Chapter 1408: The Third Prince Zhu Has No Good Intentions! (Seeking Subscriptions)

The "Third Prince Zhu," Zhu Cijiong, is certainly no good man now. He may have been decent enough as a child, but after spending years on Mount Lüliang mixed up with warlords, unscrupulous merchants, corrupt officials, and turncoat ministers, he was long ago dyed black by the company he kept! Then he got thick as thieves with the Mongol Tartars, and his conscience only grew worse — by now it is rotten to the very root.

If he were not rotten to the root, Zhu Cilang would never have sent him west to serve as Prince of Dai. What sort of people are out in the west? The Dzungars, the Khoshuts, the Kazakhs, the Khivans, and the most savage of them all — Russia! Each more ferocious than the last. If Zhu Cijiong had not learned to be wicked, would he not have been devoured alive the moment he got there?

Now his Principality of Dai in the Tianshan Mountains and the Beiting Army left behind by the Khoshut tribe have gained a firm foothold. Not only has he opened up large farms and pastures along the shores of Lake Issyk-Kul, he has also built a "trading city" on the banks of the Ili River at the foot of the Tianshan, to serve as a base for the Shanxi merchants pushing westward.

That is right — the Prince of Dai, Zhu Cijiong, has always been thick as thieves with a faction of the Shanxi merchants! His kingdom and his military governorship were, in truth, borrowed into existence from those very merchants. Those Shanxi merchants are all at once the Prince of Dai's creditors and his fathers-in-law! Not only did they lend him money to fight his wars, they also sent their daughters to warm his bed. Now that they have done all that, can the Prince of Dai, Zhu Cijiong, refuse to open up markets for them?

But can the Shanxi merchants who threw in with Zhu Cijiong possibly be good merchants? Men willing to build a business step by step would never have gone up Mount Lüliang to join the Prince of Dai back then. Those men all gathered around Zhu Cijiong with the mind of buying up a rare commodity. So after following Zhu Cijiong to the Western Regions, they had no intention of doing honest trade — every one of them was holding his breath, scheming to strike it rich in one stroke.

And in the Western Regions, a windfall can only come from war! Where else could it possibly come from?

Moreover, the territory Zhu Cilang allotted to Zhu Cijiong is somewhat narrow and barren. How could he be content with that?

So when Li Dingguo, Ai Nengqi, and Liu Wenxiu marched west into the Snowlands, and the Khoshut tribe of the Snowlands departed for Anxi, the Prince of Dai, Zhu Cijiong, and the Shanxi merchant clique under him saw their chance to profit from the chaos.

And the memorial in which the Prince of Dai, Zhu Cijiong, impeached the three feudatories of Ü-Tsang, Ngari, and Dokham for colluding with the roving bandits and plotting rebellion — that memorial was meant to pour another ladle of oil onto the sparks already kindled in the western feudatories' revolt!

"Yuying," Zhu Cilang said, looking at Ding Yuying, "what do you make of the Prince of Dai's memorial?"

Ding Yuying thought for a moment, then said, "Imperial Father, your daughter-in-law believes that what Third Imperial Uncle memorialized is not necessarily groundless! When the Crown Prince and I were in Tianhe Prefecture, we made inquiries about the roving bandits and learned that the families of Li Dingguo and the others all live near Kunming. The bandits' false emperor, Li Jicheng, is no fool either. He will surely use those families to keep Li Dingguo, Ai Nengqi, and Liu Wenxiu on a leash. So the three Military Governors Li, Ai, and Liu very likely have a foot in each boat!"

"Then you think the Prince of Dai's memorial has merit?" Zhu Cilang asked again.

Ding Yuying smiled. "How many things under heaven are ever truly reasonable? Your daughter-in-law thinks Third Imperial Uncle is quite the troublemaker, and matters in the west will not be settled easily."

Zhu Cilang nodded. "When you cannot see the matter clearly, look at the man — not a bad rule! If only the Crown Prince had your quick wits."

Ding Yuying knew Zhu Cilang rather looked down on the Crown Prince, but she spoke up for him — a Crown Prince his Imperial Father looks down on, paired with a Crown Princess his Imperial Father thinks highly of, is that not the perfect combination?

"Imperial Father," Ding Yuying changed the subject, "your daughter-in-law believes the court should hold fast to two keys: first, put peace first; second, trust Third Imperial Uncle."

"Is that so?" Zhu Cilang looked at Ding Yuying. "Yuying, are you not afraid that one day, when We are gone, Old Third will follow the example of Chengmiao and launch a Jingnan campaign?"

"Your daughter-in-law is not afraid," Ding Yuying said with a smile. "Imperial Father is certain to enjoy long life and boundless fortune. Third Imperial Uncle cannot outlive you!"

"Stop beating around the bush," Zhu Cilang said. "Answer Our question!"

