Chapter 1508: The New Dynasty Does Not Rule by Benevolence and Righteousness

Perhaps it is just as Father the Emperor said — our Zhao family's rule over the realm will one day scatter and fade, but… at the very least, it can blaze with incomparable brilliance, just like these fireworks.

I must shoulder this great responsibility, and be worthy of Father the Emperor, worthy of Mother the Empress, worthy of the gods above, and worthy of all the people under heaven.

So long as I fulfill these four worthies, what fear is there that the people of the realm will betray our house? If our house betrays the realm, then even if we were as tyrannical as Jie and Zhou, could we hold back the surging floodwaters? What meaning is there in fretting overmuch?

Beneath the glow of the rainbow lights — now dazzling, now dim — the Crown Prince extended his hand and slowly clenched it into a fist.

"Betray not the realm."

Rising early on the morning of the first day of the first month, the Emperor led the princes to the Hall for Offering to Ancestors to pay homage to the ancestral tablets. Ever since the new dynasty was established, in keeping with the traditions of past dynasties, the ancestral portraits and spirit tablets of the Zhu family's past generations had been removed from the hall, and the tablets of the Zhao family's preceding generations had been placed inside; these ancestors had each been conferred posthumous titles.

However, the Zhao family were, after all, of commoner origin, and the Emperor disliked anything overly mystical or supernatural. He therefore did not fabricate any tales of heavenly portents at his birth — no dreams of white dragons or the like — to deify himself, nor did he concoct stories proclaiming that the Mandate of Heaven had long since descended upon the Zhao family of Xuzhou.

Amid an atmosphere of solemn reverence, the men of the imperial house kowtowed one by one before the portraits of their forebears, and only when the sky was already bright did they emerge from the Hall for Offering to Ancestors.

The Grand Secretariat was closed today. Apart from the minor officials required to remain on duty, the vast majority of officials were on leave. Yet the palace did not fall quiet because of it, for according to the new dynasty's custom, all civil and military officials in the capital were to enter the palace on the first day of the month to pay court and partake in a grand evening banquet. Even the envoys of tributary states in the capital were to enter the palace that day to offer homage, so the number of people in the palace was actually greater than usual.

Since many had brought their families along, the atmosphere was considerably more relaxed. The civil officials were all dressed in informal attire, while the military officers wore brand-new ceremonial uniforms, their medals pinned to their chests, flaunting their martial exploits to all. Ministers and officials gathered in small clusters, chatting idly; the palace was already a hubbub of noise.

These people who had come to pay court were not permitted to enter the inner palace. The imperial family customarily received them in the Hall of Imperial Supremacy in the outer court. During the former Ming era, the Hall of Imperial Supremacy had been the venue for all manner of ceremonies — the emperor's enthronement, the emperor's grand wedding, the investiture of the empress, the appointment of generals for campaigns, and so on. Moreover, on the three great annual festivals — the Emperor's Birthday, New Year's Day, and the Winter Solstice — the emperor received the formal homage of civil and military officials there and bestowed banquets upon the princes, dukes, and high ministers.

Because the School of the Mind flourished, the social mores of the former Ming were already quite open; the court, however, generally remained conservative and pursued solemn dignity, and it was exceedingly rare for the wives and children of outer officials to enter the palace. The new dynasty, having risen from humble beginnings, was not so fastidious and instead carried a good deal of commoner atmosphere. This tradition of ministers bringing their families to celebrate the new year had much of the simple, united spirit of those early days when they were first building their cause in Xuzhou.

As they filed into the hall, they found long tables already prepared, laden with an array of fresh fruits and fine wines for everyone to enjoy at their leisure.

In the earliest years, these New Year's court audiences had been somewhat chaotic, because the various ministers and tributary envoys did not know how to arrange their seating. After several years of practice, however, everyone had developed an unspoken set of rules for precedence. Civil and military officials were seated at distances from the imperial family according to their official rank, while the tributary envoys were assigned a separate, specially designated area. Everyone took their seats according to these conventions; noisy, but not disorderly.

By regulation, the Chancellor, Yong Duke Wang Zhaojing, was the foremost figure among the Grand Secretariat and the titled nobility, so his family was seated in the position closest to the imperial dais. The Minister of Works, Wei Duke Xu Housheng, because of his special familial ties to the imperial house, was assigned the position immediately following, his family's seats placed right next to the Chancellor's.

"Minister of Works!" As soon as they were seated, the Chancellor offered his New Year's greetings, in keeping with the new dynasty's custom. "Great fortune in the new year."

"Chancellor, great fortune in the new year." Wei Duke Xu Housheng hurriedly returned the gesture of respect and offered his own greeting.

"Regarding the matter of the detached palace, what did Her Majesty the Empress have to say?" The Chancellor did not waste time on further pleasantries and asked directly.

When he had previously arranged for the Minister of Works to broach the subject with the Empress, he had intended to take advantage of their sibling relationship to make persuasion easier.

"Her Majesty the Empress said the matter is feasible, and even praised us, saying that the ministers had been considerate." The Minister of Works did not beat around the bush either and answered him directly. "However, Her Majesty the Empress also added that since our dynasty is, after all, newly founded and its finances are strained, we must be sparing of the people's labor and the state's resources, and not make it excessively luxurious or extravagant."

"And what is your view?" The Chancellor smiled faintly.

