Chapter 360: The Secrets of Seniority and Inferiority, the Emperor’s Trust and Entrustment

Emperor Yongle, Zhu Di, had four sons in total. Aside from his youngest son who died at a young age, the other three were born to his principal wife, Empress Xu. Even the most favored concubines, such as Consort Wang and Consort Gui, failed to bear children. Thus, the eldest son, Zhu Gaochi, was required to study classics and history to understand rituals, while the second son, Zhu Gaoxu, had to fight on the battlefield. As the youngest, Zhu Gaosui was doted on from a young age and could enjoy life without doing anything. The only time he faced danger was when he fled Nanjing before the Jingnan Campaign; at most, there was the incident years earlier when Zhu Di, in a fit of anger, killed his chief secretary, Gu Sheng.

But that time only someone else lost their head, and he himself remained unharmed. Compared to Zhu Gaoxu, the King of Han, who kept making mistakes without any remorse, Zhu Gaosui was much more obedient. From then on, he gradually became more restrained, so that no one could catch him making major mistakes anymore.

Although good at hiding his feelings, Zhu Gaosui was clearly upset. Spotting a rabbit darting in the distance, he sneered, nocked an arrow, and shot. With a whoosh, the arrow pinned the rabbit to the ground. Seeing this, Zhang Fei mounted his horse and stepped forward with a smile, saying, “If the Emperor were here and saw His Highness the Prince of Zhao’s archery skills, he would surely praise him highly. Why don’t you all go drive away the prey so that His Highness can show off his skills?”

Spring came late in the northern regions. It had snowed just a few days ago, but it was still much better than the desolate winter scene covered in snow. Many animals that had hidden throughout the winter came out to forage as the weather warmed up. Sensing the hidden meaning in Zhang Fei’s words, Zhu Gaosui didn’t want the Jinyiwei spies to follow him around all the time, so he snapped, “Hurry up and go!”

Meng Jun saw the group of Jinyiwei members reluctantly scatter. Noticing four attendants behind Zhu Gaosui plus Zhang Fei, he felt he was in the way. He was about to find an excuse to leave and try his luck at hunting when Zhu Gaosui waved him over. Though extremely reluctant, he still spurred his horse forward with utmost respect on his face.

“Back when Old Meng brought you into the palace, you were still very young. Now you’re already married and have children!” Zhu Gaosui sized up Meng Jun from head to toe before suddenly laughing. “How’s it like running errands at the Left Military Command? If I’d known it would be like this, your father should have sent you to serve in the imperial guards. At the very least, you could have worked as a guard in my palace—better than being a minor marquis just doing clerical work.”

Before Meng Jun could speak in defense, Zhang Fei beside him interjected, “There are many descendants of nobles throughout the capital, but few who are truly capable. Brother Jun is first-rate both in talent and character. If it weren’t for Marquis Baoding holding back his own son, he would have long been in charge of his own affairs. When I first entered the palace as a guard and was honored with the title of commander, I was about the same age as Brother Jun. How is it that at his age he is still just a fifth-rank official? He is a legitimate descendant of a meritorious hero!”
As the legitimate heir to the Marquis Baoding title, Meng Jun had always been regarded as an honest man. Seeing Prince Zhao Zhu Gao Sui and Zhang Fei supporting him, he could only spread his hands and smile bitterly, “Your Highness Prince Zhao and Uncle Zhang, please don’t overpraise me. Only those within the family know our situation. I am merely of average ability, nowhere near my grandfather or father. Even handling minor tasks in the Left Army Command, I often make mistakes, let alone take on greater responsibilities. I don’t have great ambitions either. Besides, if I inherit the title in the future, it will be a higher rank—why worry about my current position? With my beloved wife and children by my side, that’s enough for me.”
Zhu Gao Sui was a shrewd man; otherwise, he wouldn’t have reigned as Prince Zhao so comfortably without considering other matters. As for Zhang Fei, he had always felt he was at a disadvantage as the second son. In his view, although his elder brother Zhang Fu had earned his title through hard work, without their father Zhang Yu who died in battle, Zhang Fu wouldn’t have been made a duke at such a young age. Moreover, Zhang Fu preferred to support his cousins and nieces rather than help him, let alone his own nephews. This made him feel even more heartless.
Thus, at that moment, both of them despised Meng Jun for his lack of ambition. Zhang Fei even began to resent the marriage arrangement that Zhang Fu had facilitated back then. A true man should have multiple wives and children, control his wife firmly—how could he be as meek and obedient to his wife as Meng Jun? When Meng Jun said with a smile that he wanted to try his luck and bring some game back to offer to his parents and wife as a treat, the two were too lazy to stop him and let him go.
“Meng Xian struggled hard to obtain a title but failed, while this Meng Jun just wants to live a comfortable life. Heaven truly is blind!”
Hearing Prince Zhao Zhu Gao Sui’s dissatisfied muttering, Zhang Fei pulled his horse closer and said, “Your Highness Prince Zhao, don’t be upset. Meng Ying is already indecisive and fearful, and so is his son. There’s no need to worry about the Left Army Command in the future.”

