Chapter 417: Thunder That Startles the World

“Peace reigns in the land…”
Though it was midnight and the gates of the inner palace had long been locked, aside from the eunuchs on duty, there were also several maids carrying bells, walking slowly along the side streets while singing about peace in the land. At that moment, the thunder was quite frightening; no one knew whether it would rain. A few eunuchs on patrol hurriedly prepared to take shelter in the main buildings. A middle-aged eunuch glanced at the maids and then snorted lightly, “Last year, Concubine Wang passed away, and last month, Concubine Yu did as well. The Emperor’s temper has become even worse, so more maids are punished than usual. Almost every night, several groups of them are forced to carry bells.”
“That’s still considered good. It’s already early April; even if it rains heavily, it won’t be too bad. But if it happens during the bitter coldest days of winter, that would be terrible!” Another old eunuch shook his head and muttered, “After that incident in December last year, often a dozen or so maids were punished to carry bells overnight. It was snowy, and few of them could endure it. Who knows how much of their ashes ended up in the wells? Ah, not to mention them—how many young servants were killed in the Qianqing Palace?”
These were all eunuchs from the Western Six Palaces. Since they were sent out on night patrols, they certainly weren’t high-ranking, but they weren’t the lowest-ranking laborers either. After sighing for a while, they hurriedly continued walking. Just as everyone was in a hurry, a bright light suddenly burst in the sky, followed by a loud thunderclap that scared a young eunuch into sitting on the ground. Seeing his terrified expression, the others burst into laughter. The middle-aged eunuch who had started the conversation snapped angrily, “Weakling! You’re scared by thunder. Get up quickly!”
“The weather this year is truly strange. It’s been overcast for half a month without any rain, and there were just loud thunderclaps a few days ago…”
As soon as he said those words, everyone saw an even brighter white light appear before their eyes, followed by a thunderclap several times louder than before. In an instant, even the middle-aged eunuch who had just scolded them was shocked, and two or three others almost jumped up from the force of the thunder. The oldest eunuch was about to speak when he suddenly saw another flash of lightning on the side street, this time striking straight at the Jinshen Hall. Before he could cry out in alarm, several more lightning bolts struck in quick succession. Under such astonishing weather, it took him a long time before he could scream.
“Heaven… Thunder strikes!”

Seeing the roof of the Jinsen Hall on fire, the others immediately became panicked. The middle-aged eunuch hurriedly shouted, “Hurry… go report it right away! Find someone to put out the fire!”
Before long, not only did the prolonged sounds of “Peace Under Heaven” emitted by the palace maids who were punished to ring bells cease abruptly, but the palace guards also scurried around like frightened rabbits, rushing through the doors on both sides of the Cloud Platform to fight the fire in the outer court. Soon, the concubines in the six eastern and western palaces, who had already gone to bed, were all awakened. Even Zhu Di, who was resting alone in the Qianqing Palace, was jolted awake by the cries and shouts. Despite having faced few fears in his life, he was stunned after hearing the rapid-fire words of the imperial stables eunuch Liu Yongcheng.
Although hundreds of eunuchs were roughly dragged out of bed and rushed to the scene at top speed; although the lids of dozens of gilded bronze tanks were opened immediately, and people were using copper basins and other containers to scoop water to put out the fire; although forty water buckets near the three main halls were being used to their fullest capacity—due to the dry weather over the past few days, with only thunder and lightning but no rain, the fire grew increasingly fierce.
The sandalwood mixed with spices crackled as it burned, the firefighters shouted incessantly, and even the ground seemed to crack. Although the best timber from the deep mountains had been used to build these three halls, and the pillars had been treated to ensure they wouldn’t rot or decay, in such a massive fire, they collapsed one after another with a loud crash. The luxurious glazed tiles shattered under the intense heat, with fragments flying everywhere.
After what seemed like an eternity, amid the futile efforts of countless firefighters, a corner of the Jinsen Hall, where the fire started, collapsed with a loud crash. As if in a chain reaction, the central ridge and another corner followed. The flames completely consumed the Jinsen Hall, then the Fengtian Hall and the Huagai Hall. The red glow of the flames illuminated fearful faces. Even the hastily arrived Crown Prince Zhu Gaochi and Grand Prince Zhu Zhanji were too shocked to speak. When he saw Yang Rong arriving, covered in soot and dust, along with a group of soldiers, Zhu Gaochi’s heart tightened even more.
“Yan Qing, what’s going on here…?”

