Chapter 263: Arranging for the Prince of Fu to Come to the Capital

Inside the Grand Secretariat.

The four Grand Secretaries sat together drinking tea.

Their mood was not bad. Over the course of this year, they had experienced too many things — one could say they had been constantly worrying, toiling, and scheming against one another.

But now things were different. This period had been stable, allowing them finally to breathe a sigh of relief.

Judging from the current situation, the political landscape at court would likely hold for some time. At least there would be no major upheaval at the upper levels — the positions of the four men in the Grand Secretariat should now be secure. That was the best news.

As for everything else, it was not that important.

Xu Guangqi set down his teacup, glanced at the others, and said, "You've all read the memorial. His Majesty has asked the Grand Secretariat to deliberate. What are your thoughts?"

Han Kuang and the others wore uncertain expressions, their faces somewhat indifferent. No one spoke.

But that did not mean they were unconcerned with the matter. Xu Guangqi knew very well what they were thinking. In fact, by now the power in the capital had been divided up fairly completely.

Grand Secretary and Minister of War Sun Chengzong had allied with Minister of Personnel Zhou Jiamo, forming a considerable faction at court.

As for Xu Guangqi himself, his power base consisted of the Ministry of Revenue and the Hundred Crafts Institute, plus his position as Second Grand Secretary and the Emperor's trust. He also enjoyed the support of Minister of Rites Shen Tingyun — he too was a power in his own right.

Apart from these two factions, Chief Grand Secretary Han Kuang and Minister of Justice Huang Kezuan had grown quite close during this period. One could say the two had already reached a certain degree of cooperation.

Han Kuang and his allies promoted the rule of law together, supported Xunzi's philosophy, and also controlled the Academy — they counted as a relatively powerful force as well.

The three factions had clearly defined powers and responsibilities, with very clean divisions. Basically, no one could topple anyone else in the short term.

Besides these three factions, the Office of Transmission had newly risen at court, and over at the Eastern Depot there was a Wei Zhongxian watching with hungry eyes.

Word had it that in the next few days Guard Commander Luo Sigong was finished — His Majesty was preparing to bring in new blood to take charge of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

One could say the overall situation in the capital had become clear, and the transition from one reign's ministers to the next was complete.

Under these circumstances, the four men of the Grand Secretariat seemed to have reached a tacit understanding: it was time to reach downward, to extend their influence and power beyond the capital.

After all, they each had a crowd of people standing behind them. In the earlier struggles, they had received the support of these people, and in the future, no matter what they did, they would still need the backing of those behind them. Now was the time to reward merit.

Originally, Han Kuang and the other three had been somewhat troubled, feeling they should arrange things gradually. But now that the matters of the Office of Transmission and Henan had arisen, the four suddenly shared a strange, unspoken understanding.

If Henan were to be purged from top to bottom, countless official posts would open up — from Governor at the top down to Prefects and County Magistrates, as well as deputy officials at every level. They could install their own people in all of them.

Although all four harbored this tacit understanding and intention, none of them spoke up.

Because they all knew that while they could agree on handling the Henan problem, it involved the game of installing their own people — everyone wanted to place their men in, everyone wanted higher office.

After a long silence, Huang Kezuan set down his teacup and spoke first: "There's really nothing to deliberate. The Henan officials are corrupt, colluding with the Prince, oppressing the people. Those who should be arrested, arrest. Those who should be sentenced, sentence."

"Have the Office of Transmission investigate thoroughly, arrest the men, then send them all to the Court of Judicial Review for interrogation. When the time comes, sentence those who deserve sentencing, confiscate the property of those who deserve confiscation. The officialdom truly does need a good cleaning up."

The others glanced at Huang Kezuan, realizing that ever since he had converted to Xunzi's philosophy, he had become harsher and harsher.

Corruption and malfeasance weren't enough — he had to pin the charge of "fraternizing with the Prince" on those men. That was a major crime!

For local officials to privately cultivate relations with a Prince — that already carried the implication of plotting treason.

Huang Kezuan's intent was obvious: bring the men back for interrogation, and his Ministry of Justice could demonstrate its usefulness. At the same time, it would show Huang Kezuan's own governing stance. That point was important.

The other three exchanged glances, and none of them spoke.

But in their hearts, they knew very well that this matter would certainly be handled as Huang Kezuan had proposed.

After a moment of silence, Xu Guangqi said, "If you have no objections, then let's do it this way?"

The others looked at one another and nodded lightly.

Han Kuang then said, "Let's do it this way. Those who did wrong must bear responsibility. Grand Secretary Huang is right — these people truly went too far. They deserve to be dealt with."

Xu Guangqi nodded and said, "Then this matter is settled."

The matter of the officials was settled, but there was still the Prince of Fu. That matter also had to be resolved.

