Chapter 1326: Is the Meritorious Officials' Safe Period Coming to an End

The news that the commoner woman Ding Yuying had taken first place in the "Crown Princess Grand Examination" and won the position of Crown Princess swept through Wuhan Prefecture, the Western Capital of the Great Ming, in the shortest possible time, giving this city, sweltering under the fierce heat of the twentieth year of Hongxing, a topic even hotter than the weather.

If there was one thing the common folk of Wuhan Prefecture, the Western Capital, found unsatisfactory about this Great Ming dynasty revived by Zhu Cilang, it was that the country's ruling class was not particularly close to the people. Although the Great Ming also had civil service examinations, had opened many universities for the general public, and even had a direct channel for poor youths from the border regions to rise — the Nine Borders Youth Army — the essence of the new Great Ming dynasty was still a semi-feudal, semi-capitalist regime jointly ruled by a new aristocracy (the hardship nobles) and the southeastern capitalists.

While maintaining high efficiency, this regime somewhat neglected fairness. The upward channel left for the middle strata was rather narrow — unlike in the past, when the scholar-officials of the nation's middle strata could rise to the top in a single bound through the imperial examinations and become the most powerful figures beneath the Son of Heaven.

But Zhu Cilang's semi-feudal, semi-capitalist Great Ming had no imperial examinations in the true sense — only civil service examinations that started from low-level petty clerks.

For the middle strata of landlords, rich peasants, and merchants, it was easy for their sons to pass the examination for a minor post, but once they became minor officials, their career paths were rough. Apart from a very few with exceptionally good official luck, most would stop at the eighth rank for their entire lives. Those who could become Grand Secretaries were now all hardship nobles, and in the future would mostly be their descendants!

For the scholar-officials who had once pointed out the course of the realm, this was of course a source of loss and discontent. The Great Ming had once shared the realm with the scholar-officials; now it shared the realm with the new aristocracy and the great capitalists.

But this Crown Princess examination had let everyone see hope for the rise of the scholar-officials!

"What a Ding Yuying! She outshone the daughters of so many noble houses — truly worthy of being a fine woman of our Jingchu!"

"Was she really outshone? I fear the Son of Heaven wants to use her to rap those lawless nobles and wealthy merchants on the knuckles. The roving bandits are now a rabbit's tail — they can't last much longer! Once Sichuan and Yunnan are recovered, the realm will be at peace. In a peaceful realm, what use are those nobles who only know how to fight and kill, and those treacherous merchants who only know how to rake in money?"

"Right! To govern the realm, we still need men of learning, still need the scholar-officials."

These scholar-officials adrift among the common people could all see that Emperor Zhu did not quite trust the new aristocracy and the great capitalists — so how could the ministers and officials of the northern and southern parties not understand? Emperor Zhu had gone to such great trouble to select a Crown Princess of commoner origin — was that not precisely because he looked down on this crowd of princes, marquises, generals, and ministers?

Moreover, in the power structure designed by Emperor Zhu, the Crown Princess was by no means an insignificant role!

With a soft click, a chess piece landed lightly on the board. A game of chess had reached a point of tangled confusion — tangled because the two players had no heart for it, merely placing pieces at random, so the board was a complete mess with no order at all.

"Alas! The court situation is like this chess game — impossible to read. Fortunately, I am old and can retire while the current is swift!" The speaker was a white-haired old man — the Minister of Justice, the hardship Duke Ma Shiying.

After Zhu Cilang announced that Ding Yuying, a commoner woman of Yiling Prefecture, had taken first place in the Jinling Women's University entrance examination and would be invested as Crown Princess on an auspicious day, the old gentleman had submitted his resignation.

Of course, Zhu Cilang would not let him withdraw completely; the honorary positions of the Three Dukes and Three Solitaries would still be given to him.

Playing chess against him was Wei Zaode. Ma Shiying could retire, but he still had to continue being his "Zhuge Liang," serving the Great Ming with utter devotion unto death.

Today he had come by imperial order to urge Ma Shiying to stay — merely going through the motions!

Hearing Ma Shiying speak of retirement, Wei Zaode said with a smile: "The Duke has long since reached the pinnacle of a subject's honors. Retiring now is also good — wealth, rank, glory, and splendor, inexhaustible enjoyment!"

Ma Shiying gave a bitter smile: "That may be so, but I am no gentleman above partisanship. My disciples and former subordinates are spread across the realm, and at court I have formed a party with the Zhengs, the Shens, the Luos, and others. If anything should happen, could I possibly escape implication?"

The old man's worry was not without reason!

