Chapter 497: Arrived at Nanjing (Daily Update, Begging for Rewards)

After staying another day in Qingdao, Zhu Youxiao left and returned to Laizhou.

Zhu Youxiao made no stop in Laizhou, going straight back to Jining, where he boarded his own ship.

The fleet continued heading south.

After leaving Shandong, Zhu Youxiao made no further stops and instead turned directly toward Nanjing.

On this southern journey, Zhu Youxiao's stated purpose was to pay respects to his ancestors, so the proper formalities still had to be observed.

On this day, the imperial fleet arrived at Nanjing.

Naturally, officials of every rank in Nanjing came to receive him. Compared to other places, these people cared even more about Zhu Youxiao's arrival.

The reason was simple: besides the local officials, Nanjing also had a full set of government offices.

The Six Ministries were all in place, along with the Censorate, and even the Embroidered Uniform Guard had its own establishment—one could say the only thing missing was an emperor, and then the entire apparatus would be complete.

Some of these people were there to retire, while the others were using the post as a transitional step.

The Great Ming treated Nanjing as both a training ground for central officials and a retirement home. Officials the Emperor found displeasing were sent here to retire; promising officials would also do a rotation here, getting familiar with how the Six Ministries worked in advance, and when the capital needed people, they would be pulled up.

So for these people, the Emperor's arrival was a major event—after all, they all wanted to advance a step further. Being able to perform well before the Emperor was the best opportunity they could ask for.

Naturally, they were very attentive to Zhu Youxiao's arrival.

But Zhu Youxiao simply refused to see them, and couldn't be bothered to.

He had no interest in discussing all sorts of nonsense with these officials, nor in listening to their songs of praise.

If he absolutely had to meet them, it would wait until he was about to leave. After all, during his time in Nanjing, the local officialdom would likely experience a major earthquake. Under such circumstances, whether he saw these people or not made little difference, because in the end, very few of them would likely remain.

Upon arriving in Nanjing, Zhu Youxiao moved directly into the Nanjing imperial palace.

The eunuchs there had long since tidied the place up.

As for Nanjing's defense, Zhu Youxiao had also sent people to take it over.

One should know that on this southern journey, besides his three thousand personal guards, Zhu Youxiao also had a force marching along the shore.

The commander of this force was Lu Xiangsheng. Fifteen thousand men drawn from the Imperial Guard Corps were led by Lu Xiangsheng, protecting the Emperor's safety.

The guarding of the Nanjing imperial palace was handled by the three thousand personal guards.

Beyond that, the entire city defense of Nanjing was under Lu Xiangsheng's authority.

Zhu Youxiao was well aware of his own situation, and well aware of what he was facing.

Under such circumstances, it was hard for Zhu Youxiao not to take precautions, so he might as well go all the way. When he came to Nanjing, he took over the city defense first.

The people of Nanjing, high and low, felt uneasy about the Emperor's actions. According to normal procedure, the Emperor should have received them first.

But this time the Emperor didn't do that. Although he gave a reason—saying he was unwell, having caught a slight chill—such excuses could be spun any way one liked.

Some were full of confidence; more were gripped by anxiety.

The current Emperor's ruthlessness was no secret, and no one knew who His Majesty had set his sights on this time in Nanjing.

Besides these Nanjing offices, other places were also watching closely. For instance, the officials of Lianghuai, and the officials of Yangzhou—officials of every rank all had their eyes on Nanjing.

The reason was also simple: these people controlled the salt trade and were by no means ordinary local officials. They held vast amounts of wealth in their hands, which was a matter of utmost importance to them.

If His Majesty set his sights on their money, what would they do?

For a time, storm clouds gathered.

Though the surface was calm, everyone knew it was only surface calm—the undercurrents beneath the water had long since begun to churn.

Zhu Youxiao seemed to turn a blind eye to all this, doing whatever he pleased—performing the ancestral rites in due order, resting in due order, and even doing some sightseeing.

Choosing a day with fine sunshine, Zhu Youxiao even climbed Beigu Mountain, reciting a poem titled "Beigu Mountain, Recalling the Past," and paying tribute to Xin Qiji.

Whether he was truly remembering Xin Qiji, or mourning the Great Ming of the original history, only Zhu Youxiao himself knew.

And so, seven or eight days passed in the blink of an eye. Everyone was growing weary, and some began to breathe a sigh of relief. His Majesty seemed to have no plans for action, appearing instead to be touring the mountains and waters—and that feeling was a good one.

Tonight, as darkness fell, Zhu Youxiao changed his clothes.

Dressed as a scholar, with a jade pendant hanging at his waist.

Beside him, Qi Yuangong and the others had also changed their clothes.

The group was preparing to go out, evidently intending to take advantage of the night for some recreation.

Glancing at Wei Chao beside him, Zhu Youxiao asked, "Has the Duke of Wei arrived?"

"Reporting to Your Highness, the Duke of Wei is already waiting outside." Wei Chao said hurriedly.

"Then have him come in." Zhu Youxiao nodded, the expression on his face unchanged.

In a very casual tone, he said, "Prepare a set of clothes for the Duke of Wei. Have him change into them as well in a moment."

