Chapter 27: First Signs (Collect, Collect, Collect~~)

Empress Zhang's expression did not change at all after hearing this. She glanced at Zhu Xu from the corner of her eye and said with a light laugh, "Enough, I know your filial devotion, brother-in-law. You needn't worry about these things—I know what to do."

Not a single trace of anything. Zhu Xu sighed inwardly—Empress Zhang was no simple woman either.

He stayed and amused Empress Zhang for quite a while longer, but failed to pry out even a hint of information, and had no choice but to leave Kunning Palace.

"Your Highness, Your Highness." He had barely gotten any distance from Kunning Palace when Cao Huachun came rushing over, his face full of urgency.

Zhu Xu looked at Cao Huachun and said with a smile, "What is it that has our Eunuch Cao so anxious?"

Cao Huachun looked around, then said to Zhu Xu in a low voice, "Your Highness, His Majesty has resolved to move the capital to Nanjing. Neither the Chief Grand Secretary nor the Second Grand Secretary objected."

Zhu Xu's eyes instantly went wide. Staring at Cao Huachun in shock, he said, "Where did this news come from? Is it accurate?"

Cao Huachun was also trembling with fear. He lowered his voice nervously and said, "It came from the Directorate of Ceremonial. The Office of Transmission is said to have received many such memorials, and they have all already been sent before the throne."

Zhu Xu's heart pounded thump-thump-thump. He looked up at the grey, overcast sky in the distance, and for a moment found himself at a loss for words.

He had been waiting all along for Zhu Youxiao to make his move, but he never imagined it would be such a bombshell!

Ever since Zhu Di usurped the throne and ascended it in Nanjing, he had felt uneasy and so moved the capital to his princely city, Beijing. From then on, calls to return the capital to Nanjing had never ceased, and even a hundred years later they persisted.

In recent years, with the Jurchen causing trouble and frequent earthquakes in the capital, such voices had grown even louder. But they were never the mainstream after all, and since the Great Ming from top to bottom had always been uncompromising in character, such calls never managed to gain any real momentum.

"But... can this really succeed?"

After a long while, Zhu Xu muttered thoughtfully to himself. Moving the capital was no simple matter—it touched on every aspect of governance. Even Zhu Di, at the height of his military might, had to first go to Beijing himself and work at it slowly. Even so, the dual-capital system of north and south had persisted to this very day.

Given Zhu Youxiao's current abilities, if he wanted to move the capital, he would still have to get past the pure-stream officials. By all logic, it should be utterly impossible—and Zhu Youxiao ought to be well aware of that himself.

But the Chief Grand Secretary and the Second Grand Secretary both raised no objection—what was going on here?

"What exactly is my imperial brother trying to do?" Zhu Xu found himself unable to read Zhu Youxiao.

Zhu Xu mulled it over as he walked back to Jinghuan Palace. Cao Wenzhao had also received word and came before Zhu Xu, saying, "Your Highness, what should we do now?"

He was the one who understood Zhu Xu best. They had just suppressed Wei Zhongxian—if the capital moved and Wei Zhongxian rose from the ashes, wouldn't everything they had done be wasted?

Zhu Xu sat in his reclining chair, holding his teacup, sipping slowly.

Such an intention to move the capital was absolutely not something Zhu Youxiao, or Wei Zhongxian and Madam Ke, could have come up with. There must be someone behind Zhu Youxiao.

"Don't rush. Let me think."

Zhu Xu's expression was relaxed. No matter what Zhu Youxiao wanted to do, it had no impact on him. But what he had to assess was the consequences of Zhu Youxiao's actions.

"Moving the capital definitely isn't my imperial brother's true purpose. What is he really plotting?"

Zhu Xu muttered to himself, trying to fathom Zhu Youxiao's true intentions.

"Your Highness," Cao Huachun glanced at Cao Wenzhao beside him, then looked at Zhu Xu and said, "This servant believes His Majesty still wants to teach those in the court who don't obey a lesson."

Zhu Xu raised his head and looked at him, silently pondering: 'If my imperial brother wants to control the court, then he must replace them with someone obedient...'

Although Zhu Yuanzhang had abolished the position of Chancellor, he nearly worked himself to death handling every trivial matter, and so the Grand Secretaries came into being. Over a hundred years, through many changes, the Chief Grand Secretary became a 'Chancellor' in all but name. As can be seen from Zhang Juzheng, Yan Song, Xu Jie, Gao Gong and others, their power even surpassed that of the legendary Chancellors.