“Reporting to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, there was an emergency at night, so Du Yishan and I were on duty together. Fortunately, he went outside in the middle of the night and, upon seeing the fire, quickly called for me!” Yang Rong spoke with relief, yet his face turned pale. “The fire spread too fast. He and I only managed to get the books and documents from the three main halls out; they are now piled up outside Donghua Gate under the guard of the imperial guards. Your Royal Highness, the son of a noble family should not stay too close to such a disaster. Please, along with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, take shelter elsewhere!”
Zhu Gaochi nodded stiffly but did not move. Only when he saw Zhu Di arriving surrounded by people, and noticed his father’s rarely seen distracted expression, did he finally can’t help but glance again at the raging fire.
Even his usually strong and unyielding father was helpless in the face of this natural disaster. The three main halls… ruined!
By dawn, although the officials who came to attend court were blocked by the imperial guards at the Left and Right Side Gates, the flames from the Forbidden City the previous night had reddened half of the sky, and the smell of burning could not be concealed. Moreover, despite the large number of guards, they could not hide the sight of those three magnificent halls that had indeed turned into charred ruins.
Thus, even seasoned civil officials like Xia Yuanji and Jian Yi, as well as experienced military generals like Zhang Fu, were shocked speechless upon hearing the news. The censors from the Censorate gathered in groups, their eyes filled with unmistakable gloom.
Zhang Yue and Du Wan stayed at the Du family’s house for two nights and had just returned home the previous evening when they were awakened by the servants’ cries in the middle of the night. The whole family stayed up all night. In his past life, he had visited the Forbidden City and knew it had suffered from lightning fires many times, but he never expected to experience one himself. The Hall of Heaven, the Hall of Splendor, and the Hall of Modesty were all magnificent with their carved beams and painted decorations. Yet such sturdy palaces were destroyed so soon after being built. His throat was dry as he took a deep breath, finally regaining his composure from the extreme shock, and then thought about the consequences. Indeed, whispers filled the air around him.
“Thunder and lightning are manifestations of heaven’s wrath. This is a warning from nature; we must be vigilant!”
“Countless craftsmen were employed to build Beijing and its palaces, costing a great deal of money and grain. Now… sigh!”
“It’s been dry and rainy season has been scarce since spring. If there’s another drought in Beizhili, things will get even worse!”
“Should we still attend court today? With all three main halls burned down, even future New Year’s ceremonies… it might be better to return to Nanjing…”

Nine out of ten people said it was a warning from heaven. Though he knew this was inevitable, Zhang Yue still felt a heaviness in his heart. After a long while, a eunuch finally came to announce that court would be held at the Fengtian Gate that day. Thus, the murmuring among the officials ceased for a time, and they lined up in order of rank south of the Jinshui Bridge. Although this was usually a place where even breathing had to be done softly, everyone could now see the tragic aftermath of the fire in the three main halls, and chaos still reigned.

Sure enough, after the officials crossed the bridge at the sound of whips and paid their respects outside the Fengtian Gate, Zhu Di, who had stayed up all night, appeared solemnly on the golden platform in the Fengtian Gate corridor. After taking his seat, he ordered the eunuchs to read out the edict.

