Chapter 281: The Emperor’s Tactics

Beijing in July was not as unbearably hot as in June, but for Zhu Di, who was nearly sixty and sensitive to heat, the weather was by no means comfortable. The bad news he had just received only added to his frustration. If it weren’t for the several ministers standing before him at that moment, his irritability would have driven him to unbutton his collar.

“Li Li is nothing but a petty clown, daring to provoke us time and again. Li Bin’s army of tens of thousands has spent over a year suppressing them, yet they still manage to outwit us? Now, there’s even Pan Liao joining Li Li! The natives of Jiaozhi clearly once revered the might of the Great Ming, but now they rebel one after another. None of the officials I sent are useful!”

Yang Rong had long been dissatisfied with sending troops to Jiaozhi. The emperor saw only victories in these campaigns, believing that the natives fled at the sight of the army, but Yang Rong saw them repeatedly rebelling due to their refusal to submit. Zhang Fu led four expeditions, and the subsequent military presence and punitive actions cost at least as much as two or three years’ worth of taxes for the Great Ming. What was there to fight for in such a small, unproductive land? He glanced at Jin Youzi beside him but decided to keep his thoughts to himself.

Although Zhu Di valued civil governance, his enthusiasm for military affairs was almost fanatical. Although there was no fixed order among the cabinet ministers, with Yang Shiji in Nanjing, he could be considered the top figure. Attempting to persuade the enraged emperor to withdraw his troops might result in him ending up in the Jinyiwei himself, only to benefit others in the process.

Between two evils, he chose the lesser one. Being highly resourceful, he carefully weighed his options before bowing and saying, “Your Majesty, since the natives keep rebelling and Lord Fengcheng finds it difficult to pacify them immediately, perhaps it would be better to recall the Duke of Yingguo. The Duke’s reputation for subduing Jiaozhi is renowned throughout the world. If he goes, the natives will surely surrender at the first sign of trouble.”

“Zhang Fu is a great general, while Li Li and Pan Liao are nothing but petty clowns. There’s no need to use a sledgehammer to kill a chicken!” Zhu Di rejected Yang Rong’s suggestion without hesitation and sneered, “It’s just a minor rebellion in a tiny place. How can I keep sending my top generals? Send a message to Lord Fengcheng Li Bin—tell him I want Li Li and Pan Liao’s heads. If he can’t bring them back, he need not return! He’s also a battle-hardened general—don’t disappoint me!”

This set the tone for the matter. Yang Rong and Jin Youzi were most afraid that Zhu Di would send more troops, so they finally breathed a sigh of relief. To ease the atmosphere, Jin Youzi mentioned the grand return of the Ming fleet from the Western Seas, as well as the many foreign envoys who came to pay tribute. Gradually, Zhu Di, who had been gloomy just moments ago, began to smile. Only Yang Rong noticed that there seemed to be much gloom hidden in the emperor’s smile. Recalling various rumors about Zheng He’s voyages, he immediately lost interest in teasing him.

“These brave men have traveled at sea for decades; their hard work deserves recognition. Issue an order to the Ministry of Rites to send people to greet them. Hmm, each military commander shall receive twenty taels of silver, each officer eighteen taels, each thousand-household and garrison commander sixteen taels, each fire officer fifteen taels, and each soldier thirteen taels, as a reward for their efforts…”

On a whim, Zhu Di came up with a long list of measures. Fortunately, Yang Rong and Jin Youzi had excellent memories and repeated them word for word after listening. The main topics of discussion today were these two matters. Since the emperor had already made the decisions, they had nothing more to say and left promptly. As they descended the steps at the entrance of the main hall, they encountered Yuan Fang, dressed in a red brocade robe, and stopped in their tracks.

The Grand Secretary of the Wenyuan Pavilion was only of the fifth rank, far below the third-rank commander of the Jinyiwei. Yet Yuan Fang, unlike his predecessors, was known for being cautious and low-key. Meeting the two cabinet ministers, he first bowed politely. Although neither Yang Rong nor Jin Youzi wanted to deal much with this Jinyiwei commander, they still returned the courtesy out of politeness. Only after seeing Yuan Fang enter the cool hall did they continue on their way.

“Has Mian Ren heard that the emperor plans to establish the Eastern Investigation Bureau? Just the Jinyiwei is already terrifying, let alone adding another bureau? Moreover, compared to Ji Gang, Yuan Fang has never shown arrogance; he always acts in accordance with the emperor’s wishes without overstepping his bounds. It might not be any better if it were an eunuch in charge.”

“It’s true he doesn’t show arrogance, but the Jinyiwei remains the Jinyiwei.” Although Yang Rong and Jin Youzi had an ordinary relationship and sometimes even had disagreements, they agreed on this topic. “Anyway, this is not good news for us. We’ll need to be even more careful in what we say and do from now on. But the person most affected by this is probably Commander Yuan. Civil officials simply can’t compare to eunuchs. It’s uncertain whether he’ll still be able to enter the palace as freely as he does now.”

