The Ming Dynasty's Five Hundred Years

Chapter 126 Court Debate and Standoff: Zheng He!

The sharp blade is sheathed.

The horse turned back.

Passing through the vast Yinshan Mountains, it was the height of summer in the Ming Dynasty, when flowers were in full bloom.

The victory was so glorious.

In the entire world, who is worthy of being the Ming Dynasty's adversary?
When external enemies can no longer threaten the empire, it will inevitably suffer enormous internal wounds.

During the northern expedition, Li Xianmu kept a close eye on Zhu Gaoxu's every move. However, to his surprise, the Prince of Han, who was known for his recklessness, did not seem to have done anything inappropriate.

This did not reassure Li Xianmu in the slightest; on the contrary, it made him even more vigilant and uneasy.

The King of Han harbored ambitions to seize the throne, and he would never believe that the King of Han could remain indifferent and watch the Crown Prince ascend to the throne.

As expected, after Zhu Di returned to the capital, to everyone's surprise, he did not hold a victory banquet, but instead conducted a surprise inspection of Zhu Gaochi's achievements as regent!

When the emperor announced this, Li Xianmu immediately knew something was wrong.

What is there to inspect if the Crown Prince is overseeing the country? Could the Crown Prince possibly take this opportunity to do something? This is clearly the Emperor deliberately trying to find fault.

when?
When exactly did the emperor begin to suspect the crown prince?!

Many people jokingly say that Zhu Di was just Zhu Gaochi's general in charge of the northern expedition.

This statement truly reflects Zhu Gaochi's importance to the Ming Empire; his regency was remarkably fruitful.

But this is also extremely dangerous!

Any change to the emperor's policies, any attempt to take concrete action, would be seen by the emperor as a challenge to his power!
Zhu Gaochi, however, was the kind of person who hoped to make a name for himself and was quite dissatisfied with many of Emperor Yongle's policies.

He is somewhat similar to Zhu Biao during the Hongwu era.

However, their circumstances were very different. Zhu Biao's position as crown prince was quite secure, while Zhu Gaochi always had the Prince of Han, who was eyeing him covetously, by his side!
……

The atmosphere in the Eastern Palace was rather oppressive. Zhu Gaochi was almost disheartened after being scolded by Zhu Di without any reason. He complained to Li Xianmu, "Mingda, the emperor has asked me to oversee the country, but I can't do nothing, and I can't do anything either. How am I supposed to do anything?"

"Your Highness!"

Li Xianmu retorted sharply, "Is this little setback enough to make Your Highness hesitate? Then you might as well go and wag your tail and beg for mercy from the Prince of Han, and see if he will be as magnanimous as Your Highness and spare your whole family's lives!"

Zhu Gaochi was immediately jolted awake.

"It's my fault."

Li Xianmu's tone softened then, "Your Highness, which path in this world is easy?"
Becoming the crown prince is the easiest thing to do.

At least His Majesty won't really kill you. Look at the ministers around you; how many of them are killed or demoted simply for speaking up for you?

Looking at the people of the world, how many of them struggle just to survive? Such self-deprecating words must never be uttered again.

So many people have given everything for you—their lives, their dignity, their ideals, their future. You are no longer just an individual.

Zhu Gaochi sighed and said, "I understand."

"Before leaving the capital, I instructed Your Highness to do some things, but not to conflict with His Majesty, especially to stay away from ministers, and not to do anything that could usurp the emperor's power. You must always be cautious and trembling with fear."

"After going through this ordeal, I truly understand."

Zhu Gaochi still looked somewhat downcast. "His Majesty is wary of me; he doesn't trust his son."

"The emperor trusts no one!"

Li Xianmu said calmly, "He favors the Prince of Han now, but once the Prince of Han becomes the Crown Prince, he will only become more suspicious. In fact, Your Highness is only loved by civil officials, but the Prince of Han has the support of military generals and nobles."

Your Highness only needs to be a good son.

As for the rest, your ministers will naturally handle it. Yang Shiqi, Yang Rong, and others are all quick-witted and often by the emperor's side; they will naturally have opportunities to defend His Highness.

"Fortunately, Mingda and you all ran around for me, otherwise, in such a perilous situation, I would have already fallen into the deepest abyss. It's just a pity that those officials who were implicated have all fallen into Ji Gang's hands, and even I am powerless to help them."

Ji Gang was deeply favored by the emperor and did not take the crown prince seriously at all. It was fortunate that he did not assist the Prince of Han, otherwise the crown prince would have been in real danger.

"Your Highness, I heard some time ago that after Empress Renxiao passed away in the fifth year of Yongle's reign, when Your Majesty selected beauties to enter the palace, Ji Gang secretly intercepted those candidates and kept them in his mansion to play with them. He also secretly raised outlaws and even forged swords and armor, making the people around him call him 'Long Live the Emperor'."

Zhu Gaochi sat up abruptly, horrified. "Is this true? Does he harbor treasonous intentions?"

Li Xianmu said in a deep voice, "A person like Ji Gang is naturally devoid of loyalty. As his power increases, how could he not harbor rebellious intentions? It's just that we can't touch him yet."

Throughout history, to kill such sycophantic villains, one must first instill fear and disgust in them before a decisive blow can be delivered.

If the Crown Prince wants to get rid of Ji Gang as soon as possible, he should do this…

As Li Xianmu spoke, he whispered something to Zhu Gaochi, whose eyes grew brighter with each word. “This is the right path,” he said.

