Chapter 203: Lady Xing (Please Subscribe)

"Prince of Lu," Zhu Cilang said with a smile, looking at Zhu Yihai, "have you heard about the Prince of Tang being moved to a new garrison?"

Zhu Yihai replied, "In answer to Your Highness, when this subject returned to Shandong from Haizhou, I saw the Prince of Tang in Dengzhou."

"The Prince of Tang now commands troops in the saddle and governs the people out of it!" Zhu Cilang said. "Now that is a true princely feudatory!"

He swept a glance over the Prince of Jin, Prince of Qin, and Prince of De seated to the side, sighed, and said: "In the old days, the great-great founder, the Exalted Emperor, enfeoffed princes for the very purpose of using princes to hold back the barbarians and shield the court. It is a pity that this ancestral institution gradually decayed, until it became a prohibition that kept princes from commanding troops. If they command no troops, how are they to guard a region? Why enfeoff princes at all? When the caitiffs and bandits come, what can a prince with no soldiers do but flee, or surrender and beg for his life? Should he kill himself for the dynasty? That may be staunch and fierce, but what use is it? From this moment on, that rule is changed.

Any prince who does not wish to command troops in the saddle and govern the people out of it, or who lacks the ability to do so, need not remain out here. Let them all come with Us to Nanjing and be Princes. Commandery Princes, Generals, Commandants, and the like — all who can be found shall also go to Nanjing. Nanjing will always have a bowl of rice for them!

The titles of Prince, Commandery Prince, General, and Commandant will no longer be inherited in perpetuity, but the titles of this generation will remain. Henceforth descendants shall inherit at one rank lower... A Prince's heir shall be a Commandery Prince, and his sons by concubines shall be State-guarding Generals; a Commandery Prince's heir shall be a Duke, and his sons by concubines shall be State-supporting Generals; a Duke's heir shall be a Marquis, and his sons by concubines shall be State-serving Generals; a Marquis's heir shall be an Earl, and his sons by concubines shall be State-guarding Commandants; an Earl's heir shall be a State-guarding General, and his sons by concubines shall be commoners. After the State-guarding Generals, they too shall be ordinary commoners and no longer entered in the imperial genealogy. What do you gentlemen think?"

What did they think? They thought it was excellent, of course!

The Prince of Lu, Prince of Jin, Prince of Qin, and Prince of De were all princes who had lost their fiefs. Among them, the Prince of Jin, Prince of Qin, and Prince of De all bore the disgrace of having surrendered to Li Zicheng. Even if Zhu Cilang had ordered them to take their own lives, it would have been in accord with the ancestral statutes. Yet now he was still making them Princes... it was simply boundless imperial grace!

The Prince of Jin, Prince of Qin, and Prince of De all rose, walked to the center of the great hall, and kowtowed to Zhu Cilang in gratitude. Zhu Cilang nodded with a smile and raised his hand, motioning them to rise and be seated.

These three useless princes were actually useful; otherwise Zhu Cilang would not have granted them princely titles.

Their uses were threefold. First, they would help Zhu Cilang solve the problem of the Ming imperial clan being far too large. Although the clan's numbers had already been greatly reduced in this great calamity, because the original base was so large, its present scale was still enormous. If the great majority of them were not cleared out, Zhu Cilang's court would lack the financial resources to build an army and stabilize its rule.

And as for the work of clearing out the imperial clan, it was not convenient for Zhu Cilang to propose it himself, and it was best that he not appear in person as the villain. The Prince of Jin, the Prince of Qin, the Prince of De, and the Prince of Heng — these useless princes — were the most suitable to play the villain.

They could either be wicked princes, or be dead men whose crimes could not be pardoned...

The Prince of Lu, however, had not kowtowed to Zhu Cilang together with the other three princes. Clearly he was a man who could not resist the temptation of power, and wanted to be a second Prince of Tang!

"Prince of Lu," Zhu Cilang said, looking at the Prince of Lu, Zhu Yihai, "do you wish to be a prince who commands troops in the saddle and governs the people out of it?"

Of course he did! He dreamed of it!

The Prince of Lu, Zhu Yihai, immediately rose to his feet and bowed to Zhu Cilang. "This subject is willing to resist the caitiff bandits for Your Highness. But this subject succeeded to the title in haste amid flight and chaos, and more than two hundred years of the Lu fief's accumulated wealth has been utterly lost. Therefore I had no means to pay the troops and hold the city, and could only abandon it and flee, to preserve a body that might still be of use."

