Huangming

Chapter 89 The Emperor's Grace and the Splendor of the Qi Family

October 15th of the first year of the Taichang reign.

Look forward to the lunar month.

The emperor finally left the Qianqing Palace and went to the Imperial Gate to hear state affairs.

Having achieved his goal, Zhu Youxiao naturally wanted to gradually restore the political situation to normal.

During this period, he took many drastic measures in order to seize power.

Just as too much strong medicine can harm the body, so too can a nation.

Especially now, the Ming Dynasty is like an old man who is terminally ill. If too much strong medicine is taken, it may really kick the bucket.

It's time to proceed step by step and take things slowly.

Your Highness.

Wei Chao, the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, held a bright yellow imperial edict and unfurled it before the emperor, proclaiming in a loud voice:

"The Emperor, by the Will of Heaven, decrees:

I, having received the Mandate of Heaven to rule the nine heavens, work tirelessly day and night to ensure the well-being of my people.

An investigation has revealed that eight Shanxi merchants—Wang Dengku, Fan Yongdou, Jin Liangyu, Liang Jiabin, Tian Shenglan, Zhai Tang, Huang Yunfa, and Wang Dayu—have abused their commercial power to commit rebellious acts. They have been smuggling armor and firearms to supply the Jurchens, selling border intelligence and espionage to curry favor with the enemy, and even secretly conspiring with eunuchs to assassinate the emperor.

His crimes are threefold: treason by colluding with the enemy, according to the treason clause in the Great Ming Code; smuggling military funds, according to the Criminal Law regarding funding the enemy; and regicide, according to the Ten Unpardonable Crimes clause in the Great Proclamation. All three crimes warrant execution, and his entire family should be exterminated!

"

After Wei Chao finished reading the imperial edict, the courtiers, all sporting dark circles under their eyes, were overjoyed and wept, shouting, "Your Majesty is wise! How fortunate we are to have such a glorious reign!"

Their happiness was genuine.

If it were anyone else, with agents from the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot appearing outside their residence every day, and constantly worrying that one day the Embroidered Uniform Guard would kick down the door and throw them into prison, could they sleep soundly?

These days, many court officials have truly not had a good night's sleep.

I am often awakened by nightmares in the middle of the night.

Now that the imperial edict has been issued and the assassination attempt on the emperor has been classified, they can finally get a good night's sleep.

Grand Secretary Fang Congzhe stepped forward, holding a tablet, and showered the emperor with praise.

"Your Majesty's wise decision-making has swiftly and decisively purged the treacherous officials. In the past, the Shang dynasty opened up three sides of the border, but the eight families of the Jin merchants were the only ones who were so wicked that they dared to sell ironware to the Jianzhou Jurchens and betray military intelligence to the barbarians beyond the Great Wall! If these people are not executed, our soldiers on the nine borders will be wearing cold armor and eating grass roots, while the Jurchens will get food, supplies and weapons!"
Now Your Majesty has confiscated their property to replenish the national treasury and severely punished their clansmen as a warning to others. This is truly an imitation of Emperor Wu of Han's policy of relocating powerful families and an implementation of Guan Zhong's strategy of "government control of mountains and seas."

Although Fang Congzhe had taken on a lot of blame, he was not worried about being in debt.

He can still laugh at this moment.

Liu Yiju, the second-in-command of the cabinet, looked bitter and resentful, but he had agreed to the confiscation of the property of Shanxi merchants and the recruitment of soldiers in Xishan and Fengtai.

Praising the emperor is praising himself.

The courtiers below were in uproar, and he was forced to align himself with the emperor to avoid pleasing neither side.

Therefore, he also stepped forward and praised:

"Your Majesty is wise and decisive: confiscating the assets of the caravans will ensure the army's food and provisions; seizing their fields and houses will allow the displaced people to cultivate the land; melting down their copper coins will allow them to cast tiger-squatting cannons; and opening their hoards will allow them to recruit suicide squads."

In this way, the path to supplying the enemy is cut off, and soldiers who dare to fight are trained. This achieves two goals at once, and the whole world submits to the enemy.

"Though I am foolish and dull, I know that Your Majesty's actions are in accordance with the principles of Heaven and the will of the people. Even if Emperor Taizu were to be resurrected, he would surely applaud and praise this!"

Sun Ruyou, Li Ruhua, and others also stepped forward and loudly proclaimed, "Your Majesty is wise!" These officials were truly skilled at flattery.

Of course, Zhu Youxiao didn't actually believe what these people said.

Nowadays, there are not many people in the court who dare to openly oppose him.

Speaking frankly in memorials and making collective petitions were no longer of any use to him.

He doesn't care about how future generations will judge him. If he tries to argue unreasonably, the Imperial Guard won't take him lying down.

When these officials exercise their power of drafting proposals in the cabinet and rejecting them by the six ministries, they should be extremely cautious.

How dare you arbitrarily reject the imperial decree?
First, you have to be clean yourself!

Otherwise, the Imperial Guards will come to your house and arrest you that very day!
Secondly, even if you're clean, if there's no reason behind it, you still need to be careful.

In the end, even if you are right, going against the will of the emperor will only lead to your death!
If you want to add a crime, why don't you have any trouble?
Zhu Youxiao was determined to be an autocratic ruler!
However, while the civil officials dared not openly oppose him, what they might do in secret was what Zhu Youxiao should be wary of.

After all, they have a lot of moves.

Examples include delays in implementing government orders, factionalism and confrontation, checks and balances with eunuchs, financial control, military intervention, and constraints imposed by Confucian rites and laws.
However, it still comes down to the same point.

Who are your enemies, and who are your friends?

The court officials were not a monolithic entity; with their interests intertwined, some naturally bowed to imperial power.

There are also conflicts between them; the enemy of my enemy is my friend!
Make as many friends as possible and as few enemies as possible.

He was the one who called the shots in the court.

After the new moon and full moon.

After returning to the Qianqing Palace, Zhu Youxiao did not linger for long. He changed into a light armor with dragon patterns, put on a black cloak, and tied a sword at his waist before setting off for the training ground in the West Garden.

This place can be used for military exercises, such as firearms drills by the Shenji Battalion and horsemanship competitions by the guards.

It could also be used as a place for the emperor to review troops and for the imperial examinations for military officers.

of course.

Zhu Youxiao did not come here today to watch the Four Guards Battalion or the Beijing Garrison conduct drills.

Instead, Qi Jin wanted to lead the Qi Family Army in a military exercise.

Zhu Youxiao wanted to see how much skill the renowned Zhejiang soldiers and Qi Jiguang's army still possessed.

The imperial carriage exited through the Qianqing Gate, passed through the Longzong Gate, went through the Xihua Gate, and proceeded north along the imperial road outside the Xihua Gate. It then passed the west side of the Yuxi Palace, entered the south gate of the West Garden, and finally arrived at the inner training ground.

As soon as the emperor landed, Tong Zhongkui, the deputy commander-in-chief of Liaodong, and Qi Jin, the commander of the Zhejiang army camp, immediately stepped forward to pay their respects.

"This humble general, Tong Zhongkui (Qi Jin), pays his respects to Your Majesty!"

Five hundred former soldiers of Qi Jiguang's army shouted in unison, "Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"

These soldiers were real men who had risked their lives, unlike the empty formalities of the Beijing garrison.

Just from their voices, Zhu Youxiao could sense the killing intent and the elite nature of their forces.

After all, if you didn't have some ability, you would have been buried in a foreign land long ago if you were fighting against the Jurchens.

(End of this chapter)