"Yes, Your Highness." Wei Chao assented. "This servant will have someone prepare it right away."

Before long, an elderly man walked in from outside.

This man was none other than Xu Hongji, the Duke of Wei of Nanjing. In the first year of Tianqi, Xu Hongji had resigned from his post as Nanjing Garrison Commander—though it was called resignation, in truth he had been replaced.

This time when Zhu Youxiao came to Nanjing, Xu Hongji's family was the most panicked.

Xu Hongji and his kin were not unaware of the current Emperor's deeds. Moreover, over these past few years, the things the Emperor had done were nothing short of astonishing—relying on their ancestors' merits as a blessing, they feared it wouldn't last much longer.

On the very first day Zhu Youxiao arrived in Nanjing, Xu Hongji had immediately requested an audience.

On the one hand, this was the proper duty of a subject; on the other, Xu Hongji wanted to see Zhu Youxiao early and express his loyalty.

Xu Hongji's family itself had problems—during the Jingnan conflict, they had already chosen the wrong side.

In fact, when the Yongle Emperor was raising troops in Jingnan, Xu Hongji's family had also played their own game.

After all, the Yongle Emperor's Princess Consort was a member of the Xu family. And at that time, their family was still in Nanjing, practically under Zhu Yunwen's nose—if they tried to play any tricks, they might well have gotten themselves killed.

At the time, the Duke of Wei line—that is, the eldest branch—openly and resolutely supported Zhu Yunwen. The man who did this was Xu Huizu, and they were the current Duke of Wei line.

Meanwhile, in secret, the Duke of Ding line—that is, Xu Huizu's younger brother—covertly supported the Prince of Yan, Zhu Di, quietly feeding him all sorts of intelligence.

As a result, just as victory in Jingnan was at hand, Xu Huizu's younger brother Xu Zengshou's activities were discovered, and the Jianwen Emperor Zhu Yunwen had Xu Zengshou killed.

Xu Zengshou used his own life to trade for the title of Duke of Ding for his descendants—and that was how one family came to hold two dukedoms.

In fact, in Zhu Youxiao's view, this was simply a matter of families choosing which side to back.

Xu Huizu's line held the title of Duke of Wei. Bearing that title, they had no choice but to support Zhu Yunwen.

But to preserve the family and gamble on that one chance in ten thousand, someone had to support the Yan Prince Zhu Di. What no one expected was that Xu Zengshou would be killed by Zhu Yunwen.

Under such circumstances, the man died. But when he made that choice, Xu Zengshou had likely already prepared himself for death.

Looking the old man before him up and down, Zhu Youxiao wore a warm smile on his face, though inwardly he was pondering what choices this man before him might make when faced with certain matters.

Back then, when the Yan Prince Zhu Di moved the capital to Beijing, he left some people behind in Nanjing and established this office, actually to consolidate his rule over Nanjing.

Moreover, the country was too vast; distributing some matters to be handled in Nanjing made things easier.

This was the Duke of Wei's mansion — Nanjing was an important stronghold that needed someone to hold it down.

But Zhu Youxiao did not want such a behemoth entrenched here any longer. He wanted to relocate the Duke of Wei's mansion, which was why he had summoned Xu Hongji this time.

"Your servant Xu Hongji pays respects to Your Majesty!" Upon seeing Zhu Youxiao, Xu Hongji hurriedly spoke.

Looking Xu Hongji up and down, Zhu Youxiao said with a smile: "The Duke of Wei need not stand on ceremony."

In truth, Zhu Youxiao was quite wary of Xu Hongji as a person.

After all, in the original history, Xu Hongji had resigned during the Tianqi era, then been reinstated during the Chongzhen era. He lived through it all.

Although Xu Hongji claimed his health was poor, his lifespan was rather long.

As for his family's ending, Xu Hongji did not live to see it.

His son eventually surrendered to the Qing dynasty and was directly demoted to commoner status. He survived, though records of him afterward are scarce.

Zhu Youxiao reached out and took the hand of Duke of Wei Xu Hongji, his attitude warm, his tone cordial, presenting a picture of harmony between sovereign and minister.

Zhu Youxiao seemed genuinely delighted to see Xu Hongji, with an air of mixed emotions.

For a moment, the atmosphere was harmonious, and sovereign and minister got along most amicably.

Looking at Zhu Youxiao's attire, Xu Hongji could not help but ask: "Your Majesty, where are you headed? Why are you dressed like this?"

"I've long heard that Nanjing is lively at night. How could I come to Nanjing and not go out for a stroll? So I thought I'd go out for a walk." Zhu Youxiao said with a smile: "It's just that I'm not familiar with this place. Perfect timing — my dear minister can take me around."

"Your Majesty, at night there are many people and prying eyes — it's rather chaotic after all. If something were to happen, I fear..." Xu Hongji quickly said with a grave expression: "Your Majesty's person is priceless. Your safety must come first."

"Besides, though there are many rumors outside, Nanjing is ultimately not Beijing. Many things are merely hearsay; in reality, it's all quite ordinary."

"If Your Majesty truly wishes to see it, it would not be too late to go out with a full procession tomorrow during the day."