Chapter 1453: A Prince's Appreciation

The Russians of Nerchinsk truly had no standing to refuse an enemy's surrender... Whether dealing with a governor-general who wanted to remain Russian, or with the self-proclaimed Lord Protector of the Siberian Republic, Troganov, the top man of Russia in Eastern Siberia, had no choice but to grit his teeth and accept it.

At the turn of spring and summer in the year 1672 of the Western calendar, after Troganov and Urasov had lost the battle at Nerchinsk, been forced to accept the enemy's surrender, and signed the humiliating Treaty of Nerchinsk, they finally slunk off with the Russian soldiers and civilians of Nerchinsk, retreating toward Irkutsk... This retreat meant that Russia's eastward expansion policy had suffered an unprecedented blow!

At the same time, in Huining on the Heilong River, the Great Ming Dynasty's northward advance into Heilongjiang and Andong had reached its most critical moment!

Inside the east gate of the Heilongjiang Protectorate office — spacious and imposing, yet furnished so plainly it was almost bare — a crowd of burly men in blue and green official robes and black gauze caps sat on camp stools, looking around curiously.

These were all estate masters or young estate masters of the various estates under the Heilongjiang Protectorate. If one traced their ancestry, it was rather mixed: some were of old Eight Banners stock, some were Mongols, some were of Plain Green Banner stock, some were Solon or Barhu people, and still others were of mixed blood. In short, from the time Dodo opened up the lands beyond the passes, this region beyond the passes had become a great ethnic melting pot — Han, Manchu, Mongol, Solon, and others had come wave after wave, mingling together until they grew harder and harder to tell apart.

After the collapse of Duoni's regime beyond the passes, Liaoyang, needless to say, had been utterly transformed and was now a directly administered province of the Great Ming. The whole society had been broken apart and reorganized; even the land ownership and usage rights that Dodo and Duoni, father and son, had distributed were no longer recognized by the Zhu Emperor. But within the two protectorates of Heilongjiang and Andong, the social transformation had not been so drastic. The Zhu Emperor's hand did not reach that far; he could not turn Heilongjiang and Andong into directly administered provinces before Liaoyang was properly governed. So he had no choice but to acknowledge the interests of the remnants of Dodo and Duoni's followers.

But Zhu Cilang would not permit the Manchu Eight Banners system to continue existing either — if the northern nomadic, fishing, and hunting tribes wanted to rise, they first had to revolutionize themselves, break up their original tribes, and then rebuild a new organizational system capable of uniting the majority of their people.

For example, the Meng'an Mouke system when the Jurchen rose, the Chiliarch system when the Mongols rose, and the Eight Banners system when the Manchu rose. These systems, stripped to their essence, were all about breaking up tribes and clans and establishing a centralized military-household system — organizing hundreds of thousands or even a million people into a single military-household bloc.

And the Great Ming that Zhu Yuanzhang established actually had a similar system too: the military-household system created in the early Ming. And the fubing system that underpinned the military power of the Sui and Tang was much the same sort of institution.

In short, this Eight Banners organizational system was the very foundation that held together the Manchu, Green Banner, Barhu, Solon, and other groups beyond the passes. And once the Eight Banners organization collapsed, all that would remain under the two protectorates of Heilongjiang and Andong would be a heap of "estate masters."

Therefore, "abolish the Eight Banners, preserve the estate masters" had become Zhu Cilang's basic policy over the past ten or twenty years in governing the two protectorate jurisdictions of Heilongjiang and Andong.

Of course, without a core like Dodo or Duoni, the disintegration of the Eight Banners beyond the passes was inevitable.

Figures of Oboi and Yue Le's level could at most control a portion of the estates; they simply could not become masters of the Eight Banners. Otherwise they would not have run off to Nerchinsk with only that handful of people to set up their Siberian Republic.

And through Jin Dong'e and Ajige, Zhu Cilang likewise controlled a portion of the estates. But because Zhu Cilang, Jin Dong'e, and Ajige could not go to Heilongjiang and Andong to take personal command, these "imperial estates" had been in a state of muddling along. When Oboi and Yue Le fled, they had no way to send troops to stop them.

Moreover, on the ground in Heilongjiang and Andong there were also large numbers of "fence-sitter estates" — after all, the mountains were high and the Emperor far away; wasn't it enough to live one's own comfortable little life? Let the people above fight it out among themselves; whoever won, they'd kowtow to him!