“Not something to fear?” Zhu Gaosui snorted lightly. After glancing around, he lowered his voice and said, “You probably don’t know that once your cousin Zhang You returns from patrolling the seas, another earl will emerge from your Zhang family!”
“This… how is that possible! Patrolling the seas to hunt pirates only happens every few years—what great merit is that?”
“Would the Emperor care about such things when granting titles? Think about how Xu Cheng, the Earl of Yongxin, got his title. The Emperor ordered Tan Shen and Zhao Xi to kill the imperial son-in-law Mei Yin, then instructed Xu Cheng to expose them, and thus he was granted the title. Your cousin has fought alongside the Duke of Yingguo in Jiaozhi for many years and later fought several fierce battles under Marquis Li Bin of Fengcheng. Now, after another trip at sea, who dares say he can’t be made an earl? Besides, if Zhang You is made an earl as a bastard son, while the legitimate eldest son Zhang Xin is still stuck in Jiaozhi… I wonder how those old fools in the court still clamor about the unbreakable rules of legitimacy and seniority!”
While the two were discussing legitimacy and seniority, Meng Jun had already ridden all the way to the edge of the forest. He had originally intended to avoid attention today since it happened to be the day the Emperor was assigning tasks, but now he couldn’t help but wonder about Zhang Xuan’s intentions in stoking tensions today. Everyone thought he was honest, and his performance in office was mediocre, but they never considered that with such an ambitious uncle, what would the Emperor think if he weren’t honest?
As he was deep in thought, he suddenly sensed a dark shadow darting in front of him. Without time to think, he instinctively drew an arrow, nocked it, and shot. When he saw what he had hit, he was both surprised and delighted. He spurred his horse forward and reached out to grab it.
“If I had looked more carefully, I should have shot its head. What a fine fox pelt—now it can only serve as a seat cushion for Aqing!”
As he pondered how to use this fox to win over his wife, he heard a loud crackling noise. Startled, he didn’t have time to figure out what was happening when his horse panicked, letting out a loud neigh and kicking up its legs. This sudden incident caught him off guard, and it took him a while to calm his mount. After identifying the direction of the noise, he rushed there at full speed. Along the way, he encountered several Jinyiwei guards, followed by Zhu Gaosui and Zhang Xuan. The group joined forces and searched slowly. When they emerged from the forest, they saw a camp guarded by layers of soldiers in the distance.

At the end of the hundred-step open space stood a row of wooden targets covered with thick, sturdy cowhide. Now that the smoke had dissipated, one could clearly see the blackened areas on them with just a keen eye. At Liu Sheng’s command, more than a dozen personal guards rushed forward and quickly brought the targets over. Though they had appeared blackened from a distance, now one could see the numerous wounds on them—the thick cowhide was almost completely torn apart.

“Good, very good!”

Seeing the power of these new firearms, Zhu Di’s face lit up with joy as he nodded firmly. Beside him, Zhang Yue stared intently at the three rows of thirty soldiers from the Divine Machine Corps carefully selected by Liu Sheng, or rather, at the firearms in their hands. Although he had already seen Ming military weapons before, these men were no match for the fully armed Divine Machine Corps. During the rapid firing earlier, he had clearly seen that the soldiers in the first row fired in odd and even positions, those in the second row were responsible for passing the firearms, and those in the third row handled loading the gunpowder. With six consecutive shots, their power was truly remarkable, and none of the guns misfired.

Since the capital garrison was the main military force, and the Divine Machine Corps had accompanied them on two northern expeditions, Liu Sheng, though he had sent his personal guards to protect the emperor closely in the middle, wasn’t worried about any rebellion. Hearing the emperor praise them twice, he felt proud as well and quickly gave a few orders to a trusted guard. Soon, the guard brought over a box.

“Your Majesty, please take a look. These are the new firearms produced by the Military Armaments Bureau this time.”

