Chapter 143: July of the Fifth Year of Yongle: Empress Xu Passes Away, the Nation Mourns

Three Kingdoms realm.

Zhuge Liang lightly waved his feather fan, sighed and said, "Facing peril and receiving the mandate, using the weak to resist the strong, the Ice City strategy can be called a masterstroke. This woman's talent is not inferior to the famous ancient generals."

Cao Cao stood on the Bronze Sparrow Terrace, gazed at the sky canopy, and said to his sons, "You who watch this woman, can you know what a 'national scholar' is? What of a woman? With such daring and wit, she surpasses all the great men of the world!"

Zhou Yu stood side by side with Xiao Qiao, speaking softly, "If Jiang Dong had such a heroine back then, perhaps …"

Xiao Qiao gave him a reproachful glance, and Zhou Yu laughed loudly,

"Just a joke! Yet this woman's bearing truly makes my heart melt."

【The sky canopy image shifts, the scene changes.

After the defense of Bei Ping, Xu Miaoyun did not retreat to the inner palace; instead she became even more entangled in the torrent of dynastic change.

【Achievement One: Assisting the ruler with wisdom, the merit of the Dragon's aid.

The Jingnan Campaign lasted four years.

During those four years, Zhu Di waged war north and south, while Xu Miaoyun held command at Bei Ping, not only stabilizing the rear but also becoming Zhu Di's most important strategist.

When the military situation was urgent, Zhu Di often sent swift horses through the night back to Bei Ping, not to ask the crown prince but to ask the princess consort, "What should be done about this?"

Xu Miaoyun's replies were always concise and profound:

"Your Highness, with the army deep in enemy territory, speed is advantageous; do not cling to the gains or losses of any single city or piece of land."

"The southern heat exhausts the troops; prioritize pacification, using both suppression and appeasement."

"Although the court has lost the people's hearts, the legitimacy of the throne remains; Your Highness should raise the banner of 'purifying the ruler's side' and not speak of abolishing the succession."

Whenever Zhu Di received her letters, he would tell the strategists around him, "What the princess consort says deeply moves my heart."

The pivotal "direct strike on Nanjing" plan also involved Xu Miaoyun.

When Zhu Di was stalemated with the imperial army in Shandong and Hebei, Xu Miaoyun drafted a letter of only eight characters: "Avoid the strong, strike the weak, head straight for Jinling."

Zhu Di suddenly saw the light, disregarding the cities along the way, leading elite cavalry a thousand li in a rapid assault straight at Nanjing.

The Jianwen court was caught off guard, and the Yangtze River defensive line collapsed at the first blow.

Without this plan, the Jingnan Campaign might have dragged on for years, and the common people would have suffered even more.

In the first year of Yongle, Zhu Di ascended the throne, and Xu Miaoyun was enshrined as empress.】

【Achievement Two: Rectitude in the palace, motherly virtue over the realm.

Having become empress, Xu Miaoyun did not become arrogant because of her lofty status.

The first thing she did was to counsel Zhu Di, when rewarding Jingnan meritorious officials, to first provide relief to the families of fallen soldiers.

"Your Majesty," she said to Zhu Di in the palace, "The surviving meritorious officials have already received wealth and honor; the fallen soldiers have wives and children left without support. If you reward the living first and attend to the dead later, you may chill the hearts of the soldiers."

Zhu Di wholeheartedly agreed and issued an edict:

Relief for fallen soldiers would be doubled, and their children would be cared for by the government until adulthood. When this decree was issued, every soldier in the army wept.

She also advised Zhu Di, "Eunuchs can be employed but are not trustworthy; Your Majesty should take the Hongwu precedents as a warning."

Zhu Di was naturally suspicious and did heavily rely on eunuchs, but after repeated counsel from Xu Miaoyun, throughout the Yongle era eunuchs, though powerful, never managed to wreak the chaos that later generations would bring to the court.

In the inner palace, Xu Miaoyun won people over with virtue.

Although Zhu Di had few consorts, she treated them all kindly, and there was never any rivalry for favor.

When a consort fell ill, she personally visited; when a palace maid erred, she often granted leniency.

The Yongle inner palace became one of the few clean and pure places in the Ming dynasty.

She was especially strict in the education of the children.

The eldest son, Zhu Gaochi, was plump and benevolent, with a gentle temperament, and was not favored by Zhu Di, who preferred bold talent and great strategy.

Zhu Di favored his younger son Zhu Gaoxu, who was heroic and martial, and often entertained thoughts of replacing the heir.

Xu Miaoyun, however, consistently supported Zhu Gaochi.

"Your Majesty," she once told Zhu Di, "Although Gaochi does not resemble your own martial vigor, he possesses benevolence, filial piety, and generosity, with the demeanor of a gentleman. A ruler should govern the world with benevolence, not by force alone."

