Chapter 1715: Opening a Branch at Datong

The Embroidered Uniform Guard is, of course, something even princes dread meeting!

Actually, their commander Luo Yangxing is not so hard to see — what people fear are the jailers inside the Guard's Imperial Prison. As the saying goes, until you enter the Imperial Prison, you don't know how exalted its jailers are! Even a fallen prince, once he lands in the hands of those Imperial Prison jailers, will be fleeced to the last hair!

And after the jailers finish fleecing him, once he's inside the high walls of Fengyang, there's still a pack of death-watch eunuchs guarding the criminal imperial clansmen waiting to fleece him again!

However much wealth these princes of Datong possess, these petty men will strip it away bit by bit. And before they're locked inside the Fengyang high walls, their estates will certainly have to be confiscated as well. These are princely establishments of one or two hundred years' standing — if the total doesn't come to one or two million, the little emperor won't be easy to answer to!

"Your Majesty, this subject is guilty. This subject will certainly behave well and earnestly atone for his crimes."

"Your Majesty, this subject is willing to atone — willing to hand over his entire family fortune."

"Your Majesty, for the sake of our ancestors, spare this subject just this once."

The moment the princes heard that the treason case could be dropped, they all wept and begged for mercy. What was their status, after all? Princes of the Great Ming! Ordinary crimes simply couldn't touch them. Seizing a commoner's daughter here and there, occupying three or five thousand mu of military farmland, beating or killing a few common folk — what did any of that matter? No upright official would dare use such trifling matters to "frame a prince"!

But a treason case was another matter entirely. Once they were branded criminal imperial clansmen, they'd be worse off than ordinary criminals. An ordinary criminal usually only gets himself locked up — crimes that implicate one's family and descendants are rare. But criminal imperial clansmen have their whole household confined, and their sons and grandsons suffer along with them.

So whether or not a treason case was pursued meant, for these princes, the difference between one step into heaven and one step into hell.

The capital's ennobled dignitaries in the Hall of Bearing Heaven all thought of "indulgences" — this young Son of Heaven was about to make another fortune!

But these ennobled men could only watch helplessly as Zhu Youjian grew rich; they didn't even dare offer a word. It was they who had exposed the Datong princes for spreading seditious rumors and cursing the Son of Heaven! They certainly couldn't plead for the princes now. And demanding harsh punishment was out of the question too — that would be sowing discord among the imperial kin! The Great Ming governed the realm by filial piety and required kin to shield one another. So Zhu Youjian's protection of the princes and commandery princes was politically correct. Anyone who objected would be "framing a prince" — and could expect impeachment by the censors and remonstrance officials!

Zhu Youjian nodded repeatedly. "Good, good. It seems you all know your errors. But from the look of you, you're hardly fit to charge into battle. Staying in Datong as border-defending princes would be unsuitable!"

"Right, right, right — this subject cannot serve as a border-defending prince! This subject is gravely ill, at death's door, and can no longer take the field."

"This subject has been frail since childhood and pants just from walking."

"This subject has a foot ailment and cannot ride."

"Cough, cough, cough — this subject's illness is beyond cure."

So all the princes of Datong Garrison were invalids!

Zhu Youjian looked sympathetically at the crowd of tottering, useless princes. "If you're ill, you should properly convalesce. Staying on the frontier as border-defending princes is unsuitable! Duke of Ying, Duke of Cheng, Marquis of Funing — what do you think?"

"His Majesty is supremely wise!"

"His Majesty speaks truly."

"They should indeed go and recuperate."

Zhu Youjian nodded and called to his attendants. "Attend! Bring them brushes, ink, and memorial paper, and give each man a small writing table. Have them compose, right here in the great hall, memorials requesting withdrawal from their fiefs."

Abolishing a princely fief and removing a state was very troublesome. It could not be done by a single edict from Zhu Youjian — he did not yet wield that much authority. So the best solution was to have the nine princes of Datong Garrison write the memorials requesting withdrawal themselves — withdrawal from the fief, not stripping of their titles.

A Ming prince's annual stipend was 10,000 shi of grain; a commandery prince's was 2,000 shi. Not low, but Zhu Youjian could still afford it. The real problem was that the princes, in their fiefs, seized fields and enclosed land, and shielded great landowners and wealthy merchants — the losses they inflicted on the Ming were bottomless.

Moreover, a frontier region like Datong had little land to begin with, and the entire Dai princely line had occupied it all, leaving no military farmland. If the Dai line and all the idle, grain-wasting generals and commandants below them could be moved to Beijing — even if they had to be issued grain and allowed to eat for free — Zhu Youjian could still recover a great deal of land. With that land, he could open a branch of the Knights of the Banner at Datong Garrison. Even just two or three thousand cavalry would greatly improve Datong Garrison's defensive capability.

In his previous life, one of Hong Taiji's five great incursions had come through Datong!