Seeing Liu Sheng present the box along with the firearms, Zhu Di took it casually and then took out the copper-handled gun. He weighed it in his hand, inspected it carefully, and then handed it to Zhang Yue, who was full of curiosity. Smiling, he said, “The craftsmanship is much finer than before. It’s lighter and shorter in hand, yet its power has only increased. With such powerful weapons, if we go on another northern expedition, I really want to see where Arutai can run!”

Holding this exquisitely crafted gun, Zhang Yue couldn’t help but examine it closely from all angles. The gun body was over a foot long, but the diameter at the front end was no more than two centimeters. The barrel tapered from back to front in a conical shape, and its surface was polished to a high shine, with no signs of rough construction. There was also a cover over the ignition hole to prevent the gunpowder from getting wet by rain. He had even glimpsed a spoon in the wooden box, likely used for measuring gunpowder.

He saw a line of clear inscriptions on the gun—“The 17th year of Yongle, first month, Tian character number 104”—and couldn’t help asking, “Marquis Anyuan, why isn’t this the first Tian character?”
Liu Sheng was about to express his determination to fight the enemy bravely to Zhu Di when he was suddenly startled by this question. He then laughed and said, “The Armory Bureau produces many weapons every year—some new, some made according to old models. Naturally, the new ones can’t be used right away; they must be tested repeatedly in the training ground. You asked about the first Tian character, right? Well, that one exploded… Not to mention the first one, even numbers 50, 60, 70, and 80 were mostly failures. It wasn’t until after number 100 that they gradually became functional. Anyway, though these firearms are powerful, their biggest flaw is explosion…”
Before he could finish speaking, Yuan Fang stepped forward and reported in a low voice, “Your Majesty, Prince Zhao and the others heard the noise here. Worried about Your Majesty’s safety, they are waiting outside the camp gate. Shall we let them in?”
Zhu Di didn’t answer immediately, nor did he take the gun handed to him by Zhang Yue. Suddenly, he blurted out, “Zhang Yue, what do you think of these guns?”
Zhang Yue steadied himself and replied loudly, “Your Majesty, these guns are truly valuable weapons for the battlefield. In my opinion, the Armory Bureau deserves praise for creating such excellent weapons, but the craftsmen who refine and improve them deserve even greater rewards. As Marquis Anyuan mentioned earlier, countless tests and prototypes were made in the training ground to improve these guns, showing their utmost dedication.”
“Reward the craftsmen?” Zhu Di raised an eyebrow and then said, “Scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants each have their own roles. Scholars assist me in governing the country, farmers work in the fields, and merchants exchange goods. What these craftsmen do is also part of their duties. If we reward everyone every time something is created, then who in the world shouldn’t be rewarded?”
“Your Majesty, for a craftsman to do his job well, he must first have good tools. The quality of the craftsman is fundamental to the quality of the weapon. If farmers work hard and pay taxes, they will naturally have more surplus grain, which over time becomes wealth. And if skilled craftsmen create good products but are treated the same as others, how can we motivate them to create even better weapons? If they receive rewards from Your Majesty, they will surely be grateful and work even harder in the future. As for other craftsmen, seeing someone stand out because of this will surely inspire them to put in more effort. Just like military achievements—soldiers fight bravely in battle to serve the court. Without such achievements, their enthusiasm would likely be halved.”

“Very well. Have the craftsmen who contributed to the development of these hand cannons reported by the Armaments Bureau, and each shall be rewarded with ten taels of silver.”
“Your Majesty, please forgive my blunt words, but rewarding them with silver is not as good as rewarding them with fame.”
Although Liu Sheng was related to the Zhang family through marriage, he had only heard that the emperor trusted Zhang Yue greatly. Hearing the back-and-forth between the emperor and his minister now, it seemed as though they were arguing, which made him worry. After all, high-ranking officials in the court usually dared not speak loudly in front of the emperor—how could Zhang Yue dare to be so disrespectful? What surprised him even more was that after suddenly growing silent for a while, Zhu Di suddenly uttered words he hadn’t expected at all.
“Good. Since you’re so concerned about this matter, I have a new position for you. You will hold the title of Deputy Director of the Military Armory Department, responsible for the reequipping of the Divine Machine Camp. As for how to reward the meritorious craftsmen from the Armaments Bureau, draft a proposal for me… Liu Sheng!”
Startled, Liu Sheng immediately snapped out of his shock at this call and hurried forward to bow in response. Unexpectedly, Zhu Di reached out and gently touched his arm—a rare gesture of intimacy that shocked him deeply.
“Watch over the imperial troops for me. I entrust everything behind me and in my inner circle to you!”