The struggle for the throne during the Jiajing reign

Chapter 126 Promise

The words "light and airy" made Zhu Shitai feel a sudden tightness in his chest, a surge of blood rushing to his throat, and he almost couldn't suppress the obsequious expression on his face.

He lived for sixteen years. As the eldest son of the Duke of Cheng, he was appointed to the fourth-rank position of the Embroidered Uniform Guard just two days after his birth. He was always fawned over by others. Even the high-ranking officials of the Six Ministries and the Nine Ministers had to respectfully call him "Young Master."

No one has ever driven him to this point before. Has King Jing gone mad? Is it worth offending his superiors and nobles just for the sake of those refugees and common people?

"Your Highness, the nobles in the capital have always donated in installments. If my Chengguo Duke's Mansion is the first to accept this exorbitant donation, the Duke of Yingguo and the Duke of Dingguo's Mansions will inevitably be pressured by Your Highness in the same way."

The remaining nobles and hereditary titles of Marquis, Earl, Commander, and other ranks will have their titles reduced by 20% at each level. In the end, the entire system of nobles in the capital will be put on the hot seat, and every family will go bankrupt and be emptied out. Every noble official in the capital garrison will be filled with resentment.

With morale so low, stability in the capital region and affairs within the military will be thrown into turmoil. This is not a blessing for the nation. I urge Your Highness to reconsider!

"How about I return all your money and supplies, and we split their donations 30/70?"

"I'm seven—Your Highness, please don't joke like that!"

The back-and-forth conversation didn't last long, but Zhu Zaizhen glanced outside and said, "Alright, time waits for no one, so let's stop joking. Since I've promised my father this matter, I must do it well. Will the Duke of Cheng's mansion help me or not?"

Zhu Zaizhen didn't say anything lofty or righteous, nor did he mention the plight of the disaster victims. Anyone with eyes could see that if they went out for a walk.

However, in the considerations of the Duke of Cheng's mansion, the lives of hundreds of thousands of people were far less important than those of a prince who might ascend the throne.

Prince Jing's words were disjointed and rambling, throwing Zhu Shitai's prepared remarks into disarray, leaving him momentarily at a loss for how to respond.

"Of course I'd like to, but—"

"Then I will have my brother Prince Yu pay a visit later."

Zhu Zaizhen stood up to leave, his movements swift and without any hint of probing; in the blink of an eye, he was almost at the door.

"Wait a moment," Zhu Shitai said with difficulty. "Please wait a moment, Your Highness."

Zhang Juzheng and Xu Wei stood up with smiles on their faces. They knew they had secured the victory. Qi Jiguang's eyes lit up. His Highness was truly amazing.

"What is it?"

"We really don't have 100,000 shi of grain. Even if my family were to go all out and empty all the farms we rely on from merchants and the suburbs, we could only get 30,000 shi of grain. We could only make about 50,000 to 60,000 taels of silver. The rest—"

Before leaving, his father left another sentence besides the first one: either resolutely refuse and make a fortune, or give his all and see the good deed through to the end.

He thought that getting rid of Prince Jing would be enough, but this young master said he would call Prince Yu in a little while, leaving him completely helpless.

His family couldn't afford to offend both princes at once.

He's still young, and he'll eventually have to work under one of them for a living.

The small seal on Prince Jing's waist made him dare not abandon Prince Jing and choose Prince Yu instead. Just a moment ago, he seemed to have seen something called Chengtian—

However, he regretted it a little after he finished speaking. He had revealed his true abilities too quickly. He should have left some room for maneuver so that Prince Jing wouldn't think he still had something to hide. But once the words were out, they couldn't be taken back.

Zhu Zaizhen turned around with a smile: "Great! I don't want you to go bankrupt. I'll just lend you grain and silver. After the grain tax is collected in various places next year, the Ministry of Revenue can default on anyone but you. It's just that you'll earn a little less this year."

