Zhu Yunwen sat in the Hall of Martial Valor, with Grand Secretariat members Yu Xin, Zhang Zhen, and Xie Jin present alongside Fang Xiaoru. Liu Changge, director of the Great Ming Security Bureau, kept reporting Zhu Di's movements since he had entered the city.
Zhu Di had not returned to the Prince of Yan's residence in the capital. Instead, he wailed his way through Jinling as though arriving for a funeral. Perhaps he felt that crying alone was too quiet and that his voice might falter, so he ordered his three sons to cry along with him.
Zhu Di had once campaigned far into Mongolia and was widely known. With the commotion he was making, townspeople of every age along his route hoped to catch a glimpse of the Prince of Yan's bearing.
What impressive bearing could a weeping Prince of Yan possibly display?
He merely stirred quiet sympathy among the people of the city.
After all, a son had arrived late to mourn his father.
Whose fault was that?
The emperor's!
Had they not heard that the Prince of Yan had been stopped at Huai'an on his way to the funeral?
Otherwise, how could he have arrived so late?
Still, no one dared say outright that the emperor had made a mistake.
In ancient times, the emperor was never wrong.
If word reached the court that someone had criticized him, they would be scolded at best and beaten to death at worst.
Zhu Di indulged his appetite for acting to the fullest. Once his voice was hoarse, his stomach empty, and his mouth so dry that he could no longer keep up the performance, he led his people out through the Treasure-Gathering Gate and went to Xiaoling Mausoleum on Bell Mountain.
He wailed at Xiaoling Mausoleum all afternoon and did not return to the city until dark.
Rumor had it that Zhu Di had cried himself unconscious. Who knew whether he had simply exhausted himself with his performance and accidentally fallen asleep?
Liu Changge reported the movements of Zhu Di, the townspeople, and the other regional princes to Zhu Yunwen. Zhu Yunwen merely listened calmly and even showed considerable interest in inviting the three Grand Secretariat ministers and Fang Xiaoru to lunch and dinner. Their discussion, however, concerned not Zhu Di but taxation in Jiangnan.
The Jiangzhe region had once supported Zhang Shicheng, causing Zhu Yuanzhang considerable hardship during his campaigns against him. A man who repaid even the slightest grievance, Zhu Yuanzhang had reduced or waived taxes in many regions after becoming emperor to restore production. Jiangzhe alone had seen its taxes multiplied several times over.
Moreover, Zhu Yuanzhang had decreed that people from Jiangzhe could not hold office in the Revenue Ministry. He had written this provision into the Ancestral Instructions of the Great Ming, demanding obedience from all his descendants.
"Jiangzhe alone bears crushing taxes" was a problem Zhu Yunwen had to resolve.
In Zhu Yunwen's view, Jiangzhe had been prosperous since ancient times, a gathering place for wealthy merchants where learning and education flourished. It would also be the cornerstone of his future commercial empire.
A Jiangzhe crushed breathless beneath taxation had neither the means nor the conditions to nurture a flourishing commercial landscape. More seriously, excessive taxation dampened enthusiasm for production.
If no one engaged in production, sources of social unrest would multiply. What dynasty did not make "employment" a priority?
Zhu Yunwen needed a stable and prosperous Jiangzhe region.
Yu Xin, Zhang Zhen, and Xie Jin all supported reforming Jiangnan's taxes and breaking with the Ancestral Instructions of the Great Ming.
Fang Xiaoru agreed. He further argued that the people should come first, citing Zhu Yuanzhang's words, "Let the people rest and recover, allowing them to build reserves; this is what it means to sustain and nurture them," to advocate lighter labor obligations and lower taxes.
Zhu Yunwen agreed with all four men and was about to order an edict drafted when Fang Xiaoru added, "Your Majesty, in accordance with the Rites of Zhou, the well-field system could be implemented in Jiangzhe to strengthen the realm."
"The well-field system?"
Zhu Yunwen's teeth began to ache.
The well-field system belonged to the age of slave society. It had been implemented during the Shang Dynasty, flourished during the Western Zhou, disintegrated during the Spring and Autumn period, and been abolished during the Warring States period.
You actually want to bring back a system that history has already cast aside?
