Chapter 188: Is the Crown Prince the Reincarnation of the Great Ancestor? (Please Subscribe)

"Well... although the Huangji Gate Incident was somewhat excusable, what the Crown Prince did cannot really be called filial." Shi Kecheng chose his words carefully. "But the foundation of the state is still very hard to shake."

"Why?" Shi Kefa looked at his cousin, enunciating each word. "Are you and I not subjects of the Son of Heaven?"

"But the Son of Heaven has only one son attending him!" Shi Kecheng said. "The Dai Prince is far away in Datong, and the roads are blocked, so he can hardly come to court. Prince Yong and the Fifth Prince have fallen into the bandits' hands, their fates unknown. If the foundation of the state is shaken, who will become Crown Prince?"

This question stumped Shi Kefa.

The Crown Prince was unfilial and ought to be deposed. But the Emperor had only that one son by his side — if he were deposed, who would become the new Crown Prince?

The Chongzhen Emperor did not even have a nephew! If the Dai Prince, Prince Yong, and the Fifth Prince were all gone, then Zhu Cilang would be the only son left. If he were deposed too, who would be heir apparent? With no heir apparent, if the Emperor were to die, what would become of the Great Ming?

"Elder Brother," Shi Kecheng said tentatively, "though the Crown Prince has failed in filial duty, he does possess great talent. That the realm enjoys a measure of peace today is entirely the Crown Prince's doing. Mencius said: the people are most precious, the altars of state come next, the ruler is least. The Crown Prince's abilities are not beneath those of Emperor Taizong of Tang. In letters he can pacify the people; in arms he can protect the altars of state. Is that not a blessing for the nation?"

Shi Kefa remained silent.

Seeing that Shi Kefa seemed somewhat swayed, Shi Kecheng pressed on with his persuasion: "Your younger brother has also heard it said that His Highness the Crown Prince is the reincarnation of the Great Ancestor, the Exalted Emperor, possessing his body. Would it not be better—"

"Better what?" Shi Kefa's face darkened as he looked at his brother. "Have you read all those books of the sages for nothing? How can you believe such absurd talk of the Crown Prince being the reincarnation of the Great Ancestor, the Exalted Emperor?"

Shi Kecheng shook his head, at a loss for words. He knew his elder brother was stubborn, his whole mind filled with loyalty to that fatuous ruler Chongzhen.

He had originally wanted to persuade Shi Kefa to take the lead in supporting Zhu Cilang's enthronement — Shi Kefa was the top man here in Yanzhou, and he directly commanded a throne-rallying army (not one of the Four Garrisons' troops). Add to that the Hard-Struggle Army controlled by the Crown Prince, and the great matter would be settled! Then the Shi family would have the merit of enthroning a sovereign — why worry about glory and wealth? And the Crown Prince had his methods too; the Great Ming would not perish in his hands. This fortune might even be passed down for several generations. What a fine thing that would be!

But from Shi Kefa's manner, he still seemed loyal to the Chongzhen Emperor, which was a bit troublesome.

Seeing Shi Kecheng fall silent, Shi Kefa, for whatever reason, assumed he had realized his error. He sighed and said, "Third Brother, the governors-general, governors, regional commanders, garrison eunuchs, and nobles gathered in Yanzhou today number nine, and with your elder brother, ten. The matter of the foundation of the state should be deliberated by all together. You have come from the capital and know a good deal of the inside story. When I convene everyone for discussion, you will tell them what happened in the capital, at Dagu, and in Dengzhou."

Shi Kecheng nodded. "I am entirely at my elder brother's disposal."

Shi Kefa let out a breath, his brow relaxing slightly. The situation in Yanzhou was far more complicated than Shi Kecheng imagined!

A crowd of governors-general, regional commanders, eunuchs, and military commissioners — every one of them had troops in hand, every one of them had worked his little abacus over and over. Whom to support and whom to oppose all depended on whether the benefits could be delivered. He, the Nanjing Minister of War, could not simply dictate the outcome.

The Prince of Lu's mansion, the main hall of the Chief Minister's office.

Two governors-general, one governor, four regional commanders, one eunuch, and one noble had all arrived in full official robes, each with his attendants and aides, and were seated in two rows. Shi Kefa, as Minister, sat behind the central desk, presiding over today's meeting.

Shi Kecheng and Shi Dewei stood to Shi Kefa's left and right, waiting to brief everyone. Lu Jiude, the garrison eunuch of Fengyang, had also brought a "witness" today: Wang Shide, Assistant Regional Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. This man was descended from meritorious officials — his ancestors had followed Zhu Yuanzhang in conquering the realm, then helped Zhu Di in the Jingnan Campaign and died in battle at Baigou River. For that reason his descendants had received the hereditary post of Assistant Regional Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, passed down to this Wang Shide. He had inherited the hereditary post and become Assistant Regional Commander at only seventeen, when the Chongzhen Emperor himself was just nineteen. The two were close in age, so he had been assigned as an "attendant for correcting ceremony" — that is, he stood beside the Chongzhen Emperor at court audiences. And Chongzhen happened to be an emperor who particularly loved holding court, so the two of them had spent more time together than Chongzhen and Empress Zhou.