"That is very good!" Zhu Cilang said with a smile. "The descendants of the Exalted Emperor are no fools. How could they throw their lives away for nothing? When We enfeoffed the Prince of Tang, We told him not to leave Shandong, and not to die for the dynasty lightly. He must hold out to the end; even if he loses his cities, he must withdraw to the islands and continue resisting!

Prince of Lu, if We grant you the Prince of Heng's residence and all the silver stored within it, can you do this: not leave Shandong, not die for the dynasty lightly, and even if you must take to the mountains as a king, resist to the very end?"

Yidu County, where the Prince of Heng's residence was located, lay right beside Mount Taihe, Mount Yunmen, Mount Yangtian, and other peaks — all offshoots of Mount Tai, stretching far and wide. Though not precipitous, they contained many valleys and basins, easy ground on which to hold out.

Once the Prince of Lu took to the mountains as a king, the Qing army would face several more layers of difficulty in pacifying Shandong! The Mount Tai range was nothing like Yidu city. The latter covered only so much ground; ten or twenty thousand men could dig trenches and besiege it.

But how vast was the Mount Tai range? Without eighty or a hundred thousand troops, they could not even mount a converging suppression!

Zhu Yihai was overjoyed. He hastily kowtowed to Zhu Cilang and declared in a loud voice, "This subject, Zhu Yihai, is willing to defend Qingzhou for Your Highness. Even if I must go into the mountains or out to sea, I will not refuse!"

Zhu Cilang rose, walked forward, and helped Zhu Yihai to his feet. He praised him loudly: "Good! The Great Ming needs princes like you! Tomorrow We shall issue an edict moving the Lu fief to Qingzhou. After We and His Majesty have departed, all military and civil affairs of Qingzhou Prefecture shall be jointly administered by you, Prince of Lu, and the Qingzhou Garrison Regional Commander!"

"This subject thanks Your Highness for your boundless grace!"

As Zhu Yihai kowtowed in gratitude, Bi Jiucheng, chief clerk of Zhu Cilang's headquarters, strode quickly in from outside, came to Zhu Cilang's side, and reported in a low voice, "Thousand Years, Kong Yinzhi has been brought in!"

Zhu Cilang nodded and said to Zhu Yihai, "Prince of Lu, please rise. Prince of Jin, Prince of Qin, Prince of De — all of you accompany Us to meet Kong Yinzhi, the eastern barbarians' Duke for the Perpetuation of the Sage!"

Kong Yinzhi could no longer walk. He was carried into the Silver Peace Hall, where Zhu Cilang was, by two Embroidered Uniform Guard officers. Before he could even kowtow and beg forgiveness, Zhu Chunchen's booming voice rang out.

"This subject, Zhu Chunchen, Commander of the Imperial Encampment and Duke of Cheng, impeaches the Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince and Duke for the Perpetuation of the Sage, Kong Yinzhi, for the crime of sowing discord within the imperial family!"

"This subject, the Prince of Heng, Zhu Youzou, also impeaches the Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince and Duke for the Perpetuation of the Sage, Kong Yinzhi, for falsely accusing the Crown Prince, sowing discord within the imperial family, and shaking the foundations of the state! Kong Yinzhi first surrendered to the roving bandits, then went over to the eastern barbarians, and now has falsely accused the Crown Prince and sown discord within the imperial family. His crimes are truly monstrous and he deserves death ten thousand times over. I beg Thousand Years to punish his crimes to the fullest!"

"Ah!" Zhu Cilang looked astonished. "Is Kong Yinzhi not the Duke for the Perpetuation of the Sage? How could he have surrendered to the roving bandits and gone over to the eastern barbarians? Surely he has been wronged by someone?"

The Prince of Lu, Zhu Yihai, submitted, "Thousand Years, this prince knows of Kong Yinzhi's surrender to the bandits and the barbarians, and can bear witness!"

The Prince of De, Zhu Youli, also said, "This prince can also attest that Kong Yinzhi went over to the enemy!"

