Chapter 323: Zhu Youxiao Travels South to Dezhou

Zhang Weixian left.

Zhu Youxiao truly did not care much about it. If this matter were really to be carried out, he could not possibly let Zhang Weixian do it alone — it would require careful planning and tight arrangement, otherwise it could easily fail at the last step, and the consequences would be great.

He could not ruin his own schemes over a momentary matter of the Duke of Ding's studies. Still, this matter could indeed be planned out, taking advantage of this trip of his to Shandong.

Over the following days, nothing major happened at court. The only thing everyone was busy with was the matter of Zhu Youxiao leaving the capital.

The Emperor leaving the capital was, after all, no small matter, so countless people began bustling about.

In truth, although it was uncommon for a Great Ming emperor to travel south, it was not unheard of either.

Back in the day, the Zhengde Emperor loved leaving the capital, and he even enjoyed traveling incognito; the Jiajing Emperor had also left the capital and gone to Nanjing to pay respects at tombs. It could be said that an emperor leaving the capital was hardly a shocking thing.

It was only after the Jiajing Emperor that the Great Ming emperors seemed unwilling to leave the capital anymore.

The Wanli Emperor, for instance, hid inside the palace and never went out at all, not even attending court. After Wanli came Taichang, who was emperor for only a month before dying.

Now that the Emperor wanted to go out, everyone was still somewhat unaccustomed to it. But this was not a matter of being accustomed or not — if the Emperor wanted to leave, no one could stop him.

With the Emperor's departure from the capital already a settled fact, who would accompany the Emperor became an extremely important personnel arrangement. After all, if one could stay by the Emperor's side, one might well gain the favor of the imperial house.

Of the four Grand Secretaries in the Grand Secretariat, two would accompany him — Second Grand Secretary Xu Guangqi and Grand Secretary Huang Kezuan.

As for which civil officials would go, Zhu Youxiao left that to Xu Guangqi and the others to arrange.

What Zhu Youxiao mainly cared about was the personnel arrangements on the Staff Office side.

Zhang Weixian absolutely had to come along. Besides Zhang Weixian, Zhu Youxiao also called on Duke of Ding Xu Xi.

After these two dukes came Yuan Keli, whom Zhu Youxiao also planned to bring. Apart from these two staff officers, the rest were all clerks of the Staff Office.

For instance, Sun Chuanting, Zhang Yu, and also Lu Xiangsheng and Cao Wenzhao. Along with them were Liu Xian and Wu Xiang, whom Zhu Youxiao also brought.

It was good after all to let these young men go out and see the world. Besides, Zhu Youxiao wanted to get in touch with them — these were the future pillars of the Great Ming, and also the military men Zhu Youxiao planned to put to important use.

Apart from that, this time Zhu Youxiao transferred Qi Jin to accompany him, and the escort included five thousand men of the Tiger Roar Battalion. Any more than that was unnecessary. Zhu Youxiao believed these five thousand could solve very big problems.

Once the accompanying personnel were settled, the next matter was deciding the mode of travel.

As the Emperor, Zhu Youxiao naturally could not walk, so he would take a great ship, sailing south along the Grand Canal.

As for the troops led by Qi Jin, they would escort along both banks of the river.

In the third month of spring, with willows swaying gently, it was a fine season of warm spring breezes.

That day, the Tongzhou docks were placed under complete martial law. No one could come here — for several li in every direction there were traces of the military, and no one dared approach.

At the dock was moored a very grand and imposing great ship, while all other vessels floated far away on the water.

Zhu Youxiao led the civil and military officials accompanying him south to the Tongzhou docks, then boarded the great ship together.

When the sun was about to reach its zenith, the great ship finally began to move slowly, sailing gently south along the Grand Canal.

Zhu Youxiao stood at the bow, letting the fresh breeze brush his face, gazing at the greenery on both banks of the canal. His mood was extremely pleasant, and he felt considerably better overall.

Stepping out of the palace truly gave one a feeling of vast heavens and open earth.

By Zhu Youxiao's side were Xu Guangqi and Zhang Weixian and the others. Naturally, only these few big shots could attend by Zhu Youxiao's side and share a boat with him.

People like Lu Xiangsheng had already gone to the boat behind.

Along the way they stopped and went, and Zhu Youxiao was in no hurry to press on, so they traveled rather slowly. In the first few days there was still some novelty, but after some time passed, mere traveling became tiresome.

When they reached Dezhou, Zhu Youxiao finally no longer wished to continue on.

Glancing at Chen Hong standing at his side, Zhu Youxiao said, "Go at once and summon Xu Guangqi and the others for me. I have matters to discuss with them."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Chen Hong hurriedly acknowledged.

Before long, Xu Guangqi and the others arrived.

Seeing them about to perform the ritual bow, Zhu Youxiao waved his hand and said, "Enough, no need for formalities. Come over and sit down to talk."

After everyone had sat down, Zhu Youxiao continued, "These days of travel have been somewhat tiring. Tomorrow we reach Dezhou — why not rest there for a few days? I can also go ashore for a walk, observe the customs of the people, take in the sights of my Great Ming, and see how the common folk live."

