Chapter Summaries

Zhu Yunwen appointed Yao Guangxiao to the Hanlin Academy and defended his choice in the widely circulated “Cat Theory,” which also brought hope to Yang Shiqi. In Beiping, Zhu Di learned that Dao Yan had joined Zhu Yunwen’s court and began to question his plans, just as Zhu Gaoxu announced that Dao Yan had returned.

• Zhu Yunwen restored Yao Guangxiao’s secular name, appointed him Left Virtuous Administrator, and admitted him to the Hanlin Academy as an Expositor-in-waiting.
• Zhu Yunwen wrote “Cat Theory” to argue that talented people should serve regardless of their background, and the essay spread throughout Great Ming.
• Ding Jin brought “Cat Theory” to Yang Shiqi, who praised it and learned that Wang Shuying had recommended him for work in the Capital.
• Zhu Gaochi told Zhu Di that Dao Yan had entered the Hanlin Academy and that Zhu Yunwen’s policies had effectively taken control of the Prince of Yan’s Three Guards.
• Zhu Di refused to accept that Dao Yan had become Zhu Yunwen’s trusted adviser, and Zhu Gaoxu announced that Dao Yan had returned.

Dao Yan returned to Beiping as a Hanlin Academy scholar and persuaded Zhu Di to abandon his plans to rebel against Zhu Yunwen. After reading Zhu Yunwen’s Cat Theory and hearing of his plans for a greater undertaking, Zhu Di pledged his allegiance to the emperor.

• Zhu Di’s sons warned him that Dao Yan might be a court spy, but Zhu Di agreed to receive him.
• Dao Yan admitted that Zhu Yunwen had appointed him to the Hanlin Academy and met with Zhu Di in private.
• Dao Yan revealed that Zhu Yunwen had foreseen Zhu Di’s deception and urged him to stop pretending to be mad.
• Dao Yan gave Zhu Di a copy of Cat Theory, and Zhu Di recognized Zhu Yunwen’s growing support among soldiers, scholars, commoners, and merchants.
• Dao Yan delivered Zhu Yunwen’s message inviting Zhu Di to join him in opening a road never before seen, and described the emperor’s Map of the World.
• Zhu Di submitted to Zhu Yunwen, acknowledged him as emperor, and vowed to follow him in his great undertaking.

Zhu Yunwen took Ma Enhui on a secret nighttime outing along the Qinhuai River, then explained that he wanted to encourage commerce to strengthen Great Ming's finances. He left Ma Enhui alarmed by his proposal to raise the commercial tax rate from one in thirty to one in ten.

• Zhu Yunwen persuaded Ma Enhui to visit the bustling Qinhuai River, where she worried that someone would recognize the emperor and empress.
• Liu Changge challenged a larger pleasure boat for blocking their channel, and Zhu Zhi and Zhu Geng discovered that Zhu Yunwen was aboard.
• Zhu Zhi and Zhu Geng cleared the way for Zhu Yunwen's boat, then pretended they had seen nothing and returned to their residences.
• After returning to the palace, Zhu Yunwen told Ma Enhui that freer commerce could raise the tax revenue needed to fund his plans for Great Ming.
• Zhu Yunwen used a jade inkstone to illustrate commercial taxation, and Ma Enhui objected when he proposed raising the tax rate to one in ten.

On the first day of the Jianwen era, Ma Enhui was invested as Empress, and Zhu Yunwen celebrated the new year with court ceremonies and rewards for officials. After granting the capital officials ten days of leave, the Grand Secretariat ministers argued over who had to remain on duty and settled on rock, paper, scissors.

• On New Year's Eve, Ma Enhui proposed selecting more women for the rear palace, but Zhu Yunwen refused a general selection and told her to arrange a few consorts from the Inner Palace as she saw fit.
• Zhu Yunwen watched Ma Enhui leave for her family home before her investiture, then returned to the Hall of Martial Valor and ordered dumplings.
• On New Year's Day, Fang Xiaoru and Xie Jin presented Ma Enhui with the Investiture Edict, Golden Investiture Book, and Golden Seal, and she was formally installed as Empress.
• Zhu Yunwen rejected a general amnesty, announced three extra months of salary for capital officials, and granted them ten days of leave before court resumed.
• Yu Xin, Zhang Zhen, and Xie Jin argued over who would cover the Grand Secretariat during the holiday, then agreed to decide by playing rock, paper, scissors.

Zhu Yunwen gathered Ma Enhui, Consort Xian, and Consort Ning to make dumplings, easing the neglected Consort Ning’s grievances with a warm family meal. The chapter ended with Zhu Yunwen looking ahead to his hopes for Great Ming’s prosperity.

• Consort Ning declined Zhu Yunwen’s invitation to the Directorate of Imperial Meals because she felt neglected and believed meeting him would make no difference.
• Ma Enhui struggled to knead dough, while Consort Xian arrived and taught her how to work it properly.
• After learning Consort Ning was admiring plum blossoms rather than ill, Zhu Yunwen sent Shuangxi to invite her personally.
• Consort Ning joined the others, and Zhu Yunwen helped her roll dough and wrap dumplings when she struggled.
• Ma Enhui and Consort Ning laughed at Zhu Yunwen’s flour-covered face, and the group shared a joyful meal together.
• Zhu Yunwen raised his cup and wished that future generations would consider Great Ming greater than the Han and Tang.

