The Ming Dynasty's Five Hundred Years

Chapter 168 Japan
Dark clouds once again enveloped the capital, casting large swaths of shadow and a chilling atmosphere.

Prince Zhu Gaochi of Han still failed to see the emperor and was turned away. He was eventually taken away by the Embroidered Uniform Guard and sent to Shandong. The capital was in an uproar, and no one knew what had happened. Only the person who recorded the emperor's daily life recorded what happened in the Hall of Literary Glory.

King Zhao also left the capital in a disheveled manner, unnoticed by anyone.

Amidst the bewilderment and despair, only the Crown Prince Zhu Gaochi and his family were overjoyed.

"Father can rest assured now."

Zhu Zhanji stood in front of Zhu Gaochi like a little adult.

The precocious Zhu Zhanji knew the immense pressure his father faced, and now the mountain that had been pressing down on him had been lifted, finally revealing the clear blue sky.

"This is thanks to your cousin and his family."

Zhu Gaochi naturally already knew about what happened in the Hall of Literary Glory that day. "Son, remember this: those who never abandon you in times of hardship are the true loyal ministers. Cherish them and trust them."

Crown Princess Zhang said softly, "My son is still young."

Zhu Gaochi sighed, "I'm not young anymore. My health is not good. Perhaps the world will fall into Zhanji's hands very soon."

He recalled his uncle Li Qi telling him to take care of his health and not to die before the current emperor, following in the footsteps of Emperor Xiaokang. Now that his position as crown prince was completely secure, he had to live well, even if it was just to make his son a legitimate emperor.

Zhang trembled upon hearing this, but remained silent.

The sudden demotion of the Prince of Han to his fiefdom caused a great uproar, but it was ultimately only a rumor circulating in the capital. This was because the Prince of Han was supposed to go to his fiefdom in the first place; it was against the system that he remained in the capital.

Only the officials and nobles who had placed their bets on the Prince of Han were filled with anxiety. It wasn't until they saw that the emperor had no further action that they gradually relaxed, knowing that at least for the time being, everything should be fine.

Everyone speculated that something must have happened in the palace that caused the emperor's attitude to change drastically, completely excluding the Prince of Han from the line of succession to the crown prince.

In any case, now that the position of Crown Prince has been truly determined, of the Emperor's three legitimate sons, only the Crown Prince remains in the capital, so barring any unforeseen circumstances, his position is as secure as a rock.

As a result, the official positions in the Crown Prince's Palace Court became highly sought after, since these were the positions of future ministers of the Crown Prince's residence. Li Xianmu, who ranked first in the Crown Prince's Palace Court, was highly regarded by his contemporaries.

Regardless of whether he was a member of the Crown Prince's faction or not, he did help the Crown Prince escape danger twice. Especially the second time, he almost single-handedly helped the prince and took back the Crown Prince's position that was about to slip away!
Furthermore, with his father recommending him as the crown prince before his death, the Li family's future was sure to be bright. It was just a pity that the eldest and second eldest sons of the Li family had already married early, and the most promising son, Li Xianmu, was even engaged to the Duke of Yingguo.

Everyone knows that Li Xianmu enjoyed wealth and power for at least two dynasties, and he will certainly be highly valued after the Yongle Emperor ascends the throne.

Many people were thinking that, if it were feasible, they should find a concubine's daughter and give her to Li Xianmu as a favored concubine.

Given Li Xianmu's character and circumstances, it wouldn't be considered a disgrace.

But thinking about it, I realized it might offend the British Duke's Mansion, so I decided against it.

Many people misunderstand the practice of taking concubines in ancient times; it was indeed normal for a man to have three or four wives and concubines.

However, taking a concubine before marrying a legal wife is usually considered an improper family practice. If one has an eldest son born out of wedlock before marrying a legal wife, it's even worse, as the legal wife one can marry will be of a lower caliber.

After marrying a principal wife, if the principal wife's family is powerful, their opinions should be sought. Political marriages without affection are fine, but if there is affection, the family will definitely be in turmoil.

Throughout history, no woman has ever truly and sincerely wanted to share her husband with another person, including virtuous empresses like Empress Zhangsun and Empress Ma.

But why were they considered virtuous empresses? Because their hearts were not limited to the romantic entanglements of lovers, but rather they had the entire world in their hearts. They knew that the emperor needed peace in the six palaces and a prosperous lineage, and that the harem was connected to the court. This was the vision of a virtuous empress.

Li Xianmu was naturally unaware that many powerful and influential families had their eyes on him. After the Prince of Han was forcibly enfeoffed, the situation in the capital changed drastically, which was also quite different for him. During this period, he had already visited the Duke of Ying's mansion twice.

He knew that some noble families hoped to use him to express their goodwill towards the Crown Prince.

Many nobles had previously sided with the Prince of Han, but now that they saw no hope of him becoming the Crown Prince, they were naturally anxious.

These noble families, unlike civil officials, were completely dependent on the royal family. If they offended the future emperor, they might even lose their titles.

Li Xianmu gave the same answer: "I have little relationship with the Crown Prince and cannot speak well of you all. However, I do have a piece of advice that may be hard to hear: nobles are close advisors. As long as they are loyal to the Emperor, they will naturally retain their wealth and status. There is no need to worry so much."

These cryptic words contain two layers of meaning.

Firstly, a major reason why the Prince of Han fell from power so quickly was because he befriended you nobles. Now you want to befriend the Crown Prince, which is truly absurd. The Crown Prince would never risk offending the Emperor by becoming too close to you nobles.

