The Ming Dynasty's Five Hundred Years

Chapter 252 Royal Family
A light rain shower relieved some of the summer heat in Beijing.

Unbeknownst to many, a third of the first year of the Hongxi reign had already passed, and most traces of the Yongle era had vanished without a trace.

In the past six months, if there has been any major change in the world, it is the Li family, who stand out as the most prominent in the court.

The Li family now consists of three branches.

Li Fang, a descendant of the eldest son's family, was restored to the title of Duke of Han and appointed as the Left Commander-in-Chief of the Left Army Commandery of the Five Military Commands in Nanjing. He and the Duke of Wei jointly guarded Nanjing.

If a civil official is sent from the capital to Nanjing, it is naturally a political exile, but this is not the case for nobles.

Although they were far from the political center of the capital, they were a first-rate family in Nanjing. It is said that as soon as the two dukes arrived in Nanjing, they discussed marriage between them. Their unity was known to all, and for a time no one dared to challenge them.

Only those who came to propose marriage and send their daughters were numerous, all from prominent families in Nanjing.

The origin of this illustrious lineage is common knowledge: half of it comes from Li Zhongwen Gong, and the other half from the current Li clan patriarch, Shouzheng Gong Li Xianmu.

He was the most important minister in the court, deeply trusted by the emperor. He held cabinet positions and performed ministerial duties. Although he did not have the title of prime minister, he had the power of one.

Li Zhongwen's life, marked by the destruction of his family, spanned a short but brilliant ten years, making it a truly remarkable and legendary life.

However, compared to his son Li Xianmu, his lifespan was too short, and he could not compare.

Li Xianmu, the Duke of Shouzheng, was born in the 24th year of the Hongwu reign. He was deeply favored by the Taizu Emperor and began to enter the palace frequently to receive instruction from the Taizu Emperor from the 27th year of the Hongwu reign. The Taizu Emperor praised him as a "Qilin child" (a child of exceptional talent).

In the third year of the Yongle reign, at the young age of twelve, he achieved the highest honors in the imperial examinations, winning the top three ranks in six separate examinations. His talent was unparalleled throughout history. He entered officialdom at the age of fifteen and served for eighteen years during the Yongle reign. He participated in the late emperor's northern expeditions, made two trips to the south of the Yangtze River, subdued Japan, opened up the silver market, lifted the maritime ban, served as governor of Shandong to quell the White Lotus Rebellion, set his sights on the Confucian Temple to reform the country, introduced Neo-Confucianism into the orthodox tradition, and paved the way for impoverished students. His achievements are well-known to all.

Among the high-ranking officials of the court at the third rank or above, Li Xianmu, the Duke of Shouzheng, is the youngest at only thirty-four years old, yet he has the most extensive resume.

The other six ministers were all dedicated to their respective ministries, while the cabinet ministers were promoted suddenly within a few months. Only Li Xianmu had risen through the ranks step by step to reach this position, possessing the most seniority and the greatest achievements.

In officialdom, seniority, merit, and imperial favor are the most important things, and Li Xianmu excelled in every one of them. Therefore, regardless of whether it was the cabinet or the six ministries, no one criticized him for not being qualified.

Li Xianmu's qualifications and prestige would be no problem in normal times, but when the ruler is young and the country is in turmoil, it becomes a different story, and he may even be able to control the fate of the country.

The reason why Zhu Yuanzhang insisted on killing Li Shanchang was because Li Shanchang had such prestige, qualifications and ability, and was very dishonest. Zhu Yuanzhang was also an extremely suspicious and harsh person. When these two met, how could Li Shanchang possibly survive?
The late Emperor Zhu Di and the current emperor are completely different. Li Xianmu has such great power that there is no doubt about him. On the 12th day of the fourth month of the first year of Hongxi, a court official submitted a memorial saying that it was inappropriate for Li Xianmu to hold both internal and external positions.

Both the emperor and Li Xianmu knew that this matter was a test by someone, or it could be described as a blatant conspiracy to sow discord between the emperor and his ministers.

Every powerful minister goes through this.

Moreover, most of the time, they would habitually test the waters, and as soon as the emperor showed the slightest sign of relenting, they would rush forward and devour him like vultures.

The downfall of the Han State government was fundamentally due to Zhu Yuanzhang's desire to take action, but the direct cause was that those ministers had long been eyeing the Han State government.

Zhu Yuanzhang, however, went with the flow and did not, as usual, protect the Han State government.

As an emperor, there was no need to slander him, because the laws were extremely strict. A government office that could be so powerful could not possibly be clean. As long as someone investigated, there would definitely be problems.

Even now, the Li family has not harmed anyone's life, but if one really wants to nitpick, the mere fact that Li Fang and Li Mao took concubines is enough to wipe out their family.

While outwardly Confucian, inwardly Legalist, Legalist laws were designed from the moment they were enacted to be unenforceable. Strict legislation, widespread lawbreaking, and selective enforcement of the law—the emperor's authority was manifested within this framework, which is the essence of Legalist rule.