The fence at Datong absolutely had to be made secure!

The memorials requesting withdrawal were already written. They were actually easy to write, because Zhu Youjian had prepared model texts for them — just copy and change the name.

The general gist of these memorials was: I am incompetent, I have failed my ancestors, I cannot hold my fief, and so I am ashamed beyond measure and dare not remain in my fief. I voluntarily request its abolition; henceforth, being a peaceful prince will be enough for me.

All nine memorials were delivered before Zhu Youjian. He opened them, glanced through, and smiled. "Excellent! You all know yourselves well. We are a benevolent sovereign and value family bonds above all — We certainly cannot let you go to your deaths in a dangerous place like Datong Garrison. You wish to withdraw, and We of course grant it. All of you will withdraw to Beijing, each as a Prince of Great Peace! Your princely and commandery princely titles remain unchanged, and your annual stipends remain unchanged. We will not bestow princely mansions upon you; instead, We will find each family a large plot of land, and you may build your own houses!

That said, your crimes... still must be atoned for!"

Zhu Youjian looked at the princes below and said with a smile: "Of the movable wealth you can carry away, We will not take a single coin. But your mansions and lands in Datong — whether bestowed by your ancestors or acquired by your own efforts — all of it stays with Us. We will shortly conduct a land survey in Datong. If a single mu of land is found still belonging to you, then We will charge you with 'spreading seditious rumors and cursing the Son of Heaven'!

And when you enter the Imperial Prison and are sent to Fengyang, you will no longer be dignified princes."

What?

A land survey too?!

The ennobled dignitaries present all sucked in a cold breath when they heard about the land survey!

What exactly was this Son of Heaven trying to do?

Zhu Youjian glanced at them and said with a smile: "The land survey is, of course, to collect military-farm grain. Datong was originally a military garrison, with eight guards and sixty-four forts under it, and tens of thousands of soldiers on the rolls, all originally supported by the land. But the guard-battalion system has long since decayed, and most of the military-farm land has passed into private hands. We know it cannot all be recovered, but We ask only to collect some military-farm grain. In addition, Datong's paper troop strength is far too inflated, and must be counted and verified!

Of course, We will not reduce Datong's provisions and pay. A million and several hundred thousand taels a year supports only forty or fifty thousand troops on paper. If that number can be made real, We will be at ease!"

This was the perfect moment to survey Datong's land and overhaul the Datong Garrison troops!

In the past, this sort of thing would surely have sparked mutiny and military chaos!

But now — heh — His Majesty's valor surpasses the entire army! And Datong Garrison currently has fifteen thousand Liaodong troops, twenty thousand Capital Camps troops, and ten thousand Knights of the Banner. How many truly existing Datong Garrison troops are there? Mutiny? If they have that kind of ability, they'd be better off going to cut down the foremost warrior of the Mongols!

Zhu Youjian's words were reasonable and fair, but the hearts of the ennobled officials present still ran cold.

Because however much the frontier armies padded their rolls, they could never compare to the Capital Camps! Here in Datong, a paper strength of over 130,000 was impossible, but 30,000-some was not far off.

But the Capital Camps?

On paper, over a hundred thousand; in reality, who knew if there were even twenty thousand? And the Capital Camps had even more money!

Zhu Youjian's icy gaze now turned to the Capital Camps nobles. "Duke of Ying, Duke of Cheng, Marquis of Funing, Luo Sigong, Luo Yangxing... since you've come all this way, you may as well put in some effort and help Us survey the land and inspect the fields at Datong Garrison!"

The men all shuddered. Surveying land and inspecting fields... how many people would that offend! Although the Emperor said it was only to collect some farm grain, that was still money! And once this precedent was set, would land in Northern Zhili and the Capital Camps' troop rolls be investigated next?

"Your Majesty," Zhang Weixian steeled himself and stepped forward to memorialize, "the army of the Tumed Khan has probably not gone far. Datong may face battle again at any moment. This is truly not the time to survey the fields..."

Zhu Youjian smiled. "Duke of Ying, you worry too much. The Tumed Khan won't dare come again. But We, on the other hand, are thinking of making a trip to the Tumed plain! We intend first to properly investigate the land and troop rolls here at Datong Garrison, and then use the land surrendered by the nine princes to recruit two thousand Knights of the Banner at Datong. Once We have the land, troop rolls, and knights all sorted out, We will march on the Tumed plain and destroy the Northern Yuan in one stroke!

If the Duke of Ying thinks that's a bad idea, then the Duke of Ying can lead the Capital Camps troops to attack the Tumed plain himself!"

"Your Majesty is supremely wise!" Zhang Weixian immediately said with a solemn face. "This subject believes the Datong Garrison troops should indeed be properly overhauled. This subject is willing to survey Datong's land for Your Majesty."

(End of Chapter)