Secondly, the role of the nobles was to control the army and check the civil officials. This was their irreplaceable function in the imperial power. As long as they were loyal to the emperor now, they would be loyal to him in the future, and naturally they would not be neglected. There was no need to rush to change masters. Whether these nobles listened or not, Li Xianmu neither knew nor cared. From then on, he never saw these nobles again.

After all, the Li family is different from the nobles who rose to power through martial arts. Since their ancestor Li Shanchang, they have been civil officials. Although the nobles now have a backbone like the Duke of Yingguo to support them, it is clear to anyone with eyes to see that the rise of civil officials is inevitable.

After all, there are simply too many talented civil servants. Just take the seven members of the cabinet, each of them is exceptionally talented.

At the very top of everyone else was Li Xianmu, the only one whose future career prospects were so bright that everyone was certain they couldn't even open their eyes!

……

Since the beginning of summer, the capital has been quite hot and dry. All the windows in Wenyuan Pavilion were open, but not a breath of wind could get in. Occasionally, a breeze would blow, but it felt like it was coming from the Flaming Mountains, making people feel extremely irritable from the heat.

"The climate in the capital is truly awful—cold winters and hot summers..."

Li Xianmu laughed and said, "It's better than the summer in Nanjing. That's unbearably hot and humid. The capital has four distinct seasons, which I think is quite nice."

"Indeed, the only hardship in the capital is the winter, with higher costs for charcoal for heating, but otherwise it's fine."

As they handled their business, the group chatted idly. "The matter of the Shandong governor has been unresolved for months. It seems to be quite difficult."

"His Majesty is having difficulty making a decision, still worried about the excessive power of local authorities."

"This is an inevitable thing. Historically, after a dynasty has been established for several decades, the local areas will gradually establish their own systems. At this time, the court will inevitably send people to break up the stagnant waters in these areas."

I think that not only should each province send a governor, but if there is a similar event to the Red Turban Rebellion that spreads across several provinces, a governor-general who is in charge of the military affairs of several provinces should also be sent.

Previous dynasties all established such important military strongholds; how could our Great Ming Dynasty be exempt?

The group consisted of well-read scholars and historians, so they naturally agreed with Li Xianmu's statement.

"I believe His Majesty can understand this point. Even if the governorship cannot be formalized into a system, people will eventually be sent to tour the country."

Li Xianmu is not in a hurry; there will always be a time when he can take power.

"Scholars, His Majesty has summoned you to the Hall of Literary Glory."

As everyone was chatting, they heard a eunuch calling to a few people from under the window, and they all got up and headed towards the Huagai Hall.

Large vats were placed throughout the Hall of Literary Glory. The eunuchs, like butterflies gathering nectar, placed blocks of ice into the vats. While the sweltering heat outside seemed to be scorching people, the Hall of Literary Glory was pleasantly cool.

The cabinet members, who had just come out of the sweltering heat, immediately felt refreshed. One of the perks of being a cabinet minister in the hot summer was that they could sometimes enjoy the ice chamber that only the emperor could enjoy. After all, in ancient times without ice-making technology, only the royal family and the wealthy could enjoy such a continuous supply of ice.

Upon entering the hall, the group saw the emperor frowning as he looked at a secret letter in his hand. Seeing them arrive, he first handed the letter to a few people, and then said with barely suppressed anger, "It's a letter sent back by Zheng He. The voyage to Japan did not go smoothly."

Li Qi recalled the relationship between the Ming Dynasty and Japan during this period in history.

The present-day Japan is under the rule of the Muromachi Shogunate. The previous Shogun, and the third Shogun, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, unified Japan. Ashikaga Yoshimitsu was a shogun who liked to do trade. In order to trade with the Ming Dynasty, he submitted to the Ming Dynasty in the name of King Minamoto no Yoshimitsu of Japan and established a vassal relationship. The relationship between the two sides was relatively friendly.

Two years after Ashikaga Yoshimitsu died, his son Ashikaga Yoshimochi (Minamoto no Yoshimochi) succeeded him as Shogun and once again sent envoys to the Ming Dynasty to receive investiture. Emperor Yongle, Zhu Di, granted the investiture as usual, and in theory, the relationship between the two sides could have remained normal.

The Ashikaga family didn't care much about submitting to the Ming Dynasty; as long as they could make a profit by trading with it, that was enough.

While Ashikaga Yoshimochi was willing to submit to the Ming Dynasty, his retainers were not. They felt deeply humiliated and urged Ashikaga Yoshimochi to sever tributary relations with the Ming Dynasty. Ashikaga Yoshimochi did not have the same prestige as his father. Although he was the shogun and controlled the government, Japan was a country with a feudal system, so he had no choice but to cut off trade with the Ming Dynasty.

Historically, it wasn't until after Ashikaga Yoshimochi's death, during the reign of the sixth Shogun, Ashikaga Yoshinobu, who was also Ashikaga Yoshimochi's younger brother, that trade relations were re-established with the Ming Dynasty.

Since it was the Ashikaga Yoshimochi era shogunate, it was quite normal that Zheng He's voyage did not go smoothly. The Japanese shogunate was preparing to close the country off from the world, cut off trade with the Ming Dynasty, and also cut off tribute to the Ming Dynasty.

At this point, the Ming Dynasty delegation naturally refused to go to Iwami Province.

Zheng He was a very capable man. If even he found the situation difficult and sent a message back, it meant that the Japanese side had a very firm attitude.

This is no simple matter; no wonder it made Zhu Di frown.

(End of this chapter)