The well-field system was based on state ownership: the emperor granted land to feudal lords and ministers, who found slaves to cultivate it. The land could neither be bought nor sold nor transferred, while the aristocrats sat back and enjoyed the fruits of others' labor.
Such a system restricted productive forces and had already been discarded by the times.
Yet Fang Xiaoru actually wanted to restore it?
Zhu Yunwen knew that every action, thought, and method of Fang Xiaoru's came from the Rites of Zhou. The man was far too idealistic.
"Master Fang, you have read Lüshi Chunqiu: Examining the Present, I presume?"
Rather than answering Fang Xiaoru directly, Zhu Yunwen posed a question of his own.
Fang Xiaoru promptly nodded and replied, "I have, Your Majesty."
Zhu Yunwen spoke earnestly to him. "A man from Chu was crossing a river when his sword fell from his boat into the water. He immediately marked the boat and said, 'This is where my sword fell.' When the boat stopped, he entered the water at the spot he had marked to search for it. The boat had moved, but the sword had not. Was it not foolish to seek the sword in this way? Do you recall this passage, Master Fang?"
Fang Xiaoru nodded.
Zhu Yunwen continued, "You have dropped the Rites of Zhou into the water. The boat has moved on, while the Rites of Zhou has drifted with the hidden currents. If you mark the boat and search there, will the Rites of Zhou still be beneath it?"
Fang Xiaoru looked at Zhu Yunwen in bewilderment.
Yu Xin, Zhang Zhen, and Xie Jin suddenly understood. The emperor was warning Fang Xiaoru not to turn to the Rites of Zhou for guidance at every opportunity. It was far too old to be useful anymore.
Only by adapting could one move forward freely.
Fang Xiaoru was no fool either. Once he understood, he bowed in acknowledgment of the lesson and stepped aside.
Zhu Yunwen ordered Xie Jin to draft an edict proclaiming, "Half of next year's land tax shall be remitted throughout the realm." He lowered Jiangzhe's taxes and broke with Zhu Yuanzhang's ancestral instructions by stipulating, "The levy shall not exceed one dou per mu, and men from Suzhou and Songjiang may once again hold office in the Revenue Ministry."
By the time the Jiangzhe taxation issue had been settled, it was late. Zhu Yunwen arranged escorts to take the senior ministers and Fang Xiaoru home, then sent Wang Yue of the Imperial Household Directorate to see Zhu Di.
According to court regulations, an imperial prince arriving at court had to spend that night in the eastern side chamber outside the Gate of Heavenly Manifestation and present himself to the emperor early the next morning.
After settling Zhu Di in, Wang Yue chatted with him for a while. He said that the emperor was pleased by his arrival and the empress dowager comforted, so Zhu Di should not grieve too deeply.
Zhu Di remained a master of polite formalities. He said he had brought local specialties from Beiping and would visit the empress dowager at the Palace of Compassionate Tranquility after seeing the emperor tomorrow. Since he had arrived late, he hoped Wang Yue would put in a few good words for him so that the emperor would not blame him.
When Wang Yue left, Zhu Di even escorted him to the door with a beaming smile. As soon as Wang Yue was gone, however, that smile vanished.
Zhu Di had already heard the news: the emperor had issued overnight orders transferring Zhang Bing, Ping An, Sheng Yong, Qu Neng, and others to take control of Beiping, while deploying troops along the line from Shanhai Pass to Kaiping.
Those men must already be on the road.
Zhu Di's spirits were low. Worry and fear kept welling up in his heart.
True, Zhu Yunwen was unlikely to move against him in the capital during the immediate mourning period, but he could move against Beiping.
Now that he, Zhu Gaochi, Zhu Gaoxu, and Zhu Gaosui were all in the capital, there were few men left in the Prince of Yan's residence in Beiping who could keep matters under control apart from Zhang Yu and Zhu Neng.
And Zhang Yu and Zhu Neng were military men with little grasp of broader strategy. If shock drove them into rash action and they stirred up trouble, Beiping Prefecture would fall into Zhu Yunwen's hands before he could even return.
Even conceding everything-even if Zhang Yu and Zhu Neng did nothing and Zhu Yunwen left him unharmed-some time would pass before he returned. Including the journey, it would take at least another month.