"I think…" The Minister of Works began to speak, but then sensed something amiss and stopped, glancing at his son beside him.

Although what they were discussing was not the court's most confidential matter, the Minister of Works was ordinarily very strict and disliked having his wife or children involved in state affairs.

Seeing that the Chancellor and the Minister of Works were about to discuss business, their family members discreetly withdrew a little, so as not to disturb the two senior ministers' conversation.

The Chancellor came from a family of scholarly tradition. Today he had brought his eldest son and heir to the Yong Duke title, Wang Zexian. Though his son was not very old, he had been taught to strictly observe rules and etiquette, and upon seeing that his father was about to discuss court matters, he consciously and voluntarily stepped aside.

Once the family members on both sides had moved away, the Minister of Works set his mind at ease and resumed speaking. "I feel that Her Majesty the Empress's desire to show consideration for the people's strength is well-intentioned, but the court is not so straitened at present. We need not truly be so stingy. Since we are to build, we should build on a grand scale. Of course, I do not mean that it must be built with extravagant opulence, but at the very least, it must be built with an imposing presence, worthy of the status of the Great Han imperial family."

He had a personal motive — he wished for his sister's family to be reunited and to live a life befitting their imperial status — but the Chancellor had no intention of exposing this private wish, because the Chancellor himself thought much the same.

"It is good that you think so." The Chancellor nodded. "Very well, then that is what we shall do. As for the matter of funds, so long as you do not make every third step gold and every fifth step jade, there will always be a way. Once the new year is over, treat this project as your top priority. Other matters can be delegated to others. Do not forget — it is not only you; all the Grand Secretariat ministers are eagerly looking forward to the day of its completion."

"Good, I understand." The Minister of Works nodded. "After the new year, I will go to the western outskirts to survey the land and find a site with excellent hills and waters, and settle the matter of location as soon as possible."

Still, a trace of doubt lingered in his mind. Ordinarily, although the Grand Secretariat always supported the major projects under his charge, the support was always grudging, and the auditing was extremely strict, for fear of wasting a single penny. Yet for this project, they had suddenly become so generous.

"Ah, yes — after the new year, the Crown Prince will also be going out with me, both to inspect the progress of the capital's defensive works and to take the opportunity to relax a little." As he spoke, the Minister of Works suddenly recalled this matter as well.

"The Crown Prince will also be going out on an inspection tour?" The Chancellor's interest was faintly stirred.

Combined with the Emperor's earlier decision to have the Crown Prince attend state council meetings and the plan to have him stationed in Goryeo to oversee the rear areas of the campaign against Japan, it seemed that the Crown Prince's gradual involvement in court politics was now an unavoidable certainty.

Ah, how time flies. In the blink of an eye, the Crown Prince is nearly a grown man… A sudden feeling, at odds with the present atmosphere, flickered through the Chancellor's heart.

"This is a very good thing, but you must pay attention to security on your end. Do not let any mishap befall the Crown Prince." After giving this instruction, he turned his head to look at his own young son.

The Crown Prince is a kind-hearted and intelligent child, destined to become a great ruler. I wonder what kind of vessel my own son will grow into? I can only hope that he, too, will be able to continue assisting the Great Han imperial house when the time comes.

Even as the ministers continued their idle chatter, one person who had come to the palace to offer homage was led away from the great hall by the palace attendants. However, because of his special status, not many people noticed his departure, and they continued their casual conversations.

This person was the head of the Goryeo mission stationed in the capital, the Goryeo royal clansman Li Ke.

Guided by the attending official, he walked step by step along the path beside the Hall of Imperial Supremacy toward the Hall of Central Supremacy. He had been told that the Great Han Emperor and the Crown Prince would receive him there to discuss important matters.

The mission head wore a plain cyan robe. He was tall and slender, with a long, fine beard and very fair skin, looking every bit the well-read scholar. In truth, although he was a clansman of the Goryeo royal house, his foundation in Han learning was indeed very deep.

Yet, although being summoned by the Great Han Emperor was ostensibly a special honor, his expression was solemn, and deep worry seemed to lurk between his brows. What troubled him was precisely his homeland, Goryeo, and even more, he was pondering what he could do to win the favor of the Central Dynasty's Emperor and persuade him to show his homeland a little leniency.

After Prince Gwanghae was restored to the throne by the court, a mission had been stationed in Goryeo to strengthen control over it, and likewise, Goryeo had been required to station a mission in the capital.

During the former Ming era, Goryeo had no permanent diplomatic mission within Great Ming territory. They merely dispatched periodic tribute missions to the capital to pay homage to the Emperor. Although Goryeo would send envoys to inform the Great Ming whenever the royal power changed hands, it was not under the Great Ming's actual control. During the Wanli years, when Japan crossed the sea to invade Goryeo and ravaged the land, the Great Ming, though it dispatched troops to aid them and ultimately drove the Japanese army out of Goryeo, did not station troops there afterward, withdrawing immediately, and soon fell into its own internal chaos.

The new dynasty was not so generous. Once they had restored Prince Gwanghae to the Goryeo throne, they immediately demanded enormous compensation and stationed a mission and garrison troops. Moreover, the mission stationed in Hanseong, relying on the might of the Central Dynasty, was arrogant and overbearing, seeming to hold the Goryeo court in complete contempt, which caused the Goryeo people to seethe with silent resentment.