The two cabinet ministers in whom the emperor had utmost trust did not waste much time on such a taboo topic. They quickly discussed on the way how to consult the Ministry of Rites regarding Zheng He and the others’ return to the capital, as well as how to issue orders concerning the Jiaozhi army and other important matters. Their concerns soon shifted to other issues—taxes in certain areas of Shuntian Prefecture had just been waived this year, and there had been many natural disasters across the land. There was the matter of rewards, the expenses for the Jiaozhi army, and the construction of Beijing City and the imperial palace. The most troubled person was likely the Minister of Revenue, Xia Yuanji.

The cool hall featured a hip-and-gable roof covered with yellow glazed tiles. The front hall was connected to a covered pavilion, with the emperor’s throne placed at the center. Behind the hall was a pond, from which water was drawn into the palace via pipes. Ingeniously crafted pipes and various mechanisms then released mist, keeping the hall quite cool. As soon as Yuan Fang entered, he felt a refreshing coolness wash over him, reducing his sweat significantly. Contrary to what the two departing cabinet ministers had guessed, he had not come on his own today but was there by imperial order, and he was already prepared.

“Have the men I ordered you to recruit been prepared?”

“Your Majesty, I have selected one hundred elite cavalrymen from various regions. They are all experts who have handled major cases in the past, have clean records with no ties, and have no history of misconduct. I have registered all of them and present it for your review.”

After studying Yuan Fang, who knelt and presented the roster, Zhu Di narrowed his eyes for a while before ordering a eunuch beside him to take it. Once the roster was opened on the imperial desk and his attention was drawn to details such as their origins and backgrounds, he couldn’t help but show a satisfied smile.

Ji Gang had after all done many things that he could not order himself to carry out. Even if Ji Gang did not end up seeking his own death, Zhu Di would still kill him—after all, there were many who could serve as commanders of the Jinyiwei. However, the fact that a casually selected person like Yuan Fang could be so useful was an unexpected pleasure. There was not a single captain from Henan on the roster, nor was there anyone from the Northern or Southern Pacification Commissions. Instead, they came from all corners of the country, with the highest rank being that of a minor officer. It certainly didn’t seem like they were placed there to serve personal interests.

“Good, very good.”

Zhu Di rarely praised anyone, but this time he made an exception and uttered such a compliment. He signaled Yuan Fang to stand up and ordered him to select capable officers from the Jinyiwei to join the Dongchang. He then named a specific person: “When the Dongchang is first established, the first thing to do is to establish the judicial system. That officer you recommended from the Beizhenfu Si is quite competent; transfer him to the Dongchang as the chief judge. Choose another suitable person as the deputy judge. Fill in the rest one by one, and exert more effort yourself. By the way, I issued an order to cancel the congratulatory gifts for the Crown Prince’s birthday festival—have there been any discussions among the officials?”

Yuan Fang hadn’t even had time to fully process the earlier words when another question came at him. Despite always considering himself sharp and quick-witted, he was momentarily stunned before answering, “I will strictly follow Your Majesty’s wishes. As for the second matter mentioned, there indeed are discussions among civil and military officials. However, after canceling the congratulatory gifts for the Crown Prince’s birthday festival for two years in a row, most civil officials sent handwritten works of art, while cabinet ministers presented books. Hearing about this, they merely sighed slightly. On the other hand, many meritorious officials prepared generous gifts, which, now unused, were locked away in storage or disposed of elsewhere, sparking quite a bit of private discussion.”

Although the current members of the Dongchang were selected from the Jinyiwei, Zhu Di had always been keen on monitoring his subordinates. Even before reestablishing the Jinyiwei at the beginning of the Yongle era, he had already sent in spies. Naturally, he knew Yuan Fang wasn’t lying, and he grew even more satisfied. Picking up a cup of tea from the imperial desk, he casually asked, “How about those criminals?”

Since Zhu Di hadn’t named them specifically, Yuan Fang remembered the urgent letter he had received from Zhang Zhuo and quickly replied, bowing deeply, “Yang Pu, the former tutor to the Crown Prince, continues to study diligently. His family sends him books from time to time, and I have already ordered the jailers not to disturb him. Du Zhen, the former left governor of Shandong, walks back and forth in the prison every day reciting texts. In his free time, he asks for paper and ink to practice writing. I had it checked—what he writes is from The Book of Rites. Sun Liang, the former magistrate of Le’an County, kneels facing the sky in his cell every day, hoping to meet with Your Majesty…”

“Don’t mention that overconfident magistrate from Le’an County!” Zhu Di frowned in disgust and then sneered, “They actually selected such a person in the last imperial examination! Yang Rong and the others were blind! One him, one Meng Xian… Keeping people like them in the Jinyiwei prison only takes up space. Go and convey my order: revoke their titles and honors, send them back to their hometowns, and never rehire them. Killing them would only contaminate my precious sword—it’s disgusting without reason!”

