My Portable Ming Dynasty

Chapter 276 "Memorial on Investigating the Succession of the Chu Prince"

Su Ze returned to the newspaper office and began drafting a memorial to the throne.

After thinking it over, Su Ze decided to divide the memorial into two parts.

The first part, naturally, is a request to the court to send a capable minister to Wuchang to investigate the Chu Zong case and confirm Zhu Hua Kui's identity.

The Chu Zong case in the original timeline is difficult to investigate because decades have passed since the case, and many of the parties involved can no longer provide clear accounts.

Moreover, the case of the fake Chu Emperor in the original timeline also involved political struggles in the imperial court at that time.

In addition, the Wanli Emperor in the original timeline neglected state affairs and gave reckless orders, which ultimately led to the loss of public trust in the Ming court and resulted in a outcome that no one could accept.

However, this case involving the Chu clan broke out shortly after King Gong of Chu passed away. Since all the parties involved are still alive, as long as capable officials are dispatched to investigate, the truth will surely be uncovered.

The succession of the King of Chu was a major event, and many clansmen were watching closely.

There were many servants in the Chu Prince's mansion, and Zhu Hua Kui's mother, Madam Hu, needed someone to take care of her during her pregnancy.

If they still claim that the Zhu brothers are the princess's family children, then by questioning the relevant people and comparing their testimonies, the truth can probably be found out.

In fact, the major cases in history were not very complicated in terms of the facts. What really interfered with the investigation was political factors.

Of course, investigating the case is only the first step.

Neither Yang Sizhong, the Commissioner of the Court of Judicial Review, nor Li Yiyuan, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, nor the important officials behind them, actually cared much about Zhu Huakui's background.

It's mainly Chu Zong.

So in other words, this case is still related to politics.

However, Su Ze was also well aware that it was probably impossible to completely weaken the power of the Chu clan all at once.

This is also a political issue.

The reason is quite simple: the lineage of the Prince of Xing, where the Jiajing Emperor resided, was enfeoffed in Huguang.

In other words, the current emperor's lineage also originated from Huguang (Hubei and Hunan provinces). Before ascending the throne, Emperor Jiajing lived in Huguang.

Of course, in terms of bloodline, the ancestor of the Prince of Chu lineage was Zhu Zhen, the son of Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, while the ancestor of the Jiajing Emperor was Zhu Youyuan, the fourth son of the Ming Xianzong Emperor. In fact, the blood relationship between the Prince of Xing lineage and the Prince of Chu lineage is very distant.

However, now that the Liao vassal state of Jingzhou has been eliminated in Huguang, if the Chu vassal state of Wuchang is also eliminated, the prestige of the imperial family among the imperial clan will certainly be damaged.

This was clearly not something the Longqing Emperor could make up his mind about.

Moreover, King Gong of Chu has only recently passed away, and the Crown Prince of Chu, Zhu Hua Kui, is still young. If the Chu vassal states were abolished at this time, it would likely cause unrest among the vassal kings in various regions.

Su Ze naturally wanted to eliminate the corrupt practices of the vassal kings all at once.

However, these regional princes were also powerful figures in their respective regions. If they were to unite and cause trouble, it would be a huge loss to the prestige of the imperial court.

Emperor Jing of Han was determined to abolish the vassal kings, but when the Rebellion of the Seven States broke out, he still wanted to kill Chao Cuo.

There were precedents of princes rebelling during the Ming Dynasty.

Therefore, Su Ze did not think now was a good time to eliminate the Chu vassal state.

Although it is not a good time to eliminate the Chu vassal state, now is a good time to weaken it.

If Zhu Huakui is indeed a descendant of King Gong of Chu, then the Chu clan members who wrote the blood oath are making false accusations. Su Ze can then take this opportunity to ask the emperor to severely punish these people and reclaim the land of Huguang from the Chu clan.

If Zhu Huakui was not of the Chu royal bloodline, then Su Ze could have advised the emperor to dismantle the Chu clan under the pretext of its extinction.

This way, resources can also be seized from Chu Zong.

This is also why Yang Sizhong and Li Yiyuan attached great importance to this case.

