Chapter 1298: Before Scores, All Are Equal

By seventeenth-century standards, Zhu Cilang and Wu Sanmei's eldest daughter, Zhu Tianfeng, was already an old maid. She was past twenty and still not formally married, only betrothed. It was simply that Zhu Cilang and Wu Sanmei, the number-one father and mother of the Great Ming, were not anxious about it. If they had been ordinary parents, they would long since have been frantic.

And the person delaying their daughter's marriage was, of course, Zhu Cilang! Wu Sanmei had never been short of efforts on her daughter's behalf. She had sought out the heirs of every duke and marquis, as long as they were of suitable age, and brought them before the Zhu Emperor and Zhu Tianfeng. Yet father and daughter rejected them all for the same reason — it must not interfere with her studies!

Zhu Tianfeng had to attend school!

If she did not attend school and had no education, how could she be married off to just anyone at such a young age?

Although the Jinling Women's College had not yet opened, and the Imperial Academy, the Capital Academy, and other universities did not admit female students, the Zhu Emperor could set up a family school providing university-level education right inside his own palace!

This family school was presided over by the Zhu Emperor's top-scholar consort, Xu Erlin. Zhu Cilang's several daughters, along with Jin Dongzhu, Ajige, Marie Mancini, Tokugawa Takako, Takada Miho, and others, were all students at this family school.

As for the curriculum of this family school, it was personally set by Zhu Cilang. There were six required courses: Confucian studies (philosophy), French, financial management, accounting, tax law, and military studies (including martial arts). There were also three elective courses — music, painting, and dance — of which one had to be chosen.

A glance at this curriculum made it clear that this "palace university" was in fact a school of finance and economics. The Confucian studies and military studies courses were relatively elementary, requiring only a rough grasp. The specialized finance and economics courses, however, numbered three, making up half of the required courses!

The reason for such a curriculum was, of course, to accumulate teaching experience and train instructors for the Jinling Women's College, that "cradle of empresses and consorts."

That was right — the Jinling Women's College was also a school of finance and economics!

Because in Zhu Cilang's view, the foundation of a semi-feudal, semi-capitalist state was ultimately finance and the military!

And the national conditions of the Great Ming no longer permitted a feudal army, nor were there any feudal lords within the directly administered provinces. Therefore the military strength of the Ming dynasty relied on professional officers (mainly aristocrats) and state conscription, and both of these depended on a strong and sound fiscal system. Thus the rulers of the Ming Empire either had to be proficient in finance themselves, or have reliable financial talent at their side.

Since the monarch himself could not necessarily be proficient in finance, the mistress of his inner palace had to be thoroughly versed in financial affairs.

Moreover, while Zhu Cilang served the country and the people, he had not forgotten to fill his own pockets. This, of course, was also for the sake of being a better emperor for the people of the Great Ming.

Let no one spout nonsense about an emperor having no need to spend money. From Zhu Cilang's experience over the years, the emperor's private purse was directly tied to the strength of imperial power!

If an emperor had no private purse, then he either had to embezzle from the Ministry of Revenue or tighten his belt and live in hardship. The former would disrupt fiscal discipline; the latter would make it impossible for the emperor to secure the loyalty of those around him. His personal safety would not even be guaranteed, let alone having money to carry out bullion politics.

Therefore it was of the utmost importance that an emperor love wealth but obtain it by proper means!

And under the management of Zhu Cilang, a sovereign of proper means, the Royal Commercial Guild firmly held the position of the Great Ming's foremost financial conglomerate. Thus the Zhu Emperor had ample financial resources to buy the loyalty of trusted followers, to establish vassal states, and to push forward all manner of reforms and improvements.

But the Zhu Emperor would eventually pass away. To whom would the Royal Commercial Guild then be entrusted? Who could guarantee its steady operation?

Professional managers were of course necessary, but the owner could not be absent either!

Therefore the Jinling Women's College was not only the cradle of the Great Ming's empresses and consorts, but also the cradle of the future heads of the Royal Commercial Guild!

The Jinling Women's College had not yet opened, but the Zhu Emperor's eldest daughter, Zhu Tianfeng, had, under the careful instruction of Zhu Cilang and Xu Erlin, already completed the entire curriculum of the women's college. She had also, together with Zhu Cixuan, become one of the persons in charge of the "Women's College Admissions Office"!

Just as the Zheng family was quietly celebrating six blessings arriving at once, Zhu Tianfeng had just finished tutoring Wu Ake and Wu Ahuan and arrived at the Kunming Hall of East Lake Palace to see her mother, Wu Sanmei.

Watching her daughter walk into the west warm chamber of the Kunming Hall, Wu Sanmei did not wait for her to bow, but beckoned to her. "Feng'er, no need to kneel. A simple blessing curtsey will do."

