Chapter 1301: On Whom Does the Great Ming Rely?

Wuhan, East Lake Palace, Kunning Hall.

In the study of the Eastern Warm Pavilion, two people sat silently facing each other. Today Zhu Cilang had not even gone to the noon court session, instead staying in Kunning Hall to keep company with Wu Sanmei, who had cried herself into a wreck. In his hands he held Wu Sangui's final memorial, turning it over and over, having read it who knew how many times.

He had never imagined that Wu Sangui — who had fought Li Dingguo on the Shaanxi front for eight years and nearly dragged the Shun regime into ruin and poverty — would, with victory already in his grasp, die of typhoid fever at the front in Lüeyang!

How could such a great man, a towering figure renowned both in history and in this present age, simply die like that? With his death, the north-south balance within the Ming court had been utterly shattered.

In recent years the Northern Faction of the Ming had lost no small number of great figures — first Gao Hongtu, then Hou Xun, then Lu Zhenfei and Wu Xiang, then Zuo Maodi, and immediately after that Prince Tang Zhu Yujian and Prince Lu Zhu Yihai. A while ago Cao Youyi also passed away, and the two veteran dukes Zhu Chunchen and Zhang Shize had retired to convalesce at home due to age and illness, while Li Ruolian had also asked to retire. And now Wu Sangui, the very soul of the Northern Faction, was gone as well!

With Wu Sangui gone, the backbone of the Northern Faction was left to Wei Zaode, Wu Sanfu, Li Yan, Shi Kefa, Luo Xiushen, Zhu Chunjie, Yan Yingyuan, Qi Yuanbi, and a few others. Among them, the only heavyweights of sufficient stature were Wei Zaode, Wu Sanfu, Li Yan, and Shi Kefa — and Shi Kefa, the eldest of the four, was already in his sixties and could not hold on much longer. Once he stepped down, Zhu Cilang did not even know whom he could appoint to take over the Ministry of Rites!

Look at the Southern Faction by contrast: the semi-retired Zheng Zhilong was actually two years younger than Shi Kefa! Shen Tingyang and Ma Shiying were somewhat older, both past seventy, but they were still in robust health. And once they retired, the Southern Faction had no shortage of people ready to succeed them.

Ma Shiying's Ministry of Justice would be taken over by the utterly impartial Su Guansheng, while the heavyweight Zheng Sen would succeed Shen Tingyang as Minister of Revenue — the Ministry of Revenue had long been firmly controlled by Zheng Zhilong, and the reason Zhu Cilang had not let Zheng Sen take over directly was that he did not want the post of Minister of Revenue to become a hereditary position.

As for the Ministry of Works, which Zheng Sen currently headed, it was unlikely to fall into the hands of the Northern Faction either, for Du Yinxi of the Southern Faction could step up immediately — he too had been waiting for many years and should have entered the Grand Secretariat long ago!

Lined up behind them waiting to enter the Grand Secretariat were more Southern Faction heavyweights: Wu Meicun, Huang Zongxi, Zhang Huangyan, Chen Zilong, Huang Chunyao, Huang Yuanyao, Hou Xuanyan, Hou Xuanjie, and a whole host of half-old, half-new figures. Truly an abundance of talent!

And looking further ahead, there were even more graduates of the three great imperial universities, as well as of the Suzhou Jiangnan University, the Yangzhou Jiangbei University, the Shanghai College of Arts and Sciences, the Shanghai Nanyang University, the Shanghai Gewu Academy, the Wuxi Donglin College of Arts and Sciences, the Zhejiang College of Arts and Sciences, the Quanzhou Xiamen University, and the Guangdong Lingnan University, all fit for important service.

And behind this steady stream of Southern Faction talent lay the booming economy of the Ming southeast!

It was no exaggeration to say that the wealth of the entire Celestial Empire flowed into these eight southeastern provinces of the Ming, and among them the eleven contiguous prefectures of Yingtian, Shanghai, Suzhou, Yangzhou, Huai'an, Changzhou, Zhenjiang, Jiaxing, Hangzhou, Huzhou, and Ningbo were the fattest of all.

These eleven prefectures were the wealthiest, and naturally their educational standards were the highest as well. In the old days these eleven prefectures had enjoyed an enormous advantage in the imperial examinations. Now that new-style education had been established, the advantage of these eleven prefectures was naturally even greater. To say nothing of middle and primary schools, considering universities alone, the Ming now had fifteen: Yingtian Imperial University, Wuhan Imperial University, Tianjin Imperial University, Nanjing University, Nanjing College of Arts and Sciences, Jiangnan University, Jiangbei University, Nanyang University, Beiyang University, Shanghai College of Arts and Sciences, Shanghai Gewu Academy, Donglin College of Arts and Sciences, Zhejiang College of Arts and Sciences, Xiamen University, and Lingnan University.

