Chapter 646: Father and Son, Lord and Subject

The first snowfall in Shandong since winter arrived unexpectedly, sweeping across Jinan and Qingzhou from south to north. Only when people went out in the early morning did they realize that a thick layer of snow covered the ground. Roofs, tree branches, railings, and wellheads—all were enveloped in white. Under the eaves hung countless icicle columns, glowing with crystal clarity.

For those with leisurely tastes, snowfall was indeed a joyous event. But for those who had to work, those who needed to go out, and even the servants of wealthy families, it was a tremendous hassle. Many of the laborers and servants in the Prince of Han’s mansion were awakened before dawn and, in the still gray light, swept the snow frantically with large brooms, finally clearing the stone roads by daybreak. Though exhausted and sore, none dared complain.

After all, their lord’s temper was currently quite bad!

The snow in other areas had been cleared, and the exterior of Prince Zhu Gaoxu’s residence, Thunder Residence, was also spotless. To prevent freezing, salt was even scattered on the roads—something extremely luxurious given that ordinary people could hardly afford salt. Yet the mansion spared no expense on such things. Although selling salt from the salt fields behind was not an option, no one dared refuse to provide some for the mansion’s use.

Inside Thunder Residence, it was warm as spring, with all the maids wearing thin spring clothes, making their figures even more alluring. But Zhu Gaoxu had no time to pay attention to these charming maids. His eyes were fixed on “Feng Yuanming,” who was diagnosing him, his gaze almost blazing with anger.

“In about a month, with medication and acupuncture, Your Highness’s illness will be cured.”

Hearing these concise words, a faint smile appeared on Zhu Gaoxu’s stiff face. Although he had gathered almost all the famous doctors in Qingzhou City, they were all incompetent—some couldn’t even identify the cause of the illness after a long examination. This unremarkable old man, however, seemed truly skilled. His methods—medication and acupuncture—seemed trivial to others but proved effective. After a brief thought, he nodded calmly, “Then I’ll wait a month. Someone, send him back.”

Tang Sair quietly packed up her medical kit, maintaining the same indifferent attitude as Feng Yuanming before. Yet, as soon as she reached the silver-red patterned door curtain, a young eunuch swiftly pushed it aside and rushed in. Without turning around, she could sense that the man hurried to Zhu Gaoxu’s bed and whispered something in his ear.

“Your Highness, news has just arrived—the emperor has achieved a great victory at Kuanhe, killing countless enemies, and the good news has already reached the capital. However, defenses have been strengthened in Dezhou, Cangzhou, Jinghai, and Tianjinwei. Additionally, there seem to be unusual activities in the Shandong military command, various garrisons, and battalions. As for the capital… the Crown Prince has sent troops into the city, and it is said that the entire capital is under martial law! When the messenger came to Le’an, he encountered soldiers sent back to the capital…”

“Damn it!”

Zhu Gaoxu, ignoring the presence of others, slammed his fist hard against the edge of the bed, then angrily overturned all the bedding on it. At that moment, everyone in the room felt the intense anger radiating from him and dared not make a sound. The eunuchs assigned to serve him truly understood that Zhu Gaoxu inherited the most prominent trait from Zhu Di—his sudden, fierce anger. No wonder even his residence was named “Thunder Residence.”

Tang Sair had no interest in staying there to serve as Zhu Gaoxu’s vent. She silently lifted the door curtain and stepped outside. Before even leaving the main hall, she heard a loud noise behind her, but it didn’t stop her from moving forward.

“If Father only took a few tens of thousands of troops this time, how could he still have a large army at his disposal? Send someone to investigate thoroughly. How dare this Crown Prince deploy troops without permission? He’s always pretended to be honest in Father’s presence. It’s time to expose his true nature. I want to see how he explains this… Wait, you said there was a great victory at Kuanhe? Kuanhe… Kuanhe… Damn it, isn’t that near Danning?”

Furious, Zhu Gaoxu jumped to his feet, his brows tightly furrowed. Even when he was the second son of the Prince of Yan, he had led troops against the Mongols in the north and was well aware of the situation in Danning. Later, during the Jingnan Uprising, he followed Zhu Di almost everywhere, going north to Danning to join forces with the Prince of Ning—so he knew exactly where Kuanhe was.