Xu Guangqi thought for a moment and said, "What about the Prince of Fu? Do you have any thoughts? We can't very well arrest the Prince of Fu and send him to the Court of Judicial Review for interrogation, can we?"

Once this question was raised, the others all fell silent.

In fact, the Prince of Fu should be sent to the Court of the Imperial Clan, but everyone knew that place was a government office in name only.

If they were to deal with the Prince of Fu now, His Majesty would have to issue an imperial edict.

Under such circumstances, their opinion was crucial, since His Majesty had asked them to deliberate.

If they offered no opinion, they would not pass muster with His Majesty. Nor would they pass muster with the hundred officials.

"What is there to discuss in this matter?" Huang Kezuan spoke up again, his tone stern. "Do what should be done."

"The evidence is conclusive. The Prince of Fu's deeds have all been investigated and confirmed. I believe he should be exiled to Fengyang to guard the tomb of the founding emperor, stripped of his princely title, and all his family property confiscated to the state treasury."

The others once again looked at Huang Kezuan in surprise, their meaning obvious: Don't you think that's too harsh?

Stripping a Prince of his title, exiling his entire family to Fengyang to guard a tomb, and confiscating all their property — the punishment was somewhat excessive.

The room fell into silence once more.

After a long while, Sun Chengzong spoke. He said slowly, "Why not formulate two policies?"

"One policy is severe punishment, done as Grand Secretary Huang proposes; the other is lenient handling — His Majesty issues an edict reprimanding the Prince of Fu, and all officials, stewards, and guards of the Prince of Fu's household who were involved in this case are strictly punished without mercy. The Prince of Fu is ordered to return all his farmland to the people and provide compensation."

After saying this, Sun Chengzong glanced at the others and said, "As for what is ultimately to be done, let His Majesty decide."

After Sun Chengzong finished speaking, Xu Guangqi frowned. He did not know why Sun Chengzong would offer such an opinion.

Put nicely, it was letting His Majesty decide; in reality, it was shifting the responsibility onto His Majesty. Did Sun Chengzong think His Majesty wanted to exonerate the Prince of Fu, but simply couldn't say so himself, and wanted his ministers to plead for mercy on the Prince's behalf?

Don't dismiss it — that was actually a real possibility.

Xu Guangqi wasn't the only one with this thought; the others suddenly thought the same. Under such circumstances, taking sides was no longer appropriate.

After thinking it over, Han Kuang said, "Then let's do it this way."

And so the Grand Secretariat produced its proposed opinion: all officials of Henan Prefecture, great and small, were to be severely punished; for the Prince of Fu, they offered two forms of punishment — severe and lenient.

If handled severely: exile to Fengyang, stripping of the princely title, and confiscation of all family property.

If handled leniently: an imperial edict of reprimand, strict punishment of the Prince's household staff, and the Prince of Fu would be ordered to give up part of his family property to compensate the people, and return the farmland to them.

The Grand Secretariat's opinion was quickly sent to the Western Park and placed in Zhu Youxiao's hands.

After reading the Grand Secretariat's opinion, Zhu Youxiao felt it was hardly unexpected. It would be a miracle if these Grand Secretaries let the officials of Henan, great and small, off the hook.

That was a delicious dish, and for them, the best choice was to pounce on it and chew it to pieces.

Zhang Woxu, Governor of Henan and son of Zhang Guoyan, was far inferior to his father.

Zhang Guoyan became a jinshi in the forty-first year of Jiajing and was appointed County Magistrate of Xiangling. Thanks to his outstanding political achievements, Zhang Guoyan was repeatedly promoted, eventually rising to the post of Acting Minister of War. Later, he led troops to a great victory over the "barbarians" beyond the northern frontier, earning the highest merit, and was elevated to Minister of War.

After leading troops to put down the mutiny at Tao River in Gansu, Zhang Guoyan was granted the honorary title of Grand Tutor of the Heir Apparent for his "merit to the state," bestowed with a robe embroidered with flying fish, and enjoyed the salary of a first-rank official.

Zhang Guoyan was accomplished in both civil and military affairs—one could say he was a capable minister among the officials of the Great Ming.

But his son was nowhere near as formidable, though his path through officialdom was much the same as his father's.

He became a jinshi in the eighth year of Wanli and was appointed County Magistrate of Song County. He successively held posts including official in the Ministry of Rites, Governor of Henan, and Governor-General of Sichuan and Guizhou. While serving as Governor-General of Sichuan and Guizhou, he was nearly dismissed due to a military defeat.

Afterwards, he attached himself to Wei Zhongxian and was elevated to Minister of Revenue, with the added title of Grand Tutor.