Whether Zhu Huakui is real or not, it is beneficial to the imperial court.

Clearly, after the "Longqing Accounting Records" were published, civil officials fought tooth and nail to save tens of thousands of silver dollars, while the princes were able to reap hundreds of thousands of dollars in profits every year.

This is the true significance of the "Accounting Records"—it serves as a framework for reform and a clarion call for its advancement.

The Chu clan was the largest clan in Huguang, and also the most populous, accounting for 70% of the grain supply in Huguang.

Whoever can make Emperor Chu vomit up his flesh when he is at his weakest will gain the favor of the imperial court.

However, Su Ze's task does not stop there.

Simply making the royal family of Chu renounce a few acres of land is merely treating the symptoms, not the root cause.

As long as the Chu King's Mansion remains in Huguang, the Chu royal family can still act arrogantly and domineeringly.

So Su Ze picked up his pen and wrote the second half of the memorial.

Therefore, the complete title of the memorial is—

"Memorial on Investigating the Succession of the Chu State and Clarifying the Criminal Law of the Chu State".

The important part is naturally the second half!
Su Ze wrote in his memorial:

"The imperial edict abolished the right of princes and nobles to conduct private trials, and all criminal cases involving members of the imperial family shall be handed over to the local authorities for investigation."

“Prefectural and county officials shall conduct a preliminary trial and submit a detailed report to the Ministry of Justice for review in accordance with the Law of the Great Ming Dynasty; serious cases shall be jointly discussed by the three judicial departments, and the final judgment shall be made by the Emperor.”

"In this way, the court can uphold the fairness of the judiciary, the imperial princes can be spared from accusations of favoritism, and the people can have a way to clear their names!"

Su Ze was aiming for the imperial clans' right to conduct independent trials.

The problem of members of the Ming imperial family breaking the law has always been a major challenge.

This problem has existed since the early Ming Dynasty.

In the early Ming Dynasty, when members of the imperial family broke the law, the usual practice was to send court officials to reprimand them.

In the "Ancestral Instructions of the Ming Dynasty," Zhu Yuanzhang clearly stipulated:

"If any member of the imperial family commits a crime, the successor emperor shall decide the matter himself. For minor offenses, the matter shall be decided by a meeting of the relatives in the capital, and for serious offenses, by a meeting of the princes outside the capital and the relatives in the capital. All such cases shall be decided by the emperor. The crimes committed shall be reported by the legal authorities only, and no one shall be allowed to arrest or question them without authorization."

This ancestral family law gradually evolved into a system where local members of the imperial clan who broke the law were only handed over to the head of the vassal state, that is, the vassal king, for punishment.

It's not difficult to "overturn" this ancestral precept, because the precept itself did not say that local clan members had the right to judicial immunity, and many clan members were punished for crimes.

In reality, all Su Ze needed to do was for the emperor to "authorize" local officials to handle cases involving members of the imperial family, thus circumventing this ancestral precept.

In his memorial to the throne, Su Ze thoughtfully wrote:
“A prince is the elder of the imperial clan. If he is ordered to sit in court and interrogate his blood relative, and is severely punished according to the Ming Dynasty law, the clan members will accuse him of being cruel and ungrateful, and regard him as an enemy.”

“If he shows favoritism and leniency, the court and the public will accuse him of disregarding the law and betraying the country and the emperor.”

"This is truly what is meant by 'at worst, it will incur the resentment and slander of the imperial family; at best, it will result in harsh reprimands from the court,' which is in fact driving a prince into injustice!"

Su Ze then listed the number of illegal cases involving members of the Chu royal family, hoping that the emperor could carry out reforms in Chu, taking back the power of the law from the royal family to the local level, entrusting local officials to adjudicate cases and then submitting them to the court for imperial judgment.

Su Ze's memorial to the throne proposed only small steps in reform, starting with the most unruly members of the Chu royal family.

Moreover, the current heir of the Chu clan is young and embroiled in a succession scandal, so he is powerless to resist.

If we can reclaim the judicial power of the Chu clan, we can then expand further and reclaim the judicial power of the clan members in various regions.

