Chapter 1782: Princes, Off to Nanjing with You!

"Your Majesty, this subject would not dare. To be a wealthy commoner is enough for this subject. How could I dare dream of going north to assist in governance, or anything of the sort?"

The Prince of Fu, Zhu Changxun, was still there pleading without cease, absolutely refusing to go to Nanjing to serve as some prince assisting in governance. Seeing his craven appearance, Zhu Youjian grew all the more resolved in his plan to send him off to Nanjing to enjoy himself.

Although he already held a trump card that could destroy the Prince of Fu utterly, he was, after all, a benevolent sovereign! And he had the utmost confidence in his own progeny — over a hundred sons! No matter how the succession turned, it could never fall to the Prince of Fu's line!

As for the fine prospect of the Prince of Fu being acclaimed in rebellion in Nanjing by a pack of Nanjing merit nobles and Donglin traitors — he could forget it. Now that Zhu Youjian's prestige was established, how would those chicken-livered fellows in the southeast dare rebel? If they truly did rebel, would that not simply be handing over the fortunes their ancestors had amassed to the state?

"Imperial Uncle!" Zhu Youjian's tone had turned extremely stern. "Someone has now reported to Us that you conspired with the eunuch faction in the court and the palace to poison Our Imperial Father and Imperial Elder Brother. Is there any truth to this?"

"Ah—" Zhu Changxun let out a wretched cry, his eyes rolled back, and he promptly fainted from fright!

Zhu Youjian looked at this imperial uncle sprawled limp on the ground, frowned slightly, and said coldly: "Li Zicheng, wake him up!"

Li Zicheng answered, then pressed iron-hard fingers to the man's philtrum. He pressed several times before the Prince of Fu, who had fainted from fright, groaned and came around. The moment he awoke, he remembered what Zhu Youjian had just said, and at once burst into wailing tears, protesting his innocence.

Yet though he protested with his mouth, his heart had not the slightest confidence!

Because he himself did not know whether the deaths of his elder brother Zhu Changluo and his nephew Zhu Youjiao had anything to do with his own mother, Noble Consort Zheng!

Noble Consort Zheng had long since lost power, but back when the Wanli Emperor was alive, she had been the one who ruled the inner palace without question. And she had not only wielded authority — she had also dispensed favors and bought hearts. Who knew how many eunuchs and palace maids had received her kindness? Perhaps there really were a few diehard loyalists who wanted to help Noble Consort Zheng's son take the throne?

Zhu Changxun was frightened half to death, but Zhu Youjian smiled and said gently: "Imperial Uncle, do not be afraid. We believe you. If We did not believe you, why would We send you to Nanjing to hold the fort? Imperial Uncle, tell Us — has Our trust in you been misplaced?"

If the trust was misplaced... did that mean he should be killed?

At that thought, the Prince of Fu hastily nodded: "Your Majesty, you must trust this subject. This subject is honest—"

Zhu Youjian nodded: "Good. Honest Imperial Uncle, then you shall go to Nanjing to hold the fort. It is holding the fort, not being enfeoffed as a vassal prince, so no princely city will be built for you. But We will have a plot of land set aside for you at the Xiaoling Guard, and you may build a garden estate yourself.

We will not revoke your title of Prince of Fu, and We will continue to pay your annual stipend of ten thousand shi. The gold, silver, and treasures Noble Consort Zheng gave you — take them all to Nanjing and enjoy them. The property from Zhang Juzheng's residence is also all yours. But the money Our grandfather took from the Inner Carriage Storehouse to give you was the fat and blood of the people — you must return that to Us!

As for the silver from the Sichuan salt wells and tea levies, the thirteen hundred salt tickets in Huaiyang, and the miscellaneous taxes on the reed islets along the river from Jiangdu to Taiping — none of that is yours to receive. Return it all to the court!

Also, the twenty thousand qing of land Our grandfather granted you is truly too much. Land grants to vassal princes are usually a few dozen or a hundred qing. Back then, the Rui Temple (Prince Xingxian) receiving four thousand qing was already extreme, yet you got twenty thousand qing — how can that stand? We are taking it all back. Instead, We grant you one hundred qing of land near Nanjing — better than nothing!

Furthermore, since you are holding the fort in Nanjing and not being enfeoffed, you are naturally not bound by the vassal restrictions. Your household may go anywhere as long as they do not leave the Southern Metropolitan Region. Your sons by concubines and their descendants will no longer be enfeoffed as generals or commandants. They must study, and if they study well, they may enter the Imperial Academy in Nanjing, so that in the future they may have a path to official rank.

Imperial Uncle, does this arrangement satisfy you?"

"Satisfied, satisfied—" How could the Prince of Fu, Zhu Changxun, dare voice half a word of dissatisfaction? He was beginning to understand now — he had run into an emperor who robbed people!

The question now was money or life... no — whether to keep a little money to stay alive, or lose both money and life!

