Chapter 1002: Two Places in the Capital

Xiaokuang kept his head down below, not daring to speak. After the Lu Prince's entire clan was exterminated, Wei Zhongxian immediately pushed several sons of commandery princes in Lu to inherit the Lu princely title. Although a Prince of Lu couldn't do much, with such a figure installed there, the court could swiftly mobilize a large army to act if trouble arose. Without one, the vague entanglements in the court would delay many matters. That Zhao Jin of Xuzhou surely understood this logic, which was why the Lu Prince's clan was wiped out so inexplicably this time.

But this matter met obstruction from all the Shandong-born officials and eunuchs in both the inner court and outer court. Some indeed had their eyes on the Lu Prince's lands and properties, wanting to use this to get rich—the Eastern Depot even found that people from the Kong family of the Duke of Yansheng were very keen on this. Yet others cared about their homeland and wanted Shandong to catch its breath. In this realm under Great Ming's heaven, wherever there was a princely fief, it was tantamount to a scourge, truly bleeding the local populace dry and making the common people suffer unbearably. These people had good intentions—Shandong had been exploited so harshly, so catching a breath this time would be good. But they dared not say this plainly to Wei Zhongxian.

"Old Ancestor, there are still tens of thousands of troops in Shandong right now, and tens of thousands more Liaodong soldiers in Dengzhou. Why not just follow the momentum and head south, directly pacifying Xuzhou, saving us from that Zhao Jin of Xuzhou's wild ambitions." Xiaokuang offered his advice, though he himself knew it was impossible.

Hearing this, Wei Zhongxian let out a long sigh. His earlier anger vanished, and he just shook his head, speaking with extreme vexation: "There are too many minor disturbances in Henan, and those several princes must be guarded as well. The Henan troops need to return. The Hetao region is unsettled, the grasslands are stirring too, so the Shanxi border troops must also go back. Liaodong grows tenser by the day, and our Northern Zhili forces cannot be away too long either. But those Liaodong soldiers cannot be moved recklessly—they demand grain and pay, their resentment is too heavy. If they mutiny on the road, the havoc these tens of thousands of Liaodong soldiers would wreak would be far greater than those roving bandits."

Xiaokuang naturally knew all these reasons. Over there, Wei Zhongxian kneaded his temples with his hand and said in a raspy voice: "Running this household is truly hard. The Liao tax has provoked the wrath of both heaven and the people, yet the grain and silver collected flow out like water, and in the end there's still a huge deficit. Liaodong is fighting, the southwest is fighting, the mountains of Shaanxi are not peaceful either. If we want to launch a campaign against that Zhao Jin, where could we possibly find the silver?"

"Old Ancestor need not worry. This child observes that Zhao Jin acts with a sense of propriety, and he only cares about making money—he's no real menace."

"It would be better if he lacked propriety. At his age, with such forbearance and deep scheming, growing step by step like this—I cannot sleep just thinking about it, always feeling worried and afraid." At this point, Wei Zhongxian calmed down considerably. He patted the tabletop with his hand and said through gritted teeth: "Once Liaodong and the southwest are pacified and our hands are free, we must send a great army to pacify Xuzhou, whether it takes a hundred thousand or two hundred thousand troops!"

Xiaokuang nodded. He thought the same way. What was a mere local tyrant in Xuzhou compared to the vast realm under heaven? His arrogance now was nothing but taking advantage of Great Ming being tied down with military campaigns everywhere, unable to free its hands. Once there was strength to spare, he could be crushed in an instant—no need for such worry.

However, coming to this duty room wasn't just for reporting official business; private matters had to be discussed too. He had his own assignments to handle and was frantically busy every day, so he could only report and communicate as much as possible during these meetings.

"Old Ancestor, the matter of enfeoffing His Highness the Fifth Prince as Prince of Xin has been settled. They say the edict will be issued in the eighth month. This child feels that since His Majesty and the Fifth Prince share such deep brotherly affection, perhaps we should go pay our respects and curry some favor as well, paving a path for the future." Xiaokuang offered his advice.

"We have only one master. Serving His Majesty well is better than anything. Do not let your thoughts run wild. His Majesty is still in his prime—there's no rush now, and in a few years he will have one. That Fifth Prince will sooner or later go to his fief outside the capital. What are you contacting him for!" Wei Zhongxian replied very sternly.

Xiaokuang merely bowed his head obediently and said: "Old Ancestor's teaching is correct."

The most important person in the imperial palace is the Son of Heaven. His likes and dislikes can shift the balance of power—only by grasping them accurately can one preserve wealth and rank for long. The second most important is usually the Crown Prince. This heir apparent is the future emperor; if you flatter and serve him well, future wealth and rank are assured. Thus, all the twenty-four offices of the inner court know to curry favor with the heir apparent, and the adopted sons and disciples of every major eunuch are usually assigned to serve at the heir apparent's side.

But the Tianqi Emperor still had no heir, and everyone in the palace knew that His Majesty was not particularly fond of women. Instead, he had put considerable effort into those young and handsome junior eunuchs—and that could not produce children. If this continued, Tianqi's own younger brother, His Highness the Fifth Prince Zhu Youjian, would have the possibility of succession. For a matter as monumental as imperial succession, even a sliver of possibility was worth placing a bet on. But Xiaokuang also knew that Wei Zhongxian detested others discussing this topic. He had always firmly believed that the Son of Heaven would eventually have an heir, and arrangements could be made then.

Because of this view, Wei Zhongxian also did not much like Zhu Youjian. He always felt that Zhu Youjian had not yet gone to his fief because he had ulterior motives, overlooking the fact that Tianqi had always been unwilling to let this younger brother leave. Moreover, the news was already confirmed—even after being enfeoffed as Prince of Xin, he would still remain in the capital to accompany the emperor.