Zhu Cilang gave a cold snort and looked down at Kong Yinzhi, who had collapsed into a puddle of mud below. "Kong Yinzhi! Three princes and one duke all impeach you. It seems your crimes are truly monstrous! Let Us reckon them up for you: surrendering to the roving bandits is rebellion; going over to the eastern barbarians is treason; falsely accusing this Crown Prince is plotting against the throne... Of the unpardonable crimes, you have committed three at once! Beheading would be far too light; at the very least it should be death by slow slicing! But in consideration of your being a descendant of Confucius — Duke of Cheng, give him a knife and let him cut open his belly."

The knife clattered to the floor right in front of Kong Yinzhi. It was not a full-sized saber but a short dagger, just right for cutting open one's belly. But Kong Yinzhi was in no mind to cut. He forgot all about the dignity of the Duke for the Perpetuation of the Sage, and merely wept and kowtowed.

Zhu Cilang was in no mood to spare him. In a deep voice he said, "Duke of Cheng, give him a hand."

Zhu Chunchen did not hesitate. He answered, then bent down, picked up the knife from the floor, and made to thrust it into Kong Yinzhi's belly. Kong Yinzhi was so terrified he wet himself on the spot. Just as the knife was about to strike, someone else came rushing into the Silver Peace Hall, and a loud report was heard.

"Reporting to Thousand Years! Secret intelligence has been received from the capital: the Tartars are massing troops and preparing to invade Shandong!"

"What?" Zhu Cilang was startled. Then he said to Zhu Chunchen, "Duke of Cheng, have you killed Kong Yinzhi yet?"

"Not yet. This subject will kill him right now..." So saying, Zhu Chunchen raised the knife to strike.

"Wait a while before killing him," Zhu Cilang said.

"As commanded." Zhu Chunchen immediately withdrew the knife and stepped aside.

Kong Yinzhi, snatched from the jaws of death, was already frightened out of his wits. Beneath him spread a puddle of water — presumably his urine, and quite a lot of it. The Duke for the Perpetuation of the Sage lay sprawled in his own urine, his voice trembling as he begged for mercy.

Zhu Cilang walked over to him holding a sheet of paper, looked at him coldly, and asked, "You are the eastern barbarians' Duke for the Perpetuation of the Sage! Now the eastern barbarians are coming. Tell me, what should be done?"

Kong Yinzhi said in a quavering voice, "This subject... this subject... this subject will fight them..."

"Truly?" Zhu Cilang stared at Kong Yinzhi with wide eyes, awe-inspiring without any show of anger.

"Truly, truly... so long as Thousand Years spares this subject, this subject is willing to die in service to Thousand Years and to the Great Ming!"

"Oh? Die in service?" Zhu Cilang said coldly. "And how do you intend to die in service?"

"That..." Kong Yinzhi gritted his teeth. "This subject's family has money. I will bring it all out to raise troops!"

Zhu Cilang smiled. "It is very good that you can think this way, but it is not enough! If you die, your household will certainly be confiscated. However much silver there is will belong to the court, and the court will use it to raise troops itself."

"This... this... this..." Kong Yinzhi was so frantic he began to cry. "Thousand Years, spare my life!"

Zhu Cilang shook his head and said with a smile, "We are tender-hearted, and cannot bear to see an old man like you weeping and pleading. Very well, We shall give you a hint... These Tartars are utterly vicious and evil. They are the mortal enemies of all literate men under heaven! Their coming to Shandong is for the purpose of destroying the holy land of the Confucian teaching! Do you know where the holy land of the teaching is? It is your family's ancestral tombs!

The Tartars are coming to Shandong to destroy the Confucian Grove, tear down the Confucian Temple, and sweep away at one stroke the rites, ethics, poetry, and canons of China accumulated over thousands of years. This is not merely a calamity for our Great Ming, but the most extraordinary catastrophe to befall the Confucian teaching since the dawn of time — one for which our Confucius and Mencius would weep bitterly in their graves. How can any man who reads and knows his letters sit by with folded arms and not think of doing something?"

The Crown Prince of the Great Ming looked at Kong Yinzhi, limp as mud, and said with a smile, "Duke for the Perpetuation of the Sage, do you understand Our meaning now? Are you a man who reads and knows his letters? Can you stand by and watch our Confucius and Mencius weep bitterly in their graves?"

"This subject understands. This subject understands it all!" Of course Kong Yinzhi understood. If he dared not understand, he would be made to cut open his belly. "This subject will at once submit a memorial and issue a proclamation, calling upon all literate men under heaven to rise up, defend the Confucian teaching, fight the Tartars, and protect the Confucian Grove!"