Of these, only Tianjin Imperial University and Beiyang University were located in the north, while as many as ten were in the eleven southeastern prefectures!

Of course, the fact that the eleven southeastern prefectures had produced ten universities in the past twenty-odd years was in truth the inevitable result of Zhu Cilang's great push for new-style education.

For the lineage of all these universities could be traced back to Nanjing University, the Army Military Academy, the Naval Academy, Yingtian Imperial University, Nanjing Middle School, Nanjing Primary School, Army Middle School, and Army Primary School — that whole series of new-style schools founded by Zhu Cilang himself.

And the Zilun Gewu Pian was the very foundation of all this new-style education!

After these seeds of new-style education planted by Zhu Cilang had blossomed and borne fruit, the fruits of new-style education became new seeds in turn, blossoming and bearing fruit on a large scale across the ten southeastern prefectures with their developed economies and deep regard for education.

"Sanmei," Zhu Cilang sighed softly, laying Wu Sangui's final memorial gently on the table, "do not grieve. Changbo gave his life in loyal service to the state, and his name will surely be recorded in history. What he entrusted to Us in his final memorial, We will certainly see done for him."

Wu Sanmei wiped her tears and sighed: "On behalf of my brother, I thank Your Majesty."

Zhu Cilang nodded and said: "Sanmei, there is no need for thanks, because what Changbo entrusted in his final memorial... ah, it is We who should be thanking you! If the Wu family has anything else that requires Our help, speak freely. Whatever this emperor can do, We will surely do it."

Wu Sanmei was taken aback. She looked at Zhu Cilang, then at the final memorial.

Zhu Cilang said: "Sanmei, once you read it you will see that Changbo was truly Our loyal subject! All these years, We have still treated your family shabbily."

East Lake Town, the Duke of Quanguo's residence.

When the great tree of the Wu family came crashing down, the Zheng father and sons were at the height of their fortunes. Of course, they kept their satisfaction behind closed doors; once outside the gates, every one of them wore a mournful expression — as though the one who had died were not Wu Changbo, but Zheng Damu.

"Damu, Jiangong, is there any way to find out what was written in Wu Sangui's final memorial?"

At dusk, Zheng Zhilong summoned his two sons, just back from their offices, to his presence.

"No need to find out," Zheng Jiangong said. "If His Majesty wishes to make it public, we will naturally learn of it. If he does not wish it made public, we will not be able to find out no matter what."

Zheng Du, who was about to leave for his post in Quanzhou, laughed: "It can only be two things. First, money! Second, paving the way for Wu Ake and Wu Ahuan."

"Only Wu Ahuan is left now!" Zheng Sen said. "Wu Ake will have to observe mourning... but Wu Ahuan must already have a place arranged."

"Could it be Crown Princess?" Zheng Zhilong frowned.

"The worry is that he proposed it in his final memorial!" Zheng Sen said. "After all, this time Wu Sangui truly gave his all and died in harness, and moreover he had already broken open the gateway to Sichuan — his achievements were immense! How could His Majesty refuse?"

"But His Majesty has already said there will be an examination..."

Zheng Jiangong said: "His Majesty said there would be an examination, but he never said how it would be conducted! That Wu Ahuan is no slouch either! And she has beauty besides — the Princess gave her the nickname 'Guanyin Seen from Eight Directions,' meaning that no matter from which direction you look, there is not a single angle from which she is not beautiful! If she truly becomes Crown Princess, she will surely win favor."

Zheng Zhilong sighed: "The King of the United States is the eldest son, and his talents far surpass the Crown Prince's..."

Zheng Du said: "If only we could put the King of the United States in his place..."

"Shizhong, what nonsense are you talking?" Zheng Sen hastily cut off his brother.

"Eldest Brother, I was just speaking offhandedly."

Zheng Sen glared at him: "Can matters of deposition and enthronement be bandied about so carelessly? If His Majesty were to learn of this, could our family still be secure? You would have His Majesty's own father and sons, brothers, turn against one another!

Besides, His Majesty is not yet forty this year, in the prime of life, and there is no question he can remain Son of Heaven for another thirty years. What we should be considering now is how to be His Majesty's loyal subjects!"

"Damu, so you are saying our family should not contend for this Crown Princess position?" Zheng Zhilong frowned.

"Of course we should contend!" Zheng Sen said. "And we should strive with all our might!"

"Why?" Zheng Zhilong asked.

"Because marrying a daughter of the Zheng family to the Crown Prince would show that our family supports the Crown Prince!" Zheng Sen said. "Whether we succeed or not, the attitude itself is good. Neither His Majesty, nor the Empress, nor the Crown Prince himself would think our family disloyal!

In my view, we should also propose that the Crown Prince take a secondary consort at the same time... Even if we do not win the position of primary consort, we must secure the secondary consort. With the Zheng and Wu families jointly supporting the Crown Prince, His Majesty will surely be pleased!"

(End of Chapter)