Having served as crown prince for twenty years, Zhu Gaochi was naturally aware of these matters. Without the slightest hesitation, he directly sent people to reprimand the official who submitted the memorial and exiled him to Nanjing.

After this incident, the court's attacks on Li Xianmu essentially disappeared.

But Zhu Gaochi and Li Xianmu both knew that the disappearance was only temporary, and that as soon as any slightly bad sign appeared, attacks would immediately resurface.

Because everyone believes that no one can receive the emperor's favor forever, and no one can always be in sync with the emperor's will. Li Xianmu is trusted now because his thinking aligns with the emperor's. But what if one day Li Xianmu's thoughts diverge from the emperor's or they become skewed?

Before he knew that Zhu Gaochi was about to die, Li Xianmu had also thought about this question, but now it was no longer of any use.

Li Xianmu looked at Zhu Gaochi, who was enthusiastically discussing state affairs with him, and a trace of sadness flashed in his eyes. Zhu Gaochi was definitely the emperor who trusted him the most. There might never be another emperor who would entrust such important matters to him.

"Before I ascended the throne, I was full of ambition, but after I actually ascended the throne, apart from abolishing some policies of the founding emperor and the late emperor, I was at a loss as to where to start."

Zhu Gaochi sighed, "I feel that the great Ming Dynasty is full of problems, yet it seems to be able to maintain itself, and it is not yet time to reform."

"Since Your Majesty feels that there are problems everywhere, then naturally you should first solve those problems that will inevitably affect the future of the Ming Dynasty, and put aside those problems that are still unknown whether they will have an impact."

"Is it inevitable that it will affect the future of the Ming Dynasty?" Zhu Gaochi asked in surprise, "The current policies of the Ming Dynasty were all set by the Taizu Emperor and the late Emperor. Even if there are some drawbacks, how can it be said that they will inevitably affect the future?"
Doesn't that mean that the founding emperor and the late emperor already made startling mistakes when formulating their policies?

Li Xianmu remained silent, but Zhu Gaochi understood immediately. He became solemn and said, "Mingda, speak frankly. I believe you would not speak without reason. If such a policy truly exists, I will certainly change it."

Li Xianmu then cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty entrusted me with the important task of serving as the Right Clan Member of the Imperial Clan Court. In investigating the imperial clan members over the years, I have discovered that the current imperial clan system will bring disaster to the Ming Dynasty."

imperial clan!

Upon hearing these two words, Zhu Gaochi's expression immediately turned serious. Nothing involving this matter is simple. His lineage now holds the empire precisely because of Zhu Yunwen's policy of reducing the power of the princes.

"Mingda, please explain in detail. Matters concerning the imperial family are of great importance to the nation."

"Emperor Taizu had twenty-six sons, all of whom were princes. The late emperor had three sons who grew up. Your Majesty has ten sons, and besides the grandson of the crown prince, there are nine princes. In just three generations, there are more than thirty princes. After the princes inherit their titles, their sons become dukes, and then the eldest son inherits the title in each generation, while the other sons inherit the title in order of seniority. I'll calculate for Your Majesty how much of a burden the court will be after five or ten generations!"

Li Xianmu did a simple math calculation, which stunned Zhu Gaochi. The number was so terrifying that even if the entire year's revenue were included, it still wouldn't be enough!

"The imperial court's annual revenue is not enough to fill the gaps left by the imperial clan, and in the future, it may not even be enough to cover the princely titles of the Spring and Autumn Period."

Many people know that ancient princes used the names of the states from the Spring and Autumn Period, but the Qing Dynasty did not. Instead, they used auspicious words such as "Li" (礼, propriety) and "Rui" (睿, wisdom). However, this is a misunderstanding. The use of auspicious words began in the late Ming Dynasty.

Before Emperor Longqing ascended the throne, he was Prince Yu; Emperor Wanli's favorite was Prince Fu; and Emperor Chongzhen's was Prince Xin. This shows that, at least from the Jiajing era onwards, the Ming Dynasty had stopped using the Spring and Autumn Period name.

When Li Qi saw that Li Xianmu had finally raised the issue of the imperial clan, he suddenly remembered a very hellish thing that happened in the Ming Dynasty.

The Ming Dynasty imperial family had sixteen emperors. If we remove Zhu Yunwen, and then remove Jingtai, Zhengde, and Tianqi who had no sons, that makes twelve emperors. According to mathematical calculations, this would be an extremely terrifying number.

But hell is hell, because Zhu Yuanzhang had twenty-six sons, which is quite prolific.

However, Zhu Di only had three sons, Zhu Zhanji only had two, Zhu Youcheng had one son, Jiajing only had one son, Longqing had two sons, Wanli had five more, and Taichang had two. It can be said that few of his descendants had the same brilliance as their ancestors.

This resulted in the policy jointly created by Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di, which treated the Ming imperial family like pigs, not causing any major problems.

It has to be said that this way of solving problems is truly hellish.