“Near there are the Wulangha Duyan Three Guards… Back then, there were also the Quan Ning Guard, Hui Zhou Guard, and Xin Cheng Guard. Naturally, the Tartars didn’t dare march south. But now, though Daming has been rebuilt, it’s nowhere near as powerful as the Northern Military Commission of old! If the Tartars under Arutai ally with the Wulangha, and His Majesty leads troops north to fight them, there won’t be an easy victory—something serious must have happened… Indeed, if not, why would that coward suddenly order martial law and reinforce defenses everywhere in the capital?”
Realizing this crucial point, Zhu Gaoxu grew even angrier and paced furiously on bare feet. It wasn’t until Mei Qing and Wang Bin arrived that he calmed down slightly, though he still said resentfully, “If this were a northern inspection rather than a military campaign, taking advantage of the capital’s vulnerability, I could immediately head north. I doubt that coward could stand against me!”
“Your Highness, I’ve left some people in the capital. They’ve been instructed by me to send messages to various noble families if anything goes wrong. If enough people turn against us, the capital’s stability will be at risk.” Since Mei Qing wasn’t in the capital, he couldn’t be sure of the situation there, so he gently advised, “Your Highness, please calm down for now. Remember, when the First Emperor passed away, His Majesty didn’t receive the news right away, yet he still achieved success eventually. Your Highness is unmatched in bravery, as His Majesty himself has praised. If His Majesty were truly absent, wouldn’t the world be in your hands?”
This was obviously blatant flattery, and Wang Bin, who disdained such tactics, frowned deeply. However, seeing Zhu Gaoxu’s mood ease slightly, he didn’t want to ruin the atmosphere, so he remained silent. When Zhu Gaoxu asked about the situation of the guards under his command, he reported everything in detail, then added in a low voice, “In my opinion, Your Highness should indeed wait. Without accurate information, we must not act rashly. Besides, everything else isn’t a concern—only the Jinyi Guard’s all-pervasive tactics require caution.”
“Of course I know we can’t act rashly. I’ve endured this for so long; I don’t care about one or two more days!”
Though Zhu Gaoxu said this, he was already planning to lead his troops out as soon as he got accurate news. As long as he could accuse Zhu Chici of rebellion, given the short distance from Shandong to Beijing, the chances of success were high. Hearing the last sentence, he briefly considered the possibility that Zhu Di wasn’t dead. Then, thinking of Yuan Fang, he smiled triumphantly.

“Rulers change, and so do their ministers. If the Emperor truly passes away, that Yuan Fang should be sent away to live out his days—this would already be the best outcome for him. With anyone else in charge, the Jinyiwei would hardly stay out of trouble for a year or so, let alone pay attention to my domain. Well, I’m not afraid even if that fat fool takes control of the capital; he won’t live long. As soon as anything goes wrong with him, I’ll immediately take his place!”
Since Yang Rong also brought the Emperor’s last will on this trip, it was presented after the news of the death was announced. With such a document, all the officials left in the capital to assist the Crown Prince couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. Zhu Gaochi acted swiftly, ordering Zhu Zhanji to select 5,000 troops from the imperial guard to rush to Danning immediately to handle the funeral affairs. He also issued orders to mobilize all the military forces in Shuntian Prefecture, doubling the security measures compared to before. What pleased Zhu Gaochi the most was the unhesitating attitude of the nobles. Not only did Duke Cheng, Zhu Yong, dispatch troops without hesitation, but everyone else also obeyed orders without question. By the time Zhu Zhanji set off that day, the entire capital region was as solid as a fortress.
Within a single day, all preparations were completed, yet the news of the Emperor’s death remained strictly kept secret—everyone who knew about it stayed in the palace, while the nobles leading the troops each took two eunuchs from the Eastern Palace with them.
Yang Rong, who returned at full speed through the night, had a legitimate reason to stay in the capital, while Zhang Yue, who had also stayed awake for nearly three days, still had to accompany Zhu Zhanji to Danning. Despite his strong physique, by the time he reached Songting Pass, he felt as if his head was about to explode, and his whole body was weak and exhausted. Chen Wu, who was with him, noticed his condition and saw that Zhu Zhanji’s lips were chapped and his face pale. Arguing that it was already past the appropriate time to travel and that it would be extremely dangerous to continue on at night after leaving Songting Pass, she insisted that they stay there for one night. The commander of Songting Pass also worried that the Mongols might hear about it and joined in urging them to stay, so Zhu Zhanji reluctantly agreed.
When Zhang Yue first passed through Songting Pass, the grasslands were covered in lush green grass, but on his return trip, the weather had suddenly turned cold. Now, upon arriving again, he saw that the grasslands outside the pass had lost their vibrant green color, the sky was overcast, and snowflakes were drifting down. Seeing such weather, he suggested that the commander send a message to Danning so that troops could be sent to join them. He then forced himself to stay in the room and talk with Zhu Zhanji, though his eyelids kept drooping.

