The struggle for the throne during the Jiajing reign

Chapter 125 The Duke’s Mansion

There were a total of five dukes in this dynasty: Zhang Rong, Duke of Yingguo; Zhu Xizhong, Duke of Chengguo; Xu Yande, Duke of Dingguo; Xu Pengju, Duke of Weiguo; and Mu Chaobi, Duke of Qianguo.

The Duke of Wei was in Nanjing, the Duke of Qian was in Yunnan, and only three were in the capital. The Duke of Cheng had served the emperor for a long time, was cautious and discreet, and understood the emperor's heart best. He always ranked first among the nobles in the capital, in the order of court assemblies, and in the ceremony of bestowing honors and stipends.

Zhang Juzheng rubbed his ears, which were red from the cold, and analyzed for Zhu Zaizhen: "There are two strategies, either from top to bottom or from bottom to top."

Xu Wei wore rabbit fur earmuffs tucked into his hands. His mother had also prepared one for Zhang Juzheng, but the man insisted that it was unladylike and refused to wear it.

His ears probably froze off, which shows that even a scholar who passed the imperial examination wasn't very smart.

Inside the carriage, Zhang Juzheng and Xu Wei were squeezed together, while Ma Dezhao and Qi Jiguang sat opposite them, and Zhu Zaizhen occupied the main seat alone.

As for Lu Bai and Lü Jin, they led their families to travel through wind and snow to gather intelligence from various places, since they couldn't rely on outsiders for everything.

The Embroidered Uniform Guards were his henchmen, and they might pass on some dubious intelligence to him at crucial moments.

Lu Bing, the Grand Commander, lived a very extravagant life in private. It would be impossible for him not to have any business dealings in the capital or to have been a patron of someone and received some bribes.

Moreover, Yan Shifan, who is usually the most eager to join in the fun, didn't even show his face this time, but instead claimed to be sick at home, which shows how deep the water is.

"If the Duke of Cheng takes the lead in donating a large amount of silver and grain, then the matter of disaster relief for the nobles will be settled. The Duke of Yingguo and the Duke of Dingguo will surely follow suit. The three dukes will then have no excuse to refuse, and the other marquises, earls, hereditary military officers, and even idle nobles will have no excuse to refuse."

One approach is to first mobilize mid-level hereditary military officers and nobles of all ranks, encouraging them to take the lead in donating generously, creating momentum at each level, and thus incentivizing the three dukes to donate the largest sums to uphold their dignity.

"The wind is blowing again, and the snow is falling even harder. They can endure it, but those suffering from hunger and cold cannot." Zhu Zaizhen stretched his hand out of the car window, the fur on his sleeves swaying wildly in the cold wind.

Given his status, it would certainly be easier for him to oppress ordinary nobles, but going from one family to another, how long would it take?

Moreover, even if the amount of silver and grain is agreed upon, as long as someone in charge gives the order, they will drag it out and make excuses.

It's not that they refuse to give, they just say the grain transport carts broke down or the silver was stolen. They make up a few plausible excuses to delay, and by then the disaster victims are almost all starving to death. The donated money and grain haven't even passed through the gate before they can be pulled back into the warehouse.

"Go directly to the Duke of Cheng's residence."

When he goes out to do things, he doesn't talk about perfect strategies. The main thing is that the momentum must not be weakened. Once he starts to compromise, he will be put on the defensive and will not have the power of life and death to regain the initiative.

Xu Wei looked at the falling snow outside, his face showing indignation but more so relief. His Highness was not a member of the Yan faction after all; he genuinely wanted to do something.

For ordinary people, that's enough; doing something is always better than sitting idly by.

"Your Highness, stick to it."

Xu Wei had been there for a long time and only said this one sentence.

"Know."

Zhu Zaizhen nodded and closed his eyes.

Qi Jiguang, who was listening from the sidelines, had a ruddy complexion and sharp eyes. It is easy to be kind to one person, but difficult to be kind to strangers.

Prince Jing could have lived a life of luxury, but he was willing to brave the wind and snow to serve the people, so I am naturally willing to serve Your Highness with utmost loyalty!

