Chapter 333: The Prince of Lu Arrives

"Yes, Your Majesty, I will make arrangements as soon as I return." Xu Guangqi hastily agreed, then said with some hesitation: "It's just… Your Majesty, we still have enough silver for now, but grain is already running low."

"That's fine, grain will be arriving soon." Zhu Youxiao looked at Xu Guangqi and said: "Go back and wait for word."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Xu Guangqi nodded and said: "If Your Majesty has no other instructions, then I shall go attend to my duties."

"Go on." Zhu Youxiao nodded, signaling that Xu Guangqi could leave.

After Xu Guangqi had gone, Zhu Youxiao slowly sat down. The expression on his face was indifferent as he pondered in his heart what needed to be done next and from what angle to approach it.

At that moment, Chen Hong walked in from outside, holding two routine memorials in his hands.

Chen Hong came straight before Zhu Youxiao and said: "Your Majesty, these two routine memorials just arrived. One is from Zhao Kui, the Provincial Administration Commissioner of Shandong; the other is from Zhou Fusheng, the Provincial Judicial Commissioner of Shandong."

Hearing that these two men had submitted memorials to him, Zhu Youxiao smiled, and said in a tone laced with mockery: "They can't sit still anymore, can they? Bring them over and let me have a look."

Chen Hong dared not be negligent, and hastily presented the two memorials to Zhu Youxiao.

Reaching out to take the memorials, Zhu Youxiao read Zhao Kui's first, after all, he was the Provincial Administration Commissioner of Shandong.

Opening the memorial, Zhu Youxiao quickly scanned through it, and a smile spread across his face.

In this memorial, Zhao Kui began by confessing his guilt, admitting that he had failed in disaster relief; but then the tone shifted, and he attributed all the blame onto Qufu and the Prince of Lu's household, saying that they committed countless unlawful acts in Shandong, controlling the government offices throughout the province as well as the various grain merchants.

He explained that both families owned vast amounts of land and also held vast amounts of grain. Relieving the disaster victims of Shandong required the cooperation of these two families; if these two families did not cooperate, the victims could not be properly relieved.

Under such circumstances, he had no choice but to cooperate with the two families. In plain terms, he was enduring humiliation to carry out his duty, and he also explained that all the relief funds and grain he had brought had been given to these two families — part used to purchase grain, and part used to exchange for old grain.

Zhu Youxiao set down Zhao Kui's memorial and let out a soft sigh.

Was what Zhao Kui said true?

Of course it was true.

But was he truly left with no choice?

Of course he wasn't left with no choice.

In these times, there was a saying that captured the problem well: the county magistrate is not as formidable as the local power.

One must understand, Zhao Kui was the Provincial Administration Commissioner of Shandong — he held real power in his hands. If he wanted to do something, no one could stop him. Whether it was the Prince of Lu's household or Qufu, the problem was not there; the problem was whether Zhao Kui was willing to act.

Having served as an official for years, offending Qufu would make his days difficult; offending the Prince of Lu's household would make his days difficult in Shandong as well. Of course, that wasn't the key point either — the key point was whether there was any benefit in it.

If Zhao Kui embezzled the relief funds himself, it would be very troublesome. But if he passed them to Qufu and the Prince of Lu's household, things would become much simpler. Privately, both Qufu and the Prince of Lu's household would give money and grain to Zhao Kui; he only needed to quietly accept it.

As for the so-called grain exchange, it was the most ridiculous excuse Zhu Youxiao had ever heard. Using the court's new relief grain to exchange for old grain and chaff rice, claiming it could yield more grain to save the people — on the surface it seemed unproblematic, since for disaster victims, having anything to eat, whether old grain or new grain, was already a good thing.

If one dan of new grain could be exchanged for two dan of old grain, perhaps it really would be a good thing. That was what they said publicly, but in reality, that was not what they did.

When the court's relief grain reached these people's hands, it would be resold at high prices the moment it passed through them. Hoarding and cornering the market, driving up grain prices — these people could not have been more practiced at it.

As for the old grain they brought out, the quantity was certainly insufficient — not only was the quantity insufficient, but the quality was also subpar. Quantity insufficient, quality poor, they forced the common people to buy their grain, forced them to sell their land and their children, and profited handsomely from it all.

Officials at every level put on a show of disaster relief, shouting slogans loud enough to shake the heavens, and they had a ready answer for their superiors: there were simply too many victims and too little grain — there was truly nothing to be done.

But behind the scenes, they were all dipping their hands in, grain merchants and officials alike profiting handsomely, while local gentry took the opportunity to buy up the people's land. It could be said this was a feast of wealth from top to bottom.

As for who suffered the loss — it was only the disaster victims.