“I, entrusted with the mandate of heaven and tasked with continuing the great plans, have followed ancient traditions by establishing two capitals. On the eighth day of the fourth month in the nineteenth year of the Yongle era, a disaster struck the Fengtian and other three halls. I was filled with fear and did not know what to do. Could it be due to negligence in rituals to honor heaven and gods? Or was there a violation of ancestral laws and mismanagement of state affairs? Or were there villains in power while virtuous people withdrew, leaving good and evil indistinguishable? Or were there unjust punishments and wrongful accusations, failing to distinguish right from wrong? Or were there slanderers and flatterers, while honest advice was ignored? Or were there excessive taxes and exploitation that harmed the common people? Or were there improper rewards and punishments, along with wasteful spending that depleted the state treasury? Or were there heavy taxes and uneven labor burdens that strained the people’s lives? Or were there ongoing military campaigns with poor organization, leaving funds depleted? Or were there excessive demands that exhausted the people’s strength? Or were there corrupt officials exploiting their power, suppressing authorities, and acting greedily and tyrannically, leading to such disasters? I have failed the people below and violated heaven above. My ignorance prevents me from understanding the cause. You, my civil and military officials, are entrusted by me and share my fate. If there are indeed mistakes in my actions, please speak frankly without reservation, so that I may repent and win back heaven’s favor. Thus it is decreed.”

Zhang Yue, who was listening carefully below, did not know who had drafted this edict, but from its wording, he could tell it was undoubtedly an edict calling for honest advice. From his position, he could not see the emperor’s expression, but based on his understanding of the emperor, he could almost imagine the anger simmering within Zhu Di.

With the shock of the burned-down three halls still haunting the officials’ minds, the court meeting proceeded as usual, with each official reporting on urgent matters from their departments before dispersing early. Those who were thoughtful pondered one question: given such a severe natural disaster, although the emperor issued an edict seeking honest advice, according to past traditions, the prime ministers and high officials should also take responsibility. Although there were no prime ministers now, there were still the seven ministers and cabinet members… Moreover, in the end, the emperor would likely issue an edict taking blame on himself, for this was surely a warning from heaven!

There were no urgent matters at the Ministry of War at the moment, so after the court session ended, the officials in various departments were quietly discussing things. Since the deputy director and another officer had gone out to deliver official documents, only Zhang Yue and Wan Shijie were left in the armory department. Taking advantage of the absence of outsiders, Wan Shijie leaned close to Zhang Yue and whispered, “This natural disaster came suddenly. The imperial edict calling for honest opinions actually invites officials to criticize current policies. From what I saw of those censors and remonstrants, they’re likely to use strong language in their petitions.”

Seeing Zhang Yue deep in thought and silent, Wan Shijie decided to speak openly: “If we talk about the two major events of recent years, one is the relocation of the capital, and the other is the lifting of the sea ban. Both break from the old traditions set by the Taizu Emperor. Although lifting the sea ban isn’t as significant as relocating the capital, it still goes against the imperial edicts established by the Taizu Emperor. With the disasters striking the three main halls, those who opposed these changes before will surely seize this opportunity.”

“Normally, Confucian scholars revere sages, but in times like these, they can’t help but invoke ghosts, gods, and divine will to obstruct sound governance strategies,” Zhang Yue sighed softly before showing a confident expression. “The relocation of the capital is meant to guard against the Mongols. After all, the capitals of past dynasties have almost always been in the north, while those in the south never lasted long. As for the sea ban… the emperor isn’t the type to change his mind easily. Besides, last year, the revenue from the maritime trade office was quite substantial, and the people consider it convenient. Surely he won’t let a natural disaster stop such important matters. By the way, if you plan to submit a petition…”

Having overheard half of this from outside the door, Fang Bin, the minister who had intended to enter, stopped in his tracks. He had also supported the idea of relocating the capital during the earlier secret discussions. Faced with such a severe disaster, he worried he might be scapegoated. But upon reflection, he realized he was growing more confused. How could the emperor be easily swayed by natural disasters?

Still, those annoying censors would likely not miss such a good opportunity. But as long as the emperor’s resolve remained firm, things would be much easier!