Zheng Zhilong, Shen Tingyang, and Luo Dagong were not easy to move, because they were the leaders of the southeastern financial cliques. Zhu Cilang's own royal merchant guild and the southeastern financial cliques had long since merged into one — you within me, I within you.

If the southeastern financial cliques were to be swept away, the bad debts of the two great banks alone, plus the collapse of land prices in Shanghai, Nanjing, and Yangzhou, would cost Emperor Zhu at least one hundred million.

But Ma Shiying represented the southwestern military bloc. The southwestern military bloc had fought the Shun for so many years without winning any victories. Only recently had they succeeded in a surprise attack on Niulan Pass and Wanzhou, killing the roving bandits' military governor Wu Ruyi and cutting the link between Kuizhou Prefecture and Chongqing Prefecture.

But that was as far as it went. The Yunnan-Guizhou-Sichuan army's offensive against Chongqing Prefecture had made no progress, and the roving bandits in Kuizhou Prefecture remained as stubborn as ever.

It seemed the Yunnan-Guizhou-Sichuan army was only capable of this much — so why keep them around?

The realm seemed about to be unified, and the "safe period" for meritorious officials was coming to an end!

How could Ma Shiying not worry?

"It won't come to that, it won't come to that," Wei Zaode said, waving his hands repeatedly. "His Majesty is a magnanimous and benevolent sovereign. He chose Ding Yuying as Crown Princess only because he valued her commoner background and found her easy to instruct — not because he is dissatisfied with the hardship nobles."

He paused, then smiled: "And after selecting a consort for the Crown Prince, there are still the Prince of Fu, the Prince of Shen, the Prince of Yue (Zhu Hehao's full brother, named Hekun), the Prince of Yue (Zhu Hehao's full brother, named Hezhen), the Prince of Ao (Zhu He'ao), the Prince of Xu (son of Fei Zhen'e, named Heyuan), and so on!"

So Wei Zaode had also come as a matchmaker! To propose a marriage on behalf of the Prince of Yue, Zhu Hezhen.

Ma Shiying looked at Wei Zaode and asked: "To whom has your daughter been betrothed?"

Wei Zaode said: "She has been promised to His Majesty's second son, His Highness the Prince of Yue."

"And the eldest prince?" Ma Shiying asked. "Is it Wu A'huan of the Wu family?"

"Most likely her," Wei Zaode nodded. "Luo Xiaohe of the Luo family has apparently been promised to the Prince of Fu. That is a fine match indeed! Shen Xiulan of the Shen family has been given to the Prince of Xu."

"Then what about Zheng Min?" Ma Shiying asked again. "She wouldn't be marrying the Prince of Ao, would she?"

"Correct — the Prince of Ao!" Wei Zaode smiled. "Do you not yet understand His Majesty's intent? The Prince of Fu marries Luo Dagong's daughter, and the Empress's son, the Prince of Ao, marries the daughter of Marquis Zheng."

This was arranging intermarriage between the northern and southern parties — clearly meant to ease the conflict between the two parties. If Emperor Zhu truly meant to kill the donkey once the grinding was done, he would be hoping the two parties fought each other to the death!

Ma Shiying frowned slightly: "As for Zheng Min and the Prince of Ao, who knows whether the Duke of Quan and the Empress will agree?"

Wei Zaode smiled: "A match His Majesty wishes to bring about — could the two of them refuse?"

"The Prince of Ao..." Zheng Zhilong looked at Zheng Sen. "You agreed?"

Zheng Sen nodded and said: "His Majesty said he would give the Prince of Ao a great inheritance — one no less than that of the King of the United States."

"Isn't the Prince of Ao's inheritance just that so-called Duchy of Yiquan?" Zheng Zhilong shook his head. "Although it is the largest on the Malacca Peninsula, in the end it is not very big at all — it cannot compare with the inheritance of the King of the United States."

"Perhaps there are further arrangements?" Zheng Sen said with a frown. "Father, this marriage must not be pushed away! Although Min'er did not become Crown Princess, it is still better than nothing. And the Prince of Ao is also a son of the Empress!"

His words carried a hidden meaning — the Crown Prince had no son yet, and the Prince of Ao was his only brother by the same father and mother. If anything happened, would Zheng Min not become Crown Princess?

Zheng Zhilong sighed: "That may be so, but it still leaves one unwilling! To lose to a commoner woman — who knows what His Majesty is thinking? Does he truly no longer trust us nobles?"

"Father," Zheng Sen shook his head and said, "it is not that he does not trust us, but His Majesty certainly does not wish the future empress regnant to come from a powerful family like ours. In my view, we should keep our distance from the Crown Prince, properly support and raise up the Prince of Ao, and see how great an inheritance His Majesty gives the Prince of Ao!"

(End of Chapter)