At the time of the Huangji Gate Incident, this Wang Shide had not been present; he had been assigned to patrol near Desheng Gate and Anding Gate, so he had no chance to rescue the Emperor — something he regretted bitterly ever since.

When Zhu Cilang escorted Chongzhen in flight, he too had followed with several household retainers, all the way to Dengzhou. Somehow he had gotten in touch with the Chongzhen Emperor, then quietly left Dengzhou and made his way to Lu Jiude, the garrison eunuch of Fengyang.

In other words, today there were three witnesses in the main hall of the Chief Minister's office at the Prince of Lu's mansion!

Shi Kefa swept his gaze over Wang Shide, whose face was full of grief and indignation, then let out a breath and said, "This Minister's adopted son and third brother have just returned from Dengzhou and know something of the situation at the traveling court. Assistant Regional Commander Wang of the Embroidered Uniform Guard has also come from Dengzhou. If any of you have questions, please ask freely. Once the situation is clear, we can discuss other matters."

"Then this servant will ask first!" The first to speak was Lu Jiude, the garrison eunuch of Fengyang. "This servant wants to know: has the Emperor truly been sidelined?"

"He has!" Shi Kecheng nodded.

"His Majesty has indeed been sidelined!" Shi Dewei answered.

Wang Shide said through gritted teeth, "His Majesty has not only been sidelined, he is practically a prisoner. Every time he meets with outside officials, he is watched by the Crown Prince's trusted men!"

Lu Jiude's eyes blazed as he looked at Shi Kefa. "Grand Minister of War, we are all subjects of the Son of Heaven. How can we permit such an unfilial and disloyal man to dominate the court?"

"Exactly!" A broad-shouldered, barrel-chested military officer with a full beard loudly seconded him. "We should jointly submit a memorial requesting the Crown Prince to return governance to his sovereign father!"

The man who spoke was Huang Degong!

He was a great general from the Valiant Guard Camp, and most of the elite troops under his command also came from the Valiant Guard Camp. And the Valiant Guard Camp was the Emperor's personal army — naturally loyal to the Chongzhen Emperor!

Shi Kefa nodded, then shifted his gaze to Zhu Guobi, the Commissioner of the grain transport. He was a plump, middle-aged man, fair-skinned and refined, with a scholarly air — not at all like a military man. Yet he did currently hold a military post, and a rather important one at that: together with Lu Zhenfei, he managed the grain transport. Right now he was holding back two hundred thousand taels of Jiangnan tax silver!

Sensing Shi Kefa's gaze upon him, this nobleman, hereditary Marquis of Funing, wore a melancholy expression and shook his head. "This humble official has received word that the Army-Pacifying Crown Prince is reorganizing the seven guards of Denglai. It seems, it seems he is going to remit taxes and equalize land! Many Guard Commanders and Chiliarchs have lost their lands, and whole families have fled to Haizhou."

"What? The Army-Pacifying Crown Prince is reorganizing the guard stations? And remitting taxes and equalizing land?" Shi Kefa was startled. "When did this happen?"

"The tax remission has been going on for some time; the land equalization has only just begun." Zhu Guobi said. "It is said that Thousand Years first issued an edict remitting the land taxes of the military households of the seven Denglai guards, and later recruited soldiers with a ten-tael resettlement fee, enlisting about thirty thousand able-bodied men. Only about seven days ago did he issue an order to divide the lands of the seven Denglai guards equally among ten thousand Denglai army recruits."

"In addition, he opened a special examination, permitting xiucai and juren of the two prefectures of Denglai to sit for it. It is said he will take five hundred men!"

"What? There is such a thing?"

"The hereditary posts of the guard stations have been passed down since the time of the Great Ancestor. They involve far too much to be abolished just like that!"

"Indeed, and the military colony lands cannot simply be taken back either! They have been passed down for so many years."

"Reckless, truly reckless!"

"Even if the system of guard-station military colonies needs reform, it should be deliberated at length. How can it be done so rashly?"

The hereditary guard-station posts and the military colony lands were both enormous issues where a single move affected the whole. Even these lofty figures present were all entangled in them to some degree. Shi Kefa, the Minister of War himself, for instance, was a military-register jinshi from Kaifeng, his family holding a hereditary Embroidered Uniform Guard Centurion post. And among the four regional commanders present, only Gao Jie, who had risen from the roving bandits, was not from the guard-station system.

So as soon as they heard that Zhu Cilang had begun poking this hornets' nest of the guard stations, many of those present began shaking their heads in displeasure.

It seemed the time had come to propose that the Crown Prince return governance!

Shi Kefa nodded and turned his gaze to Gao Jie, who had not spoken a single word from the very beginning. "Commander Gao, Commander Gao, what is your view?"

Gao Jie narrowed his eyes as if his spirit had wandered beyond the heavens. Only after Shi Kefa called him twice did he start as if waking from a dream and ask, "It is said that Thousand Years is the reincarnation of the Great Ancestor, the Exalted Emperor. Is it true?"

(End of Chapter)