However, every Ming emperor had his quirks, but the worst at controlling the court were the last two—Tianqi and Chongzhen.

The Tianqi Emperor wanted to use the eunuch faction to counterbalance the Donglin Faction, but having inner court officials check outer court officials could never form a true balance—it was doomed to fail. Chongzhen likewise did not trust outer court officials at all, and was deeply suspicious of inner court ones as well. This led to wholesale slaughter of outer court officials—in just over a decade, more than thirty Chief Grand Secretaries were replaced, showing how far ruler and ministers had drifted apart in heart and in spirit.

Ye Xianggao was not the type to flatter and fawn. He had always been upright and incorruptible—not like Yan Song or Xu Jie, nor like Gao Gong, never one to try to divine the emperor's will. When Ye Xianggao retired, the one who succeeded him as Chief Grand Secretary was Han Kuang, also a man of unbending character, not one to merely bow his head and obey orders.

That left Gu Bingqian. As for this man, his shamelessness could truly be said to have reached the extreme.

To curry favor with Wei Zhongxian for promotion, he brought his son to Wei Zhongxian's residence. At over seventy years of age, he wanted to acknowledge Wei Zhongxian as his godfather, but fearing Wei Zhongxian would refuse because he was too old, he had his son acknowledge Wei Zhongxian as grandfather instead!

Wei Zhongxian was eighteen years younger than Gu Bingqian, and his son was not much younger than Wei Zhongxian either.

A man like this—the word 'shameless' was no longer sufficient to describe him.

Could it be him? Does my imperial brother want the Chief and Second Grand Secretaries to both retire?

Zhu Xu thought for a moment, then looked up at the two men and said, "No matter what His Majesty wants to do, he needs people to assist him. Wei Zhongxian will inevitably seek out Ni Wenhuan to write memorials. Have someone notify him to probe into who came up with this idea and what their purpose is."

Cao Wenzhao acknowledged the order and immediately turned to leave.

Zhu Xu then said to Cao Huachun, "Little Cao, that old witch has probably already returned to the palace. Keep a close watch on the Empress's side for me."

Cao Huachun naturally knew what Madam Ke had done in the palace these past years. Upon hearing this, he said solemnly, "Rest assured, Your Highness. This servant will give his life before allowing that old... Madam Ke to harm the Empress or the young prince."

Zhu Xu nodded with a smile. Lately, Zhu Youxiao's sudden changes had been putting considerable pressure on him.

Now that Zhu Youxiao had summoned the Chief and Second Grand Secretaries and broached the subject of moving the capital, it was likely that another storm would soon break out in the court.

But these things had little to do with Zhu Xu. What he cared most about was the person who had given Zhu Youxiao this advice, and the purpose behind it.

Now that he knew the beginning, Zhu Xu was no longer so anxious, and Jinghuan Palace returned to calm. He spent his time practicing calligraphy, occasionally dropping by the Imperial Study to pass the time, then going to Empress Zhang's place to freeload meals, patiently waiting for his imperial brother's next move.

Sure enough, the moment news of the capital move spread, the Donglin Faction went mad. Memorials of every kind flew to the Imperial Study, denouncing it fiercely—the more moderate ones urged the Emperor to think thrice, while the blunt ones directly cursed Emperor Zhu Youxiao for forgetting his ancestors, for abandoning the ancestral precept of Taizong that 'the Son of Heaven guards the nation's gates; the sovereign dies for the altars of state'! If this continued, they said, he would lose the foundations laid by Taizu and Taizong and bring the Great Ming to ruin!

But Zhu Youxiao paid it no mind at all. He ate, drank, and carved as usual, not idle for a moment.

——

——

Three days passed in the blink of an eye. Outside, the clamor rose to the heavens; within the imperial palace, all was quiet as ever.

Cao Wenzhao hurried in from outside and said to Zhu Xu, who was practicing calligraphy, "Your Highness, news has come from Ni Wenhuan."

Zhu Xu's brush did not stop. He said calmly, "What news?"

Cao Wenzhao looked around, then lowered his voice and said into Zhu Xu's ear, "According to Ni Wenhuan, Wei Zhongxian will go to meet someone tonight."

Zhu Xu's brush tip lifted sharply. He looked at the characters on the white paper and nodded with satisfaction, saying, "Mm, well written indeed. Good—tonight, let's go meet this mastermind!"