be the corresponding way of a ruler. And your Majesty called 'controlling people' a skill, so I asked this question." Zhu Youxiao shook his head and said frankly.

"That's fine. It doesn't matter where you start. What matters is that you're thinking, and that's good," Zhu Changluo encouraged. "I've been a passive Crown Prince for over twenty years. Besides eating and sleeping, the thing I do most is thinking," Zhu Changluo said, giving himself a compliment.

"Emperor Jiajing and the late emperor were both geniuses who were proficient in the art of controlling people. But what was the final result?" Zhu Changluo asked.

"Your son doesn't know." Zhu Youjiao has only been studying for a short time and has only learned the words of sages. No one has told him about the various problems in the late Jiaqing and Wanli dynasties.

"The result is what I just described as harsh and lazy governance," Zhu Changluo elaborated.
"Emperor Jiajing employed Yan Song as his chief minister, but he was not partial and dictatorial, inciting conflict between the Qing faction and the Yan faction. Therefore, even though he did not attend court for twenty years, he did not lose power. This was the pinnacle of his ability to control people. However, during these twenty years, he exploited the people's wealth to build palaces and temples, and to refine elixirs and medicines. While not lazy, he was harsh."

"The late emperor was both lazy and harsh. Ever since the death of Prime Minister Zhang Juzheng in the tenth year of the Wanli reign, factional strife within the court has never ceased. There were those who opposed Zhang Juzheng and those who supported him, the Prince's faction and the Prince of Fu's faction—the court was rife with factions, and the struggle intensified. Factionalism grew stronger day by day, and they relentlessly oppressed each other. The late emperor, however, indulged in wine, women, and music, and was obsessed with money. For thirty years, he did not attend court, and the empire was in ruins." "Why did the Jiannu cause such a threat? In the twenty-seventh year of the Wanli reign, Gao Huai, the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Kitchen, entered Liaodong to mine and collect taxes. Arriving in Kaiyuan, he imposed harsh and harsh demands, sparking a popular uprising. Soon after, miners in Jinzhou and Fuzhou mutinied. Gao Huai's harassment in Liaodong severely undermined the foundations of Liaodong's defense. But the late emperor turned a deaf ear and allowed it to continue. It wasn't until the thirty-sixth year of the Wanli reign that he ordered Gao Huai's recall and handed him over to the Imperial Household Department for punishment. That year, you were three years old."

"Liao was attacked on three sides, and there was not a year without war. Since the tax levy by Gao Huai, the military and civilians had been suffering for more than ten years. The successive governors were all incompetent and spent their time in idleness. The emperor also ignored the pleas of the border officials, but they remained deaf to the calls of the border officials, which led to the Liao's deterioration."

"Ignoring all matters is lazy governance. Gao Huai spent over ten years cutting taxes to amass wealth for the imperial court. This is harsh governance. In the end, Liao was in chaos, and the entire country spent millions of silver, yet peace remains to this day."

Zhu Changluo concluded, "The huge mess my father left me is the result of his only knowledge of tactics, but his lack of moral integrity."

"Then father, what is the right way to be a king?" Zhu Youxiao's eyes were fiery and his words were sincere.

"Do you still remember the hymn of Chengtian Gate?" Zhu Changluo asked.

"A poem ode by the First Emperor?" Zhu Youxiao suddenly understood.

After the grand ceremony that day, Zhu Youxiao asked the Imperial Tutor about the lyrics of the soldiers' song. Imperial Tutor Sun gave him a complicated look and offered no further explanation, simply telling him to go to Wenyuan Pavilion to find a rubbing of the Langya Stone Inscription.

"The virtue of an emperor is to maintain stability in the four corners of the world. He punishes rebellion and eliminates harm, promotes benefits and brings happiness. He regulates affairs in time and ensures the growth of all products. The people live in peace and tranquility without the need for war. Relatives protect each other and there are no bandits. He happily follows teachings and knows all the rules." As Zhu Changluo recited, he sighed in his heart: The virtue of an emperor was mostly realized in an era without an emperor.

"The title of emperor has been passed down for more than a thousand years. But how many monarchs truly have the virtue of an emperor, or are willing to strive for the virtue of an emperor? Qin Shi Huang, Han Wenjing, Tang Tai Gao, and our dynasty's Taizu may be half worthy of the title." Zhu Changluo said.

"Father Emperor can also be called that." Zhu Youxiao's admiration for his father Emperor reached an unprecedented peak.

"Which of these statements about state affairs is correct?" Zhu Changluo waved his head and refused to accept the conclusion. "Besides, the emperor's virtue is determined only after his death."

"Father." Zhu Youxiao subconsciously rejected the phrase "judgment is made after death." "Father, you are in the prime of life. I beg you not to die!"

"Alright. Get up. Why are you kneeling?" Zhu Changluo sighed helplessly. "It's getting late. I need to go back for my lunch break. If you want to pick up the Emperor's Sword, remember what I said today."

"Father, wait!" Zhu Youxiao hurriedly stood up, grabbed his father's sleeve, and pointed at the copper object on the desk. "You haven't told me what that is yet."

"Hush! We've been chatting about all sorts of things for so long I've almost forgotten why I came here today." Zhu Changluo chuckled. "This thing is called a gas ball, a little gadget invented by Westerners during the transition between the Han Dynasty and the Western Han Dynasty."

(End of this chapter)