But I, Zhu Zaizhen, will remember this favor from the Duke of Cheng's family.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Shitai's expression softened considerably. Prince Jing was still aware of the situation and wasn't the type to take advantage of the disaster relief efforts to exploit them relentlessly.

In the freezing cold, refugees were everywhere; the common people were truly pitiful.

A noble family's legacy, with its luxurious lifestyle, is a blessing for aristocratic families.

Natural disasters leave no one with relatives; fortune and misfortune are determined by fate, so no one should blame anyone else.

Zhu Zaizhen didn't care what he thought; as long as he provided food and money, that was enough. Everything was difficult at the beginning, but they managed to overcome this toughest challenge.

"Just 30,000 shi of grain and 50,000 taels of silver. Don't worry about the merchants whose property was confiscated. That's all."

"We will obey Your Highness!"

When will the food arrive?

"It will be delivered to His Highness within two days."

"Alright." Zhu Zaizhen walked up to Zhu Shitai and patted his arm, saying, "Today's matter is urgent, so we couldn't discuss it in detail. I will be leaving the palace to take up my residence in a few days, so we should keep in touch often then."

"Of course, even if Your Highness didn't say so, I would still shamelessly come to pay my respects."

"7

"Haha, this is more interesting. Alright, I'm going to the next one now."

"Your Highness, I see you off."

Zhu Shitai respectfully saw Prince Jing off to his carriage. After they had gone, his steward said with a bitter face, "Young Master, this is truly—"

"Sigh, I guess I'll just have to earn less." Zhu Shitai sighed. He had wanted to build a luxurious new house for his new mistress, but now it might not be enough.

The steward grumbled, "These lowly people, if they can't survive, they should leave! Why are they crowding into the city!"

"Alright, go and procure the grain. Inform them that whoever gets arrested should confess and stop bothering me. Also, I don't care what happens to their grain. What is owed to my household as tribute, even if they sell their children and ancestral property, must be delivered to me immediately as usual."

"Of course, I'll arrange it right away."

"It's not true that they emptied their coffers, but they have indeed reached their limit. Your Highness was right to stop while you're ahead."

Zhang Juzheng was gratified. He was afraid that His Highness, in order to provide disaster relief, would disregard the consequences and force everyone to cut off their own flesh, thinking that enough money and grain would save the people. In reality, that would only backfire.

Xun Gui Group is not a lamb to the slaughter. They can accept earning less, but if you try to drain the savings accumulated over generations, then it will inevitably lead to a fight to the death.

Especially now that His Majesty is in charge, if the nobles collectively go and make a scene, and secretly allow the capital garrison to run rampant, given His Majesty's tendency to prefer avoiding trouble and not wanting anyone to disrupt the balance or disturb his cultivation, the outcome is self-evident.

Xu Wei nodded and said, "Uncle is right. This matter is enough to show everyone His Highness's ability, and the grain and silver raised are enough to last for a while."

Qi Jiguang found it hard to believe; he genuinely thought that the Duke of Cheng's mansion had emptied its coffers.

-

He's still a bit young, and being from a military background, he doesn't think of people as bad as he seems.

Zhu Zaizhen sighed softly: "Haste makes waste. Let's leave it at that for now. If the snow continues and we run out of money and grain, then let Prince Yu go through the process again."

"That's feasible. Since each family has given gifts to His Highness and Prince Yu has come to visit, we should at least show our appreciation. We can't be too biased towards one family over the other."

""

Soon the news spread, and Zhu Zaizhen's subsequent schedule became much simpler. No one wanted to add anything extra, but no one wanted to break the rules either.

After meeting with the Duke of Yingguo, the Duke of Dingguo politely expressed his willingness to contribute the same amount of money and grain as the Duke of Chengguo's mansion to support the imperial court's disaster relief efforts.

As for the other nobles, they did not wait for Zhu Zaizhen to come to their door; they voluntarily sent their sons to Prince Jing or Prince Yu to express their willingness to donate money and grain.