Now that the Crown Prince had marched into Huining with a great army, and Oboi and Yue Le had fled with their tails between their legs to Yaksa (no one yet knew of the Battle of Nerchinsk), it was obvious that the Ming court was the stronger, and it was equally obvious to whom they should kowtow.

So in the summer of the twenty-fifth year of Hongxing, all the fence-sitters of Heilongjiang gathered in Huining, bringing gifts to kowtow and pay their respects to the great Crown Prince Zhu.

But today the Crown Prince had no time to see them. Early in the morning he had gone out of the city with the Crown Princess to hunt, leaving only the Crown Prince's Attendant Ma Wanchun (the former magistrate of Shizhu County) and the Commandery Prince of Wuyang, Zhu Ciling, to receive these estate masters and young estate masters at the protectorate office in Huining.

Seeing the hall already packed with people, Ma Wanchun and Zhu Ciling exchanged a glance — time to start spinning tales!

The Crown Prince's Attendant Ma Wanchun spoke first. He cleared his throat, cupped his hands, and said with a smile, "You have all traveled far and must be weary. I am Ma Wanchun, Attendant to the Crown Prince, and I thank you for your trouble. This is His Highness the Commandery Prince of Wuyang, the twentieth younger brother of His Majesty the reigning Emperor and uncle to His Highness the Crown Prince."

This good-for-nothing Commandery Prince Zhu Ciling was worth little in Nanjing, but here in Heilongjiang he had to put on the full airs of a prince — a Prince! And a close kinsman at that, the reigning Son of Heaven's own younger brother, incomparably noble!

So noble a Prince, of course, could not casually cup his hands and greet you estate masters the way Ma Wanchun did, so he merely nodded with restrained dignity.

And indeed, the good-for-nothings of the Chongzhen family were all gold and jade on the outside, and Zhu Ciling was no exception. Though he could not compare to Zhu Cixuan, he was still a fine figure of a man, a stalwart fellow, perfectly matching the aesthetic tastes of this corner beyond the passes. Anyone who did not know the truth would think he was some truly remarkable personage!

Seeing such a great personage nod at them, the estate masters and young estate masters did not dare be remiss. They rose one after another and performed the grand ceremony, kneeling and kowtowing to Zhu Ciling, and cried out, "We respectfully wish the Great Prince a thousand years of golden peace!"

This was a scene that Zhu Ciling, after all his years as a Prince, was seeing for the first time!

Back in Nanjing, even commoners did not show that much respect to a bare-title Prince like him — the Retired Emperor Chongzhen had so many sons, and Zhu Cilang had gradually brought the Princes and Commandery Princes formerly enfeoffed in the provinces to Nanjing to be supported. So Nanjing was overrun with penniless Princes, and they had become worthless.

But here in this corner of the Northeast, Zhu Ciling discovered that his bare-title Commandery Princedom had finally appreciated in value!

Realizing he had appreciated in value, Zhu Ciling was naturally in excellent spirits, and he smilingly invited everyone to be seated.

"Sit, all of you sit and talk," Zhu Ciling said with a smile. "His Highness the Crown Prince has gone out of the city on business, so today he has asked Us to represent him and entertain you all here in Huining... We have already had people prepare a banquet.

"Furthermore, His Highness the Crown Prince has asked Us to tell you all one thing: His Majesty wishes to select consorts for the Princes going north, from within the two protectorate jurisdictions of Heilongjiang and Andong!

"Selected from the households of you city masters and estate masters!

"The Crown Prince has come north this time precisely to preside over the consort selection..."

This was a single stone raising a thousand waves — the great hall instantly erupted like a boiling pot!

"What? Select consorts from our families? What sort of girls are they looking for?"

"Your Highness, could you give us the specifics? Which Princes exactly are our city masters' and estate masters' daughters going to marry? And after they enter the household, will they be principal wives or secondary consorts?"

"Your Highness, who are the Princes going north? Can you tell us?"

"Your Highness, are you one of the Princes going north?"

And indeed, these city and estate masters of Heilongjiang were quite interested in forming marriage ties with the imperial house.

Seeing everyone's enthusiastic response, Zhu Ciling felt reassured. For a good-for-nothing Prince like himself, the white mountains and black waters clearly offered great prospects!

(End of Chapter)