Chapter 46: The Crown Prince Needs Educating! (Please Add to Favorites, Please Recommend)

Wei Zaode, Li Banghua, and Wang Jiayan quickly entered the Eastern Warm Pavilion in turn and kowtowed to the Chongzhen Emperor.

Chongzhen asked, "Wang Jiayan, how goes the defense on the walls? What movements have the roving bandits made?"

Wang Jiayan was in his fifties this year, a native of Putian in Fujian, with the high cheekbones of a Fujian face and three strands of graying whiskers. Among the present court officials, he could be counted as one of upright integrity and clean hands, and he handled affairs with the utmost loyalty and care.

Hearing Chongzhen's question, he reported truthfully: "Your Majesty, after the battle at Fucheng Gate, morale has rallied somewhat. His Highness the Crown Prince has also offered the high price of one tael of silver a day to recruit soldiers, and many stout men have answered the call. It is estimated that today the number of able-bodied men who can mount the walls will exceed twenty thousand. However, yesterday evening His Highness issued an order withdrawing more than half of the defenders from the seven gates of the outer city and concentrating them at the nine gates of the inner city. The defense of the seven outer gates is now nominal, with only one hundred men guarding each gate."

"What? Why would the Crown Prince abandon the seven outer gates? You are the assistant director of military affairs—why did you not stop him?"

Wang Jiayan said, "Your Majesty! His Highness has already resolved to abandon the city and move south. He gathered in the outer-city troops in order to draw the main rebel force into the outer city, so as to facilitate a breakout."

Wang Jiayan could not go on. He prostrated himself on the ground and wept silently. But Li Banghua, past seventy with hair and beard all white, wore an expression of gratification. Back in the second month he had advocated sending the Crown Prince to the southern capital as Regent, and Chongzhen had rejected his proposal on the grounds that the Crown Prince was too young and ignorant. But now it seemed the Crown Prince truly was a sovereign destined to restore the dynasty!

"Your Majesty," Li Banghua said, "last night the Crown Prince gathered the capital's ennobled families at Duke Cheng's residence and solicited money and troops from them. He obtained a great deal more silver—reportedly several million taels—and also received over a thousand picked household retainers from the various noble houses. These retainers have now all been incorporated into the Hard-Trials Battalion. Together with the elite troops selected from the capital's stout volunteers and the Capital Camps, the Hard-Trials Battalion will soon number over ten thousand. With so many brave men escorting Your Majesty, you will surely be able to journey south in safety…"

"Several million more?" Chongzhen was somewhat annoyed. "When We asked them for money, every one of them refused to part with a single hair. When the Crown Prince asks, several million appears in the blink of an eye. Why is that?"

Why?

Because a corrupt official's money is for spending, not for donating. And yesterday morning His Highness used an edict to release more than two hundred corrupt officials who had paid money! That proved the corrupt officials' money had not been spent in vain!

And yesterday afternoon, His Highness bombarded Li Zicheng from atop Fucheng Gate and personally cut down Du Xun, who had surrendered to Li Zicheng… This was a man who could both get things done and kill people! Of course such a Crown Prince overseeing the army could raise silver and stout men!

These words, of course, could not be spoken plainly to the Chongzhen Emperor.

The Chief Grand Secretary Wei Zaode could only say vaguely, "Your Majesty, the Crown Prince is quite resourceful. In the present situation, that is a blessing for the nation!"

Chongzhen nodded. "Still, the Crown Prince is young after all, and acting too radically is never proper. Moreover… now that the capital has troops and funds, the matter of journeying south should be deliberated slowly, lest it cause public alarm."

Li Banghua was taken aback and hastily shook his head. "That cannot be, Your Majesty! Although the capital has troops and funds, the area around Tongzhou, Tianjin, and Dagu is quite undefended. Once the Roving Bandit divides his forces and seizes the cities east of the capital, cutting off the lifeline to Tianjin, the capital will become an isolated city, and then it will be too late to leave even if we wish to."

"Are there not still tens of thousands of Guanning troops?" Chongzhen said in a deep voice. "Now that we have several million in military funds, do we still fear we cannot spur the Guanning Army to fight to the death? As long as we beat back the rebels, Beijing will be safe and sound."

"Your Majesty is sagacious. This subject also does not advocate abandoning the capital." The Chief Grand Secretary Wei Zaode was a man without firm opinions, and he immediately voiced his agreement with the Chongzhen Emperor.

The Vice Minister of War Wang Jiayan also did not advocate abandoning Beijing, and said at once: "Now is indeed not the time to abandon the capital. To this subject's knowledge, the roving bandits have tens of thousands of cavalry, who come and go like the wind and attack like thunder. If the soldiers of the Capital Camps and the Hard-Trials Battalion strive to defend the city, perhaps we can hold out until the Guanning troops come to the rescue. But if we abandon the city and flee, we will surely be overtaken by the bandit cavalry on the road. When that happens, I fear the troops escorting the imperial carriage will scatter in a panic, and Your Majesty and all the officials will fall captive to the roving bandits!"

Li Banghua only shook his head. "If two or three senior ministers lead troops to hold firm and pin down the main bandit force, while we divide our troops into several columns to break out and confuse the enemy, and escort Your Majesty to Tianjin with picked troops, the imperial carriage will surely be safe."

