Chapter 348: Donglin? Or the Eunuch Faction?

On Danfeng Street in the inner city of Nanjing, not far from the Imperial Academy, there stood a grand and imposing mansion. The location and the size of the estate alone told one the status of its master. After all, since the "Eunuch Faction's Rebellion" in the ninth month of last year, most of the gardens and mansions in Nanjing had changed hands. To be granted such a fine residence so close to the imperial city, one had to be a person of no small consequence.

If anyone peered at the main gate of this mansion, they would see a plaque prominently displayed outside reading "Hot Spring Earl of Overcoming Hardship." The "Hot Spring" referred to the Tangshan hot springs near Nanjing. Nowadays, the Ming's empty marquis and earl titles were usually prefixed with the name of a prefecture or county, typically the recipient's home region. A few exceptions, however, received special designations. And this meritorious official granted the title Hot Spring Earl of Overcoming Hardship was one of those exceptions!

The one who received the title "Hot Spring Earl" was none other than Zhu Cilang's teacher, Qian Qianyi, famed in later ages for his fear of cold water. He feared cold water, and so he got a hot spring — though of course, Qian Qianyi had no idea of the meaning behind "Hot Spring Earl." He actually felt greatly honored by it!

The Crown Prince must have felt that his wholehearted devotion to country and people had worn him out, and so granted him the title "Hot Spring Earl" so that in his leisure he might go to Tangshan and take a bath with Liu Rushi. And by the way, Zhu Cilang had also found a confiscated villa at Tangshan and given it to his teacher's wife, Liu Rushi. Though it was not worth much, the honor was rare even among the Overcoming Hardship meritorious officials.

Yet the man whom outsiders saw as basking in imperial favor, the Hot Spring Earl Qian Qianyi, was at this very moment sighing mournfully in the flower hall at the rear of the Hot Spring Earl's mansion.

Around him sat a group of his good students. Seeing their teacher in such a state, they offered words of consolation one after another.

"Teacher, this special examination has indeed turned out rather ugly, with more than half the candidates handing in blank papers, but the responsibility does not lie with you!"

"Indeed. The scholarly world has its own fair judgment. Everyone now says the Crown Prince is too greedy and has broken this dynasty's ancestral system of treating scholars generously."

Hearing this, Qian Qianyi abruptly raised his head and looked toward the speaker — it was Ji Kun, Supervising Censor of the Left.

"Chunfan, what nonsense are you talking?" Qian Qianyi said, quite annoyed. "This is slandering the sovereign!"

"Teacher," Ji Kun shook his head, "your student is merely saying what he sees. Have you still not realized what His Highness the Crown Prince intends to do?"

"Chunfan," Zheng Sen was also present, and he said with an indifferent look, "Doesn't the Crown Prince simply want to strictly levy commercial taxes? I haven't said a word — what is a Censor like you dissatisfied about?"

"Damu," Luo Dagong said with a laugh, "what harm does strict commercial taxation do to your family? Even for ordinary merchants, it is no great burden. They merely pay their money somewhere else, and even if it is more, it is only a little more. The Crown Prince's method is nominally to levy commercial taxes, but in reality he is contending with the scholar-officials for profit!"

"Didn't he exempt the land tax for five years?" Zheng Sen said.

"That too is contending with the scholar-officials for profit!" Ji Kun said. "Gentry land was originally tax-exempt. In the past, once one passed the juren examination, land and shops would be offered up to him. Now with taxes exempted for five years, I fear there will be no more such good fortune within those five years."

Luo Dagong smiled. "Nor after the five years either!"

Ji Kun was taken aback for a moment, then nodded. "Right — nor after the five years either! After five years, I fear officials and gentry will have to pay grain and taxes as one."

"Surely it won't go that far?" Qian Qianyi said, still uncertain.

"It certainly will!" Luo Dagong said with a laugh. "His Highness is the reincarnation of the Great Ancestor, the Exalted Emperor. In the Great Ancestor's time, privately held gentry land was also taxed. Only merit fields granted by the court were exempt."

Ji Kun nodded. "It must be so. But Teacher is a meritorious official of Overcoming Hardship, so naturally he can profit from it!"

Qian Qianyi glared at this student of his with the strange ideas. "Chunfan, what do you mean by that?"

Ji Kun smiled. "Simply that those who submit prosper and those who resist perish. Though His Highness is the reincarnation of the Great Ancestor, the Exalted Emperor, he is after all still young. Most of those seated here today will not outlive him. So there is no need to worry. Serve him well, and naturally all will be meritorious officials of Overcoming Hardship — glory, wealth, and rank for a lifetime, and blessings passed down to one's descendants!"

Qian Qianyi could tell Ji Kun was speaking ironically — not that following Zhu Cilang would necessarily end badly, but that he despised those scholars willing to serve as the Crown Prince's running dogs and claws. Though he himself was also one of Zhu Cilang's running dogs!

Luo Dagong smiled. "Brother Chunfan speaks wisely. In a few years, you will be Left Deputy Chief Censor!"

The Left and Right Deputy Chief Censors were the highest positions a career Censor could hold. Above them were the Left and Right Chief Censors, posts filled by court ministers and meritorious nobles. Still, the Left and Right Deputy Chief Censors, at the senior third rank, were quite good — and with the "anti-corruption commission," once one reached that post, a fortune of several hundred thousand taels was all but assured.

Ji Kun only smiled bitterly and said nothing. He had always regarded himself as a renowned scholar and great Confucian, yet now he was set on the path of a ruthless official — and could not change course!

Luo Dagong turned to Qian Qianyi and said, "Teacher, the southeast is now the Crown Prince's domain. We cannot contend with him! Zuo Liangyu upriver is useless too. Even if he is not mortally ill, with the strength he has, he cannot defeat the Overcoming Hardship New Army! We scholars must either go along with him — glory, wealth, rank among the court ministers, honor to our ancestors — or else... heh heh, Teacher, let it go!"

This Luo Dagong had followed Qian Qianyi for so many years; did he not know how much backbone his teacher had? For all his present air of worrying about the country and the people, if he were truly called to step forward, his legs would surely go weak. And he himself was the same. He had wanted office for so many years; now with such a fine opportunity — if not top of the list, then second — only a fool would not take it.

Qian Qianyi sighed and looked at Zheng Sen. Zheng Sen nodded. "Brother Dagong speaks wisely. The southeastern gentry are all bookish scholars — what do they have to fight the Overcoming Hardship New Army with? Besides, following the Crown Prince is sure to be profitable. What do other people's losses have to do with us?"

Qian Qianyi glanced at Ji Kun again. Ji Kun said, "Let us wait and see. The gentleman is sociable but not partisan; the petty man is partisan but not sociable. The Donglin sometimes calls itself a faction, but in truth it is merely a society. Only the Eunuch Faction was a true faction! Now the Crown Prince wants to turn the Donglin society into the Donglin Faction. But can a Donglin that is partisan and not sociable still be Donglin? The Crown Prince is, after all, the sovereign. To employ petty men and distance himself from gentlemen may serve in an emergency during troubled times, but can it bring lasting peace and order?"

Luo Dagong snorted with a laugh. "Who knows when these troubled times will end! Perhaps, like the Southern Song, they will last another hundred and fifty years!"

Ji Kun sighed. "The Southern Song was destroyed by the Mongols in the end!"

Silence fell over the flower hall. Everyone was speechless. After an unknown length of time, Qian Qianyi was heard to sigh. "A hundred and fifty years it is, then. At least we shall die as ghosts of the Ming."

(End of Chapter)