……

After the northern expedition, Li Xianmu was promoted to the rank of Grand Secretary of the Eastern Pavilion, a fifth-rank official, which was no less than that of the other six members of the cabinet.

At that time, the court was in a state of panic. To some extent, Zhu Di suspected that Zhu Gaochi was not a big problem, because there were indeed an absurd number of Crown Prince's supporters in the court. Even the Grand Secretaries around Zhu Di were basically all members of the Crown Prince's faction.

"Xianmu, is the Crown Prince's prestige really that high? So many ministers are speaking up for him."

When Zhu Di saw the memorials that spoke in favor of the Crown Prince, he was immediately annoyed. The memorials were full of words that the Crown Prince was innocent and should not be reprimanded. Wasn't this implying that he, the emperor, was causing trouble for no reason?

This question made all the cabinet ministers worry for the Crown Prince and Li Xianmu.

Li Xianmu said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty."

In traditional Chinese families, if a child does something wrong and the parents reprimand him in front of guests, the guests usually try to persuade the parents, saying that the child isn't that bad and that they can reason with him. This isn't the guests favoring the child and blaming the father; they simply hope to ease the tension between father and son.

Although His Highness the Crown Prince has been reprimanded by His Majesty, he has already reflected on his actions. Therefore, the officials have submitted a memorial to ease the tension between His Majesty and the Crown Prince. The relationship between ruler and subject is also like that between father and son; harmony is essential for the prosperity of all things.

Zhu Di was silent for a moment after hearing this, and then sighed after a long time: "Alas, you are right. I should not be too demanding of the Crown Prince."

Li Xianmu naturally scoffed at Zhu Di's words, but he still breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that the Crown Prince had passed this hurdle.

The other cabinet ministers also breathed a slight sigh of relief, and Yang Shiqi felt particularly fortunate that the matter of the Duke of Yansheng had not had a negative impact.

Li Xianmu was truly an indispensable person on the road to the Crown Prince's ascension to the throne!

"Your Majesty, I am late. Please forgive me."

As they were talking, Zheng He hurriedly entered from the outer room and bowed deeply to Zhu Di.

"You must be tired from your long voyage; please excuse the formalities."

Zhu Di was somewhat closer to Zheng He. In fact, Zhu Di always trusted Zheng He and his few eunuchs, as well as the nobles who fought alongside him in the Jingnan Campaign, more than civil officials like Yang Shiqi.

"I have summoned you here today because there is an important matter to discuss."

Zhu Di sat up straight, his expression turning serious.

"Before the northern expedition, my ministers submitted a memorial to me, requesting that the voyages to the Western Ocean be abandoned."

Zheng He frowned almost instantly, glancing at the cabinet ministers. The next moment, Zhu Di pointed at Li Xianmu and said, "No need to guess, it's my nephew, Li Xianmu."

"Huh? How could he be the son of Lord Li Zhongwen?"

Zheng He was utterly astonished. This was an answer he had never expected. After all, he still remembered that Li Zhongwen, a sage of his time, not only did not despise him because he was a eunuch, but also personally encouraged him to make great achievements by sailing thousands of miles, saying that he would surely achieve great things and be remembered in history, just like Zhang Qian who opened up the Western Regions.

"Xianmu, you should talk to Zheng He. If you can persuade Zheng He, then the others in the court will have even less reason to oppose him."

That's true. Zheng He was the direct beneficiary and person directly involved in the voyages to the Western Ocean. If even Zheng He agreed to suspend the voyages, then the matter would basically be settled.

Zheng He bowed deeply to Li Xianmu and said, "I would like to ask Scholar Li for his guidance."

His voice carried a clear hint of resentment.

"Greetings, Chief Seal Zheng."

Li Xianmu solemnly cupped his hands and said, "Does Minister Zheng think that the imperial court should send voyages to the Western Ocean to spread the glory of our great Ming Dynasty to all nations? How many times should they go, and how often should they go, in order to maintain the current situation of so-called all nations paying tribute?"

Zheng He was no fool, and immediately understood the meaning behind Li Xianmu's words: "Does Scholar Li think that the voyages to the Western Ocean are too wasteful?"

But Li Zhongwen once said, "Some things are so significant that they cannot be measured in monetary terms. The voyages to the Western Ocean are such an event. This is an unprecedented moment in the history of our glorious China, a great undertaking that proves our Ming Dynasty far surpasses all previous dynasties. How can we abandon it because of this?"

Even Li Xianmu had to praise Zheng He. He was indeed a man whom his father praised, and he was indeed the chief envoy personally selected by Zhu Di to sail to the Western Ocean. Although he was physically disabled, he was a hero who stood tall and upright. His vision and character were truly rare in the world.

"Precisely because this is an unprecedented event, how could Master Zheng bear to see it exist only for a short time and not for all eternity?"
Did Minister Zheng only desire a life of glory, achieving a reputation like Zhang Qian's, while disregarding posterity?

Li Xianmu asked sharply, "Can't you see that there are many officials who oppose the voyages to the West? The reason why you are able to travel so far is because of Your Majesty's great talent and strategy, and because Your Majesty supports you alone!"
If things continue like this, the voyages to the Western Ocean will end in the Yongle era!
Zheng Zhangyin may have already passed away by then, but what about the voyages to the West?
Does Minister Zheng really believe that our Great Ming Dynasty can produce another monarch as divinely powerful and exceptionally gifted as His Majesty?

(End of this chapter)