Having been in the Great Ming for this long, Zhu Youxiao had learned one skill: he could not judge his ministers by what they said, nor even by what they did — what they said and what they did often bore no resemblance to the actual truth.

Just like with the disaster relief — on the surface they were busy relieving the victims, busy every day, using every conceivable method, some even collapsing from exhaustion, but behind the scenes they were lining their own pockets.

Zhu Youxiao reached out and picked up Zhou Fusheng's memorial, reading it slowly.

This memorial was much more direct — it impeached Zhao Kui, the Prince of Lu, and Qufu outright, saying they colluded with one another and embezzled relief grain funds. The words were quite blunt. Clearly this was the second-in-command attacking the first-in-command — all the problems were laid at the top man's door.

However, both men had tacitly refrained from mentioning the Governor of Shandong, which made Zhu Youxiao somewhat puzzled.

By rights, shouldn't this matter have been pinned on the Governor of Shandong?

It was hard to believe the Governor of Shandong knew nothing of this. One must understand, this Governor of Shandong, Zhao Yan, was no ordinary figure.

He was a very famous minister who had patrolled the borders many times, was skilled in military strategy and statecraft, extremely adept at military affairs — a civil official who could truly fight.

Though Zhao Yan had only been in Shandong for a short time, it was impossible he knew nothing. Such a shrewd official could not possibly be played for a fool by his subordinates.

Now that both the Provincial Administration Commissioner and the Provincial Judicial Commissioner had submitted memorials, yet he, the Governor, had made no move, and neither the Administration Commissioner nor the Judicial Commissioner had attacked him — it seemed there was something going on here that he didn't know about.

Setting down Zhou Fusheng's memorial as well, Zhu Youxiao sank into deep thought.

Whether Zhao Yan was the mastermind behind this affair, Zhu Youxiao did not know, but he could simply summon the man and ask. Since the Prince of Lu and the Duke Yansheng were both coming anyway, summoning Zhao Yan was no big deal.

So Zhu Youxiao said to Chen Hong: "Issue an edict to Zhao Yan, the Governor of Shandong, ordering him to come here."

"Yes, Your Majesty, this servant will go at once." Chen Hong hastily acknowledged.

At the same time, a contingent of men had arrived outside Jining. Their numbers were not great — only a hundred or so — and the procession was not particularly grand, but the placards at the front made it clear this was the carriage of the Prince of Lu.

For the Prince of Lu, Zhu Shouyong, these past few days had not been easy, and his heart was filled with urgency. In just two days, the Prince of Lu's lips had broken out entirely in sores from the heat, and a boil had even appeared on the top of his head. His whole body was overheated — the fire of deficiency rising fiercely within him.

Who could have imagined that His Majesty would come to Jining, and would even summon him? One must remember, the affair of the Prince of Fu had only just spread not long ago, which made the Prince of Lu even more frantic.

The Prince of Fu was the current Emperor's own uncle — and look what fate had befallen him?

He, the Prince of Lu, was descended from the sons of the founding Emperor Taizu — how many generations had it been since then? The blood ties had long since grown thin, so His Majesty would feel no psychological burden whatsoever in dealing with him.

Although by the greater generational ranking, he should be of the Emperor's grandfather's generation, at a time like this, he dared not presume to play that grandfather.

Having arrived in Jining, he still didn't know how His Majesty would deal with him. So this time the Prince of Lu had come, traveling light with few attendants — for him, the more pitiful he appeared, the better; hopefully His Majesty would let him off.

"Your Highness, we have arrived at the city gate of Jining."

At this moment, a voice spoke from outside the carriage — the tone was clear, and it reached the Prince of Lu's ears distinctly.

Hearing this, the Prince of Lu sighed and said with some resignation: "What must come will come."

"Your Highness need not worry too much. His Majesty summoning Your Highness to Jining does not necessarily mean anything major." The voice outside continued, its tone full of consolation.

Lifting the carriage curtain and glancing at the eunuch who had spoken, the Prince of Lu said with a bitter smile: "At a time like this, there's no need to console me. Let's enter the city and go pay respects to the Son of Heaven."

This eunuch was named Chen He, the Prince of Lu's confidant, who had always followed the Prince and often offered him advice, so this time the Prince of Lu had brought him along as well.

But the Prince of Lu also knew that no advice would be of any use now — everything depended on His Majesty's attitude. So he didn't want to say too much to Chen He; matters could wait until after he had seen His Majesty.

The party entered the city directly. Naturally, the Prince of Lu dared not delay, and went straight to pay respects to Zhu Youxiao. As for everything else, that could wait until after he had seen Zhu Youxiao.

Upon receiving word that the Prince of Lu had arrived, a smile also spread across Zhu Youxiao's face.

My grain and money have arrived!

Zhu Youxiao said to Chen Hong, who had come in to report: "Let them in. Also, have someone prepare a banquet—I want to keep the Prince of Lu for a meal."