Hearing these words from Zhu Youxiao, the hearts of Xu Guangqi and the others all trembled — this was precisely the fear of what one dreads coming to pass.

For everyone present, His Majesty going ashore was a very worrying matter.

If His Majesty were merely going for pleasure, that would be one thing. But everyone present knew full well that His Majesty was not the type to go ashore merely for pleasure.

For His Majesty, observing people, observing affairs, observing things mattered far more than amusement. Once His Majesty reached Dezhou, he might well see something.

One must know that this year a great earthquake had struck Shandong, and it had also affected Henan and South Zhili. Although Dezhou had not suffered disaster, that did not mean Dezhou had no problems.

For the ministers present, if His Majesty found fault with them, that would be very troublesome.

But there were also those who did not care, such as Xu Guangqi and Huang Kezuan. Both were Grand Secretaries of the Grand Secretariat — if some local official had committed an offense, it had little to do with them.

Duke of Ying Zhang Weixian and Duke of Ding Xu Xi cared even less. Local affairs had nothing to do with them, and they saw nothing improper about it at all.

Having sat on the boat for several days, they were indeed somewhat weary, and going ashore for a walk was fine too.

So Zhang Weixian said, "Naturally, everything is as Your Majesty commands. That Your Majesty wishes to observe the people's condition shows Your Majesty's love for the people. It happens that I can go ashore and walk with Your Majesty — to be honest, I too have not left the capital for a long time, so it is a good chance to look around."

Xu Guangqi glanced at Zhang Weixian, knowing he was up to no good. But now that His Majesty's spirits were high, he naturally could not say anything to dissuade him.

So Xu Guangqi also said, "There is naturally no problem with Your Majesty going ashore to look around. But the escort must be well prepared. Has General Qi Jin arrived?"

"I've already had his men make preparations." Zhu Youxiao said with a smile. "Let's go ashore and take a look tomorrow."

"Then should we notify the local officials?" Huang Kezuan said from the side. "Have them await Your Majesty at the dock?"

"No need for that." Zhu Youxiao said after a moment's thought.

In truth, Zhu Youxiao had never considered keeping his whereabouts secret, because secrecy was impossible. As soon as his ship left the Tongzhou docks, he would certainly already be watched.

The various officials and government offices along the route could never let him out of their sight. Only after his imperial ship had passed through their jurisdictions could they breathe a sigh of relief; otherwise, their hearts would probably be in their throats.

As soon as his ship docked at the Dezhou docks tomorrow, the people of Dezhou Prefecture would certainly know. Whether or not he notified them to come and receive him, they would certainly all come.

Seeing that Zhu Youxiao had no intention of notifying the local government, Huang Kezuan nodded and said, "That Your Majesty does not wish to disturb the locality shows Your Majesty's closeness to the people and benevolent heart."

Looking at Huang Kezuan, then at Xu Guangqi, Zhu Youxiao seemed to understand something.

He seemed to grasp a bit of why the officials under the Chenghua Emperor were called the Three Paper-Pasted Grand Secretaries and the Six Mud-Sculpted Ministers. A large part of the reason was that they did not oppose, and they loved to flatter.

Take these ministers of his, for example — to say they lacked ability would be impossible. But their skill at flattery had grown, and without even noticing, they spoke pleasing words with sincere bearing and earnest tone, as if spoken from the heart.

Remarkable, truly remarkable.

But such thoughts only flashed by for a moment; more of them were replaced by the excitement of finally disembarking.

Early the next morning, the imperial ship docked at the Dezhou wharf.

People were already guarding the wharf. Qi's troops had brought their men and were waiting there, standing at attention in formation on all sides.

By the time Zhu Youxiao arrived, the civil and military officials of Dezhou Prefecture were already waiting there as well.

Liu Mao, the Prefect of Dezhou, had cold sweat on his face, his entire body on the verge of trembling uncontrollably. He naturally could not approach to greet the imperial carriage up close, only watching from afar, but even so he was scared half to death.

The other officials beside Liu Mao looked much the same as he did.

"My lord, at a time like this, you must not keep secrets any longer. Has any letter come from the capital? Why does Your Majesty want to disembark at our Dezhou?" said an official over fifty years old beside Prefect Liu Mao of Dezhou. His expression was extremely tense, his whole person filled with dread.

Your Majesty had originally had no plan to stop at Dezhou; this decision was made suddenly. By the time they received word, Your Majesty's ship had already pulled up to the Dezhou wharf.

After receiving the news that Your Majesty would be disembarking, they were frightened out of their wits. With no prior plan and a sudden stop, something must have happened — and the matter likely had something to do with their Dezhou. There was no way they could not be afraid.

Liu Mao glanced at the official who had spoken — it was his own Vice Prefect, Zhang Kang.

"If I knew, would I be this scared?" Liu Mao said irritably. "This happened suddenly; how could word from the capital arrive so fast? Besides, news from the capital isn't necessarily accurate either."

"Your Majesty has already left the capital; those in the capital probably don't know much either. In a moment, keep your eyes open and see if any of the people coming off the ship are familiar. If there's someone you know, send men at once to probe for information and ask why Your Majesty wants to disembark at Dezhou."