Once the power of investigation is secured, the rest is not difficult to handle. The imperial court, far away in the capital, cannot interfere with the outcome of every case.

Minor cases such as land disputes are naturally handled by the local judicial authorities.

In cases of serious illegality, local officials would naturally not dare to make a decision easily and would inevitably report to the imperial court.

Su Ze stuffed the memorial into the [Portable Ming Dynasty Imperial Court]. —[Simulation Begins]—

Your memorial, entitled "On Investigating the Succession of the Chu Prince and Clarifying the Criminal Law of the Chu Prince," was sent to the Grand Secretariat. Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng approved of your memorial.

Zhao Zhenji opposed the draft proposal due to the Ministry of Rites' stance.

The memorial was sent to the palace, and the Longqing Emperor hesitated on the matter of abolishing the judicial privileges of the Chu vassal state.

The emperor has kept your memorial and is waiting for the outcome of the Chu Zong case before taking any action.

After learning of your petition, most of the Chu royal family members sided with the successor, Zhu Huakui, the King of Chu. Even some of the Chu royal family members who had submitted the petition changed their minds and reneged on their promises.

Zhu Huaqi, the Chu Zongzheng General who organized the petition, "committed suicide" before the investigation team arrived in Wuchang, and the case was left unresolved.

Members of the imperial family from various regions vehemently opposed your proposal, sparking a great deal of discussion in the court and among the public. The emperor rejected your memorial.

——[Simulation End]——

[Remaining Prestige: 2050.]

[To fully approve your memorial, you need to pay 2500 prestige points. Do you wish to pay?]

Good guy!
Is this a reaction triggered by my own letter to the authorities?
Does the behavior of the simulation affect the simulation results?
Su Ze saw the simulation results and realized that his petition had united the Chu royal family.
Good heavens, these royal family members are really ruthless!

According to the simulation results, it was clearly his own memorial that aroused Chu Zong's vigilance.

That's right. I petitioned to abolish both the Dai and Liao vassal states, so when I mentioned the Chu Zong in my petition, the Chu Zong immediately abandoned their internal strife and united to deal with me.

The Chu royal family even had the leader of the rebellion, General Zhu Huaqi, "commit suicide" to end this internal dispute within the Chu vassal state.

Su Ze then realized that his actions could now affect the simulation results.

Although it's possible to achieve this by spending 2500 prestige points, it's too much of a loss to exchange 2500 prestige points for canceling Chu Zong's judicial privileges.

After thinking for a moment, Su Ze decisively chose no and gave up on the simulation.

That's right, I was just too impatient.

The internal strife within the Chu Sect has only just begun. If I were to submit a memorial now proposing to deal with the Chu Sect, it would only force the Chu Sect to unite.

Su Ze picked up a blank memorial again. He decided to split the memorial into two parts and wrote the first half as a separate memorial.

"Memorial on Investigating the Succession of the Chu Prince".

Judging from the simulation results, the emperor clearly had no objection to the first half of the memorial.

The Chu Zong case has escalated to this point, damaging not only Chu Zong's reputation but also negatively impacting the Ming imperial family.

The Chu clan was embroiled in a heated debate over Zhu Huakui's identity, and the imperial court was compelled to issue a ruling.

This part of the memorial will definitely be approved.

In that case, Su Ze wrote down his recommended candidates in the memorial and submitted it to the Ministry of Justice the next day.
-
Royal study room.

Following the Chu Zong case, memorials concerning the case continued to be submitted.

A thorough investigation into the Chu Zong case is certain, but the emperor has yet to decide who to send to investigate.

Only after Su Ze's memorial arrived did the Longqing Emperor raise his head and look at the three heads of the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs, saying:

"Minister Su has recommended Censor Shen Zao of the Censorate and Principal of the Ministry of Justice Di Xu to investigate the Chu Zong case. What does the Directorate of Ceremonial think?"

The Longqing Emperor had an impression of Shen Zao, who had done a good job as the Censor of Anti-Smuggling. Even Li Chunfang, the Grand Secretary in charge of the Copyright Bureau, had written a letter praising him.