Zhu Yunwen proposed making Great Ming’s founding day a permanent National Day and ordered measures to honor the dynasty’s founders while cautiously addressing past injustices. The chapter ended with him discovering that Great Ming had no national flag, national emblem, or national anthem.

• Zhu Yunwen summoned Xie Jin, Xu Huizu, and Chen Di and proposed celebrating Great Ming’s founding day as National Day throughout the realm.
• Xie Jin and Chen Di supported the proposal, while Xu Huizu urged Zhu Yunwen to publicly honor Taizu and the officials who founded the nation.
• Zhu Yunwen promised Xu Huizu he would resolve the injustices against meritorious families within ten years and ordered exiled relatives brought back and resettled.
• Zhu Yunwen directed the Imperial College to write an accessible, truthful account of Taizu’s life and Great Ming’s founding heroes.
• Zhu Yunwen asked about Great Ming’s national flag, emblem, and anthem, and Xie Jin, Xu Huizu, and Chen Di admitted they did not know what those were.

Zhu Yunwen ordered Great Ming’s national flag, national emblem, and national anthem to be developed, assigning the work to the Rites Ministry with proposals from the Six Ministries, Five Army Commandery, and Grand Secretariat. The Capital celebrated the new National Day, while officials and nobles struggled to devise designs and began recruiting more contributors.

• Zhu Yunwen directed the Six Ministries, Five Army Commandery, and Grand Secretariat to submit proposals for Great Ming’s flag, emblem, and anthem.
• Zhu Yunwen designated the fourth day of the first lunar month as National Day, granted seven days of celebration, moved the court assembly to the sixteenth, and lifted the Capital’s curfew during the holiday.
• Xie Jin drafted the edict, and the people of the Capital cheered when the Office of Transmission announced it.
• Xu Huizu summoned Xu Yingxu to discuss designs, but Xu Yingxu could not produce an idea, so Xu Huizu invited military nobles to a banquet.
• Xie Jin gathered Yu Xin and Zhang Zhen to work on proposals, and they discussed inviting Hanlin scholars and Yao Guangxiao to contribute.
• After their sketches satisfied no one, Xie Jin proposed bringing regional compilers to the Capital ahead of schedule.

After hearing that the court planned to create a national flag, national emblem, and national anthem, Imperial College students Wu Yun and Hu Jun decided to seek Wang Shen’s help in getting their college involved. Hu Jun led a group of students to Wang’s residence and asked him to help make the Imperial College’s name known for generations.

• Hu Jun told Wu Yun that the court had established National Day and planned to create a national flag, national emblem, and national anthem.
• Hu Jun persuaded Wu Yun that the Imperial College should take part and proposed asking Wang Shen to intervene.
• Wu Yun agreed, and Hu Jun gathered more than thirty students to petition Wang Shen.
• The students visited Wang Shen’s residence and asked him to help the Imperial College contribute to the national symbols project.

Zhu Yunwen opened the creation of Great Ming’s national flag, emblem, and anthem to proposals from people throughout the country, including Imperial College students. Later, he debated Song prosperity and merchant restrictions with Ma Enhui, then invited her to inspect the medical gauze.

• Wang Shen asked Zhu Yunwen to let the Imperial College participate in drafting the national flag, emblem, and anthem.
• Shuangxi reported that people across the Capital, including merchants, craftsmen, and girls from the Jade Smoke House, wanted to contribute, and Zhu Yunwen ordered proposals to be solicited nationwide.
• Zhu Yunwen approved Imperial College participation and told Wang Shen to address the college’s problems promptly.
• Ma Enhui warned Zhu Yunwen that Song prosperity had not spared its people from suffering and cautioned him against pursuing wealth at their expense.
• Zhu Yunwen challenged Ma Enhui to reconsider lifting restrictions on merchants if wealth could be gained without harming the people, then invited her to inspect the medical gauze.

Zhu Yunwen visited the Palace of Heavenly Succession to encourage the harem’s efforts to develop medical gauze, which remained difficult to weave. He ordered the workers to rest, expanded the project’s workforce, and then celebrated Great Ming’s first National Day with Ma Enhui in the Capital.

• Ma Enhui supervised Consort Ning, Consort Xian, and palace workers as they struggled to make medical gauze that was breathable, strong, and free of loose fibers.
• Zhu Yunwen explained the benefits of clean medical gauze to Ma Enhui and encouraged her to trust that the project could succeed.
• Consort Xian showed Zhu Yunwen a fragile sample, and he ordered everyone to take two days off before resuming their work.
• Zhu Yunwen suggested recruiting more skilled workers, and Ma Enhui selected thirty-six weavers to join the project on the sixth.
• Zhu Yunwen and Ma Enhui left the palace to celebrate Great Ming’s first National Day with the people of the Capital.