“I see that Grandpa the Emperor still read my family letters back then… Actually, I learned this from you. When the Duke of Britain was seriously ill, you reported every detail to Nanjing, and I thought that was far more sincere than just writing empty words of respect. Later, when I fell ill in Dezhou, you even wrote a family letter to Grandpa the Emperor on my behalf. Now I habitually write such things every day, so this time I simply included it in the greeting letter and sent it along.”

“Your Highness still remembers this so clearly. I merely thought that since we are blood relatives, beyond formalities, we should also cherish our feelings, without thinking much of anything else.”

“Cherish feelings… Indeed, one should cherish feelings in life. Since I was young, it was Grandpa the Emperor who supervised my studies, taught me horseback riding and archery, and I don’t know how many times we went to the military camp together. Looking back now, Grandpa the Emperor truly loved the military life. Even though I’ve been leading the palace guards in drills since childhood, I’ve never been as obsessed with it as he was… Grandpa the Emperor is just Grandpa the Emperor; those who try to imitate him are merely copycats.”

“Some things can be imitated, but others cannot. There can only be one Yongle Emperor.”

Zhu Zhanji raised his eyebrows and then said thoughtfully, “Emperor? I remember my master mentioning before that only Sun Quan and Emperor Gaozong of Tang used this title, with a sense of complacency—which isn’t a good thing. If those old ministers heard you say that, they’d probably make up more stories about you!”

After saying this, he heard faint snoring. Turning his head, he saw Zhang Yue had somehow propped his hand on the table and was already asleep. Chen Wu, who was nearby, quickly stepped forward, about to wake Zhang Yue up, but Zhu Zhanji stood up and waved his hand lightly, saying, “He hasn’t slept for days on the road; he must be extremely tired. Let him sleep. Go get a cloak and come with me for a walk outside. I can’t sleep tonight!”

Since the Beiping Military Command had been abandoned for many years, even after reclaiming Danning, Songting Pass remained heavily guarded. However, unlike in the past when the focus was on defending the south, the focus now was on the north. So even at night, one could still see torches burning everywhere and troops patrolling. When Zhu Zhanji reached the city wall, several officers rushed over upon hearing the news, but were stopped by Chen Wu.

“Your Highness is in a bad mood right now. Don’t disturb him.”

The officers couldn’t see the plain clothes beneath Zhu Zhanji’s outer robe, nor did they know why he had suddenly led troops to Danning. Hearing Chen Wu’s words, they immediately stopped all activity. While it was regrettable to miss the chance to get close to the crown prince, it was even worse to anger this man. So, the officers stepped back at a distance but dared not leave without permission.

By now, it was already late; dark clouds covered the moon and stars, leaving the area outside the city in utter darkness, with not a hint of light. Snow continued to fall lightly, but the wind grew stronger, carrying sand and dust from the grasslands that stung people’s faces. Yet Zhu Zhanji, standing in the strong wind, didn’t move for a long time, appearing as if he had turned into a clay or wooden statue. Finally, worried that something was wrong, Chen Wu quietly stepped forward.

He draped another thick white fox fur cloak over Zhu Zhanji’s shoulders and then, mustering courage, gently touched the crown prince’s exposed hand. Seeing it was already frozen stiff, he inwardly groaned and quickly signaled the two eunuchs behind him. They handed him mink gloves, which he put on Zhu Zhanji without hesitation.

Seeing no reaction, he tried to persuade him, “Your Highness, even if you can’t sleep, the wind is strong at night. You should go inside and rest for a while. We still have a long journey ahead, and once we reach the army camp… Your Highness, you must think not only for yourself but also about what the emperor expects of you. It would be terrible if you get frostbite.”

Chen Wu had served Zhu Zhanji for many years, and usually such persuasion would work, but this time Zhu Zhanji paid no attention at all. Fearing and anxious, Chen Wu tried various ways to persuade him before finally getting him to go back inside. He didn’t even care that Zhang Yue was still asleep on the table and hurriedly ordered hot water to be brought. Once Zhu Zhanji sat down, he personally removed his shoes and socks to wash his feet.

His feet, numb and unresponsive, remained so for a long time before Zhu Zhanji let out a barely audible groan. His father had been the crown prince for twenty-one years, living in fear all that time, and now he had finally achieved his goal. The most difficult relationships in the world are between fathers and sons, and between rulers and subjects. Would it be the same for him in the future?