"In ancient times, Emperor Wen of Han and Emperor Jing of Han both established the Wenjing governance through benevolence; Emperor Taizong of Tang, though martial, also achieved the Zhenguan governance by heeding counsel and caring for the people. Gaochi's benevolence is truly a blessing for the state."

She also often spoke directly to Zhu Gaochi,

"You, as crown prince, must understand the people's hardships; you cannot remain secluded in the palace, ignorant of worldly affairs."

She had Crown Princess Zhang (the future Empress Zhang) regularly report the observations of the common folk to the crown prince, so that Zhu Gaochi always retained compassion for the people.

It was Xu Miaoyun's insistence that preserved Zhu Gaochi's position as crown prince.

What she did not know was that this 'benevolent' crown prince would later inaugurate the 'Renxuan governance,' continuing the Yongle prosperity.】

【Achievement Three: Benevolence for the people, silent beneficence.

Xu Miaoyun's concern for the populace permeated the subtle aspects of the Yongle court.

In the fifth year of Yongle, a great flood in Jiang Bei displaced disaster victims.

Xu Miaoyun first cut palace expenses, donating the saved three thousand taels of silver and five hundred bolts of silk for disaster relief, and called on the consorts, princes and ministers to follow suit.

Zhu Di then issued an edict exempting the disaster region from taxes for three years.

In the eighth year of Yongle, she suggested Zhu Di establish "reserve granaries,"

"Every prefecture, subprefecture and county shall establish granaries; in abundant years store grain, in lean years distribute it. In this way, the people will have no fear of famine, and the court will not be burdened with relief work."

This system was later spread nationwide, becoming an important Ming social security scheme that lasted over two hundred years.

The phrase she most often told Zhu Di was:

"Now that the realm is newly settled, the people are exhausted; I hope Your Majesty will reduce construction projects and increase care for the populace."

However, Zhu Di's ambition lay in expansion:

Five campaigns north of the desert, six voyages to the Western Oceans, compiling the Yongle Encyclopedia, moving the capital to Beijing… each required massive expenditure.

Xu Miaoyun knew she could not stop it, so she could only lessen the people's burden as far as she could.

When Zheng He's treasure ships were about to set sail for the Western Oceans, Xu Miaoyun specially summoned Zheng He and instructed:

"You who sail to foreign lands must proclaim our might across the four seas, do not rely on strength to oppress the weak, do not slaughter the innocent. If there are poor and weak small states, treat them with propriety to display the magnanimity of our Ming."

These words deeply influenced Zheng He's maritime philosophy, so that the voyages to the Western Ocean, though meant to display power, involved little killing and more exchange.

July of the fifth year of the Yongle era, Xu Miaoyun fell gravely ill.

Zhu Di suspended court affairs for three days, personally attending to her medicines.

The imperial physician was at a loss, so he issued an edict to widely recruit renowned physicians from across the realm, offering a reward of a thousand gold pieces, seeking only to heal the Empress.

On her sickbed, Xu Miaoyun grasped Zhu Di's hand, her breath like a wisp, yet every word was clear:

"Your Majesty… I, your consort, am about to depart… I hope you… cherish the people, widely seek virtuous talent, be close to the imperial clan, generously reward meritorious officials… If so, then I… shall die without regret."

She then summoned Crown Prince Zhu Gaochi, Prince of Han Zhu Gaoxu, and Prince of Zhao Zhu Gaosui to the bedside, earnestly admonishing them:

"Gaochi, as Crown Prince, you should govern the world with benevolence and filial piety… do not betray your father the Emperor, do not betray the common people."

"Gaoxu, Gaosui, you must… assist your elder brother, keep brotherly harmony… never… never harbor a second mind."

Finally, she said to Crown Princess Zhang: "Treat the harem kindly… educate the imperial grandchildren… the Ming… is now in your hands…"

Having spoken, she passed away abruptly, at only forty‑six years of age.

Zhu Di, grief overwhelming, wept: "I have lost a worthy aide!"

He suspended court duties for a hundred days, wore plain robes for a year, and never appointed another Empress.

The posthumous title bestowed was "Empress Renxiao"; this title is unique among Ming empresses, showing Zhu Di's high regard for her.

After Xu Miaoyun's death, Zhu Di became increasingly fierce and suspicious; Crown Prince Zhu Gaochi was repeatedly doubted, and Prince of Han Zhu Gaoxu grew restless.

The whole court of civil and military officials often sighed in private: "Had Empress Renxiao still been alive, it would not have come to this."

The twenty chapters she authored, titled Inner Training, were promulgated by Zhu Di throughout the realm, becoming the behavioral code for Ming harem women and consorts.

The "diligence and frugality, benevolence and forgiveness, virtuous kindness" she advocated shaped the feminine ideals of the Ming era.