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

"Just four dishes and a soup will do." Zhu Youxiao thought for a moment, then added once more: "Tell the kitchen not to make it too lavish."

Hearing his master's words, Chen Hong didn't know what to say.

His master had always been very frugal—four dishes and a soup was what he regularly ate. Chen Hong's heart ached a little at the thought; his master had probably never even enjoyed a truly lavish banquet.

Four dishes and a soup could hardly be called sumptuous to begin with, and yet he had specifically instructed not to make it too lavish. That could only mean plain and simple dishes and soup.

One meat dish, three vegetable dishes—and as for the soup, it wouldn't just be egg drop soup, would it?

The more Chen Hong thought about it, the more his heart ached.

But these words Chen Hong dared not speak aloud—otherwise, the charge of inciting His Majesty toward extravagance and dissipation was not one he could bear.

After Chen Hong had left, the Prince of Lu walked in from outside.

Upon seeing Zhu Youxiao, the Prince of Lu dared not be remiss and hastily knelt on the ground to pay his respects.

One had to know—this was his first time meeting Zhu Youxiao, and also his first time leaving his fief. Under such circumstances, he dared not show the slightest negligence.

Zhu Youxiao, meanwhile, was appraising the Prince of Lu, finding his complexion rather good. Though slightly weary, he could tell the man's spirits were still fine.

Seeing the Prince of Lu kneel, Zhu Youxiao quickly rose from his chair and strode swiftly to the prince's side.

Reaching out to help the prince up, he said: "The Prince of Lu holds the dignity of a Prince of the blood—no need for such great ceremony."

"The rites between sovereign and subject cannot be abandoned." The Prince of Lu said hurriedly.

"Enough, enough. Though this is our first meeting, we are both descendants of the Grand Ancestor Emperor's bloodline. The Prince of Lu need not treat this place as a court session—just treat it as family speaking in private." Zhu Youxiao spoke in a gentle tone.

Looking at the Emperor who seemed to feel no sense of strangeness and was extremely warm toward him, the Prince of Lu's heart did not relax its guard at all—instead, it grew even more tense.

As the saying goes: one who is uncharacteristically attentive for no reason is either up to no good or a thief, no?

The man before him was the Emperor himself—being so courteous to a Prince like him surely meant he would have to pay an even greater price, and might even face punishment.

A saying had already risen in the Prince of Lu's mind: when the golden cup is raised in shared drink, the white blade shows no mercy.

Zhu Youxiao naturally had no idea what was going through the Prince of Lu's mind, nor did it occur to him that the prince's imagination was running so wild. Reaching out to take the prince's hand and lead him to sit nearby, he said: "This is my first time leaving the capital. After arriving in Shandong, I thought I would meet the Prince of Lu and catch up on family ties."

Hearing Zhu Youxiao's words, the Prince of Lu's heart gave a lurch.

Family ties—what family ties could the imperial clan possibly have?

Especially when his kinship with His Majesty was the sort that had long since passed beyond the fifth degree of mourning.

"Your subject is overwhelmed with trepidation." The Prince of Lu said hastily: "That Your Majesty would consider the affection of the imperial house is truly a blessing for the clan."

This single sentence the Prince of Lu spoke very slowly, with the air of one who had deliberated deeply.

He truly dared not speak too much, afraid that some word might offend the Emperor before him, leaving matters beyond repair.

Zhu Youxiao did not look at the Prince of Lu, continuing to speak on his own: "The Grand Ancestor Emperor had many sons, and the Great Ming's imperial clan flourishes abundantly. This brings great joy to my heart."

"Among the common folk, they say: to fight a tiger, you need your own brothers; to go to battle, you need your own father and sons. Now that our Great Ming's imperial clan thrives so greatly, it is naturally the blessing of the Great Ming."

Hearing these words, the Prince of Lu's heart cried out in bitterness.

This time it was over—there was no escaping now.

This was courtesy before force—what the common saying calls putting the good words first. If he did not accept, that would be showing disrespect to His Majesty. And once he showed such disrespect, the more courteous the front had been, the more ruthless the blows that followed would be.

Thinking of this, the Prince of Lu gritted his teeth and said: "Your Majesty's words are most reasonable. Only when our Great Ming flourishes can the sons of the clan reflect upon themselves. For the sake of the Great Ming, we sons of the clan naturally should do more—devote ourselves utterly, exhaust every effort until death, and even if we are ground to dust, we would not begrudge it."

Zhu Youxiao turned his head to look at the Prince of Lu, somewhat taken aback—was it really necessary to speak so passionately and fervently?

Why did he always feel that his conversation with the Prince of Lu was not on the same wavelength?

Could it be that there was something wrong with the way he spoke?