Zhang Juzheng pursed his lips but said nothing. Showing off one's sharpness is not a good thing, and forcing the Duke of Cheng is even worse. The succession has not yet been decided, so why push all the meritorious nobles to the other side?

But after seeing Xu Wei and Qi Jiguang's attitude, he didn't say anything more. He felt that it was worthwhile to make some sacrifices for the sake of the overall situation, but obviously His Highness and the two of them did not think so.

Soon, they arrived at the Duke of Cheng's mansion. The gates were wide open, and a large crowd had already gathered there, led by a boy of about seventeen or eighteen.

The four of them got out of the carriage first, and then the steward of the Duke of Chengguo's mansion immediately brought over an exquisite sandalwood footstool.

Zhu Shitai led his family, young and old, to kneel and pay their respects in the snow: "Your subject respectfully welcomes Your Highness Prince Jing."

Zhu Zaizhen stepped off the car on the pedals: "No need for formalities."

Everyone then stood up, but still bowed to show respect to the imperial prince.

Zhu Shitai stepped forward a few steps, cupped his hands, and said, "Your subject, Zhu Shitai, the eldest son of the Duke of Cheng and the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, pays his respects to Your Highness. Your Highness's presence at my humble residence is an honor to our home, and we are all overjoyed."

Zhu Zaizhen laughed and said, "Why should we be happy when an unwelcome guest arrives?"

They're up to no good. Didn't they say they were asking for grain? This looks like they're about to rob us outright.

Zhu Shitai quickly shook his head: "Your Highness is a distinguished guest who could not be invited even if we begged. Please come inside and have some tea to warm yourself up."

"it is good."

Zhu Shitai led the way, and Zhu Zaizhen, holding a hand warmer, strode into the Chengguo Duke's Mansion. After passing through layers of ceremonial gates, the courtyard inside the mansion was spacious and elegant. The blue brick ground had already been swept clean by the servants, leaving only the treetops, eaves, and artificial hills covered with thick white snow.

The bronze incense burners hanging under the eaves were burning with charcoal, spreading warmth in wisps. The main hall was furnished with an elegant and luxurious style, without any extravagance or ostentation.

After Zhu Zaizhen entered, Ma Dezhao stepped forward and took off the prince's outer robe, which was then taken by a maid from the Duke of Cheng's mansion to dry and scent.

"Where is the Duke of Cheng?"

Zhu Zaizhen sat down in the main seat with a light step, as if this were his own home. The small, snow-white seal hanging from his waist instantly drew everyone's attention; this was a regulation that princes and nobles could not arbitrarily impose.

Zhang, Xu, and Qi took their seats on the right, and hot tea was served.

Zhu Shitai withdrew his gaze and replied while standing: "Your Highness, my father has gone to the palace to pay his respects and was unable to personally greet Your Highness. I hope you will forgive him."

"Is the Duke of Cheng avoiding me?"

"How could that be? Judging by the time, they left the manor around noon."

What a coincidence! It happened right after the Emperor issued his decree, while he was waiting for Prince Yu to leave the palace. What a cunning old fox!

In fact, the Duke of Cheng is not old at all, only in his thirties, but his career has been very smooth.

At the age of twenty-three, he became the commander-in-chief of the Shenji Battalion. The following year, he was in charge of the regimental battalion and the five military battalions. At the age of twenty-six, he took charge of the Right Army Commandery and was awarded the title of Grand Tutor.

With such power, what merchant wouldn't rush to offer their tribute and seek protection?

Zhu Zaizhen touched the hot teacup beside him and said, "It's alright. The Duke of Cheng isn't here, but the Duke of Xiao is. You're not pretending to be confused with me, are you?"

"Of course not. Your Majesty, I have already ordered the preparation of 3,000 shi of grain, over 1,000 jin of firewood and charcoal, and 1,000 taels of silver. Moreover, the stewards in the manor have been sent out to continue to purchase firewood and grain at high prices. As long as there is any profit, it will all be presented to you to relieve the worries of the Emperor and the difficulties of Your Highness."

That's just the right amount, and the way you put it is really nice. People are already going out to buy it at high prices, so what can you say?

If you take a hard line, they'll take a soft one. If you take a soft line, then everyone's happy and we can all smooth things over. Ah, life is hard to manage!