But Zhang Woxu was also a capable man—after Wei Zhongxian was purged, Zhang Woxu was merely stripped of his office and sent home. He kept his life and lived to over eighty years of age.

But it seemed this time he was in for trouble. Zhang Woxu was now Governor of Henan, and there was no way he would escape unscathed this time.

Zhu Youxiao thought for a moment, then beckoned to Chen Hong and said, "Have the Office of Transmission send an edict to Chen Sihai—Henan, let him handle it himself."

"Yes, Your Majesty. This servant will see to it at once." Chen Hong hurriedly bowed in assent.

After Chen Hong left, Zhu Youxiao's fingers tapped lightly on the armrest, a hesitant expression on his face.

He was pondering the matter of the Prince of Fu. Lenient punishment was certainly out of the question; but harsh punishment would be too severe, and he could not set a bad precedent.

He had to understand that the Prince of Fu represented not just himself, but the imperial princes of the court. If he wanted to move against the other princes, he could not be too aggressive, or there would be resistance later.

Though they might not be able to mount effective resistance, who knew what they might do. He already had enough troubles on his plate, and the matters he would face ahead were enough to make his head spin, so Zhu Youxiao felt he should adopt a more moderate approach.

Bringing the Prince of Fu to the capital—perhaps that was the best solution.

After thinking it over, Zhu Youxiao decided to proceed as he had planned. The Grand Secretariat had not offered any particularly good advice, but that was fine—they had given him one light and one heavy option, and he could just split the difference in the middle.

So Zhu Youxiao ordered people to summon the several Grand Secretaries.

Once everyone had arrived, Zhu Youxiao waved his hand and said, "Alright, no need for ceremony. Find yourselves seats. I have summoned you here because there are matters I wish to discuss with you."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Han Kuang and the others hurriedly acknowledged, then each found a place to sit.

After they were all seated, Zhu Youxiao spoke slowly: "The Prince of Fu is my imperial uncle. Though he has committed errors, I truly cannot bear to punish him harshly. For whenever I think of my imperial uncle, I am reminded of my late father."

At this point, Zhu Youxiao paused, putting on a sorrowful expression.

The four Grand Secretaries present all wore strange looks on their faces.

What was the relationship between the Prince of Fu and the late emperor?

Though they had not lived through it, they had heard of it. Are you sure that when you think of the late emperor, what you're thinking of isn't killing the Prince of Fu?

But no one dared say anything—exposing him at this moment would be suicide.

So Han Kuang took the lead and said, "The bonds of the imperial family run deep. Your Majesty's profound loyalty and devotion to family truly set an example for the realm. However, Your Majesty must also restrain your grief. The late emperor, watching from above, would wish Your Majesty to rouse yourself, govern diligently, and restore the glory of the Great Ming."

The others looked at Han Kuang, stroking their beards thoughtfully and nodding gently, wearing expressions of great approval.

But in their hearts, they were scoffing—truly worthy of the Chief Grand Secretary, his face was thick indeed. Did he even believe those words himself?

Too shameless. Too devoid of principles.

Still, they all understood that Han Kuang was playing along with His Majesty's act.

Since His Majesty wanted to appear devoted to family, the ministers naturally could not undermine the performance. So the others chimed in with a few words of agreement. For a moment, the atmosphere became quite congenial.

Seeing that the mood was right, Zhu Youxiao nodded, and the sorrowful expression on his face vanished.

He looked at the men with a grave expression and said, "Though I cannot punish the Prince of Fu harshly, I am the Son of Heaven, and the common people are also my subjects. How could I not seek justice for them?"

"The Prince of Fu's title need not be stripped—let him pass it on to his son. As for the Prince of Fu himself, he need not go to Fengyang; let him come to the capital instead. When he arrives, he can keep company with Noble Consort Zheng. Mother and son have not seen each other for many years—they must miss each other greatly. Since he no longer holds the title of Prince, returning to the capital is fitting."

"As for the new Prince of Fu, let him hand over the lands and properties in Henan and also come to the capital. I will have a residence built for him there, and I will personally instruct him. When he has proven himself worthy, I will send him back to take up his fief anew."

The men were shaken to their core upon hearing Zhu Youxiao's words.

His Majesty was truly remarkable. First, he emphasized family devotion by allowing the Prince of Fu to return to the capital to attend to his mother—this was an immense act of grace.

Though he had lost the title of Prince, that was because he had committed errors. What His Majesty had done was already heavenly kindness.

The title passed to his son, and his heir was brought to the capital to be personally instructed by His Majesty. After completing his education, he would be sent out to the provinces as a feudal prince.

Truly worthy of His Majesty—indeed, everything was arranged perfectly. He had given the people their due, severely punished the Prince of Fu, and yet had not neglected family bonds.

Three birds with one stone.