The Ming Dynasty's Five Hundred Years

Chapter 281 Imperial Relatives
Li Xianmu brought a complete set of confessions into the palace. In the Hall of Literary Glory, Zhu Zhanji read through them one by one. His expression changed from calm to indignant, and from peaceful to flushed red and purplish-blue.

But instead of getting angry, he took two deep breaths and looked at Li Xianmu, "Teacher, how do you plan to handle this matter?"

Li Xianmu said calmly, "Arrest those who should be arrested, exile those who should be exiled, and kill those who should be killed. If we act in accordance with the law, no one can criticize us. This is the way of the ancient sage kings."

“In principle, that is how it should be.” Zhu Zhanji turned the case file face down on the table. “The way of the sage king is what I should follow.”

Li Xianmu raised an eyebrow. In principle, it was possible, but in reality, it wasn't.

As expected, Zhu Zhanji then said, "Teacher has never admired the ancients, so why talk about the way of the sage king? The Ming Dynasty naturally has its own realities, and I wholeheartedly agree."

After saying this, Zhu Zhanji looked intently at Li Xianmu. The air in the hall seemed to freeze for a moment. The two looked at each other, and light shone in. Dust floated up and down in the beam of light, and everything was understood without words.

Li Xianmu said softly but firmly: "The matter of the imperial tombs is the first major corruption case of the Xuande era, involving as much as two million taels of silver. Not killing them would not appease public anger, not killing them would not uphold discipline, and would even corrupt the entire bureaucratic ecology of our Great Ming!"

Zhu Zhanji's expression changed, and then he looked rather grim. He said in a deep voice, "What you say, teacher, is indeed the most noble principle. However, Consort Sun is pregnant with the imperial heir, and I do not want her emotions to fluctuate too much, which could affect the fetus. I believe you can understand my concerns, teacher. I have not had any children for so many years."

"Furthermore, my teacher has always known my heart. I favor Consort Sun. If such a thing were to happen now, my plans would be thwarted."

Li Xianmu felt a surge of dissatisfaction. His favoritism towards his concubine over his wife and his indulgence in romantic love were truly foolish. However, he did not show it. He would not say anything that might hurt feelings. He would never interfere in the conflicts within the harem or in the emperor's personal relationships, as it would be of little use and would only greatly provoke the emperor's resentment. He only discussed state affairs.

As the emperor had expected, he was worried that Sun Guangzong's affair would affect Consort Sun's reputation. So he immediately said, "Hu Guozhang is the Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices and Sun Guangzong's superior. I think Hu Guozhang has not been clean over the years. He was probably involved in the matter of the imperial tombs. If we arrest and punish him together, the people's attention will not be on Sun Guangzong."

Zhu Zhanji's eyes lit up. What a clever move to shift the blame! The younger brother of a concubine and the father of an empress—of course, the father-in-law of the emperor would attract more attention. With Empress Hu in front, there was no need to worry about Consort Sun being criticized.

"But wouldn't this cause the nation to lose face, after all, he is the Empress's father?"

"Make an example of them to deter others!" Li Xianmu said solemnly, "If Your Majesty wants to rectify official corruption, you must punish the Imperial Father-in-law and Sun Guangzong. Let people see that even imperial relatives will be punished if they break the law, let alone other officials."

Zhu Zhanji was stunned. He hadn't expected that Li Xianmu had such a plan. This was too crazy. He was stepping on the emperor's father-in-law to clean up the bureaucracy.
Throughout history, there have been very few people who did this, right?

Although he disliked Empress Hu, he did not hate her; he could not bring himself to trample on her dignity like that.

"Wouldn't this be a bit too radical? It would cause everyone in the court to feel insecure." Zhu Zhanji hesitated. "Governing a large country is like cooking a small fish; it takes more than one cold day for the ice to freeze three feet deep. There are probably quite a few such incidents in the court now. If we start to rectify them, chaos will erupt in an instant."

Li Xianmu pointed at the case file and said loudly, "Your Majesty, look at the description in this case file. Is this merely a matter concerning the imperial tomb?"

Throughout the land, there are countless such cases, and countless officials involved. They are not only greedy, but they also neglect their duties. The fact that some items are missing from the imperial tombs does not cause much harm to the Ming Dynasty.

But if the disaster relief funds are embezzled, a new rebel army will emerge in the region; if the Yellow River dikes are not repaired, hundreds of thousands of disaster victims will appear next year. These are all things that will shake the foundations of the Ming Dynasty's rule!

Zhu Zhanji's expression gradually turned cold and solemn.

"Are some things okay to indulge in, and are others okay to indulge in?"

I am risking offending the Empress and the future Empress by forcibly pushing this matter forward. Is it for my own sake?
If we don't implicate the Emperor's father-in-law and the Consort's brother, how can the world be in turmoil? How can I use this opportunity to launch an attack and silence the public's discontent? Only by implicating these two can we silence all those who wish to oppose us. Your Majesty, this is not an ordinary case of embezzlement at the imperial tombs, but a powerful weapon to bring down corrupt officials throughout the land. How can we miss this opportunity?

Emperor Taizong chose Your Majesty as the ruler of the land because he believed Your Majesty was capable of restoring the nation to its former glory. How could you allow personal feelings to lead you to ignore the grave harm to the country?

Li Xianmu said sternly, "Even if Your Majesty pities Empress Hu and Consort Sun, what are Hu Rong and Sun Guangzong? They are nothing more than people who love the house because of the owner!"

A king's love shines upon all, but how could he possibly spare such a heartless and treacherous creature?

Each sound and every word struck Zhu Zhanji's heart, leaving him momentarily bewildered and at a loss.

Zhu Zhanji was ultimately an excellent emperor. In an instant, he made up his mind, took a deep breath, and said in a deep voice, "Teacher, what you say makes sense. This is a matter of great importance to the whole country. We must set an example. I entrust this important matter to you, but I hope that you can also show some leniency."

"Your Majesty understands. Your father-in-law should stay in Nanjing from now on. It is also not suitable for Sun Guangzong to stay in the capital. He should also go to Nanjing. This should silence any criticism."

This meant that the two would be exiled.

Although the place of exile was in a good environment and there was hardly any punishment, exile was still exile, and one would naturally not be very free in the future.

When Li Qi's family was exiled, it was in the same way, in Jiangpu, which was only a few dozen miles from Nanjing, but they had no freedom.

"As the teacher said, I will speak to the Imperial Concubine and the Empress."

After paying his respects, Li Xianmu left the Huagai Hall. He walked alone in the palace, with the palaces receding into the distance and appearing increasingly grand.

He turned and looked.

There was no joy in his eyes.

How did he finally persuade the emperor?

It was he who separated the emperor's father-in-law Hu Rong and Sun Guangzong from Empress Hu and Consort Sun, thus severing the emperor's affection for them.

It was also because Consort Sun was ultimately wary of him and dared not confront him directly; otherwise, today's events would certainly have been more complicated.

Political infighting.

It was a contest of who could influence the emperor more.

Fortunately, Zhu Zhanji was a wise ruler.

(End of this chapter)