Zhu Yuanzhang's return to morning court did not particularly surprise his ministers. After all, he had already let it be known that he needed only a month to recuperate.
Still, his vigorous appearance reassured most of the ministers and made a few others put away the little schemes they should never have entertained.
After morning court ended, Zhu Yuanzhang reviewed memorials in the western side hall of the Hall of Heavenly Favor, just as he always had.
Partway through, he summoned an Imperial Guard officer on duty by verbal decree, had him take a handwritten order, and said, "Go to Fengyang and summon Zhu Di, Prince of Yan, back to the capital."
The officer was somewhat surprised to hear this, but he dared not dwell on it and immediately accepted the decree and went to carry it out.
Zhu Yuanzhang gazed in the direction of Fengyang, narrowing his eyes in thought.
A month was not nearly enough for him to forget the contents of the second Rebel Army Group chat. Previously, however, the "Giving Up" status had left him unwilling to analyze or speculate about certain matters.
Now that the "Giving Up" status was gone, he naturally had to examine those matters carefully.
"He killed his nephew and usurped the throne, yet managed to usher in the Yongle Flourishing Age."
"He wasn't such a bad emperor, but his descendants went downhill again. What a collection of wretched emperors they produced!"
"Fourth Son, oh, Fourth Son, what exactly should I do with you?"
When Zhu Yuanzhang first learned that Zhu Di had "killed his nephew and usurped the throne," he had indeed felt the urge to kill him. Zhu Di was his son, certainly, but he was not his only son. Besides, in his eyes, the realm of Great Ming mattered more than one son's life!
Passing the throne down through the legitimate eldest son's line, so that the Great Ming imperial family would not repeatedly descend into internal strife over the throne as Li Tang had, was the fundamental policy Zhu Yuanzhang had established to ensure his dynasty endured. Naturally, he did not want anyone overturning it.
Yet once he learned that Zhu Di had ushered in the "Yongle Flourishing Age" after usurping the throne, that faint, lingering murderous intent toward him dispersed.
Moreover, as he now considered the matter of "Zhu Di killing his nephew and usurping the throne," he inferred a few other things from it.
"If I passed the throne to Biao'er's second son, who hasn't even been born yet, I would certainly clear away anyone who might obstruct his rule. I would never let powerful ministers control him after he ascended the throne."
"Also, though I plan to have the princes guard the frontiers, I won't give them too much military authority. Both the Former Han and the Western Jin suffered turmoil caused by their imperial clans. I couldn't possibly fail to take precautions."
"If, under those circumstances, Biao'er's second son still allowed someone to plot a great fire in the Forbidden City, perished in the flames himself, and let Fourth Son ascend the throne smoothly afterward, he must have been rather incompetent."
"Unfortunately, Biao'er's second son hasn't even been born, much less given me a chance to judge his character."
"If Xiongying and Biao'er still fail to escape their original fate of dying from illness, and Biao'er's second son proves beyond shaping into anything worthwhile, then the throne of Great Ming..."
At that point, Zhu Yuanzhang refused to think any further.
"Xiongying, Biao'er, and my dear wife." Zhu Yuanzhang clenched his hands again. "Now that I know, I will defy Heaven and change your fates!"
Fengyang was not far from the capital.
Two days later, Zhu Di returned.
Since Zhu Yuanzhang had summoned him unexpectedly, he assumed there was something urgent. He did not even return to the Prince of Yan's Residence, but entered the palace travel-worn and dusty.
"Your son pays his respects, Father!"
"Rise."
"Thank you, Father!"
When Zhu Di raised his head, Zhu Yuanzhang carefully examined this son of his, who was only eighteen. He had grown darker and thinner than before. Clearly, he had not sought comfort in Fengyang, but had genuinely gone among the soldiers and common people to temper himself. Alongside his satisfaction, Zhu Yuanzhang felt a measure of a father's tender concern.
But he did not show that emotion. Instead, he asked evenly, "Fourth Son, tell me. What impressions did you gain during this month in Fengyang? And what did you learn?"
Zhu Di was still young then, with little depth to his cunning. At the question, he clasped his hands with some excitement and said, "Father, Second Brother, Third Brother, and I followed your arrangements. Most days, we drilled with the officers and soldiers in camp, and in our spare time we went out to the fields to learn about farming."
"I used to think studying and practicing martial arts in the palace was hard. Only after going to the army camps in Fengyang did I realize that little hardship was nothing compared with what the soldiers endured in camp, and even less compared with what they suffered while following you to establish Great Ming."
"But I actually quite liked the camps. The officers and soldiers were straightforward and said whatever was on their minds. Every day, I crawled and tumbled through training with them, practicing archery, horsemanship, saber, and spear. Once I grew accustomed to it, I no longer found it hard. I enjoyed it instead..."
The more Zhu Di spoke, the more excited he became, while Zhu Yuanzhang's brow furrowed ever deeper as he listened.
By the time Zhu Di finished, almost everything he had said concerned army life. He had scarcely mentioned the farmers or anything that happened in the fields.
"Any other impressions?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked.