Ding Yuying shook her head and said, "Imperial Father, the world of today is no longer the world of the time when the old Chengmiao Emperor rose in arms for the Jingnan campaign. The southeast is strong and the northwest is poor and weak. The southeast's strength lies not only in industry, commerce, and agriculture, but also in its army and navy! The army has the Military Academy and the Youth Army; the navy has the Three Oceans Fleet. The Principality of Dai in the northwest simply cannot compare. Moreover, the court's army and navy are battle-hardened elites, and the enemies they have dealt with are far more formidable than the people of the northwest. So for the Prince of Dai to rise from the northwest and sweep the realm is impossible!"

Zhu Cilang frowned. "Yuying, who told you all this?"

"His Highness the Crown Prince," Ding Yuying said. "His Highness the Crown Prince is clumsy in politics but strong in military strategy. He has a very clear grasp of the balance of military power across the realm."

"He does not yet count as strong in military strategy," Zhu Cilang said, shaking his head. "He merely knows a little common sense about military affairs — though that is far better than Jianwen." He glanced at Ding Yuying again and laughed. "Yuying, if Jianwen had had an empress like you, he would never have been blinded by treacherous ministers, nor broken the house laws handed down by the Great Ancestor."

Zhu Cilang was no Zhu Yousong. He would not grant the Jianwen Emperor a temple name like "Huizong" or a posthumous title like "Emperor Rang." Not giving Jianwen some title like "the Deposed Wretch of Jianwen" was already courtesy enough.

Because under Zhu Cilang's Great Ming, feudatories stood thick across the land, and there was simply no way to abolish them. To abolish the feudatories in the Celestial Empire Zhu Cilang left behind — that would mean fighting a Pacific War!

So the feudatory-abolishing Jianwen was the classic example of political error, and had to be fiercely criticized and denounced!

Ding Yuying understood the meaning behind Zhu Cilang's words and quickly declared, "His Highness the Crown Prince also deeply understands that the system of imperial feudatories is the foundation of the Celestial Empire and cannot be shaken!"

"As long as he knows it!" Zhu Cilang nodded, then added, "But with so many feudatories, governing them is troublesome. Yuying, tell Us — how should this mud be smoothed over?"

"Imperial Father," Ding Yuying said, "as for the Prince of Dai, you could send Sixth Uncle over for a visit. At the very least, we must find out what he intends. As for the three Snowlands feudatories, the court should also send men to pacify and oversee them. They cannot be allowed to run wild."

Zhu Cilang smiled and nodded, then raised a hand. "That is all for today. Go back early."

His consulting Ding Yuying did not mean he would act on her advice. The northwest was a thorny matter, but this mud would not necessarily smooth over well.

Ding Yuying rose, curtsied in the women's salute, turned, and left the Hall of Imperial Supremacy.

"Who is next?" Zhu Cilang watched Ding Yuying leave, then asked the Hanlin Academician Zuo Jizhong (son of Zuo Maodi) standing in the hall.

"Your Majesty," Zuo Jizhong replied, "next to be received are Prince Gong, Jin Boguo, and the Marquis of Yan'en, Jin Xuanye."

"So it is those two." Zhu Cilang frowned slightly. "Summon them."

Prince Gong, Jin Boguo, and the Marquis of Yan'en, Jin Xuanye, were both remnants of the Jianzhou line. After submitting to the Great Ming, they had been kept cooped up in Yingtian Prefecture living out their small lives.

Of the two, Jin Boguo did nothing but eat and drink. This year he was thirty-six — fourteen years more than he had lived in history. He had truly come out far ahead!

Jin Xuanye, meanwhile, was seventeen this year. He had received a proper new-style education in Yingtian Prefecture and was about to sit the college entrance examination this year.

And his studies were going well; he was expected to gain admission to Yingtian Imperial University!

But Zhu Cilang wanted to put a hitch in Jin Xuanye's studies and find him something to do.

"Your son Jin Boguo respectfully inquires after Imperial Father's sacred well-being!"

"Your subject Xuanye respectfully inquires after His Majesty the Emperor's sacred well-being."

Jin Boguo and Jin Xuanye, uncle and nephew, entered the Hall of Imperial Supremacy and together knelt and kowtowed to Zhu Cilang.

Zhu Cilang said flatly, "Rise and speak."

That meant the two of them were to stand while answering.

Jin Boguo and Jin Xuanye both rose. Emperor Zhu sized them up. Jin Boguo had grown so fat he could hardly walk without panting. It seemed he could no longer overturn heaven.

Jin Xuanye, for his part, had a pockmarked face, small eyes, broom-like brows, and large ears. He looked somewhat gloomy.

"Xuanye," Zhu Cilang said, "We hear you are proficient in six languages: Han, Manchu, Mongol, Tibetan, French, and Russian?"

This was a top student!

Jin Xuanye answered with great deference, "Your subject merely had idle time and picked up a bit of parrot-talk. I dare not claim proficiency."

"You also understand the Buddhist Dharma?" Zhu Cilang asked again.

"Your subject does indeed believe in Buddhism," Jin Xuanye said. "I have even wished to renounce the world and become a monk, only Your Majesty would not permit it."

Zhu Cilang said, "Noble Consort Jin told Us that what you wish to believe in is the Lamaist teaching, and that you wish to go meet the great lamas. There is now an opportunity to let you travel west, and even to meet the great lamas. Do you wish to go?"

(End of Chapter)