Censor Gao Xiang wielded his brush with abandon, marshaling quotations from the classics.
From the Shang and Zhou dynasties to the Great Ming, his sprawling memorial ran to ten thousand words, expounding the principle of Serve the Country with Utmost Loyalty. Gao Xiang declared bluntly, "The capital army is the foundation of the realm, the roots and trunk of a tree. One cannot break the trunk and expect its hundred branches to flourish."
"If local powers grow too strong, separatism will emerge, and treacherous ambitions will become impossible to conceal, to the detriment of the court. May the rebellion of the Tang provincial governors serve as a warning, and may these reductions not be carried out..."
Ever since news of the military reductions spread, memorial after memorial had been delivered to the Hall of Martial Valor.
Zhu Yunwen leafed through several of them. Their contents were largely identical, doing little beyond exaggerating the dangers of reducing the army.
Viewed rationally, their arguments were not necessarily all empty words.
During the Hongwu era, Zhu Yuanzhang had launched several northern expeditions, striking at the Northern Yuan's main forces. But with horses scarce in the Central Plains, expanding the army had become essential to securing a military advantage.
Moreover, Japan had then been embroiled in the wars between its Northern and Southern Courts. Many people fled to the Great Ming's coast and became Japanese pirates. To defend the coast, a series of guard garrisons had been established, and the capital army had expanded further.
By the time Zhu Yunwen took the throne, excessive troop numbers had become a chronic affliction.
Zhu Yunwen's decision to reduce the army was no passing whim. It rested on his assessment of history and present realities.
In the twenty-first year of Hongwu, the Battle of Lake Buir, commanded by Lan Yu, had destroyed the Northern Yuan's main forces. From then on, the Northern Yuan entered a period of decline, and the Tatar tribes, heirs to the Mongol ruling line, were forced to ally with the Oirat tribes to avoid being swallowed by the Ming.
The trembling Northern Yuan now lacked both the courage and the strength to march south. The coastal pirate scourge seemed serious, but that severity came only from how scattered and widespread the raids were. There was no substantial threat; attacks by thousands or tens of thousands against the southeastern coast simply did not occur.
At present, the only forces Zhu Yunwen truly feared were the enfeoffed princes and their three guard units.
Zhu Yuanzhang had many wives and many children, leaving Zhu Yunwen with twenty or thirty uncles. Overall, however, the only genuine threats to the court's rule were the Nine Frontier Kings—the Prince of Liao, Prince of Ning, Prince of Yan, Prince of Gu, Prince of Dai, Prince of Jin, Prince of Qin, Prince of Qing, and Prince of Su—plus the foremost inland prince, the Prince of Zhou!
According to historical records, although some princes had committed unlawful acts and were more than a little twisted in the head, they had no intention of rebelling and could not be counted as threats.
There was only one great lurking danger that truly concerned Zhu Yunwen:
The Prince of Yan, Zhu Di!
The old, weak, sick, and disabled would be useless against the Prince of Yan. Exhausted troops and feeble units would not do either.
There was only one path: weed out the weak, retain the strong, and reform the military system!
Zhu Yunwen did not want to follow history's old road. As the saying went, if you did not court death, death would not come quite so quickly.
So long as he did not move to strip the princes of their power, Zhu Di could not spring into action anytime soon. With time on his side, he could plan at leisure.
Zhu Yunwen needed no investigation to know that the military nobility must be lurking behind these memorials. With their interests about to be stripped away, they were like pigs laid on a millstone-bound to squeal a few times.
"Your Majesty, Hanlin Lecturer Fang Xiaoru requests an audience."
An attendant announced him.
Zhu Yunwen gave his assent, and a lean man of about forty entered, dressed in the green round-collared official robe of the ninth rank.
So this was Fang Xiaoru, whose "ten degrees of kinship" Zhu Di had exterminated!
Had Fang Xiaoru not been killed by Zhu Di, later historians would probably have lumped him together with the likes of Li Jinglong. Labels such as spy, incompetent, and idiot would certainly have been plentiful.
Fang Xiaoru had been known as a "child prodigy" from an early age and later studied under Song Lian.
Zhu Yuanzhang had called Song Lian "the foremost civil minister of the founding."
Logically, since Zhu Yuanzhang valued Fang Xiaoru and had summoned him twice, his official career should have enjoyed smooth sailing.