This is definitely far from enough. Even if the other two families received the same amount, and the remaining nobles received progressively less, it still wouldn't be enough to do anything.

Zhu Zaizhen smiled, picked up the teacup and looked at the tea leaves inside, saying, "It seems the young duke doesn't want me to drink this tea."

Zhu Shitai looked panicked and helpless: "This is Lu'an pre-rain bud tea, but it does not suit Your Highness's taste. I will immediately order someone to replace it."

""

Having said that, he immediately turned to the steward waiting at the door and ordered, "Quickly brew the imperial gift of Gu Zhu purple bamboo shoots!"

Can we still say that even imperial tea is inedible?

Zhu Zaizhen wasn't angry. If you want to take away someone's flesh, they will naturally have to find a way to deal with it.

If it were so easy to get money from the nobility, the Emperor wouldn't have bothered using the Yan faction to plunder the people's wealth.

Especially for the hereditary duke families, who held a significant share in the Ming Dynasty, even the emperor couldn't do whatever he wanted with them, let alone a mere prince.

Zhang Juzheng and Xu Wei were anxious but could not speak. Their status was not equal, and no matter how reasonable their words were, they would not carry any weight. If they had no weight, they would be speechless if the other party said that he had already exhausted his family fortune.

"The Chengguo Duke's Mansion has shown enough sincerity, and Father Emperor will surely be pleased."

Before Zhu Shitai could even smile, Zhu Zaizhen continued, "But I would like to borrow a little more, and repay it all after the spring. Human lives are at stake, and if the disaster victims cause a disturbance, it will not look good for anyone."

"Well—since Your Highness has spoken, I can't worry about anything else. Men, immediately bring out all the winter grain from the granary and load it onto the carts to help Your Highness in this emergency."

Zhu Shitai gritted his teeth and stamped his feet in distress, but finally made up his mind and gave the order.

The steward responded at first, then hesitated with a troubled expression, saying, "Oh dear, young master, without food, how will this entire household of several hundred people survive? I'm afraid I won't be able to explain this to the master when he returns—"

"Alright, I'll borrow the household necessities from my uncles in a bit. You get to work right away!"

"Yes."

This performance was truly spectacular. Upon hearing this, Prince Yu would probably be so ashamed that he would hastily take his leave, not daring to take even a single grain of rice with him.

But Zhu Zaizhen's expression remained unchanged; he simply uttered two words calmly: "Not enough."

Zhu Shitai wanted to ask what was not enough, as he had never been treated badly before and this was the first time he had been forced into such a situation.

However, he couldn't act arrogantly in front of Prince Jing, as that would give the other party a handle to use against him. He still had to follow the policy left by his father.

Don't confront things head-on, don't make a decisive break, use gentleness to overcome strength, use courtesy to deflect attacks, and often complain and whine.

"Your Highness, outsiders only see my family as hereditary dukes, ranking first in the imperial examinations, and think that our mansion is full of gold and jade, vast fertile fields, and granaries overflowing with silver and grain. But who knows the difficulties we face inside?"

The mansion was enormous, with its social obligations, military affairs, gifts for officials and nobles during festivals, hundreds of people, monthly stipends for servants and household staff, carriages and guards, and ancestral worship. Every aspect required money and provisions.

In recent years, several farms outside Beijing have suffered from consecutive droughts and floods. This year, the heavy snowfall has caused tenants to flee, resulting in poor harvests and difficulty in collecting rent.

Although I own several shops in the capital, the snow has now shut them down, business is slow, and income is meager. My elderly mother needs medicine, and my extended family members rely on me for support; we're in dire straits and haven't been making ends meet for years. Please don't trouble me further.”

As Zhu Shitai spoke, he began to believe it himself, and his voice grew increasingly aggrieved, even carrying a hint of accusation.

"Alright, I won't make things difficult for you. I don't need your family's winter food supplies, as long as you do one thing."

.

Zhu Shitai quickly bowed: "Your Highness, please speak."

"You acknowledge the Duke of Cheng's mansion and donate 100,000 shi of grain and 100,000 taels of silver, and that will suffice."

"Your Highness, you must be joking. Even selling the Duke's mansion wouldn't raise that amount. Who would believe that?"

"Then don't worry about it."

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