Zhu Tianfeng gave a sound of assent, then made a graceful curtsey. "Your daughter respectfully wishes Imperial Mother ten thousand blessings and peace."

"Sit." Wu Sanmei looked at the tall, fair-skinned young woman before her, whose face and features were slightly large yet still very beautiful, and nodded, her expression somewhat troubled.

This daughter was her and Zhu Cilang's eldest. From childhood she had been healthy, clever, and quick-witted, far surpassing her younger brother Zhu Hexing. If she had been a son, Wu Sanmei would not have had so much to worry about.

"Thank you, Mother." As she spoke, Zhu Tianfeng seated herself on an embroidered stool that had long since been placed beside Wu Sanmei.

"All of you withdraw!" Wu Sanmei did not even wait for the matronly palace maids to serve her daughter tea before dismissing them all.

Seeing that only she and her mother remained in the spacious reception room of the west warm chamber, Zhu Tianfeng asked with some anxiety, "Uncle still hasn't won?"

"Not yet! He is still trapped inside Lueyang City." Wu Sanmei sighed. "But that husband of yours is unharmed. He has already followed Yan Yingyuan into Hanzhong. After this battle, he is bound to be promoted to regimental commander at the very least. His future prospects are limitless!"

At the mention of the princess's betrothed, Luo Kedi, a faint smile appeared on Wu Sanmei's face. It was not that she was entirely satisfied with Luo Kedi, but that her daughter had at last found her place.

Moreover, the Luo family was an old and established house of meritorious officials. Luo Xiushen had been enfeoffed as the Marquis of Kenan Yongzhou, and his elder brother Luo Yangxing had been enfeoffed as the Duke of Kenan Yong!

Luo Kedi had already been born at the time of the Jiashen Calamity. He was a small child then, and had fled all the way to Nanjing with his mother. Later he studied in Nanjing and was Zhu Tianfeng's elementary school classmate (their ages differed by three or four years). Afterward he attended the Army Middle School and the Army Staff College, and after graduation served as an officer in the Imperial Guard. Before his betrothal to Zhu Tianfeng, he had once been engaged to a daughter of Zhu Cijiong. But before the marriage could take place, that commandery princess fell ill and died, and so Luo Kedi's marriage was delayed.

After graduating from the Staff College, Luo Kedi had been busy commanding troops and had no time for matchmaking or marriage, and so another two or three years slipped by. Last year, when he returned to Wuhan, Wu Sanfu dragged him over to be looked over for Zhu Tianfeng. Somehow the two took a liking to each other, which delighted Luo Xiushen beyond measure!

This was not merely the daughter of the imperial house, but the "richest" daughter under heaven. Her dowry was sure to be at least a million! Moreover, after Zhu Cilang took power, he had opened the way for imperial clansmen and imperial in-laws to participate in government and join the military. With Luo Kedi marrying a princess, how could his future career be anything but outstanding?

Hearing that her betrothed could become a regimental commander, Zhu Tianfeng was inwardly delighted as well — the Great Ming no longer had hereditary officers. Even if the Crown Prince joined the army, he had to start as a platoon leader. To reach the regimental level in one's twenties (with more opportunities in wartime) meant one's future prospects went without saying.

After finishing that subject, Wu Sanmei turned to ask about the Women's College admissions.

"Feng'er, what exactly does your Imperial Father mean? Have you managed to find out?"

What she was asking about was, of course, how the Crown Princess would be chosen.

In the Great Ming now, apart from the battle in southern Shaanxi, this was the biggest matter of all!

Wu Sanmei's most favored candidate was of course Ake, but she had been ruled out by the regulation against "marriage between cousins." That left only one choice: Wu Ahuan. But while Wu Ahuan was fine in every respect, her academic results were not particularly outstanding. She could pass the entrance exam for the Women's College without difficulty, but it would be hard for her to rank at the top. If Zhu Hexing could be allowed to pick one or two from among a group of beauties, Wu Ahuan would certainly be chosen. But if it came down to scores alone, she might not stand a chance at all!

Zhu Tianfeng nodded. "Your daughter probed around for quite a while and finally caught a hint of his meaning. Imperial Father's intent is that, except for those who are ethically unsuitable or not subjects of the Great Ming, before scores, all are equal!"

"All are equal?" Wu Sanmei was taken aback. "Does that mean a girl from some humble household, as long as she scores well, can become Crown Princess and Empress?"

"Imperial Father most likely means exactly that." Zhu Tianfeng said, "Moreover, this time the several older princes may each choose only one consort! Only after she has borne two or three children, or after five years without issue, or after the death of the primary consort, may they choose one secondary consort."

"Furthermore, any prince or prince of a vassal kingdom who already has a son by his primary consort may choose secondary consorts only from among the women who failed the second-round examination."

(End of Chapter)