Meanwhile, inside the warm pavilion of the Yan residence, incense was burning in a corner, but it couldn't mask another strange smell.

"Your Highness Prince Jing is quite shrewd; even the Duke of Cheng's mansion has admitted defeat so quickly?"

Yan Shifan, shirtless, leaned against the couch with a handsome young page in his arms, while Zhao Wenhua and Luo Longwen stood not far away.

Zhao Wenhua ignored the scene before him, only sighing and saying, "Oh dear, what a pity, all that silver and grain has been given to the poor, what a sin."

-

Luo Longwen always had a folding fan in his hand, even in the dead of winter. Perhaps the more a merchant he came from, the more he wanted to appear as a scholar.

"Everyone has sent people to ask for help, hoping you can step in and stop the people from Yingtian Prefecture and the Military Command. These guys have taken advantage of the chaos to line their own pockets. It's a pity that Your Highness's good intentions will only result in the mouths of the disaster victims."

Yan Shifan pinched the buttocks of the person in his arms with his large hand: "I can't control that. It's His Highness's first time on duty. How can I sabotage him?"

"Have the Yingtian Prefecture Military Command seize all the assets they can. Since they can't hold onto their money and grain, they might as well hand them over to the government so we can distribute them properly."

Zhao Wenhua nodded repeatedly: "Young Grand Secretary is wise. A bunch of lowly merchants, after being raised for a few years, they really think they are human beings. It's almost the New Year, so let's slaughter them and divide the meat as soon as possible, so that those unruly people won't covet it."

Luo Longwen didn't speak, but he gripped the folding fan even tighter.

"Okay, go and make the arrangements. Make sure Governor Lu's share is substantial, and don't forget the most important one too."

"Of course, I have forgotten my own parents, and I would never dare to forget those in the palace."

Just then, the steward came in to report: "They're here again. They say that many private stores of various businesses have been raided. It's a bit suspicious; they've found the right place at the right time."

Yan Shifan sneered, "They really acted quickly. Fine, I've never heard of merchants causing any trouble before. It's better to force them to their deaths than to force disaster victims to riot."

After spring arrives, another group of people who are willing to risk their lives for money will flock to us.

In the evening, Zhu Zaizhen and Prince Yu returned to the palace. It was only natural that they should first meet the emperor. Prince Yu was both resistant and somewhat expectant, feeling that he had accomplished quite a bit that day.

He also visited the disaster victims, though from a distance. The victims didn't care who he was at all; all they cared about was food and a warm place.

But that's what growth is all about. Life's trials and tribulations have made him realize that he's now an adult, even stronger than the former Crown Prince. His elder brother, back then, never left the palace to provide disaster relief or even saw any disaster victims.

Soon, led by the eunuch, the two arrived at Hongying Altar. After entering the hall, Zhu Zaizhen almost couldn't help but laugh out loud. He saw that the Duke of Cheng was kneeling in the spot where he had knelt last time, and there was no cushion under his knees.

You've outsmarted yourself! You thought you could escape him, but you couldn't escape this calamity, you bastard!

Zhu Zaizhen didn't care about these people, but he still adjusted his mindset. He would solve Xun Gui's problem later, but definitely not now, since he had no power at the moment.

Today he's ordered to provide disaster relief, tomorrow he's ordered to go back and feed cats, and the day after tomorrow he's ordered to take up his fief. Which of these is he capable of resisting?

This was the first time Prince Yu had been here. He was curious but also kept a respectful distance, not daring to look around.

Zhu Zaizhen then stepped forward respectfully, kowtowed to Lei Zu, and prayed that the snow would stop.

When the snow stops, there will always be a way to make a living; if the snow keeps falling, there's no way to provide work relief.

But Lei Zu did not respond to him, and the snow outside did not stop. Instead, his father slowly walked down from the high platform.

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