A month was enough for Zhu Yunwen to bring all of Beiping's defenses, along with those of the surrounding area, firmly under his control.
Moreover, the men Zhu Yunwen had appointed chilled Zhu Di to the bone!
Sheng Yong?
Zhu Di did not believe that fellow posed a threat to him. He could be ignored.
But there were two others Zhu Di could not ignore!
The first was Qu Neng!
Qu Neng had joined the army with his father as a youth. Experienced in battle, skilled in mounted archery, and versed in strategy, he was renowned throughout court and country.
Zhu Yuanzhang had later appointed him to command the Sichuan Regional Military Commission, overseeing military affairs on the western frontier and assisting Prince of Shu Zhu Chun in governing Ba-Shu. Qu Neng had contributed to the fact that "Sichuan suffered no warfare for two hundred years."
He was a formidable man, accomplished in both civil and military affairs, adept at both battle and strategy!
Yet compared with Qu Neng, Zhu Di feared the second man even more:
Ping An!
Anger and unease shone in Zhu Di's eyes.
Ping An was no ordinary man. Quite apart from being an adopted son of Zhu Di's father, Zhu Yuanzhang, he was exceptionally brave and skilled in war. In earlier years, he had campaigned beyond the frontier alongside Zhu Di and knew a great deal about his methods of command!
Zhu Di knew how formidable this man was, and the man knew how formidable Zhu Di was!
Zhu Di's hand trembled slightly. Whether he returned or stayed, this trap would be exceedingly difficult to unravel!
Zhu Yunwen, my dear nephew-what incisive moves you have made!
That night, Zhu Di slept poorly.
Early the next morning.
Zhu Yunwen arrived at the Hall of Heavenly Mandate, where the officials stood in their appointed ranks on either side. Zhu Di, who had been waiting in the side chamber since early morning, had changed into his imperial prince's ceremonial robes and crown. Zhu Gaochi and the others stood beside him.
The ceremonial usher came out to escort the Prince of Yan into the palace.
Following the usher along the imperial way, Zhu Di ascended the vermilion steps and mounted the princely seat. Zhu Gaochi and the others knelt beside him.
The ceremonial music began, and Zhu Gaochi and the others bowed toward the north.
Zhu Di stared northward, his expression shifting, but did not bow.
The officials on either side of the vermilion steps were puzzled, and they broke into a cold sweat on Zhu Di's behalf. If he refused to salute, he would be showing grave disrespect to the emperor. The emperor could easily use this to strip him of his princely title!
Zhu Yunwen looked beyond the hall at Zhu Di, who remained standing without bowing!
This was a renowned enlightened ruler of history, the legend who had ushered in the Yongle Prosperity, a god of war who had made the Great Ming's name resound far and wide!
Yet he seemed unwilling to bow to him!
A smile curled at the corner of Zhu Yunwen's mouth, with coldness woven through it.
If he will not bow...
Then let him lie down. Joining Zhu Yuanzhang would not be such a bad thing.
Zhu Yunwen was not the Jianwen Emperor of history. That emperor had been softhearted toward Zhu Di, indecisive and as coy as a woman. Zhu Yunwen knew Zhu Di's ambitions and future, his preparations and the threat he posed!
If killing one man would bring peace to the realm, Zhu Yunwen had no reason to stay his hand!
At that moment, Zhu Di hesitated.
Bowing northward meant acknowledging Zhu Yunwen's position as emperor, which would make his next move immensely difficult. At the very least, he could no longer manipulate public opinion by claiming that Zhu Yunwen had ascended the throne through a "forged edict."
Because he would already have submitted and given his assent.
But if he did not bow to Zhu Yunwen, and Zhu Yunwen used that as a pretext to act against him, how could he explain his way out?
The power his nephew relied upon was no longer a collection of hidebound bookworms and civil officials. It was a force that made his hair stand on end!
To bow, or not to bow!
To submit, or not to submit?
Caught in this dilemma, Zhu Di gazed across the distance toward Zhu Yunwen on the throne in the Hall of Heavenly Mandate to the north-and toward the throne beneath him!
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