Throughout the Ming dynasty, among the emperor's sons, only the Crown Prince received a relatively complete education, with instructors and study companions. The other imperial sons typically only received education after they went to their fiefs, where they would have teachers and the princely establishment's administrator to supervise them—far better than in the capital.

The Imperial Younger Brother Zhu Youjian, as a rule, had no teacher. However, the Tianqi Emperor cared for this younger brother with exceptional affection and specially arranged for a Hanlin Academy scholar to go and instruct him. But all the talents in the Hanlin Academy were waiting to become ministers and grand secretaries—none were willing to waste their energy on an inconsequential princely fief. No matter how well you taught, no matter how close and grateful this Imperial Younger Brother Zhu Youjian became, what use was it? When the time came to go to his fief, was a dignified academician supposed to follow and become the princely establishment's administrator? Wouldn't that make him the laughingstock of the entire realm?

The Hanlin Academy treated this assignment perfunctorily, arranging for an old academician who was about to retire and return home. This man had also been unlucky—he had thought entering the Hanlin Academy meant boundless prospects, but he had offended important figures one after another, and so he could only idle away his time there. Sent off to teach Zhu Youjian, he put in no real effort either, merely teaching him to read and write, and only occasionally, when the mood struck him, would he express a few sentiments.

"Teacher, in this realm under heaven, Liaodong is ravaged by the Jianzhou Jurchen Tatar bandits, the southwest is in rebellion with the chieftains, and the Hetao is in turmoil. Which of these places poses the greatest threat?" The Imperial Younger Brother Zhu Youjian asked with great curiosity. Because he lived in the capital and often accompanied Tianqi, he was quite well-informed about current affairs and politics, and frequently asked about them.

No matter how perfunctorily one handled it, when teaching the Imperial Younger Brother, appearances had to be maintained, so that outsiders could find no fault. But this time, when Zhu Youjian asked, the academician grew serious and said with great gravity: "Your Highness, the Jianzhou Jurchens, the southwestern barbarians, the Hetao Mongols—these are all but skin ailments. It is Xuzhou that is the mortal affliction of the heart."

The Imperial Younger Brother Zhu Youjian was only eleven years old. Hearing this, he was stunned and asked, somewhat bewildered: "Teacher, isn't Xuzhou a peaceful place? Isn't it the heartland of Great Ming?"

"Your Highness may not know, but in Xuzhou there is a local despot named Zhao Jin. He trains private troops, smuggles salt, and has even meddled in the canal transport. This Zhao Jin acts with cruelty and tyranny, and is skilled at colluding with local corrupt officials. Openly he acts as a Great Ming bailiff, but in secret he opposes the government and the court, running rampant and lawless, inflicting great harm upon the Xuzhou region." The teacher spoke with righteous indignation.

Zhu Youjian's eyes widened as he listened. He spoke up: "Why has such a despot not been arrested and thrown in prison, but instead allowed to run rampant and lawless?"

The teacher sighed, his face full of pained regret, and said: "Your Highness, this Zhao Jin is exceedingly cunning, adept at exploiting loopholes in the law. The local officials and gentry have all been bought off by him and shield him extensively. Now the court is deploying troops everywhere and cannot free its hands to deal with him—that is how he has been allowed to grow so powerful."

Without waiting for Zhu Youjian to ask further, the teacher spoke with fervent passion: "Those foreign Tatar bandits only seek some wealth and grain. Our Great Ming is rich in all within the four seas—giving them a little will send them off. But a despot like Zhao Jin is a mortal affliction of the heart. They devour Great Ming's flesh bite by bite, harming Great Ming's subjects, and even more, they have seized Great Ming's lifeline. Should there be any treacherous move, it would truly be a great calamity!"

"Your Highness, think of it this way: those Tatar foreigners are merely tigers and wolves—throw them a few pieces of meat to feed them and they are harmless. But this Xuzhou despot is a disease, a disease that worsens over time and is truly fatal. To pacify the outside, one must first pacify the inside—this is a maxim of supreme truth!" The teacher, now carried away, expounded freely.

Zhu Youjian's childish face was filled with shock. Then, nodding with great solemnity, he said: "I must certainly tell Imperial Elder Brother about this matter and have him dispatch troops to exterminate these rebels."

That teacher smiled and nodded. A middle-aged eunuch standing behind Zhu Youjian had kept his head lowered the entire time, but now he looked up and secretly curled his lip. They naturally knew this teacher's background—he was a native of Shanyang County in Huai'an Prefecture, born into a wealthy merchant family. This academician's family dealt in grain and had deep ties to the canal transport. To put it bluntly, they were on the side that fed off the canal grain. After Zhao Jin seized control of the canal transport, these wealthy merchants who had grown rich off the canal grain and canal transport all suffered huge losses, and they were the ones who had always been at odds with Zhao Jin. Having suffered losses himself, this old Hanlin scholar teaching Zhu Youjian naturally slandered him with all his might.

On an ordinary day, if this old Hanlin scholar said these things, it would just be talk—merely running his mouth. Once a princely fief holder went to his fief, he could do nothing anyway. But the situation now was different. Wei Zhongxian, Eunuch Wei, the Director of the Directorate of Ceremonial and Overseer of the Eastern Depot, was extremely sensitive about the topic of Xuzhou. And since this Zhu Youjian frequently met with the emperor, this topic meant trouble.

Whether Zhu Youjian mentioned it to the Tianqi Emperor, or someone sent word ahead, just a few days after that old Hanlin scholar finished speaking, a pretext was found to send him into retirement and back home. Zhu Youjian's literary lessons were then taught by calligrapher eunuchs from the Inner Study.

"Your Highness, what are you doing?" Seeing Zhu Youjian writing on the screen, Cao Huachun hurried over to ask.

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