Chongzhen cleared his throat. "Our mind is made up. We will never abandon the foundation laid by Our ancestors! Furthermore—Wu Xiang wishes to present his daughter to the Crown Prince as a Lady of Talents. What do you think?"

What? Wu Xiang wants to become the Emperor's father-in-law?

Wei Zaode, Li Banghua, and Wang Jiayan were all stunned.

This matter did not conform to dynastic precedent, but now the Ming realm was tottering in wind and rain, and everything depended on those few troops of Wu Sangui to save the day! If the man's father wanted to be the Emperor's father-in-law, then let him be…

"Li Banghua!" Chongzhen said in a deep voice. "You are the Left Chief Censor. Speak."

Li Banghua shook his head. "Your Majesty, this matter indeed does not conform to dynastic precedent…"

"Should you not impeach Wu Xiang for offering his daughter to curry favor?" Chongzhen asked.

"This…" Li Banghua was stunned again and again, no longer knowing how to be a censor.

The Chongzhen Emperor said, "You are the Left Chief Censor, charged with investigating all officials! Now that a great enemy presses upon us, it is all the more necessary to rectify discipline and order. Only by rectifying discipline can we rouse the people's hearts. Only by rousing the people's hearts can we defeat a powerful foe.

Wu Sangui is bringing a great army to the rescue, and should of course be rewarded for his merit. Enfeoffing him as marquis or duke is all permissible. We can even grant him a million in pay! But the matter of the Crown Prince's marriage touches the foundation of the state, and must not violate dynastic precedent!"

Hearing the Chongzhen Emperor speak thus, Li Banghua could only acknowledge the decree.

Only then did Chongzhen nod with satisfaction. "The hour is late. We should prepare for the morning court. You may go and wait at the Meridian Gate… At today's morning court, We hope to see some official step forward to rectify discipline and rouse the people's hearts!"

After the three ministers left through the Gate of Heavenly Purity together, the eldest among them, the four-reign veteran Li Banghua, asked the thirty-nine-year-old Chief Grand Secretary Wei Zaode: "Shiling, you know His Majesty's mind best. Tell us, what exactly does he mean?"

Wei Zaode glanced left and right, saw no one else about, and gave a bitter smile. "Is it not obvious? He is setting a difficult problem for the Eastern Palace!"

The Vice Minister of War Wang Jiayan asked, "His Majesty would not be thinking of touching the foundation of the state, would he?"

"No," Wei Zaode shook his head. "Not at present… But the Eastern Palace has overstepped its authority too much, and should restrain itself somewhat."

"It has indeed gone somewhat too far!" Wang Jiayan nodded. "But will the Eastern Palace be willing to restrain itself?"

Wei Zaode sighed and said, "Whether it is willing to restrain itself is up to the Eastern Palace… but whether to journey south, and whether to allow the Crown Prince to take a Lady of Talents, is up to His Majesty! Now His Majesty is using these two matters to rap the Eastern Palace's knuckles. If the Eastern Palace yields, then everything will be easy to discuss."

Li Banghua asked, "And if the Eastern Palace does not yield?"

Wei Zaode shook his head. "It will not come to that… The Eastern Palace is a filial son. Admit the error, hand over the few million in hand, and all will be well, will it not?"

……

"What? The palace edict for taking the Lady of Talents has still not come down?"

"Indeed. This subject just went home and asked. It truly has not come down."

"That cannot be. Imperial Father already agreed."

"Perhaps the court officials opposed it?"

"It is a palace edict—it can be issued even if the court officials oppose it!"

"Perhaps His Majesty feels a palace edict is inappropriate?"

"This…"

By the early hours of the eighteenth, Zhu Cilang had already returned to the Hall of Auspicious Joy beside the inner parade ground.

Although he had again gone a day and a night without sleep, his spirits were still in a state of excitement, and somehow his thoughts turned to Wu Xiang's daughter… So he summoned Wu Xiang and asked. Only then did he learn that the Chongzhen Emperor had apparently stood him up—no palace edict for taking the consort had been issued.

Without the edict, Wu Xiang of course could not send his daughter to the Hall of Auspicious Joy to attend upon His Highness.

"Thousand Years, shall this slave send someone to summon Consort Ning?" Huang Dabao, Zhu Cilang's study companion eunuch, suggested with a face wreathed in smiles.

"No need." Zhu Cilang shook his head. "Companion Huang, have all the people you were told to find arrived?"

"Replying to Thousand Years, this slave has brought them as you instructed," Huang Dabao said. "Soy-Sauce Huang and Old Rice Su are also willing to work for Thousand Years."

Over the past two days Zhu Cilang had received, bit by bit, more than five million taels of silver and over a hundred thousand taels of gold. All of this money was escorted by Eastern Palace guards and eunuchs to Zheng Yin Temple near Chaoyang Gate for storage, under the watch of Zhu Cilang's teacher Chen Rui and the head guard Zhu Chunjie.

But such a large sum of money could not be guarded by men alone; it also needed a dedicated accounting office to handle the books and disbursements.

On the matter of managing money, however, Zhu Cilang did not trust the palace eunuchs, nor the clerks of the Ministry of Revenue. Once several million taels fell into their hands, heaven only knew how much would be embezzled!

So Zhu Cilang simply broke with convention and had Huang Dabao find Soy-Sauce Huang, who ran a restaurant and a sauce shop, and Old Rice Su, who ran a grain business, to serve together as Zhu Cilang's chief accountants.

(End of Chapter)