Zhu Di did have a quick mind. Scratching his head, he vaguely guessed what had displeased his father and said, "I also found time to go to the fields and speak with the common people. They work from dawn until dark every day just for that little grain in their fields. Their lives are hard too..."
After a couple of sentences, Zhu Di fell silent. He had nothing more to say.
Zhu Yuanzhang immediately snorted. "Don't think I don't know. Since arriving in Fengyang, you've practically lived in the army camps. You barely went to the fields at all, much less immersed yourself among the people to learn about farming and their hardships."
"What, do you only listen to half of what I say? Are those mud-legged peasants scratching a living from the soil so beneath your notice, Prince of Yan? Are your great-grandfather, your grandfather, and your father beneath your notice too?!"
Hearing such harsh words from Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Di started in fright and hurriedly clasped his hands. "I would never dare! I have absolutely no intention of looking down on the common people. I... I simply became too absorbed in military training and neglected to learn more about their hardships."
Zhu Yuanzhang watched Zhu Di without speaking for a time, while thinking of the achievements of Yongle mentioned in the short video played in the Rebel Army Group.
At first glance, both his civil administration and military accomplishments had seemed splendid.
Yet on reflection and analysis, his five expeditions into Mobei and his ceremonial tribute to Heaven at Langjuxu, along with his conquest of Annam and establishment of the Jiaozhi Provincial Administration Commission, clearly made his military achievements the greater of the two.
As for civil administration, dredging the Grand Canal was essential to moving the capital to Beiping and launching five expeditions into Mobei. Otherwise, whether it was grain needed by Beiping or military provisions for the northern campaigns, enormous quantities would have been lost in transport from south to north.
And though Zhu Yuanzhang did not know the precise contents of the "Yongle Encyclopedia," after careful thought, he judged that it was most likely a project undertaken specifically to showcase Zhu Di's civil achievements, with little significance for ordinary people or their livelihoods.
After establishing Great Ming, apart from sending Xu Da north to capture Dadu, he had subsequently dispatched troops against the Remnant Yuan in Hongwu Year Three and Hongwu Year Five.
His chief reason for those northern expeditions had been the warning offered by the Song Dynasty's fate. He feared that, once the Remnant Yuan recovered its strength on the steppe, it would march south and occupy the old Yan-Yun region, leaving Great Ming's northern frontier without peace thereafter.
The first northern expedition, launched in the third year of Hongwu, had gone fairly smoothly. All three armies won victories, forcing Ayushiridara, the crown prince of Emperor Tianshun and Emperor Xuanguang of the Northern Yuan, to flee north into Mobei. They also captured his son, Maidiribala.
But in the second northern expedition, launched in Hongwu Year Five, the central army under Xu Da suffered a crushing defeat at Wang Baobao's hands. Li Wenzhong's eastern army had merely balanced its gains against its losses. Only Feng Sheng's western army won a victory.
Fearing that the Eastern Chagatai Khanate would advance east in coordination with the Remnant Yuan, he could only order Feng Sheng to abandon the newly conquered Gansu.
That campaign made him realize that the Remnant Yuan could not be destroyed in a short time. Fighting in the north, especially advancing deep into the steppe, was vastly different from warfare in the south and the Central Plains.
Furthermore, the central army's crushing defeat had cost Great Ming a considerable number of troops and horses. Thus, from Hongwu Year Five to the present, he had never launched a third northern expedition. Even with the Xifan tribes, which repeatedly surrendered only to rebel again, he mainly pursued conciliation, hoping to lull the Remnant Yuan into complacency while quietly accumulating provisions, troops, and horses.
Indeed, amassing large quantities of provisions and weapons was essential if a northern expedition was to succeed.
That raised a question.
What exactly had Zhu Di accomplished in the five expeditions into Mobei mentioned in that short video? When the Ming armies penetrated deep into the steppe, even reaching Mount Langjuxu, had they found and annihilated the Remnant Yuan's main force?
How much of the nation's strength had those five northern expeditions consumed in total? Had they exhausted the people and drained the treasury, even leaving the populace seething with resentment?
Recalling how Zhu Di had just spoken only of army life in Fengyang and all but forgotten the common people laboring in the fields, Zhu Yuanzhang feared that the historical Emperor Yongle had probably never truly taken ordinary people's suffering to heart either.
The true face of the Yongle Flourishing Age, he feared, was also open to debate.
At that thought, Zhu Yuanzhang examined Zhu Di anew.
Though his fourth son was now kneeling on the floor with his head slightly bowed, the stubbornness and defiance in his expression were unmistakable.
Zhu Yuanzhang gave a short laugh. "Fourth Son, get up."
Zhu Di thought his father had forgiven him for neglecting farming. Delighted, he hurriedly rose.
He was just about to offer his thanks when Zhu Yuanzhang continued, "Return to Fengyang tomorrow, and take Xu Shi with you. I'll allot you five mu of farmland near our old home in Fengyang, along with seeds, farming tools, and food."
"For the next three years, you'll stay in Fengyang and farm honestly for me. Let's see whether you can feed yourself and Xu Shi, and how much tax you can turn over to me each year. Once you've truly learned how to work the land, I'll consider letting you return to the capital or take up your princely seat in Beiping."