The emperor had no recollection of Di Xu, since someone at the level of a chief clerk in the Ministry of Justice rarely had the opportunity to come into contact with the emperor.

The Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs would naturally not get involved in such matters.

Li Fang said:

"This is a matter concerning the Emperor's household affairs, and your servant dares not speak further."

The Longqing Emperor frowned, clearly dissatisfied with Li Fang's statement.

Dissatisfied with Li Fang's answer, Feng Bao said:
"The case of Chu Zong is complicated. I request Your Majesty to send the Embroidered Uniform Guard to accompany Chu Zong. This will also make it easier for the palace to keep track of information."

Upon hearing Feng Bao's words, the Longqing Emperor's expression relaxed.

The Longqing Emperor had been on the throne for many years, and he was naturally aware of the attitudes of the civil officials in the outer court towards the imperial relatives.

Therefore, the emperor was also afraid that his ministers would frame the imperial clan, so he sent the Embroidered Uniform Guard to accompany the mission to investigate the case, naturally in order not to be deceived.

Of course, the Longqing Emperor still trusted the civil service system more, and he added:

"The chief envoy should still be from the Ministry of Rites. Yin Shidan, the Vice Minister of Rites, will be the chief envoy to investigate Chu, accompanied by Shen Zao and that Di Xu."

"The Imperial Guards accompanying the mission have only the right to listen in and must not interfere with the mission's handling of cases."

"Your humble servant obeys the decree!"
-
The next day, when Shen Zao received the imperial decree and learned that he had been assigned to the Chu expedition, he immediately rushed to find Su Ze.

Shen Zao and Wang Renzhong were appointed as anti-smuggling censors. They did a good job in their posts, and were particularly effective in cracking down on the pirated "Journey to the West" industry, almost driving pirated "Journey to the West" out of the capital's book market.

Before their terms were up, the two received notices of promotion.

Both were nominated to serve as Imperial Censors of the Five Gates, but Wang Renzhong was older and had a higher ranking in the imperial examination than Shen Zao, so he was selected as Imperial Censor of the Outer Gates.

However, Shen Zao did not stay in his post, but returned to the Censorate to serve as the Supervising Censor of Huguang.

This was naturally a significant promotion for Shen Zao.

Before becoming the Censor of Anti-Smuggling, Shen Zao was merely an Assistant Censor and did not have the power to impeach independently.

Although the position of the Anti-Smuggling Censor was equivalent to that of the Supervising Censor, the Censor was only responsible for copyright matters in the capital, and his duties were narrow.

The Censorate system is different from other systems; rank does not determine everything.

Even the chief censor of the Censorate could not interfere with the use of supervisory power by the supervising censors.

A senior censor wields more influence within the court than a vice censor-in-chief appointed from outside the court.

Therefore, returning to the Censorate as soon as possible to accumulate seniority is the best choice for Shen Zao's career development.

Unexpectedly, Shen Zao took on such a "big job" as soon as he returned to the Censorate. He was naturally very excited when he learned that Su Ze had recommended him!
For an imperial censor, the cases he has handled are the most important "qualifications".

The Chu Zong case involves the Chu vassal state and is a major case that has attracted attention from both the court and the public. Participating in this case will undoubtedly give Shen Zao a huge boost in "experience".

Shen Zao was naturally eager to find Su Ze.

“Brother Yiqing (Shen Zao’s courtesy name), what His Majesty wants is the truth about the Chu Zong case. You just need to investigate the case properly when you get to Wuchang.”

"What about the Grand Secretaries?"

"Grand Secretary Gao and Grand Secretary Zhang both agree to investigate the Chu Zong case, but Grand Secretary Zhao is somewhat hesitant, mainly because the Ministry of Rites has some objections."

Shen Zao understood now.

The Ministry of Rites was generally a "pro-vassal faction." Although they did not like the vassal kings, the vassal system was part of the "ancestral laws," so the Ministry of Rites naturally tried its best to maintain it.

The fact that the head of the mission was Yin Shidan, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, indicates that there was also resistance to the investigation within the mission itself.

"Brother Yiqing, you can listen to Master Di's opinions more."

(End of this chapter)