But Zhu Gaochi didn't know, and neither did Li Xianmu. What they saw was that in just two or three generations, the Ming Dynasty already had more than thirty princes. After ten generations, there would be one or two hundred princes.
A prince's stipend of 10,000 shi of grain would amount to one or two million shi of grain, and when you add the lower-ranking members of the imperial family below him, it's safe to say that even all the taxes of the Ming Dynasty wouldn't be enough to cover it!

Zhu Gaochi never dreamed that such a huge bomb was right under his nose, a bomb powerful enough to blow up the Ming Dynasty.

"Emperor Taizu and the late emperor..."

Zhu Gaochi wanted to ask the founding emperor and the late emperor, "Didn't they discover this back then?"

"Your Majesty, do you remember something I've always told you?"
One cannot govern a country without understanding numerology, because common sense and intuition can be deceiving, but numerology is the only thing that cannot be deceived.

Neither the founding emperor nor the late emperor understood numerology, so when formulating policies, they could not have known how enormous the number would be five or ten generations later.

"If I hadn't explained it to you step by step today, Your Majesty probably wouldn't have believed it."

Zhu Gaochi nodded with a sigh, "Mingda, you're absolutely right, but is numerology really that useful?"

“Of course!” Li Xianmu said without hesitation: “For example, this year’s tax revenue to the national treasury is 30 million taels, while last year it was 28 million taels. Where did the extra 2 million taels come from?”
The Japanese Iwami Silver Mine produced an additional million taels, and then the Maritime Trade Office collected an additional million taels. This clearly shows that this year's trade volume must be higher than last year's.

With just one example from Li Xianmu, Zhu Gaochi immediately realized the importance of numerology. "According to what you said, Mingda, as long as the court has all the past data, and then re-verifies it every year, wouldn't we be able to learn a lot of information?"

"Exactly. Just as battle reports can be deceiving during wartime, the front lines cannot be. No matter how eloquently these officials exaggerate, once these concrete figures are presented, they cannot be concealed."

The Ming Dynasty's budget system, which I previously proposed, was also designed to allow for numerical control over the various departments of the imperial court.

“I always gain a lot from talking with you, Mingda. You are truly my mentor and friend,” Zhu Gaochi said with emotion. “However, you have never proposed to include mathematics in the imperial examinations all these years.”

“If we simply follow the model of the Ming Suan Ke established during the Tang Dynasty, then it will truly be a waste. I have been waiting for an opportunity to put mathematics and classical studies on equal footing. Now that Your Majesty has ascended the throne, I believe the time has finally come.”

Zhu Gaochi's smile grew wider. During the Tang Dynasty, there was a Ming Suan Ke (明算科), which specifically tested mathematical knowledge. Its purpose was to cultivate astronomical talents. However, the path to advancement for the Ming Suan Ke was very limited, far less than that for the Jinshi Ke (进士科).

By the time the imperial examination system was implemented in the Ming Dynasty, there was no longer a formal path for people with mathematical or divination skills to become officials.

Zhu Gaochi laughed because he could tell from Li Xianmu's words that Li Xianmu believed the late emperor would not value it, but he would. Didn't this prove that he was wiser than the late emperor?

"In next year's provincial examination, we can include one or two questions on numerology, but they shouldn't be too prominent. Just enough to show the court's attitude, and then gradually increase their importance. What do you think?"

"What your Majesty said is absolutely true!"

Although Li Xianmu agreed quickly, he was actually somewhat hesitant, because without a teacher, it was very difficult to learn and improve in mathematics on one's own. If mathematics were added to the imperial examinations, then those from poor families would be even less likely to succeed compared to those from prestigious families.

Fortunately, there are already laws allowing people from humble backgrounds to enter officialdom; otherwise, it would be better to follow the current method of selecting talent.

"I will discuss this matter with the Minister of Rites later. The most important thing is the matter of the imperial clan, which is very thorny." Zhu Gaochi frowned deeply and sighed, "This matter must be done, but we must pay attention to the methods. Otherwise, if we are not careful, we will be accused of mistreating the imperial clan."

Besides, these are the ancestral laws of the founding emperor and the late emperor; they are not so easily changed, and..."

Li Xianmu was well aware of this, and the fact that the Prince of Yan's lineage ascended the throne during the Jingnan Campaign and Zhu Yunwen's policy of reducing the power of the princes made it difficult for the Prince of Yan's lineage to do so. This is why Li Xianmu did not bring up this matter during the Yongle reign.

By the time of Zhu Gaochi, to put it bluntly, there was little affection left among the princes, which made it easier for him to get things done. If Zhu Zhanji had become emperor, the princes would have been practically strangers to each other.

"This matter still needs to be discussed with the ministers, Fan Hong!"

Fan Hong, the chief eunuch beside Zhu Gaochi, immediately replied, "Your Majesty, I am here."

"Send men to summon the Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet, the Ministers of the Six Ministries, the Vice Ministers, the Censor-in-Chief, and the Six Offices to the palace. I want to hold a court meeting!"

Fan Hong was startled, then kowtowed in response and hurriedly left the Huagai Hall.

(End of this chapter)