Yet Zhu Yuanzhang had deliberately left Fang Xiaoru unused, reserving him for his son. After his son died, he had reserved him for his grandson-the present Zhu Yunwen.
Zhu Yunwen sighed. If events truly followed history, once Zhu Di stormed the capital, Fang Xiaoru would journey to the Yellow Springs alongside more than eight hundred others.
To call him a loyal minister was correct-absolutely correct!
Before Zhu Di's butcher's blade, his vast, upright spirit was beyond anyone's match.
His conviction was that of a true scholar: "Sacrifice life to fulfill benevolence; never seek survival at benevolence's expense."
He would rather die than yield, rather die than serve a second lord!
But his abilities did not match his position. The "loyal counsel" he offered bore considerable responsibility for Zhu Yunwen's defeat in the struggle against Zhu Di.
Yet who could be blamed?
He was merely a loyal scholar, not a gifted commander!
After granting Fang Xiaoru a seat, Zhu Yunwen studied him. Though his complexion was sallow, his eyes shone brightly, revealing an unyielding will. Zhu Yunwen asked, "Master Fang, have you come about the military reductions?"
"Reducing the army is beneficial. I have come not over that matter, but over civil governance."
Fang Xiaoru spoke solemnly.
"Oh? Civil governance? Please explain, master."
Zhu Yunwen watched Fang Xiaoru with interest.
Fang Xiaoru spoke confidently and at length. "I dwelt for many years in a remote region. Upon first arriving in the capital, I received Your Majesty's favor and was appointed Hanlin Lecturer. I have seen Your Majesty promote Confucian learning and cultivate letters, intent on civil governance. Yet I believe that to pursue civil governance, one must act in accordance with ritual propriety."
"What do you mean, master?"
Zhu Yunwen frowned.
Fang Xiaoru spoke frankly. "Your Majesty summoned the Prince of Yan to the capital. Was this intended as an Abolition of the Fiefdoms?"
Zhu Yunwen looked at Fang Xiaoru without saying a word.
Fang Xiaoru bowed with clasped hands. "I implore Your Majesty not to do so under any circumstances. Although the Prince of Yan is foremost among the frontier princes, he has committed no offense. Summoning him to the capital and forcibly stripping his power would violate ritual propriety. Moreover, the Founding Emperor passed away only a little over a month ago. If Your Majesty moves against the frontier princes now, I fear it will chill men's hearts."
Zhu Yunwen waved a hand and smiled. "You worry too much, master. I summoned the Prince of Yan to the capital to make amends for an earlier mistake. Our dynasty honors benevolence and filial piety. If the imperial household cannot practice them, how can it set an example for the myriad people?"
"Truly?"
"Of course. To spare the Prince of Yan any anxiety, I have ordered the capital army reduced by one hundred thousand men, showing all the princes that I have no intention of stripping their power. At the same time, the soldiers will become civilians and reclaim land in the southern hills. Would that not be better?"
"Our emperor is wise indeed."
Delighted, Fang Xiaoru knelt and bowed.
Zhu Yunwen sent Fang Xiaoru on his way, only for Qi Tai and Huang Zicheng to arrive.
After hearing that the army would be reduced by one hundred thousand men, the two had become deeply alarmed and hurriedly submitted memorials. Zhu Yunwen, however, had ignored them.
When no reply came, they went straight to the Hall of Martial Valor to request an audience.
"Your Majesty, the army must not be reduced at this time..."
"Please rescind your decree, Your Majesty..."
The two took turns speaking, leaving Zhu Yunwen increasingly troubled.
In the end, he had no other choice.
Zhu Yunwen praised their unwavering loyalty and assured them that the capital army's fighting strength would never be compromised. Even with reductions, fierce warriors like tigers and wolves could be transferred from the frontier. Only then did he calm them.
After they left, Zhu Yunwen picked up a memorial written by Right Deputy Censor-in-Chief Yuan Tai. One line read: "An imperial decree notwithstanding, his deceased mother remains unburied, and his father is ninety years old. He ought not abandon them to travel."
This was an attack on Xie Jin for coming to the capital to mourn the late emperor.
It was precisely thanks to this fellow's memorial that Xie Jin, one of the Ming dynasty's three great talents and the future compiler of the Yongle Encyclopedia, had been driven off to Gansu to eat sand.
A smile touched Zhu Yunwen's lips, and he said softly, "Xie Jin, shall I have you compile a Jianwen Encyclopedia for me? Heh. Attendant, summon Xie Jin to the palace."
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