"Since you are satisfied," Zhu Youjian said, "then submit a memorial renouncing your princely fief and requesting residence in Nanjing! And also submit a memorial requesting the 'Fixing of Sons and Daughters'!"

The so-called "Fixing of Sons and Daughters" was the most effective method for controlling the growth of princely household expenditures, proposed by Minister of Rites Huo Tao during the Jiajing Emperor's reform of the imperial clan system. Under this method, the collateral descendants of vassal princes born of concubines were all to be registered as commoners, permitted to engage in the occupations of scholar, farmer, artisan, and merchant, and from then on support themselves.

But the Jiajing Emperor at the time lacked the boldness to carry out this reform, and also lacked any urgent, fire-at-the-heels necessity, so he resorted to "deliberating at leisure" — and this "leisure" lasted all the way into the Chongzhen years.

Moreover, as the vassal princes and imperial clansmen multiplied without cease, the population had long since grown to a level the Great Ming dynasty simply could not bear! So the court had no choice but to let the Ministry of Rites play the villain, using the "petitioning for titles" and "enfeoffment grants" clauses in the Regulations on the Imperial Clan enacted in the Jiajing reign to block the clansmen's titles and grants. Without titles and grants, they naturally could not draw the corresponding stipends — yet they were forbidden from supporting themselves. The result was the appearance of many clansmen who had no money coming in and were not allowed to work... some of whom even starved to death!

"This subject understands. This subject will petition the court to implement the law of 'Fixing Sons and Daughters'!" The Prince of Fu, Zhu Changxun, in truth had few sons and daughters to fix. He had three sons in all, and not a single grandson. So "Fixing Sons and Daughters" cost him nothing.

Zhu Youjian shook his head: "You need not petition for others to have their sons and daughters fixed — that would offend too many people. Petition for yourself alone. You will set the precedent, and thereafter each princely house will naturally follow suit."

"This subject obeys. This subject will immediately submit a memorial requesting the fixing of his sons and daughters!"

Zhu Youjian laughed: "Imperial Uncle, you are indeed a worthy prince of our Great Ming. After the New Year, go to Nanjing and enjoy yourself. Take your mother, Grand Noble Consort Zheng, with you. From now on you shall live happily together in Nanjing. In truth, Nanjing is far better than Luoyang — even We would like to go!"

The Prince of Fu, Zhu Changxun, let out a great breath of relief. He had originally thought that this time, even if he did not "expire," he would at least be thrown into the high walls of Fengyang and confined. He had not expected that this ruthless emperor Zhu Youjian still cared a little for family ties, and was letting him go to Nanjing to live well — and had even lifted his vassal restrictions (in truth, merely relaxed them), allowing him to roam anywhere within the Southern Metropolitan Region. That was far better than being cooped up inside Luoyang.

Watching Zhu Changxun leave with light steps, Zhu Youjian also breathed a sigh of relief, and said to the eunuch beside him: "Have the Prince of Dai and the others arrived?"

"Your Majesty, the Prince of Dai and the eight Commandery Princes who came from Datong arrived long ago."

Zhu Youjian smiled: "Then summon them into the hall!"

The Prince of Dai, Zhu Dingwei, was already sick unto death, but Zhu Youjian still would not let him off on that account — nor the other eight Commandery Princes of the Prince of Dai's line. They all had to do the same as the Prince of Fu: "fix sons and daughters, go to Nanjing." Zhu Youjian was sparing the lives of these few, and sparing the Prince of Fu and his three sons, precisely so that they could take the lead in implementing the law of "fix sons and daughters, go to Nanjing."

"Fixing sons and daughters" was, of course, to curb the runaway growth of the imperial clan population — henceforth, the direct line of Ming princes could still inherit titles, but collateral lines would have to find their own food. At the very least, the numbers of the various generals and commandants must be strictly limited, the threshold for titles and grants raised, and those who failed to qualify would all become commoners.

And "going to Nanjing" was to reduce the destructive power of vassal princes over the places where they were enfeoffed. Best to concentrate them all in Nanjing, where the six ministries of Nanjing and the Nanjing garrison eunuch could keep an eye on them!

The reason for concentrating them in Nanjing rather than Beijing was to avoid further growth in Beijing's population.

Nanjing, situated on the banks of the Yangtze, was under no pressure in grain supply. An extra hundred or two hundred thousand idle clansmen would be no great matter. But if Beijing gained an extra one or two hundred thousand idle mouths, Zhu Youjian would have a fine headache. A population of one or two hundred thousand would consume at least a million shi of grain a year. The area around Beijing could not supply it, so it would have to be shipped from the south over a thousand li, at enormous cost and with considerable loss along the way.

Considering the cold, dry climate of the north over the coming decades, Zhu Youjian had to start finding ways now to reduce the population of Beijing and other large northern cities!

(End of Chapter)