Yuan Fang proposed this matter merely to bring it to an end. He was prepared for the worst—should the emperor not wish to spare Sun Liang’s life, he would immediately send people to the south to quietly deal with the Sun brothers, to avoid future troubles. Yet he never expected Zhu Di to be so contemptuous as to even consider killing them. Hearing that the emperor had said nothing about Yang Pu and Du Zhen, he couldn’t help but sigh inwardly before bowing and retreating. But just a few steps later, he heard another voice from above.

“That bookworm Yang Pu? Ignore him. Let him keep reading if he wants! As for Du Yishan… go to the imperial study and fetch two pieces of Huizhou ink and two hundred sheets of fine paper for him. If there’s anything written, show it to me!”

What kind of punishment was this?

No matter how hard Yuan Fang tried to figure it out, he couldn’t understand what this decision meant, so he simply agreed and left the hall. Before he had gone far, Zhu Di picked up another document on the desk. Upon opening it, he saw the results of the selection of suitors for Princess Zhu Ning of Chenliu Commandery by the Imperial Clan Office. But after reading it for a short while, he sneered in annoyance.

“All of them are descendants of meritorious officials. Hmph, these guys only know how to read the emperor’s mind and act smart on their own!”

Picking up the writing brush, he erased those three names and wrote firmly below—“Reject and rewrite.”

Just as he felt tired and ready to take a nap, a young eunuch suddenly rushed in from outside. From a distance, he knelt down and kowtowed, then reported loudly, “Your Majesty, Yang Rong and Jin Youzi from the Wenyuan Pavilion request an audience.”

Hearing this, Zhu Di raised his eyebrows. These two had just left to handle matters—why did they ask for an audience again so soon? Knowing that Yang Rong was astute and Jin Youzi was quick-witted, they surely wouldn’t come for no reason. He immediately ordered them to be summoned. When the two hurried in, he asked, “What’s the urgency?”

“Your Majesty, there’s an urgent report from Jinan Commandery. Envoys Zhang Yue and Lu Feng were attacked by bandits by the Xiaomeng River. By sheer luck, they escaped unharmed and have now safely arrived in Jinan Commandery. The soldiers with them killed nineteen men and captured seven,” Yang Rong said, his expression turning awkward as he recalled something the two governors of Jinan Commandery had specifically mentioned in their reports. “Since it’s difficult to transport corpses in the hot summer, Zhang Yue ordered the soldiers to cut off the heads of those nineteen men and hang them on flagpoles to clear the way. This caused a huge uproar when they arrived in Jinan Commandery. The seven captured men all committed suicide mysteriously after being imprisoned. Song Li, in anger, imprisoned all the jailers on duty for interrogation.”

“Good, very good!”

Though the words used to praise Yuan Fang were exactly the same as before, they carried a deep sense of menace when spoken by Zhu Di. Without even glancing at the two ministers whose faces were as stern as water, he sneered in anger, “How can such absurd things happen in broad daylight? How dare they claim this is an era of peace and prosperity? Song Li is old and sick; he can’t be blamed for this. Have the deputy inspector and a few inspectors investigate thoroughly. If they can’t give an explanation, they should consider themselves guilty of harboring bandits!”
Seeing that Zhu Di kept focusing solely on the inspection department, Jin Youzi felt indignant and stepped forward to remind him, “Your Majesty, after Zhang Yue was attacked, his head was displayed on a pole—this is nothing short of taking revenge personally through extrajudicial punishment. It must be investigated…”
“What’s there to investigate?” Zhu Di frowned and glanced at Jin Youzi coldly, sneering, “I sent him to Shandong precisely to have people killed. Now, over four hundred bandits have been eliminated, and another dozen were killed on the way back. It’s a success! Displaying the heads of rebels on poles to clear the way is a perfect way to intimidate lawbreakers. What’s wrong with that? If I had known those seven captives would die mysteriously in the inspection department’s prison, I might as well have killed them all!”
The emperor’s murderous tone made Jin Youzi shiver involuntarily, while Yang Rong sneered inwardly—Jin Youzi was truly old and foolish. The emperor clearly wanted Zhang Yue to shed blood, and as much as possible. How could he possibly hold him accountable for this incident? Yet, judging from the emperor’s tactics, it seemed he was forcing Zhang Yue down a certain path…
Du Yishan, Du Yishan, no matter how skilled you are at teaching students, you’re likely no match for the emperor’s methods!